Twins Fan From Afar

Oh boy, it was a rough one for the Twins, who took the "pitch-to-contact" mentality to a new level when they gave up a combined 21 hits to the White Sox in what ended up being an ugly 12-5 loss. After the game, it was announced that pitcher Kyle Waldorp had been recalled to Minnesota, and Jeff Manship was optioned. It was also announced that the Twins acquired pitcher Shairon Martis from the Pirates. Don't get too excited; this sounds just like a move to acquire some minor league depth. The 25 year old is expected to join New Britain, where every pitcher that has been halfway decent has already been promoted to Rochester. The other minor league news story of the day was that Rochester shortstop Pedro Florimon was selected as a reserve for the International League All-Star Game. He started off the season in New Britain, and was quickly promoted to AAA. He's hitting .260 on the season for Rochester, but is batting .333 over his last 10 games. Congratulations, Pedro! After that preamble, let's take a look at the action down on the farm. ROCHESTER 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 3 Samuel Deduno started for the Red Wings tonight, and threw 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. He issued 4 walks, but struck out 9! Caleb Thielbar pitched 1 inning of relief, and gave up 1 run on 2 hits. Luis Perdomo earned the win, tossing 2 and 2/3 innings and allowing only 1 hit while striking out 2. Tsuyoshi Nishioka was an offensive catalyst tonight. Yes, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. He was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, and RBI and a run scored. Danny Valencia, hitting pretty well lately, was 2-for-3 with a double, a run, and 2 RBIs. Ray Chang was 3-for-4 (all singles), and designated hitter Michael Hollimon contributed a double. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 4, TRENTON 9 Starter B.J. Hermsen had a rare rough start, and New Britain's 6 game winning streak was snapped. Hermsen lasted only 2 innings, and gave up 6 runs on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 1. Even after this outing, his AA ERA is a respectable 3.60. New Rock Cat Daniel Sattler picked up the slack, throwing 4 innings out of the bullpen, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, and walking 1. Daniel Turpen threw 2 innings, allowed only 1 hit, and struck out 2. Finally, Edgar Ibarra pitched the 9th inning, and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, striking out 1. Hermsen, Sattler and Ibarra all surrendered a home run tonight. New Britain had 10 hits tonight, and most players got in on the action. Chris Colabello was 2-for-5 and hit his 13th home run. Chris Herrmann and Oswaldo Arcia were also 2-for-5, Deibinson Romero was 2-for-3, Aaron Hicks was 1-for-4, and Nathan Hanson had a double in 3 at-bats. Arcia also picked up his 7th RBI in his brief Rock Cats career. Here's the link to the box score. FT. MYERS 6, TAMPA 2 Pat Dean had a very solid start for the Miracle. In 6 innings of work, he gave up just 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits, striking out 2 and walking 2. Dean retired the last 9 batters he faced before being pulled. Following Dean's lead, Marty Popham tossed 2 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 1, and Nelvin Fuentes threw a scoreless 9th, giving up 1 hit, striking out 1 and issuing 1 free pass. 8 of the 9 Miracle starters had at least 1 hit. Jairo Perez was 1-for-4 with a 2-run home run, his 5th of the season. Lance Ray hit his 8th homer, a solo shot. Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-4 with a double. Kyle Knudson continues to swing a hot bat, and was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs. Daniel Santana, Levi Michael, Daniel Rams and Anderson Hidalgo all contributed singles. There are lots of Daniels on this team. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT 1, KANE COUNTY 3 David Hurlbut took a tough loss in this one. He threw 6 strong innings, giving up 2 runs (none earned) on 6 hits, striking out 6 and walking only 1. Hurlbut's ERA stands at 1.71. Cole Johnson pitched the remaining 2 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 2 and walking 1. Tyler Grimes and Adam Bryant had the errors that proved costly. Beloit only had 6 hits all night. Left fielder Nate Roberts had a double in 3 at-bats and walked twice, Steven Liddle was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, and Adam Pettersen, Drew Leachman, Jonathan Goncalves and Jairo Rodriguez each singled. The Snappers walked 7 times tonight, but couldn't convert. Miguel Sano had the night off, except for a pinch hit appearance, where he walked. Here's the link to the box score. ELIZABETHTON 5, BRISTOL 0 Angel Mata picked up his first win of the young season, throwing 5 scoreless innings. He allowed only 2 hits, and struck out 4 while walking only 1. Hein Robb was great out of the bullpen, tossing 3 scoreless innings. He allowed no hits and struck out 4. Finally, Mason Melotakis threw a scoreless 9th, striking out 2. In all, only 2 hits allowed, 10 strikeouts and 1 walk. E-Town compiled only 6 hits, but they also walked 6 times. Romy Jimenez was 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Candido Pimental, Niko Goodrum, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco all contributed singles. Here's the link to the box score. ------------------------------------------ Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 27 Pitcher(s) of the Day: The E-Town Trio of Mata, Robb and Melotakis [ATTACH=CONFIG]1387[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day: Romy Jimenez (photo credit Thrylos from Tenth Inning Stretch -- thanks!) [ATTACH=CONFIG]1388[/ATTACH] ---------------------------------------- Schedule for Thursday, June 28 Rochester @ Lehigh Valley --- RHP Steven Hirschfeld New Britain vs. Trenton --- ??? Ft. Myers @ Charlotte --- LHP Cole Nelson Beloit vs. Clinton --- ??? Elizabethton vs. Pulaski --- LHP Taylor Rogers GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays --- ??? ---------------------------------------- Please leave any questions or comments and either Seth or I will be happy to respond.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-leMRI9seyNs/T-hcXoyUwzI/AAAAAAAAAb0/3Q9nJmDmPhE/s320/Bigley.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Evan Bigley says, "Do not take my playing time, Oswaldo Arcia." [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] The Rock Cats finish up their four game series, as well as their week-long road trip, in a noon game today against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, but the series has already been a success. The Rock Cats won the first three games, and go for the sweep in today's finale. Friday night was an offensive showing for both teams, but New Britain prevailed, 9-8. Evan Bigley had 4 hits, including his 9th home run, and Chris Colabello had 2 hits, including a double, and 2 RBIs. Catcher Chris Herrmann also notched 2 hits and a double. Starter B.J. Hermsen actually pitched pretty well, but wasn't aided by his defense. Though he only was charged with 2 earned runs in 6 and 1/3 innings, 6 runs scored thanks to errors. Saturday New Britain won 6-1. Blake Martin, traditionally a reliever, started and went 4 innings. Luis Perdomo threw the other 5 innings and gave up only 1 run, striking out 6. Chris Colabello had a double and a home run, and Evan Bigley hit his 15th double of the season. Oswaldo Arcia also had a hit, and Minnesota's own Nathan Hanson hit his second home run of the season. On Sunday, the Rock Cats won 7-3. Logan Darnell turned in a quality start for the Rock Cats, pitching 6 innings and giving up 3 runs. He struck out 3 and walked 2, but gave up 2 home runs. Daniel Turpen was excellent out of the bullpen, throwing 3 innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 2. Chris Colabello, again, had a big game. He notched 3 hits, including his 12th home run, in 5 at-bats, and scored twice. Evan Bigley was 3-for-4 with his 16th double and drove in 2 runs, and Matt Rizzotti was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Oswaldo Arcia was 1-for-5 and is batting .174 in a