Twins Win AL Central! Amazing!

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Honestly, I’ll have to write more later. This is the most proud I have ever been of being a Twins fan. I am speechless right now. Hopefully I can come up with words before 10:00 when I will host the SethSpeaks.net NIGHTLY Minnesota Twins podcast. We will take you calls, questions, comments. I don’t even want to think about the Yankees yet. I don’t care. I’ve always said, I’m about the 162 game season… or make that 163 games! Whatever it takes!

Twins Win 6-5 in the 12^th inning on a single by Alexi Casilla that scores Carlos Gomez, who had singled to lead off the inning. If that doesn’t exemplify what a crazy season this has been for the Twins, I don’t know what was. This was one of the best games I can ever remember watching. There was the game against the White Sox in the dome near the end of last year, and obviously Games 6 and 7 of the 1991 World Series count too. But this game had everything. Great defense, bad defense. Clutch hitting, and Clutch pitching.

Feel free to leave your comments. I just don’t have anything more right now… This is amazing! Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins, the players, coaches, the manager, GM, the front office and the ownership, and also to all the fans who, not matter how small a chance there was, never stopped watching, and never stopped caring! We witnessed something tonight we will never forget!

If you have any questions, comments or predictions, leave them in the Comments section.

Sweep Complete! One More Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

TWINS 3, WHITE SOX 2

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

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

Now a couple of other baseball game etiquette notes:

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

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

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

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

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

ROCHESTER REPORT

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

ROCKCAT RECAP

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

MIRACLE MEMOS

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

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

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

E-TWINS EXTRAS

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

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

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

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

Minor League Update

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• As I mentioned last night, I spent some time chatting with Twins 3B prospect Danny Valencia last night and he agreed to doing an interactive Q&A with SethSpeaks.net readers. So, if you would like to ask the future Twin a question (or two, or up to 3), please e-mail me and I will send him the questions. I will accept questions until Wednesday night (around 10:00 p.m.).
• And, of course, as the Trade Deadline is fast approaching, please consider picking up a copy of the TwinsCentric 2009 Trade Deadline Primer for just $9.95.

Rain and a scheduled off day limited the Twins minor league action on Tuesday, and with the Twins game just starting in Oakland, I figured a separate posting for the Twins minor league report made sense. Hopefully tonight’s game won’t be quite as exciting… or at least quite as long! I have learned that sleep is good!

But I thought I would throw in a few (OK, five) Twins minor league topics for you to discuss in the comments section while watching the Twins game. 

Untouchable? – In my Star Tribune blog yesterday (Twins Need to Deal), I wrote that the only two Twins minor leaguers that should be untouchable in nearly any trade would be Aaron Hicks and Danny Valencia. Would you add anyone else to that list?

Shut Down? – Since being promoted to AA New Britain, Carlos Gutierrez has thrown 36.1 innings. He has given up 51 hits (including six home runs). He was walked 18 and struck out just 17. He didn’t throw much last season between the University of Miami and Ft. Myers. This year, he did alright at Ft. Myers before struggling with the Rockcats. Since moving to the bullpen, he has given up 15 runs on 19 hits in just 8.1 innings while walking seven and striking out just five. Should he be shut down at this point, maybe given a couple of weeks off, or just keep throwing him out there and working through it? 

Arm Chair Psychologists – This is a tough situation because Shooter Hunt clearly is struggling. I have to think that he hit rock bottom with his last outing in which he faced seven batters, walked six of them and hit the other before leaving the game. Hunt as all the talent in the world. I don’t think anyone questions that, but right now, it just isn’t happening. What do you do? Keep throwing him out there? Shut him down? Is there even a right answer? 

Pecking Order – Alright, the Twins need a 2B. Alexi Casilla, Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert have all had their chances. So, I’d like to ask you how you would rank the potential Major League impact that the following Twins minor league 2B options could have. Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert, Steve Tolleson, Matt Macri, Trevor Plouffe, Brian Dinkelman, and Steve Singleton. Singleton’s .600 start since his recent promotion to New Britain certainly makes you think, doesn’t it? I can’t help but think he may be the guy in the long term.

Upcoming 40 Man Roster Decisions – Every year it is interesting to find out who the Twins add to their 40 man roster. Who needs to be added before the December Rule 5 draft? To keep it general and simple, please drafted out of college in the 2006 draft would have to be added or be potentially lost in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft. High school players drafted (and many international players signed when they are 16 or 17) in 2005 would also be eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft if not protected. Here is a list of several players that will likely have to be added (or at least they will have to consider adding) after this season:

College Players Drafted in 2006:

• 4^th Round – 1B Whit Robbins
• 6^th Round – C Jeff Christy
• 8^th Round – 2B Brian Dinkelman
• 11^th Round – 2B Steve Singleton
• 14^th Round – RHP Jeff Manship
• 15^th Round – OF Mark Dolenc
• 19^th Round – 3B Danny Valencia
• 39^th Round – RHP Anthony Slama
• Not Drafted – RHP Rob Delaney (signed as free agent right after the draft)

I would say there are a couple of very easy choices here, and a couple of possible adds, and a couple of probably not’s. Now, when you think of the 2005 draft, the Twins drafted Matt Garza, Kevin Slowey, Brian Duensing and Ryan Mullins in the first three rounds out of college. They did not have as much success (or luck, particularly injury luck) with their early high school picks. Hank Sanchez was really bad and then he served a 50 game suspension for being really bad, and then the Twins released him. Drew Thompson is having a nice comeback after missing two full seasons with injury. Paul Kelly’s knees just have not been able to keep him on the field either. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple of 2005 high school draft picks that the Twins will have to strongly consider adding to the 40 man roster:

High School (and a JuCo Guy) Drafted in 2005:

• 12^th Round – RHP Alex Burnett
• 32^nd Round – RHP David Bromberg
• 36^th Round – OF Rene Tosoni (Junior College)

I think that all three of them have put themselves in a position that they will have to be added. Another player who has performed to a level that he should be considered is RHP Loek Van Mil who is doing great in his comeback from rehabbing his arm. Has David Winfree’s play this year in Rochester earned him a spot on the Twins 40 man roster? Before the season, I think we would have all assumed that Dustin Martin (another 2006 college draftee) would be a lock to be added. Do we still believe that? What about Deolis Guerra? He has struggled, but he signed in July of 2005 and still is just 20 years old and very talented and has done well in his short stint in New Britain. You would think a team like the Nationals would love to take a chance on him.

In other words, the Twins have some difficult decisions ahead of them at the end of the year. Maybe potential deadline trades will help clean up some of the questions, but it certainly is worth thinking about already. 

What do you think about any of these topics? What would you do? Leave your comments here. 

With that, I’m going to post this. I will be back later with thoughts on Game 2 of this Twins/A’s series. 

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Daniel Santana, GCL Twins

Tuesday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Andrei Lobonov, GCL Twins  

ROCHESTER REPORT

Tuesday – Rochester, Pawtucket  – Postponed by Rain. 

