stringer bell

I guess I'm not worried about Arcia hitting eventually, but I am concerned about bad habits. Too many of his ABs have been poor, where he let the pitcher beat him and he need lots of reps in the OF. I don't doubt he can be a capable corner OF, but he needs work out there, as well.

Kirby was also much, much better in his home park: .344 BA, .909 OPS at home--.291 BA, .761 OPS on the road.

Not much more to report on Rohlfing--his slash numbers remain marginal at New Britain: .338/.318/.655 and he is catching quite a bit.

Melotakis has made a few more successful appearances in the bullpen since my last posting. His overall numbers are pretty good: 11-4 record, 3.19 ERA, 105 H in 110 IP, 39 BB, 82 K, OBA of .249 and a WHIP of about 1.30.

The Twins started 2013 with many question marks. The entire starting rotation was questioned (rightly), and new starters were introduced at 2B, SS, 3B, and RF. Center field was to be manned by a rookie who hadn't played above AA and several new arms were being deployed in the bullpen. The established players were Willingham, Morneau, and Mauer, with DH and backup catcher being handled by veteran Ryan Doumit. While not much was expected, the goal was to see some or all of the new player establish themselves, some of the pitchers to take a step forward and a larger core to be established for the next wave of high-profile prospects. If everything went right, the Twins could make substantial improvement in the W-L ledger and maybe threaten .500. If things went wrong, well there's next year and there wasn't a lot of money or years invested in the "bridge" players. With about 20% of the season remaining, there hasn't been much good news. Some players and pitchers (perhaps Correia, Pelfrey, and Florimon) have managed to meet low-bar expectations. Hicks and Parmelee (2/3 of the starting outfield) are in the minors, third baseman Plouffe hasn't hit enough or improved enough in the field to sew up a roster position for next year. Veterans Doumit and Willingham have regressed (Hammer was hampered by injuries) and Morneau is backing up a mediocre season with another mediocre season. The bullpen has been a success. They've been healthy and have handled their roles very well despite getting too much work. That is the second best news for the team on the field this year. The best news of 2013 has been the development and establishment of Brian Dozier as the team's second baseman. First the defense--Dozier has supplied more highlights than any other player on the team and on top of that, he has been fundamentally sound and steady. He has adjusted to second base incredibly well and seems to have mastered the double play pivot and the throws and angles in short order. Offensively, Dozier's numbers don't look that great--his average is in the .240s and he has struggled to get his OBP over .300--but Dozier has improved since a lousy April and May and he has demonstrated surprising sock for a middle infielder. He had 13 extra base hits in July and already has 15 in August, with a week to go. Dozier has hit 13 homers, second on the club and has a chance to set a home run record for a Twins second baseman. Dozier has batted leadoff more often than not since midseason. He's probably not ideal for that role, but is certainly the best option available for the Twins. For whatever reason, Dozier has also delivered best for the team this year when the chips were down. His splits with runners on, close and late, and RISP have been very good. He's second on the club in RBI, despite batting leadoff behind low OBP guys hitting in front of him. Dozier has earned the respect of his manager, and has cemented himself as a major league regular at age 26. He may be playing at his ceiling, but this level is good enough. Going forward, he is a regular or a pretty decent trade chip and definitely the biggest success story of the 2013 Twins.

Not indicative of his season so far, but Liriano with another clinker out west. 4 innings, 9 hits, 4 runs and 100 pitches.

Three songs: Layla by Clapton (Derek and the Dominoes), Hotel California by the Eagles and Suspicious Minds by Elvis. Obviously like Classic Rock, don't mind a lot of other genres, but not country. Bill Withers--Always liked his work and every time I hear his name or one of his songs I think of a guy I knew in college who we called "Still Bill" when Withers album of the same name was on the charts.

Meyer with 5 very good innings for the Rock Cats!

As Bremer hinted during the broadcast last night, Arcia is in the starting lineup tonight vs. the Tribe. I was going to comment in the game thread, but it isn't started yet. I think the last 35 games are important for Arcia, as with several other players. He needs to show that the horrible K numbers are an anomoly and that he can make contact far more often than he has shown. He also needs improved results defensively. Arcia has looked somewhere between lost and hopeless too many times in the outfield. I like Oswaldo's potential, but he needs to back it up with consistent big-league play.

Especially since Morneau is a free agent at the end of this year, this does seem like a pretty sound decision. It still has to get the official okey-dokey from the player. If Mauer is willing to become a first baseman more than a catcher, it should be a done deal. Of course, there are the nuances. Should Mauer catch occasionally, in an emergency or never or someplace in between? I like the idea of holding the door open to him catching in playoff games or with a season in the balance. The pity of it is that Mauer remains pretty doggone good behind the dish. He certainly has been better this year than in the preceding years and it isn't that long ago that he won a Gold Glove (FWIW).

