Twinkie Town: FanPosts

70 Years Ago...

2009-07-04T19:25:14Z

70 years ago today, Lou Gehrig stepped up to the microphone set up in the House that Ruth Built....

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career to associate with them for even one day?

Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert - also the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow - to have spent the next nine years with that wonderful little fellow Miller Huggins - then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology - the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy!

Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift, that's something! When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies, that's something.

When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles against her own daughter, that's something. When you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body, it's a blessing! When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that's the finest I know.

So I close in saying that I might have had a tough break - but I have an awful lot to live for!"

Lou Gehrig - July 4th, 1939

If you wish to listen to a part of the clip of Gehrig speaking, click here. If you wish to listen to Gary Cooper perform this speech to perfection, click here.

Let Lou Gehrig be a model for all mankind, both young and old. Gehrig was an inspirtation on the field and in everyday life...a perfect American. RIP Lou Gehrig! You were a perfect 1B and American! Long Live AMERICA!!!!

Minor League Report...July 4, 2009

2009-07-04T14:51:36Z

Good Morning and Happy Birthday America! The Twins organization had another winning week at 23-18 with only Beloit playing less than .500 ball.

Anthony Swarzak was called up by the Twins and will take Kevin Slowey's spot in the starting rotation (Swarzak last pitched on Sunday, June 28th). Slowey was placed on the DL after last night's game with a right wrist injury. Estarlin De Los Santos and Luke Hughes both are back in Ft. Myers with the GCL Twins on rehab assignments. The Twins released Luis Ayala, who had been designated for assignment. Ken Lipshez of the New Britain Herald is reporting that Yohan Pino will replace Carlos Gutierrez in the Rock Cats starting rotation. Sean Henn was outrighted to Rochester with Brian Duensing replacing him in the Twins bullpen. LaVelle E Neal III is reporting that the Twins have made an offer to Dominican super prospect Miguel Angel Sano. Rochester hitting coach Riccardo Ingram has taken a medical leave of absence. He will be replaced by Rich Miller moving up from Beloit with the Twins hiring former catcher Chris Heinz to be the hitting coach at Beloit.

Five Rock Cats were named to the Eastern League All-Star game including Anthony Slama, Whit Robbins, Brian Dinkelman, Matt Fox and Rene Tosoni. Anthony Swarzak was the only Red Wing named to the International League All-Star Team...looks like he will miss that game. The Twins also signed one recent draft pick this week, left handed pitcher Matt Tone who was the 14th round pick and will join the Elizabethton Twins.

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (3-2, 38-40, 4th place, -7.0 games)

The Wings moved up a spot this week while gaining a half game on the division leading Scranton/WB Yankees.

Jeff Manship was strong last night in a 6-2 win, pitching 7.0 innings with 5 hits, 1 run and 2K/4BB to pick up his first win in AAA. Anthony Swarzak was strong his last time out in Sunday's 6-2 win, pitching 7.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 5K/2BB. Swarzak leaves Rochester for the Twins with a 4-4 record in 10 starts (65.2 innings) with a 2.34ERA, 1.10WHIP and 43K/16BB. Brian Duensing had a 4-6 record in 13 starts (75.1 innings) with a 4.66ERA, 1.41WHIP and 44K/19BB before joining the Twins. Jesse Crain has appeared in 6 games (7.0 innings) with a 5.14ERA, 1.86WHIP and 11K/6BB. Crain allowed a run in both of his appearances this week, 2.0 innings with 2 hits and 3K/2BB last Sunday and 1.1 inning last night with 3 hits and 1K/1BB. Rob Delaney has appeared in 11 games for the Wings (16.0 innings) with a 5.06ERA with 11K/6BB. He allowed 4 earned runs in two games and only 1 run in the other nine. Armando Gabino followed an eye opening May (10 games, 14.1 innings, 0.63ERA with 11K/7BB) with a solid June (8 games, 17.2 innings, 2.55ERA with 12K/2BB) to improve his ERA to 3.09 in 24 games (46.2 innings).

Danny Valencia is hitting in AAA like the top prospect he is. In his first 9 games, Valencia is hitting .371/.389/.629 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 6 RBI. Alexi Casilla also continues to hit very well in AAA, .331/.379/.413 in 31 games (121 at bats). David Winfree hit .294/.374/.412 in 85 June at bats with 1 home run, 12 RBI and 11 walks with only 12 strikeouts. Winfree now has 9 home runs in 261 at bats while hitting .280/.315/.471. First baseman Justin Huber has been a strong addition to the Red Wings lineup this season, hitting .279/.358/.487 in 226 at bats with 10 doubles, 2 triples, and a team high 11 home runs and 44 RBI. Trevor Plouffe has the second most RBI, 41, while hitting .236/.293/.360 in 267 at bats.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (3-5, 41-38, 2nd place, -5.0 games)

The Cats lost a doubleheader yesterday with Matt Fox and Cole DeVries as their starters. For the week, they held on to second place while dropping 2.5 games further behind Connecticut.

Cole DeVries had two starts this week while picking up two losses. Last Saturday he allowed 2 runs on 6 hits with 5K/1BB in 7.0 innings of a 3-0 loss with 5K/1BB. Yesterday, he allowed 10 hits in 4.1 innings with 6 runs (3 earned) and 5K/1BB as the Cats lost 6-4. For the season, DeVries has a 5-7 record with a 3.13ERA, 1.38WHIP in 83.1 innings with 54K/25BB. Matt Fox was the starter in last Sunday's 3-4 loss, pitching 5.1 innings with 8 hits, 3 runs and 4K/3BB. Yesterday, he allowed 7 runs on 6 hits with 4K/6BB in 3.2 innings of a 8-5 loss. Fox has a 3.58ERA and 1.43WHIP in 83.0 innings with 64K/36BB and 6-3 record. Yohan Pino made a spot start on Wednesday, pitching 5.0 innings of a 3-1 win with 5 hits, 1 run and 6K/1BB. Pino had a 0.00ERA in 8 games (13.0 innings) in June with 2 hits and 10K/2BB. He hasn't made a lot of headlines, but Kyle Waldrop has a 1.04ERA in 6 appearances (8.2 innings) since his promotion from Ft. Myers. Alex Burnett has a 2.11ERA and 0.98WHIP in 15 appearances (21.1 innings) with 17K/7BB.

It was reported that Wilson Ramos is still several weeks away from returning from his hamstring injury. Erik Lis hit .315/.378/.483 in 89 June at bats to get his average back to .303/.376/.440 with 13 doubles and 6 home runs. All-Star Brian Dinkelman is hitting .302/.389/.438 (31 walks and 37 strikeouts) with a team high 20 doubles while his 37 RBI are second to Rene Tosoni's team high 47. Utilityman Toby Gardenhire is hitting a solid .272/.336/.325 in 114 at bats.

Ft. Myers (Hi-A) (4-2, 5-3, 1st place, +1.5 games)

The Miracle began the second half in a position they are comfortable in, first place.

Many of us have closely followed the career of Deolis Guerra since his arrival in the Santana trade. Guerra, who is in his third season in the Florida State League, pitched his best game as a Twin last night as he took a no hitter into the eigth inning of a 2-1 win. Guerra didn't make it, but pitching 7.1 innings with 1 hit, 1 unearned run with 6K/1BB may be that spark which will ignite the fire within him and take him to the next level before year end. Guerra leads the Miracle with 86.1 innings (16 games/15 starts) with a 6-8 record, 4.69ERA, 1.39WHIP and 57K/25BB. Michael McCardell pitched an excellent game Thursday, 7.0 innings with 7 hits, 1 run and 9K/1BB to pick up his eighth win against five losses. McCardell has a 4.05ERA with 66K/16BB in 80.0 innings. David Bromberg was also excellent in Monday's 5-1 win, pitching 6.1 innings with 5 hits, 1 run and 3K/1BB. Bromberg leads the staff with a 2.57ERA with a 6-0 record with 72K/35BB. Santos Arias has a 4-0 record with an excellent 2.32ERA and 1.22WHIP in 24 games (42.2 innings) with 29K/10BB. Spencer Steedley is one of the top relievers in the FSL with a 4-0 record, 0.95ERA, 1.03WHIP and 37K/11BB in 38.0 innings.

