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Eric R Pleiss

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Blog Entries posted by Eric R Pleiss

  1. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins fell behind early in San Francisco and could not take advantage of six walks from starter Tim Lincecum in the first six innings. Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer both had two hits at the top of the lineup but the rest of the Twins batters had a tough day against the Giants.
     
    Down in the Minor Leagues the Twins affiliates went 2-2.
     
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]7548[/ATTACH]
     
    Red Wings Report
    Rochester 7, Scranton/WB 1
    Box
     
    Mike Pelfrey pitched five scoreless innings, walking two, and giving up four hits. He threw just 83 pitches as he works his way back from his groin injury, but he managed only 43 strikes. Edgar Ibarra came into the game and gave up a solo home run, but otherwise pitched well, he struck out four, walked one, and gave up two hits. Deolis Guerra closed out the game with two perfect innings, and struck out two hitters.
     
    Red Wings hitters jumped on Scranton starter Brian Gordon for six early runs, chasing him from the game after four innings. Josh Willingham was 2-4 with a home run and a double, plus a walk and two RBIs. Oswaldo Arcia added a three run home run in the fourth inning, an finished the game 3-5 with a double and that home run, two runs scored and four RBIs. He's now hitting .315/.370/.616 in AAA and I would imagine the Twins are looking to recall him after the Giants series this weekend. Eric Farris and Brad Nelson also picked up a couple of hits and Dan Rohlfing picked up the remaining RBI. Pedro Florimon started a SS, went 0-4 with three strike outs. Ouch.
     
    Rock Cats Review
    New Britain 2, Binghamton 3
    Box
     
    Taylor Rogers pitched six innings and gave up two runs, one earned, and struck out five Binghamton batters. He also walked three and gave up six hits, so while he managed to produce quality start, he did not have his best stuff. Cole Johnson pitched two innings in relief but after the Rock Cats tied the game at two-two in the top of the eighth, he was tagged for a solo home run and took the loss.
     
    Binghamton Mets pitchers Tyler Pill, Jon Velasquez, and Chase Bradford did not walk a single Rock Cat last night, and struck out eight. The Top of the New Brighton order did their job, with the one through five hitters going a combined 8-20. The bottom of the order was a combined 0-13 with four strike outs. Reynaldo Rodriguez needed a big game after going hitless in his last three and he delivered, going 2-4 with a double last night. Corey Wimberly and Daniel Ortiz also picked up two hits a piece in the losing effort.
     
    Miracle Matters
    Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 2
    Box
     
    Jason Wheeler pitched his way around seven hits and two runs (one earned) in a back and forth game to pick up the win for the Miracle. Brian Gilbert picked up a hold with two scoreless innings of relief, and Tyler Jones came on for the ninth and picked up a save.
     
    The Miracle took and early lead thanks to an Adam Brett Walker home run in the second, and after The Dunedin Blue Jays tied it up Jorge Polanco put the Miracle up for good with a sixth inning solo blast of his own. Despite six runs, and a couple of long balls, there were no standout performances at the plate, and Tyler Grimes was the only player to notch two hits. Dalton Hicks, batting cleanup for the Miracle was 0-3 with three strike outs and Nike Goodrum, hitting right after Hicks, was also 0-3 with two strike outs of his own.
     
    Kernels Nuggets
    Cedar Rapids 0, Quad Cities 9
    Box
     
    Ryan Eades faced 24 batters in just 3.2 innings in a losing effort for the Kernels. Have gave up 10 hits, four walks, and a home run and struck out just three. Alex Muren entered with two outs in the fourth, allowed an inherited running to score, but otherwise pitched two and a third scoreless innings. Todd Van Steensel came on and mopped up for the Kernels, giving up just one hit in two innings of work.
     
    Quad Cities' starter Michael Feliz went just four and a third innings, but their bullpen finished strong, with four and two third scoreless innings, walking no one, and they struck out three. All totaled, the Kernels had just three hits on the night, one each by Mitch Garver (1-4), Jason Kanzler (1-4, 2B), and Joel Licon (1-2, BB). Licon had the best night, in addition to the hit and the walk, he also reached on an error and stole a base, but the Kernels could not manage a single run.
     
