Twins 2011

[HornedMessiah]

I'm sure this has been brought up before...but I find it funny that when the team is playing poorly the manager gets most of the blame, but when the team plays well the manager gets little credit.

I'm happy they won the series against the Dodgers after that 15-0 embarrassment in the first game, but more rough times are ahead I fear. Another series against the Brewers this weekend, and I think we have to face their three best starters (Gallardo, Markum, and Greinke?) One bright spot though is that we have them at home, and the Brewers are a pretty crappy road team (we have a slightly better road record than them).

We really need some bats to start heating up. Starting pitchers have obviously cooled off, and Cuddy has been really good for all of June but you know it won't last. We need someone else to step up now, but our options are really limited. It's gotta be either Mauer or Thome.

[purple guy]

I'm sure this has been brought up before...but I find it funny that when the team is playing poorly the manager gets most of the blame, but when the team plays well the manager gets little credit.

I'm happy they won the series against the Dodgers after that 15-0 embarrassment in the first game, but more rough times are ahead I fear. Another series against the Brewers this weekend, and I think we have to face their three best starters (Gallardo, Markum, and Greinke?) One bright spot though is that we have them at home, and the Brewers are a pretty crappy road team (we have a slightly better road record than them).

We really need some bats to start heating up. Starting pitchers have obviously cooled off, and Cuddy has been really good for all of June but you know it won't last. We need someone else to step up now, but our options are really limited. It's gotta be either Mauer or Thome.

I cant speak for everyone, but the last mini winning streak the Twins had, there were a few of us who gave Guardy some credit, especially as far as the way he handled the starting pitching, which he usually SUCKS at. Anyways, over all this season, the Twins suck. Guardy has had a few good moments, but over all, IMO, he gets far too many "passes", gets undo credit for "doing more with less", and has never been worth a crap in the post season. Ill give him credit, when credit is due, but, IMO, he is as bad as Childress, but for some reason baseball fans accept mediocraty season after season, after season.

[HornedMessiah]

I cant speak for everyone, but the last mini winning streak the Twins had, there were a few of us who gave Guardy some credit, especially as far as the way he handled the starting pitching, which he usually SUCKS a

Ya what I said wasn't directed at you or anyone in particular here, just an observation of the general opinion on the win streak we had and role of managers. Pretty much everyone now realizes it was the pitching that carried the team, but what was behind the success? Gardy letting guys throw past the dumb 100 pitch count. But when the team plays poorly the manager gets put under the microscope

I suppose it's like a lot of other jobs: people don't notice when you do a good job, only when they think you've messed up.

[vikeinmontana]

3 straight wins after 6 straight losses. tonight is a big one as greinke is set to start tomorrow so that'll be tougher. then the rays and sox. and while we're only .500 at home.....we're certainly better there so this homestand is nice.

GO TWINS!!!

[PurpleMustReign]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Blowing a 7-0 lead. That's priceless.

[purple guy]

Up 7-0 and lose 8-7, WTF. No bull pen sucks. Pavano pitched well enough to earn a W, but good gawd. And today we face Grinkie (sp?), so I assume the mighty Twins will score between 0 and 1 toady. Losers. Guardy will pull a starter if he faulters at all, but Capps was getting hit every pitch and he leaves him in just long enough to lose the game??? Nice plan Guardy. The way the Twins hit, outside of the one inning, as soon as the Brewers went up a run, I KNEW it was over, this team has zero heart, none. The only one I think does is Thome, the rest of the guys are a bunch of pussies.

[purple guy]

Well should have won yesterday and lost, "should" have lost today and won. So a wash. I still contend Thome and Cuddy are the only Twins that are not pussies.

[PurpleMustReign]

Well should have won yesterday and lost, "should" have lost today and won. So a wash. I still contend Thome and Cuddy are the only Twins that are not pussies.

I will agree with that. Cuddyer will do anything possible to help the team, and frankly he does it quite well. I am not a huge fan of his, but I fully admire his team first mentality.

[HornedMessiah]

Cuddyer will do anything possible to help the team, and frankly he does it quite well. I am not a huge fan of his, but I fully admire his team first mentality.

What a weird statement. Why wouldn't you be a fan of a player like Cuddy, especially when you admit that he's awesome? For me, he defines Twins baseball more than any other guy on the team.

[TrenchGoon]

What a weird statement. Why wouldn't you be a fan of a player like Cuddy, especially when you admit that he's awesome? For me, he defines Twins baseball more than any other guy on the team.

he's just not that sexy!

[purple guy]

Capps is NOT a closer. Maybe a set up guy or middle reliever, but not a closer. Our bull pen is pathetic. We won, luckily.

[Now its our time]

I'd rather have Rauch than Capps

[PurpleMustReign]

Capps is NOT a closer. Maybe a set up guy or middle reliever, but not a closer. Our bull pen is pathetic. We won, luckily.

I say give Perkins a shot. He's been lights out this season so far, I think he could be an awesome closer.

[PurpleMustReign]

From the StarTrib:

MAUER OFF TODAY, AT 1B TOMORROW

Joe Mauer will get today off after experiencing some general soreness in his shoulder following yesterday’s 3-2 win over the Rays, but will start at first base tomorrow night when the Twins travel to Chicago for a four-game series with the White Sox.

"I want to do anything I can to help the team," said Mauer, who has talked to Michael Cuddyer and some other Twins for tips. "Obviously for me personally, it’s going to be a grind the rest of the way, physically. So if this allows me to take a day from behind the plate and give your body a little break, it’ll be a good thing.,"


Mauer hasn’t played first in 10 years, but manager Ron Gardenhire says Mauer’s fundamentals are looking good. .

“We won’t really know until we get him over there and see, but honestly he’s pretty fluid over there,” Gardenhire said. “He’s got soft hands, he moves around there pretty well, all the fundamental parts of it.”

To me, this has the potential to be a great move. Mauer gets hurt way to often behind the plate, and we all know his career could be cut short if he stays catching. I like the idea.

[HornedMessiah]

To me, this has the potential to be a great move. Mauer gets hurt way to often behind the plate, and we all know his career could be cut short if he stays catching. I like the idea.

And you don't exactly have to be a freak athlete to play 1B, so Mauer should do fine. I would rather see him at 1B than running around in the outfield.

Another pathetic performance from the bullpen today and Liriano had a pretty rough start too. He's still unpredictable in how he performs, but I think he's regained some potential trade value ever since his no-hitter. They should call the Yanks and see if they're still interested.

If the team does make a trade obviously we need some relief pitching, but I'm starting to warm to the idea of getting some prospects. I know it's not the sexy option and it's what the Twins typically do, but look at it this way: we've seen a lot of our AAA guys get a crack at the big leagues this year, and honestly the only guy that's impressed is Ben Revere. Pretty much everyone else has been lackluster, so in a weird way this injury plagued season has maybe helped the future of the team. They gotta go out and get some new faces.