Tigers Take Game 2

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SethSpeaks.net NIGHTLY Minnesota Twins Podcast Live Tonight at 10:00!! Listen Live! And don’t forget that I will be holding a call-in contest, with one trivia question. First person to call-in with the correct answer gets two signed Twins rookie cards. It should be a good show!

As expected, the Tigers and Justin Verlander were able to win the night game of the day-night double header. Verlander was simply incredible. For the first seven innings, he was using pinpoint control of a fastball that ranged from 97-99 mph. He also showed a great curveball, but I was most impressed by the drop and the movement of his changeup that was 14-15 mph slower than his fastball. He kept hitters off balance really until the 8^th inning. Verlander threw nearly 130 pitches to get through eight innings. Here are some other notes from game two:

• Brian Duensing just didn’t quite have it tonight. It is not unusual for Duensing, even when he was throwing well, to give up plenty of base runners. He gave up seven hits and three walks in just 4.2 innings. He just wasn’t able to get the big outs to strand runners the way he had in other opportunities.
• I know some question the decision to go to Bobby Keppel with two outs in the 5^th inning, primarily because on his first pitch, Brandon Inge singled in two more runs to make it 5-0. I think the move to Keppel is excusable for a couple of reasons. However, with Jon Rauch having thrown 40 pitches in the first game, he was not available. If Rauch was available, then it would have made sense to go to Jesse Crain that early. I can understand that move. After the single on the first pitch, Keppel was fine.
• The Twins battled back and cut the Tigers lead to 5-4 in the top of the 8^th. Then I don’t know how to justify not bringing in Jose Mijares, who had only thrown a handful of pitches in game one, to pitch the Curtis Granderson. There is a reason that Granderson was hitting 7^th in the Tigers lineup… because he can’t hit lefties. It was just not a good matchup for Matt Guerrier, who was fine after the leadoff home run made it a 6-4 deficit.
• Orlando Cabrera went 3-4 in the game.
• Denard Span was 2-5. He added a double.
• Jason Kubel was 2-3 with his 34^th double and a sacrifice fly.
• The bottom five hitters in the lineup combined to go 2-20 with nine strikeouts. One of the hits was the Nick Punto RBI double in the top of the 9^th,that was kind of a Granderson gift.
• Jesse Crain was impressive again with a scoreless inning. He has now not given up a run in 16 appearances, since two runs in August 22^nd.
• Jim Leyland let Justin Verlander throw 130 pitches. He has thrown a ton of pitches in the last couple of months. That’s good for the future… of the Twins! The White Sox have Jake Peavy. The Royals have Zach Greinke. The Tigers… will likely lose Verlander to injury at some point in the near future. Like some of those Marlins pitchers (see AJ Burnett) from those year, Leyland is letting his top starters rip up their arms down the stretch!
• Hey, Twins fans, let’s not get too down with this loss. The goal coming into the series was to win at least three. Now that goal should be to win three. If there was a game that we felt would be most difficult, it was this one. So, I feel pretty good about where the Twins are still. Obviously I would prefer they would have won and been tied going into tomorrow, but I would also rather they be up by seven games and resting starters at this point. So, it will be fun again tomorrow night. It will be fun watching it and the JustinMorneau.com and JoeNathan.com outing at Champps in Richfield. Maybe see you there! Click here for details!

Feel free to leave your comments.

Thursday Morning Notes

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Good morning! Another nice Twins win. A sweep of the White Sox… in Chicago. Another Tigers win. Ten games to go. Twins have won nine of their last ten. If they can do that the rest of the season, they will win the division… probably. Here are some more thoughts, which will hopefully create some discussion. 

