Saturday, September 9, 2006

TWINS THOUGHTS

Twins Minor League Reports

Saturday Morning Update

Good morning to everyone! Another exciting ending for the Beloit Snappers last night in the playoffs. Would the Rochester Red Wings allow Francisco Liriano to make a start for them tonight? And, how did the Twins do against the Tigers with Matt Garza on the mound? I thought a very quick this morning would be good because there are a lot of exciting things going on as the Twins drive toward the Wild Card and two of the four Twins affiliates that made the playoffs are still alive.

Twins Thoughts

• The Twins got a much needed win against the Detroit Tigers. I always find it funny when the Twins lose a game and people respond like it is the end of the world. Had the wild card not been a factor, Thursday night's loss would have been a far bigger deal. However, it was just one game. So, when the Twins came back to beat the Tigers on Friday night, they evened things out. And, because the White Sox lost on Thursday and won on Friday, the Twins still have that 1/2 game lead in the division. I just find it funny when some over-react to every loss.
• Matt Garza started and struggled a little. In 4.1 innings, he gave up five hits and four walks which led to four runs. Of course, I could attribute a few of those runs to things outside his control. First, he was squeezed by the umpire quite a bit, especially early in the game. That caused more pitches to be thrown. Second, his defense didn't help him at all. With the score tied, a bloop single to right turned into a triple when it was misplayed by Michael Cuddyer. Garza then struck out the next two hitters before issuing a walk. Then Magglio Ordonez hit what should have been a one-run single. Rondell White chose to inexplicably dive for the un-catchable ball. When it got by him, the second run was able to score from first. That said, Garza does need to throw more strikes. He almost used his other pitches too much last night.
• Pat Neshek followed up his first non-good appearance the other night with a nice 1.1 inning outing. He struck out two and got his fourth win. Jesse Crain then threw two shutout innings. Then Juan Rincon came in, which in the last month has meant one thing. He gave up two hits and a run. The Twins bullpen has been great, but Rincon is just not pitching well at all right now. However, Crain, Matt Guerrier and Willie Eyre are really picking up his slack. Rincon is a valuable part of the bullpen, so they need to continue to give him opportunities and hope that he can figure it out soon.
• Joe Mauer had a very nice game. He was 3-4 with a walk. He is now hitting .348. Derek Jeter went 1-4 in the Yankees loss last night. He fell to .343. The Pirates Freddy Sanchez went 0-4 to fall to .341.
• Justin Morneau went 2-4 with a walk, his 31st double and three RBI. I know people are so happy with his home run production, and I am as well. But to me, equally important is that when he gets two strikes on him, he takes that outside pitch and hits it to left. Many times, that has meant an RBI single. Last night, he had an RBI single to left and a two-run double to left. That is how he has accumulated all of his RBI. In his last eight games, Morneau has gone 11-29 (.379).
• Michael Cuddyer got on base four times as well. He was 2-3 with a two walks. In his last four games, Cuddyer is 6-15 (.400).
• Nick Punto went 2-5 last night with a triple. Although he has been good most of the year, particularly since playing every day, he has been in a tumble of late. In his last 18 games, he has gone 14-74 (.189). In his last 11 games, he is 7-44 (.159).
• Torii Hunter was 2-5 with two RBI. He also stole his seventh base of the year.
• Phil Nevin was finally back in the lineup, hitting 8th as the DH. He went 2-3 with a walk and an RBI double.
• Luis Castillo was 0-5 last night, but in the previous nine games, he had gone 15-40 (.375).
• The White Sox got a big win last night. Up by two runs going into the 9th inning, Bobby Jenks came in to close the door. But he didn't. He gave up three runs without even recording an out. So, down by one run in the bottom of the ninth, AJ Pierzynski came up with a runner on and hit a two-run, walk-off homer.

TWINS MINOR LEAGUE NOTES

Friday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Eli Tintor, Beloit Snappers

Friday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Alexander Smit, Beloit Snapper

If you have any thoughts on the Twins system, please e-mail me.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday - Red Wings 3, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 6 – The Red Wings knew that the Twins plans for Francisco Liriano would have been too confusing if they had won last night, so they lost. Tonight, Liriano will make a rehab start for the team. I'm kidding, of course, they just got beat. Peter Munro started and gave up three runs on ten hits and two walks in just 4.1 innings. Jason Miller came in and gave up two runs in 1.2 innings. Levale Speigner then gave up a run in his 1.2 innings. Matt Ford got the last out. The offense was again led by Garrett Jones who went 3-3.

BELOIT BITS

Friday – Snappers 4, Peoria 3 – On Thursday night, Eli Tintor hit a game winning home run in the 9th. On Friday night, he hit the game-winning, two-run home run in the 8th and the Snappers bullpen was able to hold on for the win. The win puts the Snappers into the second round of the playoffs. In the game, the Snappers had just three hits. Allan de San Miguel went 1-2 with two walks and an RBI. The day that he was named the SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Month, Alexander Smit continued his impressive run with seven strong innings for the win. He gave up two runs (just 1 earned) on three hits. He walked four and struck out ten. Adam Hawes and Ryan Mullins combined to pitch a perfect 8th inning before Dan Leatherman recorded the save with a two strikeout ninth.

Do you have any further thoughts on any Twins prospects, minor leaguers, or these summaries? I would love any input, or ideas to make it better. Thanks! E-mail me, or also feel free to leave comments below.

That is it for today! Have a terrific day!