Minnesota Twins

This afternoon from 5:00pm to 6:00pm, Andrew and I will be hosting Twinkie Town's first Cover It Live chat. It's your opportunity to post questions about the Twins, at which point Andrew or I (or both of us?) will weigh in. This is something I see us doing from time to time going forward, so hopefully you can make it for our chat debut! We encourage you to post questions in the comment section below, whether you can make it to tonight's chat or not. The good news is that, while chats at FanGraphs or MLB Trade Rumors will have more viewers, our chat will give you a better chance to have your question seen and answered. I'm looking forward to this, and I know Andrew is, too, since this was his idea. Hopefully we'll see you there!

Probables (all games FSN) Monday, 6:10pm: Kevin Correia vs. Julio Teheran Tuesday, 6:10pm: Mike Pelfrey vs. Tim Hudson Wednesday, 11:10am: Vance Worley vs. Paul Maholm Braves Notes As I'm sure you're aware, this is Minnesota's first visit to Atlanta since the 1991 World Series. In fact, according to Baseball Reference, it's the first visit by the Washington Senators or Minnesota Twins to the Boston Beaneaters, Doves, Rustlers, Braves, or Bees, or the Milwaukee Braves. Ron Gant was falling off the bag. Kent Hrbek just held the tag on him. Drew Coble was smart enough to see it. That's the end of the story. The two teams have met three times in the regular season. Weirdly, all three series - in 2002, 2007, and 2010 - took place between June 10 and June 14. You might remember that Atlanta started the season 12-1. Since then, they're 13-17, but they've still got a multiple-game lead in the NL East. The Braves' strength has been their bullpen, but at the moment, the whole thing's in disarray. Craig Kimbrel, who led the league in saves two years in a row, is still going pretty strong, but all his setup guys are gone. Eric O'Flaherty tore his ulnar collateral ligament, and Jonny Venters just had Tommy John surgery last week. Jordan Walden is on the DL with shoulder inflammation. The Atlanta 'pen has been the best in the league, but how long can that last? Upton Update: Justin leads the league with 14 home runs and is slugging .608. B.J. is batting .145, and is the worst qualified hitter in the majors not named Aaron Hicks. This has been your Upton Update. Twins Notes We're going to look back some day and wonder, "How did Pedro Hernandez ever get six starts for the Twins?" Meanwhile, Kyle Gibson nearly threw a no-hitter Sunday, and ended up with his second shutout in three games, so unless I'm missing something we should see a swap of the two any minute now. Meanwhile, Cole De Vries finished his rehab but ended up in Rochester, which apparently means that the Twins want him to be average at Rochester for awhile before they call him up. The Twins have eight guys who have played enough to have qualified for the battling title. Five of them - Ryan Doumit, Brian Dozier, Josh Willingham, Chris Parmelee, and Aaron Hicks - are batting under .225. Dozier in particular has been awful, as he has only managed a Butera-like .450 OPS in May. The Twins have the longest losing streak in the majors, tied with Baltimore at five games.

