gocgo

I've seen two things from Eddie this year that has led to more success at the plate. First, his eye at the plate is better which then forces the pitchers to throw him strikes and puts him in more favorable counts. Second, he isn't missing the pitches that he should hit and because of his better approach at the plate, he's getting better pitches to hit. It's sort of a snowball effect that starts with a better eye at the plate.

Let's panic...seems like the right thing to do. This is the toughest part of our schedule which gets much better after this road trip while Cleveland's schedule gets much tougher. The Dodgers are good. They rarely swing at borderline pitches outside of the zone. They are very good at getting into predictable counts and hitting their pitch. We can learn from this and get better.

Just out of curiosity, when is Joe Morgan going to make an appearance in the Joe M conversations? He could flap his left arm like a chicken wing and give advice on how to fly in a circle (kinda what happens to birds with one wing).

I'd like to see a road sweep of the Dodgers...of course then there would be accusations of Russian collusion and it would just get ugly. Hmmm...maybe a split would be better.

3:04pm: It is still possible that the Twins will acquire Garcia, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports that such a trade is “not probable.”

I think the money depends on the prospect from what I've heard...better prospect, less money or vice versa. Not sure they are coming to terms on that part so the Braves are applying some pressure by talking to other teams. Smart thing to do on their part.

Sounds like Braves are trying to pit teams against each other to maximize the return. I would hope the Twins stand pat and don't give up too much for Garcia. Walk away if we have to.

Actually, if we do acquire Garcia, that could work well for a double header tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary and I like today's Joe M. conversation. Montana working as a 911 operator for relaxation purposes was a nice touch. Buyers! I like it. I think that sends a message to most of the team that the F.O. has faith in them. I say most of the team because some pitcher is getting bumped from the squad. Any idea who?

Let's not discount the importance of getting playoff experience to a bunch of young guys. First round exit? Probably, but we are just young and dumb enough to ignore the experts and make some noise in the playoffs. Trade away Kintzler? He has proven to be reliable. Think of how frustrating it would be to have a talented group of young players and an unreliable closer. I see a lot of people down on Pressly. I get it...but I also remember a guy who was pretty solid last year. His velocity is still good and his breaking ball can be nasty when he throws it for strikes. This year, that has been an issue and guys are waiting on the fastball. Get his breaking ball consistently into the strike zone and he'll be solid again.

Well, here we are a half game out of first and a half game out of the wild card. Many of the pundits have said "Let's see where they are after facing the Astros, Yankees, and Dodgers in July. So far, so good. I'd love to stick it to the Tigers this weekend before the west coast road trip. IF we come out of July and we are within 3 games of the lead/wildcard, I like our chances. August schedule isn't bad including 8 vs the pale hose while Cleveland's schedule for August looks nasty with 13 of their games against Boston and NY.

Some things to think about: Lienenkugel Bach Summit Pale Ale Black H2O Oatmeal Stout Franks Amber Ale Dry Stout Add Shofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen since it is remarkably refreshing on a hot day.

The Truffle Shuffle...classic!

Baffles the struggling Yankees with slow, slower, slowest, and beyond slowest pitches and dominates with a cg shutout. 3 Yankees go to the DL after the game with strained obliques from swinging out of their socks at alluring meatballs only to find themselves way out in front. Meanwhile, Colon puts on a Bugs Bunny like performance by catching his own pitches and playing outfield.

I think we owe the remainder of the contract to Hughes. What I'm curious about is whether we insured it and what the terms of the policy were (e.g. right arm must fall off while executing a pitch).

Brings up an interesting question...would you rather have Nolasco or Gibson?

Details...details.

Zach Granite coming up, eh?

...and we'll see you tomorrow night!

Slam the door Kintzler!

Whoooooo! Speed kills.

Good to be on the other side of one of these. I figured we'd get to Gausman. Never tell me the odds!

Starting lineups - read 'em and weep. Baltimore RF Seth Smith (L) 3B Manny Machado ® 2BJ onathan Schoop ® CF Adam Jones ® DH Mark Trumbo ® 1B Trey Mancini ® LF Hyun Soo Kim (L) CC aleb Joseph ® SS Ruben Tejada ® SP - Kevin "Meatball" Gausman Minnesota 2B Brian Dozier ® DH Robbie Grossman (S) 3B Miguel Sano ® RF Max Kepler (L) 1B Kennys Vargas (S) LF Eddie Rosario (L) C Chris Gimenez ® SS Jorge Polanco (S) CF Byron Buxton ® SP - Felix "The Cat" Jorge

2017 is the year the Twins should be looking over a lot of guys, including the ones perceived as marginal prospects. AAA guys like Slegers, Hurlbut, Baxendale, Turley, Gee should get a look... and then in the field, I'd like to see Granite, Garver, Park, Palka, Vielma, etc. There is time to look over a lot of these guys. I'm sorry, but every time I read the name Hurlbut, I start snickering like Beavis. I just can't help myself.

