Roster Day

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As you know, by 11:00 central time tonight, the Twins will have had to submit their playoff roster. If there is anything to the Rich Harden situation as it relates to the Twins, it will have to happen by noon today. Rumors and names have been thrown about. It started with people thinking the Cubs wanted Rene Tosoni and BJ Hermsen. The most recent rumors I have heard say that they want Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama. The reality? Likely only Bill Smith and his staff and Cubs GM Jim Hendry and his staff know the real story. And the rest of us will be brought into the loop by noon, but probably only if there is a deal reached.

The Twins have been playing well. They have now won nine of their last 12 games. The additions of Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay certainly provide veteran presence to the bullpen. Scott Baker was very good on Sunday. Carl Pavano was good after a rough first inning on Saturday. Brian Duensing was excellent on Friday night!

The Twins are now at .500 (65-65) with just 32 more games to go. They passed the White Sox, who they no play three games against starting tonight, and are still 4.5 games behind the Tigers. It could still be an interesting month.

I apologize for the quick update. I have been sicker than a dog (whatever that means) for a couple of days, so bear with me. The Twins short season minor league seasons will finish up their playoffs this week. The other teams will all be done in one week. New Britain is still fighting for a playoff spot while the Ft. Myers Miracle are already in.

Please feel free to leave your comments here throughout the day with any rumors, minor league notes, roster updates or more.

Twins Acquire Mahay

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UPDATE – Apparently the Twins have acquired righty reliever Jon Rauch. He is owed $3 million next year. No information on the subsequent moves.

The Twins just acquired lefty-reliever Ron Mahay from the Royals for basically nothing. According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Royals will pay all but a pro-rated portion of the Major League minimum (so less than $100,000).

Mahay had one good year a couple of years ago and turned it into a two year, $8 million deal with the Royals. This year, he allowed 55 hits and 19 walks in 41.1 innings of work before the Royals DFAd him earlier this week.

Mahay actually made his major league debut as an outfielder with the Red Sox in 1995. He went 4-20 (.200) but had two doubles and a home run. He went back to the minors and returned to the Red Sox in 1997 as a pitcher. Since then, the 38 year old has pitched for the A’s, Marlins, Cubs, Rangers, Braves, Royals and now the Twins.

Obviously the hope is that Mahay can get left-handed batters out for the next 4-5 weeks in the 7^th inning. Lefties have an OPS of .778 against him this year while righties are at 1.043.

The big question, again, becomes the subsequent roster decision that the Twins have to make. Will they DFA Philip Humber? Someone else?

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

A Texas-Sized Series

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The Twins/Rangers series will likely not get top-billing this weekend, but it is a big series nonetheless. The Twins enter Friday’s action 4.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central and 0.5 games behind the White Sox. The Rangers are four games behind the Angels in the AL West. Baseball Prospectus calculates each team’s chance of winning its division and then of winning the Wild Card. Going into Friday, it shows the Twins odds of winning the AL Central at 20.27% (Tigers at 65.43%, White Sox at 13.83%). The Twins odds of winning the AL Wild Card is currently 0.24% On the other side, the Rangers are given an 18% chance of surpassing the Angels in the AL West (Angels odds of winning the division is 81%). The Rangers are given a 9% chance of winning the Wild Card (Boston at 60.7%, Tampa Bay at 19.7%). 

The Twins could almost eliminate the Rangers if they were to sweep the weekend series. If they could do that, things could be very interesting. The Tigers will start a four game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The White Sox will play three games against the Yankees. This again speaks to the AL Central being such a weak division. The Rangers are current 71-55 while the Twins are sitting at 64-65.

On Friday night, the Twins will send Brian Duensing to the mound to face Tommy Hunter. Saturday, it will be Carl Pavano taking on Scott Feldman. On Sunday, Scott Baker will go up against Kevin Millwood.

Here are some other Twins links to check out today:

• Travis Talks takes on the draft process, specifically the meaningless slotting system.
• Nick Nelson took a glimpse of Target Field.
• For some great “Old Time Baseball” check out Josh’s Thoughts.
• Should the Twins Pick Up a Penny? Over the Baggy answers that question.
• Granny Baseball has had a great week, discussion possible September call-ups, the Twins going to the AFL and the perception of the Twins minor league system.

 MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Ozzie Lewis, Beloit Snappers

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Liam Hendriks, Beloit Snappers 

• Several Twins minor leaguers will be participating in the upcoming World Cup:

1. Trevor Plouffe will join former Twins infielder Terry Tiffee on Team USA.
2. WBC hero Tom Stuifbergen will again pitch for The Netherlands. Loek Van Mil will also be on the team, along with former Twins prospect Alex Smit.
3. I have not yet seen other rosters, but the assumption would be that several Twins prospects will play for the Australian team. Players like Luke Hughes, Brad Tippett, Liam Hendriks, Justin Huber and James Beresford would all be possibilities. (just heard that the names I mentioned will be playing for the team, with Justin Huber still being a ‘maybe’)

ROCHESTER REPORT

Thursday – Rochester 2, Lehigh Valley 11 – Kevin Mulvey had a great game going through seven innings. At that time, he had given up just two runs. Then he gave up three runs in the 8^th inning. So in eight innings, he gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits. He walked one and struck out three. Sean Henn started the 9^th inning. He gave up six runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk and got just two outs. Jose Lugo gave up a hit before a strikeout ended the inning. Danny Valencia was 2-4 with his 18^th double. Jose Morales went 3-4.  

ROCKCAT RECAP

Thursday – New Britain 1, Connecticut 3 – Michael McCardell started and gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in 5.1 innings. Kyle Waldrop gave up one hit and one walk in 2.2 scoreless innings. Erik Lis went 1-2 with two walks. Steve Singleton hit his tenth double.  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Thursday – Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled.  

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Thursday – Beloit 9, Kane County 1 – This is probably one of the best all-around games the Snappers have played this year. They got great pitching. Liam Hendriks won for the third time. He threw six shutout innings and gave up one hit and one walk. He struck out six. Dan Berlind then gave up an unearned run on two hits and two walks in the final three innings. They also got plenty of offense. Ozzie Lewis led the way. He went 4-6 with his 19^th double. Ramon Santana went 3-5 with a walk and his third triple. Jonathan Waltenbury was 3-5 with his 15^th double. Angel Morales went 2-3 with a walk and three RBI. James Beresford and Aaron Hicks each went 2-6.  

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Thursday – Elizabethton 10, Kingsport 9 – Brian Dozier continues to crush the ball. He went 3-4 with his 17^th double. Derek McCallum was 2-4 with his fifth homer. Tobias Streich hit his 12^th double, 10^th homer and five RBI. Chris Herrmann went 2-4 with a walk. Steve Liddle was 2-4. Josmil Pinto went 2-5. Angelo Sanchez started and in six innings gave up six runs. He gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out four. Tony Davis then gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in two innings. Peter Kennelly then gave up a run in his inning.  