very, very small AA sample size. These are just very short summaries, but I think it's important to note who is carrying this team lately when it wins. It's not necessarily Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia or Chris Herrmann (although Hicks and Herrmann certainly have been productive at various points this season). Right now, it's unquestionably Chris Colabello, the 28 year old journeyman, 25 year old Evan Bigley, who recently was told that with Arcia's promotion, he would lose playing time, and 25 year old Nathan Hanson, who has played various positions and has found more playing time as a result of his hot bat. I'm not sure if any of these guys are destined for major league careers, but it's nice to see veteran players getting the job done at AA -- a level at which they need to excel. Let's look at the last 10 games: Evan Bigley is hitting at a .400/.415/.700 clip, and has 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR and 10 RBIs. The 25 year old is now hitting a respectable .265 on the season. Chris Colabello is hitting .293/.326/.488 2 2B, 2 HR and 8 RBIs. He's still leading the entire Eastern League in RBIs with 52, and his 12 home runs are good for 3rd in the Eastern League. Guess who's in second place in the Eastern League RBI race? Evan Bigley, with 48. Finally, there's Nathan Hanson. In his last 10 games, he's hitting .343/.378/.629 with 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR and 4 RBIs. After starting the season off slow, Hanson is batting an even .270 on the season. The finale of the Rock Cats-Flying Squirrels series is noon (eastern time). The Rock Cats are still 3 games back in the standings, and are hoping to gain a little more ground today. All season long, this has been a streaky team, so hopefully they will continue to ride this current streak. [update: All my positive mentions of Bigley were not in vain. He took home Eastern League player of the week honors for this past week. http://eastern.league.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120625&content_id=33893738&vkey=news_l113&fext=.jsp&sid=l113]

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-leMRI9seyNs/T-hcXoyUwzI/AAAAAAAAAb0/3Q9nJmDmPhE/s320/Bigley.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Evan Bigley says, "Do not take my playing time, Oswaldo Arcia." [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] The Rock Cats finish up their four game series, as well as their week-long road trip, in a noon game today against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, but the series has already been a success. The Rock Cats won the first three games, and go for the sweep in today's finale. Friday night was an offensive showing for both teams, but New Britain prevailed, 9-8. Evan Bigley had 4 hits, including his 9th home run, and Chris Colabello had 2 hits, including a double, and 2 RBIs. Catcher Chris Herrmann also notched 2 hits and a double. Starter B.J. Hermsen actually pitched pretty well, but wasn't aided by his defense. Though he only was charged with 2 earned runs in 6 and 1/3 innings, 6 runs scored thanks to errors. Saturday New Britain won 6-1. Blake Martin, traditionally a reliever, started and went 4 innings. Luis Perdomo threw the other 5 innings and gave up only 1 run, striking out 6. Chris Colabello had a double and a home run, and Evan Bigley hit his 15th double of the season. Oswaldo Arcia also had a hit, and Minnesota's own Nathan Hanson hit his second home run of the season. On Sunday, the Rock Cats won 7-3. Logan Darnell turned in a quality start for the Rock Cats, pitching 6 innings and giving up 3 runs. He struck out 3 and walked 2, but gave up 2 home runs. Daniel Turpen was excellent out of the bullpen, throwing 3 innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 2. Chris Colabello, again, had a big game. He notched 3 hits, including his 12th home run, in 5 at-bats, and scored twice. Evan Bigley was 3-for-4 with his 16th double and drove in 2 runs, and Matt Rizzotti was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Oswaldo Arcia was 1-for-5 and is batting .174 in a very, very small AA sample size. These are just very short summaries, but I think it's important to note who is carrying this team lately when it wins. It's not necessarily Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia or Chris Herrmann (although Hicks and Herrmann certainly have been productive at various points this season). Right now, it's unquestionably Chris Colabello, the 28 year old journeyman, 25 year old Evan Bigley, who recently was told that with Arcia's promotion, he would lose playing time, and 25 year old Nathan Hanson, who has played various positions and has found more playing time as a result of his hot bat. I'm not sure if any of these guys are destined for major league careers, but it's nice to see veteran players getting the job done at AA -- a level at which they need to excel. Let's look at the last 10 games: Evan Bigley is hitting at a .400/.415/.700 clip, and has 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR and 10 RBIs. The 25 year old is now hitting a respectable .265 on the season. Chris Colabello is hitting .293/.326/.488 2 2B, 2 HR and 8 RBIs. He's still leading the entire Eastern League in RBIs with 52, and his 12 home runs are good for 3rd in the Eastern League. Guess who's in second place in the Eastern League RBI race? Evan Bigley, with 48. Finally, there's Nathan Hanson. In his last 10 games, he's hitting .343/.378/.629 with 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR and 4 RBIs. After starting the season off slow, Hanson is batting an even .270 on the season. The finale of the Rock Cats-Flying Squirrels series is noon (eastern time). The Rock Cats are still 3 games back in the standings, and are hoping to gain a little more ground today. All season long, this has been a streaky team, so hopefully they will continue to ride this current streak. [update: All my positive mentions of Bigley were not in vain. He took home Eastern League player of the week honors for this past week. http://eastern.league.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120625&content_id=33893738&vkey=news_l113&fext=.jsp&sid=l113]

Thanks, JC. Fixed!

The big club lost 6-0 to the Reds this evening. Starter Brian Duensing threw 3 shutout innings, and then hit a wall (his own words), giving up 4 runs in the 4th. The Twins accumulated only 3 hits all day. In the end, it was a recipe for yet another loss. All the affiliates were in action today, so let's take a look at all of the action. ROCHESTER 12, CHARLOTTE 1 Steven Hirschfeld pitched well tonight. In 6 and 2/3 innings, he gave up 1 run (unearned) on 4 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. Esmerling Vasquez threw 1 and 1/3 innings, and gave up a hit and a walk. Bobby Lanigan threw a scoreless 9th, allowing 2 hits. The Red Wings compiled 15 hits tonight. Danny Valencia led the way, going 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, 3 RBIs and a walk. Sean Burroughs had 3 singles in 5 at-bats, and Ray Chang was 3-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Clete Thomas was 2-for-5 with a double, and Brian Dinkelman, Matt Carson, Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Rene Rivera all singled. Valencia is batting .252 on the year; Nishioka is batting .232. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 6, RICHMOND 1 This was the Rock Cats' third consecutive win. Starter (but normally reliever) Blake Martin went 4 innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits. He struck out 3 and walked 1. Luis Perdomo picked up the win, throwing 5 innings. He gave up 1 run on 1 hit, striking out 6 and walking only 1. A great night for Perdomo. New Britain had only 7 hits all night, but they made them count. First baseman Chris Colabello was 2-for-4 with a home run (11) and a double (11). Nathan Hanson also homered (2), and Evan "don't cut my playing time in favor of Oswaldo Arcia" Bigley doubled (15). Deibinson Romero, Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks also added singles. Additionally, Hicks stole his 16th base of the season, and Arcia had an outfield assist. Here's the link to the box score. FT. MYERS 3, ST. LUCIE 10 Starter Cole Nelson took the loss for the Miracle tonight, lasting only 2 and 2/3 innings, giving up 6 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits, striking out 1 and walking 4. Nelvin Fuentes tossed 2 and 1/3 innings and gave up 1 run on 1 hit. He struck out 1 and walked 3. Ricky Bowen threw 2 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits, striking out 0 and walking 1. Finally, Matthew Hauser tossed a scoreless 8th, allowing no hits and striking out 2. Miracle pitchers walked 8 batters tonight. The offense got 6 hits this evening, half coming from right fielder Daniel Ortiz, who had 3 singles and a run. Andy Leer was 1-for-2 with a double and 2 runs, and Kyle Knudson and Daniel Rams also singled. The Miracle walked twice and struck out 8 times. