Thrylos

If it is one off and two offs, you can probably attribute it to "luck". But it is many. So there is something going on there.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: Congratulations to Beloit Snappers for making the 1st half playoffs. Here are Snappers' AJ Pettersen's thoughts about Beloit's first half. Congratulations to Oswarlo Arcia for being promoted to New Britain. He is on the 40 man roster, so it very well be that he would be called up to the Twins in September from AA, pretty much like Parmelee and Benson did last season. Here is a great story about the Twins' 2012 40th round draft pick, Brad Schreiber, how he is recovering from Tommy John surgery and his thoughts about getting drafted and potentially signing. Twins' legend and MLB Hall of Fame member Rod Carew was working with Little Leaguers. Thinking about baseball names, wonder what Dick Such's doing these days. Haven't seen him around the Twins since he left after TK retired. A former Twins' organization player reached a baseball milestone last week. Here is another article about another former Twin who will face the Twins this week Here is Byron Buxton playing catch with the big boys before a Twins' game against the Phillies last week. He will report to the Elizabethton Twins (Rookie, Appalachian League) Really interesting article from the Ottawa Citizen about Canadian baseball alliances here. Well worth the read. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Game Day Pouchhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B001XMNUS8. Big enough to carry your water to the ballpark now that it is getting hot out there. The parting shot today is of Lester Oliveros, the newest member of the Twins. He did not last long with the big club, after he was optioned to make room for Liam Hendriks, but he will be up again shortly. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5113/7188332063_1f974e0508_o.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: Congratulations to Beloit Snappers for making the 1st half playoffs. Here are Snappers' AJ Pettersen's thoughts about Beloit's first half. Congratulations to Oswarlo Arcia for being promoted to New Britain. He is on the 40 man roster, so it very well be that he would be called up to the Twins in September from AA, pretty much like Parmelee and Benson did last season. Here is a great story about the Twins' 2012 40th round draft pick, Brad Schreiber, how he is recovering from Tommy John surgery and his thoughts about getting drafted and potentially signing. Twins' legend and MLB Hall of Fame member Rod Carew was working with Little Leaguers. Thinking about baseball names, wonder what Dick Such's doing these days. Haven't seen him around the Twins since he left after TK retired. A former Twins' organization player reached a baseball milestone last week. Here is another article about another former Twin who will face the Twins this week Here is Byron Buxton playing catch with the big boys before a Twins' game against the Phillies last week. He will report to the Elizabethton Twins (Rookie, Appalachian League) Really interesting article from the Ottawa Citizen about Canadian baseball alliances here. Well worth the read. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Game Day Pouchhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B001XMNUS8. Big enough to carry your water to the ballpark now that it is getting hot out there. The parting shot today is of Lester Oliveros, the newest member of the Twins. He did not last long with the big club, after he was optioned to make room for Liam Hendriks, but he will be up again shortly. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5113/7188332063_1f974e0508_o.jpg

Any corresponing moves in New Britain? Dolenc still with the team?

Regardless, one's got to love the medical terminology the Twins are using these days (from that link above) :

Unfortunately, I do not think that the interim GM, Terry Ryan can fix this mess. Hopefully, there will be a non-interim GM named from outside the organization soon. And I hope that the new GM overhauls "player development" (i.e. the minors) This is the man who signed Marquis (to release him) and re-signed Capps to a better than marker-rate contract and lost a pick (or two) in the process. Ryan does not know how to operate with a $100M budget. Free agency is not the answer to everything. You cannot just overspend on FA pitchers. I think that as far as the 2013 rotation goes, Diamond might be a decent #4-5 guy and Hendriks could be a decent #3-4 guy. That's all they have. Gibson is a ? and I would be fine if they give him the #5 spot just to figure it out. They need to find a home for Blackburn (maybe in the pen and hope for a Perkins-like re-birth.) I think they got to trade. And Span and Morneau and everyone else who makes more than minimum or is older than 30 (that's Burton) should be game. The Philies have a guy names Tyler Cloyd who just got to AAA this year but is the real thing. Also they gave up on Domonic Brown. I think that a package around Span plus some others (Hicks? - he is redundant now with Buxton) might pull those 2 and you got your RF in Brown as well for next season. Then try to see if you can find another arm by trading Morneau to someplace like Toronto. Not sure that Ryan is the man who can do that though...

This whole PED case and him getting of with a technicality, makes me respect Braun as much as I do ARod, Manny and the like confirmed cheaters. Which is not much. Kinda hate him doing this to the Twins in a non-level playing field...