Chris Parmalee had an excellent June, hitting .293/.386/.547 with 4 home runs and 15 RBI to raise his numbers to .265/.349/.457 in 234 at bats with a team leading 10 home runs and 44 RBI. Ben Revere is hitting .310/.379/.372 with 45 runs scored and 28 stolen bases in 40 attempts. Revere also has more walks (26) than strikeouts (24). Rene Leveret, who was leading the team in hitting early this year, is hitting .278/.369/.373 in 169 at bats. D. J. Romero is making adjustments which are yielding results, hitting .322/.386/.494 in 87 June at bats with 3 home runs and 15 RBI.

Beloit Snappers (A) (2-4, 2-6, 8th place, -4.0 games)

The Snappers begin the second half in a familiar spot, last place. This has been a disappointing season as the Snappers haven't played like one would expect from a team filled with so many of the players that led Elizabethton to an Appalachian League championship last year. Fortunately, the second half has just begun and a nice winning streak would get them right back into the hunt for a title.

Early this season their starting pitching was the problem, however, their rotation has been solid for some time. Bobby Lanigan made two starts this week, picking up his seventh win in eleven decisions in Saturday's 6-2 win while getting a no decision in last night's 5-4 loss. Lanigan, who had a 2-1 record and 1.73ERA in June (5 games with 26.0 innings) leads the staff with 86.1 innings with a 4.48ERA and 69K/19BB. Brad Tippett has been the Snappers' most consistant starter all year, as evidenced by his 5-3 record and 2.89ERA in 13 games (71.2 innings) with 60K/14BB. Tipplett also had a no decision in Tuesday's 4-1 loss while pitching 6.0 innings with 4 hits, 1 unearned run and 4K/4BB. Michael Tarsi has been excellent since joining the Snappers last month, with a 3-1 record in 10 games (4 starts) with a 1.95ERA, 1.22WHIP and 38K/12BB in 37.0 innings. With Joe Testa off to Ft. Myers, Matt Williams is the team leader with 5 saves in 23 games (31.0 innings) with a 2.32ERA and 28K/13BB.

Aaron Hicks had a big game last night, going 2 for 4 with a double and triple. He has struggled in his first 11 games (37 at bats), hitting .216/.362/.324 while getting 9 walks with only 10 strikeouts. Recent 22nd round pick, catcher Buddy Munroe has 3 hits in his first 8 at bats. Ramon Santana is hitting .300/.388/.469 with 6 home runs and 35 RBI in 207 at bats. Top prospect Angel Morales missed much of the second half of June while struggling since his return. Morales leads the Snappers with 7 home runs while hitting only .206/.275/.369 in 214 at bats. Michael Harrington has a team high 22 doubles while hitting .230/.278/.374 in 230 at bats.

Elizabethton Twins (Advanced Rookie) (6-1, 10-1, 1st place, +3.0 games)

The Twins stretched their lead an additional 2.0 games over second place Johnson City.

The Twins starting staff has been very solid this summer, led by Angelo Sanchez who got his first win in Saturday's 8-3 win by pitching 5.0 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs and 7K/1BB. Sanchez picked up his second win in Thursday's 12-4 win, pitching 6.0 innings with 6 hits, 2 runs and 6K/1BB. Dutch pitcher Tom Stuifbergen also has a 2-0 record with a 4.24ERA in 3 starts with 20K/2BB. Stuifbergen got the win last night, 7-5, pitching 6.0 innings with 9 hits, 4 runs and 6K/1BB. Miguel Munoz had a strong start in Wednesday's 8-3 win, pitching 5.2 innings with 5 hits, 1 run and 4K/0BB, also picking up his second win without a loss. Munoz leads the staff with a 2.53ERA and 1.13WHIP in 10.2 innings with 13K/1BB. Recent second round pick Billy Bullock has a 1.69ERA in 5.1 innings with 7K/0BB. Ramon Acosta did not allow an earned run in 54.2 innings in the DSL last summer. That has changed, however, he has an excellent 1.80ERA in 5.0 innings with the Twins.

If it weren't for the incredible week of a teammate, Tyler Ladendorf would be this week's Player of the Week. In his first 11 games (42 at bats) with the Twins, this former second round pick is hitting .429/.519/.762 with 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 14 RBI. After hitting .204/.308/.392 in 147 at bats in the GCL last summer, it is great seeing this young prospect off to a great start this season. Many aren't aware that Aaron Hicks didn't have the highest batting average for the GCL Twins last year. Anderson Hidalgo hit .364/.453/.466 in 88 at bats, just missing having enough at bats to qualify for the league title. Hidalgo is playing third base this year while hitting .276/.371/.448 in 29 at bats. Josmil Pinto is a catcher/designated hitter with 4 home runs (including 1 grand slam) and 13 RBI in 30 at bats, hitting .267/.258/.767.

GCL Twins (Rookie) (2-1, 5-1, 1st place, +2.0 games)

The GCL Twins lost a couple games this week to rain while doubling their lead over the Orioles.

B.J. Hermsen followed his no-hit first start with his second win last night, 5-2. Hermsen pitched 5.1 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 4K/1BB. Shooter Hunt made his second rehab start with the GCL Twins in Tuesday's 4-1 loss, pitching 4.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 run, 4K/6BB, 2 wild pitches and 1 hit batter! Blayne Weller didn't get the win in Monday's game against the Orioles that is scheduled to be completed today. Weller pitched 5.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 unearned run and 5K/0BB. I wrote about Adrian Salcedo often last summer as the 17 year old starter compiled a 4-4 record with a 1.65ERA in the DSL. In 2 games (9.0 innings) this summer, Salcedo has a 1.00ERA, 1.00WHIP and 10K/0BB. Recent 16th round pick Dakota Watts hasn't allowed a run in 4.0 innings with 3K/2BB.

Who is Kennys Vargas? He is an 18 year old Puerto Rican first baseman who isn't in the media guide, didn't play professional ball last year and wasn't a draft pick. What he has done is another question. In his first 5 games in the GCL, Vargas is hitting .438/.500/.938 in 16 at bats with 2 home runs (including a grand slam last Sunday) and 8 RBI. Another young player who is making people take notice is centerfielder Wang-Wei Lin who is hitting .385/.467/.577 in 26 at bats. Hyeong-rok Choi is hitting .333/.385/.500 in 12 at bats while outfielder Hyun-wook Choi is hitting .333/.375/.400.

DSL Twins (Dominican Summer League) (3-3, 18-11, 3rd place, -2.5)

The DSL Twins slipped a spot in the standings while losing 1.0 game to the division leading White Sox.

Pedro Guerra had another great start in Tuesday's 7-0 win, pitching 6.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 7K/0BB. Guerra has a 3-0 record without allowing an earned run in 31.0 innings with 30K/5BB. Renzo Reverol has a 4-1 record including a win on Thursday, 6-1, when he pitched 7.0 innings with 3 hits, 1 unearned run and 7K/1BB. Reverol has a 2.08ERA, 0.72WHIP and 35K/4BB in 34.2 innings. Eddy Santana leads the bullpen with 4 saves in 10 games (13.0 innings) with a 5.54ERA and 12K/3BB. Seventeen year old Luis Nunez has a 1-2 record and 4.11ERA in 8 games (15.1 innings) with 16K/4BB. Fellow seventeen year old reliever, Francisco Nunez, has a 2-0 record and 1.59ERA in 8 games (22.2 innings) with 3 saves and 28K/3BB.

Yorby Martinez (20) is hitting .293 in his last ten games while Candido Pimentel (18) has had back to back multi hit games the last two days.

Player of the Week

Some of us were surprised when the Twins moved Danny Rams from EST to the Miracle when a catcher was moved up to fill in for an injured catcher. After all, this 2007 second round pick hit only .258/.311/.361 with 13 RBI in 97 at bats for the GCL Twins that summer. Rams followed his rookie season by moving up to Elizabethton last year where he hit .228/.301/.423 with 24 RBI in 149 at bats. When he was drafted, Rams was reported to be one of the better high school power hitters in the draft. Although he didn't hit a home run in the GCL in 2007, Rams did hit five with Elizabethton in 2008.

Although there isn't a lot of information available out of extended spring training, Rams must have made an impression to get the call to the Miracle. He responded by getting four hits in thirteen at bats (.308 Average) with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. It appears that the Twins want Rams to experience success, thus, they sent him back to Elizabethton rather than to Beloit who certainly needs a few hitters.

