Tuesday, May 20th

Twins Talk
Minnesota 7 Texas 6 12 innings
Minnesota 22-22 1.5 games back

• POG: Bobby Korecky- In one of the crazier games you are ever going to see on a baseball field a reliever gets player of the game honors. Something that probably won't happen ever again, but did Bobby earn the honor. Bobby came into a bases loaded 1 out jam in the 11th and got out of it with a pop up and a strikeout. Then he came up to bat because Brenden Harris, who began the game as the DH, had to come in a play defense so they lost the DH and he got a hit unbelievably. Then he pitched a scoreless 12th to pick up his first major league win along with his first major league hit. Bobby Korecky is a guy that is not going to overpower you, but just knows how to get people out and has done it for a long time. He was the closer for Rochester for a good amount of time before getting his chance with the Twins. The Twins haven't used him a whole lot so far, but hopefully this is something that will gain their confidence to use him in more clutch roles becuase i believe he can do it given a chance.
• Another unlikely hero was Howie Clark who entered the game in the 10th inning as a defensive replacement. He came up with Carlos Gomez on 2nd with 1 out in the 12th with the pitcher hitting next so he knew he would get a good pitch to hit and took advantage of it. He belted a line drive over the center fielder's head to send all the fans at the Dome home happy. I know i have been critical of Howie Clark being in the Mitchell report, but it took alot of guts by him to keep playing in the minor leagues and to show that type of determination is a credit to him as a person so good for him.
• Last night was one of the craziest games i have watched in a long time, but i think Gardy should be questioned a bit for using everyone up so the pitcher had to hit. It worked out good but lets say if clark flies out and then the pitcher would of had to hit and he got out and we lost the game gardy would be getting murdered, but it didn't happen so like the old saying goes alls well that ends well so a great win by the Twins to get back within a game and a half of first place Chicago.
• Tonight, the Twins take on the Rangers in game 2 of their 4 game series at the dome. Gametime is at 7:10 with Glen Perkins getting the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

gm 1 Syracuse 5 Rochester 0

gm 2 Rochester 7 Syracuse 6 8 innings

Rochester 18-28 12.0 games back

• POD: Matt Macri- Matt Macri who came off the disabled list last weekend came out hot as he went 3-8 over the 2 games which is a .375 average. He had a double along with 2 additional singles to pace the Red Wings attack. With the 3 hits it brought Matt's average up to .255 on the season. Matt has had his up and downs this season for the Red Wings and just when it looked like he was getting his swing down he pulled his groin and was out about 3 weeks. Now that he is back slowly but surely he is getting the feel at the plate again and i think he will be a big member of the Red Wings lineup as they try to rebound from an awful start. Do i think he will make it to the majors probably not but he is a good solid Minor League player.
• Randy Ruiz finally showed a little power at the plate in the second game yesterday as he belted his 3rd homerun of the year, a 3 run shot, that helped the Red Wings get a win in the 2nd game. Randy had a very good spring and there were some people that thought he should of made the Twins, but he went to Rochester and has really struggled. I dont know if it is a hangover from not making the team or what but he needs to put it together because there are guys below him ready to take his spot so hopefully he can get it done offensively and help the Red Wings win some games.
• Jose Morales has really come on at the plate as of late. Early in the season he was hitting a meager .218 and after a good streak he has his average up to .290 on the season. Look at the last 10 games to show how well he has hit he has gone 15-33 a .455 average to bring his batting average up to .290.
• Today, the Red Wings take on Syracuse in the final game of the series. Gametime is at 10am with Francisco Liriano getting the start for the Red Wings.

New Britain Business

New Britain 5 Harrisburg 1

New Britain 22-21 5.5 games back

• POG: Jay Rainville- Jay had one of the best outing of his career last night. Jay went 7 innings and only gave up an unearned run along with 3 hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out 8 to get his 3rd win of the year. With the no earned runs it lowered Jay's ERA to a still high but better 7.53 on the season. This was the kind of start the Twins have been waiting to see out of Jay it just reinforces how talented this kid is and that they are right to be patient with him. He is a tease he will be very good and then be average for a few starts and then bam he will be awesome. My hope is that he can build off of this game and come out next time and do it again because he has proved that he is sure capable of being a very good pitcher.
• Trevor Plouffe had another good game as he continues his hot hitting as he brought his average up to .294 on the season. He has especially been hot the last 10 games in which he has hit 13-38 a .342 average along with 3 doubles and a triple. Trevor did like he usually does and gets better as the season goes along at the plate. What he really needs to work on though is his defense as he committed his 6th error of the season and if he is going to play with the Twins he is going to have to cut down on the errors or he wont make it, but i think with his work ethic it will be fine.
• Drew Butera finally showed something at the plate going 1-3 with a double and 3 rbi's to pace the Rock Cats attack. He is very good defensively and calls a good game so anything he can give you offensively is a plus so hopefully he can keep it going.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats continue their series with Harrisburg in New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35 with Oswaldo Sosa getting the start for the Rock Cats.

Fort Myers Musings

Jupiter 4 Fort Myers 2

Fort Myers 28-16 First Place

• POG: Daniel Berg- In a game where the Miracle bats went silent with only 6 hits in the game. One bright spot was Daniel Berg who went 1-3 with a walk and an rbi driving in 1 of the Miracle's 2 runs. With the 1 hit last night it brought Daniel's average up to .250 on the season. Daniel is a good all around player who has come in handy with the injurys to Valencia and Tosoni becuase he can play anywhere and do a good job no matter where you put him. I look for Berg to get more and more playing time as the season goes on and for his average to continue to rise.
• Alex Burnett was ok not great but not horrible. He went 6 innings and gave up 3 earned runs along with 9 hits. He walked noone and struck out 4. It was not one of Alex's better starts but he got through 6 innings to make it a quality start and he does atleast that every time out.
• The Miracle defense continues to hurt them as they committed 2 more errors to bring their season total up to 42 errors in only 44 games and if they continue to do that they will see a difference in their wins and losses.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Jupiter in Jupiter. Gametime is at 5:35 with Tyler Robertson getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6 Clinton 5

Beloit 23-20 7.5 games back

• POG: Ben Revere- Ben continued his torrid pace for the Snappers as he had 3 more hits and 2 more rbi's. With the 3 hits it brought his average up to a unbelievable .432 on the season. With his 2 rbi's it brought his total in that to 11 on the season. I have never seen a start for someone taking a jump up in competition like he is doing by going into A ball less than a year after being drafted. There is some thought that maybe he is ready for the big jump up to high A in Fort Myers. I think he would do fine there but why rush him he is only 20 years old and he can continue to dominate the Midwest league and then next year move him up. With that said if he keeps hitting like he is now i dont see how you can keep him away from Fort Myers especially with the injury to Tosoni, but if i had a choice i would keep him in Beloit for the season.
• Michael Tarsi had another so so outing for the Snappers. He went 5.1 innings and gave up 4 runs on 9 hits. Along with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts to add to his crummy start. With Mike Mccardell back in the fold i think Tarsi could be the one that goes to the bullpen because he has been pretty unimpressive this year going 1-6 with a 6.84 era. I think maybe it would help him to be in the bullpen to get some confidence back because he is probably the most talented pitcher on the team and when he gets his confidence back watch out.
• Garrett Olson also had a big game going 3-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .276 on the season. It will be interesting to see what they do with Olson when Romero comes back in a month or so becuase you need to get both their bats in the lineup.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Clinton in Clinton. Gametime is at 7pm again with Daniel Berlind getting the start for the Snappers.

Monday, May 19th

Twins Talk
Colorado 6 Minnesota 2
Minnesota 21-22 2.0 games back

• POG: Justin Mourneau- Justin was one of the few bright spots on the dreadful day for the Twins. Justin went 1-4 with his 8th homerun of the year along with 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 34 on the year that ranks 4th in the American League. With the 1 hit it brought Justin's average to .306 on the season. Justin has been one of the bright spots from a struggling offense all year and he is putting Justin Mourneau numbers up. Some were worried that he would struggle after getting the big contract i.e. Michael Cuddyer but he has not he has done everything expected of him. I really think that by seasons end he will do his usual 35 and 120 again.
• Kevin Slowey continues to do his usual. He is such a tease becuase he has good stuff and wil be good for 4 or 5 innings and then bam he will lose it about 90 pitches. Yesterday he went 5.2 innings and gave up 7 hits and 3 runs to drop his record to 0-4 on the young season. With the 3 runs it lowered his era to 5.49 on the season. Kevin nibbles to much in my opinion which gets his pitch count up and then runs out of gas and gives up runs late in his outings. The biggest thing he needs to start doing is to continue to attack the strike zone with 2 strikes. Its like he gets up on the hitter and then nibbles and nibbles and that may create strikeouts but it also gets his pitch count up.
• Yesterday was a day that Twins fans are not accustomed to seeing out of the Twins players as they struggled to move guys along, situation hitting, and defensively they commited 3 errors and thats not a Twins team. Before the Twins can win on a consistant basis they need to get their defense up to par because we have an expection to live up to and that is to play defense and not beat ourselves.
• Tonight, the Twins try to get back on track as they Host the Texas Rangers at the Metrodome gametime is at 7:10 with Boof Bonser starting for the Twins vs Kevin Feldman for the Rangers

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings game vs Syracuse in Cooperstown to celebrate the International League's 125th anniversary was suspended in the 2nd inning because of rain and will be made up today at 4pm. The regularly scheduled game with Syracuse will follow at 6 with Brian Duensing getting the start for the Red Wings.

