J-Dog Dungan

2-run single for Plouffe, with him going to two on the throw, works just slightly less well than a three-run homer.

C'mon Plouffe, we need a 3-run HR now!

Seems like the current scouting report on Morneau is to give him nothing on the inside and everything on the outside.

That annoying 3B who is apparently extremely stuck up and is now trapped in AAA (aka the Twilight Zone) with Tsuyoshi Nishioka

The one thing that my dad has had less to complain about Mauer now that he is hitting better is that he is hitting into fewer double plays than he was in 2011 and most of April and May of this year.

While people may be comparing Plouffe to Valencia in production (just overall), I think Plouffe has 3B locked down for the foreseeable future if he can keep up this torrid pace of improvement. I mean, seriously, he has improved his BA something like .115 points since he has gone on this tear, going from something like .139 to .249 (including the groundout in his 1st AB tonight). Also, he has the second highest OPS to Josh Willingham, who is a much higher valued veteran than Plouffe.

It is hard to believe that Trever freaking Plouffe is outpacing monsters like Fielder and Pujols in HR production this year; KEEP IT UP PLOUFFIE! (Not that he just hit a home run, it is just me saying that he is truly raking recently)

This is a great article that clearly defines the three position players that Twins fans could see as being All-Star Worthy, except for the emergence recently of Scott Diamond (if he had done just slightly better).

With all these acrobatic catches today, it got me to thinking. Is there a chance that Revere wins a gold glove in RF with all of these great catches that he has been making?

Is it just me, or are the Brewers bunting a hell of a lot in this game/series?

Before Greinke joined the Brewers, it seemed like the Twins destroyed him every time they faced him, including that one game where they scored 19 runs. Now, they can't seem to do anything against him now that he is a Brewer.

According to the radio announcers for the Twins, Weeks does indeed do that to a lot of catchers, and sometimes goes in standing up and trying to take them out like that. Mauer was probably lucky he decided to slide.

I have been to PNC and when I first went to Target Field, it reminded me a lot of PNC.

I also think that with the increased production from the players they brought in this offseason that the Twins will be unlikely to trade guys like Doumit and Willingham. I say this because I agree with another writer on this site who said something to the effect of Doumit, Plouffe and Willingham aren't as psyched out about the spacious Target Field like Kubel, Cuddyer, and Young, because they haven't known anything else, and are continuing to destroy the ball in this park. Therefore, it is likely that the Twins will try and trade Liriano, as he seems like the one piece, if he stays consistent, the Twins will even want to trade. Span has a very team-friendly contract for the next several years, Gardy appears to really like the production of Willingham and Doumit as well as the veteran leadership of Jamey Carroll in the infield, and Valencia has done nothing this year to prove that he will be worth anything in a trade. Therefore, this appears to leave the tradeable assets for the Twins coming out of the bullpen or starting rotation. If the Twins wanted to give guys like Guerra and Slama a chance, they could trade Capps and another guy like Swarzak or Manship to make room for guys like Guerra and Slama. The Twins also, if Pavano can somehow get himself healthy and prove that he can still pitch in time, and Liriano stays consistent, they could also find themselves traded before the deadline, not that I know who the Twins would replace Liriano in the rotation with.

I am not sure what website it is, but it was giving the Twins a 0.0% chance of making the playoffs. Of course, with their recent resurgence, this number probably isn't right.

Do the Twins still have a 0.0% chance of making the playoffs?

Willingham and Plouffe continue to battle over who will lead the Twins in home runs this year. Recent advantage: Plouffe, but both of them have HR's tonight. They are also making Jim Thome look bad.

And Jim Thome bites us in the a$$ again; why does he keep doing that?

Too bad there is no like button on this site

He is here for a physical, so it is likely that we will hear something final about him by the end of the day, and certainly by the end of tomorrow.

Definately the walk-off homer v. Thorton.

