TwinsTakes – The 2011 Trade Deadline is Today!!!

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Robb

The trade deadline is always exciting! Your team can get better no matter where they are in the standings. If they are buyers, they can get a player that could be another piece & possibly the final piece to make that run at a championship. If they are sellers, they can improve by filling a need at a weaker position or just upgrade a position with some better prospects.

A trade can also open up a spot for a deserving prospect that has been tearing it up or pitching lights out in the minors.

It can be a sad experience also. Your team might trade your favorite player and you won’t see anything positive from the trade for a long time. If they get lower level prospects, you might not see them for 4-5 seasons! By the time they show up, it might not be mentioned how the player came to you team.

There’s always a ton of trade rumors that never get completed and might have never been discussed to begin with. It’s fun to see some of them while others leave you dumbfounded.*

*Some of the dumbfounded ones turn into reality and are never forgotten. Hopefully last year’s Capps for Ramos trade doesn’t turn into one of those but it doesn’t look good right now. Starting catcher for a relief pitcher who has gone from good to not so good. Capps needs to turn it around this season if the Twins hope to make the playoffs.

Still 6 games back of 1st place Detroit, the Twins have a plethora of players that could be traded including Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Jim Thome and more.

Trade Denard Span?
The biggest rumor going around involving the Twins has the Washington Nationals trying to pry Denard Span away for a combination of RHP Tyler Clippard, RHP/Closer Drew Storen, OF Roger Bernadina & 2B Stephen Lombardozzi.*

*That would be a Lombardozzi of a trade! Haha! Yes, that Lombardozzi! He is the sun of former Twins 2B Steve Lombardozzi who played 5 seasons with the Twins including a somewhat memorable season in 1987!

Trading Span makes some sense as the Twins are pretty deep in outfield prospects with Aaron Hicks, Joe Benson, Angel Morales, Oswaldo Arcia, Rene Tosoni & Eddie Rosario. Some of those prospects should make it to the Twins soon so moving Denard might be inevitable anyways.

It would also open up the center field spot for Ben Revere, who has made an impact when he’s in the lineup. He needs to improve his on-base skills and he has a weak arm that may be better suited for a corner outfield spot. If the Twins could get their closer of the future in this trade in Drew Storen, they could drop some salary in Capps and/or Nathan in another trade.

Of course, trading Span would mean your trading your leadoff hitter whose put up some good numbers since his debut in 2008. He knows how to get on base and has been one of the best centerfielders in the American League (2nd in Defensive WAR this season) if not all of baseball. Target Field has sapped some of his power (or the ‘Dome increased his power) but he will still hit for extra-bases and he’s a good base stealer.

It comes down to how Revere & Span compare and if Ben can replace Denard?

  • Offense
    • Span – will hit around .300 every season with some extra-base power with 7-10 home runs; Good on the basepaths with 30 stolen-base potential (he’s had a better stolen base percentage in the majors than he did in the minors – 76% > 66%); great on-base skills, good eye at the plate (career 0.82 walk to strikeout ratio)
    • Revere – too early to speculate on MLB stats but looking at his minor league stats he hit over .300 every season in the minors with less power but more speed on the bases (5 career HRs & 154 SBs in 4+ minor league seasons); more of a singles-hitter but the ability to steal second consistently (SB% – 79% in minors (154-195), 75% w/Twins (18-24); he doesn’t walk much or strikeout much (0.65 BB/K ratio)
  • Defense
    • Span – Very good defensively in center field but still may be better in a corner outfield spot, decent arm strength
    • Revere – Very good defensive center fielder, might make some outs with his glove that nobody else can with his speed but his arm is a weakness that might move him to a corner outfield spot

Denard has been out with concussion symptoms since June 10th which is a worrisome situation. We’ve seen what a concussion has done to Justin Morneau. He was out for half of the 2010 season and got back to begin the 2011 season but has suffered other injuries that look unrelated to a concussion. Denard is rumored to be close to ready to return to the Twins soon.

Denard Span & Ben Revere are very similar players that can make an impact on the game in a variety of ways. They would be alright with either player in center field now and in the future.

UPDATE: Denard Span was NOT traded at the trading deadline and will be activated to begin the Twins series in Los Angeles on Tuesday!

Sometimes the best trades are the ones that are never completed. The Twins should get Justin Morneau back around the middle of August which will be like getting him in a trade and a boost to the Twins offense. Maybe they’ll get Kevin Slowey, if he isn’t traded, back up to the rotation too. He would be a nice addition to the rotation if Blackburn keeps pitching the way he has been lately.

