Thrylos

He should not be fired because he took those 4 days off. Of Course What I meant was that there are a lot of people who a. think that Gardy is irreplaceable and b. it is fine for him to take off for a while. a. and b. do not work together. So when those who really are big a. fans started talking about b., I am pointing it out. And this was just to get those people think about b. a bit...

Thanks for the comments so.... are we (and with "we" I mean the people who thankfully commented here, and the ones who have commented at this post, the ones who commented here, and the ones who did not comment, but read it and agree with the comments saying that it is ridiculous to think that Gardy should be there and are) basically in agreement that Gardy will not be missed for one series? And if he will not be missed for one series, can we extrapolate a bit and say that he will not be missed for 2, 5, 10, 20 series? Can we say that if it is ok for him to leave the Twins when they hit rock bottom (and the Twins will not miss him that much and I do agree with that notion, btw) it is ok for him to leave the Twins permenantly? I say yes, and I suspect you all probably agree, because you cannot have it both ways

From what it leaked out there, Smith got canned because he pushed back on the spending limits and wanted to spend more money than the Pohlads wanted him to spend. Opposite of rebuilding

When Francesco Schettino, the captain of Costa Concordia abandoned his sinking ship lastJanuary, it made international news. But he was not alone, to quote a very interesting Discovery channel article: "Considered one of the most infamous crimes in maritime law, [this] act of cowardice has many precedents in history.", and goes on to list several of the previous captains who have abandoned ship. Today, another name needs to be added to the list: Ronald Clyde Gardenhire. With the excuse that he needs to attend his daughter's college graduation, he left his team (with the worse record in baseball) hours after a sweep was completed with a no-hitter against the Twins, to go home to Minnesota for a 4-day weekend. The Twins will join him after they finish their 3 game series at Seattle against the Mariners. He was so ready to get out of town that he caught a red-eye flight the night of the sweep and rushed reporters out off his office to make the flight. Before the blood even dried. Before he could have a single team meeting. College graduation is an important personal event and the father should be there, but, looking at the details a little closer, it is obvious that it is just an excuse for Ron Gardenhire to take a break and leave the team he led to the worse record in the majors, on the very night of arguably their lowest point in the season. Let's look at the facts: Ron Gardenhire's daughter is attending the Southwest Minnesota State University at Marshall, MN. According to the University's web site, commencement takes place at 10 AM this Saturday. Commencement exercises of schools that size, usually take about 1.5-2 hours. The Twins are playing the Mariners at Seattle this Friday at 7:10 PM, this Saturday at 6:10 PM and this Sunday at 1:10 PM (all local,PDT times.) The drive to Marshall, MN home of the Southwest Minnesota State University, where his daughter is graduating at 10 AM is 2 hrs and 46 minutes according to Bing Maps. The ride from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Safeco Park, where the Twins are playing this weekend, according the same source, takes 18 minutes. Also Marshall is the home of the Southwest Minnesota Regional Airport. It takes about 3 hrs to fly from the Twin Cities area to Seattle and vice versa Given those facts, Ron Gardenhire had 3 options: Option 1: Stay with the sinking ship, making the flight to Seattle, managing the team Friday night and taking a private plane (I assume that the Pohlads or the team would allow the use of their private planes, esp if Gardenhire pitched in for gas; or he could have arranged for one) that night or early morning to Marshall arriving in plenty of time for the graduation. Also a 2 PM Marshall departure which would allow plenty of time for pictures and a lunch, would have had him back in Seattle by 3 PM local time, plenty of time to go to the ballpark and manage the 6:10 Saturday game. This way, he would have done his duty to his family and his team. There was no conflict, just inconvenience and cost. Option 2: Stay with the sinking ship, making the flight to Seattle, managing the team Friday night and taking the red eye commercial flight Friday night. I want to think that someone who makes millions a year can afford a private plane and he has access to the team's plane, but let's say that he does not. Delta Airlines flight 1014 leaves Seattle at 12:30 AM local time Saturday morning and arrives in Minneapolis at 5:46 AM local time. Plenty of time to arrive at Marshall at about 8:30 for the 10:00 commencement. The ceremony ends around 11:30 AM. The ride to the airport might make the 2:20 PM flight arriving Seattle at 3:35 PM (in time to manage the whole game) a bit tight (and I assume that he is poor enough not to get private air transport from Marshall to Minneapolis), but the next flight leaving at 5:35 PM and arriving at Seattle at 7:13 PM is doable and allows him to spend an hour or two for lunch and pictures before he joins the Twins. Arriving at Seattle at 7:13 will get him at the ballpark and in uniform before 8:00 PM (the ride is only 18 minutes according to Bing Maps). That is about half way into the game. So he would have missed only half a game and do his paternal duty, but be a bit inconvenienced also. Option 3: Abandon the sinking ship, taking the next flight out in the middle of the night, arriving in his Minnesota home more than 2 days before he needed to be there, stay longer than he needs to be there, miss Sunday's game. Let his team come to him in Minnesota and play alone, headless, three games at Seattle right after they were swept by the Angels, right after a no-hitter against them, while he is having a nice and comfy 4-day weekend. That was the option chosen. Maritime Law is stern and specific. The Twins' front office has (vaguely) been talking about "accountability" last off-season. The captain abandoned his ship. And he did not have to. The facts are there. It is more than time that the ship finds a new captain who respects his position and follows his duty, trying to right it when it is ready to break, instead of abandoning it and let it sink even further. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/6993287178_3b8e20786d_z.jpg

