Friday, July, 17th

Twins Talk

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

Rochester Wrap

Lehigh Valley 5 Rochester 4

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

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

New Britain Business

New Britain 5 Reading 2

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

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

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 13 Sarasota 4

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

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

Beloit Beat

Beloit 9 Burlington 1

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

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

E-Town Tidbits

Danville 4 E-Town 3 13 innings

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

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

Thursday, July, 16th

Twins Talk

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

Rochester Wrap

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

New Britain Business

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

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 13 Sarasota 0

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

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


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

Beloit Beat

Beloit 9 Burlington 3

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

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

E-Town Tidbits

E-Town 4 Danville 2

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

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

To Trade or not to Trade that is the question

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday, July, 14th

Twins Talk

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

Rochester Wrap

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

New Britain Business

Binghamton 14 New Britain 1

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

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

Fort Myers Minutes

Palm Beach 2 Fort Myers 0

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

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

Beloit Beat

West Michigan 7 Beloit 3

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

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

E-town tidbits

E-Town 8 Johnson City 6

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

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

Monday, July, 13th

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

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

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

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

Twins 13 White Sox 7 WP: Baker LP: Buerhle

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

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

Rochester Wrap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


New Britain Wrap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Fort Myers Minutes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Beloit Beat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


E-town Tidbits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

New Britain: none

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

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

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

Twins Add All-Star caliber player

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beloit Snappers: June Awards

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

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

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

Thursday, July, 9th

Twins Talk

For those expecting me to talk about the Yankees series you are going to have to go to another blog because you aren't getting anything from me as I just want to forget this series happened and move on to play the White Sox this weekend.

Yankees 10 Twins 2 Tuesday WP: Sabathia LP: Baker

Baker 3 inn 5 runs 9 hits 2bb 4k Mauer 0-3 BA: .384

Yankees 4 Twins 3 Wednesday WP: Burnett LP: Swarzak Save: Rivera

Swarzak 4.1 inn 4 runs 8 hits 1bb Mauer 3-5 BA: .388

Yankees 6 Twins 4 Thursday WP: Albaladejo LP: Liriano Save: Rivera

Liriano 5.1 inn 3 ER 7 hits 2bb 5k Mauer 2-5 BA: .389



Pitching Matchups vs White Sox
Friday Nick Blackburn vs John Danks

Saturday Glen Perkins vs Gavin Floyd

Sunday Scott Baker vs Mark Buerhle

Rochester Wrap
Rochester 9 Syracuse 4

• The Red Wings extended their winning streak to 3 games with a big 9-4 victory over second place Syracuse last night as the Red Wings try to get back in the IL divison race and trail Scranton/WB by only 7 games as we speak and are playing very well right now. Jeff Manship got the start for the Red Wings and was ok getting out of some jams to keep the Red Wings in the game until their bats exploded. Manship went 5.1 innings and gave up 4 runs on 10 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 3.93 on the year and improved his record on the year to 2-0. Jeff Manship is a slow starter after a promotion and this is no different as 2 of his 3 starts have been suspect, but it will only be a matter of time before he is dominating hitters like he has at every other stop. Jesse Crain then came on and continued his recent string of quality innings. Crain went 1.2 innings to lower his era to 3.18 on the year and has thrown 4.1 innings without giving up a run. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a streak that will lead Jesse back to the Twins where they could surely use him. Juan Morillo then came on and pitched a rocky, but effective inning. Morillo went 1 inning and gave up 2 hits along with a strikeout to lower his era to 2.83 on the year and most importantly no walks. Rob Delaney pitched a clean 9th inning for the Red Wings with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the season to 4.74.