New Britain Business

Portland 7 New Britain 6

New Britain 21-21 6.0 games back

• POG: Steve Tolleson- Steve continued his hot streak at the plate by going 3-5 with a double and a rbi his 26th of the season. In Steve's last 10 games he has went 17-43 a .395 batting average with 3 doubles, a triple and a homerun. Steve really stepped it up when Luke Hughes went down to keep the Rock Cats afloat. I really love his flexibility in that he can play infield or outfield and hits wherever you put him in the lineup he can hit leadoff or he also can hit in the middle of the order. I really like him as a player who brings alot to the table for the Rock Cats and will be a key player if the Rock Cats are going to get back on track.
• Anthony Swarzak was what he has been his last 4 or 5 starts and that is ok. Not bad but not real good either. Yesterday he went 5.2 innings and gave up 3 earned runs and 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 2. With the 3 runs it brings his era up to 4.06 on the season. Anthony started out like a banchy but has come back down to earth after starting off so well. But the key is when he gets the ball down he can abe downright dominant and when he figures out how to do that watch out.
• David Winfree drove in another run in a late pinch hitter appearance and got a hit to drive in his team leading 35th run of the year. David's average has not been what we were hoping for but his run production has by belting a team high 10 homeruns along with the 35 rbi's.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats begin a series with Harrisburg in New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35 pm with Jay Rainville trying to build on a quality start his last time out.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 12 Jupiter 10

Fort Myers 28-15 First Place

• POG: Deolis Guerra- In a 12-10 game you may be surprised that i am picking the starting pitcher for player of the game honors. However, Deolis had his best outing in quite a while last night going 6 strong innings and only giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits along with only 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. He didn't get the win but it was a step forward for Deolis as he works on his mechanics and delivery. With the 2 runs allowed it lowered his ERA to 4.67 on the season. I think its funny how everyone is giving up on the kid and hes just 18 years old and has a world of potential and when he gets ahead in the count its almost over for the hitter. Look for him to get better and better as the season goes on, but i dont think he will be promoted this year i think they are going to take their time with this guy to make sure he gets to his potential.
• The Miracle are really on a roll right now especially their offense even with Danny Valencia nursing a sore hand they cranked out 17 hits at the game. They were led by Johnny Woodard's 4-5 at the plate with 4 rbi's and Wilson Ramos' 2 homeruns along with Danny Santiesteban who drove in the game winning runs in the top of the 12th to seal the vicory.
• In Roster news the Miracle placed Rene Tosoni on the 7 day DL and recalled Yangervis Solarte from extended Spring Training to help out in the infield with Valencia hobbled.
• Anthony Slama pitched the bottom of the 12th inning to pick up his 8th save of the season in relief. Anthony is 24 years old and still in high A so i think a combo of his age and his ridiculious stuff makes him a prime candidate to get moved up to New Britain. The Rock Cats need a closer and Anthony's 0.37 era would fit in very well there and would let Robert Delaney get all the saves for the Miracle.
• Today, the Miracle continue their series with Jupiter in Jupiter. Gametime is at 6:05pm with Alex Burnett getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 5 Peoria 4

Beloit 22-20 8.5 games back

• POG: Joe Benson- Joe is really coming on of late going 14-38 a .368 average in his last 10 games with 6 doubles and 2 triples along with 7 rbi's and 4 stolen bases in that span. Yesterday he went 3-4 with a double and 3 rbi's along with his 10th stolen base of the season. With the 3 hits it raises Joe's average to .263 on the season. With Joe and Ben Revere in that outfield right now the Snappers have alot of speed and the way they both have been hitting is a big reason that the snappers have been on such a role as a team lately to get over the 500 mark. I think Ben Revere probably has passed Joe Benson in the eyes of the Twins, but thats not to take anything away from the resurgence of Joe Benson who I still think is a good prospect and will have a future in the major leagues if he can cut down on his strikeout total which i think he can if he is just a little more selective at the plate.
• Another big reason for the revival of the Snappers has been their great starting pitching. David Bromberg continued that by making another quality start by going 6 innings and only giving up 2 earned runs along with 7 hits. He walked 2 and struck out a nice 6 batters to get the win. If the Starters can keep doing what they are doing the Snappers are going to continue to rise in the standings.
• In a Roster move the Snappers activated Mike Mccardell off the disabled list and released Ben Petsch who was a 19th round draft pick in the 07 draft. Ben had alot of talent their just was not enough at bats for him so they decided it was best to let him go somewhere else to get the at bats he needs.
• Tonight, the Snappers begin a series with first place Clinton in Clinton. Gametime is at 7pm with Michael Tarsi getting the start for the Snapper.

Howie Clark debate

You know what i think of Howie Clark being recalled, but i want to know what you all think. Do you think its ok for the Twins to have someone in the Mitchell report who has admitted to taking steroids. Before i get a comment about Juan Rincon it was different that was a banned supplement that was not steroids so give me your opinion on this issue.

Saturday, May 17th

Twins Talk
Minnesota 4 Colordao 2
Minnesota 21-20 0.5 games back

• POG: Delmon Young- Delmon really snapped out of his slump in a big way by going 3-4 on the night with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. With the 2 hits it raises Delmon's average to .276 on the year. Delmon has struggled with power still searching for his first homerun of the year, but he is hitting .276 and that is a respectable average. Jim Souhan in the Star Tribune said yesterday that all he is a singles hitter and even if he is that i have no problem with that its not like he is making alot of money. However, I don't think he is going to stay a singles hitter i look for him to develop his power this season we just need to be patient. I look for him to end up hitting 15-20 HR's and I think he will hit alot of doubles and if the people ahead of him get on he will have alot of rbi's by the end of the year. Some guys just start off slow and mash the ball after that and thats what i think Delmon Young is and we should all stop worrying.
• Nick Blackburn continued his strong season by going 7 solid innings and only giving up 2 runs on 6 hits along with 5 strikeouts without a walk. With the 7 innings it lowered his Era to 3.77 on the season. Nick is just a solid middle of the rotation starter and has been everything we have been expecting and more.
• Justin Mourneau continued his recent hot string by going 2-4 with a walk to raise his average to .307 on the season. Justin got off to a slow start but has really been raking the ball of late to bring his average over .300 on the season.
• Tonight, the Twins take on the Rockies in game 2 of their series in Colorado. Gametime is at 7:05 with Livan Hernandez(6-1 3.93) getting the start for the Twins vs Rookie Greg Reynolds(0-1 6.35) getting the start for the Rockies.

Rochester Wrap

Columbus 5 Rochester 4

Rochester 17-26 12.0 games back

• POG: Philip Humber- Philip had his best start of the year by far by going 6.2 innings and only giving up 3 runs on 6 hits along with 3 walks and 1 strikeout. With the 3 runs allowed it lowers his ERA to a still bad 5.09 on the season. This was a start Philip really needed not only for the team but also for his own psyche. He had really been struggling to throw strikes and get batters out. Granted it was not a great start but it was a good one as he kept the Red Wings in the ballgame and thats all you can ask from a pitcher. I'll be honest i was expecting more out of him this year. I thought him being the 2nd year out from Tommy John surgery he would really take off and that obviously hasn't happened. He is right where he belongs in AAA and hopefully can keep working to possibly get a September callup with the Twins because they need to see him up here because after this year he will be out of options and they need to figure out if he can help them next year or if they should try to trade them instead of getting nothing in return.
• Brian Buscher had another outstanding game going 2-4 with his 6th homerun of the young season along with 2 rbi's and 2 runs scored to pace the Red Wings. With the 2 hits it raised Brian's average up to a very good .325 on the season. I know Brian is very disappointed today which ill explain in a minute but all he can do is keep hitting and wait for his chance to get back to the big leagues and when he gets there do enough so he won't have to go back.
• After the game Last Night it was announced that Twins infielder Matt Tolbert was put on the DL with a torn ligament in his thumb and the Twins purchased the contract of Howie Clark to replace him. Ill admit my first thought was Howie Who? The more i thought about it the more it irritates me not only because i think there are more deserving people to be in the majors and he is not even good he doesn't belong on a AAA team let alone a major league one. The major reason it irritates me is he is everything the Twins are not about. In case you didn't know this Howie Clark was named in the Mitchell Report for taking illegal steriods. He is not the type of guy that i want with the Twins he cheated to keep his spot. I know I know he won't play much but really do you want to send that message to the kids watching the Twins that its ok to take steroids it will allow you to make it to the majors I know i don't.
• Tonight, the Red Wings begin a series with their bitter rivals from Syracuse. Gametime is at 6:00pm with Danny Graves getting another start for the Red Wings

New Britain Business

New Britain 20-19 5.0 games back

• New Britain had their game rained out and is playing a day night doubleheader today in response to a earlier rainout with Portland in New Britain. Game 1 with start at 12:05 with Ryan Mullins getting the start. Game 2 is at 5:35pm with Anthony Swarzak getting the start for the Rock Cats

Fort Myers Musings

Tampa 3 Fort Myers 2 11 innings

Fort Myers 26-15 First Place

• POG: Cole Devries- Cole had by far his best start of the season and it is something that has been a long time coming. Cole went 7 innings and only gave up a run on only 4 hits along with only 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. With the 1 run allowed it lowered Cole's era to 4.56 on the season. It was a really good sign for Cole that he was able to shut down that lineup like that and shows that he belongs at that level and hopefully next time he can follow it up with a better start.
• Brian Dinkelman was one of the few Miracle hitters that could solve the very good Tampa pitching. Brian went 2-4 with a walk and a doulbe also. With the 2 hits it raises Brian's average to a very good .324 on the season. I think him and Valencia will be battling for the team lead in average all season long.
• The Miracle's bullpen struggled getting anybody out yesterday. In 4 innings of work they allowed 2 runs and 3 hits along with 4 walks to blow the game. Its pretty obvious there is an A team part of the bullpen with Delaney, Slama, Vais, and Lugo being apart of the A team and everyone else on the B team.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Tampa in Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 with Jeff Manship getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6 Peoria 3

