What Happened? Part 2: Roster Construction

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Yesterday we discussed just how many injuries that the Twins had in 2011 and the effect they had throughout the season. Today, I want to discuss another glaring issue of the 2011 season.

When the Twins lost in three games to the Yankees again in the first round of the playoffs last year, it was pretty clear that they needed to add some pieces to the roster. However, even with a 15-20% increase in payroll, the Twins would be at about $110 million. However, much of that increase went to the annual raises to players in arbitration, increases in salaries, and in particular, a $10 million raise to their All-Star catcher. In other words, the payroll would go up, but it was unrealistic to expect the same group back. Then again, if a team stays the same, they really go backwards because other teams make improvements. So, what did the Twins do?

The QUESTION MARKS

Let’s look back at what we felt were the Twins biggest question marks going into the 2011 season.

1.)     The Middle Infield – In 2010, the Twins got solid, veteran play from Orlando Hudson at 2B and JJ Hardy at shortstop. In the offseason, the Twins decided that speed was something that they needed, and instead of obtaining speed to roam around in the outfield, they decided to add it in the middle infield. JJ Hardy missed about 60 games due to injury from a slide into 3B on a game-tying double early in the season. He had a couple of flare-ups as well from coming back too soon. He was a major disappointment, posting an OPS just over .700. However, even in a poor season, he played very good defense. Despite lack of foot speed, he showed great range and a strong arm, making all of the plays. Hudson was terrific in the first half of the season for the Twins and solidified the #2 spot in the lineup. He really struggled offensively and defensively in the second half of the season.

As much as Hudson is not missed in the clubhouse, it is pretty clear that both Hudson and Hardy were missed in 2011. Hardy ended up agreeing to a deal before going to arbitration that was less than anticipated. Obviously no one could have anticipated the number of home runs that he has hit in Baltimore this year. No one believes he would be anywhere near that home run total if he played with the Twins this year. But we do know that he would solidify the Twins infield.

The Twins decided that Alexi Casilla had shown enough in a reserve role in 2010 to earn a starting gig in the middle infield in 2011. It was hard to argue, although he was definitely a question mark. After a horrible April and losing his job for about 10 games to Trevor Plouffe, he was terrific in late May and for much of the rest of the season. That is, until he pulled his hamstring in late July.

The Twins spent nearly $5 million for the rights to negotiate with Nishioka, a batting champ and gold glove winner at both 2B and 3B in Japan. They then signed him to a three year deal worth about $9 million. After about five or six games, he broke his leg and missed a couple of months. He returned as the starting shortstop. He was terrible with the glove and the bat, and frequently showed a lack of basic instincts. He has been better of late, but it is fair to say Year 1 of the Nishioka experience was a complete failure.

The Middle Infield was a huge question mark heading into the season, and it is fair to say that the end result was far worse than could have even been expected.

 

2.)     The Bullpen – Following the 2010 season, the Twins allowed free agent relievers Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Brian Fuentes and Jon Rauch leave via free agency. Oh, and Randy Flores and Ron Mahay were let go too. The Twins agreed to terms with Matt Capps for about $7 million to avoid arbitration, a move that was roundly criticized, and yet, Capps was to be the loan certainty in the Twins bullpen heading into spring.

Joe Nathan was coming back from Tommy John surgery. Pat Neshek was in his second year back from Tommy John. Jose Mijares had a rough 2010, but the assumption was he would be better. The Twins had the likes of Anthony Slama, Jeff Manship, Glen Perkins, Chuck James, Jim Hoey, Anthony Swarzak and several more arms were vying for spots just a few spots after Nathan, Mijares and Capps.

The assumption was, and I fully subscribed to it, that the bullpen could be easily filled from within. Unfortunately, that is clearly not true after what we have seen in the Twins bullpen this year. Granted, the front office deserves a ton of credit for maintaining faith in lefty Glen Perkins who has been easily the Twins best reliever all season. Not one person reading this thought that would be the case. Nathan was given the closer’s role, and he gave it back to Capps, and it wasn’t too much longer before Capps gave it back to Nathan. Jeff Manship and Anthony Slama have had frustrating, injury-filled seasons and have not been able to contribute to the Twins. Jim Hoey throws hard, but isn’t able to hit the strike zone, as his track record indicated. Jose Mijares was a mess. The team DFAd Neshek who was then claimed by the Padres.

The one reliever that I wanted the Twins to pony up for was Crain. The others, I would have let them go too, so I’m not saying I would have done too much differently. However, clearly, the bullpen has been a huge issue.

3.)     We need an Ace – The argument was made that the Twins needed an Ace at the top of their rotation. Most of us argued that although his mental toughness could be questioned, Francisco Liriano’s 2010 gave us a glance at how good he had been in 2006 and hopefully could be again. The Twins were rather wise to not give Liriano a long-term extension for the type of dollars that he would have wanted. Liriano has been a mess. Even with his no-hitter, he walked a bunch. It has been a frustrating year for Liriano. Zach Greinke was available for way too much, and although some minor trades happen within the division, it is rare for a deal of that kind of magnitude to happen. The Blue Jays sent Shaun Marcum to the Brewers for 3B Brett Lawrie. Marcum is not an ace, but a very solid 2 or 3 to fit in well with Greinke and Yovani Gallardo. Those were the aces that were available and realistic last offseason. I don’t think that aces (and there are like a dozen at most out there) are as readily available as people think.

4.)     Starting Pitching – Although the Twins had six starters for five big league rotation spots and Kyle Gibson just waiting in the wings, there were question marks with the rotation. The Twins stood by their guys, and in fact, gave Carl Pavano two years and $16.5 million to stay. There was no way that Pavano would match his 2010 season. Nick Blackburn and Brian Duensing proved the stat-folks right by being not-too-good. Scott Baker was the one guy who stepped up and finally reached the level we thought he would, but then he got hurt. Again, the “pitch to contact”, don’t strike anyone out philosophy just is not going to work in the playoffs, much less over a long season.

5.)     The Bench – Jim Thome, Jason Repko, Matt Tolbert, Drew Butera – Pretty much the same bench as 2010. It was fine in 2010 because there weren’t injuries. The Twins weak bench showed through in 2011 with all the injuries. And, when there were weaker bats in the lineup, like Nishioka, etc., there weren’t many bench options. We knew all along that if something happened that caused Joe Mauer to miss a lot of time, the team would be in trouble. They traded Jose Morales (not a big deal) and brought in Butera clones, Rene Rivera and Steve Holm. They would be fine if Butera missed time, but the backup catching issue was exposed by Mauer’s injury.

The series on what went wrong will continue in the next days. There are so many reasons, and some do inter-lap a little bit. For instance, the Twins could have decided to trade Delmon Young last offseason, but coming off of a season in which he hit .300/20/110, and is still just 25 years old, I can understand not trading him and believing that he could maintain or even improve upon that. That would be an example of a player not living up to the expectations put upon them. Maybe that’s the player’s fault. Maybe it’s the front office’s fault for believing that. Maybe it is fans’ fault for having high hopes. But players no living up to their expectations is another area  that I will take a look at.

But for today, talk about the roster construction of the 2011 season. The front office deserves some heat for it, although I would caution that if any of us would have been in that position, our moves could be criticized too. It’s easy to say I would have done this, or would have done that, but when you actually have to do those things, and you have to work within a certain dollar figure, you have to make decisions. I think that sometimes fans don’t’ realize just how difficult the job is. And at the same time, the GM has to be held accountable for decisions made, good or bad. So, I do believe that this conversation is more than fair.  

