New Britain Rock Cats

In part 3 of my series on the Twins organization for the month of April i will be looking at the New Britain Rock Cats. New Britain went 12-12 for the month of April and did some good things and some things they need to work on.

• Starting Pitching: The Starting pitching has been as good as advertised posting a 4.34 starting pitcher ERA. They were led by starters Ryan Mullins and Anthony Swarzak. Ryan Mullins had a 2-2 record with a 3.03 ERA and Swarzak went 2-0 with a miniscule 2.03ERA to lead the team. Another contributer that not many counted on was Yohan Pino who went 1-1 witha 1.80 ERA in 4 april starts. That is the guy they weren't thinking would be good because they didn't even have him in the opening day rotation and he has been filthy this year. Oswaldo Sosa has been ok a little inconsistant going 1-2 with a 5.75 era but overall not bad. The one bad pitcher has been a surprise and thats Jay Rainville. Alot was expected out of Jay and so far he has not fufilled that promise going 1-3 with an outragous 10.29ERA. If you take his ERA out the Rock Cats would have a good starting pitcher ERA. GRADE:B-

• Relief Pitching: The Relief Pitching for the Rock Cats has been excellent with a relief pitcher ERA of 2.60 on the season. They have been led by Kyle Aselton's 1.13 and Armando Gambino's 1.20. Really, the only disappointment is Jay Sawatski's 5.28 ERA and he seems to be getting better he had a couple bad outings to get the ERA up and now he is slowly but surely getting it down. Really the bullpen for New Britain has been the strength and kept the Rock Cats in some games early on and if the starters hand them a lead more times than not you can put that in the books as a win. Grade:A

• Hitting: This is an interesting thing to look at it has been up and down with pretty much everybody struggling to start the year and now they are running on all cylinders. Dustin Martin started out the year on fire and led them when they weren't hitting he is currently hitting .341 with a homer and 15 rbi's. When Dustin cooled down Luke Hughes picked it up and hasn't stopped hitting a whopping .367 with 9 homeruns and 20 rbi's and a whopping 40 hits in a month. I would be shocked if he is with the Rock Cats long but while he is there he is fun to watch. Brock Peterson after a slow start has been really good with run production driving in 24 runs on 3 hr's. David Winfree has not hit well for average but he has 5 homeruns and 22 rbi's. Trevor Plouffe after a slow start has gotten his average to .278. Overall the Rock Cats hitters have done a decent job with the bats and right now they are creaming the ball all over the park. GRADE: B-

• Defense: Defense has not been the RockCats strong point this year with 21 errors in 24 games. They were led in errors by 4 from Luke Hughes but everybody that has played much has contributed to the terrible defense. If they dont get better defense it doesn't matter how good they pitch or hit t hey will lose games and they are too good of players to make dumb errors like that so i look for the team defense to improve alot but right now its not very good. GRADE: F

• Baserunning: The Rock Cats have been decent running the bases with 20 stolen bases in 24 April games. They have alot of speed and have taken advantage of it led by Dustin Martin's 7 sb and Luke Hughes' 4. I think they should be running more with the speed they have. It hasn't helped having probably their best base stealer Brandon Roberts out with a hamstring injury most of the year. But they are in most games so they have the ability to steal bases so they should steal 2 to 3 bases a game. Grade C

• Overall: The Rock Cats have done some good things and some things that they need to work on to contend for a division title. They have pitched really good and need to continue that, but if they dont play better defense it won't matter how good they pitch. I think they have some talented players but i would like to see some of their talented players take the next step in their careers and make the Twins move they up. I think they will have personall losses, because there is so much more talent at New Britain than there is at Rochester so i think some of the guys will get moved up and it will be interesting to see how the new players do. Grade C

• Pitcher of the Month: Anthony Swarzak- Anthony had a filthy month going 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA. In 26 April innings Anthony struck out 29 batters and only walked 4. Anthony Swarzak was the most consistant pitcher on the Rock Cats staff and the problems he had last year are a distant memory and it won't be long until he gets the promotion to AAA to lead to his eventual callup to the Twins.

• Player of the Month: Luke Hughes- I dont think it is too much of a surprise who i am picking for the Player of the Month. For the month Luke hit .367 with 9 homeruns and 20 rbi's. He hit 6 doubles and 2 triples while stealing 4 bases in addition. Luke has really jumped up on me i was not expecting this at all and because of that i think the Twins are going to want to see a little more before they promote him to Rochester. But i really believe by the end of the year Luke will be up in Rochester and with his versatility he may be up with the Twins by sometime in 2009.

Saturday, May 3rd

Twins Talk
Minnesota 11 Detroit 1

Minnesota 14-14 0.5 games back

• POG: Livan Hernandez- Livan has gotten a lot of bad press and press i don't think he should be getting. Yeah he had a bad start against Texas, but i dont think he is the only one who has struggled against the Texas lineup. Last night he was masterful mixing up fastballs with changeups and his 60mile an hour curveball. I know he is not a great pitcher but he finds a way to get hitters out and whether its with the Twins or someone else he will help someone get to the playoffs this year. Last night he went 7 innings and only gave up 1 run on 8 hits. He walked 2 batters while striking out 4 on the night to lower his ERA to 4.63 on the season. It will be interesting to see how he does his next time out to see if he can keep it up.
• The Twins bats came alive led by Justin Mourneau and Jason Kubel with 3 hits apiece that led a 16 hit attack. At one time they had 6 consecutive hits as they blew this one open and hopefully they can keep it up.
• Carlos Gomez was a pest like always getting on base 3 times. In the first he walked, stole second and scored on a wildpitch. In his second at bat he got hit with a pitch and ended up scoring. In his 3rd at bat he got a basehit and was stealing 2nd and got hit on the side of the head by the ball. He had to come out of the game and hopefully he wont have to miss any time because of it. Its pretty obvious how much better the Twins are when Gomez finds a way to get on base.
• Tonight the Twins battle the Tigers in game 2 of their series at the Metrodome. Gametime is at 6:10pm with Boof Bonser facing off with Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 6 Toledo 4

Rochester 14-15 6.0 games back

• Darnell Mcdonald- This is becoming a daily ritual for Darnell being the player of the game. Darnell went 3-5 with his 3rd home run of the season and 5 rbi's along with a stolen base and a run scored. With the 3 hits it raises Darnell's average to a team high .343 on the young season. I have said it over and over but Darnell is a very good minor league player who probably won't ever make an impact at the major league level but has a good career at the minor league level. I really believe Darnell can keep it up and lead the Red Wings attack.
• Glen Perkins was pretty good last night going 5.1innings and only giving up 2 runs on 2 hits for the game. The only bad thing is he walked 4 batters and needed 101 pitches to get through 5.1 innings. Glen probably has the best stuff on the Red Wings staff and if he could get his control down he would be a good pitcher, but right now he struggles throwing strikes. Just look at his last start he went a complete game shutout when he only walked 1 batter. He has walked 19 batters in only 33 innings on the season so throwing strikes is going to be the big deal going forward.
• Mariano Gomez pitched 1.2 innings in relief of Perkins to put out the fire and allow the Red Wings to get the win.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with the Mud Hens in Toledo. Gametime is at 6pm with Kevin Mulvey getting the start for the Red Wings

New Britain Business

New Britain 12 New Hampshire 6

New Britain 14-12 2.5 games back

• POG:David Winfree- David had another good run production game going 1-4 with his 5th homerun of the year, a grandslam, that brought his rbi total up to 22 on the season which is 2nd on the team. David has been hit and miss and his average is not very good at .220 but he has found ways to get people in when the Rock Cats has needed it which is the most important thing. I want to see David get that average up and keep the run production where it is .
• Anthony Swarzak really struggled pitching giving up 5 runs on 7 hits in only 4 innings of work to raise his ERA to 3.3o on the season. Im not too worried about this start the way he pitched early on u knew he would come to earth a little bit. I look for him to come back next time and pitch a good game for the Rock Cats.
• Luke Hughes went 1-5 with his 22nd rbi of the game and a run scored. With the 1 hit it is an even 40 on the young season. He just amazes me with the way he has swung the bat this season and look for him to keep it going.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats continue their series with New Hampshire in New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35 with Jay Rainville getting the start as New Britain trys to extend their winning streak to 5 games.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 11 Clearwater 10

Fort Myers 17-11 First Place

• POG:Eddie Ovalle- Eddie had a awesome game going 4-5 with his 1st homerun of the season and his 7th and 8th rbi's of the year. With the 4 hits it raises his average to .284 on the season. Eddie has been really solid so far and seems to be getting better and better with the more playing time. I look for Eddie to continue his offensive surge and be a force in the middle of the lineup for the Miracle.
• Danny Valencia continued his recent trend of good run production driving in 2 runs to bring his total up to a team high 25 on the season.
• Deolis Guerra had another rough start going only 3.1 innings and giving up 4 runs on 6 hits for the Miracle. I am not worried about Deolis he just needs to find his location a little bit more and he will be back to the dominating pitcher that they saw the first 3 weeks of the season.
• Tonight, The Miracle begin a series with Daytona in Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 with Tyler Robertson getting the start for the first place Miracle as they try to extend their winning streak to 5 games.

Beloit Beat

Great Lakes 2 Beloit 1

Beloit 11-18 10.0 games back

• POG: Micheal Tarsi- Micheal had another outstanding start throwing a complete game his 3rd of the season. He went 8 innings and gave up only 2 runs on 5 hits to lower his Era to 6.75 on the season. In his last 3 starts he has came back to being the prospect the Twins thought they had in him. In those 3 starts he had a minischule 1.64 era and could of won every one of those games. Micheal is back to being the prospect they thought they had and being the best pitcher for the Snappers.
• Chris Parmalee continued his run production driving in another run to bring his total up to 20 on the season. He also had a hit to bring his average up to .253 on the season. Chris had a terrible slump but it appears slowly by slowly he is coming out of it and being the big bopper that the Snappers need.
• Danny Lehman had a team high 2 hits to bring his average up to .359 on the season in limited playing time. I would really like to see them give Danny more playing time becuase every time he is in the game he produces.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with the Loons in Great Lakes. Gametime is at 6:05 with Daniel Berlind getting the start for the Snappers.

top 10 prospects

from now until the end of the season i am going to update who i think is my top 10 prospects every month because things can change in a hurry.


1. Deolis Guerra P Fort Myers (1)
2. Anthony Swarzak P New Britain (5)
3. Tyler Robertson P Fort Myers (3)
4.Kevin Mulvey P Rochester (4)
5.Luke Hughes 3b New Britain (-)
6.Trevor Plouffe SS New Britain (9)
7.Jeff Manship P Fort Myers (8)
8.Ben Revere Cf Beloit (6)
9. Danny Valencia 3b Fort Myers (-)
10.Anthony Slama P Fort Myers (-)

added:Luke Hughes, Danny Valencia, Anthony Slama
dropped: Carlos Gomez, Alexi Casilla, Philip Humber

thats my top ten i welcome your comments on how you would of done it differently and what you think of the top 10

Rochester Red Wings

In part 2 of my series on the Twins organization for the month of April i will be looking at the Rochester Red Wings. Rochester went 13-14 for the month of April and did some good things and some things they need to work on.

