Friday Game Notes

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

The Twins lost again on the road on Friday night as Scott Baker gave up a big, three run homer to Evan Longoria to give the Rays a lead they would not relinquish. For more on the Twins loss, click here for my BaseballDigest.com Game Recap.

• Following the game, Gardy announced that Nick Punto was going to be put on the 15 day disabled list. Alexi Casilla will make his return from AAA Rochester. Steve Tolleson was promoted from New Britain to Rochester.
• By the way, if you haven’t taken a minute to listen to the Kirby Puckett, Turkey Bucket song yet, be sure to do so.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Beloit Snappers

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Deolis Guerra, Ft. Myers Miracle

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday –Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 3 – Matt Macri hit a three run home run in the top of the 9^th to give the Red Wings the lead and the win. It was his fourth homer of the year. Justin Huber knocked in the other two runs with a two-run, first inning homer. He was 2-4. David Winfree was 2-4 as well. Brian Duensing went the first seven innings and gave up three runs on ten hits. Mike Gosling is playing vulture very well. He pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three to improve to 7-1. 18 of his 22 pitches were strikes.  

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain 0, Binghamton 6 – The Rockcats only managed three hits in being shut out in this game. Rene Tosoni went 1-3 with a walk and his seventh double. Jeff Manship took the loss to fall to 4-4. He gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks in seven innings. Jose Lugo came in and gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in 0.1 innings. Anthony Slama came in with the bases loaded and allowed all three runs to score. He gave up two hits and an intentional walk in 0.2 innings. His three runners allowed did not score. Zach Ward walked one in a scoreless inning.

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 3, Tampa 0 – Deolis Guerra put together his best pitching performance of the year. The youngster threw six shutout innings. Have gave up five hits and walked none. Steve Hirschfeld reduced his ERA to 1.07 with two perfect innings. Alex Burnett recorded his fourth save with a scoreless ninth. Ben Revere went 2-4 with his 21^st stolen base. Chris Parmelee was 2-4 with his sixth double.

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 15, Kane County 2 – Brad Tippett improved to 5-1 thanks to a lot of run support, but he really pitched well too. In six innings, he gave up one run on five hits. He struck out seven without walking anyone. Steve Blevins gave up an unearned run before Blake Martin and Danny Rondon pitched scoreless innings. James Beresford led the way by going 3-4 with two walks. Juan Richardson was 3-4 with a walk and his first double. Ozzie Lewis went 3-5 with his third home runs, a grand slam, and six RBI. Ramon Santana and Michael Harrington each went 2-6. Harrington hit his 17^th double. Angel Morales was 2-5. Alexander Soto was 1-2 with two walks and his fifth home run.  

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

MNGameNight.com Podcast Tonight at 10!

There will be a new, live MNGameNight.com podcast tonight at 10:00. The show will be live from 10:00-10:30 central time. We will talk about the Twins homestand and look forward to the weekend series in Tampa against the Rays. We’ll talk about the AL Central and several Twins topics. However, the show will go long. I know that already. So, you will want to listen live and leave your questions in the chat room, but you will also want to listen later to the podcast because we will be continuing the show after 10:30. You will only be able to hear that content later. Download it to your iPhone. Should be a good show.

Twins 4, Red Sox 2

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

• For my Twins/Red Sox game recap from Wednesday night’s game, please check it out at BaseballDigest.com.
• I was asked by Evan Brunell of the Most Valuable Network to participate in a Mock Draft. I was able to represent the Twins. That meant that I would pick 22^nd in the mock draft and depending upon who was available, I could make my pick for the Twins. Who did I pick for the Twins, and why? Well, you’ll have to check that out here.
• With all this talk about Joe Mauer, and rightfully so, Justin Morneau is having a monster season. How good? Check out Travis Talks most recent debate topic to get an idea of just how good he has been.
• Aaron Gleeman will be hosting a Live Chat this afternoon at 3:00.
• Nick Nelson is Growing Leery about Francisco Liriano.

Here is a request for help from a Twins fan out of state, looking for someone to help him acquire a couple of things at the Twins Autograph Party. If you are interested, send me an e-mail and I will put you in contact with this gentleman:

1. Is there anyone here that is going to (or considering going to) the Twins Autograph Party on Saturday June 20?  I have an item that I would like to get autographed by Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew, and seeing that I live in Philadelphia I am looking for someone to do the leg-work for me.  I would consider flying in for the day, but since I am out of work at the moment, I won’t even try to explain that frivolous expenditure to my wife.

   My proposal would be to find someone who would be willing to commit to going to the event, and standing in the alumni line (2:30-4:00) to (try to) get the two signatures.  In exchange I would pay the fee for the autograph card, which you could use to get your own autographs during the Current Twins session (12:30-2:00).  I would also pay your driving expenses including parking, plus a reasonable “time and effort” fee, which we will negotiate in advance.  I will send the item to you via FedEx and include a prepaid return envelope, as well.

   So, if anyone is wanting to go but not sure due to cost, maybe we could help each other out. 

   Thanks in advance for any assistance that anyone can provide.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Michael Harrington, Beloit Snappers

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Michael McCardell, Ft. Myers Miracle

ROCHESTER REPORT

Wednesday –Rochester 2, Durham 13 – Reid Santos started and gave up three runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out five in four innings. Tim Lahey got four outs, and gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks. Ben Hendrickson gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in two innings. Armando Gabino went one inning and struck out three. Juan Morillo struck out two in 0.2 innings. Dustin Martin went 2-3 with a walk and his first triple. Trevor Plouffe was 2-4 with an RBI.

By the way, be sure to check out and bookmark ‘R Red Wings, a very good blog on the Red Wings. He has some video of Anthony Swarzak and others that it fun to watch.

