OOTP 16 -- This is Twins Territory!

[Brananorama]

...Aaaand we're back! As you might know, I've decided to reboot this Twins dynasty early in its life cycle due to a midseason change in heart about the format I wanted to present this in.

I've decided to start over from scratch, as I hadn't gotten far enough into my game to warrant missing out on what was happening. I'll be beginning with (relative) Opening Day rosters, the only changes being my own. I did this both to accommodate working around Ervin Santana's suspension, and so I could update at a much more current rate so as to get a lot more input from any readers.

I think that's everything. Here's the original post!

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Hey, everyone! Like the rest of you, I’m incredibly excited to get cracking on another baseball season and chew through a few leagues in OOTP 16. Last release was my favorite yet and this year’s is bound to be even better than I could have imagined. I’ve found a great home in a couple outstanding online leagues (shoutout to the National Online Baseball Association, the CMLB, and the Heartland Baseball League), am almost finished building the first fictional league that I WILL stick with this year, and am starting a traditional MLB file in which to learn some of the new features, explore the 3D setting, and just enjoy myself all around.

However -- I’ve noticed a serious under-representation of my hometown club -- the Minnesota Twins -- on the OOTP Dynasties forum. I’ve opted to take care of that myself and go through a Twinkie Town dynasty all my own. I’ll be writing weekly recaps and offering subjective commentary throughout, in an effort both to log down the history of my first OOTP 16 league, keep track of the moves I’ve made (and why I’ve made those moves), and share my writing and opinions to the forum in case you guys have any interest in following my TBD fictional league.

(I’ve tried and failed to commit to two dynasty reports before this, but I am going to make every effort to get this one working. Starting with my favorite team in a situation I’m familiar with should help that cause.) A roster overview will be coming soon as we look ahead to the 2015 season and beyond. The future is bright for the Twin Cities with young talent waiting to make their mark in the wings.
This is Twins Territory.

[Brananorama]

Starting Rotation Overview

The Twins’ starting rotation has been their biggest issue within the last few losing seasons, and while there were worse pitching corps to take the stage in seasons such as 2011 and 2013, the staff that showed up in 2014 was maybe the most disappointing -- because with how well the offense performed, scoring the fifth-most runs in the American League, a better pitching rotation could have propelled a rebuilding team to a record closer to 81 wins -- the elusive .500 mark that Minnesota fans have been eagerly awaiting the Twins to reach since they collapsed four years ago.
However, the rotation is in better shape than it’s ever been. Below I’ll explore the five men who will get the ball at the beginning of the 2015 season.

• RHP Phil Hughes -- Hughes is coming off a season in which he set the all-time record for strikeout-to-walk ratio, posting 5.7 WAR and becoming the Twins’ first bona-fide ace pitcher in a very long time. As such, he was rewarded in the offseason with an extension that will keep him in town until at least 2019. Hughes’ game relies on his expert control and strong cut fastball.
• RHP Ricky Nolasco -- The most disappointing member of the 2014 rotation, Nolasco looks to bounce back this season after posting a 5.38 ERA in 27 starts -- in a year in which he’d become the Twins’ largest free agent signing ever. Nolasco swings six pitches and has quality control over them, but will need to blow away a few more hitters and hope to avoid injury in order to have a remotely respectable season.
• RHP Kyle Gibson -- The only pitching prospect in the rotation at this moment, Gibson has finished his first full season at the major-league level and looks to build upon his performance in 31 starts. The 27-year-old has good variance in his three pitches, but it’s all about mixing them up as none of them pack a particularly potent punch.
• LHP Tommy Milone -- Before I took over, Terry Ryan made quite a remarkable move last year. He picked up outfielder Sam Fuld off waivers from the Oakland Athletics, then flipped him back to the A’s at the trading deadline in exchange for the young left-hander the Twins were missing in their starting rotation. Milone was less than spectacular for the Twins in five starts, but his potential 2015 failure only means a chance for guys like Alex Meyer and Trevor May down below.
• RHP Trevor May -- The youngest addition to the Twins rotation, May debuted last August for the Twins and had mostly shaky outings with a couple really promising gems including a 10-strikeout performance against Chicago. With Ervin Santana’s suspension, May finally gets his shot to show his stuff at the major-league level over an extended period of time.

In addition, the Twins’ bullpen features some familiar faces and some new additions. As always, Glen Perkins will be closing out games after collecting 30+ saves in each of his first two seasons as Minnesota’s full-time closer. He will be set up in the late innings by righty Casey Fien and lefty Caleb Thielbar. Also from the left side, veteran Brian Duensing will alternate between general middle relief and a LOOGY role. The three newest faces are Blaine Boyer, who looks to play through a full season in a Twins uniform, J.R. Graham, a Rule 5 selection, and free agent long reliever/emergency starter Tim Stauffer, coming off a 6-2, 3.50, 9.4 K/9 season with the San Diego Padres.

[Brananorama]

Opening Day Lineup
1. S Danny Santana, SS
2. L Joe Mauer, 1B
3. R Brian Dozier, 2B
4. L Oswaldo Arcia, LF
5. R Torii Hunter, RF
6. S Kennys Vargas, DH
7. R Trevor Plouffe, 3B
8. R Kurt Suzuki, C
9. L Jordan Schafer, CF

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. MLB’s 7th-best offense in terms of run-scoring will be, for the most part, run right back out to begin the season, even if regression is all but certain for guys like Danny Santana and Kurt Suzuki. As such, a platoon has been put in place where the heir apparent at the backstop position, Josmil Pinto, will start against lefties until he’s proven he’s ready for the everyday MLB job. In addition, Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier will swap positions in the batting order, and longtime Twin and fan favorite Torii Hunter will return to Minnesota in the heart of the batting order.

This means that the Twins’ bench is comprised of the following four: whoever isn’t catching on the given day, utility infielder Eduardo Nunez, and other utility infielder named Eduardo, Eduardo Escobar. In addition, Shane Robinson joins the club as a free agent pickup out of St. Louis. Robinson will understudy all three outfield positions with speed and will serve a very Darin Mastroianni-esque role on the team.

[Brananorama]

Final Notes
Jim Pohlad’s goals are as follows.

• Don’t suck completely
• Upgrade at shortstop this season
• Acquire a Cy Young Award winner
• Build to a playoff team within 5 seasons

On the list of the Top 100 MLB prospects, our very own center fielder of the future Byron Buxton tops all, with righty Jose Berrios not far behind at 7th place. The preseason predictions don’t see us doing favorably, as they actually have us regressing back to a whopping 100 losses. If this happens, I deserve to have my four-year deal terminated immediately. The projected American League division winners are the Yankees/Red Sox, Indians, and Athletics, with the Wild Cards predicted to be the Tigers and Angels. On the NL side of things, Washington, St. Louis, and Los Angeles lead the way with the Cubs winning home field in the Wild Card Game against the Giants.


With all the preseason preparations made, the Twins fly into Detroit for a three-game set in Comerica Park to open another exciting year of Major League Baseball.

[Brananorama]

April 2015
April 6th - April 12th
4/6/15 -- Minnesota Twins (0-0) at Detroit Tigers (0-0)
Phil Hughes (0-0) vs. David Price (0-0) - MINNESOTA 3, DETROIT 4 -- F/10
WP: Joe Nathan (1-0, 0.00) / LP: J.R. Graham (0-1, 27.00)
4/8/15 -- Minnesota Twins (0-1) at Detroit Tigers (1-0)
Ricky Nolasco (0-0) vs. Anibal Sanchez (0-0) -- MINNESOTA 2, DETROIT 3
WP: Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 1.50) / LP: Ricky Nolasco (0-1, 4.05) / SV: Joe Nathan (1, 0.00)
4/9/15 -- Minnesota Twins (0-2) at Detroit Tigers (2-0)
Kyle Gibson (0-0) vs. Justin Verlander (0-0) -- MINNESOTA 2, DETROIT 4
WP: Justin Verlander (1-0, 2.57) / LP: Kyle Gibson (0-1, 6.00) / SV: Joba Chamberlain (1, 0.00)
4/10/15 -- Minnesota Twins (0-3) at Chicago White Sox (2-1)
Tommy Milone (0-0) vs. John Danks (0-0) -- MINNESOTA 5, CHICAGO 0
WP: Tommy Milone (1-0, 0.00) / LP: John Danks (0-1, 7.71)
4/11/15 -- Minnesota Twins (1-3) at Chicago White Sox (2-2)
Trevor May (0-0) vs. Jose Quintana (1-0, 0.00) -- MINNESOTA 9, CHICAGO 18
WP: Jose Quintana (2-0, 1.84) / LP: Trevor May (0-1, 60.75)
4/12/15 -- Minnesota Twins (1-4) at Chicago White Sox (3-2)
Phil Hughes (0-0, 4.05) vs. Kyle Drabek (0-0) -- MINNESOTA 9, CHICAGO 3
WP: Phil Hughes (1-0, 3.68) / LP: Kyle Drabek (0-1, 15.75)

This Week in Twins Ball: The Detroit Tigers have been tough over the last few years, and while they may be reaching the end of their championship window, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be talented in 2015. Any time you go up against a team with a talented front line of starters and an offense that only gets better each year, you have cause to be nervous. We caught a break in game one with David Price exiting due to injury in just the fourth inning, and tied the game in dramatic fashion on a two-run homer from Kennys Vargas late. Casey Fien got out of a man-on-third, nobody-out situation in the bottom of the eighth. The Tigers won off J.R. Graham in the tenth. ~~~ In the second game, Miguel Cabrerahomered twice off Ricky Nolasco, and Anibal Sanchezlargely dominated through six innings of work, and the Twins surprisingly only lost by a run, even getting Danny Santana into scoring position against former Twins closer Joe Nathan. ~~~ In the third game of the set, it was the Tigers putting together a rally, with a three-run sixth frame pulling Detroit ahead. Joe Mauer walked four times and Eduardo Escobar stole twice as the Tigers put the finishing touches on a sweep.

Next, we headed down to the South Side for a set with Chicago. Tommy Milone got the ball in the first game, and his prowess is the only thing really keeping prospect Alex Meyer in the minor leagues (well, that and Meyer’s own issues with controlling his location.) Milone struck out three in the first en route to a 6-K, 0-BB, 0-R performance through seven. Torii Hunter was removed from the game for an unknown reason following a fourth-inning slide into second. Kennys Vargas corked his third homer of the year in the win. ~~~ Trevor May’s first start of the year was one to be forgotten, as he didn’t finish the second inning and surrendered seven runs in the blink of an eye while still on the mound (with two more scoring after his departure in a twelve-run second.) We began running stolen base drills in the rout, going 5-for-5 in attempts. ~~~ My philosophy is that if you have the personnel to steal, you should steal early and often. After swiping five bags yesterday, we stole six of eight today en route to our first series win and 17 of 19 total steals in our first week -- EASILY first in the majors.