• Starting Pitching: The starting pitching has been as good as advertised leading the international league in team era with a 2.95 era. They were led by starters Brian Duensing who was 2-3 with a 2.75era and Kevin Mulvey who was 2-2 3.21era. The only negatives in the starting starting staff were Glen Perkins who walked 15 batters in only 28 innings of play and Philip Humber who has a 5.63 era and was recently sent to the bullpen. Overall the Starting pitching has been very good and should continue to be good the wildcard is Francisco Liriano as he trys to recover from Tommy John surgery and if he can get it going it will be a short stay for Rochester. Grade:B+

• Relief Pitching: The relief pitching has been very good also with a bullpen era of 2.78 as a team led by Bobby Korecky before he got recalled by the Twins and now Tim Lahey they have only given up 27 runs in 94 innings. The only disappointment has been Julio Depaula who has walked 12 batters in only 15 innings so far. They will be helped out by the imminent return of Korecky and the good left handed work of Gomez and Barrett. The bullpen of Rochester is something i have been really happy with and probably the strength of the team along with the starting staff. Grade:A-

• Hitting: This has been terrible this year there has been maybe 2 or 3 hitters that have actually done what you expected them to do and thats the problem with journeymen minor leaguers their in the minors for a reason. On the good side of things after a slow start Jason Pridie really did some good things hitting .311 for the month with 13rbi's and Darnell Mcdonald when he came off the DL was really good hitting .318 with 14rbi's. The disappointments are many but the biggest one was Jose Morales who many thought, myself include, was still a good prospect and he's only hitting .234 with only 5rbi's he needs to do better than that. Also Randy Ruiz had a good spring training and since then he has done nothing for Rochester hitting only .266 with 1hr. I guess i shouldnt be surprised in him because he is a journeyman but i was expecting more. Overall it was terrible hitting by the Red Wings only averaging 4.1 runs a game. I know the pitching has been good but they need to do better than that because it puts too much pressure on the pitching. Grade:D-

• Defense: Now this has been the ugly part of the team with 29 errors in only 27 games this far. Nobody has been spared from committing errors the worst have been Matt Macri with 8 and Alexi Casilla with 5. There is no excuse not to make the plays defensively because if any of them think they are going to make it to the majors they need to fix this or they won't make it guarantee. With the Twins you can by with not hitting much or not being too fast but you can't survive with making errors. Hopefully, its just an anomaly and will even out but right now its bad. Grade: F-

• Baserunning: The Red Wings have been decent running the bases with 22 stolen bases in 27 April games. They have alot of speed and have taken advantage of it led by Jason Pridie's 9 sb and Denard Span's 5. I think they should be running more with the speed they have. They are in most games so they have the ability to steal bases so they should steal 2 to 3 bases a game. Grade C

• Overall- The Red Wings have done some good things and some things that they need to work on to contend for a division title. They have pitched really good and need to continue that, but if they dont hit better it won't matter how good they pitch. I think they have some talented players but i would like to see them jettison the journeymen and give real prospects a chance to see what they can do at a higher level. Grade C

• Player of the Month: Jason Pridie- Jason got off to a really slow start but as the month went on he got better and better. For the Month Jason hit .311 with an obp of .443 which is really good. He hit 1 hr with 13 rbi's and stole 9 bases for the Red Wings. He was really solid for the month and the interesting thing is to see if he can keep it up for a whole season.

• Pitcher of the Month: Brian Duensing- Brian doesn't get the pub that the rest of the pitchers get but he is the most consistant. Brian went 2-3 with a 2.75era in 36 innings. He walked 6 and struck out 20. Brian is going to keep you in the game pretty much every start and give up 2 or 3 runs and you won't notice it until after the game. He has developed into the leader of the staff and i think will continue to give the Red Wings a chance to win.

Friday, May 2nd

Twins Talk
Minnesota 13-14 1.5 games back

• The Twins had yesterday off and begin a 3 game weekend series with Detroit at the Metrodome. Gametime is at 7:10pm with Livan Hernandez getting the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Toledo 5 Rochester 1

Rochester 13-15 5.5 games back

• POG:Darnell Mcdonald- Darnell continued his strong start to the season going 2-4 in a game the Red Wings only were able to get 4 hits on the game. With the 2 hits Darnell raised his average to .318 on the season. Darnell has become the most consistant hitter on the Red Wings team and will be the key if the Red Wings are able to turn it aroung offensively.
• Kevin Slowey made a rehab start and was very good going 5 innings and only giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. I think he is ready but i think he will make one more start on short rest so that he is ready to make the start on may 10th. He is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday for Rochester and i think he will make that start and only throw 40-50 pitches so that he can come back on Saturday for the Twins. I am amazed how much he dominates in the minor leagues. In 13 innings in the minor leagues he has only given up 3 runs in 3 minor league starts. I look for big things ahead for Kevin and look forward to seeing him up with the Twins.
• Philip Humber continued his struggles giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in just 2/3 of an inning last night. Philip's ERA rose to 5.63 on the season and you have to hope that he can break out of this because honestly he has not been very good this season.
• Tonight, the Rochester continues their series with the Mud Hens in Toledo. Gametime is at 6pm with Glen Perkins getting the start for the Red Wings.

New Britain Business

New Britain 7 Binghamton 4

New Britain 13-12 3.5 games back

• POG:Luke Hughes- If you thought Luke Hughes was just a 1 month wonder well you were dead wrong. Luke went 4-5 with a triple and his 9th homerun of the year along with an rbi and 4 runs scored. With the 4 hits it raised Luke's average to a crazy .375 on the season and has 39 hits already wow! I really did not see thing coming but sometimes the light just comes on for players. It would be easy if you could say with certainty that this player is going to be good and this one won't but it is an inexact science it depends on how hard the player is going to work to get better so hopefully Luke can continue this all year long.
• Ryan Mullins got his 2nd win of the year even though he wasn't exactly sharp, but a win is a win. Ryan went 5.1 innings and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits while walking 5 batters and striking out 3. It was not a terrible start just not the type of start we are used to seeing out of Ryan.
• With the win last night they were able to sweep a 3 game series with Binghamton to bring themselves within 3.5 games of first
• Tonight, New Britain begins a 3 game series with last place New Hampshire in New Hampshire. Gametime is at 5:35pm with Phenom Anthony Swarzak getting the start for the Rock Cats.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 11 Clearwater 6

Fort Myers 16-11 First Place

• POG:Danny Valencia- Danny continued his steady excellence last night going 2-4 with 2 doubles and walk and 4 rbi's to bring his rbi total up to 23 on the season. With the 2 hits Danny brought his average up to .295 on the season. Danny went through a rough spot midway through the month but has been the most consistant hitter on the team and continues to be a good run producer getting 23 rbi's in only 27 games.
• Jeff Manship was stellar again for the Miracle going 6.1 innings and only giving up 2 runs on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 6 to lower his era to 3.27. Jeff improved his record to 4-0 on the season. Jeff has been really good this year and probably been the best pitcher this year on a great staff.
• Danny Hernandez really struggled last night facing 3 batters and giving up 2 hits and a walk and 2 of them ended up scoring. With the bad outing his era is 13.50 on the year and momma said there would be days like this. Danny will come out next time and will get the job done he just had a bad night.
• Today, the Miracle finish their series with Clearwater as the Miracle go for the sweep. Gametime is 9:35am with phenom Deolis Guerra getting the start trying to rebound from his last start.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 5 Great Lakes 2 Final 10 innings

Beloit 11-16 9.0 games back

• POG:Chris Parmalee- Chris continues his rebound from his 2-32 slump with a 3-4 night with a walk and an rbi with a run scored. Chris raised his average to .250 with the 3 hits last night. Chris is the difference in the Snappers offense and when he hits good they normally win and when he doesn't its hard for the Snappers to win much. I think he has alot of talent and i have alot of hope for him, but he is going to have to get the job done if he wants to keep moving.
• David Bromberg was excellent going 6 innings and only gave up a run on 2 hits while walking 3 and striking out 9. With the good outing it dropped David's era to 5.70 on the season. David is the key to the Snappers pitching staff he is the most talented and alot is expected out to him and so far he hasn't lived up to it so it will be interesting to see how he does from here.
• Ben Revere had another solid game going 1-4 with a rbi to bring his average down to .333 on the season.
• Tonight the Snappers try to continue their 3 game winning streak with game 2 of their series with Great Lakes. Gametime is at 6:05 with Micheal Tarsi getting the start for the Snappers.

Minnesota Twins

Over the next few days i am going to break down the month of the teams with different categories and letter grades and the pitcher and hitter of the month and im going to start with the Twins.

Starting Pitching: The Twins starting pitching has been a pleasant surprise this year compiling a 4.41 starters ERA led by rookie Nick Blackburn who had a 3.52 era followed by Boof Bonser at 3.75, then Scott Baker at 4.50 and then Livan Hernandez at 5.04. If you take away the bad 4 starts that Francisco Liriano and Kevin Slowey made it would be alot lower. Grade: B

Relief Pitching: The Twins relief pitching has had its up and downs most notably the 2 games in Detroit that we let get away. Dennys Reyes has been really good this year and Pat Neshek has come back after a couple bad outings to put up solid numbers. Jesse Crain has been solid and the important thing is he has got his velocity back. Joe Nathan has been awesome at the end just like you expected.

Grade: B-

Hitting: The good thing is they have hit good for average and the bad thing is they have only hit 14 Hr's on the year. Justin Mourneau has been what you expected hitting 6 hr and driving in 22 to be among the league leaders. Carlos Gomez has been the sparkplug we expected and Joe Mauer has been good as usual. Because of the lack of power we have not scored as many runs only scoring 3.8 runs a game which makes it harder on the pitching. Grade:D+

Fielding: The Twins have been really good defensively being in league leaders in fewest errors. Our outfield defense has been superb led by Carlos Gomez running down everything in sight and good arms all over the outfield. As long as Gardy is the manager the Twins will always emphasize defense so it will be always good. Grade:A-

Baserunning: This is the strength of the team as their is speed at pretty much every position on the team. Led by Carlos Gomez who had 11 stolen bases and Delmon Young's 6 the Twins have 27 stoled bases so far and its a real weapon for the team. Grade:A

Overall: The Twins had a decent month going 13-14 and doing alot of good things and the big thing is they didn't get blown away out of the gate. The Twins need to hit better if they want to contend all year round. The pitching will keep us in most games but the hitters are going to have to pick it up if the Twins want to be contending come August.

