No one really believes in the Twins, right?

[inari]

It sure doesn't seem like they have the talent to keep up their current play. They currently sit at 4 games over .500 and are 1.5 games back of the White Sox. They have only three hitters with OPS+'s over 100. The bullpen is pretty good but the starting rotation looks iffy.

 

So, there's no reason they should be expected to continue having success... right?

[jiml60]

The Tigers will catch the Sox and win the division...handily.

[chuckywang]

The Twins are the Cardinals of the AL Central.

[XZero771679666304]

The Tigers will catch the Sox and win the division...handily.

[Soul]

The Tigers will catch the Sox and win the division...handily.

 

Yep, it should be mentioned again. They've rather quietly begun playing some good ball and only sit 5 games out.

 

It would be nice to see them destroy the Cardinals. Very nice indeed.

[areilly]

It sure doesn't seem like they have the talent to keep up their current play. They currently sit at 4 games over .500 and are 1.5 games back of the White Sox. They have only three hitters with OPS+'s over 100. The bullpen is pretty good but the starting rotation looks iffy.

 

So, there's no reason they should be expected to continue having success... right?

 

You never know. This year's White Sox aren't very good, and even Detroit's hitting might not be enough to pick up the slack for their pitching. I've learned not to count out the Twins under the current management. And in the interests of proper context and full disclosure, I'm saying that as a White Sox fan.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I still think the Tigers will win that division

[TruffleShuffle]

twins are a pretty good parallel with the cards. they're a well-run, well-managed organization where the sum of the parts usually ends up a lot better than they should be on paper.

[BigSlick]

The Royals are playing better baseball than the Twins

 

Twins aren't going anywhere. The Cardinals aren't outplaying their equivalent levels as much as they are.

[FergieJ31]

I still think the Tigers will win that division

 

yeah same here - they're offered on TradeSports.com at 27, i'm a buyer there.

[Clem Fandango]

Despite giving up a boatload of runs his last appearance, it appears Francisco Liriano has gotten his command back on track in the minors, if he can harness it in the majors when he's called back up in a couple weeks, they may be a formidable underdog team. They will instantly get a top tier #1 starter, assuming he's got his stuff back. It's a big "if", but it's possible. Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Young, Gomez and Casilla would be a strong offensive force if Cuddyer, Young, and Gomez could get their heads out their donkey's. If they start playing like they could, and Liriano comes back like the Liriano we saw a couple years ago, there's no reason they couldn't at least content for the wild card, IMO. Would be a tough feat to accomplish though as they really don't seem to have any indication that they could keep this up

[SouthSideRyan]

Carlos Gomez sucks. His head is permanently in his ass.

[Vanilla Ice]

Carlos Gomez sucks. His head is permanently in his ass.

but... but... he hit for the cycle

[sneakypower]

Gomez is virtually the same player Jose Reyes was at his age, what did you really expect from him?

 

Carlos Gomez sucks. His head is permanently in his ass.

but... but... he hit for the cycle

is that the only thing you know?

[Vanilla Ice]

Gomez is virtually the same player Jose Reyes was at his age, what did you really expect from him?

 

Carlos Gomez sucks. His head is permanently in his ass.

but... but... he hit for the cycle

is that the only thing you know?

yep.

 

i actually have no idea how good of a player Gomez is.

 

inform me.

[RedFlash]

Gomez is virtually the same player Jose Reyes was at his age, what did you really expect from him?

 

Carlos Gomez sucks. His head is permanently in his ass.

but... but... he hit for the cycle

is that the only thing you know?

yep.

 

i actually have no idea how good of a player Gomez is.

 

inform me.

 

Think of a RH version of Felix Pie. Got good ML talent, but like Pie he is still extremely raw. That's the impression I get from Gomez.

[RedFlash]

The Twins are the Cardinals of the AL Central.

 

In terms of playing right now, sure, but in terms of talent on the field.......the Cards are closer to the Newark Bears. The Twins still have some very good ML talent in their lineup (Morneau/Mauer/Cuddyer/Young) they, to me, seem like they are underachieving, based on their talent level.