What are your thoughts? Comment here.

Which Twins Should Go to the AFL?

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Sometime today, the Arizona Fall League rosters will be announced. Typically each team will send six players to Arizona. Sometimes a team will get a seventh player. The Twins don’t always send just their top prospects. First, players must have ended the season at Double-A or Triple-A, although there are now two spots that can go to players from High-A. Players who are from countries that have winter leagues (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico) are not eligible. (Note – I am not certain if this includes Australia now that the Australian Winter League will be going into its second season). Also, the Twins seem to like spreading the AFL opportunity around. Chris Parmelee went there the last two years, but generally it is rare for a Twins prospect to go their twice.

So, who do you think will be the six players sent to the Arizona Fall League? Here are the six that I would want to go there:

1. Brian Dozier – half season at New Britain, it’ll be great for him to play with and against some great prospects.
2. Alex Wimmers – Now that he’s throwing strikes, it’s time for him to get some innings.  
3. Joe Benson – Was in the AFL a couple of years ago, but didn’t play a lot.
4. Dakota Watts – Hard-throwing bullpen arm would be served well to get more experience.
5. Tom Stuifbergen – missed a few starts early in the season. Opportunity to get a few more innings.
6. Chris Herrmann – can play outfield and get some time behind the plate too.

UPDATE – The AFL Rosters were announced late yesterday afternoon. The Twins will send RHP Cole DeVries, LHP Scott Diamond, RHP Brett Jacobson, RHP Bruce Pugh, SS Brian Dozier, C/OF Chris Herrmann, and OF Aaron Hicks.

 

Any thoughts on which players the Twins should send to the AFL?? Comment here.

What Happened? Part 1 (The Injuries)

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

A long-time reader of this site e-mailed me last week and thought that a series on what went wrong for the Twins in 2011 would be appropriate, and I completely agree. The Twins came into the season having won six American League Central division titles in the previous nine years. The team returned what was believed to be a pretty formidable lineup to compete for another opportunity in the playoffs. And the team had six starting pitchers who had shown some level of big league success. The team now had a payroll over $110 million, but most of that was used on raises, particularly the $10 million raise to their All Star catcher.

But pretty much right from the start, it all went bad. At one point, the team fell to 17-37, and then Jason Kubel and Jim Thome had to go on the Disabled List. But in June, the Twins were excellent and played well enough in July so that on the day of the July Trade Deadline, the team could have been just four games out of the division lead. They decided to ‘go for it.’ But at that point, all went bad. The team has been horrible in August and is now 22 games below .500. In fact, when Monday night’s game in Chicago started, only three teams in all of Major League Baseball had a lower winning percentage than the Twins.

Over the next few days, I’ll be working on a series trying to consider many of the reasons that things went so bad. (There are many!) There were some roster decisions that clearly have not worked out as hoped. There is the bullpen. There is the bad starting pitching. There are all the young guys playing. There have been questionable decisions by the manager and management. Some players have not met their expectations. Everyone and every aspect of the organization deserve part of the blame.

Today, I am going to start with what, in my mind, has been the most prevalent reason for such a bad season. Some will call it an excuse, and it is. It would be naïve to say that injuries are solely the reason for the Twins horrific 2011 season. It would also be unfair to say that the injuries did not play a MAJOR role in the way things went in 2011.

Here is the Twins Opening Day Lineup: Denard Span, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Danny Valencia, Alexi Casilla.

Here is a look at the number of days that the players in the Opening Day Lineup have been on the Disabled List: Denard Span (65), Tsuyoshi Nishioka (69), Joe Mauer (63), Justin Morneau (57), Delmon Young (31), Michael Cuddyer (0), Jason Kubel (51), Danny Valencia (0), Alexi Casilla (29).

Others who have spent time on the DL include: Kevin Slowey (83), Jim Thome (43), Jason Repko (33), Scott Baker (26), Joe Nathan (26), Glen Perkins (24), Jose Mijares (15), Francisco Liriano (10), Nick Blackburn (7).

All told, through today, the Twins have lost over 630 days due to players being on the Disabled List. That doesn’t count Michael Cuddyer missing nine games a couple of weeks ago due to a sore neck. It doesn’t include Joe Mauer missing the last five games with his neck issue. Delmon Young was in the lineup one night after missing a week of games, decided he couldn’t play, and was put on the DL after the game. Francisco Liriano has been on the Disabled List just ten days, but that is two DL stints because of retroactivity of the DL. The same thing happened to Scott Baker around the All-Star break.

Ironically, you may recall that the Twins left spring training as one of two teams without anyone on the Disabled List. The other was the Cubs. Here is a quick look at the players who went on the Disabled List each month:

• April – Tsuyoshi Nishioka (4/7), Kevin Slowey (4/9), Joe Mauer (4/14), Delmon Young (4/27)
• May – Jim Thome (5/3), Jason Repko (5/4), Jose Mijares (5/15), Glen Perkins (5/22), Kevin Slowey (5/26), Joe Nathan (5/28), Francisco Liriano (5/30)
• June – Jim Thome (6/2), Jason Kubel (6/2), Denard Span (6/10), Justin Morneau (6/15), Denard Span (6/23), Delmon Young (6/26)
• July – Scott Baker (7/17), Alexi Casilla (7/29)
• August – Scott Baker (8/9), Jason Repko (8/12), Denard Span (8/18), Nick Blackburn (8/22), Francisco Liriano (8/26)

It’s been a frustrating year for Mauer because he was never healthy or strong. Justin Morneau had returned from the concussion symptoms only to go on the DL and need surgery on his neck that was causing him to lose feeling in his hand. Span ended up with a concussion from sliding feet-first into home plate, and has not been able to come back from it. Jason Kubel hurt his foot. Remember at the time of Kubel’s injury, he was the “easy choice” as the Twins All-Star representative. Once he was out, then Span picked it up and he was the clear-cut choice for the Twins representative. Scott Baker was pitching incredibly well leading into the All-Star game and finally starting to be that bulldog that so many Twins fans wanted him to be, and he has been hurt since. These guys that missed so much time are core players that obviously meant a lot to the Twins postseason chances.

Obviously when a player returns from the DL, you never know what you’re going to get. Some come back alright. Most take a few games to get it back. The Twins have lost all-stars and key contributors for anywhere from a quarter to a half of the Twins games. That is not insignificant. It can’t be overlooked.

Last year, Danny Valencia was able to come up and be the one rookie player contributing to the regular lineup for most of the second half. This year, he has been one of three or four “veteran” players to be in the lineup along with backups and minor leaguers pushed before they were ready, out of necessity. To varying degrees, some of experienced some success. But when injuries force a situation where there are so many backups, and players with less than two years of experience in the big leagues have to play a lot, it can’t be good. Again, that’s not an excuse for poor play, but to expect backups and guys who should be playing in AAA to compete against lineups of veterans and be successful over the long-term may not be realistic.

It has been a long, frustrating year for the Twins and their fans. It’s also, certainly, been a long year for the Twins players and coaches. Frankly, I think that the area that the Twins need to have the most serious discussions about is the training staff. They should develop an appropriate offseason workout plan for players, and set expectations. Francisco Liriano was ridiculed by the Twins coaching staff for coming to spring training out of shape, having not done his shoulder exercises. Recently, it has become noted that Joe Mauer needs to do something differently in his offseason. Justin Morneau’s offseason workout has generally been called too strenuous. There are so many instances of injury. There have been so many instances where a player is said to be out for a day or two and winds up out for eight to ten days, or even put on the DL then. What needs to be done? I don’t know. I’m not a physical therapist or a trainer or a doctor or anything that should even be pretending to know what I’m talking about or what the answers are. All I know is that there are a lot of questions that the organization needs to address this offseason.

