stringer bell

They need a gigantic bug zapper.

I'm sensing another four-hour game.

Not squeezed on the 3-1 pitch.

Squeezed on the 3-2 pitch.

I have no confidence that the Twins will win this game, but watching them put up four in a hurry is entertaining.

Nice little two out rally.

Getting two outs for the price of one.

Aaron Hicks hit tool still doesn't impress me. Since his recall, I don't remember him driving the ball. Granted, it is a small sample, but everything has been hit in front of the outfielders. He is patient and gets on a good amount, but IMHO he needs to hit the ball hard more often.

Not sure, but I believe the 9th is Mani-Pedi Day in Grand Forks.

Lineups: Twins: 1.LF: Jordan Schafer 2.2B: Brian Dozier 3.1B: Joe Mauer 4.DH: Kennys Vargas 5.3B: Trevor Plouffe 6.RF: Oswaldo Arcia 7.C: Kurt Suzuki 8.SS: Eduardo Escobar 9.CF: Aaron Hicks 10.SP: Trevor May Indians: 1.CF: Michael Bourn 2.SS: Jose Ramirez 3.LF: Michael Brantley 4.1B: Carlos Santana 5.2B: Jason Kipnis 6.3B: Lonnie Chisenhall 7.C: Yan Gomes 8.RF: David Murphy 9.DH: Zach Walters 10.SP: Trevor Bauer Schafer is back, however no Santana. The lineup suffers without Santana.

Gardy pretty much put Schafer's throw on the two veterans, Dozier and Mauer. Missing cutoff men happens to all teams. I would agree that Arcia has been guilty more than his share. It is part of not being fundamentally sound, not the be-all and end-all.

While the bullpen doesn't have overwhelming talent, they were able to be quite satisfactory when not overused. They were overused and they are regressing to the mean. Kind of a triple whammy.

I actually googled Masterson and couldn't find any breakdown on his pitching this year. When the Twins faced him earlier, he had pretty good velo, but he had poor command.

Winnah for the Miracle!

I see this year as 75% or more on the pitching staff. The idea was for the not necessarily dominating starters to give innings so that the bullpen wouldn't be overworked, and lately the starters' failures have certainly effected the bullpen. As mentioned above by Platoon, the Twins seem to be in the lowest quartile of fundamental play. I am not really big on productive outs, but getting runners home from third with less than two out has been abysmal all year. Defensive fundamentals have been substandard, as well. I really can't fault lineups or who has played in the big picture, but four 90+ loss seasons is too many and the biggest factor in the game has shown almost no improvement. I think Gardy and Anderson should both go, but I see no real reason to retain Anderson. It is time for someone new to work with the pitchers.

Real defensive improvement is needed to get those ERAs in line with their fielding independent cousins. If the Twins don't get in on Shields/Lester, how about signing Justin Masterson. His situation is quite similar to Hughes going into last off-season. He seems to have a good year followed by a bad year, he's relatively young and throws pretty hard. Masterson gets a bunch of ground balls when he's right, which would be a bonus, with the defensive prowess of the Twins' outfield.

"Not awesome, but not crappy"--that's what I thought this year, and it didn't pan out that way. Is it Anderson, is it miserable outfield defense, are the Twins cursed because they took out the trees? Something just isn't right, with Hughes being the notable exception.

The Twins have just been swept by the Angels. They were competitive for three games, but got beat up on Sunday. The fact is that, despite a fairly good offense in the five games, the Twins had no chance because the Angels are superior in all facets of the game. At least some of the young guys are playing and a few are thriving. Kennys Vargas is hitting and slugging and Danny Santana is established as a good hitter who has played center field more than his natural position of shortstop. In the last four years, much has been made of the Twins' continuing futility and much of this stems from non-competitive Septembers. It sure looks like the same thing is happening again. Of course, this year, as mentioned above, they are playing some guys who will be around when the roster is turned over. What is particularly disappointing is that there apparently is no one ready to help the pitching staff. We've seen Phil Hughes go out almost every time and give the team a chance to win, Kyle Gibson has faded a bit, but has been satisfactory. Beyond that? Well, Ricky Nolasco has one good start since returning from the DL, Trevor May has improved, but previously was historically bad, the team has gotten nothing out of Tommy Milone. The bullpen is in tatters. All the guys who have been with the team all year seem to be worn out. The late-season reinforcements have been underwhelming and these are the guys that will be getting the first chance if some veteran arms are let go! Maybe this gives guys like Jake Reed and Burdi a quick path to the majors. Maybe it is time for management to change. I have been embarrassed by my favorite team in the last four years and I just don't think it has to be this bad.

With both a more effective starting rotation and some flexibility in the relief corps, I believe that a 12-man staff should be the rule rather than the exception. I think that Escobar is an ideal utility man because he plays good defense at many positions, but IMHO he's the best shortstop. If Santana lands the SS job, than Escobar and Nuñez provide a little bit of everything as reserves. I'm still believing in Parmelee, but if another outfielder is acquired, Parmelee is on his way out. Schafer will almost certainly not go through the arbitration process, so the Twins will have to do some "fancy footwork" to keep him in the fold. If Schafer is not back next year, there is room for a free agent in the outfield. Assuming good health, here is my handicap for the marginal players on my list: Suzuki, Mauer, Dozier, Escobar, Plouffe, Arcia--100% Santana-95%, Vargas 80%, Pinto 75%, Nuñez, 70%, Hicks 65%, Parmelee 55%, Schafer 50%. Schafer is probably the only one where a contract will be an issue.

Well, Achter and Oliveros showing that there is a difference between Triple A and the major leagues. Angels are rolling right now, and the Twins put up resistance for three games, but it looks like there is no hope today.

3-3, who woulda thunk that three runs wasn't enough?

Three runs, not exactly an explosion, but got all three of the walks home.

Bases loaded, none out. You'd think time for a big inning. It hasn't worked that way most of the season.

Darnell gets through the first.

Looks like, if I want to talk to myself, I've found the right place.