Also, at BaseballDigest.com, Justin Murphy posted this week’s Upstate Update on the Red Wings.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Wednesday – New Britain 1, Trenton 5 – Cole Devries made another start in this game. He gave up three runs on six hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out three. Jose Lugo gave up two hits in 1.2 innings. Rob Delaney got the next four outs, allowing just one base runner. Anthony Slama gave up two runs on one hit and two hit batters in one inning. He gave up a home run as well. The Rockcats offense managed just four hits. Steve Tolleson went 2-3 with a walk.  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Wednesday – Ft. Myers 8, Tampa 0 – Michael McCardell put together his best start of the season. The righty went seven shutout innings. He gave up just four hits, walked none and struck out three. He improves to 6-2 with a 3.63 ERA. Blair Erickson came on and struck out all three batters he faced. Alex Burnett then pitched a scoreless inning. Danny Berg went 3-5 with his eighth double. Nick Romero was 2-3 with a walk, his first homer and three RBI. Rene Leveret went 2-4 with a walk and three RBI. Ben Revere was 2-5. Mark Dolenc hit his first homer of the year.    

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Wednesday – Beloit 2, South Bend 3 (15 innings) – Dan Osterbrock made the start in this game. He threw eight innings and gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out eight. Joe Testa came in and threw three shutout innings. He struck out three and dropped his ERA to 1.69. Matt Williams came on and gave up two walks and a hit, but no runs in two innings to drop his ERA to 1.89. Michael Tarsi came in and after a scoreless 14^th inning, he gave up the final run with two outs in the 15^th. Michael Harrington went 3-5 with a walk, his organization-leading 15^th double, and his first triple. James Beresford was 2-6 with his second double. Juan Richardson went 2-6.   

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Discussion Question: AL 1B

Also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

In yesterday’s Live Chat someone asked me to rank my top three AL First Basemen. Initial thought was that it was an easy question. However, the more you think about it, they more difficult the answer to that question is.

Here are some of the top contenders:

• Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
• Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
• Kevin Youklis, Boston Red Sox
• Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays
• Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

Those are the top contenders, in my mind, but would any of these be up for consideration in your mind?

• Aubrey Huff, Baltimore Orioles
• Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox
• Kendry Morales, LA Angels of Anaheim
• Lyle Overbay, Toronto Blue Jays

How about:

• Billy Butler or Mike Jacobs, Kansas City Royals
• Ryan Garko, Cleveland Indians
• Russell Branyan, Seattle Mariners

So there are several ways for you to look at the questions. Who is the best today? Who would you start a team with? Who will be the best over the next five years? Likely three of these players will make the All-Star game and a couple will be snubbed. Who goes? Is Justin Morneau an obvious choice for any of the answers, or is that a bias of mine as a Twins fan? There are several ways to look at it, so let’s discuss.  

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Tuesday Night Baseball

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Yesterday’s Live Chat was excellent, I thought. It started at about 1:00 and finished about 3:30. There were a lot of questions, so I think you would enjoy reading through the transcripts. Let me know what you think.

The Twins had one big offensive inning against the Red Sox in this game. Five runs. The biggest hit of the inning was a Justin Morneau that may have been the hardest hit ball in the history of ever! That made a 2-1 lead into a 5-1 lead. Nick Blackburn struggled the first two innings. He really had to work to keep the score close. But after that, he really pitched well and seemed in control. Again, any time you can have a starter go seven innings and give up just two runs, you’ve got a chance to win. That helps the end-game scenarios play out much cleaner. Matt Guerrier comes in for the 8^th, and Joe Nathan comes in to close it in the 9^th. That’s really the right recipe for the Twins (or any baseball team in the Major Leagues, college, high school, Little League, anywhere).

• Justin Morneau was 2-3 with a walk and the three run homer. He is now batting .347.
• Nick Punto went 2-3 with a walk. You have to give credit where credit is due in this game. I won’t even mention the ugly throwing error he had late in the game!
• Delmon Young made a very nice running catch in the middle innings. Jason Varitek lined out down the left field line. Young covered a lot of ground to make the catch on a ball that was tailing away from him as well. It was a very good play. He was again 0-4, and struck out twice, but he hit the ball very well the other two at bats and got nothing to show for it. After going 2-3 against the Mariners, Young was batting .303. Then in two more games before leaving the team to be with his mother, he went 0-7. Then he was gone for 11 days during which time he said good bye to his mom and helped the family bury her before coming back. Since returning, he is 0-2 with eight strikeouts which lowers his batting average to .243. He is on an 0-19 stretch. I would think a day off against Daisuke Matsuzaka would be in order, and maybe against Josh Beckett on Thursday.
• On a related note, that’s the Matt Garza I recall. Giving up long home runs and yelling at the opposition. Ryan Garko hit a long home run off of him and basically sprinted around the bases while Garza yelled at him. Garza then hit Garko with a fastball the next at bat. Have to love the Mark Derosa came up next and hit another long home run.
• Kevin Slowey will be on the mound tonight for the Twins.
• Steve Phillips isn’t very smart. There’s a reason he works for ESPN, and isn’t a GM anymore.
• With all the Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Kubel and Span talk, Josh Johnson writes Joe Crede, Our Savior.
• Travis Talks about the Francisco Liriano situation and options for what should be done. One option he presents is sending Liriano back to Rochester. First, Liriano does have options, but second, I would not send him down. If he is healthy, he needs to just work out his fastball command. That should be done at the big league level.
• If you’re looking for reasons, as a Twins fan, to be optimistic, Brian from the Twins page on Examiner.com has three of them. Here is Part 1, and here is Part 2.
• There are a couple more Forgettable Twins.
•  You will want to listen to Sunday’s Twins Weekly show on KFAN with Phil Mackey. Check out both Part 1 and Part 2 of the 5/24 show.   

