2011 Travis Talks Minnesota Twins offseason blueprint

First to start off it has been a long time since I blogged, but with school and stuff it has been very difficult to find the time to blog. However, make no mistake I am a blogger it is what I enjoy doing and will continue to be a blogger. I don't know how frequent I will blog, but hopefully it will be atleast a couple times a week during the offseason and more during the season. So if you stopped following my blog I really hope you will tune back in as I try to get back at it and for those who are reading this thanks for sticking with me.

Withe the 2010 season over it is time to start looking ahead to the 2011 season. The Twins had another good season winning 94 games and claiming their sixth central division championship in the last nine years. However, they ran into the New York Yankees once again and once again they came on the short hand of it. However you can't forget the great seasons by Delmon Young, Joe Mauer, Jim Thome and the reemergence of Francisco Liriano. It was another gutty performance by do it all Michael Cuddyer who once again filled in admirabely for Justin Morneau who missed a chunk of the season due to a concussion. Gotta give some credit to Jon Rauch who filled in admirably for Joe Nathan who missed the season due to Tommy John surgery. Danny Valencia clearly established himself as the Twins starting 3rd baseman and most importantly Target Field turned into a true home field advantage as the Twins drew over three million people into the beautiful stadium. So to look at the 2011 season there will be many challenges as the Twins have a lot of free agents and not much money. So the Twins will have to make some difficult challenges and get help from guys on the farm once again. So without further adeiu here is my 2011 Minnesota Twins Offseason Blueprint.

1). Add Steve Singleton, David Bromberg, Joe Benson, Chris Parmelee, Rene Tosoni, Kyle Waldrop, and Tyler Robertson to the 40 man roster.

2.) Reinstate Joe Nathan and Justin Morneau from the 60 day D.L. and remove Esterlin De Los Santos from the 40 man roster.

3.) Let free agents Orlando Hudson, Nick Punto, Clay Condrey, Ron Mahey, Brian Fuentes, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, and Randy Flores leave as free agents.

4.) Sign J.J. Hardy to a 3 year 18 million dollar contract with a vesting option for a 4th year based on plate appearances. The Breakdown is 6-6-6-9.

J.J. Hardy is only 28 years old and is very good defensively and will be much better offensively in 2011 and by signing him you develop cost control to let a guy like James Beresford develop slowly to take over in 2014.

5.) Reach Arbitrations agreements with Matt Capps(7.5) Delmon Young(5.25) Kevin Slowey(2.75), Alexi Casilla(800,000), Pat Neshek(800,000), and Jason Repko(750,000)

6.) Don't offer Carl Pavano arbitration

I would love to offer Pavano arbitration to get that extra two draft picks, but I can't take the chance that he would accept and be on the hook for 10 million bucks. So I politely thank him for his service and wish him luck.

7.) Sign Francisco Liriano to a 4 year 42 million extension with the breakdown being 4/8/15/15

Francisco Liriano really developed into a very good number two pitcher on a good team and even though he is not an ace he will be excellent in the role that is given to him. He might never be The Franchise again, but he has the ability to be a horse for the Twins and get every penny of this contract out of him.

8.) Resign Jesse Crain to a 4 year 16 million dollar deal.

Jesse Crain has developed into one of the best set-up men in the American League and that is what top setup men are getting on the free agent market. You put him, Matt Capps, and Joe Nathan at the back of the bullpen and you are looking at a six inning game.

9.) Trade Jason Kubel, Kevin Slowey, Aaron Hicks, and Anthony Slama to the Royals for Zack Greinke.

Now this is the big trade and before you laugh me out of the building I know Greinke got lit up like a Christmas tree last year by the Twins, but his era against teams other than the Twins was a very respectable 3.73. He is a young guy who in 2009 put up unbelievable numbers to win the Cy Young award. Just think of a 1-2-3 of Zack Greinke, Francisco Liriano, and a motivated Scott Baker. Can you say Championship.

2011 Projected Lineup

C- Joe Mauer
1b-Justin Morneau
2b-Alexi Casilla
ss- J.J. Hardy
3b. Danny Valencia
Lf- Denard Span
cf- Ben Revere
Rf- Michael Cuddyer
Dh- Delmon Young

Projected lineup payroll(appr-61.38)

Bench
Drew Butera
Matt Tolbert
Jason Repko
Luke Hughes

(Brenden Harris' 1.75 million dollar contract included)

Projected bench payroll(appr-3.72)

Starting Rotation
1. Zack Greinke
2. Francisco Liriano
3. Scott Baker
4. Nick Blackburn
5. Brian Duensing

Projected Starting Rotation payroll(appr-26.0)

Bullpen
Joe Nathan
Matt Capps
Jesse Crain
Jose Mijares
Pat Neshek
Alex Burnett
Jeff Manship

Projected Bullpen payroll(appr-24.9)

Total Payroll-116 million


Summary
I feel like I have improved the pitching staff immensely and their is room for manuevering if it becomes obvious that Joe Nathan is back as Matt Capps is basically an insurance policy in case he is not ready. If Nathan is ready you can move Capps for prospects that you lost when you acquired him last season. The big key in the lineup is what can you get out of Justin Morneau who was on pace for another mvp this year before getting kneed in the head. If the Twins can get a big year out of Morneau and like seasons from Delmon Young, Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer with the improved speed in the outfield the Twins will be pretty good. Add the better pitching they will get and I like the Twins chances running this team out on opening day 2011. Let me know what you think of this down in the comment box. Thanks.

Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast tonight at 9pm

I am back with another edition of the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast tonight at 9 and it should be a fun show. I will start out with Darren "Doogie" Wolfson and we will talk the NBA draft and what his thoughts are for the future of the Timberwolves. I will then be joined by Dez Tobin of the great Blog of Dez Says and we will talk about the Twins and look back at the series against the Phillies and look forward to the Brewers series with maybe a little bit of minor league talk. So join us tonight at 9 for the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast tonight and you can find the show at http://blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk

Travis Talks prospect List 50-46

It is that time again to take a look at the Twins prospects and how they are doing and What i think about the future for them. I will take five at a time and give their stats in 2010 and talk a little bit about them. Don't expect a lot of info on them as it is a busy time for me, but I felt like it was important to get them down on paper and see what everyone thinks. I added the 2010 draft picks that I felt are worthy of being in the top 50. Let me know what you think by leaving comments in the comment box or shooting me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.



50. Santos Arias RHP (3/17/1987) 23

2010 teams: New Britain and Fort Myers

2010 Stats: 0-7 4.50 era 22games 36 innings 20bb 25k .268 OBA

How Acquired:

• Santos Arias had a rough time of it this year who had alot of expectations going into the year after a great year in Fort Myers last year. He recently was demoted down to Fort Myers to try to get his confidence back after struggling in New Britain. Twins fans should not give up on the tiny right hander who is still a good prospect. He throws hard and when he is throwing strikes he is hard to hit. I look for a bounce back second half out of the righty from The Dominican Republic as he is too good of a pitcher to pitch this horribly for the Twins.

49. Josmil Pinto C (3/31/1989) 21

2010 teams: Beloit Snappers

2010 Stats: .235 5 homeruns 26 rbi's 11 doubles 10bb 20k .282/.395/.678

How Acquired:

• Josmil Pinto has a ton of power as you saw with his 13 homeruns in Elizabethton last season. He is struggling a little bit more this year and that is to be expected as he moved up a level to better competition. This year has been kind of a struggle as he is battling for playing time with Danny Rams and Tobias Streich so when he was playing sparingly it was hard to do much. However, since he has gotten more at bats his numbers have gradually come up. There is a lot of value in Pinto as he is one of the few hitters in the system that hits homeruns. He has tremendous power at the plate and given more time his average will improve also. His defense behind the plate is something that he is going to have to continuially work on as right now it is not great. I see him as a DH with occasionally some time at 1st base and behind the plate. He has no speed so he is going to have to do it with his bat and be a station to station player. I really think Josmil Pinto is one to keep an eye on as he moves through the system.

48. Andrei Lobanov LHP (1/25/1990) 20

2010 teams: Fort Myers Miracle

2010 stats: 1-0 2.29 era 12 games 19.2 innings 4bb 18k .269 OBA

how acquired: Signed as Free Agent in 2007 out of Moscow, Russia

• Andrei Lobanov really has come on the scene the last year and a half as he put up good numbers last year in the GCL. So the big expectation was that Lobanov would move up to Elizabethton this year and work as the closer there. However, with a combination of injuries and bad pitching in Fort Myers the 6'3 Russian walked across the parking lot and has really been good for the Miracle. He has a good demeanor on the mound and like most Twins pitchers he pitches to contact as he has given up 21 hits in 19.2 innings of work. However, he works out of situations very well and his breaking pitches are very good. I still would not be surprised to see him go to Elizabethton, but I do think he has done enough in Fort Myers to stay there for the whole season. I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world for him to go to Elizabethton, but I feel like the right place for him is Fort Myers.

47. Edgar Ibarra LHP (5/31/1989) 21

2010 teams: Beloit Snappers

2010 Stats: 4-6 4.06 era 18 games 7 starts 1save 51 inn 33bb 55k .217 oba

How aquired: signed as a free agent in 2006 out of Venezuela

• Edgar Ibarra is quite the prospect in that he has four pitches that he can throw for strikes in just about any situation. I am kind of perplexed why he hasn't had more success than he has so far. He has a good fastball along with a plus curveball and a decent slider and changeup. A friend of mine that saw him in person came away very impressed with what he brought to the table. Ibarra just turned 21 and in Beloit so he is ahead of the game and quite young for his level. He has pitched well at every level they have put him at, but for some reason every season they put him in the bullpen to start the season because he doesn't throw 95. However, he throws good enough to get guys out which is all that should matter. The one thing I think he needs to work on in the second half is his control as he has walked 33 batters in only 51 innings of work. That is just way too many walks and until he figures that out he won't get out of Beloit. I look for him to finish the season in Beloit and then next year move up to Fort Myers, but definatly Edgar Ibarra is someone to keep a close eye on as he has quite a bit of potential.