Beloit 20-20 8.5 games back

• POG: Brian Kirwan- Brian continued the recent strong pitching performances by the Snappers starting pitchers. Brian went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 8 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. With the 2 runs Brian lowered his era to a very respectable 3.68 on the season. Brian has been very consistant all year long keeping his era in the 3's and has continued to find a way to get people out. I would probably say he has been the most consistant pitcher on the staff and if he keeps it going he will have a high quality season and possibly a promotion to Fort Myers.
• Joe Benson had a outstanding game overall going 3-4 with a single, a double, and a triple all he needed for the cycle was a homerun. He also had an outfield assist in the outfield along with a run scored. It was by far the most complete game of the season for Joe and he needs to show more consistancy to hold off the hard charging Ben Revere as starting center fielder for the Snappers.
• Ben Revere is so consistant going 2-5 with a run scored to pace the Snappers 11 hit assault. With the 2 hits it brings Ben's average back to where it was when they began the day at .397 on the season. Seems like every game Ben is 2-5 with atleast a run scored and most of the time a stolen base. My view on him though is not push him too hard he just graduated high school last year so let him dominate the Midwest league this year and move him up to Fort Myers next year.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their weekend series with Peoria in Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30 again with Santos Arias getting the start for the Snappers

Friday, May 16th

sorry for missing yesterday i had a million things to do but back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Twins Talk
Toronto 3 Minnesota 2 11innings
Minnesota 20-20 1.5 games back

• POG: Glen Perkins- There was not alot of good things that happened to the Twins yesterday afternoon but the one big thing is the continued improvement of Glen Perkins as a major league starting pitcher. Glen went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and a personal major league record 6 strikeouts. With the 6 innings it lowered his era to 3.75 on the season. Glen has been everything he wasn't in Rochester he is throwing strikes and getting ahead so that he can throw his good offspead pitches to get hitters out. Glen always had the talent but he was something of an anamoly who you were wondering when he was going to figure things out becuase he has a major league arm. It looks like he is finally figuring it out, however its only 2 starts so things could change but its a step in the right direction becuase his biggest problem was his control. In 12 innings pitched so far this year he has only walked 2 and thats a big improvement so hopefully he can keep it going for the Twins.
• Justin Mourneau continued his strong homestand by going 2-4 with a walk and a rbi. With the rbi it brings his season total up to 32. With the 2 hits it brought his average over .300 to a .302 clip. After a slow start Justin has really been raking it lately in the just finished 7 game homestand he hit at an amazing .444 batting average. Justin is showing why the Twins had so much faith in him to give him the biggest contract in Twins history and showing its money well spent.
• The Twins threw the ball around way too much against Toronto and thats the big reason they got swept out of the Metrodome. In the 3 games the Twins committed 3 errors but it seemed like they were all in big situations and thats so not like the Twins. Going into yesterday the Twins were ranked 14th in the American League in fielding and thats just not going to get it done. The way the Twins play baseball is to pitch and play great defense and so far this year they havent done that. Most of the errors are mental mistakes too so they can be fixed. They better get it done soon or they soon will be out of contention.
• Tonight, the Twins begin interleague play as they begin a 3 game weekend series in Colorado to take on the Rockies. Gametime is at 8:05 with Nick Blackburn getting the start vs the Rockies Ubaldo Jimenez.

Rochester Wrap

Columbus 3 Rochester 1

Rochester 17-25 11.5 games back

• POG: Francisco Liriano- Francisco coming back from Tommy John surgery keeps getting better and better each and every start. When he went down he said he had no confidence, but i think its coming back. Last night Liriano went 8 innings and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits , but the 2 most important stats from last night is he had only 1 walk and he made it through 8 innings on only 93 pitches. Its a step at a time for him and him getting his control back is a huge step. Now he can work on making better pitches to cut down on the hits and runs. But finding the strike zone is the most important thing and the fact that it seems that it is coming back is a huge deal for Francisco and every Twins fan out there because if he can get back to where he was that makes our pitching staff from good to awesome.
• Denard Span continues his torrid hitting by going 2-3 with a walk to raise his team high average up to .369 on the season. He failed to hit a Homerun in his 4 th straight game but what a stretch he is in. Whatever he learned when he was up with the Twins he is taking it back to Rochester with him and is really raking the ball right now. If he keeps hitting like this it won't be long until he is back with the Twins as the 4th outfielder.
• Rochester is really struggling right now when they pitch good they cant hit and when they hit they struggle pitching. They need to figure something out in a hurry or they will get buried before they know what happens.
• Tonight the Red Wings finish their series with Columbus in Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 with Philip Humber getting the start.

New Britain

Binghamton 7 New Britain 6 11 innings

New Britain 20-19 4.5 games back

• POG: Erik Lis- Erik continued his hot streak by going 4-5 with 2 doubles a rbi and a run scored. With the 4 hits it brings Erik's average up to a nice .292 on the season. He has been very hot of late going 10 for his last 20 a .500 average in his last 5 games. Erik struggled early on this season but he is really raking it of late and being the hitter that we have all seen and enjoyed. Erik probably projects as a DH in the Majors but with that stick i really think the future is bright for Lis and if he can develop a little more power with that sweet swing of his the sky is the limit.
• Errol Simonitch made his first start of the year and really struggled coming off his arm injury. Errol made it 5 innings and gave up 5 runs on 8 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. It was only Errol's first start of the year so it could be a coincidence but he needs to pitch better than that to stay in the Rock Cats rotation especially with the good job Yohan Pino was doing. My guess is it probably won't be long before Pino is back in the rotation and Simonitch is in the bullpen for the Rock Cats.
• Luke Hughes made his return to the Rock Cats lineup after being out for 8 days because of that hamstring injury. What does he do when he comes back his first at bat he went deep for his 10th homerun of the season and extended his hitting streak to a really good 17 games. He played as the Dh yesterday so hopefully we can get him in the field because if he can show he's healty and continue to hit he will be with Rochester before the end of the month in my opinion.
• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a series with Portand in New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35 with ace Ryan Mullins on the mound for the Rock Cats as they try to snap their 4 game losing streak.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 6 Tampa 5 10 innings

Fort Myers 26-14 First Place

• POG; Tyler Robertson- Tyler had his most dominant start in quite a while last night its just too bad he got a no decision. Tyler went 7 innings and only gave up 6 hits and 3 runs with no walks and an awesome 9 strikeouts. With the good 7 innings it brought his ERA down to 3.53. With the 9 strikeouts it brought his team high strikeout total up to 45. Tyler had really been struggling with getting his fastball over for a strike which made his slider not as effective. They would not swing at the slider because he couldnt get the fastball over for a strike. Last night he did a much better job getting that first pitch fastball over so they would chase that devastating slider. It is a good start for him to build on for his next start.
• Robert Delaney had probably his worst outing of the season going an inning and giving up the lead in a 4-3 game. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and was bailed out by the Miracle hitting. Robert is probably the best closer in the FSL and games like this are few and far between so im not too worried about it and think he will come out firing next time.
• Daniel Berg had another solid game off the bench going 2-3 and scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. What we have found out about him is he is very flexible who is not going to hurt you no matter where he plays. He is the type of utility man that all good teams seem to have. On other teams he could start at many different positions and do a good job.
• This Morning the Miracle continue their series with Tampa in Fort Myers. Gametime is at 9:35 am with Cole Devries getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Clinton 4 Beloit 2

Beloit 19-20 8.5 games back

• POG: Ben Revere- Ben continues to rake the ball since his callup from EST and has pretty much taken over the leadoff spot in the lineup and is in center field just about every game. Last night he went 2-5 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base his 10th of the season. With the 2 hits it raises Ben's average to a crazy .397 on the season. This is unbelieveable that a year ago he is playing high school baseball and now he is dominating a league that is known as a tough hitting league with all the good pitching. There is some talk now about maybe sending him up to Fort Myers. I think its a bit soon for that i would let him finish the season in Beloit and if he continues to hit like this have him start next season in Fort Myers when he is more ready.
• Daniel Berlind was ok not great but not horrible. His biggest problem was his control he threw too many pitches to make it late into the game. Daniel went 4.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits along with a walk. With the 3 runs it raises his era to 3.62 on the season. Daniel is very hit and miss and when he can throw strikes he is tough to hit so hopefully he can learn from this game and come out better next time.
• Steven Hirchfeld continues to pitch very well out of the Snappers bullpen. Steve went 3.2 innings in relief of Berlind and only gave up 1 hit and no runs while striking out 2 on the game. With the outing it dropped his era to a minischule 0.73 on the season. He has done everything the Snappers have needed him to do start,relieve it hasnt mattered and i think he will continue to dominate for the Snappers all season long.
• Tonight, the Snappers begin a series with Peoria in Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30 with Brian Kirwan getting the start for the Snappers.

Wednesday, May 14th

Twins Talk
Toronto 5 Minnesota 3
Minnesota 20-18 First Place

• POG: Carlos Gomez- Carlos continues to improve each and ever day before our eyes and last night was another step in that direction. Carlos went 2-4 with his 3rd homerun of the season along with another hit to raise his average up to .275 on the season. With the RBI it brought Carlos' rbi total up to 14 on the season and thats pretty good for a leadoff man. Carlos seems to be getting more and more confidence every time he comes up to the plate. A sign you can tell he is getting more confident is the lack of bunts lately. Early in the season he was trying to bunt almost every at bat and now people are playing for the bunt and he is hitting it right by them. I look for him to keep doing what he is doing and to get better and better as the year goes on.
• Kevin Slowey had another solid start last night going 5.2 innings and only giving up 3 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to bring his era down to 5.79 on the young season. Kevin i thought nibbled a little too much but i am being picky it was better than his last start and is something to build on as the season goes forward for Kevin Slowey as he gets more and more confident.
• The Twins bullpen really struggled last night giving up 2 runs and 5 hits along with 3 walks in only 3.1 innings. The worst was Dennys Reyes who faced 2 batters and gave up 2 hits in his first poor outing of the year to bring his era up to 0.79 on the season. The question is will the bullpen minus Pat Neshek be a problem. I really dont think so i think they will be fine Juan Rincon pitched excellent the other night along with Jesse Crain. Before last night Dennys Reyes had been pitching great and i look for Glen Perkins to join that bullpen when Scott Baker gets back so i dont see it as a problem at all.
• Tonight, the Twins take on the Blue Jays in game 2 of their series at the Metrodome. Gametime is at 7:11 with Boof Bonser getting the start for the Twins against the Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay.

