Monday, May 10,
2010
Decisions,
Decisions
The Twins will enjoy a day off on Monday after winning the final two games
of their series against Baltimore to split the series. One of the great things
about baseball is that you just never know what will happen. We saw enough of
that. On Saturday night, with the bases loaded and one out, the Twins pinch hit
Joe Mauer
for Alexi Casilla.
Mauer proceeded to strike out. Light-hitting Drew Butera
came up and lined a single to left field to give the Twins two insurance runs.
Who can predict that happening? No one. But things
like that happen on the time in baseball. When Twins fans saw the team’s lineup
on Sunday morning, some may have thought it was a “B” lineup. And out of
necessity, it really was. Joe Mauer was back in the lineup, but only as a DH which
meant that Jim Thome
and Jason Kubel
were out of the lineup. JJ Hardy needed
another day off, and Orlando Hudson
requested a day off (according to the manager) and got it. So Sunday’s lineup
consisted of Nick Punto
batting second, Brendan Harris and Alexi Casilla
against one of the game’s best young, left-handed pitchers, Brian Matusz.
So of course, Punto went 2-3 with a sacrifice fly and
two RBI. Harris went 3-4 with a double. Alexi
Casilla went 2-4 with his first double. Denard Span stole the show going 3-4 with a
triple, three RBI and his eighth stolen base. Baseball, it’s a funny game, and
it’s a great game.
But that said, the Twins have some fairly big
decisions to make in the coming days:
1.) WITH JOE MAUER HEALTHY
AND PROBABLY ABLE TO CATCH A GAME AGAINST THE WHITE SOX, WILL THE TWINS SEND
WILSON RAMOS OR DREW BUTERA TO ROCHESTER?
a. ANSWER 1.) This is a
really easy question to answer. Wilson Ramos is a starter and a future star.
This is the same story and explanation given at the end of spring training. It’s
the same story and explanation given after Ramos had seven hits in his first
two games. And it’s the same simple explanation and story now that he has gone
1-17 since his fast start. He is young. He has things to work on. He can get
better and he will. But it is an easy decision; Wilson Ramos should go to
Rochester.
2.) WHEN THE TWINS OPTION
WILSON RAMOS TO ROCHESTER, WHO SHOULD THEY PROMOTE TO THE TWINS?
a.
ANSWER 2.) This one is a little more difficult to answer.
Since the Twins have three catchers and are short a relief pitcher, I think
that is the direction to go, especially heading into a weekend series against
the Yankees. Here are some options:
i.
Anthony Slama The 26 year old right-hander is
certainly the name that most Twins fans want to see promoted. He has been
strikeout machine throughout his minor league career. This year, he has 25 strikeouts and a 1.77 ERA
and a 0.84 WHIP in 20.1 innings in Rochester. The only negative number on his
resume is his nine walks. He’s as ready as he will ever be. The only thing
against Slama right now is that he is not on the
Twins 40 man roster, but that is easily remedied. Clay Condrey
or Jose Morales could be put on the 60 Day Disabled List.
ii.
Rob Delaney – The 25 year old is 4-1
with a 3.32 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP in 19.1 innings, he has 21 strikeouts with just
five walks. Delaney was added to the Twins 40 man roster this past November so
he could easily come up.
iii.
Jose Mijares – The lefty has made his
two scheduled rehab appearances in Rochester. If those went well, he could be
taken off of the Disabled List. But he did poorly in both outings, so I don’t
think it makes sense to push him back. Brian Duensing
and Ron Mahay have both done very well in their
left-handed reliever roles through the Twins first six weeks of games. When he
is on, Mijares is better than either, and Duensing could be used as a long reliever, something the
Twins don’t currently have.
iv.
Jeff Manship – As I just said, the
Twins currently don’t have a long reliever. Duensing
has not been stretched out at all yet. Manship is the
best option for the role at Rochester. To me, this is an important role, and I
think that Manship is the right decision, although I
have no problem with either Anthony Slama or Rob
Delaney being promoted.
3.) THERE ARE RUMORS THAT JJ
HARDY COULD BE HEADED FOR THE DISABLED LIST. HE WILL BE EVALUATED ON TUESDAY.
IF HARDY WERE TO REQUIRE A TWO-WEEK STINT ON THE DISABLED LIST, WHO SHOULD THE
TWINS PROMOTE?
a.