• The Red Wings continued their recent hitting prowess as they put up 9 runs on 13 hits and in their 3 game winning streak they have scored 23 runs on 41 hits which averages out to 7.7 runs and 13.7 hits per game which is very impressive considering the Wings have really struggled offensively pretty much all season and get hot is a good sign. In this one the Wings were led by Jason Pridie who went 3-5 with his 5th homerun and 16th double of the year along with 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 28 and brought his average up to .260. Drew Butera had a big game going 2-4 with his 2nd homerun of the year and 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 18. Alexi Casilla went 2-5 with his 15th rbi of the year and improved his average to a team leading .336. David Winfree went 1-4 with his 20th double of the year and drove in his 41st run of the year. Matt Macri went 1-4 with his 16th double of the year. Steve Tolleson, Danny Valencia, Trevor Plouffe, and Brock Peterson all added hits in the winning cause for the Red Wings.
• Tonight, the Wings continue their series with Syracuse as Kevin Mulvey gets the start for Rochester.

New Britain Business

Connecticut 3 New Britain 1

New Britain 7 Connecticut 3

• The Rockcats split a doubleheader with first place Connecticut where they got a couple of good pitching performances and some good and some batting hitting leading to the split. In game 1 Cole Devries got the start and he was victimized by some bad defense by the Rockcats as he was very good. Devries went all 7 innings and gave up 3 runs although none of them were earned thanks to an Erik Lis error in the 1st inning which led to 3 unearned runs on only 5 hits along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.89, but also lower his record on the year to 5-8. Cole Devries has been the most consistant pitcher on the staff for the Rockcats all year and along with Matt Fox those 2 have kept the Rockcats in the lead for the wildcard pretty much all year and I expect that to continue. In game 2 we saw the AA debut of prized prospect Deolis Guerra and he pitched a pretty decent game. Guerra went 5 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. There is so much talent in this kid as he is only 20 years old that the Twins want to see if he can do an Anthony Swarzak and take off in a different level even though I think there were more deserving players. I am really excited to see this kid grow into a possible ace as he is only 20 years old and still has some development to go. Anthony Slama then came on and pitched the last 2 innings and only gave up 1 hit to pick up his 18th save of the year. He also recorded 3 strikeouts in those two innings as he nailed the game down for the Rockcats.

• Offensively the Rockcats had a game where they got nothing going and then a game where they were running on all cylinders. In game 1 the Rockcats could not get anything going as they could only manage 1 run on only 6 hits. The Cats were led by Juan Portes who went 2-3 with his 4th homerun of the year along with his 32nd rbi to bring his average on the year to .316. Rene Tosoni went 1-3 with his 18th double of the year to bring his average up to .275 on the year. Brian Dinkelman also went 1-3 with his 22nd double of the year to bring his average up to .298. Toby Gardenhire and Yancarlos Ortiz each added a hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats. In game 2 the bats really came alive as they had 7 runs on 8 hits. The Rockcats were led by Luke Hughes who had a career game for the Rockcats. Hughes went 4-4 with 3 doubles and 3 rbi's as he works his way back from the oblique injury and hopefully back to Rochester where he belongs. Rene Tosoni had a big game going 2-4 with his 19th double of the year and his 49th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .279. Yancarlos Ortiz had a big game going 1-2 with 3 runs scored from the leadoff spot. Whit Robbins also contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with first place Connecticut as Matt Fox gets the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Sarasota 5 Fort Myers 0

• The Miracle hitters were baffled by 3 Sarasota pitchers as they could not muster a run on only 6 hits. With the promotion of Deolis Guerra to AA this turned into a bullpen game for the Miracle because this was supposed to be Guerra's turn in the rotation. So the Miracle turned to Henry Arias in a pinch and he was decent kind of what you expect out of Arias. Henry Arias went 4 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 5.13 and lower his record to 1-3. Blair Erickson then came in and was awful in his 1 inning of work. Erickson gave up 2 runs on 3 hits along with 2 strikeouts in his inning to raise his era to 2.83. Joe Testa then came in and was fantastic again as he went 2 shutout innings along with a strikeout and has not allowed a run in 7.1 innings since his promotion from Beloit. Loek Van Mil then came on and got hit a little as he gave up a run on 2 hits along with a strikeout to raise his era to 1.29 on the year.