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT 1, CEDAR RAPIDS 0 This was a pitchers' duel, to be sure. 3 Snappers pitchers turned in excellent performances tonight. Starter Tim Shibuya picked up the win. He threw 6 innings and gave up only 1 hit, striking out 1 and walking 1. Clint Dempster got the hold, throwing 2 and 2/3 innings, giving up 3 hits, striking out 3 and walking none. Corey Williams got the save, throwing 1/3 of an inning. Right fielder JaDamion Williams had a double and drove in the only run of the game. Designated hitter Steven Liddle was 3-for-4, and Miguel Sano, Drew Leachman, Matthew Koch and Tyler Grimes all had singles for Beloit. Sano had his 25th error of the season, a fielding error. Here's the link to the box score. ELIZABETHTON 18, BURLINGTON 2 Starter Taylor Rogers earned his first win, throwing 5 strong innings. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 7. Hein Robb was good out of the bullpen, striking out 1 and allowing 3 hits in 2 innings of work. Steven Evans gave up the only Burlington runs of the game. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings of work, striking out 1. E-Town banged out 20 hits tonight! Left fielder Romy Jimenez had a triple and a home run, and drove in 3 runs. Max Kepler was 3-for-5 with a triple, Niko Goodrum was 2-for-4 with a triple, 2 RBIs and 3 walks, and Adam Walker was 2-for-7 with a triple, 4 RBIs and 4 strikeouts. That's right -- the E-Town Twins had 4 triples tonight! Candido Pimental had 2 singles, D.J. Hicks doubled and singled, Stephen Wickens had a single, Rory Rhodes singled twice in 5 at-bats, Travis Harrison was 3-for-4 with a double and 2 singles, and Michael Quesada had a double in 5 at-bats. E-Town also walked 11 times today. Here's the link to the box score. GCL TWINS 1, GCL RED SOX 9 Starter Austin Malinowski went 3 innings and gave up no runs, striking out 2 and walking 2. Trent Higginbotham took the loss, throwing 2 and 1/3 innings and allowing 3 runs on 2 hits, striking out 2 and walking 1. Melciades De La Cruz gave up 5 runs (2 earned) in 1 and 2/3 innings, striking out 1 and walking 1. Hung Yi Chen threw 2 innings and gave up 1 run, striking out 4. The GCL Twins had only 1 hit today, a single off the bat of catcher Jorge Fernandez. Top prospect Byron Buxton was 0-for-4, but let's not count him out quite yet. Here's the link to the box score. ---------------------------------------------- Players of the Day for Saturday, June 23 Pitcher(s) of the Day: Beloit Snappers trio of Shibuya, Dempster and Williams. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1338[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day: Danny Valencia [ATTACH=CONFIG]1339[/ATTACH] --------------------------------------------- Schedule for Sunday, June 24, 2012 Rochester vs. Charlotte -- RHP Cole De Vries New Britain @ Richmond -- RHP Brett Jacobson Ft. Myers vs. Tampa -- RHP Madison Boer Beloit @ Kane County -- ??? Elizabethtown vs. Bristol -- ??? GCL Twins vs. GCL Orioles -- ??? --------------------------------------------- Please leave any questions or comments here, and either Seth or I will be happy to respond.

One edit, though: Mauer wouldn't say "hell." I would change it to "H E Double Hockey Sticks."

[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar]  [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fGCqeY66wtA/T-HIKm94DOI/AAAAAAAAAbc/Zv3vq0Uwlcs/s400/Rocky.jpg [TD=class: tr-caption]Rocky the Rock Cat: Proud to be an American [/TD] [/TABLE]  The New Britain Rock Cats find themselves in the middle of a tough stretch of baseball. They lost last night, 8-1, to the Altoona Curve, and only tallied 6 hits all evening -- 3 from Evan Bigley, which is good for him -- but that leaves much to be desired. Here's what I wrote for the TwinsDaily Tuesday Minor League Recap: "NEW BRITAIN 1, ALTOONA 8 "The Rock Cats continued their slide in the Eastern League standings, getting hammered tonight. Logan Darnell was charged with the loss, throwing 5 innings, and allowing 4 earned runs (6 total) on 10 hits. He struck out 1. Daniel Sattler (recent St. Paul Saints signing) made his AA debut tonight. In 2 innings of work, he gave up 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 2. Blake Martin allowed 1 run in 1 inning of work, allowing no hits, but walking 3 and striking out 2. "Like the [AAA Rochester] Red Wings, the Rock Cats only got 6 hits all evening. Top prospect Oswaldo Arcia had a debut he would probably like to forget. He was 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts. Oh well; he'll be back tomorrow and probably much better. Evan Bigley was the best offensive player tonight, going 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Bigley is likely to lose playing time to Arcia, so he is probably feeling motivated to play well when he gets the opportunity. Aaron Hicks returned to the lineup after being out about a week with an ankle sprain. He was 1-for-4. Deibinson Romero and James Beresford each singled for New Britain. Romero also had the only walk of the evening for the Rock Cats." You can read the rest of the report here (if you are at all interested in the Twins minor league system, I highly recommend checking this report out each morning on TwinsDaily -- in just 2-3 minutes of time you can have a good overview of what's happening in the entire organization). ------------------------------------------------------------------- Now, let's take a look more specifically at what has happened in June to New Britain. In 16 games this month, the Rock Cats are 4-12. Twice they have lost six games in a row, including the current streak they are riding. In these most recent six games, New Britain has scored 10 total runs (1.66 runs per game), while allowing 28 runs (4.66 runs per game). In the earlier stretch of 6 straight losses, the numbers were somewhat similar: 18 runs scored (3 per game), and 33 allowed (5.5 per game). It doesn't take a math genius to realize that it's tough to win when you are scoring, on average, about 3 runs less than you are allowing. Additionally, in the most recent 6-game skid, the Rock Cats have achieved double digits in hits only once, and that was in a game that took 12 innings to decide. In this same stretch, they have hit only 1 home run (Nathan Hanson), 7 doubles, and 2 triples. When this team was winning in April and May, it never lived and died by the home run, but more power would be nice. Hopefully, with the return of Aaron Hicks to the lineup after being out one week with a sprained ankle, and with the recent promotion of top prospect Oswaldo Arcia to the team, the Rock Cats will be injected with some new life. This appears to be a stretch where both the offense and the pitching is to blame -- it's not as if New Britain is scoring 10 runs a game and losing, or as if the pitching staff is tossing 2-hitters and simply is not getting any run support. The baseball season is so long that every team is bound to have these stretches of games where the guys simply aren't getting it done on both sides. As of today, the Rock Cats are in third place -- 5 games out of first place -- and currently are two games above .500, at 35-33. The Trenton Thunder, at 40-28, are in first place, and they come to New Britain next week (Tuesday through Friday) for a 4-game series that represents a good chance for the Rock Cats to make up some ground that they have lost in June.

