Bullpen Blows Up

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Top 11th: LA Angels

 

- B. Keppel relieved J. Nathan

- M. Cuddyer in right field

- D. Span in right field

- D. Young in left field

- E. Aybar walked

- G. Matthews Jr. singled to left center, E. Aybar to third

- H. Kendrick hit for R. Willits

- H. Kendrick singled to shortstop, E. Aybar scored, G. Matthews Jr. to second

- J. Crain relieved B. Keppel

- C. Figgins reached on bunt single, G. Matthews Jr. to third, H. Kendrick to second

- M. Izturis singled to shallow center, G. Matthews Jr. scored, H. Kendrick to third, C. Figgins to second

- B. Abreu singled to shallow right, H. Kendrick and C. Figgins scored, M. Izturis to third

- J. Rivera walked, B. Abreu to second

- R.A. Dickey relieved J. Crain

- K. Morales singled to right, M. Izturis scored, B. Abreu to third, J. Rivera to second

- M. Napoli struck out looking

- E. Aybar grounded into fielder’s choice, B. Abreu scored, J. Rivera to third, K. Morales out at second

- G. Matthews Jr. struck out swinging

6 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors

LA Angels 11, Minnesota 5

Nope, the Twins didn’t really NEED any bullpen help. I know. In Gardy’s pre-game presser, he said that he was in Bill Smith’s office from noon on, and he knows that every effort was made to acquire bullpen help. But still. How is Cla Merideth doing for the Orioles so far? (OK, three games and 2.2 innings, but just one hit, no walks, and he was acquired for a 31 year old utility outfielder.) The asking price on Heath Bell was ridiculous. No question. Not sure Jon Rauch was the answer either, but this has been a problem for two seasons.

Who is next? Juan Morillo? How about Rob Delaney? I’m sticking to my guns… my guess is Anthony Slama.

Anyway, sounds like it could be Brian Buscher heading down to Rochester tomorrow to make room for Orlando Cabrera. Joe Mauer hit a LONG three run homer. Matt Guerrier gave up a leadoff, game-tying home run to Mike Napoli, and then he was excellent. Twins lose 11-5, but it shouldn’t have been that bad.  

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

Friday on the Farm

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As the Twins and Angels are now into extra innings, I figured I’d get a quick blog posted on the Twins minor league system from tonight. There were some very impressive performances.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Drew Thopmson, Beloit Snappers

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Tom Stuifbergen, Elizabethton Twins

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday –Rochester 4, Gwinnett 2 – Kevin Mulvey fought control the first few innings of this game. Through three innings, he had thrown 62 pitches. Just 30 of them were strikes. But he still managed to go six innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and four walks. He struck out nine and got credit for the Win. Juan Morillo threw two shutout innings, striking out three. Rob Delaney pitched a scoreless ninth to record his fifth save. Justin Huber had two doubles in four at bats. Jason Pridie went 2-5 with his 19^th double. Jose Morales was 2-4 with a walk, and Trevor Plouffe went 2-5.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain, Bowie – Postponed by Rain.   

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 6, Clearwater 1 – Michael Tarsi improved to 3-1 with five innings. He gave up only an unearned run on four hits and two walks. Matt Williams and Henry Arias each threw two scoreless innings. Chris Parmelee, Rene Leveret and Estarlin de los Santos each went 2-5. Parmelee hit his 19^th double and Leveret hit his 14^th double.    

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 3, Ft. Wayne 2 –Bobby Lanigan had a great start. The righty went 8.1 innings and gave up two runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out ten. Billy Bullock got the final two outs after giving up a hit and a walk for his first save. Drew Thompson went 2-5 with his first homer of the year and his second stolen base. Danny Rams went 2-3 with a walk. Ozzie Lewis was 2-4 with his 15^th double and fourth stolen base. Nathan Hanson went 2-4 with his 16^th double.    

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Friday – Elizabethton 2, Burlington 1 – After having games postponed each of the past three days, the E-Twins were finally back on the field. Tom Stuifbergen took the mound and dominated. He gave up only an unearned run over eight innings to improve to 4-0. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out seven. Tony Davis got his third save with two strikeouts in the ninth. Brian Dozier went 3-4. Derek McCallum went 2-4 with his eighth walk.

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Friday – GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 1 – Jairo Perez led the offense again. He went 2-4 with his third stolen base. Kennys Vargas went 2-3 with a walk and his sixth double. Blayne Weller had another strong outing. He went five shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three. Raynard Doran gave up a run in his inning. Edison Alvarez, Kelvin Mota and Zach See each threw a scoreless inning See struck out two and recorded his first save.     

