stringer bell

Rosario is finishing pretty strong in New Britain, he is still young and can play all three outfield spots, as well as second base. I think he is a near-lock to be protected, as long as he doesn't have any off-field or attitude problems.

I forgot Pryor was on the 40-man. My mistake. To addrest beckmt's comments, I don't think it is a certainty that Nunez is gone and I think Pino will have a chance to pitch himself onto the roster. I doubt any team will take Wimmers if he's available, so I can't see him being added and despite their lack of players like him, I suspect Ortiz is left unprotected as well.

I think that is too many LHPs to let go. I think one of the current two in the pen will stay for sure and probably both. You didn't list lefty starters Darnell or Johnson. I would think one of them won't stay on the 40 and I suspect that they won't add Gilmartin. I also think that Pressly could be off the roster, depending on how he performs for the balance of the season. I think the most worthy reliever to add who has been in the organization all year is Oliveros, but I'm pretty sure they will add both of the two pitchers they acquired for Morales and Hammer.

Anderson!

Tough inning for May.

Got to throw strikes here.

Nice play by Plouffe!

Bad at-bat for Plouffe. Pretty good one for Parm.

I thought Perez caught Mauer's foul tip cleanly, but the replay was inconclusive.

Michael Cuddyer was just recently activated from the disabled list in Colorado. Today, he just finished off his second cycle of his career. He's 4-5 and raised his BA to .331.

I'm neither a backer nor a basher of Joe Mauer. He has undoubtedly been the best player and face of the franchise since 2009. It is probably equally undeniable that Mauer's recovery time for injuries has always seemed to lag behind optimistic predictions for his recovery. This is complicated by his big contract and the position he played until this year. The front office and the field staff (and Mauer) wanted him in the lineup as often as possible. That meant DH time that most other catchers would never see. Mauer, or his agent, have always made his health and future more important than whether he was in the lineup today or tomorrow. I guess that is what agents are for, especially when they represent a guy making $23M a year. The conflict is that Mauer isn't viewed as banging on the manager's door if he is the DH three straight days with Drew Butera as the alternate or if he's out of the lineup for a "nick" for three days. That passiveness carries over even to his batting style--he routinely takes at least one strike and routinely "lets the ball get deep" and slaps it to left field. Finally, there is the attitude that what he does works and there is no need to change it. Adjustments to shifts and slumps have been slow in coming. Perhaps he is right to continue to do what he does, but there is a perception that he could be so much more--if he swung earlier in the count, if he tried to drive more balls to his pull field and if he demanded to play even if he wasn't 100%. Analysis of Joe Mauer is complicated. Even if he is in decline phase, he has been a great hitter and might be a Hall of Famer. He has been the best catcher the Twins ever had, but the question remains that if he had gone about things differently, perhaps he could have been much better.

I've always found WAR misses the boat when comparing players who play different positions. Here's two ex-Twins, one to whom WAR is kind, one to whom it is not: Nick Punto (36, with 3700+ PAs) Career WAR of 14.9. Michael Cuddyer (35, with 5600+ PAs) Career WAR of 15.3. Cuddy makes over $10M per year, Punto $3M. Per game played and plate appearance, Punto has been more "valuable" according to WAR.

