Since Seth didn't post this weekend I had to go do my own digging to see what happened in Rochester.  Liriano finally put together a good start down there.  While it's only one start its good to see little upside for once.  He pitched 6 innings gave up 2 earned runs, 5K's 2 BB's, and 4 hits.  It's nice to see the guy have a little success.  He also threw 91 pitches, 58 of them for strikes.  So he showed a lot better control getting 64% of his pitches across for strikes in comparison with the roughly 55% he did the last two starts down at Rochester.

I found a short article that just said it was good to see him
with a smile after getting off the mound but nothing much about velocity what kind of pitches he threw or how much movement was on his offspeed pitches.   So finally we get a tidbit of good news involving Mr. Liriano. 

I was wondering if anyone knows what's up with Trevor Plouffe.  I looked at the weekend boxscores for the Rockcats and didn't see him?  is he injured or possibly getting called up to Rochester to replace Casilla?

...and the only prescription is...less Kubel!

Continue reading this post »

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/21793-MLB-Minnesota-Twins-Whatnot-5-7-070508

The Twins showed that they actually have something in the tank this past week. The question is, will it ever come out again? I ask this question and more in the second Twins Whatnot.

Minnesota is known for offensive ineptitude. Scoring eleven and four runs respectively, how much do the consecutive wins against Detroit mean to the Twins?

Dan Wade:Anytime you beat a divisional opponent, its important. A sweep is awesome, but the fact that it came against the Tigers (with Granderson) makes it all the more sweet. Beating the team that had the consensus best offseason, while the Twins were largely panned for their deals, just shows that you never know how good a team will be until they get on the field.

The best part of the sweep over the Tigers was that we beat them at their own game. The bats came out early and often, and in game three, they weren’t scared away by the Tigers’ outburst. The Tigers can be beaten by good pitching, but the Twins proved they can be out hit as well.

Jon Grilz: It shows that the Twins actually have it in them to provide some consistency. Not only that, but it does volumes for the confidence of pitchers that now know that don't have to hold opponents to 1 or 2 runs.

Jon Bartsch: Huge wins, and while both of those were impressive, the comeback to sweep the Tigers was the biggest win. Anytime you down six runs to the Tigers in the first inning, you figure it is just one of those days where you can't stop them and they might set a record. However, the fact that Boof was able to settle down and give the Twins a chance to stay in that game was huge. The offense came through in the clutch and delivered a win. I'll get down on Joe Mauer periodically for his lack of offensive production, but he was arguably the MVP of that series sweep for the Twins.

Kelsey Hakes: This was a huge win for the Twins. It proves that they don't need the big names like Johan Santana and Torii Hunter to succeed. The series sweep gave the the over .500 mark and first place in the AL Central. Everyone is starting to find their groove at the plate and are coming out of their shell. We're looking sharp and hopefully we can remain in this spot for at least a while. This will give the Twins incentive to keep doing better. If they keep their bats hot and keep scoring runs, the team should be quite consistent.

Marty Andrade: Never make too much of the ups and downs early in the season season. The White Sox and the Indians are both scoring more runs than they allow and this means they are much more likely to win over the long haul than the Twins who are scoring fewer runs than they allow. By the end of the season, Minnesota will still have a reputation of offensive ineptitude.

Andrew Kneeland:While it shouldn't prove to mean very much in the long haul, this sweep is good for many other reasons. The Twins' mentality must have changed now that they showed that they can actually score runs. The pitchers must be more at ease now that they know they don't have to pitch a three-hitter to earn a win.

In addition to those, this is great for the Minnesota fanbase. Most Twins fans were resigned to a losing, rebuilding season. While that still may be the case, this sweep can be viewed as a message to fans that Minnesota isn't out of this yet.

Gomez has also shown improvement recently. Does this affect his future with the Twins in any way?

Dan Wade:Gomez is the future of the franchise, so I don’t see him moving around too much between the majors and the minors. As I’ve said in the past, his problem is with very good offspeed pitches, which most AAA pitchers don’t have. He needs to see the pitchers first hand and then watch tape to fix his approach.

His recent improvement has come as a result of his new goal of not striking out as much. Gomez knows what he needs to fix, and he is slowly starting to fix it. He is a work in progress, no doubt, but I think he will be the type of player who takes two steps forward and one step back. It’s a long road, but he is off to a pretty solid start.