Grade: C

Pitcher of the Month: Nick Blackburn- Nick has been a big surprise for the Twins going 2-1 and a 3.52ERA in 6starts. I was not big on him going into the season but he has really impressed me this year pinpointed his fastball and placing his curveball and slider. The only thing that concerns me is he doesn't strike out alot of batters striking out only 19 batters in 38 innings. You would like him to miss some bats because it makes it so much harder on his defense everyone has to be perfect to get hitters out, but im knitpicking Nick has had a good month and if he can continue it he will be with the Twins for a long time.

Hitter of the Month: Justin Mourneau- Justin has done what we all expected him to do after signing his new 80million 6 year deal and he has delivered. Justin hit .268 with 6hr's and 22 rbi's with a .495 slugging percentage and a .840 OPS. The only thing that i can find wrong is his average is a little low and that is probably because he has been swinging at some bad pitches, but all in all it was a good month for Justin and i expect that can of production every month for the Twins.

Thursday, May 1st

Twins Talk



Minnesota 4 Chicago 3

Minnesota 13-14 1.5 games back

• POG:Carlos Gomez- Its pretty obvious when Carlos has a good game the Twins are hard to beat thats why they keep running him out there. You just wish he was a little more consistant but yesterday was a good day. Carlos went 3-4 with an rbi,2runs scored and a stolen base to raise his total to 11 on the year. Carlos' 3 hits brought his season average to .265 after the first month. I have been a big Gomez supporter all year and watching that Texas series you can tell the difference when he is not in the lineup. I counted 3 or 4 balls that Gomez would of caught that fell in and 3 runs in the 2 games that would not of scored had he been in. So I think people need to just be patient with him because he brings so much to the plate that he is worth the down things about him like the strikeouts and lack of walks.


• Nick Blackburn said after the game that he didn't have his good stuff and if thats the case thats a good sign because I thought he pitched pretty good. Nick pitched 7 innings and only gave up 8 hits and 3 runs against that offense to lower his ERA to 3.52 on the season.


• The Twins bullpen blew away Chicago in 2 innings they gave up 1 hit and struck 4 batters to get the win. I know they have had a couple bad games but i think our bullpen has come around and is a strength once again.


• The Twins have today off and begin a series with Detroit Friday night at the Metrodome.

Rochester Wrap

Pawtucket 4 Rochester 2

Rochester 13-14 5.0 games back

• POG:Jason Pridie- Jason continued his resurgence going 2-4 bringing his team high average to .311 on the season. Jason has been one of the most consistant hitters for the Red Wings this season and it probably won't be too long before Jason trades his Red Wings uniform for a Twins one if he keeps it up.


• Francisco Liriano continued his struggles with finding the plate walking 5 in only 4.1 innings of work. He keeps making baby steps so i am not worried about him YET, but eventually you would like to see some improvement. Its not that he got hit, which he did, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits. The problem is he keeps getting behind 2-0 and 3-1 counts which makes him throw a cookie and hope they dont hit it. I think he will be fine but you should keep an eye on him.


• The Red Wings bullpen continued to succeed going 4.2 innings and only giving up 4 hits and no runs to keep the Red Wings in the game.


• Tonight, the Red Wings begin a series in Toledo with the Mud Hens in Toledo. Gametime is at 5:30pm with Kevin Slowey making a rehab start for the Red Wings.

New Britain Business

New Britain 11 Binghamton 2

New Britain 12-12 5.0 games back

• POG:Steve Tolleson- Steve needed a game like this going 4-5 with 2rbi's and 2 runs scored to pace the Rock Cats. With the 4 hits it raised Steve's average to .257 on the young season. Steve has struggled through most of the first month and he's too good of a hitter to be hitting as low as he has been so hopefully its the beginning of something good.


• Yohan Pino got his first win of the year going 5 innings and only giving up 2 runs on 7 hits to get the win. Yohan has been the surprise for the Rock Cats staff in 25 innings so far this season and only given up 5 runs for a 1.80ERA.


• Luke Hughes continues his awesome month going 2-5 with 3 rbi's and 2 runs scored to bring his team high average to .354 and bringing his rbi's up to 18 on the season. Luke has been awesome and won't be in New Britain much longer if he keeps it up.


• Tonight, the Rock Cats finish their series with Binghamton and go for the sweep. Gametime is at 5:35 with Ryan Mullins getting the start for the Rock Cats.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 4 Clearwater 2

Fort Myers 15-11 First Place

• POG:Cole Devries- Cole had a strong outing going 5.2 innings and only giving up 2 runs on 7 hits for the Miracle. It was his 2nd win of the year and probably his best start of the year to lower his ERA to 5.08. Nobody will deny that Cole has underperfomed this season, but it was a start that gives everyone hope that Cole can turn it around and become the pitcher the Twins organization thinks he can become.
• Wilson Ramos had a good game with a 3 run triple in the bottom of the 1st inning to give the Miracle all the runs that they would need to get the win. With the 3rbi's it gave him 13 rbi's for the season. Wilson has had a slow start with only a .211 batting average, but if he can keep the run production up it gives you hope that he can turn it around.
• Anthony Slama was electric once again going the last 2 innings to pick up his 4th save of the season and striking out 4 batters to bring his season total to 19 on the season. He is the most dominant reliever in the Twins minor league system if you ask me and hopefully he can keep it coming.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater in Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 with Jeff Manship getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 4 South Bend 2

Beloit 10-16 9.5 games back

• POG:Ben Revere- Ben went 2-4 and drove in 2 runs to spark the Snappers attack on the game. He also stole his first base of the year in the win. In 3 games Ben is hitting .364 and has shown good discipline at the plate and when his pitch comes up he hasn't missed it so far. Its a long season but the Twins have to be encouraged how he has adjusted so far and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to his first slump, my guess is he will be just fine and is someone to watch.
• Another bright spot was the Pitching performance of rookie Santiago Arias who went 6 shutout innings and only giving up 2 hits while striking out 5 batters. It will be interesting how he does when scouting reports come out, but honestly it was a pretty impressive start for the Snappers.
• Chris Parmalee went 1-3 on the day as he struggles to come out of a 2-32 slump that has seen his average dip from .365 to .222.
• Tonight, the Snappers begin a series with the Dodgers in Great Lakes. Gametime is at 6:05 with David Bromberg getting the start for Beloit.

Wednesday, April 30th

Twins Talk

Minnesota 3 Chicago 1
Minnesota 12-14 2.5 games back

• POG:Boof Bonser- Boof was the best i have seen him in a very long time last night going 7 innings and only giving up a solo Hr to Joe Crede in the 7th and only giving up 6 hits on the night. Boof only walked 1 while striking out 8 White Sox batters. The thing that really impressed me was the curveball he had last night it had really good bite and he could throw it for a strike something he normally can't do. With the good start it lowered Boof's ERA to 3.75 on the season.
• Jason Kubel continues to impress me with a 2 run Hr in the 4th inning to give Boof Bonser all the room he would need. Jason has had a good April hitting his 4th Hr of the month and has 16rbi's this month. I really didn't see it happening I really thought Jason was a bust going into the year and now i have more confidence in him than alot of other players hopefully he can keep it up.
• The Twins offense is so much better with Michael Cuddyer in the lineup then without him. I think he watches to many pitches,but when he is in the lineup there is that threat that we were missing when he was out.
• Today, the Twins finish up their short 2 game series with the Sox at the Metrodome. Gametime is at 12:10 with Nick Blackburn getting the start for the Twins vs Nick Massat of the Sox

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 9 Pawtucket 3

Rochester 13-13 4.5 games back

• POG: Darnell Mcdonald- Darnell continues his strong start going 3-5 with 3rbi's and 2 runs scored to raise his average to a team high .328. Like i said yesterday he is not a prospect, but he is a very good minor league player and like I said every organization needs players like that because every team wants to win and Rochester is no different. With the 3 rbi's it brings his total up to 13 on the season which is 2nd on the team and thats even more amazing considering he started the season on the DL.
• Brian Duensing had a dreadful 1st inning giving up 3 runs on 3 hits. After that he showed why he is a good pitcher by shutting the door for the rest of his outing. Brian went 6 innings and gave up just those 3 runs on 7 hits to bring his ERA to 2.75 on the season. Alot of pitchers would of fell apart after the early runs but that shows you how much grit he has to come back and put zeros on the board.
• Philip Humber pitched a scoreless inning to get the win for the Red Wings. With Liriano and Slowey getting a few starts the logical thing is for Humber to spend some time in the bullpen.
• Today, the Red Wings finish up their homestand with Pawtucket. Gametime is at 11:05am as its getaway day with Francisco Liriano getting the start for the Red Wings. It will be interesting to see how Liriano responds to being back in the minors.

New Britain Business

New Britain 7 Binghamton 1

New Britain 11-12 5.5 games back

• POG:Matt Moses- Matt came out of a bit of a slump going 3-5 with a double and an rbi for the Rock Cats. With the 3 hits Matt raised his average to .282 on the season. Matt is a guy that Twins scouts are looking for to break out because there are alot of people in the organization that are very high on him and are hoping that he can get his swing going and make it. He is definatly someone you should keep your eye on to see how he adjusts to being in the outfield now. Moving to the outfield helped Michael Cuddyer because he didnt have to think so much so hopefully it works for Matt Moses.
• Oswaldo Sosa had probably his best start of the year going 5 innings and only giving up a run on 2 hits for the Rock Cats. With the good start it lowered his ERA to 5.75 and gave hime his first win of the year. Hopefully, Oswaldo can find his rythm now and keep it going.
• Brock Peterson continued his strong production month by getting 2 more rbi's to bring his monthly total up to 20. I will take that every month out of him and if he does that he won't be with New Britain very long.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats continue with game 2 of their 3 game series with Binghamton. Gametime is at 5:35 with Yohan Pino getting the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Musings

• The Miracle had the day off yesterday and start a series with Clearwater tonight. Gametime is at 6pm with Alex Burnett getting the start for the first place Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 3 South Bend 2 Final 10 innings

Beloit 9-16 9.5 games back

• POG:Ben Revere- I could pick other players for this, but yesterday was a big day for Ben as he went 2-4 for his first hits for the Snappers in his first full professional year. Ben has alot expected out of him so it will be interesting to see how he fulfills expectations for the Snappers and the Twins organization.
• Danny Lehman has not gotten alot of playing time, but he made the most out of it last night going 3-4 with an rbi and a run scored. Makes you wonder if maybe that will be the sign of more playing time for Lehman.
• Steven Hirschfeld was solid in his first start in a while going 5 innings and only giving up 1 run while scattering 7 hits. If he can continue that he will get many more starts for the Snappers as they struggled to get consistant strong starting pitching.
• Today, the Snappers finish their series with South Bend before going on the road. Gametime is a early 11am start with new Snapper Santos Arias getting the start for the Snappers.

Tuesday, April 29th

Twins Talks
11-14 3.5 games back

• The Twins had a much needed day off and begin a short 2 game series with the Chicago White Sox in Minneapolis tonight. Gametime is at 7:11pm with Boof Bonser getting the start against Gavin Floyd.

