Sunday, April 6, 2008
Sunday Night Update
Full night of
stuff here tonight. I’m kind of
stranded halfway between where I was and where I was going. A foot of snow will
do that, huh? Uggh! Anyway, thought I would post
updates from the Twins game and their affiliates, as well as a few other notes.
Twins Thoughts (Twins 1,
Royals 3)
·
Boof Bonser was actually pretty
good. He gave up two runs in the second inning thanks to a two-run single by
Alex Gordon. But really, after that, he did very well. He went seven innings
and threw just 92 pitches. That is the type of
efficiency that will help him last longer in games.
·
Denard Span went 0-3 with a walk. In his first at bat, he
took a 1-0 pitch and laced it right down the 1B line, just foul. It would have
been an easy double. He grounded to the pitcher, who made a nice play, otherwise it would have been a single up the middle.
In general, I thought Span looked really good at the plate. His plate discipline
in this game (and the games this spring ) has been
impressive. Defensively, he looked very natural out in right field.
·
Jesse Crain and Dennys Reyes each threw a scoreless inning.
·
Carlos Gomez went
1-4. Unfortunately, he tried to stretch a soft single to right into a double,
and Jose Guillen threw him out. It wasn’t a smart
move and yet, I
really like the aggressiveness. As with his swing, I really hope that the Twins
don’t try to temper it too much. I like the fact that had there been most other
RF, he could have made it. That is exciting.
·
Matt Tolbert was
back in the lineup. I like that he is the primary utility infield, at least in
the middle of the field. Nick Punto has made the
start at 3B, but it was Tolbert who started two games in a row at 2B when
Brendan Harris was sick. He got the start at SS on Sunday. I still see Tolbert’s
potential more as a utility player than a starter, but he is a far better
version than Punto. He also puts together very good
at bats.
·
We haven’t seen a
home run yet from Joe Mauer, but his swing this
season is much different. He isn’t slapping at the ball as much. In proper
situations, he is taking some big hacks. The home runs will come. If not, more
doubles will come. That kind of eye with that swing can only be a good thing.
·
Justin Morneau absolutely unloaded on a pitch in the sixth inning
off of lefty Ron Mahay. Very impressive swing. Just
to think… many people were worried about him because he had three hitless games
in a row.
Red Wings Report
(Rochester, Richmond)
·
Game was
postponed.
·
The Twins have
promoted Francisco Liriano to Rochester where they
plan to start him on Tuesday night.
Rockcats Ramblings (New Britain 3, Portland 6)
·
This is not the
kind of start that Jay Rainville would have hoped
for. The righty gave up four runs on four hits and five walks in just 3.1 innings.
He didn’t strike anyone out. Last year was hit ‘comeback’ year. This year he
needs to regain his prospect status. But again, this is just one start.
·
Kyle Aselton then went two shutout, hitless innings, but he
walked four and struck out none as well. Zach Ward pitched a scoreless inning before
both Jason Miller and Ben Julianel gave up a run in
an inning.
·
Dustin Martin
went 2-3 with a walk and his second double. Luke Hughes also went 2-3.
·
The top two
hitters in the lineup, Brandon Roberts and Steven Tolleson,
combined to go 0-10.
Miracle Bits (Ft. Myers
3, Dunedin 3 – 6 innings)
·
The game was
called after the 6th inning because of the rain. Only ninth hitter,
Toby Gardenhire, had a hit for the Miracle.
·
Tyler Robertson
made his first start of the season. The lefty went five innings and gave up two
runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out six.
·
Aaron Craig came
in for the bottom of the 6th. He gave up a run on two hits and didn’t
get an out when the game was called.
Snappers Snapshot (Beloit
2, Kane County 5)
·
Steve Singleton and Ramon Santana each went
2-4.
·
Chris Parmelee hit his 2nd home run of the year. Two hits, two home runs.
·
Dan Berlind got the start. He gave up three runs on six hits
and two walks in three innings.
·
Matt Williams
came in and went three shutout innings. He gave up three hits and walked three.
He struck out four.
·
Dominique
Rodgers, Spencer Steedley and Blair Erickson threw the
last three innings. Steedley was charged with two
unearned runs.
Other Notes/Links
·
Travis Talks has written a
couple of good articles over the weekend including a look
at catchers in the Twins system.
·
Check out the Twinkie
Town Q&A with John Sickels.
Keep the comments coming and have a great week!