Jon Grilz: It is still a waiting game to see what he is capable of. He still has to learn that he doesn't need to try and win games by himself. His recent attempt at a circus-style catch in the outfield and his misjudging a past ball at 3rd and being gunned down at the plate show that he still has a long way to go.

Jon Bartsch:I don't think so. He's been our choice at center field and leadoff since opening day. I didn't expect that to change unless he absolutely could never get on base. No one else on the roster can provide that kind of spark at the top of the lineup. Yeah, he will attempt to hit the ball through the Metrodome's roof from time to time, but he is doing more than most people expected. His defense continues to be solid, and he knows how to bunt. If he was swinging away in every at-bat I would be concerned, but he is showing that he knows how to use his speed to get on base and score runs.

Kelsey Hakes:Well if he keeps using his 'head', he can be around a long time. He is starting to swing the bat level and he proves time and time again how speed excels at this game. Anyone who has ever had any doubts have become a believer. He is proving himself a major-leaguer and is filling out his full potential. I expect to start seeing great things this year, possibly a new record for stolen bases?

Marty Andrade:A .678 OPS isn't exactly Mays or Mantle material. More worrisome for me is his .299 OBP and .029 Isolated OBP (ISoP, which is just OBP minus BA). He's a superb athlete and he could be a very good ballplayer for a very long time in a Twins uniform, but he should spend at least half of this season in AAA, I would prefer the entire season. This also preserves some service time and delays arbitration eligibility and free agency. With Jason Pridie hitting .292/.349/.416 and Darnell McDonald hitting .342/.400/.603 the Twins have two fair options ready to go. Even Denard Span has a higher OBP than Gomez and he would be good enough for the time being in CF. Gomez is clearly the CF of the future for the Minnesota Twins. Gomez needs to learn the strike zone and how to be as disciplined as possible at the plate. That's not going to happen at the MLB level. But the Twins aren't likely to send him down now at all, barring injury.

Andrew Kneeland: I have been of the opinion that Gomez should be sent down to AAA for quite some time now. Now, though, I think I am changing my mind. There is nothing that Gomez can't gain in the minors that he can't gain in the majors except confidence. That confidence will come with time, once he learns how to not strike out.

That ability will come with time, and it will come faster in the big league.

Mike Lamb has been struggling as of late. How soon could he lose his starting job to Nick Punto if he doesn't get into gear?

Dan Wade:Punto’s glove has earned him a spot on this team come hell or high water, that much is a given. He has not looked nearly as overmatched at the plate as he did last year, so that is a very good sign, whether he is starting at third, short, or coming off the bench.

Gardy LOVES Punto, serious man-crush territory. And Punto is clearly a better defender than Lamb, even with Everett making up for Lamb’s terrible glove. So, if Lamb continues to struggle, we may start seeing Punto making spot starts more frequently, especially if Tolbert continues to play well enough to take over as the Super Sub the Twins love having on their bench.

Lamb was a key addition this offseason, so I don’t see the Twins giving up on him completely anytime soon. That said, if we get into the summer months and Punto is around .260 to .280 and Lamb stays in the .220 area, we may see a switch. If they are close, I think they will start to share the job in some bizarre platoon based on the GB rate of the starting pitcher.

All this is contingent on Lamb continuing to look terrible at the plate. I’ve got a feeling that he will break out soon, but I’d say he’s got a month at the most to prove that he is a substantially better hitter than Punto.

Jon Grilz:Punto is a liability when it comes to his bat, but his ability in the field should overlook that at this point. We brought in Lamb primarily for his defense and to have a better bat than Punto, but if he can't step it up we need to have someone in the field that is as lights out as Punto is (wherever we put him). If Punto could even get his batting average around .260-.275 I would see him as a consistent All-Star with his ability to make headline making plays.

Jon Bartsch:I think it will take a lot more than a slow start for us to demote Lamb. After all, we let Punto keep the job for most of last year and his slow start became a season-long slump. Punto is great where he is right now, in the utility role. Lamb has the power potential (he has yet to show it) to hit 20-30 home runs. If he can start producing some power, this won't even be a question. His defense isn't great, which is the main concern in him keeping the job, but if his bat gets hot, he's here to stay. The Twins have needed a power-hitting third basemen for years. Lamb may not be the answer, but I don't think he is in danger of losing the starting gig anytime soon.