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Thursday – GCL Twins 8, GCL Rays 2 – Adrian Salcedo gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out six. Jay Rehacek struck out two in two shutout innings for the win. Raynard Doran pitched a scoreless ninth. Brian Bistagne went 3-5 with his first triple. Nick Freitas went 3-5. Hyun-wook Choi was 2-3 with a walk. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4 with his 11^th double. Nick Tindall was 2-4 with a walk.  

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

The Santana Situation

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Yes, I realize this is a couple of days late, and the news wasn’t as bad as many feared it would be, but I did want to touch on the topic a little bit. On Monday, it was learned that Johan Santana was likely to miss the remainder of the season with an elbow injury. Initially, many were concerned that Santana could be in need of Tommy John surgery which would likely cost him his 2010 season as well. Fortunately, it was learned that he would just need arthroscopic elbow surgery to remove bone chips. Twins fans will recall, the last time Santana had surgery to remove bone chips, he came back to the Twins and won his first Cy Young award.

I have heard and read that there are people who think that the Twins traded “damaged” goods in spring of 2008. Some would say that although Santana had  a very strong 2008 season with the Mets, he was not throwing as hard and had basically stopped throwing his slider. He had become a two-pitch pitcher. With Santana, obviously those were two very good pitches, but had he ditched the slider because of the strain on his elbow? Did the Twins know of his injury risk when the y traded him? Did the Red Sox and Yankees really stay out of serious discussion for Santana because of injury concerns?

My opinion is that the topic is mute and really kind of ridiculous, on several levels.

• First, you have to assume that the Mets were privy to the same documents and medical reports that the Red Sox and Yankees doctors would have seen.
• Second, Santana had to pass a physical for the trade to go through.
• Third, Santana was an excellent pitcher in 2007. He arguably could have won the Cy Young Award. Then in 2008, he could have won the NL Cy Young Award.
• Fourth, he proved healthy enough to get through the first year and a half with the Mets. That isn’t long when compared against a six year contract, but it is when it comes to blaming the team that dealt him.
• Did injury risk play some role in the Twins decision to trade Santana or to not offer more than four or five years? Of course it did and it should. There is an inherent risk with any pitcher as he gets into his 30s. It is for this reason that I would have applauded the Twins if they had acquired Roy Halladay for the remainder of 2009 and then the 2010 season. I would have questioned them if they had offered him a contract beyond the 2010 season. It just makes no sense.
  • Before the 1996 season, Kevin Brown signed a 7 year, $105 million contract that proved to be an bad acquisition… due to injuries.
  • Mike Hampton signed an eight year, $121 million contract with the Rockies. The team proved a mistake immediately… due to injuries.
  • Barry Zito signed a seven year, $126 million deal with the San Francisco Giants that will pay him through the 2013 season. He has not been hurt, but the contract made no sense as Zito had regressed four straight seasons before becoming a free agent.
  • This past offseason, the Yankees gave the largest contract given to a pitcher when they signed him for seven years and $161 million that will keep him in pinstripes through 2015.
  • Santana was traded to the Mets and give a six year, $137.5 million contract. It is year two of the trade and already he is missing time.
  • Clearly there is no good reason to sign a pitcher to a 9-digit contract.
  • Hitters have less risk of devastating injury, in most cases, but there are 14 hitters that have signed $100+ million contracts.
    • Alex Rodriguez has signed two of them. He signed a $252 million, ten year deal with the Rangers, opted out of that after seven years, and then signed a $275 million, ten year deal with the Yankees before the 2008 season. Injuries, and other issues, have already made that contract very questionable.
    • Derek Jeter signed a ten year, $189 million deal that runs out after the 2010 season. He may not be worth $18.9 million a year, but it’s hard to call that a bad contract.
    • Mark Teixeira sign an eight year, $180 million deal before this season. It looks good so far, and as a 1B, the risk of injury should be low.
    • Manny Ramirez signed an eight year, $160 million deal with the Red Sox that ran out following the 2008 season. Definitely hard to argue that he earned that.
    • Miguel Cabrera signed an eight year, $152.3 million deal before the 2008 season, shortly after being acquired by the Tigers.
    • Todd Helton signed an 11 year, $151.5 million deal with the Rockies before the 2001 season that runs out after the 2011 season. I don’t think Helton has been an elite player for a few years, but he is still very good.
    • Alfonso Soriano signed an eight year, $136 million deal with the Cubs that runs through 2014. So, imagine how they feel that he has been losing more playing time during the second half of this season.
    • Vernon Wells got $126 million over seven years with the Blue Jays before the 2008 season. That is a really bad contract.
    • Jason Giambi signed with the Yankees before the 2002 season for seven years and $120 million. Great on-base guy, but may not have been a great fit in the Bronx.
    • Carlos Beltran shunned the Astros and signed a seven year, $119 million deal with the Mets. When healthy, he has continued to be an excellent, all-around player ,but he has been hurt quite a bit.
    • Ken Griffey Jr., signed a nine year, $116.5 million deal with the Reds before the 2000 season. Those last several years meant severe overpaying.
    • Albert Pujols’s contract is up after the 2010 season. When he and the Cardinals come to an agreement, he will move up this list.
    • Carlos Lee signed a six year, $100 million deal with Houston… what were the Astros thinkin?

 I always was a big fan of Johan Santana. I wish he could have stayed, but the Twins probably did the right thing in getting four players for him. Time may prove that taking two draft picks may have been smarter, but Carlos Gomez and Kevin Mulvey are very closer. Deolis Guerras has taken a step forward  The Twins made a fair offer to Santana

Do you have an questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me, or leave some comments below..

TWINS FALL 5-1 to O’s

Nick Blackburn started for the Twins and gave up four runs (# earned) on nine hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. Jeff Manship got the team out of the 6^th inning and threw a scoreless 7^th as well. He got another out in the 8^th, but he left with runners on 2^nd and 3^rd. Matt Guerrier came in and walked the next two batters before getting out of the inning. Philip Humber threw a nice, clean ninth inning. The key to this game was the pitching of Jeremy Guthrie though. The O’s starter held the Twins to one run over seven innings. The Twins managed just six hits in the game. Joe Mauer had two of them (to leave his batting average at .373). He scored the team’s lone run on an RBI double by Justin Morneau.

The story of the game, in my opinion,  was the defense of Alexi Casilla. He made three very impressive plays, two at 2B and one while playing SS in the ninth. The play early in the game when he dove to his right and in one motion flipped the ball backhanded to Orlando Cabrera for the out, was one of the most amazing defensively plays I have ever seen. I have now seen the play on replay at least 30 times, and I am still asking myself “How did he do that?”

