comment! And don't forget to check out
his
weekly minor league update at Twinkie Town. CONGRATULATIONS to CHRIS COSTE on his FIRST BIG LEAGUE HIT.
Friday night, Coste hit a single in the bottom of the 5th innings off of Tampa Bay Devil Rays starter James Shields that drove in Aaron Rowand for the Phillies first run. In the bottom of the 9th, he got hit #2!
Here are some recent articles on Chris Coste from online:
In a recent Phillies game, country music star Tim McGraw got to throw out the first pitch, to Chris Coste!
A story on
Coste's first start for the Phillies which includes the
following:
"Sure, it
makes a great story that I made the big leagues, but, at the same
time, I want to stay in the big leagues. Eventually it would be nice
if the story just fades away and I'm a regular big-leaguer.
Eventually I've got to play and start doing something so I can stay
here for a while."
Monday, June 19, 2006
Weekend Recap
Good morning everybody!
Q&A Announcement - On the site, I have been able to do Q&A's with several Twins prospects in the past. I have been able to ask a lot of questions. Well, we're going to go about the Q&A process a little differently for one this week. Pat Neshek has said that he would be more than happy to answer questions from my readers for an upcoming Q&A. So, what I would like you to do is e-mail me questions for Pat Neshek. I will be able to send them to him and he will answer them. So, please take a second or two to come up with some good questions for Pat. Pat is having a monster season this year at Rochester, the Twins AAA affiliate. I have added him to the "How are these guys still in AAA?" prospect section at the left. Please take a minute to review his statistics again! So anyway, he has been featured in Baseball America, he is the leading voter among all minor leaguers for the AAA All-Star game, and he has been getting several interview requests. So, it really is quite something and tells us a lot about Pat that he is willing to do this. So again, please take a couple of seconds to e-mail me questions for Pat Neshek, and be sure to check back later in the week for his responses. (please limit yourself to three questions, so make them good!) Thank you!
Today, I am going to talk a little about the Twins sweep at Pittsburgh, their seven game winnings streak, their return to a .500 record, and more. I will also go over the results and highlights of the Twins minor league affiliates from the weekend. Kevin Slowey has been the best starting pitching prospect in all of baseball this season, and you will not believe what he did this weekend!
But before we get started, Congratulations to Chris Coste who had his first (and second) big league hits on Friday night against the Devil Rays. I wanted to point out an interesting Chris Coste fact as pointed out in the Comments of this site this weekend by "Jake":
Interesting fact about Chris Coste from ESPN.com's Elias Says...
• Phillies' 33-year-old rookie Chris Coste got his first major league hit Friday night, a fifth-inning single. Only four players in the last 40 years recorded their first major league hit at an older age than Coste: Minny Mendoza (age 36) in 1970, Hank Izquierdo (36) in 1967, Alan Zinter (34) in 2002 and Alan Cockrell (33) in 1996.
congrats to him!So, please continue reading, and Have a Great Week! Please feel free to e-mail me or leave Comments below.
The Twins got another win yesterday afternoon to sweep the Pirates. They have now won seven straight games and are at .500 for the season. Three weeks ago, I would have doubted that it was even possible to get to .500, but a couple of player moves, much better pitching and the team is playing like we thought they would. Can they catch the Tigers and White Sox? They are 11 games behind Detroit and 9.5 behind the White Sox. They are currently three games ahead of the Indians.
Here are some thoughts from the series:
Justin Morneau continues his torrid stretch. His bases clearing double yesterday all but assured the Twins win. It also continued his hitting streak which stands at 10 games. In that time frame, he is 17-41 (.415) and has three doubles, three homers and 18 RBI. For the season, he is hitting .267 with 16 homers and 56 RBI. The RBI number ranks in the Top 5 in the American League. At his current rate, his full-season projects to hitting 38 homers and driving in 133 runs! And to think there are many Twins fans who thought he should have been sent down earlier in the season. Even I admitted earlier in the year that I may have been wrong. Fortunately, I wasn't and it appears that Morneau could still become a big success. Oh, and his 8th inning homer on Saturday night gave the Twins the lead 4-3 in the 8th.
I hate to see Joe Mauer not play in a game, but it was actually good for me to see him get a full game off. No catching. No DHing, just a day off! With today's off day, it should refresh Mauer a little bit.
It also doesn't hurt to bring in Mike Redmond who again produced offensively yesterday! He went 2-4 with two RBI! He is 8-19 (.421) over his past four games played.
Is it coincidence that the Twins winning streak has happened with Tony Batista released and Juan Castro was traded? If nothing else, the current team is way more exciting to watch than that old veteran team they thought would be good!
Lew Ford was 1-4 yesterday. That makes him 1-17 in his last seven games played. Of course, in several of those games, he was only used as a defensive replacement and his at bats are quite inconsistent.
