SethSpeaks Twins Podcast Live at 9!

The SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast will air live at 9:00 central time. Guests will include Twins Beat Writer for the Pioneer Press, Phil Miller, and New Britain Rockcats starter Matt Fox. Maybe even one more guest, so tune in and let me know what you think.

Weekend Update

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

I haven’t really posted anything for awhile, and I apologize for that. Unfortunately life had to get in the way, work and other commitments had to take priority. Thank you for your understanding. I should probably go back and do minor league game reports and updates for the last week to ten days, but that may just be a bit much and a bit overwhelming. So, I’ll write about the weekend games and share a few comments on some other topics related to our favorite baseball team. Then I will try to stay on top of things moving forward, so please continue to stop by and be sure to leave your comments.

Last night, I was excited to help KFAN’s Phil Mackey host Twins Weekly in studio from 5 to 6:15. Talking Twins baseball is always fun, but put a microphone in front of me and it is quite an experience. As you know, PMac does a great job on the show, so I thought it went quite well. I thought I would use some of the topics we discussed to start my ramblings about the Twins. (By the way, I also saw a copy of the inaugural issue of Minnesota Poker Magazine, a venture that Mackey and several others have made a reality. So, be sure to check out the site and bookmark it.)

• The Twins won two out of three in Chicago against the Cubs. There were a ton of people from Minnesota at Wrigley, and that would be an amazing experience. If you happen to have been in attendance, please be sure to leave your thoughts.
• After Saturday, the Twins had hit the .500 mark for the season for the first time in a long time. But Sunday’s loss put them a game back again.
• The Twins went 5-5 on this road trip. Winning Sunday would have been great, but for a team that is so bad on the road, we probably should be happy. The Twins also do not generally hit well against pitchers that they have not seen before which is pretty much that whole Oakland pitching staff. The team played well on the road. In the five losses, the Twins lost by a combined six runs.
• The Outfield Situation is a mess right now. It was bad enough with Denard Span back in Minneapolis and Michael Cuddyer manning CF, flanked by Delmon Young and Jason Kubel, but Saturday and Sunday, Cuddyer was out too. So, when they promoted #3 catcher Jose Morales to the big leagues for Sunday’s game, I thought it was perplexing. Why not call up Jason Pridie just to have a fourth outfielder. What is one of the outfielders would have been hurt on Sunday? I believe Matt Tolbert would have been in the outfield while two catchers sat on the bench.
• As Jose Morales has done in his time with the Twins this season, Anthony Swarzak showed that he can be a big league starting pitcher if an opportunity presents itself. That’s all you can hope for from a injury replacement. Swarzak’s seven shutout innings on Saturday against the Cubs showed that again. He was sent to Rochester following the game where he hopefully has been given a list of two or three things to work on. I expect we will see him in the Twins rotation again in the near future.
• Scott Baker gave up two runs on just five hits and no walks on Sunday. Swarzak gave up no runs on four hits and a walk on Saturday. Kevin Slowey struck out ten in the first five innings on Friday before giving up three sixth inning runs. Nick Blackburn has been the team’s best starting pitcher in 2009. He has certainly been the most consistent. Francisco Liriano has had two straight quality starts. Glen Perkins takes the mound for the Twins on Tuesday against the Pirates, and you have to wonder how long his leash is. My personal opinion is that he was really good this year when healthy. The big question is when did his arm start hurting, and how much of his struggle was due to the arm. He should be given at least three starts before discussing any alternatives.
• Jesse Crain has been the brunt of much criticism the last couple of months. I have been as big of a Crain supporter for the better part of six years, and I simply can’t do it any more. He has experienced too much success in a Twins uniform to completely abandon, but why he was brought in to a 2-2 game in the bottom of the ninth against the Cubs’ 3-4-5 hitters is beyond me. I understand not bringing in Joe Nathan and Matt Guerrier, but Jose Mijares could have thrown. I think I may have preferred seeing R.A. Dickey in that situation. Now, I am not certain, but I think that Crain must have some options left. Since Crain made his big league debut with the Twins in early August of 2004, he has not been optioned to the minor leagues. Does this mean that he has three options left? If so, Bobby Keppel is sure looking good at Rochester right now! There is precendence for such a move. The Twins sent Kyle Lohse and JC Romero to AAA after they had spent significant time in the big leagues.
• Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel are very good. Need I say more?
• I actually am happy with Gardy’s decision to go with Brendan Harris at shortstop with Nick Punto taking over at 2B. Harris has been a better defensive shortstop this year than Punto (small sample?). In reality, have there been any plays the last couple of weeks that Harris did not make that Punto would have? And Harris has earned the right to play every day. 2B has been a mess for the Twins. Alexi Casilla has disappointed, and Matt Tolbert simply is not a very good player. If Punto can hit .260-.280 the rest of the season and play good defense, he is likely their best option. I certainly think this is the best option the Twins have.
• The Twins decided last week to go with a lot of college players, and their top four picks were all college pitchers. I liked the picks because they are risks, but their upsides are terrific. The Twins don’t have a lot of #1 type of pitchers, and I believe the Kyle Gibson can be that. Ben Tootle will need to get bigger again, but he was a guy who was predicted to go higher. Derek McCallum was a great choice in the fourth round. Not only is he a local guy, but he can flat out hit and is good with the glove. I’m not certain why they went with a couple of catchers so early, but you need guys behind the plate. I like the Eric Decker pick as well, and I hope that the two sides can reach some sort of creative agreement so that he can play. I will have much more on the Twins draft later in the week.
• The Twins have a much-needed day off again on Monday before starting at three game home series against the Pirates. That will be followed by three games at the Metrodome against the Houston Astros. This would be a good time for the Twins to make a run!
• Tonight at 9:00 central time, there will be a new, live episode of the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. There are a couple of guests lined up already, so be sure to check that out.      