And, although Todd Tichenor didn’t appear to have a real good, consistent strike zone, I have no problem at all with him tossing out Orlando Cabrera in the 8^th inning. After the 1B ump ruled that he swung on a check swing for a third strike, Cabrera said something and slammed his bat against the Metrodome’s turf. That is, and should be, an automatic ejection. Ron Gardenhire does a good job of backing his players in such arguments, sometimes he goes too far. He really didn’t even argue the decision. It put the Twins in a strange situation for the top of the 9^th. But Alexi Casilla moved to SS, with Michael Cuddyer coming in to 2B. The two combined for a very nice 6-4-3 double play to end that inning.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Derek McCallum, Elizabethton Twins

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – R.A. Dickey, Rochester Red Wings 

• Here is a nice, small-town newspaper article about Miracle reliever Joe Testa.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Wednesday – Rochester 4, Lehigh Valley 0 – After a few really bad starts since his return to AAA, R.A. Dickey put together a tremendous start in this game. Dickey went the distance for a complete game shutout. He gave up just two hits. He walked one and struck out eight. He got help from a lot of guys on offense as well. Matt Tolbert was 2-4 with his 10^th double. Trevor Plouffe went 2-4 with his 22^nd double. Dustin Martin was 2-3 with a walk and his 15^th double. Jason Pridie, Danny Valencia and Brock Peterson each went 2-4.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Wednesday – New Britain 0, Connecticut 3 – Matt Fox also threw a complete game. Unfortunately it was in a losing effort. Fox gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three in eight innings. The Rockcats managed just four hits in the game against top pitching prospect Madison Bumgarner, who improved to 9-1. Wilson Ramos had two of them.  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Wednesday – Game 1 – Ft. Myers 3, St. Lucie 1 – After being postponed by rain on Tuesday, Tyler Robertson gave the Miracle exactly what they needed. The lefty gave up only an unearned run on two hits over the first six innings. He walked two and struck out five. Blair Erickson recorded his 15^th save with a scoreless (despite a hit and two walks) inning. Joe Benson went 2-3 with his eighth double. Ben Revere went 2-3. Jair Fernandez hit his fourth home run.

Wednesday – Game 2 – Ft. Myers 4, St. Lucie 5 – Ben Revere went 2-4 with his 12^th double. Benson hit a two run triple. Nick Romero was 2-4. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Steve Hirschfeld had an unusual rough start. He went just three innings and gave up four runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out four. Michael Tarsi pitched a scoreless inning. Joe Testa gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk over three innings. He struck out five.   

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Wednesday – Beloit 0, Kane County 7 – Not a good day for the Snappers. In the first inning, Aaron Hicks struck out and disagreed with the ump. He was ejected. Dan Osterbrock gave up six runs (5 earned) on 11 hits and two walks in just 4.1 innings. He struck out six. Thomas Wright gave up an unearned run on three hits over 2.2 innings. Then Infielder Nathan Hanson came in to pitch the eighth inning. He gave up two hits but no runs in his inning! The Snappers managed just three hits in the game.  

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Wednesday – Elizabethton 5, Johnson City 7 – Derek McCallum went 3-4 with his fourth home run. Josmil Pinto hit his 12^th double and 11^th home run. Brian Dozier was 2-4 with a walk. Tobias Streich was 2-4. Martire Garcia went 5.1 innings. He gave up seven runs (5 earned) on eight hits, two walks and two hit batters. Kelvin Mota walked three before getting the final two outs of the 6^th inning. Dakota Watts struck out three in two scoreless innings.  

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

Game Notes

Alright, I missed a day, so today I will be catching up on game updates. There will be a few other notes as well. It was a nice win for the Twins, their fifth in a row. If there are any Twins topics you would like to discuss or have me write about, please feel free to e-mail me, or leave some comments and get plenty of opinions.

TWINS TAKE TWO

The Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles in the first two games of this current three game series. On Monday night, Scott Baker pitched the Twins to a 2-1 win. Last night wasn’t as crisp a game, but the Twins came away with the 7-6 win when Delmon Young inside-outted an inside pitch for a run scoring single to right field. The Twins remain 4.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

• On Monday night, leadoff man extraordinaire Denard Span went 2-2 with two walks. He is 15-36 (.417) over his last eight games. He has had multiple hits in six of those eight games.
• Joe Mauer was 1-5 on Tuesday night. He is now 6-27 (.222) over his last seven games. He still leads the AL in batting average with a .372 average. Ichiro is sitting at .359. Ichiro is currently suffering from a sore calf. He did not play Monday or Tuesday night, and manager Don Wakamatsu said he will not play on Wednesday.
• Alexi Casilla has gone 9-17 (.529) over his past five games to raise his average to .209. Just a couple of points to go to surpass Nick Punto (.211). Not only is he hitting, but his defense has been very good.
• With the win, Scott Baker improved to 12-7 with a 4.47 ERA on the season. On May 29^th, he was 2-6 with a 6.32 ERA. Since then, he has gone 10-1 with a 3.50 ERA.
• Armando Gabino made his major league debut last night and after a scoreless, quick first inning, Gabino struggled. He was pulled with two outs in the top of the 3^rd inning. He had allowed four runs on five hits and three walks. Despite the poor outing, I thought that Gabino showed signs of what has made him very good at Rochester this year. He has a decent fastball, and I was impressed by the slider as well. I think that he can be a solid big league pitcher. He typically does not walk hitters, and I think some of that can be easily attributed to nerves once the O’s bats did get to him in the 2^nd inning. Now, that said, he has only made a handful of starts  in Rochester this year, so my opinion is that Jeff Manship, not Gabino, should be making starts. Gabino does deserve to be on this Twins team though. Probably in long relief, and preferably in the spot of Philip Humber.
• After the game, LaVelle tweeted “Not Good. MRI showed post-operative changes in Crede’s back. Will consult with the doctor who operated on him last year.” How can you read/hear something like that and not put him on the Disabled List? That said, how much would you want to bet that instead of calling up Danny Valencia to replace Crede, They would likely bring back either Brian Buscher or Matt Tolbert instead.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Monday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Tobias Streich, Elizabethton Twins

Monday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Yohan Pino, Rochester Red Wings

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Jonathan Goncalves, Elizabethton Twins

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Jhon Garcia, Elizabethton Twins

AFL rosters are set –  On Monday, I made my guesses for who the Twins would be sending to the Arizona Fall league. Well, it came out on Monday night, and I had four out of seven correct. I was right about Alex Burnett, Steve Singleton, Mike McCardell and Rene Tosoni. Teams are now allowed to send up to two players who have not yet reached AA, so the Twins are sending both Chris Parmelee and Steve Hirschfeld. The other player going will be lefty reliever Spencer Steedley.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Monday – Rochester 2, Norfolk 1 – Justin Huber doubled in the game-tying run in the 9^th. A few batters later, Danny Valencia hit a hard liner toward the SS who booted the ball for an error that allowed Trevor Plouffe with the winning run. The Red Wings had just three hits in the game. Yohan Pino was excellent yet again. The righty went eight innings and gave up just one run. He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out five. Juan Morillo walked two and struck out one in a scoreless ninth frame.