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

Twins Trade Ladendorf

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Orlando Cabrera, it is… The A’s SS was acquired by the Twins in exchange for SS Tyler Ladendorf. The good news… they didn’t have to trade Danny Valencia. The bad news… Ladendorf has a chance to be special too. The Twins 2^nd round pick in 2008 started on fire at E-town this year before being promoted to Beloit where he was hitting a little over .200 in a dozen games or so. Don’t  fool yourselves, the cost for Cabrera was high. It is likely that Ladendorf would have ranked in the top 15 Twins prospects, maybe top 10. That said, Ladendorf likely would not see time with the Twins for about three or four years, so it is a fair deal.

It will be interesting to see who is demoted? Alexi Casilla, probably?

But also, don’t fool yourselves, this trade was made to keep the players happy. Cabrera is not much of an improvement over Brendan Harris offensively at SS, and his Defense this year has not been good either. At 34, don’t expect his range to improve. He isn’t a good hitter, but likely Gardy will put him in the lineup in the 2^nd spot right away tonight.

Comments I have heard from other Twins bloggers is that the deal is not going to make the Twins better, but simply to appease the players. With the Mauer situation, that is not a minor thing.

Now, if the Twins want to actually make themselves better, they need to get a starting pitcher. Doug Davis is the guy I would probably target.

The Live Chat will start in about 20 minutes, so be sure to check that out.

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

SethSpeaks.net Trade Deadline Live Chat at 1:00!

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July 31st. The Trade Deadline. We’ve been talking about rumors and names and needs for a month now, but at 3:01 central time this afternoon, the deadline will be past. Will the Twins make a move? We shall see.

I will be hosting a Trade Deadline Live Chat at 1:00 and will happily answer your questions about the deadline, trades that have or will happen, trades that don’t happen, the Twins, their minor leaguers and anything. It should be a lot of fun, so get your questions in. I will open up the chat room about 15-20 minutes before 1:00 so

So if you want to sign up for a reminder, participate in the live chat or read the transcript later, please Click Here.

Trade Deadline Live Chat at 1:00 Today

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Today is the day… At 3:00 central time, the trade deadline will be passed and life can return to normal. As of about midnight last night, FoxSports.com was reporting that the Twins and A’s had a much better day of negotiations to bring Orlando Cabrera to the Twins. I fear that will happen, but hopefully it won’t be a big prospect. As we can imagine, if the Twins do nothing, it will be very interesting to see how the clubhouse reacts. Which players will go off and which will say the right things. 

Starting at about 1:00 this afternoon, I will be hosting SethSpeaks.net Trade Deadline Live Chat to talk about the Twins, the trade deadline and any other topics. I will take your questions until 4:00 at which time I will be heading back to the Metrodome. 

It will be a busy day, so expect updates here if and/or when things happen:

Any thoughts on the day? What do you think?   

TWINS, ANGELS SERIES

After a day off, the Twins will get back to baseball tonight when the Angels come to town. Will the Twins be able to turn the tables on the Angels in the Metrodome? Leave your thoughts here. 
MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Angel Morales, Beloit Snappers

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

ROCHESTER REPORT

Thursday –Rochester 1, Gwinnett 2 – Yohan Pino was good, but the Red Wings offense wasn’t in the loss. Pino went 6.1 innings and gave up two runs. He allowed just three hits, walked four and struck out five. Rob Delaney got the final five outs. The Red Wings had seven hits. Trevor Plouffe went 2-4.    

ROCKCAT RECAP

Thursday – New Britain 2, New Hampshire 1 – I would say that Michael McCardell’s adjustment to AA is going quite well. In this game, he gave up one run on three hits and a walk in five innings. Carlos Gutierrez then threw two shutout innings. Alex Burnett got two outs before Anthony Slama struck out four in 1.1 innings of scoreless work. It gave Slama his 21^st save. Brian Dinkelman went 2-3 with two walks. Luke Hughes and Juan Portes were both 2-4.   

MIRACLE MEMOS

Thursday – Ft. Myers 0, Clearwater 2 – Steve Hirschfeld was excellent again and gets little to show for it. He threw six shutout innings and gave up just three hits. He walked none and struck out seven. Dakota Watts came in and gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Joe Testa got the final out but not before giving up a hit and a walk. The Miracle managed just four hits. Chris Parmelee hit his 18^th double.   

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Thursday – Beloit 10, Great Lakes 11 (12 innings) –Angel Morales had a big game. He was 4-5 with a walk and his 14^th double. Nate Hanson went 3-5 with his 15^th double. Drew Thompson and Tyler Ladendorf were both 2-6 with a double. James Beresford went 2-6 as well. Dan Osterbrock got the start and gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out seven. Michael Allen gave up a run in his two innings. Kyle Carr came in and gave up three runs on a hit, a hit batter and two walks in just 0.2 innings. Billy Bullock then gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Steve Blevins struckout four in two shutout innings. Bruce Pugh got two outs in the 12^th, but gave up an unearned run for the loss.   

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Thursday – Elizabethton, Johnson City – Postponed by Rain again. 