That’s my TwinsTake! What’s yours? Are you excited for the trading deadline this year? Do you think the Twins should be buyers or sellers? or stand pat?

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Robb Dahlen

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TwinsTakes Update – 7/17/2011 – On to the 2nd Half

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Robb

I’m going to try to post a weekly update that focuses on the Twins and how their week has gone and what’s happened in the most recent week. This week might have some material older than a week as it’s the first update.

All-Star Break
The All-Star break is over and the National League won the All-Star game 5-1 behind Prince Fielder’s 3-run Home Run (he was named MVP of the game also.) So the National League gets home field advantage in the 2011 World Series.

How much longer will the All-Star game decide which league gets home-field advantage in the World Series? It alternated between leagues before the current format was instated. Teams battle all season long to win as many games as possible and have the best record in baseball. Whatever team that is should get home-field advantage!

16 players opted out of or missed the game due to injury, ineligibility or “emotional & physical exhaustion.”* The league and the player’s union wanted the players to have more incentive to win. The best starting pitchers can’t even pitch because they pitched two days earlier making them ineligible.

*If Jeter had a legitimate injury, then I don’t have a big problem with him opting out of the All-Star game. I still think he should’ve showed up being he was voted in by the fan’s and is baseball’s most recent player to get 3000 hits. Jeter is one of the few Yankee’s I can stand along with Robinson Cano, Mariano Rivera and Curtis Granderson.

The All-Star game is about fun and it shouldn’t have anything to do with the outcome of the World Series.

More problems with the All-Star Game – (StarTribune.com – Lavelle E. Neal) – 7/12/2011

Cuddyer is an All-Star
Michael Cuddyer was the lone Minnesota Twins All-Star this season and it was well deserved. He’s been on fire since the calendar turned to May.

If you take out the month of April, Cuddy would have a batting average (AVG) of .320 (72/225), an on-base percentage (OBP) of .391 and a slugging percentage (SLG) of .511 with 13 doubles, 10 HRs and 39 RBIs with 29 walks and 34 strikeouts in 61 games. With a triple slash of .320/.391/.511, Cuddy has an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .902. His career OPS is .796.

That’s awesome but here’s the crazy stat, in the 25 games Cuddy has played 1st base this season, he’s hitting .341/.398/.634 for an OPS of 1.032 with 6 doubles, 6 HRs and 19 RBIs with 8 walks and 13 strikeouts. To put that into perspective, an OPS of 1.032 would land him between Jose Bautista and Prince Fielder as the only other hitters with an OPS over 1.000. Cuddy likes the #3 position! Maybe that’s Cuddy’s way of honoring Harmon Killebrew!*

*Sorry, I like to look at splits and situational stats. As a RF, Cuddy is hitting .303/.396/.451 for an OPS of .847 with 6 HRs and 20 RBIs and 25 walks and 30 strikeouts which isn’t too shabby either. Cuddy must want to keep that high salary when he becomes a free agent in the offseason.

June is when Cuddy started crushing the ball. 16 of his 30 hits were of the extra-base variety (11 doubles and 5 HRs). His numbers for June are similar to his 1st base numbers – .323/.402/.602 for a 1.004 OPS with those 16 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs.

He’s continuing to hit in July as well with 3 HRs and 13 RBIs. Hopefully Cuddy keeps this great season going and the Twins can make something out of this season that started out so ugly.

Cuddyer: Behind the Lens – (foxsportsnorth.com – Michael Cuddyer) – 7/10/2011

  • Some pretty cool photography from Cuddy while he travels with the Twins – This gallery is from Miller Park in Milwaukee – some great pictures in here

Mauer at First Base
It was fun to watch Joe Mauer make his first appearance at 1st base in Chicago right before the All-Star break. He played great in his first start at 1st, making all 3 outs in the first inning and making a tough catch on a low Valencia throw later in the game.

I’m not going to get too used to seeing Joe play first base. It’s a nice option to be able to put him over there every now and then but his best position is catcher. He’s won gold gloves there, he can shut down a running game and he calls a good game for the pitchers. He loves being a catcher as well.

On the other hand, if he keeps getting injured, Joe could move to another position if he had to. It’s not that easy to just say he’s your new everyday third baseman or left fielder. Do you trade a Valencia or a Delmon Young or some of the outfield prospects to make room for Joe? How long does it take Joe to get comfortable at a new position? An offseason and a spring training?