As I said above, injuries have been a huge reason for the Twins horrible season. They are not the only reason. However, it would be naive to gloss over them as if they weren’t there. In my mind, it was the number one issue for the 2011 season.

——————–

• Over at SethSpeaks.net, I’ll continue to look at more of the reasons for the Twins terrible 2011, such as Roster Construction, and many more.
• Miguel Sano hit his 19^th and 20^th home runs last night for Elizabethton in their 6-5 win over Princeton. Appy League MVP Eddie Rosario hit his 21^st homer. Both have been incredible in the last month as they have led the E-Twins back to the playoffs.
• Although the New Britain Rock Cats lost 10-5 last night to Richmond, Reading also lost. The Rock Cats remain ½ game ahead of the Phillies Double-A affiliate for the final wild card spot in the Eastern League playoffs.
• Finally, a huge congratulations to former NDSU baseball player Neil Wagner who was called up yesterday to pitch in the bullpen of the Oakland A’s.
• Also, congratulations to former Twins prospect, Shoreview native and all-around good guy Mark Hamburger who yesterday was promoted to the Texas Rangers. Remember, he signed with the Twins after a tryout camp at the Metrodome. Then, nearly three years ago to the date, he was dealt to Texas for Eddie Guardado. The hard thrower has been starting this year but could spend time in the Rangers bullpen the rest of this season.
• For much more on the Twins minor league system, be sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly podcast.

E-Twins Clinch Playoff Spot; Rock Cats Getting Closer

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

• Be sure to listen to Thursday night’s episode of Twins Minor League Weekly.
• Check out Roger’s Weekly Minor League Report at Twinkie Town.

The Twins lost yet again. They are bad.  Oh yeah, I started with that yesterday. Well, it remains true… The story was different for a couple of the Twins minor league affiliates

ELIZABETHTON TWINS CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH

Ray Smith has led his Elizabethton team back to the playoffs in 2011. The E-Twins clinched a playoff spot on Saturday with a 5-3 win over Bluefield. Derek Christensen started and gave up just one run on three hits in six innings. He walked three, hit one and struck out five. Justin Parker and Cole Johnson pitched a scoreless inning each. Corey Williams came in for the ninth, but he gave up a hit and walked a batter before Matt Summers was brought in and got the final three outs. The save was Summers’ sixth of the year, and Christensen improved to 5-2.

The E-Twins box scores have become must-see internet! Whenever the team is playing, it’s almost necessary to watch the box score to see what Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano can do next. On Saturday, Rosario went 3-5 with his eighth triple and his 16^th and 17^th stolen bases. Sano went 2-4 with a walk and his 18^th home run. Max Kepler went 2-4 with a walk. Rory Rhodes went 0-1 with three walks.

NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS WIN LATE AGAIN

The Rock Cats had won with some late inning heroics the previous two games. Could they do it again? The Rock Cats jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Joe Benson’s 15^th home run, a two-run blast. They added two, but in the bottom of the fourth, Matt Schuld gave up four runs and the game was tied at four. It remained that way until the top of the seventh inning. The Rock Cats loaded the bases for Chris Parmelee who came up with a big two-run single. On the play, there was also an error that allowed Joe Benson to score from first base. The Rock Cats had a 7-4 lead that they were able to hold on to.

Schuld started and gave up those four run on five hits in four innings. He walked none and struck out three. Bret Jacobson threw two scoreless innings, and the Dakota Watts pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 7^th inning for his second AA save. Chris Herrmann went 2-3. Benson was 1-2 with two walks and that big home run.

Hurricane Irene did affect things. The teams were supposed to play two games (they had moved Sunday’s game to Saturday), but the second game was postponed. Looking at where Trenton is and where New Britain is, I can definitely understand why! The Reading Phillies played two games on Saturday and split which means that the Rock Cats currently have a ½ game lead for the wild card spot. The Rock Cats are 2.5 games back of Harrisburg for the division title.

THE REST STILL MATTER

The Ft. Myers Miracle traveled to Charlotte and swept a double header. In game 1, they won 3-0. Edgar Ibarra started and went five shutout innings. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five. Matt Hauser struck out three in the final two innings for his seventh save. Angel Morales went 2-4 with his sixth double. Anderson Hidalgo was 1-1 with two walks and his sixth home run.

In Game 2, the Miracle won 6-1. Caleb Thielbar started and threw two scoreless innings despite giving up a hit and walking three. Clinton Dempster gave up one run on four hits over the next two innings. Shooter Hunt threw four shutout innings. He gave up no hits, walked four and struck out four. Dan Rohlfing went 2-4 with his second home run. Aaron Hicks went 2-3 with a walk. James Beresford and Reggie Williams each went 2-4. Oswaldo Arcia went 1-3 with a walk, his 14^th double and two RBI.

The GCL Twins beat the GCL Red Sox 3-2. Angel Mata went four shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out five. Josue Montanez gave up one run on two hits and a walk. In two innings, he struck out three. Kyle Wahl improved to 5-1. He gave up one run on three hits in three innings. He walked one and struck out three. The Twins had just five hits. Drew Leachman was 1-2 with a walk. Stephen Wickens walked two.

The Rochester Red Wings fell 4-3 to Stephen Strasburg and Syracuse. The hard-throwing right-hander rehabbing from his Tommy John surgery went five innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked none and struck out seven. Andy Baldwin was on the mound for the Red Wings. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out six. Cole DeVries gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in his inning. Kyle Waldrop threw a scoreless inning. Ray Chang went 3-5. Toby Gardenhire went 2-3.

Beloit lost 6-2 to Clinton. Ryan O’Rourke started and gave up four runs on eight hits. In six innings, he walked none and struck out nine. Nelvin Fuentes gave up two unearned runs on two hits and two walks. Michael Tonkin threw a scoreless inning. Jairo Perez went 2-5 with his tenth steal. Lance Ray went 2-3 with a walk and his tenth stolen base. Andy Leer and Tobias Streich each hit a double.

Any thoughts? Comment here.

 

Twins Minors Playoff Push

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

 

• Be sure to listen to Thursday night’s episode of Twins Minor League Weekly.
• Check out Roger’s Weekly Minor League Report at Twinkie Town.

The Twins lost yet again. They are bad. The Rochester Red Wings will lose over 90 games this year. The Ft. Myers Miracle have had a bad second half after nearly winning their division title in the first half. The GCL Twins are in second place, but will not make the playoffs in the Gulf Coast League. The Beloit Snappers were competing for a Wild Card spot in the Midwest League until their recent losing streak. However, there are two Twins affiliates that do have a chance to make their league’s playoffs.

ELIZABETHTON TWINS

As they do pretty much every year, the E-Twins will most likely make the playoffs again this year. In fact, it is possibly that the team could clinch a spot today. They will finish in second place behind Johnson City, but the E-Twins are playing really well right now. They are being led by Appalachian League co-MVP Eddie Rosario, who has hit eight home runs in the team’s last ten games.