Kelsey Hakes:Recently getting moved up in the batting order to change things around, Lamb went 2-4. Perhaps he is finding his groove. As of right now, he is safe. Nick Punto has all of the material for a starter, but he can't handle the pressure. He proved that last year when he was full-time 3rd base. He went from batting #2 to batting #9. Lamb had a good year last year with the Astros batting .289. We know he can do it, its the matter of getting it done.

Marty Andrade:They should both be fired along with Adam Everett. Brian Buscher or Matt Macri could play third for the Twins and be just as inept as Lamb or Punto. I'd prefer Buscher at the moment but I'm flexible on the matter. Tolbert could play SS (though I worry about his .781 Zone Rating, which is lower than Punto's or Everett's) and we'd need another utility guy. It doesn't matter, I would take whatever replacement player I could find at SS over Punto or Everett and I'd take just about any of the guys with decent arms at AAA over Punto or Lamb at 3B. It's harsh but I'm tired of incurable offensive inferiority. Lamb might lose the job to Punto soon, like next week even, but the Twins will probably hold on to him far too long after he's been benched. I don't see him leaving the Twins until after the All Star break.

Andrew Kneeland:If the losing continues, I say bring up some minor league kid who looks promising. Matt Marci, Brian Buscher, or even Trevor Plouffe would be great additions to the team, and I would love to watch them play.

Gardenhire needs to get over his love for Punto, and he needs to let him go. Punto just doesn't have what it takes offensively to compete in the big leagues.

Now a fun one: if you had the choice, what would you rename the Minnesota Twins (team movement is allowed)?

Dan Wade:The Twins have got to stay in MSP, but they aren’t a team that belongs to just the city. So, the Minnesota part stays. Sadly, a lot of the good MN related names have been taken: The Wild, Wolves, and Moose are all great names. As far as the Fan Base is concerned, the Twins have very strong regional following, unlike the local followings common to more densely populated areas in the East and West. So I propose a name that acknowledges Minnesota’s preeminence among the Midwest states: The Minnesota Regional Hegemony!

Jon Grilz:I would have to be the Minnesota Casseroles or Minnesota Dontcha-Knows

Jon Bartsch: I'd steal the Lakers name back from that Los Angeles basketball team that's always in the headlines. They moved to the ocean and kept the best name a Minnesota franchise ever had.

Kelsey Hakes: First off they would move to Jackson, MN where I currently reside so I can go to all of the games and get season tickets and maybe a date ;) As to what they'd be called, to stick with a small town atmosphere: the Minnesota Corn-Growers or the Minnesota Hicks. Both are pretty catchy and would have awesome logos.

Marty Andrade:I'd like to see a return of the Minneapolis Millers or maybe something like the Minnesota Minneapolitans. I have a certain disdain for St. Paul and I never liked the term "Twin Cities" (where we get the present nickname "Twins") anyway as it's misleading, the two cities are nothing alike.

Andrew Kneeland:I would love to see the return of the Minneapolis Lakers, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I would be in favor of some kind of animal. Enough time has passed since more than the Timberwolves and Gophers had an actual animal as their mascot.

Bobcats? Grizzlies? Eagles? Rabbits? Anything would do just fine for me.

The organization was 2 games over .500 this week, 14-12.  Three of the four teams were very good, however, Rochester has a 7 game losing streak.

There were several transactions this week, many involving the Twins.  I also missed Rochester's Tommy Watkins return from DL last week.  The Twins placed Scott Baker on the DL opening a spot for Kevin Slowey, who had been at Rochester on a rehab assignment.  They will callup Glen Perkins for today's start, replacing Pat Neshek who is likely out for the season with a serious elbow injury.  Former National League All-Star, Danny Graves, was promoted to Rochester from New Britain.  Errol Simonitsch was activated by the Miracle from EST where he had been on a rehab assignment.  Dianna is reporting that New Britain centerfielder Brandon Roberts and pitcher David Shinskie were reassigned from the New Britain DL to EST.  Finally, the organization's hottest hitter, Luke Hughes, took a foul ball off his leg/foot on Wednesday.  He was replaced and has not played since, although he had not been placed on the disabled list as of yesterday.   