    Twins Daily Players of the Day
    Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Oswaldo Arcia, Rochester Red Wings
    Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day - Mike Pelfrey, Rochester Red Wings
     
    Saturday's Probable Starters
    Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (6:05 CT) – Logan Darnell (Listen)
    New Britain @ Binghamton (6:05 CT) – TBD (Listen)
    Ft. Myers @ Dunedin (5:05 CT) – Brett Lee (Listen)
    Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:00 CT) – Ethan Mildren (Listen)
  4. Eric R Pleiss
    Kurt Suzuki is out producing the expectations of even the most optimistic Twins fan. He’s 30 years old and coming in to 2014 had a career line of .253/.309/.375, and even that is rosy considering what he’s done the past two seasons, .234/.282/.332 (for reference, Talk to Contact favorite, Drew “Boat Anchor” Butera, is hitting .231/.300/.385 in 2014). So the Twins bought low on a guy and brought him in with the hopes that he could help out Josmil Pinto, and because Suzuki is seen as a good “clubhouse guy.”
    http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/suzuki.jpegMinnesota Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki (8) hits a two-run single against the Chicago White Sox in the third inning of an opening day baseball game at U.S Cellular Field in Chicago on March 31, 2014. (Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports)
    Through his first 34 games of the year, Suzuki is hitting .332/.388/.430. He has an OBP north of .380 against both left and right handed pitchers. The Twins like what he’s doing with the bat so much they have stuck him in the lineup four times as the starting designated hitter.
    Originally published at http://knuckleballsblog.com/
     
    Maybe just a hot start, right? He’s actually been better in May than he was in March and April. He started hot, and now he is getting hotter. Over his entire career, Suzuki has played better in the first month of the year than any other month, exactly what you might expect from a catcher that the Oakland Athletics ran out as their everyday catcher at least 117 times for five straight years (he caught his fewest games since his rookie season last year, 93).
    Kurt Suzuki is doing all of this on a one-year, $2.75 million dollar contract. the Twins bought low and now they are in a great position to turn Suzuki into some surplus value via trade. Or, because he is only 30 years old, the Twins might consider signing him to a modest contract extension, just as they did with Ryan Doumit.*
    *Ryan Doumit hit .275/.320/.461 in 2012 in his first year (age 31 season) with the Twins. The Twins extended him for two additional years with an extra $7 million dollars in late June 2012, making his total deal with the Twins three years/$10 million. With Doumit, the Twins were basically getting output from Doumit in line with his career numbers, so there was a little less risk, but in two of the three seasons prior to coming to Minnesota, Doumit either hit poorly or was injured (or both), so they were able to sign (what looks like now) such a team friendly deal. The Twins ultimately flipped Doumit to Atlanta** following a poor 2013 season which saw Doumit struggle at the plate and with concussion issues. He’s hitting .200/.217/.222 for the Braves.
    **The Twins received LHP Sean Gilmartin in return for Doumit, a former first round draft pick (2011), who is currently performing well at AA New Britain (3-2, 3.63 ERA 39.2 IP, 12 BB, 37K) and if the Twins raid the AAA roster for pitching prospects Trevor May and Alex Meyer this summer, Gilmartin should be one of the logical selections to move up to AAA, where he pitched for parts of 2012 and 2013 in the Braves Org.
    I would guess that the Twins do not expect Kurt Suzuki to continue avoiding outs in almost 40% of his plate appearances, but ZiPS projects the 30 year old catcher to produce as a MLB regular the rest of the way. Combined with with he’s already done in 2014, he’ll end up with a nice 2014 line. If Suzuki keeps up his current pace into the All-Star break, or even just keeps his line to something like .300/.350/.400, which would represent some fairly significant regression over the next month plus, there will be a handful of teams calling Terry Ryan/Rob Antony looking to acquire the veteran catcher for a post season run. Because the Twins have Josmil Pinto (even with his raw defensive skills), and because they are not in a win-now situation, the Twins could feel relatively comfortable flipping Suzuki.
    In a trade scenario, the Twins would probably hope to fetch an intriguing Minor League player, as well as some MLB outfield depth, maybe a fourth outfielder capabale of playing center field and aleviating some of the Twins’ current outfield issues (especially if Sam Fuldexperiences setbacks returning from the concussion disabled list). Of course, what the Twins ultimately receive for Suzuki will depend on who their trading partner is, and where the Twins think they can add the most value.
    If the Twins look to extend Suzuki, I think that something similar to the Ryan Doumit deal is realistic, but with a slightly higher annual value. I would not be surprised if he received two additional years for $10 million dollars, bringing his total package in Minnesota to three years and just under $13 million. He’s younger than Doumit, and he is a much more complete player, providing value on both sides of the ball.
    If I am the Twins, I would attempt to extend Suzuki. The extension would not keep the Twins from trading Suzuki in a year or two, and if Josmil Pinto cannot live up to the hype from his 2013 call up when he hit .342/.398/.566, then the Twins have some hope of a bridge to the arrival of their next young catcher (who might be 2013 third-rounder Stuart Turner). If the Twins can make the extension team friendly then there is not a lot of risk in a deal like that, but if Suzuki and his agent (MVP Sports Group) are looking for a larger deal coming off of a big 2014, then the Twins should feel comfortable walking away.
    What would you do?
     