Rochester Wrap

Pawtucket 8 Rochester 6

Rochester 12-13 4.5 games back

• POG:Jason Pridie- Jason continued his hot streak going 3-5 on the night with a run scored for the Red Wings. With the 3 hits it raised Jason's average to .295 on the season. He got off to a slow start but has gotten a hit in 13 of his last 14 games. In his last 10 games he is hitting .311 with a homer and 6rbi's. I have to admit i was not sold on him when we got him and was really not sold on him when he got off to a slow start but he has shown he belongs and might have a spot with the Twins before long.
• Kevin Mulvey had his first rough start of the year and man was it rough. He only lasted 4.2 innings and gave up 7 runs on 9 hits to raise his era to 3.21. I know it was a rough outing but im not worried he was bound to run into a bad game and lets see how he rebounds from it that is the key.
• Darnell Mcdonald continued his power surge with a grand slam and 4 rbi's to bring his totals up to 2hr and 10 rbi's. I know he doesnt have much of a major league future but he is a good minor leaguer that every minor league needs to have players like him.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Pawtucket in Rochester. Gametime is at 5:35pm with Brian Duensing getting the start for the Red Wings

New Britain Business

10-12 6.5 games back

• The Rock Cats had a day off yesterday and tonight they begin a series with the Mets in Binghamton. Gametime is at 5:35pm with Oswaldo Sosa getting the start for the Rock Cats.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 4 Lakeland 3

Fort Myers 14-11 First Place

• POG:Danny Valencia- Danny helped the Miracle break out of a 4 game losing streak and avoid a sweep at the hands of Lakeland. Danny went 2-4 at the plate including the 3 run double that tied the game as the Miracle came back from a 3-0 8th inning deficit to pull it out. With the 2 hits it raised his average to .284 and brought his rbi's up to 18 on the year. Danny was in a little bit of a slump but he came out of it in a big way to help the Miracle get a big win.
• Tyler Robertson was solid on the mound going 6 innings and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits to lower his era to 2.84 on the season.
• Toby Gardenhire was promoted to New Britain before the game to help out with injuries up there and i believe im not 100% sure on this but i think Daniel Berg was activated off the disabled list to take his spot.
• Tonight the Miracle begin a series with Clearwater in Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6pm with Alex Burnett getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

South Bend 7 Beloit 1

Beloit 8-16 9.5 games back

• POG:Steve Singelton- In a game without alot of good things happening for the Snappers Steve's rbi triple was one of the few things that you can look at as a positive sign. With the triple his average is now at a good .368 and his rbi total is at 12. Steve is the most consistant player on this Snappers ballclub you know every game out he is going to get a hit or 2 for you and play good defense.
• Brian Kirwan had his 1st rough outing of the year going 4.1 innings and giving up 5 earned runs on 8 hits to raise his era to 3.71. He has been the most consistant pitcher on the staff so hopefully he can rebound from this.
• The Snappers made some roster moves before the game and the biggest was promoting 2007 first round pick Ben Revere to the Snappers. Also being promoted was pitchers Santos Arias and Bradley Tippett. To make room for the players they put Deibinson Romero and Mike Mccardell on the disabled list and releasing relief pitcher Dominique Rodgers. It will be interesting to see how much Revere plays and how he does for the Snappers and see if he stays with the team or if it is a short term thing.
• Tonight the Snappers continue their series with South Bend in Beloit. Gametime is at 6:35 with Steven Hirschfeld joining the rotation to take the place of Mccardell who is on the disabled list.

top 10 prospects stats

we are nearing the end of the month of april and when we do i am going to do a series on the pitchers and hitters of the month at every level. But for today i am going to go back to who my top 10 twins prospects were and how they are doing this season so far hope you enjoy.

1. Deolis Guerra- P Fort Myers 2-1 3.75 ERA 4 starts 24inn 25 hits 10earned runs 10bb 19strikeouts whip1.38
2. Carlos Gomez- CF Twins 22games .255 1hr 6rbi 10sb 5 2b 1 3b 34tb 2bb 24k's .271obp, .633ops, 1error
3. Tyler Robertson- P Fort Myers 0-1 2.79ERA 4starts 19.1innings 22hits 6earned runs 9bb 21strikeouts whip 1.60
4. Kevin Mulvey- P Rochester 2-1 1.16ERA 4starts 23.1inn 20hits 3earned runs 7bb 25strikeouts whip 1.16
5. Anthony Swarzak P New Britain-2-0 2.08ERA 5starts 26innings 22hits 6earned runs 4bb 29strikeouts whip 1.00
6. Ben Revere- playing in extended spring training don't have any stats for that will start in Elizabethton i believe in June
7. Alexi Casilla SS Rochester- 21games .176 2rbi's 3sb 3doubles 15tb 13walks 16k's .321 obp, .542 ops, 5errors
8. Jeff Manship P Fort Myers- 3-0 3.38ERA 5starts 26.2innings 25hits 10earned runs 10bb 23strikeouts whip 1.31
9. Trevor Plouffe SS New Britain- 19games .272 1hr 9rbi 3doubles 2triples 32tb 3bb 22k's,sb, .314obp, .709ops
10. Philip Humber P Rochester- 0-3 5.24ERA 5starts 22.1inn 29hits 13earned runs 11bb, 12strikeouts

As you can see there were some good months and some not so good months so the ones struggling can turn it around.

Monday, April 28th

Twins Territory
Texas 10 Minnesota 0
Minnesota 11-14 3.5 games back

• POG:Brendan Harris- Brendan continued his strong start for the Twins going 2-2 for the day and 6-12 for the series to raise his average to a team high .309 for the season. Brendan has shown that last year was not a fluke and that he belongs at the major league level as a starter.
• Livan Hernandez was awful yesterday only going 2.2 innings and giving up 7 runs on 9 hits against a good Texas lineup. That is 2 bad starts in a row for Livan so hopefully he can rebound but i am not counting on it because he is what he is and you know what your getting when you sign a guy like Livan Hernandez.
• Mike Lamb got 1 hit to raise his average to .219 i know its not very good but its small steps because the Twins need him to hit or it will be a long year so hopefully he can keep it going.
• Today the Twins have a much needed day off today before they take on the first place Chicago White Sox.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 5 Leigh Valley 1

Rochester 12-12 4.5 games back

• POG:Chris Basak- Chris hit a tie breaker 2 run homerun in the 7th inning to allow the Red Wings to get their 2nd straight win and 4th in 5 games. Chris went 1-4 with 2 rbi's and a run scored. It wasn't a huge game but his homerun was huge for the Red Wings because Leigh Valley had just tied the game in the bottom of the 6th and get the lead back was huge for the Red Wings.
• Heath Totten probably made his last start for the Red Wings with the additions of Francisco Liriano and Kevin Slowey to the Red Wings pitching staff. But he was solid going the first 3 innings and only giving up 3 hits while striking out 2. I think he will be a strong addition to the Red Wings bullpen and has exceeded my expectations for him so far.
• Tim Lahey pitched the last 2 innings to pick up his first save of the year for the Red Wings. He didn't give up a hit while striking out a batter. Tim will probably get the majority of the save opprotunity's while Bobby Korecky is with the Twins so look for him to continue to pitch good for the Red Wings.
• Tonight the Red Wings begin a series with the Pawtucket Red Sox in Rochester. Gametime is at 5:35 with Kevin Mulvey getting the start for the Red Wings.

New Britain Business

Trenton 7 New Britain 5

New Britain 10-12 6.5 games back

• POG: David Winfree- David had a really solid game going 2-4 with his 4th Homerun of the year. With the Homerun he had 2rbi's and 2 runs scored on the day. With the 2 hits it raised David's average to .219. The Twins need David to keep improving because if you can find someone who can hit it out of the park you have to keep him in the system, but he needs to improve that average if he wants to stay in the Twins organization.
• Jay Rainville struggled again yesterday only going 4 innings and giving up 6 runs on 9 hits for the Rock Cats. That is 2 bad starts in a row I don't know if there is anything wrong with him or not all i know is he needs to pitch better. Going into the year there were alot of people high on him and the last 2 starts are not going to get it done so hopefully he can turn it around.
• Luke Hughes had another stellar game for the Rock Cats going 2-5 with his 8th homerun of the year and raising his team high average to .356. He has been the surprise player of the month in the entire Twins organization so hopefully he can keep it going.
• Today the Rock Cats have the day off before they begin a series with the Mets in Binghamton Tuesday.

Fort Myers Musings

Lakeland 8 Fort Myers 3

Fort Myers 13-11 1.0games back

• POG:Toby Gardenhire- Toby had another solid day at the plate going 2-4 on the day to raise his average to .333 in limited duty. Toby has been very good offensively and as a backup player whenever his number is called he has come in and produced. Im sure his Dad is very proud.
• Deolis Guerra had his first rough start of the year going 5 innings and giving up 7 earned runs on 9 hits to raise his era to 3.75. Im not too worried about him because its hard to keep up the performance he was doing before becuase he was awesome so 1 bad start doesn't bother me lets just hope he rebounds next time.
• The Miracle need to get off the shnide as they have lost 4 straight games to go from 13-7 to 13-11 and from first place to 2nd place.
• Tonight the Miracle finish their series with Lakeland in Lakeland. Phenom Tyler Robertson gets the start for the Miracle trying to break that losing streak gametime is at 6pm.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 5 Wisconsin 3

Beloit 8-15 8.5 games back

• POG:Chris Parmalee- Chris broke out of a 1-22 streak with a grand slam in the 6th inning to put the Snappers on top. Chris is still 2-26 which is only a .077 average. So hopefully that Homerun was the start of something good for him. With the homerun it was his 5th of the year and his 18th rbi's for the year.
• Daniel Berlind had a solid start going 5 innings and giving up 2 runs on 4 hits to pick up his first win of the year. Daniel lowered his era to 5.40 on the year for the Snappers. The Snappers count on Daniel to bring innings and keep the hitters in the game so hopefully he can keep it coming.
• The Snappers bullpen who i think is the strength of the team went the last 4 innings and only gave up 3 hits, an unearned run and struck out 8 batters for the Snappers.
• Tonight the Snappers begin a series with South Bend in Beloit. Gametime is at 6:35pm with Brian Kirwan getting the start for the Snappers.

Vikings Draft

The Vikings just finished their 2008 Draft and came away with 5 good players and 6 if you want Jared Allen who they acquired in a trade before the Draft for our 1st round pick and both our 3's.



2nd Round

• Tyrell Johnson S Arkansas St- The Vikings gave up their 4th round pick to Philadelphia to move up 4 spots in the 2nd round to select Johnson. In alot of mock drafts i saw him getting a 1st round grade and Darren Sharper is not getting any younger. I see him taking over in a year or 2 and bringing everything a Safety in the Cover 2 needs to bring. He can get deep to stop the deep pass and can move up in the box and help out against the run. The thing that brought him up was at the combine he ran a 4.4 40yard dash. He was the sunbelt defensive player of the year and i think he is learning from a pro and will be an outstanding safety in a few years.