With the minor league season about a quarter over, several players in the organization are on pace for driving in 100 runs.  When looking at the top five rbi men in the system, there may be a few names which will surprise some fans.  Who are the five most productive hitters in the organization in terms of driving in runs?

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (0-7, 14-22)

The Red Wings had an awful week, dropping to fifth place and losing 6.0 games to Division leading Scranton/WB who they now trail by 12.0 games.  With a lineup that many thought would battle for a league title, many fans and reporters in Rochester are questioning the chemistry of this team.  Was the addition of several minor league veterans this past winter the correct decision?  Would Rochester be a better team had prospects such as Trevor Plouffe and Brandon Roberts been promoted to the Red Wings?

Kevin Mulvey (2-4) lost twice this week.  On Saturday he pitched 5.0 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs and 5K/1BB in a 4-0 loss.  On Thursday he pitched 5.0 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs and 1K/2BB in a 5-1 loss.  Brian Duensing had a rough start in last Sunday's 8-4 loss, pitching 5.2 innings with 5 hits, 6 runs and 3K/4BB.  He had the Wings best start this week in last night's 4-3 ten inning loss, pitching 6.0 innings with 7 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 3K/0BB.  Brian continues to lead the team with 47.2 innings pitched with the best ERA (3.40) for all starters.  Francisco Liriano had his best start of the year in Monday's 7-6 loss, pitching 5.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 4K/4BB.  Philip Humber had a short but good start in Tuesday's 3-1 loss, pitching 4.0 innings with 5 hits, 1 run and 6K/2BB.  Heath Totten made a spot start in Thursday's second game, pitching 3.0 innings with 4 hits, 4 runs and 0K/2BB.  Glen Perkins will return to Minnesota as today's starter following his two best starts of the year.  He pitched a complete game shutout with only 2 hits and 7K/1BB on April 26th.  On May 2nd he pitched 5.1 innings, again allowing only 2 hits with 3 runs (2 earned) and 4K/4BB.  Perkins returns to the Twins after appearing in 7 games for the Wings (6 starts) with a 2-1 record and 2.97ERA in 33.1 innings with 27K/19BB.

Julio DePaula had the best performance of any reliever this week, appearing in 3 games (3.1 innings) with 0 hits, 1 run and 4K/3BB.  His best performance was Tuesday, when he pitched 2.0 no-hit innings with 3K/0BB.  DePaula has appeared in 15 games (20.1 innings) with a 0-0 record, 3.10ERA and 19K/15BB.  Casey Daigle also had a good week, appearing in 2 games (2.0 innings) with 2 hits, 0 runs and 2K/0BB.  He has an excellent 2.20ERA in 12 games (16.1 innings) with 10K/6BB and a 0-2 record.  Danny Graves has moved up from New Britain, where he appeared in 7 games (10.0 innings) with a 2-0 record, 3.60ERA and 7K/4BB.  Someone like Graves, who has a lot of major league experience, could play an important role for the Twins now that Neshek may be out for the season.   

Darnell McDonald was 8 for 24 (.333Ave) this week with a home run and 6 rbi.  He now has enough at bats to qualify for the International League batting title and is currently second at .340/.398/.617.  McDonald leads the team with 25 rbi which is third best in the organization.  Denard Span has returned to Rochester with a mission to play well and continue working to become a solid major league player.  This week, Span was 10 for 28 including 2 doubles, 4 runs scored and 3 stolen bases in 3 attempts.  Span is now hitting .317/.419/.349 with 2 doubles, 12 runs scored, 4 rbi, 11 stolen bases (13 attempts) and 15strikeouts/11walks in 63 at bats.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (5-2, 19-14)

The Rock Cats had another excellent week with a nine game winning streak that ended with a 9-7 loss on Thursday.  The Cats are in third place, 3.5 games behind Trenton.