[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar]  [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fGCqeY66wtA/T-HIKm94DOI/AAAAAAAAAbc/Zv3vq0Uwlcs/s400/Rocky.jpg [TD=class: tr-caption]Rocky the Rock Cat: Proud to be an American [/TD] [/TABLE]  The New Britain Rock Cats find themselves in the middle of a tough stretch of baseball. They lost last night, 8-1, to the Altoona Curve, and only tallied 6 hits all evening -- 3 from Evan Bigley, which is good for him -- but that leaves much to be desired. Here's what I wrote for the TwinsDaily Tuesday Minor League Recap: "NEW BRITAIN 1, ALTOONA 8 "The Rock Cats continued their slide in the Eastern League standings, getting hammered tonight. Logan Darnell was charged with the loss, throwing 5 innings, and allowing 4 earned runs (6 total) on 10 hits. He struck out 1. Daniel Sattler (recent St. Paul Saints signing) made his AA debut tonight. In 2 innings of work, he gave up 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 2. Blake Martin allowed 1 run in 1 inning of work, allowing no hits, but walking 3 and striking out 2. "Like the [AAA Rochester] Red Wings, the Rock Cats only got 6 hits all evening. Top prospect Oswaldo Arcia had a debut he would probably like to forget. He was 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts. Oh well; he'll be back tomorrow and probably much better. Evan Bigley was the best offensive player tonight, going 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Bigley is likely to lose playing time to Arcia, so he is probably feeling motivated to play well when he gets the opportunity. Aaron Hicks returned to the lineup after being out about a week with an ankle sprain. He was 1-for-4. Deibinson Romero and James Beresford each singled for New Britain. Romero also had the only walk of the evening for the Rock Cats." You can read the rest of the report here (if you are at all interested in the Twins minor league system, I highly recommend checking this report out each morning on TwinsDaily -- in just 2-3 minutes of time you can have a good overview of what's happening in the entire organization). ------------------------------------------------------------------- Now, let's take a look more specifically at what has happened in June to New Britain. In 16 games this month, the Rock Cats are 4-12. Twice they have lost six games in a row, including the current streak they are riding. In these most recent six games, New Britain has scored 10 total runs (1.66 runs per game), while allowing 28 runs (4.66 runs per game). In the earlier stretch of 6 straight losses, the numbers were somewhat similar: 18 runs scored (3 per game), and 33 allowed (5.5 per game). It doesn't take a math genius to realize that it's tough to win when you are scoring, on average, about 3 runs less than you are allowing. Additionally, in the most recent 6-game skid, the Rock Cats have achieved double digits in hits only once, and that was in a game that took 12 innings to decide. In this same stretch, they have hit only 1 home run (Nathan Hanson), 7 doubles, and 2 triples. When this team was winning in April and May, it never lived and died by the home run, but more power would be nice. Hopefully, with the return of Aaron Hicks to the lineup after being out one week with a sprained ankle, and with the recent promotion of top prospect Oswaldo Arcia to the team, the Rock Cats will be injected with some new life. This appears to be a stretch where both the offense and the pitching is to blame -- it's not as if New Britain is scoring 10 runs a game and losing, or as if the pitching staff is tossing 2-hitters and simply is not getting any run support. The baseball season is so long that every team is bound to have these stretches of games where the guys simply aren't getting it done on both sides. As of today, the Rock Cats are in third place -- 5 games out of first place -- and currently are two games above .500, at 35-33. The Trenton Thunder, at 40-28, are in first place, and they come to New Britain next week (Tuesday through Friday) for a 4-game series that represents a good chance for the Rock Cats to make up some ground that they have lost in June.

Well, the Twins lost tonight, 7-2 to the Pirates. At least it was in a beautiful ballpark. I enjoyed watching the Twitter feeds of the Twins beat writers, reporters and other journalists this afternoon, as they were filled with pictures of PNC Park. I have to say, I love Target Field, but PNC just might have us beat. At the very least, it was nice to see Trevor Plouffe continue to swing the hot bat (2-for-3 with a walk), and Denard Span homered. Hopefully they have better luck tomorrow. Let's see how the affiliates did tonight. Spoiler alert: it wasn't pretty. ROCHESTER 2, DURHAM 8 Lucas French had a rough outing, lasting only 3 and 1/3 innings and giving up 6 runs on 8 hits, walking 2 and striking out 1. French's AAA ERA is 5.44. Deolis Guerra also ran into trouble. In 1 and 2/3 innings, Guerra gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 3. Kyle Waldrop threw 2 scoreless innings, and Casey Fein and Tyler Robertson each tossed scoreless innings. The Red Wings amassed only 6 hits all evening. Right fielder Wilkin Ramirez was 1-for-4 with a 2-run home run. That accounted for all the scoring. Danny Valencia was 2-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Michael Hollimon had a triple and 2 walks, and Clete Thomas and Pedro Florimon each had a single. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 1, ALTOONA 8 The Rock Cats continued their slide in the Eastern League standings, getting hammered tonight. Logan Darnell was charged with the loss, throwing 5 innings, and allowing 4 earned runs (6 total) on 10 hits. He struck out 1. Daniel Sattler (recent St. Paul Saints signing) made his AA debut tonight. In 2 innings of work, he gave up 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 2. Blake Martin allowed 1 run in 1 inning of work, allowing no hits, but walking 3 and striking out 2. Like the Red Wings, the Rock Cats only got 6 hits all evening. Top prospect Oswaldo Arcia had a debut he would probably like to forget. He was 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts. Oh well; he'll be back tomorrow and probably much better. Evan Bigley was the best offensive player tonight, going 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Bigley is likely to lose playing time to Arcia, so he is probably feeling motivated to play well when he gets the opportunity. Aaron Hicks returned to the lineup after being out about a week with an ankle sprain. He was 1-for-4. Deibinson Romero and James Beresford each singled for New Britain. Romero also had the only walk of the evening for the Rock Cats. Here's the link to the box score. FT. MYERS 2, JUPITER 6 This must have been another bullpen day for the Miracle. Tom Stuifbergen got the start for Ft. Myers, and gave up 1 earned run (3 total) in 2 innings on the hill. He allowed 4 hits, walked 1 and struck out 1. Jose Gonzalez threw 2 and 2/3 innings and allowed 3 runs. Gonzalez gave up 4 hits, but struck out 6. Kind of an interesting stat line. Edgar Ibarra was excellent tonight: in 2 and 1/3 innings, he allowed no runs on 2 hits, struck out 5 and walked 1. Finally, Dakota Watts threw a scoreless inning. Kyle Knudson was 3-for-4 tonight with a double and a run. Levi Michael was 2-for-2 with a double and 3 walks (he also committed his 9th error of the season, a fielding miscue). Daniel Rams hit his second home run of the year, and Josmil Pinto and Angel Morales each singled. The Miracle walked 8 times tonight -- it's disappointing they couldn't convert on more of the free passes. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT was not in action tonight, as it was the Midwest League All-Star game. I'll do a quick rundown of the Snappers' All-Star performances: Miguel Sano was 0-for-1 with a walk; Jonathan Goncalves was 1-for-2 with an RBI; Tyler Grimes was 0-for-1 with a walk; Jairo Rodriguez was 0-for-1 with a walk. Pitcher A.J. Achter went 2/3 of an inning, striking out 2 and allowing 1 hit; Jason Wheeler also threw a scoreless 2/3 of an inning, and Michael Tonkin threw 1/3 of an inning, allowing 1 hit. Here's the link to the lengthy box score. ELIZABETHTON 5, DANVILLE 7 It's exciting to see some guys that we have read about getting to play in real games. Hudson Boyd took the loss tonight. In 3 innings of work, he gave up 1 earned run (3 total) on 4 hits, striking out 3 and walking 3. Brett Lee also threw 3 innings, and allowed 1 unearned run, striking out 1. Steven Evans allowed 3 runs in just 1 inning of work, walking 3 and striking out 1. Tyler Herr allowed 1 run in 1 inning of work, giving up a solo home run. He also walked 1. Elizabethton had 7 hits in tonight's game. First baseman Rory Rhodes had 3 hits in 4 at-bats, with a double, a run, 2 RBIs and a walk. Right fielder Candido Pimentel was 2-for-4, designated hitter D.J. Hicks had a double and an RBI in 5 at-bats, and left fielder Romy Jimenez was 1-for-4 with a single. Here's the link to the box score. GCL TWINS 5, GCL ORIOLES 3 Dereck Rodriguez has a pretty famous father (future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez), but he is trying to make a name for himself. The outfielder went 3-3 with a walk in his first game of the season. John Murphy was 1-2 with two walks. Jose Ramirez went 2-4 with a stolen base. Yorman Landa made his first start of the 2012 season. The right-hander threw four no-hit, no-run innings. He walked two and struck out four. Chris Mazza came in and gave up one run on three hits in two innings. He struck out three. Gerardo Ramirez gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in one inning (and he got credit for the win!). Melciades De La Cruz got the save. He struck out four in two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked two. --------------------------------------------------- Players of the day for Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Hitter of the Day: Rory Rhodes [ATTACH=CONFIG]1295[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day: Edgar Ibarra [ATTACH=CONFIG]1296[/ATTACH] ----------------------------------------- A Look Ahead: Schedule for Wednesday, June 20 Rochester vs. Durham -- RHP Cole De Vries New Britain @ Altoona -- ?? Ft. Myers @ Jupiter -- RHP Madison Boer Elizabethton @ Danville -- RHP Ricardo Arevalo Gulf Coast League Twins vs. Gulf Coast League Rays -- ?? ------------------------------------------- Please leave any questions or comments here, and Seth or I will be happy to respond.