Friday, July, 17th

Twins Talk

• The Twins had yesterday off and will begin a 3 game series with the Rangers in Arlington as the Twins will send Glen Perkins to the mound tonight against Vicente Padilla going for the Rangers.

Rochester Wrap

Lehigh Valley 5 Rochester 4

• The Red Wings suffered a tough loss last night to Lehigh Valley by a score of 5-4 even though they almost pulled out the game coming back from a 5-0 deficit and pulled within 5-4 and had a chance to pull it out, but couldn't quite pull it out. Jeff Manship got the start for the Red Wings and he was ok not great, but also not bad. Manship went 5 innings and gave up 5 runs although only 3 of them were earned on 6 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 4.24 and drop his record to 2-1 on the year. Manship has really done a good job since being promoted from New Britain up to Rochester. With the Rochester rotation in flux losing their top 3 starters in Brian Duensing, Kevin Mulvey, and Anthony Swarzak Manship has really stepped it up to give them quality innings and a solid start every time out. Armando Gabino then came on and continued pitching good for the Red Wings as he went 3 shutout innings on only 1 hit along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 3.07. I am shocked that Gabino did not get the promotion to the Twins when they were looking for a relief pitcher because Armando has done a very good job for the Red Wings.

• The Red Wings really did not get a lot going on offense in this game as they were only able to score 4 runs on 7 hits. When your pitching struggles a little bit you would hope the offense would pick up the slack, but the Red Wings offense couldn't get it done in this one. Danny Valencia led the offense in this one going 3-4 with his 8th double of the year and drove in his 14th run to raise his average to .380. Dustin Martin went 1-3 with his 11th double and drove in his 31st run of the year to raise his average up to .252. Justin Huber fresh off his all-star game performance made a pinch hit appearance and hit his 13th double of the year to bring his average up to .287. Jason Pridie went 1-3 with his 4th triple of the year to bring his average up to .260. Trevor Plouffe also contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Red Wings.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Lehigh Valley and will send Philip Humber to the mound for Rochester.

New Britain Business

New Britain 5 Reading 2

• The Rockcats pulled out a very tough game last night to Reading by a score of 5-2. Yohan Pino got the start for the Rockcats and was very good for the Cats and really has surprised me how good he has been since he has been put in the rotation for the New Britain Rockcats. Pino went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to a very good 3.19 and improved his record on the year to 5-1. Pino does not have overpowering stuff, but he still finds a way to get hitters out and how to strikeout guys so even though I don't think he is a big prospect I do think he has a chance to be a long reliever in the major league level if he continues to improve. A key about him that impresses me is he has 64 strikeouts in only 62 innings of work and that projects as he moves forward to possibly making it to AAA and maybe the majors. Alex Burnett then came into the game and did a good job like he always does by going 1.1 innings and giving up no runs on 2 hits along with a strikeout to lower his era to 2.05 on the year. Jose Lugo continued his recent string of good outings as he pitched 1.2 shutout innings along with 3 strikeouts to lower his era to a very good 3.71 on the year. Lugo has done very good the last 2 months after a rough start of the season. In June he had a very good 2.45 era in 11 games and has been even better in July with a 0.73 era in 7 games so far this month. Anthony Slama came on in the 9th and picked up his 20th save of the year by pitching a perfect 9th with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.70.

• The Rockcats did not get alot going offensively in this game, but they got just enough to pick up the win as they scored 5 runs on 14 hits and this game should not of been close, but the Rockcats left an unbelievable 15 guys on base. The Rockcats were led by new Rockcat Steve Singelton who made quite the impression going 3-5 with 2 doubles in his first game with the Rockcats. Toby Gardenhire had a big game going 2-3 with 3 rbi's to bring his total up to 13 and his average up to .257. Luke Hughes had a big game going 2-4 with his first homerun as a Rockcat this year and brought his average up to .333. Juan Portes went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .305. Yancarlos Ortiz had a big game going 2-4 to raise his average up to .226. Brandon Roberts went 1-5 with his 12th double of the year. Brian Dinkelman went 1-4 with his team high 23rd double of the year. Erik Lis went 1-3 with his 16th double of the year and raised his average up to a very good .321.
• Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Reading as Matt Fox will get the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 13 Sarasota 4

• The Miracle continued their offensive barrage last night by scoring 13 runs for the second consecutive game in a blowout over Sarasota by a score of 13-4. Michael Tarsi got the start for the Miracle and he was ok not as good as he had been in previous starts, but good enough to get the win considering the offensive show the Miracle put up last night. Tarsi went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs on 7 hits along with 2 walks and a very good 7 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 3.75 and improved his record on the year to 2-0 in 2 starts. Tarsi has done about as good of a job for the Miracle since his promotion than could be expected. Tarsi is not a huge prospect, but when he keeps the ball down he can be a very solid pitcher who will have an era in the low 3's and will continue to progress through the system not on stuff, but on control and just plain guts which he has alot of. Loek Van Mil then came on and pitched a very effective innning of relief on 2 hits along with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.85. Spencer Steedley then came on and pitched a good 8th inning to lower his era to 1.77. Blair Erickson finished the game with a solid 9th along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.45.