When Francesco Schettino, the captain of Costa Concordia abandoned his sinking ship lastJanuary, it made international news. But he was not alone, to quote a very interesting Discovery channel article: "Considered one of the most infamous crimes in maritime law, [this] act of cowardice has many precedents in history.", and goes on to list several of the previous captains who have abandoned ship. Today, another name needs to be added to the list: Ronald Clyde Gardenhire. With the excuse that he needs to attend his daughter's college graduation, he left his team (with the worse record in baseball) hours after a sweep was completed with a no-hitter against the Twins, to go home to Minnesota for a 4-day weekend. The Twins will join him after they finish their 3 game series at Seattle against the Mariners. He was so ready to get out of town that he caught a red-eye flight the night of the sweep and rushed reporters out off his office to make the flight. Before the blood even dried. Before he could have a single team meeting. College graduation is an important personal event and the father should be there, but, looking at the details a little closer, it is obvious that it is just an excuse for Ron Gardenhire to take a break and leave the team he led to the worse record in the majors, on the very night of arguably their lowest point in the season. Let's look at the facts: Ron Gardenhire's daughter is attending the Southwest Minnesota State University at Marshall, MN. According to the University's web site, commencement takes place at 10 AM this Saturday. Commencement exercises of schools that size, usually take about 1.5-2 hours. The Twins are playing the Mariners at Seattle this Friday at 7:10 PM, this Saturday at 6:10 PM and this Sunday at 1:10 PM (all local,PDT times.) The drive to Marshall, MN home of the Southwest Minnesota State University, where his daughter is graduating at 10 AM is 2 hrs and 46 minutes according to Bing Maps. The ride from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Safeco Park, where the Twins are playing this weekend, according the same source, takes 18 minutes. Also Marshall is the home of the Southwest Minnesota Regional Airport. It takes about 3 hrs to fly from the Twin Cities area to Seattle and vice versa Given those facts, Ron Gardenhire had 3 options: Option 1: Stay with the sinking ship, making the flight to Seattle, managing the team Friday night and taking a private plane (I assume that the Pohlads or the team would allow the use of their private planes, esp if Gardenhire pitched in for gas; or he could have arranged for one) that night or early morning to Marshall arriving in plenty of time for the graduation. Also a 2 PM Marshall departure which would allow plenty of time for pictures and a lunch, would have had him back in Seattle by 3 PM local time, plenty of time to go to the ballpark and manage the 6:10 Saturday game. This way, he would have done his duty to his family and his team. There was no conflict, just inconvenience and cost. Option 2: Stay with the sinking ship, making the flight to Seattle, managing the team Friday night and taking the red eye commercial flight Friday night. I want to think that someone who makes millions a year can afford a private plane and he has access to the team's plane, but let's say that he does not. Delta Airlines flight 1014 leaves Seattle at 12:30 AM local time Saturday morning and arrives in Minneapolis at 5:46 AM local time. Plenty of time to arrive at Marshall at about 8:30 for the 10:00 commencement. The ceremony ends around 11:30 AM. The ride to the airport might make the 2:20 PM flight arriving Seattle at 3:35 PM (in time to manage the whole game) a bit tight (and I assume that he is poor enough not to get private air transport from Marshall to Minneapolis), but the next flight leaving at 5:35 PM and arriving at Seattle at 7:13 PM is doable and allows him to spend an hour or two for lunch and pictures before he joins the Twins. Arriving at Seattle at 7:13 will get him at the ballpark and in uniform before 8:00 PM (the ride is only 18 minutes according to Bing Maps). That is about half way into the game. So he would have missed only half a game and do his paternal duty, but be a bit inconvenienced also. Option 3: Abandon the sinking ship, taking the next flight out in the middle of the night, arriving in his Minnesota home more than 2 days before he needed to be there, stay longer than he needs to be there, miss Sunday's game. Let his team come to him in Minnesota and play alone, headless, three games at Seattle right after they were swept by the Angels, right after a no-hitter against them, while he is having a nice and comfy 4-day weekend. That was the option chosen. Maritime Law is stern and specific. The Twins' front office has (vaguely) been talking about "accountability" last off-season. The captain abandoned his ship. And he did not have to. The facts are there. It is more than time that the ship finds a new captain who respects his position and follows his duty, trying to right it when it is ready to break, instead of abandoning it and let it sink even further. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/6993287178_3b8e20786d_z.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the fourth installment in this series. You can find all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series. In the last 2 series against the Royals (abbreviated 2-game series because of a rain out) and at the Angels the Twins as a team hit an underpowered .214/.276/.321 with 1 HR and scored 16 runs. This helped them finish only 1-4 in these series. The Twins Hitter of the Week was: Danny Valencia http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/6992918654_9932b1062a_z.jpg .400/.400/.600 6 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R in 15 plate appearances As with the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was equally responsible for their 1-4 record against the Royals and the Angels. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 5.79 ERA, allowing 49 hits (including 9 home runs, 8 doubles and a triple,) 28 Runs (all but 1 earned) in 42 innings, facing 183 batters. They threw 636 total pitches and 392 of them were strikes. The walked 11 and struck out 13. This results in a 1.43 WHIP, 2.8 K/9 and 1.2 K/BB. The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was: Jared Burton http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/7096786667_37f511b18d_z.jpg 2 Games, 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the fourth installment in this series. You can find all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series. In the last 2 series against the Royals (abbreviated 2-game series because of a rain out) and at the Angels the Twins as a team hit an underpowered .214/.276/.321 with 1 HR and scored 16 runs. This helped them finish only 1-4 in these series. The Twins Hitter of the Week was: Danny Valencia http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/6992918654_9932b1062a_z.jpg .400/.400/.600 6 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R in 15 plate appearances As with the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was equally responsible for their 1-4 record against the Royals and the Angels. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 5.79 ERA, allowing 49 hits (including 9 home runs, 8 doubles and a triple,) 28 Runs (all but 1 earned) in 42 innings, facing 183 batters. They threw 636 total pitches and 392 of them were strikes. The walked 11 and struck out 13. This results in a 1.43 WHIP, 2.8 K/9 and 1.2 K/BB. The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was: Jared Burton http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/7096786667_37f511b18d_z.jpg 2 Games, 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K

