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Interesting news about the Red Sox and Twins talking, I didn't catch that. Getting Mueller would be just great, and I know the BoSox are needing bullpen help.<br><br>And packerboy was right about Ryan. He's been working his rear end off for years and he's done an amazing job. <br> <p></p><i></i>

Crappy looking win tonight, but a win is a win. Fun to watch 9th inning <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START 8) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/glasses.gif ALT="8)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p>Elk River AA State Champions- 2001 Boys & 2004 Girls</p><i></i>

Geez, Gardy must be reading my posts, he had Rodriguez leading off and LeCroy at DH tonight. Stewart had a horrible night, stranding 6 batters, which is unusual because he's been one of the few Twins hitting the ball, but Jones came through with the big hit in the 9th.<br><br>I like the idea of batting Morneau 8th for now. It's kind of a way to demote him to take some pressure off while keeping him on the team.<br><br>And this year's designated vulture, Jesse Crain, picks up his 9th win. <p></p><i></i>

In the 4th and 5th innings, I was watching the at bats for the Twins. Mauer came up and hits his 2nd double of the night, just a foot shy of leaving the park . Stewart was up in what I believe was the 5th inning and hit a rocket that hit the wall in left field---about a foot foul (he then struck out). I thought, what much more could they ask for? <br><br>It's good to get the win in there and lets hope that can bring a spark to the club. <p></p><i></i>

Hopefully that will be a big win for them.<br><br>But I watched most of that game and the only guy who is having good at bats consistently these days is Mauer. <br><br>Since Hillfan wont do the Boone watch job I assigned him, Ill have to do it myself...kids these days.<br><br>Boone is 4 for 25 as far as I can tell. He looked horrible in 2 of his at bats last night. How long do we stick with this win/ win, cant lose deal? <br><br>Just about anybody we put over there has been able to do better than 4 for 25 (all singles). He has the lowest BA on the team. I think he can still play the position but that isnt why we traded for him. How long does it stay win/win ,cant lose? <br><br>Do we let it go 8 for 50? Based on what Ive seen so far, 8 for 50 looks a lot more likely than a return to form. <br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p074.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... ckerboy</A> at: 7/20/05 8:15 am<br></i>

Hillfan, I didn't see the game, I was just going by Stewart's numbers and they weren't good. If he's still giving the Twins good at bats (like LeCroy in the 9th getting the walk), the numbers might not mean that much. In Mauer's case, I saw two well hit singles on Saturday that could've been doubles were it not for good efforts by the outfielders and last night he had a double that could've been a homer. He's playing as well as you could ask for right now.<br><br>I liked Gardy's batting lineup last night, it seemed to be set up based on recent production which at this point is what the Twins have to do.<br><br>Packerboy, in regards to the Boone situation, if they can get a third baseman, the leash on Boone as a fulltime 2nd baseman can get longer. I'd say by mid-August if the team's still in the wildcard hunt and Boone's numbers and at bats are still as bad as they are now, dump him outright and go with Rodriguez with Punto and Cuddyer as the utility infielders. If they don't pick up a 3rd baseman by the trade deadline, start getting Cuddyer and/or Punto in more and dump him in mid-August if there's no improvement. And let's not forget Rivas down in Triple A, if he shows signs of life that's another option. I'm guessing the Twins will wait till the end of August before they make a decision. <p></p><i></i>

Based on what Ive seen, he would have about 5 more games to show me something. <br><br>He took a fastball for strike 3 last night that was right down the middle. He struck out "swinging" on a slider that was a foot out of the zone. <br><br>But they send Rivas down to work on his hitting and learning the strike zone. <br><br>I hope the leash isnt as long as you suggest. <br><br> <p></p><i></i>