Rochester Wrap

Columbus 7 Rochester 5

Rochester 16-24 12.0 games back

• POG: Brian Buscher- Seems like Brian is coming out of a bit of a slump that started when he came back from the Twins. Last night he continued his recent good string by going 4-5 with his 5th homerun of the year along with 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 16 on the season. With the 4 hits it brought Brian's average up to a good .324 on the season. Brian is a good prospect in my opinion and needs to be in the majors because he dominates AAA pitching and needs the new challenge of seeing if he can do that at the Major League level keeping him at AAA really is not helping anymore and i hope he makes it back with the Twins very soon.
• Kevin Mulvey struggled for his 5th straight start last night. In 3.2 innings he gave up 5 runs even though only 1 of them was earned along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.89 on the season. Kevin needs to make some adjustments because he has been hit very hard his last 4 or 5 starts and needs to find a way to get the hitters out. With that being said i still think Kevin is going to be a solid pitcher at the major league level and will contribute eventually to the Twins. Like i said before the year he needs a year at AAA to refine his pitching and being more consistant and i still think so. If he makes the adjustments that he needs to make he will be fine and will be with the Twins in sometime 2009.
• The Red Wings continue to struggle in the win column. I know some people don't pay attention to the wins and losses but im not one of those people. I think you develop a winning attitude at a young stage and shouldnt lose it now. I truly believe the teams with the better prospects are the teams that win division titles and win IL championships so the Red Wings have to find a way to turn it around becuase they are too good to be 12 games out on the 14th of May.
• Today, the Red Wings continue their series with Columbus in Rochester. Gametime is an early 10:05 game as Brian Duensing tries to improve on his 2-4 record.

New Britain Business

Binghamton 4 New Britain 2

New Britain 20-17 3.5 games back

• POG: Jay Rainville- I know he got tagged with his 5th loss of the year but Jay needed to come up with a good performance to stay in the starting rotation at best and he did a really good job in my opinion. Jay went 6.1 innings and only gave up 3 earned runs on just 7 hits along with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his awful era to 9.00. The way i look at it is that was a baby step in the right direction. Before he can run he needs to walk and his start last night was a step in the right direction. He got ahead of the hitters so he didnt have to throw that cookie that the other team had been drilling. Also a bad thing about getting behind in the count is Jay was not able to stay in ball games long and it was putting alot of pressure on the Rock Cats bullpen. I liked what i saw out of him last night and my hope is that he can continue to do that and get better and better in each of his next few starts.
• I just can't get over how well Zach Ward has pitched for the rockcats this season. Last night he went 1.2 innings and gave up no runs with no hits and a strikeout to lower his tiny era to 0.36 on the season. Look at the numbers he has put up this season so far in 25 innings of work he has only given up 1 earned run along with 22 strikeouts. I really think Zach is ready to be a starter or move to Rochester if they want to keep him in the bullpen because in the role he is in right now he is absoultely dominant and i don't see any reason he can't keep it up.
• The bad defense continues to hamper the Rock Cats as they committed 3 more errors to bring their season total up to a unbelieveable 27 errors in only 37 ballgames. I can only jockey that up to lack of concentration becuase those guys are too talented defensively to play that bad of defense. Like i have said before until they learn to play defense the Rock Cats will not get over the hump.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats continue their series with Binghamton in Binghamton. Gamtime is at 5:35 pm with Oswaldo Sosa tries to improve on his 1-2 record.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 10 Sarasota 6

Fort Myers 24-14 First Place

• POG: Danny Valencia- Danny continued his recent hot string of hitting by going 2-4 with his 4th homerun of the year and 3 rbi's. With the 3 rbi's it brings his total to a team high 32 on the season. He also had a triple and a walk adn scored 3 runs for the Miracle. With the 2 hits it raises Danny's average up to .326 on the season. In his last 5 games Danny is 12-20 a crazy .600 batting average with a homerun and 5 rbi's. After going through a little bit of a lul Danny has come up on fire the last week and is now in league leaders in just about every offensive catergory. I really believe Danny will be playing 3rd base for New Britain before this year is through and if he keeps hitting like this it will be sooner rather than later.
• Deolis Guerra continues to struggle with his control. He went 5 innings last night and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits along with 2 homeruns to raise his era to 4.93 on the young season. His problem last night is he cant hit the catchers glove and that is the one thing you need to do at every level of baseball and until he can do that on a consistant basis his results will suffer. I think its a good thing the Twins were patient with him and having him repeat high A again because he's only 19 years old so whats the problem with waiting for him until he is ready to be the dominant starting pitcher that we all hope and believe that he is going to be. His biggest issue is getting more consistant in hitting the glove and then all his other pitches will follow.
• The Miracle bullpen continues to show why they are the strength of this Miracle team by throwing 4 innings of relief of Deolis Guerra. First Danny Vais threw 2 shutout innings and then Anthony Slama pitched 2 innings and only gave up an unearned run. The Miracle bullpen is what is making the Miracle a first place team and i really think they can keep it up.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Sarasota in Sarasota. Gametime is at 6pm with Alex Burnett trying to improve his record from 2-1 that it is right now.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 7 Clinton 5

Beloit 18-19 8.5 games back

• POG: Ben Revere- Ben continued his hot start with the Snappers by going 2-4 with 3 rbi's and a stolen base to raise his stolen base total to 8 on the season. With the 2 hits it raises his average to .379 on the season. Ben has basically taken over that lead off spot from Joe Benson and has not looked back since. I really like his plate disipline and when the pitcher makes a mistake he makes you pay. He has a decent arm in the outfield with his 2 outfield assists. It wont be mistaken for Carlos Gomez' but its decent all the same. I think he will stay with beloit and continue to put up good numbers for the Snappers and next year it will be on to a new challege at Fort Myers.
• David Bromberg continued his resurgance as he went 6 innings and only gave up 3 runs on 7 hits. He also walked 2 batters and struck out 9 to bring his era down to 4.93 on the season. That is quite the jump based on how slowly he started the year off and how some people were ready to give up on him so early. With the 9 strikeouts it brings his total up to 52 on the year WOW!! If he keeps pitching like this he will be in Fort Myers sooner rather than later.
• Garrett Olson had another solid game as the Snappers try to piece together 3rd base until Deibinon Romero comes back in a few weeks. Garrett went 2-4 with a double to raise his average up to .273 on the season. I love Garrett's versaitlity and the fact that hes a good hitter is all the well better so keep an eye on him see how he does.
• Tonight, the Snappers conclude their series with first place Clinton in Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30pm with Michael Tarsi getting the start trying to improve on his 0-6 record for the Snappers.

Tuesday, May 13th

Twins Talk
Minnesota 7 Boston 3
Minnesota 20-17 First Place

• POG: Craig Monroe- Craig continued his recent hot streak by going 1-2 with 2 walks, a double and 2 rbi's to raise his average to .290 on the season. Craig has been just what the Twins were looking for when they traded him and being back in the Al Central seems to have rejuvanated him. For the year Craig has 4 homeruns and 15 rbi's in only 68 at bats this year. My feeling is its time to get him regular playing time while he is performing like this. You need to remember he had 28 homeruns for the Tigers in 06 and if he can come close to that you need to keep him in the lineup. Is it fair to Jason Kubel who hasn't done anything to get benched no its not. However, its looking more and more like the Twins have a chance to contend so you go with the hot hand as long as it lasts and if he slows down you can always go back to Kubel.
• Livan Hernandez continues to impress notching his 6th win of the season with only 1 loss against him. In the 10 starts he has made this season for the Twins the Twins are 9-1 which tells you how effective he has been to keep us in the games. Last night he went 6 innings and only gave up 3 first inning runs on 10 hits. He walked 1 and also struck out 1 to bring his ERA to a starter low 3.90 on the season. If anybody would of said he would be this good for the Twins i would of called them a liar but i love watching him pitch because he gets by on guile and guts and you have to respect that. Hopefully, he can keep it up and theres no reason why he cant because he has faced good lineups so far and should keep us in most games.
• The Twins bullpen slammed the door pitching 3 shutout innings in relief of Hernandez led by Juan Rincon's 2 perfect innings. Rincon is the key becuase we need him to pitch like he did 2 years ago if we want to stay in 1st place.
• Tonight, the Twins begin a 3 game series with Toronto at the Metrodome. Gametime is at 7;11pm with Kevin Slowey making his 2nd start since coming off the dl vs Blue Jays righty Jesse Litsch.

Rochester wrap

Rochester 5 Buffalo 1

Rochester 16-23 12.0 games back

• POG: Danny Graves- Danny got the spot start for the Wings and man did he impress for the Red Wings. He went 4 shutout innings and only gave up 2 hits and also struck out 2 batters. Danny is not the same pitcher he was 10 years ago but he is a very good pitcher with good movement on his pitches. He still has that very good slider that he uses as his out pitch. The Twins want to find out if they can use him with the injury to Pat Neshek and my gut says yes he has some left in the tank. I think a few more good outings for Danny and i think before the 1st of July you could see Danny Graves in a Twins uniform trying to get big outs.
• The Red Wings offense finally got on track a little bit by pounding out 16 hits led by Denard Span and Jose Morales who had 3 hits apiece and homeruns by Span and Chris Basak to pace the Wings attack.
• Tim Lahey was really dominant as he continues his recovery from that bad outing a few times ago. He picked up his 4th save of the year by going the last 2 innings of the game and not giving up a run and only allowing 1 hit. Along with that he struck out 5 out of the 7 batters he faced to show how dominant he can be. I look for Tim Lahey to be in a Twins uniform sometime this season.
• Tonight, the Red Wings begin a series with Columbus in Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 with Kevin Mulvey getting the start as he tries to improve on his 2-4 record.