• The Miracle offense continue to impress as of late as they have scored a crazy 26 runs in the last 2 games. In this one the Miracle were led by Mark Dolenc who went 3-5 at the plate to raise his average up to .292 on the year. Esterlin De Los Santos had a big game going 2-6 at the plate with his 1st homerun of the year and drove in 4 runs to bring his total up to 12 and brought his average up to .308. Ben Revere is continuing his recent hot streak going 2-5 at the plate with 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 36 and his average up to .308. Joe Benson went 2-6 with his 4th homerun of the year to bring his rbi total up to 16 and his average up to .301. Nick Romero went 2-4 with his 2nd triple of the year and his 21st rbi to bring his average up to .279. Chris Cates went 2-5 to bring his average up to .259. Chris Parmalee had a big game going 1-4 with his 12th homerun of the year and 3 rbi's to bring his total up to 50. Evan Bigley went 1-6 at the plate along with his 10th double of the year. Juan Richardson also contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Miracle.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Sarasota as David Bromberg gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 9 Burlington 1

• The Snappers won their second consecutive game by blowing out Burlington for the 2nd consecutive night this time by a score of 9-1. Brad Tippett got the start for the Snappers and was once again marvelous. Tippett went 7 shutout innings on only 4 hits along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.43 and improve his record on the year to 8-3. I seriously can not believe that Tippett is still in Beloit because he has put up the kind of season that begs for a promotion to Fort Myers and I believe he is ready to be promoted so I hope the Twins don't wait much longer before promoting Tippett to Fort Myers because he is obviously ready. Thomas Wright then came on and was not very good once again. In 1 inning of work Wright gave up 1 run on 1 hit along with 2 walks and 1 strikeout to raise his era to 9.58. Makes you wonder how long the Twins are going to stick with Wright who has really struggled all year for the Snappers and if they will send him down to E-Town or if they will simply choose to release him. Billy Bulluck continued his good string since his callup to Beloit by pitching another scoreless inning on 1 hit.

• The Snappers continued their recent string of hitting by scoring 9 runs for the second consecutive game. James Beresford led the attack in this one going 4-5 at the plate with his 24th rbi to raise his average on the year to .304. Danny Rams went 2-4 with his 2nd homerun of the year and his 2nd in 2 days along with his 2nd rbi to bring his average up to .333. Tyler Ladendorf had a big game going 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .250 after getting off to a 1-8 start. Drew Thompson had a big game going 2-4 with his 13th and 14th rbi's to bring his average up to .214. Aaron Hicks had a nice game going 1-3 with 3 rbi's to bring his total up to 12 and raise his average up to .219 and brought his walk total up to 17 walks which has brought his OBP up to .359 although he is hitting only .219 and that won't last so the fact that he takes walks is a huge thing. Ramon Santana, Michael Harrington, and Jeff Lanning each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Snappers.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Burlington as Dan Berlind gets the start for Beloit.

E-Town Tidbits

Danville 4 E-Town 3 13 innings

• The E-Town Twins did something that they have not done very much this year and that is lose. The Twins dropped their record to 18-5 with a tough 13 inning 4-3 loss to Danville. Brad Stillings got the start for the Twins and did an ok job going 5.2 innings and giving up only 3 runs although only 2 of them were earned on 8 hits along with 2 walks and an impressive 8 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.86. Tony Davis then came on and bounced back after a couple tough outings to go 1.1 innings of shutout relief on 2 hits along with 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 10.64. 21st round pick Peter Kennelly made his professional debut last night by pitching 1 shutout innings along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Matthew Tone then came on and was good once again as he lowered his era to 0.87 after pitching 2 perfect innings along with 3 strikeouts. Kane Holbrooks then came on and did some good things but in the end he gave up a run so he took the loss to drop his record to 1-1. Holbrooks went 2.2 innings and gave up 1 run on 3 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.63 on the year.

• After being strong all season long the Twins offense really let the team down as they were only able to muster 3 runs on 10 hits. Brian Dozier led the way going 3-6 with his 2nd double of the year to bring his average up to .357. Josmil Pinto had another big game going 2-5 with his 6th and 7th doubles of the year and his 30th rbi to bring his average up to .317. With Ladendorf and Rams gone from the team the Twins are really counting on Pinto, Hermann, and Dozier to carry the load offensively. Dan Rohlfing went 2-5 with his 4th double of the year to bring his average up to .227. Paul Klingsberg went 1-3 at the plate with his 3rd double to raise his average to .297. Chris Hermann and Michael Gonzalez each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Twins last night.
• Tonight, the E-Town Twins continue their series with Danville as they will send Edgar Ibarra to the mound for Elizabethton.

Thursday, July, 16th

Twins Talk

• The Twins had yesterday off before beginning a 9 game roadtrip to Texas, Oakland, and to Anaheim which begins Friday night in Texas. In a surprising move the Twins have recalled pitcher Kevin Mulvey to pitch out of the bullpen for the Twins and sent down Jose Morales. It was not a surprise that Morales went down because like it or not the Twins are committed to having Mike Redmond as the backup catcher this year. After the season Redmond is a free agent and it is doubtful he will be retained so it will probably be Morales' job next year and I am sure he will be up in September if not before because of injuries. Mulvey surprised me because he has been a starter all his career and Jesse Crain, Juan Morillo, or Rob Delaney seemed like better choices. They say he will be working out of long relief, but the way I see it they already have 3 long relievers in R.A. Dickey, Brian Duensing, and Bobby Keppel so the only reasoning I can think of is they are either showcasing him for other teams to see or he is being brought up to start as one of the Twins starters might be on the trading block. It should be interesting next couple of weeks to see what happens with Mulvey and the whole trading scenario's.