Rams has responded with an incredible start including a week he will certainly remember. In six games, Rams hit 10-24 (.417 Average) with 8 runs scored, 1 double, 5 home runs and 13 RBI with 4 walks and 11 strikeouts. In 39 at bats in 10 games this season, Rams is hitting .410/.500/.949 with 13 runs scored, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs and 18 RBI. It will be interesting to see how long Rams and Tyler Ladendorf remain in Eastern Tennessee?

Duensing Up; Henn Down

2009-07-02T18:07:21Z

I swear I'm not a twitter junkie (OK, maybe I am...), but this is from Kelly Thesier's twitter page (I think she tends to post news there before she writes the full articles):

kellythesier#Twins to recall LHP Brian Duensing from AAA Rochester. To make room, they've outrighted LHP Sean Hean to Roch.

Thoughts? I think this has to make our bullpen better in the short term, but a veteran solution via trade would suuuure be nice right now.

Morneau needs our help!

2009-07-02T03:15:49Z

Justin Morneau is having a better season than his MVP season of 2006. In my opinion, Morneau is better than Kevin Youkilis and just about as good as Tex.

However, after the latest update, Morneau stills sits behind Youkilis (1st) and Texeira (2nd). Mark Teixeira should probably be in first place because he is an excellent player who is once again having an excellent season. However, the fact remains that Morneau trails both of these players when he does deserve to be in the all-star game.

Morneau trails Mark Teixeira for second place by 314,726 votes. Morneau trails Kevin Youkilis, in an undeserved first place, by 354,773 votes.

We can help Morneau get into second place though! Vote many times, using mulitple email addresses...even make up emails in order to help our Canadian born 1B.

VOTE MAUER AND MORNEAU!!!!!

Poll

Will you vote for Morneau?

Blackburn looks good

2009-06-30T15:40:27Z

Excluding a couple of bad early starts on the road, Blackburn has looked really good this year. The question is, how valuable is this guy really going to be?

I'm starting to think he's deserving of some pretty significant respect. He has been pretty consistent this year, and his numbers are great for a ground ball pitcher.

Stats, with ranking of pitchers with at least 75 IP (97 pitchers total, or about 3 / team)

IP/S: 6.7 (?)

IP: 107 (13th)

ERA: 3.10 (18th)

OBP against: .313 (34th)

GB%: 47% (34th)

FB: 28% (46th)

HR/9: .75 (23rd)

LD: 19% (53rd)

DP%: (53rd)

Blackburn is a ground-ball pitcher. As long as he keeps the ball on the ground (check), his keys to success are low OBP against (check), avoid HRs, and get deep into games (check, at least lately). Combine that with a few double plays and you're going to be pretty valuable. None of these stats are noteworthy on their own (slightly above average, in all), but combined they are pretty powerful. His ERA is better than I would expect based on this, which probably indicates that some regression should be expected, but overall, this is pretty solid.

When Blackburn was putting up the great statistics in AA and AAA, he got wide respect for his likelihood to contribute in the big leagues, but the knock was that he had a mid or back end starter. However, if Blackburn could continue to replicate this kind of success, which is awfully similar to the success he showed in the minors, he could be a front end of the rotation starter. He'll never be a stopper (Santana, Lincecum, etc.), because he doesn't have that type of stuff, but he could he be a #1/#2 type pitcher? I'm picturing the type of pitcher who can give you 200 IP, with an ERA of around 4.00 or better, year to year. What do you all think?

Poll

What is Blackburn's ceiling, and how likely is he to reach it?

I Swear to God

2009-06-29T15:18:25Z

I will no doubt flip out and maybe give up on baseball forever if this is true.

I don't have ESPN Insider, but Buster Olney just released a headline that read "J. Mauer in pinstripes". If that has any semblance of truth to it, I will quit watching baseball altogether. I will make it my life mission to kick the shit out of any Yankees fan I ever come across. I will absolutely lose it, and most likely end up in prison for the rest of my life if Joe Mauer EVER ends up playing in New York.

Also, it's nice to be a new member of Twinkie Town. Been a lifelong fan and Minnesotan. I'm also on Norseman. Hey folks!!

Road Woes

2009-06-27T14:32:22Z

Current away record is 14-22.

I do not want to make more of this than it is worth, but May versus June has been very different months for us on the road.

On the road in May the Twins tied one road series, (Det 1-1) lost a total of 4 road series, (Balt 0-2, NY 0-4, CWS 1-2 and TB 1-2) and did not win any road series.

On the road in June the Twins have tied one series, (Oak 2-2) lost one series, (Sea 1-2) and won two road series. (Cubs 2-3, Mil 2-3) Noteworthy would be that the lost series to Seattle was the first road series of the month, meaning we have-since then-Tied, Won and Won, and momentum is nice.

Currently, the Twins have 4 road games left to end this month and have a great opportunity to turn this into a trend.

Either way, May was miserable, and this month has been a pleasant surprise. And for those of us who tend to live and die daily by the box score, (I wish I did not, but dammit I do) this gives a little hope to our past road woes.

Or I could be completely wrong. GO TWINS.

Minor League Report...June 27, 2009

2009-06-27T14:05:25Z

Good Morning from St. Louis. Because we are at the weekend series with the Cardinals, this report will be brief and different than normal.

Led by the two short-season rookie league teams who remain undefeated, the organization went 20-14 this week.

Last Sunday, Jim Rantz announced Juan Portes as the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. Mr. Rantz also commented that Ft. Myers outfielder Joe Benson was about three weeks away from returning to action. Michael Tarsi was named the MidWest League Pitcher of the Week. The Twins moved Kyle Waldrop up to the New Britian bullpen to replace Jeff Manship who was promoted to Rochester. Bobby Keppel was called up by the Twins to replace Luis Ayala who was DFA. Alejandro Machado, who had returned from the DL a week earlier was placed back on the disabled list. Danny Valencia was promoted to Rochester with Danny Berg moving up to New Britain as his replacement. Denard Span was activated by the Twins with Jason Pridie moving back to the Red Wings. Finally, Joe Testa was promoted to Ft. Myers following his appearance in the MWL All-Star game.

As of Thursday, the Twins had signed total of fourteen of this year's draft picks. Signing this week were Christopher Herrmann (#6), Brad Stillings (#7), James Dozier (#8), Nick Lockwood (#9), Tony Davis (#12), Dakota Watts (#16), Buddy Monroe (#22), and Paul Klingsberg (#49).

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (2-5, 35-38, 5th place, -7.5 games)

The Wings slipped under .500 this week as they lost five straight before winning the last two nights. Even though it was a tough week, they gained a half game on first place Scranton/WB even though they dropped another spot in the standings to fifth place.

Jeff Manship made his first start on Thursday in a game the Wings would eventually win against Columbus, 8-7. My comment after he made it through the first inning was OUCH, as Jeff allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits with 3 strikeouts scattered amongst all the base runners. Fortunately, it was first inning jitters as Jeff proceded to calm down and pitch 5 shutout innings as the Wings fought back for their first win of the week. Brian Duensing pitched his best game of the year in last night's 6-1 win. Duensing pitched 8.0 innings with 6 hits, 1 run and 4K/0BB to pick up his fourth win against six losses. Jesse Crain made four appearances this week, including on Thursday when he pitched 0.2 innings with no hits, 1 strikeout and 2 walks that preceded a long rain delay. Unfortunately, both runners scored with Juan Morillo on the mound when action resumed. Crain pitched 3.0 shutout innings in his other three outings with a total of 2 hits and 6K/1BB.

Danny Valencia has been on fire since his promotion. In four games (18 at bats), he is hitting .500/.500/.722. It has also been reported that Valencia will be the Red Wings regular third baseman the rest of the season. It will be interesting to see where Luke Hughes plays when he returns from the DL...with some mention (by Ron Gardenhire) of second base, although that is currently being manned by Alexi Casilla. Steve Tolleson continues to play very well in AAA, hitting .327/.400/.467 with 13 walks and 15 strikeouts in 107 at bats. Brock Peterson has also been hitting better after hitting .214Average in April and .114Average in May, Peterson has his average up to .246/.321/.349 in 126 at bats.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (3-2, 38-33, 2nd place, 2.5 games out)

The Cats held serve with first place Connecticut this week as they battle to stay in the hunt for a Eastern League playoff spot.