Tuesday – Rochester 5, Norfolk 12 – Someone reported to me that on Monday, Anthony Swarzak didn’t look like he wanted to be back in Rochester. On Tuesday, he pitched as though he didn’t necessarily want to be back in Minnesota either. He gave up six runs on ten hits and a walk in six inning. He struck out just one. Tim Lahey followed and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in one inning. Jason Jones gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in his two innings. Matt Tolbert went 2-4 with his sixth triple. Dustin Martin was 2-4 with his 14^th stolen base and 25^th stolen base. Jason Pridie hit his seventh home run.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Monday – New Britain 6, Reading 3 – Ryan Mullins scattered 12 hits over 6.1 innings. He somehow gave up just three runs. He walked one and struck out three. Kyle Waldrop struck out three in two scoreless innings. Spencer Steedley struck out the lone batter he faced. Loek Van Mil threw recorded what he told me was a “cheap save, one pitch, one out.” Erik Lis hit his 16^th home run. Juan Portes was 1-2 with two walks.

Tuesday – New Britain 4, Connecticut 5 – Deolis Guerra started and gave up five runs on seven hits and a walk. Carlos Gutierrez struck out two in two perfect innings. Erik Lis went 2-3 with a walk. Brian Dinkelman was also 2-3.

MIRACLE MEMOS

Monday – Ft. Myers 2, St. Lucie 12 – David Bromberg lost for just the third time this season. He went six innings and gave up two runs on three hits. He walked four and struck out seven. Michael Allen came in and gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits and two walks in one inning. Henry Arias then gave up five runs on three hits and two walks in his inning. Matt Williams gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk in his inning. Ben Revere went 2-4 with a walk and his 41^st stolen base. Estarlin de Los Santos went 2-5 with his 11^th stolen base. Jair Fernandez was 2-4.  

Tuesday – Ft. Myers, St. Lucie – Postponed by Rain.

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Monday – Beloit 3, Kane County 4 – Winston Marquez made his first start in almost two years, and he was quite impressive. He threw four shutout innings, allowing just one hit. He walked three and struck out seven. Dan Berlind gave up two runs on two hits and three walks in two innings. Brad Stillings gave up an unearned run on two hits and two walks in two innings. Steve Blevins pitched a scoreless ninth, but he gave up the winnings run with one out in the 10^th inning. James Beresford went 3-5 with two RBI. Aaron Hicks was 2-5 with his 12^th double.

Tuesday – Beloit 4, Kane County 6 – Bruce Pugh started and went five innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on three this. He walked five and struck out six. Kyle Carr then gave up three unearned on three hits in two innings. Billy Bullock threw a scoreless inning. Aaron Hicks hit his third home run of the year. James Beresford went 2-5 with his tenth double. Dominic de La Osa, Angel Morales and Ozzie Lewis each went 2-4. De La Osa hit his ninth double.  

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Monday – Elizabethton 12, Greeneville 5 (15 innings) – After about nine middle innings of great pitching, the E-Twins exploded for seven runs in the top of the 15^th to make it look like a blowout. Tobias Streich led the offense. He went 3-7 with his 11^th double, ninth home run and four RBI. Brian Dozier went 3-6 with a walk. Paul-Michael Klingsberg was 2-5 with a walk and his second homer. Chris Herrmann went 2-6 with a walk and his 14^th double. Miguel Munoz gave up five runs over the first 5.1 innings. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out five. Ramon Acosta and Dakota Watts each threw 1.2 scoreless innings. (Watts walked four) Tony Davis then threw 3.1 shutout innings, despite five walks. Peter Kennelly gets the win after throwing three innings of one hit ball.

Tuesday – Elizabethton 10, Greeneville 4 – The E-Twins bats were out again and nearly every hitter contributed. Jonathan Goncalves went 4-5 with his seventh double and four RBI. Michael Gonzalez went 2-5 with a walk and his seventh homer. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-4 with a walk and his sixth home run. Brian Dozier, Josmil Pinto, Dan Rohlfing and Derek McCallum each had two hits. Steve Liddle went 0-2 but walked four times.     

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Monday – GCL Twins 5, GCL Reds 1 – Blayne Weller improved to 4-1 with six strong innings. He gave up only an unearned run on three hits. He walked none and struck out eight. Zach See pitched well again, striking out three in two one-hit innings. Jose Gonzalez pitched a perfect inning. In Kyun Kang went 2-3 with a walk. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-5 with his fifth home run.

Tuesday – GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 4 – Eliecer Cardenas started and gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in three innings. Oswaldo Sosa then gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk in two innings. Nelvin Fuentes struck out two in two shutout innings. Andrei Lobanov blew the save by giving up an unearned run over two innings, but he also got the Win. He walked one and struck out three. That may seem like a throw-away sentence, but that was the first walk that Lobanov has thrown this season. In 22 innings now, he has walked one and struck out 35. Hyeong-rok Choi went 2-3 with a walk and his sixth double. Jairo Perez went 2-4 with his sixth double. Matej Hejma went 2-4 with his fifth double.  

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

Live Twins Podcast at 9:00!

Be sure to tune in to www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SethSpeaks at 9:00 central time tonight for talk in the Twins and their (domestic) minor league system.

Weekend Updates

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Good Monday Morning to everyone! I certainly hope you had a great weekend! I really did. Maybe it was because I only watched a few innings of Twins baseball. I watched very little of the Friday night game, and no, it was not due to watching the Vikings, I only watched the first series of that game. That was enough of that. All I know is that E.J. Henderson could quickly become my favorite Vikings player this year! Saturday was a busy but very fun day. It started with a long walk throughout the Dodge Nature Center. Then it was to the Minnesota Zoo for a couple of hours before watching some 3D Dinosaur movie at the IMAX theatre. I did watch the first seven innings on Saturday night. Then decided that sleep was good. On Sunday, it was church, followed by a great time at a 50^th anniversary party. Stopped at an apple orchard on 169 on the way home, and that was my weekend.

So, although the Twins had a much-needed sweep of the Royals in Kansas City this weekend, I didn’t see much of it. Apparently I much-needed some time away. How do I know? How about this dream scenario from one night this weekend:

So, I’m back in my home town, which is about three hours from the Twin Cities. I’m just walking around the town when out of a building walks Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. I’m close enough to him to overhear him tell someone, “Well, they’re getting rid of me too.” I grabbed for my cell phone and was trying to Tweet the breaking news. I was just shaking!

So seriously, that was a good sign that taking a step back might be necessary for me right now. Just another reminder, especially to Thrylos, that the above was just a dream! Ron Gardenhire is still the Twins manager!

So, let me ask you this:

Does the Twins sweep of the Royals in Kansas City have you all excited about the team again, or even the team’s chances of making the playoffs? Is this the biggest week of the season for the Twins?

