Twodogs

well lets hope the twins start bringing some of those guys up to see if they can get the job done better than what is in that pen right now. hope they do it fast so they can see if they need to go and get someone or not. im all for bringing up someone if they can get people out in big situations.

a team like the phillies will often take whatever they can get for guys like paplebon, i mean what good is he to them at 29 wins on the season. especially as the deadline looms, guys like that will get moved; look what the twins got for liriano, no big giant named guys. the twins need a move for relief pitchers and they need to be active because it will kinda come down to who blinks. now on to position players such as ss and c's teams wont let good guys like that go without a fight, so i dont see any future catchers showing up any time soon; but i think they could get some good bull pen arms without getting rid of any tier 1 type prospects, but they will have to give a tier 2 or a couple of tier 3 type of guys. jmo

but when you put yourself in position to win a game you should have lost, and then blow it, that is kinda frustrating. especially when we pretty much all know that the team that pulls out those types of wins will be the ones playing in october. it seems like kc has been pulling out games they should have lost all over the place lately.

twins need to seriously go after bullpen help, now. someone who can dominate the 8th inning, like a paplebon or someone like that. then in a situation like today, that guy could have come in in the 10th instead of fien. oh well, we will see what they do from here.

yeah, i read what was happening, i just couldnt believe he wasnt hardly throwing any fastballs, im just used to seeing perk come in blow a few by people and then drop a slider or two, but according to the pitches it was slider, slider, slider, etc... thats all i was asking.

does perkins look ok? im not able to watch, so ive been following on cbs on my phone and according to the pitch recordings he was throwing all sliders it seemed??

I didn't see anyone mention Papelbon, he sure doesn't want to be in Philly any longer. I'd say he'd be a good add if the price was right?

All I was saying is that Meyer is really tall like Johnson, it might make it a little more difficult to gain control when they throw so hard that all.

Starters Hughes Gibson Milone Santana Pelfrey. I'd give him 1 or 2 more starts depending on how the first one goes. If it is lights out, I'd give him one more and it would need to be lights out again. If not then May would take his place Bullpen Perkins May/Pelfrey, the bullpen is really void of options. I think Pelf could strike people out if only for an inning. Fien Pressley once he is better Graham Duensing Meyer

Wasn't Randy Johnson a little bit older when he finally figured out his command issues?

Nice, example

I know I am in the minority here but I just don't get why everyone is Banging on Milone? I mean all he has ever done is win. In all or parts of 5 seasons he has never had a losing record. He is Lefthanded and has proven that he can win at this level. Sure he isn't sexy when he is out there winning but he is nonetheless winning. I challenge you guys to find any other starter in the Twins organization who has had 5 straight years of winning, I mean you guys can go down to the minors if you want to compare someone's AA wins with Milone's MLB wins I really don't care but that is what you will probably have to do to make your point. I understand that you don't want Milone on your fantasy squad but neither does anyone want Mark Buerle either. But Milone continues to win. Maybe I am wrong, and some of you will say that I am, but you know deep down and I'd bet dollars to donuts that if a guy like Jeff Samardizja had come up through the Twins organization most of you guys would have been making love to yourselves in front of the computer talking about his K ability, his size, etc... all of the other intangibles about what could make him a possible "Ace" candidate that the Twins sorely need. However, nevermind that the dude consistently loses, I mean I don't think he has ever had a winning season, but you know everyone would be much more excited about watching a guy like that go out and lose than they would to watch a guy like Milone go out and win. I just don't get it. I know, I know. You guys will run out some advanced metrics that tell everyone why Milone shouldn't be winning and that he must be just getting lucky for 5 straight years, but at this point I'd rather take a lucky guy who I know can win than some great statistical phenom who has proven that they cant win, or has proven to be unlucky, I mean guys like Matt Garza come to mind, great stuff, but he just never seems to put it together, maybe people don't like playing behind him or whatever is the reason, Garza has through out his career proven to have better stuff than Milone, So yeah, lets just get rid of the guys that win and bring on some unproven dudes that have great advanced stats. I get it, when you are not sure, you probably want the guy with better stats, but at some point results need to be a factor and to me Milone gets results, and when the rubber meets the road in any sport wins are all that matters. If you have great stats and you lose, who cares. So as long as Milone keeps winning I just dont get the hate for him.

Couple of things here. For the most part you and other people here are advocating May for the betterment of the Twins future, when in reality no matter what metrics we look at or even invent no one is going to be able to predict the Twins future ever. Now realizing that Buxton may get injured every year, May may blow out his elbow 3 times over the next 5 years and the Twins could go through a drought like they did in the early to late 90's and late 70's to mid 80's and no metric would have any control over any of those things. The point being is that the Twins need to win now, obviously with out trading away top farm talent because some will or may want to do that or they may think that I am willing to do that which I would be against. I am of the thinking that the Twins need to go all in with what they have however. My second thinking is that what gives the Twins the best chance for success in a situation like this?? Putting the Twins hopes for this year on a guy who will pitch once every 5 - 6 days in a starting rotation or putting our best arms, for now in the bull-pen which gets used every day for the most part?? I think the Twins need to put the guys into the bullpen who are going to make the bull pen stronger, because it wont matter who is starting every 5th day as if they pitch good they will 90 percent of the time go 6-7 innings is all and the bull pen will be relied upon every day. So what gives the Twins the best chance to win in the forseeable future, some pitcher who will go once every 5th day or someone who can help the bullpen go out there every day. What gives the Twins the best chance to succeed now?