Twins Transactions:

• TORII HUNTER (MLB) to 15-day DL (hip strain; 5 weeks.) AARON HICKS (AAA Rochester) to active roster.

MLB Injuries:

• JOSE REYES (MLB - TOR) to 60-day DL (ruptured MCL; 8 months.)

This Week in the MLB:

• American League Player of the Week: 1B Carlos Santana (CLE) - (9-for-23, 4 HR, 9 RBI)
• National League Player of the Week: RF Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) - (10-for-22, 3 HR, 5 RBI)

Power Rankings: 1. STL / 2. CLE / 3. PHI / 22. MIN

[Brananorama]

April 13th - April 19th
4/13/15 -- Kansas City Royals (3-3) at Minnesota Twins (2-4)
Yordano Ventura (0-0, 1.50) vs. Ricky Nolasco (0-1, 4.05) -- KANSAS CITY 7, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Yordano Ventura (1-0, 3.00) / LP: Ricky Nolasco (0-2, 6.39) / SV: Greg Holland (2, 0.00)
4/15/15 -- Kansas City Royals (4-3) at Minnesota Twins (2-5)
Edinson Volquez (1-0, 2.57) vs. Kyle Gibson (0-1, 6.00) -- KANSAS CITY 5, MINNESOTA 2
WP: Edinson Volquez (2-0, 2.08) / LP: Kyle Gibson (0-2, 4.85) / SV: Greg Holland (3, 0.00)
4/16/15 -- Kansas City Royals (5-3) at Minnesota Twins (2-6)
Jason Vargas (1-0, 2.57) vs. Tommy Milone (1-0, 0.00) -- KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 2
WP: Jason Vargas (2-0, 2.40) / LP: Tommy Milone (1-1, 2.02) / SV: Greg Holland (4, 0.00)
4/17/15 -- Cleveland Indians (5-3) at Minnesota Twins (2-7)
Trevor Bauer (1-0, 1.13) vs. Trevor May (0-1, 60.75) -- CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 7
WP: Trevor May (1-1, 10.80) / LP: Trevor Bauer (1-1, 5.11)
4/18/15 -- Cleveland Indians (5-4) at Minnesota Twins (3-7)
Corey Kluber (2-0, 3.21) vs. Phil Hughes (1-0, 3.68) -- CLEVELAND 15, MINNESOTA 1
WP: Corey Kluber (3-0, 2.57) / LP: Phil Hughes (1-1, 6.63)
4/19/15 -- Cleveland Indians (6-4) at Minnesota Twins (3-8)
Carlos Carrasco (1-1, 9.00) vs. Ricky Nolasco (0-2, 6.39) -- CLEVELAND 11, MINNESOTA 2
WP: Carlos Carrasco (2-1, 5.14) / LP: Ricky Nolasco (0-3, 8.64)

This Week in Twins Ball: The more I look at this club, the more it reminds me of the small-ball Piranhas of the Ron Gardenhire era. A few big boppers right in the middle of the order, but then nothing but low-average speed around the rest of the board, really. Somehow, though, he was able to utilize that team to the best of its ability -- say what you like about sacrifice bunts and squeeze plays being poor strategic decisions, it seemed like those teams defied the percentages and succeeded every time they tried it. What I’m getting at is if we can out-Royals the Royals, we’ll be in good shape this series. Ricky Nolasco had a rough outing in our home opener, getting knocked around for fifteen hits before we finally went to our thusly miserable pen. ~~~ Kennys Vargas’ team-leading fourth homer helped bring us to within as little as one in the second game, but Glen Perkins gave up a pair in a non-save situation to help the Royals to an early series win. ~~~ A slumping Kurt Suzuki homered in the series finale, and Tommy Milone pitched very well into the seventh, but the Royals got started quickly with four runs in the first three frames and never looked back, completing the three-game sweep.
Next up, a set at home against third-place Cleveland. The first game was all about a look at Trevor May, who’d been rocked in his first outing of the year at U.S. Cellular Field. A big first and a big sixth would be all the run support May (seven innings, no walks, five strikeouts) would require, as the Twins won their first series opener. ~~~ The Twins were dealt a blow in the third, when a grand slam made it a 5-0 lead for the Indians. Phil Hughes walked five men, and the game unraveled late to give the Twins another hugely disappointing loss. ~~~ Sometimes you just can’t foresee the implosion -- and when the game was 4-0, a three-run homer surrendered by Ricky Nolasco resulted in his being pulled with seven allowed in the boxscore. Nothing good about this one...a running theme. Glen Perkins gave up another non-save run.

Twins Transactions:

• SP MIKE PELFREY (MLB - DFA) given outright release. Our business relationship is over, and after having shopped him around to no avail, Pelfrey will leave the organization. If we need a spot starter, it will be a pitcher in the minors with a future in our system.
• IF NICK PUNTO, RP JOSE VERAS, LF DAYAN VICIEDO, LF MALQUIEL BRITO sign minor-league contracts. Jose Veras has the biggest upside out of these four signings. Viciedo represents minor-league outfield depth, and Punto is taking a year off, and will resume in our system in 2016.

MLB Major Transactions:

• 2B DANIEL MURPHY (MLB - NYM) and RHP DOMINGO TAPIA (A - NYM) to Washington. SP JORDAN ZIMMERMAN (MLB - WSH) to New York.

MLB Injuries:

• 3B DAVID WRIGHT (MLB - NYM) to 15-day DL (strained back; 4 weeks.)
• CL JASON GRILLI (MLB - ATL) to 15-day DL (oblique strain; 4 weeks.)
• 2B IAN KINSLER (MLB - DET) to 15-day DL (strained groin; 5-6 weeks.)

This Week in the MLB:

• American League Player of the Week: CF DALTON POMPEY (TOR) - (13-for-26, 2 HR)
• National League Player of the Week: SS IAN DESMOND (WSH) - (11-for-29, 2 HR, 5 RBI)

Power Rankings: 1. STL / 2. LAD / 3. WSH / 29. MIN

[Brananorama]

April 20th - April 26th
4/20/15 -- Minnesota Twins (3-9) at Kansas City Royals (8-4)
Kyle Gibson (0-2, 4.85) vs. Edinson Volquez (2-0, 2.08) -- MINNESOTA 3, KANSAS CITY 10
WP: Edinson Volquez (3-0, 1.71) / LP: Kyle Gibson (0-3, 7.13)
4/21/15 -- Minnesota Twins (3-10) at Kansas City Royals (9-4)
Tommy Milone (1-1, 2.02) vs. Jason Vargas (2-0, 2.40) -- MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 8
WP: Jason Vargas (3-0, 3.27) / LP: Tommy Milone (1-2, 4.12) / SV: Greg Holland (6, 0.00)
4/22/15 -- Minnesota Twins (3-11) at Kansas City Royals (10-4)
Trevor May (1-1, 10.80) vs. Yohan Pino (0-0) -- MINNESOTA 7, KANSAS CITY 0
WP: Trevor May (2-1, 6.28) / LP: Yohan Pino (0-1, 12.00)
4/24/15 -- Minnesota Twins (4-11) at Seattle Mariners (6-9)
Phil Hughes (1-1, 6.63) vs. Felix Hernandez (2-0, 2.25) -- MINNESOTA 6, SEATTLE 9 -- F/22
WP: Tom Wilhelmsen (1-0, 0.00) / LP: Ricky Nolasco (0-4, 9.16)
4/25/15 -- Minnesota Twins (4-12) at Seattle Mariners (7-9)
Kyle Gibson (0-3, 7.13) vs. J.A. Happ (1-0, 5.00) -- MINNESOTA 3, SEATTLE 2
WP: Kyle Gibson (1-3, 5.40) / LP: Carson Smith (1-1, 1.17)
4/26/15 -- Minnesota Twins (5-12) at Seattle Mariners (7-10)
Jose Berrios (0-0) vs. James Paxton (0-0, 4.58) -- MINNESOTA 4, SEATTLE 6 -- F/11
WP: Tom Wilhelmsen (2-0, 0.00) / LP: Tim Stauffer (0-1, 2.77)

This Week in Twins Ball: The Royals went up 5-0 after two full innings of play in the opener, once again putting us behind the 8-ball before we could really do anything about it. Mr. Pohlad’s idea about obtaining that former Cy Young Award winner isn’t looking so bad right now...this is our third consecutive game giving up at least ten runs, it’s almost becoming normal now. NOT GOOD. ~~~ The fact that Tommy Milone is our best pitcher to this point sounds like a travesty, but he’s been pitching well this April. Milone surrendered his first walk of the year after just over 17 innings and 15 strikeouts. A struggling Danny Santana made a pair of fielding errors. ~~~ Facing former Twin spot starter Yohan Pino, Oswaldo Arcia (2) and Kennys Vargas (5) homered back-to-back in the first inning. Trevor May struck out six through six 3-hit frames. Glen Perkins made it through his first perfect outing.


We have a new-look batting order! Brandon Crawford and Yunel Escobar front the leadoff slots, with Eric Farris platooning with Jordan Schafer to bat ninth against lefties. Can this lineup help crank out more wins? Maybe, but once Strickland and Hall get the call, we’ll be in even better shape. Progress! At least, on paper. This one proved intensely exciting, as the Twins rallied from down 6-1, scoring three in the eighth and two in the ninth in what amounted to an absolute marathon, with the Twins loading the bases with nobody out and exiting without a run twice in extra frames and neither team scoring until and Ricky Nolasco forced to enter in relief in the bottom of the 20th (meaning we’ll need to pick out a spot starter for the finale at Safeco.) This one ended on a walk-off shot by Kyle Seager in the bottom of inning 22. ~~~ We needed Kyle Gibson to pull through and dig deep to eat innings after playing for seven minutes shy of seven hours last night -- Gibson delivered big-time with a complete game, seven-hit performance. ~~~ Number 7 overall prospect Jose Berrios made a very unexpected debut starting in place of Nolasco in the finale; “La Maquina” was remarkably solid in his MLB debut -- eight innings, three runs on eight hits, and the Twins rallied to tie it from down 3-0 in the ninth. The Mariners got Glen Perkins to blow the save, and we headed to extras for the second time in the series, losing on another walk-off homer, this time in the eleventh, and we’ve yet to win more than twice in a week.