Seth, I agree that minor leagues are 100% about player development and that it why I do care about Wins and Losses: Part of player development, in addition to learning how to toss and hit the curveball, is to establish a winning culture and to learn to hate losing. If the Twins' minor leaguers do not learn to hate losing in the minors, they will be ok with losing when they are in the majors. And if you want to win, you better have players (and managers and coaches and front office people) who are not ok with losing. Unfortunately the Twins lack this and it is a cultural thing and it starts in all levels, from the Dominical Academy to EST and instructionals, to the minors and the major league club.

Here is this week's installment: Tonight Fransisco Liriano will make his next start after he has been skipped in the rotation. I hope the gods of Fastball grand him command, control and deceitfulness Luke Hughes was designated for assignment by the Athletics yesterday to make room for Brandon Inge. The Twins have the opportunity to re-sign him and right a wrong Interesting to see Jason Marquis being the Twins' most reliable starter so far in this young season and that he only has walked 2 (and struck out 18) in 31.3 IP. If this continues, the Twins will be in for a pleasant surprise. One of the newest Twins because the newest daddy in the Twins six days ago. Today is the deadline for potential international free agents to declare with MLB their intention to potentially sign with a team, per the new collaborative agreement. These are players like Miguel Sano, who can sign anytime after July 2nd when they turn 16 years old. The declaration of intend with MLB is new, it creates a more even playing field and gets the "handlers" out of the equation. At some point there will be a list of players who declared, so there will be better profiles and presentations before July 2nd. Few interesting pieces of trivia about the current Twins' broadcaster (and former SS) Roy Smalley: a. he was drafted 4 times but did not singed until he was drafted first overall by the Texas Rangers. b. He was traded to the Twins from the Rangers for the man who he replaced on the booth (Bert Blyleven). c. he was traded from the Twins to the Yankees for Ron Davis and Greg Gagne. A great writeup about Danny Valencia in his home town paper Meanwhile, a Twins' player was engaged last Sunday, and Twins' prospect RHP Ryan O'Rourke writes about Minor Leaguers and housing. Wonder whether that stuffed animal in a particular Twins' player's locker has any significance. Add another misguided release of a minor leaguer to those of Danny Osterbrock and Pedro Guerra: The Twins released Tony Davis last Friday,while they keep signing up 30-something never had beens and assigning them to Rochester. In fact, the Twins' organization has been so class-less in the treatment of its minor leaguers that released Davis while having a broken thumb and stopped his medical insurance. I hope that they do the right thing, because I am not sure that I am liking the new Twins' way... And apparently he is not the only Twins' minor leaguer who was released while injured and the only unhappy one. Speaking of Minor League transactions, there were several promotions this week, the 2 most notable with Twins MLB implications: Deolis Guerra (of Johan Santana trade fame) was promoted from New Britain to Rochester and BJ Hermsen was promoted from Fort Myers to New Britain. Why would those promotions have MLB implications? Guerra and Hermsen have been the best relief and strating pitcher respectively in the organization so far in 2012. Guerra will be out of options in 2013, so he will have to be in the TWins' pen or gone in 2013. He is on the 40-man roster, so it is almost certain that sometime this season he will play in Minnesota. BJ Hermsen, 23, is a starter whose career development path resembles that of Liam Hendriks. If he continues well in New Britain this season he likely would be in the conversation for one of the many openings in the Twins' rotation in 2013. Speaking of Rochester, May has been proclaimed Baseball Month in Rochester. There are some cool things going on there and this involves the Red Wings and not the Empire State Yankees, so it should be fun if you are alocal Twins' or Wings' fan. It is amazing that even some or the biggest Ron Gardenhire supporters and Minnesota Twins' traditionalists out there are started to look at the Manager situation similar to me. Sample number 1 and Sample number 2. Twins who had birthdays the last week: Adrian Salcedo (21st), Ryan O'Rourke (24th) and Luis Perdomo (28th) The Twins are ranked as the worse team in the majors by the big sports web site this week. The Twins' product of the week, is a really cool book. A bucket list: 100 Things Twins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Diehttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=1600785549 The parting shot today is of BJ Hermsen who was promoted to AA New Britain Rock Cats a couple days ago http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6982516862_0a29443d74_z.jpg As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.

