Week of July 31

Week of July 31, 2006

On the Road with SethSpeaks

Saturday - 11:19 p.m. - Hello all! Well, it isn't quite the week of July 31 yet, but I thought I would get a head start on next week. If you are reading this, the format will essentially be a few daily bullet points with links, opinions, or whatever I want. Hopefully you will enjoy it. But, as you can see, the day and time is posted to start this paragraph, and whenever something new is posted, it will be posted on top of this one. As I have a chance, or something important happens, I will send in a message and try to get it posted.

Thursday – 11:05 p.m. – Hey ya’ll! Well, the Twins got a great start from Brad Radke, another big day for Justin Morneau, and more from Josh Rabe in an 8-2 win over the Royals.
Chris Coste went 4-5 for the Phillies, so he is now hitting .375.
Long day in Orlando. Meetings from 9-1, then a show throughout the afternoon. Tomorrow, I am excited to get to go listen to ESPN’s Dick Vitale speak at this convention. Then, heading back to Minneapolis tomorrow evening. Of course, from there, I fly out to my grandma’s 85th birthday party, which will be on Saturday.
It’s been a long week, and I really need sleep. Sorry again! I don’t know when I’ll be back to write more, so have a great weekend, and keep the comments coming!

Thursday – 12:06 a.m. – Good day all! Well, Wednesday was a long day. At 8:00, got picked up and drove an hour and a half to the east of Long Island.
We spent a few hours out in the Hamptons! Saw some amazing houses with some amazing prices! $25 million homes!! That’s insane. I’m not sure I’m going to want to look at my house when I go home. Ate at a nice place in the Hamptons for lunch, then ate Italian for supper. Took an 8:45 flight out of the airport in Islip, NY. Got down to Orlando at about 11:00, almost ½ hour before scheduled. That is a good thing, but it has been a long day, and I have to be up early, so this will be short. Here are just a couple of quick
notes:
• I see that the Twins got crushed again yesterday by the Rangers. They made
Kip Wells look good. Francisco Liriano couldn’t start and was replaced by Boof Bonser who was called up to replace Scott Baker who was bad the night before. It didn’t go well for Boof either. It was good to see that Matt Guerrier was back though.
• On Friday afternoon, our good friend Roger sent me an e-mail that said he
had, from a reliable source, that Liriano’s elbow might be an issue. It wasn’t first-hand knowledge, but according to our conversation, they had talked about scratching Liriano from his Friday night start, or at the least limit his innings and pitches. Well, he went eight strong innings, and my hope was just that it was a bad rumor. Upon hearing the news that Liriano was scratched from Wednesday, for the very reason Roger had said five days earlier, is a bit alarming. That said, scratching him from the start was the right thing to do! Hopefully it is just one start as Bonser was optioned back to Rochester after the game.
• Again, it was not Matt Garza recalled by the Twins, but instead it was 28
year old veteran Mike Smith who really has done a great job for the Red Wings.
• Here is a great article at Beerleaguer on Chris Coste called Hail to
Coste: Rookie Making Impact. It shows just how well Coste has been playing statistically. There are a lot of Comments as well!
• To get updated on what has happened with the Twins, and to find out who
Mike Smith is, check out Stick & Ball Guy’s site!
• I must sleep! Another long day ahead!

Wednesday – 8:03 a.m. – OK, just a couple more things.
• Willie Eyre seems safe again. Scott Baker was demoted right after the game
along with Terry Tiffee. Matt Guerrier comes off the Disabled List and Boof Bonser was recalled to start.
• Joe Mauer is on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Now, as Twins fans, it is our job to NOT believe in the jinx!
• Our good friend Roger wrote Part 2 of his Rising Stars series. In this article, he talks about several of the Twins minor league hitters that deserve to be recognized.
• It’s been rumored and discussed for months, but the Twins will be moving
from WCCO to KSTP. For Twins fans, the change really won’t hurt. I assume that there will still be a Twins radio network and there will be affiliate stations all over the state and region. From a loyalty standpoint, the Twins leaving WCCO is nothing short of disappointing. 46 years is a long time.
• Minnesota-native and former Augsburg star Devean George signed a 2-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks.

