Monday

Good Monday Morning! The Twins brought out the really big brooms this weekend with a four game sweep of the vaunted Oakland A's. Seriously, Billy Beane is the golden god of GMs, it seems, in many circles. I agree with several of his theories, but it seems as though he is nearly beyond question. Yes, Jack Cust has been a really good acquisition to the team this year, but the A's have about the worst offense in the league. And this year, injuries have really hurt their pitching staff. Of course, were they really expecting Rich Harden to be healthy? Anyway, my point isn't to bash Beane. Like I said, I agree with many of his philosophies. I just so frequently read that Terry Ryan doesn't do this or does that and get bashed while Billy Beane can do no wrong.

The Twins now have an off day today before starting a three game series against the Tigers at the Dome. It'll be Matt Garza, Johan Santana and Scott Baker facing them. Here are a few Twins thoughts to discuss before the weekend updates of the minor league update.

WARM IT UP! - Did you know that Torii Hunter gets his gloves ready by sticking them in a microwave and forming them while they are still warm? Apparently he learned that technique from Kirby Puckett.

TORII or ICHIRO - Last week, I made a passing comment that I would rather have Torii Hunter than Ichiro. Of course, a fair question becomes whether Hunter is as valuable as Ichiro based on performance. Patrick Sullivan and Rich Lederer of The Baseball Analysts compared the two and then researched the market for CF this offseason. You will want to check to see who they project Hunter signing with!

3B OF THE FUTURE? - Matt Moses? David Winfree? I don't know, Brian Buscher may be the first in line. OK, that was a bit too much build up, but hear me out. Going back to last December, the Twins selected Buscher from the San Francisco Giants organization in the minor league portion of the Rule V draft. My guess at the time was that the purpose of Buscher was to provide organizational depth at a weak position. He would allow the Twins to evaluate Matt Moses and David Winfree for this season. He started the year at AA New Britain playing 3B while Winfree was hurt, but he played really well. In fact, in 63 AA games, Buscher hit .308/.391/.478 with 19 doubles, seven homers and 37 RBI. Also, he walked 32 times and struck out 31 times. The struggles and subsequent demotion of Moses to AA meant that Buscher would move up to Rochester. He has continued to hit since then. In his first 23 games with the Red Wings, he has hit .347/.425/.613 with five doubles, five homers and 16 RBI. He has walked ten times and struck out six times. Last week when the Twins dropped Alexander Smit from the 40 man roster, it obviously opened up a spot. Some wanted to predict that it must mean that the Twins are about to make a move, maybe to trade for a bat. But maybe the addition to the 40 man roster will be Brian Buscher. So, what does that mean for the Twins? Probably not a lot. Buscher is already 26 years old, which isn't old but likely makes him a non-prospect. He still would not appear in my Top 50 Twins prospects whereas Moses, Winfree, Danny Valencia and Deibinson Romero do. However, he has picked a great time to put together by far his best season to date. It comes with Moses's struggles and Nick Punto fading back to reality. The Twins likely have not found their 3B of the future, but they might just hope that he can carry this hot stretch into the big leagues and give the Twins some offense from the hot corner!

STAND PAT? - Brian MacPherson for the St. Cloud Times thinks that the Twins need to go out and make a deal for a big bat. Check out his article to find out who, and his justification for thinking that way.

GAME DAY - Justin Morneau will be attending a video game tournament at the Eden Prairie Best Buy on Thursday evening. The winner will get the chance to play Morneau for the championship.

CENSORSHIP AT ITS FINEST - Were the Comments made on KSTP really wrong? Hmmm... We've all thought it, haven't we?

Any other thoughts on the Twins or anything? E-mail me or leave Comments below.

Here are the Twins updates from the weekend, including game reports of their minor league affiliates.

Friday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Danny Valencia, Ft. Myers Miracle
Friday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Cole DeVries, Beloit Snappers
Saturday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Brian Dinkelman, Ft. Myers Miracle
Saturday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Robertson, Beloit Snappers
Sunday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Rene Tosoni, Elizabethton Twins
Sunday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Alex Burnett, Beloit Snappers

ROCHESTER REPORT
Friday - Red Wings 4, Indianapolis 3 – Brian Buscher went 3-4 with two doubles in this game. Darnell McDonald went 2-3 with a walk, his 24th double and 18th stolen base. Matthew Lecroy went 2-3 with two RBI. Alexi Casilla went 2-5. Brian Duensing improved to 6-2. He went 5.1 innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He walked an uncharacteristic five hitters, and he struck out six. Carmen Cali struck out four in 1.2 innings. Bobby Korecky then picked up his 23rd save. He gave up a run in two innings.

Saturday - Red Wings 8, Indianapolis 4 – Nick Blackburn gave up four earned runs on five hits over six innings, but he recorded the win. Brian Bass threw three shutout innings in relief. Brian Buscher went 2-3 with a walk. Denard Span went 2-4 with his fifth triple and two RBI.

Sunday - Red Wings 3, Indianapolis 16 – David Gassner fell to 3-10 with yet another rough outing. In just 2.2 innings, he gave up nine earned runs on eight hits and two walks. Brad Baker then came in and gave up seven runs (6 earned) on nine hits and three walks in 3.1 innings. Julio DePaula then struck out three over three shutout innings. Chris Heintz went 2-4 with two RBI, and Tommy Watkins hit his fifth homer.

NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Friday - Rockcats 3, Portland 6 – Kyle Waldrop fell to 3-6. The righty went 4.2 innings and gave up four runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out three. Angel Garcia gave up two runs over 1.1 innings. Jose Mijares and Danny Powers each threw a shutout frame. The Rockcats had just five hits, although four of them went for extra base hits. Felix Molina hit his sixth homer. Rashad Eldridge, Matt Allegra and Garrett Guzman each hit a double.

Saturday - Rockcats 1, Portland 3 – Anthony Swarzak pitched very well but took the loss. He went six innings and gave up just one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out six. Frank Mata got two outs and gave up two runs on two hits. Jose Mijares went 1.1 scoreless innings. Matt Moses went 2-4 with two doubles. Felix Molina hit his 12th double.

Sunday - Rockcats – No Game Scheduled.

FT MYERS MEMOS
Friday - Miracle 8, Jupiter 3 – Danny Valencia went 4-5 with two RBI. Steven Tolleson was 3-5 with an RBI and his 20th stolen base. Brian Dinkelman, Erik Lis and Jeff Christy each went 2-4. Dinkelman hit his first double while Lis hit his 20th double. Jeff Manship improved to 3-1. In 7.2 innings, he gave up three runs on eight hits. He walked three and struck out five. Armando Gabino got the final out of the 8th inning before Robert Delaney threw a scoreless ninth.

Saturday - Miracle 11, Jupiter 8 – Glen Perkins made an abbreviated rehab start. He went just one inning and gave up three runs on three hits (including a homer). He then felt the same pain as his initial injury. Yohan Pino then got the win as he went the next four innings. He gave up two runs on four hits. He struck out five. David Shinskie gave up a run on three hits, a walk and a hit batter in two innings. Adam Hawes didn't get anyone out and gave up two runs. He gave up two runs on a hit, hit a batter and walked two. Armando Gabino went two shutout innings.

Sunday - Miracle 4, Vero Beach 3 – Jay Rainville picked up his fifth win. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out five. Kyle Aselton gave up an unearned run in his inning. Eddie Morlan recorded his 12th save with two shutout innings. Dwayne White went 2-4 with his 10th double. Steven Tolleson went 2-5 with his 21st save. Jeff Christy had a two run double.

BELOIT BITS
Friday - Snappers 5, West Michigan 3 (12) – Cole DeVries was excellent in this game. He went eight innings and gave up just one run on seven hits and two walks. He threw eight shutout innings before giving up a triple to lead off the ninth. Anthony Slama came in and allowed the run to score, plus two more runs on two hits and a walk. (think the Beloit pitchers will miss Robert Delaney closing out games). Danny Vais then went 1.1 shutout innings. Aaron Craig got the Win with two shutout innings. He struck out three. Joe Benson was 2-5 with his 12th homer. Eli Tintor went 2-5 with two RBI and his fourth stolen base. Chris Parmalee went 2-4 with two walks. Steve Singleton and Wilson Ramos each had two hits.

Saturday - Snappers 1, West Michigan 2 (11) – Another extra inning game... another excellent start. Tyler Robertson gave up no runs on four hits and three walks in 7.2 innings. He struck out five. Dan Leatherman gave up a run in one inning. Jesus Carnevales gave up an unearned run on three his in 1.2 innings. Jose Lugo then came in and the winning run scored on a botched rundown between home and third. The Snappers had just four hits. Yancarlos Ortiz had a double. Steve Singleton went 1-2 with a walk and two stolen bases.

Sunday - Snappers 3, West Michigan 5 – Alex Burnett gave up two runs (1 earned) on six hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six. Danny Vais took the loss. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk. Anthony Slama got out of that inning. The Snappers had just six hits. Danny Berg had a double.

E-TWINS REPORT
The E-Twins have been unreal this year, but this weekend, they got a little bit of their own medicine!

Friday - E-Twins 6, Burlington 13– Steven Hirschfeld went 4.1 innings and gave up six runs on nine hits and a walk. Curtis Leavitt gave up six runs on seven hits in one inning. Omar Alcala went 2.2 innings and gave up a run on three hits. Ozzie Lewis went 3-3 with an RBI. Estarlin de los Santos went 3-5. Rene Leveret went 2-4 with his fourth double, fifth homer and three RBI.

(Meanwhile - The GCL Twins lost 3-0 - Errol Simonitsch went two shutout innings of rehab work. He struck out two. Then Sean Land threw one inning of rehab work as well and didn't allow a run. Winston Marquez got the win. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk in five innings. Rodney Gessmann went one shutout inning. Juan Richardson went 2-4. Jon Waltenbury hit his second double.)

Saturday - E-Twins 4, Burlington 8 – Michael Tarsi went the first four innings and gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks. Dan Lathan gave up one in two innings. Spencer Steedley gave up two runs in his two innings. He did strike out six though. Rene Tosoni went 2-2 with two walks, a double and his seventh stolen base. Estarlin de los Santos went 2-5 with his sixth double and two triples (he has 10). Rene Leveret hit his sixth homer. Mark Dolenc hit his second homer.

Sunday - E-Twins 1, Danville 3 – Rene Tosoni went 3-4 with his fifth double and eighth stolen base. But the E-Twins managed just six hits. Michael Allen took the loss. He gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings. He struck out seven. Brad Tippett and Blair Erickson each pitched a shutout inning.

Do you have any further thoughts on any Twins prospects, minor leaguers, or these summaries? E-mail me, or also feel free to leave comments below.