SethSpeaks.net NIGHTLY Minnesota Twins podcast

• On last night’s podcast, I was joined by Bill Ferris. Bill has been blogging on The Detroit Tigers at The Detroit Tigers Weblog since 2001! We spent the first part of the show talking about Wednesday night’s Tigers destruction of the Cleveland Indians, 11-3.We talked about the pennant race, last weekend’s Twins/Tigers series, and much more including his thoughts on Tigers legendary announcer Ernie Harwell who, despite his recent news, is still an inspiration to everyone around him. Again, you can download the podcast online or to your i-Pod.
• Tonight at 10:00 central time, there will be a new show, and I already have a couple of confirmed guests. One of the guests will be one of the Twins better prospects, so be sure to tune in for that. The Twins have an off day, but we will have a lot to talk about. The Tigers and Indians series finale. The upcoming Twins/Royals series, and the Tigers/White Sox series, and much more.  

 Twins 8, White Sox 6

• For the second straight night, the Twins were able to hold on for an 8-6 win over the Chicago White Sox. Again, the Twins jumped out to a quick lead. Going into the bottom of the 4^th, the Twins held a 5-0 lead. The White Sox cut the lead to 5-4, then added to their lead, then let the lead be cut in half late, but then held on.
• Brian Duensing went until there were two outs in the bottom of the fourth before allowing a run. It was the first run he had allowed in 17 innings. He went 5.2 innings and gave up four runs (3 earned) on nine hits and improved to 5-1.
• Bloggers speak so frequently of the term “Small Sample Size.” When talking about what the Twins needed to do over the last few weeks to succeed, I have said the same thing. You know basically what you are going to get from Mauer, Kubel, Cuddyer and Span (when he is able to get back in the lineup). But any production from the likes of Orlando Cabrera, Nick Punto, Matt Tolbert and Delmon Young, is a bonus that the team needs to take a step forward.

1.  
   1. Orlando Cabrera had an excellent series against his former teammates. He was 5-12 with a triple, a homer, six runs scored and five RBI.
   2. Matt Tolbert had two hits on Monday and the solo home run on Tuesday.
   3. Nick Punto went 4-10 with two walks, a double, four runs scored, four RBI and three stolen bases.
   4. Delmon Young went 5-8 over the last two games.

• Jesse Crain got one out and did not allow a run. He has now not allowed a run in his last 14 games which covers 14 innings.
• Joe Mauer went 1-4 to end the game hitting .371. Ichiro went 2-4 and is hitting .355.
• The Twins now get to enjoy an off day.
• The Twins remain 2.5 games behind the Tigers, who beat Cleveland 11-3 last night. Carlos Guillen had a big game. He was 3-4 with a walk, his eighth double, his 10^th and 11^th home runs and four RBI. Miguel Cabrera was 2-4 with a walk, his 31^st home runs and three RBI. Rick Porcello got his 14^th win, giving up one run in five innings. The Tigers play today, throwing Justin Verlander.

World Cup Update

• Canada beat Venezuela 9-2. Rene Tosoni was 2-4 with his fifth double, third triple, two runs scored and two RBI.
• Australia beat The Netherlands 5-2. Tom Stuifbergen started for the Netherlands team. He threw five shutout innings. He gave up two hits and walked two. Liam Hendriks started for Australia. He threw six shutout innings, allowing two hits, walking none and striking out four. Matt Williams got the final four outs to record the win. Luke Hughes was the offensive hero for Australia. He went 2-4 with his third and fourth home runs and four RBI. James Beresford was 1-4.
• Team USA beat Puerto Rico 3-0. Trevor Plouffe went 0-5.
• Cuba beat Chinese Taipei 8-0.
• On Thursday, USA plays against Cuba, Taipei takes on Puerto Rico, Canada plays The Netherlands and Venezuela plays Australia.
• On Friday, Cuba plays Canada, Venezuela plays Taipei, Australia plays Puerto Rico, and The Netherlands plays Team USA.
• Then on Saturday the fourth place teams in the two pools play (for 7^th place), the third place teams in each pool play (for 5^th place), and the second place team in each pool play (for third place).
• Finally on Sunday, the first place teams in each pool will play for the World Cup championship.