ANSWER 3.) Again, this is another questions with several
answers, including:
i.
Trevor Plouffe – The 23 year old has now been in AAA Rochester for two
full years. He is off to a solid start in 2010, hitting .288/.355/.468 with
eight doubles, three triples and two home runs. A terrific guy, he has also
shown improvement with the glove. Personally, I would like to see him get a two
week opportunity to be the team’s starting shortstop.
ii.
Danny Valencia – The 25 year old got
off to a very slow start. At one point, he was hitting .152, but an eight-hit
weekend increased his average to .246. He has been much more consistent of late
and is hitting .276/.319/.362 with nine doubles. He is currently on a 14 game
hitting streak during which he is 22-59 (.373) with eight of his doubles.
Defensively, he has just three errors on the season and has continued to show
improvement. Valencia could take over at 3B with Nick Punto
taking over at shortstop until Hardy is ready.
iii.
Luke Hughes – Hughes was the one
promoted when Punto went on the Disabled List a
couple of weeks ago because he was the hot hitter at the time. He is 3-16 in
four games since his return to Rochester. He does have the ability to play 2B
and 3B.
iv.
Matt Tolbert – We know how much Gardy loves Tolbert, and his ability to play three infield
positions. He is currently hitting .231/.284/.333 with six doubles, a triple
and a home run. He is 3-19 in his last five games.
b. Personally, I would be
happy if the Twins promoted Trevor Plouffe or Danny
Valencia. I would not be surprised at all if the Twins decided to promote Tolbert
again.
SethSpeaks Sunday Minor League
Hitter of the Day – Anderson Hidalgo
– Beloit Snappers
SethSpeaks Sunday Minor League
Pitcher of the Day – Mike McCardell – New Britain Rockcats
·
As you know, Dan Osterbrock was promoted from Beloit to Ft. Myers and
made his first start over the weekend. Danny
Rams was promoted temporarily to New Britain due to the catcher situation
at the Twins highest levels. Likewise, Jair Fernandez
went to Rochester to back up Allan de San Miguel. When Ramos is sent down,
these catchers will likely move back.
·
Steve Hirschfeld was put back on the
Disabled List for New Britain. Matt
Williams moved up from Ft. Myers to New Britain.
·
Liam Hendriks was promoted to Ft.
Myers. His strong start at Beloit earned him the promotion.
·
Beloit added swing-men Jhon Garcia and Eliecer Cardenas. Michael Tonkin was also promoted, and I would think that he would
start. I must admit, that when I heard that the Snappers were adding a starter,
I would have guessed Martire Garcia, Adrian Salcedo, BJ Hermsen or Blayne Weller would get the call ahead of Tonkin, but let’s just see how
he is used and what happens.
Red Wings Report
Sunday – Rochester 2, Louisville 5 – Ryan Mullins gave the Red Wings their best start in awhile. The
lanky lefty gave up three runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings. He walked three
and struck out six. Rob Delaney came in and got the final out
of the 6th frame. Jose Mijares came in and got two outs. He gave up two runs
on two hits and a walk, but he did strike out two. Matt Fox got the final four outs, allowing just one hit. Brock Peterson went 2-3 with a triple. Luke Hughes hit a solo home run. The
Louisville starter was Aroldis Chapman who gave up just the one run
on four hits and five walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out six.
New Britain Notes
Sunday – New Britain 1, Portland 2 – Juan Portes hit a single to drive in Ben Revere, who had been hit by a pitch
and stole his tenth base. It was the only hit of the game for the Rockcats. Steve Singleton walked twice. Mike McCardell
started and gave up one run on four hits in six innings. He walked three and
struck out four. Henry Arias gave up
a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Chris Province threw two scoreless innings.
Miracle Matters
Sunday – Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled.
Snappers Snippets
Sunday – Beloit 1, Burlington 5 – Peter Kennelly made his first start of the season. He gave up three
runs on six hits and a walk in four innings. Jhon Garcia threw two scoreless innings. Ben Tootle came in and gave up two unearned runs in two innings. Eliecer Cardenas then pitched a scoreless
ninth inning. The Snappers managed just five hits. Anderson Hidalgo had three of them, all doubles. He already has
eight doubles on the season.
Any questions? Leave
your comments here.