46. Brad Stillings RHP (1/20/1988) 22

2010 teams: Beloit Snappers

2010 stats: 6-3 4.15 era 13 starts 65 inn 29bb 51k .296 oba

How acquired: 7th round pick in 2009 draft out of Kent State

• Brad Stillings is another college pitchers that the Twins love to take so much. I am a little perplexed that he has struggled as much as he has so far. He has three solid pitches and is only 22 years old so he is right on track. He got off to a rough start to the season, but seems to be rounding into form. In the month of June he is 3-0 with a 1.56 era so I don't think it will be much longer before he is up in Fort Myers. He has a pretty high upside being he is an experienced college guy who had some success in college and is doing well for Beloit right now. I really look for him to take off in the second half and get up to Fort Myers before the year is out. I am very high on Stillings and believe he really has a chance to succeed in the Twins organization. He is someone that Twins fans should keep an eye on as I think he will move through the system fast and he has a real chance in my opinion and it will be fun watching him develop.

May Awards/Beloit Snappers

Today, I will finish off my look at the month of May as I look at the Beloit Snappers who did not have a great month of May, but had some decent performances that are worth looking at. The Snappers had a rough month in that they lost 12 out of 13 games in a stretch that took them out of playoff contention. After talking about the Snappers today I will begin my look at the top 50 prospects in the Twins organization. I will include the Twins 2010 draft picks in my look at the prospects so check back tommorrow for a look at that. However, today is about the Beloit Snappers and some of the good performances in the month of May. Like always you can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com and let me know what you think.

• Hitter of the Month: Anderson Hidalgo- Talk about a guy going under the radar as not many people talk about the quality season that Hidalgo is having this year with the Snappers. After hitting .314 in April, Hidalgo followed that up with an even better month of May. In 28 games in May, Hidalgo hit .317 with a homerun and 10 rbi's along with a very impressive 13 doubles. He does not have a lot of homerun power, but he is a doubles machine as he already has 16 doubles on the season. He does not walk much as he only walked four times in 101 at bats. However, he does not strikeout much either as he only struck out 14 times along with stealing two bases. Anderson Hidalgo had a very good .349 on base percentage along with a not bad .475 slugging percentage for a very good .824 OPS for the Snappers. The 21 year old out of Venezuela that the Twins signed in 2006 is not known as a huge prospect, but he has put up numbers so far this year that some of the higher prospects would be jealous of. He is struggling a little bit in June, but he still has half a month and I expect him to get his numbers back up before the end of the month. It will be interesting if people start getting on board with the young third baseman and put them on their prospect lists because this year he deserves the recognition.
• Others Considered: James Beresford, Brian Dozier

• Pitcher of the Month: Michael Tonkin- Tonkin really made quite the impression in his debut in Beloit. There were many that felt that he was not ready for A ball and that he would be better served going to Elizabethton. However, he really did well in May as he showed that he is ready for Beloit. Tonkin made four May starts and went 0-2 due to lack of run support and a very good 3.38 era. Tonkin worked 21.1 innings in those four starts so just over 5 innings a start for the 20 year old out of Palmdale, California who the Twins drafted in the 30th round of the 2008 draft. In his 21.1 innings he only gave up eight runs. The fact that he is Jason Kubel's brother in law should not fool you as he is a very talented pitcher that you will be hearing quite a bit about his good pitching. Tonkin only walked four batters in his 21.1 innings of work while striking out 13. Tonkin held opponents to a .282 opponents batting average.
• Others Considered: Kane Holbrooks, Dakota Watts

May Awards/Fort Myers Miracle

Today, I will continue my look at the month of May in the Twins organization. Today, I look at the Fort Myers Miracle who did not have a very good month as they fell out of playoff contention in the first half. They also had a talent influx with some guys coming from Beloit and some others coming back down from New Britain. They may not have a lot of wins in May, but they had some good performances that I feel deserve to be mentioned. Let me know what you think and you can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com and let me know what you think.

• Hitter of the Month: Joe Benson- I really wanted to choose someone that was in Fort Myers all month, but that was not possible as the offense for the Miracle in May was non-existant. Therefore I included the guys that spent half the month in Fort Myers guys like Chris Parmelee, Esterlin De Los Santos, and Joe Benson who were demoted from New Britain. Parmelee was under consideration, but since he went back up to New Britain he was disqualified and even he was still in Fort Myers I still would have gone with Benson. Joe Benson had to be upset that he was sent back to Fort Myers after hitting four homeruns and being the hottest hitter in New Britain in the month of May. However, after going down to Fort Myers he used it as a positive and not a negative to put together a good month of May. In Fort Myers in the month of May Benson hit .263 in 14 games for the Miracle. He showed his extra base power by hitting four homeruns along with five doubles along with 11 rbis. He walked eight times while striking out 14 times. He also stole four bases. Benson had a very good .364 on base percentage along with a very good .561 slugging percentage for an OPS of .925. Joe Benson really had a good month of May as he hit 8 homeruns if you combine his New Britain stats. Benson had a very good month and it won't be long until he is back in New Britain.
• Others Considered: Esterlin De Los Santos, Dan Rohlfing

• Pitcher of the Month: Liam Hendriks- After arriving from Beloit in early May Liam Hendriks kept it going all month long. After putting up a very good 1.32 in 34 innings in Beloit, he got promoted to Fort Myers and was also very good. Hendriks made four May starts and went 2-1 with a very good 2.70 era. He worked 23.1 innings so just about 6 innings a start for the Australian pitcher. In his 23.1 innings he only gave up seven runs which is very good. Now this is impressive he only walked four batters while striking out 25 batters. Hendriks held opponents to a .230 opponents batting average, which is very good. Liam Hendriks has taken huge steps in 2010 and has put his injury past behind him to become a very good prospect for the Twins. It will be interesting to see how good he becomes, because the talent is there and his arm is finally completely healthy and is finally showing it on the mound. He is definately you should keep an eye on in the years ahead as he moves through the system.
• Others Considered: Billy Bulluck, Shooter Hunt, Andrei Lobanov

May Awards/New Britain Rockcats

I will continue my look at the month of May in the Twins minor league affiliates. Today, I will talk about the New Britain Rockcats who had a terrible month of May as they continue to have a historically bad year. That is not to say that a few guys did not have solid months and I think it is good recognize their good play so that is what this posting is all about. I welcome your comments or questions whether they are positive or negative as long as they are constructive to make this blog better. You can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading

• Hitter of the Month: Ben Revere- After getting off to a very un Ben Revere like start in April the phenom came out on fire in the month of May. After hitting only .274 in April Revere turned it on in May. In 30 games in the month of May Revere hit .336 in 119 at bats. He had six doubles, a triple, and a homerun along with a very good month of May in rbi's as he recorded 15 for the month. Revere is not usually a run producer as he is mainly a singles hitter, that is why the 15 rbi's in May is so noteworthy. Revere only struck out seven times while walking 13. You would like to see the walk total go up, but you can't complain about seven strikeouts in 119 at bats a rate of one strikeout every 17 at bats which is awesome. In May, Revere stole 12 bases that is what makes him special as in his first two full seasons he stole 90 bases as he is lightning fast. Revere had an awesome .412 on base percentage in May, while compiling a decent for him .429 slugging percentage for an ops of .840. Ben Revere is a hitting machine and it won't be long before he roaming the outfield with Denard Span and Delmon Young to form a new soul patrol.
• Others Considered: Steve Singleton, Yangervis Solarte

• Pitcher of the Month: Kyle Gibson- Although Gibson only made four starts in New Britain in the month of May after being promoted from Fort Myers he really made them count. Kyle Gibson is the real deal and will be a member of the Minnesota Twins sometime in 2011. In May Gibson was just absolutely filthy as he made four starts and went 3-0 along with a complete game and a miniscule 1.37 era in 26.1 innings. In those 26.1 innings he only gave up four earned runs. He had a very good five walks and 23 strikeouts in his 26.1 innings so almost a strikeout an inning and a little over a walk per nine innings. The most impressive stat that I found about Gibson's 3.23 ground ball to fly out rate as he is a ground ball machine. He also held opponents to a very good .208 opponents batting average. Kyle Gibson is the real deal and will be a key contributer for the Twins next season if not this year. He is going through a few bumps in early June, but I have no doubt that he will overcome them to have a very good rookie season in the Twins organization as he works his way up to the majors.
• Others Considered: Carlos Gutierrez, Michael Allen

May Awards/Rochester Red Wings

Today I will continue to look at the month of May in the Twins system. Today I will be moving to the Rochester Red Wings who did not have a very good month of May as a team, but collectively there was some solid performances. I thought I would acknowledge those performances. If you have a comment on my selections I welcome you to leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

• Hitter of the Month: Jose Morales- Jose Morales came on the scene in May for the Red Wings and had a very solid month at the plate. He has played mostly as the designated hitter with Wilson Ramos getting most of the catching duties. That has hurt Morales chances to make it back up to the Twins as he just has not had enough opportunities to show he ready to take over the backup catching duties for the Twins. However, swinging the bat was not a problem in May and I know he has struggled in June so far, but he is too good to not hit. He may not be a gold glove catcher or hit a lot of homeruns, but he is a 300 hitter and by years end that is where he will be if he is in Rochester that long and right now I think it is a 50-50 chance he spends the season in Rochester. In May Morales hit a very good .309 along with four doubles and five rbi's. He walked eight times while striking out eleven times. Morales had a very good .397 on base percentage which is very good for someone not taking a lot of walks. His .382 slugging percentage is pretty typical for a guy that is a singles hitter who does not hit for much power so that is not surprising. Morales OPS was a very respectable .779 at the plate and the big thing for him is if he can keep his on base percentage up he will be just fine. It will be interesting if he can bounce back the second half of June and get his average back in the 300's like it belongs. If that should happen I happen to think it would not be long before he gets called back up to the big leagues.
• Others Considered: Brock Peterson, Trevor Plouffe, Danny Valencia

• Pitcher of the Month: Kyle Waldrop- Normally I don't like to give this award to a reliever so one of two things needed to happen for a reliever to get the award. One if the starters weren't worthy of it, but that is not the case as their was a starter that was heavily considered. The second is if a reliever has an especially good month and that is totally the case in the month of May. Kyle Waldrop was filthy in the month of May and got himself in position for a promotion to the Twins if their is a need. Kyle Waldrop is a name many Twins fans are not familiar with as he has kind of came out of nowhere, but he was a 1st round pick in 2004 out of high school in Knoxville, Tennessee. He suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the entire 2008 season and finally now he is completely healthy and showing what people thought of him coming out of high school. He has been awesome this year, but May was especially good for Waldrop as he put up great numbers in May for the Red Wings. In May, Waldrop went 1-0 with a miniscule 0.84 era in 11 games along with a save. Waldrop worked 21.1 innings and only gave up two earned runs. He only walked four guys while striking out 16. He held opponents to a very good .214 batting average. The stat that really stood out to me in May for Waldrop was he had a 3.27 to 1 ground ball to fly out rate which means he is a ground ball machine and that really transfers well into the Major Leagues. If Waldrop keeps it up it will not be long before he is up with the Twins.
• Others Considered: Matt Fox, Anthony Slama