If you have any opinions, comments or updates, please leave them in the Comments section.

Sunday Morning Notes

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Good Sunday morning!! Well, our favorite baseball team (The Minnesota Twins, in case you’re new) has done its best to make me look like an idiot. I mean, I can do pretty well at that myself, but I’ve been saying the Twins were done for over a month. Why? Well, the Twins simply had not shown an ability to play consistently well enough to put together a string of wins. And when the Twins had won 12 out of 16 games, they were not able to make up any ground on the Tigers. This nine game home stand started with two losses to the Oakland A’s and the news that Justin Morneau would be lost for the rest of the season. So what happened? The Twins have won six games in a row, their longest streak of the season.

On Friday night, it was seven shutout innings from Brian Duensing that set the tone. He was able to wiggle out of some tough situations. Michael Cuddyer gave the Twins a 2-0 lead with a big, two run homer. 

On Saturday afternoon, Carl Pavano gave up a lot of singles, but just two runs over his seven innings. He left down 2-1. But in the seventh inning, Jason Kubel came to the plate with the bases loaded following an intentional walk to Joe Mauer (who had hit a line drive into the upper deck in right first for his 28^th home run which at the time tied the game at 1-1). With Justin Verlander already over 120 pitches, Kubel blooped a well-placed single to left field that scored Denard Span and Orlando Cabrera who got a great read on the ball. There was a pitching change, and then Michael Cuddyer added to his amazing week by crushing a home run to dead center field to give the Twins their 6-2 win.

 Here are a few thoughts: 

• Joe Mauer came out of a small mini-slump. I felt the need to be redundant there because most players would not even consider it a slump. He’s been amazing all year, but has really stepped it up.
• Michael Cuddyer has completely replaced Justin Morneau at 1B. He has been just fine with the glove, and offensively, he has come up with some big hits and big power numbers. He has hit six homers and driven in 18 runs in September. He has hit four home runs in his last five games. He has driven in 13 runs in his past six games.
• Nick Punto has been good in September. He has an OPS of .788 in the month. Again, you are looking for players to step up and do a little bit better than they have. Punto has done that.
• The Bullpen – Bill Smith deserves a lot of credit for this. Adding Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay has certainly helped the bullpen. Maybe you disagree, but with Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, Rauch and Mahay, I don’t get quite as nervous, or cynical, when the starters leave with a lead.
• Jesse Crain has been terrific! He has not allowed a run in 11.2 innings spanning back to August 25^th.
• Carl Pavano has made six straight quality starts.
• Brian Duensing has four quality starts in his last five starts. The other? Three runs in five innings.  He has completely outpitched what his minor league numbers would indicate he should be, but who cares? It’s something that you just have to run with at this point! Good for him, and Great for the Twins.

Winning on Sunday and keeping the momentum will still be important. Following the game today, the Twins will embark upon a ten game road trip. They will play three games in Chicago against the White Sox, then three games in Kansas City before starting a four game series in Detroit against the Tigers. They will then come home to play their final three games against the Royals. There is still a ton of season left to go. If the Tigers win today, they will have done what they likely hoped to do, avoid a sweep. They will head to Cleveland for three games before going to play three games against the White Sox. They will end their season with seven home games, four against the Twins and three against the White Sox.

World Cup Update:

• Thursday
  • Trevor Plouffe went 1-5.
  • Rene Tosoni went 0-5 with five strikeouts. That’s not a great game.
  • Luke Hughes was 2-4 with his 2nd double.
  • James Beresford went 2-3 with his 4^th double and two RBI.
  • Liam Hendriks gave up four runs on seven hits in two innings.  
• Friday
  • Nelvin Fuentes struckout one and walked one in 1.1 scoreless innings for Puerto Rico. What a great opportunity for the young pitcher. He is joined on the Puerto Rico by several former big leaguers including Luis Matos, Jose Valentin, Ruben Gotay, Raul Casanova and Alex Cintron.
  • Tom Stuifbergen threw seven shutout innings against Great Britain. He allowed five hits, walked none and struck out five.
  • Rene Tosoni went 3-5 with his third double and two RBI.  
• Satuday
  • Luke Hughes went 3-3 with a walk, his third double and a stolen base.
  • James Beresford went 0-4.
  • Rene Tosoni was 1-4 with two walks.
  • Trevor Plouffe went 1-5.
  • Terry Tiffee was 4-5 with his fourth double and two RBI.