SCENE: A nondescript office in New York. MLB Director of Umpires RANDY MARSH sits at a conference room table, shuffling papers in and out of a briefcase and whistling mostly tunelessly, though a sharp-eared listener may be able to detect occasional strains of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." A soft knock, and then the door opens. In walks ANGEL HERNANDEZ. HERNANDEZ: Hey, Randy. We doing this in the conference room this year? MARSH: Yep, we sure are. Good to see you. This won't take a minute, but we got to do these - you know paperwork. HERNANDEZ: Sure, sure. MARSH: Let's get going, then. The old man is prowling around today and I don't want him stopping - The door opens with a crash, accompanied by a thump from outside the room. Both men jump to their feet. BUD SELIG: Dang it, I thought this was one of them newfangled sliding glass doors! MARSH: Told you a hundred times, Mr. Selig. Those are only on the outside of buildings. In here we have regular doors. SELIG: Ah, dangit. Well, anyway, I heard that Angel here was coming in today for his performance review, since his crew is in town. Was hoping I could sit in. You just go ahead and run through your questions. MARSH (looking uncomfortable): Uh... you sure maybe you don't want to ask your questions first? Don't want to hold you up here. SELIG: No, no, this is the main thing I got to do today. Already finished the Jumble. MARSH: Right... all right, question 1. Are you still breathing regularly? HERNANDEZ: Yes. MARSH: Were you a major league umpire previously? HERNANDEZ: Yes. MARSH: All right, that wraps it up for our questions. According to my sliding scale, your performance rating for this year is "Outstanding." HERNANDEZ: Thank you. SELIG (jumps up, knocking a computer to the floor): Now just hold on a minute here! You mean to say that's the whole performance review? MARSH: We've been using it for years, and it never failed us before. SELIG: Does anyone ever not get "outstanding"? HERNANDEZ: Eric Gregg got "super-outstanding" eight years in a row. SELIG: How? MARSH: He ate an entire meatball sub without using his hands. HERNANDEZ (puts his hand on his heart): The man had a gift. SELIG: Well, blast it, I'm not going to let this go by. Sit back down, I've got a few questions of my own! MARSH: Neither of us got up. You're the only one that's standing up. SELIG (staring wildly): Right. Alright, question one, smart guy. If a fielder throws his glove at the ball and hits it, what happens? HERNANDEZ: Uh... The batter gets a ground-rule double? SELIG (to Marsh): Is he right? MARSH: How should I know? SELIG: I'll look it up later. OK, question two. Is this a balk? He waves his arms around wildly while sticking his tongue out and making goofy faces HERNANDEZ: Yes. SELIG: Wrong answer! Trick question, I wasn't the pitcher, I was the third baseman. MARSH: That's just silly. HERNANDEZ: Don't worry, I've got this. He winds up dramatically. All right, you're outta this game! SELIG: What game? MARSH (gently): Angel, you can't really- HERNANDEZ: Nope, you're gone! Start walking! SELIG: Or what? HERNANDEZ: Or I'll have to make a report and send it to the commissioner's office! SELIG: You're in the commissioner's office. That's literally where we are right now. HERNANDEZ: Oh. Well, maybe, then... um... MARSH (again, gently): Angel, why don't you just go. I'll take care of this. HERNANDEZ: Right. Yes. Well. He leaves, somewhat huffily. SELIG: Randy, that man needs to be fired! MARSH: Yeah, I know. SELIG: You're not going to fire him, are you? MARSH: No, I'm not. And do you know why I'm not? SELIG: Because after years of being an umpire, you hate everything and everyone? MARSH: That's right. SELIG: Me too. We zoom away, with both men looking pensive. In the far distance, we can hear Hernandez attempting to eject two secretaries, a doorman, and a cab driver.

March 7, 2013; Clearwater, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (32) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Networks Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Taylor the Prospect Octopus would like me to embed more tweets into these posts.  Not only does a tweet convey great information from an expert, Taylor feels that an embedded tweet is a tacit endorsement of the original Tweeter and that you should follow said Tweeter if we include them in the post.  I agree.  I also applaud Taylor’s use of the word “tacitly,” even if it was used in a run-on sentence.  So, we’re going to add more tweets and you should add these Tweeters to your feeds.  They all supply great prospect information.  On to the players! Rochester Red Wings Kyle Gibson was magnificent on Sunday, pitching a complete game shutout and taking a no hitter into the 8th inning.  Gibson gave up only three hits and two walks, while recording eight strikeouts.  Gibson has now thrown 52.2 innings this season, striking out 46 while walking only 14.  The Twins want Gibson to be more consistent, but I’m not sure what he has left to prove at AAA.  If the Twins have Gibson on a 130 inning limit, he may only have 12-15 starts left in his arm this season.  If that is the case, the Twins are running out of time to see what he can do against MLB hitting.  When you add the ineffectiveness of Pedro Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey, there is no reason to keep Gibson in Rochester much longer. Another player trying to force his way to Minnesota is Chris Colabello.  Colabello went 4-5 on Sunday, with his 16th and 17th double.  More interesting is this fact: Twins had Chris Colabello play RF for the second time today in Triple-A. Four more hits and he’s now second in the IL in OPS. — Ben Badler (@BenBadler) May 19, 2013 Colabello getting reps in right is significant.  Not only is Aaron Hicks still not performing, but Chris Parmelee and Oswaldo Arcia are slumping as well.  If the Twins need an outfielder, Colabello might get the call.  The 29-year-old independent ball veteran certainly seems to be earning it. New Britain Rock Cats Daniel Ortiz went 2-4 on Sunday, raising his average to .299.  Ortiz has hit well in the past, approaching .300 in a couple different Minor League seasons.  The significant advancement thus far has been development of some power.  Ortiz currently has a slugging percentage just shy of .500, which is certainly his best showing in full-season ball.  Antoan Richardson was recently called up to Rochester.  If they end up needing another OF, Ortiz might get the next call. Michael Tonkin has had an interesting season so far.  In 18.2 innings, he hasn’t given up a home run, but his walk rate is up from last season and the strikeouts he added in 2012 have dipped as well.  However, Tonkin still has only pitched about 50 innings above Low-A.  His results have been pretty good, as his ERA sits just below three.  If he keeps working on his command, he could see his walks decrease which would make his strikeout rate dip a little less significant. Fort Myers Miracle Just to remind everyone, Miguel Sano is really good: I think he’s ready for the Double-A challenge. RT @mrnypenn @professorparks When should he be considered ready for AA? (Sano) — Jason Parks (@ProfessorParks) May 18, 2013  Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus is not a guy who calls for promotions prematurely.  Often when fans ask about their favorite prospect moving up a level, he’ll respond with something along the lines of “what’s the rush?”  However, Parks, much like many Twins fans, recognizes that Sano is special.  He’s going to get to Minnesota at a very young age.  The jump to AA is a big one, but Sano has little left to prove in A ball, and might reach AA before the draft in early June. AFL hero Nate Roberts returned this week, playing his first game of the