Here is this week's installment: Tonight Fransisco Liriano will make his next start after he has been skipped in the rotation. I hope the gods of Fastball grand him command, control and deceitfulness Luke Hughes was designated for assignment by the Athletics yesterday to make room for Brandon Inge. The Twins have the opportunity to re-sign him and right a wrong Interesting to see Jason Marquis being the Twins' most reliable starter so far in this young season and that he only has walked 2 (and struck out 18) in 31.3 IP. If this continues, the Twins will be in for a pleasant surprise. One of the newest Twins because the newest daddy in the Twins six days ago. Today is the deadline for potential international free agents to declare with MLB their intention to potentially sign with a team, per the new collaborative agreement. These are players like Miguel Sano, who can sign anytime after July 2nd when they turn 16 years old. The declaration of intend with MLB is new, it creates a more even playing field and gets the "handlers" out of the equation. At some point there will be a list of players who declared, so there will be better profiles and presentations before July 2nd. Few interesting pieces of trivia about the current Twins' broadcaster (and former SS) Roy Smalley: a. he was drafted 4 times but did not singed until he was drafted first overall by the Texas Rangers. b. He was traded to the Twins from the Rangers for the man who he replaced on the booth (Bert Blyleven). c. he was traded from the Twins to the Yankees for Ron Davis and Greg Gagne. A great writeup about Danny Valencia in his home town paper Meanwhile, a Twins' player was engaged last Sunday, and Twins' prospect RHP Ryan O'Rourke writes about Minor Leaguers and housing. Wonder whether that stuffed animal in a particular Twins' player's locker has any significance. Add another misguided release of a minor leaguer to those of Danny Osterbrock and Pedro Guerra: The Twins released Tony Davis last Friday,while they keep signing up 30-something never had beens and assigning them to Rochester. In fact, the Twins' organization has been so class-less in the treatment of its minor leaguers that released Davis while having a broken thumb and stopped his medical insurance. I hope that they do the right thing, because I am not sure that I am liking the new Twins' way... And apparently he is not the only Twins' minor leaguer who was released while injured and the only unhappy one. Speaking of Minor League transactions, there were several promotions this week, the 2 most notable with Twins MLB implications: Deolis Guerra (of Johan Santana trade fame) was promoted from New Britain to Rochester and BJ Hermsen was promoted from Fort Myers to New Britain. Why would those promotions have MLB implications? Guerra and Hermsen have been the best relief and strating pitcher respectively in the organization so far in 2012. Guerra will be out of options in 2013, so he will have to be in the TWins' pen or gone in 2013. He is on the 40-man roster, so it is almost certain that sometime this season he will play in Minnesota. BJ Hermsen, 23, is a starter whose career development path resembles that of Liam Hendriks. If he continues well in New Britain this season he likely would be in the conversation for one of the many openings in the Twins' rotation in 2013. Speaking of Rochester, May has been proclaimed Baseball Month in Rochester. There are some cool things going on there and this involves the Red Wings and not the Empire State Yankees, so it should be fun if you are alocal Twins' or Wings' fan. It is amazing that even some or the biggest Ron Gardenhire supporters and Minnesota Twins' traditionalists out there are started to look at the Manager situation similar to me. Sample number 1 and Sample number 2. Twins who had birthdays the last week: Adrian Salcedo (21st), Ryan O'Rourke (24th) and Luis Perdomo (28th) The Twins are ranked as the worse team in the majors by the big sports web site this week. The Twins' product of the week, is a really cool book. A bucket list: 100 Things Twins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Diehttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=1600785549 The parting shot today is of BJ Hermsen who was promoted to AA New Britain Rock Cats a couple days ago http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6982516862_0a29443d74_z.jpg As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.

I disagree. I think that Mr Pujols is toast.

Here are Mastroianni's total numbers after Friday's game. His AA stint was not good. Right now he has enough PAs in AAA to hit a respectable .274/.338/.315 overall, which is good enough to get him of this list in the next iterration.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the third installment in this series. You can find all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series. In the last 2 series against the Rays and Red Sox the Twins as a team hit an underpowered .241/.326/.310 with 1 HR and scored 21 runs. This helped them finish only 1-5 in these series. The Twins Hitter of the Week was: Joe Mauer http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/6973664534_9f3a089bbe_z.jpg .409/.500/.409 9 H, 4 RBI, 2 R in 26 plate appearances As with the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was equally responsible for their 1-5 record against the Rays and the Red Sox. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 6.23 ERA, allowing 58 hits (including 9 home runs, 11 doubles and a triple,) 38 Runs (all but 2 earned) in 52 innings, facing 224 batters. They threw 891 total pitches and 553 of them were strikes. They walked 17 and struck out 40. This results in a 1.44 WHIP, 6.9 K/9 and 2.4 K/BB. The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was: Anthony Swarzak http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7119747105_7d36d4407a_z.jpg 2 Games, 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4K

