Weekend Update – 8/25/08

Also be sure to check out www.SethSpeaks.net -

Good Monday Morning everyone! Well, as you noticed, I was out of town from last Tuesday through yesterday, so today it is primarily an update issue. Of course, last night I participated in Marty Andrade’s Weekly Twins Roundtable podcast. It’s always fun, and last night, the 8:00 show had five people on the panel. It was Marty, myself, Josh Taylor, Jeff Straub and D-Wade. The topics covered everything from the Twins bullpen, to Nick Punto, to the minor league system to way more about the Olympics than I care to even know. The show airs live from 8-9 each Sunday night, but although the live streaming stops at 9:00, the podcast continued another 15 minutes. I think you’ll enjoy it, so if you have some time or like some background noise, be sure to check it out. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for the second SethSpeaks.net podcast which should be sometime this week. Speaking of audio files, be sure to take a moment and listen to SBG’s Third Audio post, a great tribute to the recently retired Ubelmann.

 

TWINS 2, ANGELS 2

• I know… I know… The Twins won Thursday night’s game 2-1 in 12 innings and 9-0 on Friday night. The Angels won 7-5 on Saturday night and came back to win 5-3 on Sunday afternoon… so the series was 2-2!
• In the four games, the Twins starters (Baker, Perkins, Blackburn and Slowey) combined to go 27 innings and gave up six earned runs (2.00 ERA) on 27 hits and six walks (1.22 WHIP). And that included the start on Saturday by Nick Blackburn in which he gave up six runs (3 earned) on ten hits and two walks in just 4.2 innings.
• In the four games, the Twins bullpen combined to go 10 innings and give up four runs (3.60 ERA) on seven hits and three walks (1.00 WHIP).
• Going into the series, I think even the most ardent Twins fans would have been thrilled with a series split with the Angels. Of course, once the Twins won the first two games of the series, it would have been nice to get one more.
• The big picture though, in my mind, is that it should verify in a lot of people’s minds, just how good this Twins team is. The Angels are considered, by many/most, the best team in baseball. The Twins split a series with them in Anaheim. Three of the games were close, with the Twins winning Friday in a blowout. One of the losses could or should have been a win.
• Jason Kubel almost hit a home run. Actually, he ran all the way around the bases before the obviously wrong call was overruled. Would have been nice to have that run, but the right call was made.
• From Joe Christensen’s postgame blog:

  Howie Kendrick saw that hesitation and dashed from first-to-third. Kubel’s throw bounced off Kendrick’s cleat (total fluke) for an error, allowing Napoli to reach second base.

  Manager Ron Gardenhire said Kubel “non-chalanted it. No excuse.”

  Kubel said, “I kind of went a little too slow anticipating anything. I just wanted to make sure I caught the ball first of all and just got it in.”

  Justin Morneau said, “They catch us on a play that shouldn’t have been a first-to-thrid play. That pretty much turned the game around.”

  Nothing like this close-knit team and it’s team-first manager throwing one of his better players under the bus. Unfortunately, Kubel has always been one of those guys that Gardy doesn’t mind speaking negatively of. Was it a bad play? Probably. Was the fact that Napoli got second a fluke (as Joe C writes), absolutely. Just another example of the inconsistencies.

• In Sunday’s game, Justin Morneau hit his 20th homer of the season. He drove in three runs putting him at 102 for the season.
• Have to do it… Nick Punto went 3-4 on Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. In those games, he is 20-46, a nice .435 batting average. He has had at least two hits in eight of those games.
• The Twins now continue their long road trip with three games at Seattle before four games in Oakland. The Twins are far and away a better team than both of those teams, but as Stick & Ball Guy continues to point out, those are the games/teams that scare you. If they win them, they should do that, not a big deal. If they lose, they are incredibly disappointing. I think that the Twins need to win five of the seven games to be really happy. Four out of seven wouldn’t kill them, but it might hurt.
• Any thoughts on the Twins right now? Please discuss in the comments, or send me an e-mail.   
    

Twins Minor League Updates

Friday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – David Winfree, New Britain Rockcats
Friday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Philip Humber, Rochester Red Wings

Saturday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Matt Macri, Rochester Red Wings
Saturday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Bobby Lanigan, Elizabethton Twins

Sunday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Dan Rohlfing, GCL Twins
Sunday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Jay Rainville, New Britain Rockcats

 

• Be sure to check out Roger’s (Abbreviated) Weekly Minor League Update for this week.