It was good to see Terry Tiffee have a nice 2-3 night on Saturday. He hit a home run too. Now, I am the first to admit that he is not the answer at 3B offensively or defensively. In his recent pinch hitting chances, he hasn't had any hits, but at least in the last two chances, he has hit the ball hard.
Hey, that Johan Santana guy is tough, huh? Seven innings. One run. He gave up five hits, but walked none and struck out five on the day. Oliver Perez was up to the challenge for the Pirates. The lefty shut down the Twins through 6+ innings. I hope he can turn things around because he showed so much promise just two years ago.
Juan Rincon threw a shutout inning on Sunday. He did not allow a run. He has not allowed an earned run in his last 17 outings.
I'm really happy to see Jason Bartlett playing so well offensively and defensively. He has had at least one hit in all five of his games played.
Torii Hunter has had two hits in four of his last six games.
Jason Kubel knocked his 6th homer of the year on Saturday night, right before Tiffee hit his homer.
Rondell White's last hit came on June 1. However, his walk with the bases loaded on Saturday night really was big!
After Boof Bonser was knocked out of the game in the fourth inning on Saturday night, the Twins got great pitching from their bullpen. Kyle Lohse gave 2.2 scoreless innings. Then Jesse Crain worked two scoreless innings. Finally, Joe Nathan came in and got his 10th save. It was the third straight game with a Save.
It was another great start for Francisco Liriano on Friday night. The lefty gave up two runs, both on a home run to Jack Wilson, over seven innings. He dominated the Pirates lineup with 11 strikeouts. Fortunately, the Twins were able to score three runs in the top of the 7th so that Liriano could get the Win. He is now 6-1. Oh, and on Thursday night, he is scheduled to start for the Twins against Roger Clemens!
And finally, I need to make an apology to Joe Mauer. I was at the game last Wednesday when he went 0-3 with two walks. It ended his nine game hitting streak. He has hit in his three games since and is 5-11 with two doubles. Mauer has hit in 12 of his last 13 games, 23 of his last 25 games, and in 30 of his last 33 games. He is now leading the majors with a .380 batting average.
The Twins have a day off tomorrow before opening a three game home series against the Astros in Houston. Any other thoughts on the Twins? E-mail me, or leave some Comments below.
ROGER'S MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Throughout the year, our friend
"Roger" will be keeping tabs of the Twins minor leaguers again. This
year, he is coming up with a minor league hitter and pitcher each
week. Feel free to
comment! And don't forget to check out
his
weekly minor league update at Twinkie Town.
Player of the Week - Trent Oeltjen, New Britain Rockcats
...Trent Oeltjen, 23, has been on fire for several weeks and now leads the Rock Cats with a .324 batting average and .421OBP. This week Oeltjen was 10 for 19 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 run scored and 1 stolen base in 1 attempt. Trent is also a disciplined hitter with 16 walks and only 23 strikeouts in 145 at bats this season.Runner up is Matt Tolbert, a 23-year old Ft. Myers infielder who was a 16th round pick in 2004. Tolbert also had an excellent week, going 10 for 23 with 1 walk, 1 triple, 3 rbi and 1 stolen base. Tolbert now has the highest batting average on the Ft. Myers squad, .319, with a .375OBP.
Pitcher of the Week - Alexander Smit, Beloit Snappers
...Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey both had starts in which they allowed no earned runs and certainly could have again earned top honors. The top spot this week however, must go to Alexander Smit, the lefty reliever working out of the Beloit bullpen. Last year Smit began the season in Beloit and returned to Elizabethton after struggling in A ball. This year he was again inconsistent early in the season as evidenced by his 5.40 era as of June 10th. This week he pitched like the pitcher who was nearly unhittable last summer in Elizabethton, pitching 3.2 innings in 2 games with 0 hits, 0 runs with 8K/0BB. Yes, 8 of the 11 outs were by strikeout...welcome back Alexander.The runner up is 2004 third round pick Eduardo Morlan. Morlan was 1-0 this week, pitching 14.2 innings including a 9.0 inning complete game in Beloit's 5-2 win Friday night. This week, Morlan allowed 12 hits, 5 runs (4 earned) with 16K/3BB including 11K/0BB in Friday's complete game.
Friday SethSpeaks Player of the Day - Chris Heintz, Rochester Red Wings
Saturday SethSpeaks Player of the Day - Denard Span, New Britain Rockcats
Sunday SethSpeaks Player of the Day - Drew Thompson, Beloit Snappers
Friday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day - Eduardo Morlan, Beloit Snappers
Saturday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day - Kevin Slowey, Ft. Myers Miracle
Sunday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day - Kyle Waldrop, Beloit Snappers
LaVelle E. Neal wrote a nice minor league update regarding the status of David Winfree as well as good things about JD Durbin.