Here is a request for help from a Twins fan out of state, looking for someone to help him acquire a couple of things at the Twins Autograph Party. If you are interested, send me an e-mail and I will put you in contact with this gentleman:

1. Is there anyone here that is going to (or considering going to) the Twins Autograph Party on Saturday June 20?  I have an item that I would like to get autographed by Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew, and seeing that I live in Philadelphia I am looking for someone to do the leg-work for me.  I would consider flying in for the day, but since I am out of work at the moment, I won’t even try to explain that frivolous expenditure to my wife.

   My proposal would be to find someone who would be willing to commit to going to the event, and standing in the alumni line (2:30-4:00) to (try to) get the two signatures.  In exchange I would pay the fee for the autograph card, which you could use to get your own autographs during the Current Twins session (12:30-2:00).  I would also pay your driving expenses including parking, plus a reasonable “time and effort” fee, which we will negotiate in advance.  I will send the item to you via FedEx and include a prepaid return envelope, as well.

   So, if anyone is wanting to go but not sure due to cost, maybe we could help each other out. 

   Thanks in advance for any assistance that anyone can provide.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – David Winfree, Rochester Red Wings

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Kevin Mulvey, Rochester Red Wings

ROCHESTER REPORT

Tuesday –Rochester 5, Durham 2 – David Winfree hit a big, three run homer for the Red Wings in the bottom of the 8^th inning to give Rochester the win. Winfree went 2-4 including his seventh homer. The Red Wings had just six hits. The other two runs for the Twins came off the bat of Trevor Plouffe who hit a two run homer, his fourth of the year. Mike Gosling picked up his sixth win of the young season. He gave up only a walk (and struck out four) in two innings. He came in to replace Kevin Mulvey who gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six.  

ROCKCAT RECAP

Tuesday – New Britain 0, Trenton 11 – The Rockcats had a poor game on the mound, in the field and with the bats, and that translates perfectly into a blowout loss. Ryan Mullins was the starter. He gave up six runs (4 earned) on 13 hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. Zach Ward then came up three runs on two hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. Yohan Pino gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in two innings. The Rockcats had two errors and just five hits. Matt Moses was 2-3.

MIRACLE MEMOS

Tuesday – Ft. Myers 1, Tampa 3 (7 innings due to rain)  – Tyler Robertson gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks in six innings. Kyle Waldrop gave up two hits but no runs in his inning before the rains came. The Miracle managed just four hits. Allen de San Miguel went 1-2 with a walk. Ben Revere was 1-3 with his 19^th stolen base.   

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Tuesday – Beloit 1, South Bend 4 (8 innings due to rain) – Dan Berlind falls to 1-4 with this loss. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out seven. Bruce Pugh then gave up a run on three hits in two innings. Blake Martin gave up a walk and struck out one in the 0.2 innings he threw before it rained. James Beresford went 2-4. Ozzie Lewis was 1-2 with a walk.  

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Quick Update

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

I am taking an extra day away from work this weekend. I have plans in the morning, but will be around in the afternoon. I will be hosting a Live Twins Chat at 1:00 central time. I will open up the chat room 15-20 minutes early and take any and all questions you may have. To sign up for an e-mail reminder, to ‘watch’ and participate in the live chat, or to view the transcript after the fact, please Click Here.

I certainly hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day. Since I spent all of Sunday and much of Monday up north at the lake, this is going to be a relatively quick blog posting. I did get home and hosted a SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. I didn’t prepare any guests, but I am a rambler, so I was able to talk Twins for about 40 minutes straight. Hopefully you have a chance to listen to it, if so, please do. I would love to hear your feedback. Please note that the show will air again next Monday at 9:00 and I promise to have at least a couple of guests. For today, I will share with you some of my notes from the podcast last night:

• Is there a better top five or top six hitters in any lineup in baseball than the Twins? If so, let me know. I can’t think of one.

1. Denard Span is hitting about .300 and getting on base 38% of the time. Just can’t argue with that production from the top of the lineup.
2. Joe Mauer batting second. After his pinch-hit home run on Monday, he is not batting .444, and he is getting on base over 53% of the time. He also has hit 11 home runs. On Saturday night, Mauer hit his 9^th home run. John Meyer (the Twins MVB) read that Mauer hit nine home runs all of 2008, so he hit his 9^th home run this year in 459 less at bats. On Sunday, he hit his 10^th, and on Monday hit his 11^th. He has played in just 23 games, and he has 31 RBI!
3. Justin Morneau has moved up to the #3 spot. He is hitting .341 and getting on base 42% of the time. He has driven in 41 runs on the season, which is very good, but again puts Mauer’s numbers into greater perspective.
4. Jason Kubel will hit fourth most of the time against righties. He is now hitting .340 and getting on base 38% of the time. He has five homers and 24 RBI, but typically when he is batting, Morneau and/or Mauer have already driven in runs. He doesn’t walk a lot, but with those guys on base ahead of him, teams don’t want to put on another runner.
5. Michael Cuddyer is now hitting .286 and getting on base 37% of the time. He had eight home runs and 31 RBI. He’s on pace to put up some very impressive numbers.
6. Joe Crede’s defense has been impressive, and he has shown the ability to hit the long ball. Essentially the Twins are getting from Crede exactly what they should have expect.

• However, the bottom of the lineup hasn’t been good. Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young have been what they are. I made my point about the Twins getting a fair deal with Nick Punto in the offseason, but the one caveat to me liking that deal was that he would not revert back to 2007 Nick Punto. Well, he may be even worse than that.
• It is interesting how the concerns of the bullpen go away when the Starter completes seven innings. Thursday, Nick Blackburn went 7 innings. Twins win. Friday, Kevin Slowey worked 7.1 innings. Twins win. On Saturday, Anthony Swarzak threw seven shutout innings in his big league debut. Twins win. On Sunday, Scott Baker pitches into the 9^th inning, and the Twins win. Francisco Liriano gave up five runs on 11 hits in just four innings on Monday. But then R.A. Dickey came in and gave the Twins four innings and gave up just one run. Exactly what you would want from him in that role. Late inning situations go to Joe Nathan, Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier. The other guys fill in when needed. But again, the key to the Twins success in 2009 is the starting pitching.
• Ubelman has a quick note for those of you who want to compare Matt Weiters to Joe Mauer.
• Here is a request for help from a Twins fan out of state, looking for someone to help him acquire a couple of things at the Twins Autograph Party. If you are interested, send me an e-mail and I will put you in contact with this gentleman:

1. Is there anyone here that is going to (or considering going to) the Twins Autograph Party on Saturday June 20?  I have an item that I would like to get autographed by Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew, and seeing that I live in Philadelphia I am looking for someone to do the leg-work for me.  I would consider flying in for the day, but since I am out of work at the moment, I won’t even try to explain that frivolous expenditure to my wife.

