stringer bell

That was also reported on the radio postgame show. Speculation is that Colabello will be added after the AAA All-Star game on Wednesday.

Winnah! The ump negated a wonderful play by Dozier, but Perkins had more than enough to retire nearly starless Yanks.

I agree. The reason why the Twins aren't ready to jump to 90 wins because they don't have close to enough pitching. Even if all of their top position prospects pan out, the Twins need to add good pitchers in the rotation and replace the probable losses of bullpen arms.

I think we have to separate between how well someone knows baseball and how well someone speaks. Molitor is good in front of the camera and the microphone and so is Smalley, while some of the other guys are not nearly as literate. It is part of the manager's job to speak for the team on the field, but a larger part of their job is manage his players on the field. As young as the Twins figure to be in the next couple years, they might do well to go with an experienced manager, although it's tough for the public to swallow a "retread".

While Colabello is 29, he spent a long time in the independent Can-Am League. Chris has shown that he can hit any minor league pitching. It is such a good story and he has been so dominating at Rochester, he should get a real chance--not 15 ABs. I have been in favor of trading two of Morneau/Willingham/Doumit and allowing Parmelee to get his at bats and Colabello to get a chance.

Atta way to swing the bats, guys!

Bremer begging for the Twins to bunt in the second inning. C'mon Dick, join the 21st Century!

Here's the lineup for the Twins/Yankees: MINNESOTA Dozier 2B Mauer C Morneau 1B Doumit RF Plouffe 3B Hicks CF Thomas LF Carroll 3B Florimon SS Gibson P NEW YORK Ichiro CF Almonte LF Cano 2B Hafner DH Wells RF Overbay 1B Nunez SS Cruz 3B Stewart C CC P

Albers first, Hendriks next, Worley after that. Blackburn if he is effective and if there is a lot of flameout from those in front of him.

I like that he is different from the "command and control" types that the Twins have had for years. I also think that the Twins need to keep pitching unless they get an overwhelming offer. Deduno's upside is in question to me. He seems to have conquered the worst of his control problems and the contact that he generates is pretty weak.

I don't think the Twins should be blamed for the handling of his injuries. They reacted quickly when he couldn't find the strike zone, shut him down and got him on the mound late in the year. He suffered elbow pain during his first start at New Britain. He was shut down and finally found to need TJ surgery. Terry Ryan told me that Wimmers would be on the same program as Kyle Gibson. That would mean he moves up and likely would go to the Arizona Fall League in October. He only has one game above A+ so it would be a stretch to expect him to contribute next year, but he was a first round choice, so the team has already invested millions.

They probably won't have to face Cano again today. No one else in the order really scares me. I'm disappointed with the way the Twins have played the crippled Yankees. They match up horribly with the Rays and it figured they would lose at least three when Tampa was playing well. The Yankees aren't playing that well, but the Twins have just failed to do the job against them.

Good job, Casey. Now Mr. Ryan, trade him and Doumit.

One more Casey.

I just hope that the strike zone stays the same for the remainder of this game. How sad would it be for the Yankees to score three or four this inning. Obviously, we're all thinking about it anyway.

I am sure the Twins want to make a profit. However, it makes sense to have a good team because then they will make a bigger profit. The teams that they will put together in the next 2-4 years should have relatively low payrolls, but still be competitive if they have enough pitching. Also, it is semantics as far as whether they are rebuilding or not. They are looking to sell all available veterans and bring in prospects and young players. To me that is rebuilding.

JB, I think that is semantics. They are rebuilding and Ryan is saying that almost everyone is on the table to be moved (Mauer has the no trade). IMHO, except for the Marlins and Astros, the Twins have the longest way to go. There's talent in the minors, but most of it is a long way away. They really, really need to "hit" on pitchers.

Great question. Right now, I think it might be Tonkin, but if the bully gets abused again today, they might send someone else down. I would like to see the bullpen cut by one, but no one really jumps out as a demotion candidate. I also think that an injury, any injury, could put someone on the DL so that Tonkin could get a longer look.

When do the Twins have to protect him on the 40-man? Because of the 2+ lost seasons, he is way behind in his development, but I don't doubt that he could become a useful pitcher.

