Cody Christie

Brian Duensing put the Twins in an early hole by giving up two runs in each of the first two innings but the Twins were able to make a game of it versus the Tigers. A big bottom of the third inning helped to even the score with Josh Willingham providing most of the damage with a 3-run home run, his 30th of the season. It is a new career high for Willingham and it breaks the previous record that he set last season with Oakland. Unfortunately, the Twins woudn't score again and the Tigers would come out on top in this game. Most of the minor league teams fared better than the Twins so let's take a trip through the minors on a Tuesday night.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 3, INDIANAPOLIS 1 Things got a little dicey for the Red Wings in the ninth inning with two outs as the team was clinging to a 3-0 lead. Daniel Turpen had already pitched a couple of innings and it seemed like the last out was going to be a little troublesome for him to get. A double followed by a single brought the score within a couple runs. He walked the next batter to have runners at first and second and it was time to turn to another arm. Anthony Slama came in and struck out the final batter of the game on four pitches to earn his 10th save of the year. PJ Walters continues to make his way back from injury as he started the game and threw a little over two innings. He struck out two and only allowed a couple of hits. David Bromberg picked up his first win of the season as a member of the Red Wings in his third appearance since being called up from New Britain. He pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball while giving up three hits. Matt Carson did most of the offensive damage by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Chris Parmelee continues to punish Triple-A pitching with his 15th double of the season. Danny Lehmann had managed four total hits since being called up from New Britain in the middle of July and he almost doubled that total with three hits in this contest. It was the second time that he has hit two doubles in a game for Rochester. The Red Wings improved to 26-16 since July 1, the best record in the International League in that time. NEW BRITAIN 5, RICHMOND 1 Deibinson Romero notched his 17 home run of the year and knocked in three runs as the Rock Cats defeated the Flying Squirrels. Oswaldo Arcia scored a couple runs and hit his 16th double of the year with New Britain. Chris Herrmann and Nathan Hanson each went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. It was a very balanced offensive attack for the Rock Cats with 10 hits on the board by the end of the night. Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson were the only players to be held with out a hit in the game. Logan Darnell was the story of the game for New Britain as he held Richmond scoreless for six innings. He would finish the game with one run allowed on six hits and eight strikeouts. For Darnell, it was his ninth win of the year and his first victory since July 9th against New Hampshire. Bruce Pugh did a good job in relief by striking out four over two shutout innings. FORT MYERS 2, JUPITER 6 Kyle Gibson is continuing his trip back through the minor leagues as he tries to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. Tonight was his first start at Fort Myers since being promoted from the GCL Twins. It sounds like the Twins would like to see him reach Rochester by the end of the season and that would put him in a good position for next season. On this night, he would toss three innings and give up one run on three hits. The third inning could have been worse after he gave up back-to-back hits to start the frame. He worked out of the jam by only allowing one run and his night was done. Madison Boer came in for the next three innings and he was hit pretty hard to the tune of five runs on eight hits. By the end of the game, the Miracle posted ten hits but only two runs were able to cross the plate. Daniel Ortiz went 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the season since being promoted from Beloit. Josmil Pinto had a three hit game for the second time in his last five games. His 49th RBI came in the third inning and he ranks second on the team in this category. Daniel Santana had his third multi-hit game in the last five appearances for Fort Myers. BELOIT (OFF DAY) Back-to-back homers by Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas gave the Snappers a spark on Monday night to help the team enjoy their off day a little more. Beloit has been on quite the stretch of baseball over the last week and a half as the team has rolled off eight victories in their last nine games. A look at the standings shows the Snappers three games out of first place as they start a series versus the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Miguel Sano has hit another one of his hot stretches by batting .371/.439/.771 in his last ten games. Over that stretch, he has three home runs, three doubles, and a triple. It will be fun to see how high Sano can get his numbers by the end of the season. ELIZABETHTON 7, BLUEFIELD 3 A big offensive output in the first inning made it easy for the E-Twins to come out on top in this game. By the time the team loaded the bases in the first, Joshua Hendricks followed with a double and Travis Harrison tripled to clear the bases. A couple batters later Jorge Polanco hit a 2-run home run to put the team up for good. First round pick Byron Buxton went 1-for-4 in the game with a run scored and an RBI. Since being promoted to Elizabethton, Buxton has managed at least one hit in every other game. Brett Lee won his fourth game for the E-Twins and it was by far his best start since being moved into the rotation. He threw five innings and the only run and the only hit that he allowed was on a home run. His eight strikeouts were a career high and he lowered his ERA to 2.12 over his 14 appearances. Tyler Duffey pitched two perfect innings and struck out four. The E-Twins have won seven games in a row and they are 8.5 games up in the Appalachian League's West Division. GCL TWINS 2, GCL ORIOLES 0 GCL TWINS 0, GCL ORIOLES 3 Gonzalo Sanudo pitched five strong innings to put the GCL Twins in position to come out victorious. Even though he wasn't awarded the victory for his start, he still pitched five scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.03 in 31 innings pitched. Alexander Muren threw three perfect innings for his third victory and his first win since the middle of July. Melciades De La Cruz finished the game for his fifth save of the year. When a team scores two runs, there weren't a lot of outstanding offensive performances. Bryan Haar had the lone extra-base hit for the GCL Twins with a double that lead to a run in the ninth. Javier Pimentel knocked in a big second run in the top of the ninth to give the team a little bit more breathing room. The second game saw the GCL Twins compile six hits but the team left six runners on base and failed to score a run. There were no extra-base hits for the squad but Jermias Pineda and Logan Wade both had two hits in the contest. Pineda, the player acquired for Danny Valencia, has a .406/.439/.500 batting line during GCL play this season. He is an older player for the league but he seems to be performing decently well. Since this was a seven inning game, the Twins only had two pitchers take the mound. Yorman Landa pitched the first three innings and was charged for three runs on two hits with four strikeouts. His three walks allowed came back to haunt him and he was charged with his second loss in as many starts. Kuo Hua Lo pitched the last four frames without allowing a run. He gave up a couple hits but struck out five without walking a batter. --- Players of the Day for August 14, 2012 Pitcher of the Day: Logan Darnell (6.2 IP, 1 ER, 8 SO) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bln4Q51iMEI/UCsJPDj-ocI/AAAAAAAADIU/m03T8embCMI/s320/LoganDarnell.JPG Hitter of the Day: Matt Carson (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4qQ4cxEc-Fk/UCsJ984TsyI/AAAAAAAADIc/lcod7Mrpens/s320/MattCarson.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, August 15th Schedule Rochester vs. Indianapolis- RHP Esmerling Vasquez New Britain vs. Richmond- RHP BJ Hermsen Fort Myers vs. Jupiter- RHP Matthew Summers Beloit vs. Wisconsin- RHP Cole Johnson Elizabethton @ Bluefield- RHP Hudson Boyd GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays- TBA --- If you have any questions or comments on the minor league system, leave them in the comments section and someone will certainly answer them. Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boy did it feel good to have a day to recover on Thursday after watching the Twins get no-hit by Jared Weaver on Wednesday night. This performance came on the heels of the Twins putting together a lack luster performance against Jerome Williams on Tuesday night. All together the Twins have been held hitless in 15 straight innings and now their focus will turn to the Seattle Mariners. The Twins record sits at 6-18, the worst in Major League Baseball, and they have lost nine of their last ten games. Compiled with the terrible season last year, this bad start has some of the fan base up in arms. There are plenty of challenges facing the Twins but there are still lots of games left on the schedule for the team to try and figure out how to turn this mess around. