stringer bell

Burton? I know Fien got knocked around, but Burton?

It is getting close.

One-oh-one on the radar gun.

Schafer with another knock.

He earned his paycheck tonight. He needs to do that a few more times this year and about 25 times each off the next three years.

Royals starter Ventura was scratched for tomorrow. Instead, the Twins face ex-Twin Liam Hendriks, who has pitched well at the Royals AAA club in Omaha.

Plouffe has closed his splits considerably this year. His OPS vs RH pitching is .730, vs. LH pitching .751. One might be able to cherry-pick a couple dozen starts where he would be likely to struggle, but every right hander is not kryptonite.

Turned 28 this season. I believe I missed that.

Trevor Plouffe has been the Twins third baseman since the middle of 2012. He is the Twins' longest-serving starter at his current position on the team. That is a bit hard to believe, but every position has turned over since the Twins handed Plouffe third base out of desperation. Plouffe responded to his assignment by having a once-in-a-lifetime power surge. Most other parts of his game as a third baseman were substandard. Now, late in the 2014 season, we see a different player. Trevor Plouffe has been the Twins third baseman since the middle of 2012. He is the Twins' longest-serving starter at his current position on the team. That is a bit hard to believe, but every position has turned over since the Twins handed Plouffe third base out of desperation. Plouffe responded to his assignment by having a once-in-a-lifetime power surge. Most other parts of his game as a third baseman were substandard. Now, late in the 2014 season, we see a different player. Plouffe has improved his overall hitting and his defense. He has made far more good plays and botched far fewer routine ones. He has hit better with runners on base, he has hit better against right handers and seems fundamentally sound finally. For all the years that Plouffe has played third, he has been in the shadow of mega-prospect Miguel Sano. The question has always been "what do you do with Plouffe when Sano is ready". Of course, that is still a question. But I think there is a question to be asked before that--is Plouffe a third baseman or is he a stopgap? Plouffe ranks behind three outstanding third basemen in the American League, but after those guys Plouffe rates with anyone else. He now looks comfortable at the position, he now seems to show proper instincts and is in the right place. The throws from third were a crapshoot and are now expected to be chest-high and on line and most of all he takes his time when it is a catcher running yet makes the quick transfer and throw when a speedster hits a slow roller. I'm saying he no longer looks like a displaced hitter, he looks like a third baseman. Plouffe learned the position on the job. He had hardly played there in the minors nor until he was given the position. As a hitter, Plouffe still has some bad at-bats, but grinds through many more than he used to. He seems to have a better plan and the results have been better. He's not a high-percentage hitter, but he's had a bunch of extra-base hits and in terms of production, he is one of the better Twins' hitters. I don't know if he'll ever get any better, but at 27 he's a pretty good player. For those who use WAR, he is at 3.2 with 20% of the season remaining. I have long thought that Trevor Plouffe could be a regular at another position and still believe he could be the Twins' next left fielder. However, I am now not certain that what I've speculated about will come to pass. Plouffe may have enough trade value to be shopped as an established third baseman. It might be more prudent for the the Twins to hold on to Plouffe until Sano forces his way to the majors. At that point, they might be able to flip him for much more than I've thought possible. Congratulations to Trevor Plouffe for taking advantage of opportunities and establishing himself as a big league third baseman. View full article

Nice take, Doc, and less than half a page. Mauer was very uncertain the first thirty games or so. He seems to have gained confidence and I think he's been very good for a while now. One area where Mauer appears uncertain of himself going after foul popups. Other than that, he has been very good. I think he might even get a gold glove if he plays enough games there in future years. Center and left field need improvement.

I pretty much agree with OTwins. I would disagree with Arcia's OF defense. IMHO, Arcia has made substantial improvements in all facets. He's got a nice arm, enough range to play most small RFs and is taking better routes. He's still a work in progress (really unsure of himself close to the wall), but I've been pleasantly surprised by his progress on defense.

Much was made when Brian Dozier changed his batting approach in May of 2013. While he had a low batting average, he managed to hit with enough power to be an offensive asset. This year, Dozier has hit almost exclusively first or second in the order and his batting average has declined and his slugging percentage is virtually unchanged, yet Dozier has made another step forward. The reason is, despite a lower batting average, Dozier's on-base percentage has jumped by more than 30 percentage points. Dozier has increased his bases on balls substantially for the second year in a row. He now has drawn 75 walks, third in the league. He has an outside chance to draw 100 free passes. For those more technical than me, has anything changed? Is it approach, discipline or luck? I certainly don't know, but I appreciate that Dozier is having a good year despite a really low batting average.