Tuesday – 9:42 p.m. – Hello everyone! Well, my Tuesday was rather full again. We were in Boston, and that is one congested city. If Jesse Ventura thinks that the roads in St. Paul are strangely aligned, I can’t even imagine what he would say about the streets of Boston! But, again, I learned a lot today. We flew out of Boston at about 4:00 and landed on Long Island at about 5:00. Tomorrow will be an incredibly full day. I am sure that I will learn a lot though. I don’t know if I’ll be able to send any update tomorrow because we fly out of Long Island until almost 9:00 and won’t land in our next destination until about 11:30. So, it will be quite late by the time we get to our hotel, and I know there is an early morning meeting on Thursday.

So, to the world of baseball. It is really difficult to follow the Twins out east. Sure, you’ve got the ESPN bottom line, and if there is internet access, you can find anything. It was fun to read about and see some highlights from the Twins 15-2 win on Monday night. It was equally disappointing to “watch” (on cbssportsline.com’s GameCenter) Scott Baker allow eight runs in the fourth inning last night. Those Matt Garza in the rotation ideas just make too much sense! It was also rough seeing a guy like Adam Eaton make the Twins hitters look bad. On a positive note, Pat Neshek threw 2.2 shutout innings for the Twins.

Worst news – Francisco Liriano has been scratched from his start on Wednesday due to lingering discomfort in his pitching elbow. That is not good news. I had heard about this last Friday, but then he went out and threw the great game against the Tigers that night, so I had hoped it was not true. Liriano’s arm/elbow/shoulder regions are as important to the Twins hopes in 2006 and into the next years, so it is crucial that they be as patient, or more, as they need to be!

It sounds like Matt Guerrier should be back with the Twins on Wednesday, and if that is the case, it is time for Willie Eyre to finally go back to Rochester and get some innings.

The Chris Coste situation continues to be quite fun to watch. He started on Monday night for the Phillies and was 2-4 with his third home run. Last night, he started again and was 1-3 with his fourth home run. He is now hitting .342 with four homers and 16 RBI in just 73 at bats.

I just haven’t, and this week likely won’t, have time to do all of the minor league game summary updates, so I would encourage you to look here for the box scores. A few highlights from Monday and Tuesday’s minor league games:

• Garrett Jones knocked his 15th homer.
• Adam Harben went seven innings last night and gave up just two earned
runs.
• Dave Gassner went five innings in a rehab start in Ft. Myers last night.
• Eli Tintor has been terrific in the last month. On Monday night, he hit
his 8th home run. Last night, he had two doubles for the Snappers.
• Danny Hernandez has been almost automatic for the E-Twins. Last night, he
recorded his 12th save after getting Save #11 on Monday night.

And finally, when we got into New York, we got a ride to our hotel. The man was probably in his 60s and spoke with a strong New York accent. He talked much of the way to the hotel. One of the topics was baseball. He spoke very proudly of his Yankees. Some of the things included that the Yankees should never leave Yankees Stadium. He is disappointed by how the players are so inaccessible now and just don’t have time for the kids. He said it doesn’t take very long to write your name on a kid’s hat. He then said that he would like to ‘take a bat to Alex Rodriguez’s head.’ I laughed. He went on to say how A-Rod is the worst. Sure, he’ll occasionally knock in a run, but when the team really needs it, he chokes, pops up or strikes out. He raved about those Yankees teams from 1996 when they developed their own players like Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and supplemented them with veterans who just understood how to play the game the right way. He raved about Derek Jeter and how he comes to the ball park with a smile on his face every day, and that more players need to be like him. I know, that’s not an unusual A-Rod/Jeter story, but it was really fun to listen to this man, who has been a life-long Yankees fan, talk about baseball. It was also fun to talk to him about what a great group of people the Twins are, that they are generally great to fans. Now, I don’t know where people can get their autographs at the Dome, but I think that the Twins are generally good people. Of course, the Twins media isn’t quite as vicious as the Yankees is, but the Twins really do have good people to look up to. It’s fun to watch how the Twins have built their success from within.

On that note, I am going to say Have a Great Wednesday! Be sure to keep the Comments coming below. Feel free to e-mail me as well, and I will try to answer questions as I have time. Thank you!!

Tuesday - 9:03 a.m. - Good morning everyone! Welp, Monday was a long day. It started with a 4:00 a.m. wakeup call in Minneapolis. I was a the airport and checked in by 5:30 and on the runway by 7:15. We got to Boston about 11:00 Eastern time. From there, we went through Rhode Island. We ate at a nice cafe in Newport. I have now had clam chowdah! And a lobster reuben that was good. The ocean avenue of Rhode Island is really quite impressive. Talked work a lot, but it was alright because of some of the sites.