THE KEYS

• The Twins will be playing host to the Baltimore Orioles for three games starting tonight. Meanwhile, the Tigers will be in Anaheim, taking on the Angels. The White Sox will be playing the Red Sox. Now, how many times will we hear that the Twins have a favorable schedule? The Twins were bad on their most recent home stand, and then they went 5-2 on the road this past week. So…
• The just have to be consistent. I fully am aware that all of these teams are comprised of major league players that can beat anyone on any given day. But the Twins have to find a way to start beating the teams that they should beat.
• They need to get Justin Morneau back as quickly as possible. The clean up hitter, a former MVP, a player who is in the top ten in most statistical categories in the American League… you don’t just replace a guy like that in any lineup.
• But the Twins have tried. Michael Cuddyer has done a nice job at first base defensively. He has also really picked up his offense in the last week with four doubles and three home runs.
• Also, it has meant that both Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez are in the lineup every day. Delmon Young had a rough series in Kansas City, but he has been hitting the ball well, including home runs. And Gomez has been playing better as well. So again, you can’t replace Justin Morneau, but as long the other players don’t try to do too much, but everyone does a little bit, they can survive.
• The biggest key continues to be the starting pitching, and consistency of the starting pitching. Scott Baker has been very good in the second half. Nick Blackburn has been very non-good in the second half (after an amazing first half). Carl Pavano had another very strong start on Sunday. Brian Duensing would apparently get another start after five difficult yet successful innings on Saturday night.
• So, the fifth starter becomes a big question mark. After Saturday’s game, the Twins sent Anthony Swarzak back to Rochester and summoned Armando Gabino to the Twins. Now, I have been saying for a couple of weeks that Gabino is deserving of this promotion. When guys like Jeff Manship and Philip Humber were promoted, it was, in part, due to timing that it was not Gabino called up. In each case, he had just pitched and would not have been able to pitch in the role the Twins would have wanted. Gabino was added to the Twins 40 man roster shortly after the 2008 season finished. He has primarily been pitching out of the bullpen in his time with the Twins, but due to inconsistency in the Rochester rotation, he has made several starts as well. And he has pitched well in whatever role he is in. He deserves this opportunity, but I don’t believe that starting is where his big league career will go. I think he can be a good long reliever and spot starter. I personally think that Jeff Manship could or should be starting long term. For the short term, Kevin Mulvey is an option who should get more opportunities. Philip Humber is also on the roster, so maybe a start would be good for him.
• And then comes the question of what to do with Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins. Liriano will apparently be out a little longer than initially planned. Personally, I would shut down both of these lefties for the rest of the season.
• Speaking of questions, do you give Orlando Cabrera any credit for the improved play of Carlos Gomez and especially Alexi Casilla? I sometimes think that those types of intangibles can be overblown. But honestly, whatever works, right?
• September Call-Ups – It’s a big topic every year, and Bill Smith said that they would be making these types of decisions in the next week. It is always interesting to see who comes up. As I noted last week, the Twins could wait until September 8^th to promote from AAA since the Red Wings season will end after their game on Labor Day night. On his Inside Twins radio show yesterday, Bill Smith said that they typically like to promote an infielder, an outfielder, a catcher and a couple of pitchers. Although I wrote about it a couple of weeks ago, here are my more current thoughts on the subject:
  • Matt Tolbert – There is no way that Gardy doesn’t get his second favorite no-hit, no-field utility infielder up to the Twins.
  • Jose Morales – Yes, I am to the point where I have no idea why Mike Redmond wasn’t replaced awhile back. But Morales will certainly be promoted.
  • Anthony Swarzak – He’ll be back.
  • Kevin Mulvey – He should be back.
  • Juan Morillo – He may have to be back. I get that he throws in the upper 90s and has 76 strikeouts in 58.1 innings. But he also has 41 walks (And allowed 49 hits) in 58.1 innings. That’s really bad.
  • Rob Delaney – he’s struggled in his last few outings and may need the rest. That said, he will be added to the 40 man roster after the season, so I would still like to see him promoted, even if he only pitches a couple of innings.
  • Anthony Slama – He had the one really bad outing, but he’s fine. Like Delaney, Slama will be added after the season, and he could quickly become a trustworthy late inning option.
  • Danny Valencia – Yes, he went on a slump, but just recently, he went 2-4 in four straight games and seems to have made an adjustment which is exactly what you want to see from a player. With Joe Crede again sidelined, I think it would be good to get Valencia a few games at 3B in September. And again, he will have to be added to the 40 man roster after the season anyway.
  • Justin Huber – I think if the Twins had to put Justin Morneau, Huber might be an option to replace him on the active roster. He’s had another very good AAA season, including 19 home runs.
  • David Winfree – would be the second option.
• Arizona Fall League – This topic is not at all a key to Twins 2009 season, but a lot of people are curious about who the Twins will send to the Arizona Fall League this year. That announcement will likely come out in the next week or two. Typically, each team will send six or seven players to the Fall League. Those players can’t be from countries that have Winter Leagues. In other words, players like Wilson Ramos are ineligible for the Arizona Fall League because he can go play in Venezuela. Generally, each team will send three hitters and three pitchers. Players are typically from AA or AAA, or have some time in the big leagues, but occasionally players from Hi-A ball can play as well. I’m sure there is more, but here are the six players that I would likely send to the Arizona Fall League:
  • Alex Burnett – his transition to the bullpen could not be going any better. He has been terrific.
  • Kyle Waldrop – He has stayed healthy all year after missing all of the 2008 season.
  • Mike McCardell – he has pitched very well since his AA debut. It would be a good challenge for him.
  • Rene Tosoni – I think it would be good to see him get consistent at bats against top competition.
  • Steve Singleton – he’s been able to play both 2B and SS for the Rockcats, and he’s crushed the ball as well.
  • Brian Dinkelman – He probably should have gone a year ago, but he was injured at the end of the season. He’s returned with a strong AA season. He could be the Dan Uggla of this year’s AFL/Rule 5 draft!
  • Others – They need catchers in the AFL, so I can certainly see Jeff Christy getting the opportunity to go. Kevin Mulvey or Anthony Swarzak could benefit from getting another 30-40 innings.
  • Last year – Generally speaking, the Twins haven’t sent players twice, at least not in consecutive seasons. Last year the Twins sent Jeff Manship, Rob Delaney, Anthony Slama, Tim Lahey, Danny Valencia, Dustin Martin and Steve Tolleson.

 So, there is a lot of information for discussion. Please feel free to give your thoughts on these or other Twins topics?

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Brandon Roberts, New Britain Rockcats

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

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Paul-Michael Klingsberg, Elizabethton Twins

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Liam Hendriks, Beloit Snappers

Sunday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Danny Rams, Beloit Snappers

Sunday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Edgar Ibarra, Elizabethton Twins

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday – Rochester 1, Pawtucket 2 – Armando Gabino made the start in this game, but he was held to just three innings for bigger and better reasons. In those three innings, he gave up no runs on one hit and two walks. Following the game, he was told that he will be headed to Minnesota to make a start on Tuesday night against the Orioles. Juan Morillo came in and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in just one inning. Tim Lahey then threw four shutout innings, giving up just two hits and one walk. He struck out three. The Red Wings managed just three hits in the game. Justin Huber went 1-2 with a walk and his 19^th home run. Brock Peterson went 1-2 with a walk.