FWIW, when Pinto was playing a lot early in the season, he had reverse platoon splits (better against right handers) and Suzuki was very good against LH pitching. Drawing up a 100 to 60 split for next year would seem like a good plan if Pinto's defense qualifies as sufficient.

Trevor Plouffe has been the Twins third baseman since the middle of 2012. He is the Twins' longest-serving starter at his current position on the team. That is a bit hard to believe, but every position has turned over since the Twins handed Plouffe third base out of desperation. Plouffe responded to his assignment by having a once-in-a-lifetime power surge. Most other parts of his game as a third baseman were substandard. Now, late in the 2014 season, we see a different player. Plouffe has improved his overall hitting and his defense. He has made far more good plays and botched far fewer routine ones. He has hit better with runners on base, he has hit better against right handers and seems fundamentally sound finally. For all the years that Plouffe has played third, he has been in the shadow of mega-prospect Miguel Sano. The question has always been "what do you do with Plouffe when Sano is ready". Of course, that is still a question. But I think there is a question be asked before that--is Plouffe a third baseman or is he a stopgap? Plouffe ranks behind three outstanding third basemen in the American League, but after those guys Plouffe rates with anyone else. He now looks comfortable at the position, he now seems to show proper instincts and is in the right place. The throws from third were a crapshoot are now expected to be chest-high and on line and most of all he takes his time when a catcher is running and makes the quick transfer and throw when a speedster hits a slow roller. I'm saying he no longer looks like a displaced hitter, he looks like a third baseman. Plouffe learned the position on the job. He hardly played there in the minors or until he was given the position. As a hitter, Plouffe still has some bad at-bats, but grinds through many more than he used to. He seems to have a better plan and the results have been better. He's not a high-percentage hitter, but he's had a bunch of extra base hits and in terms of production, he is one of the better Twins' hitters. I don't know if he'll ever get any better, but at 27 he's a pretty good player. For those who use WAR, he is at 3.2 with 20% of the season remaining. I have long thought that Trevor Plouffe could be a regular at another position and still believe he could be the Twins' next left fielder. However, I am not so sure any more that what I've speculated will turn out. Plouffe may have enough trade value to be shopped as an established third baseman. The Twins might be more prudent to hold on to Plouffe until Sano forces his way to the majors. At that point, they might be able to flip him for much more than I've ever thought possible. Congratulations to Trevor Plouffe for taking advantage of opportunities and establishing himself as a big league third baseman.

I don't buy defensive metrics, but if they indicate something that both scouting and the eyeball test agree with, well then, that is a pretty convincing statement. I believe the defense in the infield is (in answer to the OP) good enough. Arcia (much improved in the field) is a given in right field, left field and center field must improve. I agree that Hicks has looked less than awesome as a CF. Santana, too, although criticism of him must be tempered with the fact that he is learning a key defensive position on the fly. If Hicks or Santana is the regular center fielder next year, it is important, if not vital, to have a plus defender man left field. Finally, while I am a Pinto believer, it would be outstanding to be grooming a glove-first catcher as a backup and successor to Suzuki. Backups and stopgaps have hurt the Twins defense more than anything. Having regulars start 140-160 games would really help the overall defense IMHO.

I think that Pinto should catch a lot between his (expected) call-up and the end of the season. Then the Twins will need to decide whether his catching skills are salvageable. If they are convinced he's not a major league receiver, deal him for what you can. Otherwise, he needs to be the backup catcher all of next year. Unless there are injuries, I don't see Josmil as a DH very often and no, just no, to trying to put an outfielder's glove in his hands.

Seth, I don't follow the minors like you do, but from what I've seen Tonkin has been OKish and I wonder if they might not send him a message that OKish isn't good enough. Also, you listed a lot of names. Wouldn't you think that since the kids and Mauer are already playing, they wouldn't bring too many position players up?

Time to go eat Greek food and watch Grand Funk Railroad.

I don't think the Red Wings are going to make the playoffs. They have to pass two teams to make the Wild Card. Tough to do in the last week.

What is in Victor's mouth? Looks like he is frothing.

Ruh-roh

Gotta get Hunter here.

I can't see Max going more than five. Then, it's the bullpen!

Nice at-bat by Schafer.