Having Wilson Ramos available would’ve been nice too. Who’s the best catching prospect in the Twins system? Herrman, Lehmann, Rohlfing, Rams? Do they have to go sign a starting catcher? Get one in a trade? A permanent move to a different position is still a long ways off if you ask me.

Moving Mauer may be magnificent: A Fan’s Opinion – (Yahoo Contributor Network – Blair Reynolds) – 7/7/2011
The Value of Joe Mauer – (Fangraphs.com – Chris Cwik) – 7/8/2011
In Praise of Joe Mauer – (Puckett’sPond.com – Adam Krueger) – 7/8/2011

2nd Half Twins! Getting Healthy and Making a Run for the AL Central Division!
The Twins are still in a 6-game whole behind first place Cleveland and the .500 mark. They seemed to have turned the corner to playing good baseball and should start getting back some players soon. Delmon came back and has been hitting well.

Most of the injured players are on track to return including Baker who should start one of the games on Monday against Cleveland. Justin Morneau, who had neck surgery on June 29th, is “doing great” according to trainer Rick McWane. They will see where they are with Justin on Monday and go from there.

Kevin Slowey started for Rochester on Friday, went 4.2 innings and was given the loss after giving up 6 hits, 3 ER with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. He is probably pretty close to returning but what will happen with him? He’s not too popular with Gardy and the front office right now so he could be traded but would that be the right thing to do? Will they leave him down in Rochester or bring him back up to the Twins even though they don’t have a spot in the starting rotation for him?

Denard Span has been cleared for a rehab assignment which is great news! He and Jason Kubel will start for Rochester on Sunday!

What can the Twins do with everybody healthy and playing well? It would be nice to see what this lineup – Span, Casilla, Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Kubel, Young, Valencia, Nishioka – could do. Maybe you flip Casilla and Nishi or just put Casilla 8th and put Cuddyer between the M&M boys.

Bert Blyleven enters the Twins Hall of Fame
Congratulations to Bert Blyleven on going into the Twins Hall of Fame and having his number retired last night! It probably should’ve happened a long time ago but I’m sure it’s worth the wait. He should have a pretty good week this week with everything that comes with entering the National Baseball Hall of Fame!

Here’s some interesting articles I’ve read over the last week or so:
Skeptics view Pujols’ return as unnatural – (Yahoo! Sports – Jeff Passan) – 7/6/2011
Scouting the Futures Game for deals – (ESPN.com The GM’s Office Blog – Jim Bowden) – 7/10/2011

  • Denard Span & Ben Revere mentioned in trade rumors

The Price of a Baseball – (weareoffthemark.wordpress.com – Andrew) – 7/12/2011

  • What people will do to get a ball at a baseball game! Is it really worth it?

Cuddyer Will Be Back – (TwinsGeek.com – John Bonnes) – 7/13/2011

  • The Twins Geek shows us the reasons why Cuddy will be back as a Minnesota Twin

Team says Cuddyer won’t be dealt this season – (StarTribune.com – Joe Christensen) – 7/16/2011

 

Tell us what you think of the update! Let us know if you like something or don’t like something or if you have any suggestions for the update.

 

Robb

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TwinsTakes – Twins Pick SS Levi Michael With 30th Pick In 2011 MLB Draft

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Robb

It was a good night for the 2011 Minnesota Twins as they won their 5th straight game by beating the American League Central division leading Cleveland, 6-4. They also added 3 new players to the organization through the MLB Draft.

The MLB First-Year Player Draft is an exciting and optimistic time for every franchise because it gives them and their fans hope for the future. Any pick could be the next great player for your favorite team, even if you might not know it for years. Sometimes a player can reach the majors in a little over a season but its pretty rare* and they may never make it to the highest level of professional baseball.

*Matt Garza, at the age of 21, was picked in the 1st round (25th Overall) of the 2005 MLB Draft on June 13th, 2005. He made his Major League Debut on August 11th, 2006 so it took him just over a year to get to the Twins. He still spent some time in the minors in 2007 but its not often that a player advances through 5 levels of the minor leagues that quickly. By July of 2007, he was a full-time major league pitcher. Kyle Gibson looks to be on a similar path.