It was the trade deadline yesterday and Kyle Lohse was the only Twins player traded. I believe that would be a case of addition by subtraction! To get a quality minor league pitcher for him was very good. A nice 15-2 win last night topped it off.

I have to be brief as we are about to head back out to a session in Boston.
Later this afternoon, I'll be flying down to Long Island. Hopefully there will be some free wireless internet in the room there. It was just too tired last night and didn't think it was worth spending $12 extra.

Monday - 8:15 a.m. - Be sure to check out the Minnesota Twins Fan Network Podcast. It was the Friday edition. The shows host, Jeff Straub, and I talked about several Twins topics. It was a lot of fun to record. If you have some time, please check it out. Thanks!

Sunday – 7:54 p.m. – Hey ya’ll! What a strange Twins game! I had to be at the Warroad airport at 3:30 this afternoon. When I got there, the Twins were down 3-0 and Jeremy Bonderman had a one-hitter. It was the top of the 8th inning. It took exactly one hour to get from Warroad to the Twin Cities. I sat at the airport for a little while waiting for the shuttle to the hotel.
When I got there, someone was checking out the Twins website on a lobby computer. I went over there and saw that the Twins had won 6-4. I couldn’t believe it. And then I saw the highlights and the Twins owe a big thank you to the Tigers defense and a Bonderman balk. Six runs in the bottom of the 8th was the difference. Joe Nathan came in for the save, and the Twins had managed to get a win in the series.

Johan Santana threw 105 pitches in just 5.1 innings. He gave up three runs.
That performance may make Twins fans appreciate Francisco Liriano even more!
Jesse Crain, Dennys Reyes and Pat Neshek really did a fine job out of the bullpen.

Here are quick summaries of the Twins minor league games:

Rochester lost 3-2 to Durham. Matt Garza started and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in five innings. He was limited because of the 126 pitches that he threw in his last outing. Beau Kemp gave up an unearned run in his three innings to take the loss. Andres Torres was 2-4 with his 14th double.
AA New Britain beat New Hampshire 2-1. Alexi Casilla is now hitting .303 since his promotion with a 3-5 day. He hit his 5th double and stole his 11th base. Felix Molina was 3-4 with his ninth homer. Jose Morales was 2-4. Glen Perkins made his first start in a long time. He went 2 shutout innings. He walked two and struck out four. Matt Guerrier got the win by going 2.2 shutout innings. Tristan Crawford went 1.1 innings. Julio DePaula threw two shutout innings. Levale Speigner pitched a scoreless ninth to record his 12th save.
Ft. Myers had an off-day.
Beloit beat Wisconsin 5-3. Jose Leger went 4-4 with a triple. William Luque was 3-4 with a walk and a triple. Erik Lis was 3-4 with his 34th double and 2nd triple.
It took extra innings, but Elizabethton lost 8-7 to Kingsport. Alex Burnett started and gave up five runs (2 earned) on seven hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out eight. Justin Staatz went the next 1.1 innings and gave up two runs. Matt Williams got the loss. He went 2.2 innings and gave up just the 10th inning run. Matt Betsill went 2-4 with a walk, his second homer and three RBI. JW Wilson was 2-5 with his sixth homer. Danny Valencia, Richard Sojo and Steve Singleton each had two hits.

The Twins will begin a three game set on Monday night against the Texas Rangers. The scheduled pitching matchups are:

Monday – Carlos Silva vs John Rheinecker
Tuesday – Scott Baker vs Adam Eaton
Wednesday – Francisco Liriano vs Vicente Padilla

Of course, that schedule is subject to change. If rumors prove true, it is possible that Baker would be traded to the Nationals. I know that it goes against the general Twins thinking, but I would not be completely surprised if the Twins ended up with Alfonso Soriano for the final two months. It would certainly be a bold move by Terry Ryan, something he has not been prone to do mid-season. As long as Matt Garza is not included in the deal, and preferably not Kevin Slowey either, I could be happy with Alfonso Soriano coming to the Twins, even for such a short time.

