Saturday, June 28th

I am back i was on vacation seeing some family and friends for the last 6 weeks in Minnesota. I just got back last night and it was so nice to sleep in my own bed last night. The weather is beautiful here and so glad to be home. Enough of that im excited to get back into Twins organization baseball. Give me a break though because i may not be up on everything that happened so give me your patience as i get caught up.



Twins Talk

Twins 7 Milwaukee 6

Twins 44-36 0.5games back

• POG: Joe Mauer- Joe continued his hot streak with the Twins by going 2-4 with a HUGE homerun in the bottom of the 8th inning to lead the Twins to the victory. With the 2 hits it raised Joe's average to a very good .326 on the season and with the homerun it was the 3rd homerun of the season. With the rbi with the homerun it brings his total to 32 on the season which ranks 4th on the team. Joe really is the heart and soul of the Twins and i know people criticize his lack of homeruns, but i will take his .330 any day of the week and if he hits 10 homeruns it is good enough for me.


• The Twins found a way to win a game that they trailed throughout and were behind 6-3 in the 5th inning. With the win it extends the Twins season high winning streak to 10 games. The thing about this streak that i really like is the fact that everyone is contributing with it. From your usuals of Mauer and Mourneau to surprising players in Harris and Buscher so its totally a team effort.


• Nick Blackburn had the worst start he has had in a very long time only making it 4.2 innings and gave up 6 runs on 10 hits with 4 homeruns. With the 6 runs allowed it raised his ERA to 4.05 on the season. I am not worried at all about Nick becuase i look at it as an anomaly and not something he will make a habit of doing. You could tell early on that Nick did not have it because he was not getting his trademark groundballs. But, in his defense Milwaukee has a very powerful lineup and any pitcher could get beat up a bit with that lineup.


• Tonight, the Twins continue their 3 game series with the Brewers at the Metrodome. Gametime is at 6:10 with Livan Hernandez getting the start for the Twins as they try to extend their winning streak to 11 games and will be going against Manny Para of the Brewers.

Rochester Wrap

Pawtucket 4 Rochester 2

Rochester 37-46 15.0 games back

• POG: Danny Graves- Danny probably had his best start of the season last night, but was a tough luck loser. Danny went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 9 hits while not walking a batter and striking out 2. With the 2 runs it lowered Danny's ERA to 5.10 on the season for the Red Wings. Danny is what he is he is not a great pitcher and I really think the Twins need to make a decision on him one way or another. If they want him to come to the majors move him to the bullpen, but if they are not going to do that they miles well just release him and let some young guy get a chance at the AAA level someone like Ryan Mullins.


• The guy that most everybody gave up on a while ago is Randy Ruiz who struggled mightily early in the season and has come on like crazy the last 2 months. Last night Randy had 1 of the Red Wings 4 hits with his 11th homerun of the season along with his 46th rbi of the season. Those are really good numbers along with a .298 averag with the 11homeruns and 46rbi's. He has been very good this year for the Red Wings and if something happened to Justin Mourneau or Jason Kubel i would have no problem giving Randy a chance with the Twins to see how he can do at the major league level. I admit at the beginning of the season i was not much of a fan but he has proved me wrong and deserves a chance at the major league level.


• I have been really disappointed in Trevor Plouffe since his promotion to AAA hitting only .241 so far with the Red Wings. I really thought he was ready for the promotion, but im beginning to think that he is not ready. I was a big believer in him as the shortstop of the future and now i am having my doubts about that too. I hope im wrong and he turns it around and makes me look stupid, because that is something i will be happy to be wrong about.


• Tonight, the Redwings continue their series with first place Pawtucket in Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 with Kevin Mulvey getting the start for the Redwings