   My proposal would be to find someone who would be willing to commit to going to the event, and standing in the alumni line (2:30-4:00) to (try to) get the two signatures.  In exchange I would pay the fee for the autograph card, which you could use to get your own autographs during the Current Twins session (12:30-2:00).  I would also pay your driving expenses including parking, plus a reasonable “time and effort” fee, which we will negotiate in advance.  I will send the item to you via FedEx and include a prepaid return envelope, as well.

   So, if anyone is wanting to go but not sure due to cost, maybe we could help each other out. 

   Thanks in advance for any assistance that anyone can provide.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Monday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Nathan Hanson, Beloit Snappers

Monday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Jay Rainville, New Britain Rockcats

OF NOTE –

• Be sure to check out Roger’s Weekly Twins Minor League Update. There are some really great comments in addition to Roger’s always-great article.
• Travis from Travis Talks has started an interesting series, comparing/contrasting Twins prospects. He gives the reasons for each to be considered followed by his take, and then allows for your thoughts. The first was on which reliever has the better future, Rob Delaney or Anthony Slama? The second was who is the Twins top prospect, Aaron Hicks or Ben Revere?
• Andrew Kneeland posted the Twins Organizational Depth Chart.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Monday –Rochester 2, Durham 3 – Jason Jones was much better in this start. In six innings, he gave up just two runs on eight hits. He walked none and struck out three. Juan Morillo got the loss. He gave up a run on two hits and two walks in two innings. Bobby Keppel pitched a scoreless inning. Jason Pridie had a good game against his former team. He went 2-3 with a walk and his seventh double. The Red Wings had just six hits. Trevor Plouffe added his sixth double.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Monday – New Britain 4, Binghampton 5 – Jay Rainville had his best start of the season. He threw six shutout innings and gave up just three hits. He walked three and struck out four.  Yohan Pino went one shutout inning despite giving up two hits and a walk. Frank Mata gave up two unearned runs in two innings. Zach Ward went 1.1 innings for the loss. He gave up three runs on four hits and three walks. Whit Robbins led the way, again, by going 3-4. Rene Tosoni had two hits. Danny Valencia was 0-1 with three walks. Jeff Christy went 1-2 with two walks.

What a Lineup – I talked about the impressive top of the Twins lineup, but the Rockcats are pretty impressive too. Brandon Roberts is hitting around .300. Steve Tolleson has been on fire, raising his average from about .140 to .250 in no time. Brian Dinkelman went 3-3 with two walks on Sunday. He is hitting .343. Danny Valencia is hitting .339. Whit Robbins is hitting .326. Sixth hitter Erik Lis is right around .300. Juan Portes is hitting a little over .300. And remember that Wilson Ramos has been out of the lineup. This would be a fun team to watch.  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Monday – Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled.

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Monday – Beloit 4, Wisconsin 7 – Michael Allen fell to 0-6 in this game. In five innings, he gave up four runs (2 earned) on six hits. He walked five more. Nathan Hanson went 3-4 with a walk. Ozzie Lewis went 3-5. Jonathan Waltenbury and James Beresford each had two hits. Angel Morales was 1-3 with two walks.  

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Twins Crush Crew; Cuddyer Captures Cycle

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

A day after putting up twenty runs against the Chicago White Sox, the Twins bats continued to roll. The Twins scored three in the first inning on a Michael Cuddyer home run. They added four in the fourth inning. They scored in five of the first six innings, and ran away with a second consecutive easy win.  I was up in section 226, in the 8^th row. It is just to the third base side of home plate, so very good seats really. There were some Brewers fans around, but happily it was primarily Twins fans. Here are some of my observations and some highlights from my scorecard:

• Obviously Michael Cuddyer was again the story in this game. In his first at bat, he hit a LONG three run homer, well into the bleachers in left center field. In his second at bat, he hit the first pitch to the gap in left center for a ground rule double. In the fourth inning, he welcomed Mike Difelice to the game with a single up the middle to drive in a run. In his third at bat, a broken bat liner down the 3B line turned into a triple. As he was rounding second, the crowd figured out what was going on and that was a very neat scene. Following that at bat, his batting average was up to .293. For the game, hew as 4-5 with two runs scored and five driven in. When he came to bat in the eighth inning, the game was out of reach, so we were trying to figure out the benefit of him even batting there. Maybe have his name introduced by as he stepped into the batters box, Gardy could have put in a pinch hitter so that he could have left to another ovation.
• More Cuddyer Tidbits – That was his second straight four-hit game. He has homered in three straight games, and four of his last five. He is on pace to hit .291 with 34 doubles, 11 triples, 26 homers and 113 RBI. And to think he got off to such a rough start in April.
• A Quick Aside on the Cycle – Cuddyer’s triple was very exciting. What made it exciting? The fact that Ryan Braun pretty much looks like he could care less out in left field. He barely jogged to go retrieve the ball in the corner that Cuddyer hit. People can say all they want about Delmon Young being a bad defensive outfielder, but from what I saw tonight, Braun is not a guy who should be out there. Seriously, if I was Ken Macha, I may have made a mid-inning defensively change and got him out of there.
• I was almost surprised when I was going through my box score after the game to see that Justin Morneau was 3-5. He scored three runs and drove in two. His triple was nearly a three run homer, but the other hits were just nice singles. He is such a well-rounded hitter.
• Joe Mauer’s 14 game hitting streak came to an end, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t productive. He hit a sacrifice fly in his second plate appearance. He also walked twice. When he came up in the 8^th inning, knowing it was his final at bat to get a hit, he still didn’t go outside the strike zone. I think that is pretty impressive.
• Denard Span had a strong game too. He went 2-4 and also added a walk. He took a lot of pitches early in the game, and I think that is often overlooked. He hit a long home run off of left-handed reliever RJ Swindle.
• The top four in the lineup combined to go 9-16 with nine runs scored and 10 RBI. The bottom five in the lineup went a combined 3-18 with two runs and an RBI. And that includes Brendan Harris who went 2-4 with an RBI.
• Kevin Slowey got great run support again, but he really pitched well, even better than his line score might indicate. In 7.1 innings, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on eight hits. He, of course, walked none and struck out four. He is now 6-1. He has four walks and 39 strikeouts in his 55.1 innings pitched. In this game, he was really able to keep his pitch count low. Looking at the pitch count on the board, he threw just 27 pitches (21 strikes) through the first three innings. He had 41 pitches through four innings, 53 pitches through five, and 65 pitches through six innings. Four mid-inning pitching changes for the Brewers between the fourth and seventh innings had to catch up with Slowey a little bit.
• Sean Henn got the final five outs. He looked very good against lefties Prince Fielder (jammed him and got a double play) and Jody Gerut (strikeout). Mat Gamel did double off of him, but Gamel looks to be a pretty legit hitting prospect. That isn’t a surprise to those of us that follow prospects, as he was highly regarded. I was somewhat surprised he didn’t start the season with the Brewers. With Casey McGehee getting the start tonight at 3B, and Gamel on the roster, Billy Hall can’t be feeling too strongly about his future with the Brewers
• Of course, tomorrow is a new day. It was very important that the Twins were able to use just two pitchers in this game. With Anthony Swarzak set to make his big league debut, it will be nice to have everyone else in the bullpen ready to go at any time! Swarzak will face the Brewers’ Braden Looper at 6:10 at the Dome.      

 With that, here are some more Twins-related articles or stories for you to peruse while downing your Friday morning cup of coffee:

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Nathan Hanson, Beloit Snappers

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Cole Devries, New Britain Rockcats

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday –Rochester 3, Norfolk 4 – The Red Wings managed just three hits in this game. Luke Hughes was 1-3 with a walk to raise his average to .261. The first seven batters in the Red Wings lineup had at least two strikeouts in the game. Reid Santos made the start. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out two. Armando Gabino came in and worked two scoreless innings. Juan Morillo gave up a run on three hits and no walks in two innings to take the loss.  

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain 3, Binghampton 1 – Cole Devries got back on track with a great start. In seven innings, he gave up a run on seven hits. He walked none and struck out four to lower his ERA to 2.86. Rob Delaney came in, and with runners on 2^nd and 3^rd with one out, he struck out the next two batters to get out of that inning. Anthony Slama came on and struck out two in a perfect ninth for his ninth save. Brandon Roberts went 2-5 with his second homer and two of the RBI. Danny Valencia hit his fourth triple.  

Be sure to read Travis Talks where he compares and contrasts Delaney and Slama.

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 3, St. Lucie 1 – Carlos Gutierrez was back on the mound in this game. In five innings, he gave up only an unearned run on two hits. He walked four and struck out four. Spencer Steedley continues to impress. In 2.2 innings, he gave up just one hit. He improves to 3-0 and his ERA drops to 0.83. Blair Erickson got the final four outs, two via strikeout. Chris Parmelee and Jair Fernandez each went 2-3 with a walk. Ben Revere was 1-2 with a walk. He also stole his 17^th and 18^th bases.  

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 7, Peoria 13 – The defense let the team down in this one. Dan Osterbrock gave up eight runs in just 2.1 innings, but just one of the runs was earned. He gave up five hits, and walked two as well. Bruce Pugh came in and gave up two runs on four hits (2 HR) in 2.2 innings. Steve Blevins worked two scoreless innings. Blake Martin pitched the final two innings and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk. Former Gopher Nathan Hanson went 3-5 in the game. He hit his second triple and second home run. Ozzie Lewis was 2-3 with two walks and his seventh double. Michael Harrington is hitting just .215, but in this game, he notched his 13^th and 14^th doubles. James Beresford and Dominic de La Osa each had two hits. Jonathan Waltenbury was ejected late in the game for calmly questioning a called strike.   

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Friday Morning Twins Notes

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

The Twins losing streak ended at six games. And, it ended in style. The Twins beat the White Sox on Thursday afternoon by a score of 20-1! Normally I am not a fan of those types of games, but I really think that the Twins needed a game like that. As great as the offense was, I choose to start with the start of Nick Blackburn. He has been the Twins top starter much of the season. In this game, he threw just 83 pitches over seven shutout innings. He gave up just four hits and walked three.

But everyone wants to talk about the offense, and rightfully so. The first thing that should be mentioned is that Ron Gardenhire finally put Joe Mauer in the #2 spot in the lineup. He has always been a prototypical #2 hitter, the team’s top on-base percentage guy, but he was also the team’s best overall hitter, so it made sense for him to bat third. Now, he is proving himself to be a prototypical #3 hitter, adding power, and he is moved to the #2 spot. But it’s hard to argue because putting out-makers like Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert into the second spot makes no sense. Also, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel have proven that they are worthy of hitting #3 and #4. Michael Cuddyer has been on a tear for a month now and fits into the #5 spot. Joe Crede has added some power, so he is ready to fill that #6 spot. Sure, the bottom of the lineup is pretty weak still, but at least they bat less than the top guys. It will be interesting to see if Gardenhire would use four left handed batters at the top of the order against a left-handed starter. (We will find out tonight when the Brewers send Manny Parra to the mound to face the Twins.)