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings finished off their all star break as Red Wing Justin Huber competed in the All-Star game. Huber came up 3 times in the game and went 0-2 with a sacrafice fly in the game. Tonight, the Red Wings begin their second half as they try to chase down Scranton/WB for a playoff spot as they travel to Lehigh Valley with Jeff Manship taking the ball.

New Britain Business

• The Rockcats finished off their all star break as Rockcats Whit Robbins, Brian Dinkelman, Rene Tosoni, Matt Fox, and Anthony Slama competed in the All-Star Game. Whit Robbins came on as a pinch hitter and went 1-2 at the plate with a nice single. Brian Dinkelman went 1-2 as well with a single for the North team. Rene Tosoni played the whole game at went 0-4 at the plate playing center field. Matt Fox pitched a scoreless inning of relief along with a strikeout. Anthony Slama did not fare as well as the rest of the players. Slama only got 2 outs and gave up a run on a hit along with a walk and a strikeout before being pulled. Tonight, the Rockcats start their second half as they battle Reading and are scheduled to send Matt Fox to the mound tonight, but that may change because with Kevin Mulvey headed to the Twins you would think New Britain would send a starter to take his spot in Rochester and Matt Fox is one of the obvious possibilities so it will be interesting to see who pitches tonight.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 13 Sarasota 0

• The day off the Miracle got on Tuesday seemed to do wonders for the whole team not only the hitting, but also the pitching as the Miracle pummelled Sarasota last night by a score of 13-0. Steve Hirschfeld got the start for the Miracle and he was awesome in this one. Hirschfeld went all 9 innings and did not give up a run on only 3 hits along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Steve really struggled right when he was moved into the rotation but he really has found his groove as of late. With the no runs allowed he lowered his era to a starter low 2.17 and raised his record on the year to 3-4. Look at his numbers so far in the month of July as he is 1-2 with a very good 2.33 era in 3 starts. He probably does not have the stuff to be a starter as he moves forward, but I believe he can be a very solid relief pitcher who when you need a spot start here and there will do a good job for you.

• After a month long slump with the bats the Miracle offense really came out last night as they pounded Sarasota pitchers for 13 runs on 17 hits in the game and had outstanding performances by so many. Lets start at the top with Ben Revere who bounced out of a slump with a nice 3-5 night at the plate with his 3rd triple of the year and his 34th rbi to bring his average up to .306. Esterlin De Los Santos went 3-6 with his 4th and 5th doubles of the year and his 7th and 8th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .306 as well. Chris Parmalee went 2-4 at the plate with his 47th rbi to bring his average up to .256. Nick Romero had a big game going 2-4 with his 8th double and scored 3 runs to bring his average up to .272. Mark Dolenc went 2-5 with 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 26 and his average up to .286. You can't forget the day Alex Soto had even though he only had 1 hit it was a big one. He pounded a 3 run homerun that put the Miracle ahead for good. Rene Leveret went 1-4 with his 12th double of the year for the Miracle. Deibinson Romero, Joe Benson, and Chris Cates all added hits in the winning cause for the Miracle.


• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Sarasota as new Miracle pitcher Michael Tarsi gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 9 Burlington 3

• The Snappers broke out of a tough 2 game losing streak last night in a big way by beating Burlington by a score of 9-3. They had the type of game that Beloit fans have been waiting for all year in good pitching and some timely hits to score some runs to send the Beloit fans home happy. New Snapper Liam Hendricks was on the hill and pitched a very good game. Hendricks went 6.2 innings and gave up 1 run on 9 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to a very good 1.46 and improved his record on the year to 1-1. Hendricks has done a good job in both his starts for the Snappers so far this year and appears to be a keeper for the Snappers. I really think he could be a fast mover through the organization and it would not surprise me in the least if Hendricks does not start next season up with the Fort Myers Miracle. Blake Martin then came in and struggled in this one giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in only 1 inning of work to increase his era to 4.87 on the year. Matt Williams then pitched the last 1.1 innings without giving up a run to lower his era on the year to 2.52. I really can't believe that Williams is still in Beloit as he has been the best reliever on the Snappers staff and belongs up with Fort Myers.

• The Snappers really got the bat going after really struggling at the plate lately as they put up 9 runs on the board on 12 hits. The Snappers were led by James Beresford who went 3-5 with his 4th and 5th doubles of the year and had 3 rbi's to bring his total up to 23 and his average up to .295. Danny Rams had a huge game to bust out of a tough slump since his callup by going 2-3 with his 1st homerun of the year and improved his average up to .300 on the year. Dominic De La Osa had a big game going 2-4 with his 7th double of the year and his 28th rbi to bring his average up to .215. Angel Morales went 2-3 with his 11th double and his 29th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .227. Morales really went through a rough stretch in the month of June, but has really rebounded in July to show the kind of things that Angel is capable of at the plate. Aaron Hicks went 1-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .214 on the year. Tyler Ladendorf, and Nathan Hanson each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Snappers last night.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Burlington as they will send Brad Tippett to the mound for Beloit tonight.