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Thursday – GCL Twins 3, GCL Reds 4 – Jairo Perez just keeps hitting. He went 3-4 with his fourth double. Alejandro Machado was making a rehab appearance and went 2-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4. Michael Tonkin started and gave up three runs on six hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out eight. Leonardo Parra threw two shutout innings. Andrei Lobanov gave up only an unearned run in his two innings to take the loss. He struck out four.    

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

Sweep Complete! One More Day

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Alright, as you know, about a month ago, John Bonnes, Parker Hageman, Nick Nelson and I started a venture which on July 13^th turned into the TwinsCentric 2009 Trade Deadline Primer. We are pretty proud of the e-book and hope that those of you who did purchase it really enjoyed it and found it interesting, thought-provoking and entertaining. For a little over a month, the trade deadline has been a fairly consuming part of my life. Doing the research, writing the pages of the book and also on this blog, and the never-ending cycle of rumors are exhausting. And now here we are, one day away from the July 31^st non-waiver trade deadline, and I need sleep. But I suspect the rumors and predictions will only be stronger today and tomorrow, right up until Friday’s 3:00 central time deadline. It should be a lot of fun to see.

So where are we as Twins fans as it relates to the trade deadline? Just a month ago, the team had two alarming needs, in the middle infield and in the bullpen. Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert and Nick Punto were terrible. Jesse Crain had just been sent down. Sean Henn had been DFA’d, and the bullpen situation was horrible. Since then, the Twins have brought back Alexi Casilla and Jesse Crain and signed 2B Mark Grudzielanek to a minor league contract. And the Twins still have holes. The middle infield, both SS and 2B now, have holes. The bullpen still needs one or two arms. The bench is in need of upgrade. And now with Kevin Slowey out for the season, Francisco Liriano having forearm issues and pitching pretty poorly, Glen Perkins up and down starts, Nick Blackburn’s struggles since the All-Star break and Scott Baker’s inability to put hitters away quickly, this team could use a starting pitcher. This team is in need of change and improvement, and yet, we are at the end of July and they are just two games back of the Detroit Tigers after sweeping the White Sox tonight. 

That tells us two very different things. First, it is very much possible that this team could still win the AL Central division even if they don’t make a move. I don’t think it would happen, and I would still argue that their chances of finishing 3^rd would be as good as their chances of finishing 1^st. It also says that a couple of additions in key spots could be enough to put the Twins over the top in the division. And once you make the playoffs, you jus never know what could happen if the Twins are playing well then. 

I know many Twins fans are more than frustrated that Twins GM Bill Smith is yet to make a move. I admit, I have been too. The key to remember is that the trade deadline is July 31^st, not July 29^th or 27^th. From rumors we have heard, teams who have been in talks with the Twins about sending veterans to Minnesota have asked for a couple of names; Aaron Hicks and Danny Valencia. And why wouldn’t they? If they don’t start negotiations there, they should be fired. And on the same hand, if the Twins front office traded either of those players at this time, they should be fired. With time on their sides, the teams (like the Pirates or Blue Jays) have the right to ask for a bunch. But as that trade deadline approaches, some of that advantage is gone. If those teams want to add prospects and/or reduce payroll, they need to deal as much as the Twins or other teams in contention. So, it is very possible that asking prices could be down by waiting.

That said, the jewel of available middle infielders this July, Freddy Sanchez, is now not an option. He was traded by the Pirates to the San Francisco Giants for AA pitcher Tim Alderson. Keith Law ranked Alderson the 26^th best prospect in all of baseball. Don’t let the fact that he is generally ranked the 3^rd or 4^th best prospect in the Giants system fool you. They have Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner at the top of their list. The Twins don’t have a prospect in their system that is as highly thought of as Bumgarner or Posey. Aaron Hicks would be close. And I know I wouldn’t trade Aaron Hicks, or Danny Valencia, for anyone, including Freddy Sanchez. 

Cliff Lee was traded from Cleveland to Philadelphia. Last year’s Cy Young winner in the AL was exchanged for three solid AAA prospects and the jewel of that deal, Jason Knapp, who is still in A ball. A very nice haul for Mark Shipiro. Could the Twins have acquired Lee? Maybe, but it would require four top 10-12 prospects in the system, and how many of them would come back to bite the Twins over the next six to eight years that they are in the same division. 

The interesting thing is that none of the prospects in the Roy Halladay to the Phillies rumors were needed to acquire Lee. That means, in theory, that the Phillies could still get Roy Halladay too.

Hey, I’m all in favor of the Twins dealing from their stable of prospects. I fully understand the you have to give up something to get something. My opinion is simply that it has to make sense. Yes, it has to make sense for 2009. But it also has to make sense for 2010, and beyond. If the Twins literally had just one hole to fill, I’d be willing to give up a little more, maybe, but this team si likely more than one player away from being a good baseball team, not just a good AL Central team. But each trade needs to be judged on its own merit. And it has to make sense.

