Twins Notes

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

The Twins enjoyed their off day on Thursday. It was the first time this season that they have been two games above .500. Now, the players may have rested on the off day, but the front office was plenty busy.

First, the Twins released reliever Luis Ayala. Ten days earlier, the Twins had designated him for assignment. Although a couple of teams, namely Pittsburgh and Florida, expressed interest, but a trade was not able to be worked out. He was released, and later in the day, he signed a contract with the Florida Marlins.

In a second transaction, the Twins outrighted Sean Henn to AAA Rochester and promoted Brian Duensing. Henn, being out of options, had to clear waivers to be sent back to Rochester. He did, and remains in the Twins organization. The promotion of Duensing is somewhat surprising. Being left-handed, he does give Ron Gardenhire a second left-hander in the bullpen. You could argue that Anthony Swarzak was much more deserving of promotion as he has been superb for the Red Wings since his demotion in mid-June. Of course, Swarzak was just named as the Red Wings lone representative in the AAA All-Star Game.

LaVelle E. Neal reports that the Twins have offered a contract to Dominican 16 year old SS Miguel Angel Sano. However, the contract is contingent upon an investigation by Major League Baseball into weather Sano is actually 16 years old. The Twins, Pirates and Baltimore Orioles are the three teams said to be most interested. The Twins and Pirates apparently have a very strong relationship with him. The contract is rumored to be anywhere from $2.5 million to over $4.25 million.

Travis Talks provides his June Awards for the Twins. Joe Nathan had an incredible month. In 11.2 innings (12 games), he gave up no runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out 18. But he wasn’t the only bullpen arm to impress. R. A. Dickey’s ERA for June was 0.67. Matt Guerrier’s was 0.86. Jason Kubel was the easy choice for Twins Player of the Month in June.

Josh Johnson provides a review of all six Twins minor league affiliates, including a selection for hitter and pitcher of the month for each team. Nick Nelson looked back at his preseason Top 10 Twins Prospects to see how they are performing through June.

Consistent release point is important to all pitchers, but Over the Baggy’s Parker Hageman shows us why and how release point is important for Scott Baker.

Brian, at the Twins Examiner site, tracks the young career of Aaron Hicks.

At Jim Mandelaro’s Extra Bases blog, he takes a look into the Life of a GM, through the eyes of Twins GM Bill Smith, who has lost 40 pounds since February.

Baseball Intellect takes a look at the Mechanics of Kevin Slowey to determine why he is able to pitch with so much control.

Slowey will take the mound on Friday night for the Twins as they start a three game series at the Metrodome against the division-leading Detroit Tigers.    

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Tyler Ladendorf & Danny Rams, Elizabethton Twins

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

ROCHESTER REPORT

Wednesday – Rochester, Buffalo – Game Postponed by Rain. The Red Wings are set to send Jeff Manship to the mound against Oliver Perez in a game that is expecting over 20,000 fans in attendance. What a great atmosphere!

ROCKCAT RECAP

Wednesday – New Britain, Portland – Game Postponed by Rain.

MIRACLE MEMOS

Wednesday – Game 1 – Ft. Myers 3, Lakeland 1 – Tyler Robertson started this game and threw two shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two. But during the top of the third inning, there was a rain delay. When play resumed, Joe Testa came in and struck out five in two scoreless innings to get the Win. Loek Van Mil threw two shutout innings. Blair Erickson recorded his ninth save. He struck out two and gave up an unearned run in the seventh. The offense managed just six hits. Steve Singleton hit his fifth home run. Deibinson Romero hit his 16^th double.  

Wednesday – Game 2 – Ft. Myers 4, Lakeland 1 – Mike McCardell started and finished the second game. The righty gave up one run on seven hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out nine to improve to 8-5. Steve Singleton was 2-4 with his fourth steal. Mark Dolenc went 2-3. Chris Parmelee hit his 10^th home run, a two run homer in the 8^th that gave the team a two run lead. In the ninth, Nick Romero extended the lead with a solo home run, his third of the year.     

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Wednesday – Beloit 1, Cedar Rapids 5 – The Snappers managed just two hits in this game. James Beresford had a double. Dominic de La Osa went 0-1 with two walks and his third stolen base. Dan Osterbrock started and gave up three runs on ten hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out five. Curtis Leavitt went two innings and gave up one run on one hit. He walked one and struck out three. Matt Williams gave up an unearned run over the final two innings.

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Wednesday – Elizabethton 12, Bristol 4 – The E-Twins improved to 9-1 in this game. Tyler Ladendorf and Danny Rams were the hitting stories again, both going 3-5. Ladendorf knocked his fourth and fifth doubles. Rams hit his fifth home run. Tobias Streich hit his second homer, and Josmil Pinto hit his fourth homer. Reggie Williams went 2-4. Angelo Sanchez got his second win. In six innings, he gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out six. Ramon Acosta gave up two unearned runs on two hits in two innings. Tony Davis struck out two in his inning.

Interesting Note – We often wonder why the Twins draft so many catchers, and what they will do with all of them. Well, of the nine players in the E-Twins starting lineup, four of them were drafted as catchers. Danny Rams was the Twins 2^nd round pick in 2007. He played 1B in this game. Josmil Pinto was the DH in this game. Chris Hermann played LF in this game. And Tobias Streich actually was the catcher.  

GCL TWINS THOUGHTS

Wednesday – GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled.

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