Here are the weekend updates. If you have any thoughts on the Twins system, please e-mail me.
ROCHESTER REPORT
Friday - Red Wings 7, Indianapolis 3 - Mike Smith provided a quality start and picked up his fourth win. He gave up three runs in seven innings on five hits and two walks. Henry Bonilla gave up two base runners and got two outs, so Pat Neshek came in and got the final four outs, three of them on strikeouts, for his 13th save. Jason Tyner led the offense by going 3-4 with his fourth triple. Chris Heintz was 2-5 with his first homer and three RBI. Gil Velazquez and Josh Rabe each had two hits.
Saturday - Red Wings 4, Toledo 10 – Josh Rabe led the offense with a 3-5 day. He had his 17th double and a walk. But it wasn't the offense that was the problem. Peter Munro gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks. He struck out six. Matt Ford gave up a run in his inning. Bobby Korecky then gave up five runs (3 earned) on six hits and a walk in two innings. Garrett Jones went 2-4 with his 11th homer. Glenn Williams had his 11th and 12th doubles in four at bats. Shawn Wooten and Gil Velazquez each had two hits.
Sunday - Red Wings 0, Toledo 3 - In this game, the Red Wings were only able to muster two hits. Glenn Williams went 1-2 with a walk. Jason Miller made another start. He went 5.1 innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on six hits and two walks. Beau Kemp gave up a run over the final 3.2 innings.
NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Friday - Rockcats 0, Akron 3 – Glen Perkins took another loss, but he really did not pitch poorly. In six innings, he gave up just two runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out seven. However, the Rockcats were shutout and had just seven hits. Steve Lomanskey went 3-3, and Denard Span went 2-4, and that's it. Jay Sawatski gave up a run in two innings, and Tristan Crawford struck out two in his inning.
Saturday - Rockcats 3, Akron 5 – Denard Span had another good offensive day. He went 4-5 with an RBI. Danny Matienzo hit his 8th home run. Nick Blackburn started and gave up four runs in seven innings. He allowed six hits and a walk, but he struck out just two. John Thomas took the loss as he gave up a run on three hits in just 2/3 of an inning. Julio DePaula came in and got the final four outs.
Sunday - Rockcats 2, Akron 8 – Errol Simonitsch fell to 5-6. The lefty went just four innings and gave up four runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk. Justin Olson came in and gave up two runs in three innings. Jay Sawatski finished with two shutout innings. Doug Deeds led the offense by going 2-3 with a walk.
FT MYERS MEMOS
Friday - Miracle – No Florida State League games. All Star Break.
Saturday - Miracle - The Western Division of the FSL won the game, but all we really care about it how the Twins prospects did, right? Well, newly acquired Brandon Roberts went 1-2. Alexi Casilla started at SS and went 1-2. Kyle Geiger struck out twice in two at bats. But the story of the entire game was uber-prospect Kevin Slowey. His numbers to this point in the season are remarkable, but what he did in this game was amazing. Slowey started for the West and went one scoreless inning. That is a nice showing. He struck out all three batters that he faced. Another very good thing. The amazing thing is that he used just nine pitches to strike out the side. If he is not moved up to New Britain within the next week, it would be ridiculous!
Sunday - Miracle – No Florida State League games. All Star Break.
BELOIT BITS
Friday - Snappers 5, Cedar Rapids 2 – Eduardo Morlan threw an excellent game for the Snappers. The power righty went all nine innings for his third win of the year. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out 11. Tarrence Patterson went 3-5 with a double. Paul Kelly went 2-3 with two walks and an RBI. Dwayne White went 2-5.
Saturday - Snappers 4, Cedar Rapids 5 – Paul Kelly has really done a nice job for the team this year. On this day, he had two doubles in four at bats. He has 18 on the season. Drew Thompson went 2-4 with his ninth double. Edward Ovalle went 2-4 with two RBI. Oswaldo Sosa went the first six innings. He gave up four runs (2 earned) on eight hits. He walked none and struck out six. Jose Lugo gave up a run in his inning. Danny Vais struck out all three batters he faced.
Sunday - Snappers 3, Cedar Rapids 2 (10) – If not for the performances of Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey, I bet we would be talking more about Kyle Waldrop. The 2004 first round pick has really been spectacular the last six weeks. In this game, he went eight innings and gave up two runs, just one earned. He gave up five hits and a walk, and he struck out three. He threw just 84 pitches. Yohan Pino came in and struck out four over two perfect innings to improve to 5-1. Drew Thompson was the star of this game though. He went 4-5 including a 10th inning homer to win the game. Dwayne White was 2-4 with a triple.
Thanks again for stopping by this site. If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.
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