New Britain Business

New Hampshire 11 New Britain 4

New Britain 20-16 3.5 games back

• POG: Felix Molina- Felix had his best game so far of the season by going 3-4 with an rbi to bring his average to .259 on the season. Felix is a key contributer off the bench for the Rock Cats and what i really like about him is his flexibility. He can play 2nd, short , or 3rd base and not only play it but play it well. Thats one of the reason that he finds his way into the lineup just about every day. With the injury to Luke Hughes Felix has been playing alot of 3rd base and has done a very good job.
• Anthony Swarzak got the start and wasn't good, but really he was not terrible either. Anthony went 4 innings and only gave up 1 earned run on 5 hits. He walked 4 and struck out 3 in the outing. Anthony's problem lately has not been about getting drilled its about that he cant find the plate which gets his pitch count up which leads him having to leave the game earlier than he or the Rock Cats would like him too. With the earned run it brings Swarzak's ERA down to 3.96. He got off to such a fast start that the expectations for him went through the roof some even saying he is ready for the majors. However since then he has been in a little bit of a funk and is getting behind early in counts and having to throw a cookie and even at AA that will get hit hard. I think he needs to go back to the basics of getting ahead and staying ahead and he will show the signs that made him so high of a prospect by the Twins and probably get a promotion to AAA before years end.
• Jay Sawatski continues to struggle and makes you wonder if maybe he might get released becuase he gets hard every time he comes into the game and i don't see much of a future for him. In 1.1 innings he gave up 6 hits and 6 runs to raise his era to a crazy 8.41 on the season. Hopefully he can turn it around but im not counting on it.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats start a series with Binghamton in Binghamton. Gametime is at 5:35pm with Jay Rainville getting the start as he tries to improve on his 2-4 record.

Fort Myers Musings

Sarasota 7 Fort Myers 2

Fort Myers 23-14 First Place

• POG: Brian Dinkelman- Brian was the only bright spot for the Miracle in a game where they were only able to muster 5 hits. Brian went 1-4 with a double and one of the 2 rbi's the miracle had as a team. With the 1 hit Brian's average is at .326 on the season and his rbi total is at 15 for the season. Dinkelman and Valencia have led the Miracle at the plate even though their pitching staff has been inconsistant and actually Brian has been the most consistant hitter on the team and i look for him to get a promotion up to New Britain sometime this summer.
• Jeff Manship had his first bad outing of the year going only 4 innings and giving up 10 hits and 6 runs along with 2 walks. There are 2 bright spots in his start he struck out 8 to bring his season total to 46 on the season and the second thing is the start is over. Jeff has been the most consistant pitcher on the staff so i take this as a anamoly and will come out next start and keep the Miracle in the game and give them a chance to win a ball game like he usually does.
• Frank Mata got his first action of the year by pitching a scoreless inning along with his 1st strikeout of the season. It will be interesting how long he will be in Fort Myers before he is moved up to New Britain.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Sarasota in Sarasota. Gametime is at 6pm with Deolis Guerra getting the start as he tries to improve on his 3-1 record.

Beloit Beat

Clinton 6 Beloit 5

Beloit 17-19 9.5 games back

• POG: Joe Benson- Joe had his first good game in a while going 2-4 with a double to keep the Snappers in the game. With the 2 hits it brought Joe's average up to .234 on the season. Joe has been very up and down this year and the hope is by moving him down in the lineup it will let him relax a bit and swing at better pitches. The biggest problem with him this year has been he strikes out too much and y0u cant have that at the beginning of the lineup. In 128 at bats this year he has already struck out an unbelievable 43 times which is 34% of his plate appearances. With Ben Revere coming on fast Joe is on the verge of being passed up so he needs to work hard to prevent that from happening.
• Santos Arias put together another solid start by going 5 innings and giving up only 3 runs and 7 hits. He was the tough luck loser for the Snappers picking up his first loss of the season. With the 5 innings it brought his ERA up to 2.81 on the season. He has put together 3 good starts in a row. When Mccardell is ready to come back the Snappers are going to have an interesting decision with starting pitching becuase they are all pitching well.
• Ben Revere continues to get the job done even though he didnt have a hit for only the 2nd time since he arrived he still found a way to score a run and steal a base to bring his stolen bases up to 7 on the season. The more i see this kid the more excited i get about him and i really think he's special and should be the starting center fielder for the Snappers all season.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Clinton in Beloit. Gametime is at 6:35pm with David Bromberg getting the start for the Snappers as he tries to improve his record which right now sits at 1-2 on the season.

Just to let everyone know im working on a Q and A and hopefully have it up in the next few days so hopefully you will like it.

Monday, May 12th

First off sorry for no update this weekend i was traveling back to minnesota to see some family and friends and the first thing i see is snow. Im so glad i live in Texas now you dont even believe it. Back to your regularly scheduled programming now.

Twins Talk
Twins 9 Boston 8

Twins 19-17 First Place

• POG: Craig Monroe- Craig had his finest game as a Twin last night going 2-4 with 2 homeruns and 4 rbi's to help the Twins get the win. Craig is now hitting .284 on the season and has 4 homeruns and has driven in 13 in limited playing time. I really like Jason Kubel but i really believe Monroe gives us what we are lacking and that is Power he can hit alot of homeruns. You need to remember it was just 2 years ago that he hit 28 homeruns to lead the Tigers to the World Series so he is definatly capable. I wouldn't forget about Kubel but as long as Monroe is hitting like he is you need to keep going to the hot hand and see how long it can last.
• The Twins relievers really struggled last night in 3 innings of work they allowed 4 runs and 6 hits to barely hang on against the Red Sox. After losing Pat Neshek they need some guys to step up and to get the ball to Nathan with a lead if the Twins want to continue to contend in the AL Central.
• For the First time all year Joe Nathan struggled and almost blew the save. The good thing is he made a nice pitch to Manny Ramirez to get out of the inning. In his inning of work he gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and stranded the tying run at second to raise his era to 1.93 on the season. The thing about Nathan is its not too often that he has games like this and i look for him to bounce back and be dominant again and look at the bright side he got the save his 13th on the year.
• Tonight, the Twins finish off their 4 game series with the Red Sox in Minneapolis. Gametime is at 6:10 with Livan Hernandez getting the ball vs Clay Bucholz for Boston.

Rochester Wrap

Buffalo 4 Rochester 2

Rochester 15-23 11.5 games back

• POG:Howie Clark- Howie had a pretty good game in which not a whole lot went right for the Red Wings. He went 2-3 with an rbi to raise his average up to .240 on the young season. Howie is a solid journeyman infielder that has been in every organization that you can imagine and he is steady but not spectacular. The Twins are giving their prospect time to develop and he is a good stopgap type of player until they are ready to take the reigns and when that happens he will go to another organization and do the same thing he will always have a job and makes a nice living.
• After an encouraging start the time before Philip Humber really struggled only making it 5 innings and giving up 4 runs on 8 hits. Along with thta he walked 3 and only got 1 strikeout for the right hander. Philip is the model of inconsistancy becuase 1 start he can dominate and the next he gets dominated. If he could ever get the consistancy down he can be a real good pitcher but until he does he will be languishing in AAA.
• The Rochester bullpen did the job again only giving up 3 hits and no runs in 3 innings in relief of Humber. I have said it before and ill say it again the Red Wings bullpen is keeping the Wings in some games and if they could ever hit they would be a good team.
• Tonight, the Red Wings finish off their series with Buffalo in Buffalo. Gametime is at 6:05 with Danny Graves making a spot start for the Red Wings.

New Britain Beat

New Britain 7 New Hampshire 4

New Britain 20-15 3 games back

• POG:Steve Tolleson- Steve continued his recent hot streak since Luke Hughes went out with the injury going 2-5 with his 4th homerun and 4 rbi's to raise his average up to .302 on the season. Steve is just a really solid player who doesn't make alot of mistakes and when his name is in the lineup you know your going to get good professional at bats out of him and he will make the plays in the field no matter where you put him. I think his strength is his versatility. One day he can be at 2nd and the next at 3rd and the next in the outfield he can do it all. I look for his numbers to continue as the more playing time he gets the better he will be.
• Ryan Mullins the most consistant starter for the Cats continued his solid start to the season yesterday as he picked up his 3rd win of the year. Mullins went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. With the outing it lowered Ryan's era to 3.25 on the season. Not alot of people talk about him but he has been the most consistant starter for the cats and i look for him to get the call to Rochester before Swarzak because of his consistancy. Swarzak has better stuff but you know what your going to get out of Mullins and to a coach thats more important.
• It was a big win for the Rock Cats as they broke out of a 4 game losing streak and gained a half a game on first place Trenton as they try to catch them.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats finish their series with New Hampshire in New Hampshire. Gametime is at 5:35 with Anthony Swarzak getting the start as he tries to rebound from back to back bad starts for the young righty.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 7 St. Lucie 5

Fort Myers 23-13 First Place

• POG:Danny Valencia- Danny continued his hot streak by going 4-5 with 2 doubles and a rbi to help the Miracle come back from a 5-2 deficit late in the game. In his last 3 games Danny is 9-12 with 3 doubles and 2 rbi's to raise his average to .323 on the season. Danny is a really good hitter who seems to be finding his groove for the Miracle and my gut says he wont be a member of the Miracle for very much longer. I would give it 2-4 weeks and he will be manning 3rd base for New Britain. He is such a good hitter with good plate disipline and i really believe he is the future 3rd basemen for the Twins just as long as he works on his defense a bit and theres no reason to think he wont so the future is very bright for Danny Valencia.
• Cole Devries struggled again for the Miracle only making it 5 innings and giving up 5 runs on 10 hits to raise his era to 5.13. Like i said when i was talking about Philip Humber, Cole has alot of talent but he is so inconsistant that you dont really know what you got out of him because one start he can be awesome and the next one he is terrible. If he is going to keep moving up the Twins system he has to be more consistant with getting his offspeed over for a strike and actually be more consistant with everything in his game.
• The Miracle's bullpen did it again going 4 shutout innings to allow the Miracle offense to get back into it. The end of that bullpen with Delaney and Slama is the best 1-2 in the whole system. look at these numbers between the 2 of them. 31.2 innings and only 2 earned runs along with 14 saves. They have walked only 8 batters and struck out an amazing 46 batters. All i can say about those too is wow.
• Tonight, the Miracle put their 4 game winning streak on the line against Sarasota in Sarasota. Gametime is at 6pm with Jeff Manship getting the start.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 16-18 8.5 games back

• Yesterday the Snappers had their game with Burlington rained out and tonight they take on first place Clinton in Beloit. Gametime is at 6:35 with Santos Arias getting the start for the Snappers.