Packerboy,<br><br>I'll keep my watch for everyone on Boone from now on. It just slipped by my head before... <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START >D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/grin.gif ALT=" >D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br><br>You know I really thought this help was going to benefit the Twins and Bret. It looks like he is him same self and and it'll stay that way. I still hope it won't stay that way, but odds aren't great now (4 singles since joining the team? Personally, I think Johan Santana batting could easily pass that...).<br><br>I'll agree with ChrisK about trading. It really sounds like sometime soon that the Twins will be getting a third baseman. If that happens, then I'd say goodbye to Boone's playing time. If we can get the trade, then we could have Castro and Punto play SS and Rodriguez play 2nd (with Boone backing him up). I personally have liked Rodriguez very much since he was brought up. He handles the bat very well, has patience at the plate (unlike Boone), and he's played just as nice defensively as Mr. Boone. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p074.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... Hillfan</A> at: 7/20/05 10:18 am<br></i>

OK Hillfan, we will look forward to the updates. <br><br>I hope your reports contain better news.<br><br>They are playing right now. Its the bottom of the 5th and they are behind 2-0. They have 3 hits. Sound familiar?<br><br>Boone is not in the lineup <p></p><i></i>

Walk off Home Run by Jones. Its about time. <br><br>I will be interested to hear why Boone wasnt in the lineup.<br><br>Crack out a homerun, shout a hip hooray.....<br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

DAMN! Can't wait to see that one on Sportscenter tonight <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :eek --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/eek.gif ALT=":eek"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START 8) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/glasses.gif ALT="8)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p>Elk River AA State Champions- 2001 Boys & 2004 Girls</p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I will be interested to hear why Boone wasnt in the lineup.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, obviously. It's the 4-25 slump that Boone has brought over to the Twins. Gardy wants to give him a day of rest which he could use. Besides, Punto has started to pick his bat up a bit, Rodriguez deserves to be in the lineup with the way he has played, and Castro needed some time in. <br><br>By the way, Castro did well today, doubling twice on a couple of liners. The win was great. Watching Jacque come up with another big hit to win it for the 2nd day in a row was nice to see. Hopefully it'll spark something in his bat to keep it up.<br><br>We'll see what Gardy does for the next game starting at Detroit, which will be a rare 5 game set. With Castro and Punto having multi-hit games, I doubt they'll be rested. Boone will probably start next game if you ask me, and maybe Rodriguez will take a rest. <br><br>I'd love to see 4 out of 5 from the Tigers, but it won't be easy, especially after they just took 2 out of 3 from the White Sox. Magglio Ordonez is back and hot and the young pitching staff of the Tigers has done a fine job. We'll see how the Twins bats can do, and hopefully Justin Morneau can have a good series and start a little streak of his own. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p074.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... Hillfan</A> at: 7/20/05 6:26 pm<br></i>

I think you're right Hillfan, Rodriguez will get the rest tonight. It seems like Jones is a streaky hitter, this would be a good time for him to catch fire. <br><br>The Tigers are having closer problems right now with Troy Percival out for the season and Kyle Farnsworth looking very shaky. If the games are close the Twins will have the upper hand in the 9th.<br><br>The deal with the Bosox is apparently off for now, from Yahoo: "The South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Minneapolis Star-Tribune are both reporting a three-way deal among the Minnesota Twins, Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox was scuttled on July 20. In the deal, the Twins would have gotten Red Sox 3B Bill Mueller and prospects for sending SP Joe Mays to the Marlins and RP J.C. Romero to the Red Sox. Boston would have picked up SP A.J. Burnett and 3B Mike Lowell from the Marlins, and Florida would have gotten SP Bronson Arroyo from Boston. Twins officials denied that such a deal had been in the works." I'm guessing the Marlins may have balked, it looks like they weren't getting much out of the deal.<br><br> <p></p><i></i>

Hopefully the Twins would not agree to that.<br><br>Boone is resting? We get him here to rest him? Why is he tired ...cant be from running the bases.<br><br>Maybe Gardy figured Hillfan needed a break from his Boone watch duties.<br><br>Lets pull the plug on this Boone deal and the sooner the better.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Maybe Gardy figured Hillfan needed a break from his Boone watch duties.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Yup, Gardy was thinking so he decided to give me and Boone the afternoon off...<br><br>ChrisK,<br>Good point about the Tiger bullpen. With the way Twins games have been lately (ahem, 1 run games), they have a better shot at beating the Tigers in the series.<br><br>Yeah, about the trade information, Twins won't go for it. Mays for Mueller and prospects would be enough in my opinion. I don't think we want to give up Romero unless we really need to. <p></p><i></i>