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eTwQ7QLpoSY/T-B116r2DCI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/fIvgv6MFR3M/s400/Ben.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]If Ben Revere's legacy with the Twins is as a speedy outfielder who was a placeholder until better players developed, that's just fine [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] If you read this blog with any regularity, it's no secret that I'm a Ben Revere supporter. Despite his shortcomings (bad arm and no power to speak of), I still, and probably always will, maintain that Revere can be a useful and productive player for the Twins. It's important to recognize that, since returning to the Twins after a stint at AAA Rochester, Revere has been pretty darn good. As of today, here's his slash line: .328/.353/.397. He has 5 doubles, 2 triples and 9 RBIs in 131 at-bats; he has stolen 11 bases and has been caught only twice. Last year, in 450 at-bats, he had 9 doubles -- so we are seeing slightly more power (also evidenced by the .309 slugging percentage in 2011 compared with the .397 slugging percentage thus far in 2012). Incidentally, if you really want to rag on him for his lack of power, please note that his OPS in 2012 is 5th best on the team (just behind Justin Morneau, and just ahead of Denard Span). As others have mentioned, though, there still is not much power to speak of, and Revere has only drawn 4 walks -- so his on-base percentage is largely dependent on his batting average, which right now is very good. I'll also add to the equation that he has made probably a half-dozen highlight reel catches in this time frame, and that he just turned 24, which means that he will be entering what should be his athletic prime over the next 2-4 seasons. Today, though, I'm thinking about Revere's role in the future of this team. Many people list Revere's shortcomings, especially the facts that his arm is below-average and that he will never hit for power, and suggest that he probably cannot be a long-term starter for a major league team. I admit that there's merit to that. But I pose a different, and more relevant question: can he be a relatively low-cost starter for this team for the next few years? And I think the answer to that question is a resounding "yes." I'm firmly of the belief that the Twins will not be a playoff-caliber team until 2014 at the very, very earliest. Yes, 2012 will probably be better than 2011; and I expect 2013 to be better than 2012. But there is still a long road to travel. If the Twins can trade Denard Span this summer -- which they should if they can get a good package -- the door is open for Revere to establish himself as the Twins' center fielder. Maybe the Twins will get lucky -- perhaps Joe Benson or Aaron Hicks will prove themselves ready for Target Field and will play Revere out of his starting job -- but that's certainly speculative. Hicks, in my opinion, is at least another season out; and who knows how Benson will perform once he overcomes the wrist injury that is currently sidelining him. For now, and perhaps for the foreseeable future, Revere might be the Twins' best option. Very rarely does a player come along with the complete package. And no one would suggest that Revere is such a player. But, if you agree with me that the Twins are traversing down a road to recovery that could take 3-4 years, what difference does it make if Revere is lacking in a few tools? The real focus should be on the Twins improving each year as prospects mature, and if Ben Revere is nothing more than a placeholder for 2 years -- at a total cost of under $2 million -- until Hicks or Benson plays him out of a job, I'd be fine with that, especially if the Twins can get a good return for Span in order to facilitate this move. I'm not really treading any new ground today, except for noting -- primarily for the benefit of the Revere detractors -- that it really doesn't matter if Revere is an All-Star caliber outfielder in 2012 or 2013. He's by no means a bad player, and for the Twins right now -- and in the short-term future -- that just might be good enough.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eTwQ7QLpoSY/T-B116r2DCI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/fIvgv6MFR3M/s400/Ben.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]If Ben Revere's legacy with the Twins is as a speedy outfielder who was a placeholder until better players developed, that's just fine [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] If you read this blog with any regularity, it's no secret that I'm a Ben Revere supporter. Despite his shortcomings (bad arm and no power to speak of), I still, and probably always will, maintain that Revere can be a useful and productive player for the Twins. It's important to recognize that, since returning to the Twins after a stint at AAA Rochester, Revere has been pretty darn good. As of today, here's his slash line: .328/.353/.397. He has 5 doubles, 2 triples and 9 RBIs in 131 at-bats; he has stolen 11 bases and has been caught only twice. Last year, in 450 at-bats, he had 9 doubles -- so we are seeing slightly more power (also evidenced by the .309 slugging percentage in 2011 compared with the .397 slugging percentage thus far in 2012). Incidentally, if you really want to rag on him for his lack of power, please note that his OPS in 2012 is 5th best on the team (just behind Justin Morneau, and just ahead of Denard Span). As others have mentioned, though, there still is not much power to speak of, and Revere has only drawn 4 walks -- so his on-base percentage is largely dependent on his batting average, which right now is very good. I'll also add to the equation that he has made probably a half-dozen highlight reel catches in this time frame, and that he just turned 24, which means that he will be entering what should be his athletic prime over the next 2-4 seasons. Today, though, I'm thinking about Revere's role in the future of this team. Many people list Revere's shortcomings, especially the facts that his arm is below-average and that he will never hit for power, and suggest that he probably cannot be a long-term starter for a major league team. I admit that there's merit to that. But I pose a different, and more relevant question: can he be a relatively low-cost starter for this team for the next few years? And I think the answer to that question is a resounding "yes." I'm firmly of the belief that the Twins will not be a playoff-caliber team until 2014 at the very, very earliest. Yes, 2012 will probably be better than 2011; and I expect 2013 to be better than 2012. But there is still a long road to travel. If the Twins can trade Denard Span this summer -- which they should if they can get a good package -- the door is open for Revere to establish himself as the Twins' center fielder. Maybe the Twins will get lucky -- perhaps Joe Benson or Aaron Hicks will prove themselves ready for Target Field and will play Revere out of his starting job -- but that's certainly speculative. Hicks, in my opinion, is at least another season out; and who knows how Benson will perform once he overcomes the wrist injury that is currently sidelining him. For now, and perhaps for the foreseeable future, Revere might be the Twins' best option. Very rarely does a player come along with the complete package. And no one would suggest that Revere is such a player. But, if you agree with me that the Twins are traversing down a road to recovery that could take 3-4 years, what difference does it make if Revere is lacking in a few tools? The real focus should be on the Twins improving each year as prospects mature, and if Ben Revere is nothing more than a placeholder for 2 years -- at a total cost of under $2 million -- until Hicks or Benson plays him out of a job, I'd be fine with that, especially if the Twins can get a good return for Span in order to facilitate this move. I'm not really treading any new ground today, except for noting -- primarily for the benefit of the Revere detractors -- that it really doesn't matter if Revere is an All-Star caliber outfielder in 2012 or 2013. He's by no means a bad player, and for the Twins right now -- and in the short-term future -- that just might be good enough.