• Also, here is LaVelle’s weekly Minor League report. He discusses, among other topics, an historic season at Elizabethton this year.

• At the end of last week, the Twins announced their minor leaguers who will be going to the Arizona Fall League. As I expected, 3B Danny Valencia, SS/2B/OF Steve Tolleson and RH RP Rob Delaney will go. I am pleasantly surprised that OF Dustin Martin will get to go. He was acquired by the Twins in the Luis Castillo deal last season and really has had a nice season at New Britain. Anthony Slama is still in Hi-A Ft. Myers, but he will get to again join Delaney in Arizona. It is deserved. I am only surprised because he is still in A ball. Finally, Tim Lahey was named to the roster. This one is really the biggest surprise. Last winter, the Rays took him with the first pick in the Rule V draft and immediately traded him to the Cubs. He spent almost all of training camp with the Cubs before being let go. The Phillies claimed him and he practiced with them for a few days before they let him go. The Twins were happy to take him back. He pitched out of the Rochester bullpen all season, and honestly, didn’t do very well at all. However, as we know, he has only been a pitcher for a couple of years and simply needs to develop. I wouldn’t give up on him at all.

• My dreams of running into Jennie Finch while walking through the halls of the Metrodome took a big hit over the weekend. The Twins released Casey Daigle from the Rochester Red Wings roster on Saturday to make room for Brian Bass.

• Brian Duensing will return to Rochester from Beijing with a bronze medal.  Congratulations. I have a new theory on the Twins bullpen. Since the Twins are likely to move one of their starters to the bullpen for the playoffs (if they get there), they could bring Duensing up after September 1st and let him start. They could then move Nick Blackburn to the bullpen as I think he could do very well in that role. The other option would be for Duensing to do for the Twins what he did for Team USA, pitch out of the bullpen.   

 

ROCHESTER REPORT
Friday – Rochester 5, Pawtucket 1 – Philip Humber continued his impressive run of starts with a complete game in this start. He gave up a run on five hits. He walked none and struck out eight. The only run came on a home run by recent Red Sox signing David Ross. Garrett Jones’s terrific season continued. He went 2-4 with his 21st home run. Luke Hughes hit his sixth double and drove in two.    

Saturday – Rochester 4, Pawtucket 3 – Brian Bass made his return to Rochester and was immediately put into the starting rotation. He gave up three runs on four hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out three. Julio DePaula struck out three in 2.2 scoreless frames. Mariano Gomez got the final out of the 7th and got his fifth win for it. Danny Graves and Bobby Korecky each threw a scoreless inning to get the win. It was Korecky’s 25th save.

Sunday – Rochester 3, Syracuse 5 – Garrett Jones went 2-4 with his 30th double. Matt Macri (23) and Trevor Plouffe (15) each doubled. Kevin Mulvey fell to 7-9 with this loss. He gave up five runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Ricky Barrett went two scoreless innings in relief.

 

NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Friday – New Britain 3, Akron 2 – Kyle Aselton had a very nice start. In six innings, he gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out  four. Zach Ward, Jose Mijares and Rob Delaney combined for three innings of scoreless relief. David Winfree went 2-4 with his 27th double, 19th homer and two more RBI (an impressive 87 on the year!). Steve Tolleson (27), Danny Valencia (17) and Dustin Martin (30) each hit a double.

Saturday – New Britain 3, Akron 2 – Jeff Manship is back in the NFL “Expert” Picks this year, and he was back on the mound on Saturday for the Rockcats. He went five innings and gave up two runs. He allowed four hits, walked three and struck out four. Armando Gabino gave up four hits but no runs in two innings. Ben Julianel got his third win with four strikeouts in two perfect innings. Danny Valencia went 2-4 with his sixth homer. David Winfree went 2-4. Drew Butera went 1-2 with a walk and his first triple. Dustin Martin hit his 10th homer.  

Sunday – New Britain 3, Akron 2  – First of all, be sure to note the scores of all three of these weekend games… Then notice the game that Jay Rainville threw. The righty went the first six innings. He gave up one run on six hits. He walked none and struck out eleven. Frank Mata went 1.2 scoreless innings before Jose Mijares gave up a run on three hits in 1.1 innings. Matt Tolbert went 2-4 with an RBI and his seventh stolen base. Danny Valencia hit his seventh homer. David Winfree was hit by a pitch in his first at bat and left the game. Steve Tolleson went 0-4 with four strikeouts.