E-Town Tidbits

E-Town 4 Danville 2

• The E-Town Twins got a big hard fought win last night against fellow first place team in the Danville Braves by a score of 4-2. It seems no matter if it is a slugfest or a pitchers duel the Twins can get the job done in any kind of game and in this one it was a pitchers duel as the Twins improved their record to 18-4 on the young season. Tom Stuifbergen got the start for the Twins and was very impressive in this start. Stuifbergen went all 9 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 6 hits along with 1 walk and an impressive 7 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to a very good 3.66 and improve his record on the year to 3-0. If Stuifbergen keeps pitching like he has as of late it won't be very long before he is joining his teammates Liam Hendricks, Tyler Ladendorf, and Danny Rams up in Beloit with the Snappers. He has quite the impressive ratio of walks to strikeouts as he has only 4 walks in 32 innings and an impressive 30 strikeouts.

• The Twins offense has been so good this year that even in a game that they only were able to put together 7 hits they were still able to score enough to get the win by putting up 4 runs on the board. Josmil Pinto led the offense going 2-4 with his 5th double and his 28th and 29th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .310 on the year. Derek Mccallum went 2-4 with his 13th rbi to bring his average up to .262. Mccallum the Twins 5th round pick out of the University of Minnesota has really bounced back after a rough start to the year to show what he is capable of doing at the plate. Chris Hermann, Tobias Streich, and Jon Goncalves each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the E-Town Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Danville as they will send 1st round pick Matt Bashore to the mound for Elizabethton

To Trade or not to Trade that is the question

This is not going to be a popular sentiment around Twins fans, but I do not think it is as much of a slam dunk that many Twins fans would like it to be. I have done some heavy research on Freddy Sanchez, Matt Capps, Latroy Hawkins, and Jose Valverde as a few of the possibilities that the Twins could trade for and the packages it would take to get them. I have also done my fair share of research on some of the guys it would take to acquire those players and I don't think it is a slam dunk to make the trades for the following reasons.

• Do we need more offense? I know Nick Punto should probably never be starting and Matt Tolbert neither. But the question is it worth it to give up atleast 2 or 3 of the top prospects in the organization for someone that would not solve our problems. Honestly, offense is not the Twins problem as they rank 10th in baseball in runs scored and 2nd in the division which is very good. We have scored more runs than the teams we are battling with in Detroit and Chicago. That just shows that offense is not what is keeping us down. The bottom line is the reason we are in 3rd place and not running away with the division is our starting pitching has not been what we would expect it to be. If our pitchers had done the job they did last year this would not be a race. The only pitcher who has done his job is Nick Blackburn who has a 3.06 era and has 9 quality starts in his last 10. To me the problem this year has not been the offense and to give away 2 or 3 good prospects to make our offense a little better does not make sense.

• Do we have the number 2 hitter we need already on the roster? My answer to that is Yes I think we do. The Twins called up Alexi Casilla the other day and before you just look at his numbers last year. After being called up in May of last year Casilla hit .340/.417 in May, .304/.340 in June, and .308/.333 in July before a wrist injury derailed the rest of his season. I am not making excuses for him performance this year, but you also can not deny his .343 average down in Rochester. Is he at his best as good as Freddy Sanchez well probably not but the difference is not that big. The reason I would stick Casilla at 2nd and go with that is first, the money difference as Sanchez makes 6.5 million and Casilla makes 427,500. Secondly, Sanchez will make 8 million next year and Casilla maybe 450,000. Thirdly, When Casilla is on he is a very good number 2 hitter and plays good defense. The bottom line I am not willing to give up some good prospects for a guy that doesn't make us immensely better.

• How bad do we need a bullpen arm? I think our bullpen is fine when the Starters go their 6 to 7 innings in a game. It is exposed when they have to pitch every day multiple innings without a break. The bottom line is we are looking for a rent a pitcher because we really don't need a relief pitcher next season. Look at the choices we will have next year: Nathan, a returning Pat Neshek, a returning Boof Bonser, Juan Morillo, Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, Jesse Crain, Kevin Mulvey, Anthony Swarzak, Bobby Keppel, Brian Duensing, and you can't forget about Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama ready to make their big league debut's. So really are you willing to give up mulitple prospects that can help you in the future for a relief pitcher that might not be any better than what we have right now. For me it just doesn't make sense to give up a Kevin Mulvey, a Mike Mccardell, a Juan Portes, a Ben Revere or even a Carlos Gutierrez to acquire a reliever for half a season. As much as I want to make the playoffs this year I still am not convinced if you added Freddy Sanchez and Latroy Hawkins if we would be good enough to go to the World Series as I see New York and Boston as still better than us and if you can't go to the world series this year than why mortgage the farm.

• Is there an option on the farm? This is going to ruffle some feathers, but I have not given up on Jesse Crain along with Matt Guerrier being the right handed setup men to Joe Nathan in the bullpen. Granted Crain was awful in the beginning of the year, but he seems to be getting better at AAA and has his era just over 3 and his walks are coming down. You need to remember this is a guy that throws a 95 mile per hour fastball along with a 89 mile per hour slider and a 75 mile per hour curveball. The whole key for Jesse is hitting his spots and keeping the ball down. I really believe if given a chance Jesse can come back up and be a big contributer in the second half of the season for the Twins.