• With no runs on only 6 hits there was not alot to get excited about last night, but there were a few notable contributions. Ben Revere is coming out of a terrible slump as he went 2-5 to raise his average back up to .306 on the year. Steve Singelton went 1-4 with his 14th double of the year. Evan Bigley, Juan Richardson, and Chris Cates all contributed hits in the losing cause.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Sarasota as Steve Hirschfeld gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

South Bend 6 Beloit 3

• The Snappers saw their losing streak expand to 3 games after a tough 6-3 loss to South Bend last night. Bobby Lanigan got the start for the Snappers and really was not as good as he had been in starts past. Lanigan went 6 innings and gave up 6 runs although only 3 of them were earned on 8 hits along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 4.48 and dropped his record to a rough 7-5 on the year. I really thought Lanigan had turned the corner in June and was going to be the pitcher we were expecting all season and then he has a start like this and your like what is going on. I really hope this was just a rough start and he will bounce back next time because the Snappers to compete at all need good starts out of Bobby every time out. Bruce Pugh then came in and was very good in his 2 innings of work on only 1 hit along with 3 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.15. Steve Blevins then came on for the ninth and did a good job as he pitched a perfect inning along with a strikeout to lower his era to 4.17 on the year.

• The Snappers really could not get hardly anything going offensively in this one as they could only muster 3 runs on only 7 hits in the game. Aaron Hicks was the hitting star in this one going 1-4 with his 3rd double of the year and drove in his 9th run. James Beresford went 1-2 with 2 walks to bring his average up to .283. Ramon Santana went 1-4 with 2 rbi's to bring hsi season total up to 40. Michael Harrington, Alex Soto, Dominic De La Osa, and Angel Morales all contributed hits in the losing cause.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with South Bend as newcomer Liam Hendricks gets the start for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

Kingsport 10 E-town 7

• The E-town Twins let a 7-3 lead going into the bottom of the 6th inning get away in a tough to handle 10-7 loss to Kingsport last night. Tom Stuifbergen got the start for the Twins and was decent as he kept the team in the game and left with the lead. Stuifbergen went 6 innings and gave up 3 earned runs and scattered 10 hits along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 4.30 on the year. Kane Holbrooks then came in and went 2/3 of an inning and gave up a run on no hits along with 4 walks to raise his era on the year to 7.20. The Twins got out of that mess with the lead so you think they got it wrapped up right well you would be wrong if you said yes. Tony Davis came in and had a forgettable performance that he forgot about by the time he got to the parking lot after the game. Davis went 1.1 innings and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 11.37 and took the loss to drop his record ont the year to 0-2.

• The rough pitching outing ruined another great offensive performance by the Twins who put up 7 runs on 11 hits. Once again Danny Rams and Tyler Ladendorf led the offense for the Twins. Rams went 3-5 with his 6th and 7th doubles of the year and his 22nd rbi to bring his average up to .368. Ladendorf went 2-3 with his 7th double and his 17th rbi of the year to bring his average on the season up to .400. Chris Hermann went 2-4 with his 7th double and his 8th rbi to bring his impressive average up to .386. Jon Goncalves went 2-4 with his 2nd double to bring his average up to .273 on the year. Anderson Hidalgo went 1-4 with his 3rd double of the year. Josmil Pinto also added a hit in the losing cause for the Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Kingsport as the Twins will send out Brad Stillings to make a spot start as they lost Liam Hendricks to Beloit and Matt Bashore is not ready to make a start yet for Elizabethton.

Fort Myers Miracle: June Awards

I will be continuing my June awards today with the Fort Myers Miracle who in June got some great performances that led them to clinching the First Half Florida State Leauge Division Title. I hope you all enjoy and you can leave your comments in the comment box or at travis_aune@yahoo.com. thanks and enjoy.