Saturday – Rochester 5, Norfolk 4 – The Red Wings scored four runs in the bottom of the 9^th to record the come-from-behind win. Kevin Mulvey went the first seven innings and gave up just two unearned runs. He gave up four hits and two walks. Sean Henn struck out two in a perfect eighth frame. Rob Delaney gave up two runs on three hits in the 9^th inning, but he gets the win because of the comeback. Matt Tolbert went 3-5 with his third homer and two RBI. Dustin Martin and Brock Peterson each went 2-4. Danny Valencia hit his 17^th double.

Sunday – Rochester 6, Norfolk 2 – Back-to-back homers by Dustin Martin and Brock Peterson got things going. Later Matt Tolbert hit a bases-clearing, two out triple (his fifth of the season) to give the Red Wings a more comfortable lead. Martin went 2-3 with a walk and his fourth homer. Peterson was 2-4 and the homer was his eighth. Matt Macri hit his 21^st and 22^nd doubles in the game. Reid Santos threw well in the start. He gave up a run on four hits in six innings. Sean Henn threw a scoreless seventh. Rob Delaney gave up a run on a hit and a walk in 0.2 innings. Anthony Slama got the final four outs.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain 6, Reading 3 – Matt Fox won for the 9^th time this season. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 5.1 innings. He struck out seven. Carlos Gutierrez gave up a run on a walk in 1.2 innings. Spencer Steedley gave up a run and got two outs. Alex Burnett recorded his 5^th save by getting the final four outs, three of them on strikeouts. Get used to reading about Mr. Burnett in this update! Brandon Roberts went 3-5 with his 17^th double and his 17^th and 18^th stolen bases. Luke Hughes was 2-4 with his 10^th double and fifth home run. Steve Singleton went 2-4.

Saturday – New Britain 3, Reading 2 – Mike McCardell continues to impress since his AA debut. In seven innings, he gave up a run on six hits. He walked none and struck out two. Kyle Waldrop got two outs, but left after giving up a walk and a hit. Alex Burnett came in and got the final four outs, three of them on strikeouts, for his sixth save. He gave up a run on a hit and a walk. Brandon Roberts went 2-4 with his second triple. Steve Singleton went 3-4 with his ninth double. Juan Portes hit his sixth home run.

Sunday – New Britain 5, Reading 4 – Erik Lis doesn’t have as many doubles as a year ago, but he is still a doubles machine. In this game, he hit his 24^th and 25^th doubles. Juan Portes hit his 17^th and 18^th doubles. Luke Hughes was 2-4 with his 11^th double. Rene Tosoni hit his 15^th home run of the year. Cole DeVries gave up four runs on nine hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out five. Loek Van Mil and Spencer Steedley each threw a scoreless inning. And then Alex Burnett came in and got the final three outs to record his seventh save, and his third in three days!  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 7, Charlotte 1 – Steve Hirschfeld was impressive yet again. In this game, he threw seven shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out five. Bobby Lanigan struck out two in a perfect inning. Michael Allen gave up one run in the ninth. Chris Cates went 3-4. Mark Dolenc went 2-4 with his 17^th double. Chris Parmelee walked once and hit his 16^th home run.

Saturday – Ft. Myers 5, Charlotte 3 (10 innings) – Michael Tarsi pitched well again. He gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in seven innings. He struck out six. Joe Testa gave up an unearned run on one hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out three. Blair Erickson then pitched a scoreless inning. Ben Revere was 3-6. Mark Dolenc went 2-5 with his 23^rd stolen base. Joe Benson was 2-5.

Sunday – Ft. Myers 5, Charlotte 3 – It was All Romero All the Time in this game. Deibinson Romero went 3-4 with his third triple. Nick Romero was 2-4 with his third triple and fourth home run. Bobby Lanigan made the start and went the first five innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. Matt Williams struck out four in two scoreless innings. Henry Arias also worked two scoreless frames.      

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 9, Kane County 6 – Jeff Lanning drove in four runs on hit his second home of the year to lead the offense in this game. He was 2-4 in the game. Nathan Hansen went 3-4. Angel Morales went 2-4 with his 14^th and 15^th stolen bases and two runs driven in. Dan Osterbrock gave up an unearned run on three hits over 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out six. Kyle Carr got the next four outs. Brad Stillings came in for the eighth. He gave up two hits and a walk, and all three scored. He didn’t record an out. Billy Bullock gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in his inning. Dan Berlind pitched a perfect ninth.

Saturday – Beloit 4, Kane County 0 – Liam Hendriks was terrific again. He threw seven shutout innings. He gave up just one hits and walked one while striking out five. Thomas Wright got five outs and gave up three hits and two walks, but somehow did not allow a run. Billy Bullock came on and struck out the lone batter he faced. James Beresford went 2-4. Angel Morales went 1-3 with a walk, his 12^th home run, two runs driven in and his 16^th stolen base.

Sunday – Beloit 2, Kane County 3 – Danny Rams had a nice game on offense, but it wasn’t enough on this day. He went 3-3 with a walk and his 13^th and 14^th doubles. Angel Morales went 2-4 with his 20^th double. Drew Thompson hit his second home run. Brad Tippett started and went six innings. He gave up three runs on six this and two walks. He struck out five. Kyle Carr threw two scoreless innings ,before Dan Berlind gave up nothing in the ninth.

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Friday – Game 1 – Elizabethton 5, Pulaski 4 – Brian Dozier again led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and his 15^th double. Josmil Pinto was 2-4 with his 10^th home run. Paul-Michael Klingsberg went 2-3 with his 8^th double. Dan Rohlfing was 2-3 with his second triple. Jon Goncalves hit his fourth home run. Martire Garcia went just 4.1 innings. He gave up three runs on five hits and two walks. Dakota Watts gave up a run on one hits and one walk in 1.2 innings. Tony Davis struck out two in a scoreless inning.

Friday – Game 2 – Elizabethton 9, Pulaski 3 – Michael Gonzalez went 2-3 with a walk, his 11^th double, his sixth home run and three RBI. Chris Herrmann went 2-3 with a walk, his 12^th double and three RBI. Josmil Pinto and Steve Liddle each went 2-4. Angelo Sanchez started and gave up three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out seven. Jhon Garcia went two shutout innings.  

Saturday – Elizabethton 6, Pulaski 5 (13 innings) – Tom Stuifbergen gave up three runs on eight hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Ramon Acosta threw two shutout innings. Kelvin Mota gave up two runs on two hits in three innings. He walked none and struck out five. Peter Kennelly got the win by striking out four in two shutout innings. Anderson Hidalgo singled in Steve Liddle with what proved to be the winning run in the 13^th inning. It was Hidalgo’s third hit of the game. Chris Herrmann went 3-6 with his 13^th double. Paul-Michael Klingsberg was 3-5 with a walk, his ninth double and first home run. Liddle went 2-3 with three walks. Michael Gonzalez and Derek McCallum each had two hits.  

Sunday – Elizabethton 9, Greeneville 1 – Edgar Ibarra improved to 6-2. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out ten. Kane Holbrook struck out four in two one-hit innings. All nine E-Twins hitters had one hit. Derek McCallum hit his third home run and four RBI. Anderson Hidalgo went 1-2 with three walks and his 13^th double. Herbert Lara went 1-2 with two walks.    