Overall: I just don't see trading the farm to acquire some guys that would not be that much better than the guys we already have. The key in the second half is not going to be how we hit or how our bullpen does it is going to be about how our starting pitchers do and if Kevin Slowey can come back from this injury and if Anthony Swarzak and Kevin Mulvey can contribute some quality innings out of the bullpen for the Twins. I would really like to hear everyone else's opinioin on this and be honest I know there are going to be alot of people that disagree with me on this so just let me know. All opinions will be welcome

Tuesday, July, 14th

Twins Talk

• The Twins started their all star break yesterday and Twins All-Star Joe Mauer competed in the all star games Homerun Derby. He did not make it out of the first round as he only connected with 5 homeruns which were good enough to get in a swing off with Albert Pujols and Carlos Pena where Puljos moved on. The Twins are off until Friday night when they begin the second half with a 3 game series with Texas in Arlington.

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings also have their All-Star break and will send 1b/DH Justin Huber to the all star game in Portland Wednesday night. They will begin the second half of the season on Thursday as they take on Lehigh Valley. The Red Wings are 44 and trail 1st place Scranton/WB by 7 games and trail Durham by 6.5 games in the Wildcard standings.

New Britain Business

Binghamton 14 New Britain 1

• The Rockcats ended the first half on a 2 game losing streak as they were blown out yesterday afternoon against Binghamton by a score of 14-1. Cole Devries got the start for the Rockcats and in a word was awful. It might have been his worst start as a professional and something that won't be hard for someone of his quality to forget. Cole Devries along with Matt Fox have been the glue that have kept the Rockcats in the race so one bad outing should not damper the first half he put together. In this one Cole only lasted 1.1 innings and gave up 10 runs although only 7 of them were earned on 7 hits along with 3 walks and a strikeout to raise his era from 2.89 to 3.53 and dropped his record on the year to 5-9. Deolis Guerra came in relief since this one was the last game before the break. Guerra was ok in this one and gave the Rockcats what they needed most after a short start by Cole Devries and that was innings as he went 4.2 innings. In 4.2 innings Guerra gave up 4 runs on 8 hits along with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 5.59. Kyle Waldrop then came on and pitched 2 shutout innings along with 2 walks and a strikeout to lower his era to 1.93. Matt Fox made a rare relief appearance and pitched a shutout inning to end the game on a hit to lower his era on the year to 3.54.

• The Rockcats offense went into the all-star break with a whimper as they were only able to score 1 run on 7 hits against Binghamton Pitching. Erik Lis led the offense by going 3-4 with his 10th homerun of the year and his 46th rbi to bring his average up to .320 on the year. In the 4 game series Lis went 11-16 with 4 homeruns and 8 rbi's. You can't get any better than that and he showed just how dangerous he can be at the plate. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 at the plate to raise his average on the year up to .299. With the addition of Steve Tolleson to the lineup it might be the precurser for the promotion of Dinkelman to AAA Rochester a promotion that in my opinion is rightly deserved. Whit Robbins and Danny Lehman added singles in a losing cause for the Rockcats.
• Transactions: The Rockcats have announced that IF Steve Singelton has been promoted from High A Fort Myers to New Britain.
• The Rockcats are off until Thursday as they will send Matt Fox, Anthony Slama, Whit Robbins, Brian Dinkelman, and Rene Tosoni to the AA all-star game tommorrow night. On Thursday night they will begin a weekend series with Reading.

Fort Myers Minutes

Palm Beach 2 Fort Myers 0

• The Miracle lost their 2nd straight game to Palm Beach last night and dropped out of first place and dropped a game back of Palm Beach after a tough 2-0 loss last night. Mike Mccardell got the start for the Miracle and was very good once again. Mccardell went 7 strong innings and gave up 2 runs on 10 hits along with 9 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to a very good 3.93, but dropped his record on the year to still a very good 9-6. Mike Mccardell has been good all season long and has probably been one of the most consistant pitchers for the Miracle all season long and probably should of been promoted to AA by now, but will just have to wait his turn. Henry Arias then came into the game and pitched a shutout inning of ball along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.01. Joe Testa then pitched a scoreless ninth along with 2 strikeouts and now has not given up a run in 10.2 innings since joining the Miracle.

• The Miracle really did not get anything going against the Palm Beach pitching staff as they could only muster 4 hits and no runs in the tough loss. The only bright spot offensively was Jair Fernandez who went 2-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .235. Fernandez has really stepped it up after getting more playing time after Danny Lehman went up to AA after the Wilson Ramos injury. He is not a great prospect, but he is a better hitter than what he was showing. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-4 with his 3rd double of the year to bring his average on the year up to .291. Rene Leveret also contributed a single in the losing cause for the Miracle.
• The Miracle have tonight off before beginning a series tommorrow night with Sarasota in Sarasota as they will send Steve Hirschfeld to the mound.