Other Notes:

• Roger, in his Weekly Twins Minor League Report, handed out top hitter and top pitcher awards for each of the Twins affiliates.
• Travis  (Travis Twins Talk) began his look at the Twins minor league hitters and pitchers of the year earlier with his selections for Rochester, New Britain and Ft. Myers. Travis also added his choices for each team’s top rookie, biggest surprise and biggest disappointment.
• @DarrenWolfson has the Tweet of the Day already this morning: “Baseball prospectus playoff odds: Det. = 67.5%. #Twins = 30.2%. Note from J. Stark: Twins days spent under .500 this yr (86), over .500 (43)”
• Minnesota Versus Detroit Day. The Twins hope to sweep the Tigers while the Vikings hope to get an easier win in Detroit against the Lions than they got last year! What will happen?

If you have any opinions, comments or updates, please leave them in the Comments section.

Rockcats Season Ends

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Seven Rockcats pitchers held the Connecticut offense to just two runs., but the Defenders limited to Rockcats to just three hits. The Rockcats’ season ended with a 3-1 series loss.

Mike McCardell started and gave up three hits and three walks, but no runs, in just 2.2 innings. He struck out four. Spencer Steedley got two outs, but he gave up a run on three hits to take the loss. Frank Mata came in and struck out five in 2.2 innings. He gave up one run on one hit. Then Kyle Waldrop, Tony Davis and Carlos Gutierrez each went 0.2 innings without allowing another run. Alex Burnett threw a perfect inning as well. Whit Robbins had two singles while Brian Dinkelman added another single. That was it for the Rockcats offense.

Mike McCardell, Spencer Steedley, Steve Singleton and Rene Tosoni will play in the Arizona Fall League.

Twins Links:

• The Twins salvaged one game from their home series against Oakland with an 8-0 win on Sunday. Brian Duensing gave up eight hits and three walks in seven shutout innings for his third win of the year. Bobby Keppel and Joe Nathan each threw a scoreless inning. The Twins scored three runs in the first inning, one in the third and four in the fourth inning to essentially end that game. The Twins were able to score eight runs with both Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel out of the lineup. Joe Mauer went 3-4 with his 27^th home run of the year. He is now hitting. Michael Cuddyer was 3-4. Denard Span was 2-3 with two walks. Joe Crede returned to the lineup as the team’s Designated Hitter. He went 0-4 with four strikeouts. Of course with the Twins winning, it meant that the Detroit Tigers also won, lowering their magic number to 15 games.
• Twins in the World Cup. Tom Stuifbergen started for the Netherlands against South Korea. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 4.1 innings. He struck out three and used 60 pitches. Australia then beat the Netherlands 19-6. Liam Hendriks threw three hitless innings, needing just 30 pitches. Brad Tippett came in and 29 of his 36 pitches were strikes. However, it may have been too many starts as he gave up six runs on six hits in just 1.2 innings. Luke Hughes was 1-4 with three strikeouts. But the one hit was a two run homer. James Beresford went 2-3 with a walk and a double. Team USA beat Canada 8-0. Rene Tosoni went 0-4 with three strikeouts. Trevor Plouffe was 1-3 with two walks. Former Twin Terry Tiffee went 3-4 with two doubles and three RBI.

If you have any opinions, comments or updates, please leave them in the Comments section.