Thursday, May 8th

Twins Talk

Minnesota 13 Chicago 1



Minnesota 17-15 First Place

• POG: Carlos Gomez- Carlos had one of the best games in Twins history as he hit the first Cycle a Twin has hit since Kirby Puckett did it in 1986. Gomez went 4-6 with his 2nd homerun of the season along with a triple, a double and a single to raise his batting average up to .282 on the season. He is so exciting a player and there were some that wanted him to be sent down. Well i have to say is shame on you he is the most exciting player the Twins have had in years and he is better defensively than Torii Hunter was last year and offensively it will come. Mark my words in 2 or 3 years he will be the most complete center fielder in the game. I see him as a 30-30 guy and eventually he will be hitting 3rd for the Twins and winning games for the team.
• Livan Hernandez continues to impress as he threw the first complete game of the season for the Twins. Hernandez went 9 innings and gave up 1 run on 9 hits to lower his era to 3.83 on the season. For every young player you should watch him pitch and how he changes speeds and never throws 2 pitches the same speed to keep the hitters off balance. For all young kids that don't throw hard you can be successful because he shows that when your in a jam its better to throw softer not harder and to hit your spots you will be fine.
• Kevin Slowey gets his first start since April 3rd today as he comes off the Disabled List and they say he can throw up to 100 pitches today. If they need to use the bullpen they will be able to thanks to a great start by Hernandez. I look for Slowey to keep the good pitching going today and will be fine.
• Today, the Twins conclude not only their series with Chicago but also their short road trip. Gametime is at 1:05 with Kevin Slowey getting the start for the Twins vs John Danks of the Sox.

Rochester Wrap

• Rochester's game last night was rained out vs Columbus and will be made up today as part of a doubleheader. The first game will get underway at 10:35 with Heath Totten and Kevin Mulvey getting the starts today for the Red Wings

New Britain Business

New Britain 7 Bowie 6

New Britain 19-12 1.5 games back 9 game winning streak

• POG: Brock Peterson- Brock had a heck of game going 4-6 with a double and 3 rbi's along with a run scored. With the 3 rbi's it brought his team high total to 31 on the season. That is tied for the Eastern League lead. With the 4 hits it raises his batting average to a very good .295 on the season. With Randy Ruiz not doing much at Rochester you have to wonder if it may be getting closer to sending Brock up to Rochester and see how he is going to do. I think he is ready for a new challenge in his career and moving up to Rochester would be just the thing. Until then I think everyone should enjoy having him on the Rock Cats and being the run producer he is.
• Anthony Swarzak struggled again last night giving up 5 runs on 8 hits in only 4.2 innings of work. In his last 3 starts he has allowed 13 runs on 21 hits in 14.2 innings to raise his ERA to 4.15 on the season. You knew he was going to come down to earth a little bit after the unbelieveable start he had but he needs to get it straighted out and i think he will. The problem is he hasn't been getting his offspeed pitches over for strikes and is forced to throw his fastball down the middle and they are crushing it. I look for Anthony to rebound from this and go back to being the pitcher we have known all season and lighting up the scoreboard again.
• The Rock Cats rebounded from a 5-2 deficit to pull out the win with the 2 out rbi single by Brock Peterson in the bottom of the 10th inning to extend their season high winning streak to 9 games. I think we should all enjoy the streak the Rock Cats are on because you dont win 9 games in a row very often and should enjoy it while it lasts because i have a feeling it wont be long and some guys that are helping the Rock Cats will be getting the Promotion they have deserved and so the Rock Cats will have to win another way.
• Today, the Rock Cats finish off their series with Bowie as they go for the sweep. Gametime is at 9:35am with Jay Rainville trying to extend the winning streak to 10 games for the Rock Cats.

Fort Myers Musings

• The Miracle had yesterday off and begin a series with the Mets in St. Lucie. Gametime is at 6 pm with Deolis Guerra getting the start for the Miracle

Beloit Beat

• The Snappers had yesterday off and begin a series with Burlington in Burlington. Gametime is at 6:30pm with Michael Tarsi gets the start as he tries to extend the recent string of great Snappers Pitching. The Snappers starters have went 8 consecutive games with giving up 2 runs or less and Tarsi tries to continue that.

Wednesday, May 7th

Twins Talk

Chicago 7 Minnesota 1

Minnesota 16-15 First Place

• POG: Nick Blackburn- There was not alot of positivies to take from this game but the mental toughness Nick showed is one of them. Nick did not have good stuff at all, but he kept battling and battling and made it through 6 innings and only 3 earned runs. It was enough to keep the team in the game and if they could of hit he gave them a chance to win and thats all that matters. In his 6 innings he gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits while walking 3 and striking out 1 to raise his ERA to a starter low 3.65 on the season. I just absoultely love his mental toughness and his will to keep the team in the game and if he can do that he will stay with the Twins when more talented pitchers fall at the wasteside.


• I would be remiss than to miss saying congrats to Gavin Floyd of the White Sox who threw one hell of a game throwing a no hitter into the 9th that was broken up by a 1 out double by Joe Mauer.


• Last night was not a good game by any means the Twins didn't hit, had 2 errors in the field and the bullpen was awful. Those are games easy to get over because the Twins dont have many games like that and hopefully tommorrow they can come to the park and get back on the winning side .


• Tonight, the Twins take on the White Sox in game 2 of their series in Chicago. Gametime is a 7:11 wiht the pitching matchup being Livan Hernandez for the Twins and Mark Buehrle going for the Sox.

Rochester Wrap

Columbus 3 Rochester 1

Rochester 14-19 9.0 games back 4 game losing streak

• POG: Philip Humber- It was an impressive outing for Philip after the stuff we saw out of him early in the season. Philip only went 4 innings because they need to build his arm strength up again after spending some time in the bullpen. In 4 innings Philip only gave up a run on 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 6 to lower his era to 4.97 on the season. Philip got off to kind of a slow start and people are starting to give up on him after 4 or 5 starts and i think thats premature. Alot of pitchers struggle out of the gate and him especially recovering from Tommy John Surgery people need to be patient. I really expect big things this year for Philip and by the end of the year i think he will be the ace of the staff and possibly get a september callup for the Twins.


• Jose Morales had a bounceback game for the Wings going 3-4 to raise his average to .231 on the season. Jose has struggled with the bat so far but i look for him to rebound and have his usual good offensive season by the end.


• The Red Wings just could not get that big hit again. They got 10 hits but were only able to muster 1 run for their trouble. They are in an offensive funk and are really struggling to score runs and hopefully they can come out of it soon.


• Tonight, the Wings continue their series with Columbus in Columbus. Gametime is at 6:05 with probably Heath Totten getting the start as the Wings try to break their season high 4 game losing streak.

New Britain Business

New Britain 5 Bowie 3

New Britain 18-12 1.5 games back 8 game winning streak

• POG: Matt Moses- For the second consecutive game Matt gets player of the game honors as he helped the Rock Cats to their 8th straight win. Matt went 2-3 with 2rbi's and a run scored along with a walk to raise his average to .288 on the season and his rbi total up to 14 on the season. Like i said yesterday Matt is the key to the Rock Cats attack when he is swinging a good bat the Rock Cats are hard to beat. As you can see his recent hot streak coincides with the Rock Cats 8 game winning streak. Is that a coincidence i dont think so He is the one who stirs the drink for the Rock Cats and it will be very interesting to see if he can continue hitting the baseball at a good pace.


• Ryan Mullins was solid like usual going the first 6 innings and giving up 2 earned runs on 5 hits along with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.05 on the season. Ryan had 1 bad start but other than that he has been solid as you can be and it will be interesting if he gets a callup to Rochester soon along with Swarzak.


• Seems like every game in this winning streak someone gets a big hit in the late innings to put the Rock Cats ahead and last night was no different as Matt Moses hitting an rbi double in teh 7th inning to put the rock cats ahead.


• Tonight, the Rock Cats continue their series with Bowie in New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35 with Anthony Swarzak getting the start for the Rock Cats as they try to extend their winning streak to 9 games.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 4 Daytona 2

Fort Myers 19-13 First Place

• POG:Jeff Manship- Jeff continued his solid start of the season by going 6 strong innings and gave up 2 runs on 7 hits while walking 2 and striking out 8 for the Miracle to lower his era to a respectable 3.23 on the season. Jeff has been a real leader for the Miracle and gets a little bit better every start and i look for that to continue. The big thing with Jeff is getting his changeup over for a strike and when he does with his good fastball he is hard to hit. I look for Jeff to make the jump to AA sometime this year and if he can keep pitching like he is he is a future Twin.
• The Miracle's awesome tagteam at the end of the bullpen was strong as usual with Anthony Slama and Robert Delaney going the last 2 innings without giving up a hit and striking out 3 in 3 innings of work. Robert has been awesome this far and i think he is ready to make the jump to new britain. Anthony Slama could then slot into the Closer role for the Miracle and i think both clubs would be better for it.
• Eddie Ovalle continues his recent string of good hitting going 2-3 with a 2 run single to put the Miracle on top in the 8th inning. Eddie has been one of the top hitters on the Miracle lately to raise his average to .307 on the season and hopefully he can keep it going.
• Tonight, the Miracle are off today before beginning at series in St. Lucie to take on the Mets.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6 Lansing 2

Beloit 14-18 9.0 games back

• POG: David Bromberg- Its amazing how good the Snappers pitching has been lately and David continued the recent trend of great pitching by the Snappers. The Snappers starting pitchers have went 8 consecutive games where they gave up 2 or less runs. Thats unbelieveable starting pitching and it was such a shock because how bad they started. Last night David continued it by going 6 innings and only giving up a run on 3 hits to lower his era to 5.00. If David keeps pitching like that he will lead the Snappers back into contention for a playoff spot.
• Steven Hirschfeld continued his strong pitching by going the last 3 innings to pick up his 3rd win of the year without a loss. Steven went 3 innings and gave up a meaningless run in the 9th on 1 hit. He walked 1 and struck out 5 to lower his era to 0.95 on the season.
• Ben Revere continued his strong start by going 3-5 with a double and a run scored. Along with that he stole 2 bases in addition. For the season Ben is hitting a crazy .432 and if he continues this he will get more and more playing time and the manager will have a hard time getting him out of the lineup.
• The Snappers are off tonight before beginning a series with Burlington on Friday night in Burlington.