5th Round

• pick 137 John David Booty- The Vikings had to trade up with Green Bay to get the quarterback they wanted and had to surrender their 7th round pick to get him. I am very high on Booty because he is perfect for the Vikings because he is a very accurate passer and ran a similiar offense at USC. What i really like about him is he is used to big game situations and is a coaches son so they knows hard work. If you can handle the pressure of being the QB at USC i think you can handle everything. Maybe not next year but in 09 if Jackson doesn't work out i think Booty could be the starting QB for the Vikings and will be a good one.
• pick 152 Letroy Guion DT Florida St- This is a project for the Vikings he did not start alot of games in college, but he has the size the Vikings are looking for. Pat Williams is 34 years old and eventually you need to find a replacement for him and Letroy is a hit or miss prospect because alot of people are high on him and hopefully he can play with a chip on his shoulder and prove the Vikings right in using the pick on him.

6th Round

• pick 187 John Sullivan C Notre Dame- I really like this pick it is a developmental center who possibly could take over for Matt Birk. I would sign Birk to a short term contract to give John time to develop his body a little. He will be facing guys bigger than he ever faced before so he needs to gain some weight and go against the bigger nose guards a little bit better.
• pick 193 Jaymar Johnson WR Jackson St- I think this was a little bit of a reach since we already have some guys with return ability. I think he is too small to help out at the wide receiver position so really his only way he can help the team is to return kicks and punts but i think they had other spots they could of went with.

• Draft Grade A-
• I think they had a solid draft the only one i question is Jaymar Johnson but the rest filled depth questions and if you add Jared Allen it was a good weekend for the Vikings.

Sunday, April 27th

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 10 Leigh Valley 0

Rochester 11-12 5 games back

• POG: Glen Perkins- Glen had his first great start of the season last night throwing a complete game for the Redwings and only giving up 2 hits and walking 1 while striking out 7 on the night. Its the game we have been waiting for all year from Perkins becuase he is very talented and last night he finally showed what we have been expecting all year. Hopefully he can keep it up and if he can it really helps the Red Wings.


• Howie Clark hit his 1st homerun of the year and drove in 4 runs to pace the Red Wings 20 hit attack. Everyone had atleast 2 hits for the Red Wings. Hopefully, that is a start of things to come as the hitters got going.


• Denard Span made his return with a 2-5 game with a walk and a run scored and also a stolen base.


• Rochester finishes their series with the Iron Pigs today at Leigh Valley. Gametime is at 12:35 with Heath Totten getting the start for the Red Wings

New Britain Business

New Britain 7 Trenton 4 12innings

New Britain 10-11 5 games back

• POG:Steve Tolleson- Steve had a huge game for the Rock Cats going 3-6 with his 2nd Homerun of the year and 3rbi's with 2 runs scored. With the good game it raised Steves average to .230 on the year. Steve has gotten off to a slow start so hopefully this game will be a catalyst for Steve to put up the numbers he's capable of.


• Brandon Roberts got the game winning hit for the Rock Cats a rbi single to break the tie in the top of the 12th for the Rock Cats


• Anthony Swarzak rebounded after a rough 1st inning to go 6 innings and only gave up the 3 runs he gave up in the first. You knew he wasnt going to keep pitching like he was early on but he gave his team a chance to win and thats all you can ask for from a pitcher.


• Today the Rock Cats finish their series with the Thunder in Trenton. Gametime is at 12:05 with Jay Rainville getting the start as he tries to rebound after a terrible start his last time out.

Fort Myers Musings

Lakeland 3 Fort Myers 2

Fort Myers 13-10 First Place

• POG:Kevin Slowey- Kevin made his 2nd and final rehab start with the Miracle and went the first 5 and didnt give up a hit or run while walking 1 and striking out 5 for the miracle. It was only a pitstop for Kevin as he is on his way up to Twins with another pitstop in Rochester for a couple more starts, but he will be with the Twins before long.


• The Miracle were only able to muster 2 hits against a really good pitcher for Lakeland so there wasn't alot of good things to say about the Miracle hitters.


• Matthew Fox had a rough outing going 2 innings and giving up 3 runs in relief of Slowey. It was a surprise because Fox had been really solid for the Miracle before this game so hopefully he can shake it off.


• Today the Miracle continue their series with Lakeland in Lakeland. Phenom Deolis Guerra gets the start for the Miracle as they try to break a 3 game losing streak.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6-5 Wisconsin 3-0

Beloit 7-15 9.5 games back

• POG:Steven Singelton- Steve went 3-7 in the 2 games for the Snappers. With the 3 hits it raises his average to a team high .368 on the season. Steve is the most professional hitter the Snappers have on their team.
• The Snappers got some bad news with Deibinson Romero is going to miss 4-6 weeks with a torn Meniscious.
• More bad news with Pitcher Michael Mccardell who has been the most consistent pitchers the Snappers have had. He has bone chips in his elbow hopefully rest will help that get better. But like Seth says Johan Santana had bone chips before his first cy young. So hopefully he can come back healthy along with Romero.
• Today the Snappers finish their series with Wisconsin this afternoon in Wisconsin. Gametime is at 1:05 with Daniel Berlind getting the start for the Snappers.

Saturday, April 26th

Rochester Wrap
Leigh Valley 6 Rochester 2

Rochester 10-12 5.5 games back

• POG:Randy Ruiz- For the 2nd consecutive day Randy had a impact for the Red Wings. He was 1-4 with 2 more RBI's for Randy to bring his rbi total to up to 12 on the season. Hopefuly, he can keep it going because the Red Wings offense needs his bat in there for the Red Wings to continually get runs.
• Philip Humber struggled again on the mound only able to make it 4.2 innings and giving up 4 runs on 8 hits. I don't know what to say about this guy becuase he has too much talent to have a era in the 5's in AAA. He needs to look himself in the mirror and figure things out if he wants to make it with the Twins.
• The Twins sent down Francisco Liriano and Denard Span so that should help the Red Wings. The only bad thing is they lost closer Bobby Korecky so they will need to find a new person to close for the red wings.
• Tonight the Red Wings continue their series in Leigh Valley as the series moves to Leigh Valley. Gametime is at 6:05 with Glen Perkins getting the start.

New Britain Business

Trenton 8 New Britain 3

New Britain 9-11 5.5 games back

• POG: Luke Hughes- for the record 4th straight day Luke got the pog by going 1-4 with his 7th homerun and 3rd in 3 days and 2rbi's. With the game his average actually lowered to a team high .367. Luke continues to be the class of the Rock Cats and i find it hard to see him staying with New Britain for very much longer especially with Rochester continuing to struggle swinging the bat so it will be interesting.
• For the first time this year Ryan Mullins struggled getting his 2nd loss of the year only going 4 innings and giving up 5 runs and 7 hits to raise his era to 2.33. The tall lefty will be fine all good pitchers have days that are unforgettable and this is one for Ryan and he will be fine.
• I don't know why the Twins organization continue to put up with Danny Graves who was awful again going an inning and giving up 2runs on 3 hits. I just don't see why they keep him in the organization it is just a waste.
• Today the Rock Cats continue their series with Trenton in Trenton. Gametime is at noon today with phenom Anthony Swarzak getting the start for the Rock Cats.

Fort Myers Musings

Tampa 3 Fort Myers 2

Fort Myers 13-9 First Place

• POG: Jeff Manship- Jeff had his best start of the season last night going 7 innings and only giving up 3 hits and 1 run for the Miracle. Jeff is the leader of that great pitching staff and seems like when he is on he is tough to beat.
• The Miracle's defense left them in the late innings with late errors by Toby Gardenhire and Zach Day. Usually, the Miracle have good defense and i think it was an anomaly so we shouldnt worry about them except it cost them a win.
• Toby Gardenhire had a good night at the plate but im sure he wishes he could take back that error. But at the plate he went 3-4 to raise his average to .314. With games like that Toby will find more and more playing time.
• Tonight, the Miracle begin a series in Lakeland wiht the Flying Tigers. Gametime is at 5pm with Kevin Slowey making a rehab start for the Miracle. He is expected to throw about 70 pitches tonight before he moves onto Rochester.

Beloit Beat

• Last nights game with Wisconsin was rained out and will be made up with a double header today. The first game's starter pitcher is David Bromberg with gametime at 1pm. The second game's starter will be Michael Tarsi after the first game.

Mock Draft 11.0 final mock draft

1. Miami- Jake Long OT Michigan

2. St. Louis- Chris Long De Virginia

3. Atlanta- Glen Dorsey DT LSU

4. Oakland Darren Mcfadden RB Oakland

5. Kansas City- Derrick Harvey DE Florida

6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston DE Ohio St

7. New England- Sedrick Ellis DT USC

8. Baltimore- Matt Ryan QB Boston College

9. Cincinnatti- Keith Rivers LB USC

10. New Orleans- Mike Jenkins CB South Florida

11. Buffalo- Devin Thomas WR Michigan St

12. Denver- Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois

13. Carolina- Ryan Clady OT Boise St

14. Chicago- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh

15. Detroit- Leodis Mcklevin CB Troy

16. Arizona- Jonathon Stewart RB Oregon

17. Kansas City- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt

18. Houston- Dominique Rodgers Cromartie CB Tennessee St

19. Philadelphia- Jerod Mayo LB Tennessee

20. Tampa Bay- Aqib Talib CB Kansas

21. Washington- Phillip Merling DE Clemson

22. Dallas- Felix Jones RB Arkansas

23. Pittsburgh- Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina

24. Tennessee Titans- Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma

25. Seattle- James Hardy WR Indiana

26. Jacksonville- Calais Campbell DE Miami

27. San Diego- Gosder Cherlious OT Boston College

28. Dallas- Limas Sweed WR Texas

29. San Francisco- Desean Jackson WR California

30. Green Bay- Dan Conner LB Penn St

31. New England- Forfeited

32. New York Giants- Kenny Phillips S Miami

Mock Draft 10.0

1. Miami- Jake Long OT Michigan
2. St Louis- Chris Long DE Virginia
3. Atlanta- Glen Dorsey DT LSU
4. Oakland- Darren Mcfadden RB Arkansas
5. Kansas City- Derrick Harvey DE Florida
6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston DE Ohio St.
7. New England- Keith Rivers LB USC
8. Baltimore- Matt Ryan QB Boston College
9. Cincinnatti- Sedrick Ellis DT USC
10. New Orleans- Mike Jenkins CB South Florida
11. Buffalo- Devin Thomas WR Michigan St
12. Denver- Brandon Albert OT Virginia
13. Carolina- Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois
14. Chicago- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh
15. Detroit- Leodis Mcklevin CB Troy
16. Arizona- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Tennessee St
17. Kansas City- Ryan Clady OT Boise St
18. Houston- Jonathon Stewart RB Oregon
19. Philadelphia- Limas Sweed WR Texas
20. Tampa Bay- Aqib Talib CB Kansas
21. Washington- Phillip Merling DE Clemson
22. Dallas- Felix Jones RB Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh- Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina
24. Tennessee- James Hardy WR Indiana
25. Seattle- Desean Jackson WR California
26. Jacksonville- Calais Campbell DE Miami
27. San Diego- Gosder Cherlious OT Boston College
28. Dallas- Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
29. San Francisco- Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech
30. Green Bay- Jerod Mayo LB Tennessee
31. New England- Forfeited
32. New York Giants- Kenny Phillips S Miami

