Trade Possibilities, Upcoming Games, Etc.

I felt I would take some time and post today before tonight's game is actually played, because I can tell you right now, if the Twins lose 3-2 or 2-1 again tonight, I'm just not going to post about it. It would just be the same old story again and I'm tired of writing about how bad this offense is and how much some of these hitters are embarrassing themselves on the field (FOUR strikeouts for Torii Hunter last night??? The guy turned 30 yesterday but he bats like a 22 year-old rookie). Therefore, there's a good chance this will be the only post for today on this blog. If something interesting or worthwhile happens in the game tonight, then perhaps I will post about it.

There was some interesting stuff in LaVelle's column of the Star Trib today. He tossed out a new trade rumor that has the Boston Red Sox asking about JC Romero to try to shore up their bullpen, which has been horrible this year. They apparently have put third-baseman Bill Mueller on the table. I would absolutely LOVE for this trade to happen. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Mueller is really all that great of a player. After winning the AL Batting Title in 2003 with a .326 average, he has been pretty mediocre since (which is still an upgrade from Michael Cuddyer). The thing, is I cannot STAND watching Romero pitch anymore. His terrible lack of control and complete inability to hold inherited runners on base has grated on my nerves far too much. If the Twins can get a decent player at a major position of need in return for JC, I hope they will do it in a second.

It was also mentioned that hitting coach Scott Ullger has been looking back at some of the tapes of Bret Boone's outstanding 2003 season, and said that he thinks it is possible for him to recapture that success because he thinks Boone still has his bat speed. I disagree, I think Bret has lost his bat speed and that's why he is unable to hit anymore. He still has a very nice swing, but he can't get around on the pitches and as a result is striking out and hitting a lot foul balls and pop-ups. Whether this lost bat speed has to do with steroid suspicions or is simply a result of being 36 years old, I don't think it's coming back, so expecting much out of Boone for the rest of the year would probably be silly.

The Twins have come out of the break into a tough homestand, no doubt. The Angels are the best team in the AL in my opinion, and Baltimore is right up there with the BoSox and Bombers in the AL East. That said, the Twins have put themselves in a bad position by losing 4 of 5 of them already, because these are homes games and these are teams that the Twins could potentially be running with for a Wild Card (although I think it's safe to say the Halos are going to win the West). After finishing the homestand on Wednesday, the Twins will head straight to Detroit to play the Tigers 5 times in 4 days, with a double-header on Saturday. This tough stretch of games is one of the most important of the season for the Twins, and so far they have not done well. Hopefully they can clean it up.

I'll post again later tonight, maybe.