I didn't read the details of the deal close enough, the Marlins would be getting Arroyo AND Mays. The Red Sox need a middle reliever so Romero or Rincon, maybe, would have to be part of the deal to get Mueller. The one thing that might make the deal work for me is that the Twins have been very, very good at evaluating other teams' talent so if they got two prospects from the Red Sox (a 2nd baseman perhaps?) I'm willing to trust that one of those prospects would end up being a good player. <p></p><i></i>

ChrisK,<br><br>Well the Twins organization has done a pretty good job of that in the past. I'm sure they can get some talent if they do get rid of Romero (I doubt Rincon will be dealt). Still it's going to be tough to get rid of J.C. He's one of the two lefties in the pen for us and he's been very effective. <br><br>We'll see what happens with these trades. As for now, lets look forward at the upcoming series with the Tigers, and lets hope it's a good one. Ace Johan Santana starts it out tonight.<br><br>My prediction for the night: Twins take it 5-2 with Johan striking out 8 in 7 innings. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p074.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... Hillfan</A> at: 7/21/05 12:16 pm<br></i>

But that would be the kind of deal to make if you are out of it.<br><br>They are in a 3 team race for the wild card. With their pitching,they are one legitimate power hitter away from being a true threat to win it all. You dont give up your pitching for a .280 /12 HR guy and a couple of prospects under those circumstances. <br><br>We already have guys who will hit .280 with 12 HRs. The prospects arent going to help now, if ever.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

Playing devil's advocate here for the trade, with the situation the Twins are in they might have to overpay to get a major league third baseman. At this point, someone who hits .280 with 15-20 HRs and 80 RBIs is about the best you can do and the Twins could use a hitter with those numbers. Right now the White Sox as a team have hit 30 more HRs than Minnesota.<br><br>I'd say this is the price you pay for not signing Koskie, but he's been hurt as usual so it probably wouldn't have made much difference. However, Ryan can be taken to task (as Patrick Reusse has done) for starting the season with three new infielders and Rivas. Either Pohlad was too cheap to pay for a veteran free agent infielder or Ryan had too much confidence in the guys he was sending out there but it shouldn't be a huge surprise that the Twins are in this position.<br><br>Rumors now abound that the Reds' high asking price for Joe Randa might be coming down. They're apparently interested in a pitching prospect that the Twins got for Pierzynski, the oddly named Boof Bonser. Randa would be a better fit for the Twins than Mueller and would be 2nd on the team with 12 homers. <p></p><i></i>

I'd say Randa would probably be the better choice now, but if we can get Mueller too, then that's good. <p></p><i></i>

No question Mueller would be a good addition but not at the price of Mays and Romero. <br><br>First of all he doesnt hit 15-20 HRs. He has never hit 20 and has only hit 15 or more(19) once. <br><br>He only has 4 this year. He is not worth the price.<br><br>I think they need to do some thing but maybe there isnt anything out there that's feasible. If so, better to do nothing. <br> <p></p><i></i>