On Thursday, the E-Twins beat Bluefield (the team they could play in the first round of the playoffs) by a score of 17-8. Rosario went 3-5 with a walk and his 18^th and 19^th home runs. Matt Koch went 3-6 with his fourth and fifth doubles, his second home run and four RBI. AJ Pettersen went 3-4 with two walks. Niko Goodrum was 3-5. Miguel Sano went 2-6. Tyler Koelling went 2-4 with a walk. JD Williams was 2-6 with his third home run. Tyler Jones made his first start and gave up six runs on six hits and two walks in three innings. David Hurlbut came in and gave up just one run on five hits and a walk in five innings. Corey Williams finished the game.

On Friday, the E-Twins picked up an 11-4 win over Bluefield, who decided it wouldn’t let Rosario beat them. He went 0-1 before being walked the next four times he came to the plate, twice intentionally. Miguel Sano made them pay for it. He was 2-5 with his seventh triple, 17^th home run and five RBI. Nick Lockwood went 3-5 with a walk and his 11^th and 12^th doubles. Jairo Rodriguez was 3-5. Niko Goodrum went 2-4 with a walk, his 10^th double and eighth stolen base. Max Kepler was 2-4 with a walk. JD Williams was 2-5 with his 11^th double. Tim Shibuya, the Appalachian League’s Pitcher of the Year started and gave up just one run on three hits and a walk in six innings. He left with a 4-1 lead, in line for his 9^th win. However, Steven Gruver gave up three runs in the seventh inning to create a 4-4 tie. He got two outs in the 8^th inning before Steve Evans came in and got the final four outs.

Eddie Rosario is now hitting .317/.384/.635 (1.018 OPS) with nine doubles, seven triples, 19 home runs and 54 RBI. He also has 15 stolen bases, and he plays an incredible centerfield. In his last ten games, he is hitting. 417/.553/1.139 (1.692 OPS) with one triple, eight home runs and 16 RBI. He also has 11 walks with just six strikeouts. Over the same period, Miguel Sano is hitting .318/.388/.659 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and 16 RBI. In his last ten games, Niko Goodrum is hitting .459/.545/.649 (1.194 OPS) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and seven walks.  

NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS

Over the last two days the Rock Cats have made up two games in the standing and currently are tied with Reading for a wild card spot in the Eastern League playoffs.

On Thursday night, the Rock Casts grabbed an early 9-2 lead through seven innings when the game was delayed by rain. When they came back, Trenton scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 9-8. However, in the top of the 9^th, Chris Cates came through with a two-run single to score Yangervis Solarte and Joe Benson and give the Rock Cats some insurance and an 11-8 win. Spencer Steedley started and gave up two runs on five hits and a walk in five innings. Steve Hirschfeld gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings and struck out three. Michael Tarsi came in for the 8^th inning and faced five batters. He gave up three hits, and he and Cates each commented an error before Dakota Watts came in. Tarsi was charged with five runs (2 earned). Watts got two outs but gave up another run. Tyler Robertson came in and gave up another hit and walk in the 8^th but got out of that inning with the one run lead. He then got all three outs in the 9^th for his 16^th save. Chris Herrmann went 3-4 with his seventh home run and four RBI. Brian Dozier was 2-5 with his sixth double. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with his 26^th double. Evan Bigley was 2-5.

On Friday night, Andrew Albers gave the Rock Cats a chance to win. The lefty started and went the first six innings. He gave up one run on seven hits. Deolis Guerra came in for the 7^th inning and gave up a run. So, the Rock Cats were down 2-1, a deficit they faced until the top of the 9^th. However, with two runners on, Joe Benson hit a triple that gave the Rock Cats a 3-2 lead. Chris Parmelee came up next and singled in Benson for the 4-2 lead. Deolis Guerra went three innings and gave up just that one run. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out six for the Win. Benson was 1-3 with two walks and that big triple. Yangervis Solarte had two hits. Brian Dozier went 3-4.

The Rock Cats were to play two more games in Trenton over the weekend. However, they decided to move Sunday’s game to Saturday and play a double header. Of course, Hurricane Irene may have something to say about that as they have called a state of emergency in New Jersey for today.

THE REST STILL MATTERS

Hey, just because your favorite team or teams may not be in the playoff hunt doesn’t mean that we stop watching them, right? I mean, who wants to be a fair-weather fan!? Even in bad seasons and bad games, good things can happen.

For instance, the Rochester Red Wings played a double header on Friday against Syracuse, and they threw two of the organization’s best pitching prospects. In the first game, Liam Hendriks (who I expect to make a start for the Twins within the next eight to ten days) started and threw six shutout innings. He allowed five hits, walked none and struck out five. Jim Hoey then pitched a perfect seventh for his 8^th save. Sure, the Red Wings managed just three hits, but one of them was a big, two-run home run off the bat of Aaron Bates (his fifth).

In the second game, Tom Stuifbergen made his AAA debut. Not wanting to mess with the New Britain playoff hopes, the Red Wings called down to Ft. Myers and Stuifbergen was summoned. He gave up two runs in the first inning, and that was it. The Dutch right-hander gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in five innings for his first AAA win. He walked none and struck out five. Chuck James came in and got the final six outs for his first save. He walked three and struck out four. Jair Fernandez went 2-3 with his fifth double and first stolen base. Jeff Bailey was 2-2. Dustin Martin drove in two runs.

The GCL Twins lost 6-1 to the GCL Red Sox. Hung-yi Chen started and gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits in 1.2 innings. Ricardo Arevalo came in and gave up only an unearned run on two hits in 3.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Nick Cicio threw three one-hit, no-run innings. The Twins managed just five hits. Dereck Rodriguez went 2-3 with a walk.

The Ft. Myers Miracle got a nice start from Pat Dean and the offense for a 6-3 win over Charlotte. Dean gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out five. Ricky Bowen then gave up one run on three hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out three. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4. Dan Rohlfing went 1-2 with two walks. Reggie Williams was 1-2 with two walks and his first triple. Angel Morales hit his second home run, and Danny Rams hit his 15^th double and drove in three runs.

Beloit got a terrific start and some power in their 6-3 win over Burlington. Pedro Guerra started and gave up only an unearned run on four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out 11. In his 20 innings with the Snappers, he has nine walks and 34 strikeouts! Bart Carter then struck out two in two scoreless innings. Jose Gonzalez struck out three in his one-hit inning. Madison Boer then gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in his inning. He struck out two. Lance Ray went 2-4 with his 33^rd and 34^th doubles. Nate Roberts was 1-3 with his fourth home run. Andy Leer was 1-2 with a walk and his third home run.  

Care to share any thoughts? Comment here.

Thome Traded to Cleveland

There is no surprise in the move, and yet, it still doesn’t feel right. Placed on waivers yesterday, Jim Thome was claimed by the Cleveland Indians, and today, he is going to be a member of that team. At this time, we do not know who the Twins acquired in the trade.

Thome gave Twins fans nearly two seasons of terrific memories, and he did so with nothing but class. As I’ve said before, there are great players, there are heroes, but Jim Thome fits into the classification of “Legend.”

He hit that incredible home run last August to walk off against his old Chicago White Sox teammates. He had the two home run game to pass Harmon Killebrew on the home run list. And just over a week ago, he hit two home runs to join the very elite 600 home run club.

I know to some of his teammates, he was about so much more than just his prowess on the field. He was a mentor. He is as legit a person as their is. Remember earlier this year when Killebrew passed away, there was so much talk about what a great person he was that it almost minimized how great of a baseball player he was. It’s the same with Thome. Amazing man! Amazing ball player! There is no question that this move will sting the Twins clubhouse for awhile!

