Twins Fan From Afar

The Twins conclude their 3 game series against the Angels tonight. Here's the link to the TwinsDaily game thread. Hopefully Liam Hendriks can right the ship for Minnesota, without Justin Morneau (who hopefully will be back for Friday's game against Seattle) and Danny Valencia (back stiffness). It would be good not to be swept by the Angels. It would also be good to keep Albert Pujols from doing any damage. It's not looking good so far (6-0 Angels in the 4th, and the Twins have no hits), but perhaps this team can turn it around. In any event, I'll be asleep by the time the Twins game concludes, so here's a recap of Wednesday's minor league action:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 1, SCRANTON-WILKES BARRE 2 This was a defensive struggle. The Red Wings only managed 5 hits all night. Ben Revere, Matt Carson, Rene Tosoni and Ray Chang (who stole his second base of the season) all had singles, and Brian Dozier hit his 7th double of the season. Dozier, whose hit scored Revere, accumulated Rochester's only RBI tonight (11th of the season for him). Dozier is now batting .283 on the season, for those keeping close tabs. Pitching was a bright spot for Rochester tonight. Cole DeVries was charged with the loss (0-2) but was effective tonight, going 6 and 1/3 innings and allowing 6 hits and 2 runs, but striking out 4 and and walking none. Deolis Guerra, suddenly one of the brightest pitching prospects in the entire Twins farm system, pitched 1 and 1/3 innings in relief, allowing 2 hits, but striking out 3. He's allowed no runs at AAA. Tyler Robertson accounted for the other 1/3 of an inning, and struck out the only batter he faced. Although it was a tough loss for Rochester, the pitching performances were encouraging. NEW BRITAIN 5, HARRISBURG 4 New Britain has been involved in many close contests lately. Tonight, they eeked out a victory against the Harrisburg Senators. Chris Colabello, an 8-year independent league baseball player until 2012 (primarily with the Worcester, MA Tornadoes), had a great night offensively. He went 2-for-5 for New Britain, with his 5th home run of the year, a 3 run shot in the third inning with two outs. Wilkin Ramirez and Pedro Florimon each had two hits, including a double, Estarlin De Los Santos picked up 2 singles, Evan Bigley had a run-scoring single and a walk, and Nathan Hanson had a sacrifice fly. Definitely a team effort on offense. De Los Santos stole his 5th base of the season. Aaron Hicks was 0-for-3 with a walk, was caught stealing, and is batting .268 on the year. Andrew Albers got the start for New Britain tonight. The bad: he gave up 3 home runs and 4 runs on 7 hits. The good: he lasted 6 innings, issued 0 walks, and struck out 5. The bullpen was better, though. Bobby Lanigan pitched 2 and 1/3 innings, gave up 0 runs, allowing 3 hits and striking out 1. Luis Perdomo picked up the win tonight (2-2), tossing 1 and 2/3 innings, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. New Britain is now 17-9. FT. MYERS 2, PALM BEACH 1 In another defensive contest, the Miracle edged out the Palm Beach Cardinals in a pitchers' contest that went 11 innings. First, the offense. The Miracle only accumulated 5 hits all night, but it was just enough to get the win. Daniel Rohlfing was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI (his 10th of the season), top prospect Oswaldo Arcia, playing right field today, was 1-for-5, and drove in Ft. Myers' other run. Arcia is batting .263 on the season, and has driven in 5 runs. Andy Leer (a double), Michael Gonzales and Josmil Pinto had the other Ft. Myers hits. The pitching was excellent tonight. Pat Dean got the start, and went 7 full innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits. He struck out 3 and walked 2, and his ERA stands at a respectable 3.68. Bruce Pugh went 3 innings and picked up the win (1-2) in relief for the Miracle. He allowed 2 hits and 2 walks, but kept the Cardinals off the board when it mattered. Lefty -- and Minnesota native -- Cole Nelson earned the save tonight, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk, but striking out 1 in a scoreless 11th inning. BELOIT 6, CEDAR RAPIDS 5 It was a see-saw night in Cedar Rapids, but the Snappers prevailed. There were some very good offensive performances tonight. Miguel Sano led the way, going 3-for-5 with a double (6th of the year) and 2 RBIs (23 on the year). Adam Bryant was 2-for-5 with a double (3rd of the year) and 2 RBIs (12 on the year). Weng-Wei Lin was 2-for-4 with a walk, and first baseman Rory Rhodes was 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season. Matthew Koch and Adam Pettersen also contributed hits for Ft. Myers. Matthew Summers got the start for Beloit, going 5 innings and allowing 3 runs -- only 1 earned -- on 6 hits; he struck out 2 and walked 3. In relief, Ryan O'Rourke