Minnesota Sports Forum

Another multi hit game for Buxton

I saw that Rogers is a leader in holds. How significant is that stat? He has been solid all year and it seems like he has gotten even better the last few weeks.

I know he doesn't have a contract for next year but what kind of offer makes sense for Kintzler? He is a big reason for his turnaround and while I get he may not be a closer or at least a top end guy maybe he is like Eddie G who just got it done. The Pen would likely be brutal without him. Again not untouchable but the return needs to be something worthwhile for sure.

It's fun to be playing meaningful games in July. I went to the 2-1 loss and watched last night's game on TV...both very enjoyable. The loss to the Angels was disappointing but also a classic game. Molitor is always going to be at a disadvantage against Scioscia, and that cost us the win. Well managed teams are prepared for double steals with a fast runner at third, and call a play to either fake the throw to second or have the SS cut off the throw for a play at the plate. It was clear the Twins had no play on, and as soon as Castro threw through to second, you knew the run would score. Still, a very good game.

Lots of good things happening. The bottom of the rotation is firming up, and Rosario and Buxton are both emerging from season long slumps. As Monster pointed out, Rogers has been a godsend as a setup guy. And Kintzler never looked better than last night...Smalley was wincing with every 95 MPH fast ball that exploded in on the hands.

So what moves can we expect? Escobar is really stinging the ball, and with Polanco looking lost at the plate, we may see Eduardo more frequently at SS. Will Granite come up? No room, so probably not until September. The move I expect to see and am most excited about though is Fernando Romero. He's bouncing up against an innings limit in AA, but I'm hearing some talk he may join the big club soon as a reliever. Just pitching an inning or two at a time makes more sense for a guy coming off of TJ. I think he will really help the BP.

Question for you guys, I had good long talk with one of my buddies that works for oriole's and he said that the orioles are serious about trading Machado at the deadline. Would you guys sell the farm to get Machado? He's got this year and a year of arbitration next year. I think Gordon, Granite, KIllirhoff and a pitcher would be enough to get it done.

jester1534 wrote:Question for you guys, I had good long talk with one of my buddies that works for oriole's and he said that the orioles are serious about trading Machado at the deadline. Would you guys sell the farm to get Machado? He's got this year and a year of arbitration next year. I think Gordon, Granite, KIllirhoff and a pitcher would be enough to get it done.

Isn't he a 3b? Does that mean Sano is at 1b? I'm curious to hear more of what you think I'm not a great MLB mind.

Another thought...It seems like if you are gonna sell the farm it needs to be for an ace starting pitcher.

monsterpile wrote:

jester1534 wrote:Question for you guys, I had good long talk with one of my buddies that works for oriole's and he said that the orioles are serious about trading Machado at the deadline. Would you guys sell the farm to get Machado? He's got this year and a year of arbitration next year. I think Gordon, Granite, KIllirhoff and a pitcher would be enough to get it done.

Isn't he a 3b? Does that mean Sano is at 1b? I'm curious to hear more of what you think I'm not a great MLB mind.

Another thought...It seems like if you are gonna sell the farm it needs to be for an ace starting pitcher.

He wants to play shortstop and he's already a gold glover at 3rd I'm sure he can play SS just fine.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/216460710/manny-machado-hopes-to-return-to-shortstop/

jester1534 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

jester1534 wrote:Question for you guys, I had good long talk with one of my buddies that works for oriole's and he said that the orioles are serious about trading Machado at the deadline. Would you guys sell the farm to get Machado? He's got this year and a year of arbitration next year. I think Gordon, Granite, KIllirhoff and a pitcher would be enough to get it done.

Isn't he a 3b? Does that mean Sano is at 1b? I'm curious to hear more of what you think I'm not a great MLB mind.

Another thought...It seems like if you are gonna sell the farm it needs to be for an ace starting pitcher.

He wants to play shortstop and he's already a gold glover at 3rd I'm sure he can play SS just fine.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/216460710/manny-machado-hopes-to-return-to-shortstop/

Ah ok that is pretty intruiging.

Whew...we can breathe a sigh of relief as the team gets on the plane to leave Houston...the Astros are truly a frightening team. Even better, who would have thought that the Twins would pick up a game on Cleveland as we played Houston and they played hapless Oakland...the 3-game sweep is a solid sign of how troubled that Cleveland team is. KC is playing better, but they have their issues also. With all the flaws this Twins team has, it's clear that they are also resilient and might hang in the race through the end of the season.

Pitching is always a concern and Berrios seems to have reverted back to last year's performance. But Santana and Gibson looked great against a great-hitting Astros team...the bottom of the rotation is no longer a giveaway game, and Rogers and Kintzler are turning into a very good 8th and 9th inning combo.

Polanco is really in a funk at the plate, but we have options in Escobar and Adrianza (both with OPSs that rival Mauer's) and we will see them more often if Jorge doesn't turn it around. Other than that, the lineup looks very solid.

It's a fun year to be a Twins fan...

longstrangetrip wrote:Whew...we can breathe a sigh of relief as the team gets on the plane to leave Houston...the Astros are truly a frightening team. Even better, who would have thought that the Twins would pick up a game on Cleveland as we played Houston and they played hapless Oakland...the 3-game sweep is a solid sign of how troubled that Cleveland team is. KC is playing better, but they have their issues also. With all the flaws this Twins team has, it's clear that they are also resilient and might hang in the race through the end of the season.

Pitching is always a concern and Berrios seems to have reverted back to last year's performance. But Santana and Gibson looked great against a great-hitting Astros team...the bottom of the rotation is no longer a giveaway game, and Rogers and Kintzler are turning into a very good 8th and 9th inning combo.

Polanco is really in a funk at the plate, but we have options in Escobar and Adrianza (both with OPSs that rival Mauer's) and we will see them more often if Jorge doesn't turn it around. Other than that, the lineup looks very solid.

It's a fun year to be a Twins fan...

This is a pretty good post on the team at this point. Gibson had a solid bounce back start last night and the team overall showed up in a game they lost. I wa spretty thrilled after watching the game this morning and saw Cleveland had been on a slide. It also feels like the bullpen while not great has some guys that are throwing a bit better. Duffy has struggled though.

Do you guys think the Indians might go down hill without there leader Francona? I know how respected Terry is around the baseball community it has to be tough on the psyche of that team. I'll be in attendance on Tuesday for the debut of the man the myth the legend Bartolo Colon. Also I been thinking if a Nick Gordon swap for Sonny Gray is a good idea. I go back and forth on Gordon, with us drafting Lewis and we have couple dudes in A ball right now that are just raking I think Gordon is pretty expendable.

Jester1534 wrote:Do you guys think the Indians might go down hill without there leader Francona? I know how respected Terry is around the baseball community it has to be tough on the psyche of that team. I'll be in attendance on Tuesday for the debut of the man the myth the legend Bartolo Colon. Also I been thinking if a Nick Gordon swap for Sonny Gray is a good idea. I go back and forth on Gordon, with us drafting Lewis and we have couple dudes in A ball right now that are just raking I think Gordon is pretty expendable.

I don't have a good sense of how good Gary is as a pitcher. Of course I don't really know what type fo prospect Gordon either. Here is another angle to that conversation. How concerned should we be about Polonco's bat?