For once I am happy that the Twins have passed on a local kid. In the past they have been burned by drafting local both at the high school and college levels. At this point Brown has one single above average pitch FB. He is playing with a cutter and a change and has a couple below average breaking offerings. Major work in progress. Also, he has not faced any real competition, and, being from MN, he can play ball only 5-6 month a year. Plus he came practically out of nowhere. Nobody knew who Mitch Brown was in 2011. He was ranked in the 400s as far as high schoolers go. Then jumped this season... Really glad they stayed away...

I don't know about counting, but my local AAA team (LV) used 35 players this season, 22 of whom have had MLB experience. Lots of movement to just count starting players in a single game. Rochester used 43 players and only 8 did not have MLB experience BTW And one of those 8 (Hirschfeld) was practically on loan from the Rock Cats for a day.

Plouffe is staying

The problem I have with is, is that the Twins really need more AA and AAA guys who are MLB-ready than A, A+ or A- guys. Believe it or not, I am fairly happy with the arms at the Twins' system at the A and Rk levels. Just 3-4 years away, which is the problem...

yes and yes and interestingly enough, some of if was not behind the scenes. A whole bunch of people, including me, witnessed him being an #%$#$#$%$# to a teammate while both were sitting in the dugout during Spring Training (Late March in a AAA game). Totally uncool. He was let go 2 days after that.

If the Twins can pluck someone like Joel Carreño or Brett Cecil plus another prospect from the Jays, I think it is close to a no-brainer.

I think that there is close to no chance that Timmy Robinson signs. Marvel I am not sure.

good stuff and timely Today is Plouffe's 26th Birthday.

Parmelee is is a lefty himself. Gardy cannot platoon, unless one would want to mess up with Plouffe's success while at 3B and have him play 1B, Casilla and 2B, Dozier at SS and Carroll at 3B, at which point you trade one of the last 3 bats for Morneau's; not sure that this would be advantageous... or you can have Mauer at 1B and Butera at C, where you trade Morneau's bat for Butera's... Still no good. I assume Doumit at DH

I don't know who Diamond is, but comparing this season with last, the only differences are that he is walking fewer (which is a good thing) and his pitches gained about 1 mph in velocity across the board and his BABIP dropped from .33x to a normal .290. A pitcher who averages 89ish with the FB, about 5 K/9 and about 6.5% SwStr%, is just not guaranteed success. I wish that he keeps doing it, but I just don't see how. Still, he can be a servicable 4th-5th type of starter. Lots like Silva in that single season of no-walk baseball... (and Silva had better stuff then - 92 mph FB ave)

Elliot Biddle, Pitcher, if I remember correctly. Atherton went to the Pardes' organization for a moon too. As far as "being old for the Midwest League" goes, he is 22. The Beloit age average for Ps is 22.3 and the league average 21.9, so he is where he should be age wise. You can see 22 year old in AA and AAA, but these are the top prospects, like Sano and Hendriks etc.

All Star voting is not fair. Has never been will never be. That's that.

He did not pitch pretty well. He always was a mediocre back of the rotation pitcher. In his best season, 2009, he led the AL in hits allowed. (and he had sub-average 1.37 WHIP and way sub-average 4.3 K/9) In 2010 his Hits/9 IP increased, he missed games because of injury, and the Twins rewarded him with an extension... at least he be gone after 2013. I think at this point, sticking him in the pen and using him in a relief role might get something from him.

Not quite... Hendriks was and then French was pretty close and Deduno has been better but he was on the DL at the time, thus allowing Manship to start. What he has shown these 4 games this season is exactly the same he has shown in 30 games parts of the previous 3 seasons: nothing much

He is on the DL right now

and did the team a great disservice as well. The only person who says he was not informed was Gardy. And we know Gardy never lies. (see: public vote of confidence on both Nathan and Capps as closers -"Nathan is my closer"- last season days before they were removed as closers.) And given that Andy is around the pen sessions of the starters before the game, I suspect that at least he knew also.

I do go on Twins' games when they play here (that has been rare) and on their Minor league games when they play here (and this is not that rare). And I do wear Twins' stuff. And the MLB club "here" is the one they played tonight. And the fans have a bad reputation about being unfriendly. Never had any problems. Really. As far as the (closest to me) AAA and AA games, those are much more relaxed and neverminding. I usually wear a Miracle cap in those

Well... it is team vs a player if you are a player fan you a player fan if you are a team fan you are a team fan and when the two colide, you gotta choose. Simple. Some of us are Twins' fans.