As Nick Nelson said on the MNGameNight.com podcast on Thursday night, “as long as the Twins average 20 runs a game with Mauer in the two-spot in the lineup, they might as well stick with it.” Hard to disagree with that logic!

• How did Joe Mauer do in that #2 spot of the lineup? Not too bad. He went 3-4 to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. He hit two doubles and a grand slam. Adding a sacrifice fly earlier in the game, and he drove in six runs. Not a bad day at all.
• Michael Cuddyer had another big game. He went 4-6 with his eighth double, sixth home run and three RBI.
• Matt Tolbert hit his first home run of his big league career in the 7^th inning. It gave the Twins a 20-0 lead. He had three hits and four RBI on the game.
• Jose Morales had three more hits. He also walked twice. The time he got out, he flew out to the fence in right field. For his efforts, he was returned to AAA Rochester after the game. The move was obvious as Delmon Young had to be taken off of the Family Emergency list before Friday’s game.
• Joe Crede hit his sixth home run, a long shot following the Cuddyer three-run homer.
• Jason Kubel went 3-4 before being replaced by Carlos Gomez, who add another hit.

Now of course, we need to see what the team does to respond. The offense certainly has not been the Twins problem of late. Nick Blackburn has not been a problem at all. So, each game is very much dependent on that night’s starting pitcher. On Friday night, Kevin Slowey and his 4 walk to 35 strikeout ratio will attempt to keep the Brewers offense down. On Saturday, Anthony Swarzak will make his big league debut. On Sunday night’s Game of the Week, Scott Baker will try to put together a strong start. The Twins offense will face lefty Manny Parra, followed by righties Braden Looper and Dave Bush.

If you happen to be going to any of the Twins/Brewers game at the Metrodome this weekend, be sure to pick up a copy (or 13/14 copies) of the Twins scorecard. In it, you will be able to read the Twins Dugout Splinters. I wrote the Twins splinters for the weekend series. Also, if you are able to attend the Twins Autograph Party on Saturday morning, I would recommend it. It is a nice, fun event. You can get autographs if you want, check out some very interesting and fun memorabilia at the auctions, and even meet some players. It’s also just fun to people watch!

With that, here are some more Twins-related articles or stories for you to peruse while downing your Friday morning cup of coffee:

• Parker Hageman wrote another excellent Award Context article, this one on Rod Carew’s 1977 MVP season. It is well worth the read!
• There is plenty of talk online about the debut of Anthony Swarzak on Saturday for the Twins. Aaron Gleeman, Travis Aune and Josh Johnson each talked about his promotion as well as the loss of Craig Breslow earlier this week.
• Take a minute to read Travis Aune’s thoughts on the Delmon Young situation. It is hard to disagree with his sentiment. By saying that the Twins have to play short-handed the next few days until Young returns from his mother’s funeral is basically like telling him that his mom waited too long to die. I understand that MLB’s current currents dictate that a player can be gone a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven days, and the Twins have to respond to that. Hopefully the league will look at a situation like this and show some leniency in the future, maybe altering the rule to say a minimum of three days, without a maximum.
• Be sure to add the Minnesota Twins page at Examiner.com to your list of must-read Twins sites.
• During the Twins/Brewers series, check out Al’s Ramblings, an excellent blog that discusses the Brewers.
• Coffeyville Whirlwind takes a look at the May 21, 1999, trade of Rick Aguilera to the Chicago Cubs with some great research.
• Andrew Kneeland continues The Carlos Gomez Debate with a well thought out posting at Twins Fix.
• At his StarTribune.com/yourvoices blog, Doogie Wolfson graded the Twins at the one-quarter mark of the season.    

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Nick Romero, Ft. Myers Miracle

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Kevin Mulvey, Rochester Red Wings

ROCHESTER REPORT

Thursday –Rochester 5, Norfolk 4 (12 innings) – The Red Wings enjoyed their off day, and came back with a little overtime effort. Kevin Mulvey started and had a lead going into the 9^th. He got two outs but couldn’t get the third without the game being tied. All told, he went 8.2 innings. He gave up three runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out three. Mike Gosling improved to 5-1 with 2.1 scoreless innings. He struck out four. Bobby Keppel recorded his first save of the year. He gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the 12^th. Alexi Casilla went 3-5 with his third triple. He is now hitting .353. Justin Huber went 2-5 with his third home run. Matt Macri went 3-5. David Winfree led of the top of the 12^th with his sixth home run.  

ROCKCAT RECAP

Thursday – New Britain 7, Reading 1 – Ryan Mullins has been much better of late. In this game, he got his second win with six strong innings of work. He gave up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out four. Frank Mata got four outs, allowing just a walk. Jose Lugo got the next four outs without a run scoring, but he did give up a hit and walked two. Yohan Pino got the final out. Brian Dinkelman went 2-5 with his third homer. Erik Lis was 2-4 with his third homer. Steve Tolleson and Brandon Roberts were each 2-5 with a stolen base. Jeff Christy was 2-4. Danny Valencia hit his fifth homer, and Rene Tosoni hit his sixth home run.  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Thursday – Ft. Myers 2, St. Lucie 1 – Nick Romero made his Florida State League debut, and had a memorable game. He played at 2B and went 2-3 with a walk. His final hit came in the bottom of the ninth inning, a single that scored the game-winning run. Chris Parmelee went 2-4. Mike McCardell started and gave up just one run on four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Alex Burnett got the win by pitching three shutout innings. He gave up one hit and walked one.

