“Players must be on a team’s 25-man roster as of August 31 to be eligible for post-season play. The only exception is that a player on the 60-day disabled list may be replaced by another player from the team’s 40-man roster (as of August 31) who plays the same position.” (Wikipedia)

We hopefully won’t have to put anyone on the 60 day DL in September … so the 25 man roster on 8/31 is the one we’re (hopefully) going to the playoffs with.

That’s why it’s critical that Korecky replaces Bass by then.

If that’s the case, then it’s not totally necessary to have the exact right mix at the ML-level so long as the elements are on the 40-man.

It probably does have something to do with conditioning and returning from the injury — but at the same time Perkins just has to be stretched out. Pitch 1-75 demonstrates that Perkins is a good pitcher; if he can just stay strong through 100 pitches he’ll be a whole lot more than an average pitcher.

Javier Vazquez of the White Sox used to have a very similar problem — he was lights out for the first 5 innings, then blow up and give up 5 runs. He stretched himself out and doesn’t have the same trouble any more.

I expect the same out of Perkins — probably next year. But that’s only if we let him keep trying to work out of trouble in the 6th and 7th, which is where he needs the most practice.

Obviously that’s the problem with trying to compete in a pennant race AND develop 20 young players at the same time. Sacrifices have to be made, and the Twins organization always takes the longer view — and sacrifices the short term to benefit the long term. Fans may hate that, but the Twins have been doing a great job of staying competitive this decade by always favoring long-term decisions.

That’s why I expect Perkins to continue to get work in and NOT be pulled at the first sign of danger after the 5th inning. (Also, we need him to do it, we can’t afford to put the bullpen into games that early, with the way they’ve been going.)

Since entering the rotation on May 10, Glen Perkins has been mostly effective, going 10-3 with a 4.17 ERA in 19 starts. Basically he’s provided the Twins with a league average pitcher at the back of their rotation, which is great. But after watching yesterday’s game vs. Seattle, I thought, “Huh, he really seems to lose it in the 6th inning or later, like he hits a wall.” After some research it seems, yes, Perkins does hit some invisible wall after the 5th inning. In 23 2/3 innings after the 5th, Perkins has given up 33 hits with a 7.98 ERA. He’s gone into the 6th inning in 16 of his 19 starts, but he’s allowed at least one run 10 different times in those instances. Even removing his two starts vs. Seattle in which he allowed 8 ER in 2 1/3 innings after the 5th, he’s still posted a 5.48 ERA in those situations. Counter that with innings 1-5 in which Perkins has a 3.19 ERA in 93 innings.

Looking even closer, it seem to be more about Perkins’ pitch count than what inning he’s pitching in. From pitches 1-75, Perkins has a 3.52 ERA in 97 innings and has allowed opponents to hit .296/.332/.432 with 8 home runs. But from pitches 76-100, Perkins has an ERA of 7.32 and has allowed a hitting line of .293/.366/.622 in 19 2/3 innings while surrendering the same amount of home run, 8, in 77 1/3 less innings. Perkins clearly struggles in the later innings when his pitch count is between 76 and 100, something that could be attributed to a lack of conditioning and the fact that Perkins only pitched 19 1/3 innings last season because of injury. Perkins threw 121 innings in 2006 and 134 in 2005, his most since joining the Twins’ organization in 2004. Perkins has now thrown exactly 150 innings between AAA and the majors this season, so it will be interesting to see how his arm holds up down the stretch, especially in the late innings. This is something the Twins should be monitoring, and they need to have Perkins on a short leash. Once he hits the 75-pitch mark, he should be lifted upon allowing any baserunners. In a pennant race where every run counts and every mistake is compounded, the Twins can’t afford to gamble, especially in the latter innings.

I have no answers for the pen, other than having the starters go 7 or 8 each game where Nathan is about the only guy with a chance to pitch, like you said. But I’d also really like to see them call up Korecky and kick Bass to the curb.

Do you think they might cut ties with Lamb at this point once Casilla returns? I think they may and then keep Ruiz up for a right-handed bat. Personally, I’d like to see this lineups going forward:

vs. RHP

RF Span 2B Casilla C Mauer 1B Morneau DH Kubel LF Young 3B Buscher SS Punto/Everett CF Gomez

vs. LHP

CF Span 2B Casilla C Mauer 1B Morneau RF Kubel LF Young 3B Harris DH Ruiz SS Everett/Punto

That said, Julio Depaula is probably the most likely to get called up. Think Brian Bass, but without the alliteration.

The frustrating part will be being tied for first today and being 2 games out in a couple of weeks after watching the bullpen continue to blow leads.

By the way, what are the odds that Guerrier’s career is just about done? His arm looks cooked.