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the third installment in this series. You can find all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series. In the last 2 series against the Rays and Red Sox the Twins as a team hit an underpowered .241/.326/.310 with 1 HR and scored 21 runs. This helped them finish only 1-5 in these series. The Twins Hitter of the Week was: Joe Mauer http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/6973664534_9f3a089bbe_z.jpg .409/.500/.409 9 H, 4 RBI, 2 R in 26 plate appearances As with the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was equally responsible for their 1-5 record against the Rays and the Red Sox. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 6.23 ERA, allowing 58 hits (including 9 home runs, 11 doubles and a triple,) 38 Runs (all but 2 earned) in 52 innings, facing 224 batters. They threw 891 total pitches and 553 of them were strikes. They walked 17 and struck out 40. This results in a 1.44 WHIP, 6.9 K/9 and 2.4 K/BB. The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was: Anthony Swarzak http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7119747105_7d36d4407a_z.jpg 2 Games, 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4K

Down to .290 in AAA and to .243 overall (and .557 overall OPS) right now

Yeah. Give him a couple weeks and will be off the list.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the first version of the 'who is NOT hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. I have been doing the Who is hot in the Minors series for a few years now and I decided that a complimentary list might be in order. I will be updating those every month or so, as well. The current who IS hot list can be found here Without further ado, here is the list, going from AAA to A. The clubs represented are AAA Rochester Red Wings, International League, AA New Britain Rock Cats, Eastern League, A+ Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State League, A Beloit Snappers, Midwest League: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg Catchers: J.R. Towles (RHB, 28, AAA) .111/.200/.222 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 H, 31 PA Jairo Rodriguez (RHB, 23, A+) .100/.182/.167 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 H, 35 PA Infielders: Tsuyioshi Nishioka (SHB, 27, AAA) .203/.299/.237 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3/5 SB, 68 PA Estarlin De Los Santos (SHB, 25, AA) .231/.250/.231 0 HR, 1 RBI, 40 PA Angerson Hidalgo (RHB, 23, A+) .143/.200/.286 0 HR, 0 RBI, 31 PA Andy Leer (RHB, 24, A+) .074/.167/.111 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2H, 30 PA Tyler Grimes (RHB, 21, A) .145/.288/.236 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2/4 SB, 66 PA Outfielders: Darin Mastroianni (RHB, 26, AAA/AA) .207/.258/.224 0 HR, 1 RBI, 63 PA Ben Revere (LHB, 24, MLB/AAA) .211/.211/.211 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 38 PA Marc Dolenc (RHB, 27, AA) .182/.217/.182 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2/4 SB, 44 PA Danny Rams (RHB, 23, A+) .069/.206/.069 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 H, 34 PA 1st basemen/DH: Matt Rizzotti (LHB, 26, AAA) .256/.256/.282 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 H, 39 PA Rory Rhodes (RHB, 20, A) .146/.204/.188 0 HR, 4 RBI, 54 PA RH Starters: Marty Popham (24,A+) 5.40 ERA, 1.800 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 1.57 K/BB Matt Summers (22, A) 7.36 ERA, 1.636 WHIP, 4.91 K/9, 0.89 K/BB LH Starters: Logan Darnell (23,AA) 5.21 ERA, 1.632 WHIP, 4.74 K/9, 1.00 K.BB RH Relievers: Brendan Wise (26, AAA) 5.40 ERA, 2.100 WHIP, 2.70 K/9, 0.4 K/BB David Bromberg (24, AA) 15.00 ERA, 2.833 WHIP, 3 K/9, 0.5 K/BB Bruce Pugh (23, A+) 9.45 ERA, 2.700 WHIP, 10.80 K/9, 1.6 K/BB LH Relievers: Tony Davis, (24, A+) 15.19 ERA, 2.438 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 1.33 K/BB Bart Carter (24, A) 6.43 ERA, 1.857 WHIP, 11.57 K/9, 2.25 K/BB Clint Dempster (22, A) 3.68 ERA, 1.909 WHIP, 6.14 K/9, 0.83 K/BB

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the first version of the 'who is NOT hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. I have been doing the Who is hot in the Minors series for a few years now and I decided that a complimentary list might be in order. I will be updating those every month or so, as well. The current who IS hot list can be found here Without further ado, here is the list, going from AAA to A. The clubs represented are AAA Rochester Red Wings, International League, AA New Britain Rock Cats, Eastern League, A+ Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State League, A Beloit Snappers, Midwest League: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg Catchers: J.R. Towles (RHB, 28, AAA) .111/.200/.222 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 H, 31 PA Jairo Rodriguez (RHB, 23, A+) .100/.182/.167 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 H, 35 PA Infielders: Tsuyioshi Nishioka (SHB, 27, AAA) .203/.299/.237 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3/5 SB, 68 PA Estarlin De Los Santos (SHB, 25, AA) .231/.250/.231 0 HR, 1 RBI, 40 PA Angerson Hidalgo (RHB, 23, A+) .143/.200/.286 0 HR, 0 RBI, 31 PA Andy Leer (RHB, 24, A+) .074/.167/.111 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2H, 30 PA Tyler Grimes (RHB, 21, A) .145/.288/.236 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2/4 SB, 66 PA Outfielders: Darin Mastroianni (RHB, 26, AAA/AA) .207/.258/.224 0 HR, 1 RBI, 63 PA Ben Revere (LHB, 24, MLB/AAA) .211/.211/.211 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 38 PA Marc Dolenc (RHB, 27, AA) .182/.217/.182 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2/4 SB, 44 PA Danny Rams (RHB, 23, A+) .069/.206/.069 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 H, 34 PA 1st basemen/DH: Matt Rizzotti (LHB, 26, AAA) .256/.256/.282 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 H, 39 PA Rory Rhodes (RHB, 20, A) .146/.204/.188 0 HR, 4 RBI, 54 PA RH Starters: Marty Popham (24,A+) 5.40 ERA, 1.800 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 1.57 K/BB Matt Summers (22, A) 7.36 ERA, 1.636 WHIP, 4.91 K/9, 0.89 K/BB LH Starters: Logan Darnell (23,AA) 5.21 ERA, 1.632 WHIP, 4.74 K/9, 1.00 K.BB RH Relievers: Brendan Wise (26, AAA) 5.40 ERA, 2.100 WHIP, 2.70 K/9, 0.4 K/BB David Bromberg (24, AA) 15.00 ERA, 2.833 WHIP, 3 K/9, 0.5 K/BB Bruce Pugh (23, A+) 9.45 ERA, 2.700 WHIP, 10.80 K/9, 1.6 K/BB LH Relievers: Tony Davis, (24, A+) 15.19 ERA, 2.438 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 1.33 K/BB Bart Carter (24, A) 6.43 ERA, 1.857 WHIP, 11.57 K/9, 2.25 K/BB Clint Dempster (22, A) 3.68 ERA, 1.909 WHIP, 6.14 K/9, 0.83 K/BB

