Seth Stohs

He was hurt... that's all we need to know. Whatever they choose to call it is what it is.

I'll never understand. We've got a guy who is one of the top 5-6 players in Twins history. He's done everything that a catcher can do offensively and defensively. Yet, people say it's not enough. It's just crazy. Here are some of my thoughts: 1.) Bi-Lateral Leg Weakness - Mauer never called it that. Not sure who did. However, he had knee surgery, came back too quick, had a set back and it took longer. When asked, Mauer said it was the knee. People need to seriously get over that. 2.) Not playing day games after night games. Catchers just don't do that... It's a 162 game season. We've seen in Suzuki's career how much he played early in his career and why he was bad for about four years. Also, when the Twins were in August and September and competing, then Mauer caught pretty much every game. 3.) The contract - it's over, we all knew it would never make complete sense from a baseball sense (as do none of those $100 million contracts). The Twins still had to do it for many reasons. It has not been the reason that the Twins haven't spent more. Also, nothing can be done about it. 4.) People are aware that it's normal for players to decline somewhat after 30-31, right? Especially guys who have caught the first ten years of their career. 5.) He had a slump early in the year. We've just never seen him have a slump before. Fan reaction to his slump says more about the fan than about the player. 6.) He's quiet. He isn't loud. He doesn't get in trouble. He is a legitimately good guy. He isn't real charismatic. No, he doesn't have the personality of Kirby Puckett or Tony Oliva or Kent Hrbek. ... Who cares? He's been as good as them. 7.) He doesn't have huge playoff stats or a big playoff moment. Actually, he has the moment. Remember that double in Yankees Stadium? Oh yeah, it was wrongly called foul. Imagine if that had been called fair... Or, if Joe Nathan wouldn't have blown some saves? He would have had more opportunities. Summary - Whining about Mauer is silly. yes, he had a bad first half of the season. Can't we just say that without saying more?