Twins Transactions:

• RP BLAINE BOYER (MLB) designated for assignment. RP AARON THOMPSON (AAA) to active roster. Blaine Boyer wasn’t doing anything for me. A sketchy signing to begin with, Boyer has given up eight runs in seven innings of work this April, and will be released if nobody picks him up.
• OF SHANE ROBINSON (MLB), RP BLAINE BOYER (DFA), 2B PAT KELLY (A) to Washington Nationals. IF YUNEL ESCOBAR (WSH), DAKOTA BACUS (A - WSH), JAKE JOHANSEN (A - WSH) to Minnesota Twins.Somewhat surprisingly, I got some offers when I shopped around Shane Robinson. I noticed Eric Farris in Rochester, who has the same defensive capability and the same complete lack of a bat. Turns out some teams still don’t have that three-position outfield commodity, so I wound up swapping Shane out in exchange for what hopefully passes for Pohlad as a shortstop upgrade, as well as a few nice young pitchers for minor-league depth, and $3,500,000 in cash. Overall, pretty pleased! Got rid of a couple problem players on our own club, and while Kelly may very well make it to the majors for Washington, I like our new hurlers’ chances better.
• 2B BRIAN DOZIER (MLB), IF EDUARDO NUNEZ (MLB) to San Francisco Giants. SS BRANDON CRAWFORD (SF), RP HUNTER STRICKLAND (AAA - SF), CL CODY HALL (AAA - SF) to Minnesota Twins. A big trade here in April -- I wasn’t expecting to wheel and deal a ton in the first month of the season, but I’ve got an offer I can’t refuse here. Teams are a little higher on Brian Dozier than I tend to be in the long run, especially with a glut of middle-infield prospects such as Nick Gordon, Jorge Polanco, and Eddie Rosario in the pipeline. So Dozier’s out (not long after signing a very team-friendly contract), as is Nunez, but in return we get a couple of very nice relief prospects from the Giants; this deal is bound to help us retool our relief corps even further, and I like the way it’s projected to look toward the end of this season into the next.
• OF ERIC FARRIS (AAA) to active roster.
• SP JOSE BERRIOS (AA) to active roster. We briefly demoted a promising arm in J.R. Graham to accommodate this spot start -- delegated to Berrios due to his being the only healthy rested Twin available for the finale.
• RP BRIAN WILSON signs a 1-year, $875,000 deal. I didn’t know we’d be getting a few pitching prospects this month, but Wilson joins the big club as a very low-risk, high-reward signing in a year when we still had plenty to allocate in free agency. If he works out, consider him flipped at the deadline!

MLB Major Transactions:

• SS IAN DESMOND signs a 4-year, $76 million extension with the Washington Nationals.

MLB Injuries:

• CF ADAM JONES (BAL) to 15-day DL (fractured foot; 4 weeks.)
• LF STEVE PEARCE (BAL) to 15-day DL (separated shoulder; 4 weeks.)
• RP JOE NATHAN (DET) to 60-day DL (bone chips; 4 months.)
• CF ADAM EATON (CHW) to 15-day DL (shoulder soreness; 4 weeks.)
• SP MATT HARVEY (NYM) to 15-day DL (strained oblique; 4 weeks.)
• LF BRETT GARDNER (NYY) to 60-day DL (broken elbow; 4-5 months.)

This Week in the MLB:

• American League Player of the Week: DH KENDRYS MORALES (KC) - (14-for-27, 2 HR, 9 RBI)
• National League Player of the Week: SS STARLIN CASTRO (CHC) - (14-for-28, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R)

Power Rankings: 1. TB / 2. WSH / 3. STL / 30. MIN

[CatKnight]

Very quick and easy to read style. I'm sorry your Twins aren't doing very well, but keep it up!

[Brananorama]

Originally Posted by CatKnight

Very quick and easy to read style. I'm sorry your Twins aren't doing very well, but keep it up!

Thank you very much! I started this one over because I knew nobody would care about a poorly-formatted dynasty, so that means a lot. I think the color-coding and bullet points give this a HUGE lift.

Yeah, we're not the best club right now, but I like the last couple trades we made and I think we can see some improvement once the calendar turns to May. Keep reading along!

[Brananorama]

April 28th - May 3rd
4/28/15 -- Detroit Tigers (10-9) at Minnesota Twins (5-13) -- Game One
David Price (2-1, 2.66) vs. Tommy Milone (1-2, 4.12) -- DETROIT 0, MINNESOTA 2
WP: Tommy Milone (2-2, 2.83) / LP: David Price (2-2, 2.64)
4/28/15 -- Detroit Tigers (10-10) at Minnesota Twins (6-13) -- Game Two
Shane Greene (1-1, 3.43) vs. Trevor May (2-1, 6.28) -- DETROIT 2, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Trevor May (3-1, 5.06) / LP: Shane Greene (1-2, 3.86) / SV: Glen Perkins (1, 5.14)
4/29/15 -- Detroit Tigers (10-11) at Minnesota Twins (7-13)
Anibal Sanchez (3-0, 2.10) vs. Ricky Nolasco (0-4, 9.16) -- DETROIT 6, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Anibal Sanchez (4-0, 2.51) / LP: Ricky Nolasco (0-5, 9.78) / SV: Al Albuquerque (5, 1.13)
4/30/15 -- Chicago White Sox (10-11) at Minnesota Twins (7-14)
Jeff Samardzija (2-1, 5.53) vs. Phil Hughes (1-1, 5.40) -- CHICAGO 6, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Jeff Samardzija (3-1, 5.12) / LP: Phil Hughes (1-2, 6.32) / SV: David Robertson (6, 1.80)
5/1/15 -- Chicago White Sox (11-11) at Minnesota Twins (7-15)
Rubby De La Rosa (1-1, 7.11) vs. Jose Berrios (0-0, 3.38) -- CHICAGO 1, MINNESOTA 17
WP: Jose Berrios (1-0, 1.93) / LP: Rubby De La Rosa (1-2, 8.18)
5/2/15 -- Chicago White Sox (11-12) at Minnesota Twins (8-15)
John Danks (1-1, 3.20) vs. Kyle Gibson (1-3, 5.40) -- CHICAGO 7, MINNESOTA 4
WP: John Danks (2-1, 3.28) / LP: Kyle Gibson (1-4, 6.09)
5/3/15 -- Chicago White Sox (12-12) at Minnesota Twins (8-16)
Hector Noesi (1-1, 7.00) vs. Trevor May (3-1, 5.06) -- CHICAGO 5, MINNESOTA 6 -- F/13
WP: Brian Duensing (1-0, 1.54) / LP: Zach Putnam (1-1, 4.15)

This Week in Twins Ball: The series with the Tigers opened a day late with a doubleheader due to rain. In game one, Kurt Suzuki broke a scoreless tie in the sixth after Tommy Milone and David Price traded zeroes through five and a half. Milone threw a four-hit shutout, walking none and striking out a team-high nine batters in a game this year. ~~~ Trevor May dealt seven innings of two-run ball, finishing at an even 100 pitches...a shaky Glen Perkins loaded the bases in the ninth but came away with his first save. ~~~ The Twins’ rally from down 5-1 fell slightly short in the finale, but we won the series regardless.

Phil Hughes didn’t do too well in the opener with Chicago, giving up six earned runs in as many innings. Aaron Thompson had a 1-2-3 ninth in his first full inning of work. ~~~ Jose Berrios got one more start to see if he didn’t just catch lightning in a bottle in his debut. After an 8-inning outing at Safeco. Oswaldo Arcia’s third homer of the year helped make it 5-0 early. Berrios wound up with all the run support he’d ever need, as he pitched six shutout innings of three-hit ball...I can’t send this guy back to Double-A! I don’t even want to send him back to Triple-A! In two starts he’s been more competent than all of our other rotational righties combined. ~~~ Fresh off our third win of the week -- the first time we’ve won that many all year, the White Sox erased a 2-0 Twins lead with a five-run sixth off struggling starter (my favorite phrase!) Kyle Gibson. ~~~ In the final game of the four-game set, the Twins erased a 5-1 lead by scoring four times with two outs in the ninth. This lengthy series ended with both bullpens exhausted after the Twins walked it off in the 13th to cement our first winning week!

MLB Injuries:

• SS TROY TULOWITZKI (COL) to 15-day DL (hamstring strain; 6 weeks.)
• RF JASON HEYWARD (STL) to 15-day DL (hamstring strain; 3 weeks.)
• SP JOSE QUINTANA (CHW) to 60-day DL (Tommy John; 11 months.)

This Week in the MLB:
American League POTW: C KURT SUZUKI (MIN) - (14-for-24, 1 HR, 6 RBI)
National League POTW: 1B ANTHONY RIZZO (CHC) - (11-for-26, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 6 R)

This April in the MLB:

• American League BOTM: CF MIKE TROUT (LAA) - (.362, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 19 R)
• National League BOTM: RF BRYCE HARPER (WSH) - (.360, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 10 R)
• American League POTM: SP ANIBAL SANCHEZ (DET) - (4-0, 2.51, 20 K)
• National League POTM: SP LANCE LYNN (STL) - (5-0, 1.82, 31 K)
• American League ROTM: CF DALTON POMPEY (TOR) - (.323, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 16 R)
• National League ROTM: CF JOC PEDERSON (LAD) - (.232, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 9 R, 7/8 SB)

Twins April 2015 In Review:

• April Record/Overall Record/Standings: 7-15 / 7-15 / 5th Place -- 5.5 GB

Who’s Hot:

• • 1B Joe Mauer (.322/.422/.402, 4 2B)
  • DH Kennys Vargas (.311/.361/.544, 4 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR)
  • 3B Trevor Plouffe (.263/.341/.487, 6 2B, 4 HR)
  • SP Tommy Milone (2-2, 2.83, 12.5 K/BB)
  • Everyone in the bullpen - sans Glen Perkins

Who’s Not:

• SS Brandon Crawford (.125/.224/.179)
• C Josmil Pinto (.190/.261/.238)
• CL Glen Perkins (7 IP, 5.14, 0.4 K/BB, 1 SV)
• Everyone in the starting rotation - sans Tommy Milone

[Brananorama]

May 4 - May 10th
5/4/15 - Oakland Athletics (16-10) at Minnesota Twins (9-16)
Scott Kazmir (3-2, 5.65) vs. Ricky Nolasco (0-5, 9.78) -- OAKLAND 12, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Scott Kazmir (4-2, 5.08) / LP: Ricky Nolasco (0-6, 11.33)
5/5/15 - Oakland Athletics (17-10) at Minnesota Twins (9-17)
Sean Nolin (0-0) vs. Tommy Milone (2-2, 2.83) -- OAKLAND 0, MINNESOTA 5
WP: Tommy Milone (3-2, 2.25) / LP: Sean Nolin (0-1, 9.00)
5/6/15 - Oakland Athletics (17-11) at Minnesota Twins (10-17)
Jesse Hahn (3-0, 1.69) vs. Jose Berrios (1-0, 1.93) -- OAKLAND 7, MINNESOTA 5
WP: Jesse Hahn (4-0, 2.20) / LP: Jose Berrios (1-1, 4.19) / SV: Evan Scribner (2, 0.63)
5/7/15 - Oakland Athletics (18-11) at Minnesota Twins (10-18)
Jesse Chavez (0-2, 6.15) vs. Phil Hughes (1-2, 6.32) - OAKLAND 5, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Jesse Chavez (1-2, 5.35) / LP: Phil Hughes (1-3, 5.87) / SV: Sean Doolittle (1, 36.00)
5/8/15 - Minnesota Twins (10-19) at Cleveland Indians (14-13)
Kyle Gibson (1-4, 6.09) vs. Danny Salazar (0-2, 5.40) -- MINNESOTA 9, CLEVELAND 10 -- F/11
WP: Nick Hagadone (2-0, 0.00) / LP: Caleb Thielbar (0-1, 3.65)
5/9/15 - Minnesota Twins (10-20) at Cleveland Indians (15-13)
Trevor May (3-1, 5.67) vs. Trevor Bauer (1-2, 4.96) - MINNESOTA 11, CLEVELAND 3
WP: Trevor May (4-1, 5.08) / LP: Trevor Bauer (1-3, 5.72)
5/10/15 - Minnesota Twins (11-20) at Cleveland Indians (15-14)
Tommy Milone (3-2, 2.25) vs. Corey Kluber (3-2, 3.73) - MINNESOTA 0, CLEVELAND 1 - F/10
WP: Cody Allen (2-1, 4.35) / LP: Caleb Thielbar (0-2, 4.26)