The Cats wasted an excellent start by Carlos Gutierrez in Wednesday's 5-3 loss. Gutierrez pitched 5.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 4K/0BB. New Britain Herald reporter Ken Lipshez is reporting that Gutierrez is on a strict pitch count and will be limited to five starts (Wednesday was his fourth) for the Cats before moving to the bullpen. In four starts (19.0 innings), Gutierrez has a 5.21ERA with 8K/8BB. Cole DeVries got back on track with a 9-1 win last Sunday, evening his record at 5-5. DeVries pitched 6.0 shutout innings with 4 hits and 3K/3BB. Matt Fox has been the Cats best starter this year but wasn't as sharp in Tuesday's 5-4, thirteen inning win, pitching only 4.1 innings with 11 hits, 4 runs and 2K/0BB. Yohan Pino got the win, his second in three decisions, by pitching 3.0 perfect innings with 5 strikeouts. Pino has a very good 3.89ERA in 28 games (41.2 innings) with 43K/11BB.

Whit Robbins is hitting .314/.390/.477 in 239 at bats with 7 home runs and 31 RBI following the last ten games in which he hit only .175Average. Brian Dinkelman is hitting a solid .291/.382/.430 in 237 at bats with 38 RBI. Brandon Roberts is hitting .287/.355/.385 in 195 at bats with 31 runs scored and 9 stolen bases in 12 attempts. With Danny Valencia moving up to Rochester, New Britain has moved last week's Player of the Week Juan Portes back to third base.

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (3-2, 1-1, tied for first place)

Congratulations to the Florida State League South Division first half champion Miracle who finished the first half with a 43-26 record. They began the second half by splitting two games and are in a three way tie for first with Palm Beach and Sarasota.

Jim Rantz was quoted by LaValle E Neal III as saying that although the numbers don't reflect it, Deolis Guerra has made significant improvement in his mechanics and is back to throwing around 91-92. Guerra won his fifth game in twelve decisions on Tuesday, pitching 6.0 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and 3K/0BB. Guerra has a 5.03ERA in 73.1 innings with 49K/22BB. Steve Hirschfield was the starter in Monday's 4-3 loss as he fills the slot vacated by the Carlos Gutierrez promotion. He pitched 5.1 shutout innings with 6 hits and 3K/2BB. For the season, Hirschfield has started 4 of his 19 games (42.0 innings) with a 1.50ERA and 29K/13BB. Kyle Waldrop had a 3.09ERA in 30 games (35.0 innings) with 20K/7BB before his recent promotion. Dutch native Loek Van Mil is working hard to come back from his elbow injury. He has appeared in 8 games (15.0 innings) with a 0.60ERA and 10K/8BB.

Deibinson Romero had two games to remember this week. On Wednesday, he was 2-3 with 2 runs scored, his third home run, 4 RBI and a walk. He followed that with a 4-4 night with a run scored, 2 doubles, a triple and 3 RBI. After hitting only .163Average in May, Romero hit .389Average in his last ten games to bring his numbers up to .245/.318/.354 in 237 at bats. Chris Parmalee has his Average up to a respectable .264/.350/.450 and also leads the Miracle with 9 home runs and 41 RBI.

Beloit Snappers (A) (1-4, 0-2, Tied/7th place, 2.0 games out)

The Snappers finished their first half in last place with a record of 27-43. Many are hopeful that they have fine tuned their roster to make a run in the second half, however, a 0-2 start isn't the way to get out of the starting blocks.

Joe Testa got two outs as the Snappers sole representative in this weeks All-Star game. He then proceded to pack his bags and hop on a plane to Ft. Myers. Testa had a 0-2 record, 2.56ERA and an amazing 63K/23BB in 25 games (45.2 innings). In his first appearance for the Miracle last night, Testa threw 2.0 innings with 3 hits, 1 unearned run and 2K/1BB. Michael Tarsi earned his recognition by pitching 7.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 5K/0BB in a 2-1 win on June 16. He followed that outing Sunday by pitching 6.2 shutout innings with 7 hits and 5K/2BB. As is often the case, Joe Testa took the loss with an off night before his promotion, picking up his second loss by allowing 4 hits and 5 runs in 2.0 innings with 5K/2BB.

Angel Morales was hitting better in May, however, was battling an injury and played last night for the first time since June 17th. Ramon Santana continues to lead the Snappers in hitting at .311/.407/.481 in 183 at bats. Former first round pick Aaron Hicks is hitting .235/.409/.294 in 17 at bats since his recent promotion. He also has walked 5 times with 5 strikeouts.

Elizabethton Twins (Appalachian Rookie League) (4-0, 4-0, 1st place, +1.0)

As Twins fans have become accustomed to, the Elizabethton Twins are in first place a game ahead of Johnson City. For the week, the Twins are 4-0 with a combined score of 34-9!

Unlike prior years when some have criticized the Twins for having a team loaded with college aged players in a rookie league, this year's starting staff is anything but old. The starters in their first two games were 20-year old veterans of the WBC returning from a year off with injuries, Tom Stuifbergen and Liam Hendriks. Stuifbergen pitched 6.0 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 10K/0BB in their opening night 8-2 win. Hendriks followed with 6.0 shutout innings with 3 hits and 6K/0BB in a 4-1 win. The rest of the starting staff will be three Latin starters who anchored the GCL Twins starting rotation last season, Martire Garcia, Miguel Munoz and Angelo Sanchez. Garcia and Sanchez are 19 while Munoz is 20. Garcia pitched 5.0 innings in Thursday's 8-2 win, allowing 1 run with 2K/3BB. Munoz pitched 5.0 innings in last night's 14-4 win with 6 hits and 3K/2BB. Recent 12th round pick, Tony Davis, made two appearances (2.0 innings) with 5K/0BB while earning one save.

2007 14th round pick, catcher Danny Rohlfing, is now listed as an outfielder. This year's 6th round pick, catcher Chris Herrmann, has also been playing in the outfield and was 4-7 in his first two games. Last year's second round pick, Tyler Ladendorf, hit only .204/.308/.293 in 147 at bats in the GCL. Jim Rantz was recently quoted as saying that sometimes you just have to give a player a mulligan in their first year as they adjust to wooden bats. Well he certainly appears to be a different player this summer as he is hitting .500/.579/1.000 in his first 14 at bats with 2 home runs and 6 RBI.

GCL Twins (3-0, 3.0, 1st place, +1.0)

The GCL Twins began this season on a three game winning streak and lead the Orioles by a game.

A young man who I mentioned frequently while in the DSL last year, Adrian Salcedo, got the opening day start. Only 18 years old, Salcedo proceded to pitch 4.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 5K/0BB. Building on a season in the DSL where he was 4-4 in 54.8 innings with a 1.65ERA and 50K/8BB, Salcedo appears to be someone we will continue to hear about as he moves up the ladder towards the Twins. The second games starter was someone that we heard lots about last year, but not from the mound. The Twins signed 6th round pick, Brett Hermsen, only hours before the August deadline after the summer Iowa high school season had ended. Thus, his first professional start was Wednesday when he proceded to pitch 6.0 perfect innings with 3K/0BB to pick up his first win, 5-0. The Twins bullpen backed up Hermsen with three more hitless innings to give the Twins a staff no-hitter in their second game of the season. Eliecer Cardena pitched 1.0 no-hit inning with recent sixteenth round pick Dakota Watts pitching 2.0 no-hit innings, however, with one walk to finish off the no-hitter. On Thursday, Shooter Hunt made a rehab start for the Twins, pitching 4.0 shutout innings with 3 hits, 1 strikeout, NO walks and NO wild pitches for a very solid performance by this young man who is battling back from an injury and the control problems he faced with the Snappers.

Most Twins fans are very familiar with all the excellent young centerfielders in the organization while many are not familiar with the GCL Twins centerfielder, Wang-Wei Lin. Lin is hitting .500/.500/.714 with 1 home run and 5 RBI in 14 at bats. I recently commented that the Twins entry in the GCL shouldn't be named the Twins, rather, the Internationals...as they fielded an opening day starting ten with three players from the Dominican Republic (Adrian Salcedo, Jhonatan Arias and Daniel Santana), two from South Korea (Hyeong-rok Choi and In-Kyun Kang), and one each from Puerto Rico (Kennys Vargas), Australia (Rory Rhodes, who is only 17), Venezuela (Oswaldo Arcia), Taiwan (Lin), and the Czech Republic (Matej Hajma).

DSL Twins (Dominican Summer League) (4-1, 15-8, 2nd place, -1.5 games out)

The Twins moved up a spot into a two team tie for second while picking up a game and a half on the division leading White Sox.