I know this year has been frustrating to be a Twins fan. I do think that trading Thome and other pieces that won’t be back next year is the right thing to do. But I for one am thrilled that, as a Twins fan, I got to see someone of the magnitude of Jim Thome, even if just for a short time! In a way, if this were to be the end of his illustrious career, it is fitting that it be in Cleveland, the team for which over 55% of his career home runs have been hit.

I don’t know if I can muster the energy to cheer for Cleveland, but I will always be cheering for Jim Thome!

For Your Listening Pleasure…

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Today, I give you a couple of links to some Twins-related podcasts:

• First, you NEED to listen to last night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. In it, you can hear me ramble incoherently on the state of the Twins. Topics included Brian Duensing, Kyle Gibson, the New Britain Rock Cats, Trevor Plouffe, Justin Morneau, Lester Oliveros, Jairo Perez, Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario, and much, much more. But I promise… there is NO mention of JJ Hardy!
• Also, be sure to check out Episode 2 of Gleeman and The Geek which is very good.
• If you want some good reading too, be sure to go to Over the Baggy for information on Brian Duensing’s struggles.
• The Baseball Outsider eyes the future as it relates to Duensing.
• NoDak Twins Fan asks What’s the Twins Biggest Problem?
• The Twins Fan from Afar looks back at the Good Ol’ Days.
• Puckett’s Pond looks at Starting Rotation Options.
• And, I’ve never been a big Jered Weaver fan, but I just may  be after his quote after signing a five year, $85 million contract. “If $85 million is not enough to take care of my family and other generations of my family, then you’re stupid.”  Love it!

Help Coming?

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

We hear so often that the Twins minor league system is bad, that there are not players ready to come up to the big leagues and contribute to the team. I think most Twins fans understand that the Twins have done a lot in the last two or three years to really improve the overall value and talent level of the minor league system. However, most of that high-end talent is in High-A Ft. Myers or lower levels. Names like Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Angel Morales, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano will pop up in Top Prospect lists very soon. But the Twins also have some very good talent in the upper levels as well.

I am often asked if there are any players in the Twins minor league system that can come up and contribute in 2012. The answer is absolutely Yes, but there are several angles to answering that question.

ALREADY THERE

In 2010, the Twins came into the season with a very veteran lineup. Not one rookie was in the everyday lineup to start the season. Alex Burnett was a surprise in the Opening Day bullpen despite zero innings pitched above Double-A. Danny Valencia came up in June and became a regular in July. Because he was the only rookie playing, there was little pressure on him and he went out and contributed mightily for the Twins down the stretch. In 2011, because of all of the injuries, Valencia has frequently been joined in the starting lineup for three or four players with less than a year of big league service time. That puts a lot of pressure on everyone in the lineup to do more than what they may be ready for. That isn’t good for the team and we have seen those struggles. Consider the current Twins roster. Here are the players with less than two years of big league service time: Valencia, Burnett, Drew Butera, Ben Revere, Trevor Plouffe, Luke Hughes, Rene Tosoni, Anthony Swarzak and now Lester Oliveros. We have seen already that Valencia can put up some numbers, including some power. We have seen the value of Ben Revere’s speed on the base paths and in the field. Trevor Plouffe has struggled with the glove, but he leads the organization in home runs this season. Luke Hughes was the story of spring training and has contributed a couple of home runs while playing 1B and 2B. Tosoni has shown patience at the plate and good power potential. Swarzak has been very important as the Twins long reliever and spot starter. Butera’s defense has proven to be as good as advertised. Burnett has shown signs of how good he can be out of the Twins bullpen. And, at this point, we don’t know anything about Lester Oliveros, other than that he throws hard, walks and strikes out a lot and is still just 23 years old. Again, that is a lot of players expected to contribute despite such little time. They have certainly struggled at times this year. However, most of these players have also shown that they can contribute to the Twins over the coming years. Valencia, Plouffe, Swarzak and Tosoni are guys who have been Top 10 Twins prospects and have the talent to contribute for years to come.

RETREADS AT ROCHESTER

The Twins went out of their way to appease the Rochester masses and brought in a ton of minor league veterans. After losing 95 games in 2010, the Twins wanted to give Rochester a more competitive team. It didn’t work. The Red Wings are currently 48-82 this season. Sure, guys like Phil Dumatrait and Chuck James have pitched for the Twins, but those veterans were not really brought in to help the Twins. They were brought in to help the Red Wings. Guys like Jeff Bailey and Chase Lambin really struggled early in the season. However, the real purpose in bringing in the veterans was so that the real prospects who were not ready for AAA were able to stay in New Britain and develop appropriately. The best players of the Red Wings were the prospects. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, all those injuries meant that the Red Wings carousel was continuous again throughout the season. The Twins again called to Rochester frequently, taking the pitchers and top hitters from the Red Wings. Plouffe was one of the International League’s best hitters. Revere, Hughes, and Tosoni were also all in the opening day lineup for the Red Wings.

There are prospects in Rochester, but at this point, there are question marks with them.

• Scott Diamond – His best start of the season may have been his Major League debut when he went 6.1 innings and gave up three runs. It has been a real struggle for the lefty with the Red Wings. The 25-year-old has gone 4-14 with a 5.88 ERA. It will be very interesting to see how he responds with the team in 2012 because coming into the season, he had never posted an ERA above 3.52 at any stop along his trek up the Braves minor league system. That includes a 3.30 ERA in ten 2010 starts with Gwinnett, Atlanta’s AAA affiliate in the International League.
• Kyle Gibson – He came into the season as the Twins top prospect and rightfully so. The Twins top pick in 2009 made his minor league debut in 2010 and advanced from Ft. Myers to Rochester. He began the 2011 season with the Red Wings and went 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in the season’s first two months. He walked very few, got a ton of ground balls and even struck out a batter an inning. He was definitely on pace to debut with the Twins in 2011. Unfortunately, in his final eight starts, he went 0-5 with a 6.47 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. Clearly something wasn’t right, and he is currently in Florida rehabbing an elbow injury, hoping to avoid Tommy John surgery that would cost him his 2012 season. However, this does not make him a lesser prospect. It will just be 2013 before he is able to contribute to the Twins.
• Carlos Gutierrez – The Twins second first-round pick in 2008 has been a starting pitcher to start each of his previous seasons in the minors. This season he finally went full-time into the bullpen. He has had his ups and downs with the Red Wings. His overall numbers are not impressive. He is 2-3 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He almost made the Twins roster out of spring training. Control continues to be his problem at times. However, he also missed most of July with an arm injury and has struggled since his return. But again, in terms of ‘stuff,’ Gutierrez definitely has it. He throws hard and gets a lot of ground balls due to his sinker. He will play a role with the Twins at some point in 2012.
• Liam Hendriks – The Twins pushed Hendriks to AA New Britain to start the 2011 season and he pitched great. The Australian went 8-2 with a 2.70 ERA. Because of the need for pitching in Rochester, he was promoted after pitching in the Futures Game and in the Eastern League All-Star Game. He began his AAA tenure with three very good starts before two clunkers. His last two starts have again been solid. The 22-year-old has walked 21 and struck out 100 batters in 125.1 innings this year overall. Hendriks needs to be added to the 40 man roster following the season, so it is possible that he could get a September call-up.
• Kyle Waldrop – Another reliever who impressed in Spring Training (For the second straight year), Waldrop struggled in the first half this season. However, since the All-Star break, he has been wonderful. His big sinker ball has been in full effect for the last month and he should be given a September opportunity. If so, he will be another important possibility in the Twins bullpen in 2012.