As John Lackey continued to eat up Twins batters and spit them out this afternoon, I made a somewhat rhetorical comment on Twitter. Basically, I asked what happened to mediocre, overpaid John Lackey. The 2013 incarnation of Lackey has looked significantly sharper than I ever remember him looking, even in his "heyday" with the Angels. @dwade I prefer mediocre, overpaid John Lackey. — Jesse Lund (@TwinkieTown) May 19, 2013 Dan was right, of course. If you feel better, you perform better under most circumstances. Lackey is making the most of his second life. None of which excuses Boston from signing him to a five-year, $82.5 million dollar contract. But wow did he destroy the Twins today. In six innings he allowed just one hit - Trevor Plouffe's double into the left-center field gap leading off the top of the fifth. After Oswaldo Arcia was "hit by a pitch", a throwing error from Pedro Ciriaco allowed Plouffe to score. It was all Minnesota would get. Pedro Hernandez didn't really give his team a chance, either. Even his outs were hit hard. He came out of the game with just one out in the fifth inning, down 3-0 with the bases loaded. He'd given up nine hits, including a home run to Will Middlebrooks. Josh Roenicke relieved him and actually got the Twins out of the inning without further damage, getting Middlebrooks to pop up and inducing a soft comebacker from Jarod Saltalamacchia. The Twins managed to load the bases in the eighth, but Joe Mauer struck out to end the inning. Justin Morneau and Trevor Plouffe singled to lead off the ninth inning for a glimmer of hope, but once again they were turned away. Talking Points Being unable to close the deal was the story for the Minnesota offense all weekend, who were just 7-for-28 (.250) with runners in scoring position. Roenicke has been getting a lot of credit for his performance this season, and on the whole he's certainly pulled his weight. Prior to this afternoon's big performance, though, he'd allowed runs in four of his previous five appearances: 7 runs, 6.2 innings, 9 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts. Hopefully it was just a bad stretch and he can get even out. Koji Uehara has owned the Twins in these last two series: 3 appearances, 3 innings, 8 strikeouts. Domination. When he struck out Josh Willingham today, the ball was nearly in the catcher's mitt by the time Hammer's bat was into the zone. Mauer's 15-game hitting streak came to an end today. In those 15 games he batted .443/.528/.639. Joe also struck out three times today, giving him 39 strikeouts on the season in 38 games played, which is entirely un-Mauer like. He's also walked 21 times, which is fine, but that ratio is skewed way off the charts in terms of his career averages. Is he trying to get more power behind his swing and, at times, granting an increased chance of a swing-and-miss in exchange for more bases? It's just a theory, and I can't say for certain, but after roughly 25% of the season Mauer is on pace for about 68 doubles. Just 8 homers, but 68 doubles. The rain delay lasted hours. Too bad it didn't come earlier. Lackey was sick. Finally: earlier, I mentioned Ciriaco's throwing error that allowed the Twins to get on the board. As he took the relay from Dustin Pedroia, Ciriano tried to make a throw to first base in order to complete the double play. Instead, the ball hit Chris Parmelee. In a very special place. Thanks to Bryz for the gif.

Ok, we have a break from the thunderstorms! But that means it is hot and steamy and is ripe air for the long ball – I hope Pedro can keep them on the ground today. Today the Twins are showing The Sandlot after the game in honor of the 20th Anniversary – our favorite Twins Fan turned radio show host will be sporting appropriate gear so say Hi to Lindsay if you see her! Photo by lindsayguentzel • Instagram Otherwise, let’s see if we can salvage this series huh? I’m going to be taking advantage of the NON-rain by putting in a new planting bed in the yard.. sorry folks, but chat away! Boston @ Minnesota Victorino, CF Carroll, 2B Gomes, J, LF Mauer, C Pedroia, 2B Morneau, 1B Ortiz, D, DH Plouffe, 3B Napoli, 1B Arcia, DH Nava, RF Ramirez, W, LF Middlebrooks, 3B Parmelee, RF Saltalamacchia, C Hicks, CF Ciriaco, SS Florimon, SS   Lackey, P   Hernandez, P, P Live Chat Software