So, while I was in the airport waiting for my shuttle yesterday, Dave Dombrowski and three other Tigers executives came in. While I was pretending to be watching airplanes land and take off, I overheard Dombrowski having trade talks on his cell phone. I can’t say for sure who he was talking to, but he mentioned that he has had talks with the Royals and the Pirates. The name of Matt Stairs came up. Dombrowski also said that the Royals were ok with either of the minor league players that the Tigers had offered. He told them to talk to who he needed to talk to and then get back to him. My thinking with the Pirates might be Sean Casey. The Tigers don’t need much, but they could use a left-handed platoon for 1B Chris Shelton. Although neither Casey or Stairs is much defensively, they are left-handers who can hit. I realize that this is a very minor deal, but it was just kind of cool to listen in on such a conversation.

The Yankees took on more money, but I think they made an excellent move.
They acquired OF Bobby Abreu and SP Cory Lidle from the Philadelphia Phillies for four minor leaguers. They got on AAA pitcher and three Class A players. The headliner, in my mind, would be 19 year old CJ Henry, the Yankees top draft pick in 2005. I also think that it was a good deal for the Phillies. They got rid of a lot of contract. They saved $16 million by not having to pay Abreu next year. They also got rid of Lidle’s contract. Of course, much of the success of this deal, from the Phillies perspective, hinges upon what the Phillies do in the offseason to spend the Abreu money.
For the Yankees, as good as Abreu is and how much he will add to their already strong lineup, picking up Lidle may be equally important to the pitching-starved Yankees.

The Cardinals acquired 2B Ronnie Belliard from the Indians in exchange for Hector Luna. Not a big deal. Be sure to check out the Comments (and add to
them) for some very interesting rumors regarding the Twins at the trade deadline.

Well, I am going to go to bed. I have a wake up call coming at 4:00 a.m. I am taking a shuttle to the airport at 5:00 and have a 7:10 flight to Boston.

The trade deadline is 3:00 central time on Monday, and I really think that we could see a lot happen.

I will try to continue to make postings throughout the week. They may just not be as long. Have a great week! I will try to check e-mails periodically, and please feel free to comment.

Sunday - 10:07 p.m. - Here is the minor league update from games played on Saturday:

Rochester beat Durham 5-3. Boof Bonser gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out eight. Kevin Cameron recorded his seventh save with two perfect innings and four strikeouts. Alex Romero and Shawn Wooten each went 2-4. Tommy Watkins was 1-2 with two walks and his third home run.
New Britain split a double header with New Hampshire. In Game 1, Brian Duensing got his first AA win. In five innings, he gave up a run on four hits and three walks. Julio DePaula gave up a run in his inning, and Levale Speigner protected the 4-2 lead with a scoreless inning. Felix Molina was 2-3. Alexi Casilla was 2-4. Doug Deeds was 0-0 with three walks. Danny Matienzo hit his 13th home run. The Rockcats lost Game 2 5-4. Errol Simonitsch gave up five runs in just 2.2 innings. Nick Blackburn came in and gave up just a hit and a walk in 3.1 innings. Danny Matienzo was 2-3, and Matt Moses hit his 12th homer.
Ft. Myers got a 3-1 win over Vero Beach. Kyle Aselton doesn't allow many hitters to make contact with the baseball in his starts. In 5.2 innings, he walked five and struck out seven. He gave up just one run. Colby Miller got the win. He went 1.1 innings. Chris Schutt got his fifth save with two shutout innings. Brandon Roberts went 2-5 with two stolen bases (39 on the year). David Winfree was 2-5 with his fourth homer. Brock Peterson hit his 13th homer.
Beloit beat Wisconsin 9-3. Oswaldo Sosa picked up his 9th win. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in six innings. Dan Leatherman, playing for his third affiliate already, pitched a perfect seventh. Armando Gabino got two outs and gave up an unearned run. David Shinskie got the final four outs for his 8th save. He struck out three.
Elizabethton shut out Greeneville 9-0. Danny Valencia earns player of the day honors. The 3B went 4-4 with two doubles (7 on short season), his fourth homer and four RBI. Matt Betsill hit his first homer, a grand slam, in his five RBI day. Sean Land got his second win. He went six shutout innings and struck out seven. He gave up just one hit and walked one. Patrick Bryant got the save with five strikeouts in three shutout innings.
The GCL Twins lost to the GCL Red Sox 4-3. Tyler Robertson gave up three runs in six innings. He struck out eight. Curt Leavitt gave up a run in two innings. Chris Parmalee went 2-4 with his sixth homer and two RBI. He is now hitting .303 on the year.

