Dan Engebretson

Twins are 26/30 with 0.197. Giants are the bottom at 0.170.

Who was taken off the 40-man when Perkins was removed from the 60-day DL?

I'm confused by this. How have the twins only had 320 lead-off plate appearances since the beginning of last season? There's been about 190 games since the beginning of last season. If you're only counting the lead-off of the game then there would be 190-ish plate appearances. If you're counting the lead-off for each inning then you're pushing 2000 plate appearances (190 games x 9 innings per game). I cannot figure out the 320.

Cal Ripken weighed 220 pounds when most other SS weighed 175 soaking wet (I think Ozzie Guillen was listed at 150!). Ripken ushered in a new era of large shortstops (A-Rod, Jeter, etc.) that could play their positions very well in spite of their large size and did not seem overly prone to injury because of their size (particularly true in Ripken's case). Mike Trout (235 pounds) and Jason Heyward (245 pounds) are both exemplars of modern-day large outfielders that play their positions very well and don't have reputations as being injury prone. Based on these and other examples I don't believe that simply due to his size that Sano cannot become an absolutely adequate defensive outfielder. In terms of experience, we don't have to look past Danny Santana in 2014. Prior to 2014 he had only played a handful of minor league games in the outfield, but when given the opportunity to play CF he was not an embarrassment in the field and his fWAR was 3+ (largely because of his offensive success that year). While Sano certainly doesn't have Santana's range, he does have a strong, accurate arm that should dissuade baserunners from taking extra bases and if he works hard with the coaching staff he should be able to develop enough outfield skills to at least make the routine plays and keep the balls in front of him. If he does not work hard (and I have no reason to believe he won't) he will not be very good; but, this is true even if he plays 3B or DH -- if he isn't willing to work hard, keep his weight in check so his athleticism can shine though, and refine his skills, he will quickly become an overweight has-been that wasted an opportunity to be a once-in-a-lifetime type player.

The Schafer for Nunez pinch hit was another that confused me. Based on each player's history, Nunez has the superior bat while Schafer is the superior outfielder. It seems the better decision would have been for Nunez to hit and Schafer replace him in the field in the next half-inning. I understand that there will be growing pains, but he seems to be missing some pretty obvious opportunities to improve the Twins' chances at winning games.

All, I usually stick to the front page and this is my first foray into the Forums section; perhaps this has been discussed. I find myself wondering about some of Molitor's decisions (or lack of decisions). A case in point is this past Saturday's game against the White Sox. It is the top of the ninth, Twins are down by one (4-5 game) and need to score at least one run for the game to continue. The scheduled batters are Herrmann, Robinson, and Schafer with Suzuki and Nunez on the bench and available to pinch-hit (I believe Escobar was out with new baby). Neither Suzuki nor Nunez should be considered offensive juggernauts, but in my opinion both offer more offensive potential than any of the three scheduled batters and can replace them in the field if the Twins score and the game continues. To me this seemed like a ready-made pinch-hit scenario, yet Molitor went with Herrmann, Robinson, and Schafer; all of whom struck out (Hermann swinging and Robinson and Schafer looking). Did I miss something or was this a really-bad decision by Molitor? Dan