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Saturday – GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 3 – Michael Tonkin gave up just an unearned run in the first six innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out five. Oswaldo Sosa gave up an unearned run on  two hits and a walk in two innings. Jan Rehacek gave up an unearned run but struck out two in an inning. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4 with his eighth double and fourth home run. As you would expect based on the word “unearned” uttered so frequently in this paragraph, it wasn’t a great day for the Twins defense. The team had seven errors.

Sunday – GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 5 – BJ Hermsen lost for just the second time this season. In four innings, he gave up four runs on five hits. He walked none and struck out three. Edison Alvarez threw two shutout innings. Jean Mijares gave up a run on a hit and three walks in two innings. Hyeong-rok Choi went 2-5 with his fifth double. Oswaldo Arcia hit his ninth and 10^th doubles in four at bats.  

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

Answering Questions

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Yesterday, I invited readers to e-mail me some True or False, or Yes or No, questions. Several people took me up on the offer, so here are their questions, with my responses:

From Jay:

What is OPS and how is it figured.

I use it often and really have never taken a step back to explain what it is.  Simply stated, OPS = (On Base Percentage) Plus (Slugging Percentage). Basically it is admitting that Batting Average means very little. What is important are how often you get on base, and when you do get hits, how many total bases are there. This statistic combines those things. It’s a nice summary statistic, but like all other stats, it is just one measure. I still like to look at the slash stats (BA/OBP/SLG) because looking at those three numbers says a lot. For a hitter like Denard Span, I’m not terribly concern about his power output, but I will take most note o his on base percentage.           

From Jay:

If a team, say the Twins, signs a big time free agent.  What is the chance that free agent draws enough extra tickets to cover most of their salary?  Brett Favre is a great example for the Vikings.  But say the Twins had signed Mark Texiera last season for 15 million per, how many more tickets would have been sold and revenue generated by that?  Is it not even measurable?  The Yankees reported that after trading for and extended A-Rod that they sold so many thousand season tickets in a week and that made the contract seem light.  What are your thoughts? 

That is a tough question. I mean, doesn’t Yankees Stadium sell out either way? Where are all these extra fans sitting? Whereas the Vikings have had trouble with blackouts in the past, and the signing of Favre means that should not be a problem again. My personal opinion is that the Twins would not have many more fans with Teixeira on the roster than they do now, so certainly they would not gain an extra $15 million by signing him.

From Topper Anton:

T or F: Nick Punto is the starting shortstop next year.

There is not a worse player in the American League. (Looking at VORP, only Aubrey Huff ranks lower than Punto.) I personally think that the Twins should release Punto and eat the $4 million or so that he is owed for 2010. The reality is that if he is around next year, Gardy will find a way to keep playing himself. That’s why the best thing to do would be to release him and protect Gardy from himself. That said, I will hope False, but I will say True.

From Topper Anton:

T or F: All 5 original starters from this year break camp in the rotation again for 2010.

From Dean:

T or F: True or false:  The Twins rotation for next year will include at least 4 of current starters (Liriano, Perkins, Slowey, Blackburn, & Baker)

Topper, False. Dean, True. I believe that to start the 2010 season, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Francisco Liriano and Nick Blackburn should get another chance. That leaves the final starting spot open for a veteran, Glen Perkins, Anthony Swarzak, Kevin Mulvey, Jeff Manship or others.

From Brent:

T or F: The Twins rotating outfield of Cuddyer, Gomez, Span, and Young will stay in tact for the 2010 season.

Wow, that is a great question. I am going to say false. I think they need to do something. What? I’m not sure, and frankly, I don’t know that there is really a ‘right’ answer to this dilemma.

From Brent:

T or F: We will see Liriano working from the bullpen going forward.  It’s evident that he still has the stuff (and at rare times, domination) to make him an effective big league pitcher, however his apparent lack of sustained focus and control could have him much better suited for relief work.

False, but I do agree with your reasoning. I think that they need to shut him down for the year, and if he comes back this year, maybe he should be in the bullpen. But I do think that he’s got the stamina to start, and I think you have to give him one more shot. 

From Dean:

I would have thought improbable at the start of the year but are the Yankees going to win the World Series?

I would put their odds at 25% As you know, I believe that the playoffs are kind of a crap shoot. Eight teams make the playoffs, so I would put their odds of winning the World Series at 12.5% However, as they will likely win the AL East, they will probably play the AL Central champion in the first round. That means that they will be in the final four teams, which is why I put their odds at 25% 

From Rick:

Should the Twins acquire Jon Garland?

I’m all for a veteran innings eater, but I would rather have someone who pitches well for those innings. And, I would think the Twins could get two veteran innings eaters for Garland’s 2010 salary of $10 million.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Wilson Ramos, New Britain Rockcats

Thursday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Santos Arias, Ft. Myers Miracle

ROCHESTER REPORT

Thursday – Rochester 5, Pawtucket 3 – The Red Wings got two walks to start the top of the ninth, and those were followed by four runs on four hits to give the Red Wings the lead. Dustin Martin went 2-3 with a walk and his 23^rd stolen base. Danny Valencia went 2-4. R.A. Dickey went six shutout innings before giving up two runs (1 earned)  in the 7^th. Tim Lahey gave up a run on two hits in the 8^th inning. With the lead, Anthony Slama got the ball and recorded his first AAA save with a perfect ninth.

ROCKCAT RECAP

Thursday – New Britain 7, Binghamton 2 – Deolis Guerra improved to 6-2 on this game. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on five hits. He walked none and struck out six. Spencer Steedley went the inal 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk. Wilson Ramos went 3-4 with a walk. Brian Dinkelman hit his 36^th double and his eighth home run. Steve Singleton was 2-4 with his eighth double. Whit Robbins went 1-2 with two walks.

MIRACLE MEMOS

Thursday – Ft. Myers 3, Charlotte 5 – Santos Arias had another strong start. He went the first eight innings and gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out four. Henry Arias gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in the 9^th inning. Evan Bigley went 2-3 with his 22^nd double. Alejandro Machado went 2-4.

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Thursday – Beloit 5, Kane County 1 – Ramon Santana went 2-3 with a walk, his ninth home run and his sixth stolen base. Aaron Hicks went 2-3 with a walk and his sixth and seventh stolen bases. James Beresford  went 2-4 with his14th steal. Bruce Pugh started and went the first 4.2 innings. He gave up one unearned run on four hits. He walked three and struck out eight. Thomas Wright came in and went 2.1 innings in which he allowed only a walk. Winston Marquez and Steve Blevins each worked a scoreless inning.    

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Thursday – Elizabethton, Pulaski – Postponed by Rain.  

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Thursday – GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 5 – Adrian Salcedo started and gave up three unearned runs on four hits in 6.2 innings. He walked none and struck out six. Nelvin Fuentes came in and got he final out of the 7^th inning, but not until he allowed two more runs to score. Jhon Gonzalez struck out two in a perfect inning. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4 with his second triple. The G-Twins managed just five hits.  