David Eckstein – not going to make a difference. I think I’d rather wait for Grudzielanek. My guess is that the Twins will still try to make a move for a bullpen arm. It will be seen as minor, and probably will be. But that is a need. They could use a starting pitcher. Maybe Arizona would be willing to move Jon Garland or Doug Davis for a lesser package? Starting pitching is at such a premium, and as much as some of the Twins young starters have struggled, there is tremendous value in keeping them.

 

Any thoughts as the deadline approaches? What do you think?   

TWINS 3, WHITE SOX 2

I went to last night’s game with my parents, who were celebrating their 37^th wedding anniversary, my sister and my daughter. So that was a lot of fun, and thankfully the Twins no only won the game, but it wasn’t too long. A few notes:

• Brian Duensing found out just a few hours before the game that he would be starting in place of Francisco Liriano who was experiencing some swelling in his left forearm. Then he went out and pitched a very good game. He went five innings and gave up just two runs. The first was on a solo home run to Jayson Nix that was just out of the reach of Denard Span in left. The second was a no-doubter to dead center by Carlos Quentin. He gave up just one more hit, a single, and he walked just one. The team had to be thrilled with getting that from Duensing.
• Then Jesse Crain came in, which I’m sure still makes a lot of Twins fans nervous. But he did just fine too. He gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but got out of that inning. He gave up another single the next inning and was able to get a double play ball to end that inning. The Metrodome radar board showed him hitting 95 a few times. If he can come back and be what he was from 2004 until his injury in 2007, the Twins will be thrilled.
• Matt Guerrier was excellent again in the 8^th inning. He had a perfect inning which dropped his ERA to 1.99 and his WHIP to 0.85. I know he doesn’t profile as the dominant 8^th inning type that we all want, but he’s been incredible.
• And Joe Nathan got the 9^th. He certainly made things interesting as it took him two or three batters to find any control. Gordon Beckham got ahead in the count and laced a single to left. Then after striking out Jermaine Dye looking, he walked Paul Konerko. He was able to strike out Chris Getz on a slider in the dirt, but in doing so, the two runners advanced to 2^nd and 3^rd. Bobby Jenks was now warming up. Mark Kotsay, who just arrived with the team that day, came up and on the first pitch hit a hard line drive that Michael Cuddyer did not have to move for at all to end the game and give Nathan his 29^th save. After a cheap, one-out save the night before, Nathan had to work for this one!
• The Twins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2^nd when Alexi Casilla knocked an RBI ground-rule double to the left centerfield gap. The second run scored on a ground out by Denard Span. Then with two outs in the bottom of the 6^th inning, Casilla lined a soft single into centerfield that scored Joe Crede from second base with the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run.
• Casilla needed that. He was 2-3 with two important RBI. He also added a stolen base and advanced to 3B. His average is at .171, and like with Crain, if Casilla can go on a run the last two months, he could be very important. I don’t think any of us expect him to hit .300 the rest of the way, but if he can hit .270, play good, smart defense and run a little, he could be decent at the bottom of the order. And again, Mark Grudzielanek is putting his work in and could be ready in a couple weeks.
• Denard Span did a nice job of being a leadoff hitter again. He was on base three times, with two singles and a walk. You can’t ask for much more than that.
• The Twins managed just two other hits in the game. Jason Kubel singled in the first. Carlos Gomez had a single and a stolen base in the game.
• The Twins have a much-needed off day at home today. They have now won four straight games and are 52-50, one game ahead of the White Sox, and two games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central

Now a couple of other baseball game etiquette notes:

• I think people here know about how dumb I think that The Wave is, right? Well, sitting near the left-field foul pole, I now have a new-found dislike for the beach ball. I just don’t get that thing at all. After the first out of the 4^th inning last night, people in the left field upper deck must have agreed to something ahead of time because as soon as the first out was recorded, about 40 beach balls were knocked into the air. Some would fall to the lower level. A couple fell onto the field. Explain this to me. First, why is that fun? Second, watch the game. Third, because some people then don’t watch the game, anything can happen. As this was happening, a White Sox batter lined a foul ball into the bleachers behind the Twins bullpen. Someone got hit in the head and needed assistance. Now yes, that can happen any time, but it could also be not paying attention. And finally, it’s inevitable that one or more will fall onto the playing field, and that means that a ball boy has to run out there and pick it up. It delays the flow of the game. Anyway, there is my game rant of the day.
• Secondly, do people at games realize there is a reason that ushers generally ask fans to wait until the end of an at bat before letting people go back to their seats? It’s so that people can watch the game and see. I don’t know how many times people were asking people to stand up and let them through to their seat mid-at bat. Maybe that’s a left-field thing? But that is annoying.