This Week in Twins Ball: I’ve officially lost my patience with Ricky Nolasco after his worst start of the year cost us any shot at winning the opener with a solid A’s club. ~~~ Tommy Milone is the best man pitching who begun the year in the rotation, and he pitched seven shutout innings, giving up just five hits. Brian Wilson pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in his Twins debut. Oswaldo Arcia homered twice. ~~~ A pair of homers and control issues made for Jose Berrios’ first poor outing of his major-league career. ~~~ Casey Fien allowed back-to-back jacks in the eighth to help the A’s put the series finale out of reach.


Dayan Viciedo went 3-for-5 in his Minnesota debut, and Kyle Gibson threw into the eighth, but a five-run rally frame against mainly Aaron Thompson led to a the Tribe taking a late lead. The Twins blew Cody Allen’s save opportunity on a two-run double from Oswaldo Arcia -- then Carlos Santana blew Glen Perkins’s save opp. with a homer in the home ninth, later hitting his second of the night to help the Indians walk off. ~~~ Kennys Vargas hit #7 and #8 on the year and raised his average to a shocking .354. ~~~ Our first full week of games ended with Tommy Milone being removed in the 7th during a brilliant start that lowered his ERA to sub-2.00...diagnosis pending. The game went into extras with no score before the Indians won on a double in the 10th.
Twins Transactions:

• SP RICKY NOLASCO (MLB) given outright release. I shopped Nolasco EVERYWHERE, but nobody is going to pay money for a terrible pitcher signed for too much money on the wrong end of thirty. Recent FA acquisition Brian Wilson’s DFA time had almost run out, and I want to get him innings to see if we can ship him later -- then we can bring up more bullpen specs. With Jose Berrios having found really improbable success early, and with a handful of AAA pitchers ready to step in if Berrios loses his stuff, we just have no more use for a pitcher worth -0.8 WAR. Nolasco is gone.

Twins Injuries:

• CF AARON HICKS (MLB) to 15-day DL (knee sprain; 3 weeks.) LF DAYAN VICIEDO (AAA) to active roster. This was an opportunity to call up a Daniel Ortiz or an Eddie Rosario, but I’m trying to get as much expendable talent traded away this year. I’m aiming for contention next season, which means our minor league system isn’t going to have quite the influx of talent it’s harbored for the last year or two. So rather than starting to spend prospects this year, I’m utilizing guys I can trade away for more depth next season, then beginning our attack in 2016. Sure, it’s annoying for the fans, but ultimately, I think I get the most bang for my buck this way. (This, in my opinion, is different than signing stopgaps such as Kevin Correia and the like...the guys I’m choosing are those I believe to have real upside come the deadline.)

MLB Injuries:

• SP BARTOLO COLON (NYM) to 60-day DL (Tommy John; 11-12 months.) In the last year of his contract, the 41-year-old journeyman might have pitched his last game.
• 3B JOSH DONALDSON (TOR) retires (torn labrum; career over.)
• SS STARLIN CASTRO (CHC) to 15-day DL (sprained ankle; 3 weeks.)
• RF JOSE BAUTISTA (TOR) to 15-day DL (fractured hand; 6-7 weeks.)
• LF COCO CRISP (OAK) to 15-day DL (elbow ligament reconstruction surgery; 4-5 weeks.)
• SP COLE HAMELS (PHI) to 60-day DL (torn rotator cuff; 13 months.) Huge blow for the rebuilding Phillies; their indisputably largest trade chip will lose a ton of value and may wind up finishing his contract with the Phillies after all.

MLB Transactions:

• 2B NEIL WALKER signs a 4-year, $48 million extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• SS JOSH HARRISON signs a 4-year, $42.8 million extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This Week in the MLB:

• 1B MIGUEL CABRERA (DET) hits his 400th career homer.
• American League POTW: DH KENNYS VARGAS (MIN) - (15-for-25, 3 HR, 10 RBI) Our second straight POTW win! Kurt Suzuki and Kennys Vargas have been tearing the cover off the ball as of late.
• National League POTW: 1B PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT (ARI) - (15-for-27, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
• Power Rankings: 1. SF / 2. LAD / 3. NYY / 28. MIN

[gotigers]

Bump...will be following!

[Brananorama]

May 12th - May 17th
5/12/15 - Minnesota Twins (11-21) at Detroit Tigers (17-15)
Jose Berrios (1-1, 4.19) vs. Justin Verlander (4-0, 2.54) -- MINNESOTA 0, DETROIT 3
WP: Justin Verlander (5-0, 2.11) / LP: Jose Berrios (1-2, 4.21) / SV: Al Alburquerque (8, 1.50)
5/13/15 - Minnesota Twins (11-22) at Detroit Tigers (18-15)
Phil Hughes (1-3, 5.87) vs. Kyle Lobstein (1-2, 5.91) -- MINNESOTA 0, DETROIT 3
WP: Joakim Soria (2-1, 4.02) / LP: Brian Wilson (0-1, 6.75) / SV: Al Alburquerque (9, 1.38)
5/14/15 - Minnesota Twins (11-23) at Detroit Tigers (19-15)
Kyle Gibson (1-4, 6.10) vs. Shane Greene (1-4, 5.50) -- MINNESOTA 5, DETROIT 4 -- F/11
WP: Tim Stauffer (1-1, 1.59) / LP: Alfredo Simon (0-2, 11.32)
5/15/15 - Tampa Bay Rays (22-14) at Minnesota Twins (12-23)
Alex Cobb (0-2, 8.00) vs. Alex Meyer (0-0) -- TAMPA BAY 13, MINNESOTA 2
WP: Alex Cobb (1-2, 6.00) / LP: Alex Meyer (0-1, 54.00) / SV: Ronald Belisario (2, 5.19)
5/16/15 - Tampa Bay Rays (23-14) at Minnesota Twins (12-24)
Jake Odorizzi (4-2, 3.60) vs. Trevor May (4-1, 5.08) -- TAMPA BAY 3, MINNESOTA 1
WP: Jake Odorizzi (5-2, 3.26) / LP: Trevor May (4-2, 4.99) / SV: Brad Boxberger (6, 1.65)
5/17/15 - Tampa Bay Rays (24-14) at Minnesota Twins (12-25)
Chris Archer (4-4, 2.28) vs. Jose Berrios (1-2, 4.21) -- TAMPA BAY 2, MINNESOTA 9
WP: Aaron Thompson (1-0, 5.23) / LP: Chris Archer (4-5, 2.89)

This Week in Twins Ball: Faced with the challenge of besting a resurgent, undefeated Verlander, Jose Berrios made his fourth career start, giving up just one run, three hits, and striking out eight through six -- before a two-run shot in the seventh removed him. The Twins broke up J.V.’s perfect game bid with one out in the eighth. ~~~ V-Mart broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the eighth off Brian Wilson, who allowed two homers in the inning. ~~~ An Oswaldo Arcia RBI broke a string of three consecutive shutout losses. Kurt Suzuki tied the game and gave the Twins the lead with two out in the ninth. Glen Perkins blew his third save of the year, but struck out Miggy with the winning run at third to give the Twins two extra innings with which to win.


Much-anticipated prospect Alex Meyer’s first task in the bigs is taking down the East-leading Rays. He struck out the first batter he faced in his career, but gave up nine runs through not even two innings -- compounded by an unexpected torrent of hits in the second. I’ll chalk this one up to nerves. ~~~ Trevor May didn’t pitch poorly, but didn’t limit his pitch count well enough to give himself much of a chance. ~~~ Jose Berrios completed our young trifecta starting against the Rays, entering the finale looking to be the first of the three rookies to get the win in the series. After a Rays homer was immediately followed with a hit batsman in the fifth, the young Berrios lost his temper with a shouting Ryan Brett and was ejected; he’ll miss his next start with a 7-game suspension. ...Shoot. Time to give another Rochester arm a look already? The Twins retaliated with a big inning offensively to help them obtain their first and only win of the series.


Twins Injuries:

• SP TOMMY MILONE to 15-day DL (strained triceps; 4 weeks.)

Twins Transactions:

• SP ALEX MEYER to activer roster. With our best pitcher down and Ervin Santana’s return still six weeks out, we needed a starting stopgap. And it’s the one we’ve all been waiting for -- Alex Meyer gets the call and completes the Berrios-May-Meyer trifecta of starting prospects the fans hoped to see this year. We’ll see how he does.

MLB Transactions:

• 3B PABLO SANDOVAL (MLB - BOS) and $3M to San Diego Padres. SP BRANDON MORROW (MLB - SD) to Boston Red Sox.
• SS JIMMY ROLLINS (MLB - LAD) and 1B ERICK MEZA (R - LAD), $3 million to New York Mets. SP JACOB DEGROM (MLB - NYM) to Los Angeles Dodgers.
• CF JACOB MAY (AA - CHW) and 2B JOSE AN. REYES (R - CHW) to Miami. 2B DEE GORDON (MLB - MIA), $2.5 million to Chicago White Sox.
• LF STARLING MARTE (MLB - PIT), $1 million to Texas Rangers. CF NICK WILLIAMS (AA - TEX) and 2B LUIS MENDEZ (A - TEX) to Pittsburgh Pirates.

MLB Injuries:

• RF MICHAEL CUDDYER (NYM) to 15-day DL (strained rib cage; 4 weeks.)
• CF ANDREW MCCUTCHEN (PIT) to 15-day DL (intercostal strain; 2-3 weeks.)
• CL FERNANDO SALAS (LAA) to 60-day DL (Tommy John; 12 months.)