Former Player of the Week Cesar Ciurcina pitched 6.0 innings in Tuesday's 6-3 win giving him three wins without a loss. He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) with 6 hits and 2K/0BB. Ciurcina has a 1.38ERA in 26.0 innings with 18K/1BB. Pedro Guerra was 8-2 last season with a 2.45ERA in 84.1 innings with 75K/12BB. It may be a bit surprising that this 19 year old didn't move up to the GCL this year and he is certainly pitching like he believes he deserves that next move. He pitched 6.0 shutout innings with 6 hits and 3K/1BB in Wednesday's 2-0 win. For the season, Guerra is 2-0 in five starts (25.0 innings) with a 0.00ERA and 27K/5BB.

Third baseman Yorby Martinez (20 years old) leads the Twins in hitting at .305/.394/.322 in 59 at bats. Second baseman Juan Blanco (20) is hitting .286/.329/.403 in 77 at bats while leading the team with 10 stolen bases in 14 attempts.

Player of the Week

The Twins drafted outfielder Rene Tosoni in the 36th round of the 2005 draft. For various reasons, this young Canadian didn't play for the Twins until 2007 when he was one of the leading hitters for the Elizabethton Twins before making a brief appearance for the Beloit Snappers in the playoffs. Last season Tosoni skipped A ball to become one of the top hitters early in the season at Ft. Myers. Unfortunately, he broke his foot which limited him to only 42 games (140 at bats) in which he hit .300/.408/.414.

The Twins are an organization with a history of not pushing prospects. Yet, this season they assigned Tosoni to AA New Britain even though his only experience other than rookie ball was 42 games at Ft. Myers and a handful at Beloit in 2007. Tosoni responded by hitting .180/.261/.361 in 61 at bats in April with only 6 walks and 23 strikeouts. This talented young prospect continued to work and improved in May, hitting .323/.422/.591 in 93 at bats while nearly doubling his walks to 11 and holding his strikeouts at 23. Although his average has dipped a bit this month to .281, he has maintained his OBP at .418 with a SLG PCT of .453 in 64 at bats. More important, he has walked 13 times with only 12 strikeouts.

Tosoni is this week's Player of the Week after going 9-19 (.473Average) with 6 runs scored, 3 doubles and 1 home run with 10 RBI and 1 stolen base in 2 attempts. After his tough first month, Tosoni has his average up to .271/.377/.486 in 218 at bats while leading the Rock Cats with 45 RBI and 9 home runs. He also has 14 doubles, 3 triples, 35 runs scored and 30 walks with 58 strikeouts.

To cap off his week, Tosoni was named to play in the Futures All-Star game in St. Louis as a member of the World Team.

Twins/Cardinals Game Thread

2009-06-27T00:19:22Z

Twins are at St. Louis tonight for a three-game weekend set.

The Cardinals are in first in the NL Central, which is as weak as the AL Central.

The Twins are 5 games out of first place.

It will be fun to see two of the greatest hitters facing one another in this contest.

Glen Perkins faces off against Adam Wainwright.

So far, Perkins has done fine since coming off the DL.

Let's hope he keeps pitching well.

Mauer and the SI Cover Curse

2009-06-24T17:49:33Z

After last night's 0-5, Joe is now 3 for his last 21 at-bats. Just a rough patch that he'll work through or something more? Perhaps Joe is the newest athlete to fall victim to the curse. I don't know if any of you saw the article published in SI a few years back that they devoted to the history of the curse - it was actually pretty creepy. You can see the cover to the issue here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/coverlarge012102.html

For those with a little more time... I strongly recommend you read the full article here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/magazine/08/27/jinx/

At the end of the day, Joe will probably be fine. I'm sure he'll make me look like an idiot tonight with a 3-3 and pair of walks kind of night, but its still fun to think about.

Ayala requested a trade ... and Gardy's spot-on reaction.

2009-06-24T03:28:28Z

A very interesting Kelly Theiser Article about Ayala's last days... and I earn some mad respect from Gardy on his handling of the situation. Some Gardenhire gems from the article:

"He asked for this, and when you ask out of here, you will get out of here. It's simple."

"He wanted an eighth-inning role. That's why he signed over here ... But he wasn't pitching well enough to be an eighth-inning guy. So there you have it."

"I'm talking about winning this year and he's talking about if he doesn't get in the right situations here, he's worried about his contract for next year. You lose me right there. I don't deal with that."

Sometimes Gardy's infuriating, but sometimes he's right on. This is one of those times. It's just too bad Smith saddled the team with this guy and ended up putting them in the situation they're in now.

Goodbye, Ayala, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Bobby Keppel

2009-06-22T17:20:29Z

It appears Bobby Keppel has been called up from AAA Rochester (reported via numerous newspapers, including the Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/48782142.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUqCP:iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr). I am pretty unfamiliar with Keppel and/or what this means for the Twins current bullpen. Thoughts/concerns/complaints/elations? I'm sure we'll know soon enough what the impact is, but it's a slow Monday at work, so who wants to talk it out?

Reaching for the buoy has grown old

2009-06-20T21:55:18Z

Aside from fans in KC, Oakland and Pittsburgh, there's one phrase that is more bitter than sweet, and it's been uttered too often by Dick Bremer after a Twins' win this season: "And the Twins are back at .500."

Thanks to the parity that almost no one predicted at any time since free agency, baseball teams are more even than ever. That means the Twins would be fighting for first place with this record if they got their mail in any division in baseball - other than the National League West.

There have been only two teams to win 100 games since 2005 in the NL and AL combined, and last season 19 teams won at least 75 games and three others missed that mark by one. Basically, all that spending by the Mets and the Yankees hasn't mattered much. It's like the Minnesota State High School League - everyone has a chance.

Thanks to baseball achieving what Pete Rozelle envisioned for the NFL decades ago,parity the Twinks have been able to overcome an outfield that has been potholed bi-monthly (Cuddyer's finger, Span's inner ear problem, the death of Delmon Young's mother, plus his inability to understand he's supposed to be a big-league hitter).

Despite that and

Alex Casilla's two dozen mental errors in about three dozen games,
an infield that now has a spring-training spare part at starting shortstop,
an infield that has the starting shortstop at second base,
Joe Crede's nicks and twitches,
a bullpen that struggled so badly the Twins were forced to dumb it down by sending baseball's smartest player to Oakland,
a delivery from Francisco Liriano that finishes in the technically challenging pirouette,
Scott Baker's BertBlylevenitis,
and playing without its all-World catcher for a month,

the Twinkers are still in it.

Now it's time for this horse to quit drafting the leaders of this derby, sprint to the outside, take the lead and get Bremer to shut up about the Twins reaching sea level once again.

Minor League Report...June 20, 2009

2009-06-20T14:14:05Z

Good morning! The organization put up another winning week with no teams playing under .500, finishing with 17 wins against 14 losses. Congratulations to the Ft. Myers Miracle who clinched the FSL South division championship on Thursday. The Miracle will also host today's FSL All-Star game with David Bromberg following in the footsteps of Kevin Slowey and Jeff Manship as the South Division starting pitcher.

Jim Rantz named Rochester pitcher Kevin Mulvey as the Twins organization Player of the Week last Sunday. Anthony Swarzak won his final start with the Twins and was immediately optioned back to Rochester with Jose Morales being recalled from the Red Wings. Wilson Ramos returned to the disabled list with an injured hamstring. The Twins released Henry Sanchez who had been serving a 50-game suspension. In a surprise move to some, the Twins optioned Jesse Crain to Rochester with Jason Pridie moving up to the Twins to replace Denard Span who was placed on the disabled list. The Red Wings also activated infielder Alejandro Machado. Catchers Danny Lehmann and Alan de San Miguel moved up to New Britain with Jeff Christy moving up to Rochester. Pitcher Carlos Gutierrez also moved up to New Britain with Steven Hirschfield being named to the FSL All-Star game as his replacement. The Beloit Snappers activated pitcher Tom Wright from the DL and released pitcher Danny Rondon. Catcher/Third Baseman Juan Richardson was promoted to Ft. Myers to make room on the Snappers roster for last year's top pick, Aaron Hicks. It has also been reported by several sources, including Seth Stohs, that Rochester has released Ben Hendrickson and New Britain has released Zach Ward.

As of today, it has been reported that the Twins have signed six of their recent draft picks, Billy Bullock (#2), Derek McCallum (#4), Tobias Streich (#5), Nick Tindall (#17), Kane Holbrooks (#21), and Trayvane Johnson (#30).

