ThaBamaHamma

I know it was probably time for Willingham to move on and make room for the younger guys, but here is a good article on the effect his leadership had on Dozier and Ploffe. Maybe Joe will step up and fill his leadership void now that he's gone. http://www.105theticket.com/common/page.php?pt=Willingham+Had+Lasting+Impact+on+Dozier+%26+Plouffe&id=6194&is_corp=0

With Sale pitching I put the over/under on Twins hits tonight while he's in at 4.5... which side you taking?

A pattern I've noticed this year is when players came up from Rochester or from somewhere else... they were initially on fire but after 5-10 games their bats cool off significantly. Started with Colabello out of spring training... then Willingham and Arcia after their rehab were tearing it up for several games then nearly nada. Kendrys was hot when he first joined up then quickly cooled off. Parm was hot then cold. Seems like there might have been another or two. Is this Bruno's effect? Coincidence? Or George Bush's fault?

With Correia on the mound tonight.. what will it take from the bats for a win? I'm thinking 8

Yeah.. I must have pizzed him off suggesting he try the 8 hole for a while. What ever it was, it sure was good to see. Now I need to suggest Burton, Nolasco, and Deduno spend a little time in Rochester and see if they will respond likewise

What a great all around game for the Twins today! This was the first Twins game I've got to see this year down in Alabama thanks to MLB TV and thoroughly enjoyed it (except for the Burton inning). 6 Twins with at least 2 hits.. big RBI days from Morales and Hammer, Joe finally breaking loose, and a masterpiece from Hughes for 7 innings. Hope Doz will be ok and back Friday after the day off.

I don't see why any pitcher who had a SO going into the 8th would ever take himself out... if he did, he needs to get a bottle of "ManUp" pills and take 2...

And as I hit "send" the first Blue Jay crosses the plate...

The way the pen has been pitching lately... do you really pull the ball out of Hughes hand the way he's performed today?

I went back and forth on Suzuki or Escobar for the 2 hole... I think he would do well too. You have a good point about how would Dozier handle the pressure of cleanup, but he sure is playing loose now. Would be interesting to see

With the pop he's shown this year do you think it would be a good move to have him batting in the 4 hole? Move Willingham up to 3rd with his 0.462 OBP and put Mauer down in the lineup until he starts hitting again. Lineup maybe like this... Santana (Don't mess with anything working this good) Suzuki (use him more while he's hot) Hammer (High OBP and pop) Dozier (Surprise HR leader) Morales (early, but making good contact) Arcia (keep him here for now) Plouffe (Keep thinking he's due to go on a tear) Joe (maybe he won't feel pressure hitting 8th and will be loose and get it back) Escobar (He could start a rally from the bottom of the lineup right now the way he's hitting) I know it's pretty absurd to have a $23M man to be hitting 8th, but it's pretty absurd to see his RSIP now too. Gardy... if you're stalking the forum... You're welcome

That was Sweeeeet! Waldo with a Bomb!

Thanks CTTF... the wife and I took in a Twins game in your Windy City around Labor Day a couple years ago. Wonder if you were there?

New to the forum and someone told me to post here and tell a bit about myself. Well... from my user name, I guess you can tell I'm a big fan of Willingham and have become a Twins fan over the last 3 years he's been here. I'm from his hometown and know him and his family pretty good and know that he really likes playing for the Twins and has a lot of optimism this year for the team's capability. I'm a former Yankees fan growing up with Mantle as my hero. (yeah.. I know, I'm old ). With the way Doz.. Pluff.. Waldo.. Esco.. and Hammer are swinging right now and if Santana can get hot again, we have the potential to put some runs on the board. Need one more solid pitcher and a decent CF and I may not see Josh back home in Alabama at the end of Sept. That would be great! Go Twins!

Good question... Come AS break if Ham still has some pop.. maybe .250/.375/.475/.850 or better, I think some teams might be interested in buying down the stretch. But if Twins are still showing life.. within 8 games or so of first, I think they will keep him to see if he can help make the playoffs. What you think?