Any other thoughts on the Twins sweep of the White Sox or what they need to do by tomorrow at 3? Leave your thoughts here.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Deibinson Romero, Ft. Myers Miracle – Aaron Hicks, Beloit Snappers

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Santos Arias, Ft. Myers Miracle – BJ Hermsen, GCL Twins

ROCHESTER REPORT

Wednesday –Rochester 4, Gwinnett 4 – Reid Santos got the start in this game. He gave up four runs on ten hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out two. Juan Morillo came in and struck out two in a perfect eighth inning. Trevor Plouffe went 2-4 with his 15^th double. Steve Tolleson was also 2-4.  

ROCKCAT RECAP

Wednesday – New Britain 4, New Hampshire 5 – The struggles of Matt Fox continued in this game. He fell to 6-7 on the year after giving up five runs on five hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out three. Frank Mata pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Anthony Slama walked one and struck out two in a shutout inning. Erik Lis provided the offense. He went 2-4 with his 13^th home run.    

MIRACLE MEMOS

Wednesday – Ft. Myers 4, Brevard County 2 – Deibinson Romero had a great day at the plate, and Santos Arias was excellent on the mound in the Miracle win. Romero went 2-2 with two walks and his fourth home run. Evan Bigley knocked his 15^th double. Estarlin de Los Santos went 1-3 with two walks and his fifth stolen base. Arias improved to 5-1 with seven shutout innings. He gave up just five hits, walked one and struck out three. Blair Erickson got the next five outs, but he left the game in the 9^th with the bases loaded. Loek Van Mil came in and allowed two inherited runners to score on a hit before recording the final out and his third save.   

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Wednesday – Beloit 2, Great Lakes 4 – Aaron Hicks and Angel Morales both had good games at the plate, but it wasn’t enough for the Snappers on this night. Hicks went 2-3 with two walks, his second triple and fourth stolen base. Angel Morales was 2-4 with his 13^th double. Dan Berlind got his 10^th loss of the season. In five innings, he gave up four runs on five hits and three walks. Kyle Carr struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings. Bruce Pugh struck out the only guy he faced. Billy Bullock pitched another scoreless inning.   

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Wednesday – Elizabethton, Johnson City – Postponed by Rain again.

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Wednesday – GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 0 – BJ Hermsen continues to impress. He improved to 5-1 and reduced his ERA to 1.05. He threw six shutout innings and allowed just four hits and a walk in six innings. Zach See threw two scoreless innings before Jean Mijares pitched a perfect ninth. Brian Bistagne went 2-3. Mark Grudzielanek went 1-3. Oswaldo Arcia went 1-3 with a walk, his fifth double and sixth stolen base.  

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

Snappers Want Halladay

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The Yankees. The Red Sox. The Phillies. The Beloit Snappers. What do these teams have in common? They have made proposals to the Toronto Blue Jays in an attempt to acquire Roy Halladay. (check out the Snappers press release) Here is more on that, as well as several other trade rumors. The big one today seems to have Cliff Lee going from Cleveland to the Phillies in a package that could include pitcher Carlos Carrasco, IF Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson. Thoughts?

From Joe Hamrahi (of Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Daily Digest): The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired first baseman Jeff Clement, shortstop Ronny Cedeno and right-handed pitchers Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for shortstop Jack Wilson and right-handed pitcher Ian Snell.

Wednesday Morning Updates

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Please note that The Stick & Ball Guy convention has been moved from this Saturday (8/1) to Saturday, August 15^th. I don’t know my schedule for certain, but hope to be there and would love to meet any of you there as well.

THE MANDATORY FAVRE/VIKINGS STUFF

As you know, I’m been mainly annoyed by the on-going Brett Favre/Vikings courtship. Basically, I was just certain that Favre would sign with the Vikings. It only made sense. Well, he surprised me and most of Vikings and NFL fans by saying that he was staying retired. Alright, I’m four sentences into a paragraph on Favre, and I’m already bored with it. However, it was my StarTribune.com/YourVoices blog last night was about the Brett Favre situation, but it was mainly about the 2009 Vikings season. Check it out and feel free to comment there.  

COMMENTS ON THE ALL-TIME METRODOME TEAM

Last night, the Twins announced their All Metrodome team before the game against the White Sox. The vote was conducted with fans able to vote online and then media and front office personnel also factoring into the decision. For the most part, the choices were fairly easy to make, but there are still a couple of comments: 

Manager – Tom Kelly  

No Question. That is an easy choice. Two World Series championships and being the manager for 15 of the 28 seasons in the Dome. 

Starting Pitchers – Bert Blyleven, Frank Viola, Brad Radke and Johan Santana

Again, hard to argue with any of these selections. I don’t think anyone else really even should be considered.

Relief Pitchers – Rick Aguilera and Joe Nathan

Again, very easy selections, and no one else to really even consider, at least if they were limited to two. 

Catcher – Joe Mauer  

I mean, who could have even finished 2^nd? Brian Harper? 