May Awards/Twins

As you can see I am making some changes with the Travis Talks blog here. I have moved all my minor league talk over to http://twinstarget.com/minors. So if you want to read my material on the minor league affiliates go over there. If you want to read about Minnesota Twins material though this is the right place to be. There will be a little bit of minor league talk here as I will continue my monthly awards with all the teams in the Twins organization. Also I will after the draft next week bring the Travis Talks Minnesota Prospect Rankings. I will start my look at the month of May by looking at the Twins. I will give a hitter and pitcher of the month along with a pitcher and hitter that really struggled in the Month. Let me know what you think of it by either leaving a comment in the comment box or shooting me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

• Hitter of the Month: Justin Morneau 1b- Justin Morneau had a very historic month of May that will challenge the month of May that Joe Mauer made last year. Morneau hit for average, hit for power, got on base, played great defense, and made himself the early favorite for American League MVP. In the month of May Morneau hit an unbelievable .400 in 100 May at bats along with six homeruns and 19 rbi's and 13 doubles. Morneau also walked an unbelievable 20 times in May as he would not help the pitchers out who wanted to pitch around him in key situations. Morneau only struck out 23 times in comparision to the 20 walks. Morneau had a great .496 on base percentage in May which is very impressive. Along with a .710 slugging percentage and a season high 1.206 OPS. It was a great month for Morneau and if he can keep up anything close to this going forward he will win the MVP going away and led a good Twins attack in May.
• Others Considered:Orlando Hudson, Denard Span, Delmon Young

• Pitcher of the Month: Nick Blackburn- Nick Blackburn found his groove in May for whatever reason. After really struggling in April to a 6.85 era Black Jack really came back in May and was the ace of the staff in May. He still gave up a lot of hits, but did not walk anybody and got a lot of ground balls to put up zeros on the scoreboard. In the month of May Blackburn went 5-0 with a an awesome 2.65 era in 5 starts. He worked 37.1 innings which averages over 7 innings a start. Blackburn gave up 40 hits in those 37.1 innings so he still is very hittable, but walked only 5 batters in the five starts along with 10 strikeouts. Nick Blackburn really turned it around in May to become the pitcher that most Twins fans expect out of Blackburn. I know he has gotten off to a rough start in June, but the Twins need him to be the innings eater that he has been in the first 2 years of his career if the Twins want to stay on top.
• Others Considered: Scott Baker, Brian Duensing, Alex Burnett

Tommorrow I will continue my look at the month of May as I will bring pitcher and hitter of the month in Rochester and so on for the rest of the week. After I finish that I will bring you my top 50 Twins prospect including the new Twins drafted this week. So keep checking back every day for this information.

Sunday, May, 30th

Twins Talk
Twins 8 (29-20) Rangers 3

• For 5 and a half innings it looked like it was going to be one of those games as the Twins were not able to touch Rangers starter CJ Wilson as they had one hit thru the first 5 innings. A Denard Span solid single and a Orlando Hudson homerun tied the score and broke the ice and before the 7th inning was over the Twins were ahead 8-2 and held on for a 8-3 victory over the Rangers yesterday. Most everyone will talk about the offensive outburst in the 6th and 7th innings by the Twins offense, but if it was not an excellent start by Twins starter Carl Pavano it would not have been possible. Pavano continued his strong start to the season by pitching his 7th quality start in his 10 starts. In this one Pavano went 7 innings and gave up only 2 runs on seven hits along with a walk and a strikeout. Pavano has been much better than I thought he would be as he has been the most consistant pitcher on the staff and take away a couple bad starts and his numbers would be awesome. Jesse Crain then came on for the 8th inning and gave up an unearned run along with a hit and a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 5.57. Brian Duensing pitched a scoreless ninth inning on a hit along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to a very good 1.77.

• For 5 innings the Twins offense was just dead, but somehow in the 6th and 7th innings it came alive and went crazy. In all the Twins scored 8 runs on 8 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving only 4 guys on base which is a stark improvement over other games. The Twins did commit two errors in the game which was surprising. JJ Hardy committed his 1st error and Jason Kubel committed his 2nd of the year. However, the Twins still only have 12 errors on the season so their defense has been unbelievable so far this season. The Twins were led offensively by Orlando "O-Dawg" Hudson who went 2-4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun of the season that tied the game at 2 in the 6th inning. Hudson also contributed his 10th double of the year and 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 16 and his average up to .307. Hudson has been a one man demolition machine in this series by going 5-8 at the plate which is a .620 batting average. Orlando Hudson has been better than even I thought he would be as he has played gold glove defense and then hitting over .300 at the plate. I know its early but if he keeps this up I hope the Twins find a way to resign Hudson in the offseason he has been that good. Another good performance by JJ Hardy who went 2-4 at the plate with his 12th and 13th rbi's of the year and brought his average up to .244. Delmon Young went 1-4 at the plate with his 12th double of the year and drove in two runs to bring his rbi total up to 24. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 at the plate with his 12th double of the year. Denard Span and Justin Morneau each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Twins.

• Tonight, the Twins finish off their series with Texas and their homestand as Scott Baker gets the ball for the Twins and will oppose Rangers starter Derek Holland. Gametime is at 7:10pm at Target Field in Minneapolis as the Twins go for the three game sweep and their 4th win in a row overall.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 6 (19-30) Durham 4

• The Red Wings got a well pitched game out of Jeff Manship and scored enough runs to get the victory over Durham last night by a score of 6-4. Jeff Manship got the start for the Red Wings and did an ok job not great, but not bad. Manship went 4 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits along with a walk and seven strikeouts to raise his era up to 4.37 on the year. Jeff Manship has been ok on the mound, but not what I am expecting out of him as he has way too much talent to be struggling in AAA. How is it possible that he can go up to the Twins and do well and then struggle in AAA. I hope that he can develop some more consistancy because the talent is there for him to take off and be contending for a spot in the rotation for the Twins in 2011. Tim Lahey then came on and was very good going two innings and only giving up a run on four hits along with two walks and a strikeout to lower his era to 6.55 and improve his record on the year to 4-1. Kyle Waldrop then came on and continued his strong start to the season as he pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on two hits along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 1.47. Anthony Slama then came on and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up his 10th save of the year on one hit along with a walk and three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.55.

• The Red Wings had a solid night offensively as they supported good pitching to pick up the win for the Red Wings. Rochester scored 6 runs on 11 hits along with drawing 6 walks and leaving 9 guys on base. Jose Morales committed his first error of the season in the Red Wings victory. The Red Wings were led offensively by Matt Macri who went 2-4 at the plate with his 8th double of the year and his 10th rbi to bring his average up to .284. Brock Peterson went 2-4 at the plate with his 5th double to bring his average up to .243. Jason Repko went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .311 on the year. Danny Valencia went 1-3 at the plate with his 15th double and 24th rbi of the year. Matt Tolbert went 1-4 at the plate with his 10th rbi along with his 5th stolen base and 2 runs scored. Wilson Ramos, Jose Morales, and Toby Gardenhire each contributed base hits in the winning cause for the Red Wings.

• Today, the Red Wings continue their series with Durham as Deolis Guerra gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 4:05 in Durham as the Red Wings try to win their second straight victory over the Bulls.

New Britain Business

Portland 11 New Britain 3 (14-34)

• The Rockcats had another rough day yesterday as a close game turned into a laugher in the late innings and the Rockcats went down to Portland by the score of 11-3. After only trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the 7th inning Portland exploded for 6 in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th to put the game away. Mike Mccardell got the start and was pretty good in this one. When Mccardell left the game there was a guy on first in a 2-0 game and took the loss to drop his record to 0-5. Mccardell went 6+ innings and gave up 3 runs on 9 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts along with a homerun to lower his era to 4.55 on the year. Michael Allen then came on and was not very good in this one. Allen only got 2 guys out and gave up 5 runs on 4 hits along with a walk to raise his era on the year to 4.09. Cole Devries made his return to AA and it was not a very good one. Devries went 1.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits along with a strikeout to raise his era on the year to a very robust 5.32.

• The Rockcats really could not do much against Portland pitching until it was too late to make a difference. The Rockcats scored only 3 runs on only 5 hits along with drawing 6 walks and leaving 7 guys on base. The Rockcats did not help themselves as they committed an error. Yancarlos Ortiz committed his third error of the season for the Rockcats. The Rockcats were led offensively by Yangervis Solarte who went 2-4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun with the Rockcats and drove in three runs to bring his season rbi total up to 12 and his average up to .309. Rene Tosoni, Erik Lis, and Mark Dolenc each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats.

• Today, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as Tyler Robertson gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 12:00 in Portland as the Rockcats try to get back on the winning side of things.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 3 (21-28) Brevard County 2

• The Miracle were able to come on top in a hard fought pitchers duel and got just enough hitting to pull out a 3-2 victory over Brevard County Saturday night. Adrian Salcedo got the start for Fort Myers and had a so so start, but what he did well was damage control as he gave up 10 hits but only 2 of them scored. It is pretty obvious that Salcedo is a little above his head in Fort Myers, but he has shown some moxie to not make this a total disaster. Salcedo has shown all the talent that he posseses and it is obvious that the 19 year old is going to be something special for the Twins. In a couple weeks he will go back down to either Elizabethton or Beloit and dominate like he has the potential to do. Even though his numbers do not look great he has been everything that we could have hoped he would be and the sky is the limit for Salcedo. Salcedo went 4.2 innings in this game and gave up two runs on 10 hits along with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.27. Andrei Lobanov then came on and was awesome once again for the Miracle. Lobanov picked up his first win of the year as he went 2.1 scoreless innings on only two hits along with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his era to 1.59 on the year. The 20 year old from Moscow has really shown some good potential as he has been the Miracle's best reliever since he got to Fort Myers. Lobanov was scheduled to close for Elizabethton and it will be interesting to see if they continue that plan or keep him in Fort Myers he has been that good. Tony Davis then came on and pitched two shutout innings to pick up his first save on two hits along with three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.96 for the Miracle.

