Vikings Message Board.Com

PurpleMustReign wrote:
The way the starting pitching is going lately, I could see us doing better than that. This will definitely be a good barometer of our seson coming up, I think./

I hope they keep it rolling! I just fear if some of the Twins "studs" dont show up (Mauer, Morneau, Kub, ect), tehy'll struggle against a couple steams better than the ones we just beat, and on the road this time. And surprisingly enough, I worry more about the offense right now than I do the pitching or the defense. We have a few guys hitting, but not many. And it was great to win on Sunday, but 1 run against them on Sat was a lucky win, they are a terrible offensive team so we lucked out there IMO. While they have been winning, I dont think they level they are playing at will lead to series wins or sweeps on the road against better competition. I hope Im wrong. We need the MLB roster this next 6 games, not the AAA roster, or it will put the skids to our streak I fear.

purple guy wrote:We need the MLB roster this next 6 games, not the AAA roster, or it will put the skids to our streak I fear.

See the tough thing is...the team has stabilized and started to play well WITH those AAA guys. That's not to say you put the studs on the bench and keep going with the hot hands...it's just a hard situation. Someone like Ben Revere, I think he's shown enough to earn a spot on the team (put him in LF or CF, kick Delmon to the DH or trade him!). Apparently Gardy is also developing a Punto-esque mancrush on Luke Hughes. Must be the Australian accent.

A possible silver lining to the injury cloud is that a lot of our "studs" have gotten a lot of rest and could possibly hit their stride when we really need them to at the end of the season/playoffs, instead of running out of gas like has been the case the past few years.

HornedMessiah wrote: See the tough thing is...the team has stabilized and started to play well WITH those AAA guys. That's not to say you put the studs on the bench and keep going with the hot hands...it's just a hard situation. Someone like Ben Revere, I think he's shown enough to earn a spot on the team (put him in LF or CF, kick Delmon to the DH or trade him!). Apparently Gardy is also developing a Punto-esque mancrush on Luke Hughes. Must be the Australian accent.

A possible silver lining to the injury cloud is that a lot of our "studs" have gotten a lot of rest and could possibly hit their stride when we really need them to at the end of the season/playoffs, instead of running out of gas like has been the case the past few years.

Good points. My thinking is they studs (mainly Mauer and Morneau) need to get in the line up and start getting back to their "old selves" soon. IF the Twins have any thoughts of the post season, they will definately need them.

I do hope Delmon is traded, possibly for a middle reliever?? He was great last season, can in in shape and played well. That guy didnt and hasnt shown up this season.

purple guy wrote:
Good points. My thinking is they studs (mainly Mauer and Morneau) need to get in the line up and start getting back to their "old selves" soon. IF the Twins have any thoughts of the post season, they will definately need them.

I do hope Delmon is traded, possibly for a middle reliever?? He was great last season, can in in shape and played well. That guy didnt and hasnt shown up this season.

WTF happened to my post?? Now I have to type the whole thing over again...

Folks, your Minnesota Twins are currently 6.5 games back in the AL Central. No one in their right mind would have thought they could make up 10 games in 20 days, but they have, and their starting pitching is still sick lately.

Let's hope they keep it up!!! And, as much as it pains me to say it, kudos to Gardenhire for learning something about his starters during this time, and for getting the team back on track after a dismal start.

PurpleMustReign wrote:Folks, your Minnesota Twins are currently 6.5 games back in the AL Central. No one in their right mind would have thought they could make up 10 games in 20 days, but they have, and their starting pitching is still sick lately.

Let's hope they keep it up!!! And, as much as it pains me to say it, kudos to Gardenhire for learning something about his starters during this time, and for getting the team back on track after a dismal start.

An incredible 3 weeks for them forsure. Last night however, had we not lucked into a pitcher who was throwing like a high schooler in the 1st inning, we easily could have lost that game. After he was pulled, they out scored us 2-1. That win was a result of a pitcher throwing TERRIBLE vs the Twins bats lighting it up. Couldnt do jack after he was pulled.

PurpleMustReign wrote:Folks, your Minnesota Twins are currently 6.5 games back in the AL Central. No one in their right mind would have thought they could make up 10 games in 20 days, but they have, and their starting pitching is still sick lately.

The downside is that the only team they've passed is KC. The Sox and Tigers have both gotten closer to Cleveland as well.

glg wrote: The downside is that the only team they've passed is KC. The Sox and Tigers have both gotten closer to Cleveland as well.

That is true. But 6.5 games is certainly a number that can be made up, realistically, at this point of the season. Reguardless of what the other teams are doing, had someone told me the Twins would be 6.5 games out on June 22nd, Id think they lost their mind. I think our streak will end today or tomorrow, but its been a fantastic 3 weeks IMO.

Anyone know Thome status?

it's been great for sure. i said the whole time that if we could get to about 6-7 games back by the all-star break we have a legitimate shot at the division. our pitching has been great, and the bats have been alright too. i think it has been a group effort and the credit deserves to go to everyone. bottom line....this team is WAY more fun to watch than they were a few weeks ago!

purple guy wrote:Anyone know Thome status?

I heard he could be back next week. Him and Nathan will be the next guys back, who knows with Morneau, and apparently Span won't be back until after the All Star break.

purple guy wrote: That is true. But 6.5 games is certainly a number that can be made up, realistically, at this point of the season. Reguardless of what the other teams are doing, had someone told me the Twins would be 6.5 games out on June 22nd, Id think they lost their mind. I think our streak will end today or tomorrow, but its been a fantastic 3 weeks IMO.

Yeah, I'm just having a hard time getting too excited about it, 6.5 games and in 2nd place is a lot better than 6.5 games and in 4th place. Have to make up those games on 3 teams that'll be playing each other a lot down the stretch.

We are a better team, on paper, than Chicago and Cleveland. I just worry about Detroit. I don't think we'll have any issues passing the other two.

Heard this morning on KFAN that Nathan and Thome will be returning tomorrow to kick off the series against the Brewers.

So that leaves Morneau, Span, and Kubel on the DL. I'm kinda getting worried about Span...there's the same kind of vibe around his concussion/neck injury as there was around Morneau's concussion last season. Not a whole lot of info coming from the team...

PurpleMustReign wrote:
The way the starting pitching is going lately, I could see us doing better than that. This will definitely be a good barometer of our seson coming up, I think./

Well, were 1-2 so far. With almost no run support the last 2 games. Just like I sorta thought. My guess is the same for this series 1-2 again. Now we're 8 games back again. Luckily the Twins got to hit against that #### pitcher in the first inning of the first game, cuz since that inning, we scored a whopping 3 runs in 2 games and 8 innings. Ugly.

Getting one run against Lincecum I can totally understand though. He's a cy young winner and the ace for one of, if not the best, pitching rotations in the league. Whoever thinks he's going to give up 5 runs every game is