Friday, April 25th

Rochester Wrap
Rochester 8 Leigh Valley 2
Rochester 10-11 4.5 games back

• POG:Brian Duensing- Brian continued his revival with another solid start for the Red Wings. He went 7 innings and only gave up 1 run on 3 hits to lower his ERA to 2.40 on the year. His last 2 starts have been awesome in 12.2 innings Brian has only given up 2 earned runs and 7 hits. I don't understand why he doesn't get more press because i feel he is the ace of the Red Wings staff and is ready for a callup to the Twins. The only problem is the surplus of pitching but i really believe by the end of the year he will be in the major leagues either with the Twins or possibly some where else.
• Jose Morales continued his resurgence by going 3-4 with 2 Rbi's for the Red Wings. In his last 4 games Jose is 6-15 a .400 average with a homerun, 4rbi's and a run scored. Jose is getting back to being the offensive force the Red Wings knew that they had in him and someone you have to keep an eye on.
• Randy Ruiz had one of his first good games of the year going 2-3 with his first hr and 4 rbi's for the Red Wings. Randy like Jose Morales has to get it going for the Red Wings if they are going to contend in the International League and he can do it he has hit everywhere he has been so hopefully he can keep it up.
• Tonight, the Red Wings finish their series with Leigh Valley as they go for the sweep. Gametime is 6:05 with Philip Humber on the mound trying to get on track for the Red Wings.

New Britain Business

Trenton 2 New Britain 1

New Britain 9-10 4.5 games back

• POG: Yohan Pino- Yohan was the toughluck loser going 7 innings and only giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, but the Rock Cats hitters couldn't help him out so he took his first loss of the season. It is 3 consecutive quality starts for Yohan and he is turning out to be one of the best pitchers on the staff and a quality prospect the Twins need to look at.
• After being in such a groove offensively the Rock Cats ran into a buzzsaw in Trenton and were only able to scrape 1 run across on 7 hits. You know what they say good pitching always beats good hitting and every once in a while your going to have a night like that. Hopefully, the Rock Cat hitters can get back on track tonight.
• Only bright spots offensively were Dustin Martin who went 2-4 to raise his average to .358 and David Winfree who hit his 3rd homerun of the year to give the Rock Cats their only run of the ballgame.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats try to get back into the winning column as they play game 2 against Trenton. Gametime is at 6:05pm with Ryan Mullins getting the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Musings

Tampa 4 Fort Myers 2

Fort Myers 13-8 First Place

• POG: Cole Devries- Cole had his first quality outing in my opinion of the year going 5 solid innings and only giving up 2 earned runs and striking out 5. Cole is a hit and miss pitcher who has struggled so far this season. Hopefully, this start will get him going so that he can reach the potential we all want for him because he has a good arm he just hasn't shown it this year so far.
• It was a rough day at the plate for the Miracle only able to muster 6 hits on the game. But they have been hitting really well and theres no reason to think this will last longer than a day.
• On a positive note Rene Tosoni went 1-4 to raise his average to a team high .339 a point ahead of Brian Dinkelman. Should be fun to watch because those guys are going to be battling all year for the team batting lead.
• Tonight, the Miracle finish their series off with Tampa in Tampa. Gametime is at 6pm in Tampa with Jeff Manship getting the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Day off

Beloit 6-14 9.5 games back

• Beloit had the day off and begin a series with Wisconsin tonight. Gametime is at 6:35pm with David Bromberg getting the start for the Snappers

Mock Draft 9.0

1. Miami- Jake Long OT Michigan

2. St Louis- Glen Dorsey DT LSU

3. Atlanta- Matt Ryan QB Boston College

4. Oakland- Vernon Gholston DE Ohio St

5. Kansas City- Chris Long DE Virginia

6. New York Jets- Darren Mcfadden

7. New England- Brandon Albert OT Virginia

8. Baltimore- Sedrick Ellis DT USC

9. Cincinnatti- Ryan Clady OT Boise St

10. New Orleans- Keith Rivers LB USC

11. Buffalo- Devin Thomas WR Michigan St

12. Denver- Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois

13. Carolina- Derrick Harvey DE Florida

14. Chicago- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh

15. Detroit- Leodis Mcklevin CB Troy

16. Arizona- Mike Jenkins CB South Florida

17. Kansas City- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt

18. Houston- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Tennessee ST

19. Philadelphia- Kentawn Balmer DT North Carolina

20. Tampa bay- Aqib Talib CB Kansas

21. Washington- Phillip Merling DE Clemson

22. Dallas- Felix Jones RB Arkansas

23. Pittsburgh- Gosder Cherlious OT Boston College

24. Tennessee- James Hardy WR Indiana

25. Seattle- Desean Jackson WR California

26. Jacksonville- Jerod Mayo LB Tennessee

27. San Diego- Jonathon Stewart RB Oregon

28. Dallas- Limas Sweed WR Texas

29. San Francisco- Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma

30. Green Bay- Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech

31. New England- forfeited

32. New York Giants- Dan Conner LB Penn St

Thursday, April 24th

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 5 Leigh Valley 3
Rochester 9-11 4.5 games back

• POG: Jon Knott- Jon came out of his slump a little bit going 2-3 with his first Hr of the years as the Red Wings came back in the bottom of the 8th inning to get the win. Jon has really struggled this year hitting only .214 so he needs to get going with the bat because he is a much better hitter than that.
• Kevin Mulvey had a solid start again giving up 1 earned run in 5.2 innings for the Redwings. He was a little more wild walking 4 while striking out 5 batters, but overall he has been the most consistant starter for the Red Wings and probably the first one to get the call if something happens.
• The Red Wings continue their horrible defense with 3 more errors on the night. That is one reason that not many people will get promoted cause if you dont play defense you wont be in the majors.
• Rochester continues their series with Leigh Valley tonight at 5:35 gametime. Brian Duensing gets the start for the Red Wings.

New Britain Business

New Britain 15 Reading 6

New Britain 9-9 4.5 games back

• POG: For the 4th straight day i have to give it to Luke Hughes. Luke went 4-5 with his 5th and 6th homeruns and 5 rbi's and 2 runs scored to raise his average to .380 on the season. I have said it before but i think Rochester could use his bat in their lineup. With a player like him you need him to either sink or swim to see how big of a future he has for the Twins.
• The Rock Cats continued their offensive explosion by scoring 15 runs and 21 hits. In the last 2 games they have scored 22 runs and 35 hits.
• Oswaldo Sosa got hit pretty good giving up 4 runs and 8hits in only 3 innings but the bullpen did a decent job and with the sticks they had it was a easy win.
• Tonight the Rockcats travel to Trenton to take on the Thunder for a 3 game series. Yohan Pino gets the start for the Rock Cats in the opener

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 8 Tampa 1

Fort Myers 13-7 First Place

• POG: Wilson Ramos- Looks like Wilson is breaking out of a early season slump by going 3-5 with a double and 2 rbi's. Wilson Ramos is a key to this offense and getting him going is the key for the Miracle scoring runs.
• Alex Burnett had a good outing going 5.2 innings and only giving up 2 hits and 1 run while walking 4 and striking out 3
• A big encouraging note was the return of Danny Hernandez. Hernandez has been battling injuries who made his Miracle season debut by going the 9th inning without giving up a hit for the miracle.
• This morning the Miracle continue their series with Tampa with an early 10 am game today. Cole Devries got the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

West Michigan 5 Beloit 4

Beloit 6-14 9.5 games out

• POG: Brian Kirwan- Brian continued his strong start on the hill for the Snappers going 7 innings and only gave up 3 earned runs while striking out 2. His ERA now stands at 2.42 on the season. Brian is one of the most consistant pitchers on the Snappers staff.
• Garrett Olson was the shining star offensively going 3-6 with a run scored for the Snappers.
• Blair Erickson blew it in the 13th he did not get an out and gave up the winning run to raise his era to 7.36 and his record to 0-3.
• The Snappers get a well needed day off before they face the Wisconsin Rattlers in a series this weekend.

Mock Draft 8.0

1. Miami Dolphins- Jake Long OT Michigan
2. St Louis Rams- Glen Dorsey DT LSU
3. Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan QB Boston College
4. Oakland Raiders- Darren Mcfadden RB Arkansas
5. Kansas City Chiefs- Chris Long DE Virginia
6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston DE Ohio St
7. New England Patriots- Branden Albert OT Virginia
8. Baltimore Ravens- Keith Rivers LB USC
9. Cincinnatti Bengals- Sedrick Ellis DT USC
10. New Orleans Saints- Mike Jenkins CB South Florida
11. Buffalo Bills- Devin Thomas WR Michigan St
12. Denver Broncos- Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinios
13. Carolina Panthers- Ryan Clady OT Boise St
14. Chicago Bears- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh
15. Detroit Lions- Derrick Harvey DE Florida
16. Arizona Cardinals- Leodis Mcklevin CB Troy
17. Kansas City Chiefs- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt
18. Houston Texans- Dominique Rodgers- Cromartie CB Tennessee ST
19. Philadelphia Eagles- Limas Sweed WR Texas
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
21. Washington Redskins- Desean Jackson WR California
22. Dallas Cowboys- Aqib Talib CB Kansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers- Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina
24. Tennessee Titans- James Hardy WR Indiana
25. Seattle Seahawks- Dustin Keller TE Purdue
26. Jacksonville Jaguars- Phillip Merling DE Clemson
27. San Diego Chargers- Jonathon Stewart RB Oregon
28. Dallas Cowboys- Felix Jones RB Arkansas
29. San Francisco 49ers- Jerod Mayo LB Tennessee
30. Green Bay Packers- Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech
31. New England Patriots- Forfeited
32. New York Giants- Kenny Phillips S Miami

Wednesday, April 23rd

Rochester Wrapup

• Rochester had the day off but begin a series with Leigh Valley tonight at 5:35 in Rochester with Kevin Mulvey gets the start as the Red Wings try to improve their 8-11 record.