While the All-Star Break is still about a month away, it is usually the best indicator of whether or not teams will be competing for a spot in the postseason and whether teams will be buyers or sellers at the deadline. The Twins, while having gotten out to another abysmal start due (this year, anyway) to horrendous starting pitching and the Twins' complete lack of any kind of hitting, with RISP or otherwise, are again using a weak schedule in the months of May, June, and hopefully July to give us hope that they will be contenders once again. And with the emergence of Scott Diamond as the staff ace and the Twins' newfound ability to score runs (They are ranked second to the White Sox in runs scored since May 16th, averaging 5.6 runs scored per game), we have a reason to be hopeful. But is there a reason to be hopeful? The Twins have a solid record of playing "Stomp the NL" in interleague play for a long time, and with the teams that they are playing, I don't see why that couldn't continue. After this stretch of games against NL teams, we then play 10 out of last 13 games before the All-Star Break against Central foes and then the last three against Texas. While the Rangers and White Sox, two of the AL teams we face before the All-Star Break, are contenders, I think the Twins have a serious chance to either gain or lose ground on the White Sox, and either one will decide the fate of certain Twins on the team. Fortunately for the Twins, they have Terry Ryan at the helm, and he will be much better at gauging whether or not the Twins will be contenders before the Trade deadline than Bill Smith was last year with that faux run over June and part of July. The Twins have several hot commodities on the trade market, as Span, Willingham, and Capps are all likely to draw serious consideration for trades near the deadline. Ryan's job will be to make sure that trades for these guys come when they are at their highest value (which should be close to the deadline when contending teams are looking for that "one last piece" to put themselves over the top.) While I would love for the Twins to be in a position to contend, it will help the team in the long run to trade at least Capps and Span, as they are the ones who have been given the most consideration to in trade talks and most likely to be in demand, although Willingham could bring a serious package of prospects if someone is desperate for his services at the deadline and willing to take on his salary, although he (Willingham) would be a great player to build the team in the interim of their return to a perennial contending team.

While the All-Star Break is still about a month away, it is usually the best indicator of whether or not teams will be competing for a spot in the postseason and whether teams will be buyers or sellers at the deadline. The Twins, while having gotten out to another abysmal start due (this year, anyway) to horrendous starting pitching and the Twins' complete lack of any kind of hitting, with RISP or otherwise, are again using a weak schedule in the months of May, June, and hopefully July to give us hope that they will be contenders once again. And with the emergence of Scott Diamond as the staff ace and the Twins' newfound ability to score runs (They are ranked second to the White Sox in runs scored since May 16th, averaging 5.6 runs scored per game), we have a reason to be hopeful. But is there a reason to be hopeful? The Twins have a solid record of playing "Stomp the NL" in interleague play for a long time, and with the teams that they are playing, I don't see why that couldn't continue. After this stretch of games against NL teams, we then play 10 out of last 13 games before the All-Star Break against Central foes and then the last three against Texas. While the Rangers and White Sox, two of the AL teams we face before the All-Star Break, are contenders, I think the Twins have a serious chance to either gain or lose ground on the White Sox, and either one will decide the fate of certain Twins on the team. Fortunately for the Twins, they have Terry Ryan at the helm, and he will be much better at gauging whether or not the Twins will be contenders before the Trade deadline than Bill Smith was last year with that faux run over June and part of July. The Twins have several hot commodities on the trade market, as Span, Willingham, and Capps are all likely to draw serious consideration for trades near the deadline. Ryan's job will be to make sure that trades for these guys come when they are at their highest value (which should be close to the deadline when contending teams are looking for that "one last piece" to put themselves over the top.) While I would love for the Twins to be in a position to contend, it will help the team in the long run to trade at least Capps and Span, as they are the ones who have been given the most consideration to in trade talks and most likely to be in demand, although Willingham could bring a serious package of prospects if someone is desperate for his services at the deadline and willing to take on his salary, although he (Willingham) would be a great player to build the team in the interim of their return to a perennial contending team.

Recently, the Twins have been showing more of the team that most people were expecting; a below-.500 team, but one that is still competitive and one that will win when they have good starting pitching. If the Twins had had better starting pitching at the beginning of the year, they probably would be a serious contender in this seriously weak AL Central (and technically, they are still in the race considering they are only 8.5 out with about half the season to go). Now, with the emergence of Scott Diamond and the number of good SP on the FA market this coming offseason, the Twins could have a solid contender next year, one that could go toe to toe with the Tigers.

2013 Roster (not in any particular order): Bullpen: Burton Perkins Duensing Swarzak Guerra Slama Burnett Starting Pitching: Scott Diamond Hendriks Blackburn P.J. Walters (?)/ FA Pitcher FA Pitcher Starting Lineup: Span Revere Mauer Morneau Willingham Doumit Plouffe Dozier Carroll Bench: Wilkin Ramirez Butera Mastroianni Parmelee Valencia could be in this lineup if he figures things out on offense and defense. I am assuming that the Twins trade Liriano and Pavano if they can get their trade values up enough. However, it is unlikely that the Twins will be able to get Pavano's value up enough to get anything for him when he returns from his injury, and they might just keep him through the season and then let him go. I am assuming that the Twins finally realize that they have gold in the minors in the form of Slama and Guerra, which means they could also trade a few relievers for a couple of prospects. The Twins could also give Carroll a permanent position if they trade Span, move Revere from RF to CF, put Plouffe in RF, and put Carroll in 3B.