• Pitcher of the Month: Tyler Robertson- Tyler Robertson really stepped it up in June after a couple really good months in April and May and a very good month of June. After having a 4.30 era in April Tyler improved it to 3.74 in May and improved it immensely in June. In June Tyler went 2-1 with an awesome 2.63 era in 4 starts. Tyler worked 24 innings in June so that is a very solid 6 innings a start. In his 24 innings he only gave up 7 earned runs in those 24 innings. He walked only 7 batters while striking out an impressive 24. The most impressive to me was Tyler held opponents to a .226 batting average. As most people know I am very high on Tyler Robertson as I had him rated as the top pitching prospect in the organization and with arm problems last year that cut his season short it took him some time to get back in the groove. However, he has done just that as he has gotten better every month and is in line for a promotion to AA.
• Others Considered: Loek Van Mil, David Bromberg, Spencer Steedley

• Hitter of the Month: Deibinson Romero- Deibinson Romero really bounced back from an awful month of May. After hitting .257 in April and then plummeted to .157 in May before the month of June where he really bounced back. In June Deibinson hit .322 with 3 homeruns and 15 rbi's in 87 at bats. He also had 4 doubles and a triple along with 2 stolen bases. Romero added 10 walks for an obp of .386 along with a slugging percentage of .494 for an ops of .880. Deibinson Romero really bounced back after an awful May to put up numbers that we expected him to have all along. He improved his numbers on the year to hitting .241 with 3 homeruns and 40 rbi's along with 17 doubles and a triple. The only thing he needs to work on is his defense where he has 15 errors on the season and it won't matter how good offensively if he doesn't improve defensively. However, it was a good month for Romero and hopefully he can build on that in July and beyond.
• Others Considered: Chris Parmalee, Steve Singelton, Ben Revere

Q&A with Matt Fox

I had the priviledge to do a Q&A with New Britain Rockcats starting pitcher Matt Fox. After talking with him I have a lot of respect what he has overcome to be a good pitching prospect for the Twins. There are not many guys that would keep going and fighting through what he has gone through. I really think you are going to enjoy this Q&A and i really want to get some comments on Matt and what you thought of the interview. So leave comments in the box or email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Travis Talks: As a kid did you have any favorite teams?

Matt Fox: I liked 2 teams, the Reds when I was real young, and then the Marlins when they came along.

Travis Talks: In High School did you just play baseball or did you play other sports too?

Matt Fox: I just played Baseball, but was really into golf, actually tried out for the golf team, but I'm pretty sure the golf coach knew I wasn't too serious about joining the team and that i just wanted to play free golf for the week of the tryouts.

Travis Talks: Tell me about your high school career?

Matt Fox: To start off i only played shortstop, didn't pitch and made Varsity as a Freshman. Basically was the starting shortstop only until half way threw my junior year when i jumped on mound for fun and realized how hard I was throwing and that I might have a future on the mound. Went to some showcases summer before my Senior year and was thought from there on that I would have more potential as a pitcher then hitter and the next levels, but still did both.

Travis Talks: In the 2001 draft you were selected in the 6th round by Arizona, but didn't sign did you consider signing and why didnt you sign?

Matt Fox: I was expecting from what scouts were telling me that I would go anywhere in the top 4 or 5 rounds. My family and I had a figure we were comforttable with and we just didn't get to that figure. I also played shortstop and at the time didnt feel like my time playing there was done, as I wanted to go to college and no only pitch, but also hit.

Travis Talks: After high school you went to Central Florida university what led you there?

Matt Fox: I went to UCF for a couple reasons. One was that my brother played there the 4 years before i went , and i had a relationship with the coaching staff that was really strong. another reason was, they were one of the few schools who wanted me to pitch and hit. While alot of other schools either wanted me to pitch only or hit only, not do both.

Travis Talks: Were you heavily recruited out of high school?

Matt Fox: I think i was recruited heavily all the florida schools and a lot of the ACC/SEC Schools were interested. Miami, LSU, Clemson wanted me as a pitcher only, while Tennessee, FAU, and others wanted me only as a hitter.

Travis Talks: You were selected in the 1st round in 2004 by the Twins had they been talking to you or were you surprised they drafted you?