ROCKCAT RECAP

Tuesday – New Britain, Portland – Postponed by Rain.    

MIRACLE MEMOS

Tuesday – Ft. Myers 4, Dunedin 6 – Chris Parmelee homered yet again, his 14^th on the season, but that was about it for the Miracle offense in this game. Evan Bigley and Nick Romero each doubles. Michael Tarsi took his first FSL loss. He went 6.2 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits. He walked four and struck out five. Henry Arias went the final 2.1 innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk.     

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Tuesday – Beloit  – No Games Scheduled in the Midwest League.     

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Tuesday – Elizabethton 2, Princeton 3 – Reggie Williams hit another homer, his third, but it wasn’t enough on this night. Brad Stillings started for the E-Twins and went the first six innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits and two walks. Edgar Ibarra took the loss by giving up one run on two hits in two innings. Peter Kennelly pitched a scoreless inning. Josmil Pinto went 2-4 with his eighth double.    

GCL TWINS THOUGHTS

Tuesday –GCL Twins 10, GCL Red Sox 6 – There was plenty of offense for the GCL Twins in this game. Daniel Santana went 3-6 with his third triple and two stolen bases. Nick Lockwood went 3-5. Jhonatan Arias went 2-4 with a walk, his fourth double and four RBI. Nick Tindall went 2-4 with his third double. Nick Freitas went 2-3 with two walks. Jhon Garcia went the first five innings and gave up two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out six. Eliecer Cardenas gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and two walks in 2.1 innings. He struck out three. Andrei Lobonov had quite the game to record his second save. He pitched to five batters and struck all five of them out.    

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

Second Half Predictions

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Depending upon how late I get home tonight, I hope to do an interesting posting giving some awards for the first half, with the help of many Twins related bloggers, writers and more. But today, I thought it would be fun to come up with some predictions for the second half. I’ll make a few predictions and then encourage you to leave your second half predictions as well. So here are nine from me:

• The Twins WILL make a trade at or before the July 31^st deadline for a middle infielder.
• Joe Mauer will NOT hit .400. In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and say that he will not even win the batting title.
• Justin Morneau will be vastly underrated and only because he plays first base.
• Denard Span will get the OBP up to and slightly over .400.
• Scott Baker will be the team’s top starting pitcher in the second half.
• Jose Mijares will be better in the 2^nd half than he was in the 1^st half.
• Jesse Crain and Alexi Casilla will not be with the Twins on August 1^st.
• Anthony Slama will be.
• Twins edge out Detroit to win the AL Central by one game.

Alright, your turn. What are your big predictions for the second half of the season?

• Again, if you are interested in purchasing a copy of the TwinsCentric Trade Deadline primer, it is $9.95. TwinsCentric.com was set up as well as a place to read more about the book and purchase if you like. If you have any questions or comments, we have set up a separate e-mail, so send an e-mail to TwinsCentric@gmail.com. I really appreciate all that the other writers did and have done, so please take a couple of minutes and check out The Twins Geek, Over the Baggy and Nick’s Twins Blog for tons of free content.

Weekend Game Updates

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The Twins split the first two games of their weekend series in Seattle. On Friday night, they won 2-1 in ten innings. On Saturday afternoon, it was a 2-1 loss.

Friday, Francisco Liriano made a big start. He gave up just one run on three hits in six innings. He still walked four and struck out five. Jesse Crain and Jose Mijares each got two outs. Matt Guerrier went the next 1.2 innings. Joe Nathan recorded his 11^th save with two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning.

Brian Buscher was 2-3. Alexi Casilla went 2-4. Brendan Harris went 2-5. Justin Morneau gave the Twins a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly early in the game. He scored the winning run in the 10^th when a Matt Tolbert fly ball to LF was mis-played by Wladmir Balentien.

Saturday, Nick Blackburn had another excellent start. In seven innings, he gave up just one run. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out one. His season ERA is down to 3.30. Sean Henn gave up the go-ahead run in the 8^th inning on a double by Ken Griffey Jr. Luis Ayala came in for the final out.

It was good to see Michael Cuddyer return to the lineup. Mike Redmond drove in the Twins’ lone run on a double. Joe Crede and Alexi Casilla each had two hits. In a crazy happening, the Twins top three hitters (Denard Span, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau) combined to go 0-12 with just one walk.

On Sunday afternoon, the Twins will send Kevin Slowey (8-1, 3.97 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) to the mound to face Erik Bedard (4-2, 2.37 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) in what should be another pitcher’s dual.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

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

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Spencer Steedley, Ft. Myers Miracle

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Whit Robbins, New Britain Rockcats

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Robertson, Ft. Myers Miracle

MIDWEST LEAGUE ALL-STAR – Joe Testa was named to the Midwest League All Star team. He was the only player from the Beloit Snappers on the roster. Josh Johnson wondered if another member of the Snappers roster was snubbed. He is probably right.  

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

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday –Rochester 6, Gwinnett 9 – Kevin Mulvey started this game and gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits. In six innings, he walked six and struck out six. Rob Delaney got a chance to see how quickly a game can turn around. He gave up a cycle and four runs in just one inning  He worked a second inning and it went 1-2-3. Tim Lahey gave up a run on a hit and a walk in his inning. Steve Tolleson has continued to hit with his promotion to AAA. He went 3-3 with two walks and his third double. Drew Butera went 2-4. Jose Morales went 2-5.

Saturday –Rochester 2, Syracuse 3 – Bobby Keppel made a spot start and was able to work seven strong innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits. He walked none and struck out five. Juan Morillo threw two shutout innings, striking out four. But he walked three. Brock Peterson went 2-2 with a walk. Jose Morales went 2-4. Luke Hughes was back in the lineup. He had an error and was 0-1 before being pinch hit for. Can’t help but wonder if he re-aggravated his injury.

Check out Travis’s Red Wings Pitcher and Hitter of the Month for May.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain 2, Connecticut 3 (10 innings) – Ryan Mullins struck out eight in 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks. Alex Burnett came in and threw 2.1 shutout innings. He gave up a hit, walked three and struck out four. Anthony Slama gave up a run on three hits and three walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Brandon Roberts went 3-5 with his seventh stolen base. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4. Erik Lis hit his fifth home run of the season.

Friday – New Britain 3, Harrisburg 8 – Cole Devries was the victim of the long ball in this game. In five innings, he gave up five runs (4 earned) on eight hits (three home runs). He walked one and struck out two. Frank Mata gave up three runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk in his inning. Yohan Pino and Zach Ward each threw a scoreless inning. Whit Robbins was 2-4 with his seventh homer. Erik Lis was 2-4.

Check out Travis’s Rockcats Pitcher and Hitter of the Month for May.       

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 3, Clearwater 2 – The Miracle won this game despite getting just six hits. David Bromberg went the first 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. He walked six and struck out eight. Spencer Steedley got the win with 2.1 perfect innings. He is now 4-0. Blair Erickson recorded his seventh save with a scoreless ninth.

