Tuesday, May 5,
2009
Very Quick Report
I’m going to have to issue an
apology to everyone because there may not be a ton of written words in today’s
posting. I am exhausted.
So, be sure to check out Aaron’s
Baseball Blog and Nick’s
Twins Blog from yesterday to read their minor league updates on some
top prospects. They are very good reads. And of course, I encourage everyone to
listen to last
night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Twins Podcast. The hour-long show
included an interview with Twins reliever Pat
Neshek who is in Ft. Myers rehabbing after his
November Tommy John surgery. He certainly sounds much more positive than he did
the last time he was on the podcast, which was the night after he found out
that he needed the surgery. The 20+ minutes with Pat were excellent. Then we
were joined by Jim Mandelaro
of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. He covers the Rochester Red
Wings and blogs at a site called Extra Bases.
It was fun to get a different perspective on several Twins minor leaguers who
are at the level closest to the big leagues. Finally, Nick Nelson joined us for the final ten minutes and talked about
the Twins 7-2 win in Detroit and several other key Twins topics. So, please
listen to the podcast and let me know what you think. Your feedback is always
welcome.
TWINS 7, TIGERS 2
The Franchise, Francisco Liriano
had another very solid start, and this time, with five Twins runs in the top
of the 7th, he got the run support necessary to get his first win of
the year. In 7.1 innings, he gave up two runs on struck out nine. Matt Guerrier came
in and got all five batters out that he faced. Denard Span went 4-5 in the game with an RBI. Michael Cuddyer remains on fire. He went
2-3 with yet another walk and drilled a two-run triple over the head of Curtis Granderson.
He is now 9-20 with nine walks. That’s a .450 batting average and an on-base
percentage over .650 over his last seven games. Today the Twins will send Nick Blackburn to the mound against
young Rick Porcello.
MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
ROCHESTER REPORT
Sunday –Rochester 4, Louisville 2 – Kevin Mulvey picked up his first win of the season with five
innings of one-run ball. He gave up four hits and walked four as well. Mike Gosling gave up a run on a hit and
a walk in an inning. He struck out three. Sean
Henn then recorded his second save with two
scoreless innings. Matt Tolbert went
4-6 to raise his average to .244. Luke
Hughes was 3-4 with two walks. Dustin
Martin was 2-4 with a walk. Drew Butera went 2-4. Jim
Mandelaro mentioned too that Jason Pridie was 0-5 until a ninth inning
single extended his hitting streak to 15 games. I also learned that Carmen Pignatiello was released to make room for Juan Morillo.
ROCKCAT
RECAP
Sunday – New Britain 2, New Hampshire 8 – Ryan Mullins
continues to really struggle. He gave up five runs on 11 hits in just 3.2
innings. He struck out four. Frank Mata
came in and gave up a run in 2.2 innings. Yohan Pino then gave up two runs in 2.1 innings.
Zach Ward got the final out. Wilson Ramos and Whit Robbins each went 2-4.
MIRACLE MEMOS
Sunday –Ft. Myers 8, Sarasota 6 – Mike McCardell won for the third straight start to improve to 3-2. In this game, he went six innings and gave up three earned runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out seven. Kyle Waldrop pitched a scoreless seventh inning before giving up three runs in the 8th. Spencer Steedley came in and gave up a hit, but Blair Erickson got the save with two strikeouts in an inning. Danny Berg went 2-4 with his first home run. Deibinson Romero went 2-5 with his eighth double and a stolen base. Danny Lehmann went 2-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Ben Revere went 2-5.Rene Leveret got a hit in his first at bat to raise his average to .368, but he left the game with some injury. Estarlin de los Santos has missed the last few games. Yangervis Solarte also is likely to miss the remainder of the season.
SNAPPERS SNIPPETS
Sunday – Beloit 5, Great Lakes 1
– Brad Tippett
had another very good start. He gave up one run on five hits in seven innings
to improve to 2-0. He walked none and struck out eight. Danny Rondon gave up just one hit over
the final two innings. Evan Bigley went 2-4 with his fifth double.
.
Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave
your questions or comments here.
Monday, May 4,
2009
Neshek to Appear on Tonight’s Podcast
Pat Neshek headlines tonight's SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast
tonight at 9:00 central time. The Twins right-handed reliever had Tommy John surgery last November and will spend the entire season rehabbing in Ft. Myers. So, we will catch up with him to see how he is progressing and what he does in a normal day, but we will also ask about the status of Boof Bonser. Following Neshek is a columnist for the Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle, Jim Mandelaro. Jim also has a blog there called Extra Bases. We'll ask how the first month for the Red Wings has been. Finally, Nick Nelson of Nick's Twins Blog will grace the show for the final segment and we will talk about several Twins topics including tonight's game at Detroit against the Tigers.As
always, the chat room will be open for your questions during the live show. I
will be sure to ask questions that I receive. Justin the show live online, or download the episode tomorrow.