Sunday - 9:48 a.m. - Well, the Twins lost again last night to the Detroit Tigers. Their offense is terrific and last night five of their hitters had at least two hits. A Josh Rabe two-run homer cut the Tigers lead to two, and another run had the Twins within one, but the Tigers added on, and won 8-6. Justin Morneau hit his 28th home run and another hit. Nick Punto's hit streak ended at 19 games. Jason Tyner and Rondell White were both 3-4. Rabe was 2-3. Brad Radke went just three innings and clearly just did not have it. He gave up four runs. Kyle Lohse gave up two more runs in his three innings. Pat Neshek came in and threw a scoreless seventh before allowing a solo home to Dmitri Young. Of Neshek's 21 pitches, 17 of them were strike.

Chris Coste went 2-4 last night with a two run double in the 9th. He batted sixth in the Phillies lineup, just behind Ryan Howard.

Saturday - 4:36 p.m. - ROGER'S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Earlier today, Roger posted his Minor League Weekly Report over at Twinkie Town. Now, here are his Minor League Hitter and Pitchers of the Week.

Player of the Week…Steve Singleton, Elizabethton Twins

This year’s eleventh round pick, Steven Singleton is this weeks Player of the Week. Singleton, who was drafted out of the University of San Diego, is a shortstop who leads the Elizabethton Twins in hitting after an excellent week at the plate when he had 6 hits in 15 at bats with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 runs scored and 1 rbi.

2006 Elizabethton 60ab 5-2B 9rbi .333Ave .354OBP .450SLG

Pitcher of the Week…Yohan Pino, Beloit Snappers

During a week when Matt Garza and Anthony Swarzak both pitched 9.0 inning shutouts, it is difficult to not choose one as Pitcher of the Week. This weeks selection however, is Yohan Pino, a 22 year old Venezuelan who was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2004.

Pino had more wins (9) than any pitcher on last season’s championship Elizabethton staff. This season he was leading the Beloit Snappers with 8 wins out of the bullpen before being moved into the starting rotation this week. In his first start last Sunday, Pino got the win while pitching 5.0 innings with 4 hits, 2 earned runs and 5K/0BB. He also got a win last night in his second start, pitching 6.0 innings with 1 hit, 0 runs and 4K/0BB. Pino may have been the Twins most effective pitcher during his brief three year career with the Twins, having compiled a record of 29 wins and 5 losses.

2004 GCL Twins 13g 12gs 10W-1L 85.2ip 0.53era 81K/5BB

2005 Elizabethton 12g 12gs 9W-2L 67.2ip 3.72era 64K/13BB

2006 Beloit 36g 2gs 10W-2L 64.0ip 1.55era 73K/16BB

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Saturday - 4:17 p.m. - I just finished a Fantasy Football Draft. I've never been in one this early in the year. But, that is kind of fun because it's more of a guess. It was a 10 team, 17 round draft. You draft 2 QBs, 3 RBs, 4 WRs, 2 TE, 2 K, 2 DEF, and 2 Coaches. Then it's points and I'm not completely sure how it works, but here were my picks. Note - I had the 7th pick in the serpentine draft:

1st Round - Stephen Jackson, RB, St. Louis Rams
2nd Round - Cadillac Williams, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3rd Round - Chad Johnson, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
4th Round - Reggie Wayne, WR, Indianapolis Colts
5th Round - Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
6th Round - Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys
7th Round - Joey Galloway, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8th Round - Adam Vineiteri, K, Indianapolis Colts
9th Round - Minnesota Defense
10th Round - Fred Taylor, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
11th Round - Jon Kitna, QB, Detroit Lions
12th Round - Muhsin Muhammed, WR, Chicago Bears
13th Round - Ben Troupe, TE, Tennessee Tigans
14th Round - Ryan Longwell, K, Minnesota Vikings
15th Round - Bill Cowher, Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
16th Round - Brad Childress, Coach, Minnesota Vikings
17th Round - I didn't care, just told them to take whatever defense was available.

Any thoughts? How did I do?