Saturday – Ft. Myers 1, Clearwater 0 – This was quite the pitcher’s dual. No runs scored until the final pitch of the game. Rene Leveret singled in Nick Romero in the bottom of the 9^th to give the Miracle to 1-0 win. The Miracle had seven hits. No one had more than one hit. Chris Parmelee had a double. Tyler Robertson threw the first seven shutout innings. He gave up eight hits and walked two while striking out four. Henry Arias gets the win due to his two shutout frames, which included four strikeouts.

Check out Travis’s Miracle Pitcher and Hitter of the Month.      

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 1, Peoria 5 – Michael Allen fell to 0-8 in this game. He gave up five runs on ninth hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out five. Curtiss Leavitt struck out two in a perfect inning. Matt Williams struck out two and gave up one hit in a scoreless innings. James Beresford and Michael Harrington each went 2-4.

Saturday – Beloit, Wisconsin – Game Rained Out.  

Check out Travis’s Snappers Pitcher and Hitter of the Month.   

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

Sunday Stream of Consciousness

also avilable at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Watching the Twins lose six in a row on the road earlier in the month was rather frustrating. Then they won 20-1 in Chicago before winning five of seven at home. Then they went back on the road and lost their first two games to the Rays. But more important than anything else, on Sunday, they were able to beat Matt Garza and that makes everything right with the world again. It was great seeing Brendan Harris touch him up for a home run. It was great to see Delmon Young come in to face him and get a single.

In the end, we see over and over and over again, whether at the Metrodome or on the road, that the key to a team’s success starts with that day’s starting pitcher. I know. It’s boring and sounds so cliché, but sometimes it’s important to remember how clichés got to become clichés! You’re only as good as your next day’s starter, right? Tom Kelly used to say that all the time, and well, it is one of baseball’s great truths. Friday night, it was Scott Baker giving up a three run homer to Evan Longoria. On Saturday, it was Francisco Liriano looking pretty clueless. On Sunday, it was Nick Blackburn looking pretty much in control the whole game with the exception of two solo home runs. Garza looked pretty good though and for awhile it looked like that would be enough for the Rays to sweep the Twins, but single runs in the 6^th and 7^th innings gave the Twins a 3-2 win. Sean Henn, Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares and Joe Nathan finished the final three innings without allowing a run to preserve a win for Blackburn.

Why was the offense able to score in the 6^th and 7^th? Did they wear out Garza? I don’t know about that, but I know I did my part by leaving the house and going to watch the cartoon Up at the theatre. What as excellent movie, one of the best feature cartoon movies that I have seen! That’s right! I quit watching them and decided to enjoy the weekend! So, you’re welcome!

Plenty of topics to discuss, and as you can see, I am just rambling. That’s the beauty of titling something a Stream of Consciousness blog. I can ramble and that’s the purpose! That’s what I am going to do today, trying to touch on several Twins-related topics. I’ll write for awhile and just see where it takes us, so please enjoy and certainly feel free to comment.

As I have said, starting pitching is the key to everything. Right now, it seems that the Twins can count on Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey to give them decent starts and a chance to win. Anthony Swarzak came up to replace the injured Glen Perkins and has since made two very good starts. Perkins had really struggled for several starts before going on the Disabled List, so I am not certain if the struggles were related to the arm, or what. But I do know that I agree with the theory that a player should not lose his spot to an injury. That is why, after his rehab stint at Rochester, I believe that Glen Perkins should be given a couple of starts before possibly being shifted back to the bullpen if that is what needs to be done.

The problem is that Swarzak is a good pitching prospect, but nothing in his minor league numbers indicate that he will be able to sustain this level of excellence over a long period of time. As one who believes in minor league track record being an indicator of big league success, I also understand that there are exceptions to every rule. So of course you just run with Swarzak while he is the hot hand and just hope . The problem is that Swarzak could stay in the rotation because one of the two guys that we all counted on heading into the season, Francisco Liriano, has been horrific of late. He looks completely lost on the mound. It’s all about control of the fastball, and from pitch to pitch, he does not seem to know where the ball is going. It’s as if he still thinks he’s a dominant pitcher and he’s fighting himself so hard to get there again and overdoing everything. I really do not know what is best for him. He does have an option left, so he could be sent to Rochester, but I don’t necessarily think that is the best idea. He could be sent to the bullpen for awhile too, but who would he replace? R.A. Dickey continues to do great out of the bullpen. Sean Henn and Jose Mijares have been solid as lefty relievers. I guess this could be the opportunity to let go of Luis Ayala and see how Liriano responds. What do you think?

Scott Baker continues to get hurt by the big inning and/or the big home run. Friday, it was the three run blast by Longoria that essentially ended that game. Baker has really been very good most of his innings, but in each start he has had that one bad inning where he can not control the damage. Instead of giving up one or two, he gives up three to six. A team can come back from one or two, but it really puts you behind the eight ball when you’re always down by a handful of runs.

It is all so frustrating to me because the Twins are playing so inconsistently and average despite getting amazing production from Denard Span, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel all season. In May, Michael Cuddyer stepped up his game big time while Joe Crede showed the power that he can have from the right side. This team is too talented to be playing like this and to not think that a division title is in reach. But what happens when three-fifths of the season-opening starting staff is not performing to expectations? Swarzak is already up. Kevin Mulvey could probably come up and be a solid back of the rotation type. What if Liriano can’t get things figured out? What if Glen Perkins then struggles? What if Baker doesn’t stop giving up huge innings? If you go through the season’s second half with two rookie pitchers in your rotation, that isn’t necessarily good. Brian Duensing and Philip Humber do not appear to be big league starter material and none of the starters at AA New Britain look ready.

We have spent the last couple of years wondering why the Twins would go after pitchers like Livan Hernandez, Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson. Why did they insist on bringing in veterans who were not good instead of just trusting their own young players? Well, maybe now we are seeing why. And yet, I can’t be mad at the front office for not getting a veteran. All five starting pitchers showed enough last year that there was no need for a veteran starter. The starting pitching was supposed to be a sure-thing, the thing that would lead the Twins to a division title. Pedro Martinez, anyone?

The bullpen has actually been much better of late. The reason? Well, when Slowey, Blackburn and Swarzak have pitched, they have been able to go seven innings. Bill Smith is not above criticism for not going out and getting a bullpen arm to solidify the back end of the bullpen, and yet, I agreed with him that they didn’t need to prioritize it too high. We knew Joe Nathan would be fine, and he has been. Many assumed Jose Mijares would be solid, and since returning he has been good. I believed Matt Guerrier would be fine, and he has been. I thought Jesse Crain would take another step forward, to get back to what he was the first three years of his career, but since his disabled list stint, he has been non-trustable. Luis Ayala was a reasonable, cheap risk, but he has not been good at all. R.A. Dickey, as I have stated several times, has been just fine in the role that he was brought in to fill, so no arguments there. Again, the key is the starting pitching, but the bullpen arms are not above criticism either. Now, Juan Cruz has been alright for Kansas City. Nothing spectacular by any means, and I fully understand not giving up a first round pick to acquire him (although when I saw the dollars and years that he signed for, I thought that it made sense). But Cruz walks a ton and moving to the American League never seems to be a good thing for a relief pitcher. Other names that fans wanted at various times included Eric Gagne, Russ Springer, Joe Nelson, Brandon Lyon and others, and none of them have done well either. So again, I don’t blame the Twins in not being big players in the free agency market because free agents rarely have an impact worthy of the contract they sign.