    For more Twins news, including daily GameChats, visit http://knuckleballsblog.com/
  7. Eric R Pleiss
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]7383[/ATTACH]
    Photo from Bryan, https://www.flickr.com/photos/begreen90/
    The Twins dropped a day game to the Tribe on Thursday afternoon, losing the four-game series three games to one. The Twins fell behind early and while they managed to pull within one run after the top of the seventh, the Indians pulled away for a nine to four victory.
     
    Every team in the Twins system was on the road today, and the road was not a friendly place.
     
     
    Transactions
    The Twins announced that they are calling up Matt Guerrier. To make room for Guerrier on the 40-man roster, the Twins waived Brooks Raley, who was claimed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. To make room for Guerrier on the 25-man roster, the Twins optioned lefty Logan Darnell back to AAA.
     
    After Thursday's game the Twins also optioned SS Pedro Florimon and C/OF Chris Herrmann to AAA Rochester. Eduardo Nunez and Aaron Hicks should be joining the Twins Friday in Detroit as their replacements.
     
     
    Red Wings Report
    Rochester 1, Columbus 5
    Box
     
    Columbus completes a four game sweep of Rochester, and Scott Diamond was tagged with the loss. Diamond pitched all eight innings for the Red Wings, he gave up five earned runs, walked three and struck out four. Diamond was surprisingly efficient, despite the walks and earned runs, throwing just 108 pitches, and shutting down 10 of the final batters he faced. Trevor Bauer, one of the prized jewels in the Cleveland Indians system, was the story of the night. He went seven and two thirds innings, gave up just three hits, two walks, and struck out nine.
     
    The Red Wings mustered just three hits, one each from Eric Farris, Deibinson Romero, and Eric Fryer. The best thing for Rochester is getting out of Columbus, they scored just eight runs over the four game series.
     
    Rock Cats Review
    New Britain 5, Bowie 6
    Box
     
    New Britain battled on Thursday night, and took a two run lead in the top of the eighth inning. Sean Gilmartin turned in a quality start for the Rock Cats, going six and giving up three earned runs. Cole Johnson pitched a scoreless inning of relief, and Lester Oliveros was tagged with a Blown Save and the Loss, giving up three runs (one earned) in the bottom of the eighth as Bowie stole a win from the Rock Cats.
     
    The Rock Cats had eleven hits, and six of them came from their corner outfielders, Reynaldo Rodriguez (RF) and Daniel Ortiz (LF). Both were three for four, but Rodriguez benefitted from men on base in front of him and Ortiz hitting behind him, as Rodriguez picked up two RBIs (including a solo home run) and scored three times.
     
