A well-balanced and thoughtful article, Nick. To remain so interested in this team at this point is a reflection of your dedication to the Twins and this website. I can hardly stand it, myself.
Slander is a heavy word. I'd edit that out if I were you. Simply criticizing a player is not slanderous. Definition of slander: "the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation."
I have to agree. Though it was frustrating to see him drop the ball after a great catch, I don't think he could have thrown the runner out at first. He was virtually sitting down as I recall.
Simmons is a trade piece you overlooked. He's here on a one-year deal, and if the Twins continue to fizzle contending teams will like to add his defensive wizardry. Not much return, but something, and a line to cross later in the summer.
Hindsight and all that, but Rocco sucks. Pineda threw 87 pitches, why couldn't he have pitched the 7th? Pitch count be damned, we need to win this game.