Tuesday, May 6th

Twins Talk
Minnesota 16-14 First Place

• Twins had the day off yesterday and get ready to begin a 3 game series with the White Sox in Chicago game time is at 7:10 with Nick Blackburn getting the start vs Gavin Floyd of the White Sox.

Rochester Wrap

Columbus 7 Rochester 6

Rochester 14-18 8.0 games back

• POG: Francisco Liriano- I know this is going to surprise some people that i picked him, but let me explain. Francisco had been getting progressively worse start after start and his control was getting worse and worse. Last night was not a great performance but he stopped the decline and accomplished a few things. Liriano went 5 innings and gave up a run on 2 hits while walking 4 and striking out 4. The walks are still too high but 3 of his 4 walks happened in the first 2 innings so he really settled down the last 3. The first 2 innings got his pitch count way up and he was still able to finish 5 innings. With Liriano it is baby steps and he accomplished his first step back to being the pitcher we all remember him as. With the 1 run in 5 innings it lowered Liriano's era to 5.40 on the season and i look for it to continue to go down every start.
• First off i want to congratulate Darnell Mcdonald for winning IL player of the Week honors for last week. Last night he acted like he wants to win it again going 2-3 with his 4th homerun of the year along with 4 rbi's and 2 runs scored to raise his team high batting average to .362 on the season. If he keeps this up who knows maybe he will get a call to the Twins before the seasons over.
• The Red Wings for the first time in a long time had a rough outing led by Closer Tim Lahey who gave up a 6-1 8th inning lead. He was helped by fellow reliever Mariano Gomez as the Red Wings blew a game they should of won. Tim gave up 4 runs on 4 hits in only 2/3 of an inning to get the loss. With the 4 runs it raises Tim's era to 5.87 on the season. Im not too worried about Tim he had been phenomenal and will come back next time and shut the door like he usually does.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Columbus in Columbus. Gametime is at 6:05 with Philip Humber returning to the starting rotation and getting the start for the Redwings.

New Britain Business

New Britain 5 Bowie 4

New Britain 17-12 1.5 games back

• POG:Matt Moses- Matt seems to be coming out of his early season funk as he went 1-3 with his first homerun of the season, along with 2 rbi's and 2 runs scored to raise his average to .278 on the season. Matt had been hitting good all season but he wasn't hitting with the power that we are all used to seeing out of him. I really think he popped the cork and will start hitting homeruns like crazy now and he will be going back to being the player that we forseen out of him. The thing about it is he was hitting well so if he can add the power aspect back to his game it will mean big things for the Rock Cats.
• Erik Lis had a big 2 out rbi double in the bottom of the 8th and Ben Julianal came in the 9th to close it out as the Rock Cats continued their season high winning streak to 7 games and come within a game and a half of first place.
• Yohan Pino was decent he went the first 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 8 hits for a quality start. With the 3 runs it raises Yohan's era to 2.32 on the season. It was not a bad start at all we were just getting used to alot more out of him as he came into the game with a 1.80 era going in so we expect more. I think he will rebound next time and give us the start all Rock Cat fans have come to expect out of him.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats continue their series with Bowie in New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35pm with Ace Ryan Mullins getting the start for the Rock Cats as they try to extend their season high winning streak to 8 games.

Fort Myers Musings

Daytona 9 Fort Myers 1

Fort Myers 18-13 First Place

• POG: Cole Devries- Cole had his best start of the season last night by far by going 7 innings and giving up only 2 runs on 7 hits while walking 1 on the night. With the 2 runs allowed it lowered Cole's era to 4.58 on the season. I was really impressed with Cole last night and he got ahead of the hitters and threw strikes as the case with only 1 walk in 7 innings. I really think this is the beginning of some good things for Cole who i expect will contribute to the good pitching of the entire Miracle staff
• The Miracle's bullpen was horrible last night giving up 7 runs and 7 hits in only 2 innings of work. Zack Day was the worst giving up 4 runs and 6 hits in only 1 inning of work. Danny Hernandez was not much better giving up 3 runs on only 1 hit however he walked 3 batters in his inning of work. You can tell they are the weak links in that great Miracle bullpen and they need to step up or they will have trouble getting work in this season because Beloit has good people in the bullpen too so they may be looking for their job.
• Danny Valencia had another good game going 2-4 to raise his average to .297 on the season. Danny had a small slump but has come back with a vengence and has his average almost up 300 and has 27 rbi's in only 31 games and i expect him to continue and have a awesome year.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Daytona in Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 with staff ace Jeff Manship getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 4 Lansing 2

Beloit 13-18 9.0 games back

• POG:Garrett Olson- Garrett had an outstanding game going 2-5 with 2rbi's. With the 2 hits it raises Garrett's average to .295 on the season. Garrett has done a nice job of filling in at 3rd base since Deibinson Romero went down with a knee injury. When Romero comes back Garrett will go back to the outfield and first base and do just as good out there. The thing i like about Olson is how flexible he is he can play any position and do it very well. I look for him to continue to improve defensively and offensively to help the Snappers get more wins.
• The Snappers good starting pitching continued as Santos Arias made his 2nd straight good start. Santos went 5 innings to pick up his first win and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 5 to bring his era to a very good 1.64 on the season.
• Ben Revere continued his hot start with the Snappers going 2-4 with a triple and 2 runs scored to pace the Snappers offense. I thought he would be good for the Snappers but i was not expecting this type of start for Ben and only shows you that the Twins know how to draft and he may be the next in a long line of good outfielders drafted by the Twins organization.
• Today, the Snappers continue their series with Lansing in Lansing. Gametime is at 9:35 this morning and David Bromberg gets the start for the Snappers.

Beloit Snappers

In part 5 of my series on the Twins organization for the month of April i will be looking at the Beloit Snappers. Beloit went 10-16 for the month of April and did some good things and some things they need to work on

• Starting Pitching: The Starting Pitching has really struggled so far this season and the team looked at it as a strength and it has not happened so far. The Snappers starting ERA for the month was 3.60 but for the most part the majority of the starters really struggled. One of the only guys that was outstanding just went out with an injury and is on the disabled list and that is Mike Mccardell. Mike went 0-1 with a 2.53 era in 4 starts to lead the staff. David Bromberg who everybody thought was going to be the leader went 1-2 5.70era and Michael Tarsi another ace went 0-6 with a 6.75 era. That kind of tells how bad things have been pitching for the Snappers and they don't have enough hitting to pick up for the pitchers and if they dont pick it up it will be a long season. The last few starts have shown improvement and that is why the Snappers record has improved. GRADE: D+

• Relief Pitching- The Relief Pitching for the Snappers has been excellent with a relief pitcher ERA of 2.79 era on the season. They have been led by Spencer Steedley's 1.83era and Charles Nolte's 1.29era. Also helping out has been Loek Van Mil's 3.09era. There have been a few disappoinments in Blair Erickson with a 4.91era and Bradley Tippett 4.50. When you have Steedley, Nolte and Van Mil if you have a lead in the late innings your going to win. The bullpen is the most dynamic in the MSL and if the starters can get them the ball they are going to win. GRADE: A

• Hitting: This is an interesting thing to look at because the hitters have really struggled this year and don't seem to be getting any better. They were led by Steve Singelton who hit .330 with 2 homeruns and 13 rbi's. Chris Parmalee has been up and down as he went through a 2-32 slump and ends the month at .247 with 6homeruns and 23rbi's. Losing Deibinson Romero early in the month really hurt the hitting of the team hopefully he can come back soon and get back to what he did last year. The Wildcard has to be 2007 First Round pick Ben Revere who came up with the Snappers last month and has produced hitting .406 in 8 games. He is a dynamic hitter if he can continue it it will really help out the Snappers offense. The guy that i have been really disappointed in is Joe Benson who is only hitting .228 with 2 homeruns and only 7 rbi's along with 37 strikeouts in 26 games thats just not good enough. Another guy i have been disappointed in is Ozzie Lewis who was only hitting .091 before Revere arrived and has saw his playing time go away . Im not sure if its an injury or what but Ozzie has not played in a while and thats the only way he is going to come out of his slump is by playing so hopefully see him in there soon. Overall the hitting has been a real disappointment but since the arrival of Revere it seems to be getting better so hopefully they can keep it coming. GRADE: D-

• Defense: Defense has not been the Snapper's strong point this year with 44 errors in 26 games. They were led in errors by 8 from Ramon Santana and 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 Snappers have been decent running the bases with 45 stolen bases in 26 April games. They have alot of speed and have taken advantage of it led by Marc Dolenc's 7 and Joe Benson, Garrett Olson, and Ramon Santana with 6. I think they should be running more with the speed they have. 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 B

• Overall: The Snappers 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 lately 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. The Twins raised some guys up to Beloit and I want to see if they are ready to take that step and help the Snappers get back into playoff contention because they have really talented players. Grade D

• Player of the Month: Steve Singelton- Steve was the most consistant player for the Snappers in April. He hit .330 with 2 homeruns and 13 rbi's. He also had 2 doubles and a triple. He needs to work on his Defense but if he continues to produce offensively he will be with the Twins in a couple of years.