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There are still some positives to find in the baseball world. The Twins have the number two pick in the MLB Draft that is a little over a month away. There are surprise division leaders in Washington, Cleveland, and Los Angeles and Matt Kemp looks like he could be on pace for one of the most historic seasons in history. Just last weekend, teenage phenom Bryce Harper made his debut for the Nationals and he has lived up to the hype in his first week in the big leagues. Take some time to enjoy some of the great baseball related stories linked below and make sure to have a great weekend across Twins Territory. Since the first month of the season is over, Seth Stohs picked out the minor league players of the month for the Twins system. In a series of posts, he selected the best hitter, the top starting pitcher, and the number one relief arm.Speaking of Stohs, I was one of many guests on the Seth Speaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. We discussed a variety of Twins topics in the last 15 minutes of the show.Francisco Liriano might have taken some positives steps forward this week, but Parker Hageman wonders if it will continue.Twins Fan From Afar looks into Joe Mauer and his frequency (or none frequency) of hitting into 4-3 putouts.In a popular post from Twins Daily, John Bonnes breaks down the anatomy of a Mauer boo.Forbes magazine did a story on the top mascots in all of sports but TC was no where to be found in the top 10.Sean Burroughs seemed like he could be a feel good story for the Twins but his time with the club was short lived and Nick Nelson looks into why he was dropped.Seedlings to Stars put together their second version of the 2012 Mock Draft. Who will the Twins take at number two?Puckett's Pond asks the question, "Why do the Twins keep snubbing Anthony Slama?"One of the worst calls in baseball history was made this week when Jerry Hairston was called out on a play at first base. Here is the photo evidence:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kADK2j_dGEM/T6NDix8slwI/AAAAAAAABPw/s-iLtkJDQIY/s320/WelkeBadCall.jpg It turns out Mark Prior is still finding work in professional baseball. Just think the Twins could have picked him instead of Mauer.I don't know what would possess someone to wear a horse head to a baseball game and it turns out drinking beverages isn't easy when you do.When the Phillies signed Jim Thome and said he would play first base, it didn't sound like a good idea. He ended up on the DL this week with back problems.There was a David vs. Goliath battle when 6-foot-11 Jon Rauch pitched to 5-foot-5 Jose Altuve.The Cardinals saw the Twins were going to retire the number 10 for one of their best managers and they had to beat them to the punch.Identity fraud in Latin America has been a problem in the past and it continues to evolve to this day.The Twins might not play two series with the Brewers anymore as baseball shifts the Astros to the AL next year.MLB attendance is up so far this year but the Twins are going in the wrong direction.My Weekly Rundown: Monday: What will the hype be like for Sano's debut?Tuesday: AL Central looking weak after first monthWednesday: VOTE: Best Twins offensive performance everThursday: Carroll, Span among best on defenseVideo of the Week: A soccer club from England is mad at a group of Minnesota Twins fans for stealing their anthem. Fans of Leeds United are upset over the new renidition of the song that was put together by the Minnesota Culture Club. It is a collection of Skype videos hashed together with fans singing the lyrics to the Minnesota version of the song. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Aaron Hicks Minnesota Twins.jpg In the 2013 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (which is now available in paperback and e-version copies), I wrote an article looking back at all of the players that were considered rookies in 2012. From Brian Dozier and Chris Herrmann to Scott Diamond and Tyler Robertson, there were 15 rookies to make appearances with the club. On a team fighting for every win, there were plenty of opportunities for some young blood to sink or swim. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Now that the Prospect Handbook has been out and fans have been able to look through it, the future can turn to those prospects that have the chance to make an impact on next year's squad. It can be tough to guess which players will be given the opportunity but the Twins have made hints at a few different names. Joe Benson and Aaron Hicks will both have the opportunity to earn the starting center field job out of spring training. If one of these two young men sticks with the club for the entire year, there is a good chance they will have the big impact on next year's club. Hicks seems to have the best chance of making the club. There is also a chance that neither of them earn the job and that could make their opportunity to shine a little harder. When looking to the pitching core, there are a few names that could make a splash in 2013. Kyle Gibson, the former first round pick, should be making his big league debut this year. He missed most of last season following Tommy John surgery. At the end of last season, he came back healthy and he looked good for portions of the Arizona Fall League. His innings limit this year could hinder him but he could still make a big impact. BJ Hermsen was the organization's minor league pitcher of the year and he was strong at two different levels this past season. He accumulated most of his innings at the Double-A level so this could put him at the cusp of making his debut next year. If the Twins start him in Rochester, he is only an injury or two away from getting the call. Out in the bullpen, Caleb Thielbar or Ryan Pressly could factor into the team's plans for this year. Theilbar, a Minnesota native, has been slowly working his way towards the big leagues. He pitched out of Rochester's bullpen for all of last season so he only has one more level to conquer. Pressly was the Twins Rule 5 pick this year from Boston. This means that he will have to stay on the big league roster for the entire year or be offered back to the Red Sox. The one player that could be considered a dark horse for next year's squad is Oswaldo Arcia. His performance in 2012 earned him Twins Minor League Player of the Year honors so it would exactly be a breakout year. The surprise would come from the fact that he doesn't seem to have an open position on the roster. He fits into a corner outfield spot and the Twins are looking to use Josh Willingham and Chris Parmelee in left field and right field. This could leave Arcia at Triple-A hoping for someone on the big league roster to get injured. In the end, there are a few different ways to look at who will be making the biggest impact. Some of the names on this list are almost guaranteed to make their big league debuts and some of the others have less of a chance. Kyle Gibson is most likely going to pitch more big league innings than Caleb Thielbar. Aaron Hicks will probably get more at-bats than Joe Benson or Oswaldo Arcia. Here is a ranking of the top five players from the list above based on the kind of impact they will have on next year's team. This list isn't completely based on talent. It is based on what type of playing time each player is expected to get next year and what kind of impact he will have at the big league level. 1. Kyle Gibson RHP- He looked healthy at the end of last season and in the Arizona Fall League. Gibson is ready to prove that he is completely recovered from Tommy John surgery. 2. Aaron Hicks OF- He might have to start the year in the minor leagues and this could hinder his ability to make an impact. A hot start at Triple-A could have him in the big leagues sooner than expected. 3. Caleb Thielbar LHP- There is always a need for left-handed pitchers in the bullpen. Thielbar could make the team out of spring training and stick with the club for most of the year. 4. BJ Hermsen RHP- The Twins have been stocking up on questionable starting pitching this offseason. This could leave a hole in the rotation for Hermsen. 5. Ryan Pressly RHP- If the Twins want to keep him, he has to stick on the big league roster. They could make him a long relief man or use him as a spot starter since he has experience as a starting pitcher. Which rookie do you think will have the biggest impact on next year's squad? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