(Meanwhile, Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama sit in AA, just waiting for a promotion. I agree with the thought that a player who dominates in AA is ready for the big leagues and could be promoted if necessary. But at some point, those two players should be moved up somewhere, whether it is to Rochester or to the Twins. I don’t pretend to know if they are ready to help the Twins today. I know their numbers indicate that they could probably both be pretty good. Slama needs to throw more strikes, and Delaney could give up some hits. But both have done enough at the AA level to move forward.)

(The one prospect that I believe is ready to play at the big league level offensively and defensively is Danny Valencia, and as long as Joe Crede is healthy, there is no reason to call him up. Could he be at Rochester? Certainly, and I think he would do well there, but Luke Hughes needs at bats too.)

The Twins understand that building from within is the best way to develop a team over the long haul. It is a philosophy that has been very successful for the organization. But then that success is dependent upon the players developing as they need to. The Twins have developed some very good players (Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, Cuddyer, Span, Slowey, Blackburn, Baker, etc.). They were able to stare down Scott Boras and get Joe Crede for a very fair market deal. But the player development right now is kind of a question mark.

Look at the AAA roster. How many players there do you think will be contributors to the Twins at the big league level? More important, how many of them could help the Twins right now, today? Jose Morales could, and yet, I think Twins fans need to look at his track record and realize that he is not a .350 hitter. At the big league level, he could possibly hit .280/.310/.310, which frankly, isn’t terribly exciting. But he is one guy who could contribute on some level. Luke Hughes and Dustin Martin are two others that I think could contribute for the Twins if called upon, but neither of them is star caliber and I don’t know that either of them is really starter caliber. I still hold out hope for Trevor Plouffe to be a future Twins SS, but again, his batting average doesn’t indicate that he would be much better than Nick Punto at SS.

Which brings me to my next point… when the Twins locked up Nick Punto last winter for two years and $8.5 million, it didn’t bother me too much. I looked at the other free agents on the market at SS and none of them seemed to be much better than Punto, particularly for the price tag that they would insist upon. Edgar Renteria had already signed with the Giants for two years and $18 million, and he is no better than Punto. We heard rumors for players like JJ Hardy and Yunel Escobar, but the price tags in terms of players were so high that those options didn’t make sense. So although I would have preferred to go into this season with Punto not on the team, I understood that he was probably the best option available and the dollars and years that he got were certainly fair market value (in December, before free agent dollars seemed to completely disappear). My caveat to being comfortable with Punto was that he not return to 2007 form and just give 2006 or 2008-like performances. Again, that’s not to say he was good during those two years, but as a nine-hitter it would be acceptable. Well, to this point in the season, Punto has been even worse than he was in 2007, and worst yet, his defense has taken a major step backward. I always thought it was a bit overrated (because of the constant web gems), but he now has very little range and no arm.

The biggest problem with the SS situation is that there isn’t anyone close to ready to take the position from him. Brendan Harris will do just fine in replacing him. He is a far better option, so that is actually an upgrade right now. But I have noticed, as Gardy has said, that Harris does not do as well when he plays too much. But again, Plouffe isn’t ready. Steve Tolleson just got promoted to AAA this week, but I don’t think he would be ready to step in today (but maybe in a month?). There are not other options in the system right now.

It’s a good think that Justin Morneau has been incredible this year and Joe Crede has been everything that could be expected because Punto, Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert and Brian Buscher have been terrible. Casilla has been somewhat disappointing. Tolbert is what he is, as I have said all along,  he is a better version of utility player than Punto is. He’s a little better offensively (which doesn’t say much) and he’s not quite as good defensively (which does). I said that Buscher is a solid left-handed bat off the bench, a guy who takes good at bats and generally does what the situation calls for. I don’t think we have seen that this year, and his defense has never been real solid. I’m not certain how much value he provides to the team. In fact, that would be the one way right now that I could see the Twins bringing Jose Morales back to the roster. Morales could be the new left-handed bench bat, occasionally get some time behind the plate, and give Gardy the confidence to keep Joe Mauer in the lineup most games. Again, I feel it necessary to temper the expectations people seem to have for Morales, but I do think it is fair to say that he could contribute as much with the bat (and maybe the glove) as Buscher.

Watching Mike Redmond play baseball is painful. In years past, it was because he seemingly was always getting beat up behind the plate and yet still finding a way to hit .300 or higher while providing excellent defense and leadership from the backup catcher position. This year has been painful for a couple of new reasons. First, he simply can not throw any more. I don’t know how hurt he still is, but that has not improved over the season’s first couple of months. Secondly, if I’m an opposing defense and Redmond is up, I bring all the outfielders in to about 200 feet and swing the CF toward the gap in right center. You could almost put on a left-handed batter shift for him too. In the past, it was almost “cute” as told to us by Dick Bremer when he flails singles to right field or barely throw the hole on the right side. This year, those balls are being hit even softer. I don’t know how he continues to get any hits (and he has). I have no problem with keeping Redmond around for the rest of the season. I just sincerely hope that this is the end of the line.

Gardy-led teams are known for being overachievers. That is always the case when the expectations are low. But what about in those years when the Twins have come into the season with expectation? They have not played well. This year may be the biggest visual of that. This team has way too much talent to be flailing around .500. But to be fair, I don’t know if this team has ever had this many holes either. A broken bullpen. A horrific middle infield. Two 23 year old outfielders that need playing time to get better but provide so little to helping the team win. And now starting pitching problems that were not expected. I don’t think that can be pinned on a manager, and yet in some organizations, it is. I personally agree with the ideas of longevity, and we all know that Gardy and his coaching staff aren’t going anywhere, so it’s not worth worrying about.

In the end, it comes down to the players and making plays. It’s the players that will turn the season around, or they won’t.

Now I know, I don’t whine too often on here, and one thing that you can almost certainly not get from here that you can get most places is the seemingly sophomoric need to say the same thing every day. Could I write about Brian Buscher or Nick Punto being bad every day Sure. But why? What good is that? Why pile on?? I could write about being wrong about Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez daily, but why? What good comes from that? I prefer to write more often about being completely wrong about Denard Span and Nick Blackburn! So many of these above topics, you may not read here again until something happens. There are enough other topics that can be covered and a lot more positives. There is an entire minor league system of players dreaming of getting to the big leagues that is worth talking about.       

