17 thoughts on “Is a return in sight?”

1. Sorry to be a downer, but I find that returns from injury tend to be a mixed bag. I've not much confidence that Nathan is going to be worthwhile this season. Perkins could be good (he was great before the injury), but he's not so good that I have much faith in him at less than 100%. Mauer could make a huge difference, obviously, but he's going to need to be paced at least through July if it's taken him this long to get to this point. Nishioka will probably be fine on his return, but he's probably just a 1 WAR player when healthy anyway.

   Anyway, my hope is just for the team to continue their recent run of respectability. Even if the team is eliminated in August, as long as they are playing decent ball, I'll pay attention. If they are losing 4-5 games a week, I'm sure my attention will drift.

   1. Does Butters have options left? If Mauer does return, I'd rather see Rene stick around.

      1. It does seem like Rivera has played a little more than Butera of late. I just hope Butera's "clutch" double yesterday doesn't cloud the decision making. Hopefully, they pay attention to the fact the Twins have a 3.30 ERA when Rivera is catching and 4.98 when Butera is catching.

      2. I second the notion of sending Drew packing and keeping Rivera

   2. Mauer seemed to do pretty well the last time he came off a lengthy DL stint. My optimism is based on the improved play throughout the team the last couple weeks despite the injuries. The team has hit pretty well since that series in Oakland and the starters are doing well of late. The only real problem is the bullpen and even that has been better of late, including Capps, who has allowed only one run in his last five outings since his extended rest from overuse. It just happened to be in a one-run game, so it ended up being a "blown-save" which fans tend to focus on despite so many making fun of the "save" stat. I think the fact the Twins can play a bunch of games at home when players are returning to health can generate some confidence in a team that has had little reason to be confident.

      1. I guess I think that optimism based more on the team's recent play is more well-founded than hoping the DL guys give us a big boost. The way the team started, there was bound to be some regression to the mean (either that or we were just going to have a really unlucky year.)

         I'm a little worried that the home crowd isn't going to be all that supportive, but we'll see. They should technically play a little better at home than on the road.

         I hope Revere plays well and sticks. If the team is able to deal Delmon for something at this point, great, but I'm ready to declare him a sunk cost and move on. He might hit some day, I'm just not sure it's worth the wait anymore. When a team is struggling, it seems good to boost the defense so the team can keep playing close games and not lose focus playing blowout after blowout.

2. the Twins play 30 of their next 40 at home

   In my fantasy world, the Twins get to ~.500 during this next 40 games (requiring them to go 28-12 or 27-13). That would cut the Indians' lead in half (assuming they continue to play .567 ball).

   1. (assuming they continue to play .567 ball)

      and that's definitely not a given. if there's a division the twins have any slim margin of a chance in, it's the AL central.

   2. I wouldn't bet on them coming back and squeaking into the playoffs. But if, say, they're within 5 games of .500, and 8-10 of whoever leads the division after the All Star break my hopes will begin to rise.

   3. The Indians are 16-18 after starting out 18-8 in April. They have yet to play the Yankees (they go to New York tonight) and they've played four more games at home than on the road. I'm thinking 2003 Royals. They may hang in there until the end, but I'm still more concerned with the Tigers and White Sox. Another thing in the Twins' favor is you have to think the other teams will be looking over their shoulders at the Twins, knowing how many times they have come back to win the division. Especially the Tigers and the White Sox. If the Twins can start to make a move, that can put the pressure on the other teams.

3. Sorry, but I can't start thinking about the playoffs when it's almost the middle of June and we have the worst darn record in all of baseball. If they play for a few more weeks like they played in the last week, then we'll see.

   1. I can start thinking about the playoffs, just not yet with the Twins involved. I totally agree with the "extend the current level of play for another 2-3 weeks before I get really excited" sentiment.

4. Mauer lined a double down the left-field line to score Nishi, who had lined a single on the first pitch and stole second base in the first inning. Mauer also caught a popup and Nishi made a "strong throw to first" on a routine ground ball to short in the top of the first.

   1. In the second inning, Nishi walked on four pitches with two outs and a runner at third. After the run scored on an error on a pickoff attempt, Aaron Hicks walked to bring up Mauer, who grounded out to first base on a full-count pitch to end the inning.

   2. Batting right-handed against a reliever in the third inning, Nishi pops up on a 1-0 pitch to leave the bases loaded. Ft. Myers trails 4-3 after three.

   3. Mauer hits into a 4-6 forceout with one out in the fourth inning.

   4. Nishi flies out leading off the sixth and Mauer was hit by a pitch after a Hicks single. No injury concerns and Mauer remained in the game and ran the bases.

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