Virgil Vasquez has had a long career. He’s had big league time with the Tigers and the Pirates. He’s spent a lot of time in the minor leagues. He’s played in Australia. In Game Two tonight in New Britain, Vasquez threw a no-hitter. In fact, he was a Jorge Polanco error from throwing a perfect game. The 32-year-old had just returned from making a spot start with the Rochester Red Wings.Teammates talk a lot about the type of person that Vasquez is. He is selfless and happy to serve as a mentor for players. The organization knows that he could be pitching at AAA, or even the big leagues if needed. For him to have this moment is a great thing! Vasquez told a reporter following the game that he, "wanted to do this for (my teammates) as much as myself." He said that it was the first time he had pitched to Matt Koch this season, so he credited him a lot. He also gave a lot of credit to his defense which he used quite a bit, recording just two strikeouts. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 – Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 4 Box Score The Miracle bats just were unable to provide much run support. They had just four hits. Adam Walker went 1-1 with two walks. He hit his 17th double and drove in his 90th run of the year. Max Kepler hit his 15th double. Travis Harrison went 1-3 with a walk. Aaron Slegers made the start in this one and lost for the first time since joining the Miracle. He gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out two. Nick Burdi had an interesting outing. He gave up a hit, walked a batter and hit a batter, but did not allow a run in his inning. He struck out two. Game 2 – Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 0 Box Score Matt Tomshaw pitched really well and won for the tenth time this season. The lefty went all seven innings and did not allow a run. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. Dalton Hicks drove in three runs. He hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and his 22nd double drove in two more in the third inning. Aderlin Mejia went 1-2 with a walk. He stole his 17th and 18th bases as well. Niko Goodrum walked twice and stole his 31st base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 2 Box Score Jonatan Hinojosa has only been back with the Kernels a short while, but he has had some big moments already. In this game, he went 2-4 and drove in three of the Kernels’ runs. Engelb Vielma went 1-3 with a walk and drove in the other run. He also stole his ninth base. Ryan Walker went 2-3. Mitch Garver was 1-2 with two walks. Lewis Thorpe made the start and went the first 5.1 innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. Chris Mazza got the next five outs, three on strikeouts. Jake Reed then came on and threw two shutout innings. In the ninth, he struck out the side and ended with four strikeouts. He has now thrown 17.2 scoreless innings for the Kernels. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Johnson City 9 (11 innings) Box Score These teams needed extra frames to decide this one. Felix Jorge started and gave up three runs on seven hits over five innings. He walked none and struck out four. Kuo Hua Lo gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in his inning. Sam Clay then gave up three hits, but no runs, in 1.2 innings, with two strikeouts. CK Irby came in with runners on but got a strikeout to end the eighth inning in a tie game. Irby pitched scoreless innings in the ninth and tenth as well. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs (2 earned) in the 11th inning. Keaton Steele got the final two outs of the 11th. The Elizabethton team had just six hits in the game. The big one came off the bat of Jorge Fernandez who hit his first home run of the season and drove in three runs. Trey Vavra added his 16th double of the short season. Tanner English went 1-3 with a walk. GCL TWINS TAKES Game 1 – GCL Twins 11, GCL Red Sox 10 Box Score Last week, this game began and went just two innings before it was suspended by rain. The Twins were already down 10-3 after Alexis Tapia gave up four runs in the first inning and Mike Theofanopoulos was charged with six unearned runs in the second innings. When they returned to action on Saturday morning, Miles Nordgren took over on the mound. He threw five no-hit, no-run innings. He walked one and struck out two. Reyson Zoquiel and Seth Wagner each pitched a scoreless inning as well. The Twins offense also responded with four runs in the fourth and four runs in the eighth inning. Nelson Molina led the way. He went 3-5. Jarrard Poteete was 1-3 with a walk, and his one hit was a big one. He hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning. Ariel Montesino went 1-2 with a walk and a triple. TJ White went 1-3 with two walks. Game 2 – GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score In the regularly-scheduled game, DJ Baxendale was on the mound to make another rehab start. He went four innings and yielded only an unearned run. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out five. Mike Theofanopoulos came on and threw the final three innings without giving up a run. He gave up two hits, a walk and struck out two. The Twins didn’t have much offense in this game. In fact, they had just two hits. Rafael Valera went 1-2 with a walk. He also stole his eighth and ninth bases of the season. Nelson Molina and Zach Larson drove in the two runs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Virgil Vasquez, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Reynaldo Rodriguez, New Britain Rock Cats SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (DH @ 4:05 CST) – Logan Darnell, Sean Gilmartin Harrisburg @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – Jason Wheeler Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) – TBD Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – Ryan Eades Princeton @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – Derrick Penilla GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (DH @ 9:00am CST) – No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win against the first-place Kansas City Royals on Saturday, it means that on Sunday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

We know it's Thorpe tonight and Eades tomorrow (Sunday)... they haven't announced after that.

Corrected... something about old habits?