New Britain Business

Reading 11 New Britain 9

New Britain 8-9 5.5 games back

• POG: Luke Hughes- For the record 3rd straight day Luke gets player of the game honors with a 2-5 game with his 4th homerun and scored 3 runs for the Rockcats. With the 2 hits it raises his team high average to .348. Makes a person wonder how long is he going to be in New Britain with Rochester really struggling offensively. Luke would be an upgrade at 3rd base for the Red Wings, but i think they are going to give it a little more time to see if he comes down to earth or if he is that good.
• Jay Rainville got lit up last night going 3.2 innings and giving up 13 hits and 10 runs while walking noone and striking out 1. He has really struggled this year and he needs to get it going because he has been the worst pitcher for New Britain and there are guys in Fort Myers waiting for the call.
• Seems like the Rock Cats have come out of their offensive slump getting 14 hits on the night so if they can get their pitching in order they will win some games.
• Today the Rockcats finish their series with Reading with an early 9:35am game today in New Britain. Oswaldo Sosa goes for the Rock Cats as they try to rebound.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 10 Lakeland 9

• POG: Juan Portes- Juan led the Miracle back from a 9-3 deficit with a 2 run homerun in the bottom of the 9th to win the game for the Miracle. He went 2-4 with 3 rbi's and 2 runs scored. He is the hottest player on the miracle team going in his last 5 games he is 10-21 which is a .476 average to raise his average to .302. He is on fire so lets see if he can keep it coming.
• Tyler Robertson was not helped out much by his defense as they committed 3 errors which led to 5 unearned runs. I thought he pitched decent and a little defense behind him he would of had solid stats so i am not too worried about him.
• Johnny Woodard continued his strong start going 3-4 with 2 runs scored to raise his average to .317
• Tonight the Miracle begin a 3 game series with the Yankees in Tampa. First pitch is at 6:05 with Alex Burnett getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

West Michigan 5 Beloit 3

Beloit 6-13 9.5 games back

• POG: Mark Dolenc had a solid game going 2-3 with a run scored for the Snappers to raise his average to .283. The good thing about Mark is he is very flexible he can play so many different positions and does a good job wherever you put him.
• Daniel Berlind had a solid outing going 4 innings and giving up only 2 earned runs his defense betrayed him by giving up 2 unearned runs to make his out look worse than it actually was.
• Lets be honest Beloit is not a very good team and it doesn't help when Chris Parmalee is in a 0-13 streak to lower his batting average from .351 to .255. If they are going to win some games he has to be the key to it or they will continue to struggle.
• Tonight the Snappers continue their series West Michigan. Game time is 6:35 with Brian Kirwan getting the start for the Snappers

Mock Draft 7.0

1. Miami Dolphins- Jake Long OT Michigan
2. St Louis Rams- Glen Dorsey DT LSU
3. Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan QB Boston College
4. Oakland Raiders- Darren Mcfadden RB Arkansas
5. Kansas City Chiefs- Branden Albert OT Virginia
6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston DE Ohio St
7. New England Patriots- Chris Long DE Virginia
8. Baltimore Ravens- Sedrick Ellis DT USC
9. Cincinnatti Bengals- Derrick Harvey DE Florida
10. New Orleans Sainst- Keith Rivers LB USC
11. Buffalo Bills- Devin Thomas WR Michigan St
12. Denver Broncos- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt
13. Carolina Panthers- Ryan Clady OT Boise St
14. Chicago Bears- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh
15. Detroit Lions- Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois
16. Arizona Cardinals- Mike Jenkins CB S. Florida
17. Minnesota Vikings- Leodis Mcklevin CB Troy
18. Houston Texans- Jonathon Stewart RB Oregon
19. Philadelphia Eagles- Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Aqib Talib CB Kansas
21. Washington Redskins- Desean Jackson WR California
22. Dallas Cowboys- Felix Jones RB Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers- James Hardy WR Indiana
24. Tennessee Titans- Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
25. Seattle Seahawks- Dustin Keller TE Purdue
26. Jacksonville Jaguars- Phillip Merling DE Clemson
27. San Diego Chargers- Gosder Cherlious OT Boston College
28. Dallas Cowboys- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Tennessee ST
29. San Francisco 49ers- Limas Sweed Wr Texas
30. Green Bay Packers- Jerod Mayo LB Tennessee
31. New England Patriots- Forfeited
32. New York Giants- Dan Conner LB Penn St

Tuesday, April 22nd

Rochester Wrap

Scranton 3 Rochester0

Rochester 8-11 5 games back

• POG: Glen Perkins- It was not an easy decision because Glen was not great, but compared to the hitters he was great. Glen went 5 innings and gave up 1 run on 6 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. The only problem is he was only able to go 5 innings because he threw 99 pitches in his 5 innings. I have said this before but i think his future is in the bullpen because he is better in short bursts than for many innings. Last night's performence lowered his era to 4.26 on the season.
• The Red Wings had no answer for pitcher Darrell Rasner of Scranton only getting 2 hits for the night. Its tough to win a game with only 3 hits so they need to do better.
• The Red Wings bullpen struggled again giving up 2 runs in 4 innings in a game in which they needed to be perfect with the lack of hitting and they couldnt hold them down
• The Red Wings have the night off before they begin a series with Leigh Valley tommorrow in Rochester

New Britain Business

New Britain 5 Reading 2

New Britain 8-8 4.5 games back

• POG: Luke Hughes- For a record 3rd straight game Luke gets player of the game by going 2-4 with his 3rd HR of the year with an rbi, a run scored and also a walk. With the great game Luke improved his average to a team high .344 for the Rock Cats
• Anthony Swarzak struggled for the first time this season only lasting 4 innings. The problem was he had trouble throwing strikes, but he found a way to get out of some jams only giving up 2 runs in the 4 innings. He gave up 7 hits and walked 3 batters while striking out 5. He raised his ERA to 1.35 on the year, but im not worried at all about him because he has been awesome this year and he wasnt terrible last night its just he set such a standard that when he gives up a run he looks terrible. I look for Anthony to rebound in his next start and be the pitcher we have seen so far.
• Armando Gambino was awesome last night going 3.1 in relief of Swarzak and throwing scoreless ball and let the Rock Cats offense take over. He gave up 4 hits and struck out 4 without a walk to lower his era to 1.80.
• Tonight the Rockcats continue their series with Reading. First pitch is at 5:35pm with Jay Rainville getting the ball for the Rock Cats

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 10 Lakeland 4

• POG: Johnny Woodard- Johnny continued his hot streak with a Hr and 5 rbi's to raise his average to .286. In his last 4 games he is 7-16 with 6 rbi's and 4 runs scored. Johnny when healthy brings a big bopper to the lineup that they need so hopefully he can keep it coming.
• With the win the Miracle moved back into a first place tie with Dunedin at 11-7
• Danny Valencia continued his resurgence going 3-4 with an rbi to bring his average to .279 on the season. Like i said with Woodard when Danny is hitting it makes everyone better. But not to be outdone was Rene Tosoni went 4-5 to bring his average up to a team leading .373. Last night our 1-5 went 13-21 which is a .619 average with a Hr and 9 rbi's all i can say is wow
• The pitching kept its end too Kevin Slowey got the start and went 3 innings and only gave up a solo homerun and struck out 5 in his 3 innings of work.
• Deolis Guerra came in relief and was ok not as good as he has been but still solid going 4 innnings and gave up 2 earned runs on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3 to bring his era up to 1.42. He did fine but when you come into the game with a .60 era it doesnt take much to go up.
• Tonight the Miracle finish their 3 game series with Lakeland in Fort Myers. Game time is at 6:05 with phenom Tyler Robertson getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

West Michigan 2 Beloit 1

Beloit 6-12 9.0 games back

• POG: Michael Tarsi- For the first time this year Micheal showed what he is made of on the hill going a complete game and giving up 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 4 without a walk. This is the kind of performance the Snappers have been waiting all year out of Michael and if they are going to have a decent year they need more of the same out of Michael Tarsi
• Once again the Snappers struggled with the bat only able to get a run on 6 hits
• Chris Parmalee has struggled since his big game last week going 0-10 since he went off to lower his average by about 70 points.
• Deibinson Romero got the only run with a Hr but the bigger issue is he has really struggled this year so far at the plate in the field. There are alot of people that are very high on him but he has not delivered. He is only hitting .214 with a Hr and 7 rbi's with 7 errors already. He is way too talented to keep this up but its a little disconcerting because some people including myself looked at him as the 3rd basemen of the future but if he is struggling this much at Beloit whats it going to be like for him as he goes forward. I believe he will turn it around but he needs to get better in every sense of the game offensively and in the Twins organization he needs to play better defensively or he wont be around long so he is someone to keep an eye on.
• Tonight the Snappers continue their series with West Michigan. First pitch is at 5:35 with Daniel Berlind getting the start for the Snappers.

Mock Draft 6.0

1. Miami Dolphins- Jake Long OT Michigan
2. St Louis Rams- Glen Dorsey DT LSU
3. Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan QB Boston College
4. Oakland Raiders- Darren Mcfadden RB Arkansas
5. Kansas City- Chris Long DE Virginia
6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston DE Ohio St
7. New England Patriots- Brandan Albert OT Virginia
8. Baltimore Ravens- Leodis Mcklevin CB Troy
9. Cincinnatti Bengals- Sedrick Ellis DT USC
10. New Orleans Saints- Keith Rivers LB USC
11. Buffalo Bills- Mike Jenkins CB South Florida
12. Denver Broncos- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt
13. Carolina Panthers- Derrick Harvey DE Florida
14. Chicago Bears- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh
15. Detroit Lions- Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois
16. Arizona Cardinals- Aqib Talib CB Kansas
17. Minnesota Vikings- Ryan Clady OT Boise St
18. Houston Texans- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Tennessee St
19. Philadelphia Eagles- Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Devin Thomas WR Michigan ST
21. Washington Redskins- Phillip Merling DE Clemson
22. Dallas Cowboys- Felix Jones RB Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers- Gosder Cherlious OT Boston College
24. Tennessee Titans- Limas Sweed WR Texas
25. Seattle Seahawks- Dustin Keller TE Purdue
26. Jacksonville Jaguars- Calais Campbell DE Miami
27. San Diego Chargers- Jonathon Stewart RB Oregon
28. Dallas Cowboys- Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech
29. San Francisco 49ers- Desean Jackson WR California
30. Green Bay Packers- Dan Conner LB Penn St
31. New England Patriots- Forfeited
32. New York Giants- Kenny Phillips S Miami

Monday, April 21st

Rochester Wrap
Rochester 7 Scranton 4

• POG: Jason Pridie- Jason continued his strong resurgence for the Red Wings with a game winning 3 run Hr in the top of the 9th to culminate a good comeback for the Wings. Jason has been very solid lately to bring his average to .274. Yesterday he went 1-4 with the hr 3 rbi's and 2 runs scored.
• Philip Humber continues to struggle on the mound for the Wings giving up 4 runs in 5 innings of work. I know people are wondering if Francisco Liriano should of been brought up, but who else could they of brought up Humber has not done enough at Rochester to warrant a recall with an era of 5.09. At the time Liriano was the only one who could of been recalled. Yesterday Humber gave up 4 runs in which 3 were earned in 5 innings with 4 walks and a strikeout. Thankfully the Wings offense and bullpen bailed him out he really needs to step it up if he wants to be with the Twins sometime this year.
• Jose Morales continues his hot streak going 1-4 with his first hr of the year and continuing his resurgence.
• Tonight, the Red Wings finish their 2 game series vs the Yankees in Scranton. First pitch is at 6:00pm with Glen Perkins getting the start.