Houston second baseman Jake Elmore, left, and right fielder Jimmy Paredes collide on what shouldhave been the final out Friday. Bases loaded, two out, bottom of the ninth, Houston clinging to a one-run lead in Pittsburgh, and the Pirates' Russell Martin pops up to short right field.Jake Elmore settles under the ball, but right fielder Jimmy Paredes is having none of that. He runs into Elmore, the ball drops, two runs score and the Astros lose.It was the second time last week that Paredes ran into his second baseman. Jose Altuve — arguably the only Astro who deserves to be a major league regular — suffered a partial dislocation of his right jaw in Monday's collision, which is why Elmore was there to be Paredes' target Friday. The Astros had the majors' worst record each of the past two seasons, and they entered today 12-31.This is, astoundingly (astroundingly?), not the worst record in baseball — the Miami Marlins are 11-32 — but the Astros are certainly a bad team. And if Paredes keeps playing right field like this, a dangerous one — for their second basemen.

This game was painful. Not only because of the blowout loss and the 3rd loss in a row for the Twins, but also because the game lasted nearly 4 hours despite going only 9 innings. David Ortiz had two home runs and Daniel Nava added one of his own in propelling the Red Sox over the Twins 12-5 on Saturday night. Ortiz's damage started right away in the first inning off Twins starter Scott Diamond. With two runners on and one away, Big Papi came to the plate and drove a Diamond pitch over the large scoreboard in right field for a quick 3-0 lead. Then with the lead 3-1 in the 3rd, Ortiz came to the plate again with 2 on and 1 away and singled to right field, making the score Ortiz 4, Twins 1. The Twins did have a threat going in the bottom of the 3rd. Josh Willingham hit a one out double, and then with two outs Oswaldo Arcia and Trevor Plouffe drew consecutive walks off Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster. This brought Aaron Hicks to the plate with the bases loaded, who green-lighted himself on the first pitch of the at-bat and drove a dead-red fastball deep to the right-center field alley, but his drive was caught just short of the warning track by right fielder Daniel Nava. Minnesota did cut the score to 4-2 in the 4th with an RBI single from Justin Morneau, but the Red Sox widened their lead in the 5th. Jonny Gomes and Dustin Pedroia hit consecutive doubles to make it 5-2, and Diamond's day was finished after retiring Ortiz for the first out. In came Anthony Swarzak, and he was unable to quite the Red Sox bats as he allowed a walk, sacrifice fly, and a pair of singles to give the Sox two more runs. In fact, the Twins only escaped the inning as on that last single, Will Middlebrooks was thrown out trying to advance to 3rd base. That five run lead did not last for long, however. The Twins offense had been patient with Dempster, driving his pitch count up to 101 pitches through only 4 innings, and he really only came out to pitch the 5th so that he could qualify for the win. It seemed like manager John Farrell tried to stick with Dempster for as long as he could, but the plan didn't work. Ryan Doumit led off with a double, and then the Twins manufactured a run by using a pair of ground outs by Plouffe and Arcia to bring Doumit home. It looked like Dempster might succeed in battling through 5 innings, but he issued his 6th walk of the game to Hicks, and then alternated stolen bases by Hicks and Pedro Florimon with singles by Florimon and Jamey Carroll to cut the lead to 2 and end his night. In came Clayton Mortensen, and although he gave up a single to Joe Mauer, he got Morneau to fly out to center field to end the threat with the lead intact. It turned out that this was all the Red Sox needed, but they still added some insurance runs later in the game. David Ortiz added his second home run of the game in the 7th inning off Swarzak, and then later in the inning reliever Casey Fien gave up a home run to Daniel Nava that just made it into the flower beds over the right field scoreboard. WP: Craig Breslow (1-0) LP: Scott Diamond (3-4) Studs Jamey Carroll (2 for 4, BB, RBI), Joe Mauer (2 for 5, 2B, R), Justin Morneau (2 for 5, RBI), Ryan Doumit (2 for 4, BB, R), Pedro Florimon (2 for 4, R, 2 RBI) Duds Scott Diamond (4 1/3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 1 K), Anthony Swarzak (1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 BB) Player of the Game David Ortiz for going 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. Roll Call SooFoo Fan, 52 kenzertz, 42 Desert Aaron, 10 DavidRF, 9 less cowbell, more 'neau, 7 kylek037, 6 Caleb A, 2 Gunnathor, 1 twinsbrewer, 1 You cannot have a Top 10 if there are not 10 items on the list, and such is the case tonight. Win Expectancy Source: FanGraphs

Mauer's backup has been behind plate for six of lefthander's seven starts