    Miracle Matters
    Fort Myers 3, Jupiter 2
    Box
     
    The Miracle's David Hurlbut pitched nine innings of six hit baseball, throwing just 99 pitches and led Fort Myers to fourth consecutive victory. From the fifth inning through the eighth, Hurlbut did not allow a single batter to reach base. His final line was nine innings, six hits, two runs (one earned), NO WALKS, and he struck out three. His ERA now sits at an impressive 1.69.
     
    Levi Michael, now hitting .322 in his third year in the Florida State League and finally looking like the player the Twins expected when they drafted him first overall, led off the game but left before his at bat was over after fouling a ball off of his foot. Byron Buxton was just one for five, but he hit a double, and scored a run. He still looks like he is adjusting to playing full speed, and had a couple more strike outs tonight. This was really a team effort tonight, as the Miracle spread their eight hits around to seven different batters, and four different players scored runs. The Miracle also stole three bases, one each for Niko Goodrum, Jorge Polanco, and Adam Brett Walker II.
     
    Kernels Nuggets
    Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 22
    Box
     
    Felix Jorge pitched into just the fourth inning (3.2), giving up eight earned runs, throwing 80 pitches and taking the loss for the Kernels. Alex Muren replaced Jorge, but did not fare much better, pitching just two and a third innings, giving up three earned runs himself. Both Jorge and Muren gave up two home runs. Brandon Bixler, who has been excellent this season for the Kernels, entered in the seventh and gave the Kernels two scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 0.47.
     
    The Kernels scored plenty of runs, but when the pitching staff gives up eleven runs, there is not much hope of pulling out a win. Jason Kanzler led the way on Thursday with a three for five night, two RBIs, a home run, three runs scored and no strike outs. J.D. Williams and Engelb Vielmal each picked up two hits of their own and five different Kernels picked up RBIs, but the seven runs they scored just could not overcome Jorge's poor start.
     
    TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
    HITTER: Jason Kanzler, Cedar Rapids Kernels
    PITCHER: David Hurlbut, Fort Myers Miracle
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES:
    Rochester @ Toledo (6:00 PM Central) – Yohan Pino (Listen)
    New Britain @ Bowie (5:35 PM Central) – Pat Dean (Listen)
    Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM Central) – Alex Wimmers (Listen)
    Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35 PM Central) – Aaron Slegers (Listen)
  8. Eric R Pleiss
    If you are a real baseball junkie, Thursday was a great day of baseball. The Twins organization played EIGHT baseball games yesterday. The Twins played two (lost both), the Red Wings played one (squandered a great pitching performance), the Rock Cats palyed two (split a double header), the Miracle played one (a lopsided loss) and then Kernels played two as well (swept both sides of a double header). With so much baseball action on Thursday, we will get right to it!
     
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]7323[/ATTACH]
    (Bare Antolos/Rochester Red Wings)
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Louisville 2, Rochester 1
    BOX SCORE
     
    In their last eight games, the Red Wings pitchers have struck out 94 hitters in just 71.0 innings. Alex Meyer was a big part of that stretch, owning 22 of those Ks in just 12.1 innings. On Thursday, Trevor May took his turn and struck out 11 Louisville hitters over six full innings (giving up two earned runs on just three hits). Perhaps even more exciting for May and Twins fans is that he rebounded from a poor outing the week before and he only walked a single batter last night. The bullpen did their job and held the Bats scoreless in the final three frames, but the Red Wings offense could not find a way to break through a strong performance from Louisville's Josh Smith, who lowered his ERA to 2.20 on the night.
     
    The Red Wings only tallied three hits, so there are not a lot of strong performances to discuss. Chris Parmelee extended his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest in the International League this season, and could match his longest career hitting streak with a hit tomorrow. Parmelee also drew a walk and was one of two Red Wings hitters that reached base multiple times. James Beresford was the other man on base more than once, and he managed a hit and two walks, and scored the lone run of the evening. Oswaldo Arcia played the entire game at DH going 1-4 with two strike outs as he continues to rehab from his wrist injury.
     