Dick Bremer broached the subject of outfield defense in tonight's broadcast. He spoke of the Twins' wishes to have more athletic, speedier defenders in the outfield, particularly the corners. As with most things Bremer says, I am sure he is clear that the Twins want the topic out there or he wouldn't bring it up. In my mind, this brings up the acquisition of Jordan Schafer, who is 27 and has shown superior speed (and base stealing skill), while being deficient in most other areas. The Twins are getting a good look at Schafer (33 PAs so far this month) and he has utilized his base stealing skill. Actually, Schafer has been rather impressive in an extremely small sample size. He is 9 for 28, six for six stealing bases, and has made no glaring misplays in the field. Once thought to be a top prospect, maybe just maybe, could Schafer become more than a pinch runner? There's always a chance. The Twins are due to strike gold on a player given up on by other organizations. They have had their share of times where a player develops/evolves into a good player after the Twins have given him away for little or nothing. It is time for some payback. In light of the merry-go-round that has happened in center field the last two years, it would be heartening for Schafer to be part of the solution to the problem. More likely, however, the best the Twins can hope for with a career .223 hitter (1280 PAs) is someone who hits enough to be a fourth outfielder. Having a fourth OF, who could player center along with the corners and who could be decent defensively and provide value as a pinch runner would be pretty good for claiming a guy off the scrap heap. Another fast guy is Danny Santana. He has been given over 250 plate appearances since being recalled in May, mostly because the Twins didn't have anyone else available to call up from their 40-man roster. Santana has spent most of his time in center, and although he had hardly played there, he has been an adequate defender and has hit surprisingly well. Could Danny Santana be the solution to the center field problem? Two months ago, I would have said "no way, no how", a month ago, "barely a chance" and now I'm thinking "if no one else is ready, why not?" Santana is still regarded as a shortstop by the Twins organization, but if 1) Eduardo Escobar continues to be an above-average shortstop and 2) no one steps forward in center, then Santana should start 2015 as the Twins regular center fielder. What about the prospects? The Twins have three guys who have been or still are regarded as top prospects for center field in the upper minors--Aaron Hicks, Eddie Rosario, and #1 prospect Byron Buxton--and if any of those guys seizes center field it will be good for the organization. Each has their question marks--Hicks has failed twice to hold on to center for the Twins, Rosario has flirted with becoming a second baseman, been suspended for street drugs, and is currently hitting <.250 at AA, and Buxton has had an injury riddled season and only played one game above Class A. There is a lot of talent there, but also a lot of question marks and no guarantees. The prudent thing to do IMHO is to open center field up for a wide-open competition in the spring. Unless he tanks dramatically in the last six weeks, Santana will be starting somewhere. It probably would increase his value even more if Santana would be an option in left field as well as center. Hicks and Rosario have gotten reps in the corners as well as center and if one of them step forward, perhaps they could be playing a corner OF spot. Left field could be a consolation prize for one of the guys trying to become the Twins' regular center fielder. Finally, if the hype is to be believed, when Buxton arrives, he will take over center field for as long as he is a Twin. Having an outfield with two fast guys being out there between Buxton, Rosario, Hicks, Santana and Schafer would probably go a long way towards improving a leaky outfield. It also could provide excitement on the base paths and give the Twins balance between power and speed. If Santana claims shortstop, there is one less contestant in the competition, but regardless, it would be nice to see range out of at least two of the three outfield positions.

I would dispute that Escobar was "basically a Bartlett" in LF. I thought he did OK there the couple of times he played, however he did not do well in center the one game he played there. Three games is much too small a sample. Santana has looked adequate in center, despite playing a single into a triple yesterday and almost doing the same thing again tonight. It wouldn't be the end of the world if he started 2015 in CF, waiting for the CF prospects to earn their spot in Minnesota.

Nice win. They are due to light up Guthrie tomorrow.

Looks like Mauer's streak is ovah.

Well, we have a new McDonald's right next to my workplace. So, it was nuggets and a shake for me.

JB posted that the Twins have the same record as 2013. One thing is they aren't striking out so much. Ventura is a strikeout guy and he "only" has four.

The club did a lot of things right in that inning.

Schafer: A better hitter than we should have expected, and a worse bunter.

Bert talking about OF defense. Yesterday, LEN3 criticized all three OFs. I didn't think Schafer deserved any criticism. He chased Hammer's double and it lodged under the padding. Nothing he could do about that.

Well, at least the game is moving along.

First K for Mauer since he came off the DL.

Called it!

I am not going to go too far out on a limb, but I think the Twins will get a hit this inning.