[Vanilla Ice]

Gomez is virtually the same player Jose Reyes was at his age, what did you really expect from him?

 

Carlos Gomez sucks. His head is permanently in his ass.

but... but... he hit for the cycle

is that the only thing you know?

yep.

 

i actually have no idea how good of a player Gomez is.

 

inform me.

 

Think of a RH version of Felix Pie. Got good ML talent, but like Pie he is still extremely raw. That's the impression I get from Gomez.

are the twins at least letting him play everyday?

is he showing improvement?

[Clem Fandango]

Gomez is virtually the same player Jose Reyes was at his age, what did you really expect from him?

 

Carlos Gomez sucks. His head is permanently in his ass.

but... but... he hit for the cycle

is that the only thing you know?

yep.

 

i actually have no idea how good of a player Gomez is.

 

inform me.

 

Think of a RH version of Felix Pie. Got good ML talent, but like Pie he is still extremely raw. That's the impression I get from Gomez.

are the twins at least letting him play everyday?

is he showing improvement?

 

I just dropped him from a fantasy team, if that says anything (it doesn't). He's got like 16 stolen bases. Pretty much that's his greatest offensive threat is his speed, and that has tailed off big time. 11 stolen bases in the first month... 7 in the last two. He's only stolen one base all month long, so his speed has kinda disappeared lately on the basepaths. Overall, he's an average contact hitter it seems. .270-.290 range

[sneakypower]

I'd believe in the Twins more if Delmon Young ever tried to pull the ball.

[BigSlick]

Gomez is virtually the same player Jose Reyes was at his age, what did you really expect from him?

 

Carlos Gomez sucks. His head is permanently in his ass.

but... but... he hit for the cycle

is that the only thing you know?

yep.

 

i actually have no idea how good of a player Gomez is.

 

inform me.

 

Think of a RH version of Felix Pie. Got good ML talent, but like Pie he is still extremely raw. That's the impression I get from Gomez.

are the twins at least letting him play everyday?

is he showing improvement?

I don't know, I wouldn't take him, he's got trash plate discipline and unimpressive power right now.

 

.269-.302-.379

 

Ugh, 75 K's verse 12 BB's, ugly.

 

Incredibly unimpressive minor league slash stats of .278-.336-.399

 

One worries that the Twins pretty much gave Santana away for nothing.

 

He doesn't seem to be half the prospect Pie is.

[sneakypower]

that would be a really over simplistic way to put it

[BigSlick]

that would be a really over simplistic way to put it

complicate it for me then

[sneakypower]

that would be a really over simplistic way to put it

complicate it for me then

if you don't appreciate the effect that elite speed and plus defense have on a game, or that significant upside potential has in trying to assess the future of a player, then yes he's garbage. reading your writeup of him he might as well be Ross Gload for all the aspects of his game you even mentioned.

 

as i said in the past

in the minors, his BB rate was actually better than Crawford's but slightly less than Reyes had.

 

at any rate, Gomez put up virtually identical numbers to both in the minors, making up for a poorer BABIP with better ISOs. He also showed better prowess on the basepaths, stealing more bases at greater success rate. The only caveat is that he was a year older than the other two players mentioned at each stage in the minors.

 

and when you look at what he's done at the pro level this year (at age 21), it matches right up there with Reyes' and Crawford's age 22 seasons.

 

also from an observational standpoint, he has much better bat speed and better foot speed than these two. i don't really see what's ridiculous about the comparison.

not much has changed since to change my stance on his future. my only concern is that he's on the wrong team to try to discourage his free swinger mentality.

[moochpuppy]

The Royals are playing better baseball than the Twins

 

Twins aren't going anywhere. The Cardinals aren't outplaying their equivalent levels as much as they are.

 

AL Central June

 

Detroit 14-8 .636

Minnesota 14-9 .609

Kansas City 14-9 .609

Chicago 12-10 .545

Cleveland 10-13 .435