The thought of Joe Mauer getting taken out at the plate is a scary thought for fans to process. ~~~ One of the hottest topics across the baseball universe as pitchers and catchers have reported is surrounding whether catchers should block the plate. The Giants suffered a major blow last season when their budding superstar Buster Posey was bowled over at home plate by outfielder Scott Cousins. As a result of the collision Posey suffered a broken leg and ligament damage that required multiple surgeries to repair the damage. The Giants offense suffered without their star and the manager of the Giants felt that changes needed to be made for 2012. Download attachment: buster-posey-injury.jpg On Monday Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced that Posey would no longer be blocking the plate. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]He told reporters that the decision was "out of Buster's hands," and he went on to say, "As a manager, that's my job. I certainly don't want people to think he's backing off on his own. It's something we'll work on with him this spring." Bochy is a former catcher so there might be lessons he could teach his young catcher about the art of making plays at the plate. The Twins have millions and millions of dollars tied up in their MVP catcher so the thought of Joe Mauer getting taken out at the plate is a scary thought for fans to process.Twins General Manager Terry Ryan told the Star Tribune that Mauer wouldn't be told to stop blocking the plate. The Twins claim that their All-Star catcher knows plenty of techniques to help protect himself in event of a collision. But even knowing this, there will be a collective gasp from Twins Territory every time there is a collision involving Mauer. Download attachment: jackson_mauer.jpg The debate over plays at the plate has intensified with the spotlight shining so brightly on Posey's return to the Giants. Executives from across baseball have discussed a potential rules change and it seems there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Regardless of all of the talk, it seems that a rule change will not be coming in the near future. Even though the play at the plate can be dangerous, it is part of the history of the game and it is very hard to make a significant change to the rules in baseball. After Posey's ugly injury last year, I wrote a piece about the debate over collisions at home. In that post I took a look at the history of plays at the plate. The most famous home-plate collision came in the 1970 All-Star Game when Pete Rose charged into Ray Fosse. Fosse's left shoulder was injured on the play and he, at age 23, was never the same player again. At the end of July in 2004, the White Sox and Twins found themselves in the heat of a pennent race. That heat would turn into an all-out fire when Torii Hunter leveled White Sox catcher Jamie Burke on a play at the plate. Burke would suffer a mild concussion as a result of the hit he took at the plate. The Twins would be spirited by this play and some look at the collision as the turning point for the team on the way to their third consecutive AL Central Division Championship. Download attachment: ToriiHunterCollision.jpg In the end the question still remains, should catchers block the plate or should they try to avoid collisions? The moral of the story seems to be for catchers to be smart about how they go about blocking the plate. If catchers are taking the proper precautions and setting themselves up in the proper position, the risk of injury can be greatly reduced. Sometimes the speed of the play and the throw to the plate can put a catcher in a precarious position. It is important for the catcher to also know the tendencies of the runner who is coming in hard. Will that runner slide to try and avoid a tag or is that runner not planning on slowing down until he crosses the plate? Teams like the Twins and the Giants have a lot invested in keeping their catchers off of the disabled list. The debate will continue in regards to plays at the plate but for now it looks like they are still part of the baseball world. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Original post from http://nodaktwinsfan.com Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Josh+Willingham+Minnesota+Twins.jpg One of the biggest surprises in the 2012 season was the performance of Josh Willingham. The veteran outfielder signed a free agent deal with the club before the season and he went on to have the best offensive campaign of his career. He led the Twins in a variety of offensive categories including home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage. After a season that stands out like Willingham's, there can be some questions about whether he will be able to replicate his fantastic numbers. The 34-year old will be entering his tenth year at the big league level. His age and track record at the big league level might leave fans wondering what he will be able to do for an encore.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Being able to stay on the field for an entire season has been a little bit of a challenge for Willingham in the past. Last year, he played in a career high 145 games. It was the first time he had played over 140 games since 2007, his second full year in the league. In the four seasons from 2008-2011, Willingham averaged 121 games played. He only made it into 102 games in 2008 and 114 games in 2010. This means he was missing a fourth of the season on average due to injury and other causes. That can be scary to think about after how healthy he was able to stay in 2012. One way the Twins could try to keep Willingham healthy is by having him spend more time at DH. He only played 25 games last year but look for that number to go up this season. Joe Mauer wants to spend more time behind the plate and Justin Morneau seems to be healthy. If those players aren't being used at DH, Willingham might get a few more opportunities to stay out of the outfield. Keeping Willingham out of the outfield could also help the team's defense. Of course, that depends on who takes his place in the outfield. The thought of having Willingham and Chris Parmalee in the corner outfield spots had to be a nightmare for the starting staff. If a more athletic fielder like Joe Benson or Darin Mastroianni took left field, it could stabilize the defense. While Willingham did set personal bests in a variety of offensive categories, his batting average of .260 was very close to his career mark. His on-base percentage was only a couple points higher than his career mark. This means that fans can expect him to be close to those numbers again. After the Twins signed Willingham, it seemed like his swing was built for Target Field. That proved to be true as he hit 21 of his 35 home runs in Minneapolis. To get the ball out of Target Field, it is important to pull the ball. Willingham is the perfect example of a dead pull hitter with none of his home runs last season going to opposite field. Download attachment: Willingham_Josh_2012_scatter.jpg Willingham's contract with the club runs through the 2014 season for a very reasonable rate. The slugger will average $7 million over the next two years. If the Twins can get the same production level out of him over the life of the contract, it will be a steal. His health and some rising outfield prospects might mean a change in the next couple of years. A trade involving Willingham could be possible in the next two years. It is hard to imagine the Twins pushing for a World Series title in 2013 or 2014. The club is in the middle of a rebuilding process and Willingham might not be part of the next winning team in Minnesota. If the club gets the right deal for the slugger, he could be packing his bags. For now, Twins fans will have to wait to see what "The Hammer" can do for an encore. He clobbered a home run in his first spring training game so maybe it is a sign of some more good things to come in 2013. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: cuff+links.jpg Another week of baseball's season has come and gone. For the Twins there was plenty of news this week. The Marlins turned out to be pesky but they have surprised more than one team in the National League this season. Kyle Gibson will be making his big league debut on Saturday and this is a moment to get a little bit excited about. Twins fans have heard his name for multiple seasons. Ryan Doumit had a cool slide, Byron Buxton is good at baseball, and the trade deadline is approaching. All these things and more in the latest edition of "Links-N-Thinks.”[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Stuart Turner, a 2013 Twins draft pick, was honored with the Johnny Bench Award. This award is given to the nation's best Division One catcher. Here's a look at how Kyle Gibson did in each game this season for AAA-Rochester. Now that Gibson will be part of the rotation, one pitcher is going to have to lose his job.Clete Thomas has changed his swing and this has helped him to be more productive. The trade deadline is a little over a month away and it's tough to know if there is a trade market for Morneau. Logan Darnell is one step away from the big leagues after a very good season thus far. If you want to geek out a little, check out this article that looks at OPS minus batting average. Who should be blamed for the struggles the Twins have experienced against the Yankees? The back story of Max Kepler is one of the best in baseball. Kernels fans can't watch Byron Buxton any more but a German-born player could be the next to take that team by storm. Speaking of Buxton... It can be fun to examine the tools he has as a player. Buxton and Miguel Sano will represent the Twins in MLB's Futures Game. The Twins minor league system might be ahead of the curve in this new type of training. Are the Twins a fascinating team? Maybe when Buxton and Sano get here. Joe Mauer is chasing Mickey Vernon. Scientists may have unlocked the mystery in the evolution of pitchers. Is there a way to improve umpiring in MLB without increasing replay? Michael Cuddyer has been having quite the season for the Rockies. In this clip, Nick Punto has to fight some fans for a foul ball. You could also listen to it just to hear Vin Scully's voice. Matt Garza could be the best pitcher available at this year's trade deadline. I love collecting ticket stubs so this is one of the saddest trends in baseball right now. Cleveland has sure been making some noise in the AL Central. Kerry Wood made a scary discovery while paddling around in a boat. There is more than one reason why Bull Durham is a good movie. I know you want to see Hawk Harrelson in an outfit that is strangely similar to the Hamburglar.My Weekly Rundown Talk to Contact: Episode 42Monday: 2013 Minnesota Twins Trade Candidates Wednesday: Twins Minor League Report (6/26): Sano's Big Day Thursday: A Checklist for Kyle GibsonVideo of the Week: Ryan Doumit had to get a little creative on this play at the plate. He missed the plate on his first pass and he had to sneak back behind the catcher to score a run. I'm sure Oswaldo Arcia was happy since it added to his RBI total but it was still a funny play to watch unfold. Watch it again and enjoy your weekend! Click here to view the article