This was contributed by a trevor.aufderheide on his Twins Daily blog (Tsuyoshi's Island) this week. If you would like to try your hand at writing (and getting promoted to Twins Daily's front page, which is seen by thousands of Twins fans each day) check out our primer on starting your own blog on Twins Daily.Anyone with even a peripheral understanding of Minnesota sports media understands the beating Joe Mauer takes on a regular basis from the area's mainstream sportswriters. The simplest of Google searches will quickly reveal a mass of articles from the likes of Jim Souhan, Patrick Reusse and others berating Mauer for his lack of perceived toughness. Ever since Joe Mauer's seminal 2009 MVP campaign, this narrative has only intensified, with many now viewing Minnesota's once-considered G.O.A.T. as a proverbial goat. Therefore, I will investigate the validity of such arguments, in addition to their underlying causes and bases. One of the standard claims levied against Joe Mauer is that he misses too much time to be a valuable player or a team leader. First, this argument ignores the fact that he played the game's most taxing position for the first 10 years of his career. Even then, Mauer accumulated more playing time than people give him credit for. To qualify for the batting title and other awards related to full season performance, players must average 3.1 plate appearances a game, or approximately 502 over an entire season. Mauer has averaged 506 plate appearances per season over his career, and that includes his two truly injury-plagued seasons (2004 and 2011). Many baseball diehards will still claim that Mauer could've "toughed it out" through more plate appearances, but that argument falters once you actually look at his injury history. As a starting point, here's a list of every Joe Mauer DL stint in the majors: 2004 - 15/60-day DL: torn meniscus. 2007 - 15-day DL: thigh strain. 2009 - 15-day DL: lower back sprain. 2011 - 60-day DL: bilateral leg weakness. 2011 - 15-day DL: pneumonia. 2013 - 15-day DL: concussion. 2014 - 15-day DL: abdominal strain. That's not the most promising injury history, but it's not exactly Grady Sizemore-status, either. The main point, though, is that it wouldn't have made sense for Mauer to have played through any of those injuries. In baseball, a game where healthy hitters have a hard enough time hitting 95-mph fastballs, playing someone whose swing and instincts are off due to injury makes no sense. Additionally, most writers and fans lack the medical knowledge and insider information that professional medical staffs possess, so who are they to demand playing time from afflicted athletes? The one injury that raised this question most was Mauer's 2011 bout with bilateral leg weakness. Critics latched onto the injury's funny-sounding name, but it took even professionals weeks to trace it back to a rare viral infection. One applicable modern legal-scientific method is the precautionary principle, which states that if an action has a suspected risk, the burden of proof lies on those demanding action to prove that it is not harmful. In a situation that involved so much medical uncertainty, the fact that people called on Mauer to play through the bilateral leg weakness was unfathomable, particularly considering he's the one whose long-term health was at stake. What only compounded the incomprehensibility of the scenario was that the 2011 Twins weren't very good in the first place, obviating the need for Mauer's presence on the diamond. One clear reason for critics blasting Mauer, as opposed to other injury-stricken athletes, is his large contract that pays him $23 million annually. This first requires one to prove that Mauer's performance isn't worth the money. Definitely so this year, but Aaron Gleeman and others have pointed out previously that his play as a catcher in '10, '12, and '13 was worth more than what he was paid ($26 million). That aside, maligned athletes draw almost unilateral responsibility for their contracts despite those documents existing as two way agreements. Mauer receives inordinate criticism for making a lot of money; money that the Twins thought he was worth. In fact, the easier argument to make is that the Twins aren't spending enough money. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars funded Target Field's construction only a few years ago, yet the organization continues to spend under budget. The money component goes far in explaining Mauer-bashing, but still doesn't explain its viciousness in comparison to other overpaid Twins (Ricky Nolasco, Mike Pelfrey, etc.). Another aspect of Joe Mauer that does turn him into a lightning rod for those who value "grit" and "toughness" is his style of play. While he's had the occasional power surge (see: 2009), Mauer has long been a valuable player because of his on-base skills and finesse. However, for many, those don't hold the same appeal and sizzle that "power" stats like HRs and RBIs do. RBIs are an empty stat to begin with (another debate for another day), but Mauer hasn't had much to work with over the years, given the perenially sorry state of the number two position in the Twins lineup. Any lack of production in that category clearly isn't Mauer's fault, as he's posted a career .329 BA w/ RISP. And yes, the HR numbers dipped after moving from the Metrodome to one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball, but the power's still there. Mauer posted 43 doubles in '10, 31 in '12, and 35 in '13. All of which are numbers above his career average. In the end, it's almost impossible to divorce any discussion of Mauer from one fundamental question: why do we value perceived "toughness" so much if players can possess other attributes that contribute as much or more to victory? Answering that query involves discussions of masculinity and gender that could fill a hundred blog posts, but it's a necessary frame to consider when analyzing anti-Mauer sentiments. Despite popular perception, Joe Mauer is and has been an eminently valuable baseball player, whether one chooses to believe he's "tough" or not. Click here to view the article

When did I write this? I didn't see it anywhere in this forum. I remember saying/writing it a month or so ago.