Matt Fox: After going threw the whole draft process in HS, i knew how unpredictable the draft can be, so i didnt look too much into who was talking to me the most or who wasn't. I think I talked to the twins just as much as others, and wasnt overally surprised they took me.

Travis Talks: You started your career in E-town what was it like pitching that first year as a professional?

Matt Fox: My first year was a rough one, only had 3-4 starts before i started feeling shoulder pain, and then was shut down for the rest of the season, besides that i was excited to be there but wanted to be healthy more then anything.

Travis Talks: In 2005 you had shoulder surgery what was the injury and rehab consist of?

Matt Fox: I had a labrum repair and some small work done on my rotator cuff. I had surgery with DR. Andrews and headed to FOrt myers and rehabed there for a year to year and half

Travis Talks: How long did it take to gain confidence back in your arm?

Matt Fox: It's been a long process. At first my confidence wasnt' there and that held me back, then my arm felt good but I couldnt get my velocity above 84 or so. the last 2 years or so have been good, feeling strong and no pain at all. Just waiting and hoping i can get some more velocity.

Travis Talks: Have you had any problems with your arm since the surgery?

Matt Fox: Knock on wood but have had no problems, feeling great!

Travis Talks: Was there ever a time you wanted to call it quits and do something else?
Matt Fox: Coming back from surgey was a tough journey, but at no time did i ever think about doing anything else. Playing a game you love is the best job in the world, and I kept telling myself to just stick with it and one day hopefulyl my time will come.

Travis Talks: What pitches do you throw?

Matt Fox: Currently I throw a 4 seam fastball, Cutter, Curveball and Change-up, usually in that order.

Travis Talks: What would you call your strikeout pitch when you really need a strikeout?

Matt Fox: I'd say for a righty it'd be my cutter, for a lefty, it'd have to be my curveball.

Travis Talks: For someone who doesn't know what is gameday like when your pitching?

Matt Fox: For me personally, it starts when i get up, i just run over there hitters in my mind, try to visualize myself throwing and gettting good results, then it's just kind of sit aroudn and wait until it't stretch time and thats when you really have to focus in. During the game you just get into that tunnel vision where its you and the batter and thats it. Just try and compete and keep your team in the game.

Travis Talks: What was it like when you got your first professional paycheck?

Matt Fox: It was a great feeling, just getting paid to play a game you love is a great feeling!

Travis Talks: What do you think it will be like to pitch at Target Field?

Matt Fox: I'm not too sure, all i know is it's outdoors and MN gets really cold! So it'll be cold and very exciting.

Travis Talks: You have progressed through the system does it ever get frustrating when you dont get promoted when you think your ready?

Matt Fox: Sure, at times it can, but what i have learned is not to read too much into what happens with the moves. You can't control who moves and who doesn't. All you can control is how you pitch and hopefully one day you get your chance.

Travis Talks: If a high school player asked you what does it take to make it in pro ball what would you tell him?

Matt Fox: You have to be ready for a grind. At times the season gets long, long bus trips, crappy hotels, eating fast food. you really have to have a passion for it, and have your heart into it at all times. Other then that, just hard work and a positive attitude!

I would like to thank Matt Fox for taking the time to do this I really appreciate it and best of luck for the rest of the year.

Tuesday, July, 7th

Twins Talk

• The Twins had yesterday off and prepare to begin a 3 game series with the hated New York Yankess as the Twins will send Scott Baker to the mound to get the series off on the right foot.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 7 Buffalo 3

• The finished their series with Buffalo on the right foot with a nice 7-3 victory over the Bisons. Armando Gabino made the spot start for the Red Wings and was very good in this one. Gabino went 4.1 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 3.25 on the year. Gabino has been very solid this year and I would like to see Armando get a chance with the Twins, but I have a sinking suspicion that he is probably 4th in line behind Crain, Morillo, and Delaney. Jesse Crain then came on and had his best outing of his season with Rochester by going 2.2 hitless innings along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.72. If Jesse Crain can pitch like he did last night it won't be long till he is back with the Twins because they are begging for another reliever that can get guys out, but he hasn't shown that on a consistant basis yet so I need to see more out of him. Rob Delaney then came on and pitched the last 2 innings and was ok. Delaney went 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to raise his era to 5.00.

