Monday, May 12th

First off sorry for no update this weekend i was traveling back to minnesota to see some family and friends and the first thing i see is snow. Im so glad i live in Texas now you dont even believe it. Back to your regularly scheduled programming now.

Twins Talk
Twins 9 Boston 8

Twins 19-17 First Place

• POG: Craig Monroe- Craig had his finest game as a Twin last night going 2-4 with 2 homeruns and 4 rbi's to help the Twins get the win. Craig is now hitting .284 on the season and has 4 homeruns and has driven in 13 in limited playing time. I really like Jason Kubel but i really believe Monroe gives us what we are lacking and that is Power he can hit alot of homeruns. You need to remember it was just 2 years ago that he hit 28 homeruns to lead the Tigers to the World Series so he is definatly capable. I wouldn't forget about Kubel but as long as Monroe is hitting like he is you need to keep going to the hot hand and see how long it can last.
• The Twins relievers really struggled last night in 3 innings of work they allowed 4 runs and 6 hits to barely hang on against the Red Sox. After losing Pat Neshek they need some guys to step up and to get the ball to Nathan with a lead if the Twins want to continue to contend in the AL Central.
• For the First time all year Joe Nathan struggled and almost blew the save. The good thing is he made a nice pitch to Manny Ramirez to get out of the inning. In his inning of work he gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and stranded the tying run at second to raise his era to 1.93 on the season. The thing about Nathan is its not too often that he has games like this and i look for him to bounce back and be dominant again and look at the bright side he got the save his 13th on the year.
• Tonight, the Twins finish off their 4 game series with the Red Sox in Minneapolis. Gametime is at 6:10 with Livan Hernandez getting the ball vs Clay Bucholz for Boston.

Rochester Wrap

Buffalo 4 Rochester 2

Rochester 15-23 11.5 games back

• POG:Howie Clark- Howie had a pretty good game in which not a whole lot went right for the Red Wings. He went 2-3 with an rbi to raise his average up to .240 on the young season. Howie is a solid journeyman infielder that has been in every organization that you can imagine and he is steady but not spectacular. The Twins are giving their prospect time to develop and he is a good stopgap type of player until they are ready to take the reigns and when that happens he will go to another organization and do the same thing he will always have a job and makes a nice living.
• After an encouraging start the time before Philip Humber really struggled only making it 5 innings and giving up 4 runs on 8 hits. Along with thta he walked 3 and only got 1 strikeout for the right hander. Philip is the model of inconsistancy becuase 1 start he can dominate and the next he gets dominated. If he could ever get the consistancy down he can be a real good pitcher but until he does he will be languishing in AAA.
• The Rochester bullpen did the job again only giving up 3 hits and no runs in 3 innings in relief of Humber. I have said it before and ill say it again the Red Wings bullpen is keeping the Wings in some games and if they could ever hit they would be a good team.
• Tonight, the Red Wings finish off their series with Buffalo in Buffalo. Gametime is at 6:05 with Danny Graves making a spot start for the Red Wings.

New Britain Beat

New Britain 7 New Hampshire 4

New Britain 20-15 3 games back

• POG:Steve Tolleson- Steve continued his recent hot streak since Luke Hughes went out with the injury going 2-5 with his 4th homerun and 4 rbi's to raise his average up to .302 on the season. Steve is just a really solid player who doesn't make alot of mistakes and when his name is in the lineup you know your going to get good professional at bats out of him and he will make the plays in the field no matter where you put him. I think his strength is his versatility. One day he can be at 2nd and the next at 3rd and the next in the outfield he can do it all. I look for his numbers to continue as the more playing time he gets the better he will be.
• Ryan Mullins the most consistant starter for the Cats continued his solid start to the season yesterday as he picked up his 3rd win of the year. Mullins went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. With the outing it lowered Ryan's era to 3.25 on the season. Not alot of people talk about him but he has been the most consistant starter for the cats and i look for him to get the call to Rochester before Swarzak because of his consistancy. Swarzak has better stuff but you know what your going to get out of Mullins and to a coach thats more important.
• It was a big win for the Rock Cats as they broke out of a 4 game losing streak and gained a half a game on first place Trenton as they try to catch them.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats finish their series with New Hampshire in New Hampshire. Gametime is at 5:35 with Anthony Swarzak getting the start as he tries to rebound from back to back bad starts for the young righty.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 7 St. Lucie 5

Fort Myers 23-13 First Place

• POG:Danny Valencia- Danny continued his hot streak by going 4-5 with 2 doubles and a rbi to help the Miracle come back from a 5-2 deficit late in the game. In his last 3 games Danny is 9-12 with 3 doubles and 2 rbi's to raise his average to .323 on the season. Danny is a really good hitter who seems to be finding his groove for the Miracle and my gut says he wont be a member of the Miracle for very much longer. I would give it 2-4 weeks and he will be manning 3rd base for New Britain. He is such a good hitter with good plate disipline and i really believe he is the future 3rd basemen for the Twins just as long as he works on his defense a bit and theres no reason to think he wont so the future is very bright for Danny Valencia.
• Cole Devries struggled again for the Miracle only making it 5 innings and giving up 5 runs on 10 hits to raise his era to 5.13. Like i said when i was talking about Philip Humber, Cole has alot of talent but he is so inconsistant that you dont really know what you got out of him because one start he can be awesome and the next one he is terrible. If he is going to keep moving up the Twins system he has to be more consistant with getting his offspeed over for a strike and actually be more consistant with everything in his game.
• The Miracle's bullpen did it again going 4 shutout innings to allow the Miracle offense to get back into it. The end of that bullpen with Delaney and Slama is the best 1-2 in the whole system. look at these numbers between the 2 of them. 31.2 innings and only 2 earned runs along with 14 saves. They have walked only 8 batters and struck out an amazing 46 batters. All i can say about those too is wow.
• Tonight, the Miracle put their 4 game winning streak on the line against Sarasota in Sarasota. Gametime is at 6pm with Jeff Manship getting the start.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 16-18 8.5 games back

• Yesterday the Snappers had their game with Burlington rained out and tonight they take on first place Clinton in Beloit. Gametime is at 6:35 with Santos Arias getting the start for the Snappers.