stringer bell

He did get the tying run home vs. the A's, correct? He also got credit for an RBI when Moose booted his grounder vs. the Royals. So that is twice where he got the runner home.

I believe that is why the ump called him out!

He sounds just like Topher Grace of "That 70s Show".

Ash, I might be two days older, but you are quicker with the quip.

Number 42 is having a good game so far.

Shades of Span/Revere/Hammer. Melky would definitely be the better CF. I suppose they don't want to waste Joey Bats' arm in left, but that configuration is all wrong.

I am pulling hard for Florimon, I'd like to see him get three hits or so to get above the half-Mendoza line.

Make him pay Pinto!

Walk and double--1-0.

You are right of course. Two weeks ago is a long time to remember for us aging wonders.

On the flip side, only one unearned run has been charged to Twins pitchers. For the team to do better than expected, they need that trend to continue. However, official scoring has been kind to Twins fielders. I can recall two DPs not turned which cost multiple runs, and a couple of bad throws that weren't charged as errors.

I have been in the pro-Florimon camp, believing that defense is crucial and that P-Flo could raise his OBP a bit just by making contact a bit more and perhaps bunting successfully a few more times. So far (and it is really early), it looks like he doesn't have a clue at the plate. I do think that in order for Florimon to continue with the Twins 1) he needs to hit at least as well as he did last year and 2) that either he is a starter or he is relegated to the minor leagues or release.

I like to look at ESPN's statistics as a quick and easy comparison of teams and players. I usually look when the Twins are playing well and look for positive trends--call me an optimist. Anyway, since the Twins just finished a sweep and got back to .500, I thought it would be a good time to look at some numbers and see what was sustainable and what was a likely statistical anomaly. The run scoring is out of line with the Twins' other offensive numbers. They are second in the league in runs per game despite being near the bottom in team batting average, home runs and slugging. They have a positive run differential despite having a team OPS of .712 compared to their opponents .776. Those numbers will not stand, but there is a promising reason why the Twins have been efficient--they have gotten on base quite a bit (2nd in OBP in the AL) and they've hit quite well with runners on base. Improvements over any point last year, to be sure. Further, the Twins have drawn 59 walks in 12 games, that is almost five per game, and the most walks in the American League. Certainly, some of this is small sample size, but there is a noticeably better approach by many of the hitters compared to last year. The Twins have fanned 112 times (more than nine per game), which puts them near the top in that category. It probably would be worse except that two of the team's most strikeout prone players are disabled currently. The pitching staff has uncharacteristically walked a lot of batters (46) and struck out among the least (78). The lack of strikeouts is to be expected, but not the walks. After outhomering KC 5-0, the Twins still have hit three fewer long balls than their opponents (13-10). A series with Toronto usually hurts their home run ratio, but maybe they are on a roll. Notably, seven of the ten homers have come from two players who weren't counted on to provide that much power. To summarize, the Twins are 6-6 after four series, all against teams with winning records in 2013, so that is quite acceptable. They have had a surprisingly good offensive showing, but their pitching has been bottom of the barrel, although they are coming off a real good weekend which included three quality starts. Perhaps their toughest part of the schedule runs from now until the end of the month. If they can hang around .500 through May 1, this team may well provide some entertainment this summer.

On the subject of umpiring, technology is demonstrating how tough it is to get balls and strikes right, not that umpiring has sunken or risen IMHO. On Gibson, he needs to consistently hit the mitt and he'll start to get those borderline calls.

I'm pulling for Wimmers. He has had a series of misfortunes since signing with the Twins, but maybe there is hope that he will amount to something.

I've seen a lot of scenarios mentioned here. Is it possible that the Twins will go for Escobar as the regular shortstop and move Nuñez in as the utility infielder? Who knows? Maybe Nuñez can become the next Alex Gordon and become a plus defensive outfielder. Not likely, I know.

Shocking! Shocking, that you would praise the blue-eyed charmer with the sometimes-flowing locks.

Since Mastro ran for Kubel (winning run in the bottom of the seventh), Gardy put Herrmann in for Colabello (Mastro in right, Herrmann in left) as a defensive replacement. That left only Escobar on a three-man bench,

I thought that maybe Plouffe was trying to hold third for the force play momentarily. The ball was pretty close to the mound, but Correia falls off to the first base side.

This guy isn't a rookie. He's not 22 years old. Consistent playing time could be one factor, and maybe a consistent position. I doubt that Nuñez will be the answer at shortstop, but his situation would be completely different than what he experienced in the Bronx. He would be counted on for some offense and might bat in the top of the order. If he hits satisfactorily, he can probably get regular playing time. As far as his defense goes, it isn't range I would think since he has very good stolen base numbers. Hands, footwork and arm accuracy can be worked on, but if he's 26, I doubt he can develop much. Probably the best one could hope for would be for Nuñez to be "acceptable". I have also seen that attitude was a problem--perhaps coming into a new environment could help there.

Having seen Polanco play several times, I am not sure he's up for being a major league shortstop. I think he's a second baseman and also after April 1st, Fort Myers is a long ways from Minnesota.

I like having a plus defender at shortstop, but Pedro's at-bats would not go down as "quality". Yes, he has hit some balls hard, but he has struck out over a third of the time. He's mixed in a lot of weak grounders and popups in as well.

Ho-hum, another quality start. Somehow, I don't think KC will continue to struggle like this all year, or even for another week.

"Legs" Mauer!

Yes, vs. a knuckleballer.