After an offensive explosion on Monday night, the Twins made things a little bit more interesting on Tuesday when they didn't take their first lead in the game until the seventh inning. This comeback was spurred on by four two out hits with Ben Revere and Joe Mauer knocking in the runs to make the difference in the 6-4 final score. It seemed like a showcase game for Joe Mauer as he went 3-for-4 in the game including an RBI and one walk. He also made a tremendous diving catch on a bunt attempt where he had to sprawl out in foul territory to snag the pop up. Mauer is making an attempt to catch Mike Trout for the league lead in batting average but Trout continues to have monster games as he went 4-for-6 on Tuesday. There is plenty of time left for Mauer to catch Trout so it will be interesting to see if the 20-year old rookie ever cools down. Mauer wasn't the only member of the Twins organization to impress on Tuesday night because there were plenty of good games in the farm system. Make sure to check out all the details below in this edition of "Tuesday's Trip through the Minors."[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 6, NORFOLK 2 After a loss on Monday, the Red Wings got back to their recent winning ways by topping the Norfolk Tide on Tuesday night. During the month of July, the Red Wings have the most wins in the International League with 11 wins to their credit. Rochester is one victory away from the .500 mark and it would be the first time the team has seen that point since the end of April. The 2010 and 2011 seasons were a little rough for Rochester but the victory tonight has the Red Wings off to their best 97-game start since 2007. Jeff Manship pitched strong for the Red Wings by spreading out eight hits over six innings with both runs being charged to him. It was his first start since returning from the DL and he got his first victory since May 21 to improve to 5-1 on the season. Luis Perdomo got the untraditional three inning save, his sixth save for the year, by tossing three scoreless frames and striking out two. The one man to get to the Red Wings pitching staff was former Twins player Lew Ford who went 3-for-4 with a home run to raise his average to .340 with 10 long balls. Rene Rivera didn't start the game for the Red Wings but an early exit by JR Towles meant that Rivera would get some at-bats in the game. He went 2-for-3 with sixth home run of the year. Clete Thomas and Evan Bigley matched the two hits from Rivera with each hitter managing an extra-base hit in the game. Sean Burroughs lead the team with two runs batted in and he's up to 18 RBI for the season. The Red Wings have scored four or more runs in a season high six straight games and it's the first time they have done this since July of 2010 when they put together a seven game streak. NEW BRITAIN 5, NEW HAMPSHIRE 6 The Rock Cats took an early 2-1 lead in the first inning and proceeded to fall behind for the next few innings. A big rally in the 8th inning brought the team back into the game with Aaron Hicks scoring the game tying run on a wild pitch with two outs in the frame. The lead wouldn't last long as the Fisher Cats posted back-to-back hits in the top of the ninth to reclaim the lead. In the bottom of the ninth, the Rock Cats would do their best to tie the game with two men reaching base in the inning. Unfortunately, the tying run was left in scoring position when Estarlin De Los Santos popped out to shortstop. Joe Benson was the only member of the Rock Cats to have more than one hit in the game. The lone extra-base hit came off of the bat of Chris Colabello, his team leading 27th double of the season. In the last ten games, Colabello is hitting .389/.421/.500 with five extra-base hits and seven RBI. Aaron Thompson tossed eight innings for the Rock Cats and gave up five runs on 10 hits including two home runs. By giving up the run in the top of the ninth, Edgar Ibarra was tagged with his first loss since being promoted from Fort Myers at the end of June. FORT MYERS 2, DUNEDIN 1 (GAME 1, 7 innings) The Miracle scored two runs in the first inning of this game and that is all they would need to hold on for their 39th victory of the season. Cole Nelson started the game for the Miracle and didn't give up a single earned run during his time on the mound. Over the course of five innings, he surrendered four hits while striking out four and lowering his ERA to 4.03 on the season. It was his fifth victory of the season and his second win in the month of July. AJ Achter earned his third save of the year by throwing two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Levi Michael and Rene Tosoni were the lone Miracle hitters with an extra-base hit as each man had a double to his name for the game. Daniel Santana and Josmil Pinto each had two hits with Pinto knocking in one of the two runs in the game for the Miracle. Pinto has 34 RBI on the season and this ranks third for Fort Myers behind Lance Ray and the aforementioned Daniel Santana. It was the second victory in a row for the Miracle and they would try and complete the sweep of Dunedin in the second game of the double header. FORT MYERS 0, DUNEDIN 6 (GAME 2, 7 innings) After winning the first half of the double header, the Miracle struggled to get runners across the plate in the night cap. Fort Myers piled up nine hits over the course of the game but the team went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Levi Michael and Daniel Santana had two hits apiece to lead the club. For the most part, Casey Lawrence, the starter for Dunedin, shut down the rest of the line-up for the Miracle as he tossed six scoreless innings for his sixth victory of the year. Koby Clemens, the son of Roger Clemens, hit a home run in the second inning to give the Blue Jays an early lead in the second inning. Madison Boer was roughed up for six earned runs off of eight hits in only 2.2 innings on the mound. With the rough outing, Boer saw his ERA rise to 7.47 over the course of his 13 starts with the Miracle. Miguel Munoz and Nelvin Fuentes cleaned up the rest of the game for the Miracle by throwing over four innings of shutout baseball but the hole was already dug for Fort Myers. Even with the rough loss, the Miracle can go for the series victory tomorrow in the finale of the four-game set. BELOIT (OFF DAY) After three straight losses, the Snappers enjoyed a much needed off day on Tuesday. The team will start a six game home stand on Wednesday as they try to sneak closer to the .500 mark in the second half standings. The Snappers have already clinched a playoff spot with their record in the first half but it would still be nice to see the team continue to succeed in the second half. Miguel Sano hit his 19th home run of the year on Monday and it was only his second home run of the month. In the last ten games, he is hitting .300 with eight RBI and four extra-base hits. ELIZABETHTON 7, JOHNSON CITY 4 One big inning at the plate was all that it took for the E-Twins to take command of their game against the Johnson City Cardinals. The first three batters of the inning got singles to load the bases before the first out was recorded on a force out at home. Kelvin Mention strode to the plate with the bases loaded and he connected for his first professional home run and it just happened to be a grand slam. A couple of batters later Max Kepler would hit a two-run home run, his second of the year, to cap off a seven run inning. Five members of the E-Twins had multiple hits as the team compiled 12 hits in the game. Hein Robb started the game for the E-Twins and threw 3.1 innings with Johnson City getting seven hits off of him and three earned runs. Kaleb Merck earned his first professional win by throwing 2.2 innings and giving up one earned run on a single hit with three strikeouts. DJ Baxendale and Christian Powell combined for three scoreless innings to close out the victory for the E-Twins. For Powell, it was his first save on the season and four of the six outs he recorded were on strikeouts. GCL TWINS -, GCL ORIOLES - Today's double header between the GCL Twins and GCL Orioles was postponed because of the wet weather in Florida. The GCL Twins are in first place in their division and sit two games ahead of the GCL Red Sox. The team has won their last five games and nine of their last 11 contests. First round pick Byron Buxton hasn't played in a game since July 9 when he suffered a hamstring injury. Hopefully he will be able to get back into action whenever the weather decides to cooperate in Florida. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 17, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Cole Nelson (5 IP, 0 ER) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rJRI6Sz7M6c/UAYjipgMbeI/AAAAAAAAC3k/DvEjOGUFSMs/s320/Miracle.jpg Hitter of the Day- Kelvin Mention (1st Professional HR, 4 RBI) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G7LUwl8jyZs/UAYZjAJ4TwI/AAAAAAAAC10/P_MYPzyRv1E/s200/ph_592551.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, July 18th Schedule Rochester @ Norfolk: LHP Liam Hendriks New Britain vs. New Hampshire: RHP Shairon Martis Fort Myers vs. Dunedin: LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Lansing: LHP Jason Wheeler Elizabethton vs. Johnson City: TBD GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays: TBD --- If you have any question or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and I will try to answer them. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: HIcks_Aaron_Stealing_US_720.jpg At the end of last season, the Twins had plenty of options in center field. Denard Span and Ben Revere spent most of the year manning the position. Darin Mastroianni made a good fourth outfielder because he could play center field when necessary. Joe Benson and Aaron Hicks were on the 40-man roster but there wasn't much room for them with the three others in front of them. The position has certainly gone from crowded to sparsely populated in a hurry. As most fans know, Span and Revere were traded in the offseason in an attempt to add pitching depth. This left the club with no center fielder for opening day; that changed in a hurry though. Hicks, Mastroianni, and Benson all battled in spring training to be the full-time starter. Mastroianni and Benson were a little dinged up but that didn't affect the outcome because Hicks put together some tremendous performances to earn the starting role. Yesterday, news came out today that Hicks will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a left hamstring strain. Hicks' injury leaves the team in a bit of a jam. Mastroianni will be out until July after undergoing surgery on his ankle. Wilkin Ramirez had been another option in the outfield but he is still dealing with concussion symptoms. That's three center fielders on the disabled list. The man left standing after all this mess wasn't even on the 40-man roster a handful of days ago. Clete Thomas was having a decent year for the Rochester Red Wings before he got called up to serve as an insurance policy for Hicks. Since his promotion, Thomas has one hit in ten at-bats (.100) with a strikeout. In parts of four different MLB seasons, Thomas has hit .242/.322/.378 with nine home runs and 23 doubles over 482 plate appearances. Of players on the active roster, there are three full-time outfielders, Chris Parmelee, Josh Willingham and Thomas. Chris Herrmann has backed up at the center field spot and Oswaldo Arcia will be promoted to take the place of Hicks. Ron Gardenhire might have to get creative with his outfield alignments. There are no other outfielders on the 40-man roster. So what you see is what you get when it comes to men patrolling the grass of Target Field. An injury to Thomas before one of the other players is healthy would mean another 40-man roster move and another call-up from the minor leagues. Antoan Richardson has taken over the center field duties in Rochester. This could make him the next in line to join the Twins if there is another injury. In 59 games between New Britain and Rochester, he has hit .314/.451/.386 with three triples and nine doubles. The 29-year old outfielder got a taste of the big leagues back in 2011 with the Braves. If Richardson is not to be the guy, the Twins could look down to the Double-A level. Angel Morales will be taking over center field duties for the Rock Cats but he is just arriving with the club. The 23-year-old was part of the group of players promoted from Fort Myers after the team clinched the first half championship. Morales has no experience above this level so it seems unlikely he would be promoted to the big leagues any time soon. When the Twins entered last offseason, it would have been hard imagining a situation where the club would be struggling to find a man to put in center field. Strange things can happen in baseball and this rash of injuries will test the depth of the organization. Thomas might not be the ideal man for center field but the Twins have to play with the hand they were dealt. Even if it seems like the hand is a couple cards short... Click here to view the article

The Twins won both ends of a double header against Kansas City on Saturday but there was plenty of exciting action across the minor leagues. Let's check out how the Twins farm system fared as their seasons are coming to a close. ELIZABETHTON 2, BURLINGTON 3 In what looks like it will be a great Appalachian League Championship Series, the E-Twins lost an important first game to the Burlington Royals by a score of 3-2 in extra-innings. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Angel Matta started the game for the Twins and pitched five strong innings while allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts. His only trouble came in the bottom of the second when he allowed the first three batters to reach on singles. He got out of the jam by allowing a single run so it was a good job of sidestepping danger. There were a lot of zeros put on the board until the top of the sixth when the E-Twins were finally able to get on the board. Adam Walker started the inning by belting a solo-home run to tie the game. The next batter was DJ Hicks and he decided back-to-back home runs were in order. For the first time in the series, Elizabethton had a lead at 2-1. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last for the rest of the game. Tyler Herr was called on to relieve Mata on the mound and he was doing fine for the first couple of innings. Even the start of the eighth inning looked to be going well as Herr struck out the first two batters that he faced. Mark Threlkeld was the third batter of the inning for Burlington and he sent one over the fence to tie the game in the late innings, a devastating shot for the young E-Twins. In extra-innings, the E-Twins had their chance to take the lead in the top of the 10th when Romy Jimenez doubled with one out in the frame. There was a wild pitch with Travis Harrison batting to advance Jimenez to third. Harrison would walk but the next two batters would fail to knock in the runner. In the 11th inning, Byron Buxton would reach third with two outs but he was left there. A couple of golden opportunities missed by Elizabethton. The bottom of the 12th saw Burlington lead off with a single by Terrance Gore. He would make it to third on a sacrifice bunt to Travis Harrison at third base. The next batter was Bubba Starling and last year's first round pick for the Royals knocked a sacrifice fly to end the game. ROCHESTER 8, SYRACUSE 4 A back and forth contest between the Red Wings and the Chiefs saw Rochester get back to the .500 mark for the season at 71-71. The Red Wings took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning and the offense went cold for a few frames. Syracuse scored a couple in the third and added another in the fifth to push their lead to 3-1. A big 3-run seventh inning put the Red Wings on top but it would only last until the eighth. Jeff Manship started for Rochester pitched 5.2 innings by allowing one run on five hits. Caleb Thielbar was moving along at a decent clip before running into some trouble in the bottom of the eighth. With a runner on base, the Red Wings turned to closer Anthony Slama who gave up a triple and saw the lead disappear. Brian Dozier had a big night by going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Wilkin Ramirez was able to knock in a couple of runs with his single in the seventh inning. Clete Thomas went 3-for-5 and he knocked in a couple runs of his own. Thomas even scored on his triple after a bad play by the center fielder. Brian Dinkelman and Rene Rivera added doubles in the ninth to push the lead for Rochester. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 New Britain got down early in this game but had some big at-bats in the later innings to put them on top for good. A four-run sixth inning and a three-run seventh inning were more than enough to cover up the two early runs given up by Luke French. For the second outing in a row, French would be strong on the mound by tossing 7.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits. The top of the order did a lot of damage for the Rock Cats. Aaron Hicks and Chris Herrmann put up big numbers out of the one and two spots in the batting order. Hicks had two triples and a couple runs scored as the lead-off hitter. He also set the team record for runs scored in a season (97) and triples in a season (11). Chris Colabello tied the Rock Cats season record with 97 RBI. Josmil Pinto, Deibinson Romero, and Herrmann all had multiple RBI performances to help push the Rock Cats to the victory. FORT MYERS 1, CHARLOTTE 4 The Miracle had a tough time getting on the board in this contest against the Stone Crabs. Charlotte starting pitcher Eliazer Suero threw seven innings of two hit ball to keep the damage to a minimum for the Miracle. Fort Myers pieced together a game by having three pitchers throw three innings apiece. Miguel Munoz started the game and only gave up a hit before Ryan O'Rourke took over. O'Rourke allowed two runs but only one of them was earned. Ricky Bowen allowed a couple runs on four hits during his three innings of work. When a team gets handled by the opposing pitcher, there isn't much to talk about on the offensive side of the ball. Angel Morales had the only extra-base hit of the night for the Miracle. It was his fifth triple of the year. Daniel Santana went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Levi Michael was 1-for-3 with a walk. Michael also added his 16th error of the season and this one came on a throw at second base. BELOIT 6, QUAD CITIES 5 With Miguel Sano out of the line-up, Eddie Rosario reminded fans why he should be considered among the best prospects in the organization. In the middle of the batting order, Rosario had a big night with his 31st and 32nd doubles of the season. Kennys Vargas knocked in a couple runs batting behind Rosario. Matthew Koch added a couple hits of his own at the bottom of the order. This was more than enough for Tyler Jones as he threw seven innings by allowing a single run on four hits with nine strikeouts. Jones seems to be ending the year on a strong note as he has tossed seven innings or more in each of his last two appearances. During that time, he has only allowed three earned runs. Quad City made things interesting by scoring four in the ninth but it wasn't enough. --- Players of the Day for September 1, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Aaron Hicks Download attachment: AaronHicks.