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Danny Valencia, New Britain Rockcats

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – David Bromberg, Ft. Myers Miracle

Sunday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Whit Robbins, New Britain Rockcats

Sunday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Robertson, Ft. Myers Miracle

ROCHESTER REPORT

Saturday –Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 3 – Jason Jones picked up his first win in the Twins organization in this game. The righty went 5.2 innings and gave up three runs. He allowed six hits (two homers), walked one and struck out four. Jason Pridie went 3-5 with his 13^th and 14^th stolen bases. Jose Morales went 2-4 with his fourth double. In his first AAA game, Steve Tolleson went 2-3 with a walk and a double.

Sunday –Rochester 1, Lehigh Valley 5 – Kevin Mulvey started this game for the Red Wings. He gave up five runs on nine hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six. Tim Lahey pitched a scoreless inning. The Red Wings managed just four hits. David Winfree hit his eighth home run.

ROCKCAT RECAP

Saturday – New Britain 6, Binghamton 5 – The Rockcats got a couple of big home runs and the second win of the season by Jay Rainville. Rainville gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks in 5.2 innings. Frank Mata came in and gave up two hits and a walk before getting the final out of the sixth. Rob Delaney struck out four in two shutout innings. Anthony Slama recorded his 10^th save with a scoreless ninth. Danny Valencia went 2-3 with his sixth homer and two RBI. Rene Tosoni was 2-4 with his seventh home run and three RBI. Whit Robbins went 1-2 with two walks.

Sunday – New Britain 15, Binghamton 7 – It was a big offensive game for the Rockcats, with nearly the entire lineup contributing. Whit Robbins led the way by going 4-6 with his 11^th double. Brandon Roberts was 3-5 with a walk and his third homer. Erik Lis was 3-5 with his seventh double. Rene Tosoni went 2-5 with his eighth double and eighth home run. Matt Moses went 2-4 with a walk and three RBI. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with two walks. Yancarlos Ortiz went 2-5 with a double. Danny Valencia was 1-2 with two walks. Ryan Mullins was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion. He gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in six innings. Yohan Pino gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in two inning. Zach Ward pitched a scoreless inning.  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Saturday – Ft. Myers 7, Brevard County 1 – David Bromberg has continued to pitch well this season despite not getting as many strikeouts this year. This game was a little different. Bromberg went six innings and gave up just one run on six hits and a walk. He struck out 12 to improve to 5-0 and reduce his ERA to 1.94. Kyle Waldrop picked up his first save of the season by throwing three shutout innings. Chris Cates went 3-5. Mark Dolenc went 3-4 with his ninth double and ninth stolen base. Rene Leveret went 2-5 with his first stolen base. Deibinson Romero was 2-5 with his 11^th double.

Sunday – Ft. Myers 2, Brevard County 0 – Tyler Robertson improved to 3-2 in this game. He threw six shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out six. Santos Arias, Spencer Steedley and Blair Erickson combined to throw three shutout innings. The Miracle managed just five hits. Ben Revere hit his sixth double. Rene Leveret hit his seventh double.  

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Saturday – Beloit 2, Kane County 5 – Michael Allen fell to 0-7 in this game, but he really has been pitching a little better as the season has progressed. In this game, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out six in six innings of work. Bruce Pugh gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out four. Michael Tarsi gave up two hits in a scoreless inning. The Snappers managed just six hits in this game. Nathan Hanson hit his seventh double.

Saturday – Beloit 4, Kane County 11 – Dan Berlind gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits and three walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out five. Joe Testa gave up three runs (1 earned) on two hits in two innings. He struck out three. Matt Williams went 0.2 innings and gave up just a hit. Curtis Leavitt gave up three runs on five hits in one inning. He struck out two. Jeff Lanning went 2-4. Angel Morales went 1-2 with two walks and his sixth homer. Ramon Santana hit his fifth home run and Michael Harrington got his first homer.   

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

More Moves to be Made?

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

HELP – I need your help for a blog posting for tomorrow. I want to encourage everyone to send me a few True/False Statements, or Over/Under scenarios. For instance, e-mail me and say, “True or False, Danny Valencia will be the Twins opening day 3B when the team opens up Target Field next year.” Or “Over/Under – Joe Mauer’s Batting Average – .320.” Send up to five, and I will answer them on this site tomorrow. I think it could be a lot of fun, so please take a minute and e-mail me your questions. I appreciate your help.

YOUR VOICES – Last night, I wrote up and posted my StarTribune.com/yourvoices article on a topic that, as you would guess, is already annoying to me. But it’s timely and it is regional, so it kind of makes sense. Please check it out and be sure to leave you comments. Then be sure to read the article on the same topic that Darren “Doogie” Wolfson wrote there.

On Wednesday, the Twins made a roster move by shipping Alexi Casilla back down the AAA Rochester. They promoted Matt Tolbert back to the big leagues. Could more moves be on the horizon?

If you think that Alexi Casilla was the team’s biggest problem, you might be in for some major disappointment. Clearly, the biggest issue on this team right now it pitching. Entering the season, the assumption was that the starting five would be a cornerstone of the team. Through the first month their top pitcher, Scott Baker, is 0-4 with a 9.15 ERA. The #2 starter, Francisco Liriano, is 1-4 with a 5.30 ERA. Kevin Slowey is 4-1, but his ERA is 5.50. Nick Blackburn is 2-2 with a 5.19 ERA. Glen Perkins has been the team’s top starter so far this season, and he is 1-2 with a 3.34 ERA.

None of the five are currently in jeopardy of losing their starting jobs. In reality, I don’t think that they should even consider a move of one of the five starters for at least another month.

So, let’s get to the bullpen. Joe Nathan had one blown save, but overall, he continues to be one of the best closers in the game. I think we can say that Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares have pretty secure jobs. Brian Duensing, Philip Humber and Juan Morillo have already been shipped back to Rochester. Luis Ayala has been quite disappointing in a late-inning role. He has given up 20 hits and three walks in 13.1 innings. Craig Breslow was being counted on as a lefty out of the bullpen, and he has not been good at all. In 9.2 innings, he has given up seven hits and walked ten hitters. His two innings tonight actually significantly improved his overall performance. R.A. Dickey was brought in to be a long reliever. When he has pitched in that role, and in his one start, he was just fine. But when put into more difficult situations, it hasn’t gone well.  