Beloit Beat

West Michigan 7 Beloit 3

• The Snappers lost their second consecutive game to West Michigan last night by a score of 7-3 in a tough hard fought game. Bruce Pugh got the start for the Snappers and did pretty well considering it was his first every start as a professional. Pugh went the first 4 innings and gave up 2 runs although only 1 of them were earned on 1 hit along with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.98 on the season. That was pretty good for a pitcher who really struggled once he was called up to Beloit in mid April and has really found his stride as a pitcher. Michael Allen then came on and was ok just like he has been all year. Allen went 2 innings and gave up 2 runs although only 1 was earned on 2 hits along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to lower his era on the year to 5.35. Matt Williams then came on and was uncharacteristically bad. Williams only got 2 outs and gave up 3 runs on 3 hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 2.61. Billy Bulluck then came on and pitched a scoreless 9th on 1 strikeout.

• The Snappers really did not take advantage of the opprotunities they had as they only were able to score 3 runs on 10 hits. The big reason that they were unable to score more runs was because of 7 guys left on base and that won't work when your struggling like the Snappers are. Ramon Santana led the offense by going 2-4 at the plate with his 18th double of the year and his 46th rbi to bring his average on the season up to .297. Michael Harrington went 2-3 at the plate with his team leading 24th double of the year to bring his average up to .236. James Beresford went 2-5 with his 20th rbi of the year and raised his average up to .289. Angel Morales went 1-4 at the plate with his 10th double of the year along with an rbi to bring his total on the year to 28. Ozzie Lewis, Tyler Ladendorf, and Nathan Hanson all contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers.
• The Snappers have tonight off before beginning at Burlington tommorrow night as the Snappers try to break out of their 2 game losing streak.

E-town tidbits

E-Town 8 Johnson City 6

• The E-town Twins won their 3rd consecutive victory with a tough hard fought victory over Johnson City by a score of 8-6 to expand their division lead to 4 games. Angelo Sanchez got the start for the Twins and was very good in this one. Sanchez went 5.1 innings and gave up only 1 run on 4 hits along with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts to lower his era down to 3.63 on the year. Sanchez has probably been the best pitcher on the Twins staff all season long as he has kept his walks down and kept his strikeouts up so it will be interesting to see if he can keep it up all year. Michael Tone then came into the game and pitched a solid inning of work to get the win and improve his record on the year to 2-1. In 1 inning Tone did not give up any runs, however he did walk 3 batters to lower his era on the year to 1.08. Tony Davis then came on and was awful as he only got 2 outs and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits along with 2 walks to raise his era to a very bad 12.10 on the year. Kyle Carr then came on and pitched the last 2 innings to pick up his 3rd save of the year. Carr went 2 innings and gave up no runs on no hits along with a walk and 5 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to a very good 1.06.

• The Twins offense did their part once again as they put up 8 runs on 12 hits which ended up being enough for the Twins to get a big win over Johnson City last night. Derek Mccallum was the big hitting star in this one as he went 3-5 with his 6th double and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total up to 12. With the 3 hits it brought Derek's average up to .250 on the year. Brian Dozier had a big game going 2-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .389. Paul Klingsberg went 2-5 to bring his average on the year up to .294. Chris Hermann had his 4th homerun of the year and drove in his 11th and 12th runs of the year to bring his average up to .397. Josmil Pinto, Anderson Hidalgo, Herbert Lara, and Jon Goncalves each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Twins.
• The Twins have today off before beginning a series tommorrow night with fellow first place Danville in Danville.

Monday, July, 13th

Twins Talk
Twins 6 White Sox 4 Friday Night WP: Blackburn LP: Dotel Save: Nathan(23)

Blackburn 7inn 4 er 9 hits 1bb 3k 3.06 era Mauer 1-3 1rbi(48) BA: .388

White Sox 8 Twins 7 Saturday Night WP: Floyd LP: Perkins Save Jenks

Perkins 4.1 inn 5 er 8 hits 2bb 1k 4.71 era Mauer 0-4 .381 ba

Twins 13 White Sox 7 WP: Baker LP: Buerhle

Baker: 6.1 inn 5er 6 hits 1bb 4k 5.42 era Mauer 0-4 .373 ba

Transaction: The Twins recalled Alexi Casilla from AAA Rochester and sent IF Matt Tolbert down to Rochester.

Rochester Wrap

Syracuse 2 Rochester 0 Thursday WP: Mock LP: Mulvey Save: Kensing

Mulvey: 8 inn CG 1ER 7 hits 1 bb 4 k 3.93 era Casilla 2-4 .340 batting average

Rochester 6 Syracuse 3 Friday WP: Humber LP: Martin Save: Delaney(3)

Humber: 5 inn 1 earned run 7 hits 4bb 2k 5.86 era Pridie 2-4 17th double 29th rbi

Lehigh Valley 7 Rochester 5 Saturday WP: Woods LP: Jones Save: Registar

Jones: 5 inn 5 ER 11 hits 3k 6.39 era Huber: 2-5 12th hr 3rbi(48) .285 ba

Rochester 5 Lehigh Valley 3 Sunday WP: Delaney LP: Bowers

Santos: 5 inn 1 earned run 6 hits 1bb 3k 4.91 era Valencia 3-4 7th double .360 ba


New Britain Wrap

Connecticut 6 New Britain 0 Thursday WP: English LP: Fox

Fox: 5 inn 2 runs 5 hits 3bb 4k 3.58 era Ortiz: 1-3 batting average .227

New Britain 10 Binghamton 7 Friday WP: Burnett LP: Alfonzo Save: Slama(19)

