Seth Stohs

Morneau, Dozier... and my daughter... same day!

Eddie Rosario is a tremendous defensive CF with a rocket for an arm. I think they would be remiss to have him solely at 2B at this point. He should primarily play 2B, but I like that he got out there again.

The Twins got Win #1 in Game #5, and that has to be a relief to all the players, coaches, the manager and the front office. As a fan, it’s kind of nice as well! A very nice 6-5, come-from-behind win. At various times, Josh Willingham, Chris Parmelee, Jamey Carroll, Glen Perkins and Matt Capps played hero. Jeff Gray gets the win! Congrats to the Twins on the win. The minor league affiliates won three of their four games on Wednesday. In unusual fashion, two of the Twins affiliates played games in the morning. A couple of pitchers with limited time with the Twins pitched well for the Red Wings, while a future Twins player returned to action. The Rock Cats gave up some runs, but a top prospect added another double. The Miracle held on to a lead and getting a big home run from a guy who homered in a game with the Twins late in spring training. And a Minnesota native had a nice game with a lot of strikeouts to record a win for the Snappers. ROCHESTER 2, PAWTUCKET 1 Scott Diamond has started his 2012 season very well. In his first start, he threw 6.1 shutout innings. On this night, he threw six shutout frames. He gave up just four hits, walked three and struck out six. Esmerling Vasquez came in and gave up a run on two hits in two innings. He also struck out two. Anthony Slama came in for the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead. He got the first two outs quickly, but just to make it challenging, he walked the next two hitters. He got a ground out to end the game and record his third save. Aaron Bates led the offense. He went 2-4 with an RBI double. Matt Carson hit his third double. Brian Dozier didn’t start but entered the game as a pinch hitter and went 2-2 with two singles. (Dozier is now 11-21 (.524) on the short-season and has at least one hit in all six games he’s played. He has at least two hits in five of those games.) NEW BRITAIN 4, HARRISBURG 8 The Rock Cats had an early morning game (10:30 local time) to end this series. Andrew Albers got the starting nod and was up for the challenge. He didn’t allow a run through the first four innings of the game. Unfortunately, he was tagged for four runs in the fifth inning. Bobby Lanigan came in and gave up four runs on four hits and a walk over the next two innings. Lester Oliveros and Blake Martin each threw a scoreless inning. Offensively, Deibinson Romero went 2-4 and drove in two runs. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with a walk and his first double (batting left-handed). Mark Dolenc was 1-2 with a walk. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 6, JUPITER 5 Bruce Pugh came in to protect a one-run lead for the Miracle. He gave up a single to the first batter but got the next three outs to record his second save of the season. Manuel Soliman started and gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in three innings. He struck out three. Tony Davis came in and threw a scoreless fourth inning, but he gave up three runs on the fifth. Jhon Garcia then threw three shutout innings in relief before Pugh pitched in the ninth. Josmil Pinto led the way going 3-4 with his second double. Lance Ray went 2-3 with a walk. His first home run gave the Miracle their 6-5 lead. Michael Gonzales went 2-4 with his first double. BELOIT 3, KANE COUNTY 2 In another morning game, the final game of the series in Kane County, the Snappers got a nice start from Madison Boer. The Eden Prairie native gave up one run on three hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out nine. Ryan O’Rourke came in and gave up a run on three hits over the next two innings. Clinton Dempster came in and gave up just one hit over the final two innings to record his first save. Matt Koch was the hitting hero. He was 2-3 with a walk and two doubles (3 on season). Danny Ortiz went 2-4 with a stolen base. Adam Bryan was also 2-4. Tyler Grimes and Wang-Wei Lin each hit a double. --- Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Matt Koch [ATTACH=CONFIG]598[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Scott Diamond [ATTACH=CONFIG]597[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Thursday, April 12, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs. Pawtucket – 6:05 (CST) – RHP Daryl Thompson New Britain vs Harrisburg – 5:35 (CST) – RHP Jason Marquis Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – 6:05 (CST) – LHP Pat Dean Beloit @ Kane County – 6:30 (CST) – LHP Steven Gruver --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

I would say Bruno... Molitor and Carew have been brutal as hitting coaches in their careers. Joe Vavra is a very good hitting coach who understands individuals and minor flaws, but he also understands the advanced metrics and uses those when discussion preparation with Twins hitters.

