nowheresville

Thanks for the correction kab, it is Tulsa, not Topeka. I've even been to a Drillers game, so I'm not sure why my brain shut off on that one! It seems like the Twins and Rock Cats have had a somewhat shaky relationship for the past couple years. I get the impression that things haven't been the best since the Rock Cats got new owners, and I suspect the whole "Surprise! we're moving to Hartford!" situation didn't help things much. I'd be curious what the Twins will do if it comes down to New Britain or Mobile.

The open AA teams right now are New Britain, Chattanooga (formerly Dodgers), Mobile (Diamondbacks), and Topeka (Colorado). I'd kind of like to see the Twins explore heading to Topeka. They've got a brand new ballpark, and it would be nice to have another affiliate in the Central Time Zone. That said, it was the Drillers who decided to end their relationship with Colorado, and the rumors are that the Dodgers are the front-runners, with it appearing that LA will be calling OKC their AAA home. Chattanooga would certainly be the other good choice, with a pretty new park and generally good facilities - and being not too far from E-Town would be a nice bonus from a roadtrip perspective. Mobile's ballpark is one of the worst in AA, and would be a downgrade from New Britain, so let's hope they don't end up there. St. Paul is a white elephant and it's extremely unlikely they ever become an affiliated minor league team. The Saints park is being built to AA standards, but there is no chance they ever become a AA team, because the Texas League is the closest AA league. The new park won't meet AAA standards, so that means the Midwest League is the only remote possibility. Of course, that can't happen until at least 2020, because St. Paul would have to be a Twins Affiliate and they're already signed up in CR til then. The only remote possibility is that in 2020, Beloit or Burlington gets kicked out of the MWL for substandard facilities, and at that point, the Saints ownership and Twins make a play to convert to real minor league baseball.

Thanks for sharing. This was my first time getting to see the Kernels this year, which turns out to be quite a good one. Clinton is one of my favorite MWL parks, and I always seem to get good games when I make the roadtrip down there. Hopefully your drive back to CR wasn't too bad.

Adam B Walker's Home Run was a mammoth blast that hit the top of the billboard above the scoreboard at Pohlman Field. At least one blast by Sano last year that went over the entire scoreboard, but otherwise, that is by far one of the longest homers I've ever seen in Beloit.

I made my first roadtrip out to Fort Wayne last night. Boy is that a great ballpark, probably the best in the Midwest League (although I still love going to Clinton). It's a really big park, without feeling too big and distant, like Grand Rapids and Kane County. Frustrating game for the Kernals. As noted, they left a ton of runners on base, more than once having runners in scoring position and less than 2 outs. The 9th inning was the most disappointing. They loaded up the bases with 1 out, and the heart of the order coming to bat. Max worked a 2-0 count, then popped out right in front of the 3rd base dugout. ABW then game up, and made excellent contact, but he hit it right at the 3rd baseman, who threw him out to end the game.

