Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Back in Section 220

I am happy to say that I am really glad that I was at the Twins game last night. Driving in, knowing that Livan Hernandez was pitching, I wasn't sure what to expect. My prediction was 14-5 Yankees. So, when A-Rod homered in the top of the first, I thought it might be a long game. In reality, the game was right around three hours, and although there were a LOT of hits, particularly off of Livan, the game moved along nicely. Fortunately, that Twins were able to minimize the Yankees runs and pick up enough timely hits of their own, and in the end, there were a few big plays that really turned the game to the Twins. Before getting into the game's specifics, click here to see a picture of us in our vantage point of the game. (You will have to pick June 2nd and gallery 5... based on the shirt I was wearing, I think you can figure out which one is me).

I have a couple of notes on a couple of blogger get-togethers to get on your schedule. I have Twins/Yankees thoughts. I have minor league game notes from last night. But also notice in the minor league section that I have a few other notes including some thoughts on the MLB Draft which is on Thursday. Let's get started.

BLOGGER GET-TOGETHERS

Before getting to the game notes of the day, I wanted to mention to you a couple of Blogger Get-Togethers that you may want to try to attend if you are at all able to:

• First, the SBG Convention is set for June 21st. Get your information here. Please note Reason #9!

• Secondly, I am trying to work through some details, but I would like to have a SethSpeaks.net get together on Saturday. The Twins are on the road in Chicago. I will try to put together the official information tomorrow and post it here in the next day or two. However, mark down Saturday, June 7th, mid-to-late afternoon, in Elko. Of course, in Elko, you could hang out at the get-together for a couple of hours and watch the Twins and White Sox at 6 on some big screens while talking baseball. Or, you can head over to the Elko Race Track where races begin at 6:00. I am trying to get a feel for how many might be able to attend, so send me a quick e-mail if you think you could get there. Like I said, keep checking back for more specific information. 

Monday Night - Twins 6, Yankees 5

• First of all, Livan Hernandez was on the mound. He didn't pitch well. He gave up a lot of hits. 13 hits in just five innings is horrible. Add in a walk and his WHIP for the game was one base runner from three! And yet, he gave up just four runs, and through five innings, he gave up just two runs (he didn't get the hitters he faced in the 6th). Aaron Gleeman pointed out yesterday that Livan's WPA is the fourth worst in baseball right now and yet, because of his record, a lot of people think he has pitched well.
• Matt Guerrier came up huge in relief, and then Joe Nathan faced just three batters in the 9th, thanks in part to a big double play ball, for his 15th save.
• Some fans just don't get it. Yes, Delmon Young has had his struggled in the field and at the plate, but I was actually upset at the Twins fans during the game. In the sixth inning, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, Melky Cabrera lined one to left field. Young charged the ball well, and at the end realized he could not make the play, so he played it on the hop. The juggled the ball briefly and got the ball in. He could not have played the ball better or smarter and yet the crowd booed loudly and I just don't  understand that mentality. Just piling on!
• Speaking of Young, he had a GREAT game! In the second inning, his double gave the Twins their first run. In the sixth inning, Young doubled in a game tying run. In the bottom of the 8th, Young's double scored the Twins go-ahead and eventual game-winning run. 3-4 with three RBI doubles. That makes for a great game!
• The crowd went crazy when Alexi Casilla bunted for a hit in the 3rd inning scoring Carlos Gomez from third base. Gomez had singled in that at bat, and an Andy Pettitte pick off attempt went into the Yankees bullpen as Gomez sped around 2nd and to 3rd base. That was loud. Those two can be so exciting, and both have so much talent!
• As soon as Derek Jeter hit it, you could tell it was going to hit the baggy in right field. As soon as it hit the baggy, I uttered, "Try It!!" Michael Cuddyer played the bounce and threw a bullet to 2B to easily throw out Jeter. The crowd got loud!
• By the way, Michael Cuddyer is back to hitting the ball really hard! He had three more hits, including a double off the baggy immediately following his throw got Abreu.
• I haven't seen any highlights, but when Alex Rodriguez scored in the 7th inning on a grounder to 1B, did replays show him to be safe? From my angle (which admittedly wasn't as close as the umps), he sure looked out. But then I was sure that Gardy would get tossed, so if he didn't get tossed, maybe it wasn't such a bad call.
• Have I mentioned yet that I really like the idea of Matt Macri sticking around and playing 3B against left-handers?
• About 0.08 seconds after Joe Mauer made contact in the 7th inning off of Andy Pettitte, I was standing with a clenched fist raised to the sky. That home run, his first of the season, was an absolute blast.
• After the game, I did see that Joe Christensen reported that Justin Morneau was really sore after fouling a pitch off of his right knee on Sunday afternoon. While watching, I couldn't help but notice he wasn't moving very well down the first base line. I know I would like to see him play every day too, but it may not be a bad idea just to let him sit one day too.
• Finally, the Twins split a four game series with the Yankees. I think they should be very happy about that. So should Twins fans. Even though the Yankees have been disappointing overall this season, they are still a .500 team and you have to respect their offense. And hey, in the series, the Twins actually outscored those Yankees bats! This is a series that the Twins can and should build off of, but that also makes this upcoming series with Baltimore a little bit scary.
• By the way, I had to use the facilities at the Dome between innings, but as I got up to go, I saw that Alex Rodriguez was going to lead off the next inning, so I stood in the entrance and watched his at bat. I told the attendant, "Man, I really gotta go, but you can't go when A-Rod is coming up, right?" He agreed. Then as I was watching A-Rod's at bat, which obviously took several pitches, two guys came down and were talking to the attendant. They were talking about how big Jeter was and how his home runs are down and such and how they had seen him out on Saturday night. Then the attendant asked them if they were on the radio, (note, I hadn't turned to look yet, just was overhearing while watching the game) and the guy said that he wasn't, but the smaller guy was on The Power Trip Morning Show. I turned, and there was The Superstar, Mike Morris, and another guy who must be on the show as well. The attendant didn't even recognize Mike Morris. Crazy! I should have said something. Oh well.
• A-Rod hit his 526th homer of his incredible career off of Livan in the first inning. This guy threw it back onto the field. That's just dumb, and one of many things that happen at baseball games that I just don't understand! I also don't understand the beach ball thing, the wave, booing an opposing pitcher throwing to 1B, and fans that simply don't know what they are talking about. But that's just me.    