Here is this week's installment: Very disappointing loss to the Red Sox last night, but some highlight reel plays and lots of near misses. Unfortunately that left the Twins with a 5-12 record, seven games under .500 and 5.5 games behind the Tigers. The official rule 4 MLB draft order has been announced and the Twins have 6 picks in the top 100, including the second overall pick Phillip Humber, another player discarded by the Twins, pitched a perfect game last Saturday. Add that to his performance for the White Sox in 2011 and the Johan Santana package looks better for the Twins. They just did not know what to do with what they got... If you wonder about some of the activities of some of the Twins' top prospects, you got to see this And if you wonder how life on the road is for minor leagues, make your you read this blog by AJ Petterson who is playing for the Beloit Snappers This is a great writeup for another Ballpark that has an anniversary this year, albeit closer to the Twins' home Next Saturday at Target Field is "Ben Revere Bat Giveaway Day". Great planning. Twins' fans, if you are into running or even thought about getting into running (there is plenty of time), make sure that you register for the Fiteens5K this August. A great charity, run by Glen Perkins and his wife Alisha and a great downtown Minneapolis race which includes a free ticket to a Twins game in the Rays' series and lots of Twins giveaway goodies. And to sweeten the deal the race ends at Target Field, every finisher will receive a medal and Twins' players will be hanging out those medals. Just do it! I might even consider flying to the Cities for this race. This is very sad: A particular former Twins' prospect (was released before the season begun) started with this tweet and then started digging himself deeper... his timeline is here. Amazing. Not what you do when you look for a job, kiddo. An apology came later but still... The Twins' product of the week, is the MLB Men's Minnesota Twins 3/4 Sleeve Crew Neck Featherweight Tech Fleece Pullover by Majestic http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B006YEIZ5S I saw a couple of players were those in Fort Myers and are a killer look. The parting shot today is of Josh Burris. The Folks over at Twins' Daily have started an "adopt a prospect" theme and Josh Burris its the Twins' prospect I adopted. You can read all about it here (and adopt your own prospect) and can follow my Josh Burris updates here. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7107694721_2a0ab17e06_z.jpg As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.

Here is this week's installment: Very disappointing loss to the Red Sox last night, but some highlight reel plays and lots of near misses. Unfortunately that left the Twins with a 5-12 record, seven games under .500 and 5.5 games behind the Tigers. The official rule 4 MLB draft order has been announced and the Twins have 6 picks in the top 100, including the second overall pick Phillip Humber, another player discarded by the Twins, pitched a perfect game last Saturday. Add that to his performance for the White Sox in 2011 and the Johan Santana package looks better for the Twins. They just did not know what to do with what they got... If you wonder about some of the activities of some of the Twins' top prospects, you got to see this And if you wonder how life on the road is for minor leagues, make your you read this blog by AJ Petterson who is playing for the Beloit Snappers This is a great writeup for another Ballpark that has an anniversary this year, albeit closer to the Twins' home Next Saturday at Target Field is "Ben Revere Bat Giveaway Day". Great planning. Twins' fans, if you are into running or even thought about getting into running (there is plenty of time), make sure that you register for the Fiteens5K this August. A great charity, run by Glen Perkins and his wife Alisha and a great downtown Minneapolis race which includes a free ticket to a Twins game in the Rays' series and lots of Twins giveaway goodies. And to sweeten the deal the race ends at Target Field, every finisher will receive a medal and Twins' players will be hanging out those medals. Just do it! I might even consider flying to the Cities for this race. This is very sad: A particular former Twins' prospect (was released before the season begun) started with this tweet and then started digging himself deeper... his timeline is here. Amazing. Not what you do when you look for a job, kiddo. An apology came later but still... The Twins' product of the week, is the MLB Men's Minnesota Twins 3/4 Sleeve Crew Neck Featherweight Tech Fleece Pullover by Majestic http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B006YEIZ5S I saw a couple of players were those in Fort Myers and are a killer look. The parting shot today is of Josh Burris. The Folks over at Twins' Daily have started an "adopt a prospect" theme and Josh Burris its the Twins' prospect I adopted. You can read all about it here (and adopt your own prospect) and can follow my Josh Burris updates here. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7107694721_2a0ab17e06_z.jpg As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.