The 2011 Minnesota Twins might’ve addressed their biggest need with the 30th pick in the first round by taking University of North Carolina Junior SS Levi Michael. In his 3rd season with UNC, the switch hitting infielder is currently batting .297 with an on-base percentage of .444 while slugging .455 with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 5 HRs and 48 RBIs. He’s stolen 15 bases on 16 attempts and has 47 walks and 41 strikeouts. He’s had 8 errors in the 60 games he’s played so far this season. North Carolina is the 3rd overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. UNC made it to the Super Regionals and will host Stanford in a best of 3 series starting Friday at 2pm Central time on ESPN.

It sounds like Levi Michael has great makeup as he finished high school early in January of his senior year so he could enroll at UNC and be their starting 2nd baseman by the time the season began in February of 2009. That’s pretty amazing for an 18-year-old kid. He finished that season with a .290/.377/.527 line while hitting 15 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HRs and 57 RBIs with 26 walks and 56 strikeouts. He was 5 for 9 in stolen base attempts and had 15 errors in his 65 games at second base.

He got even better in his sophomore season. Levi had to move over to 3rd base for 59 of the 60 games played throughout the college season and he ended up with 13 errors and a .913 fielding percentage. He made up for it with the bat, his plate discipline and his speed. He batted .346/.480/.575 with 14 doubles, 4 triples, 9 HRs and 54 RBIs with 44 walks and 26 strikeouts. He also stole 20 bases in 22 attempts.

It should be fun to watch Levi Michael progress through the Twins system. He has the versatility to play either middle infield spot although a lot of scouts think he will end up at second base.

What do you think about the Twins first pick of the 2011 MLB Draft?

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Robb Dahlen

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TwinsTakes – Minnesota Twins – Who is Brian “Dink” Dinkelman?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Robb

Brian Dinkelman was called up last night following the Minnesota Twins game against Kansas City. Trevor Plouffe* was sent down to Triple A Rochester and Joe Mauer was moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL to make room for him on the 40-man roster.

*Trevor hit .200/.310/.383 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 3 HRs, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He also had 8 walks and 12 strikeouts in the 18 games he was with the Twins. He struggled in the field with 3 errors. He was 1 for 24 in his last 8 games. We’ll probably see him back at some point.

Brian has played second base and left field for the Twins Triple A affiliate Rochester Red Wings. He’s played some shortstop as well but only 14 games at the High-A and AA levels in 2008. Since then he’s pretty much split time between second base and a corner outfield spot.

Brian Dinkelman is 27 years old, stands at 5’11”, 195 pounds, bats left and throws right. Brian was drafted in the 8th round of the 2006 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of McKendree College of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). He still holds 24 school records for his career including batting average (.426), runs scored (303)*, hits (373)*, doubles (96)*, home runs (59) and total bases (670)*. He was the 2nd player ever drafted out of McKendree College at the time and the 1st to make it all the way to the major leagues! Two more players have been drafted out of McKendree College since 2006.

*These are all NAIA career records as well and he also holds the record for most career assists (679).

Brian Dinkelman follows Jeff Manship, Danny Valencia and Anthony Slama as players to play for the Twins who were taken in the 2006 draft. Brian started at rookie level Elizabethton in 2006 and hit .298 with 4 HRs and 32 RBIs. He has consistently moved up the organizational ladder since then playing in Beloit (A) and Fort Myers (High-A) in 2007 and in Fort Myers and New Britain (AA) in 2008.

In 2009, Brian played the whole season in AA New Britain hitting for a .296/.383/.440 line with 38 doubles, 8 HRs and 65 RBIs with 55 walks and 73 strikeouts in 459 at-bats. He stole 5 bases on 11 attempts. He played 80 games at second base, 40 in left field and 4 in right field. He was named an Eastern League All Star, EAS Post-Season All-Star (as a utility player) and Can’t Beat Bernie’s Player of the Year (Favorite New Britain Rock Cats Player by fan vote) that season.

In 2010, Brian moved up another level to the Triple A Rochester Red Wings and played the whole season there. He struggled a little, only hitting for a .265/.336/.379 line. He had 32 doubles, 8 HRs and 54 RBIs with 52 walks and 99 strikeouts in 525 at-bats. He stole 9 bases on 13 attempts and had 6 errors in 135 games, 2 at second base and 4 in left field. He only played 25 games at second base and 110 in the outfield (46 in RF, 64 in LF).