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (4-3, 33-33, 4th place, -8.0 games)

The Red Wings had a winning week, however, lost another 2.0 games to the division leading Scranton/WB Yankees.

Philip Humber was solid in last Saturday's 4-2 loss at Toledo. Humber pitched 5.1 innings with 7 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) and 3K/2BB.........Humber returned last night to pitch his best game of the year in the Wings 2-1 win over visiting Toledo. Humber pitched 7.0 innings with 4 hits, 1 run and 10K/1BB to improve his record to 2-4. Juan Morillo pitched 2.0 shutout innings of relief with 2 hits and 3K/0BB to pick up his second save.........Brian Duensing gave up 10 hits in Sunday's 6-1 loss, pitching 6.0 innings with 4 runs and 5K/0BB to pick up his fifth loss against three wins.........Jason Jones had his best start of the season in Monday's 4-2 win, pitching 6.1 shutout innings with 7 hits and 1K/1BB to pick up his second win in seven decisions. Rob Delaney earned his first save as he allowed 2 hits and a run in 1.1 innings with 1K/0BB.........Kevin Mulvey followed up the start that earned him the Player of the Week with one of his toughest starts of the year in Tuesday's 10-3 loss. Mulvey lasted only 3.2 innings with 10 hits, 8 runs (4 earned) and 3K/2BB.........Bobby Keppel has been starting of late and was Wednesday's winner (3-3) in a 10-2 win, pitching 6.0 innings with 9 hits, 2 runs and 5K/0BB. Armando Gabino picked up a 3.0 inning save (his first) with no hits, no runs and 3K/0BB.........Anthony Swarzak returned to get the start on Thursday in a 4-2 win over Columbus. Swarzak pitched 7.0 innings with 8 hits, 2 runs and 2K/2BB. Rob Delaney pitched 3.0 shutout innings of relief with 1 hit and 2K/2BB to pick up his second win in three decisions.

Kevin Mulvey has been the Red Wings most consistant starter this year. Mulvey has a 3-4 record with a 3.91ERA, 1.41WHIP and 62K/30BB in a team high 76.0 innings in 13 starts with one complete game shutout. Some thought that Armando Gabino was a surprise addition to the Twins 40-man roster last fall. Gabino has not disappointed as he has been one of the Wings best relievers all season with a 2.81ERA and 1.01WHIP in 21 games (41.2 innings) with a 3-1 record, 1 save and 28K/14BB. Rob Delaney has a 3.97ERA and 0.88WHIP in 11.1 innings with a 2-1 record and 10K/3BB. Delaney has allowed only 1 earned run in his last four appearances (8.1 innings) after giving up four runs in his second outing with the Wings.

Steve Tolleson continues to impress Rochester fans and Twins management , hitting .338/427/.481 in 77 at bats since his promotion last month. Tolleson also has 8 doubles, 1 home run and 14 runs scored. David Winfree continues to make a statement that he deserves a future role with the Twins. Winfree is hitting .333Average in his last ten games to bring his numbers up to .289/.311/.504 with a team high 19 doubles and 9 home runs. Winfree, who has 27 runs scored and 35 RBI, has only walked 8 times while striking out 48 times. The Twins have liked Matt Macri since drafting him in the seventeenth round of the 2001 draft (he went to Notre Dame rather than sign with the Twins). After hitting .324/.361/.441 in 34 at bats with the Twins and .259/.323/.466 in 313 at bats with the Red Wings last year, the Twins expected Macri to be a key part of this year's Red Wing lineup. Although he is hitting .294Average in his last ten games, Macri had been off to a dismal start this season, hitting .207/.283/.372 in 188 at bats.

New Britain Rock Cats (3-3, 35-31, 2nd place, -2.5 games)

The Rock Cats continued their battle this week, maintaining their second place standing.

The Cats beat Bowie last Saturday, 6-5, behind Carlos Gutierrez. Gutierrez pitched 5.0 innngs with 5 hits, 1 run and 0K/3BB. Anthony Slama pitched a shutout inning with no hits and 2K/0BB to pick up his fourth win in five decisions.........Gutierrez picked up his first AA loss on Thursday, 4-2, pitching only 4.0 innings with 7 hits, 4 runs and 3K/1BB.........Ryan Mullins lost his seventh game in ten decisions on Sunday, 5-2, pitching 4.1 innings with 6 hits, 4 runs (2 earned) and 2K/2BB.........Jay Rainville evened his record at 3-3 in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to Altoona. Rainville pitched only 4.0 innings with 11 hits, 6 runs and 2K/1BB.........Matt Fox was again excellent in Wednesday's 7-0 win, pitching 5.0 shutout innings with 3 hits and 3K/3BB.........Jeff Manship also made an excellent start in last night's 5-4 win, pitching 6.2 shutout innings with 3 hits and 3K/2BB to pick up his sixth win against four losses. Anthony Slama earned his fourteenth save by pitching 1.2 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 3K/0BB.

Matt Fox is pitching better than any other starter on the Rock Cats staff, leading the rotation with a 6-2 record, 2.45ERA, 1.22WHIP and 54K/27BB in 13 games (12 starts) with 69.2 innings. Anthony Slama leads the organization with 14 saves in 31 games (36.2 innings) with a 4-1 record, 2.70ERA, 1.34WHIP and 53K/18BB. Alex Burnett has been solid since his recent promotion, with a 3.14ERA, 1.05WHIP and 12K/5BB in 8 games (14.1 innings).

Erik Lis had been in a bit of a slump earlier this month, however, is hitting .412 in his last ten games to get his numbers back to .299/.377/.426 in 197 at bats with 10 doubles and 5 home runs. Many consider Yancarlos Ortiz to be the top defensive shortstop in the organization. After a slow start, Ortiz is hitting .355Average in his last ten games to raise his numbers to .225/.308/.272 in 151 at bats with 14 runs scored and 16 RBI. Danny Valencia was 5 for 8 in his last two games and is now hitting .281/.370/.486 with 14 doubles, 4 triples, 7 home runs, 27 RBI with 30 walks and only 39 strikeouts in 210 at bats.

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (3-3, 41-25, First Half Champions, +5.5 games)

The Miracle maintained their 5.5 game lead over Charlotte, clinching a spot in this year's playoffs on Thursday. With three games remaining in the first half, the Miracle host today's Florida State League All-Star game.

Last Saturday's rainout was made up as the first half of a Sunday doubleheader. Michael McCardell has been very good this year, but not on Sunday when he got only one out, allowing 4 hits, 8 runs (only 1 earned) and 0K/3BB in a 8-1 loss to pick up his fourth loss against seven wins.........McCardell returned in Thursday's 7-2 clinching win, pitching 5.0 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs and 5K/0BB. Santos Arias pitched 2.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 3K/1BB to pick up his fourth win without a loss.........Steven Hirschfield made his third start of the season in a 4-1 win in the second half of Sunday's doubleheader. Hirschfield pitched 5.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 4K/3BB to get his second win in three decisions. Spencer Steedley pitched a shutout relief inning with 1 hit and 1K/1BB, earning his second save.........David Bromberg was the starter against Dunedin in Monday's 2-1 loss, pitching 6.1 shutout innings with 3 hits and 5K/4BB. Blair Erickson got his second loss, pitching 0.2 inning with no hits, an unearned run and 1K/1BB.........Tyler Robertson was very good in Tuesday's 5-3 win, pitching 6.0 innings with 4 hits, 1 run and 5K/2BB to earn his fourth win against three losses. Kyle Waldrop pitched 2.0 shutout innings of relief to earn his third save.........Deolis Guerra lost his seventh game against four wins in Wednesday's 8-4 loss. Guerra pitched only 4.0 innings with 10 hits, 8 runs and 2k/2BB.

The Twins have decided that it is best that Kyle Waldrop remain in the bullpen as he works his way back from last season's major shoulder surgery. Waldrop, who has been used in multi inning outings, has a 3-2 record and excellent 3.09ERA in 20 games (35.0 innings) with 20K/7BB. Loek VanMil was said to have an injury similar to Pat Neshek when he missed last year's Olympics while with the Dutch National Team. He went through a rehab period which appears to have worked. The Miracle 8-4 loss Wednesday overshadowed his excellent outing as he pitched 4.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 3K/2BB. VanMil has a perfect 0.00ERA, 0.83WHIP and 8K/4BB in 6 games (12.0 innings). With an opening on the New Britain staff, will Spencer Steedley get the call following this weekends all-star game? Steedley has a 4-0 record, 2 saves, 0.84ERA, 1.02WHIP and 31K/9BB in 25 games (32.1 innings).