They might get there, esp. Pinto, but nobody is there yet. I am glad that there are LH SPs because for a couple years the only one there was Danny Osterbrock and we know that he is no more

or D: Cuddaver was over-rated

Originally published at The Tenth Innning Stretch ----- This is the first version of the 'who is hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. I have been doing this for a few years now and 3 weeks into the 2012 season, there are enough IPs and PAs and is about time I get the first version of 2012 out. I will be updating those in pretty much monthly basis. About a month into the minor league seasons now, it is not surprising to confirm that the Twins have a nice pitching depth in all levels of their minors (including LHP, which has been one of the organizational weaknesses in recent seasons. It is nice to see a balance between leftie and rightie arms, even though it is early in the season) There are several pitchers in Rochester who can jump in and contribute with the big team, as necessary. The bats are a bit cool this time of the year, but it is nice to see that the Twins' top prospects are pretty hot. Speaking on top prospects, Angel Morales after a lost 2011, is quickly putting himself back to the top prospect list. Also nice, as far as the big club goes, is the fact that Brian Dozier and Mike Hollimon are hot in Rochester, in case the Twins need middle infield help (the only position that is not backed up well in the major league club). Here is the list, going from AAA to A. The clubs represented are AAA Rochester Red Wings, International League, AA New Britain Rock Cats, Eastern League, A+ Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State League, A Beloit Snappers, Midwest League: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg Catchers: Infielders: Brian Dozier (RHB, 25 AAA) .310/.375/.466 1 HR, 6 RBI, 64 PA Michael Hollimon (SHB, 30, AAA) .256/.341/.487 2 HR, 2 RBI, 44 PA Deibinson Romero (RHB, 25, AA) .293/.359/.552 3 HR, 13 RBI, 64 PA Miguel Sano (RHB, 19, A) .314/.453/.765 6 HR, 18 RBI, 64 PA Eddie Rosario (LHB, 20, A) .296/.397/.426 1 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB, 63 PA Outfielders: Angel Morales (RHB, 22, A+) .382/.426/.509 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB, 62 PA Lance Ray (LHB, 22, A+) .256/.333/.512 2 HR, 10 RBI, 51 PA Aaron Hicks (SHB, 22, AA) .255/.338/.491 3 HR, 10 RBI, 65 PA Evan Bigley (RHB, 25, AA) .295/.343/.459 1 HR, 10 RBI, 67 PA 1st basemen/DH: Chris Colabello (RHB, 28, AA) .333/.415/.711 4 HR, 12 RBI, 54 PA RH Starters: Cole DeVries (27, AAA) 2.87 ERA, 0.957 WHIP, 8.62 K/9, 3.75 K/BB Samuel Deduno (28, AAA) 3.94 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, 7.31 K/9, 2.17 K/BB PJ Walters (27, AAA) 3.38 ERA, 1.266 WHIP, 6.33 K/9, 7 K/BB Steve Hirschfeld (26, AA) 1.06 ERA, 0.941 WHIP, 7.94 K/9, 3.75 K/BB BJ Hermsen (22, A+) 0.50 ERA, 0.722 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 2.5 K/BB LH Starters: Scott Diamond (25, AAA) 1.47 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 6.87 K/9, 2.80 K/BB Luke French (26, AA) 1.52 ERA, 0.930 WHIP, 5.32 K/9, 1.17 K/BB Logan Darnell (23, AA) 2.81 ERA, 1.188 WHIP, 5.63 K/9, 1.67 K/BB Andrew Albers (26, AA) 5.54 ERA. 1.231 WHIP, 6.23 K/0, inf K/BB Jason Wheeler (21. A) 2.40 ERA, 1.267 WHIP, 6 K/9, 2 K/BB RH Relievers: Casey Fien (28, AAA) 1.80 ERA, 1.100 WHIP, 8.10 K/9, 9 K/BB Jeff Manship (27, AAA) 0.82 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, 8.18 K/9, 2.5 K/BB Deolis Guerra (23,AA) 0.84 ERA, 0.469 WHIP, 8.44 K/9, 10 K/BB Dan Turpen (25, AA) 2.89 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 8.68 K/9, inf K/BB John Garcia (25, A+) 2.53 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 2.67 K/BB AJ Achter (23, A) 0.87 ERA, 0.677 WHIP, 12.19 K/9, 4.67 K/BB Michael Tonkin (22, A) 0.96 ERA, 0.964 WHIP, 9.64 K/9, 5 K/BB LH Relievers: Tyler Robertson (24, AAA) 4.70 ERA, 0.783 WHIP, 11.74 K/9, 5 K/BB Caleb Thielbar (25, A+) 0.00 ERA, 0.545 WHIP, 11.05 K/9, 9 K/BB Jose Gonzalez (22, A+) 3.86 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 9 K/9, 3.5 K/BB Edgar Ibarra (23, A+) 0.90 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 5.40 K/9, 6 K/BB Corey Williams (21, A) 3.86 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 9 K/9, 7 K/BB Ryan O'Rourke (24, A) 1.23 ERA, 0.818 WHIP, 8.59 K/9, 3.5 K/BB Matthew Tomshaw (23, A) 4.15 ERA, 1.269 WHIP, 10.38 K/9, 10 K/BB