So far in 2011, Brian has had a good beginning to the season in Rochester. He is currently hitting .296 with a .374 on-base percentage and he’s slugging .402. He’s hit 15 doubles, 1 HR and 10 RBIs with 21 walks and 32 strikeouts in 189 at-bats. He’s 4 for 5 in stolen base attempts and has zero errors in 50 games. He is currently leading the Red Wings in hits (56), doubles (15), runs scored (22) and walks (21).

Brian Dinkelman is known as a gritty player who will take good at-bats and do whatever it takes to win. He’s been a fan favorite everywhere he’s played and should be fun to watch. He’s consistently progressed through the minor leagues throughout his career. It would sometimes take him awhile but he would eventually adapt to the higher level of competition and post good numbers.

Dinkelman will wear number 26 when he makes his major league debut with the Minnesota Twins! Hopefully the phrase “you’re such a Dink!” will be a good thing from now on! Check out his stats here!

This move was not injury-related but would you rather have to make moves because of injuries or because certain players aren’t playing well?

That’s my Twins Take! What’s yours? Do you like Dinkelman? Will he stay with the Twins for awhile? Is he the second baseman of the future? the present?

Tell us what you think!

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Robb Dahlen

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TwinsTakes – Twins Baseball, Injury Incorporated

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Robb
Twins Baseball anyone? 

The Twins were the only team to start the season with nobody on the disabled list (DL). That makes it sound like they were healthy coming out of spring training but that’s probably not what it meant. Since then, the Twins have been in the injury business and business is good…or…uhhh…bad. I’m not sure. Its one injury after another injury. Call them Injury, Incorporated!* They may even come up with some new injuries that you’ve never heard of before. Hey, if you’re in the injury business, you have to come out with something new every now and then, right? Keep ’em guessing!

*Damage, Incorporated? Unintended Metallica reference but still…that can’t be a bad thing!

The Twins have had a pretty shaky start to the season with many injuries, illness and just flat out bad baseball. So far this season, our Twins baseball team have already had to use 36 players to field a starting lineup and complete 40 games. They went 9-17 in April for the worst start under manager Ron Gardenhire.

May started off better going 3-1 but since then they are 1-9 and had a 9 game losing streak making their May record 4-10. They seem like they are getting close to getting over the hump and turning the corner to some decent baseball. I mean they are showing some heart coming back against Detroit twice in the same game and some guys like Cuddyer are starting to heat up. Yes, I’m looking for the positives in a 9 game losing streak. That’s the way I am. They might start to see some guys coming off the disabled list soon too.

So what have the Twins gone through this season?

The Twins have had a nasty flu bug going through the clubhouse all season it seems. It has apparently affected Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, Francisco Liriano and Carl Pavano to name a few. I’m not saying this is the sole reason for their bad play but the flu can knock you out and physical exertion is probably not going to help! Both Mauer and Morneau have lost around 15 pounds due to this virus so it could be a huge part of their bad start. Flu shots, anyone?

The first big injury to the Twins was Tsuyoshi Nishioka’s fractured left fibula against the New York Yankees on April 7th. It wasn’t pretty and it looked like Nishi wasn’t expecting Swisher to use a take-out slide. There’s been some explanation as to why he’s not used to slides breaking up double plays. Nishi appears to be making good progress in his rehab and could be back by the end of May or the beginning of June.

The very next day they put Kevin Slowey on the 15-day DL with sore right biceps so there goes one of your best pitchers out of the bullpen. Sore right biceps doesn’t sound that bad but considering its from the right arm of a right-handed pitcher, it could be more serious than we think.

Kevin came off the DL on May 7th and pitched 4.1 innings and looked pretty good so hopefully he’s back for good. Kevin pitched again on Sunday in relief of Brian Duensing to start the 4th inning. He struck out Corey Patterson, then gave up a homer to Jose “Bawitda” Bautista* and ended up going 6 innings giving up 4 earned runs, striking out 3 and giving up 2 HRs! Yes, both were to good ‘ole Jose Bautista who hit three that day, his 14th, 15th and 16th! The Twins total is 18! Ouch! Slowey has experienced soreness in his arm that he might have to battle through as he adjusts to a relief role.

*Yeah, I just made that up! Up jump the boogy! Do you think Jose hits better against the Twins than any other team? So far this season in 6 games against the Twins, he has hit .480 with a .581 on base % and slugged 1.360 for an OPS of 1.941!!! That includes 7 HRs on 12 hits, 1 double with 6 walks and 2 strikeouts in 31 plate appearances. That’s pretty decent, right? We did catch him stealing! HA! Take that! He couldn’t have punished any other team worse than that, right? WRONG! In 3 games against the Tampa Bay Rays, he has hit .750 with a .846 OBP and he’s slugging only 2.250 for an OPS of 3.096 which includes 3 HRs, 1 double, 1 triple and 3 RBIs on 6 hits with 5 walks and 1 strikeout! WOW!