The Twins acquired Tommy Milone recently, but left-handed pitching is always in demand. On Friday night, a couple of the top left-handed pitching prospects were on display. In New Britain, Taylor Rogers made his second start following a short DL stint. In Cedar Rapids, Stephen Gonsalves put together his best start of the season. Each of those pitchers was also given plenty of run support. In Rochester, a handful of guys with significant playing time with the Twins powered the Red Wings offense. Rain in Southwest Florida caused a couple of postponed games, but here is the Minor League Report for Friday:RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Syracuse 6 Box Score The Red Wings displayed some power early, but Kris Johnson had a rough start. The left-hander gave up six earned runs on nine hits and two walks in 6.2 innings. Stephen Pryor struck out four over the final 2.1 innings. He gave up no hits and walked two. Chris Colabello hit his eighth home run. Josmil Pinto went 2-4 with his 15th double and his sixth home run. Pedro Florimon went 2-4 with his second triple. Aaron Hicks went 2-4 and stole a base. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 5, Harrisburg 1 Box Score In his second start since coming off of the DL, Taylor Rogers was back in fine form. He improved to 9-6 with five shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out eight. Adrian Salcedo struck out five in two scoreless innings. Dan Turpen then gave up one run on five hits in two innings. He struck out four. In case you were counting, that’s 17 strikeouts by Rock Cats pitchers. Mike Gonzales went 3-4 with a walk and his second double. Jorge Polanco went 2-4 with his fourth and fifth stolen bases. Corey Wimberly went 2-3 with his fourth triple. Eddie Rosario hit his 16th double and Nate Hanson hit his 19th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers, Palm Beach Box Score This game was postponed due to rain. The Miracle are playing their home games in the short term at JetBlue Stadium due to renovations at Hammond Stadium. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Peoria 0 Box Score The Kernels returned home and put together a nearly perfect outing for their fans. It all started on the mound, and Stephen Gonsalves was terrific. The lefty gave up just three hits over seven shutout innings. He walked none and struck out five. Jared Wilson and Dallas Gallant each worked a scoreless inning to complete the shutout. The Kernels bats also showed up. All nine starters had at least one hit, and the team scored runs in each of the first six innings. Chad Christensen went 3-5 with his 21st double and his 27th stolen base. Jonatan Hinojosa went 2-5 with his first double and triple, and he drove in four runs. Ryan Walker went 2-3 with his seventh double. Alex Swim added two hits. JD Williams was 1-1 with a walk and his second triple. He was also hit by a pitch twice. Mitch Garver doubled for the 25th time this season. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 3, Greeneville 5 Box Score This was a solid game with the exception of four E-Town errors. Sam Gibbons started and gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out three. Randy LeBlanc gave up three runs (one earned) on one hit and a walk in two innings. Keaton Steele threw a perfect inning. Jorge Fernandez went 2-4 with his fifth double. Trey Vavra went 2-4. Tanner English was 1-3 with two walks. Brian Navarreto hit his fifth double. Nick Gordon went 0-5 with three strikeouts and he stole his eighth base. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins, GCL Red Sox Box Score This game was postponed due to rain. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Josmil Pinto, Rochester Red Wings SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Logan Darnell Harrisburg @ New Britain (DH at 5:05 CST) – JO Berrios, Virgil Vasquez Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (DH @ 4:05 CST) – Matt Tomshaw, Aaron Slegers Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Lewis Thorpe Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – Felix Jorge GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (DH @ 9:00am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

SDBuhr... did you get any video or audio of the gunshots in Beloit last night?

I think they'd send him to Hi-A Ft. Myers. He didn't really "master" High-A, still has plenty to work on, and keeping him in Ft. Myers makes a lot of sense in its own right.

It's always interesting to me at least... It seems I've become really TwinsCentric. It's what I write about 4-5 times each week. It's what I follow daily in season and in the offseason. But on Sunday's throughout the football season, I don't miss a Vikings game, and I enjoy listening to the postgame reaction from fans on the radio, especially when things are going poorly. I may not follow it as closely as I do baseball, but I've been a huge Vikings fan as long as I remember... I remember the pass in the flat to Darrin Nelson that wasn't quite caught. I remember sitting at home, writing out play-by-play in a notebook and constantly keeping up with the game stats. Add in the fantasy football aspect of a Sunday afternoon, and I'm hooked for that day. I'm really looking forward to reading more about the Vikings through the eyes of these incredibly talented, passionate writers (Bo Mitchell, AJ Mansour, Arif Hasan and Joe Oberle). I think it'll take my Sunday enjoyment to a different level. It'll also keep me engaged all week. I know that most sports fans in Minnesota have a favorite team but it does seem like most follow to some degree all of the local teams. Vikings fans are Twins fans and vice versa...

