jimbo92107

A big old yuppers for John and Seth. The only saving grace for this hot mess in the pen is that things should get a lot better over the next couple years. A baseball team is a synergy of many pieces working together. Failure of one part can bring down the whole thing, but sometimes another part can compensate. The Twins had a good thing going in last night's game until they depended on two unreliable pieces, O'Rourke and Graham, who quickly pitched a 4-1 lead into a 4-5 deficit. The rest of the story was even more unreliable pitching. As the Twins have done for several years now, they depended too heavily on older players to continue producing at peak levels, until those players got tired or injured. Perkins and Torii Hunter are good examples of riding a good old horse until it breaks down. Then they found themselves depending on untested, unreliable players like Graham and O'Rourke, who as expected, found a way to fail. The Yankees still have a better hitting lineup than the Twins, which didn't help. They still have A-Roid, which was a killer. I'll continue to argue that intentionally walking A-Roid with the bases loaded was the logical move for Graham. Maybe even plant one in his ear. Bastard's been leaning in his whole career. Anyway, there is no clear way forward from this, other than increased player development. It's too late and too expensive to trade for half a relief staff, so the Twins have cornered themselves into calling up Berrios, Tonkin, maybe Taylor Rogers and Logan Darnell, just to get some fresher arms in there, despite their youth and inexperience. These guys will take their lumps just like Graham and O'Rourke have been, but at least some of them have a future with the club. With the starting rotation and the bullpen degenerating into a shambles, it's time to start cutting and pasting together a staff for next year. Guys like Milone and Pelfrey may have some modest trade value, while a guy like Duensing is sputtering near the end of his career. Graham needs work in AAA; Twins should either make a trade deal for him or hand him back to the Braves. Either way, he's out of the pen. If I were Terry Ryan (perish the thought) I would pull some moves that would reshape the team quickly. I'd DFA Duensing, trade Milone and Pelfrey for whatever, then bring up Berrios, Tonkin, and Jason Wheeler, the big lefty in AA. All are currently on the 40-man roster. Sink or swim boys, take yer lumps and learn. Sadly, I'd leave May in the pen as the traditional one guy the Twins burn up. Jepsen becomes the closer. Perkins goes on the DL for the rest of the season. Rest, rehab, see ya next year, Perk. Let's see, what else is on the shopping list...buy lighter fluid for the townspeople's torches... Call up Max Kepler and bat him third, in front of Sano. Call up Vargas as DH/1B, bat him behind Sano. Call up Buxton, bat him first. Trade or DFA Robinson. Bench Hunter, platoon Mauer with Vargas, rotate Kepler with Hicks and Rosario in the corners. DFA Nunez, call up Polanco to SS. This at least keeps things interesting, in the sense of the Chinese curse.

It's the one time a pitcher would be better off intentionally walking in a run. Sad, but true. You walk A-Rod, at least the next guy's not A-Rod.

One screaming line drive after another. Is there a more eloquent way to say, "He's got nuthin'?"

Jeeze, I've just been trying to get the game feed back, and the instant I do, Duensing just gave up a two run homer. Seriously, one second after I get the game feed back. Boom. Get Duensing out of there!!

Now that is some seriously trivial knowledge. I salute you!

Plastic bags be the problem, matey! Rip-stop nylon shopping bags are the solution. Light, super-strong, and they'll last a few years. Much like aluminum, rip-stop nylon has a very good strength to weigh ratio, making it good for Festivus, and for shopping!

Just bought a shopping bag made of rip-stop nylon. Problem solved! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GGXZVOU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 Baggin' it now, baby!

Rosie can hit this guy...I bet. Whoops, lost that bet.

The Nibbler... a super villain that didn't quite make it on Batman.

Hicks does seem to be developing better power from the left side. Still not as much as he could... Hey, I thought the whole idea of Hicks batting first was to have someone on base when Dozier came up.

This has already been a very successful season. Aside from competing realistically for the first half... We found out that - Brian Dozier's monster 2014 was no statistical fluke. - Aaron Hicks indeed could fix his power problems at the plate, and even his weaker lefty swing is looking much better. - Eddie Rosario is a keeper, just as Molitor thought. - Paul Molitor is a pretty good manager, and Tom Brunanski is a pretty good hitting coach. - Trevor Plouffe keeps getting better at 3rd base. - Torii Hunter is indeed a great mentor, helping all the young outfielders, building team morale, instilling professionalism, and providing some great play himself. - Trevor May is a very versatile, very talented young pitcher that gets better in every role. - Kyle Gibson is rounding into a solid mid-rotation starter. - Tyler Duffey's last name has an Extra E, just like an advertisement for urine fetish sex in New York. "The extra E is for extra pee!" - Tommy Milone on a good day can shut down anybody; on a bad day, not so much. - Bert Blyleven, master of the curve ball, has no better idea of the difference between a curve and a slider than any of us hackers. Vertical break?? Then I guess Randy Johnson never threw a curve ball! Come on Bert, only a few guys actually get the ball to break 12 to 6! - Tyler Duffey likes pitching to the Indians more than the Blue Jays. So far. - Molitor likes shifts, bunts, and shifts. Did I mention shifts? - Neil Allen is a pretty good pitching coach, but he still hasn't gotten anybody to throw nothing but change-ups for a whole inning. Somebody's got to do it. History beckons. Double. Dog. Dare. - Byron Buxton needs protective gloves when he runs the bases, and a crash helmet in the field. - Miguel Sano has a really good arm at 3rd. Not much else to say....a nice smile, too. - Kurt Suzuki is a very positive, friendly, upbeat, hard-working catcher. Unfortunately, he's no Pudge Rodriguez. - Joe Mauer...sigh. There's a few other things, but I'm tired now. Twins should call up Stewart Turner for defense, then work with him on his Cuban Kick and Dominican Bat Wave. Then move Mitch Garver to AA. Why are so many American players so stiff at the plate? Loosen up, Gringos; listen to some salsa! Call up Buxton, Vargas, Berrios and Kepler in September. That pretty much completes the band, except for drummer. Who can play drums?