got both a blown save and the win, pitching 2 innings, allowing 2 runs -- only 1 earned; he struck out 2 and walked none. Corey Williams picked up the save (his 4th of the season), tossing 2 scoreless innings, striking out 2 and walking 1. One big issue tonight for Ft. Myers was defense. As you can see from the pitching lines above, only 2 of the 5 runs allowed were earned. The Miracle committed 4 errors tonight. Sano had 2 -- one throwing and one fielding (7 on the season); Summers had an error on a pickoff (2nd of the season); and Rosario had a fielding error (8th of the season). Clearly, the team could use a little work on fielding. But that's what the lower levels of the minor leagues are for -- player development. ----------- Players of the day for Wednesday, May 2 Pitcher of the day: Pat Dean Hitter of the day: Chris Colabello ----------- A look ahead: Thursday, May 3 schedule Rochester @ Scranton Wilkes-Barre -- LHP Lucas French New Britain @ Harrisburg -- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach -- RHP Madison Boer Beloit @ Cedar Rapids -- LHP Matthew Tomshaw ----------- If you have any questions or comments, leave them here, and I'm sure Seth will answer them.

The Twins actually won a game today. It's tough to complain about too much from today's Twins performance. Jason Marquis earned the win, and picked up the 4th Twins quality start along the way. The Twins scored 4 runs in the first, 2 runs in the third and 1 in the seventh, on their way to a 7-4 victory. Josh Willingham (a home run short of the cycle, go figure) and Danny Valencia (3 hits including a triple) led the way on offense, and the only Twins starters without a hit were Trevor Plouffe and Alexi Casilla. Matt Capps, as he is want to do, made it a little interesting in the 9th. But a win is a win! Here's a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 2, BUFFALO 8 Red Wings starter Scott Diamond, on many fans' short lists for a spot in the Twins' rotation, didn't have his best stuff Sunday, picking up his first loss on the season (4-1). In 6 and 1/3 innings, Diamond allowed 11 hits and 7 runs, striking out 6 and issuing 0 free passes. Diamond's ERA, even after this subpar outing, is 2.84. Jeff Manship pitched the rest of the game, 1 and 2/3 innings, giving up 3 hits and 1 run, striking out 1 and walking 2. The Red Wings didn't accumulate much offense today, scattering 6 hits. Joe Benson hit is second triple of the year, and Ben Revere was 1-for-4. Top prospect Brian Dozier was also 1-for-4 with a 2-out RBI single to score Drew Butera. Dozier is batting .274 on the season. Aaron Bates picked up the other RBI for Rochester with a 2-out line drive single to drive in Benson. NEW BRITAIN 5, RICHMOND 2 After losing the first 2 games of the series against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (love the nickname), the Rock Cats had a better effort today. Starter Logan Darnell picked up the win (3-0). He pitched 6 and 2/3 innings, gave up 7 hits and 2 runs, and struck out 8 while walking 1 along the way. His ERA stands at 4.56. He has been the recipient of some solid Rock Cats offense when he has pitched this season. Reliever Daniel Turpen pitched the rest of the game, 2 and 1/3 innings, and earned the save, his second of the season. He was very effective, giving up no hits and no walks, while striking out 2. This effort improved his ERA to 4.5. On offense, the team had 9 hits. Every starter except for Estarlin De Los Santos and Evan Bigley tallied at least one hit. Chris Herrmann was 2-for-3 with a walk, and also reached base on an error in his other plate appearance. He scored 3 runs. Nathan Hanson also had a good game, going 2-for-4 with a double and accumulating 2 RBIs. Aaron Hicks was 1-for-4 with a single and a stolen base (his 3rd of the season), and is batting .265 on the season. Deibinson Romero hit a triple, and shortstop Pedro Florimon had a double. If you haven't heard, reliever Deolis Guerra was promoted to AAA Rochester, and starter Alex Wimmers, on the disabled list with an elbow strain, is now in Ft. Myers rehabilitating that injury. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 1, ST. LUCIE 5 The Miracle lost their third game in a row today. Starter Jose Gonzalez picked up the loss, lasting 3 innings. He was responsible for 4 runs, walked 2 and struck out 2, and gave up a home run. The Miracle bullpen was solid, though. Righty Ricky Bowen picked up the slack, tossing 4 innings. He gave up just 1 run (on a solo home run), struck out 2 and walked 1. After this outing, Bowen's ERA is 1.96. Bruce Pugh pitched the 8th and 9th innings, giving up 3 hits and striking out 1. As you could guess from the score, the Miracle's offense struggled today. Only 4 players tallied hits. Shortstop Daniel Santana was 2-for-4, as was second baseman and first round draft pick Levi