The Twins had an off day, but their minor league affiliates were all playing. There was a game-winning home run… an extra-innings walk off wild pitch, a couple of strong starts, some great bullpen work. And yes, Miguel Sano was very good again today! Find out why Brian Dozier got a day off here (and at the same time be listening to the interview with him on the SethSpeaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast). ROCHESTER 5, BUFFALO 3 PJ Walters picked up his first win as a Red Wing and was helped by a big Brian Dinkelman blast. Walters gave up three runs in the first two innings, but that was it. He gave up eight hits in six innings, walked none and struck out four. Brendan Wise walked two batters and another runner got on via an error, but he did not allow a run. Casey Fien gave up a hit and struck out two before Tyler Robertson came in, got the final out of the 8th inning and three outs in the ninth for his first save. Every member of the Red Wings had at least one hit. Ray Chang was 2-3 with a walk. The big hit came off the bat of Brian Dinkleman who came up with two on and two out in the 6th inning, down by a run. He hit a long home run that gave the Red Wings a 5-3 win. Brian Dozier was out of the lineup on Tuesday with a sore back. NEW BRITAIN 2, HARRISBURG 7 Luke French was terrific again. The left-hander threw six shutout, one-hit innings to start the game. He came out for the seventh but got just two outs before giving up two runs and being removed from the game. He walked one and struck out four. Luis Perdomo got him out of the 7th, but he gave up a run in the 8th to take the loss. David Bromberg came in for the ninth and gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in 0.2 innings. Blake Martin got the final out. For the second straight game, Aaron Hicks hit a home run. He went 2-4 batting left-handed. Nate Hanson was 2-3 and is now hitting .385 on the season. Deibinson Romero (4th) and James Beresford (1st) each hit a double. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 3, JUPITER 2 (13 innings) It took extra innings to decide this game, but with two outs in the bottom of the 13th, Dan Rohlfing (who had doubled) scored on a wild pitch to give the Miracle the 3-2 win. Marty Popham, a minor league Rule 5 pick in December, made his first Miracle start. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. He struckout four. Jose Gonzalez struckout three over three scoreless, hitless innings. He did walk one. Caleb Thielbar threw three, one-hit innings. He struck out four. Matt Hauser threw the final two innings and struckout three. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-5 with a walk, a double and a triple. Angel Morales was 2-5 with a triple and a walk. Lance Ray and Jairo Perez each had two hits and a walk. BELOIT 3, KANE COUNTY 8 A five-run fifth inning was the difference in this ball game for the Snappers. Matt Summers made his first start of the year. He gave up six runs (2 earned) on six hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struckout the first batter he faced, and that was it. Nelvin Fuentes came in and got the final out of the fifth inning and then threw two more innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. AJ Achter struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. Miguel Sano came into the day with three hits, all of them home runs. In the fourth inning, he followed an Eddie Rosario single with a single of his own. He later hit a triple that short-hopped the wall in left centerfield. JD Williams was 0-1 with three walks and a stolen base. Danny Ortiz hit his first home run of the year. Note – This is a great example of the beauty of Small Sample Size. On Monday afternoon, Miguel Sano got out in his first at bat. That put him at 1-11 (.091). he proceeded to hit two home runs on Monday. On Tuesday, he started by going 2-3 with the single and the triple, and after that 4-5 stretch, he was hitting .316. He got out in his final at bat to end the day 2-4 and with a .294 batting average. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, April 10, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Aaron Hicks [ATTACH=CONFIG]574[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Miracle Bullpen (Jose Gonzalez, Caleb Thielbar, Matt Hauser) [ATTACH=CONFIG]575[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs. Pawtucket – 6:05 (CST) – LHP Scott Diamond New Britain vs Harrisburg – 9:35 a.m. (CST) – LHP Andrew Albers Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – 6:05 (CST) – RHP Manuel Soliman Beloit @ Kane County – 11:00 a.m. (CST) – RHP Madison Boer --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

hey Trent... be patient!!