All pretense that the Twins can or would contend in 2013 is gone, the product of a couple of bad losing streaks and the lack of competitive starting pitching. The club needs to focus on 2014 and beyond. Much speculation has been posted on Twins Daily about deadline deals and I'm sure that will continue even past the non-waiver deadline. Selling off veterans would have many effects: 1) It will make the team worse on the field immediately 2) it will give rookies and non-veterans a chance to show if they are worthy to be in the team's plans and 3) it will subtract salary from a payroll that has already been trimmed significantly and likely clear space on the 40-man roster. First of all, however, the Twins need to know who will be running the show. Terry Ryan has given no indication that he wants to step down and I have heard no rumors that the Pohlads want him out. I guess this means that Ryan will be the architect of the latest rebuilding effort. Who his field manager will be is more of a dicey proposition. Ron Gardenhire looks like he will preside over his third straight 90 loss season. Few non-expansion manager are able to survive such ineptitude. Gardy has been here for more than a decade and many seem to think his message and his means have gotten stale. I'm not calling for Gardy to be fired, but I will be neither surprised nor disappointed if he is let go. Who should succeed Gardenhire? Well, the club will definitely be young and inexperienced in the coming years. The in-house names bandied about (Molitor, Brunansky, Ullger, Steinbach) would all be rookie managers. I would hope that the Twins would look outside their organization to find a manager with some experience who could lead a team on the upswing. When Gardenhire leaves, it is widely expected that Rick Anderson will leave with him. I am pretty "meh" about Anderson, but much like the manager, it seems that his message has not been as effective as it was earlier. This leaves two areas to consider for the balance of 2013. First, how thoroughly does the team purge the veterans on the club? With the trade deadline on the 31st of this month and waiver claims after that, the Twins can and should part with players who won't help them win two years from now. Unfortunately, the trend for almost all of the tradeable vets over 30 is down. The exception is Glen Perkins, who is underutilized as the closer on a bad team, but is putting up elite numbers and was named to his first All-Star team. Secondly, the Twins need to know who they can count on in 2014 and beyond from their current roster. The means consistent at-bats for the likes of Dozier, Florimon, Parmelee, Plouffe, and the rookies Hicks and Arcia. Here is my opinion on the above issues. Sell the position players even if their value is low. Be more cautious with the pitchers and only accept fair value plus for a pitcher. In addition, when dealing, demand pitching in return. The farm system is stocked with the best prospects the Twins have had in recent memory, but it is overloaded with position players. The club needs to add pitching, particularly high-ceiling arms. Of course, this is the plan for probably 90% of rebuilding teams. Specifically, here is my scenario: Trade Morneau for what can be had. He won't get the haul of an All-Star, because he isn't one. I think the player and the team would be well-served by parting. I also think Doumit must go. He is an okay hitter, but not good enough to be a DH and he hits well for a backup catcher, but his defense hurts and he's 32. I've become a big booster of AA All-Star Josmil Pinto, who has had a great season in New Britain and is on the Twins' 40-man roster. Jamey Carroll might help a contender. He can continue with the Twins as a de-facto coach, but it makes no sense for him to be playing except as a replacement when giving a young player a day off. Parmelee and Arcia need at-bats. I'm confident that both will hit better than they are right now. Parm needs to put up numbers or be passed by. Arcia certainly has more rope, but his current slump is a bit alarming. The die is also cast on Aaron Hicks. He won't be demoted despite his sub-.200 BA and he has shown glimpses of All-Star ability. We need to remember that outside of Arcia and Hicks, the guys getting the at-bats are candidates to be the next Gladden and Gagnes or maybe Lombardozzis and Leiuses, rather than future Hall of Famers or All-Stars. On the pitching front, relievers Fien and Duensing should be shopped. Fien's value is pretty high right now so he is a good candidate to be traded, but again only if the team gets value for him. Duensing has regressed to the point that the return for him wouldn't be great. He's failed as a starter and hasn't been able to hold a 7th inning role either. Duensing has had success before, but not recently. I doubt the Twins get an offer good enough to send him away. There has been speculation on starters Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Correia. Correia started strong but has been less than ordinary in the last two months, while Pelfrey seems to be getting better slowly. Both profile as back of the rotation starters, which means that the payoff would be top prospects. Again, it would be fine to send either guy off, but innings eaters have value despite less-than-stellar stats. I know I'm in the minority, but I think the Twins should keep Pelfrey unless they are overwhelmed by a deadline offer. I like that his velocity is up and he is still very early on the road to recovery from TJ surgery. The Twins will continue to be bad this year whether they ship their veterans or not. Making the right rebuilding moves will help as soon as next year. Let's hope they make the right calls and that 2014 will be the ramp-up year for when they contend for a decade.

