Western SD Fan

Back to the game....Gomez walking someone doesn't help the cause.

As an out-of-MN resident, I do not have to watch MN political ads thankfully. There were some Colorado political ads when the Twins played the Rockies surprisingly. Like most politicians in general, rules for thee and not for me.

Who is that man of mystery out in CF? And why did we have Kreidler out there instead of him so Kreidler could play his natural position of SS?

The one pitch hold. We can all breathe a sigh of relief in Mudville, or Minnesota, whichever comes first.

And Nance tried to throw that one back to Toronto

That's where that terrible Roden challenge hurts us. Jeffers may challenge that if he knew he had both of them.

But squeaked it out so he's not Rhea Perlman.

I don't remember which team it was, but they had a pool between all of the hitters on the bad ABS challenges. The Twins desperately need that pool for the 2nd half.

More spookiness than a Mystery Machine can handle. That ball should have been cut off. No chance at throwing out PCA at the plate. Keep the runner off of third.

I'm not surprised that Ryan isn't set for this series. Although his name isn't penciled in yet, I would expect him to pitch Monday night in Cleveland. If that is the case, he would be scheduled for game two against the A's and game 1 in Seattle right before the trade deadline. Three good starts against good teams to give you the best chance to buy a little at the deadline.

It has been a great first half compared to what I had expected before the season started. I had thought that the high end of this team was about .500. Now I think we can be better with some minimal improvements, specifically the bullpen or a starting pitcher. Here are some of the moves I would be anticipating over the next few weeks: When Buxton comes off the IL, I would expect Buxton to return to CF and a platoon of Roden, Keaschall, Martin, and Larnach. Larnach may end up being traded, which would help alleviate the platoon. I would expect Jeffers to be traded at some point. A lot of the chatter I am reading is suggesting that, since there will be so few sellers, it may come down to competitors trading with each other. Trading pieces of strength for pieces of weakness. This is where I expect Jeffers to fall, being traded as a position of strength to another team willing to trade for players we need, not necessarily prospects. More bullpen help could be on the way. The Red Sox just DFA'd our old friend Danny Coulombe. Like Nance or Go, he wouldn't be the splashiest of pickups. He could be better than Funderburk or Rojas at this moment in time and provide adequate relief. The hope would be that he can maintain his defense and occasional production long enough for them to promote Culpepper when he is healthy and built back up again. where we will need Rojas (bullpen or starting). Cole Sands is coming back and that should spell the end for Travis Adams on the ML club for now. Acton is expected to come back near the end of the month, but I would expect him to be sent to St. Paul or DFA'd when he comes off the IL since he is on the 60-man IL and would require a 40-man spot. I can see Caratini getting some games in at 1B again going forward. This gives an opportunity for Caratini to get playing time and play the platoon game with Lewis. This has nothing to do with Lewis's production or play in the field. Just making sure that everyone gets some playing time. I hope Buxton's return means the end of Gray on the roster. Kreidler would be the prominent SS and, I expect similar to Gray, that with more playing time his numbers will revert closer to his career. Lee could play SS in a pinch, if needed. Gray or Arcia would still be in St Paul in case Kreidler gets hurt. Think of Kreidler as a Temu Andrelton Simmons. He's there to play lockdown SS and any production is a bonus. The hope would be that he can maintain his defense and production long enough for Culpepper to return from the IL and build himself backup before being promoted.

Martin is doing his best Willi Castro impression. Sure handed but always looks lost out there.

Happy retirement from Target Field, Laz Diaz. Get hit in the groin.

Paredes warming up in the bullpen. I'm not so sure about this going from a starter to the closer.

You take that slander back! We are not the worst in MLB. We have upgraded to 'one' of the worst.

If you just listened to the conversation that was had on the air, I am more convinced that Rocco was a FO man that just happened to be hired as a manager. Shelton is more of a manager. He can still be a player's manager, but a manager, nonetheless. Shelton and his staff could see that the defense was not good as far back as spring training but allowed it to go forward this season to see if any adjustments were made before making changes. I believe Rocco would have hung onto the opening day setup forever and would have never seen Lewis or Wallner sent down. We would have never seen Kreidler. We likely wouldn't have picked up Gomez. I think Rocco expected the players to figure it out. Shelton is involved in the continual player's development. That has been one of the largest positives of the season. We basically have the same record as last year with a weaker team. That says something about Shelton and getting the players to respond.

Kreidler even has a productive out. Everything going well today for him.

I'm just glad he had his pep talk with Kreidler like he claimed he was going to do. It must have worked for today!

Jeffers channeled his Vladdy Guerrero and went down with his pitching wedge for that ball.

Nice take for the walk Lewis. He must have taken the advice that Morneau said on the air. The first two strikes are yours, the last one is for the team. He wanted to make something happen early in the count. Then decided he needed to get on base. At least he ran the pitch count up and still drew the walk. EDIT: And then create a blunder and fall asleep at first to get picked off. Can't just ever leave a compliment alone.

ok Taj. Steady the ship. It's just a solo shot. No need to lose control.

I'm hoping as Lewis gets more comfortable with playing 1B that he can spend more time on his batting and tighten up his swing again. It was pretty good when he came back up from St Paul, but as you have pointed out, it is starting to get a bit long and chasing that low and away pitch again. I know it's frustrating to watch at times. If he can't reach the pitch, just let it go and make the pitcher throw a pitch on the black to strike you out. It's been important that the Twins are leading or have won season series over many of the teams that surround them in the playoff race. Leading the series against the Cleveland and Detroit. Won the series against Houston and Toronto. I'm not sure the Tigers are selling as they have been on fire lately.

Hunt the good! We are currently tied for the last for the last wild card spot!

He can work on his new nickname with the Twins: "The Vulture"

I'm convinced the Twins have adopted the philosophy of "It ain't easy being sleazy"