AlwaysinModeration

While it might look schizophrenic to become buyers again, there is one scenario that could make sense. Falvey and Levine went into trade deadline saying they wanted to trade for controllable assets. Verlander is under contract through 2019. If they could get some salary relief, he would be a big boost to their rotation for this surprising stretch run, as well as the next two years. He's having a bit of a down year, but his BABIP is over 300 this year. I bet jumping into a playoff race and getting in front of the Twins defense would help. Imagine the jolt it would give the team. (And the rotation.) Could they pull this off? Convince the Pohlads to pay that salary? Find a prospect return that wouldn't hurt too bad but be enough for Detroit to bite?

You may have to go to the enns of the earth to find that jersey.

https://youtu.be/20g3QIUnOgY

My contention is that by "selling" the club got a chip on their shoulder. Great victory tonight!

I feel like we need a bottle of Bark's rum to really set this streak ablaze.

The other night Roy was mentioning that he is basically the only player in the game to still use an ash bat instead of (harder) maple bats. I'm not saying correlation is causation, but anyone else think Mauer might just maybe want to give the maple bats a try?

While I enjoyed that quiz, and choose to decline to say how many I got right, I'd like to defend us all by pointing out that (as now proven) the 103-loss team was fairly forgettable.

He could pitch home as long as he comes set. Potential to balk if he just tries to throw home quickly, in addition to the balk he committed. Agree that it was a savvy play by Rosario. He knew exactly what he was doing and called the balk at the same time as the ump. Such an interesting play. Could he have scored on a straight steal? Would they have played the 3B closer of Buxton is on third?

Santana faces 26 batters, strikes out 6, and give up two earned runs. Boshers faces one batter, gets a grounder. Boshers definitely deserved that win over Santana.

Nice comeback. Something to build on? Would be good to get a winning streak started....

I don't know, that pitch to Mazara was a first-pitch strike, on the outer half of the plate with some movement. If he hits that ball five feet shorter, we are talking about how well Gibson pitched, only giving up a run on six hits. The Gallo home run Friday night after getting ahead 0-2. One pitch each game basically cost the Twins two games.

43 Ks in 151 ABs, along with 20 walks. He's hitting .197 for Ft Myers, having struck out 22 out of 66 times. I'm thinking the big club could have used Garver and Vargas extra base hits more than Rochester yesterday.

Gibson pitched great. Polanco could have fielded that hit in the first inning, and the home run pitch was actually quite a good pitch. Then he settled down nicely, putting up three zeros. The lineup was the culprit. Putting that lineup...including Kepler and Rosario, against Hamels, was not great. Agree that Vargas and Mauer should have been in the lineup, and Buxton should have led off.

So you're saying there's a chance?

I'm going to just go ahead and mark a little W next to those games in my August Twins day planner.

Nice opener. "Ball Four" for Mauer is a little hurtful for a finishing move. How about Frozen Rope? Colón, Rudo Nickname: Big Sexy, Duh Nemesis: Clubhouse Buffet Finishing move: The Belly Jiggle What are the odds on Kyle Gibson adding a complete game to make it 3 of 4?

I think that would, in fact, be cool.

I'll have to check with NY for a ruling, but I think you are ok. By the way, speaking of NY...is it ok to wish for García to lose all of the games he pitches for the Yankees? (And for Gibson to win all of the games he pitches in his place?)

As of this morning, Saturday, August 5, the Twins are 52-55, in third place in their division, 7 games back of Cleveland, and tied for fourth behind the second Wild Card team (KC), 3.5 game back, and 4.5 games back behind the first Wild Card team (New York). Realistically, they are very unlikely to win the division, but they could certainly make a run at a Wild Card spot if they get hot. However, with a crowded field, it is also unlikely. I'd rather focus on a few things I'd like to see down the stretch, as these last two months could be important for next season. If they make a run at wild card, great, but most important is progressing on several fronts to set up a competitive team for next year. Here is my list: --See Byron Buxton's average climb to 240 as he continues to look more relaxed at the plate. I also want to see at least 3 triples from him before the end of the year. --Watch Mauer's average climb to 290 before the end of the season. He is striking out much less this year. He's put several years between his big concussion. I think he has at least one more 300 season in his bat, and I am hoping it is next year. I want him to be a veteran leader with a renaissance year on a playoff team next year. --Have Brian Dozier get on a homerun roll like the end of last year. Two home runs yesterday. If he can get to 30 before the end of the season, he could regain value as a potential trade candidate in his contract year. --Get good starts from Mejia and Gibson. I think both will play a role with the 2018 club. Right now Mejia looks more likely to be a main rotation arm, but Gibson has shown some signs of improvement in the last month. How he does in the last 10 starts is important. And can Mejia become more efficient? --Witness as few Colón starts as possible. Realistically I think he is in the rotation through the end of the year (to try to get his seven more wins), but come September, I'd like to see Gonsalves get a few starts. Romero as well, but I think he's on a pitch count, so that might not happen. --Bullpen tryouts. Let's see which of Hildenberger, Busenitz, Gee...and hopefully Curtiss and 1-2 others from the minors can pitch well down the stretch. --Win games. I will admit that the past few years, I have been fine with as many losses as possible down the stretch in order to get a higher draft pick. I was glad they did poorly at the end of last year so they could get the top draft pick. But this year, I want to see them playing their hearts out to win as many games as they can down the stretch. I want them to aim for finishing with at least 81 wins. 30-25 down the stretch would give them 82 wins. That would be a nice stepping stone towards next year. Now, if they finish above 500, that likely means Molitor stays. I'm torn on that. I personally think the Twins would be better served with a new manager. But I'm not going to root for the team to lose so that they can fire Molitor. (It's worth noting the Cubs were ruthless in firing Renteria when Maddon became available. If Falvey thinks the team would be better with a new manager, even if they finish above 500, I hope he is just as ruthless.) So, that's my list. What do others want to see for the last two months of the season?

Lot of good SP performances this month. That's nice to see. Hope they keep it up in August.

Is Mayday Malone available to close?

If they brought up Enns to close it could open up some good lines: The Enns Is Nigh That's the Enns of the Game

Phil Hughes?

No, I'd wait until after the season. In some ways, we should hope the Twins continue to fall off down the stretch, so that Falvey has the wherewithal to replace Molitor with a stronger manager. If they finish above 500, their hands may be tied in this regards. Molitor does seem to be learning a bit, but I think there are or could be much stronger choices for manager than Molitor. The timing could be great to bring someone in over the off-season, ready to take a young nucleus above 500 in 2018 and then be really competitive in 2019 and beyond.