Some were surprised when the Twins assigned D.J. Romero to Ft. Myers after missing much of last season to injuries at Beloit. The Twins told us what they think of this young third baseman (22) when they added him to their 40-man roster last fall. Romero was certainly challenged by the strong pitching in the FSL hitting only .257/.312/.343 in April and .163/.257/.217 in May. Romero appears to have continued to work to improve which is paying off with a .328/.385/.466 line this month, raising his numbers to .236/.307/.323 with a team high 13 doubles. Ben Revere will lead the Miracle representatives in today's all-star game as he is tied for the league's second best average (.325), fourth best OBP (.393), third most stolen bases (27 in 39 attempts), tied for second most at bats (240) and fourth most runs scored (36). Revere has also struck out only 22 times while taking 23 walks.

Beloit Snappers (A) (3-3, 26-41, 8th place/last, -13.5 games)

The Snappers have been playing better ball of late while getting solid performances from their starters. They also appear to be shuffling their roster as they look to the beginning of this season's second half when they will renew their goal of a spot in this year's playoffs.

Last Saturday the Snappers beat Burlington, 4-1, behind Daniel Osterbrock. Osterbrock pitched 6.1 innings with 6 hits, 1 run and 2K/1BB to pick up his fourth win against five losses. Joe Testa picked up his sixth save by pitching 2.2 shutout innings with 1 hit and 4K/1BB.........Osterbrock was very good in Thurdsday's 3-2 win over Quad Cities, pitching 7.0 innings with 6 hits, 2 runs and 7K/0BB. Matt Williams pitched 2.0 shutout, no-hit innings with 3K/0BB to pick up his first win in two decisons.........Bobby Lanigan had a short start in Sunday's 9-2 loss to Clinton, pitching 3.1 innings with 4 hits, 1 run and 6K/0BB. Stevin Blevins got his third loss against two wins, pitching 2.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 1K/1BB.........Brad Tippett, who has been the Snapper Ace, was solid in Monday's 10-5 loss, pitching 6.0 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and 6K/0BB. Curtis Leavitt picked up his first loss as he didn't get an out, allowing 3 hits, 4 runs and 0K/1BB.........Michael Tarsi made his second start in Tuesday's 2-1 win, pitching 7.0 shutout innings, 2 hits and 5K/0BB to pick up his second win in three decisions. All-Star Joe Testa pitched 1.2 shutout innings with no hits and 3K/2BB to pick up his team high seventh save.........Danny Berlind was the loser (2-7) in Wednesday's 4-1 loss. Berlind pitched 6.0 innings with 3 hits, 3 runs and 7K/2BB.

Michael Tarsi recently returned from EST to become one of the better pitchers on the Snappers staff. Tarsi, who led the MidWest League with three complete games last year, has a 2-1 record with a 2.13ERA, 0.99WHIP and 27K/9BB in 8 games (25.1 innings) with 2 starts. Joe Testa continues to make a statement for a promotion with a 0-1 record, 1.65ERA, 0.98WHIP and 58K/21BB in 24 games (43.2 innings). Danny Berlind's 2-7 record isn't reflective of his season which has actually been very good. Berlind has appeared in 15 games (8 starts) with a 3.99ERA, 1.19WHIP and 54K/20BB.

Juan Richardson was hitting .271/.317/.288 in 59 at bats prior to his promotion this week to Ft. Myers. Jon Waltenbury has had a solid first half, hitting .256/.316/.345 in 223 at bats with 9 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 23 RBI and is tied with Angel Morales with a team high 29 runs scored. Two years ago Ozzie Lewis was one of the top players on the Appy League championship Elizabethton Twins. He was injured much of last year, however, has rebounded with an excellent first half, hitting .301/.364/.444 with 11 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs adn 28 RBI.

DSL Twins (Dominican Summer League) (4-2, 11-7, 3rd place, -3.0 games)

The DSL Twins moved up a spot in the standings, picking up a game on the division leading White Sox.

Cesar Ciurcina started Tuesday's 6-3 win, however, allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in a 6.0 inning outing with 4K/1BB. Ciurcina now has a 0.90ERA, 0.50WHIP and 16K/1BB in 20.0 innings. Pedro Guerra has a perfect 0.00ERA in 19.0 innings including this week's 6.0 inning start when he allowed 3 hits and no runs with 4K/1BB to pick up his first win. Orlando Villaroel is a 19 year old reliever from Venezuela who has a 1-1 record, 0.84ERA, 1.50WHIP and 8K/2BB in 4 games (10.2 innings).

First Baseman Kelvin Silvania continues to swing a big bat, hitting .283/.371/.483 with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 12RBI in 60 at bats. Yorby Martinez leads the team, hitting .340/.433/.360 in 50 at bats. Outfielder Romy Trinidad (18 yrs old) has 11 walks and 10 strikeouts in his first 52 at bats with 5 steals in 5 attempts, hitting .269/.415/.346.

Player of the Week

In the fifteenth round of the 2004 draft, the Twins drafted an athletic middle infielder from Boston who had limited amateur experience. Juan Portes went on to hit for a .327Average in 168 at bats for the GCL Twins. A talented athlete who has been searching for a position, Portes hit for averages of .287, .231 and .269 as he moved up a level each year. Portes repeated 2008 at Ft. Myers, hitting .270/.319/.395 in 456 at bats while being converted to an outfielder.

In what may have been a surprise move to some, the Twins rewarded Portes for his continued hard work with a promotion to New Britain this year. Portes has responded as the leading hitter on the Rock Cats roster, hitting .336/.401/.497 in 143 at bats with 13 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 21 RBI, 24 runs scored, 5 stolen bases in 7 attempts and 15 walks with only 18 strikeouts.

Portes was 8-19 (.421 Average) this week with 5 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 RBI, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Hitting .424Average in his last ten games, Portes is playing at a level that matches his potential, a level which should merit future promotions.

Jim Souhan Trashes Twins Offense and Money Ball

2009-06-19T15:11:01Z

I really do not get it. Souhan wrote an article today trashing the Twins offense. The premise of the article is that the Twins have gone from a speed team, to a team that relies too much on the homerun, and resembles a "Money Ball" offensive philosophy.

He claims the Twins are 1 dimensional. He points to the stats that show the Twins are 24-16 when hitting a homerun, but 10-18 when they do not.

It's kind of interesting to complain about this. Most of the cricism of the Twins offense in the past is the lack of power in the lineup. Remember those years when we'd have a good pitching staff but one of the worst offenses in the league? In 2005, the Twins were last in the AL in runs scored with 688 on the season. We had the 3rd least amount of home runs in the AL, and were 4th in the league in AL in steals. The Twins had the 5th best pitching staff in the AL.

How did that workout for them? They went 83-79 and finished 3rd in the AL Central.

The Twins currently sit 7th in the AL in homeruns. They are 6th in Runs scored. The offense isn't holding the team back. What's holding this team back is consistency in the rotation, and in the middle relief. The Twins are 10th in the AL in ERA, and have allowed the 6th most runs in the AL as well. Once the pitching gets better, this team will do better.

What's wrong with finally having guys on the team with pop? It's obviously helping us as we're scoring runs. Now, I don't disagree that some of the speed guys could do a better job of getting on base, and that would help us score more no doubt.

The problem is pitching, however, not lack of speed. Sorry Souhan, but you do not know what you're talking about.

You can read his article here.

Credibility 101

2009-06-18T16:58:00Z

Lets say you are in lower manhattan, NYC, and you need to get to LaGuardia for a flight in 30 minutes. On average, cab drivers in NY make it to LaGuardia in less than 30 minutes 27.5% of the time. Drivers percentages vary from 22.5% to 32.5%.

You have two cab drivers in front of you. Driver (A) has been driving for 10 years (5000 trips), and makes the trip in 30 minutes 30% of the time. Driver (B) just started driving, has done the trip 5 times, and made it in time twice. Which cab should you take?

The answer, plus a basic lesson in statistics, after the break.