Mullins: 3.2 inn 5 runs 8 hits 1bb 5k 4.91 era Lis: 4-4 7th hr .309 batting average

New Britain 5 Binghamton 0 Saturday WP: Pino LP: Brown Save: Lugo(3)

Pino: 6 inn 0 runs 6 hits 8k's 3.16 era Lis 3-4 2 hr(9) 4 rbi's(43) .315 ba

Binghamton 11 New Britain 8 Sunday WP: Robertson LP: Gutierrez

Mata: 4.1 inn 4 runs 2bb 4k 4.05 era Roberts 2-4 3 runs scored 2bb .296 ba

Binghamton 14 New Britain 1 Monday WP: Holt LP: Devries

Devries: 1.1 inn 10 runs 7 hits 3bb 1k 3.53 era Lis 3-4 HR(10) .320 batting average

Erik Lis was 11-16 a .688 average with 4 homerun and 8 rbi's in 4 game series vs Binghamton.


Fort Myers Minutes

Sarasota 1 Fort Myers 0 Thursday WP: Gonzalez LP: Hirschfeld Save: Thurman

Hirschfeld: 7 inn 1 run 2 hits 2bb 4k 2.51 era Revere 1-4 .305 batting average

Fort Myers 6 Sarasota 3 Friday WP: Tarsi LP: Webb Save: Van Mil(1)

Tarsi: 6 inn 1 run 7 hits 2bb 7k 1.50 era N. Romero: 2-4 7th double 3 rbi's(19)

Palm Beach 10 Fort Myers 9 Saturday WP: Buursma LP: S. Arias Save: Mulligan

Bromberg: 4.2 inn 3 runs 5 hits 3bb 5k 2.87 era Revere: 2-5 2 rbi's(33) 2sb(33)

Palm Beach 13 Fort Myers 2 Sunday WP: Castillo LP: Robertson

Robertson: 5 inn 6 runs 10 hits 2k 3.86 era Revere: 0-4 .303 batting average


Beloit Beat

South Bend 6 Beloit 5 Thursday WP: Vasquez LP: Hendricks Save: Woodall

Hendricks: 5.2 inn 1 earned run 1bb 5k 1.59era Hicks: 1-4 1bb(14) .222 BA

Beloit 5 South Bend 1 Friday WP: Tippett LP: Moorhouse

Tippett: 7 inn 0 runs 5 hits 2bb 5k 2.63 era Hicks: 2-4 double(4) 1 run .241 BA

Beloit 9 West Michigan 8 Saturday WP: Allen LP: Cassavechia Save: Williams

Berlind: 4.1 inn 4 runs 9 hits 1bb 3k 4.56 era Hicks: 0-3 2bb(16) .230 BA

West Michigan 11 Beloit 3 Sunday WP: Sorenson LP: Osterbrock

Osterbrock: 2.2 inn 10 runs 9 hits 2bb 5.80 era Ladendorf 1-4 2rbi(2) .125 BA


E-town Tidbits

E-town 6 Kingsport 5 Thursday WP: Tone LP: Rojas Save: Carr(2)

Stillings: 5 inn 5 runs 5 hits 3bb 3k 5.73 era Hermann 2-6 .381 batting average

Kingsport 10 E-town 9 Friday WP: White LP: Ibarra Save: Babin

Ibarra: 4.1 inn 7 runs 3 hits 3bb 2k 8.10 era Streich: 3-3 double(4) rbi(11) .326 BA

E-town 10 Johnson City Saturday WP: Munoz LP: Ferrara

Munoz: 6.1 inn 1 run 6 hits 1 bb 9k 3.05 era Hermann 2-4 2 doubles(9) .394 BA

E-town 9 Johnson City 4 Sunday WP: Holbrooks LP: Durham

Garcia: 4.2 inn 3 runs 4 hits 6bb 5k 3.78era Hermann 2-4 hr(3) 2 rbi's(10) .400 ba


Transactions: Here is a quick update on the transactions since last time i updated.

Twins: recalled IF Alexi Casilla and sent down IF Matt Tolbert

Rochester: Matt Tolbert was sent to Rochester to replace Alexi Casilla

New Britain: none

Fort Myers: Catcher Alex Soto was promoted and OF Joe Benson was activated from disabled list.

Beloit: IF Tyler Ladendorf and Catcher Danny Rams were promoted to Beloit; Catcher Alex Soto promoted to Fort Myers and Catcher Buddy Munroe demoted to Elizabethton.

E-town: Tyler Ladendorf and Danny Rams promoted to Beloit; had Buddy Munroe returned to them and saw debut of IF Brian Dozier and First Round Pick Matt Bashore was put on the roster.

Twins Add All-Star caliber player

No the Twins did not add Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates. Instead the Twins have promoted infielder Alexi Casilla from AAA Rochester and sent Matt Tolbert back down to Rochester. I think this move could of been done for 2 different reasons, one of them is hopefully to get him going, because our 2 hole hitters have been so bad this year and 2nd it could be to show Casilla to teams as a possible trade chip to acquire a middle infielder and/or a reliever. Every day until the deadline I am going to propose some trades and see what everyone thinks of them. Today I am going to propose a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

• Twins acquire 2b Freddy Sanchez & RP Matt Capps
• Pirates acquire 2b Alexi Casilla, SP Kevin Mulvey, OF Chris Parmalee, and SP Mike Mccardell

• Overview: On paper it seems like a terrible trade for the Twins because you are trading away 2 top 20 prospects and a very talented infielder who when he is right is just as good as the guy you are acquiring. However, looking at the stats those prospects are not for sure things and both Sanchez and Capps are under team control thru next year. Looking at the stats makes this a trade that the Twins should very seriously consider.