So, I think it is fair to say that Luis Ayala, Craig Breslow and R.A. Dickey are three guys who will be watched a little more closely in the coming weeks. Let’s look at some pitchers in the upper minor leagues who could be considered for a promotion:

• Sean Henn – The Twins signed the now-28 year old lefty this offseason. He is currently the default closer for the Red Wings. Last year with the Padres, he gave up 11 hits and walked nine in 9.1 innings. So far this year with Rochester, he has thrown 17.1 innings out of the bullpen. His ERA is 1.04 and he has struck out 23 batters. He has given up 11 hits, but he has walked ten batters. As good as he has been, the walk rate is a little alarming.
• Brian Duensing – Since returning to the Red Wings, he has made three starts. He has thrown just 13 innings, and is 1-1 with a 6.23 ERA. He has given up 16 hits, walked six and struck out just seven. He certainly hasn’t warranted a promotion at this point and can use the work at AAA.
• Mike Gosling – The 28 year old lefty is working out of the Red Wings bullpen. He is 3-1 with a 4.96 ERA. In 16.1 innings, he has given up 16 hits. He has walked seven and struck out 21. The hit rate is OK. The walk rate is slightly high. Together, that is a WHIP of just over 1.40. He’s probably just a notch behind Henn at this point.
• Philip Humber/Juan Morillo – Both recently were sent down to the Red Wings. Both have done well in very limited time there and just need to get more work in.
• Anthony Swarzak – the 22 year old has started out great for Rochester. He is 2-3 with a 2.03 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. In 31 innings, he has given up 23 hits and walked just six while striking out 23. He’s allowed just one home run. Swarzak is young and he’s a starter. I think he needs to just keep working and starting at AAA for now. Let’s see how he is doing in four to six weeks.
• Anthony Slama – So many seem to think that the 25 year old is too good for his level. He certainly was last year. This year at AA New Britain, he is 2-0 with five saves. His ERA is just 2.63. In 13.1 innings, he has 22 strikeouts. However, he also has nine walks and 12 hits allowed, so his AA WHIP is at 1.54. That doesn’t scream “Promotion” to me!
• Rob Delaney – 24 year old Delaney spent half of the 2008 season in New Britain and did great. He is back there to start this season. He is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA. In 18.2 innings, he has given up 21 hits, but he has walked just two while striking out 22. His WHIP is 1.22. He’s been good, and that K:BB ratio is amazing. I think he should be moved up to Rochester in the next month, and then see how he is doing at that time.  

So, in reality, these are the options for promotion to the Twins, especially since Duensing and Swarzak are the only ones on the 40 man roster. None of them present a significant improvement over Ayala, Breslow or Dickey. So, in my mind, there is zero reason to make a move at this time. Again, we should probably re-evaluate these names and their numbers in another three or four weeks to see where things are.

The Twins Geek tells us that Carlos Gomez has nine at bats over the teams past twelve games.  I believe that we all believe that his ceiling is still very high, but he has a lot to learn. To learn, he needs to play. He needs consistent at bats. He needs time in the outfield, and he needs bunting opportunities and situations and such. Right now, his role with the Twins has been to start about one in four games, and do some pinch running and late inning defense.

To play more, and improve himself as a player, I believe Gomez should go to AAA. But if he goes down to AAA, I think that the Twins need to replace him with another outfielder. The three outfielders will need to start, and Jason Kubel will be the DH, so they will still need a backup outfield. That player should be a guy who can run, play good defense at all three outfield positions and at least be adequate at the plate. Here are the options:

• Jason Pridie – The 25 year old outfielder can play three outfield positions very well. He can run very well. He can hit at the top of an order, but also has enough pop to hit some extra base hits. He strikeouts a ton. He just ended a 16 game hitting streak, and is hitting .255/.279/.292 in 106 at bats.
• Dustin Martin – Although Martin just turned 25, the organization seems to look at him as a potential starting outfielder, so he should play every day. He can play CF, but may have enough bat to play the corners as well. He really impressed last year at New Britain, then in the Arizona Fall League, and then during training camp. At Rochester, he is hitting .308/.366/.374 with nine steals.
• David Winfree – he is still just 23 years old and in his first season at AAA. He is hitting .272/.277/.457. Ten of his 22 hits have been for extra bases. He has one walk and 18 strikeouts, but he is a right-handed bat that could provide some pop off the bench. Can only play RF, and not necessarily very well.
• Luke Hughes – Although he has only played 3B this season for the Red Wings, he spent plenty of time in LF and CF last year. Another right handed bat with some pop, Hughes is hitting .293/.392/.573 with 11 extra base hits.

Dustin Martin and Luke Hughes have futures as everyday types of players. Those guys should not be playing just once or twice a week, not until September. David Winfree is a right handed bat with pop, but he doesn’t fill the need for the role (defense/speed). Martin and Winfree are not on the 40 man roster at this time. Jason Pridie really fits the role of fourth or fifth outfielder perfectly. He’s got talent. He’s proven in the past that he can hit a little bit. He’s very fast. He’s very good defensively, and he can play all three outfield positions. If Gomez is actually only going to be a role player with the Twins at this early point in the season, he needs to go to AAA, and if he does, I would promote Jason Pridie.

So, as much as we may want to overreact and make a few more transactions just to make them, they do have to make sense. I don’t think it makes any sense to make any moves with the pitching staff quite yet, but that situation needs to continue to be closely monitored. I do believe that Carlos Gomez should go back to AAA and play every day, leading off and playing CF. I would then promote Jason Pridie to fill the role of fourth outfielder.

What are your thoughts? What would you do if you were Bill Smith? Leave your questions or comments here  

GAME RECAPS

TWINS 1, ORIOLES 4 (Called in 6^th inning due to rain)

Tuesday night’s game was horrible because of the Twins play on the field. Wednesday night’s game was horrible because of the rain on the field. The game was delayed at the onset, and then three rain delays later, they finally called it. Unfortunately, the game was through five innings, making it an official game. The Twins were behind 4-1 at the time, so they get the loss and fall to 13-16.

Kevin Slowey got off to a bad start. In the first inning, he gave up three runs on four hits. The biggest blow as a Nick Markakis two run homer. He gave up two more hits, but no more runs, over two more innings before the game was delayed the first time. When the game started up again, Craig Breslow entered the game. He gave up a solo homer to Luke Scott. He gave up just one other hit, and most important, he did not walk a batter in two innings. Mark Hendrickson started for the Orioles and gave up just one hit over three scoreless innings. After the rain delay, former Twin Brian Bass came in. He went the final 2.2 innings and gave up a run on four hits and a walk. He struck out four. None of the Twins hits off of him were hit hard.

Mike Redmond had two of the Twins five hits.

On Thursday, Glen Perkins will face Brad Bergesen.   

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

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

SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Anthony Swarzak, Rochester Red Wings & Cole Devries, New Britain Rockcats

ROCHESTER REPORT

Wednesday –Rochester 5, Louisville 2 – Anthony Swarzak had another strong start and picked up his second win. He gave up just one run on five hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out six. Sean Henn went the final two innings. He gave up a run on a Jonny Gomes home run. He struck out three in two innings. Drew Butera went 3-4 with two RBI. Luke Hughes had just one hit, but it was his fifth home run. David Winfree went 2-4 with a triple. Dustin Martin was 2-4 with a walk and his ninth stolen base.  

• By the way, be sure to bookmark a new blog on the Rochester Red Wings called ‘R Red Wings.