Twins Lose in Canada

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The Twins found a new way to lose tonight. The team lost a game in Canada for the first time this year!

The Twins jumped out to a 3-0 lead. In the first inning, Justin Morneau doubled in Jason Kubel. In the third inning, it was Kubel who drove in two runs.

Brian Duensing threw five shutout innings to start the game. But his sixth inning began with back-to-back singles, followed by a walk. Duensing was relieved by Jon Rauch, and that’s when the flood gates opened. Former Twin Randy Ruiz hit a sacrifice fly, another walk was issued, and Edwin Encarnacion singled in two runs to tie the game. A couple of batters later, Rauch allowed a three-run homer to light hitting John McDonald that gave the Blue Jays a 6-3 lead that was last the rest of the game.

Denard Span and Orlando Cabrera each had two hits for the Twins. Jose Mijares and Bobby Keppel combined for 2.1 shutout innings.

The Tigers appear to be headed toward a win against the Royals and will have a 7.5 game lead in the AL Central.

Joe Mauer was not in the lineup. I think that is just fine. He does need an occasional day completely off. He hasn’t had one in a while. On the road is a good place to do that. And then you have to pick who you want him to not play against. A tough, young lefty just makes sense. Mauer did pinch hit and made the final out of the game.

If you have any opinions, comments or updates, please leave them in the Comments section.

The Stretch Keys

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It was either going to be Rich Harden or Jeff Manship starting for the Twins last night. After no deal was made on Monday to bring in the Cubs veteran righty, it was Manship making his first big league start. Although I’m certain he was nervous, he pitched a very solid game. He went five innings and gave up just one run on four hits. He walked two and struck out two. I would call that a very respectable debut, especially considering it came in September in the heat of a pennant race. Jesse Crain appears to be back (I said Appears!). He threw two perfect innings in relief. Thanks to two Michael Cuddyer home runs, the Twins held a 3-1 lead.Then the 8^th inning guys came in and it didn’t go so well. Jose Mijares came in and walked the lone batter he faced. Matt Guerrier came in and gave up a game-tying home run to Gordon Beckham. But, the Twins did go get Jon Rauch to be their new vulture. He pitched a scoreless top of the 9^th. With two outs in the bottom of the 9^th inning, recently promoted Jose Morales was called upon to pinch hit. He came through with a game-winning single that scored Nick Punto and gave the Twins their win.

All year long, I, and many others, have said that the AL Central division could be won by the team that puts together the best winning streak. The Twins are on a role right now having won 12 of their last 15 games. The question is, with 30 games to go, can they keep it up? Are they peaking at just the right time… or is it too little too late?

The Twins have again given their fans a team that will play some very exciting games in September and October. It should be a very fun time to watch how this last month of the season unfolds. Here are my keys to the Twins success:

1.)    Starting Pitching – But that is always the case. Scott Baker has been very good in the second half. Carl Pavano has done what was expected of him when the team acquired him at the July trade deadline. Nick Blackburn had a tremendous first half and then was, well, pretty bad to start the second half. But if he can pitch like he did against the White Sox on Monday night, that will be huge for the Twins. And then there are the two rookies. Right now, the Twins are going with Brian Duensing and Jeff Manship in their starting rotation. Think about that for just a moment. Neither of them started the season in the Twins AAA starting rotation. Manship was in AA, and Duensing was pitching in the Twins bullpen. We (OK, I) question why he was even put back into the Red Wings rotation when he was demoted. I thought he should be put into the bullpen down there because that was the role he would serve for the Twins. Well, long term, it still may be. But in September, he will hold one of five starting spots for the Twins during the pennant race!

2.)    The Bullpen – Again, no surprise here, but it does have to be mentioned. The additions of Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay provides a more veteran bullpen. Jesse Crain has been much better of late and may be the key to it. But right now, I feel pretty good about a bullpen of Joe Nathan, Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, Jon Rauch, Ron Mahay and Jesse Crain.