Freddy Sanchez- .316 6 homeruns 34 rbi's with a great .356/.478/.834 and the 2006 batting title when he hit .344 and a .302 career hitter. At age 31 Sanchez makes 6.25 million and his 2010 contract vests if he makes 600 plate appearances.

Matt Capps- 1-5 6.21 era 32 games 29 inn 13 walks and 20 strikeouts 19 saves. Capps had been having a very good first half until he gave up 5 runs to Philadelphia on Friday night. However on the season he has been quite solid. He has a 3.43 career era. At only age 25 Capps is under team control for 2 more years after this year so he would be a very good setup man for the Twins and take pressure off Matt Guerrier. Capps makes 2.43 million this year and is eligible for arbitration after the 2009 and 2010 seasons and won't be a free agent until after the 2011 season.

Alexi Casilla- .180 0 homeruns 5 rbi's in 34 games. very bad .242/.225/.467 splits. At AAA his stats were much better. .340 average 2 hr 17 rbi's 9sb .379/.449/.827. At only 24 years old Casilla could turn out to be a guy that the Twins will regret getting rid of because he may turn out to be a terrific player and is under team control for 5 years and only makes 428,000 this year.

Kevin Mulvey- 3-6 3.93 era 103 inn pitched in 17 starts with 37 walks and 81 strikeouts. Kevin Mulvey is a top 10 prospect and with most teams would be in the majors starting. He is the type of player the Pirates would want because he is a top prospect and he is cheap.

Chris Parmalee- He is the biggest prospect in the trade as Parmalee has outstanding power and a good eye at the plate. Parmalee is hitting .256 hitter with 11 homeruns and 46 rbi's. His splits are impressive at .350/446/.795, but they could be better. He is a streaky hitter, but his 38 walks in 256 at bats remind many of a young Adam Dunn. He is only 21 years old so obviously his best years are ahead of him and you can play him at either RF or 1b and could be ready for the big leagues in April of 2012.

Mike Mccardell- He is a top pitching prospect for the Twins and could be on the fast track to the majors. This year Mccardell is 9-5 with a 4.03 era in 16 starts. He has worked 87 innings and only walked 16 batters. At age 24 he should be in AA and a change of scenary would do him wonders because no matter what you of theTwins minor league system they have a history of being slow with moving their prospects and with Mccardell old for his level he needs to get to AA and the Twins don't look like they are going to move him up and a change of scenary would do him good.

Overall, I believe it is a fair trade and something the Twins should really consider doing this trade because with Sanchez you have a good number 2 hitter that you can put in front of Mauer and Morneau and have Capps at the end of the bullpen to spell Matt Guerrier to get to Joe Nathan. Everyone let me know what you think and if you think it is a good trade.

Beloit Snappers: June Awards

Today I will be finishing off My June awards with a look at the Beloit Snappers who really struggled in the month of June. They saw the addition of 2008 first round pick Aaron Hicks, but that didn't seem to help the Snappers. However, there were some good performances out of the Snappers and i think they should be recognized. Let me know what you think and leave comments in the box or email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com. Thanks and enjoy

• Pitcher of the Month: Bobby Lanigan- Bobby Lanigan after really struggling in April and May really turned it around in June. After having a very good 3.68 era in April he really had a terrible May by increasing his era to 7.16 in May. That led to many people doubting the ability of Bobby Lanigan, but he really quieted those doubters in June. Lanigan went 2-1 with a great 1.73 era in 5 June starts. Bobby worked 26 innings in June and only gave up 5 earned runs which is a run for every 5 innings of work which if phenomenal. Lanigan only walked 4 batters and struck out 21 which is a great ratio. Most impressive of all was Lanigan held opponents to a .212 average in the month of June. Bobby Lanigan is a very talented pitcher that just needed a good month for everyone to realize how talented he is. I really expect Lanigan to have a good 2nd half and start next season in the rotation for Fort Myers next year and watch as his value on prospect lists skyrockets.
• Others Considered: Michael Tarsi, Dan Osterbrock, Brad Tippett

• Hitter of the Month: Ozzie Lewis- Ozzie Lewis had a great month of June on a team that was dreadful offensively in June. Ozzie has been one of the most consistant hitters in the Snapper lineup all year. In April Ozzie hit a very good .333 and backed that up with a solid .271 in May and followed that up with another good month in June. In June Ozzie Lewis hit .303 with 3 homeruns and 12 rbi's along with 4 doubles. Lewis also had a .313 on base percentage which is not bad for a middle of the order bat along with a very good .474 slugging percentage for an ops of .786. Ozzie Lewis has been a consistant bat for the Snappers all year long and on a team that does not have much offense that is a big thing to have. I think Ozzie has earned the promotion to Fort Myers and at his age he needs to move up if he is going to continue to progress. However, with the offense the Snappers have I would be very surprised for him to move up this year.
• Others Considered: Michael Harrington