This is a challenge, but a good one. I try to pick off at least one or two new parks a year, but that also means its been a while since I've been to several of these. The Clear Winners: 1. - AT&T Park. It's place at the top of nearly every ranking is well deserved. Works with its surroundings perfectly. 2. - PNC. Might be an even better setting than SF, but falls just short because it has been empty every time I've gone. With the Pirates now doing well, It could deserve the top spot. A class by themselves - great but so different from any others it really is apples and oranges. 3 - Fenway. Seeing a game here feels a bit like stepping back in time. 4- Wrigley. A timeless classic, and just a great place for baseball. Just a step below: 5 - New Busch. Works perfectly with the Arch and Courthouse, and very easy to follow the game. 6 - Great American. I think Cinci's got the most underrated park in baseball. I've always had a great time here. 7 - Camden Yards. The same timeless feel of Wrigley, with modern updated touches. 8 - Target Field. An outstanding park where everything is nice and close to the field. The hall of very good: 9 - Angels Ballpark. It's hard to believe this used to be a mutli-purpose stadium. 10 - Kaufmann. Renovations were being done last time I was there, but it felt way ahead of its time. Sort of like a brand new ballpark, with 1970's furnishings. 11 - Ballpark at Arlington. Just a nice park. Just OK. 12 - Coors Field. Decent park in a good location, but all those outfield seats seem kind of silly now. 13 - Citizens Bank. I really don't remember much other than it was fine. 14 - Citi Field. Nothing special. Has some nice features, but all the Brooklyn Dodgers tributes feel a bit wierd. 15 - Progressive. A nice place to watch the game, but overrated, and a staff that was remarkably rude throughout the park. Flawed. 16 - Comerica. I don't remember a lot of details, but it felt gawdy. Being in Detroit doesn't help. 17 - Miller Park. The tailgating is great, but the park itself is mediocre. Upper deck is way too high and the roof sucks, even when open. 18 - The Cell. Ok if you sit in the lower deck, and ignore that you're surrounded by sox fans. Outdated/Retired. 19 - Old Busch (Busch II). Cramped concrete donut, but they did a nice job working with what they had. 20 - Qualcomm. Crappy multi-use donut, but at least you were outside in San Diego. 21 - Skydome. Scary to think this indoor concrete donut was once considered high-tech. 22 - Metrodome. Great Memories, and I still think its a decent place to watch football, but it was horrible for baseball by any objective criteria. For the minors, it is hard to argue with Quad Cities as a beautiful ballpark, although if I'm going to pick 1 out of the 16 places I've seen a minor league game, I think I'm going to go just up the river for the old fashioned charm of Clinton.

Is Nico Goodrum's defense as horrific all season as it has been during his games in Beloit? He made another error last night, forgetting to touch second base and then badly misfiring on the throw to first, getting no outs on what should have been a double play ball. That came after he badly booted two pretty routine grounders the night before. From my memory, he had some pretty bad defensive mistakes in the other games I've seen, and it seems like he would have no chance of sticking as a middle infielder, but I'm also dealing with a small sample size of the half dozen or so games I've seen. Travis Harrison has become one of my favorite players to watch on the Kernals, but he had a pretty bad night last night too. He would have had an error, throwing the ball into right field on a double play, had Polanco not made a pretty amazing grab to catch his throw at 2nd base. He also made a pretty unforgivable mistake on the basepaths. He got doubled off first, on a fly ball to right field, even though the throw back to first was overthrown! The Snappers RF made a pretty remarkable catch, and Travis basically gave up on the play and didn't run back to first. The cut-off man's throw sailed over the 1st baseman's head, and then he started running, but the catcher still had time to pick up the ball and throw it back to first for the 9-4-2-3 putout.

As was mine. Well tounge-in-cheek, mixed with lingering bitterness! I'm also thinking about making the drive over to CR this afternoon. Although, the forecast doesn't look good, and after watching them the past 3 days, and heading to Milwaukee to watch the Twins AAAA affiliate coming up on Monday and Tuesday, maybe it would be best to save the gas money this time.

If Pohlman Field has such a great home field advantage, maybe the Twins should have never left! Adam Walker did manage to score the most unusual play of the game: He got 2 RBI while hitting into a double play.

I've got to say Saturday and Sunday's games in Beloit were a couple of the most interesting games I've been to in a long time. Saturday featured a great pitching duel, and some very interesting plays. Harrison got thrown out on a play at the plate, with a questionable tag. Goodrum had a real rough day in the field, booting a few ground balls, and JD Williams made a fantastic diving catch in left field. The Snappers of course won the game in the end, but even that was unusual. It was a Fence-Clearing, Walk-Off Double, only because the batter, Chad Lewis stopped running and was mobbed by his teammates at 2nd base. He kept a HR off his stat line because he didn't finish running the bases. Sunday was like watching a video game, with Walker being the guy you create that's Max everything. It's probably the only professional game I've ever gone to where the score at one point was 22-3! It's even more amazing that after that score, the Snappers still made a game of it, never really threatening, but not quitting either. Really, when have you ever seen a team score 13 runs in 4 innings, and still lose by a touchdown? Also probably a lot more hugging than I've ever seen at a ballpark, as there were a lot of reunions between old friends, with last years players and of course Gary and Tommy. It is one case where the open concourse of Pohlman, where the players have to mingle with the public really made for a nice atmosphere.