PLAYOFFS FOR PROSPECTS

The New Britain Rock Cats are 64-64 this season, but they remain in contention for a spot in the Eastern League playoffs. Since the Twins and Red Wings (and Ft. Myers Miracle) are out of contention for the playoffs, there are some terrific prospects who are staying with the Rock Cats in an attempt to make the playoffs. Many believe that being on a winning team, and playing for the team, is an important part of the development process. I would say that it can’t hurt. But the Rock Cats also have several players who could contribute to the Twins in 2012. A couple could be in contention for an opening day spot while each of them could be seen at some point in the 2012 season. Here is a look at the top prospects:

• Joe Benson – The Twins Minor League Hitter of 2010, Benson has been a much better all-around player in 2011. He is hitting .284/.379.499 with 26 doubles, three triples and 14 home runs. He also has 13 stolen bases. All that, despite missing five weeks after knee surgery. Benson is an incredible athlete with tremendous power who is also probably the second fastest player in the organization after Ben Revere. Benson is also a terrific outfielder with great range and a rocket for an arm. His biggest area for needed improvement was his strikeout rate. In 2010, he struck out every 3.5 plate appearances. This year, that number is about four. Depending upon which outfielders the Twins bring back next year, Benson could play a very big role for the Twins starting in 2012.
• Chris Parmelee – Benson was the team’s second round pick in 2006. Parmelee was the team’s first round pick, and he backed up a very good 2010 with an even stronger 2011. The left-handed hitting first baseman is hitting .291.371/.451 with 27 doubles, five triples and 13 home runs. He does struggle against left-handed pitching. He has more power potential. It isn’t fair to expect him to be Justin Morneau offensively or defensively, but he can be a very solid big leaguer at 1B, maybe in the Lyle Overbay mold. He has a terrific approach at the plate, and if the Twins have a need at 1B in 2012, Parmelee will be ready to step in. He could also DH against right-handed pitching. He also can play a little bit of right field if needed.
• Brian Dozier – I would argue that no Twins minor leaguer has made a stronger impression in 2011 than Brian Dozier. The Twins surprised a lot of people when they invited Dozier to big league camp this spring. But he has come through with a tremendous season. It began in Ft. Myers and hit .322/.423/.472 in 49 games. In 64 games with the Rock Cats, he has hit .317/.384/.500. Overall, he has 30 doubles, 11 triples and seven home runs. He also has 24 stolen bases. As a top of the order hitter, he has 50 walks and 60 strikeouts. He profiles as a good #2 hitter. Twins minor league pitchers love when Dozier is playing shortstop behind them. With the struggles of Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the 24 year old Dozier should go to spring training with a legitimate opportunity to be the Twins starting shortstop.
• Yangervis Solarte – Solarte broke out in 2010 when he hit at Ft. Myers and got an opportunity with New Britain, but he got hurt and missed a couple of months. He began this season with the Rock Cats and he has hit the entire time. He hit .300 or higher in April, May, June and July. Overall, he has hit .320/.361/.441 with 30 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He doesn’t walk a lot, but he also strikes out only about once every 13 plate appearances. The only question with Solarte is if there is a position that he can play adequately. That will be the thing that will determine how big his future role with the Twins will be. The 24 year old has played primarily at second base and can also play both corner outfield positions, but not really well.
• Deolis Guerra – This may be a surprise name to many, especially if you look at his overall numbers in 2011, but Guerra has been terrific. Overall, he is 7-7 with a 5.83 ERA on the season. He began the year with ten starts. He went 3-5 with a 9.00 ERA. In 43 innings, he gave up 66 hits, walked 15 and struck out 30. Opponents hit .357. Then he was moved to the bullpen, and he has been great since. In 24 relief appearances,e he is 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA. In 45 innings, he has given up 33 hits, walked 11 and struck out 55. Opponents have hit just .198 against him. The still-just-22 year old right-hander has a good fastball and a great changeup. It’s remarkable how the role change has improved his control, but his strikeout rate is very improved. He still has an option year in 2012, so hopefully he continues to make improvements and plays a role with the Twins as early as mid-2012.
• David Bromberg – Twins fans should not forget Bromberg. He was an easy choice to add to the 40-man roster after last season. He has consistently moved up the Twins farm system, three times leading his league in strikeouts. He began this season in New Britain, but in late April, he was hit in the forearm by a line drive and he missed three months of the season. He returned recently, but probably too quickly. It’s important to note that his injury was not to his elbow or shoulder, it was a fluke injury. In other words, there’s no reason to believe that he can’t regain his form which means he will compete for a job with the Twins in 2012.

There are others on that Rock Cats roster who could find themselves with the Twins in time. Evan Bigley is an outfielder in the Chad Allen mode. Danny Lehmann is the most respected catcher by pitchers in the Twins minor leagues. His defense is on par with Drew Butera’s, with probably a little better offense. Andrew Albers has had a tremendous season with the Miracle and the Rock Cats. The lefty could continue to work his way up. Dakota Watts and Bruce Pugh are two pitchers who can throw into the upper-90s and are potential bullpen arms. Brett Jacobson has had an up and down season, but he has a chance. Bobby Lanigan has struggled some as a starter, but he profiles well as a future reliever because of a good fastball and a very good slider. Steve Hirschfeld was my choice for Twins minor league pitcher of the month in April and May. Finally, lefty Logan Darnell began the season in Beloit and is now with the Rock Cats.

ONE MORE

Although it is a rarity for a player to jump from Ft. Myers to the big leagues in one season, I would encourage people to keep an eye on Oswaldo Arcia. The 20-year-old outfielder was the Appalachian League Player of the Year last year for Elizabethton. He spent a month at Beloit this year, posting an OPS over 1.000. He then missed six weeks due to arthroscopic elbow surgery. Instead of going back to Beloit, Arcia went to Ft. Myers where he has continued to hit well. I believe his bat is legit. I posted on Twitter a couple of days ago that I think Arcia may be the best hitting prospect that the Twins have had since Jason Kubel in 2005. He seems to be a natural hitter. It might be a little aggressive to consider Arcia as a possibility for the Twins in 2012, but if there is a hitting prospect for Twins fans to really get excited about, it is Arcia.

Boiling Point

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

I’m often called the positive or the calm Twins blogger. Not much gets under my skin. And I take pride in that. Kind of the One Game at a Time thing, I guess. I’ve played the game of baseball, and I know how hard it is. When players make errors, it doesn’t bother me. It’s part of the game. When players look silly at the plate while striking out, I’ve been there. Obviously not at the big league level, but anyone who has played baseball beyond high school knows that this is a very humbling game by its very nature. It is a hard game to play, and even though these players are big leaguers, they are also playing against big leaguers, which levels that playing field.

With any transaction, I try to think about the deal from all perspectives. I won’t necessarily agree with every move (see Ramos, Wilson for Capps, Matt), but I understood what they were thinking. I can usually find something.

For some reason, when I saw the Twins lineup and the Twins situation yesterday, it set me off, and that happens maybe once a year. Joe Mauer playing right field was an interesting situation, although I have no problem with it. In fact, I don’t have a problem with the lineup as it was. But the team had no one available on the bench until Luke Hughes showed up after the game started.