Jay Rainville had a solid start in last Saturday's 6-4 win, pitching 5.0 innings with 5 hits, 2 runs and 5K/1BB.  He followed that start with a tough one Thursday, pitching 3.2 innings with 8 hits, 7 runs and 3K/2BB.  Jay has made 7 starts this season (29.2 innings) with a 2-4 record, 10.01ERA and 15K/11BB as he continues to come back from missing all of 2006.  Oswaldo Sosa also had two starts that were less than excellent.  On Sunday, he pitched 5.0 innings with 8 hits, 5 runs and 3K/1BB in a 6-5 win.  Last night he pitched 4.0 innings with 7 hits, 5 runs and 2K/4BB in a 12-11 loss.  Yohan Pino allowed 8 hits and 3 runs in 6.0 innings with 3K/1BB in Monday's 5-4 win.  Pino's 2.32ERA continues to be the best of all Rock Cat starters.  Ryan Mullins pitched 6.0 innings with 5 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) and 6K/3BB in Tuesday's 5-3 win.  Mullins leads the team with 38.1 innings with a 3.05ERA, 2-2 record and 23K/17BB.  Anthony Swarzak also made only one start this week, pitching 4.2 innings with 8 hits, 5 runs and 3K/3BB in Wednesday's 7-6 win.

This winter the Twins signed minor league free agent Ben Julianel, a 28 year old lefty who has been the Rock Cat closer much of this season.  Ben has 6 saves in 14 games (17.1 innings) with 20K/11BB and a 2.60ERA after appearing in 3 games (2.2 innings) this week with 2 saves and 6K/1BB.  Armando Gabino had three scoreless appearances before getting the loss last night when he allowed 4 runs.  For the week, he appeared in 4 games (5.2 innings) with 4 hits, 4 runs and 0K/5BB and now has a 2.61ERA.  Zach Ward had another solid week, appearing in 3 games (4.0 innings) with 2 hits, 0 runs and 3K/1BB.  Ward has a team best 0.44ERA.

Luke Hughes leads the Eastern League in hitting with a .388 Average.  He was 10 for 20 (.500) this week prior to taking a foul ball off his leg and leaving the game Wednesday night and missing the games on Thursday and Friday.  Dustin Martin is the third best hitter in the League with a .343/.410/.495.  This week Martin was 8 for 23 with 8 rbi, giving him a total of 23 rbi which is tied for fifth best in the organization.  Brock Peterson had another excellent week, 10 for 26 (.385Ave) with 2 doubles, 5 runs scored, 7 rbi.  Peterson, who is hitting .298/.365/.450, currently leads the organization with 31 rbi.  Trevor Plouffe had another solid week, 9 for 27 (.333Ave), with a double, home run and 5 rbi and is now hitting .290/.338/.427.  David Winfree may only be hitting .226/.315/.461, however, he is hitting .295/.354/.545 with runners in scoring position which is why he has an organization second best 29 rbi.  Many fans expected Erik Lis to be a huge addition to the Rock Cat lineup.  It has taken awhile for him to adjust to AA pitching, however, he has been one of the Cats better hitters the last few weeks.  This week Erik was 11 for 22 (.500Ave) with 4 doubles, a home run and 2 rbi...and is now hitting .264/.328/.425.

Fort Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (4-2, 21-13)

The Miracle had a good week, however, Tampa was better.  The Miracle slipped into second place and are now 0.5 games behind Tampa.

In his last outing, Deolis Guerra struggled allowing 9 hits and 8 runs.  He stepped up a notch this week pitching 6.0 innings with 5 hits, 2 runs and 1K/0BB in Thursday's 7-2 win.  Alex Burnett was excellent last Saturday, pitching 6.0 shutout innings with 5 hits and 3K/1BB in a 5-2 win over the Daytona Cubs and former Twin Adam Harben, who pitched 4.2 innings with 6 hits and 5 runs and now has a 1-4 record and 6.30ERA.  Burnett was also solid last night, pitching 5.2 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs and 3K/2BB in a 7-3 win.  Burnett leads all starters with a 2.70ERA  and a 2-1 record in 8 games (33.1 innings) with 18K/13BB.  Tyler Robertson had his roughest outing of the year on Sunday, pitching 5.0 innings with 14 hits, 6 runs (5 earned) and 2K/1BB...raising his ERA to 3.86.  Cole DeVries had one of his best starts in Monday's 9-1 loss, pitching 7.0 innings with 7 hits, only 2 runs and 0K/1BB.  Jeff Manship was again solid in Tuesday's 4-2 win, pitching 6.0 innings with 7 hits, 2 runs and 8K/2BB.  Manship has an excellent 3.23ERA with a 4-0 record in a team high 39.0 innings with 37K/13BB. 