• Pitcher of the Month: Spencer Steedley- Spencer was the best pitcher on the staff for the Snappers always shutting down the oppostition when he came in with the lead. For the Month Spencer went 1-1 with a 1.83 era. He also walked 8 while striking out an awesome 27 batters in 19.2 innings of work. The bullpen for the Snappers has been the strongpoint and it has been led by Spencer who has put together a great month and i think he will keep it going all year long.

Monday, May 5th

Twins Talk
Minnesota 7 Detroit 6
Minnesota 16-14 First Place

• POG: Boof Bonser- I know alot of people are going to give me crap for this because it wasn't a quality start but hang in there i will explain. Boof went 6 innings and gave up 6runs on 8 hits with 5 strikeouts. The thing was he gave up all 6 runs in the first inning and they weren't all his fault. They hit a bleeder that scored a run and Nick Punto let a throw get by him when they were stealing. I know it wasn't a great throw by Joe Mauer but you have to give up your body to keep it in front of you. After 1 inning Boof had given up 6 runs on 45 pitches so you thought he was done heck no. Boof pitched 5 shutout innings after the first inning and saved the bullpen by pitching threw the 6th. It takes alot of determination to keep going after that 1st inning and it showed me alot of what Boof has inside him and hopefully he can show that in every start from now on.
• Joe Mauer continued to cream the ball going 2-4 with a 2 run single that put the Twins ahead in the 7th. In the series Joe is back to being the hitter we remember going 7-11 a .636 average. Joe may not hit for alot of power but he is the best hitter we have and when healthy he makes the team so much better.
• Joe Nathan is worth every penny we are paying him like Jim Souhan said today in the trib. theres nothing worse then fighting back from a 6-0 deficit and take the lead only to have the closer blow it. By the end of the year the money we are paying him will look like a discount.
• Today the Twins have their last off day in 3 weeks and get ready to face the White Sox Tommorrow in Chicago.

Rochester Wrap

Toledo 8 Rochester 4

Rochester 14-17 8.0 games back

• POG:Alexi Casilla- For probably the first time this season Alexi did what we expected him to do all season and that is get on base and scoring runs. Alexi went 3-4 with a run scored for the Red Wings to bring his average to .212 on the season. Alexi has struggled this year but i hope this is the beginning of good things because many people in the organization look at him as the starting shortstop for the Twins next year so if he could turn it around that would be huge.
• Brian Duensing had the same trouble Boof Bonser did for the Twins. He gave up 6 first inning runs and then was fine after that. For the game Brian went 5.2 innings and gave up 6 runs on 5 hits while walking 4 and striking out 3 to raise his era to 3.67 on the season. I look for Brian to move on from this cause really it was just a bad inning and things like that are not too hard to come back from. I look for him to come out next time and do his usual 2 or 3 runs in 6 or 7 innings and be fine.
• Backup Catcher Ryan Jorgensen got his first playing time of the year and hit his first homerun and drove in 2 runs as the Red Wings tried to make a comeback. With the way Morales is hitting maybe Ryan can get some more playing time.
• Tonight, the Red Wings begin a 3 game series with Columbus in Columbus. Gametime is at 6pm with Francisco Liriano getting the start as the Red Wings try to break their 2 game losing streak.

New Britain Business

New Britain 6 New Hampshire 5

New Britain 16-12 1.5 games back

• POG:Trevor Plouffe- Trevor continued his recent upward string going 3-4 with second homerun of the year along with 2 rbi's and 2 runs scored. Trevor seems like he is getting better and better every game and the Twins view him as the shortstop of the future and the future might be next season. Right now he is getting outshined by teammates Luke Hughes and Dustin Martin but i believe if he keeps it going he will be joining them in Rochester before the end of the season.
• Oswaldo Sosa struggled again only making it 5 innings while giving up 5 runs on 8 hits while walking 1 and striking out 3. With the bad outing it raised Oswaldo's era to a bad 6.39 on the season. He is really struggling and i dont get it because he has too much talent to struggle like this and with the players around him i dont think the Rock Cats will continue to be patient with him forever so he needs to step it up.
• Dustin Martin continued his recent hot streak by going 2-4 and driving in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th. With the 2 hits it raises Dustin's average back up to .352 which is 2nd on the team behind teammate Luke Hughes.
• Tonight, the Rock Cats begin a series with Bowie a farmteam of the Orioles in New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35pm with Yohan Pino getting the start as the Rock Cats try to extend their season high winning streak to 7 games.

Fort Myers Musings

Daytona 6 Fort Myers 4

Fort Myers 18-12 First Place

• POG: Danny Vais- Danny continued his dominate stuff out of the bullpen going 3 innings and only giving up 1 hit while walking 1 and striking out 2. People have been saying the dominate short men for the Miracle are Delaney and Slama well i think you can add Vais to that to make it a trio. When the Miracle have a lead after 6 innings its over those 3 have dominent stuff and will get the job done more times and not and the Miracle are very lucky to have them so keep an eye on them.
• Tyler Robertson really struggled yesterday i dont know if it was the extra day off or what but he sure didnt have it yesterday. He made it 5 innings somehow and gave up 6 runs on 14 hits while walking 1 and striking out 2. Im having trouble figuring out what happend yesterday because he had been so good all year so im just going to bank that off as a bad day and hope next time he goes out he shows the stuff that has made everyone in the Twins organization salivate.
• Dan Berg had his first big game since coming off the Dl going 2-4 with a double and a rbi to bring his average up to .333 on the season. Dan is a good backup who should get more and more playing time if he keeps hitting like he is now.
• Tonight, the Miracle play game 3 of their 4 game series with Daytona. Gametime is at 6:05 with Cole Devries getting the start for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Lansing 4 Beloit 1

Beloit 12-18 10.0 games back

• POG:Brian Kirwan- Brian continued the recent string of awesome starting pitching by the Snappers going 6 innings and only giving up a run on 4 hits to lower his era to 3.31 on the season. Brian has been one of the more consistant pitchers on the staff so far but its like everyone is trying to outdue the other to see who is going to pitch the best. Brian has alot of talent and the talent is starting to come through and it can mean only good things for the whole Snapper team becuase going into the season the Starting Pitching was supposed to be their strength.
• Bradley Tippett had his worst outing of the season going 1.2 innings and giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. I think that he has alot of talent and i think he will rebound next time with a good outing.
• Ben Revere continues his hot start for Beloit going 2-4 with the teams only run scored of the game. With the 2 hits it raises Ben's average to .393 and with the start he has had to puts alot of hope in his future with the Twins.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Lansing. Gametime is at 6:05 with Steven Hirschfeld getting the start for the Snappers as they try to keep the good starting pitching going.

Fort Myers Miracle

In part 3 of my series on the Twins organization for the month of April i will be looking at the Fort Myers Miracle. Fort Myers went 15-10 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 3.62 starting pitcher ERA. They were led by starters Jeff Manship, Tyler Robertson and newcomer Deolis Guerra. Manship went 4-0 with a 3.27 and was the leader of the staff. Robertson went 0-1 with a 2.84 era and was much better than his record striking out a team high 29 strikeouts in 30 innings. Deolis Guerra started out strong, but has slumped of late to come in with a 4.61 era if you count his last start. Deolis has the most electric stuff on the staff who throws a good changeup and throws in the low 90's. The biggest surprise has been Alex Burnett going 2-1 with a miniscule 2.28 era and throwing good solid innings. The only one who has struggled a bit has been Cole Devries who has a 5.08 era on the season but the good thing is he has been better of late. Overall the Miracle have done what they have too because they have the cream of the crop in their rotation and have done what they needed to do. GRADE: A-

• Relief Pitching: The Relief Pitching for the Miracle has been excellent with a relief pitcher ERA of 3.61era on the season. They have been led by Anthony Slama's 0.56 and Danny Vais' 0.92. Also helping out has been Robert Delaney's 0.57. There have been a few disappoinments in Matt Fox with a 6.91era and Jose Lugo's 7.62. When you have Slama, Vais and Delaney if you have a lead in the late innings your going to win. The end of that bullpen is the most dynamic in the FSL and if the starters can get them the ball they are going to 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. They have been led by Brian Dinkelman, Rene Tosoni and Danny Valencia. Dinkelman hit .330 with a homer and 12 rbis. Tosoni hit .337 with 9 rbi's and the guy that is the thumper in the middle of the order is Valencia who hit .290 with 3 homeruns and 27 rbi's. 1-9 there are many good hitters who on any given night can carry the Miracle offense. The only guy that i expected to hit better that hasn't is Wilson Ramos who hit only .213 with a homer and 15 rbi's and i look for him to rebound because he is too good of a hitter to keep that going. I look for the Miracle to continue their good hitting and get Ramos and a few other people going and scoring more runs. GRADE: B

• Defense: Defense has not been the Miracle's strong point this year with 28 errors in 25 games. They were led in errors by 5 from Danny Valencia and 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 Miracle have been decent running the bases with 18 stolen bases in 25 April games. They have alot of speed and have taken advantage of it led by Brian Dinkelman's 5 and Rene Tonosi's 3. I think they should be running more with the speed they have. 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 Miracle 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 Fort Myers than there is at New Britain 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

• Player of the Month: Danny Valencia- Danny was the most consistant player and run producer for the Miracle in April. He hit .290 with 3 homeruns and a team high 27 rbi's. He is the 3rd basemen of the future for the Twins and is the run producer for the Miracle. He needs to work on his Defense but if he continues to produce offensively he will be with the Twins in a couple of years.

• Pitcher of the Month: Jeff Manship- I know this must come as a surprise with the highly touted pitchers they have on their staff but Jeff has been the most consistent pitcher on the staff going 4-0 with a 3.23era. He leads that staff and has improved every start this year and is the person that when the Miracle need to break a losing streak thats the guy they will look to. I look for Jeff to move up to New Britain sometime this year and will be very good and a future Twin.