I would be shocked if Buxton is promoted before June, and I would be pretty surprised if he was promoted at all this year. Oswaldo Arcia is the only top position player prospect I can think of who was sent from the MWL to Fort Myers very early in the season in recent years. Everyone else - Plouffe, Benson, Parmelee, Revere, Hicks, Sano, and Rosario all spent at least full year in Beloit, with Benson and Parmelee actually spending two full years there. Typically, there seems to be a batch of callups in mid-June, right around the MWL All-Star Break, but those tend to more often be the guys who are already spending their second year in low-A. If Buxton gets a call, I'd think it would be then, but if I were placing a bet, I'd say he's in CR all year long.

After watching the replays, the problem isn't that the ball was called an infield fly, its that the umpire called it horrifically late. The umpire didn't signal infield fly until the shortstop peeled off the ball and it was practically on the ground. If he calls it within a reasonable time period, there's no confusion, and I doubt there's even an argument. Under the rule, it's completely a judgement call, but it absolutely fits the definition of the infield fly rule. The shortstop certainly could have caught the ball with ordinary effort. He was jogging to the outfield, even the pitcher signalled pop-up right off the bat. Its deep enough where you wouldn't complain if he didn't call it, especially since you're not going to be able to turn a double play by letting the ball drop. But it's not uncommon at all for an infield fly to be called on a ball that could be caught by either an infielder or outfielder, it just doesn't come up all that often because situations where the infield fly rule is in effect are relatively rare all by themselves.

The Royals and Lexington deal is done, with official announcement coming tomorrow, according to a Lexington TV station. http://www.lex18.com/news/lexington-legends-switching-major-league-affiliation/

The Saints becoming a Twins Affiliate wouldn't be more competition, it would be less. Regardless of what happens, the Saints are going to be playing in St. Paul in a new ballpark. The only question is if it would be an independent league team like it is now, or if they someday join the Twins family. Either way you look at it, there is another professional team in the Twin Cities. If they became affiliated, then the Saints basically become a gigantic advertising tool for the Twins. They'd be able to promote Target Field all over the new Midway, and fans who go to Saints games will be getting to know players that will someday be on the Twins roster, which only helps. Imagine if people going to Saints games this year had been watching Miguel Sano play, how much more excited would they be to watch him when he makes it to Target Field in a couple years? The other reality is that its already being done all over baseball. The Indians MWL team is less than 20 miles from Cleveland. The Reds have a team in Dayton - and if you ever go to Great American Ballpark, you see tons of Dragons gear and ads. The Cubs just moved their MWL team to the suburb of Kane County. The ones I think are real interesting are the AAA teams that are right next door, like Seattle whose AAA team is in Tacoma, and the Braves who have both their AAA and an A ball team near Atlanta. Certainly, such an arraignment could work, if the Twins wanted it to, and all of the other, bigger, complications could be solved

I understand why Oakland would want to be in Beloit. I've talked to a number of player parents over the years who love the fact that you can get from Pohlman Field to MKE in about an hour, and to OHare in under 2. I'm sure that would be a big plus for any AL West team. Although, I don't know that I've ever heard anyone who wasn't a politician say they love Janesville. The bigger question for me is why Oakland might be a better choice for the Snappers than the Angels. I'd think Beloit would see the longstanding relationship between LAA and CR as a big positive, especially if the As are so desperate to leave Burlington after just 2 years. I guess if Oakland is really desperate they could offer the Snappers something extra? I'm just not sure what that might be.

It's official... http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120919&content_id=38656140&vkey=news_t492&fext=.jsp&sid=t492

Considering that Beloit seems to be a tad higher than Burlington in the MWL pecking order, wouldn't the Snappers ultimately get the say of the two leftover after Quad Cities? In other words, couldn't the As get stuck back in Burlington anyway if QC picks the Astros, and the Snappers decide they'd rather work with the Angels?

