Tuesday, May 27th

Twins Talk
off day
Minnesota 25-25 3.0 games back

• The Twins had yesterday off before they play another 21 games in 21 days starting tonight in Kansas City. The Twins begin a 3 game series with Royals tonight with gametime at 7:10 with Nick Blackburn getting the start for the Twins vs Brian Bannister for the Royals.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 7 Charlotte 6 10 innnings

Rochester 20-32 12.0 games back

• POG: Garrett Jones- Everytime you are ready to give up on Garrett and send him packing he has a game like that which makes him such a tease. Garrett has alot of talent he just doesn't show it on a consistant basis, but when he is on he is a solid AAA player. For example last night he went 3-5 with his 4th homerun of the year along with 2 rbi's and a run scored. With the 3 hits it raises his average back over the mendoza line at .202 on the season. With the 2 rbi's it brings hit season total up to 18. He is a very hard person to figure out because he can look terrible for a week adn then have a couple games like this to keep his job. The Twins are waiting for him to put it together more consistantly, but i dont think its going to happen and I dont think he will make the year as a member of the Red Wings. My view is when they are ready to bring up some of the AA guys Jones will get his release and reach his potential with another team.
• Francisco Liriano made a start for the Red Wings and it didn't go so well. Liriano gave up 6 runs on 6 hits in 6.2 innings along with a walk and 4 strikeouts. With the 6 runs it raised his era to 4.61 on the season. The question is this a step back for Liriano as he tries to come back from Tommy John surgery? My gut feeling is no it is not and im not being a homer by saying that, granted im a big Liriano fan, but i think he made one mistake and it made his start look worse than it really was. The thing about Liriano is he was throwing 43% sliders when he was dominant in '06 when he hurt his arm. So going into spring training this year they wanted to limit how many sliders threw so he was throwing alot of changeups when he got his callup, but he couldn't place the fastball. So they sent him down and he found his fastball, but i think he is getting too dependent on his fastball right now. Thats the reason he is getting hit a lil more and not as many strikeouts. I don't know if he can't feel his slider yet or if it hurts when he throws it, but until he finds that slider he will only be a average pitcher. I think he will find it eventually and I was wrong they shouldn't bring him up now they should wait till he finds his slider. Im glad he found his control, but thats only half the battle because even minor league hitters can hit a 91 mile per hour fastball thats why he needs that good slider to get them out. My gut feeling is he will be up by the all star break and be a very good pitcher for the Twins.
• After struggling quite a bit of late the Red Wings bullpen really came up big. Mariano Gomez and Tim Lahey pitched 3.1 perfect innings with no walks and 4 strikeouts. Those are probably are 2 best relievers for Rochester and if you can get them the ball with a lead late in the game they are going to win pretty much every time.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Charlotte in Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05pm with Philip Humber getting the start as he tries to rebound from an awful start his last time out.

New Britain Business

Portland 15 New Britain 11

New Britain 24-26 9.5 games back

• POG: Erik Lis- Erik had an outstanding game for the Rockcats in a tough loss again to Portland. Erik went 2-3 with his 4th homerun of the year along with 3 rbi's, 3 walks, and a run scored. With the 2 hits it brings Erik's average up to .293 on the season. With the 3 rbi's it brings his season total up to 20. I am a really big believer in Erik he has Power and discipline in the batters box. The only problem with him is defensively he has work to do so if he is going to make it probably it will be as a DH for the Twins. Do i think he has that kind of ceiling, actually i do he does alot of things very well and I think his power will continue to develop because he is only 24 years old and his power will continue to develop. I think Erik is a good propect and if he can work on his plate disipline he has a chance to make it with the Twins.
• Errol Simonitsch got really rocked yesterday in his 3rd start of the year. Errol went 4.1 innings and gave up 10 runs on 11 hits along with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts with 2 homeruns. With the 10 runs he gave up it brings his ERA up almost 4 runs to now a very high 10.67 on the season. Was it a bad start yes it was, but it was only 1 start and you can't base things off of one bad start. He was decent in his first 2 and should be given a little more time to show what hes got before they make a change. He should keep in mind though that Jeff Manship and Tyler Robertson are breathing down his neck and if he has another start or 2 like this there won't be much future for him with the Twins based on results and the fact that he is 26 years old and only in AA and the fact there are a line of guys getting ready to pass him so get it going Errol or you will be looking for work.
• The Rockcats offense came out of a little slump to put out 11 runs on 15 hits led by Steve Tolleson, Trevor Plouffe, and Erik Lis who all had 2 hits apiece. Even though they lost the game the Rockcats should look at it as somewhat of a positive that they were able to hit good Portland pitching that well and that bodes well as they move forward.
• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a series with Connecticut at New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35pm with Oswaldo Sosa getting the start for the Rockcats.

Fort Myers Musings

off Day

Fort Myers 32-18 First Place

• The Miracle had yesterday off as they are set to begin a 3 game series with Sarasota in Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 with Cole Devries getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Burlington 12 Beloit 8

Beloit 28-23 9.0 games back

• POG: Jair Fernandez- Jair Fernandez has really been a surprise for the Snappers after they acquired him in a trade this spring when the Twins allowed the Mariners to keep pitcher R.A. Dickey in the Rule V draft. I was not expecting much out of him, but he has easily exceeded my expectations for him. Yesterday, Jair went 3-5 with 2 runs scored to raise his average to a very good .341 on the season. Jair needs to work on his defense but he is very good offensively and he is only 22 years old which is good for his level. If he can become more consistant defensively I think he can develop into possibly a backup catcher with the Twins in a few years.
• Brian Kirwan did not have a very good start yesterday which surprised me since he had been so good so far this year. Yesterday, he went only 4 innings and gave up 7 runs on 8 hits with 6 of the runs earned to raise his era to 5.13 on the season. I think it was an anomaly and he will rebound his next start and give the Snappers what they had been expecting out of him which is 6 innings and 2 or 3 runs.
• Ben Revere rebounded from his only hitless game of the year with another ho hum 2-5 day with a double, an rbi and his 15th stolen base of the year. With the 2 hits his average stays at .405 on the season. It just amazes me how consistant he is still hitting over 400 with 116 at bats so its not even a hot streak its being consistant day in and day out and thats all the Twins want out of him. I disagree with people that say Joe Benson is as talented as Ben becuase i look at Ben as a special player who will be starting for the Twins in a few years and i look at Benson as an underacheiver who will probably never reach his potential. I will always take the sure thing over the maybe any day of the week. Even if Benson did reach his potential i would still take Revere becasue i look for him to win batting titles in the big leagues and steal many bases. The only thing really he needs to work on is his defense and I think that will come with more playing time.
• The Snappers have today off before they begin a series with First Place Clinton tommorrow night in Clinton.