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Thursday – Beloit 5, Peoria 7 – The Snappers scored five runs in the 8^th inning to cut their deficit to 6-5, but it wasn’t enough. Dan Berlind started and gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out seven. Michael Tarsi made his first appearance of the year. He gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out three. Curtis Leavitt came in for his Midwest League debut. He gave up two runs on a hit and two walks. But he did strike out three. Matt Williams gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Drew Thompson went 2-3 with a walk. Ramon Santana went 2-4 with his seventh double. Jonathan Waltenbury and James Beresford each had two hits in the loss.   

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

What Would I Do?

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

NEW – I posted a new Star Tribune blog last night. I have a paragraph about sports in it!

The losing streak is at six games now. Hopefully the Twins can salvage one win on this road trip this afternoon. But then they return to the Dome to start a three game border battle with the Brewers on Friday night. I will be at the Anthony Swarzak debut on Saturday night. Before that game, the Twins will be honoring Corey Koskie, so that should be good to see too.

Yesterday I talked about how I’m not worried, but within that, I also subtly commented that this is the time to start making some changes as well. Since as bloggers and blog commenters we want to think we have all the answers, I guess I better explain some of my thoughts on what they should do, besides listen to Bobby McFerrin and Bob Marley. Craig Breslow is now gone. He’ll be with Oakland.  

• Luis Ayala may have bought himself a little bit of time with last night’s performance. He will need to prove that was not a fluke over the next two weeks. If it was lightning in a bottle, there are some moves that could be made that would cause a trickle effect through the system. If the Twins were to release Ayala, they could promote Rob Delaney to the big leagues from New Britain. I’m not convinced he is ready yet, but he does have potential and seems smart enough and strong enough to learn and adjust. At that same time, I would move Anthony Slama up to AAA. Spencer Steedley and Blair Erickson would then move up to New Britain. Joe Testa is more than ready to move up to Ft. Myers, and Danny Rondon or Matt Williams could join him. Shooter Hunt could come off of the DL in Beloit, or someone like Tom Stuifbergen or Liam Hendiks could move up to Beloit.
• As we have discussed for a couple months, if not longer, I would send Carlos Gomez back to Rochester and promote Dustin Martin. I would have Denard Span play daily in CF with Delmon Young and Martin platooning in LF.
• The Twins decided in the offseason, and we all agreed, that they did not need a veteran starting pitcher this year, as they have added in the past. The five young starters would be a strength of the team and the least of their worries. Right now, even more so than the bullpen, the starters are the weakest link. Let’s see how Anthony Swarzak does over his 2-3 starts. If he does well enough, could the Twins bring Glen Perkins back in the bullpen?

I guess my main point would be that there aren’t a lot of things that the Twins can do. I know people don’t like hearing it, but this truly is a young team. The players that are playing need to play. The pitchers that are struggling and inconsistent need to pitch innings. Obviously the core of the lineup is still young and needs to play. Could the Twins look to trade a veteran, such as Nick Punto? Sure, but I don’t think they would do that. Could Mike Redmond bring back a Hi-A middle infielder? First, this is no time to wave the white flag, and second, there is just too much talent on this roster to not eventually work through it.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Steve Tolleson, New Britain Rockcats, Alexander Soto/Ramon Santana, Beloit Snappers

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – David Bromberg, Ft. Myers Miracle

TRANSACTIONS – Infielder Nick Romero was promoted from Beloit to Ft. Myers. The Miracle put Estarlin de Los Santos on the Disabled List.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Wednesday –Rochester– After playing for 18 straight days, the Red Wings finally got a much-needed day off. 

ROCKCAT RECAP

Wednesday – New Britain 6, Reading 4 – Steve Tolleson was hitting .180 a week ago. In his last six games, he has gone 12-23 and is now hitting .244. In this game, he was 2-3 with two walks and his second homer. Danny Valencia was 3-5 and is hitting .327. Brian Dinkelman and Yancarlos Ortiz each had two hits. Following two rough starts, Jay Rainville had a very good start in this game. He gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He walked none and struck out five. Jose Lugo came in for the 7^th and hit the batter he faced. Rob Delaney came in and gave up an unearned run on three hits in 1.1 innings. Zach Ward got the final two outs of the 8^th. Anthony Slama picked up his eighth save with two strikeouts in an inning.   

MIRACLE MEMOS

Wednesday – Ft. Myers 2, St. Lucie 5 – Tyler Robertson pitched well but fell to 2-1 on the season. The young lefty worked the first six innings. Have gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits and three walks. Kyle Waldrop threw two scoreless innings. Santos Arias gave up two runs on four hits over his inning. Ben Revere went 2-4. Chris Parmelee went 1-3 with a walk.

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Wednesday – Beloit 14, Peoria 9 – The bats were certainly out for the Snappers in this game. Ramon Santana is back, and didn’t miss a beat. In this game, he was 3-4 with a walk, his fourth home run and four RBI. Alexander Soto is really playing well too. He went 3-5 with two homers. He has four on the season. Michael Harrington went 3-5 with a double. Jonathan Waltenbury, Angel Morales and James Beresford each went 2-5. Michael Allen made the start. He gave up five runs on five hits in 5.2 innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Blake Martin gave up a run on two hits and a walk in 0.1 innings in his season debut. Danny Rondon came in and gave up two runs in two innings. He struck out four. Joe Testa worked a scoreless inning as well.  

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

It’s Going to be OK… Really!

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

“These are the days that test our mettle. Our worthiness. That make us question our progress in this our journey. Sometimes, it causes us to doubt our devotion. We begin to wonder why we chose this path. This is our purification process. This is when scientists would contend that the weaker members of the Twins Nation are weeded out. Make no mistake about it, we are in the furnace and only the purest of Twins Fans are going to survive. But, survive this we will. Not only will we survive this, but we will survive it well.”  

                                                                 – OrderoftheSpur.com (with obvious liberties taken).

It’s called a losing streak, Twins fans. It happens all the time. It happens every year; generally a couple of times every year. I am always amazed by how quickly some Twins “fans” are willing to give up on their team through the rough spots, and how quickly they want to jump right back on the bandwagon when things inevitably turn around. And seriously, we all know, there will be a turnaround. This team is far too talented to play poorly for an extended period of time. Are there holes? Of course. There are on every team. Right now, the Twins weaknesses are being exposed. The Twins need a couple of changes, and I fully believe that change is imminent.