If you don't care, don't post. I've been a big Cuddy fan for a long time and he's got a chance to win a batting championship and the other leaders are good stories as well.

A crushing loss for Rochester. They blew a 6-1 lead in the ninth. Diamond with a really good outing, but the bully imploded.

Back to the game. It has seemed like forever that the Tribe is weak against LH pitching. That is probably why I'm at bit surprised that the Twins didn't recall Diamond to face Cleveland. Duensing has cruised through eight outs--more an example that Cleveland can't hit lefties.

No room on the 40-man, so none of your possibilities has much of a chance. Tyler Robertson was DFAed and claimed by the Nats in June or July. I think Perdomo has struggled and may have been disabled or demoted. If they want a starter to replace Deduno it almost has to be Diamond.

I'm certainly in favor of seeing Pinto play some for the Twins in September. He should have and likely will need more time in Rochester. Depending on the Mauer decision, he could be an alternate or the de facto regular by sometime next year.

Deduno might be the key. He has had some "biceps tendonitis", but reported that he was fine after a bullpen session. If he gets hit hard again, or experiences more discomfort, I can see the Twins disabling Samuel. They could recall Diamond to take his place later. Colabello is the likely demotee if no one is injured. Arcia could also see the DL if he doesn't start getting better.

Going into the last 30 or so games, the identity of the NL Batting Champion this year is unknown, but it looks like it will be an unlikely winner. Since before the All-Star break, the leaders have been Yadier Molina and Chris Johnson. Michael Cuddyer has been second or third most of the time. None of these guys would have been a great bet to win the batting crown when the season opened. Following this trio is a pair of names who would be classified as better known--Andrew McCutchen and Joey Votto--but they haven't really challenged at this point Puig of the Dodgers is hitting .346, but has only 301 PAs, 201 fewer than required to qualify for the hardware. He might get as many of 150 in the remaining games, but would fall a bit short. Jason Werth is hitting .327 and should qualify, he is just a couple of plate appearances short of being on pace. Who will be the surprising NL Batting Champion?

No one claimed Morneau because of the $3M+ owed him and apparently the Twins don't want to pay Morneau to play for someone else. The Bucs could find a place for Morneau and winning their division should provide them with motivation to "overpay" for a an improvement at first base. I don't think it will happen, but the Pirates are probably the Twins' best hope.

Two of the Twins farm teams made the playoffs on the basis of their strong first half(s): Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids. Those two teams will be in the playoffs when they start after Labor Day. Two other farm teams are on the cusp of playoff appearances: The Rochester Red Wings are two games up in the Wild Card race and only a half game back of Pawtucket in the race to win their division. The Red Wings have had few true prospects on their team this year, but have been a hot team in the second half. It would be great for Rochester to have a playoff run, since I don't think they've made the playoffs since becoming a Twins' affiliate. The Red Wings have played far more road than home games, so it looks like they will make or break at Frontier Field. Elizabethtown is currently out of the playoffs, but trail the two teams ahead of them in their division by a game and a game and a half respectively. The E-Twins had a lull in midseason, but have won their last four games and nine of their last ten to again compete for Appy League supremacy. With the Twins out of the race, this is all the postseason baseball we Twins can hope for.

Most of what you said makes sense to me, but signing Morneau as a DH/bench bat doesn't fit. I think the Twins can find others to fill that role at a far smaller price and would do so if they decide Mauer is a first baseman.

I am pretty convinced that Mauer, in his thirties, would be a somewhat more powerful, better hitter as a first baseman. Would he be worth $23M? I don't know, but a batting champ with 20 homers and a .900+ OPS playing 150+ games would be pretty good. If Mauer is willing, I think the Twins should make the switch. It is extremely tough to build your club and lineup around a catcher. They miss games and have to be slotted at other positions if the team wants more than 600 PAs from the player. Different players wear down at different rates, but Mauer's bat is too valuable to the Twins to have him miss more and more time as the years go by.

Regarding Herrmann, I think he's hit way better as a Twin than he did as a Red Wing. He's a decent hitter who doesn't embarrass himself either behind the plate or at an outfield corner. I think he'll earn a big league paycheck for a while. However, he shouldn't be starting 5-6 games a week.

Had 'em all the way!

BTW, I share Ashbury's suspicion about Roenicke. Of course, Austin Jackson hits a bomb.

Seriously, this is why I love baseball. There is supposed to be no chance for the Twins C- lineup and here they score six in six innings vs. Verlander.