Well my prediction wasn't correct, but the Twins did take the opening game of the series 10-5 tonight in Detroit. Minnesota only had 2 extra base hits (2 doubles), but they ended up having a nice night with 13 hits as a team. Santana didn't have his best stuff tonight (5 innings, 9 hits, 3 ER, 0 walks, 3 K's), but he made it through for the win. I guess there was a poor home run call that was foul, so Johan really could have given up just 2 runs.<br><br>Through the lineup:<br><br>-Nick Punto had another multi hit night and seems to be playing better than he was since his return from the DL.<br><br>-Joe Mauer has just been outstanding. He went 2-3 with 3 runs, 2 walks, and he raised his average up to .311. <br><br>-Torii Hunter had a good night as well, going 3-4 with a couple of runs scored. His average had been dipping down, so hopefully tonight's performance will bring it up a bit more.<br><br>-Jacque Jones is keeping it up after going 2-5 tonight with 2 runs scored, and his average is starting to make its way up (.271).<br><br>-Mike Cuddyer is back and drove a couple of guys in. He should be a bench player, and a solid one I'd say.<br><br>And of course the 2 most important:<br><br>-Justin Morneau had a better night. I believe and hope it'll get him back on track. He went 1-2 with a run and 3 walks. I saw one good AB where he came back from being in the hole and walked. Hopefully good AB's like this will get things going for Justin.<br><br>-And Bret Boone. The rest paid off for the both of us if you can tell. Boone had a 2-5 night (now 6-30 as a Twin, .200 avg, 3 RBI) while not striking out. He had 2 solid singles into left field, both very good swings.<br><br>By the way, pitcher Matt Guerrier had 3 perfect innings when he came in for Santana. <br><br><br>Well a win for the Twins and lets keep it going. Next up is tomorrow night with Joe Mays facing Mike Maroth. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p074.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... Hillfan</A> at: 7/21/05 10:57 pm<br></i>

The Twins finally looked kind of like an offense tonight. Granted, Detroit's defense was pathetic (see 2nd inning), but 10 runs is never bad offensively. And Boone had 2 hits! And 2 RBI's! Amazing!<br><br>Though he also left 6 guys on base...<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :rolleyes --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/eyes.gif ALT=":rolleyes"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p>-------------------<br><br>"75 percent of the world is covered by water. The rest is covered by Smoot." --Fred Smoot<br></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p074.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... oren808</A> at: 7/21/05 10:57 pm<br></i>

Packerboy, you're right, Mueller does not have much pop. I wouldn't mind giving up Romero, he's talented but erratic; however, I'd rather not lose Mays. If the trade was Romero and Lohse for Mueller and two prospects, I'd have to think hard about that one. Wacky stat: Mays, Lohse and Romero all have the same number of walks, but Mays and Lohse have pitched 3 times the innings.<br><br>Even though a lot of the runs came about because of the Tigers shoddy fielding, it's good to see the Twins score ten runs. And I don't want to gush too much about Mauer, but it is hard to believe that the Twins' most professional hitter is a 22 year old. Who's Mark Prior again? Also good to see Boone pick up a couple of hits, if only because we can give Packerboy grief for writing him off. Of course, I'm ready to call Packerboy a genius if Boone goes 0 for the rest of his Twins career.<br><br>Hillfan gave the positives from the game, let me be the glass is half empty guy. Shannon Stewart seems to be in a mini-slump 1 for 16 in the last four games, Gardy might have to move him back to the leadoff spot. I'd put Mauer in the 3rd spot and have LeCroy bat 4th but the Twins seem to consider LeCroy only a parttimer. And Lew Ford has not had a hit since July 10th, granted he hasn't played much, but he needs to get his bat going. <p></p><i></i>

Well, at this rate Hillfan will need a HAL 9000 to keep up with the Boone watch. <br><br>I only caught the last part of the game so I missed all of the offense. Usually if you turn on the Twins by the 7th inning , you havent missed a thing.<br><br>Lets keep it up boys. A nice 5-6 game win streak would be very helpful.<br><br>It will be a dog fight for the wildcard.<br><br>I agree with Hillfan's insightful review of whats going on. Its been the same thing all year. They have not been able to jell offensively. When Stewart is goin good, Mauer cant hit. Hunter gets hot but Jones falls apart etc etc etc. <br><br>This is where a lack of a legitimte power hitter really hurts.You need every body to hit to score runs. A three run homer after a walk and a single would be nice. <br><br>This could change and quickly. If it does, these guys can run off a lot of wins because their pitching is so solid. <br><br>We're gonna win Twins<br>We're gonna score<br>We're gonna win Twis<br>Watch that baseball soar<br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>