New Britain Rockcats

New Hampshire 3 New Britain 2

New Britain 33-45 13.5 games back

• POG: Zach Ward- Zach made a spot start for the Rockcats and was very good giving them a chance to win. Zach went 6 innings and only gave up 1 earned run on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 5. With the good 6 innings it lowered Zach's era to a very good 2.41 on the season. I am a big Zach Ward supporter I think he is ready to make the jump up to AAA and help the RedWings win some games. However, if you are going to keep him in AA keep him in the bullpen that way he can concentrate on one thing instead of wondering if he is a starter or a reliever and his future is out of the bullpen. Zach has not been lights out like he was early in the season teams have got to him a little bit, but he has rebounded nicely of late to put up good numbers and he is someone we should keep an eye on.
• The new additions for the Rockcats have really struggled to get going and that has really surprised me. Danny Valencia got only his 2nd rbi since his promotion last night and is only hitting .211. Brian Dinkelman is hitting a robust .189 and Rob Delaney gave up a homerun last night. I don't have any doubts that they will figure it out, but i guess i was expecting them to hit the ground running. I think by the end of the year they each will be doing what they do and this rough start will be just an afterthought.
• It was good to see Luke Hughes make his return to the Rockcats lineup after missing 24 days due to a pulled hamstring swinging on a cold night. I think he brings a dimension to the New Britain lineup that is just missing when he was not in there. It will be interesting to see how they mix and match Valencia, Dinkelman, Tolleson, and Hughes at 2nd,ss,and 3rd. But besides that he had a successful return going 1-4 with 2 runs scored for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with New Hampshire in New Hampshire. Gametime is at 6:05pm as the Rockcats try to break out of their 5 game losing streak. Kyle Aselton will be on the mound for New Britain

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 2 Brevard County 1

Fort Myers 3-6 2.5 games back

• POG: Cole Devries- Cole showed his good stuff once again by going 6 shutout innings for the Miracle. In the 6 innings he only gave up 2 hits while walking 4 and striking out 5 on the night. With the 6 shutout innings it lowered his ERA to a very good 2.77 and brought his win total up to 6 on the season. Cole has really impressed me all year he has probably been the most consistant pitcher that is currently on the Miracle's roster. I think he is ready for a promotion to AA but i dont think he will get one so all he can do is keep dominating the FSL until he gets the promotion he deserves.
• Eli Tintor was the only Miracle hitter who was able to do anything as he went 2-2 with 2 doubles and a rbi along with a run scored. With the 2 hits it raises his average up to .220 on the season and could be a sign of things to come. I am not a big Eli Tintor fan I dont think he is very good but if he keeps hitting like this I could be wrong.
• Anthony Slama pitched the last 1.1 innings to pick up his team high 15th save on the year so far. With the outing he lowered his crazy era down to a minischule 0.43 on the season. He struck out 4 of the 6 batters he faced to bring his strikeout total up to 72 in only 42 innings of work. I have been high on Anthony all season and he keeps getting better and better as the season goes on. I think they need to promote him at some time this season and when they do i think he will dominate their also.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with the Mantanees in Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 with Jay Rainville getting the start for the Miracle

Beloit Beat

Cedar Rapids 8 Beloit 5

Beloit 7-2 First Place

• POG: Greg Yersich- Greg probably had his best game of the season last night in the loss. He went 3-3 with a double and a rbi along with a run scored. With the 3 hits it raised Greg's average to .195 on the season and his Rbi total up to 14 on the season. Greg has really struggled all season at the bat that is why he has lost playing time to other players that is why it was so important for him to have a night like that to get the confidence of the players and coaches.
• It is good to see Ben Revere back in the lineup even though it is just as a DH. Ben went 1-4 to lower his average to .412. The Snappers did something interesting that i want to see if they will continue they hit him 3rd in the lineup. It is a risk with his speed to not being on base at the beginning of the lineup, but the way he is hitting there is a logical reason to have him hit 3rd and drive in some more runs.
• The Snappers pitching was dreadful last night especially Steven Hirschfeld and Chis Anderson. Combined between the 2 they went 5 innings and gave up 11 hits and 7 runs and they need better pitching if the Snappers are going to continue their run.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Cedar Rapids in Beloit. Gametime is at 7:00pm with Mike Tarsi getting the start for the Snappers

E-town trials

Johnson City 14 Elizabethton 4

Elizabethton 8-3 First Place

• POG: Alex Soto- Alex got the start at catcher for the Twins and didnt disappoint. He went 1-3 with his 4th homerun of the year along with 3 rbi's and a run scored for pretty much the only offense for the Twins. I look for Alex to get more and more playing time for the Twins and should split time with Danny Rams catching and give them a potent 1-2 punch behind the plate for the Twins.
• Dan Berlind was the opposite to Alex Soto he had a game that he would just as soon forget. In only 2.1 innings he gave up a whopping 11 runs on only 7 hits. He walked 5 batters along with 4 strikeouts. With the terrible outing it raised Dan's era to 10.13 on the season. For someone who is trying to get back to Beloit it is not a real appealing outing, however it will be easy to forget about and can go out next time to get back on track.
• Angel Morales had another outstanding game going 2-4 to raise his average to a team high .361 on the season. I am really high on him and look forward to see how he does going forward and if he can keep getting better and better.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Johnson City in Johnson City. Gametime is at 6pm with Brad Tippett getting the start for the Twins.