Tonight is Fireworks Friday at Target Field! Fireworks may have originated in China, but they are as American as baseball, apple pie, hot dogs, and the right to blow one’s fingers to smithereens with fireworks…at least in South Dakota where I’m from. In case you’re wondering, it’s tough to type this with the two bandaged fingers that I have left (kidding). When I was a kid, I would use fireworks as a way to destroy old toys and blow up ant hills. I watched my neighbors grandkids having Roman candle fights on the 4th and I couldn’t help thinking of all of the stupid stuff I did with fireworks and that somehow, miraculously, I managed to survive with minimal damage and all my fingers and both eyes intact. Fireworks Friday got me wondering about fireworks, so I did a little digging on fireworks and here is what I found: - Thought to be invented by the Chinese 2,000 years ago, fireworks have been a tradition of America's Fourth of July celebrations since the country's inception, with the founding fathers themselves seeing fireworks fit to mark the birth of their nation. - In a July 3, 1776 letter to his wife, John Adams declared that the signing of the Declaration of Independence should be a "great anniversary Festival" and "solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more." Not exactly the romantic stuff that wives dream of reading in a letter from their husband, but times were different back then. - A year later, Congress itself ordained the tradition, enjoying, in Philadelphia, "a grand exhibition of fireworks, which began and concluded with thirteen rockets on the commons," according to the Evening Post. - Boston also saw a fireworks display in 1777. In the following years, the tradition spread through the Boston area to New York and other cities, with various papers reporting colorful displays lighting the sky at the time. - Early Fourth of July celebrations through the 1876 centennial saw the popularization of set pieces, enormous platforms to which fireworks were attached, creating images of flags, bells and other Independence Day iconography that have since lost favor. Cities sought to outdo each other with their displays, with New York becoming the leader of fireworks celebrations, having 15 different displays throughout the city. - Pyrotechnicians emerged as a profession in the early 1800s, as cities hired them to design and execute their exhibitions. This period also saw the rise of fireworks being sold to the public… …and that’s when things got crazy. - By 1783, Philadelphia merchants were selling fireworks to its citizens, including the very young, making the streets a dangerous place. Children would walk down the street in Philadelphia and would throw a lit firecracker on a table of fireworks a merchant was trying to sell…and you thought Philly was rough town now! - In 1867, the Washington Evening Star reported one firm had received orders of orders 2,000 boxes of fireworks, 84,000 torpedoes and 190,000 roman candles. Fires ravaged American cities and towns throughout the 19th century due to excessive fireworks use. - The pioneers also brought the practice out West, using dynamite instead of traditional fireworks to light up the sky. Dynamite! Yeah, that seems like a good idea. I’m guessing alcohol might have been involved. - The mayor of Colorado Springs issued a ban on dynamite use in city limits in 1901. In other cities, associations emerged to promote "safe and sane celebrations" – including sports, games (like baseball), contests and musical performances – to replace unorganized firework activity. - In 1909, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Cleveland were among the first cities to hold such "safe and sane celebrations." Notice that Philly didn’t make the list as they were still laughing at the fireworks merchants being blown into orbit. - Early attempts to regulate citizen fireworks focused more on the noise – celebrations would often start on July 3 and carry on for a day and a half – than the danger involved. It wasn't until the turn of the 20th century that momentum to crack down on street fireworks started to grow, with the American Medical Association beginning to track casualties in 1903. I suppose people dying might tend to temper a day and a half celebration. - Over the years, regulations have become more stringent in pyrotechnics and the selling of fireworks to the public, but fireworks are something that harken back to the Star Spangled Banner and what Francis Scott Key saw back in 1814 in Baltimore Harbor. "The rockets' red glare" may have referred to an American flag Key saw waving triumphantly during a battle in the War of 1812, but since then it has come synonymous to the explosions in the sky Americans see every Fourth of July and tonight at Target Field. - Our Minnesota Twins – here we sit in contention slightly past the midway point in the season. How did we get here? Two words – smoke and mirrors! I’m not sure because the stats show that our bullpen is bad in spite of having one of the better closers in the AL, our starting pitching is marginal at best, our pitching overall has one of the worst WHIP’s in the entire league, and our OPS is ranked 19th so it isn’t like we are winning slugfests. We do play in a weak division, so that helps. Chris Gimenez’ six appearances probably doesn’t help the pitching stats. Our defense has been stellar, so that is certainly a key. However, it’s tough to blame the pundits for predicting that the Twins will not make the playoffs and that the edge of the cliff will eventually come for this team. With all that said, I will haul out one of the great movie quotes from Star Wars – “Never tell me the odds”. Go Twins! Defy the odds! Starting lineups – TBD On the mound: Jorge (1-0) Gausman(5-7)