 

FT MYERS MEMOS
Friday – Miracle/Lakeland – Postponed by Rain.

Saturday – Miracle 1, Clearwater 4 – Cole DeVries saw his record drop back to even, 9-9, with this game. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on six hits in four inning. Spencer Steedley threw three shutout innings. Matt Williams pitched a scoreless eighth. Steve Singleton went 2-4 with his 17th double. Edward Ovalle went 2-4. Eli Tintor knocked his sixth homer.

Sunday – Miracle 0, Clearwater 2 – Matt Fox falls to 7-7 after this loss. He gvae up two runs on five hits and three walks in his 5.1 innings. He struck out eight. Jose Lugo and Blair Erickson went the final 2.2 innings without allowing another run. Unfortunately, the Miracle bats managed just four hits. Wilson Ramos went 2-4 with his 23rd double.

 

BELOIT BITS
Friday – Beloit 2, Burlington 4 – Shooter Hunt continues to struggle with control. In this game, he gave up four runs on six hits in four innings. He walked five and struck out three. Mike Tarsi came in and threw two scoreless innings. Santos Arias threw two shutout innings as well. Greg Yersich went 2-4 with his 14th double. Ben Revere did not play again.

Saturday – Beloit 3, Burlington 5 – Mike McCardell had a rough start (for him) in this one. In 6.2 innings, he gave up five runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out five. Charles Nolte got the final four outs, two on strikeouts. Yangervis Solarte went 2-4. Allen de San Miguel went 1-2 with a walk.       

Sunday – Beloit 7, Burlington 2 – David Bromberg recorded his eighth win of the year. He gave up one run on five hits and two walks in 6.2 innings. He struck out an incredible 13 batters. Danny Hernandez gave up a run in the final 2.1 innings. Mark Dolenc went 2-4 with his ninth double and 30th stolen base. Andrew Schmiesing was 3-4 with his fourth double. Ramon Santana went 2-4 with a walk. Chris Cates and Juan Richardson each went 2-5. Ben Revere did not play all weekend, still with a sore knee.

 

ELIZABETHTON EXTRAS
Friday – E-Twins 12, Danville 3 – Tom Wright has certainly impressed since he was put into the E-Town rotation. He improved to 4-0 with 5.2 innings of two run ball. He gave up six hits, walked three and struck out five. Steve Blevins got the save by going the final 3.1 innings. He gave up a run on two hits and struck out three.

Saturday – E-Twins 1, Danville 2 – Bobby Lanigan deserved better, but he took the loss in this one. In 7.2 innings, he gave up two runs (1 earned) despite 11 hits. He walked none and struck out eight. Lee Martin got the final out. The E-Twins managed just two hits in the game. Dominic de La Osa went 1-2 with a walk.

Sunday – E-Twins 3, Princeton 6 – Brad Tippett started and went just two innings despite allowing just one hit and striking out two. (If someone knows more, like was there a rain delay or an injury, please let me know). Dan Berlind came in and gave up six runs on five hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. Kyle Carr struck out three in 1.2 innings. Danny Rondon, Jarrod Eacott and Mark Hamburger each pitched a scoreless inning.

 

GCL TWINS TALK
Friday – GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled.

Saturday – GCL Twins 1, Pirates 3 (6 innings – rain) – Martire Garcia is seeing his prospect status rise significantly in my eyes. This game helps! Although the game went just six innings before being rained out, Garcia pitched great. He threw 5.1 innings of no hit baseball and yet, he is the losing pitcher in the game. He gave up three runs, none earned. He walked three and struck out six. Miguel Munoz gave up a hit and a walk in 0.2 innings. The GCL Twins had just three hits. Aaron Hicks went 1-2 with a walk.

Sunday – GCL Twins 7, GCL Orioles 4 – Edgar Ibarra improve to 4-0 with six innings of two-run ball. He gave up six hits, two walks and struck out four. Jay Sawatski, on a rehab assignment, gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in one inning. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 with his first triple and first home run. Reggie Williams went 2-3 with a triple. Aaron Hicks went 2-4.    

   

Have a great week!