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

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

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Matt Fox, New Britain Rockcats

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Erik Lis, New Britain Rockcats

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Dan Osterbrock, Beloit Snappers

Sunday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Jair Fernandez, Ft. Myers Miracle

Sunday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Steve Hirschfeld, Ft. Myers Miracle

Be sure to check out Roger’s Weekly Minor League Update.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday –Rochester 1, Toledo 2 – Bobby Keppel threw a great game, but the offense just was not able to support him. Keppel went all eight innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out four, dropping his ERA to 2.36. Justin Huber and Trevor Plouffe each went 2-4.

Saturday –Rochester 2, Toledo 4 – Justin Huber had a good game. He went 2-4 with his seventh double and fifth home run. David Winfree was 2-4 with his 15^th double. Philip Humber fell to 1-4 with this game. In 5.1 innings, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three. Armando Gabino struck out three in 1.2 innings. Tim Lahey worked a scoreless inning.  

Sunday –Rochester 1, Toledo 6 – Brian Duensing gave up four runs on ten hits in six innings to take the loss. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out five. Ben Hendrickson pitched the seventh inning and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. Rob Delaney threw a perfect inning, striking out two. Steve Tolleson is now batting third for the Red Wings and after he went 2-4 with his sixth AAA double, he is now hitting .352.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain 1, Bowie 2 – Matt Fox continues to pitch well and really is deserving of a promotion. In this game, he went the first seven innings. He gave up a run on four hits and a walk while striking out six. He dropped his ERA to 2.64. Alex Burnett took the loss. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk over two innings. Wilson Ramos went 1-2 before pulling his hamstring, which will keep him out of the lineup for up to another month. Juan Portes and Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 with a walk.   

Saturday – New Britain 6, Bowie 5 – Carlos Gutierrez was much improved in his second AA start and Erik Lis helped provide the offense. Lis went 4-4 with a walk and two RBI. Yancarlos Ortiz went 2-4 with a walk. Whit Robbins and Matt Moses each went 2-5. Gutierrez against went five innings in this game. He gave up one run on five hits and three walks. He did not record a strikeout. Frank Mata got just one out and gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and a walk. Jose Lugo came in and gave up only an unearned run over 2.1 innings. He gave up three hits and three walks while striking out three. Yohan Pino came in and got the final out of the 8^th inning. Anthony Slama struck out two in a scoreless ninth and was credited with the Win.

Sunday – New Britain 2, Bowie 5 – Ryan Mullins took another loss. He gave up four runs (2 earned) on six hits and two walks in 4.1 innings. Zach Ward came in and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Alex Burnett was perfect for 2.1 innings to lower his AA ERA to 1.54. Whit Robbins went 2-4 with his 16^th double.

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 1, Daytona 6 – Deolis Guerra falls to 4-6 after going just four innings in this game. He gave up six runs (3 earned) on six hits. He walked three and struck out seven. Loek Van Mil continues to impress. He threw two shutout innings, striking out two. Spencer Steedley and Henry Arias each threw a scoreless inning. Evan Bigley went 2-4, and Steve Singleton hit his second home run.  

Saturday – Ft. Myers, Daytona – Postponed by Rain.

Sunday – Game 1 – Ft. Myers 1, Daytona 8 – I’m certain Mike McCardell would like a Do-Over for the start of this game. He gave up eight runs in just 1/3 of an inning before leaving the game. He gave up four hits and walked three. Just one of the eight runs was earned as there were also three errors in that inning, one on McCardell. In reality, only one run really should have scored in the inning. Santos Arias then struck out four over the next 3.2 innings. Blair Erickson and Henry Arias each pitched a scoreless inning. The Miracle had just three hits. Nick Romero hit his second home run.  

Sunday – Game 2 – Ft. Myers 4, Daytona 1 – Rain shorted the second half of the double header after seven innings. Steve Hirschfeld picked up the win in a spot-start. He threw five shutout innings, allowing just two hits. He walked three and struck out four. Kyle Waldrop gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Spencer Steedey is credited with the Save with a scoreless inning which dropped his ERA to 0.61 on the season. Jair Fernandez led the offense. He went 2-3 with his fifth double and first home run. Steve Singleton was 2-3 with a walk and his tenth double. Deibinson Romero and Evan Bigley each went 2-4. Ben Revere was 1-2 with two walks.

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 10, Burlington 5 – Dan Berlind got some run support to improve to 2-6 on the season. In seven innings, he gave up five runs (3 earned) on four hits and two walks. Blake Martin struck out three over the final two scoreless innings. James Beresford went 3-5 with a walk. Ozzie Lewis was 3-5. Nathan Hanson went 2-4. Drew Thompson and Ramon Santana each had a hit and two walks.

Saturday – Beloit 4, Burlington 1 – Dan Osterbrock went 6.1 innings to improve to 4-5. He gave up a run on six hits and a walk. Joe Testa recorded his sixth save, striking out four over 2.2 innings. The Snappers managed just six hits. Ramon Santana hit his 13^th double.   

Sunday – Beloit 2, Clinton 9 – The Snappers managed just two hits in this one. Bobby Lanigan gave up one run over the first 3.1 innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out six. Danny Rondon gave up an unearned run over the next 2.2 innings. He struck out three. Steve Blevins gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings to suffer the loss. Matt Williams gave up six runs (just two earned) on four hits and a walk in one inning.   

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