All pretense that the Twins can or would contend in 2013 is gone, the product of a couple of bad losing streaks and the lack of competitive starting pitching. The club needs to focus on 2014 and beyond. Much speculation has been posted on Twins Daily about deadline deals and I'm sure that will continue even past the non-waiver deadline. Selling off veterans would have many effects: 1) It will make the team worse on the field immediately 2) it will give rookies and non-veterans a chance to show if they are worthy to be in the team's plans and 3) it will subtract salary from a payroll that has already been trimmed significantly and likely clear space on the 40-man roster. First of all, however, the Twins need to know who will be running the show. Terry Ryan has given no indication that he wants to step down and I have heard no rumors that the Pohlads want him out. I guess this means that Ryan will be the architect of the latest rebuilding effort. Who his field manager will be is more of a dicey proposition. Ron Gardenhire looks like he will preside over his third straight 90 loss season. Few non-expansion manager are able to survive such ineptitude. Gardy has been here for more than a decade and many seem to think his message and his means have gotten stale. I'm not calling for Gardy to be fired, but I will be neither surprised nor disappointed if he is let go. Who should succeed Gardenhire? Well, the club will definitely be young and inexperienced in the coming years. The in-house names bandied about (Molitor, Brunansky, Ullger, Steinbach) would all be rookie managers. I would hope that the Twins would look outside their organization to find a manager with some experience who could lead a team on the upswing. When Gardenhire leaves, it is widely expected that Rick Anderson will leave with him. I am pretty "meh" about Anderson, but much like the manager, it seems that his message has not been as effective as it was earlier. This leaves two areas to consider for the balance of 2013. First, how thoroughly does the team purge the veterans on the club? With the trade deadline on the 31st of this month and waiver claims after that, the Twins can and should part with players who won't help them win two years from now. Unfortunately, the trend for almost all of the tradeable vets over 30 is down. The exception is Glen Perkins, who is underutilized as the closer on a bad team, but is putting up elite numbers and was named to his first All-Star team. Secondly, the Twins need to know who they can count on in 2014 and beyond from their current roster. The means consistent at-bats for the likes of Dozier, Florimon, Parmelee, Plouffe, and the rookies Hicks and Arcia. Here is my opinion on the above issues. Sell the position players even if their value is low. Be more cautious with the pitchers and only accept fair value plus for a pitcher. In addition, when dealing, demand pitching in return. The farm system is stocked with the best prospects the Twins have had in recent memory, but it is overloaded with position players. The club needs to add pitching, particularly high-ceiling arms. Of course, this is the plan for probably 90% of rebuilding teams. Specifically, here is my scenario: Trade Morneau for what can be had. He won't get the haul of an All-Star, because he isn't one. I think the player and the team would be well-served by parting. I also think Doumit must go. He is an okay hitter, but not good enough to be a DH and he hits well for a backup catcher, but his defense hurts and he's 32. I've become a big booster of AA All-Star Josmil Pinto, who has had a great season in New Britain and is on the Twins' 40-man roster. Jamey Carroll might help a contender. He can continue with the Twins as a de-facto coach, but it makes no sense for him to be playing except as a replacement when giving a young player a day off. Parmelee and Arcia need at-bats. I'm confident that both will hit better than they are right now. Parm needs to put up numbers or be passed by. Arcia certainly has more rope, but his current slump is a bit alarming. The die is also cast on Aaron Hicks. He won't be demoted despite his sub-.200 BA and he has shown glimpses of All-Star ability. We need to remember that outside of Arcia and Hicks, the guys getting the at-bats are candidates to be the next Gladden and Gagnes or maybe Lombardozzis and Leiuses, rather than future Hall of Famers or All-Stars. On the pitching front, relievers Fien and Duensing should be shopped. Fien's value is pretty high right now so he is a good candidate to be traded, but again only if the team gets value for him. Duensing has regressed to the point that the return for him wouldn't be great. He's failed as a starter and hasn't been able to hold a 7th inning role either. Duensing has had success before, but not recently. I doubt the Twins get an offer good enough to send him away. There has been speculation on starters Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Correia. Correia started strong but has been less than ordinary in the last two months, while Pelfrey seems to be getting better slowly. Both profile as back of the rotation starters, which means that the payoff would be top prospects. Again, it would be fine to send either guy off, but innings eaters have value despite less-than-stellar stats. I know I'm in the minority, but I think the Twins should keep Pelfrey unless they are overwhelmed by a deadline offer. I like that his velocity is up and he is still very early on the road to recovery from TJ surgery. The Twins will continue to be bad this year whether they ship their veterans or not. Making the right rebuilding moves will help as soon as next year. Let's hope they make the right calls and that 2014 will be the ramp-up year for when they contend for a decade.

Fewer on base, more balls in the air and more strikeouts. I like Mauer--he's easily the Twins best player--but in RBI situations, he refuses to expand his strike zone or change his approach. If he had last year's Willingham hitting behind him, it would probably be a good thing. Morneau's OPS this year is in the low to mid .700s, so if Mauer is pitched around, they are facing a major league average threat.

Also, before Labor Day, I suspect that Gibson will be shut down. The Red Wings have an excellent AAA rotation and they might yet make the International League playoffs, which would be a feather in Glynn's cap. Looking at the talent they put on the field every day, it is amazing that they are above .500.

The All-Star break could have showed up about a week earlier. This team doesn't have a chance right now. Arcia is one of many who are not hitting at all. It will end sometime.

Now it's official.