Matt Fox has had a few rough outings recently, however, he was nearly perfect in a 2.1 inning relief appearance on Thursday, when he allowed only 1 hit and 0 runs with 5K/1BB.  Danny Vais now has a 4-0 record with his ERA down to 0.86 after a week in which he made 2 appearances (4.1 innings) with 2 hits, 0 runs and 3K/1BB.  Robert Delaney made 1 appearance this week and now has a 0-2 record with a 0.54ERA/0.78WHIP in 11 appearances (16.2 innings) with 8 saves and 17K/2BB.  Anthony Slama made 3 appearances this week, allowing his first earned run of the season.  Slama has a 2-0 record with a 0.47ERA/0.79WHIP in 12 appearances (19.0 innings) with 5 saves and 27K/6BB.  Will either Delaney or Slama be moving up to New Britain this week?

Brian Dinkelman was 8 for 22 (.364Ave) with 4 runs scored, 2 doubles, 2 rbi and 3 walks/0 strikeouts and is hitting .328/.420/.462.  He has a team high 23 runs scored which is second best in the organization behind only Luke Hughes and tied for fourth best in the FSL while his .328 Average is sixth best in the league.  Dinkelman also has taken 15 walks compared with only 10 strikeouts in 119 at bats.  Rene Tosoni saw his average dip a bit this week to .324/.422/.426, which is ninth best in the league.  Juan Portes was 7 for 22 (.318Ave) this week, and is now hitting .311/.375/.396.  Portes continues to split time between left field and second base, however, he appears to be developing into the hitter we have been looking for since hitting .327/.380/.530 as an 18 year old in the GCL in 2004.  Danny Valencia is hitting .292/.381/.458 with 15 runs scored, 11 doubles, 3 home runs and 27 rbi which is tied for second best in the league and is third best in the Twins organization.   

Beloit Snappers (A) (5-1, 16-18)

The Snappers are slowly climbing out of the basement and are now in fifth place, 9.0 games behind Clinton.

Danny Berlind was excellent this week.  Last Saturday, he pitched 6.0 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs and 5K/1BB in a 8-2 win.  Last night he pitched 7.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 5K/2BB.  Berlind now has a 3.54ERA with a 3-2 record in 6 games (28.0 innings) with 22K/14BB.  Brian Kirwin followed Berlind with an excellent start on Sunday, pitching 6.0 innings with 4 hits, 1 run and 2K/0BB in a 4-1 loss.  Santos Arias was solid on Monday with a 5.0 inning start with 4 hits, 2 runs and 5K/0BB in a 4-2 win.  Arias now has a 1.64ERA and 1-0 record in 2 starts (11.0 innings) with 10K/0BB.  David Bromberg was excellent in Tuesday's 6-2 win with 6.0 innings, 3 hits, 1 run and 9K/3BB...and now had 43K/20BB in 36.0 innings with a 5.00ERA.  Michael Tarsi had the one rough start this week in Thursday's 8-6 win, pitching 4.0 innings with 8 hits, 6 runs (5 earned) and 3K/1BB. 

Loek VanMil had an excellent week out of the Snapper bullpen...making 2 appearances (5.0 innings) with 3 hits, 0 runs and 5K/3BB.  VanMil has appeared in 9 games (14.2 innings) with a 1-0 record, 2.45ERA and 19K/6BB.  Spencer Steedley appeared in 3 games (3.2 innings) this week with 1 save, 2 hits, 0 runs and 8K/1BB.  Steedley now has a 1.66ERA with 31K/8BB in 21.2 innings.  Steven Hirschfield continues to have the best ERA (0.95) on the team while Charles Nolte made 1 appearance this week (2.0 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs and 3K/0BB).