Even the relatively modest move of giving up Chih-Wei Hu for Kevin Jepsen could come back to haunt the Twins. Hu looked like a very good developing pitcher with a neat assortment of pitches and excellent control. Not to mention all the lost Dr. Who/Hu jokes and references to Hu's on First... Damn!

When September rolls around I'm hoping to see one more guy join the Three Musketeers, to form The Fantastic Four Outfielders. Talkin' Der Kid, the Keplermeister. Maximus Ohreallyus Keplermundo. Four men, accidentally exposed to cosmic rays, and now exhibiting strange baseball super powers. Watch as these young heroes defend the honor of the Northland... Ford dealerships, in their quest for the legendary, um, cup or something. He shoots he scores!

I'm dealing with severe shoulder impingement in my right arm these days, so I know that joint injuries can linger a long time. Hopefully Arcia has had access to professional rehab that is much better than I've been getting from the VA. Even so, it could take a while.

Is there a better name in the Twins minor league system than Kerby Camacho?

I'm pretty confident in what I saw of Tyler Duffey against the Blue Jays. His stuff is very good, although his command was destroyed by the pressure of his first start and facing a killer first six for the Jays. Otherwise, Duffey is a big, strong guy built a lot like Trevor May. Good tilt on his breaking stuff, downward plane on his fastball, mostly keeps the ball low in the zone. All good signs. I expect him to be what he was in the minors, a horse.

A lot of Arcia's power came from his strong hip turn, so a lingering hip injury would explain Oswaldo Arcia's predicament pretty well. Even if it's "healed up," he could be swinging the bat with a less vigorous hip turn for fear of re-injuring it, which would change his swing, killing his batting average and power. Dang, what a lousy way to spend this transition year, stuck in AAA nursing a bad hip. Arcia could wind up going to some other team, then become Nick Swisher 2.0.

I don't think BABIP takes into account the velocity of the ball off the bat. Sano hits the ball so hard, it reduces the time for fielders to get their glove on the ball. The same thing is now starting to happen for Aaron Hicks since he developed his new kick and bat wave. The ball is coming off his bat harder, too. But not as hard as off Sano's bat... ;-)

The difference between an art and a science is measurements, but the ability to quantify something as complex and subtle as "pitch framing" doesn't sound like it has crossed the line into science. For one thing, we're talking about the perceptions of umpires regarding the behavior of catchers, a combination whose variables themselves vary from one instance to another. Even so, clearly there is something going on. If a catcher stabs his glove away from the strike zone to catch every pitch, his "pitch framing" will probably be awful no matter the umpire. A slightly better technique is to position the glove outside the zone and move it inwards. Then there's the trick of freezing the glove after the catch, having moved it slightly in towards the zone. Then there are other, more subtle tricks, like positioning your body a certain way, knowing the ump looks a certain way over your shoulder, to make certain pitches seem more centered in the zone. Or really obvious tricks like saying, "Wow, that was a great pitch," after a close one. You can seen catchers lobbying in this way, sometimes pointing a finger at the pitcher to say "great pitch," sometimes freezing the glove, etc. Maybe what the Twins need is a catcher that's also a used car salesman. You want a polite, chatty, optimistic, enthusiastic guy that's certain his pitcher has great stuff today, and by the way ump, you're looking particularly good, too!

Agreed, but like others I'm a little leery of his innings. TR said he doesn't have Jose Barrios on a specific innings count, but I'm sure they'll be keeping a close eye on him. I like that Berrios already has the makings of a complete pitcher. His delivery is deceptive, he varies speeds on his pitches, and he's even good at picking off runners. Question: Did the Twins really "develop" this kid, or were they just really perceptive/lucky to find him? It sounds like Berrios had the fiery ambition right from the start. Maybe that's a factor the scouts should be looking for.

Naw, I'm just reflecting the trendy pessimism of about half the guys here. As soon as some "broken" player leaves the Twins, he has a career year. Should have used the /snark tag... ;-)

I can't wait to see Berrios. The kid sounds like a real competitor with great stuff.

You guys do realize that Nolasco will have a fantastic comeback season next year, right? Twins give up on an injured pitcher, he goes anywhere else, he shines. Same thing could happen to Arcia. Send him to Boston, watch him become another home run hitter of historic dimensions, tho Boston would much rather have Vargas.

One encouraging thing is the rise of Bryce Harper. In his first year, some were wondering if Harper could avoid nagging little injuries, much like Buxton. I derive some hope from Harper's progress in that area. Buxton is a smart guy. I'm sure he's aware that if he keeps breaking fingers and whacking heads with teammates, he's not going to do the Twins much good.

Two things: First, we have little reason to think JO Berrios would have done much better than Tyler Duffey did against the raging bats of Toronto. Which of those two would you rather have traumatized by that experienced, Duffey or Berrios? Second, Duffey clearly was about as nervous and adrenalized as a young guy could get without having a heart attack. His disastrous debut revealed almost nothing about his future career. Despite this one instance, Duffey is not known for hurling a heaping helping of homers.