This Week in the MLB:

• American League POTW: 3B NICK CASTELLANOS (DET) - (14-for-25, 2 HR, 3 RBI)
• National League POTW: 3B TODD FRAZIER (CIN) - (12-for-27, 5 HR, 13 RBI)

Power Rankings: 1. OAK / 2. LAD / 3. SF / 28. MIN

[Brananorama]

May 19th - May 24th
5/19/15 - Minnesota Twins (13-25) at Pittsburgh Pirates (16-21)
Phil Hughes (1-3, 5.00) vs. Francisco Liriano (2-2, 3.61) -- MINNESOTA 3, PITTSBURGH 7
WP: Francisco Liriano (3-2, 3.54) / LP: Phil Hughes (1-4, 5.47)
5/20/15 - Minnesota Twins (13-26) at Pittsburgh Pirates (17-21)
Kyle Gibson (1-4, 5.77) vs. A.J. Burnett (1-3, 6.63) -- MINNESOTA 2, PITTSBURGH 6
WP: A.J. Burnett (2-3, 5.87) / LP: Kyle Gibson (1-5, 5.89)
5/22/15 - Minnesota Twins (13-27) at Chicago White Sox (17-24)
Alex Meyer (0-1, 54.00) vs. Jeff Samardzija (3-2, 5.70) -- MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 13
WP: Jeff Samardzija (4-2, 5.30) / LP: Alex Meyer (0-2, 30.60)
5/23/15 - Minnesota Twins (13-28) at Chicago White Sox (18-24)
Trevor May (4-2, 4.99) vs. Rubby De La Rosa (3-3, 6.00) -- MINNESOTA 1, CHICAGO 3
WP: Rubby De La Rosa (4-3, 5.33) / LP: Trevor May (4-3, 5.04) / SV: David Robertson (10, 3.79)
5/24/15 - Minnesota Twins (13-29) at Chicago White Sox (19-24)
Taylor Rogers (0-0) vs. John Danks (3-2, 3.21) -- MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 9
WP: John Danks (4-2, 3.54) / LP: Taylor Rogers (0-1, 21.60)

This Week in Twins Ball: Starter Phil Hughes was pitching well for the third straight outing, until a Mark Reynolds grand slam made it a five-run ballgame in the fifth. ~~~ Torii Hunter returned for game two and went 2-for-3 with a run knocked in.


With a bit of a new-look roster since the Pittsburgh series, we head into Chicago and will give them the three rookies in the back end of our rotation -- only this time, the last rookie will be Taylor Rogers, making Berrios’ spot start. Meyer didn’t make it out of the fourth, giving up six runs on ten hits. ~~~ In game two, the score was tight throughout, but Chicago outhit us 11-5, leaving us without much of a chance. ~~~ Trying to avoid our first winless week, Taylor Rogers entered for a spot start for the suspended Berrios, knowing he’d be sent down immediately following his outing. Knowing this, I pitched him for five innings regardless of how well he was doing -- and he pitched pretty poorly throughout. Tough break for the kid.


Twins Transactions:

• RF TORII HUNTER (15-day DL) to active roster. OF ERIC FARRIS (MLB) to AAA Rochester.
• SS BRENDAN RYAN (NYY) claimed off waivers. Ryan is an expert defender at the shortstop position and is swinging a hot bat in his age-33 season (.294/.342/.324 in 40 ABs.) Ryan will slot into the leadoff spot and will hopefully be the next man to stick in this never-ending merry-go-round of shortstops this season.
• SS BRANDON CRAWFORD (MLB), C CHRIS HERRMANN (AAA) to Boston Red Sox. C RYAN HANIGAN (MLB - BOS), SP ROBBIE ROSS JR (AAA - BOS) to Minnesota Twins. Crawford didn’t work out, so he leaves the team, and every offer I got for him was a salary dump. (There was some good talent there, but most of it would have just been an impulse buy.) Instead, I pick up a solid defensive backup catcher under a cheap, arb-esque contract, and another lefty pitching prospect to continue to load up our system.
• C JOSMIL PINTO (MLB) to AAA Rochester. C RYAN HANIGAN (DFA) to active roster. With Pinto not getting a whole lot of playing time in due to a Kurt Suzuki who is STILL on fire from last year, Pinto heads to Rochester to get some more at-bats, and the much-better-defensively Hanigan joins the big club.
• SP JOSE BERRIOS (MLB) to AAA Rochester. SP TAYLOR ROGERS (AAA) to active roster. Rogers is having a good year in Rochester and gets the spot start for a suspended Berrios. This move was played out in exact reverse following Rogers’ outing, with Berrios returning to the 25-man and Rogers being sent down to AAA.

MLB Transactions:

• LF MATT JOYCE (LAA) and 3B YOSVANI BELL (AA - LAA) to Pittsburgh. 3B JOSH HARRISON (MLB) to Los Angeles Angels.

This Week in the MLB:

• 3B ADRIAN BELTRE (TEX) hits his 400th career home run.
• All-Star Voting begins!
• American League POTW: 2B MICAH JOHNSON (CHW) - (12-for-22, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 8 R)
• National League POTW: RF CARLOS GONZALEZ (COL) - (14-for-30, 3 HR, 11 RBI)

Power Rankings: 1. LAD / 2. CLE / 3. OAK / 30. MIN Just the second time this season we’ve finished last overall in the Power Rankings.

[Brananorama]

May 25th - May 31st
5/25/15 - Boston Red Sox (21-23) at Minnesota Twins (13-30)
Rick Porcello (0-4, 8.25) vs. Phil Hughes (1-4, 5.47) - BOSTON 2, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Phil Hughes (2-4, 5.12) / LP: Rick Porcello (0-5, 7.74) / SV: Glen Perkins (2, 4.15)
5/26/15 - Boston Red Sox (21-24) at Minnesota Twins (14-30)
Brandon Morrow (5-0, 0.84) / LP: Kyle Gibson (1-5, 5.89) - BOSTON 6, MINNESOTA 8
WP: Kyle Gibson (2-5, 5.90) / LP: Brandon Morrow (5-1, 1.65) / SV: Glen Perkins (3, 3.86)
5/27/15 - Boston Red Sox (21-25) at Minnesota Twins (15-30)
Clay Buchholz (4-4, 4.33) vs. Alex Meyer (0-2, 30.60) - BOSTON 6, MINNESOTA 0
WP: Clay Buchholz (5-4, 3.71) / LP: Alex Meyer (0-3, 23.76)
5/29/15 - Toronto Blue Jays (23-26) at Minnesota Twins (15-31)
Drew Hutchison (3-6, 4.58) vs. Trevor May (4-3, 5.04) - TORONTO 1, MINNESOTA 2 - F/10
WP: Caleb Thielbar (1-2, 4.00) / LP: Brett Cecil (3-4, 3.47)
5/30/15 - Toronto Blue Jays (23-37) at Minnesota Twins (16-31)
Liam Hendriks (5-1, 3.14) vs. Phil Hughes (2-4, 5.12) - TORONTO 9, MINNESOTA 0
WP: Liam Hendriks (6-1, 2.65) / LP: Phil Hughes (2-5, 4.78)
5/31/15 - Toronto Blue Jays (24-37) at Minnesota Twins (16-32)
Marco Estrada (1-0, 0.52) vs. Jose Berrios (1-2, 4.25) - TORONTO 4, MINNESOTA 1
WP: Marco Estrada (2-0, 0.71) / LP: Jose Berrios (1-3, 4.42) / SV: Brett Cecil (6, 3.33)

This Week in Twins Ball: It took a while, but the Twins have dropped to dead last overall in the MLB, with fewer wins and more losses than any major-league team. This was supposed to be a year of improvement, during which we toyed with the possibility of a .500 record, but so far suspensions and injuries and underperformance have seriously derailed us. In the opener, a pair of late lead changes wound up putting the Twins ahead by two. A very economical Phil Hughes had his start ended prior to the eighth during a 70-minute rain delay. ~~~ Kurt Suzuki hit a three-run shot (his first homer of two on the night) into the upper deck in left that knocked out Morrow, who’d been untouchable to this point in the season. The homer set the tone for a solid win for the Twins. ~~~ Alex Meyer remains in the rotation until Milone returns...at least, that’s the plan at the moment, and I’m hoping for some semblance of success from him until that point. I didn’t get any.


Trevor May has been settling down lately, and showed some improvement upon stranding the bases loaded with nobody out in the fifth inning of our opener with Toronto. Aaron Hicks got a walk-off single in the tenth. ~~~ Another pretty abysmal pitching performance across the board. Former horrid twin Liam Hendriks threw a shutout in the midst of an incredible start. ~~~ Jose Berrios pitched well, giving up just five hits despite four runs charged to him through seven innings of work.
Twins Transactions:

• CF AARON HICKS (15-day DL) to active roster. LF DAYAN VICIEDO (MLB) designated for assignment.

MLB Transactions:

• SP SCOTT KAZMIR signs a 6-year, $69.6 million extension with the Oakland Athletics.

MLB Injuries:

• LF JAYSON WERTH (WSH) to 60-day DL (broken elbow; 4 months.)

This Week in the MLB:

• American League POTW: DH DAVID ORTIZ (BOS) - (10-for-28, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
• National League POTW: C DEVIN MESORACO (CIN) - (9-for-21, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R)
• Power Rankings: 1. OAK / 2. LAD / 3. CLE / 30. MIN

This Month in the MLB:

• American League BOTM: DH DAVID ORTIZ (BOS) - (.342, 9 HR, 26 RBI, 21 R)
• National League BOTM: 3B BRIAN DOZIER (SF) - (.327/.383, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 24 R)
• American League POTM: SP SONNY GRAY (OAK) - (6-0, 3.32, 40 K)
• National League POTM: SP MADISON BUMGARNER (SF) - (6-0, 3.63, 37 K)
• American League ROTM: CF DALTON POMPEY (TOR) - (.365, 7 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 14 R)
• National League ROTM: SS MATT DUFFY (SF) - (32 hits, 12 RBI)

Twins May 2015 In Review:

• May Record/Overall Record/Standings: 9-18 / 16-33 / 5th Place - 13.5 GB of Cleveland

[Brananorama]