But as Rick Pitino once ranted, “All this negativity sucks!” Maybe Pitino should write a rant for Ron Gardenhire:

“You’re the people being negative. And some of the fans. Harmon Killebrew is not walking through that door. Rod Carew is not walking through that door. Tony Oliva is not walking through that door And if you expect them to walk through the door, they’re going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting, hard-working, and we’re going to improve. People don’t realize that, and as soon as they realize those three guys are not coming through that door, the better this town will be for all of us because there are young guys in that (locker) room playing their <tails> off.”

I know it is cliché to keep pointing out that it is a 162 game season. I know that after last year’s one game playoff no one wants to hear that it’s just one game. But what is the alternative? To overreact every single inning of every single game? I just don’t think bleeding ulcers sound that fun!? Do you really want to be a fair-weather fan? Does that make the experience better?

Maybe I’m the weird one. I’ve followed this team long enough to understand the ebbs and flows of a season. I choose to agree with the great philosopher Bobby McFerrin. I encourage everyone to click here and just listen!! Just try not to start whistling! And if that doesn’t work, watch this video which, great song, but may be the creepiest video I have ever seen!

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Steve Tolleson, New Britain Rockcats

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – David Bromberg, Ft. Myers Miracle

TRANSACTIONS – The Twins released LHP Henry Reyes from the Beloit Snappers roster. They also put Shooter Hunt on the Disabled List with a, ahem, groin injury. The Snappers will be getting some very strong help. Michael Tarsi, Blake Martin and Curtis Leavitt will all be joining them today.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Tuesday –Rochester 3, Durham 4 – Jason Jones got drilled in this game. In 4.2 innings, he gave up seven runs on eight hits and two walks. Tim Lahey came in and in two innings gave up three runs on three hits and three walks. Armando Gabino gave up no runs in his inning despite a hit and a walk. The Red Wings managed just four hits. Allen de San Miguel went 1-1, his first AAA hit.

While I Was Out – The Red Wings simply did not bring bats to Durham, it appears. Four hits Tuesday. Just two hits on Monday. They had six hits on Sunday, but none until phenom David Price left before the sixth inning. On Monday, Brian Duensing had his best outing of the season. In seven innings, he gave up just one run on six hits and a walk, but still got the loss. On Sunday, Philip Humber gave up two runs in five innings. Sean Henn’s final AAA appearance was impressive. He struck out four in two innings. Jason Pridie hit his first home run of the year.        

ROCKCAT RECAP

Tuesday – New Britain 14, Reading 6 – Jeff Manship was the beneficiary of some incredible run support in this one. Steve Tolleson went 4-6 with his eighth double, first homer and three RBI. Brian Dinkelman went 3-4 with two walks and his ninth double. Brandon Roberts went 3-6 with his sixth double. Rene Tosoni was 2-3 with two walks and his fifth home run. Danny Valencia hit his ninth double and his fourth homer. He drove in four runs. Danny Lehmann went 2-4 with a walk. Whit Robbins hit his fifth homer. Manship went just five innings. He gave up four runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out four. Yohan Pino gave up two unearned runs on two hits in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Frank Mata was perfect for 2.1 innings.  

While I Was Out – The Rockcats had a day off on Sunday. They beat Portland 4-2 on Sunday. Matt Fox went five innings to pick up his second win. Rob Delaney threw 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. Anthony Slama recorded his seventh save. He walked two in a scoreless inning.   

MIRACLE MEMOS

Tuesday – Game 1 – Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 1 – David Bromberg improved to 3-0 with another strong start for the Miracle. He actually worked the first six innings without allowing a run. He went out to complete the game in the 7^th when he gave up a run and got two outs. Alex Burnett came in to get the final out. Chris Parmelee was 2-3 with an RBI. Evan Bigley was also 2-3.

Tuesday – Game 2 – Ft. Myers 0, Jupiter 7 – The Miracle managed just three hits in this game. Chris Parmelee went 1-2 with a walk. He also stole his second base. Steve Hirschfeld was given his first opportunity to start a game this year. He went the first three innings and gave up only an unearned run on two hits. He struck out four. Henry Arias came in and gave up six runs on five hits and two walks in one inning. Is it still considered striking out the side if he did strike out three in that inning? Blair Erickson then worked two scoreless innings.

While I Was Out – The Miracle were rained out on Monday which created the need for the Tuesday double header. On Sunday, Deolis Guerra got the loss. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits and a walk in 5.1 innings. Spencer Steedley continued to dominate the FSL with 1.2 scoreless. Alex Burnett struck out two in his perfect inning. Danny Rams got another start behind the plate. He went 2-3 with a walk and his second double. Mark Dolenc, Ben Revere and Steve Singleton also had two hits in the game.      

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Tuesday – Beloit 1, Peoria 9 – If not for the home run ball, Brad Tippett would have had a very good start. The Snappers right-handed starter gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks. Four of those hits were solo home runs. Steve Blevins came in and gave up three runs on five hits over two innings. Danny Rondon pitched a scoreless inning. Joe Testa allowed two unearned runs in the ninth. The Snappers managed just three hits.

While I Was Out – The Snappers split a couple of games with Peoria. Jonathan Waltenbury went 4-7 with a walk in the two games. But the big story, in my mind, was that Angel Morales is now batting over .200, and he homered in each game. He now has five on the season. Bobby Lanigan got beat up for eight runs on ten hits in four innings on Monday. On Sunday, Dan Osterbrock picked up a Win despite giving up six runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings. Bruce Pugh (1 R, 3 IP, 4 K) and Steve Blevins (2.1 IP, 0 R) pitched well out of the bullpen.    

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.