Michael. Oswaldo Arcia and Wilkin Ramirez each had one hit. There were no extra-base hits for Ft. Myers today. The Miracle's lone run came on a Lance Ray sacrifice fly that scored Arcia. It was also announced today that pitchers BJ Hermsen and Caleb Thielbar were promoted to New Britain. So, congratulations to them! BELOIT 4, DAYTON 3 On the mound, Snappers starter Tim Shibuya had a good effort. He threw 6 and 1/3 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, for a quality start, but struck out 11 batters, including 6 of his first 7. After this outing, his ERA stands at an even 3.00. Reliever Michael Tonkin tossed 1 and 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits, striking out 2 and walking 1. Corey Williams pitched a scoreless 9th inning, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. He earned the win in relief. Beloit's offense tallied 12 hits today. Right fielder Daniel Ortiz had a great day, going 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a double (his second), and knocked in 3 runs. He's batting .299 on the season. Center fielder Jonathan Goncalves and DH Adam Pettersen were each 2-for-3 with doubles, and Eddie Rosario, playing second base, was 1-for-4 with a double (but was thrown out at home trying to score following an error on the play). Adam Bryant was 2-for-5, and Miguel Sano was 1-for-4 with a single. The Snappers won in dramatic fashion. The teams entered the bottom of the 9th tied at 3-3. Jairo Rodriguez led off with a single, and JaDamion Williams came in as a pinch runner. Adam Pettersen walked, sending Williams to second. Wang-Wei Lin sacrifice bunted Williams to third. Then, with 2 outs, Adam Bryant drove in Williams with a ground ball single to center field, giving the Snappers a 4-3 victory. ----- Players of the day for Sunday, April 29 Hitter of the Day: Daniel Ortiz Pitcher of the Day: Tim Shibuya ----- A Look Ahead: Monday, April 30 Schedule Rochester @ Buffalo--RHP Cole DeVries New Britain @ Harrisburg-- RHP David Bromberg Ft. Myers vs. St. Lucie--RHP Adrian Salcedo Beloit vs. Dayton--LHP Jason Wheeler ----- If you have any questions or comments, leave them here and I'm sure Seth will answer them!

[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UqDW4rI70uo/T5lGaRGuc8I/AAAAAAAAATE/t9Ls1VQ9BHI/s320/Mauer.jpg [TD=class: tr-caption]I get it: Joe Mauer is getting paid $184 million and doesn't hit many home runs [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] When a team is losing, like the Twins are so far this season and did all of last season, it's easy to complain. In fact, it feels really, really good to complain. I sincerely think that us fans deserve better than the product that the Twins have been putting on the field, and that we deserve better than some of the excuses we have heard from the front office and management. Still, though, there is only so much complaining one can do. I read almost every Twins blog, as well as the Star Tribune Twins content, and I peruse TwinsDaily -- and post and comment there -- very often. For the most part -- not counting the Star Trib -- the comments sections of the blogs and of TwinsDaily are great places for discussion. Sure, people often disagree, but it's mostly respectful disagreement. When I write something, I could care less if people disagree with me. In fact, that's one of the fun things about blogging -- going back in forth, in a good-natured way, about our shared interest -- the Twins. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There are, however, a few things that just keep popping up in the comments sections that drive me crazy. It seems that, no matter what the topic, people keep drifting back to these issues. Not that they are not important or do not warrant discussion, but they are simply played out. Without further ado, here are three of those complaints. 1. Joe Mauer's contract. It doesn't seem to matter if the topic of conversation is Ben Revere as a fourth outfielder, pitching to contact, or the 2012 amateur draft. People always manage to drift back to Mauer's $184 million contract. For the record, I still support it and am not going to change my mind on that. I certainly, however, understand and respect the arguments to the contrary. But I think it's time to get past it. It was entered into 2 years ago, and it covers the next 6 seasons after this one. Yes, it absolutely impacts the ability of this team to sign other players. Yes, it's possible -- and even likely -- that Mauer won't be "worth" the money in the end (but see Fangraphs "value" indicator for Mauer for 2012, suggesting that he's already been worth $3.2 million this season -- close to $20 million over the course of the season if he maintains this moderate, but successful pace). And yes, it was a great topic for debate in 2010, and even last year when he wasn't playing much. But I think we should move on. It is what it is. Maybe, as fans, we should have been a little smarter and realized that the 2009 Mauer was the aberration, and not the rule? To me, the Mauer contract is sort of like purchasing your first house: it's a significant financial investment; it may or may not prove to be a wise choice; and it hampers your ability to do other things with your money. But after you sign the mortgage and note, it's a done deal. Start to focus on other things. I hope that Twins fans can start to focus on other things. There's a lot of good -- and bad -- things happening with this organization that have nothing to do with Mauer that are worthy of discussion, debate and attention. 