JUNE 2015
June 1st - June 7th
6/1/15 - Minnesota Twins (16-33) at Boston Red Sox (25-26)
Kyle Gibson (2-5, 5.90) vs. Clay Buchholz (5-4, 3.71) - MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 7
WP: Matt Barnes (3-1, 2.42) / LP: Kyle Gibson (2-6, 6.44) / SV: Koji Uehara (8, 2.50)
6/2/15 - Minnesota Twins (16-34) at Boston Red Sox (26-26)
Alex Meyer (0-3, 23.76) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (3-3, 2.35) - MINNESOTA 10, BOSTON 12
WP: Tommy Layne (2-1, 6.26) / LP: Alex Meyer (0-4, 25.36) / SV: Junichi Tazawa (3, 3.97)
6/3/15 - Minnesota Twins (16-35) at Boston Red Sox (27-26)
Robbie Ross, Jr. (0-0, 5.40) vs. Wade Miley (2-3, 6.11) - MINNESOTA 6, BOSTON 7
WP: Wade Miley (3-3, 5.85) / LP: Robbie Ross, Jr. (0-1, 9.31) / SV: Koji Uehara (9, 2.84)
6/4/15 - Minnesota Twins (16-36) at Boston Red Sox (28-26)
Trevor May (4-3, 4.53) vs. Rick Porcello (1-5, 6.84) - MINNESOTA 4, BOSTON 7
WP: Rick Porcello (2-5, 6.59) / LP: Trevor May (4-4, 4.08) / SV: Matt Barnes (1, 3.18)
6/5/15 - Milwaukee Brewers (25-29) at Minnesota Twins (16-37)
Mike Fiers (2-7, 4.11) vs. Phil Hughes (2-5, 4.78) - MILWAUKEE 5, MINNESOTA 6
WP: Glen Perkins (1-0, 3.45) / LP: Jonathan Broxton (1-1, 3.51)
6/6/15 - Milwaukee Brewers (25-30) at Minnesota Twins (17-37)
Tyler Thornburg (6-2, 4.27) vs. Jose Berrios (1-3, 4.42) - MILWAUKEE 7, MINNESOTA 6
WP: Tyler Thornburg (7-2, 4.60) / LP: Aaron Thompson (1-1, 4.68) / SV: Jeremy Jeffress (14, 4.10)
6/7/15 - Milwaukee Brewers (26-30) at Minnesota Twins (17-38)
Matt Garza (3-2, 3.17) vs. Kyle Gibson (2-6, 6.44) - MILWAUKEE 6, MINNESOTA 0
WP: Matt Garza (4-2, 2.84) / LP: Kyle Gibson (2-7, 6.53)

This Week in Twins Ball: Torii Hunter hit his first homer in a Twins uniform since 2007. Kyle Gibson was pitching well until a six-run fifth got the BoSox in control of the game. ~~~ Alex Meyer needs to give me a sign that he can pitch at the major-league level -- but I don’t quite understand what’s wrong with him. He’s almost fully developed and there’s no reason he should be pitching so poorly aside from, perhaps, lack of confidence? After Meyer’s catastrophic sixth walk, he was removed in the third. (Both Boston and Minnesota scored a combined 10 in that inning, and each scored three in the second.) ~~~ Robbie Ross, Jr. got the start today in Boston immediately after a call-up. Ross gave up five runs in a mess of a first inning. The Twins attempted to come back, but the early deficit proved too great. ~~~ Six unearned runs in the Boston third completely threw us off today. A four-game sweep by a team that entered the series sub-.500 is demotivating not just for the players, but for me as well. What is going on with this team’s pitching???


Coming off six losses in a row, we get to face the fourth-place Brewers. In the opener, three Twins errors in Milwaukee’s third allowed the Crew to break open the game. Kennys Vargas hit his tenth homer of the year. Minnesota rallied back to tie it after eight strong from Hughes. Kurt Suzuki broke the losing streak with a walk-off single in the ninth. ~~~ Eddie Rosario made his debut batting second, playing second in the second game. His first major-league hit was a leadoff double in the sixth. The Twins stranded the tying run at third in the ninth. ~~~ Kyle Gibson struggled once again, giving up eleven hits through six innings.

Twins Transactions:

• SP ALEX MEYER (MLB) to AAA Rochester. SP ROBBIE ROSS JR (AAA) to active roster. I needed one more start before Milone comes back, and I couldn’t justify running a ragged Meyer back out there again. He needs a lot more work and has to dominate at Rochester before I give him another chance.
• 2B EDDIE ROSARIO (AAA) to active roster. With another player down, we’ll see how the next prospect tryout goes. I can only hope it goes better than Meyer’s did.
• 2015 Amateur Draft:
• Round 1, Pick 5: SP KOLBY ALLARD. Aiken went off the table the pick prior, but Allard is another hard-throwing lefty starter with incredible potential.
• Round 2: SS JOHN AEILLO. Another talented shortstop prospect for the system with a lot of upside in more ways than one. The drafting of another top-tier middle infielder may mean we can flip Gordon or Polanco this offseason in exchange for a top pitcher.
• Round 3: RF MATT HARDY. Big-time power upside at just 17 years old.
• Round 4: SP MIKE NIKORAK. Profiles as a future late-inning reliever unless he dominates starting games in the minor leagues for us.

Twins Injuries:

• 2B YUNEL ESCOBAR to 60-day DL (sprained ankle; 2 months.)

MLB Injuries:

• CL ZACH BRITTON (BAL) to 60-day DL (partially torn UCL; 8 months.)
• C SALVADOR PEREZ (KC) to 15-day DL (intercostal strain; 4 weeks.)

MLB Transactions:

• With the first overall pick in the 2015 Amateur Draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks select SS BRENDAN RODGERS.

[Brananorama]

June 8th - June 14th
6/8/15 - Kansas City Royals (34-22) at Minnesota Twins (17-39)
Jason Vargas (5-2, 3.25) vs. Robbie Ross, Jr. (0-1, 9.31) - KANSAS CITY 1, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Robbie Ross, Jr. (1-1, 6.32) / LP: Jason Vargas (5-3, 3.50) / SV: Glen Perkins (4, 3.24)
6/9/15 - Kansas City Royals (34-23) at Minnesota Twins (18-39)
Yordano Ventura (6-1, 3.01) vs. Trevor May (4-4, 4.08) - KANSAS CITY 6, MINNESOTA 1
WP: Yordano Ventura (7-1, 2.88) / LP: Trevor May (4-5, 4.06)
6/10/15 - Kansas City Royals (35-23) at Minnesota Twins (18-40)
Edinson Volquez (7-1, 3.44) vs. Phil Hughes (2-5, 4.73) - KANSAS CITY 3, MINNESOTA 20
WP: Phil Hughes (3-5, 4.62) / LP: Edinson Volquez (7-2, 3.91)
6/13/15 - Minnesota Twins (19-40) at Texas Rangers (20-40) -- GAME ONE
Jose Berrios (1-3, 4.85) vs. Derek Holland (5-2, 3.94) - MINNESOTA 4, TEXAS 3 - F/10
WP: Glen Perkins (2-0, 3.57) / LP: Koji Fujikawa (2-8, 8.87) / SV: Cody Hall (1, 4.50)
6/13/15 - Minnesota Twins (20-40) at Texas Rangers (20-41) -- GAME TWO
Kyle Gibson (2-7, 6.53) vs. Jhoulys Chacin (2-4, 4.25) - MINNESOTA 4, TEXAS 3
WP: Kyle Gibson (3-7, 6.34) / LP: Jhoulys Chacin (2-5, 4.43) / SV: Glen Perkins (5, 3.86)
6/14/15 - Minnesota Twins (21-40) at Texas Rangers (20-42)
Robbie Ross, Jr. (1-1, 6.32) vs. Matt Harrison (0-1, 2.57) - MINNESOTA 2, TEXAS 5
WP: Matt Harrison (1-1, 2.40) / LP: Robbie Ross, Jr. (1-2, 5.73) / SV: Alex Claudio (1, 0.71)