• The Miracle did not do much offensively in this one, but they did not need much with the good pitching out of the Miracles pitchers. The Miracle scored 3 runs on 10 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 6 guys on base. Esterlin De Los Santos committed his 3rd and 4th errors since his demotion. The Miracle were led offensively by Chris Parmelee who went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .340 on the year. Chris Hermann went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .238. Nathan Hanson went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .231. Deibinson Romero went 1-4 at the plate with his second homerun of the year and his 16th rbi. Esterlin De Los Santos, Evan Bigley, and Jon Goncalves each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Miracle.

• Today, the Miracle finish off their series with Brevard County as Shooter Hunt gets a spot start for the Miracle as Brad Tippett gets back into form. Gametime is at 12:00 in Brevard County as the Miracle try to win their 2nd straight game as they try to get back into playoff contention.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 3 (26-24) Peoria 2 12 innings

• The Snappers needed 12 innings in order to stop their 8 game losing streak last night with a 3-2 victory over Peoria behind good pitching from Brad Stillings and a James Beresford rbi single in the top of 12th inning to pick up the win for the Snappers. Brad Stillings got the start for the Snappers and was very good. Stillings went 7 innings and only gave up an unearned run on one hit along with three walks and five strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.10. This was by far the best start of the year for Stillings who was a 7th round pick in the 2009 draft out of Kent State so the talent is there. Stillings needs to work on being a little bit more consistant on the mound, but the talent is obviously there and heres hoping that the 22 year old can pull it together and live up to his promise. Jhon Garcia then came on and pitched two shutout innings on a hit along with one walk and three strikeouts to lower his era to 2.08. Dakota Watts then came on pitched two innings to pick up the win and move his record on the year to 2-1. Watts worked two innings and gave up a run on a hit on a homerun with a walk and two strikeouts to raise his era to 2.16. Kane Holbrooks worked a scoreless inning to pick up his 6th save of the year on one hit to lower his era on the year to 1.23. Holbrooks has done enough in my opinion to deserve a promotion to Fort Myers as he has been utterly dominant as the Snappers closer and is ready for a new challenge.

• The Snappers could not get much going offensively, but got enough to pick up the win for the Snappers. The Snappers scored 3 runs on only 7 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 9 guys on base. Brad Stillings committed his 1st and 2nd errors of the year in the Snappers win. The Snappers were led offensively by James Beresford who went 2-4 at the plate with the game winning single along with his 13th and 14th rbi's and 5th stolen base to bring his average up to .241. Angel Morales went 2-5 at the plate with his eighth double of the year to bring his average up to .259. Josmil Pinto went 1-4 at the plate with his 16th rbi. Aaron Hicks went 1-4 at the plate along with two walks. Daniel Santana also contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Snappers.

• Today, the Snappers continue their series with Peoria as BJ Hermsen gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 1:00pm in Peoria as the Snappers try to win their second straight game.

Saturday, May, 29th

Twins Talk
Twins 2 (28-20) Rangers 1

• The Twins combined good pitching and great defense to pick up their second straight win this time over the Texas Rangers in a hard fought 2-1 pitchers duel that the Twins came on top in. Kevin Slowey got the start for the Twins and was very good in this one. Slowey went 6.2 innings and only gave up a run on 6 hits along with a walk and five strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.15 and improved his record to 6-3 on the year. Slowey finally got past the 6th inning, something he had only done in 1 start previous this year so that was a good sign. He hit his spots much better and that is what Twins fans have been waiting to see out of Slowey so it was very promising to see out of him. Slowey ran out of gas in the 7th inning loading the bases with two outs before needing help from the bullpen. The Twins turned to lefty Jose Mijares to retire Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz. There was some question putting Mijares in that situation because even at his best he can be a little bit wild and there was no room for error so it was a bit curious. However, Mijares did his job and got his batter out on a groundout. With the out Mijares lowered his era on the year to 2.89. Jose Mijares has really improved since coming off the DL and will see more and more opportunities in big situations. Matt Guerrier then came on and did his job phenomenally pitching a perfect 8th inning with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.64. Jon Rauch pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his 11th save of the year on one hit along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 2.84.

• The Twins really could not get much going offensively, but they did not need much to get the win thanks to the good pitching out of the pitching staff. The Twins scored 2 runs on only 7 hits along with drawing 5 walks while leaving 9 guys on base including having the bases loaded and nobody out and only able to score 1 run so the score could have been a bit more lopsided, but a win is a win. The Twins were led offensively by O-Dawg Orlando Hudson who went 3-4 at the plate with his 9th double of the year to bring his average up to .303 on the year. Jim Thome went 1-4 at the plate with his 6th double of the year. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 at the plate with his 3rd triple of the year. Joe Mauer went 1-3 at the plate with his 23rd rbi and grounded into a double play that scored the winning run in the 5th inning. Denard Span went 1-4 at the plate to bring his average down to .289 on the season.

• Today, the Twins continue their weekend series with Texas as Carl Pavano gets the start for the Twins against CJ Wilson of the Rangers. Gametime is at 3:10 at Target Field in Minneapolis as the Twins try to make it 3 wins in a row.

Rochester Wrap

Durham 4 Rochester 2 (18-30)

• The Red Wings suffered a tough loss to Durham last night as they haven't gotten any consistancy out of the Red Wings as they lost 4-2 last night to Durham. The Wings got a great start out of Matt Fox, but the bullpen could not hold a 2-0 lead going into the 7th inning in the game. Matt Fox went the first 6 innings and did not give up a run on only 3 hits along with three strikeouts. With the 6 shutout innings Fox lowered his era on the year to 2.44. Matt Fox has been solid all year long for the Red Wings and besides a rough start or 2 he has been very good whether the Red Wings have chosen to have him start or come in relief. Jose Lugo then came on and saw his season long struggles continue in this one. Lugo got only one out and gave up two runs on two hits along with a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 7.03. It is amazing that a lefty that can throw 94 can struggle as much as Lugo has this year. It was just a couple years ago that he was taken in the rule V draft and now he is on the verge of either being demoted down to AA or even possibly being released all together. Rob Delaney then came on and had a rough outing which is surprising as he has pitched so good this year. Delaney picked up the loss and dropped his record on the season to 5-2. Delaney went 1.2 innings and gave up two runs on two hits along with a strikeout and a homerun to raise his era on the year to 4.39.

• The Red Wings could not do much offensively as they tried to hang on to a 2-0 lead and were unable to do just that. The Red Wings scored 2 runs on 11 hits along with drawing a walk and leaving an unbelievable 8 guys on base. Brock Peterson committed his 4th error of the year in the loss. The Red Wings were led offensively by Brian Dinkelman who went 2-4 at the plate with his 10th and 11th doubles of the year to raise his average up to .279. Danny Valencia went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .302. Wilson Ramos possibly might be breaking out of his slump by going 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .167. Jacque Jones continued his hot May by going 2-4 at the plate with his 7th double of the year and his 10th rbi to bring his average up to .312. Jones has really caught fire in the month of May hitting .317. If the Twins need a corner outfielder it would not shock me at all if Jones did not get the call. Dustin Martin went 1-4 at the plate with his 8th double of the year and 33rd rbi. Matt Tolbert and Trevor Plouffe each added base hits in the losing cause for the Red Wings.

• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Durham as staff ace Jeff Manship gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 in Durham as the Red Wings try to get back on the winning track.

New Britain Business

New Britain 3 (14-33) Portland 2

• The Rockcats got a big win last night as they finally made Cats starter Carlos Gutierrez a winner after being a tough luck loser in quite a few starts this year. The Rockcats did not do much against Portland pitching, but did just enough to get the win. Carlos Gutierrez continued his strong May for the Rockcats in this one. Gutierrez went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.65 and improved his record to 2-3. Gutierrez really has had a good month of May and not much to show for it. In the month of May Gutierrez has gone 2-2 with a great 2.15 era in 6 starts. If Gutierrez keeps it up it won't be long before he is up in AAA knocking on the door for the Twins. Joe Testa then came on and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings on only two hits along with two strikeouts to lower his era 7.15 on the year. Chris Province then came on and got the last two outs, but made it interesting as he walked two batters and a strikeout before getting out of the jam to get the win and pick up his 4th save of the year for the Rockcats.

• The Rockcats did not get much going on offense, but they got enough offense to pick up the win. The Rockcats scored three runs on seven hits along with drawing four walks and leaving seven guys on base. Yangervis Solarte committed his first error of the year and Steve Singleton committed his 7th. The Rockcats were led offensively by Chris Cates who went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .158. Yangervis Solarte went 1-4 with his 5th double of the year. Erik Lis went 1-3 at the plate with his 4th homerun and 11th and 12th rbi's. Brandon Roberts, Rene Tosoni, and Steve Singleton each contributed base hits in the winning cause for the Rockcats.

• Today, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as Mike Mccardell gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 12:00pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to win their second consecutive victory over the Sea Dogs.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 6 (20-28) Brevard County 0

• The Miracle got back on the winning track with a nice 6-0 victory over Brevard County behind a wonderful pitching performance by Dan Osterbrock and good hitting and defense in this one. Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Miracle and went 6.2 innings with only one measly hit allowed along with three walks and three strikeouts to lower his era to 4.20 and picked up his first FSL win. Osterbrock is an interesting case that he does not throw hard at all and you wonder sometimes how he gets by. That is why sometimes he gets drilled because he only throws a mid 80's fastball. However, when he hits his spots with his fastball and gets his curveball over for a strike he can be very good. Jose Gonzalez then came on and pitched the last 2.1 innings of relief along with 4 strikeouts to finish off the shutout for the Miracle.

• The Miracle did not do a whole lot offensively in this one, but just enough to get the job done. The Miracle scored 6 runs on 7 hits along with drawing 7 walks and leaving 9 guys on base. Deibinson Romero committed his 4th error of the year in the victory for the Miracle. The Miracle were led offensively by Deibinson Romero who went 2-5 at the plate with his 14th and 15th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .203. Evan Bigley went 1-5 at the plate with his 13th double of the year. Joe Benson went 1-3 at the plate with his 11th rbi and 4th stolen base. Jon Goncalves went 1-3 at the plate with his 6th rbi and 2nd stolen base. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-4 at the plate with his 4th stolen base of the year.

• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Brevard County as 19 year old phenom Adrian Salcedo gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 in Brevard County as the Miracle try to pick up another win.

Beloit Beat

Peoria 10 Beloit 4 (25-23)

• The Snappers have seen their promising first half go by the wasteside in another loss for the Snappers. The 10-4 loss to Peoria was the Snappers 8th consecutive loss that put them from first place to out of playoff contention. Miguel Munoz got the start for Beloit and pitched effectively the first 3 innings and then did not even make it out of the 4th inning in the loss. Munoz went 4 innings and gave up 9 runs on 8 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 4.89 and drop his record on the year to 1-4. Peter Kennelly then came on and pitched 2 scoreless innings on only a walk to lower his era on the year to 6.18. Matt Tone then came on and worked an inning and gave up a run on two hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 4.15. Kane Holbrooks finished the game with a scoreless inning of relief along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 1.27. If Holbrooks keeps it going it will not be very long before Holbrooks is up in Fort Myers.

• The Snappers could not get much going offensively in this one as they lost their 8th straight game. The Snappers scored 4 runs on only 5 hits along with drawing 3 walks and leaving 4 guys on base. Danny Rams committed his 2nd error of the year and Reggie Williams committed his 7th. The Snappers were led offensively by Aaron Hicks who went 1-3 at the plate with his 10th double along with a walk and two runs scored. Angel Morales went 1-4 at the plate with his 4th triple of the year. Danny Rams went 1-4 at the plate with his first triple of the year and his 11th rbi. James Beresford and Anderson Hidalgo each contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers.

• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Peoria as Brad Stillings gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30pm in Peoria as the Snappers try to break out of their 8 game losing streak.

April player awards: Rochester Red Wings

I will be continuing to look at the month of April as I take a look at the Rochester Red Wings. They did not have a great month record wise, but they still had some very good performances that I feel deserve to be recognized. If you agree or disagree with me let me know who you think should be the players of the month. If you have any comments or questions you can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo so enjoy and let me know what you think.

• Pitcher of the Month: Anthony Slama- For a guy that really did not have much to prove in AAA Slama really outdid himself in April. For a closer to win pitcher of the month that means either that he pitched extroidanary or the starters did not do anything that really stood out. In this case it is a little bit of both as the starters did nothing to really stand out and Slama was very good in April. Slama pitched in 12 April Games with 5 saves. Slama pitched 15.1 innings and only gave up 2 earned runs in those 15.1 innings for an era of 1.17. He struck out 19 while walking 7 so he needs to work on the walks as he continues to struggle a bit with the bases on balls. That is the only thing really keeping him out of the major leagues and if he could take care of that he will be up with the Twins sooner rather than later. The most impressive stat that I saw in Anthony Slama was he held opponents to a .102 batting average.
• Others considered: Jeff Manship, Kyle Waldrop

• Hitter of the Month: Dustin Martin- Dustin Martin really stepped up in April to really show that he is still a prospect. After hitting only .254 in 2009 there were some thought that Martin's prospect status was a thing of the past. However, those that thought that could not have been more wrong. It is possible that not getting invited to spring training with the Twins this year put a spark in him. At the start of the year Martin was going to be a backup in the outfield and by the end of April he was starting for the Red Wings. In 18 April games Martin hit .338 with 4 homeruns along with 17 rbi's and scored 13 runs. Martin had two doubles along with a triple while walking 9 times and striking out only 13 times in 65 at bats. He had a phenomenal .419 on base percentange along with a good .585 slugging percentage for a very good 1.004 OPS. It will be interesting to see if Martin can keep it going all season long or if April was just a hot month and will come back down to earth.
• Others Considered: Trevor Plouffe, Brian Dinkelman

Friday, May, 28th

Twins Talk
Twins 8 (27-20) Yankees 2

• The Twins very easily could have swept the Yankees in this series, but at the end of the day have to feel fortuante to win the one game in the series. The Twins got something that a month ago would have seemed impossible a great start by Nick Blackburn and a big game out of Jason Kubel in the Twins 8-2 win against the Yankees. The Twins went 2-4 against the Yankees, but to look at the positive is that is two times as many wins as they had against New York all of last season and played them tough as they only got blown out in one of those games as they could of easily won 3 of those 4 losses. Nick Blackburn got the start in this one and was very good once again. I don't know what he took care of in Oklahoma, but since he came back he has been a different pitcher getting a lot of ground balls and just getting guys out. In the month of May he has a 5-0 record with a 2.67 era in the month of May. In this start Blackburn went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs on 9 hits along with two strikeouts to lower his era to 4.28 on the year and improve his record to a team leading 6-1 on the year. Jose Mijares then came on and continued his impressive pitching as of late pitching a scoreless inning on one hit and a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 3.00. Mijares has thrown 5.2 scoreless innings now spanning 4 outings and is quickly gaining back the trust of Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson and won't be long until he is back pitching in game deciding situations. Alex Burnett then came on and pitched a perfect ninth to lower his era to a very impressive 2.74. Burnett has been getting better and better just about every time out and he has a major league arm and as the season goes on look for him to go into more key situations as the coaching staff gains more confidence in him.

• The Twins finally got some big hits off Yankee pitching when it counted. The Twins scored 8 runs on 12 hits along with drawing 5 walks while leaving 7 guys on base. The Twins also had an error committed by Joe Mauer, his second error of the year. The Twins were led by Jason Kubel in this one as he had one of his best days of the year. Kubel went 3-4 at the plate with his fourth and fifth homeruns of the year along with his fifth double and drove in 5 runs to bring his season total up to 27 and increased his average up to .233 on the year. Jason Kubel got off to a awful start to the season and hopefully this is the beginning of a rebirth for Kubel as he is too good of a hitter to be hitting this bad. Justin Morneau went 2-2 at the plate with his 15th double of the year and his 35th rbi of the year along with bringing his average up to .377. Denard Span went 2-5 at the plate with his 10th double to bring his average up to .290. Span is in a hot streak right now going 8 for his last 14 at the plate a .571 average. Denard is too good of a hitting to be toiling in the .230's and you just knew it was a matter of time before he got his average where it belongs in the 290's to 300's. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 at the plate with his 11th double of the year. Orlando Hudson went 1-3 at the plate with his 2nd triple along with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. Joe Mauer, JJ Hardy, and Alexi Casilla each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Twins.

• Tonight, the Twins will start a three game holiday weekend series with Texas as Kevin Slowey gets the start for the Twins and will face Colby Lewis of Texas. Gametime is at 7:10 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 4 (18-29) Durham 3

• The Red Wings got back on the winning track after not playing very well as of late as they rode the left arm of Glen Perkins and a three run top of the 7th inning to pick up a rare road win in Durham by the score of 4-3. Glen Perkins seems to have turned the corner a little bit as he has pitched two solid games in a row for the Red Wings. In this one Perkins went 5.2 innings and gave up 3 runs on only 4 hits along with 3 walks and an impressive and season high in strikeouts with 9. With the 3 runs allowed in 5.2 innings Perkins lowered his era on the year to a still bad 8.47, but he dug himself such a hole it is going to take a run of good outings to get it done. Kyle Waldrop continued his strong outings by pitching 2.1 scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the year. Waldrop went 2.1 innings and did not give up a hit only allowing a walk along with four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.54. I know everyone wants Anthony Slama to get the call to the Twins or even Rob Delaney and they both deserve the call, but in my opinion the person that is the most deserving is Kyle Waldrop. After having shoulder surgery a few years ago he has continued to get better and better and he is having his breakout year this year. He does not throw real hard but his ball moves like crazy and I feel he would be very effective in the bullpen when you need a ground ball. So if I am Bill Smith and I have only one need in the bullpen the guy I would call up is Kyle Waldrop. Anthony Slama then came on and pitched a scoreless 9th inning on only a walk while recording a strikeout to pick up his 9th save and lower his era on the year to 1.63.

• The Red Wings struggled with Durham pitching for the first 6 innings, but figured it out in the seventh to pick up the win. The Red Wings scored 4 runs on 8 hits along with drawing 5 walks and leaving 7 guys on base in this one. The Red Wings were led in this one offensively by Jose Morales who went 2-3 at the plate with his third and fourth doubles of the year along with his fourth rbi to bring his average up to .341 on the year. Dustin Martin went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average back up to .309 on the year. Jason Repko went 1-4 at the plate with a walk along with a stolen base and two runs scored. Matt Tolbert, Brian Dinkelman, and Matt Macri each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Red Wings.

• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Durham as Matt Fox gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 in Durham as the Red Wings try to build on last nights win.

New Britain Business

New Hampshire 8 New Britain 7 (13-33)

• The Rockcats suffered another heartbreaking loss to New Hampshire last night as the Rockcats blew a 5-4 lead going into the 7th inning and then had their rally in the bottom of the ninth come up short in a 8-7 loss to New Hampshire. Santos Arias got the start for the Rockcats in this one and was decent, but not great. Arias went 4.2 innings and gave up four runs on four hits along with two walks and two strikeouts including a homerun to raise his era on the year to 4.55. Santos Arias has been one of the biggest disappointments in the whole Twins organization. After doing very well in Fort Myers last year there was hope that Arias was on the verge of being a big time prospect, but that has not happened as he has digressed and on the verge of being demoted back to Fort Myers. Lets hope he can figure it out and figure it out soon. Michael Allen then came on and pitched 1.1 bad innings giving up three runs on three hits along with three walks and a strikeout to pick up the loss and lower his record to 1-1 on the year. With the three runs he also increased his era up to 2.61. Matt Williams followed and was actually pretty decent as he worked three innings and only gave up a solo homerun along with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.09.

• The Rockcats had a good night offensively, but when the pitching staff does not get it done there is not a whole lot you can do. The Rockcats scored 7 runs on 12 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 9 guys on base. The Rockcats also committed two errors in the game. Steve Singelton committed his 6th error and Juan Portes committed his 3rd error of the year. The Rockcats were led offensively by Ben Revere who went 4-4 at the plate with a walk along with his 7th double of the year to bring his average up to .329. Yangervis Solate went 2-3 at the plate with his second homerun of the year and his 4th double. He drove in three runs also to bring his season total up to 9 since his promotion and also scored 3 runs for the Rockcats. Yancarlos Ortiz went 2-4 at the plate with his 4th rbi to bring his average up to .300. Brandon Roberts, Mark Dolenc, Rene Tosoni, and Jair Fernandez each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats in this tough loss.

• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a series in Portland against the Sea Dogs as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 6:00pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to bounce back from last night.

Fort Myers Minutes

Brevard County 4 Fort Myers 3 (19-28)

• The Miracle lost another tough one last night to Brevard County by a score of 4-3. The Miracle took a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 7th and were unable to keep it together. Liam Hendriks got the start and was very good once again as he went the first six innings and did not give up a run on only three hits along with two walks and seven strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.70. Steve Blevins then came on and was not very good going 1.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on four hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era up to 3.75. Billy Bulluck then came on and was not very good giving up his first runs in the month of May. Bulluck went 1.1 innings and gave up a run on two hits along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts to take the loss and drop his record to 0-3 and raise his era up 2.49.

• The Miracle could not get much going offensively in this one as they could only muster 3 runs on 6 hits along with drawing 5 walks while leaving 8 guys on base. Nick Romero also committed his 3rd error of the year. The Miracle were led offensively by Chris Parmelee who went 2-4 at the plate with his 2nd homerun with Fort Myers and his 10th rbi to bring his average up to .357. Jon Goncalves went 1-4 at the plate with his first homerun of the year and his 4th and 5th rbi's of the year. Chris Hermann went 1-4 at the plate with his 10th double of the year. Evan Bigley went 1-4 at the plate with his first triple of the year. Esterlin De Los Santos also contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Miracle in this one as they went down to Brevard County.

• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Brevard County as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 in Brevard County as the Miracle try to bounce back from the loss last night.

Beloit Beat

Quad Cities 2 Beloit 0 (25-22)

• The Snappers have seen a great chance to make the playoffs in the first half go by the wayside thanks to a 7 game losing streak that was added to 7 games with a 2-0 loss last night to Quad Cities. The Snappers just can't do it right now as if they pitch good they can't hit and when they hit they struggle pitching. In this one they got a good performance out of Michael Tonkin, but they could not get anything going offensively. Tonkin got the start and went the first 5 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits along with four walks and one strikeout to lower his era to 3.38 and dropped his record on the season to 0-2. Dakota Watts then went two innings and was utterly dominant in this one. Watts faced 6 batters and struck out 5 of them to lower his era on the year to 2.01. Tom Stuifbergen working his way back into the rotation pitched a scoreless inning on two hits along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.09.

• The Snappers could not do much on offense in this one as they failed to score a run on only one hit. They drew 6 walks and left 9 guys on base and in a game like this it can really hurt you leaving that many guys on base. Anderson Hidalgo went 1-3 at the plate with his 15th double of the year. Daniel Santana stole his first base of the year and Steve Liddle stole his 5th base of the year. Aaron Hicks has saw his numbers really drop in the month of May as he is only hitting .210 and striking out 35% of the time in the month of May which is way too much. It is even worse if you look at the last 10 days. In the last 10 days Hicks is hitting .158 as in 6 of his last 38 at the plate and a .256 OBP. I am still very high on Hicks as he just having a rough time, but I would like to see him come out of it very soon.

• Tonight, the Snappers begin a weekend series in Peoria as Miguel Munoz gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:3o in Peoria as the Snappers try to snap a 7 game losing streak and try to get back into playoff contention.

• I want to invite everyone to come to the return of the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast this Monday night at 9pm. The guests are still to be determined, but I will have a big announcement that will change the way you look at the Travis Talks blog from now on so tune in Monday night at 9pm at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk

April player awards

I know this is very late as the month of May is almost over, but I thought better late than never. I will start with the Twins today and move down through the levels as I go. I hope you all enjoy and if anyone has any comments or questions you can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

• Pitcher of the Month: Francisco Liriano- Francisco Liriano really stepped up his game in April. After going 5-13 with a 5.80 era in 24 starts. His problem was the fact that he fell behind 2-0, 3-1 just about every hitter and then would have to come back with a fastball and would get hit hard. So going into the season Liriano had a lot to prove as there were some who felt that his dominant days were behind him. He has proved that wrong this year by showing his dominant self once again. Liriano has showed his good fastball that he placing well, a good changeup and the dominant slider that he had in 2006 has returned. In April Liriano was utterly dominant in his 4 starts. In 4 starts Liriano went 3-0 with a miniscule 0.93 era. Liriano worked 29 innings and only gave up 3 earned runs and only 18 hits. The biggest difference was he shut down the walks as he only had 10 walks in 4 starts along with 27 strikeouts and held opponents to a .180 batting average. Liriano has struggled in May, but that can not take away from his awesome month of April.
• Others Considered: Jon Rauch, Brian Duensing

• Hitter of the Month: Justin Morneau- Justin Morneau was another guy who had a lot to prove after missing the last 5 weeks due a back injury. He followed that up with a terrible spring training so he needed a good start to the season and that is just what he got. In 75 at bats in the month of April he hit .347 with 5 homeruns and 17 rbi's along with 21 walks. For a stat line of .490/.640/1.130 that really showed how good of a power hitter that he can be. Morneau led the Twins in order to get a early lead i n the Central and has put up the numbers that would make him a mvp candidate. Morneau had a good year last year, but he has been even more impressive this year so it will be interesting to see if he can keep it up this summer.
• Others considered: Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer, Orlando Hudson

Wednesday, May, 19th

Twins Talk
Blue Jays 11 Twins 2 (24-15)

• There is no pretty way to say this, but to say that the Twins got manhandled by the Blue Jays yesterday afternoon in Toronto by a score of 11-2. The Twins could not pitch, they could not hit, and could not get any clutch hits when the game was still in question. The good thing about it is every year the Twins have a few clunkers like this, but by and large you can count them on one hand while some less successful teams have quite a few of these in addition the Tigers lost to the White Sox so the Twins maintained their 2 game lead in the AL Central. Carl Pavano got the start and man was he bad as he put on his worst start of the season. Pavano only lasted 4 innings and gave up 6 runs on 10 hits along with two strikeouts and allowed two homeruns and hit a batter. With the 6 runs allowed it raised Pavano's era on the year to 4.11 and dropped his record to 4-4. The good thing about Pavano is that he has in his 8 starts 6 of them have been quality starts which is very good. However, as we saw last year when Pavano is off he is really bad and this start really reinforced that notion. Don't get the wrong idea though in his 6 quality starts he has an era of 2.09 while in his 2 bad starts he has a 16.48 era so the bottom line is when he is good he is really good and when he is bad he is really bad. Ron Mahey then came on and was not m uch better giving up three runs on three hits including a homerun and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work to raise his era to 3.09. Mahey needs to pick it up as in his last two outings he has given up 4 runs on 4 hits along with two homeruns after pitching scorless ball his first 11 outings. Jesse Crain then came on and threw gas on the fire giving up two runs on two hits along with a homerun in 1/3 of an inning to bring his era up to 7.31. I have been a Crain fan for as long as he has been there, but I feel like the time is now to cut the cord and dfa Crain. He just does not got it anymore and a change of scenery would be the best for him and even better would be a trip to the national league. The thing about him is he throws 95 and if he can straighten things out he could be a very effective reliever for someone. Jose Mijares then came on and pitched his second consecutive scoreless inning this time with no hits and two strikeouts to lower his era to 4.26. It would be big if Mijares could return to his former form of last year and of 2008.

• The Twins were shutdown by a good pitcher in Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum as the Twins were only able to score 2 runs on only 6 hits along with drawing 3 walks and leaving 6 guys on base. Jesse Crain also committed his first error of the year on an errant throw. The Twins were led offensively by Michael Cuddyer who went 2-3 at the plate with his second triple of the year along with a walk to bring his average up to .266. Joe Mauer went 1-3 at the plate with his 10th double of the year. Alexi Casilla went 1-1 in relief with his first triple of the year and his second rbi to bring his average up to .273. Jason Kubel went 1-3 at the plate with his 16th rbi of the year. Orlando Hudson also contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Twins.

• Tonight, the Twins begin a short two game series in Boston against the Red Sox as the Twins send Scott Baker to the mound versus Red Sox starter Clay Bucholz. Gametime is at 6:05 at Fenway Park in Boston.

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings had their game with Syracuse rained out last night and will be made up as part of a day night doubleheader tonight in Rochester. The probables for game 1 will be Ryan Mullins and for game 2 it will be quite the matchup as Deolis Guerra gets the ball for Rochester and uber prospect Stephen Strasburg gets the ball for Syracuse in what should be an excellent game. Gametime for game one is 10:05 am and game 2 is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester.

New Britain Business

Portland 2 New Britain 1 (7-29)

• The Rockcats suffered what is being known as a usual occurance as they lost a tough one run loss this time 2-1 to Portland yesterday. The Rockcats hit the ball pretty well, but where not able to take advantage so they had their record drop to 7-29 and fall 17 games out of first place in what is becoming a historically bad season in New Britain. Carlos Gutierrez got the start for the Rockcats and was very good once again. Gutierrez went 6 innings and gave up one earned run on only three hits along with walking three and striking out two to lower his era to 3.98 on the year and dropped his record on the year to 0-3. Gutierrez has been night and day between April and May as he was really bad in April by going 0-1 with a 6.63 era in 4 April starts and improved in May to 0-2 with a great 1.88 era in those 4 starts and has been victimized by lack of run support in May. Michael Allen then came on and pitched two shutout innings on one hit along with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.42.

• The Rockcats could not help their pitching as they were only able to put up 1 run on 11 hits along with drawing one walk and leaving an astonishing 9 guys on base. Carlos Gutierrez also committed his 2nd error of the year on an errant throw. The Rockcats were led by Ben Revere who went 3-5 at the plate with his first triple of the year to bring his average up to .291. Juan Portes went 2-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .185 on the season for the Rockcats. Erik Lis went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .500 in his first game with New Britain. Rene Tosoni went 2-4 at the plate with his 12th rbi and brought his average up to .286. Yangervis Solarte and Mark Dolenc each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for New Britain.

• Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as Tyler Robertson gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 5pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to break their 2 game losing streak.

Fort Myers Minutes

Clearwater 4 Fort Myers 2 (17-21)

• The Miracle came on the short end of the stick in a good pitchers duel where runs came at a premium. Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Miracle and had his best start as a member of the Miracle. Osterbrock went 6.2 innings and gave up only two earned runs along with three walks and four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.50. Billy Bulluck then came on and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings on 2 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.57. He has been even better in the Month of May. After compiling a 5.23 era in 8 April outings and in May he has been perfect not giving up a run in 10.2 innings in May.