The Twins enjoyed an off day on Thursday, and begin a four-game series with the Royals on Friday evening. The Royals are red hot right now, having just taken over first place in the American League Central, and looking to do damage against a struggling Twins squad. While things might not go well at Target Field this weekend, there will be plenty of solid performances in the Minor Leagues. Let's take a look at what happened on Thursday.Red Wings Report Durham 9, Rochester 0 Box Consistency matters to the Twins front office, and Alex Meyer hasn't strung a bunch of solid starts together for a while now. Last night he had his second poor outing in a row, lasting just 3.2 innings, surrendering a home run, three walks, and five hits. With all of that damage he limited the Bull to just two runs, but threw 84 pitches, jut 45 for strikes. The lone positive from Meyer's outing is that he stuck out seven of the nineteen batters that he faced. A.J. Achter stranded both of Meyer's runners when he took over int he fourth, and then pitched two more innings without giving up a run. The floodgates opened up when Deolis Guerra gave up three runs in 1.2 innings, and then Aaron Thompson gave up four runs in 1.1. The Red Wings hitters did not have a strong night either, picking up only four hits, one walk and striking out 11 times. One hit for Wilkin Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Aaron Hicks picked up two more hits, and is playing very well in the week since he was promoted to AAA, continuing to earn a September call up. Rock Cats Review Bowie 11, New Britain 6 Box A day after the Byron Buxton/Mike Kvasnicka collision, the focus returned to the action on the field. Pat Dean started for the Rock Cats and went 5.2 innings. Dean gave up seven runs, five earned, in route to his ninth loss of the season. Dean's AA ERA is over five and he's given up five or more runs in four of his last five starts. Adrian Salcedo finished up the sixth and the newly acquired Jason Adam pitched the final three innings. Adam struck out one, walked one, and was tagged for four earned runs on six his. The Rock Cats had an opportunity to break this game open in the first inning with the bases loaded and one out, but managed to score only one run, likely costing themselves a chance to win. Levi Michael followed up his strong AA debut with another big day at the plate. He was 2-4 with two runs scored, a walk, and his first RBI in a Rock Cats uniform. Eddie Rosario was 2-5 with two RBIS, and two strike outs. He's hitting just .245/.302/.386, while being used primarily as an outfielder. Tony Thomas had a nice evening as well, 2-4 with a double and a run scored. The Rock Cats had plenty of opportunities to win this game late, but combined for 13 strike outs and stranded eight runners. Miracle Matters St. Lucie 8, Fort Myers 9 Box The Miracle won via the walk-off hit by pitch, as Travis Harrison took one for the team to push home the winning run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Steven Gruver started for the Miracle and gave up ten hits through five innings. He struck out two, walked one, gave up a home run and was tagged for five runs, three earned. B.J. Hermsen came on and walked three batters in the sixth, giving up a run on no hits. Tyler Jones pitched a great seventh, striking out the side. Alex Muren struggled in the eighth, surrendering two runs on a long ball to Gavin Cecchini. D.J. Johnson pitched the ninth and vultured a victory. Johnson has now made seven appearances for the Miracle and has yet to give up an earned run. Opposing hitters are hitting just .192 against him, and he owns a 1.00 WHIP. The Miracle hitters took advantage of seven free passes from the Mets' pitching staff, and along with fourteen hits, managed to squeak out a victory. Max Kepler (perhaps angry that all four Talk to Contact hosts left him unprotected in their pretend MLB expansion draft) had three hits, including a triple, a walk, an RBI and three runs scored. Kepler is hitting over .350 in his last ten games, and has raised his batting average fourteen points in that time. Kepler is currently on the 40-man roster and hopefully he's taking the step forward the Twins have been hoping for from their German Wunderkind. Aderlin Mejia was 2-4 with a double and two walks, and Adam Brett Walker had a double of his own as part of a 2-5 night with an RBI a strike out and a run scored. Travis Harrison, despite driving home the winning run on a hit-by-pitch, as I mentioned above, was 0-3 but picked up a pair of free passes and two RBIs. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 10, Beloit 3 Box The Kernels were firing on all cylinders on Thursday night. Mat Batts picked up his first win as a member of the Kernels with six innings of five-hit baseball. He struck out seven and walked one. He's sporting a nifty 2.12 ERA for the Kernels over three starts and 17 innings. Batts was drafted in the 17th round of the most recent MLB draft, out of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and is now pitching at his third level of the season. He was successful in three appearances in the Gulf Coast League, not giving up any earned runs there, he was 2-0 in four starts in Elizabethton with a 2.05 ERA over 15 innings, and now has that nice 2.12 ERA in Low-A with Cedar Rapids. If you're curious about the uncommon spelling of Mat, his full name is Harison Mathis Batts. After Batts left, Brian Gilbert pitched the next two innings, giving up a run, and Brandon Bixler mopped up in the ninth, giving up a run as well but preserving the victory. The Kernels picked up fourteen hits and struck out just five hits en route to a 10 run game. Ever starter except for Logan Wade (0-4 with a walk and two runs scored) and Michael Quesada (0-5) had a hit, and six players had multi-hit games. Mitch Garver led the way for the Kernels on a 3-5 night with a double and three RBI. Chad Christensen had a double of his own, he went 2-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. The win on Thursday gave the Kernels a three-game sweep against the Snappers and moved them to 62-60. The Kernels have a four game lead for a playoff spot with just eighteen games remaining. E-Town E-Notes Greeneville 3, Elizabethton 5 Box Michael Caderoth earned his fourth victory of the year for the E-Town Twins with five innings of two run baseball. He struck out five, walked two and gave up only a single earned run. Flamethrower Brandon Poulson made his second appearance since being signed as a Minor League Free agent, and struggled. Poulson walked the first batter he faced, Edwin Medina, who then promptly stole second and third. The next batter singled home the run. A passed ball then moved the runner over to second. Poulson then induced a fly out and a strike out. Then the runner on second base stole third. Poulson then walked the next batter and was lifted for Cameron Booser. Not a great day for Poulson, but I'm sure his head is still spinning as he transitions into professional baseball. Booser pitched 2.1 scoreless, and Dereck Rodriguez picked his his fifth save of the year with a scoreless ninth (though he did give up a pair of hits). Jeremias Pineda led the way for the Elizabethton Twins, leading off and going 4-5 with a run and a double. Trey Vavra also had a nice night, he was 2-3 with a pair of doubles, a pair of RBIs, and a pair of runs scored. GCL Twins Takes GCL Rays 5, GCL Twins 3 Box Josh Guyer pitched five innings, walked two, struck out two, and was charged with a single unearned run. Reyson Zoquiel (whose name is listed in the box score but I am sure is a made up person) pitched only a third of an inning, giving up a walk and a hit. Zack Jones pitched 1.2 scoreless, and then Trevor Hildenberger came on and coughed up the lead thanks to three unearned runs. In fact, of the five runs the GCL Twins gave up on Thursday night, only one was earned. Tyree Davis was the only Twins player to record multiple hits, he was 2-2 with two doubles after entering the game for Frank Encarnacion. The GCL Twins had just seven hits, but three were for extra bases, all doubles. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Max Kepler, New Britain Rock Cats FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:15 CST) – Kris Johnson Harrisburg @ New Britain (6:05 CST) – Taylor Rogers Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Aaron Slegers Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Stephen Gonsalves Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – Sam Gibbons GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (11:00am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games. Click here to view the article