I ranted a bit on Twitter, which actually kind of felt good. I think I may have over-done it in a couple of instances, but I needed it, and now I’m back to my calm self. Here is a quick view of some of my tweets from last night:

SethTweets: Gardy pre-game speech: “So, this is our lineup and our defense. Don’t get hurt, we have no bench. Now Go Beat CC and those Darn Yankees!!”

I blogged yesterday several reasons why Joe Benson should have been promoted yesterday. The team knew that Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel could not play the OF. Against CC Sabathia, Rene Tosoni would have no chance. Maybe Benson wouldn’t either, but it’s something. Benson was on the 40 man roster. But with the lineup that the Twins played, it is hard to envision having a shot against one of baseball’s best teams and one of baseball’s best pitchers.

SethTweets: I’m sure someone will. RT @jimmyjammer22 @LaVelleNeal @SethTweets so if mauer runs into the RF wall and breaks a leg, Gardy gets the blame?

There are a lot of Twins fans who blame Gardy for everything, and I’m sure that happening would against be Gardy’s fault. This lineup and this situation was a microcosm of the 2011 Twins season. Gardy isn’t perfect, but a lot of the issues of this team have nothing to do with the manager.

SethTweets: Now the Rochester Red Wings and New Britain Rock Cats can no longer complain when the Twins leave them short-rostered! #ThisIsRidiculous

Seemingly a couple of times a year, the Twins will leave their AAA or AA affiliate with a very short bench. My typical response has been that it is the role of those teams to help fill the Twins roster when needed. I never imagined seeing a Twins game in which the Twins had no one on the bench. So I understand the frustration now that the Twins have experienced an empty bench.

SethTweets: And, if @MCuddy5 can’t play under these circumstances, he clearly isn’t coming back any time soon. Why not DL?

Honestly, how long have we heard that Cuddyer is a day away? Span was a day or two away. He was finally put on the Disabled List. Cuddyer is the ultimate team player, and he has shown time and again his willingness to play hurt. Understanding the Twins situation last night, I am of the opinion that Cuddyer could not play, and would not be able to play for at least a few more days.  

SethTweets: And I’m the positive #Twins blogger who can usually find something to make situations understandable. This is pretty pathetic! #HardToAdmit

I don’t like being negative. At all.

SethTweets: And there are still people who hold Ron Gardenhire responsible for this mess! Unreal. (But it should be fun to watch)

Again, Gardy had no good options in last night’s game. He has been handcuffed with the roster and the injuries all year. That said, it was fun to see Mauer in RF, and a lineup that included Tosoni, Revere and Plouffe. It’s still a great game!

SethTweets: Ha!! No one down there! RT @DWade @SethTweets is there anyone in Beloit that’s also already on the 40-man?

If the Twins had someone on the 40 man roster in Beloit, he could have been to the Twin Cities in about 5 ½ hours!  However, the Twins don’t have anyone on their 40 man roster in Beloit. That said… Tommy Watkins is the hitting coach there. Maybe he could have been brought up to the Twins as an extra infielder!

SethTweets: I’m not blaming players, no questioning the toughness & will of @MCuddy5, Morneau, Span or others, but something isn’t right w/med. Staff.

We have all had our questions about the Twins medical staff for years. Constant missed diagnosis. How many times has someone been out for “a day” and gone on the Disabled List 10 days later? How many more ‘rest and rehabs’ do they need? Why are there so many injuries this year or in the last couple of years. Why isn’t Tolbert on the DL? It’s injury after injury and missed diagnosis.

SethTweets: Must be! @bennyc50 @SethTweets I wonder if the Twins lead the league in retroactive DL stints because they wait so long to put them on?

This is my point. How many times have they waited and called players day-to-day and then put them on the Disabled List eight to twelve days later?

SethTweets: And the beauty of baseball is that this #Twins roster could beat CC and the Yankees tonight cuz baseball is a funny game! #GreatestGameEver

There’s always fun in baseball. There is always strange things that happen. Even the worst big league players have good days and sometimes even against some of the best pitchers. The Royals beat the Yankees and Red Sox sometimes. The worst teams still generally win about 60 games and some of them against teams that will win 90 or more games. Obviously by now you know that the obvious result of the game occurred (Twins lost 8-4), but you never know.

SethTweets: Finally, I want Bill Smith’s explanation for how this happens. Had to know Kubel would be gone. Two guys haven’t played for a week.

Like I said, I can typically understand pretty much anything that happens to a baseball team or a team’s roster, but this one, I don’t get. They’ve known for awhile now that Span wasn’t coming back anytime soon. I don’t know, but I have to assume that they knew before Wednesday’s game that Kubel was going to need a day away from the team for personal family matters. They couldn’t have known that Luke Hughes was inexplicably going to be sitting at the wrong gate at the Rochester, NY, airport and not show up until after game time. And again, Matt Tolbert couldn’t swing a bat on Wednesday night. No way he was available last night no matter what is said. I get that the Twins aren’t competing, but it’s a big league club. This should never happen.

SethTweets:Alright, no more whining for me… Ranting happens about once a year. I’m good now. Back to positivity. #ItsHappening

Thursday night presented a situation that no big league team should ever have to go through. I still find it inexplicable. But on Friday, Kubel should be back. Cuddyer is probably questionable. Hughes will be there, presumably on time.

 

The Home Run/Non-Home Run

And then came the Justin Morneau home run. The powerful Canadian hit a long, towering fly ball down the right field line. The 1B umpire called it a home run. I was actually watching it on mute thanks to being on a phone call. I saw two replays that showed it VERY clearly was a foul ball. After the Yankees asked for a replay, the umpires correctly changed the call to a foul ball. Gardenhire came out and argued, which is basically an automatic ejection. But he was adamant, and I didn’t understand at all. Maybe it was because I didn’t have the volume on. That was one of the stranger things I’ve seen.

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATES

Here are some minor league highlights from the last two days. But be sure to download and listen to last night’s Twins Minor league Weekly podcast.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS

On Wednesday, the Red Wings lost to Lehigh Valley 3-1. Andy Baldwin started and gave up three runs on seven hits. In six innings, they walked one and struck out ten. Cole DeVries struck out two in two scoreless, one-hit innings. Brandon Roberts was 2-4. Aaron Bates was 1-2 with two walks. Toby Gardenhire went 1-3 with a walk and his third home run.

The Red Wings lost to Lehigh Valley 11-1 on Thursday. The Red Wings managed just six hits. Dustin Martin was 1-2 with two walks and his 25^th double. Chase Lambin, Aaron Bates and Steve Holm each hit a double. Dennys Suarez gave up seven runs on seven hits and a walk in 3.2 innings. Chuck James then threw 2.1 one-hit innings. Lester Oliveros made his Red Wings debut and gave up a solo homer in his inning. Carlos Gutierrez gave up three runs on four hits in one inning. He struck out three. Jim Hoey walked two in his scoreless innings.   

NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS

Wednesday night, the Rock Cats beat Binghamton 7-3. Michael Hollimon went 3-4 with a walk, his second triple and his 14^th home run. Joe Benson went 2-5 with his 12^th and 13^th home runs and six RBI. Chris Parmelee was 2-5. Evan Bigley went 2-3 with a walk. Blake Martin started and gave up three runs on seven hits. In five innings, he walked five and struck out three. Deolis Guerra gave up just one hit in three scoreless innings. He walked none and struck out two. Tyler Robertson pitched a scoreless inning.