Good read, Bark's. I wrote on a somewhat similar topic this winter if you care to have a read: http://twinsfanfromafar.blogspot.com/2012/01/sabermetrics-and-plain-meaning-rule.html In general, I'm all for any stat that helps fans understand the game better, and more power to you if stats are a main reason that you enjoy baseball. But for me, the old fashioned batting slash line does a pretty good job enabling me to compare hitters most of the time.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7zyBGQ0B484/T99Jtvy1YhI/AAAAAAAAAa4/8f049vuGD8A/s320/Nishi.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]The look of a displaced man who will never again see Target Field [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] For purposes of this post, I need to start of with 2 limitations: First, I'm thinking about players in the upper levels of the minor leagues that have yet to "make it" with the Twins in any real sense of that phrase. I'll exclude from this discussion Brian Dozier, Chris Parmelee and Darin Mastroianni, because they are all playing for the Twins right now, and Sean Burroughs, because he is too old to be a legitimate prospect. Second, for simplicity, I'm just going to look at batting average. I have linked to each player's stats, so you can explore in greater depth their production this season. Although I recognize that things like on-base percentage and OPS are also great measurements -- perhaps even better indicators of batting prowess -- I'm just focusing today on these position players' ability to hit for average. With those caveats . . . where is the offense in the upper levels of the Twins minor league system? Let's start in Rochester. Right now, the Red Wings' highest batting average comes from Matt Carson, who is going to turn 31 in less than a month and is batting .296. It's a pretty steep drop after that. Ray Chang (turning 29 in August) and Pedro Florimon (25 years old) are batting .248. Wilkin Ramirez, 26 and with major league experience, is hitting .242. And possibly the worst stats come from two players Twins fans wish they could be counting on in 2012: Danny Valencia is hitting .238, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka is batting .223. Finally, remember Brian Dinkelman? Hitting .186. Based on the player age and level of experience, it might be a safe bet to call Pedro Florimon our best hitting "prospect" at AAA right now. The circumstances in New Britain are better, but not by leaps and bounds. James Beresford, 23 years old and teetering around .300 last week, is hitting a respectable and solid .286. Nathan Hanson, 25, is hitting .279. Both players have been very hot the past couple weeks, raising their averages by 20 points or so. Catcher Chris Herrmann, 24, has been streaky this year, and is currently at an even .260. Deibinson Romero, 25, has shown power, and is batting .250. Aaron Hicks, only 22, is hitting .244 and is currently sidelined with an ankle injury. Finally, Evan Bigley, 25, is hitting .234. In terms of legitimate prospects and batting production, I might order the top few AA players Herrmann, Hicks, Beresford and Romero -- based on what they have done this season. I have omitted some players, but none that have impressive offensive stats or are young enough to be considered legitimate major league prospects. The bottom line is that, midway through the 2012 season, there isn't a AA or AAA player batting .300 (incidentally, the highest OPS at AA is Romero's .769; at AAA it is Carson's .825). This post isn't intended to be an indictment on the Twins' farm system as much as it is a quick evaluation of where our best hitters are. And the answer to that question appears to be the lower levels of the minors. Just today, Oswaldo Arcia was promoted to New Britain. Hopefully he can inject some life into the recently sputtering Rock Cats offense. I'm hoping his .309/.376/.517 line at Ft. Myers can carry over into central Connecticut.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7zyBGQ0B484/T99Jtvy1YhI/AAAAAAAAAa4/8f049vuGD8A/s320/Nishi.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]The look of a displaced man who will never again see Target Field [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] For purposes of this post, I need to start of with 2 limitations: First, I'm thinking about players in the upper levels of the minor leagues that have yet to "make it" with the Twins in any real sense of that phrase. I'll exclude from this discussion Brian Dozier, Chris Parmelee and Darin Mastroianni, because they are all playing for the Twins right now, and Sean Burroughs, because he is too old to be a legitimate prospect. Second, for simplicity, I'm just going to look at batting average. I have linked to each player's stats, so you can explore in greater depth their production this season. Although I recognize that things like on-base percentage and OPS are also great measurements -- perhaps even better indicators of batting prowess -- I'm just focusing today on these position players' ability to hit for average. With those caveats . . . where is the offense in the upper levels of the Twins minor league system? Let's start in Rochester. Right now, the Red Wings' highest batting average comes from Matt Carson, who is going to turn 31 in less than a month and is batting .296. It's a pretty steep drop after that. Ray Chang (turning 29 in August) and Pedro Florimon (25 years old) are batting .248. Wilkin Ramirez, 26 and with major league experience, is hitting .242. And possibly the worst stats come from two players Twins fans wish they could be counting on in 2012: Danny Valencia is hitting .238, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka is batting .223. Finally, remember Brian Dinkelman? Hitting .186. Based on the player age and level of experience, it might be a safe bet to call Pedro Florimon our best hitting "prospect" at AAA right now. The circumstances in New Britain are better, but not by leaps and bounds. James Beresford, 23 years old and teetering around .300 last week, is hitting a respectable and solid .286. Nathan Hanson, 25, is hitting .279. Both players have been very hot the past couple weeks, raising their averages by 20 points or so. Catcher Chris Herrmann, 24, has been streaky this year, and is currently at an even .260. Deibinson Romero, 25, has shown power, and is batting .250. Aaron Hicks, only 22, is hitting .244 and is currently sidelined with an ankle injury. Finally, Evan Bigley, 25, is hitting .234. In terms of legitimate prospects and batting production, I might order the top few AA players Herrmann, Hicks, Beresford and Romero -- based on what they have done this season. I have omitted some players, but none that have impressive offensive stats or are young enough to be considered legitimate major league prospects. The bottom line is that, midway through the 2012 season, there isn't a AA or AAA player batting .300 (incidentally, the highest OPS at AA is Romero's .769; at AAA it is Carson's .825). This post isn't intended to be an indictment on the Twins' farm system as much as it is a quick evaluation of where our best hitters are. And the answer to that question appears to be the lower levels of the minors. Just today, Oswaldo Arcia was promoted to New Britain. Hopefully he can inject some life into the recently sputtering Rock Cats offense. I'm hoping his .309/.376/.517 line at Ft. Myers can carry over into central Connecticut.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0f2g-yolc8c/T9sp3Sj_8JI/AAAAAAAAAak/dyMpB6xgVLs/s320/Hanson.JPG [TD=class: tr-caption]Player of the Game: Minnesota's Own Nathan Hanson, who dramatically raised his batting average last night [/TD] [/TABLE] http://twinsfanfromafar.blogspot.com [Originally published, with more pictures, at Twins Fan From Afar] I stayed for all 12 innings of last night's 3-2 loss to the Akron Aeros. It was a picture-perfect night for baseball, but by hour 4 of baseball, the crowd was probably only 100 in number. If there's one takeaway from this game -- one reason New Britain lost -- it's simply a result of an almost complete failure to drive in runners in scoring position. Despite the fact that the Rock Cats tallied 14 hits in the contest, they scored only 2 runs, and most glaringly, they were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Yes, there were some hard line drives that were caught, and some smashed grounders that just failed to make it past the Akron infielders, but mostly this team just couldn't get a base hit when it mattered. Brett Jacobson had a solid start. He allowed 2 runs in 5 and 1/3 innings. His control was very good up until he tired. Notably, Jacobson struck out 6, including the side in the second inning. He had walked only one going into the 6th inning, but then quickly unraveled after recording one out in the 6th. After he walked two consecutive batters, that was it for him. He must have been on a pretty short leash. In all honesty, though, after looking fine in the 5th, he looked gassed in the 6th. The stadium radar gun had his fastball around 92, and I saw it register at 93 a couple times. His curveball was effective tonight, as well. Bobby Lanigan was good out of the bullpen, allowing no hits in 2 and 2/3 innings. Bruce Pugh was wild, walking 2 in 2 innings, but he didn't allow a run. Although he didn't pitch badly, Luis Perdomo took a tough loss: a single, stolen base, and another single scored what would turn out to be the winning run for Akron in the top of inning 12. The Rock Cats' offense was a mixed bag. Let's start out with the star performer last night, Minnesotan Nathan Hanson. He was 5-for-6, and was a home run away from the cycle. Hanson is now batting a respectable .274 on the year. In the bottom of the 10th, with one out, Hanson hit a long fly ball to left field. In many ballparks this might have been a home run. At New Britain Stadium, though, where the wall is approximately 15 feet high all the way around, this resulted in a triple after it hit about 10 feet high on the wall. Hanson was at third, and represented the winning run, with only one out. Unfortunately, Chris Colabello -- who actually is leading the entire Eastern League in RBIs -- grounded out to the pitcher, and after Chris Herrmann was intentionally walked, Mark Dolenc took a called third strike to end the threat. The other "problem" -- if you can call it that, is that, aside from Hanson's double and triple, there were no extra base hits. The Rock Cats have several players capable of hitting home runs and doubles at any given time, but the team couldn't get big hits, especially hits that would have cleared the bases, when it counted. Deibinson Romero did have 2 hits, as did Rene Tosoni. Tosoni, however, is only batting .210 thus far on the season for New Britain. Australian prospect James Beresford had a single in 5 trips, and is batting .286 on the year. The Rock Cats finish up a week-long homestand this weekend, playing a series against the Erie Seawolves, the Tigers' affiliate. After losing 2 of 3 to the Aeros, who own the best record in the Eastern League, the Rock Cats are in 3rd place, but are just 2 games back of the Trenton Thunder, who currently sit atop the division. This would be a good weekend for New Britain to pick up some ground at home, before the team hits the road again. The weather is supposed to be great this weekend, so I would expect big crowds at the ballpark.