2014 has been another frustrating season for the Minnesota Twins and their fans. Another 90 loss season is within reach. Late July and August has turned into a trade-your-veteran time yet again this year. Yet among all of the misfortune and poor play, there have been several positives as well. In my opinion, Kyle Gibson fits into that category even though few are talking about him.A year ago at this time, Kyle Gibson was really struggling and was about to be shut down due to an innings limit in his return from Tommy John. He made ten starts for the Twins and went 2-4 with a 6.53 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. It was clear that some fans were shaking their heads and wondering what all the hype was about. The Twins signed Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey to multi-year contracts this offseason. Kevin Correia was the team's top starter in 2013, so there were four starting spots already accounted for. At Twins Fest, Kyle Gibson said, "I'm glad there's still one spot that I can compete for!" Then came this spring when he appeared to be the odd man out coming into camp, fighting an uphill battle against Sam Deduno, Vance Worley and Scott Diamond, who were all out of options. However, he pitched well and won the job out of spring training. He has certainly experienced ups and downs this first full season in the big leagues. We have seen that when he is on, he's on. When he has lost, he has pitched very poorly. However, overall, he is now 11-9 with a 3.96 ERA, which is essentially league average. His WHIP is at 1.23. Some will focus on the 5.0 strikeouts per nine innings. You can also choose to look at the 2.6 BB/9 or the 0.5 HR/9 rates. That he isn't giving up home runs often makes sense since he gets ground balls about 54% of the time. He is likely in line for about eight more starts this season. If he can average six innings per start, he will end the year with over 180 innings. Phil Hughes certainly grabbed a lot of headlines in May and early June when he was walking no one and finding good success. On the season, he is 12-8 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. That may be where the comparisons end (Hughes is a fly ball pitcher who does record some more strikeouts), the end results to this point of the year have been very similar. While Hughes has earned the accolades he's received through the season, Kyle Gibson has quietly become a guy that the Twins (and us fans) can count on. If nothing else, his first full season is certainly a strong base to build upon. Click here to view the article