This Week in Twins Ball:
GAME ONE: In the first game against the Central-leading Royals, Eddie Rosario recorded his third hit -- and they’ve all been doubles. Robbie Ross, Jr. threw six solid innings of one-run ball.
GAME TWO: A hot Trevor May pitched deep into the game, but the Royals’ eleven hits kept the game out of reach for the Twins. Trevor Plouffe corked his 10th long ball of the year. Tim Stauffer gave up three homers in relief.
GAME THREE: Shortly after becoming the first team in the MLB to 40 losses, the Twins entered the rubber game with a violent vengeance. Having not won a series since the end of May, the Twins capitalized on Volquez, knocking him out with a six-run first...then scored three in the second and TEN! in the third. Some standout performances...Trevor Plouffe went 4-for-4 with two walks, homered twice, and knocked in eight -- his 11th and 12th homers (team-leading numbers) marking his fifth homer in eight games. Jordan Schafer stole two more bases (for a major-league leading 32 total), and Cody Hall made his debut in the ninth, striking out two and giving up one homer. Phil Hughes was removed due to unknown injury.
~~~
GAME ONE: Our next road trip takes us down south to visit a team just nearly as bad as we are. A rainout gave us two days off before the series began, and Jose Berrios threw a quality start in the opener, but Glen Perkins blew a save by allowing a game-tying homer to pinch-hitter Michael Choice, but the Twins scored in the tenth and recent call-up Cody Hall recorded major-league save numero uno.
GAME TWO: Back-to-back doubles put the Rangers in front in the fourth. A four-run sixth swung the advantage back to Minnesota, and although Glen Perkins allowed another run in a save opportunity, he struck out Prince Fielder to secure the game for the Twins.
GAME THREE: After winning three in a row for the first time all year and looking for our first sweep to cap off what could be our winningest week yet, backup catcher Ryan Hanigan -- who may find himself demoted now that Pinto seems to have found his bat in AAA - hit a clutch two-run shot to make it a one-run game in the sixth. Robbie Ross, Jr. pitched well, but the Rangers scored late to help put away the finale.

Twinjuries:

• SS BRENDAN RYAN (MLB) to 60-day DL (broken kneecap; 8 months.) The never-ending shortstop cycle continues. Ryan, with a team option for next season, may have played the last game of his short-term tenure as a Twin -- meaning we need to bring another infielder on board after having played four different players at short already this season.
• SP PHIL HUGHES (MLB) to 60-day DL (shoulder inflammation; 4-5 months.) Well, I guess losing Tommy Milone wasn’t enough. Just after a stretch in which Hughes was starting to warm up for the first time all year, he finds himself diagnosed with a season-ending injury. We’ll definitely miss his presence in the rotation, but we’ll also miss not having to burn up ANOTHER minor-league arm. I can’t bring Alex Meyer back up after THAT fiasco! Looks like Robbie Ross is sticking around.

Twins Transactions:

• SP TOMMY MILONE (15-day DL) to rehab assignment. I would like to see one more good start out of Ross before sending him back down to the minors -- and I want to make sure our best pitcher to this point gets all the recovery time he needs.
• RP AARON THOMPSON (MLB) to AAA Rochester. RP CODY HALL (AAA) to active roster. Hall is one of the two solid bullpen arms we got from trading Brian Dozier -- who, by the way, is tearing it up in San Fran. However, both Hall and Strickland profile to be late-inning arms of the future, and we have Rosario already, so I’m fine with the trade for now. Thompson struggled through some outings, so it’s time to give Hall his chance. Strickland won’t be far off, either.
• SS JAMES BERESFORD (AAA) to active roster. Beresford is a 26-year-old infielder with not much in the way of offense, but a good baseball I.Q. and decent speed. Eduardo Escobar will likely be getting the most shortstop starts from here on in.
• SP TOMMY MILONE (rehab assignment) to active roster. I wanted him to get two outings, but I also didn’t want to throw Meyer or Rogers another spot start until they had time to calm down in AAA. Our sub-2.00 lefty is rejoining the club after over a month away.
• C RYAN HANIGAN (MLB) designated for assignment. C JOSMIL PINTO to active roster. It’s Pinto time! His bat has finally shown up in the minors, and after tearing it up there for roughly a month, he’s ready for the show...hopefully for good.
• RP TIM STAUFFER (MLB) designated for assignment. RP MICHAEL TONKIN to active roster. This move represents an older player without much of a future in the organization seeing his utility diminish after a few poor outings, giving way to a young guy. Why Tonkin over Strickland? Both have put up good numbers in Rochester, but Tonkin’s been in the organization longer and has precedent. Strickland will be next.

MLB Injuries:

• DH DAVID ORTIZ (BOS) to 15-day DL (knee tendinitis; 3 weeks.)
• SP PATRICK CORBIN (ARI) to 15-day DL (shoulder inflammation; 4 weeks.)

MLB Transactions:

• RF BRANDON GUYER (TB - AAA) and C DAVID RODRIGUEZ (TB - R) to Detroit. DH VICTOR MARTINEZ (DET - MLB) to Tampa Bay Rays.

This Week in the MLB:

• American League POTW: 1B EDWIN ENCARNACION (TOR) - (14-for-25, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 6 R)
• National League POTW: LF LOGAN SCHAFER (MIL) - (16-for-27, 1 HR, 6 RBI)

Power Rankings: 1. KC / 2. SF / 3. LAA / 29. MIN

[Brananorama]

June 15th - June 21st
6/15/15 - Minnesota Twins (21-41) at St. Louis Cardinals (37-27)
Trevor May (4-5, 4.06) vs. Michael Wacha (7-3, 2.81) - MINNESOTA 0, ST. LOUIS 2
WP: Michael Wacha (8-3, 2.54) / LP: Trevor May (4-6, 3.91) / SV: Trevor Rosenthal (15, 2.90)
6/16/15 - Minnesota Twins (21-42) at St. Louis Cardinals (38-27)
Tommy Milone (3-2, 1.90) vs. John Lackey (2-1, 2.94) - MINNESOTA 2, ST. LOUIS 10
WP: John Lackey (3-1, 2.59) / LP: Tommy Milone (3-3, 2.79)
6/17/15 - St. Louis Cardinals (39-27) at Minnesota Twins (21-43)
Carlos Martinez (2-7, 5.52) vs. Jose Berrios (1-3, 4.59) - ST. LOUIS 6, MINNESOTA 3
WP: Jordan Walden (1-0, 2.25) / LP: Brian Duensing (1-1, 1.69) / SV: Trevor Rosenthal (16, 2.81)
6/18/15 - St. Louis Cardinals (40-27) at Minnesota Twins (21-44)
Adam Wainwright (6-3, 3.74) vs. Kyle Gibson (3-7, 6.34) - ST. LOUIS 10, MINNESOTA 5
6/19/15 - Chicago Cubs (36-32) at Minnesota Twins (21-45)
Dallas Beeler (3-1, 3.67) vs. Robbie Ross, Jr. (1-2, 5.73) - CHICAGO 8, MINNESOTA 3
WP: Dallas Beeler (4-1, 3.40) / LP: Robbie Ross, Jr. (1-3, 6.59)
6/20/15 - Chicago Cubs (37-32) at Minnesota Twins (21-46)
Jake Arrieta (3-6, 3.70) vs. Trevor May (4-6, 3.91) - CHICAGO 9, MINNESOTA 8 - F/13
WP: Brian Schlitter (1-0, 3.66) / LP: Caleb Thielbar (1-3, 2.83)
6/21/15 - Chicago Cubs (38-32) at Minnesota Twins (21-47)
Kyle Hendricks (3-7, 4.88) vs. Tommy Milone (3-3, 2.79) - CHICAGO 4, MINNESOTA 9
WP: Tommy Milone (4-3, 2.89) / LP: Kyle Hendricks (3-8, 5.28)

GAME ONE: The Twins are moving on to a four-game set with the first-place Cards: two games at Busch, then two games back at home. The opener was a tight pitcher’s duel, with Trevor May throwing strongly into the eighth, Michael Wacha striking out eleven, and the Twins stranding the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning.
GAME TWO: Tommy Milone made his return to the club in the last game at Busch, and gave up four unearned runs in the first after Trevor Plouffe’s one-out throwing error. While this didn’t hurt Milone’s ERA, a three-run homer off the bat of Jhonny Peralta in the fourth DID, and gave the Redbirds a sudden 7-0 advantage. The Twins finally got on board in the eighth with a pinch-hit single by Josmil Pinto. Michael Tonkin pitched a scoreless eighth in his first appearance of 2015.
GAME THREE: A few late runs off the Twins pen allowed the Cards to take the game on the other side of a 30-minute rain delay which knocked a cruising Jose Berrios from the contest.
GAME FOUR: The Cards started early and never let up in the finale, tagging starter Kyle Gibson for a whopping eight earned runs in just three innings...Gibson’s astonishingly high ERA is the result of crooked-number innings, during which he’ll be pitching all right, but then a sudden string of extra-base hits and a homer, and suddenly five or six are on the board. Needless to say, he’s doing us no favors out of the rotation, but putting him back in the minors serves little purpose, either. Nevertheless, we suffer a four-game sweep.
~~~
GAME ONE: Next come the NL Wild Card-contending Cubbies. A pair of two-run frames early on helped get Chicago out to a 5-1 lead. Michael Tonkin gave up a pair in a three-run sixth. Dayan Viciedo went 0-for-4 in his return to the active roster. James Beresford got his first major-league hit.
GAME TWO: Trevor May got knocked around once in innings two through five, putting the Cubs out 4-0 -- but a Joe Mauer RBI triple began a sixth inning in which the Twins scored four to tie it. Both teams scored in a dramatic eighth, with Chicago putting up a pair and Minny bouncing right back with a three-run frame -- but despite striking out three in the ninth, Glen Perkins blew another save and allowed the Cubs to grab the lead. What was left for the Twins to do but tie it in the ninth with a one-out single from Danny Santana. Caleb Thielbar allowed the game-winning homer in the top of the 13th, and the Twins have dropped seven consecutive ballgames.
GAME THREE: Looking to salvage one win to avoid our first full, seven-game week without a win, Kennys Vargas and Oswaldo Arcia slammed back-to-back jacks once again (11th and 10th, respectively) to give Minnesota a 3-0 first-inning lead, but Tommy Milone gave them all back in the second, but settled down big-time with a 7.2-inning, eight-strikeout game.


Twinjuries:

• RF TORII HUNTER (MLB) to 15-day DL (torn thumb ligament; 5 weeks.) An aging Torii hits the disabled list for the second time this year, forcing us to call up…

Twins Transactions:

• LF DAYAN VICIEDO (AAA) to active roster. Viciedo was not half-bad in his last 12-game stint with the Twins...we’re giving him another major-league opportunity with Hunter injured once again.

MLB Injuries:

• 2B BEN ZOBRIST (OAK) to 15-day DL (strained hamstring; 6 weeks.)
• RF MICHAEL CUDDYER (NYM) to 60-day DL (fractured finger; 3 months.) A big blow to the former Twin and his first-place Mets team.
• DH VICTOR MARTINEZ (TB) to 15-day DL (fractured thumb; 4 weeks.)

MLB Transactions:

• CF LEONYS MARTIN (MLB - TEX) to Cincinnati. RF JAY BRUCE (MLB - CIN) to Texas.
• RP ADDISON REED (MLB - ARI) to Los Angeles Angels. C CARLOS PEREZ (A - LAA) and SS DARLYN MOTA (DRL - LAA) to Arizona.

This Week in the MLB:

• American League POTW: 2B IAN KINSLER (DET) - (10-for-24, 1 HR, 6 RBI)
• National League POTW: LF MATT KEMP (SD) - (10-for-24, 3 HR, 5 RBI)

Power Rankings: 1. STL / 2. SF / 3. LAA / 30. MIN

[Brananorama]

June 22nd - June 28th
6/22/15 - Chicago White Sox (34-35) at Minnesota Twins (22-47)
John Danks (5-4, 4.17) vs. Jose Berrios (1-3, 4.58) - CHICAGO 8, MINNESOTA 6
WP: Jake Petricka (3-1, 4.36) / LP: Jose Berrios (1-4, 5.02) / SV: Matt Albers (2, 4.26)
6/23/15 - Chicago White Sox (35-35) at Minnesota Twins (22-48)
Chris Sale (4-5, 4.05) vs. Kyle Gibson (3-8, 7.00) - CHICAGO 8, MINNESOTA 4
WP: Nate Jones (1-1, 0.93) / LP: Kyle Gibson (3-9, 7.23)
6/24/15 - Chicago White Sox (36-35) at Minnesota Twins (22-49)
Jeff Samardzija (4-5, 6.17) vs. Robbie Ross, Jr. (1-3, 6.59) - CHICAGO 2, MINNESOTA 5
WP: Robbie Ross, Jr. (2-3, 5.82) / LP: Jeff Samardzija (4-6, 6.21)
6/26/15 - Minnesota Twins (23-49) at Milwaukee Brewers (37-37)
Jose Berrios (1-3, 5.02) vs. Kyle Lohse (5-6, 4.63) - MINNESOTA 10, MILWAUKEE 15
WP: Kyle Lohse (6-6, 4.78) / LP: Brian Wilson (0-2, 4.38)
6/27/15 - Minnesota Twins (23-50) at Milwaukee Brewers (38-37)
Trevor May (4-6, 4.14) vs. Wily Peralta (1-2, 5.46) - MINNESOTA 3, MILWAUKEE 1
WP: Trevor May (5-6, 3.86) / LP: Neal Cotts (1-6, 9.71) / SV: Glen Perkins (7, 4.37)
6/28/15 - Minnesota Twins (24-50) at Milwaukee Brewers (38-38)
Tommy Milone (4-3, 2.89) vs. Matt Garza (6-2, 2.62) - MINNESOTA 0, MILWAUKEE 2
WP: Matt Garza (7-2, 2.41) / LP: Tommy Milone (4-4, 2.86) / SV: Will Smith (2, 4.86)

GAME ONE: Out with one Chicago and in with another. The Twins went up 5-0 early, but the South Siders got six off Jose Berrios in the visitors’ fourth and wouldn’t relinquish their grip.
GAME TWO: I’m starting to wonder if Gibson is masking some sort of injury, because he can’t put anything together on the mound. His ninth loss of the year was a 5-inning outing during which he gave up six runs on eleven hits. The game was called in the 7th due to rain.
GAME THREE: Samardzija’s been a pretty disappointing pickup for the White Sox to this point, and the Twins tagged him for five runs in the middle innings. Kennys Vargas has been developing into the second coming of David Ortiz this season -- and fans have already dubbed him “Li’l Papi” -- he homered twice to raise his total to 13.
GAME ONE: Any time you score double-digit runs and still lose, you know deep down you deserve to be the first team to 50 losses. This team has had a lot of downs this season, and after this game, a big overhaul was made to bring in quite a few new faces. Hopefully next year’s team will have a bit more identity.
GAME TWO: The more he pitches, the more it’s clear that Trevor May belongs on this team, and will during our (hopeful) end-of-decade playoff run. May threw eight innings of one-run ball, striking out six on the way to help even the series.
GAME THREE: As the month closes, we’re going to try and center this team and HOPE they band together and have at least a .500 record the rest of the way. I have to see something out of this club, especially now that we have a few new players who we’ll be looking to make an impact next season. Tommy Milone pitched well again, but former Twin Matt Garza came one out shy of pitching a two-hit shutout.