DH– Paul Molitor  

Another pretty easy selection. He had three amazing seasons with the Twins. Now, if this was done a couple of years from now, Jason Kubel has to be in the conversation. 

Infield – Kent Hrbek, Justin Morneau, Chuck Knoblauch, Greg Gagne and Gary Gaetti

Could you make a decent argument for Corey Koskie? Probably. Other than that though, these selections were easy as well. Hrbek had to make the team, and Morneau is an MVP who finished 2^nd once and will likely be in the Top 3 again this year. 

Outfield – Kirby Puckett, Torii Hunter, Tom Brunansky and Dan Gladden

OK, I guess there really would only be one player on the All-Metrodome team that is even questionable. I realize he is now part of the media, but how is Dan Gladden on this list. Yes, he was on both World Series teams. I get that. He was the team’s leadoff hitter in both championship teams, but wow, was he not good. In his five seasons with the Twins, his on-base percentage was just .318. It was never higher than .331. In 1991, his OBP was just .306! That’s horrible. So, the next question you may ask is for me to name a player that should be on the All-Metrodome team in place of Gladden. I’ve got five players (including Gladden) for you to consider:

	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	2B	3B	HR
Dan Gladden	0.268	0.318	0.382	0.700	117	26	38
Michael Cuddyer	0.269	0.345	0.450	0.795	160	27	92
Jacque Jones	0.279	0.327	0.455	0.782	189	15	132
Matt Lawton	0.277	0.379	0.428	0.808	163	13	72
Shane Mack	0.309	0.375	0.479	0.854	119	24	67

Gladden spent five seasons with the Twins. Shane Mack spent five seasons with the Twins. Matt Lawton spent parts of seven seasons being incredibly underrated with the Twins. Jacque Jones spent seven seasons in a Twins uniform. Michael Cuddyer has been with the Twins since 2001. So, there are three players who are clearly much better options for the All-Metrodome team than Gladden. If you want, I’d be happy to add Randy Bush as another option who could be better. He spent 12 seasons with the Twins.

Obviously this isn’t some life-altering decision, but it makes no sense. But if one name out of 17 is bad, that’s not too bad at all. What do you think? 

TWINS 5, WHITE SOX 3

Alright, I’m right up there with other Twins fans that just do not like Mark Buehrle. However, sometimes you have to just give a little respect, and what Buehrle did over his last two starts is simply incredible. First of all, he had the perfect game which is amazing. It was only the 18^th in Major League Baseball’s history. And then last night, he started out by getting the first 17 Twins hitters out. He carried another perfect game into the 6^th inning. Like him or not, that is absolutely remarkable.

That said, I felt just fine when he walked Alexi Casilla. I was also glad that Denard Span lined a clean single up the middle for the first hit. I would have hated to see one of the Twins players bunt for a hit to break up the string, and even more, I would have hated to see a questionable hit/error decide it. You know, a play like the next one, when Joe Mauer hit a ‘double’ to left field that really should have been caught by Scott Podsednik. But within three batters, Buehrle lost the perfect game, the no-hitter and then the shutout. Then in the 7^th inning, the Twins scored four more runs. Brendan Harris drove in a run to give the Twins the lead. Two batters later, Nick Punto slapped a single to right field to drive in two. Then Octavio Dotel came in and walked three, including Justin Morneau with the bases loaded that gave the Twins the 5-1 lead. 

Scott Baker was good. He gave up one run on just four hits over the first six innings. His performance was unfortunately overshadowed by Buehrle, but he was good. He walked none and struck out six. Jose Mijares then got five outs. Bobby Keppel got out of the 8^th inning, and then gave up two runs in the 9^th inning, doing just enough to create a save situation for Joe Nathan who only had to get the final out. 

Tonight, I will be in attendance to see Francisco Liriano and the Twins take on Bartolo Colon and the White Sox, hoping to see the Twins complete the sweep! 

Any thoughts?
MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Steve Tolleson, Rochester Red Wings

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Philip Humber, Rochester Red Wings  

ROCHESTER REPORT

Tuesday –Rochester 7, Gwinnett 1  – Philip Humber got some run support and did well with it. He gave up just one run on four hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out four. Armando Gabino threw two shutout innings. Steve Tolleson went 2-3 with a walk. Matt Macri went 2-4 with his 19^th double. Justin Huber was 2-5 with his 15^th double. Jose Morales was 2-5. Danny Valencia was back in the lineup and had a double.      

ROCKCAT RECAP

Tuesday – New Britain 1, New Hampshire 5 – The Rockcats played two games on this day because of a power outage in New Hampshire. It would be safe to say that the Rockcats had no offensive fire power on this day. In the first game, they managed just five hits. Whit Robbins went 2-3 with his 18^th double. Ryan Mullins started and gave up five runs (1 earned) on six hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out six. Alex Burnett came in and got the final four outs.  