If the Twins really want to get an affiliate in St. Paul, perhaps the target date should be 2020, not 2016. My understanding is that the current franchise agreements in the Midwest League are in place through 2020. In other words, all the current teams are guaranteed players through that year. However, when that's up, we could have a whole new ballgame. I don't think its out of the question for MiLB and/or the Midwest League to say at that point Beloit, Burlington, and maybe even Clinton's facilities are not up to par, and essentially revoke their franchises. And then you've got expansion on the table, where you could open up moving into St. Paul, and/or some of the other Northwoods or Frontier League cities that might be interested in going with affiliated ball. Its probably a longshot, and at best, its almost a decade away, but if the Twins actually want to have a minor league team in their backyard, that might be the way it could actually get done.

Yeah, but they also think you are a "Twin Cities Blogger" so they only care about the "facts" when its clear they're getting schooled.

Its a sad day in Southern Wisconsin, although certainly not unexpected. Cedar Rapids has seemed like a perfect fit for the Twins, and hopefully it's a good relationship that lasts just as long as it takes to build a new ballpark in Beloit!

Interesting - I knew that all of Alexi's rehab games were played in Cedar Rapids, but I never knew that he'd requested them. A very classy touch on his part. The Cubs and Brewers are probably the best at sending their prospects to the Midwest League. They both seem to send players down to the Midwest League for a game or two, and then up to their AAA clubs for a final tune up. I think the only rehab in Beloit this year was when Shawn Marcum pitched for the visiting TRats in late August. It seems like the Twins might have sent one or two other guys down during their first couple years in Beloit, although I can't remember who else at this point.

The River Bandits apparently want some assurances that they'll get some MLB Rehab assignments from their next affiliate. http://qctimes.com/sports/baseball/professional/minor/midwest-league/mlb-clubs-already-showing-interest-in-q-c/article_e3246052-005c-11e2-becc-001a4bcf887a.html That would seem to make the Twins an unlikely fit, since they like to send everyone down to Fort Myers.The only players they ever seemed to send to Beloit were the guys who were already in the organizational dog house (ie JJ Hardy, Alexi Castilla). I'm sure much of that was facilities, but I don't know if they were any better at it during their previous time in QC.

Ignoring the same logical issues of finding and moving a current franchise, the reality is that none of those places are really big enough to be AAA markets. I believe Des Moines is already the smallest market in AAA, and their metro area is twice the size of Sioux Falls or Fargo. Rapid City would be a small market even by Midwest League standards. Rapid's only real hope for minor league ball would have to come from the rookie-level Pioneer League.

It seems to me there is minor league equivalent of a 7-year itch - its just 8- years since milb agreements only come up on even number years. If you go and look at the past 20-30 years of mwl history, most teams tend to switch affiliation about every 8 years. There are some situations that are exceptions, where Geography (Dayton, West Michigan, Lake County) or simple good relationships (Cedar Rapids) have created longer relationships. The Twins spent 8 years in Beloit, 6 years in Quad Cities, 6 years in Fort Wayne, and 8 years in Kenosha (the Kenosha franchise moved to Fort Wayne). And it goes the other way too, if you look at the histories of QC, Peoria, Kane County, etc, they've all typically swapped affiliates every 6-8 years. I can't tell you exactly why, although I'd guess that as with anything, sometimes people are just ready for something new. Also after 6 years or so, you're typically dealing with a different group of people on at least one side of the equation, be it new ownership for the minor league team, or a new front office for the major league team.

I talked to Matt Bosen a couple weeks ago about the Twins leaving, and he mentioned some of the improvements he hinted at in the article. He didn't get into many specifics, but said they were hoping to add new batting cages and make some improvements to the field itself. Do we know that St. Louis is heading to Peoria, as in have their been any solid rumors, or is that just the assumption because it makes sense as a location? I have to think that St. Louis would be the pick of the litter for most all of the MWL openings, and someone like Fort Wayne could make a pretty good offer.