It’s the same with every team in every city, be it the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox , the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros, or the Minnesota Twins. Each team has fans that are willing to be patient, think logically and give the benefit of the doubt to players and front office personnel whose jobs are much tougher than it looks on TV. Each team has fans that are ready to jump off of a bridge with every loss, feeling the need to place blame on someone, a player, the manager, a hitting coach or the front office. And of course most fans lie somewhere on the spectrum in between those two extremes. There are the fans who (semi-) jokingly suggest that the Twins will go 0-162. Well, to them, I’d say, “Maybe they’ll go 158-4!” There are those that are very impressed with the stability that Jamey Carroll has brought to the shortstop position in the first four games. The other side will say, “Sure, but he can’t hit.” Then the other side will respond with, “but he’s already got three walks and has taken many very good at bats. He isn’t a power guy, but he does get on base!” Josh Willingham has a ton of brute power. He’s hit both of the Twins home runs so far, and just missed a third yesterday when the ball hooked just foul down the left field line. He is a right-handed Jim Thome and we should expect commercials with him walking around with a big, blue ox soon (at least when he gets done bowling!). Others will point out that he has two errors already and does a nice job of turning doubles into triples. The team is hitting just .153 through four games. Only Cleveland has a lower batting average. Some will say that the offense was overrated. Others will say that Joe Mauer won’t hit .150 this year. Jamey Carroll will hit and get on base. Ryan Doumit can hit. The offense will be fine. In reality, it’s probably somewhere in between. As good as Carroll’s and Doumit’s track records are, no one can predict the future, especially when switching leagues and being over 30, etc. The word “fan” comes from the word “Fanatic.” We all know that. But the definition of ‘fan’ can vary for every person. Some feel an obligation as a fan to bash every decision that a player, manager, coach or front office makes. Some fans are just fine with all of the decisions that a team makes, trusting that they have experience and know what they’re doing. Again, most are somewhere in between. For me, there have been plenty of moves that I haven’t agree with over the past few years, and yet, I’m willing to give the player and the GM the benefit of the doubt until I’m proven right or wrong. For instance, when the Twins traded Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps in 2010, it really upset me. No Twins blogger or prospect-ranker was higher on Ramos than I was. In fact, I had a blog back in 2008 when Ramos was still playing in High-A Ft. Myers, I first laid out my plan for 2012 that included splitting catching and DH time between Ramos and Joe Mauer. I was generally bashed for my feelings at the time. Ramos may never been an All-Star, but he would have been a nice piece to still have. I didn’t like Capps at the time of the trade, and yet, he did very well for the Twins in 2010. I wasn’t surprised when he pitched poorly in 2011, and I was shocked when the Twins brought him back in 2012 and gave up a draft pick. Then again, I’m willing to see how it turns out, and I certainly hope that Wilson Ramos pitches great. On the other side, I was a huge proponent of the Twins signing Mike Lamb before the 2008 season. They signed him for two years and $6.6 million. He was coming off of two straight seasons with an OPS over .820. He was only 32, and although no one expected him to be great, we certainly expected more than a .598 OPS in half of a season. There are no absolutes in baseball, at least not when it comes to free agency or other transactions. So, ask yourself… what kind of fan are you? If the “everything the team does is correct” belief is a TEN, and a “nothing this team does is right” is a ONE, what is your level of fandom? There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is OK to question decisions that the team makes. It is OK to give the team the benefit of the doubt. Does your fandom change when the team is winning versus losing? Should it? At the end of the day, what kind of fan are you, and what kind of fan do you want to be?