Tuesday – New Britain 0, New Hampshire 5 – In the second game, the bats managed just three hits. Brian Dinkelman hit his 26^th double. Deolis Guerra got the start. He did alright through two innings, but then he faced six batters in the third inning and got none of them out. All told, he gave up five runs on six hits and a walk. Kyle Waldrop then threw two more shutout innings. Carlos Gutierrez gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning. He struck out two. Spencer Steedley walked two in a scoreless inning.             

MIRACLE MEMOS

Tuesday – Ft. Myers 1, Brevard County 4 – The Miracle were held to just four hits in this game. Mark Dolenc and Evan Bigley each hit a double. Tyler Robertson started and gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk in seven innings. Henry Arias came in and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Loek Van Mil struck out one in his perfect inning.  

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Tuesday – Beloit 5, Great Lakes 8 – Brad Tippett has been, by far, the top pitcher for the Snappers this season. He was due for a rough start. In this game, he gave up seven runs (3 earned) on eight hits and a walk in just 4.2 innings. Blake Martin gave up a run in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Steve Blevins then was perfect threw 1.2 innings. James Beresford went 2-5 with his sixth double. Nate Hanson went 2-4. Michael Harrington hit his 27^th double. Aaron Hicks hit his seventh double.   

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Tuesday – Elizabethton, Johnson City – Postponed by Rain.

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Tuesday – GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 2 – This game was called as well in the 10^th inning and will be completed next week. I likely won’t think to look back, so I figured I would show some highlights already. Rory Rhodes and Hyun-wook Choi each went 2-4. Rhodes hit his fifth double. Choi stole his second base. Mark Grudzielanek went 1-3 with a double. Adrian Salcedo had another strong start. In six innings, he gave up two runs on eight hits. He walked none and struck out five. Nelvin Fuentes struck out three in two shutout frames. Eliecer Cardenas struck out the six in the 9^th inning.  

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

Valencia for Cabrera? Seriously?

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Before jumping into a couple of Twins topics, I do want to mention that Twins first round pick Kyle Gibson joined me again on the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast last night and updated us on his arm, his negotiations, his golf game and much more. It was a lot of fun. I had a listener call in and talk about a few Twins topics and then just answer question from the chat room the remainder of the show.  

DON’T BUY IT!

In Joe Christensen’s postgame blog, he wrote that the Oakalnd A’s were asking for Danny Valencia in return for Orlando Cabrera. Seriously? Does anyone believe that Billy Beane would insult the Twins front office enough to really ask for Valencia? Here’s how that conversation would go:

Bill Smith: Hey Billy, any update on the Moneyball movie?

Billy Beane: Nope!

Bill Smith: So, I’d really like Orlando Cabrera as my team’s SS. What do you want?

Billy Beane: How about Valencia? … And how about Hicks too? … And, throw in Baker… Ha Ha Ha!

(Smith had hung up after Valencia was mentioned, not realizing that Beane was joking. Beane just kept talking, not noticing that Smith had hung up.)

Do people really believe that Billy Beane would insult the Twins intelligence by requesting Valencia for Orlando Cabrera? Cabrera doesn’t have much value. The A’s know that they messed up by signing him. They aren’t expecting a top prospect for him, much less a team’s top, most major league ready prospect. But from the Twins perspective, letting their fan base think that Valencia was requested allows them to look smart when they don’t acquire Cabrera (although I would argue that anything involving acquiring Cabrera can’t be deemed terribly smart). They have the built-in excuse about Valencia being requested. Or, when the Twins give up a mid-range prospect for Cabrera, and many of us think that it’s still too much, they can say that they were able to talk them down from Valencia.

Earlier, Joe C had Tweeted that the Twins had called the Blue Jays about Roy Halladay and were told that they were not on his list of teams he would agree to be traded to. I can understand that. Minnesota isn’t necessarily the top destination for many players. However, I think that if Joe Nathan, Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer contacted him, he would have to consider. Opportunity for the playoffs these next two years, and to play in the new stadium next year. Minneapolis is a quick flight from Colorado. I think that the Twins could talk Halladay into changing his mind. Now, that said, if the alleged rumors of who the Blue Jays are turning down is any indication, the Twins do not have the prospects to make such a deal a reality. All along, we knew that Halladay was only a dream. I only asked that the phone call be made and just see if there was a possible match.

PIRATES SCAVAGING

If the Twins or another team had a player sent to AAA, and that player proceeded to go 2-2 with a 0.96 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, an opponent batting average of just .209 and 48 strikeouts in 37.1 innings, we would be pretty excited, wouldn’t we? Well, that is what Ian Snell of the Pirates has done since he was demoted to AAA. He certainly fell out of favor in Pittsburgh with poor performance and questionable attitude. He might be the definition of a player who needs a change of scenery. People talk about his contract being overwhelming, but that isn’t really the case. He is making $3 million in 2009, and $4.25 million in 2010. Beyond that, he has two years of club options. In 2011, he could be signed for $6.5 million. And then in 2012, he could make $9.25 million.

