Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
The 2nd half of the season has not gone well, with three straight series losses, including dropping winnable games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and then getting outclassed by the Washington Nationals. This leaves the team at 50-55 for the season and 5.5 games out of the last wild card spot. With the trade deadline coming this week, the Twins look like sellers, and this should prove to be an interesting next few days.
The Past Week on Twinkie Town:
- Need to vent about the Twins? Or provide some reasons to calm down? Check out our Game Threads and join the conversation!
- In case you forgot what happened this past weekend, our Game Recaps are back as well!
- Zach Koenig looks at the value of Carlos Correa’s contract, specifically with respect to the postseason.
- Ben Jones evaluates who might no longer be a Twin when the calendar changes to August.
Elsewhere in Twins Territory:
- Tom Schreier at Zone Coverage looks at how Zebby Matthews has improved this season.
- Dan Hayes checks in on Joe Ryan’s mindset with the trade deadline looming. ($)
- John Shipley highlights how Edouard Julien and Jose Miranda are handling their time in St. Paul. ($)
In the World of Baseball:
- For the first time in months, the Detroit Tigers no longer lead the American League. The Toronto Blue Jays are now atop the league with a 63-43 record, with a 2.5 game lead over the Tigers.
- Not much has changed atop the National League, with the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers still tied with 62-43 records. The New York Mets are just lurking behind, though, 0.5 games back.
- Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com recaps the Hall of Fame ceremonies.
- While we’re still over a year away from the current CBA expiring, tensions are still high between players and ownership. As Jeff Passan at ESPN reports, Rob Manfred and Bryce Harper already had some conflict during Manfred’s annual visit to the Phillies clubhouse.