Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday Game Notes
Hey ya'll. I am taking a couple of vacation days and will be heading to a lake cabin for a four day weekend starting on Thursday morning. I may wake up in the morning and come up with some Discussion Topics and questions for you to comment in throughout the weekend.
The Twins were swept by the Yankees and all I'm hearing is that the sky is falling down... that's apparently what talk radio wants us to believe, right? Well, at least on those Twin Cities stations that can't name half of the Twins roster, but can tell you the names, colleges, heights, weights and 40 times of the 80 players who will be reporting to Vikings camp this weekend in Mankato. Three losses is not the end of the world. There are still about 60 games left. Really. The Twins are only 2.5 games out of first and will start a four game series at the Metrodome starting next Monday. Would they rather win? Of course. But seriously, not the end of the world. Not a cause for massive change. Not a cause for trading the future for a two month rental. Not a sign that should the Twins make the playoffs, they could not advance and win. Remember, the best team does not always win the World Series. So again, Twins Fans, let's just relax and enjoy.
Twins 1, Yankees 5 -
Well, that wasn't a very pretty series. The Twins were outscored 25-7 in the three game series.
Mike Redmond was catching and batting third for the Twins in this game... He did have a hit.
It was nice to see Justin Morneau get another game as the DH. It was good to see Mike Lamb play 1B. It was GREAT to see Mike Lamb pick up three hits and the team's lone RBI. It is great because it would be really nice to have a solid hitter on the bench the rest of this season OR it would be good to find a contending team that is looking for a left-handed backup corner infielder who can pinch hit down the stretch!
Going 2-4. Very nice. Hitting your 14th double. Terrific. Knowing how many outs there are in an inning... Priceless.
Alexi Casilla not completing the second half of a double play led to two runs for the Yankees. Glen Perkins berated him on the field. Then he had a nice display back in the dugout. Chemistry is one of those terms that teams like to think is important. In reality, it's only important if the team is losing. If the team is winning, chemistry is not ever an issue.
I have heard a lot of people saying things like, "Who is Justin Christian?" or "Who is Brett Gardner?" and why are they even allowed to play at Yankees Stadium. How do I respond? Well, they are prospects that the Yankees haven't traded, which should tell us something. Think back to Yankees trades in years past where they gave up prospects for veterans. How many of those guys have actually turned out to be good big leaguers (I'll give you Jake Westbrook, any others?)? If the Yankees keep them, it usually tends to mean that they could be good. That said, I do think both would project as 4th or 5th outfielders And believe me, there are more people in New York asking who several players on the Twins roster are.
Other Notes -
Francisco Rodriguez is on pace to get something like 198 saves this year. That would be a record. It would top the 57 saves recorded by the White Sox Bobby Thigpen in 1990. In 1991, Thigpen had 30 saves despite a 1.45 WHIP. In 1992, his WHIP jumped to 1.65 and his ERA to 4.75. In 1993, the White Sox traded him to the Phillies and all told, he had an ERA of 5.83 and a WHIP of 1.75. He pitched in three games for Seattle in 1994 before being released and never pitched in the big leagues again. Thigpen was 27 years old in the 1990 season. Francisco Rodriguez is 26 years old and will become a free agent at the end of the season. Someone is going to give him a five or even six year contract worth about $15-16 million annually. The team that signs him will not be happy. I was going to say that maybe the Angels have been smart enough to not lock him up, letting him become a free agent. But, based on Vlad Guerrero, Gary Matthews and Torii Hunter's deals, they'll probably sign him again.
Remember when 3B Dallas McPherson was a big time power prospect for the Angels? We're talking almost as big a prospect as Brandon Wood! McPherson then started experiencing back problems that really hurt his development. That and he struck out an awful lot. He missed all of the 2007 season after having two vertebrae fused together. Ouch! Anyway, he signed a minor league deal with the Florida Marlins before the season. Because of Jorge Cantu's resurgence as a quality big leaguer, McPherson has remained in AAA. Did you know that he is currently hitting .295/.405/.661 with 12 doubles, three triples and 33 home runs in 318 at bats. I don't care if he's got 118 strikeouts already, that's pretty impressive.