My thoughts are that the Twins have a bunch of decent starting pitchers, there really isn't any Kershaws et al in the Twins rotation. So my thoughts are that any 5 pitchers the Twins go with will do decent for 5 - 7 innings per start. I mean we can talk about future and what not, but we live in the now. So since any 5 pitchers in the rotation will seen to do ok, even Nolasco was doing ok; maybe the Twins should make the moves based on what will make the "bullpen" stronger. When a team doesn't have superior or dominant starters the most important facet of the pitching staff becomes the bullpen. So will putting Milone,or Pelfrey, or May into the bullpen make the bullpen stronger?? Which ever one makes the bullpen stronger in the 6th or 7th inning is the one I'd go with. To me that is the bottom line. I mean the Twins used Johan Santana in the bullpen back when they had a bunch of decent starters going for them and then the next year Santana was put into the rotation. I really don't see a problem with putting any one of those guys in the pen, even Hughes, if it makes the team better. Because the bottom line is wins right now, next year is next year and any one of those guys can be put back in the rotation for next year. Remember a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, right now the Twins are in the hunt. The Twins could look like proverbial all-stars for the next 5 years and have injuries etc... all screw it up and then what. You pass up the chance to do well now for the possibility of doing well later?? When there are absolutely no guarantees about later? That doesn't make any sense. I say put the arms in the bullpen that makes the pen stronger. Then two facets of the Twins game gets better.

Well I never thought of Torii Hunter as a Hall of Famer, but one thing in his favor, (maybe), is the fact that he played a chunk of his career during the Steroid era. An era where guys like Roger Clemons, A-Rod, Barry Bonds, all guys that are Hall of Fame worthy but will not come close to sniffing enough votes for election due to the allegations of Steroids. So with that in mind, the player pool may be diluted enough for a guy like Hunter to make it. He played his career correctly, no allegations of Roids or crazy gambling addictions or any other crazy things. He could sneak in. Although sometimes I question whether all reporters really do like him, he is always available to the media and talks a lot to those guys but he has been critisized for some of his beliefs in the past. So those may haunt him a little but with all of those Steroid era guys basically out, he may have a shot??

If the Twins send Buxton back down, will they send Hunter down with him also so that he can keep mentoring him?? That's a tricky one, unless they are planning in bringing back Hunter for another season how will Buxton get all of that Hunter knowledge? Ha ha I speak in jest, in case a few of you take this seriously, which seems to be the case sometimes.

I havent seen David Arias since the Elijian fields

He hits in Boston.

Ho hum.

I mean I think its a better idea than throwing Milone or Pelfrey into the pen. At least with Hughes and Santana you'd have guys with real good strike out ability coming in?

I was just thinking, think like what the Royals had last year during the playoffs, once they got to about the 5th or 6th inning, the game was basically over. They would bring in one dominant reliever after another until the game was over. What if both Santana and Hughes went to the pen?? Those guys would light up the radar gun if they only have to get 3, 4 or 5 outs or so. I mean management would sit down with them and explain that this is temporary to get the Twins into the playoffs and hopefully the WS! Then next year those guys would be put back into the rotation when Pelfrey is gone and then there will be 6 or so guys again competing for 5 spots. I think it would be worth a try, at least until one of the current starters falls apart, but maybe these guys are just crafty enough to put together decent seasons, like Radke, Tapani, and guys like that were able to do. Hughes and Santana would blow people out of the water for an inning or so getting the Twins to Perkins. It might be worth a try, at least until one of those other guys proves they can't handle it?

The KC thing is BS. People used to bitch about the Yankees because they have the biggest fan base, but I don't remember this ever happening. I think they should get rid of the internet voting, go back to the old way, at least then the people who are actually buying tickets and sitting at the games are the ones actually voting.

Santana in the pen isn't the worst idea I have ever heard. I mean he could go down there until needed up in the rotation. He has the ability to miss bats, he could be overpowering in the pen, and then just tell him that he will be a starter again, it's just that we have this issue right now and he is the best option for the pen??

who has pitched the worst?

Seems like moving him further away from the plate would do the opposite of what they wanted?? If he was driving the pitch on the corner of the plate for doubles down the line, moving him away would move that corner pitch further towards the middle of the plate, wouldn't it? Then the ball that he should hit up the middle would also move further inside and the pitch that he should pull would end up somewhere out of the strikezone towards the inside of the plate. Seems like if he moved closer the the plate, that pitch on the outside corner would be the one he can hit around the middle of the field and he could start pulling pitches middle in. It just seems weird to me to move him away from the plate if you are trying to not hit the ball down the left field line?? Maybe I'm wrong.