In my fantasy leagues this weekend, I was checking on Snell’s availability. Apparently the Yankees have had scouts watching him of late. When Dave Mona, host of The Sports Huddle with Sid and Dave, e-mailed me yesterday and asked me why no one was talking about Snell being someone that the Twins should consider, I couldn’t find a reason why they shouldn’t. Talent-wise, Snell is blessed. Those strikeout numbers in AAA are not a fluke. He has great stuff. Simply, he needs a change of scenery and could blossom. He is still just 27 years old. And the contract is not bad at all. It’d be only about $1 million for this year, and $4.25 million for next year. If he pitches well, the 2010 option at $6.25 million will make a lot of sense, and same thing in 2011.

As much as I would like the Twins to make a move to acquire any combination of Freddy Sanchez, Matt Capps and John Grabow, I hope they are also inquiring about the availability of Ian Snell.  

TWINS 4, WHITE SOX 3

After a really rough previous start in Oakland when he gave up eight runs and got just three outs, Glen Perkins needed to come back with another good start. Perkins went the first seven innings and gave up just three runs. He gave up six hits and walked one. All three runs he allowed came via the home run, first a solo homer to Gordon Beckham and then a two run homer to Paul Konerko. Then Matt Guerrier pitched a perfect 8^th inning. Joe Nathan had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 27^th save. The first out came on a double-saving leaping catch by Denard Span in left field. But that is the intended, ideal situation for the Twins. Starter gives them seven innings, Guerrier in the 8^th, Nathan in the 9^th.  

The offense wasn’t exactly hitting on all cylinders. They managed just six hits in the game. Nick Punto had one of the hits and was then picked off. They were helped by a couple of early unearned runs. But then down 3-2, Michael Cuddyer provided the Twins with a huge hit, a long, two run homer that gave the Twins the 4-3 lead. It was hit 17^th homer of the season.

It was a much needed start by Perkins personally, I’m sure. But it was also a much needed quality start for the Twins on a day in which they announced that Kevin Slowey will have surgery on his wrist and likely miss the rest of the season. That is horrible news for the Twins, but the emergence of Anthony Swarzak helps sooth that some. Tonight, it will be Scott Baker headed to the mound against Mark Buehrle who will be attempting to throw his second straight perfect game.

Here are some more Twins-related articles for you to peruse:

• Could the Twins provide A September to Remember? Check out Doogie Wolfson’s most recent Your Voices blog.
• Over the Baggy dissects Identifying Francisco Liriano’s Problem.
• Nick Nelson says that the Blue Jays Brandon League is a guy the Twins should look at.  

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Monday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Ramon Santana, Beloit Snappers

Monday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Jeff Manship, Rochester Red Wings – David Bromberg, Ft. Myers Miracle 

ROCHESTER REPORT

Monday –Rochester 2, Charlotte 3  – Jeff Manship pitched great! In eight innings, he gave up two runs (1 earned) on seven hits and three walks. He left that game with a 2-2 tie. Tim Lahey came in and the first batter he faced homered to end the game. David Winfree went 2-3 with a walk and his 25^th double. The Red Wings managed just three hits total in the game. For Charlotte, Michael Restovich went 2-3 with a walk and his 26^th double.     

ROCKCAT RECAP

Monday – New Britain/New Hampshire– Postponed due to a power outage.      

MIRACLE MEMOS

Monday – Ft. Myers 1, Brevard County 0 – David Bromberg continues to impress. He improved to 9-1 and reduced his ERA to 2.69 with 6.2 shutout innings. He gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out eight. Joe Testa came in and gave up just one hit in 2.1 innings for his first save. He struck out three. The Miracle had just six hits. Jair Fernandez hit his third home run.   

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Monday – Beloit 1, Lansing 10 – Liam Hendriks gave up six runs (5 earned) on 11 hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out six. Kyle Carr gave up three runs on three hits (2 home runs) in his inning. Michael Allen gave up a run in his inning. Thomas Wright then pitched a scoreless ninth frame. The Snappers managed just four hits. Ramon Santana went 3-4 with his 21^st double.          

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Monday – Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 5 – Josmil Pinto (7^th) and Derek McCallum (2^nd) each hit solo home runs for the E-Twins, but that was it for the E-Twins scoring. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-4. Miguel Munoz gave up four runs on nine hits and a walk in four innings. Edgar Ibarra went the final five innings. He gave up a run on four hits. He walked one and struck out seven.       

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

SethSpeaks.net Weekly Twins Podcast Live at 9!

join me tonight for this week’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. The show begins at 9:00 central time. We will talk Twins for an hour, and I want to encourage not only your questions in the chat room, but I will be taking calls as well. Check out www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SethSpeaks at 9:00 and be ready to participate!