New Britain Business

New Britain 5 Trenton F/12innings

• POG: Brock Peterson- I was struggling to who to give the player of the game honors to yesterday considering it was a well played game. But with the pressure on his shoulders Brock Peterson came up big. He had a 2 out rbi single in the bottom of the 12th to send the faithful home happy. He was 1-5 with that rbi to win a game the Rock Cats had to have after coughing up a 9th inning lead the prime time players need to step up and thats what Brock did.
• Another good start for Ryan Mullins he went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs, but only 1 of them were earned to lower his era to 1.57. I really believe that Ryan is ready to take the next step and try his hand up at AAA in Rochester. He has been dominant at New Britain and i think he has deserved a chance to see if he is ready to take the next step. Keeping him with the Rock Cats is not a bad deal it will help the team win games, but i think his talent would be better served in Rochester.
• I have been really disappointed in Jay Sawatski this year he has given up leads left and right and he did it again yesterday. Putting the first 2 guys on in the 9th which led to Trenton tying the game. He needs to get this fixed because right now he is just not very good.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats start a 3 game series with Reading in New Britain. Game time is at 5:35pm with Phenom Anthony Swarzak getting the start.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 6 Lakeland 2

• POG: Danny Valencia- Danny came out of his slump with a 2-4 night with his 3rd homerun of the year and 3 rbi's to raise his average to .246. Danny is too talented of a player to be hitting in the .230's. I have a lot of hope for Danny as he is going forward and i think this is just the beginning of his revival and by the end of the year Danny will be putting up the kind of numbers he had last season in Beloit and Fort Myers
• Jeff Manship had a very solid outing probably his best of the year to be honest. He went 5.2 innnings and gave up only 2 runs on 6 hits. He is a key to success of the Miracle pitching staff becuase he brings leadership and a guy that knows how to pitch so hopefully he can keep it going.
• Brian Dinkelman continued his hot streak going 2-2 with 3 walks and 2 runs scored. With the good day it raised his average to an unbelivable .351. All i can say is wow and hopefully he can keep it going.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with the flying Tigers in Fort Myers. Gametime is 6:05 with Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey making a rehab start for the miracle.

Beloit Beat

Wisconsin 4 Beloit 3

• POG: Ramon Santana- There is not alot to get excited about with the Snappers as they dropped another one to fall 8 games back already. But Ramon Santana continues to fill the box score every game. Yesterday he went 2-3 with a stolen base, a double, a run scored, and his first hr and rbi of the season.
• Another quality start by Michael Mccardel who has been the most consistant starter for the Snappers. Yesterday he went 5 innings and only gave up 1 run.
• For a 6-11 team with every positive there will be 2 negatives but the biggest negative is the bullpen or should i say lack of bullpen. Yesterday Mccardell left with a 3-1 lead and hoping to get a win. But in the last 4 innings the bullpen gave up 3 runs and 3 hits along with 3 walks to yank a victory away.
• Tonight the Snappers begin a series with the Tigers in West Michigan. Michael Tarsi gets the start for the Snappers with gametime at 5:35pm.

Mock Draft 5.0

1. Miami Dolphins- Jake Long OT Michigan
2. St Louis Rams- Glen Dorsey DT LSU
3. Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan QB Boston College
4. Oakland Raiders- Chris Long DE Virginia
5. Kansas City- Branden Albert OT Virginia
6. New York Jets- Darren Mcfadden RB Arkansas
7. New England Patriots- Vernon Gholston LB Ohio St
8. Baltimore Ravens- Sedrick Ellis DT USC
9. Cincinnatti Bengals- Ryan Clady OT Boise St
10. New Orleans Saints- Keith Rivers LB USC
11. Buffalo Bills- Leodis Mcklevin CB Troy
12. Denver Broncos- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt
13. Carolina Panthers- Derrick Harvey DE Florida
14. Chicago Bears- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh
15. Detroit Lions- Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois
16. Arizona Cardinals- Mike Jenkins CB South Florida
17. Minnesota Vikings- Dominique Rodgers-Cromratie CB Tennessee St
18. Houston Texans- Aqib Talib Cb Kansas
19. Philadelphia Eagles- Devin Thomas WR Michigan St
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Desean Jackson WR California
21. Washington Redskins- James Hardy Wr Indiana
22. Dallas Cowboys- Felix Jones RB Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers- Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina
24. Tennessee Titans- Phillip Merling De Clemson
25. Seattle Seahawks- Limas Sweed WR Texas
26. Jacksonville Jaguars- Gosder Cherlious OT Boston College
27. San Diego Chargers- Dan Conner LB Penn St
28. Dallas Cowboys- Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech
29. San Francisco 49ers- Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
30. Green Bay Packers- Jonathon Stewart RB Oregon
31. New England Patriots- Forfeited
32. New York Giants- Kenny Phillips S Miami

Sunday, April 20th

Rochester Wrap
Scranton 1 Rochester 0

• POG: Brian Duensing- Brian continued his strong start this season going 5.2 innings and only giving up 1 run on 4 hits. After a slow start he has been really solid the last few starts and has really come on. With the solid start it lowered his era to 2.74 on the young season and his record dropped to 1-3.
• Julio Depaula really struggled again when he came in the 6th inning there was runners on first and third with 2 outs and he walks 2 hitters in a row to force in a run. I know Brian Duensing got credit for the run but i blame Depaula. He has good stuff he just walks to many hitters in 12.2 innings so far he has walked 12 batters. Until he gets his control better he will never make it to the majors.
• You could tell that the Red Wings really missed the bat of Brian Buscher who earlier in the day had gotten called up to the Twins after Adam Everett got put on the disabled list. The Red Wings were only able to mount 3 hits off Scranton pitching and its becoming obvious the Red Wings have little hitting and its going to be a tough year.
• Today the Red Wings continue their series with the Yankees in Scranton. Game time is 12:30 today in Scranton with Philip Humber getting the ball for the Red Wings.

New Britain Business

Trenton 5 New Britain 3 F/11innings

• POG: Luke Hughes for the second consecutive day gets player of the game honors for the Rock Cats. Luke went 3-5 with his 2nd hr of the year and also scored 2 runs for the Rock Cats. With the 3 hits it raises his team high average to an impressive .365 on the year. He has really impressed me and if he keeps it up wouldnt surpise me to see him in Rochester before the end of the year.
• Yohan Pino continued his strong start going 5 innings and giving up only 1 run on 3 hits and left with the lead.
• For a change the bullpen did not get the job done giving up a 3-1 lead. Jason Miller was awful giving up 2 runs in his 2.1 innings of work. In extra innings Ben Julianel was awful giving up 2 runs in the 11th and barely getting out of the 10th. He is a good pitcher who will help you more than he will hurt you.
• Today the Rock Cats continue their series with the Thunder in New Britain. First pitch is at 2pm with Ryan Mullins getting the start for the Rock Cats.

Fort Myers Musings

Sarasota 2 Fort Myers 1

• POG: Juan Portes- Juan was a bright spot for the Miracle going 3-4 on the night with his 4th rbi of the year. The Miracle had many chances but couldnt put the hits together to score runs. Juan raised his average to .289 on the season and seems to be coming around after a little slow start.
• Cole Devries had a solid start for the Miracle going 5 innings and giving up only 2 runs which should be looked at as a step forward for Cole who had been struggling so far this season.
• With the loss the Miracle drop to 9-7 and drop into 2nd place behind Dunedin a game behind them.
• Today the Miracle take on the Flying Tigers in Fort Myers. First pitch is at 4:05 with Jeff Manship getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Wisconsin 5 Beloit 3

• POG: Steve Singleton was the hitting star for the Snappers going 2-4 with his 2nd Homerun of the season and drove in his 10th and 11th runs of the year. He has been the most consistant hitter for the Snappers all season raising his average to .400 on the season.
• David Bromberg had his first quality start of the season going 6 innings and only giving up 2 runs. He has been the real disappointment of the team with a run of bad starts and he is the one people were expecting the most out of so hopefully this was the beginning of things to come.
• The Snappers bullpen did not come to the office either Spencer Steedley got the loss in relief for the Snappers giving up 2 runs in 2.1 innings. He is a good pitcher and that wont happen very often.
• Today the Snappers continue their series with the Rattlers in Wisconsin. Gametime is at 2:00 pm with Micheal Mccardell getting the start for the Snappers.

Liriano Start 2

Francisco Liriano had his 2nd start of the season last night and had some good points and some bad points.

• He threw 88 pitches and got threw 5 innings of work
• He seems to be able to locate his slider and changeup and they both have good break on them.
• His velocity is still down he is only throwing 89-92 on his fastball and only 80-82 on his off speed pitches
• He can't locate his fastball at all yet its all over the place
• In 88 pitches he only threw 47 strikes

What does all this mean i look at it is a work in progress and i like that he is doing this up here because he pitched good enough to win last night if we could of hit we could of got him a win. Its like baby steps he was a little bit better than his first start and i think that will continue. I think it will be a year long thing but i am hopeful after this start that eventually we will see the Liriano of old. The reason i say that is he had some bite on some of this sliders and changeups that is something we didnt see in his last start. Be patient with him and i think you are going to see The Franchise back by the end of the year.

Wadena-Deer Creek Shockers

TT: Briefly can you tell me about 2007 season with your record and how you did in the playoffs and any special acheivements worth noting.

RJ:Around .500 no acheivements

TT:Is there any key additions to the team?

RJ: No

TT: is there any key losses from the team?

RJ: No

TT: What do you view as the teams strengths this season?

RJ: Pitching

TT: What are some things the team needs to work on to be the best it can be come playoff time.

RJ: hitting with runners in scoring position

TT: What are the expections you have for your team going into the season.

RJ: regions and a dent in regional playoffs

TT: If you could say what player is the key to your success or failure and why

RJ: Jamie Nordland

TT: Break down your league for me and where do you see your team fitting into your league.

RJ: tied for second....D.L. Shockers, Bluffton, Bertha

TT:Where do you see amateur baseball going in the next 5 years.

RJ: The Same

TT: If you could change something about amateur baseball what would it be.

RJ: Some how bring it back to is old status of that was the only thing in town to do.

I would like to Thank Randy Jahnke for answering my questions on the Shockers. I know he didn't shed too much light on them but from my experience playing them they have solid pitching with the George brothers. Solid defense should be a strength with them up the middle and a team people should check out and watch some good baseball