Any optimism for the Twins?

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Those of us who are Timberwolves and Twins fans are adept at finding things to be encouraged about in the midst of another lost season. Here are a couple things I'm happy about now:

Dozier: I have been hard on him, and many of you have continued to support him...it looks like I was wrong. He is on a tear, and has set an all-time Twins record by having an extra-base hit in consecutive games...truly an amazing stat. I haven't seen many games recently, but my son assures me that his hot streak isn't just about pitchers making mistakes and giving him inside fastballs...apparently he's having some success going the other way too. I hope he keeps it up.

Pitching: Ok, it's tough to get excited about a team whose best starting ERA is Santana at 4.64, but the last three starts by Santana, Duffey and Gibson have all looked good. And Berrios pitched a dandy 1-hitter last night. While I feel bad for Hughes, it's kind of a relief to have him out for the season.

I guess that's about it. I like Kepler, but he's not exactly burning it up. And I'm pissed that Chih Wei Hu who we traded for the horrible Kevin Jepson may be starting the futures game...what a disaster.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

I've got some
1. They are 15-21 since Grossman joined the team and 13-17 since Neil Allen left the team. Not championship caliber, but not embarrassing either.
2. Santana and Nolasco are putting some good starts together, making it easier to trade them.
3. The Giants are interested in Jepsen/Abad. I can see The Giants easily parting with Miguel Olivo (not exactly Johnny Bench, but better than Murphy or Centeno), Vin Mazzaro, and a prospect, and maybe a really good prospect if the Twins take on a (non-Angel-Pagan) salary.
4. With the exception of Rosario still swinging at everything, everybody they have sent to Rochester has played better and gained confidence.
5. Max Kepler has done well for a 23 y/o with not much AAA time.
6. John Hicks is raking at Rochester
7. Baxendale and Wheeler have come from (relative) nowhere and should be ready for next year(?).

And some that I don't like
1. Park has regressed and Plouffe still can't get it together.
2. I would like to see Polonco get Escobar's playing time.
3. I was hoping Perkins/Hughes would get healthy and play well enough to get themselves traded.

[Monster]

I was seeing a bunch of articles saying Ervin Santana was going to be a big trade target. Yay. Not sure what you get for him but despite the problem the Twins have had adding pitching might as well move him. Like I told my brother the other day when we were texting on the subject...who knows next year thebTwins could sport and all deal grown rotation and win 95 games. Starting pitching can be such a crapshoot. That's why rhenium that are seeming fairly sure things get a ton of money and the guys that you hope are close or what not get a ton too. The Twins know al to well how poorly that can work out.

[Jester1534]

And some that I don't like
1. Park has regressed and Plouffe still can't get it together.

I wouldn't say Plouffe isn't together right now in his last 10 games he's batting .333 with OBP around .390

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

And some that I don't like
1. Park has regressed and Plouffe still can't get it together.

I wouldn't say Plouffe isn't together right now in his last 10 games he's batting .333 with OBP around .390

Maybe Trevor is getting hot at exactly the right time with the Twins seeming to want to run with Sano at third (great play by Miggy on a swinging bunt last night, BTW). A contender might give us a prospect or two for him.

Park has been a big disappointment. I was predicting .230 with 35 HRs, and for the first couple months my prediction looked pretty good. But he was in a ridiculous slump the past month, and the Twins had no choice but to send him down. I'm not giving up on him though...not many guys with that kind of power.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

And some that I don't like
1. Park has regressed and Plouffe still can't get it together.

I wouldn't say Plouffe isn't together right now in his last 10 games he's batting .333 with OBP around .390

My mistake, but in my defense, I did type that 3 days ago.

And good news....if the Twins can work out a trade with the Giants, and want a reliever prospect, how about....Rogers Twin Brother!!!!!! Abad/Jepson/Escobar for Olivo/Mazzaro/TylerRogers. Twins. Playing. For. The. Twins. As Mastercard would say, "Priceless".

[Squishypoo [enjin:6648839]]

One more year closer to saying bye to Joe Joe<<<< Now thats a win for the twins!!

[Jester1534]

And some that I don't like
1. Park has regressed and Plouffe still can't get it together.

I wouldn't say Plouffe isn't together right now in his last 10 games he's batting .333 with OBP around .390

My mistake, but in my defense, I did type that 3 days ago.

And good news....if the Twins can work out a trade with the Giants, and want a reliever prospect, how about....Rogers Twin Brother!!!!!! Abad/Jepson/Escobar for Olivo/Mazzaro/TylerRogers. Twins. Playing. For. The. Twins. As Mastercard would say, "Priceless".

Took me 3 days to read it lol, Escobar just pulled his hamstring in the 1st inning. Looks like your gonna get your Polanco call up.

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

And some that I don't like
1. Park has regressed and Plouffe still can't get it together.

I wouldn't say Plouffe isn't together right now in his last 10 games he's batting .333 with OBP around .390

My mistake, but in my defense, I did type that 3 days ago.

And good news....if the Twins can work out a trade with the Giants, and want a reliever prospect, how about....Rogers Twin Brother!!!!!! Abad/Jepson/Escobar for Olivo/Mazzaro/TylerRogers. Twins. Playing. For. The. Twins. As Mastercard would say, "Priceless".

Took me 3 days to read it lol, Escobar just pulled his hamstring in the 1st inning. Looks like your gonna get your Polanco call up.

I saw that. Not the way I wanted it to happen. I was hoping they could trade Escobar.

[Monster]

And some that I don't like
1. Park has regressed and Plouffe still can't get it together.

I wouldn't say Plouffe isn't together right now in his last 10 games he's batting .333 with OBP around .390

My mistake, but in my defense, I did type that 3 days ago.

And good news....if the Twins can work out a trade with the Giants, and want a reliever prospect, how about....Rogers Twin Brother!!!!!! Abad/Jepson/Escobar for Olivo/Mazzaro/TylerRogers. Twins. Playing. For. The. Twins. As Mastercard would say, "Priceless".

Took me 3 days to read it lol, Escobar just pulled his hamstring in the 1st inning. Looks like your gonna get your Polanco call up.

I saw that. Not the way I wanted it to happen. I was hoping they could trade Escobar.

I think trading Escobar would be a mistake. They finally found a solid SS they need to hold onto him until they have a guy that actually seems worthy. It sounds to me like Polonco isn't really a SS but he should absolutely be up getting playing time and yeah maybe even at that spot to see what we have in him.