The big injury we all are worried about came on April 14th as it was announced that the one, the only, he’s one of us, Baby Jesus, one half of the M&M boys, the MVP, 3-time batting champ, 3-time Gold Glove winner, 4-time Silver Slugger, 4-time All-Star, 2-time MLB The Show cover athlete, $184 million dollar man, Explorer of MN, Joe Mauer* was being placed on the 15-day DL with something called bilateral leg weakness, which most of us have never heard of and I’m sure Jim Souhan will say was an injury Mauer invented.

*I could go on. I’m sure Joe has many other nicknames or I could make some up. Joe Mau-Mau (Jo Mama), Lawn Mauer, Joe Papa Ooh Mauer (Papa Ooh Mow Mow) and that’s just right off the top of my head. Might be scary what I could come up with if I spent some time on it. Hmmm…

I don’t know about anyone else but I was almost relieved to find out there was something wrong with our catcher because he wasn’t playing like the Joe Mauer we know. In 9 games, he hit for a .235 average, a .289 on-base percentage while slugging .265. He had 8 hits with only one extra-base hit (a double), 4 RBIs, 3 walks and 6 strikeouts in 34 at-bats. Defensively, he didn’t look right either. Opponents stole 8 of 10 bases so they weren’t worried about Joe stopping their running game.

Some sportswriters think Joe is the cause of this disaster that has been the Twins season. I don’t believe that for a second. It sounds like Joe thought he was ready for the season coming out of Spring Training but probably didn’t take enough time behind the plate to see if his surgically repaired knee could handle the rigors of catching every day. That’s unfortunate but Joe being hurt is not the only reason for this team’s bad record.

Next? Who’s Next? Please take a number as we are swamped today!

Delmon Young missed 8 games from April 19th to April 27th before he was placed on the disabled list on April 28th with a strained left oblique. This is one of the worst injuries to have for a baseball player because it has everything to do with twisting your body to swing a bat or throw a ball.

Delmon was off to a really slow start like the majority of the team. He was activated off the disabled list on May 13th and hasn’t been real good since then. It looks like he’s trying to do too much in his at-bats and his defense has been sub-par. In his last 4 games he has 1 hit and 10 strikeouts in 16 at-bats. Let’s see the Delmon from last season and soon!

Unfortunately, six days later, Jim Thome was placed on the 15-day DL with the same left oblique strain and he was just starting to hit the ball pretty well. Home Run number 591 was pretty impressive! Big Jim is down in Florida taking batting practice in extended spring training and is close to a return.

The very same day, May 4th, Jason Repko was placed on the 15-day DL with a right quad strain. This isn’t a tragedy by any means as Jason’s a reserve outfielder used mostly as a defensive replacement in late innings where the Twins are leading. He’s great defensively and can steal some bases but he’s had his struggles with the bat. He’s close to returning as well which means Ben Revere would probably be sent down.

Most recently, on May 15th, the Twins had to place Jose Mijares on the 15-day DL with a left elbow strain. He told team doctors he was having some elbow soreness on Sunday morning. In Saturday’s 9-3 extra inning loss, Jose’s velocity was down to about 87 mph compared to a usual 91 mph which is an obvious red flag the coaches and trainers.

Jose started off the season alright but since the end of April has been walking too many batters and giving up hits. Jose Mijares can be an important part of the bullpen when he’s on like he was for most of 2010 and 2009. He’s a pretty big piece of that bullpen considering the shape its in at the moment.

Hopefully, the Twins are getting these injuries out of the way now so they don’t have to worry about them later but they’ve dug a pretty deep hole so far this season.

Are they lucky that Cleveland and Kansas City are the teams they’re chasing instead of Detroit and Chicago? You would think so but they need to worry about themselves before they start thinking about the teams above them.

There’s always room for positive thinking! Who cares what history says! Before the first time anything happened, it had never happened before!!! There’s a first time for everything!

The losing streak was broken last night so let’s start a winning streak and get back in this thing!

That’s my Twins Take! What’s yours? Are the Twins already done this season? Do they need to start thinking about cleaning house? Is Twins baseball in decline?

Tell us what you think in the comments section!

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