Saturday - 1:35 p.m. - Well, there were several trades, a Twins game and some minor league games on Friday night. Here is a quick rundown:

The Twins fell 3-2 in 10 innings to the Detroit Tigers last night. Francisco Liriano was incredible, after a rugged first inning in which he gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. He went eight innings and gave up just one more hit and two more walks through the eighth inning. He struck out 12 and in general, he just dominated. Unfortunately, the Twins offense was able to do nothing against Zach Miner, Jamie Walker, Fernando Rodney and Todd Jones. On the positive side, Nick Punto increased his hitting streak to 19 games. Justin Morneau had two more hits!
The White Sox and Yankees both won, so the Twins are now 1.5 behind the Yankees and a game behind the White Sox. This evening, Brad Radke will pitch against Nate Robertson.
Rochester lost to Charlotte 7-4. Mike Smith finally had an average start again. He went 7.1 innings and gave up four runs on nine hits and two walks. Bobby Korecky didn't help. He allowed a couple of inherited runners to score, plus three of his own runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Shawn Wooten went 2-4 with his sixth home run. Tommy Watkins was also 2-4. Erubiel Durazo went 1-2 with two walks and his third home run.
New Britain and New Hampshire were rained out.
Ft. Myers lost 6-5 to Vero Beach. Kyle Waldrop started and went 6.1 inning. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on six hits and three walks. Ryan Callahan was credited with two runs allowed although Danny Powers was the pitcher who gave up the game-ending hit. Brock Peterson went 2-5 with his 13th double and two RBI. Deacon Burns hit his third home run.
Beloit beat Wisconsin 2-0. Yohan Pino recorded his 10th win of the year (10-2, 1.55 ERA). In six inning, he gave up just one hit. He walked none and struck out four. Eduardo Morlan worked the final three innings for his second save. In those three innings, he struck out an impressive seven hitters. The Snappers had just four hits. Jose Leger and Eli Tintor each had an RBI. Toby Gardenhire went 1-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch.
Elizabethton also threw a shutout. They beat Greeneville 3-0. Jose Castillo improved to 2-1 with seven innings of one-hit ball. He struck out eight. Then Matt Fox came in and gave up just one hit in his two innings for his second save. Danny Valencia went 2-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Steve Singleton went 2-4 with his fifth double.
The GCL Twins lost 6-4 to the Pirates. Wilson Ramos went 2-4 with two RBI. Juan Delgado went 2-4 with his second double and third stolen base. Loek Van Mil started and gave up six runs (4 earned) on nine hits. He walked none, but hit two. Thomas Wright came in, hit a batter, and left the game. Jakub Toufar, a native of the Czech Republic, went 1.2 shutout innings. Luis Carreras and Carlos Garcia each pitched a scoreless inning.
Here is a great article on Pat Neshek in today's Star-Tribune.
At scout.com, Roger posted a new article called Rising Stars in which he talks about a few of the lesser known Twins pitching prospects.

Alright, let's talk trade talk:

Ken Rosenthal and others are saying that the Twins are definitely involved in trade talk with the Washington Nationals regarding Alfonso Soriano. I would prefer that the Twins not deal one of their core players or Matt Garza or Kevin Slowey. Beyond that, if it isn't too much, just get it done.
Carlos Lee (along with OF prospect Nelson Cruz) went from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Kevin Mench, Laynce Nix and Francisco Cordero. My initial thought was that it was a bad deal for the Brewers. Lee is a legit hitter, and they didn't even get a prospect for him. They actually sent a prospect. They can replace Lee, however, with Mench, who will likely stay with the team for a few years. Nix has been a huge bust, primarily because of injuries, but maybe in Milwaukee he'll stay healthy. Brady Clark certainly is doing very little. With the recent demotion of Derrick Turnbow from the closer role, Cordero probably becomes their closer. So, in reality, the Brewers did pretty well, in terms of immediate help, for Lee. I just think that they could get at least one solid prospect for him. Maybe a Edison Volquez, Thomas Diamond or John Danks.
I thought there was a great trade between the Dodgers and the Braves. Two 3B names that I think that the Twins should have considered were dealt. The Braves sent Wilson Betemit to the Dodgers for reliever Danys Baez and 3B Willy Aybar. Given daily duty, I think that Betemit could be very good. I also think that Willy Aybar could be a very good player as well. For the Dodgers, he has split time between 3B and 2B, but he can really hit. The Dodgers still have several prospects to deal.
The Phillies traded 3B David Bell to the Brewers for minor league pitcher Wilfrido Laureano. So, this tells me that the Brewers aren't giving up. Bell isn't good, but he is a veteran, and with Corey Koskie having been on the DL for awhile, he can maybe help them.
Mike Stanton was traded from the Nationals to the Giants in a Who-Cares deal.

So, I hope that format is sufficient for this week. If you would like, please e-mail me or leave some comments below. Thank you!

Seth

Thanks again for stopping by this site. Again, I will be out of town next week ,but be sure to check out the site from time to time. If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.