FYI - Here is a Tweet a few minutes ago from Byron Buxton:

The Minor League Report is meant to provide Twins Daily readers with an update on the goings-on throughout the Twins minor league system. We include who pitched, who had multi-hit games or home runs, and who was involved with transactions. However, something happened on Wednesday night to remind us again (as if we should need it), that these minor leaguers are more than just names in box scores and stat lines. Byron Buxton made his Double-A debut on Wednesday night against Bowie. Sure, he went 0-3 with three strikeouts. However, in the top of the 5th, he chased a fly ball to right center. It was caught by Mike Kvasnicka, but Buxton dove for the ball. His head collided with Kvasnicka’s hip. The game was delayed for 35 minutes. Buxton was knocked out, unconscious for about ten minutes. He was stabilized and left the field in an ambulance. Kvasnicka also went to the hospital for evaluation.Terry Ryan happened to be in New Britain. He went with the players to the hospital. He later told the Rock Cats radio announcers what he had learned. Mike Kvasnicka was back in the dugout with the team and had just a sore hip. Buxton was given several tests and found no broken bones. He did suffer a concussion and will likely be placed on the disabled list and miss more time. Though a concussion is not a good thing, things could have been much worse. By the end of the game, Buxton had returned to the clubhouse as well. (If you would like to, here is the video of the play.) To find out more about how that Rock Cats game ended up, and much more from around the Twins farm system, you’ll want to continue reading. A top Twins pitching prospect made his first start in nearly a month. Here is the Minor League Report for Wednesday: RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 – Rochester 7, Durham 8 (11 innings) Box Score Knowing they were playing two games on Wednesday, extra frames in Game 1, a continuation of a suspended game, is probably the last thing that either team wanted. Sean Gilmartin had started this game with two innings. He had given up one run on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. When the game resumed on Wednesday, Mark Hamburger took the mound. He was charged with six runs (five earned) on ten hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out five. Stephen Pryor struck out three over two scoreless innings. Aaron Thompson faced two batters in the 10th inning and both got hits. Michael Tonkin came in and gave up the game winning run. Game 2 – Rochester 4, Durham 2 Box Score It most likely was a one-start promotion, but right-hander Tyler Duffey made the most of this appearance with a terrific start. In six innings, he gave up just two runs five hits and two walks. In that sixth inning, he allowed a two-run homer to Nick Franklin. Duffey struck out seven to earn the win. Lester Oliveros struck out two in the 7th for his fourth save. In his last seven games, he has given up 0 runs in 13 innings and has struck out 21 batters. Josmil Pinto went 2-3 in the game. Doug Bernier and Chris Herrmann each doubled. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 8, Bowie 5 Box Score Obviously the big news in this game was the collision between Mike Kvasnicka and Byron Buxton, but the game did continue and the Rock Cats picked up a win. Buxton was 0-3 with three strikeouts before his injury. He also threw out a base runner at third base. Levi Michael also made his AA debut at second base. He went 2-3 and stole two bases. Eddie Rosario went 1-3 with two walks. The Rock Cats had seven hits, walked four times and four players were hit by a pitch. It was a bullpen game for the Rock Cats. Cole Johnson started and threw 2.2 scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came on and was charged with one run on one hit and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Alex Wimmers gave up four runs on five hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out two. Jim Fuller struck out two over the final 2.2 innings. He gave up no runs on three hits and recorded his first save of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 – Ft. Myers 1, St. Lucie 6 Box Score Brett Lee made the start in the first game of this doubleheader. The lefty gave up five runs on eight hits, three walks and a hit batter in 3.1 innings. Todd Van Steensel came on and gave up one run on a hit and two walks over 2.2 innings. Madison Boer pitched a scoreless inning. Niko Goodrum hit his third home run of the year. Aderlin Mejia was 2-3 with two walks in the game. Game 2 – Ft. Myers 7, St. Lucie 3 Box Score The Miracle were able to split their doubleheader with a Game 2 win. This was also a bullpen game. Brandon Peterson started and went the first 2.1 innings. He was charged with two runs on four hits and two walks in 2.1 innings. He struck out two. Alex Muren came on and gave up just two hits over 2.2 scoreless innings. Nick Burdi made his Florida State League debut. He gave up a hit, but he struck out two in his inning. DJ Johnson got the final inning and gave up an unearned run on one hit. Dalton Hicks went 2-4. Tyler Grimes was 1-1 with two walks. Jason Kanzler also walked twice. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Beloit 1 Box Score It had been nearly a month since he had last pitched, but Kohl Stewart returned to the mound for the Kernels in Beloit on Wednesday night. Limited to just 50 pitches, Stewart completed four innings. He gave up a run on three hits. He walked none and struck out four. Chih-Wei Hu came on and earned the win with five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked a batter and struck out three. JD Williams led the offense. He went 2-2 with two walks, his 16th double and his third home run. Max Murphy had a big game as well. He was 2-4 with his fourth double and third home run. Jonatan Hinojosa led off and went 2-4 with a walk. Mitch Garver was 2-4. Chad Christensen went 1-3 with his seventh triple. He was also hit by a pitch twice. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Greeneville 0 Box Score John Curtiss was a tremendous reliever in college, but he’s being given an opportunity to start in Elizabethton. He had a terrific game on Wednesday. The right-hander gave up just two hits over six shutout innings. He walked none and struck out ten. Sam Clay came on and walked two and struck out two over two scoreless innings. CK Irby struck out two in a perfect ninth inning. Jorge Fernandez went 2-2 with a walk. Trey Vavra went 1-1 with a walk, a sacrifice fly and his 13th double. Jeremias Pineda went 2-3. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 9, GCL Rays 1 Box Score The Twins had a much-needed and rare big win. Zach Larson had a terrific game in his rehab from his hamstring injury. He was 3-4 with a walk, and he stole his first base. Amaurys Minier went 2-3 with two walks and his first triple of the year. He also threw out of base runner at home. Joel Polanco went 2-5 with two RBI. Lefty Brandon Easton improved to 2-1. He gave up just one run on six hits and a walk over the first five innings. He struck out six. Eduardo Del Rosario pitched a perfect inning. Zack Jones had his best outing. He struck out two in a perfect inning. Leonel Zazueta struck out two over the final two innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Chih-Wei Hu, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – JD Williams, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Alex Meyer Bowie @ New Britain (6:05 CST) – Pat Dean St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Steven Gruver Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) – TBD Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – Michael Cederoth GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win against the Houston Astros on Wednesday, it means that on Thursday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

Good one!

Nice summation in the final paragraph!!

Holy!! This is awesome!! This (and a few of the other blogs) is why this "Blog" section of Twins Daily can be so great. Seriously, this is very creative. It's unique. I't's fun!! I loved this!!

So, people will like him better as a player if he pulls off some pranks in the clubhouse and drinks? I often wonder this... what would have Twitter said about Hrbek during his playing days had it been around? My guess is that it would not have been kind!

Awesome Blog!!! I like this angle! Well done!

Good topic... Great discussion.