• The Miracle could not get it going offensively last night as they were only able to put up two runs on 6 hits along with drawing four walks and leaving seven guys on base. They also committed three errors as Jair Fernandez committed his 3rd and 4th errors of the year and Joe Benson committed his 1st. The Miracle were led by Joe Benson who went 1-3 with his first double with the Miracle. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-2 at the plate with his first rbi to bring his average up to .167. Chris Parmelee, Chris Hermann, Evan Bigley and Jair Fernandez each contributed base hits for the Miracle in the losing cause last night against Clearwater.

• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater as Adrian Salcedo makes his highly anticipated debut with the Miracle tonight. Gametime is at 6:05 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 7 (23-15) Kane County 0

Kane County 3 Beloit 2 (23-16)

• The Snappers split a doubleheader last night with Kane County as they won the first game 7-0 behind a great pitching performance by Miguel Munoz. However, in game 2 the Snappers went down 3-2 to maintain first place in the Midwest League South. In game 1 the Snappers got a great pitching performance by Miguel Munoz. Munoz went all 7 innings and gave up no runs on only 3 hits along with two walks and three strikeouts to lower his era to 3.24 and raised his record to 1-2. Munoz has been one of the most consistant pitchers on the Snappers pitching staff as he has put up good outings just about every time he has pitched. In game 2 Peter Kennelly got the start going three innings and gave one unearned run in three innings along with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.96. Jhon Garcia then came on and pitched 2 shutout innings on two hits. Eliecar Cardenas then came on and pitched 1.2 innings and gave up a run on a hit along with three strikeouts to raise his era to 1.35. Kane Holbrooks came on and gave up the winning run in 2 innings of work with one run on one hit along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 1.14 and drop his record to 2-2. Matt Tone got the final out to lower his era to 3.38.

• In Game 1 the Snappers put up 7 runs on 7 hits and took advantage of three unearned runs. They also drew a walk while leaving only 3 guys on base. The Snappers were led by Brian Dozier who went 2-3 at the plate with two rbi's to bring his total on the year up to 16 and his average up to .292. Michael Gonzalez went 1-3 with his 5th homerun of the year and 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 11. Aaron Hicks, James Beresford, and Danny Rams each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Snappers. In game 2 the Snappers did not get much going as they were held to 2 runs on 5 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 5 guys on base. Anderson Hidalgo committed his 5th error of the season in the loss. The Snappers were led offensively by Brian Dozier who went 1-4 at the plate with his 7th double and his 17th rbi. Anderson Hidalgo went 1-3 at the plate with his 10th double of the year. Reggie Williams went 2-3 at the plate with his 2nd stolen base of the year to improve his average up to .190. James Beresford also contributed a base hit in the loss for the Snappers.

• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Kane County as Brad Stillings gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30 in Beloit.

Just a reminder the Travis Twins Talk blog will be going on a temporary hiatus as I will be traveling back to Minnesota and will be unplugged from a computer so if anyone has any news they can email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com. I will be back online Monday or Tuesday so look back then for more Twins Talk.

Tuesday, May, 18th

Twins Talk
Twins 8 (24-14) Blue Jays 3

• The Twins picked up their second consecutive win and tied a high water mark of 10 games over .500 with a convincing 8-3 win in Toronto last night against the Blue Jays. The Twins got an ok start out of Kevin Slowey along with great bullpen work and a big night from Justin Morneau to pick up the win. Kevin Slowey got the start for the Twins and I was really not impressed. It seemed like every pitch he threw up there Blue Jay hitters were all over. It also seemed like every hitter had a 3-2 count on him and has only made it into the 7th inning in one of his 8 starts this year so that is a concern as every time he pitches he makes the bullpen work. I would really like to see Slowey show some improvement in the sharpness of his pitches and show the stuff that he showed last year when he was on pace for a 20 win season before his year was cut short because of wrist surgery. In this one Slowey lasted only 5 innings and needed 98 pitches in order to accomplish that. In those 5 innings he gave up three runs on eight hits along with two strikeouts and a Jose Bautista homerun to raise his era on the year to 4.70 and improved his record to 5-3 and the 5 wins are a team high. Alex Burnett then came on and was awesome in this one. Burnett pitched two innings on two hits along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 3.26. Alex Burnett has been one of the most pleasant surprises on the Twins in the early part of 2010 hopefully he can keep it going. Matt Guerrier then came on a pitched a perfect 8th inning along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.00. Jesse Crain then pitched a scoreless ninth inning on one hit along witha strikeout to lower his era to 6.32.

• The Twins offense woke up from their slumber in New York to bounce back in a big way. They scored 8 runs on 12 hits along with drawing five walks and leaving 9 guys on base in this one. The Twins were led by Canada's own Justin Morneau who continued his hot May with his best day of the season in this one. Morneau went 3-4 at the plate with his 10th and 11th homeruns of the year and drove in 4 runs to bring his rbi total on the year to 29 and his average up to .374. Morneau was pretty good in April hitting .347 with 5 homeruns and 17 rbi's in 75 at bats. However, in May in only 56 at bats he is hitting .411 with 6 homeruns and 12 rbi's. He is off to one of the best starts of his career and here is hoping he can keep it going because if he does he should make room for another American League MVP award in his trophy case. Not to be outdone Joe Mauer had a big game also going 3-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .360 on the year. Right now Morneau and Mauer and 1-2 in the AL in batting average so that is quite a feat. Orlando Hudson making his return to Toronto for the first time since leaving in 2005 went 2-5 at the plate with his sixth double of the year and his 12th rbi to bring his average up to .289. Denard Span went 1-5 at the plate with his sixth double of the year. Nick Punto went 1-4 at the plate with his 3rd stolen base of the year. Delmon Young went 1-5 at the plate with his fourth homerun and 15th rbi of the year. Jason Kubel also contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Twins.

• Today, the Twins finish off their short 2 game series with the Blue Jays as the Twins send Carl Pavano to the mound against Toronto starter Shaun Marcum. Gametime is an early 11:35 start at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Rochester Wrap

Louisville 5 Rochester 0 (15-23)

• The Red Wings lost a tough one to Louisville last night as they were victimized by the long ball and could not take advantage of opportunities in the 5-0 victory for Louisville over Rochester. Matt Fox got the start and was not real sharp as he gave up 2 2run homeruns to put the game out of reach. In all Fox went 5 innings and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts with 2 homeruns given up. With the 5 runs allowed Fox saw his era balloon up to 3.06 and saw his record drop to 3-2. Cole Devries then came on and put up his best performance since coming on to Rochester. Devries pitched 3 shutout innings on no hits along with walking four and striking out three to lower his era on the year to 7.04. Jose Lugo then came on and pitched a scoreless ninth inning along with a walk to lower his era to 7.50 on the year.

• The Redwings could not push any runs across even though they had chance after chance after chance. They did not score a run on 8 hits along with drawing one walk and leaving 9 guys on base and having a Jose Morales passed ball. The Red Wings were led by Jacque Jones who continued his strong May by going 3-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .290. With the start that Dustin Martin got off to and when Jones tweaked his hamstring he was sent to the bench and there were many myself included who wondered if he had hit the end of the line. However, with Luke Hughes dinged up and Brian Dinkelman moving to 2nd base that has given Jones another opportunity and he had really taken advantage of it. Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 at the plate with his first stolen base of the year. Jason Repko, Trevor Plouffe, Dustin Martin, and Brock Peterson each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Red Wings. Danny Valencia went 0-4 at the plate to see his 20 game hitting streak come to an end.

• Tonight, is a big night in Rochester as uber prospect Stephen Strasburg gets the start for Syracuse as they take on the Red Wings who will counter with Twins top prospect 21 year old Deolis Guerra. Gametime is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester as the Red Wings try to get back on the winning track.

New Britain Business

• The Rockcats had yesterday off and will begin a series with Portland tonight as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 5pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to get back on the right track.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 5 (17-20) Clearwater 2

• The Miracle got back on the winning side thanks to contributions by the new members of the Miracle roster in Liam Hendriks, Joe Benson, and Chris Parmelee. Liam Hendriks got the start for the Miracle and was very good again. Hendriks went 6.1 innings and gave up two runs on 6 hits along with four strikeouts to bring his era up to 2.02 in 2 starts. Steve Blevins then came on and pitched the last 2.2 innings to pick up his first save with the Miracle on two hits along with a walk and three strikeouts.

• The Miracle did not get a whole lot going offensively, but thanks to some clutch hits and good pitching they were able to get the win. The Miracle scored 5 runs on 10 hits along with drawing 5 walks and leaving 9 guys on base and most importantly no errors after committing 5 on Sunday. The Miracle were led by Chris Hermann who went 2-4 at the plate with his 8th and 9th doubles of the year to bring his average up to .271 on the year. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 at the plate with his second triple of the year and his 9th rbi to bring his average up to .202. Nick Romero went 1-4 at the plate with his third double of the year. Joe Benson went 1-3 at the plate with his first stolen base of the year. Chris Parmelee went 1-4 at the plate with an rbi. Nathan Hanson, Evan Bigley, and Jair Fernandez each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Miracle in this game played in Fort Myers.

• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers as the Miracle try to get another win.

Beloit Beat

• The Snappers had yesterday off and have a double header today as they welcome in Kane County. Miguel Munoz gets the start in game 1 with Peter Kennelly scheduled to pitch game 2. Gametime is at 4:30 with the second game 30 minutes after the first.

Travis Talks Minnesota Sports podcast returns tonight at 9pm

The Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast will be making its return tonight May, 17th with a very fun show. First off I will be joined by Seth Stohs of SethSpeaks.net and we will talk some minor league talk to get you ready for the Twins Minor League Weekly show tommorrow night that will be hosted by Seth and myself. Then I will have Fanatic Jack Steal on and we will discuss the Twins in depth and I am sure have a few disagreements and there is one topic that I am going to debate him on that you sure don't want to miss. So join us tonight at 9pm for the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast at http://blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk.