It’s the same with every team in every city, be it the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox , the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros, or the Minnesota Twins. Each team has fans that are willing to be patient, think logically and give the benefit of the doubt to players and front office personnel whose jobs are much tougher than it looks on TV. Each team has fans that are ready to jump off of a bridge with every loss, feeling the need to place blame on someone, a player, the manager, a hitting coach or the front office. And of course most fans lie somewhere on the spectrum in between those two extremes. There are the fans who (semi-) jokingly suggest that the Twins will go 0-162. Well, to them, I’d say, “Maybe they’ll go 158-4!” There are those that are very impressed with the stability that Jamey Carroll has brought to the shortstop position in the first four games. The other side will say, “Sure, but he can’t hit.” Then the other side will respond with, “but he’s already got three walks and has taken many very good at bats. He isn’t a power guy, but he does get on base!” Josh Willingham has a ton of brute power. He’s hit both of the Twins home runs so far, and just missed a third yesterday when the ball hooked just foul down the left field line. He is a right-handed Jim Thome and we should expect commercials with him walking around with a big, blue ox soon (at least when he gets done bowling!). Others will point out that he has two errors already and does a nice job of turning doubles into triples. The team is hitting just .153 through four games. Only Cleveland has a lower batting average. Some will say that the offense was overrated. Others will say that Joe Mauer won’t hit .150 this year. Jamey Carroll will hit and get on base. Ryan Doumit can hit. The offense will be fine. In reality, it’s probably somewhere in between. As good as Carroll’s and Doumit’s track records are, no one can predict the future, especially when switching leagues and being over 30, etc. The word “fan” comes from the word “Fanatic.” We all know that. But the definition of ‘fan’ can vary for every person. Some feel an obligation as a fan to bash every decision that a player, manager, coach or front office makes. Some fans are just fine with all of the decisions that a team makes, trusting that they have experience and know what they’re doing. Again, most are somewhere in between. For me, there have been plenty of moves that I haven’t agree with over the past few years, and yet, I’m willing to give the player and the GM the benefit of the doubt until I’m proven right or wrong. For instance, when the Twins traded Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps in 2010, it really upset me. No Twins blogger or prospect-ranker was higher on Ramos than I was. In fact, I had a blog back in 2008 when Ramos was still playing in High-A Ft. Myers, I first laid out my plan for 2012 that included splitting catching and DH time between Ramos and Joe Mauer. I was generally bashed for my feelings at the time. Ramos may never been an All-Star, but he would have been a nice piece to still have. I didn’t like Capps at the time of the trade, and yet, he did very well for the Twins in 2010. I wasn’t surprised when he pitched poorly in 2011, and I was shocked when the Twins brought him back in 2012 and gave up a draft pick. Then again, I’m willing to see how it turns out, and I certainly hope that Wilson Ramos pitches great. On the other side, I was a huge proponent of the Twins signing Mike Lamb before the 2008 season. They signed him for two years and $6.6 million. He was coming off of two straight seasons with an OPS over .820. He was only 32, and although no one expected him to be great, we certainly expected more than a .598 OPS in half of a season. There are no absolutes in baseball, at least not when it comes to free agency or other transactions. So, ask yourself… what kind of fan are you? If the “everything the team does is correct” belief is a TEN, and a “nothing this team does is right” is a ONE, what is your level of fandom? There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is OK to question decisions that the team makes. It is OK to give the team the benefit of the doubt. Does your fandom change when the team is winning versus losing? Should it? At the end of the day, what kind of fan are you, and what kind of fan do you want to be?

Twins minor league affiliates had not won a game since Friday. All four affiliates lost on Saturday. Rochester was the only team to play on Sunday, but they lost. On Monday, the Twins affiliates were back to their winning ways as all four teams won. Not only that, but some of the organization’s top prospects either continued to hit or broke out a little bit. Eddie Rosario, Brian Dozier and Danny Santana continued to rake. Meanwhile, Miguel Sano had a special day, and Levi Michael and Aaron Hicks put together their first really good games with the bat. Who knows what will happen tomorrow, but here is what happened in the minors on Monday (and that one Sunday game): ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO 5 (SUNDAY) On Sunday, the Red Wings were the lone Twins affiliate that played. Cole DeVries got the start and gave up two runs on six hits in 3.2 innings. He walked two and struckout four. Jeff Manship came in and went 3.1 perfect innings, striking out four. Casey Fien gave up two runs on six hits (including a homer) in two innings. Rene Rivera went 2-3 with his first homer of the season. Brian Dozier was 1-3 with a walk. ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO 2 (MONDAY) Brian Dozier was the big story again for the Red Wings on this night. Dozier went 2-4 with an RBI double and a two-run home run, giving the Red Wings the 3-2 win. Ray Chang was 2-4. Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 1-3 with a walk. The single gives him one hit in 16 at bats. Sam Deduno was solid in his first start. He gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in five innings. Carlos Gutierrez struckout three in two scoreless frames. Tyler Robertson pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Anthony Slama struckout two in a scoreless ninth to record his second save. NEW BRITAIN 6, HARRISBURG 3 Alex Wimmers first start of the 2012 season was a huge improvement over his 2011 debut. In 4.1 innings, he gave up two runs on six hits. He walked two and struckout three. Deolis Guerra threw 2.2 innings without allowing a run. Daniel Turpen struckout two and walked on in two innings. He gave up one run. Aaron Hicks hit his first AA home run, a three run blast. He later added an RBI single. Deibinson Romero was 3-4 with his third double. Evan Bigley was 2-3 with his second double. Darin Mastroianni went 2-5 and stole two bases. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 3, JUPITER 1 Adrian Salcedo started for the first time this season and although he was a little wild, it was a good start. The lanky right-hander gave up just one run on two hits in four innings. He walked three and struckout three. Edgar Ibarra gave up three hits but no runs in 2.2 innings. Ricky Bowen got the next four outs. Bruce Pugh recorded his first save, striking out two in one inning. Levi Michael had his first big game. He went 3-4. Josmil Pinto was 2-4 with his first double. Danny Santana was 2-4. Jairo Perez hit his first home run of the year. BELOIT 9, KANE COUNTY 7 Miguel Sano has three hits in 13 at bats this season. The first was a grand slam, and on Monday, he hit a two-run homer and a three-run homer in lifting the Snappers to a win against the Cougars in Kane County. He had plenty of help on this day. Former Gopher AJ Pettersen went 3-4 with a triple. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with a walk. He stole his second and third bases. Jhonathan Goncalves went 2-5. Rory Rhodes walked three times. Daniel Ortiz and Tyler Grimes each hit a double. Jason Wheeler made his professional debut on Monday. He gave up one run in a nervous first inning, but that was it. He went four innings and gave up five hits, walked one and struckout three. Matthew Tomshaw gave up three runs on five hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Bart Carter gave up two runs on one hit and three walks in 1.1 innings. Michael Tonkin got the next four outs. Corey Williams recorded the save despite allowing one run on one hit in his inning. He struckout two. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, April 9, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano (photo from Rinaldi Photo... follow them on Facebook!) [ATTACH=CONFIG]561[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Edgar Ibarra [ATTACH=CONFIG]562[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, April 10, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – 12:05 (CST) – RHP PJ Walters (vs Mets top pitching prospect Matt Harvey) New Britain vs Harrisburg – 5:35 (CST) – LHP Luke French Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – 6:05 (CST) – RHP Marty Popham Beloit @ Kane County – 12:05 (CST) – LHP Matt Summers --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