Originally published at The Tenth Innning Stretch ----- This is the first version of the 'who is hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. I have been doing this for a few years now and 3 weeks into the 2012 season, there are enough IPs and PAs and is about time I get the first version of 2012 out. I will be updating those in pretty much monthly basis. About a month into the minor league seasons now, it is not surprising to confirm that the Twins have a nice pitching depth in all levels of their minors (including LHP, which has been one of the organizational weaknesses in recent seasons. It is nice to see a balance between leftie and rightie arms, even though it is early in the season) There are several pitchers in Rochester who can jump in and contribute with the big team, as necessary. The bats are a bit cool this time of the year, but it is nice to see that the Twins' top prospects are pretty hot. Speaking on top prospects, Angel Morales after a lost 2011, is quickly putting himself back to the top prospect list. Also nice, as far as the big club goes, is the fact that Brian Dozier and Mike Hollimon are hot in Rochester, in case the Twins need middle infield help (the only position that is not backed up well in the major league club). Here is the list, going from AAA to A. The clubs represented are AAA Rochester Red Wings, International League, AA New Britain Rock Cats, Eastern League, A+ Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State League, A Beloit Snappers, Midwest League: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg Catchers: Infielders: Brian Dozier (RHB, 25 AAA) .310/.375/.466 1 HR, 6 RBI, 64 PA Michael Hollimon (SHB, 30, AAA) .256/.341/.487 2 HR, 2 RBI, 44 PA Deibinson Romero (RHB, 25, AA) .293/.359/.552 3 HR, 13 RBI, 64 PA Miguel Sano (RHB, 19, A) .314/.453/.765 6 HR, 18 RBI, 64 PA Eddie Rosario (LHB, 20, A) .296/.397/.426 1 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB, 63 PA Outfielders: Angel Morales (RHB, 22, A+) .382/.426/.509 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB, 62 PA Lance Ray (LHB, 22, A+) .256/.333/.512 2 HR, 10 RBI, 51 PA Aaron Hicks (SHB, 22, AA) .255/.338/.491 3 HR, 10 RBI, 65 PA Evan Bigley (RHB, 25, AA) .295/.343/.459 1 HR, 10 RBI, 67 PA 1st basemen/DH: Chris Colabello (RHB, 28, AA) .333/.415/.711 4 HR, 12 RBI, 54 PA RH Starters: Cole DeVries (27, AAA) 2.87 ERA, 0.957 WHIP, 8.62 K/9, 3.75 K/BB Samuel Deduno (28, AAA) 3.94 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, 7.31 K/9, 2.17 K/BB PJ Walters (27, AAA) 3.38 ERA, 1.266 WHIP, 6.33 K/9, 7 K/BB Steve Hirschfeld (26, AA) 1.06 ERA, 0.941 WHIP, 7.94 K/9, 3.75 K/BB BJ Hermsen (22, A+) 0.50 ERA, 0.722 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 2.5 K/BB LH Starters: Scott Diamond (25, AAA) 1.47 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 6.87 K/9, 2.80 K/BB Luke French (26, AA) 1.52 ERA, 0.930 WHIP, 5.32 K/9, 1.17 K/BB Logan Darnell (23, AA) 2.81 ERA, 1.188 WHIP, 5.63 K/9, 1.67 K/BB Andrew Albers (26, AA) 5.54 ERA. 1.231 WHIP, 6.23 K/0, inf K/BB Jason Wheeler (21. A) 2.40 ERA, 1.267 WHIP, 6 K/9, 2 K/BB RH Relievers: Casey Fien (28, AAA) 1.80 ERA, 1.100 WHIP, 8.10 K/9, 9 K/BB Jeff Manship (27, AAA) 0.82 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, 8.18 K/9, 2.5 K/BB Deolis Guerra (23,AA) 0.84 ERA, 0.469 WHIP, 8.44 K/9, 10 K/BB Dan Turpen (25, AA) 2.89 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 8.68 K/9, inf K/BB John Garcia (25, A+) 2.53 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 2.67 K/BB AJ Achter (23, A) 0.87 ERA, 0.677 WHIP, 12.19 K/9, 4.67 K/BB Michael Tonkin (22, A) 0.96 ERA, 0.964 WHIP, 9.64 K/9, 5 K/BB LH Relievers: Tyler Robertson (24, AAA) 4.70 ERA, 0.783 WHIP, 11.74 K/9, 5 K/BB Caleb Thielbar (25, A+) 0.00 ERA, 0.545 WHIP, 11.05 K/9, 9 K/BB Jose Gonzalez (22, A+) 3.86 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 9 K/9, 3.5 K/BB Edgar Ibarra (23, A+) 0.90 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 5.40 K/9, 6 K/BB Corey Williams (21, A) 3.86 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 9 K/9, 7 K/BB Ryan O'Rourke (24, A) 1.23 ERA, 0.818 WHIP, 8.59 K/9, 3.5 K/BB Matthew Tomshaw (23, A) 4.15 ERA, 1.269 WHIP, 10.38 K/9, 10 K/BB