Monday, May, 17th

Twins Talk

Twins 6 (23-14) Yankees 3

• Seriously what are the odds that the Twins would break their 12 game losing streak to the Yankees like this. It is so surreal that the way they break this jinx is a 5 run rally in the 8th inning against Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera two of the best relievers in all of the American League. After going into the eighth trailing the Yankees 3-1 and on the verge of being 0-13 the last two years and having to answer why you can't beat the Yankees this was the most unlikely rally that i have seen in quite some time and if nothing else maybe it gives them a belief that they can win in Yankee Stadium if hopefully their is a return trip in October. In the eighth inning Denard Span worked a long at bat into a base hit to left and Orlando Hudson forced him before Chamberlain walked Joe Mauer and struck out Justin Morneau. Michael Cuddyer then hit a line drive that all weekend long the Yankee defenders were catching but Mark Teixeira dropped the ball then kicked it to load the bases for Jim Thome. However, the Yankees countered with bringing the greatest closer of my lifetime in Mariano Rivera so the game is over right well not so fast. Jim Thome had a nice at bat and layed off a tough pitch to work out a walk to bring the Twins within 3-2. Up walked Jason Kubel who has really struggled so far this year, but that all changed when he took an inside cutter and deposited it in the right field stands for a grand slam and a 6-3 Twins lead. After Jon Rauch gave up base hits to the first 2 hitters in the 9th he struck out Derek Jeter, Brett Gardner, and Mark Teixeira to pull off the miraculous win for the Twins. Nick Blackburn got the start and kept the Twins in the game with another very good outing. Blackburn went 7 innings and gave up three runs on 9 hits along with a walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.63 and improved his record to 4-3 on the year. Brian Duensing then came on in the eighth and got two outs along with a walk to lower his era to 1.84 on the year. Matt Guerrier followed by picking up a strikeout to get out of the inning to drop his era to 2.12. Jon Rauch pitched a scorless ninth to pick up his 10th save in 11 opportunities on the year and lowered his era to 1.80.

• The Twins could not do a whole lot against Yankee spot starter Sergio Mitre, but did good against their bullpen. The Twins put up 6 runs on 9 hits along with drawing five walks and leaving six guys on base. The Twins were led by Jason Kubel with that big homerun in the 8th inning. He went 1-4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun and drove in four to bring his season total up to 15. Orlando Hudson went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .285 on the year. Denard Span went 1-5 at the plate along with his ninth stolen base of the year. Justin Morneau went 1-4 at the plate with his 9th homerun of the year and his 25th rbi. Michael Cuddyer, Jim Thome, Matt Tolbert, and Nick Punto each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Twins.

• Tonight, the Twins begin a short two game series with the Toronto Blue Jays as Kevin Slowey gets the start for the Twins vs Dana Eveland for the Blue Jays. Gametime is at 6:05 in Toronto.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 4 (15-22) Louisville 3

• Yesterday must have been the day for comeback wins for the Twins in their organization as the Red Wings pulled out a 4-3 win over Lousville. The Red Wings trailed 3-0 going into the 7th inning, but a 4 run rally got the Red Wings into the winners circle. Jeff Manship got the start and he struggled, but worked out of some jams to keep the team in the game. Manship went 5.1 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on seven hits along with four walks and five strikeouts to lower his era to 3.93. The Twins need better performances out of Jeff Manship than this because he is the first in line if there is an injury to a pitcher and performances like this are not going to get it done. That is not to say that he is pitching bad because he isn't, but there is more expected out of Manship then he is showing right now and that is because he has the potential to be a middle of the rotation starter for the Twins not a so so pitcher in AAA. So hopefully he can find himself and pitch up to his capabilities. Tim Lahey then came on and had his best performance in quite a while pitching 1.2 shutout innings with two strikeouts to pick up his 2nd win of the year and lower his era to 7.76. Rob Delaney then came on and pitched a scoreless eighth inning on a hit along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.68. Anthony Slama came on and pitched a perfect 9th inning to pick up his 8th save of the year and lowered his era to 1.85.

• It took until the 7th inning for the Red Wings offense to wake up from its slumber and in all scored 4 runs on 8 hits along with drawing four walks and leaving six guys on base. The more disappointing part was Trevor Plouffe committed two more errors and has 4 in the last 2 games and 8 on the season. That is something he is going to have to cleanup if he is going to make it up with the Twins. The Red Wings were led by who else offensively Dustin Martin went 2-4 at the plate to improve his average on the year to .339 a year after hitting .254 so we don't know how long this is going to last for Martin, but Red Wings fans will go along for the ride as long as it goes on. Danny Valencia went 1-4 at the plate to extend his hitting streak to a career high 20 games and is now hitting .305. Trevor Plouffe made up for his errors by going 1-2 at the plate with his 10th double of the year and his 20th rbi. Brian Dinkelman, Jose Morales, Jacque Jones, and Brock Peterson each contributed base hits in the winning cause. Jose Morales got his first start of the year behind the plate and allowed one stolen base.

• Tonight, the Red Wings finish off their series with Louisville as Matt Fox takes the ball for Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester as they try to win their second consecutive game over the Bats of Louisville.

New Britain Business

Harrisburg 2 New Britain (7-28)

• After getting a rare win Saturday night the Rockcats returned to their former form by wasting a good pitching performance by David Bromberg and going down to Harrisburg by a score of 2-1. David Bromberg got the start and went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with four walks and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.58 and drop his record on the year to 1-2. The only thing that concerns me on a pretty solid outing was his four walks. After having control problems two years ago in Beloit, but seemed to right that ship last year in Fort Myers. However, this season he has walked a few more guys than I would like as he has walked 19 batters in just over 37 innings which is not terrible, but is a little bit much for a starting pitcher especially in the Twins organization that they stress throwing strikes. I know it is early and by the end of the season he could very easily have this issue cleaned up, but right now this should be something that he emphathizes when working in bullpen. Chris Province then came on and did very well pitching two shutout innings on one hit along with a strikeout and most importantly no walks to lower his era to 6.65. Joe Testa then came on and got an out to lower his era on the year to 6.75. Santos Arias then came out and got two outs along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 4.82.

• Just has been the problem all season the Rockcats could not score any runs as they were limited to 1 run on 7 hits along with drawing five walks and left 8 guys on base along with commiting 2 errors, one by Joe Benson, his 2nd of the year, and David Bromberg, his 1st of the year. The Rockcats were led by Joe Benson who went 1-3 at the plate with his 5th homerun of the year and his 9th rbi. Esterlin De Los Santos, Yangervis Solarte, Rene
  Tosoni, Tobey Gardenhire, Steve Singleton, Mark Dolenc, and Alex Soto each contributed a hit in the losing cause.

• The Rockcats have today off before beginning a series against Portland in Portland tommorrow night.

Fort Myers Minutes

Clearwater 9 Fort Myers 5 (16-20)

• The Miracle suffered a tough loss last night to Clearwater and it was not pretty by any sense of the word. Not only did they go through almost a two hour rain delay, but also committed 5 errors. Michael Tarsi got the start for the Miracle and was not very good in this one but was not helped out by his defense at all. Tarsi went 5 innings and gave up 7 runs although only 5 were earned on 6 hits along with three walks and two strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 4.61 and dropped his record to 2-4. Tarsi has really struggled in the month of May after getting off to a decent start in April. In April Tarsi had a 4.32 era in 5 starts, while in May his era has ballooned up to 5.06 in three May starts. Tarsi does not throw hard enough for him to not be on with his location so here is hoping that he can figure it out because once Stuifbergen gets to Fort Myers he is looking like the guy who will go to the bullpen if he doesn't improve. Tony Davis then came on and pitched two innings and gave up a run on a hit along with two walks to lower his era on the year to 4.05. Loek Van Mil continued his comeback from elbow issues to pitch one inning and give up a run on three hits along with a strikeout to raise his era to 4.50. Andrei Lobanov pitch a scoreless ninth on one hit along with two strikeouts to finish off the game.

• The Miracle had plenty of hits in this one, but were only able to score five runs even though they had 14 hits. They also drew a walk and left 8 guys on base, but they committed 5 errors a season high. The errors were committed by Chris Hermann, his 2nd of the year, Chris Cates, his 10th of the year, Dan Rohlfing, his fourth of the year, Paul Kelly, his 2nd of the year, and Nick Romero who committed his first of the year. The Miracle were led by Chris Hermann who went 3-4 at the plate with his 7th double of the year and 3 rbi's to bring his season total to 11. With the three hits Hermann is now hitting .262. Chris Cates went 3-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .202. Nathan Hanson went 2-4 at the plate with his fourth double of the year to bring his average on the year up to .250. Paul Kelly went 2-5 at the plate with his 4th rbi to bring his average up to .286. Brandon Roberts went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average on the year up to .333. Deibinson Romero and Evan Bigley each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Miracle.

• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater as they send out Liam Hendriks who is making his second start for the Miracle. Gametime is at 6:05 in Clearwater as the Miracle tries to rebound from the loss.

Beloit Beat

Wisconsin 3 Beloit 1 (22-15)

• The Snappers lost a tough game to Wisconsin yesterday and an opportunity to sweep the series against the Rattlers by going down 3-1 yesterday. They wasted a great outing by Michael Tonkin who showed what he is capable of and that he should not be overlooked with guys like Hermsen, Salcedo, and Weller in his level. Tonkin pitched 7 shutout innings on only three hits and took a no hitter into the 6th inning along with 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.45. Tonkin who many know is the brother in law of Twins designated hitter Jason Kubel, really showed everythign has he kept the hitters off balance and made it very hard to put the fat part of the bat on the ball. It will be interesting to see if he can build off of this start and continue pitching well for the Snappers. On the other end of the spectrum though is Ben Tootle who saw his struggles early in the season continue. Tootle gave up 3 runs on 3 hits along with a strikeout in one inning of work to raise his era on the year to 7.64 and lower his record to 0-1.

• The Snappers could not do much offensively in this one as they were only able to push one run across on 8 hits and did not draw a walk while leaving 7 guys on base while Brian Dozier committed his 5th error of the year. The Snappers were led offensively by Anderson Hidalgo who went 2-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .340 on the season. James Beresford went 1-4 at the plate along with his 4th stolen base to bring his average on the year to .235. Aaron Hicks went 1-4 at the plate to bring his average down to .272. Brian Dozier, Steve Liddle, Josmil Pinto, and Reggie Williams each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Snappers.

• The Snappers have today off before having a doubleheader tommorrow versus Kane County in Beloit.