The Twins lost 8-2 to the Orioles on Saturday night in what proved to be a tough day throughout the Twins organization. Including the Twins, the organization went a combined 0-5 on the day. Of course, that doesn’t mean there weren’t some highlights… just that there aren’t as many! The Twins and the Red Wings are the only two teams that play on Easter with the three lower levels able to enjoy a day off on the holiday. Here is what happened on Saturday in the parks of the Twins minor league affiliates: ROCHESTER 2, BUFFALO 4 For the third time in three games, Brian Dozier had two hits. He added his second double of the year. Unfortunately, the Red Wings had just five total hits. JR Towles went 1-3 with a walk and a double. Daryl Thompson started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out five. Esmerling Vasquez gave up a run on two hits and a walk over two innings. Brendan Wise walked one and struckout one in two scoreless innings. NEW BRITAIN 2, RICHMOND 3 (12 innings) Jason Marquis made his first New Britain start on Saturday. He went six innings and gave up one run on seven hits. He walked none and struckout four. It would be nice to get him a second start before he starts for the Twins, but he is pretty close based on this game. He was replaced by Andrew Albers who began his 2012 season pitching like it was still his 2011 season. The lefty threw three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struckout three. Lester Oliveros then struckout two in two scoreless frames. Lefty Blake Martin gave up two runs in the 12th to take the loss. Pedro Florimon had two of the Rock Cats four hits. He also stole a base. Danny Lehmann went 0-1 but he walked four times. The Rock Cats had some chances to win this game thanks to nine walks. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 3, CHARLOTTE 4 (10 innings) BJ Hermsen made his 2012 debut, and he was terrific. He threw five scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out one. Tony Davis came in and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in two innings. Jhon Garcia went the next two innings without allowing a run. However, he allowed a couple of base runners in the 10th frame. Matt Hauser came in and gave up a hit that scored the go-ahead run before getting the final out of the inning. The Miracle were led again on offense by Danny Santana. Santana didn’t match the three hits he had in the season’s first two games, but he did go 2-5 and hit his first homer of the year. Josmil Pinto was 2-4. BELOIT 2, PEORIA 6 Miguel Sano hit a grand slam on Friday night, so it only makes sense that Eddie Rosario would notch his first home run of the season on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, it was one of just two hits for the Snappers on the day. Rosario went 1-3 with a walk and stolen base. Matthew Koch was 1-2 with a double. He also stole a base. The catcher stole home on the back-end of a double-steal (with JD Williams stealing second). Tim Shibuya made his first start of the season. In 3.2 innings, he gave up five runs (3 earned) on seven hits, a walk and a hit batter. However, of the 11 outs that he got, ten of them came via the ground ball. AJ Achter came in and gave up a run on two hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Ryan O’Rourke struckout three in two perfect innings. Corey Williams gave up one hit in two scoreless frames. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, April 7, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Danny Santana [ATTACH=CONFIG]551[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Albers [ATTACH=CONFIG]552[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, April 8, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – 1:05 (CST) – Cole DeVries --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

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