• The Red Wings really had a big offensive night as they put on 7 runs on 16 hits and could of been even bigger if they had not left 9 guys on base. Jason Pridie led the offense by going 3-5 with his 4th homerun of the year along with his 15th double. He also drove in 3 runs to bring his season total up to 26 on the year and brought his average up to .252. Trevor Plouffe went 3-3 to raise his average on the year to .242. Alexi Casilla went 3-5 with 2 runs scored to raise his average to .343 on the year. Matt Macri went 3-4 to raise his average on the year to .230 on the year. Steve Tolleson went 2-4 with his 1st triple of the year and drove in his 9th and 10th runs of the year to bring his average up to .321. Justin Huber went 2-3 and his 45th rbi of the year and improved his average on the year to .283 on the year.
• Tonight, the Red Wings begin a series with 2nd place Syracuse and with all the rainouts the Red Wings will have to have another bullpen game as Reid Santos is tentatively scheduled to pitch for Rochester.
• Big News: Justin Huber replaced Anthony Swarzak on the International League All-Star team.

New Britain Business

New Britain 3 Trenton 1

• The Rockcats continued their winning ways as they won their 2nd consecutive win with a tough hard fought 3-1 victory over Trenton last night. Yohan Pino got his first start for the Cats since his return to the Rockcats rotation and was very good. Pino went 5.1 innings and gave up only 1 run on 6 hits along with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.53 and improved his record on the year to 3-1. Yohan Pino has really stepped up after getting off to a rough start on the year. Pino realistically is not a huge prospect, but he has pitched some quality innings for the Cats and has developed into a solid starting pitcher for the Rockcats. Alex Burnett then came on and pitching 2.2 shutout innings along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.25. Anthony Slama came on and pitched the last inning without giving up a run along with 1 strikeout to pick up his 17th save of the year to lower his era on the year to 2.64.

• The Rockcats did not get alot of offense going in the game, but it was enough to get the win with only 6 hits. Juan Portes really supplied the only offense the Rockcats would need in this game as he went 3-4 and drove in 2 runs to bring his total up to 31 on the year and brought his average up to .312. Brian Dinkelman hit his 21st double of the year and improved his average to .303 on the year. Yancarlos Ortiz and Rene Tosoni added hits in the winning cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a 3 game series with first place Connecticut as Frank Mata is scheduled to pitch for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Palm Beach 4 Fort Myers 2

• The Miracle had a tough loss last night to Palm Beach by a score of 4-2 in which they got good pitching just not enough hitting to pick up the win. Tyler Robertson got the start for the Miracle and was very solid. Robertson went 7 innings and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.43 on the year and dropped his record to 5-4. Tyler Robertson continued his strong go of it since a rough start even though he got the loss in this game he still put up a solid start that would be good enough to win in on most nights. Loek Van Mil then came in and gave up a run on no hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his very good era to 0.95 on the year. Loek Van Mil has been awesome since coming off the disabled list as he has only given up 2 runs in 19 innings of work on the year for Van Mil and has positioned himself into possibly getting a promotion sometime this summer to AA New Britain.

• The Miracle really could not get it going last night as they were only able to muster 2 runs even though they had 10 hits. The reason they could not get more runs was they left 8 guys on base in the night. Rene Leveret led the offense by going 2-3 to raise his average on the year to .298. Nick Romero went 2-4 with his 5th double of the year to improve his average on the year to .272. Mark Dolenc went 2-4 with his 3rd triple of the year and drove in his 23rd run of the year to improve his average to .284. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-4 with his 3rd triple of the year to improve his average to .288. Ben Revere went 1-5 at the plate to continue his worse slump of his career. Revere is only 3 for his last 28 a .107 average and not something he has ever experienced as a pro. I have no doubt that he will get it going, but I am sure he is plenty frustrated right now. Steve Singelton and Chris Parmalee each added a hit in the losing cause for the Miracle.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Palm Beach as Mike Mccardell gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Peoria 7 Beloit 2