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0f2g-yolc8c/T9sp3Sj_8JI/AAAAAAAAAak/dyMpB6xgVLs/s320/Hanson.JPG [TD=class: tr-caption]Player of the Game: Minnesota's Own Nathan Hanson, who dramatically raised his batting average last night [/TD] [/TABLE] http://twinsfanfromafar.blogspot.com [Originally published, with more pictures, at Twins Fan From Afar] I stayed for all 12 innings of last night's 3-2 loss to the Akron Aeros. It was a picture-perfect night for baseball, but by hour 4 of baseball, the crowd was probably only 100 in number. If there's one takeaway from this game -- one reason New Britain lost -- it's simply a result of an almost complete failure to drive in runners in scoring position. Despite the fact that the Rock Cats tallied 14 hits in the contest, they scored only 2 runs, and most glaringly, they were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Yes, there were some hard line drives that were caught, and some smashed grounders that just failed to make it past the Akron infielders, but mostly this team just couldn't get a base hit when it mattered. Brett Jacobson had a solid start. He allowed 2 runs in 5 and 1/3 innings. His control was very good up until he tired. Notably, Jacobson struck out 6, including the side in the second inning. He had walked only one going into the 6th inning, but then quickly unraveled after recording one out in the 6th. After he walked two consecutive batters, that was it for him. He must have been on a pretty short leash. In all honesty, though, after looking fine in the 5th, he looked gassed in the 6th. The stadium radar gun had his fastball around 92, and I saw it register at 93 a couple times. His curveball was effective tonight, as well. Bobby Lanigan was good out of the bullpen, allowing no hits in 2 and 2/3 innings. Bruce Pugh was wild, walking 2 in 2 innings, but he didn't allow a run. Although he didn't pitch badly, Luis Perdomo took a tough loss: a single, stolen base, and another single scored what would turn out to be the winning run for Akron in the top of inning 12. The Rock Cats' offense was a mixed bag. Let's start out with the star performer last night, Minnesotan Nathan Hanson. He was 5-for-6, and was a home run away from the cycle. Hanson is now batting a respectable .274 on the year. In the bottom of the 10th, with one out, Hanson hit a long fly ball to left field. In many ballparks this might have been a home run. At New Britain Stadium, though, where the wall is approximately 15 feet high all the way around, this resulted in a triple after it hit about 10 feet high on the wall. Hanson was at third, and represented the winning run, with only one out. Unfortunately, Chris Colabello -- who actually is leading the entire Eastern League in RBIs -- grounded out to the pitcher, and after Chris Herrmann was intentionally walked, Mark Dolenc took a called third strike to end the threat. The other "problem" -- if you can call it that, is that, aside from Hanson's double and triple, there were no extra base hits. The Rock Cats have several players capable of hitting home runs and doubles at any given time, but the team couldn't get big hits, especially hits that would have cleared the bases, when it counted. Deibinson Romero did have 2 hits, as did Rene Tosoni. Tosoni, however, is only batting .210 thus far on the season for New Britain. Australian prospect James Beresford had a single in 5 trips, and is batting .286 on the year. The Rock Cats finish up a week-long homestand this weekend, playing a series against the Erie Seawolves, the Tigers' affiliate. After losing 2 of 3 to the Aeros, who own the best record in the Eastern League, the Rock Cats are in 3rd place, but are just 2 games back of the Trenton Thunder, who currently sit atop the division. This would be a good weekend for New Britain to pick up some ground at home, before the team hits the road again. The weather is supposed to be great this weekend, so I would expect big crowds at the ballpark.

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VpyaVwgwQR4/T9nYAsHhVWI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/dhKcCUah9V0/s320/Hammer.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Josh Willingham: Trade Bait? [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed reading various posts from other bloggers concerning the Twins' potential trade chips. Names like Denard Span, Matt Capps and Francisco Liriano keep coming up. If nothing else, the speculation is interesting, but, like others, I do think it's a little early to be sending players away; if the Twins do become sellers, ideally I'd like to see them wait until a contending team is very desperate for help, and then begin negotiations from that starting point. There's another name that I keep reading as a possible trade chip: Josh Willingham. Willingham has been nothing short of fantastic for the Twins this season, and his offense has essentially made up for his below-average defense (hey, we hired the bat, knowing that the glove came with it, right?). After last night's game, Willingham leads the Twins in runs (37), home runs (13), RBIs (44), and is batting .290 and getting on base at a .405 clip. Here's his ESPN stat sheet if you want more info. He has replaced Michael Cuddyer as the Twins' right-handed power bat, and then some. As the weather heats up, and June becomes July, Terry Ryan almost certainly will get phone calls from organizations looking for a power bat down the stretch. Willingham has made Target Field look small; imagine what he could do in a hitters' park? I have no doubt that Willingham could be a key acquisition for a team looking to stock up for a summer run. But when he gets those phone calls, Ryan should hang up the phone, and here's just one reason why: trading Willingham in the first half of his first season as a Twin would send the wrong message to future free agents that the Twins will need to acquire down the road. Willingham's 3-year, $21 million contract is the largest ever free agent contract handed out by the Twins. Simply stated, signing (relatively) expensive free agents that came up in other organizations is not the way the Twins do business. Willingham's contract was an aberration to the Twins' traditional business model. Unfortunately, though, that model probably is going to have to change. With payroll set to come off the books for 2013, and with many vacancies in the pitching rotation -- and few current, reliable in-house options -- Terry Ryan is going to have to sign at least one legitimate free agent starting pitcher to help anchor the rotation in 2013 and beyond. And that's just one area of need. If the Twins trade Willingham this summer for anything less than a Matt Capps-for-Wilson Ramos haul, it sends the message to future free agent acquisitions that the Twins will deal you in a heartbeat if things go south. Yes, we all hoped the Twins would be much better in 2012 than they were in 2011, and that hasn't exactly been the case. But if I am the agent for a player set to become a free agent after this season, and I am fielding calls from the Twins, who recently traded away Willingham after only 1/6 of his contract, my first question to Terry Ryan is "what kind of security can you provide for my client?" In short, my worry is that the Twins will create reputation that could complicate future deals, simply because they do not have an established track record with longer-term free agent contracts with players from other organizations. Yes, I know that baseball is a business -- often a dirty business behind closed doors. Fans see the green grass, the chalk lines, the uniforms, and that's about it. They don't see the negotiations, the holdouts, and the underpaid minor leaguers living 6 in an apartment with 1 Foreman grill between them. The point here is that the Twins don't exactly have an established history of handing out multi-year, multi-million dollar free agent contracts, and a short tenure for Willingham in Minnesota could spell trouble for future deals. If I'm that free agent pitcher deciding between clubs, I either need more money from Minnesota, knowing that they might dump me in my first season, or protection in the form of a no-trade clause, in order for a deal to happen. This isn't about hurt feelings from players being dealt; it's about business and security -- and players care about those things. This all might be a moot point, anyway. I simply don't see the Twins dealing Willingham this season. The organization is very fond of players of Willingham's ilk. And just think of what the team's record would be right now without The Hammer?