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

Comeback Twins… and MAUER

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net - 

Two days in a row, the Twins have fallen behind in the early innings. On Tuesday, it was Carl Pavano. On Wednesday, it was Scott Baker. But on each night, the Twins had a big inning and made a comeback complete. Baker was able to work into the 6^th inning, and then Jose Mijares came in and put forth his best effort of the year. He immediately got a much-needed double play to end the 6^th inning. He then was perfect through the 7^th and 8^th innings before Joe Nathan completed the game with a scoreless ninth. The win puts the Twins back to 5.5 games behind the division-leading Tigers.  

JOE MAUER – Everyone is talking about him, putting his numbers this year (and his career), up against the greats of the game. And rightfully so. In my approximately 25 years of really following baseball, I have never seen a baseball season like Joe Mauer is having, not with the Twins. Barry Bonds is the best hitter I have seen. Albert Pujols is right there. But Mauer’s added power, continued on-base skills and flirtation with .400 is something you just don’t see from a catcher. Asked yesterday what this means for the odds of the Twins signing Mauer to an extension, I insist that this is really putting the Twins in a bad spot. Simply put, they can’t trade Mauer, not with a new, publicly funded stadium opening next year. They don’t want him to become a free agent after 2010 or the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets representatives will put a contract in front of him with a Blank before the Years and another Blank right after the dollar sign. So, they really need to sign him this offseason, but the fact that he’s having an historic season means that his value is as high as it will ever be.

So what do they do? What should the Twins offer? I truly believe that Mauer would prefer to spend his career with the Twins. However, at no point since the Twins drafted him first overall has he accepted a “hometown discount.” Again, if he becomes a free agent, you have to assume that those aforementioned big spending teams will consider offering Mauer eight, or even ten, year deals. They could offer as much as $25-28 million per year. Could the Twins sign him now, or early this offseason for something closer to six years and $126 million? Is that fair for both sides?

The Twins are in a horrible spot. If they don’t come up with huge dollars, and Mauer were to walk, they would be considered cheap. However, the additional revenues brought in by Mauer could make up for some of his salary, right? Is it possible that the right “baseball decision” would be to trade Mauer? Imagine the package of current young talent and big-time prospects the team could get for him. Adding several possible impact players for one makes sense, if the package is correct. The Twins have to remember that Mauer is a catcher, and with that there is the normal reduction in performance once the catcher is on the wrong side of 30. Much of Mauer’s value comes from the fact that he is a catcher. He is not as valuable if he DHs.

And finally, I am always feeling the need to write this paragraph, and I don’t know why. Is anyone else annoyed by some people’s need to bash Justin Morneau in an attempt to make Joe Mauer look better. First, Joe Mauer looks just fine all by himself. Secondly, Justin Morneau is a great player. I understand that there are many more strong offensive 1B than catchers, but that only means that Joe Mauer is better than an average catcher than Justin Morneau is better than the average 1B. The fact is that that Twins are very lucky to have both.

And they are lucky to have Denard Span and Jason Kubel. Those four players are all top 10-15 players in the league. Michael Cuddyer is having a very good year. The Twins have five very good hitters in there lineup, but it is a great reminder that no one player or no five players alone can win. It takes a 25 man roster, and with injuries and such, it really takes the entire 40 man roster.

So… what do you do about Mauer? It’s easy to say “Sign him!”, but tell me how, and be sure to think about how it affects other decisions for the team.

SEND QUESTIONS –

I’d like to welcome everyone to send me two True or False, or Yes or No, questions. I will answer them for tomorrow’s blog! I did this one other time and said people could ask up to three questions, and I had to post three separate blogs. So, send your questions to me and I will answer them.  

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Dustin Martin, Rochester Red Wings

Wednesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Yohan Pino, Rochester Red Wings

ROCHESTER REPORT

Wednesday – Game 1 – Rochester 6, Pawtucket 0 – Yohan Pino continues to impress as a AAA starter. In this game, he threw eight shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, walked on and struck out eight. Anthony Slama struck out two in his perfect ninth inning. Matt Tolbert went 3-5 with his ninth double. Danny Valencia hit his 15^th and 16^th doubles. Dustin Martin went 2-3 with a walk and his 21^st steal. Drew Butera went 2-4.

Wednesday – Game 2 – Rochester 5, Pawtucket 1 – Jason Jones returned to the starting staff in this game. He did well. He gave up one run on four hits and two walks in seven innings. Sean Henn and Tim Lahey each threw one scoreless inning. Trevor Plouffe went 2-4 with his 20^th double. Brock Peterson and Dustin Martin were also 2-4. Martin stole his 22^nd base. Justin Huber went 2-5 with his 19^th double.     

ROCKCAT RECAP

Wednesday – Game 1 – New Britain 5, Binghampton 7 – This game actually started the day before but was suspended. Mike McCardell started and pitched the two innings on Tuesday. He gave up one run. Frank Mata started the third inning and got just one out, but not before allowing four runs on three hits and a walk. Kyle Waldrop went the next 3.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits. Loek Van Mil gave up a run on two hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. (An observer at the game said Van Mil hit 97, and sat consistently between 94 and 96 according to the field’s radar gun.) Spencer Steedley got the final two outs. Yancarlos Ortiz went 3-4 with two RBI. Whit Robbins went 2-4 with his 19^th double. Brandon Roberts went 2-5. Rene Tosoni went 1-3 with two walks.

Wednesday – Game 2 – New Britain 6, Binghampton 1 – Ryan Mullins recorded his ninth win of the season in this game. In six innings, he gave up one run on six hits. He walked none and struck out three. Alex Burnett gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, in the 7^th inning. Brandon Roberts was 2-3 with three runs scored and his 16^th base. Rene Tosoni was 2-3 with his 14^th home run and two RBI. Brian Dinkelman went 2-3 with his 35^th double and two RBI.   

MIRACLE MEMOS

Wednesday – Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 3 – Tyler Robertson put together another strong start. He went the first seven innings. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out seven. Bobby Lanigan got the 8^th inning. He gave up one run on one hit. Blair Erickson recorded his 13^th save with a scoreless ninth. The Miracle won despite just five hits. The big hit was a solo home run off the bat of Joe Benson in the top of the 9^th that gave the Miracle the lead and eventually the win. It was his fifth homer of the year. Ben Revere stole his 40^th base.  

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Wednesday – Beloit – No Game Scheduled.  

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Wednesday – Elizabethton – No Game Scheduled.  

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Wednesday – GCL Twins 3, GCL Reds 6 – Eliecer Cardenas started and went just three innings. He gave up five runs (1 earned) on four hits and a walk. Raynard Doran threw two perfect innings. Jean Mijares gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Leonardo Parra gave up an unearned run in his inning. Richard Calcano had a perfect 9^th inning. The Twins managed just five hits. Kennys Vargas went 2-3 with a walk and a three run homer (his third homer of the year). Trayvone Johnson went 2-4. Nick Freitas was 1-2 with two walks.  

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