Thursday night, the Rock Cats lost 8-7 to Binghamton. Logan Darnell started and gave up seven runs on ten hits and two hit batters in 5.2 innings. He struck out four. Brett Jacobson struck out two of the four batters he got out. Andrew Albers pitched a scoreless inning. Steve Hirschfeld came in for the bottom of the 9^th in a tie game. He walked a batter, who advanced on a sacrifice bunt. After a wild pitch, the game ended on a sacrifice fly. Chris Parmelee went 3-5 with his 13^th home run. Evan Bigley went 2-4 with two RBI. Nate Hanson went 2-4 with his 13^th double. Michael Hollimon hit his 10^th double. Joe Benson hit his 26^th double.  

FT MYERS MIRACLE

The Miracle beat Jupiter 5-1 on Wednesday night. BJ Hermsen started and recorded his first Florida State League win. He gave up just one run on eight hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out five. Matt Hauser went the final three innings to record his fifth save. He gave up no runs on two hits and a walk while striking out two. Oswaldo Arcia went 3-3 with his 11^th double and his sixth home run. Dan Rohlfing went 2-4.   

On Thursday, the Miracle lost a pitcher’s duel 1-0. 2011 42^nd round pick, Matthew Tomshaw, started for the Miracle and gave up just one hit in five shutout innings. He walked two and struck out four. Edgar Ibarra went the next three innings and gave up just one run. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three. Bruce Pugh struck out two in his scoreless inning. Reggie Williams went 2-4 with his fifth double. He had half of the Miracle hits. The others were the 14^th double by Danny Rams and the 12^th double of James Beresford. Aaron Hicks was 0-2 with two walks and his 15^th stolen base.

BELOIT SNAPPERS

Beloit beat Kane County 10-1. Ryan O’Rourke gave up one run on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He walked five and struck out one. Adrian Salcedo got five outs. Jose Gonzalez and Pedro Guerra each pitched a scoreless inning too. Guerra struck out the side. Jairo Perez went 2-4 with a walk, his 15^th double, his 13^th home run and four RBI. Lance Ray, Danny Ortiz and Adam Bryant each went 2-5. Jhonatan Goncalves went 1-3 with two walks.

Beloit managed just four hits in a 2-0 loss to Kane County on Thursday. Jairo Perez led the offense with two walks. Manuel Soliman started and gave up two runs on six hits in seven innings. Sam Spangler threw a scoreless inning.

ELIZABETHTON TWINS

Elizabethton beat Bristol 7-3 on Wednesday. Derek Christensen went 4.1 innings and gave up three runs on two hits and four walks. He struck out seven. Corey Williams then went 2.2 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and a walk. Cole Johnson struck out two in a scoreless inning. Matt Summers then struck out two in his scoreless inning. Rory Rhodes went 3-3 with a walk and his second steal. Eddie Rosario went 2-3 with a walk and his 12^th home run and 15^th stolen base. Matej Hejma went 2-4 with his third double. Max Kepler went 2-4 with his tenth double. Miguel Sano knocked his 15^th home run (9^th HR in last 17 games).

The E-Twins got a big 13-3 win over Bristol on Thursday. Miguel Sano went 3-5 with his 13^th and 14^th doubles and four RBI. Eddie Rosario went 1-2 with three walks and his 13^th home run. JD Williamns went 2-5^th his ninth double. Matej Hejma was 2-4. Niko Goodrm went 2-3 with a walk and his seventh stolen base. Tim Atherton started and gave up two runs on five hits for the win. In five innings, he walked two and struck out five. Cesar Ciurcina gave up one run on one hit in an inning. He struck out three. Nick Alloway pitched a scoreless seventh. Recently-signed Tyler Jones made his pro debut and threw a scoreless inning. Steven Gruver pitched a one-hit ninth.  

GCL TWINS

The GCL Twins beat 3-0 to the GCL Rays in the first of two games on Wednesday. Hein Robb started and threw four scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked three and struck out three. Kyle Wahl then threw three perfect innings and struck out four. Candido Pimentel was 3-3 with his first triple. Julio Torres went 2-4. Drew Leachman went 2-3 with a walk.

On Thursday, the GCL Twins lost 4-0 to the GCL Rays. Ricardo Arevalo gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits in four innings. Gerardo Ramirez pitched a scoreless inning as well before the game was postponed. The offense managed just two hits. Josh Hendricks went 2-2 with his seventh double.  

Any thoughts?? E-mail me, or leave some Comments.

Get to Know: Joe Benson

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

First things first… I will be on KFAN, on The Paul Allen Show at 9:55 this morning to talk about the Twins. You can find it online at www.KFAN.com, on its many affiliates, and please remember, that KFAN is now on 100.3 FM in the Twin Cities. So, tune in if you are able, or download the podcast later.

The Twins should be calling up Joe Benson today. There are many reasons. I’m sure the Twins brass was considering whether to call him up in September anyway. But right now, the Twins need an outfielder. Obviously Delmon Young was traded earlier this week. Jason Repko is on the Disabled List. We know that Luke Hughes is coming up today and that either Michael Cuddyer or Denard Span will be going on the Disabled List. The fact that they’re not sure which one tells me that neither of them will be available tonight. Jason Kubel will be unavailable at least for tonight due to some family reasons. Matt Tolbert can’t swing a bat, so he isn’t really even an outfield option. So, if my calculations are correct, tonight against CC Sabathia, the Twins three outfield options are Ben Revere, Rene Tosoni and Trevor Plouffe with no fourth outfielder available. Two of them are left-handed, so good luck against CC!

Why Joe Benson and not someone at AAA like Brian Dinkelman, Dustin Martin, Brandon Roberts or Jeff Bailey? Those guys are not on the Twins 40 man roster. Joe Benson was one of four players added to the 40 man roster after last season. Last night for New Britain, Benson went 2-5 with two home runs and six RBI. So, here are some things you should know about Joe Benson:

 

• Twins 2^nd round pick in 2006 out of Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, Illinois.
• By signing with the Twins, he gave up a scholarship to play football (RB) at Purdue.
• Former NFL great Mike Alstott went to the same high school as Benson.
• Benson was the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2010 when he hit .259/.343/.538 with 31 doubles, eight triples and 27 home runs between AA New Britain and Hi-A Ft. Myers.  (23 of the home runs were in AA)
• This year with the Rock Cats, he is hitting .283/.379/.489 with 25 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs.
• He missed a little more than a month of the season when he had his knee scoped.
• At 6-1 and 210 pounds, he is very strong. However, he is probably the second fastest player in the Twins organization behind only Ben Revere.
• He is a terrific outfielder, capable of playing all three positions. He has the speed for centerfield and the arm for a right fielder.
• He is a season ticket holder of the Chicago Bears. “Bear Down!”
• He has done Football Picks here at SethSpeaks.net for several years.
• He is 23 years old.
• He is very intense and competitive. This is primarily a positive thing, but can have its negative moments.
• His strikeout rate was something that he and the Twins needed to watch this year. Last year in New Britain, he struck out 115 times in 423 plate appearances (1 K every 3.68 PA). This year with the Rock Cats, he has 92 strikeouts in 378 plate appearances (1 K every 4.11 PA).  

I haven’t heard yet if Benson will be promoted. I’m sure we won’t know more until early this afternoon. But I think it is exciting when young players, especially those that are such highly regarded prospects, get an opportunity. Calling him up from AA is not an indication that he is ready for the big leagues, so fans need to have their expectations tempered. He will most likely start the 2012 season in Rochester and that would be the right thing. But for a short-term fix and just to see where he is at, this would be a good thing.

Any thoughts?? E-mail me, or leave some Comments.