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VpyaVwgwQR4/T9nYAsHhVWI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/dhKcCUah9V0/s320/Hammer.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Josh Willingham: Trade Bait? [/TD] [/TABLE]  [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed reading various posts from other bloggers concerning the Twins' potential trade chips. Names like Denard Span, Matt Capps and Francisco Liriano keep coming up. If nothing else, the speculation is interesting, but, like others, I do think it's a little early to be sending players away; if the Twins do become sellers, ideally I'd like to see them wait until a contending team is very desperate for help, and then begin negotiations from that starting point. There's another name that I keep reading as a possible trade chip: Josh Willingham. Willingham has been nothing short of fantastic for the Twins this season, and his offense has essentially made up for his below-average defense (hey, we hired the bat, knowing that the glove came with it, right?). After last night's game, Willingham leads the Twins in runs (37), home runs (13), RBIs (44), and is batting .290 and getting on base at a .405 clip. Here's his ESPN stat sheet if you want more info. He has replaced Michael Cuddyer as the Twins' right-handed power bat, and then some. As the weather heats up, and June becomes July, Terry Ryan almost certainly will get phone calls from organizations looking for a power bat down the stretch. Willingham has made Target Field look small; imagine what he could do in a hitters' park? I have no doubt that Willingham could be a key acquisition for a team looking to stock up for a summer run. But when he gets those phone calls, Ryan should hang up the phone, and here's just one reason why: trading Willingham in the first half of his first season as a Twin would send the wrong message to future free agents that the Twins will need to acquire down the road. Willingham's 3-year, $21 million contract is the largest ever free agent contract handed out by the Twins. Simply stated, signing (relatively) expensive free agents that came up in other organizations is not the way the Twins do business. Willingham's contract was an aberration to the Twins' traditional business model. Unfortunately, though, that model probably is going to have to change. With payroll set to come off the books for 2013, and with many vacancies in the pitching rotation -- and few current, reliable in-house options -- Terry Ryan is going to have to sign at least one legitimate free agent starting pitcher to help anchor the rotation in 2013 and beyond. And that's just one area of need. If the Twins trade Willingham this summer for anything less than a Matt Capps-for-Wilson Ramos haul, it sends the message to future free agent acquisitions that the Twins will deal you in a heartbeat if things go south. Yes, we all hoped the Twins would be much better in 2012 than they were in 2011, and that hasn't exactly been the case. But if I am the agent for a player set to become a free agent after this season, and I am fielding calls from the Twins, who recently traded away Willingham after only 1/6 of his contract, my first question to Terry Ryan is "what kind of security can you provide for my client?" In short, my worry is that the Twins will create reputation that could complicate future deals, simply because they do not have an established track record with longer-term free agent contracts with players from other organizations. Yes, I know that baseball is a business -- often a dirty business behind closed doors. Fans see the green grass, the chalk lines, the uniforms, and that's about it. They don't see the negotiations, the holdouts, and the underpaid minor leaguers living 6 in an apartment with 1 Foreman grill between them. The point here is that the Twins don't exactly have an established history of handing out multi-year, multi-million dollar free agent contracts, and a short tenure for Willingham in Minnesota could spell trouble for future deals. If I'm that free agent pitcher deciding between clubs, I either need more money from Minnesota, knowing that they might dump me in my first season, or protection in the form of a no-trade clause, in order for a deal to happen. This isn't about hurt feelings from players being dealt; it's about business and security -- and players care about those things. This all might be a moot point, anyway. I simply don't see the Twins dealing Willingham this season. The organization is very fond of players of Willingham's ilk. And just think of what the team's record would be right now without The Hammer?

The Twins, looking to continue a pretty good stretch of baseball, started off rough. Starter P.J. Walters lasted only into the first inning, and his velocity was reportedly way down. Walters (or the coaching staff) put the Twins in a hole, and I'm curious what the post-game reports are going to indicate regarding Walters' health to start the game in the first place. Jim Thome hit another mammoth home run at Target Field, an estimated 466 feet. Even at 41 years of age, he still has something left in the tank! If you like offense, this ended up being a very good game, and the Twins proved that they have some comeback in them. As I write this, the Twins have almost come all the way back, trailing 9-8 after being down 6-0 after the top of the first. Let's take a look at how the Future Twins did tonight. ROCHESTER -- day off. NEW BRITAIN 3, AKRON 1 (Game 1 -- 7 innings) This game started and ended with pitching. Starter Steve Hirschfeld had an excellent outing. In 6 innings of work, Hirschfeld allowed only 3 hits and 1 run, and struck out 8 and walked 1. Caleb Thielbar earned the save, his 4th of the season, striking out 2. Thielbar's AA ERA is a tidy 1.96. There wasn't a whole lot of offense in this game. The Rock Cats had 6 hits on the night. Minnesota's own Nathan Hanson had 2 hits and a sacrifice fly, and had 2 RBIs on the day. Deibinson Romero also had 2 hits. Matt Rizzotti and Chris Colabello each had singles for the Rock Cats. Rene Tosoni had an RBI ground out. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 1, AKRON 4 (Game 2 -- 7 innings) Although he gave up a first inning solo home run and took the loss, starter Logan Darnell pitched pretty well. In 4 and 2/3 innings of work, Darnell gave up just that 1 run on 2 hits. Control was a problem, though: Darnell walked 4 and struck out 5. Daniel Turpen wasn't effective out of the bullpen, allowing 3 runs and 3 walks in 2 innings of work. He only gave up 1 hit. Blake Martin gave up a double, allowing 2 inherited runs to score, but secured the final out of the 7th for New Britain. There was very little offense in this game, as well. Daniel Rohlfing, recently called up (in place of injured Danny Lehmann) had a double in 2 at-bats, Mark Dolenc, Evan Bigley and Chris Colabello singled, and Chris Herrmann had a pinch-hit single. The lone run scored on Bigley's single. That was it. Here's the link to the box score. The teams play again tomorrow night, and I'll be in attendance at New Britain Stadium. Be sure to check back Friday morning at Twins Fan From Afar for a "beyond the box score" post and some pictures. FT. MYERS 8, BRADENTON 4 This was a "staff day" for the Miracle. Matthew Hauser, normally a reliever, got the start, and went 3 innings, giving up only 1 hit and striking out 3. Nelvin Fuentes tossed 2 innings and gave up 2 runs, allowing 3 hits and striking out 3. Edgar Ibarra also threw 2 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs, also striking out 3. Daniel Sattler threw 2 scoreless innings, striking out 2 and walking 2. The Miracle racked up 12 hits tonight, and it was a team effort, with 8 of the 9 starters getting at least 1 hit. Third baseman Anderson Hidalgo was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, second baseman Andy Leer had 2 singles and an RBI, first baseman Lance Ray had 2 hits, including a double, and an RBI. Daniel Ortiz, Josmil Pinto, Oswaldo Arica and Michael Gonzales each had hits, as well. The big hit of the night came off the bat of Angel Morales -- a 3-run home run. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT 1, PEORIA 7 Steven Gruver started for the Snappers tonight, and went 3 and 2/3 innings. He allowed 10 hits and 6 runs (4 earned) , striking out 3 and walking 2. Tim Shibuya was better out of the bullpen, tossing 2 and 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out 2 along the way. Ryan O'Rourke threw 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits, including a solo home run. He struck out 1 and walked 1. Miguel Sano had his 22nd error of the season tonight. There was only 1 extra-base hit for the Snappers tonight, a double by right fielder JaDamion Williams. Wang-Wei Lin, Sano, Matthew Koch, and TwinsDaily's own Adam Pettersen all singled. Pettersen and Sano also walked. Here's the link to the box score. ------------------------------------------ Wednesday's TwinsDaily Pitcher and Hitter of the Day Pitcher of the Day: Steve Hirschfeld [ATTACH=CONFIG]1224[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day: Anderson Hidalgo [ATTACH=CONFIG]1225[/ATTACH] ------------------------------------------- Schedule for Thursday, June 14, 2012 Rochester @ Louisville --- ??? New Britain vs. Akron --- RHP Brett Jacobson Ft. Myers vs. Bradenton --- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Peoria --- ??? ------------------------------------------ Please leave any questions or comments here, and either Seth or I will try to answer.