• The Snappers had their short 2 game winning streak stopped in a big way to Peoria last night as the Snappers went down 7-2 to the Chiefs. Dan Berlind got the start for the Snappers and actually was pretty good. Berlind went 4.2 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 7 hits along with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.33 on the year. Berlind has been solid all year long and has really kept the Snappers in the game most starts it is just that the Snappers could not score any runs for him and that continued last night. Thomas Wright then came on and lets just say he was awful on this night. Wright went 3 innings and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 12.00. Wright has really struggled since coming off the disabled list and it would not surprise me if he did not make it through the season. Bruce Pugh got the final out in the losing cause for the Snappers to lower his era on the year to 4.38.

• The Snappers really couldn't get anything going on the night as they could only muster 2 runs on 6 hits. Michael Harrington led the offense by going 2-4 with his 23rd double of the year and his 26th rbi to raise his average on the year to .236. Ramon Santana went 1-3 with his 38th rbi of the year and improved his average up to .298. Aaron Hicks went 0-3 with his 13th walk of the year compared to only 11 strikeouts so he has a very good eye at the plate. Hicks is only hitting .217, but his 13 walks really helps him maintain a .383 obp which is very good considering he is only hitting .217. That discipline at the plate will come in handy and just imagine what it will be when he adjusts and starts hitting like we all know he will. Aaron is too talented of a player to be hitting .217 at A ball and it is just a matter of time until he explodes. James Beresford, Nathan Hanson, and Drew Thompson all contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers.
• Tonight, the Snappers finish off their series with Peoria as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

E-town 5 Princeton 2

Princeton 5 E-town 4

• The E-town Twins split a doubleheader with Princeton to make up for the rainout on Sunday. The Twins won the first game by a score of 5-2 before dropping the second one by a score of 5-4. In game 1 Matire Garcia got the start and was ok. Garcia went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits along with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts to pick up his 2nd win of the year and raise his era to 3.00 on the year. Garcia has really not gotten hit this year, but the walks are disconcerting as he has walked 14 batters in only 12 innings of work in 3 starts. There is nothing in his history to suggest a walk problem, but he needs to get this taken care of soon. Brad Stillings then came on and went 1/3 of an inning with 2 walks to lower his era to 3.00. Tony Davis then followed and went 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout to lower his era to 5.40. Billy Bulluck pitched the 7th to get his 2nd save of the year along with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.42. In game 2 Michael Munoz got the start and was ok. Munoz went 3.2 innings and gave up 4 runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his average up to 4.40 on the year. Munoz really has not had a good start to the season and will feel the pressure of Matt Bashore joining the staff as they decide who is the person to go to the bullpen and right now it might be Munoz. Matt Tone took the loss by going 2.1 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 2.70.

• The Twins had their bats quieted down a little bit, but compared to what they were doing offensively it looks like they aren't hitting at all which is a stretch. In game 1 they scored 5 runs on 8 hits. The Twins were led by Derek Mccallum who went 2-3 with his first triple of the year and drove in 3 runs to bring his total up to 6 on the year and increase his average to .250. Josmil Pinto went 2-3 with his 2nd double of the year to raise his average up to .303. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-3 to raise his average up to .313. Michael Gonzalez and Tobias Streich each contributed a hit in the Twins win. Tyler Ladendorf went 0-4 at the plate to lower his average to .380 on the year. In game 2 the Twins put up 4 runs on only 5 hits. Michael Gonzalez went 1-2 with 2nd double of the year to bring his average up to .343. Danny Rams went 1-3 with his 5th double with his 21st rbi. Paul Klingsberg went 1-2 with his 2nd and 3rd rbi's of the year and brought his average up to .348. Chris Herman and Tyler Ladendorf added hits in the losing cause for the Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins will continue their series with Princeton as Angelo Sanchez gets the start for Elizabethton.