The Twins acquired catcher Jair Fernandez from Seattle in the R. A. Dickey Rule V transaction.  Fernandez was 5 for 15 (.333Ave) this week and is now hitting .327/.357/.423 in 52 at bats.  Steven Singleton continues to hit well at .325/.361/.412 with 16 runs scored after a week in which he was 7 for 23.  Joe Benson is hitting only .225/.314/.350, however, leads the Snappers with 20 runs scored and 7 doubles.  Ozzie Lewis hasn't done well for the Snappers, .091/.206/.200, however, he has battled injuries all season and hasn't played in over a week.  Chris Parmalee is hitting .232/.376/.495, with a team high 6 home runs (tied for fourth best in the league) and 23 rbi which is tied with Dustin Martin for the fifth best in the organization and sixth best in the league.

The answer to the top rbi producers in the organization, are: 1) Brock Peterson (31); 2) David Winfree (29); 3) Danny Valencia (27); 4) Darnell McDonald (25); and 5) Dustin Martin and Chris Parmalee (23 each). 

Player of the Week

When the Twins drafted Ben Revere in the first round last year, many fans and draft experts claimed they were being cheap for drafting a player with second or third round talent to save money.  It will be several years before we really know what kind of player Ben will become, however, initial indications are that the Twins scouts (and accountants) knew a lot more about this young man than all the media and scouting experts.  Ben went on to hit .325/.388/.461 in 191 at bats for the GCL Twins where he led the GCL with 46 runs and 10 triples while stealing a second best 21 stolen bases in 30 attempts. 

Many also questioned why Revere began this season in EST rather than at Beloit which would be the normal progression for a 19 year old first round pick.  With several players struggling at Beloit, Ben was promoted to the Snappers a couple weeks ago and has proceded to ignite the Snappers who immediately began playing better, winning ten of their last fourteen.  This week, Ben had multiple hit games (two 3 hit games) every day except last night when he was 1 for 5.  For the week, he was 13 for 27 (.481Ave) with 6 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 rbi and 5 stolen bases in 8 attempts. 

In his first 46 at bats in A ball, Ben is hitting .413/.460/.522 with 7 runs scored, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 4 rbi and 6 stolen bases in 11 attempts.  Ben has alternated with Joe Benson in center field, playing left field when not in center.  It remains to be seen how Ben's season will play out, however, no one in baseball has been playing better than he the past few weeks.  As the 2008 draft approaches and the Twins make their first few selections, we should all remember the comments made last year when the Twins made a surprise pick!    

A day or two after offering up yet another bloggers-suck-newspapers-4-evah  column, Patrick tosses off a Twinkies column  with zero player/coach quotes that couldn't be found in other sources (or in-game commentary on TV) and zero signs of access.  In other words, it is a column that could have been written in his momma's basement with a bag of Cheetos and an MLB Pass...just like us dirty bloggers. 

Best of all, since my laptop didn't land on my doorstep, I read Patrick for free on the internets. 

We're almost two weeks into May and Delmon Young's OB% is higher than his slugging average.

And both are well under Jason Tyner's '07 numbers.

Tyner was .331 obp and .355 sa last year, and for his career he's .314 and .324. Delmon's at .314 obp and .310 SA, according the MLB stats as of roughly midnight CDT. At this point in the season, I didn't think Delmon and I would have the same number of home runs.

I've been tinkering with an essay asking the question why people are going so ga-ga over Carlos Gomez. Then Gomez hit for the cycle in Wednesday night's game against the White Sox. This is therefore not that essay.

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Tell the story of your favorite game you've ever attended.

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When sharks I mean spammers attack.

If you see blatant spam show up on the site, which we're getting a bit more of these days because we're awesome, flag it and contact one of our admins.  Usually we're pretty quick to catch them, delete them and ban them, but if we're all watching it will make things a lot easier.

This morning we got one telling us where to go to date the same hot models that atheletes do.  That sounds fun and all, but if it's the same place Roger Clemens goes, I might have to vomit.  I think I just did a little bit, in the back of my mouth.

Thanks er'body.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/wires/05/01/2010.ap.bba.twins.young.s.start.0747/

I just noticed a couple of  quotes on Delmon Young.  One was by Cuddy, and the other by Gardy.  You decide which is funnier.

"He's getting on base. He's doing what we need him to do" - Cuddy

Well he has gotten on base a few times this year, but I don't really think he's "doing what we need him to do" with a .613 OPS.

"He doesn't throw stuff" - Gardy

hmmm...   http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2423307