The answer is that you should take the driver who has performed better than average for 10 years. The odds are that driver B got lucky, and will not continue to demonstrate that success. Notice that this example can be turned into batting averages, give or take. If Carlos Gomez gets two hits in his first two at bats, does that make him a career .400 hitter? Yes, for now. Do you expect him to hit at .400 for the rest of his career?

Terms like small sample size, regress toward to the mean get thrown around here a lot (I'm really just quoting Ubelmann). But, at this site, and more so around the internet/blogosphere/tv/newspaper (ahem Hartman!), people don't really seem to understand it. I tried to find a good link to an explanation of credibilty, but failed, so I'll draw up the "lesson plan" myself. I hope this makes sense, I'm not much of a teacher.

Alright, lets say you are flipping a fair coin (50% heads). If you flip the coin once, you will get either 1 (heads) or 0 (tails). If you get a 1, do you expect to always get heads in the future? But, there is a 50% chance after 1 flip that you will end up with a "career" average of 1. If you flip it twice, there is a 25% chance that you will have a career average of 1, even though the "true" average is .5. If you flip it 10 times, there is a 0.1% chance that you still have a career average of 1. If you flip it 10 times, there is an 38% chance that you have a career average of at least .6. However, if you go to 100 flips, the probability of having a career average of at least .6 drops to 3%.

Hopefully this makes sense so far. The point being, that flipping a coin is a random process, and sometimes fair coins will show averages that aren't equal to the true probability. As the amount of experience rises (flips), the probability of remaining just as far away from the true mean decreases. Remember that for all of the cases mentioned above, no matter how many flips and how many heads, you would always have a 50% chance of heads in future flips.

Lets make it a bit more complicated. You have two coins, one is fair (50% heads), and one is not (60% heads). You have flipped a randomly chosen coin 10 times, and you have more than 6 heads heads. What are the odds of getting a heads on your next flip? This depends on the probability that your coin is the fair, or the weighted coin. Well, the fair coin had a 38% chance, and the weighted coin has a 63% chance of getting at least 6 heads. Since you randomly chose your coin, there is a 62% chance (63/(63+38)) that the coin you have chosen is the weighted coin. Your future EXPECTED flip is 62%*60% + 38%*50% = 56%. Note that this is lower than the average flip thusfar (which is greater than or equal to .6). In fact, it is very close to the mean flip of 55% (average of 50% and 60%).

In reality there is a different set of odds for 6 heads, 7 heads, 8 heads, but using "cumulative" distributions made my job easier. I will probably have my math corrected anyhow, because I'm racing to do this and get back to my work.

The idea is that this extends to any baseball player. Joe Mauer has a career average of something like .320. There is a chance that he is actually a .320 hitter, and has performed exactly as expected, that he is actually a .400 hitter, and has been unlucky, or that he is actually a .200 hitter, and should be expected to regress. The world of people hitting .320 is made of of mostly players who truly hit worse than .320 hitters, some who truly are .320 hitters, and a few that are truly better than .320 hitters. The odds are that any .320 hitter has gotten lucky, to some extent. The fact that he has performed above average does not make him a .320 hitter, but it does increase the probability that he is an above average hitter. However, the odds are less than 50% that he is truly a .320 hitter, because the average hitter is worse than .320.

I hope this makes sense. I'd love to see a good discussion about this, because I think that a lot of smart baseball people on this board don't completely understand the logic behind this. The other factors, like age, injuries, coaching, experience, etc complicate this model, but all have to be considered in aggregate to get fair, accurate projections.

Twins should get Freddy Sanchez

2009-06-17T22:22:18Z

In their years in Minnesota, the Twins have seldom been big players at the trade deadline. When they have been players it has been as a seller. This year should be different

The Twins have a fine top two-thirds of their order. The order also is overloaded with good left handed bats. There has been a "black hole" at second base. Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert have been tried and found wanting. Adding a .300 hitter with a little pop who hits from the right side would give the Twins the best lineup they have had since 1991. There's power, there's some speed, there are a couple of aggressive hitters and a couple of very selective hitters.

Freddie Sanchez can help the Twins greatly. He is well paid, and might be a free agent next year or the year after. There is a club option which vests with 635 plate appearances. Barring injury, Sanchez would probably make the 635 PAs. Because of the relatively expensive contract and the fact that he is not a power hitter and doesn't have great speed, the Twins shouldn't have to break the bank to acquire him. Sanchez is 31, and pretty good with the glove. He has proven to be an excellent percentage hitter. Hitting between Span and Mauer should give him plenty of good pitches to hit and, as mentioned, would really fortify the lineup. It also would put Punto where he is most valuable, as a utility player.

The question alway is, what will it cost in terms of talent? I think if the Twins sent Casilla, who showed last year he could perform well in the big leagues, a ready AAA arm (Mulvey or Swarzak) and perhaps another player, that should be enough. I think this would set the Twins up well for the remainder of the '09 campaign and would most likely take away a question mark for the following season.

Here's the lineup I would foresee:

Span lf

Sanchez 2b

Mauer c

Morneau 1b

Cuddyer rf

Kubel dh

Crede 3b

Harris ss

Gomez cf

Can Joe Mauer Bat .400?

2009-06-17T14:18:05Z

It’s been nearly 68 years since the Splendid Splinter batted .406, but despite a hot start and two batting titles, Joe Mauer has more than history working against him.

The position that he plays.

Even with watered down pitching, a strike zone designed to protect hitters and all the battle gear this side of the Stanley Cup finals, no one has been able to bat .400 in nearly seven decades. With all of those advantages, not one player has pulled it off, and no catcher has ever batted better than .362 (Mike Piazza in 1997 and Bill Dickey in 1936). And when one considers what receivers go through, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Catchers have to call games, handle pitchers, squat hundreds of times and withstand foul tips that ravage their shoulders, knees, hands, feet and arms – every night. Having to endure all of that abuse, how could anyone possibly withstand that beating and still bat .400?

Rod Carew batted .388 in 1977, then George Brett finished with a .390 mark in 1980, and there have been a smattering of .360’s over the years. The closest anyone has come, though, has been Tony Gwynn’s .394 average in the strike-shortened 1994 season. Even during Ichiro’s record-breaking 262-hit campaign of 2004, he only managed to bat .372. Unlike Suzuki, however, Mauer takes a lot of pitches, has an almost inhuman ability to work the count into his favor, and draws walks.

Mauer walked 84 times last season...CONTINUE.

Anybody want to talk Trade Deadline?

2009-06-14T15:35:03Z

Now that the draft is over, I thought it might be time to talk about what the Twins' strategy should be heading toward the trade deadline. Buyers? Sellers? Both? Neither? Who do you want, who would you never deal?

I'll try to keep this briefer than I usually do. I'll just post a few questions, with short answers of my own, hopefully to spur some conversation.

1. Buyers or sellers? I think it's clear that the Twins aren't going to fire sale it--they are in their division. Are there major leaguers I could imagine trading? Absolutely. But the goal has to be to try to improve this year and next

2. What do they need? Seems clear they need middle infield help. Another set-up guy would be useful, but not worth overpaying for. I wouldn't be averse to a star level outfielder, but I don't see the 2009 version of Jason Bay anywhere.

3. Who do you want? A couple of names we've talked about are Freddie Sanchez (a rather short term 2B solution) and Alcides Escobar (A long term SS solution). Who else? What would they cost? Who do you have your eye on?

4. Who would you trade? There are a couple of guys on the ML roster that seem like good sell high candidates to me, notably Nick Blackburn and maybe Shaggy Guerrier. Is there anyone in the minors that you would really struggle to trade? For me, I'd be very hesitant to trade Swarzak and Hicks, though I wouldn't refuse in the right deal. Everyone else...I'm not giving them away, but I don't see a lot of future stars in the system. What say you?

If Cuddyer had a saw, he would cut his hand off.

2009-06-13T18:43:04Z

His finger "blew up" last night. Cuddyer has had a sprained right thumb, dislocated right index finger, and a strained tendon in his left index finger. Ouch. Cuddyer stated to Ron Gardy that he would cut his hand off if he had a saw. Cuddyer will be examined by a doctor today, and see a hand specialist tomorrow.

With Denard Span out with an inner ear disorder, the Twins have three position bench players.

That being said, I would not be surprised if a roster change is coming.

Glen Perkins is due back next week, after suffering from left elbow inflammation.

Lets all hope Cuddyer doesn't saw his hand off. =)

Poll

Would you be in favor for a Twins roster change?

Yes

40 votes

No

6 votes

46 votes | Poll has closed