Twinjuries:

• SS DANNY SANTANA (MLB) to 15-day DL (finger sprain; 1-2 weeks.)

Twins Transactions:

• SP JOSE BERRIOS (MLB) to AAA Rochester. When this season started, I never expected to be using Berrios for as long as I did, but injuries to Milone and Hughes kept him in the rotation for a while. However, I still think he needs some development, so he’s going to Rochester to work on his stuff. Robbie Ross is a more major-league ready player and will keep a spot in the rotation for now. Berrios will be replaced in a few short days by Ervin Santana, who will have finished serving his suspension.
• RP TIM STAUFFER (DFA) granted outright release. Another released player in a pretty messy year from a transactions standpoint. Stauffer had lost his early-season fire and refused a demotion, so instead he outright leaves the club. Best wishes, Tim.
• C RYAN HANIGAN (DFA), LF DAYAN VICIEDO (MLB), SP KYLE GIBSON (MLB), SP AARON SLEGERS (A), SP D.J. BAXENDALE (AA) to Detroit. CF RAJAI DAVIS (MLB), SP SHANE GREENE (AAA), SS DIXON MACHADO (AAA), CF DANIEL FIELDS (AAA), LF TYLER COLLINS (AAA) to Minnesota. So here’s how this 10-player extravaganza breaks down. We’re dealing away a now-unnecessary piece in Hanigan, and getting the trade return I expected when I signed Viciedo to a minor-league deal. Check and check. We’re trading away Kyle Gibson and hoping he’s just completely lost it and doesn’t regress back to actual competence in Detroit. In addition, we throw in two minor league starters who aren’t worth the sum of what we got in return: A major-league outfielder who will be gone by season’s end, then four really promising prospects, including a talented young pitcher in Greene, a lefty slugger with 20 homers already in Collins, and dependable bats in Machado and Fields. All in all, I’m giving this one a big win.
• SP ROBBIE ROSS, JR. (MLB) to AAA Rochester. SP SHANE GREEN (DFA) to active roster.
• SS DIXON MACHADO (DFA) to active roster.

MLB Injuries:

• 2B JOSH HARRISON (LAA) to 15-day DL (shoulder soreness; 4 weeks.)
• LF RYAN BRAUN (MIL) to 15-day DL (strained PCL; 6 weeks.)

This Week in the MLB:

• American League POTW: C HANK CONGER (HOU) - (.556, 6 RBI, 2 HR)
• National League POTW: CF ANDREW MCCUTCHEN (PIT) - (11-for-23, 2 HR, 6 RBI)

Power Rankings: 1. CLE / 2. STL / 3. SF / 29. MIN

[Brananorama]

June 29th - July 5th
6/29/15 - Minnesota Twins (24-51) at Cincinnati Reds (38-37)
Robbie Ross, Jr. (2-3, 5.82) vs. Chase Anderson (6-6, 3.20) - MINNESOTA 2, CINCINNATI 11
WP: Chase Anderson (7-6, 2.99) / LP: Robbie Ross, Jr. (2-4, 7.82)
6/30/15 - Minnesota Twins (24-52) at Cincinnati Reds (39-37)
Shane Greene (3-5, 4.20) vs. Raisel Iglesias (6-1, 2.62) - MINNESOTA 5, CINCINNATI 3
WP: Shane Greene (4-5, 4.08) / LP: Sean Marshall (1-1, 1.00) / SV: Glen Perkins (8, 4.18)
7/1/15 - Minnesota Twins (25-52) at Cincinnati Reds (39-38)
Jose Berrios (1-3, 5.23) vs. Homer Bailey (1-5, 4.04) - MINNESOTA 2, CINCINNATI 6
WP: Homer Bailey (2-5, 3.84) / LP: Jose Berrios (1-4, 5.63)
7/2/15 - Minnesota Twins (25-53) at Kansas City Royals (43-35)
Trevor May (5-6, 3.86) vs. Edinson Volquez (8-4, 4.08) - MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 3 - F/15
WP: Ryan Madson (2-1, 2.43) / LP: Cody Hall (0-2, 6.55)
7/3/15 - Minnesota Twins (25-54) at Kansas City Royals (44-35)
Tommy Milone (4-4, 2.86) vs. Danny Duffy (6-5, 3.48) - MINNESOTA 3, KANSAS CITY 5
WP: Danny Duffy (7-5, 3.44) / LP: Tommy Milone (4-5, 2.79) / SV: Greg Holland (22, 1.44)
7/4/15 - Minnesota Twins (25-55) at Kansas City Royals (45-35)
Ervin Santana (0-0) vs. Brandon Finnegan (3-1, 4.31) - MINNESOTA 9, KANSAS CITY 3 - F/6
WP: Ervin Santana (1-0, 4.50) / LP: Brandon Finnegan (3-2, 5.66)
7/5/15 - Minnesota Twins (26-55) at Kansas City Royals (45-36)
Shane Greene (4-5, 4.08) vs. Yordano Ventura (8-3, 3.56) - MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 7
WP: James Russell (3-3, 3.57) / LP: Brian Duensing (1-2, 2.10) / SV: Ryan Madson (1, 2.34)

GAME ONE: The longer we slump, the more it looks like we’ll be regressing into a 100-loss team this year, so it’s time to get hot. Robbie Ross, Jr. allowed a pair of two-run shots in the first. Ross has been an experiment this season to see if we can get another lefty arm to stick in the rotation, but maybe he isn’t the answer. I’m not upset over it at all; he’s cheap and team-controlled and shouldn’t be a hassle to part ways with if it comes to that.
GAME TWO: This one’s exciting! We picked up Shane Greene in the 10-player trade with the Tigers, and I like his stuff, a lot. Greene profiles as a #4, #5 guy who can pick up strikeouts -- and with May looking more like he could be a #3 or #4, Greene might be a valuable piece -- at only 26 years old, too. With Greene having kept the Twins in the ballgame late, Minnesota scored two runs on walks in the eighth in what amounted to a four-run inning.
GAME THREE: Jose Berrios had a rough go of it in his last start with the Twins for the time being, surrendering six runs in five innings. We wound up outhitting the Reds, and both Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki collected three hits apiece.
GAME ONE: Time for some more action against Kansas City. Trevor May pitched well through 5.2 innings, the only mark on his linescore a two-run homer from Alex Rios. The Royals wound up winning on a suicide squeeze in the bottom of the 15th inning.
GAME TWO: Trevor Plouffe smacked his team-leading 14th homer to tie the second game in the fourth inning. The Royals got three unearned runs throughout the game off Tommy Milone, who threw eight innings at under 100 pitches.
GAME THREE: After serving his 80-game suspension for Stanzolol, Ervin Santana made his Twins debut on Independence Day -- but not to be upstaged, it was Kennys Vargas making a mark first with his 14th homer, tying Plouffe for the team lead, and giving the Twins a 7-0 advantage early, and Aaron Hicks tripled twice. The game was called in the sixth due to inclement weather, with Santana ending his day with six innings, five K’s, and three runs.
GAME FOUR: Shane Greene had a shakier second start with the Twins, giving up five runs in six frames -- but the Twins came storming back and capped off a rally on Oswaldo Arcia’s 13th homer this year, as the young lefty slugger refuses to fall behind Plouffe and Vargas in the team race...which is motivating, knowing that the middle of the lineup won’t need any work this offseason -- and the upcoming presence of Sano should only make it stronger. A dominant Brian Duensing had a rare bad outing that gave the game back to K.C. for good.

Twins Transactions:

• SP JOSE BERRIOS (MLB) to AAA Rochester.
• SP ERVIN SANTANA (SUSPENSION) to active roster.

MLB Injuries:

• RF JOSE BAUTISTA (TOR) to 15-day DL (oblique strain; 4 weeks.)

This June in the MLB:

• 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ (NYY) gets his 3000th major-league hit.
• SP KYLE GIBSON (DET) pitches a 6-hit shutout in his first game with the Tigers.
• American League BOTM: 1B JOSE ABREU (CHW) - (.382, 13 HR, 26 RBI, 24 R)
• National League BOTM: RF CARLOS GONZALEZ (COL) - (.347, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 16 R)
• American League POTM: SP JAMES PAXTON (SEA) - (5-0, 3.34, 24 K)
• National League POTM: SP MATT GARZA (MIL) - (4-1, 1.52, 27 K)
• American League ROTM: CF DALTON POMPEY (TOR) - (.275, 5 HR, 17 RBI)
• National League ROTM: 1B JUSTIN BOUR (MIA) - (28 H, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 11 R)

Who’s Hot?

• 3B TREVOR PLOUFFE (.269/.331./472, 6 HR, 23 RBI in June)
• SS EDUARDO ESCOBAR (.326/.370/.372 in 92 June plate appearances)
• C KURT SUZUKI (.303/.385/.404, 14 RBI this month)
• SP TREVOR MAY (34.2 IP, 2.86 ERA, 149 ERA+)
• SP SHANE GREENE (34 IP, 3.18 ERA, 7.1 K/9)
• RP BRIAN DUENSING, RP CALEB THIELBAR, RP CASEY FIEN

Who’s Not?

• 2B EDDIE ROSARIO (.171/.247/.243 in 21 May games)
• RP MICHAEL TONKIN (7.1 IP, 9.82 ERA, 6 BB)
• RP CODY HALL (10.2 IP, 5.91 ERA)
• CL GLEN PERKINS (8.2 IP, 5.19 ERA)
• This Week in the MLB:
• American League POTW: LF RYAN RUA (TEX) - (10-for-26, 4 HR, 8 RBI)
• National League POTW: RF SCOTT HAIRSTON (CIN) - (13-for-23, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 8 R)

Power Rankings: 1. LAA / 2. STL / 3. CLE / 29. MIN