    ROCK CATS REVIEW
    New Britain 6, Harrisburg 3
    BOX SCORE
     
    In the first game of the double header (two seven inning games) the Rock Cats came out on top, thanks to a quality start from Taylor Rogers (six innings pitched, three earned runs, one strike out) and a perfect inning from Lester Oliveros.
     
    First basemen Reynaldo Rodriguez led the day with three RBIs on a 2-4 night, all three ribbies coming via a three run homer in the first inning to put the Rock Cats on top. Kennys Vargas was 1-3 with two runs scored and two RBI on a homer of his own in the fifth. Right fielder Mike Kvasnicka provided the rest of the offense with a solo home run of his own. Brandon Waring, featured on the most recent Talk to Contact podcast, was just 1-4.
     
    New Britain 3, Harrisburg 4
    BOX SCORE
     
    The Rock Cats out hit the Senators, and the Senators committed three errors (in a seven inning game) and the Rock Cats still could not find a way to win. Tyler Duffy surrendered a late run pitching for six full innings, and struck out five batters and his ERA sits at just 1.50 this spring. Cole Johnson came in and blew the save, giving up three unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh, recording just a single out.
     
    Kenny Wilson was 2-4 with a run scored and Nath Hanson was 2-3 with an RBI but other than those two guys, a pretty underwhelming performance from he rest of the Rock Cats team.
     
    Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith was ejected for the third time this year, undoubtedly frustrated as the Rock Cats are now just 7-17 in this young season.
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 8
    BOX SCORE
     
    The Miracle had nine hits, but Jose Berrios only made it through five innings, giving up four runs, three earned. He recorded four strike outs, two walks, and gave up six hits. Mason Meloakis came in and mad things worse, surrendering four earned runs over one and two thirds innings. Madison Boer closed out the game with an inning and a third, giving up just one hit and struck out two Palm Beach Cardinals.
     
    The Miracle were just 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position and they left nine men on base. This was a game of missed opportunities. Aderlin Mejia who is hitting over .400 went 1-5 with a double and a strike out. Mike Gonzales and Adam Brett Walker II were both 2-4 but there was not much going on with this Miracle team.
     
    KERNELS NUGGETS
    Kane County 2, Cedar Rapids 5
    BOX SCORE
     
    A ho-hum performance from the Kernels pitching staff last night. Starter Josue Montanez did not give up an earned run, but gave up a couple unearned runs and only pitched four innings. Yorman Landa picked up the win with two scoreless innings in relief and Brandon Peterson picked up the save.
     
    The Kernels one through five hitters collected all seven of their hits, with Ivory Thomas, Joel Licon, Bo Altobelli and Engelb Vielmad all hitless at the bottom of the order. Mitch Garver led the way with a 2-3 night with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI. Zach Larson was the other big contributor, going 2-3 with a run scored.
     
    Kane County 4, Cedar Rapids 5
    BOX SCORE
     
    The second game of the night was a back and forth battle, and multiple runs were scored in almost every inning.
     
    Kohl Stewart was on the hill for the Kernels, he pitched five and two thirds innings and gave up three runs, but only one was earned. He struck out four Cougars to go along with just two walks. Not Stewart's best outing of the year, but another encouraging outing from one of the Twins prized Minor League possessions.
     
    Engelb Vielma picked up two hits in the night cap, but he continues to struggle at the bottom of the lineup, now hitting just .200. Logan Wade was 2-4 with two doubles and two runs batted in to lead the way for the Kernels. DH Bryan Santy also picked up two ribbies with a two run bomb in the fourth inning.
     
    TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
    Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Trevor May, Rochester Red Wings
    Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Logan Wade, Cedar Rapids Kernels
     
    MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
    Louisville @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Scott Diamond (Listen)
    New Hampshire @ New Britain (5:35) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen)
    Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:35 CST) – David Hurlbut (Listen)
    Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (5:00 CST) – Felix Jorge (Listen)
     
     
    Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games here.
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