3.)    Justin Morneau – his September swoons the last couple of years have been well documented. This year, his August was quite sub-par. Hopefully he has found a way to stay strong and focused through the final month. Another thing I have observed, and is my opinion, is that he just needs to relax and stop trying to do too much, like hitting six run homers, or hitting 600 foot shots!

4.)    Joe Mauer – Again, no surprise here, and when it comes to staying cool, there is no one better than Mr. Mauer. But he needs to not read newspapers, the internet, or even blogs. He will likely read about missed opportunities, or times when he maybe should have gone outside the strike zone and hit rather than draw a walk. The key for Mauer is just to do what he does. That should be enough for an AL MVP award, and it should be enough for any Twins fan!

5.)    Gomez/Casilla/Cabrera – I think we can all agree that none of these three can be counted on for offense. We also know that Cabrera can’t really be counted on for good defense. That is where Gomez comes in. He is likely to play a lot in September strictly due to his defensive prowess. Casilla has seemingly overtaken Nick Punto in the lineup, which is a great thing, and just needs to maintain that role. I also just think that at least one of these guys needs to have a big month. The good teams always get crucial performances from unexpected heroes down the stretch. Who will that be for the Twins?

6.)    The Bench – Last night’s game-winning single notwithstanding, the Twins don’t have much of a bench. Jose Morales is the only actual hitter on the bench. Mike Redmond at this point should be only an emergency catcher. Nick Punto should only be a late inning defensive replacement at 3B or SS. Matt Tolbert should pinch run when he is there. Brian Buscher should be a good cheerleader. The extra outfielder on any given day will also be an important option off of the bench. Delmon Young has also been hitting well, so hopefully that can remain through the final month. Maybe this shouldn’t be The Bench. Maybe it should be The Starting 9’s health! If they need to go to the bench, that would not be good.

What are the other keys to the final month, in your opinion? Please feel free to leave your comments on the Twins, or anything. (I posted my thoughts on the loss of Kevin Mulvey later yesterday in an update, so be sure to scroll down to see that.)

Friday Night Updates

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The Twins lost a tough one to Detroit. Anthony Swarzak gave up six runs in the first inning. However, a bad call likely cost at least one run, and more important, one out. Brendan Harris did tag Curtis Granderson on a run down between 3B and home. Granderson admitted it after the game. Swarzak still struggled and didn’t get an out in the second inning. Fortunately for the Twins, Brian Duensing came in and was very good for 4.2 innings. Jesse Crain threw well. In fact, the only reliever that didn’t do well was Joe Nathan who had the old “closers can only pitch well in save situations” thing going for him. Joe Mauer got the Twins off to a good start with solo homer in the first inning. It was his 19^th of the season. In his next at bat, he drove in two runs with an opposite field single. He had hits in his next two at bats as well. Denard Span also had four hits in the game.

But it is also possible that the biggest story from this game occurred after the game. In his postgame comments, Gardy did not mix words. He had been kicked out of the game in the second inning for letting the home plate ump know that he thought Tigers’ starter Armando Gallaraga was balking. The umpire crew missed several calls later in the game too, up to three on one play. Read Gardy’s postgame comments here. The story is likely not done because Gardy will likely face a fine, if not a suspension.  

Tonight, Carl Pavano will make his Twins debut against the Tigers’ Justin Verlander.

COACH WATKINS

In the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2009, I wrote the following about Tommy Watkins:

“His playing days in the Twins organization may be coming near an ends. I anticipate a career in coaching in the Twins system in the future for Watkins.”

Have I mentioned that the book is now on sale? The price is literally as low as I can go to break even!

Well, according to LaVelle E. Neal’s Minor League Report,

Infielder Tommy Watkins has left Class AAA Rochester and is back in Fort Myers as he transitions into a new career as a coach.

Watkins, who played in nine games with the Twins in 2007, was batting .254 at Rochester. At age 29, he probably wasn’t going to get another big league shot.