ROCKCAT RECAP

Wednesday – Game 1 – New Britain 2, New Hampshire 0 – Cole Devries was very strong again for his second win. He went five shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out two. Rob Delaney pitched a scoreless sixth frame. Anthony Slama recorded his fourth save with a scoreless seventh inning. He struck out one. The Rockcats managed just four hits in this game. Erik Lis scored both runs. He hit a solo home run. He also scored on a Juan Portes double. Portes had two doubles in the game.

Wednesday – Game 2 – New Britain 5, New Hampshire 3 – Matt Fox made the start in the second game. He went 5.1 innings and gave up two runs on two hits. He walked three and struck out four. Jose Lugo gets credit for the Win as he got the last two outs on the sixth inning. Anthony Slama recorded his second save of the day despite giving up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Brian Dinkelman went 2-3 with his fifth double and two RBI. Rene Tosoni scored three runs in this game. He was 2-2 as well as got hit by a pitch. Brandon Roberts was 2-2 with his fourth double.

INJURY REPORT – Juan Portes played 3B in both of these games as Danny Valencia rested a sore wrist.    

MIRACLE MEMOS

Wednesday –Ft. Myers 5, Sarasota 6 – Deolis Guerra had his first rough start of the season. The 20 year old righty gave up six run on 11 hits and two walks in just four innings. Steve Hirschfeld threw three scoreless relief innings. Alex Burnett pitched a scoreless eighth. The Miracle managed just five hits, no one had more than one. Danny Berg was 0-2, but he walked three times. Deibinson Romero walked twice. Ben Revere stole his 14^th base. 

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Wednesday – Beloit 0, West Michigan 3 – Dan Berlind made the start for the Snappers in place of Shooter Hunt. (No word on what the team is going to do with Hunt; skip a start, move him to the bullpen, etc.) Berlind went 4.2 innings and gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits. He walked two and struck out three. Joe Testa came in and went 2.1 scoreless innings. Matt Williams pitched a scoreless inning. The Snappers had just four hits. Angel Morales hit his third double and third triple.  

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It’s Official… Casilla to Rochester, Tolbert to Twins

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LaVelle guessed right. The Twins announced that they are sending Alexi Casilla to Rochester, and promoting utility infielder Matt Tolbert to the Twins.

With lefty Mark Hendrickson on the mound for the Orioles tonight, I would like to see Tolbert get into the lineup at SS, replacing Nick Punto because I would really like to see Brendan Harris in the lineup against a lefty. I think that Harris should be the team’s primary 2B for the near term, with Tolbert again filling the role of utility player.

I do have to say this. When Alexi Casilla started the season with the Twins in 2007, people were excited. He proved that he was not ready at the time and made several mental mistakes. That perception clearly has stuck around. They have been compounded at the start of this season with his .160 batting average and a couple of not-well-timed errors. But I also think that we need to step back a little bit and stop completely bashing Casilla. Has he made mistakes? Certainly. Should he have run out the popped up bunt? Of course. Should he have thrown home last night? Of course. I really don’t like when people question a person’s effort. I really don’t think that is fair. Can we question his baseball IQ at this point? That is fair. But let’s try not to mix the two.

Saturday Game Reports

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From my BaseballDigest.com Game Recap –

The Twins had several opportunities and really should have won, but instead, they had to work some overtime, burn the bullpen and in the end lost 10-7 to the Kansas City Royals in 11 innings. The game was back and forth throughout. Both teams had several opportunities to take over the game, but both teams squandered opportunities.

Glen Perkins started for the Twins and gave up five runs on ten hits in six innings. Luis Ayala came in and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in 1.1 innings. Jose Mijares came in and got the final two outs. But an Alexi Casilla error caused another tying run to score. Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth. Matt Guerrier threw a scoreless tenth. Then in the 11th inning, Craig Breslow came in and walked three out of the four batters he faced. He left with the bases loaded, and R. A. Dickey was the only bullpen arm still available. The knuckleballer came in and didn’t throw any knuckleballs in a walk to John Buck that gave the Royals the lead. A fielder’s choice and a single later, the Royals had the 10-7 lead that Joakim Soria held onto in the bottom of the inning.

In his second game, Joe Mauer had four more hits. Delmon Young, in the lineup because Jason Kubel was scratched because he was sick, went 3-4 with two RBI. Michael Cuddyer went 2-4 with his second home run. Joe Crede, back from a day with his wife who gave birth to their third child, went 2-5.

On Sunday afternoon, the Twins will send Scott Baker to the mound against the Royals’ Gil Meche.

OTHER NOTES

• Craig Breslow – 6.2 innings, 9 walks. I know he’s smart and has something like 57 different pitches in his arsenal. However, he needs to pick out like four or five of them that you can throw for strikes! Otherwise, Brian Duensing should be on call.
• Nick Punto – sure, he has been on Web Gems a lot in previous seasons. But this year, how many times has he bounced throws to 1B. He certainly doesn’t have Bartlett-like range.
• Carlos Gomez – I don’t know if I can put up with watching him anymore. Sure, he covers a lot of ground on defense. I get that. But he can’t hit, he doesn’t even try to bunt for hits anymore, he can’t lay down a sacrifice bunt, and clearly the plate discipline that he was trying to develop didn’t happen yet. How he has a big league gig is beyond me right now.
• Alexi Casilla – he’s not quite in my ‘ready-to-give-up-on’ or ‘send-him-to-Rochester’ lists, but it’s getting close. He at least takes pitches and generally has good swings. Maybe it’s the turf, but he does not seem to have much range on ground balls either.
• Ron Gardenhire – He made the perfect move in the 8^th inning when he brought Jason Kubel off of the bench as a pinch hitter for Alexi Casilla. It forced Trey Hillman’s hand, and he brought lefty Ron Mahay into the game. If Kubel was too sick to play today, it didn’t make a lot of sense for him to pinch hit in that situation. And, because he was pinch hitting for Casilla, the perfect move would have been to have Brendan Harris pinch hit for Kubel. That would have created a righty-lefty matchup with one of the Twins best right handed hitters. It would have been perfect to use Kubel as a decoy to get the matchup you wanted. Instead, Kubel was left in to face Mahay, and he struck out to end the threat.
• 0-2 – That is a good pitcher’s count. Why do Twins pitchers give up so many solid base hits when the count is 0-2? It goes back to Brad Radke who did the same thing.  
• Like Torii Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz has never seen a microphone he didn’t like. But this time, I’m listening. It is great to read him come out with statements about his former high school teammate, Alex Rodriguez, whose most recent round of questions brought up by Selena Roberts involves him taking steroids as early as high school. “There’s no way. I was with him too much, I was with him for too long. Our team was together, like, 20 hours of the day. Every day.”

