Wednesday, May
20, 2009
It’s Going to be OK, Really!
“These are the days that test our mettle. Our
worthiness. That make us question our progress
in this our journey. Sometimes, it causes us to doubt our devotion. We begin to
wonder why we chose this path. This is our purification process. This is when
scientists would contend that the weaker members of the Twins Nation are weeded
out. Make no mistake about it, we are in the furnace and only the purest of Twins
Fans are going to survive. But, survive this we will. Not only will we survive
this, but we will survive it well.”
- OrderoftheSpur.com (with
obvious liberties taken).
It’s called a losing
streak, Twins fans. It happens all the time. It happens every year; generally a
couple of times every year. I am always amazed by how quickly some Twins “fans”
are willing to give up on their team through the rough spots, and how quickly
they want to jump right back on the bandwagon when things inevitably turn
around. And seriously, we all know, there will be a turnaround. This team is
far too talented to play poorly for an extended period of time. Are there
holes? Of course. There are on every team. Right now,
the Twins weaknesses are being exposed. The Twins need a couple of changes, and
I fully believe that change is imminent.
But as Rick Pitino
once ranted, “All this negativity sucks!” Maybe Pitino
should write a rant for Ron Gardenhire:
You're the people being negative. And
some of the fans. Harmon Killebrew is not
walking through that door. Rod Carew is not walking through that door. Tony Oliva is not walking through that door And
if you expect them to walk through the door, they're going to be gray and old.
What we are is young, exciting, hard-working, and we're going to improve.
People don't realize that, and as soon as they realize those three guys are not
coming through that door, the better this town will be for all of us because
there are young guys in that (locker) room playing their <tails> off.
I know it is cliché to keep pointing
out that it is a 162 game season. I know that after last year’s one game
playoff no one wants to hear that it’s just one game. But what is the
alternative? To overreact every single inning of every single
game? I just don’t think bleeding ulcers sound that fun!? Do you really
want to be a fair-weather fan? Does that make the experience better?
Maybe I’m the weird one. I’ve
followed this team long enough to understand the ebbs and flows of a season. I
choose to agree with the great philosopher
Bobby McFerrin. I encourage everyone to click here and
just listen!! Just try not to start whistling! And if that doesn’t
work, watch this video
which, great song, but may be the creepiest video I have ever seen!
MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
Tuesday -
SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Steve Tolleson, New Britain
Rockcats
Tuesday -
SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – David Bromberg, Ft. Myers Miracle
TRANSACTIONS – The
Twins released LHP Henry Reyes from
the Beloit Snappers roster. They also put Shooter
Hunt on the Disabled List with a, ahem, groin injury. The Snappers will be
getting some very strong help. Michael
Tarsi, Blake Martin and Curtis Leavitt will all be joining
them today.
ROCHESTER REPORT
Tuesday –Rochester 3, Durham 4 – Jason Jones got drilled in this game. In 4.2 innings, he gave up
seven runs on eight hits and two walks. Tim
Lahey came in and in two innings gave up three
runs on three hits and three walks. Armando
Gabino gave up no runs in his inning despite a
hit and a walk. The Red Wings managed just four hits. Allen de San Miguel went 1-1, his first AAA hit.
While I Was Out – The Red
Wings simply did not bring bats to Durham, it appears. Four hits Tuesday. Just
two hits on Monday. They had six hits on Sunday, but none until phenom David Price
left before the sixth inning. On Monday, Brian
Duensing had his best outing of the season. In
seven innings, he gave up just one run on six hits and a walk, but still got
the loss. On Sunday, Philip Humber
gave up two runs in five innings. Sean Henn’s final AAA appearance was impressive. He struck
out four in two innings. Jason Pridie hit his first home run of the year.
ROCKCAT RECAP
Tuesday – New Britain 14, Reading 6 – Jeff Manship
was the beneficiary of some incredible run support in this one. Steve Tolleson
went 4-6 with his eighth double, first homer and three RBI. Brian Dinkelman
went 3-4 with two walks and his ninth double. Brandon Roberts went 3-6 with his sixth double. Rene Tosoni
was 2-3 with two walks and his fifth home run. Danny Valencia hit his ninth double and his fourth homer. He drove
in four runs. Danny Lehmann went 2-4 with a walk. Whit Robbins hit his fifth homer. Manship went just five innings. He gave up four runs on six
hits. He walked two and struck out four. Yohan Pino gave up two unearned runs on two
hits in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Frank
Mata was perfect for 2.1 innings.
While I Was Out – The Rockcats had a day off on Sunday. They beat Portland 4-2 on
Sunday. Matt Fox went five innings
to pick up his second win. Rob Delaney
threw 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. Anthony
Slama recorded his seventh save. He walked two in
a scoreless inning.
MIRACLE MEMOS
Tuesday – Game 1 - Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 1 – David
Bromberg improved to 3-0 with another strong start for the Miracle. He
actually worked the first six innings without allowing a run. He went out to
complete the game in the 7th when he gave up a run and got two outs.
Alex Burnett came in to get the
final out. Chris Parmelee
was 2-3 with an RBI. Evan Bigley was also 2-3.
Tuesday – Game 2 - Ft. Myers 0, Jupiter 7 – The Miracle managed just three hits in this game. Chris Parmelee went
1-2 with a walk. He also stole his second base. Steve Hirschfeld was given his first
opportunity to start a game this
year. He went the first three innings and gave up only an unearned run on two
hits. He struck out four. Henry Arias came
in and gave up six runs on five hits and two walks in one inning. Is it still
considered striking out the side if he did strike out three in that inning? Blair Erickson then worked two
scoreless innings.
While I Was Out – The Miracle
were rained out on Monday which created the need for the Tuesday double header.
On Sunday, Deolis Guerra got the loss. He gave up three
runs (2 earned) on seven hits and a walk in 5.1 innings. Spencer Steedley continued to dominate
the FSL with 1.2 scoreless. Alex Burnett
struck out two in his perfect inning. Danny
Rams got another start behind the plate. He went 2-3 with a walk and his
second double. Mark Dolenc,
Ben Revere and Steve Singleton also had two hits in the game.
SNAPPERS SNIPPETS
Tuesday – Beloit 1, Peoria 9 –
If not for the home run ball, Brad Tippett would have had a very good start. The Snappers
right-handed starter gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks. Four of
those hits were solo home runs. Steve
Blevins came in and gave up three runs on five hits over two innings. Danny Rondon pitched
a scoreless inning. Joe Testa allowed two unearned runs in the ninth. The
Snappers managed just three hits.
While I Was Out – The Snappers
split a couple of games with Peoria. Jonathan
Waltenbury went 4-7 with a walk in the two games.
But the big story, in my mind, was that Angel
Morales is now batting over .200, and he homered in each game. He now has
five on the season. Bobby Lanigan got beat up for eight runs on ten hits in four
innings on Monday. On Sunday, Dan Osterbrock picked up a Win despite giving up six runs
on nine hits in 5.2 innings. Bruce Pugh
(1 R, 3 IP, 4 K) and Steve Blevins
(2.1 IP, 0 R) pitched well out of the bullpen.
Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave
your questions or comments here.