It's Trading Time

National sportswriters are speculating that the Twins might be in the market for a couple of right handed starters that are being offered by their teams (Jeff Samardzia-White Sox, and Clay Buchholz-Red Sox).

And I don't see any real reason to buy into that kind of talk. The fact is, the Twins ought not be in the market for another right-handed starter. They have too many of them as it is, This weekend Ervin Santana comes off his suspension, and then what?

So as June turns into July and the trade deadline edges ever closer, let us not be gullible -- not even after a game such as Monday's, in which the starter was bad and the lineup put up seven runs.

The Twins may well seek to add pieces in the next few weeks -- but those pieces will be position players and relievers, not starters. Indeed, it's plausible -- perhaps even wise -- that the Twins will trade away a starter in July.

Paul Molitor has started four different men at shortstop this season (Danny Santana, Eduardo Escobar, Jorge Polanco, Eduardo Nunez). He has started five different center fielders (Jordan Schafer, Shane Robinson, Aaron Hicks, Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario). He has started five different left fielders (Oswaldo Arcia, Robinson, E
scobar, Rosario, Nunez). He's split up the DH role six ways (Kennys Vargas, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, Nunez, Escobar, even one start for Santana).

While I believe the lineup juggling has benefited the team, the Twins entered Monday's game just 10th in the American League in runs scored. There's only so much lemonade to squeeze out of the current fruit.

To trade for a starter would be fixing a problem that doesn't exist. And I have to believe that Terry Ryan, Molitor and the rest of the decision makers know that.

I HOPE they know that...

Milone Great! Bullpen Not So Much

The less said about those last three innings the better.

Twins Win

The Twins had just 25 wins last year at this point of the season. They have 40 wins today. My Minnesota math tells me that the Twins are doing SOOOOOO much better this season. Torii had 10 total bases, including TWO home runs in yesterday's game. He hasn't had that many total bases in a game since 2006! And Gibson was good again yesterday as well.

Go Twins!

Twins and Wolves

Well, Trevor May's 1/3 of an inning sure ended the Twins pitchers string of great starts.


He now is the leading lottery candidate to be the odd man out when Nolasco and Santana return. I personally stopped watching after the home run and double to start the first for the Brewers, so I missed everything after the score was 1-1.

The Wolves, on the other hand, still have people talking. Their two number one draft picks are making people smile nation-wide. MOST credible sports sites are giving the Wolves an A+ as having the best draft this season.

In a sport where only FIVE guys are needed to play regularly, it's kind of cool that we have those two guys plus the rookie of the year last season AND the slam dunk contest winner as well. I'm actually looking forward to the coming season.

Wolves Take 19-Year Old Kentucky Center

The Wolves say taking this kid was a no-brainer. MOST experts say he was the best pick in the draft.
 Fans at Target Center last night seemed to agree.

Me? I figure he was the safe choice. If he doesn't work out, we can always say he was the consensus best pick available. He didn't have great numbers for the runner-up Wildcats this past season, but he was big and athletic on both ends of the court. And he had GOOD consistent numbers on a team that was balanced.

If you read the Boston Globe article I linked to a couple days ago, you'll see that most teams regret their first selection every year. NO ONE has a crystal ball. No one is very good at drafting. But sometimes you make a good pick.

It looks like we made the right choice. It helps that we already have some young players that were already looking pretty good already. AND fans are going to be buying more tickets this year. Now days that's all NBA franchises can hope for.

Will we be a winner from all this? That's still to be determined.

TEN Great Starts in a Row!!!!

Awhile back, I mentioned that the Twins had more good starters than they really needed. After 10 straight better than good starts the Twins have to decide what they are going to do with a couple of them.

You see, Nolacso is coming off the injury list any day now and Santana's suspension ends in early July. THOSE TWO ARE OUR HIGHEST PAID PITCHERS. They are not going to sit.

Unless another injury comes up soon, the Twins have to figure out which TWO of their very effective starters is not going to start anymore. The Tigers, who have a similar situation, have recently tried a 6-man rotation. I'm not sure if that's really the answer. The Twins will still have to make roster spot available for them. Which means a bench player will have to go elsewhere OR a bullpen guy will get sent packing. That's not an option Mollie wants to pursue either.

Hughes was spectacular last night. He's safe.

Pelfrey has been our best starter for a couple of months. He's safe as well.

Milone is getting wins, and giving up few runs, but he's constantly working out of trouble.

Gibson is inconsistent BUT younger than most.

And Trevor May is having his best season with a very good strikeouts to walk ration. He's also young.

SO...

...who do you get rid of?

Do you trade the ones that give you the most is return? AND which players are available that will really help us? Do you even think about trading Santana or Nolasco?

I've been reading lately that the Twins should trade for a "power hitter". That's all well and good but WHO specifically? It's not like great power hitters grow on trees and you can get one any time you want. Guys like Trout, Harper, and Stanton aren't available. AND if you aren't those guys (or guys like them) are the hitters we would be getting be any better than those we already have. AND if they are a regular, not a DH, which REGULAR player or players do you get rid of. If he is a DH-type, do you give up on a young guy like Vargas, who shows signs of real promise? You only have so many roster spots.

I'm not offering any solutions. I'm just saying it's a lot harder coming up with real working solutions than offering suggestions. I said I'd like to be the manager and GM of the Twins.  At times like this I'm glad I'm neither.

ONE bad trade could kill the Twins for years. I don't need that kind of pressure.

But I love to criticize whoever does it wrong. We all do. That's what makes us fans.

Twins Lose, NBA Draft

 Pelfrey had another good start for the Twins last night, the problem was the Twins couldn't score.

I was going to write an NBA draft preview today, but I found this Boston globe article that says it so much better than I ever could.

Basically, NO ONE gets the draft right. There is no ONE best pick, and most teams, if given a choice, would want a do-over with most of their picks. That takes the pressure off the Wolves...

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/06/22/redrafting-nba-lottery-picks-from-last-five-years/wyAF8voVBMSxCrbJNkDT0N/story.html