Any Twins thoughts?

Twins Minor League Updates

Sunday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Darnell McDonald, Rochester Red Wings
Sunday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Cole DeVries, Ft. Myers Miracle

As I encourage every week, be sure to check out Roger's weekly minor league update. There is some interesting discussion in its comments, and more of my thoughts on things such as player promotions.

Also, be sure to check out Travis Talks where he has an interesting discussion about who will be with each Twins team in just one month. There will be changes, to be sure.

MLB DRAFT - LaVelle wrote a very nice blog posting yesterday about the Twins draft. I actually completely agree with him for one reason. We always talk about how the Twins need to spend, spend, spend. Some wanted the Twins to take Prior or Teixeira instead of Mauer but the Twins took Mauer. Was Prior worth all the money? LaVelle throws out an impressive list of big names that signed for big money out of the draft that I bet many of your have never heard of. So, the MLB Draft involves spending a lot of money on a lot of guess work. That's exactly what it is. There will be hits. There will be misses. The Twins will do as well as everyone else. So, we really shouldn't be upset if they pick someone who makes sense financially. My argument would be this... that the Twins should take the top guy on their draft board, regardless of money situation. That doesn't mean, be dumb and go beyond responsible means. But it means that if you have Player A who you like but he would cost $3 million to sign. And you have Player B who you really, really really like, but he would cost $5 million. I would hope they would take Player B. The Twins are in a financial situation where money should not be the primary decision maker, the best player on their draft board is what should be the key determinant.

That said, I participated in a Mock Draft the last several days. We drafted the first round, supplemental first round and second round. I made four picks for the Twins. At #14 overall, I took Jemile Weeks, 2B out of Miami, and yes, the younger brother of Brewers' 2B Rickie. At 27, I took 3B Conor Gillaspie from Wichita State. Two college hitters right off the bat (pardon the pun). Two hitters that could contribute at the big league level in two years or less. With the #31 pick, the I selected Anthony Hewitt, an athletic high school SS and OF from Connecticut. He seems like the kind of guy that the Twins normally would like to draft. With the second round pick, I took left-handed pitcher, Tim Murphy, out of UCLA. For more information on the mock draft, and plenty of links to find much more, click here. 

ROCHESTER REPORT
Sunday – Rochester 6, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 10 – The Red Wings bats did their job, but the pitching just was not up for this. Danny Graves started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on five hits. He walked four and struck out none. Casey Daigle gave up two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings. Heath Totten took the loss after giving up four runs on five hits in two innings. Carmen Cali did throw a shutout inning in the ninth. Darnell McDonald led the offense by going 3-5 with his 13th double and seventh stolen base. Jason Pridie went 2-5 with his second homer and 10th stolen base. Brian Buscher went 2-3 with a walk and his 12th double. Randy Ruiz went 2-4. Sergio Santos went 1-3 with a three run homer in the first inning.

Quick Thought - I appreciate the Danny Graves experiment. In fact, I think that he has done enough to get a shot with the Twins if he can keep it up. However, I also think that his role with the Twins will be out of the bullpen, so I think he should start working every couple of days for an inning, rather than every fifth day as as starter.

NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Sunday – New Britain – No Game Scheduled

FT MYERS MEMOS
Sunday – Ft. Myers 0, Dunedin 5 – Cole DeVries pitched very well again, but he is stuck with the loss because the Miracle managed just four hits. DeVries gave up one run on seven hits and a walk in six innings. Danny Vais came in and gave up four earned runs on three hits and two walks in just 2/3 of an inning. Frank Mata struck out three in 1.1 innings. Blair Erickson threw a scoreless inning. Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 with a walk and his 10th stolen base. Yangervis Solarte hit a double.

BELOIT BITS
Sunday – Beloit 2, Quad Cities 4 - Santos Arias started this one and gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out six. Charles Nolte then struck out two in two shutout innings. Brad Tippett gave up a run on two hits in one inning. He did strike out two. The Snappers managed just four hits in the game. Ben Revere went 1-3 with a walk and his 16th stolen base.

Be sure to check back later for Part 4 of the 2008 midseason Top 50 Twins Prospects list.

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