2. The Public Financing of Target Field. Minnesotans, primarily residents of Hennepin County or people that do their shopping there, are footing the bill for a large portion of Target Field, and will continue to do so until the stadium has been paid for -- 30 years in total. The Target Field sales tax adds an extra .15 percent to Hennepin County's existing sales tax. Not much money on the purchase of a sandwich, but it's the principle, not the pennies, that angers this contingent. And rightfully so. I disagree with the way that stadiums are often funded. Why should the Twins -- the profit-making entity -- only foot 1/3 of the bill for the stadium, leaving county residents, regardless of whether the have any interest in the Twins, to pay the rest? It is fundamentally unfair. But that's life. It's no different than when my town decided that the annual bill I receive to connect to the town water and sewer was going to go up 10 percent, or when my property taxes were raised. This tax stinks for Hennepin County residents. They got the short end of the stick, no doubt. But it's a tired argument. Nothing is going to change until 2037, when Target Field has been paid for. Finally, it's worth noting that not all the revenue generated from the Target Field tax goes toward paying for the stadium: some is placed in a capital reserve fund, some is allocated to improve library hours, and some helps to construct amateur sporting facilities. I side with the complainers on this one, but it's time to move on. 3. Justin Morneau as a "Soft" Player. Admittedly, this one has started to dwindle, as Morneau has been healthy and fairly productive (great double last night) in 2012. Honestly, though, I was often astounded at what I read about Morneau, his concussions, and his recurring post-concussion symptoms on the Star Tribune message boards last season. It actually made me glad that I wasn't at Target Field last season -- I didn't want to hear that kind of stuff in person, because I would be tempted to respond. I suspect that the Morneau detractors were a minority, but they certainly were a vocal minority. All I can say is this: the medical profession, and all of the different professional sports, have begun to recognize (just in the past couple years) the serious and debilitating long-term effects that concussions -- especially multiple concussions -- have on athletes. There's a reason why retired athletes, including 40 retired NFL players, pledged in 2009 to donate their brains to science. There's a reason why Sidney Crosby has hardly played hockey in the past year. And there's a reason why the Twins have been extremely cautious with Morneau. Science has advanced significantly just in the past 10 years with respect to the study of concussions. I don't know how players played with concussion symptoms in the previous decades, but they did it. It was probably a result of several things: the medical profession not really knowing the danger to player health; organizations not looking out for player safety; players wanting to be perceived as "tough"; and athletes concerned with keeping their roster spot. Maybe, for some, it makes these old guys seem "tougher." And maybe they are. But that's an outdated, ill-informed view, in my opinion. No one wants to see a 45 year old retired player, perhaps coming back for a special event at the stadium, looking like a shell of the man he once was because his brain is severely and permanently damaged. Someday, the Twins will retire Morneau's #33. When that day comes, I hope we see a somewhat older, probably heftier Morneau, with his wife and kids by his side, looking and sounding 100 percent healthy. Ironically, this post is basically just me complaining about complainers. I hope I don't sound like (or look like) Andy Rooney. But that's the great thing about America. We can praise or complain about just about anything, without fear of getting dragged out of our houses in the middle of the night. So, have I missed anything? Are there other "played out" complaints? And another great thing -- if you think I'm way off base, you can complain to me, about me, right in the comments section. What a country!