Watkins will help coach the rookie league team, managed by Jake Mauer, and will also help out with Class A Fort Myers during home games.

 Obviously we wish Watkins the best in this new career path. He can call himself a big leaguer with a career batting average of .357 with an OPS of .795.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Steve Singleton, New Britain Rockcats

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

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday –Rochester 3, Louisville 0 – Jeff Manship continues to pitch great since his promotion to the Red Wings. The righty threw 8 shutout innings to improve to 4-2 with a 3.22 ERA. He gave up just five hits, walked none and struck out seven. Juan Morillo gave up a hit and a walk, but he struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his fourth save. Brian Buscher went 3-4, playing 1B and batting third. Steve Tolleson and Trevor Plouffe each hit a double.  

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain 9, Akron 6 – Steve Singleton increased his batting average to .389 with a 4-5 game. He hit two triples and drove in two runs. Brandon Roberts also went 4-5 with three RBI. Toby Gardenhire went 3-5. Mark Grudzielanek 2-5. Ryan Mullins picked up his eighth win with a quality start. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on six hits and a walk over six innings. Carlos Gutierrez gave up three runs on two hits and two walks in his inning. Kyle Waldrop got one out before Anthony Slama came in and got the final five outs, three on strikeouts. It was his 24^th save.  

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 7, Charlotte 0 – David Bromberg threw his second shutout of the season. Nine innings. No runs. He gave up just three hits and two walks while striking out nine hitters. He improved to 11-1 while reducing his ERA to 2.44. Chris Parmelee went 2-4 with his 22^nd double. Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with a walk. Joe Benson and Rene Leveret each had two hits.  

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 7, Cedar Rapids 8 (11 innings) – There were plenty of highlights and performances in what turned out to be a very entertaining game. Brad Tippett started and gave up five runs on six hits in 5.1 innings. He walked none and struck out four. Steve Blevins went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up only an unearned run on three hits and a walk while striking out three. Billy Bullock got four outs, three on strikeouts. He gave up an unearned run. Winston Marquez got his first appearance. He gave up a run on two hits in 1.2 innings to take the loss. But of the five outs he got, all five came on strikeouts.

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Friday – Elizabethton 2, Bluefield 6 – Another loss for the E-Twins, Miguel Munoz gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. Tony Davis gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in 2.2 innings. He struck out five. Dakota Watts was sent down a couple of levels and struggled again. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in 2/3 of an inning. The offense didn’t help in this game as they managed just five total hits. Brian Dozier went 2-5 with a walk. Reggie Williams hit his sixth double.  

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

Friday – GCL Twins 9, GCL Rays 8 (11 innings) – Wilson Ramos is back and on a rehab assignment. He DHd in this game and went 2-6 with two home runs. Oswaldo Arcia went 3-5 with a walk and his seventh stolen base. Daniel Santana was 2-6 with his second home run and four RBI. Nick Freitas was 2-5 with a walk and his third steal. Blayne Weller actually raised his ERA to 1.54 by giving up one run in five innings. He gave up six hits and walked on. Leonardo Parra came in and gave up five runs on six hits in just 0.2 innings. Eliecer Cardenas gave up two more runs on three hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Then Jan Rehacek came in for his debut. He struck out two and walked on in two hitless innings. Rehacek played last year for Konica Minolta of the Dutch League. Andrei Lobanov threw a perfect inning and got the win. On the season, Lobanov has thrown 18 innings. He has walked zero and struck out 30! And he’s still just 19 years old.   

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

Sweep Complete! One More Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

TWINS 3, WHITE SOX 2

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

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

Now a couple of other baseball game etiquette notes:

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

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

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

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

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

ROCHESTER REPORT

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

ROCKCAT RECAP

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

MIRACLE MEMOS

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

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

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

E-TWINS EXTRAS

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

GCL TWINS GOINGS ON

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

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

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.  

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