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

• Roger posted his weekly minor league report at Twinkie Town.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Saturday – Game 1 – Rochester 5, Indianapolis 1 – Philip Humber made his first Red Wings start and did very well. He gave up just one run on three hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out three to gain his first win. Sean Henn got the final six outs, allowing only one hit. Dustin Martin went 2-2, was hit by a pitch and stole two bases. Luke Hughes went 2-3 with an RBI.

Saturday – Game 2 – Rochester 2, Indianapolis 3 (8 innings) – The Red Wings managed just four hits in this game. Matt Tolbert had a double and a triple. Trevor Plouffe also hit a triple. Brian Duensing started this one and gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. Juan Morillo threw a perfect inning in relief. He needed just six pitches, and four of them were strikes. Mike Gosling pitched a scoreless seventh inning, but he gave up a run with one out in the bottom of the 8^th inning.

 ROCKCAT RECAP

Saturday – New Britain 7, Trenton 6 – Jeff Manship put together and incredible start in this game, and the bullpen held on, barely. Manship worked the first seven innings and gave up no runs on just one hit. He walked one and struck out five to earn his second win of the season. Zach Ward came in and gave up two hits and two walks before being taken out of the game without recording an out. Yohan Pino came in and gave up one hit, but did get the team out of the inning with a three run lead. Anthony Slama recorded his third save, but he struggled. He gave up two runs on a hit and two walks. He struck out one. Rene Tosoni went 2-4 with his third double and first stolen base. Matt Moses and Brian Dinkelman were each 2-3 with a walk. Whit Robbins hit his second home run. Brandon Roberts had a double and drove in three runs.  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Saturday –Ft. Myers 6, Charlotte 4 – David Bromberg gave up two funs on four hits and four walks in five innings, but he won his second game of the season. Steve Hirschfeld gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk. Henry Arias picked up his first save by throwing two shutout innings. Steve Singleton went 3-5 with his fifth double. Chris Parmelee went 3-4 with his third double, fourth homer and three RBI. Ben Revere went 2-5 with his 12^th stolen base.    

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Saturday – Beloit 6, Great Lakes 18 – Dan Osterbrock had another bad start in this one and falls to 0-3. In just 2.1 innings, he gave up nine runs on nine hits, including two home runs. He walked two, hit one and struck out two. Bruce Pugh went the next 2.2 innings and gave up just one run. Henry Reyes then gave up seven runs on seven hits and two walks in just 1.2 innings. Steve Blevins gave up a run over the final 2.1 innings. The offense was able to score six runs despite getting just six hits. Ozzie Lewis and Jonathan Waltenbury each hit their first home runs of the season. Drew Thompson got his first hit, a double.   

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Belief in Crede Pays Off!

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Hey Twins Fans, the Twins showed tonight that it may take a little extra time and extra work, but the team could in fact beat the Toronto Blue Jays. In the bottom of the 11^th inning, Joe Crede doubled off of the centerfield wall which scored Justin Morneau from first base with the game-winning run. A night after a brutal-to-watch Twins loss, the Twins and Jays gave baseball fans a great game to watch. Here are some thoughts:

·         Justin Morneau again led the offense. The first baseman went 3-5 with a double. He probably would have had a second double if not for the strange play by Alex Rios against the baggy in right field. His hustle in scoring the winning run from 1B on Crede’s double was impressive. His defense continues to be underappreciated. He saved Nick Punto an error with a tremendous scoop play on a throw in the dirt.

·         Joe Crede had the game winning double in the 11^th inning, but he had another double earlier. He also again made some very solid plays with his glove.

·         Alexi Casilla laid down a nice bunt between the pitcher’s mound and 1B in the middle innings after Denard Span had stolen second. It was a good bunt in between the pitcher and 1B and Casilla ended up with a hit. Morneau followed with the ball off the baggy which advanced Span to 3B and Casilla to 2B. I was shocked that Span did not score. Why? Because I didn’t realize that Span had inexplicably not advanced to 3B on Casilla’s bunt single. Clearly it was a sacrifice bunt attempt called by the dugout so Span knew it was coming. I have no clue why he did not advance. An argument could be made that the bunt should have been down the 3B line. That’s valid, but with a right-handed throwing 1B (Kevin Millar), a bunt to 1B was also fine. Span has been one of the top two or three hitters for the Twins this season, so to point out one flaw isn’t exactly fair, and I don’t want to make too big a deal out of that, but that play would have meant another run for the Twins, a possible Win for Glen Perkins, and two less innings pitched by the bullpen.

·         The top story of this game, other than the game winning hit, had to be the performance of Glen Perkins. He pitched eight innings for the second time in two starts. He gave up two runs on seven hits and a walk. He again struck out four. Perkins deserved the Win, again, but he has to be thrilled with the start to his 2009 season. The coaching staff and Twins fans should be as well.

·         Could Ron Gardenhire have removed Perkins from the game when Vernon Wells came up with Alex Rios on 2B in the 8^th inning to try to maintain their 2-1 lead. They could have gone to Jesse Crain or even Joe Nathan. Perkins had just hit the 100 pitch count, so that move could have been made. In retrospect, maybe that move should have been made, but I have to admit that I really liked the idea of Gardy sticking with the guy that got them there. I had zero problem with sticking by Perkins there. Wells didn’t hit the ball terribly hard, but it went into the right spot for the game-tying single. The decision could be second guessed, but then again if Gardy makes that move and the reliever gives up the tying run, we would still be second guessing that decision. So, you likely won’t see me complaining about that kind of situation too often

·         It was interesting to see the starting lineups shown before the game. Coming into the game, eight of the nine Blue Jays starters had (small sample size!) batting averages of .333 or better. The Twins starting lineup had one player, Nick Punto, hitting .333. The Twins also had four players with batting averages below .200!

·         The Twins continued a pattern of not being able to hit pitchers that they haven’t seen previously. Ricky Romero, a lefty making just his second big league start, was able to go eight innings for the Jays. He gave up two runs on eight hits. He walked none and struck out just two.

·         The performance of Jesse Crain has to be mentioned. He threw two perfect innings. I was finally able to listen to John Bonnes, The Twins Geek, on last night’s MNGameNight.com podcast. One of the topics he mentioned was that Crain has now given up just one hit in 4.2 innings this season.

·         Another comment that John has made throughout the offseason and even in the last couple of days is that Carlos Gomez should spend a couple of months in Rochester figuring out how to hit. We heard so much about him working on pitch recognition and taking pitches and walking. So far this season, he’s got one walk and nine strikeouts. After an 0-4 last night, Gomez is now hitting .115 (3-26) on the season. The elephant in the room is that if Gomez were to spend even a month or six weeks in Rochester, he would likely not be Super-2 arbitration-eligible after the season. Now, I would be against that being the reason to send him down, but he clearly has earned the demotion. I know it’s early in the season. They probably should give him another couple of weeks to see if he can figure things out, but it just isn’t pretty at all.

 

I will be back in a bit to post the minor league game reports and a few other minor league notes. Be sure to check back for that. But what did you think about the game tonight? What stood out in your mind?  Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.