Wednesday GAME NOTES
Twins Minor League Updates
Wednesday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Jason Pridie, Rochester Red Wings
Wednesday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – David Bromberg, Beloit Snappers
ROCHESTER REPORT
Wednesday –
Rochester
9, Toledo 6 – The Red Wings bats have certainly arrived the last
couple of days! Jason Pridie has been on a tear of late as well. In this
game, he went 3-4 with his 10th and 11th homers and three RBI. Ryan Jorgenson
went 3-4 with his ninth double and seventh home run. Alejandro Machado
went 2-4 with his fourth double and first stolen base. Randy Ruiz went
2-4. Philip Humber had a successful return to the starting rotation in
this game. He threw five shutout innings. He gave up five hits and walked two
while striking out five. Mariano Gomez went the next two innings without
allowing a run. Then Danny Graves came in and didn't do so well. He faced
five batters. He gave up a hit, walked two and hit two batters. Four of them
came around to score. Tim Lahey came in and gave up two hits and a walk
and two runs of his own and only got two outs. Bobby Korecky came in to
get the final four outs, three on strikeouts, for his 14th save.
NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Wednesday –
New Britain
3, Reading 4
– Anthony Swarzak had his second straight decent start
and gets another loss for it. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and
two walks in six innings. He didn't strike out a batter. Zach Ward struck
out four in two shutout innings. Rob Delaney struck out two in his inning
of relief. David Winfree provided the scoring. He was 1-3 with a walk,
but the one hit was a three run homer. It was his 13th homer of the year, and
the three RBI give him sixty on the season. Luke Hughes added a double to
a Rockcats attack that managed just five hits in the game.
FT MYERS MEMOS
Wednesday -
Miracle
2, St. Lucie 3
– This game contains a rather interesting box score because there were four
ejections in the game. Without seeing what happened, it is fun to try to figure
it out. In the 9th inning, Juan Portes was hit by a pitch by Emary
Frederick. My guess is that Portes charged the mound because the two were
both ejected. The on-deck hitter Danny Berg and one of the St. Lucie Mets
players were also ejected. Portes went 1-2 with a walk and the HBP in the game.
Interestingly, he was replaced by pinch runner Danny Santiesteban who
came in to score the game-tying run. Yancarlos Ortiz went 2-5. Alex
Burnett started for the Miracle. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk
in six innings. He struck out three. Jose Lugo then struck out three in
two scoreless innings. (However, he gave up two hits and walked two) Carlos
Gutierrez then pitched the next two innings and gave up just one hit.
Anthony Slama came in for the 11th inning and gave up an unearned run on one
hit and a walk to take the loss.
UPDATE - Portes did not charge the mound. After getting hit, he was yelling at the pitcher and telling him off when the catcher shoved Portes from behind. That's when things got ugly. There are apparently several Miracle players and Mets players with bruises all over!
BELOIT BITS
Wednesday –
Beloit
0, South Bend 3
– Another poor offensive
showing by the Snappers, but it shouldn't hide the fact that David Bromberg
pitched an excellent game. He gave up just two unearned runs on four hits and
two walks in seven innings. He struck out six. Michael Allen threw the
last two innings. He gave up a run on a hit, and he struck out two. The offense
managed just five hits in the game. Ben Revere hit his 17th double.
ELIZABETHTON EXTRAS
Wednesday -
E-Twins 2, Greeneville 7 – This isn't the same E-Twins team that we are
accustomed to, is it?! But they're still fun to follow. Evan Bigley led
the offense with a 2-4 day. He hit his second triple. James Beresford
went 2-3 with a walk. Adan Severino, Jon Waltenbury and Michael
Harrington each hit a double. Bobby Lanigan gave up four runs (3
earned) on 11 hits. He walked none and struck out three. Danny Rondon
then gave up three unearned runs on two hits and a walk in two innings.
Thomas Wright threw the final two innings and gave up just a walk.
GCL TWINS TALK
Wednesday -
GCL
Twins –
Either no game scheduled or no box score available.