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Tyler Jones Download attachment: TylerJones.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Sunday, September 2nd Schedule Game 2 of the Appalachian League Championship Series Elizabethton vs. Burlington- LHP Hein Robb Rochester @ Syracuse- TBA New Britain vs. New Hampshire- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers @ Charlotte- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Quad City- LHP Matt Tomshaw Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Gardenhire_Ron_Pensive_600.jpg At the end of last season, things must have been a little tense around the Ron Gardenhire household. The Twins were coming off back-to-back 90-loss seasons and Gardenhire had only one season left on his current contract. Some change was inevitable. Almost all of the Minnesota Twins manager's coaching staff were reassigned or not hired back. The sporting world can be cruel when a team isn't performing well on the field. Since the Pohlads took over ownership of the club, fans have not seen this kind of shake-up. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It was an unprecedented move to clear out the coaching staff and Gardenhire and only Rick Anderson were left standing at the end of the firing frenzy. There have only been two managers and three general managers of the club since the late 1980's. No other club can match that consistency at the top of the organization. This separates the Twins from most of the rest of the sporting world. There may have been some reasons to fire Gardenhire over the last two years but he survived and the Twins have surprised so far this year. Gardenhire still has his job but it is hard not to look at him as a lame duck. His contract is up at the end of the 2013 season and it's not as if the Twins were supposed to be making a playoff push. The roster of players assembled looked headed for another dismal season and that likely would have resulted in the termination of Gardenhire's tenure in Minnesota. Things haven't been as bad as expected in Twins Territory this season. So far, the team has hovered around the .500 mark. They find themselves in the middle of the pack in the AL Central. This is a bit of a surprise and fans of the team have to be a bit impressed with some of the performances put together by the club this year. A new era is starting in Minnesota and the Twins might want Gardenhire around for this new rebuild. The minor leagues are stocked with some great talent, reminiscent of when Gardenhire took over as manager back in 2002. Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia have already broken into the big leagues. Star pitching prospects Kyle Gibson, Alex Meyer, and Trevor May might not be too far behind. Last week, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan told Yahoo! Sports, "I expect Ron to be on this job for a long time. I don't consider it a lame duck at all." It wouldn't have looked right for the club to hand Gardenhire an extension after two of the worst seasons in Twins history. There needs to be some accountability, even with the consistency model the franchise has used over the last couple of decades. Ryan would go on to say, "We're trying to be stable and have continuity, and almost all the people we've had for years are still here. But there does come a point where change is necessary. I hope that's not now." The future can be uncertain and Gardenhire won't manage this team forever. Fans can see things starting to get back on track so maybe there won't be calls for Gardy's head on a platter. Tom Kelly made it through some rough years in the Metrodome and it looks like Gardenhire might follow that same path at Target Field. I mean what would the Twins baseball world be like without Ronald Clyde Gardenhire? Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Hendricks_Liam.jpg The Minnesota Twins weren't the only team impacted by the weather on Wednesday evening. Minnesota's affiliate's game in Cedar Rapids was also postponed due to inclement weather. But three other affiliates took the field for Wednesday action. The Miracle were going for lucky win 13 to start their season. Rochester has been struggling and the call-up of Oswaldo Arcia is going to hurt their offense. New Britain played an afternoon game and they found themselves in another tight contest. Let's see how the teams and players fared in "Wednesday's Minor League Wrap-Up." [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 0, Scranton W/B RailRiders 7 Boxscore It was a rough night for the Red Wings as the team was shut out for the second consecutive night. The loss marked the seventh in a row for Rochester as the team hasn't recorded a win since last Tuesday. Going back to last season, the RailRiders have won 10 of the last 13 games between these two clubs. Liam Hendriks made his first start at Triple-A this season after starting the season with the big league club. He gave up a run in each of the first three innings to put Rochester in an early hole. For the game he tossed six innings, gave up nine hits and four earned runs. Anthony Slama got back on the mound after being slammed around in both of his last two outings. In those appearances, combined, he recorded only three outs and gave up seven earned runs. After walking multiple batters in those rough outings, he had a clean ninth inning with no walks and a strikeout. There wasn't much to write home about on the offensive side. Jeff Clement and Brandon Boggs were the only men to record more than one hit. Boggs added his second double of the year. Evan Bigley made his 2013 debut with the Red Wings as a pinch hitter and he flied out in the ninth. Rochester had only four plate appearances with runners in scoring position. The team failed in all of those attempts. Overall, the team left eight runners on base. The team starts a four game series with Pawtucket tomorrow night and the club will look to get back on track. New Britain Rock Cats 2, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 3 (11 Innings) Boxscore The Rock Cats seem have a flair for the dramatic this season. After winning in the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday, New Britain found themselves in the middle of another tight contest this afternoon. The team was held scoreless and was behind by two until the bottom of the ninth. They needed two runs to make things interesting. Back to back one out singles by Josmil Pinto and Daniel Ortiz had the team in good shape. A throwing error on the hit from Ortiz put two runners in scoring position. Curt Smith came through with a grounder up the middle to cut the score to 2-1. James Beresford was the next batter and he cracked a sac fly to center to knot the game at 2. The Fisher Cats then mounted their own rally in the top of the 11th inning to score the go-ahead run. Two singles and a balk by Aaron Thompson allowed the winning run to score. It was the first loss of the year for Thompson in his second appearance with the club. Pat Dean pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run on seven hits. He was being very democratic by not striking out a batter and letting the defense do their work behind him. He also didn't issue any walks and it was the first time he made it into the fifth inning this year. New Britain managed seven hits in the game. Smith and Ortiz were both 2-for-5 and they were the lone members of the Rock Cats to collect more than one hit. The team was 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and the club left seven men on base. Fort Myers Miracle 2, Palm Beach Cardinals 5 Boxscore The hunt for win number 13 turned out to be unlucky for the Miracle. After finding a way to win their first 12 games of the year, Fort Myers suffered their first loss on Wednesday night. The Miracle found themselves with an early 2-0 lead but the offense of the Cardinals proved to be too much. Even in the ninth inning the club tried to hold on to their perfect season. Trailing by three runs entering the bottom of the final frame, Fort Myers would load the bases on singles from Michael Gonzalez, Kyle Knudson, and Kennys Vargas. Another single from Adam Pettersen scored a run. Unfortunately, Angel Morales then grounded into a double play. This left Eddie Rosario on deck and Miguel Sano in the hole. Sano played the hero on Tuesday with a grand slam to give the Miracle the lead. He struggled in this game going 0-for-4 with a couple of strikeouts. Even with the bad day he is still hitting .380 on the season. Rosario has also helped the offense and he went 1-for-4 with his seventh RBI of the year. The bottom of the line-up did most of the damage for the Miracle. Hitters five through eight all had multiple hits. Extra base hits were tough to come by though as Michael Koch had the lone two-bagger in the game. Matthew Summers started for the Miracle and pitched 5.2 innings. During this outing he gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out one to record his first loss of the year. Adrian Salcedo did well in relief by striking out three of the four batters he faced. Fort Myers will look to start a new winning streak as the team travels to Port St. Lucie for a three game set. Cedar Rapids Kernels --, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers -- (Postponed) The only thing slowing down Byron Buxton this spring has been the bad weather. Cedar Rapids had their game cancelled on Wednesday due to inclement weather. Since the Kernels and the Timber Rattlers don't play again in the first half of the MWL season, the game will not be made up. Cedar Rapids will now head out on the road for six games in Peoria and Burlington. Their next home action will be Thursday, April 25th when they open a six game home stand against Great Lakes and Lansing. With a 9-3 record the Kernels find themselves on top of the Western Division of the MWL. They are looking to keep the good juices flowing as they take a two game winning streak into their road trip. The addition of J.O. Berrios, the 32nd pick in last year's draft, should be a boost to the pitching staff. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Blackburn_nick_pitching_us_orig.jpg Two of the Twins minor league affiliates celebrated Independence Day early with offensive explosions. The Red Wings and the Miracle had men up and down their line-ups knock in runs to help their clubs emerge victorious. There was some minor league news to report on Wednesday afternoon. Catcher Danny Lehmann was released by the club after spending time on the disabled list this season. He had only played 18 games this season and he was a career .229/.317/.301 hitter. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It was also announced that Chris Colabello and Andrew Albers will represent the Red Wings at the Triple-A All-Star Game. Colabello was the overall leader in the online fan balloting and he will start at first base for the International League squad. Rochester Red Wings 11, Buffalo Bisons 1 Box Scores The Red Wings had some fireworks on the field the day before the Fourth of July. Brian Dinkelman, Chris Colabello, and Deibinson Romero all hit home runs. Every batter in the Rochester line-up recorded a hit and some had six chances at the plate. Doug Bernier had the most hits as he went 3-for-6. Chris Herrmann had a very good game by collecting two hits in four trips to the plate. He had his ninth double and his third triple. Colabello continued his remarkable season by knocking his 21st home run. In one of his best pitching performances of the year, Andrew Albers tossed seven strong frames. He allowed one solo home run but that was the only run scored against him. The Bisons had five hits and Albers struck out six. New Britain Rock Cats 1, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 6 Box Score The struggles continued for Miguel Sano at the Double-A level. He went 0-for-4 on this night, striking out three times. The defensive side of the ball wasn't much better as he committed his sixth error since his promotion. It wasn't only Sano who was unproductive on Wednesday night; the rest of the offense struggled as well. Danny Santana was the lone Rock Cats with two hits. Nate Hanson hit his 14th double of the season and scored a run. Daniel Ortiz continued his powerful season by knocking his 22nd double. The team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and there were nine runners left on base. Virgil Vasquez was making his second start at Double-A since being demoted from Rochester. He tossed six innings and gave up four earned runs. AJ Achter did a good job in relief by tossing a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout. Fort Myers Miracle 11, Bradenton Marauders 5 Box Score The Miracle pounded out 21 hits and the club had no problem coming out victorious. Fort Myers scored three runs in the sixth inning and they topped that in the seventh with six runs. It's hard to know where to start with the offensive explosion. Byron Buxton went 3-for-5 with a double but he did strikeout two times. The three hit game raised his batting average to .400 since being promoted to Fort Myers. Every batter in the Miracle line-up had a double except for Kennys Vargas. Jhon Goncalves, Mike Kvasnicka, and Candido Pimentel all went 3-for-5. On the mound,Taylor Rogers benefited from the offensive explosion. He pitched into the seventh inning and limited the Marauders to three runs on nine hits. He struck out three and gave up one walk. Corey Williams recorded the final four outs of the game and collected three strikeouts. Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, Beloit Snappers 8 Box Score Beloit, the former Twins affiliate, has become a tough team for the current Twins affiliate to beat. Cedar Rapids fell again to the Snappers and there wasn't much offense for the Kernels. Beloit scored runs in five different innings to come out with an easy win. Max Kepler continued his hot start by going 2-for-4 with an RBI. JD Williams had the only extra base hit with his 11th double of the year. Jorge Polanco scored a run and had two hits. The club went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position so offensive opportunities were missed. Christian Powell started and pitched 5.2 innings. He gave up 10 hits and six earned runs. Allowing two home runs didn't help him on the way to his second loss of the year. Hudson Boyd and Caleb Brewer gave up one earned run on four hits in the last 2.1 innings. They combined to strike out three. Elizabethton Twins --, Johnson City Cardinals -- Inclement weather might have been the only thing that could have stopped the E-Twins from winning. Their game with the Johnson City Cardinals got postponed due to some weather issues- rain. The club has a 10-2 record and they will look to continue their winnings ways over the holiday weekend. GCL Twins 8, GCL Rays 2 (6 Innings-Rain) Box Score Nick Blackburn returned to the mound for the first time and got some decent results. He threw four innings and scattered seven hits. The Rays scored both their runs off Blackburn and he had one strikeout. Leonel Zazueta pitched the fifth inning and he struck out two. Joel Polanco lead the offense with a 2-for-3 day. He hit his first double of the season and knocked in two runs. Amaurys Minier was 1-4 and knocked in three runs to help stretch the lead. Adonis Pacheco added his second double of the season. Click here to view the article

"My big fish must be somewhere."--- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Marlin fishing can be an adventure. These beasts of the ocean can weight upwards of 1,000 pounds and it can take quite the fight to get them into a boat. Fishing for these animals can take a lot of time and patience. It also takes the right tools and skills to reel in one of these giant fish. Over the weekend, a story came out in the Boston Globe that discussed the possibility of the Twins making a play for Giancarlo Stanton, the 23-year old slugging outfielder from the Miami Marlins. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The Twins farm system has plenty of depth at multiple levels and they have the resources to trade away a few prospects to land the budding superstar. The article does go on to say, "The Red Sox might be in a better position than the Twins because the Twins have to rely on their top players to come up and man several positions." One baseball executive said, "The Red Sox have veteran players so their need to keep their best guys isn't as severe. So if they can trade them off for a young player like Stanton, they wouldn't have to fear about thinning out as a result." Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Stanton is in the middle of his fourth MLB season and his 162 game average for home runs is 39. For his career, he is a .265/.350/.536 hitter and he has hit over 30 home runs in each of the last two seasons. During the 2013 season, Stanton has career lows in batting average and slugging percentage. This could provide the opportunity for the Twins to buy low on a player that is under team control for multiple seasons. At the trade deadline, there was plenty of talk about Stanton being dealt from a struggling Marlins ballclub. Word around baseball was the Marlins were turning down any suitors that came calling for Mr. Stanton. Miami doesn't have to rush to move him because he is still pre-arbitration eligible. He will be arbitration eligible in 2014 and the earliest he could reach free agency is 2017. There are plenty of resources in the Twins system that could land them a top player like Stanton. Byron Buxton is considered by many to be the top prospect in all of baseball. Third baseman Miguel Sano might be the best power hitter to come through the minor leagues since Stanton. The article also mentions other young players like Kyle Gibson, Alex Meyer, Eddie Rosario, Travis Harrison, and Daniel Santana. The Twins organization has invested over $9 million in signing bonuses to Buxton and Sano. One would think that these players would be untouchable but it could take a player of their caliber to make this deal happen. It's hard to know which player the Twins would be more willing to trade. Most likely both players are untouchable because they are part of the long-term rebuilding process for the organization. Could the Twins put together a package of players that doesn't include Buxton or Sano and still get a deal done? It seems likely that the Marlins would want some young pitching in return for Stanton. The Twins made moves last offseason to add some depth to the starting pitchers in their system. Meyer and Trevor May have done decently since coming to the organization but it might be a step backwards to include them in another offseason trade. Recent draft picks like Kohl Stewart and Jose Berrios are both young and they have plenty of upside. Minnesota's starting pitching has been one of the biggest issues in recent years. Flaws with the pitching staff could be the main reason for back-to-back 90 loss seasons. It seems more likely for the Twins to deal away from their minor league positional player depth than from their up-and-coming starting pitchers. What would it take to get Stanton? It sounds like the Marlins would have to be overwhelmed to even consider dealing him. If the Twins would be willing to part with Sano and a couple other position players, the deal could get done. That still might not be enough for Miami and the Twins are in the middle of a rebuild. Stanton might be worth five extra wins a season but that might not be enough to turn the franchise around. Especially since the Twins have so many holes at different positions. If the Marlins are willing to part with Stanton, the Twins have the goods to get the deal done. The question remains... Would the Twins be willing to thin out their system for a player like Stanton even if he is the biggest fish on the market? Now it's your turn to take on the role of Twins GM Terry Ryan. If you were sitting in his spot, what players would you consider dealing for Stanton? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Over the next couple of days I will be looking at a few different topics as it relates to the Twins getting back to their winning ways. It has been a tough couple of seasons for Twins fans but it looks like there is hope for the future. This might not come in 2013 but it is only the first step in the process. "The Road to Rebuild" series will look at some of the key figures or events that will be critical for the long-term success of the organization. There are plenty of things that need to go right and these are just a handful of those topics. The first article in the series looks at a young man that was on the fast track for the big leagues before an arm injury forced him to the sidelines. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]---------- Download attachment: Kyle+Gibson+2011+XM+Star+Futures+Game.jpg During the next couple of seasons, there is going to need to be more than one thing that breaks in favor of the Twins for the team to get back to the top of the AL Central. There will be plenty of young talent ready to emerge for the club but this will mean that some things need to go right in the minor leagues. For Minnesota, the road to rebuild has already started and there will be plenty of other important steps along the way. Kyle Gibson could be one of the key pieces for the Twins on their road back to the top. The former first round pick back in 2009 will undoubtedly make his MLB debut this year after missing most of last season due to Tommy John surgery. Reports from the Arizona Fall League have his slider looking sharper and there seems to be a little more life on his pitches. This is great news for the Twins. The Twins hope their rotation of the future will include Gibson and recent acquisitions Alex Meyer and Trevor May. It will be a year or two before Meyer and May make it to the big leagues. This leaves Gibson as the first cog in the rotation of the future. He should have the most big league service time under his belt and this could help him to be a leader to these other young pitchers. When Minnesota looks ahead, the front office probably isn't considering Gibson a front of the rotation starter. His track record in the minor leagues didn't put him on the path for that elite level. But the team might not need him to get to this point; he still could be a very good number two or number three pitcher. If he can reach this level, he could be in the middle of the Twins rotation for the better part of the next decade. Gibson has a fastball that can hit in the mid-90s but it usually rests in the 91-92 range. His plus slider will be a pitch that could be fun to watch for Twins fans. The other above average pitch in his arsenal is a change up. Between the end of last season and the AFL, Gibson got plenty of work in so there shouldn't be any restrictions on the type of pitches that he throws. The plan for Gibson in 2013 is still up in the air. Since it will be his first full season since surgery, there will most likely be an innings limit placed on the right-hander. The other thing yet to be decided is where the 25-year old will start the season. He could be asked to begin in Rochester so he can be a starter and the team can have better control over his innings. The other option is to have him start the year in the bullpen for the Twins. In an interview conducted by Seth Stohs of Twins Daily, Ron Gardenhire had good things to say about Gibson and the coming year. Gardenhire said, "The first thing is to get him out on the field and get him going through the same thing as everybody else. I'm sure he can't wait to do that. And get right into the middle of the program. HE's ready to do that with no restrictions. Get back on the programs and do all the drills. I'm sure he's fired up about getting back in there. I'm excited to see the young man. He's a very talented young man." If Twins fans think Gibson is going to win multiple Cy Young awards and be a perennial 20-game winner, this might be setting the expectations a little too high. It does seem that at minimum he should be a strong middle of the rotation pitcher with the potential to do some very good things along the way. The road to rebuild is going to be an extended process and Gibson is a key figure. The Twins need some of their young starting pitching to succeed and Gibson will be the first of that young core to make his debut. Eyes across Twins Territory will be keeping their focus on Gibson and it will be up to him to perform at the big league level. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Links_Chain.jpg The Twins keep finding ways to surprise as the team still sits around the .500 mark and it is close to a month and a half into the season. For now, enjoy some of the best Twins and MLB coverage from around the web. There are some good interviews, Puckett stories, sports video games, and a whole lot more! The anniversary of Kirby Puckett's big league debut was on Thursday. Do you want to know what Puckett's original scouting report looked like?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So far this year, Vance Worley has been unlucky so don't lose faith yet... Scott Diamond did an interview with FanGraphs that you should check out. Later in the week, FanGraphs published an interview with Glen PerkinsAaron Hicks was in a little hot water this week after a play on the defensive side of the ball. Trevor Plouffe invited Watertown police officers to Thursday's Twins vs Red Sox game. A match-up between the last year's first two draft picks was put on hold. According to the Twins Minor League Director, there could easily be six to eight guys that make the majors from Cedar Rapids. This year's Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook has been discounted and I was a co-author so pick up a copy. The rise of Josmil Pinto is something to keep an eye on. In this video, Miguel Sano talks about his favorite thing to do in baseball. Who is going to be the odd man out when Darin Mastroanni is healthy? Carlos Santana became a fan of Sam Deduno during this year's WBC. There are two big name pitchers to watch at the top of this year's draft board. Baseball America released their first mock draftand the fourth pick could be a tough spot for the Twins. The Twins have apparently narrowed their possible draft picks to a few names. ESPN spent the week ranking the top 25 sports video games of all-time. Which one have you played the most? Carlos Gomez was always good on defense but now he has figured out the offensive side of the ball. It turns out Gomez was the prize of the Johan Santana trade. Sometimes there is value in really beat-up baseball cards. Nationals fans revolted against a new ticket policy and it worked. Here is a cool interactive graphic to compare the salaries of all 30 MLB clubs. You've been waiting for it... "The History of Baseball Stadium Nachos" Matt Kemp did something very cool for a fan this week. It turns out that baseball is big in Manipur, IndiaMy Weekly Rundown Sunday: Talk to Contact: Episode 36Tuesday: Which Team's Aces Did the Twins Miss? Wednesday: Twins behind in the golden age of leadoff hitters Twins Minor League Report (5/8): Gibson Shows He's ReadyVideo of the Week: The Twins are usually creative with their advertisements and the club has even won some awards for their advertising campaigns. A commercial was released this week and the stars of the show are all bobbleheads. It is a very unique ad and it showcases one of the things that fans love about going to Twins games. Here is a list of ten awesome details about the commercial and the video to go along with it. Click here to view the article

It wasn't that long ago that Oswaldo Arcia was a member of the Twins' minor leagues. Today, batting in the seventh spot, he made his biggest mark at the big league level by driving in three runs with his first major league home run. His long ball turned out to be the difference in the team winning, by a score of 4-3 over the Marlins, in the first game of their day-night doubleheader. He was moved up to the third spot in the batting order for the second game of the doubleheader so it was an exciting day for the budding star. There were some other exciting moments across the Twins farm system on Tuesday so let's check out what happened down on the farm.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Miguel Sano.jpg Rochester Red Wings 7, Syracuse Chiefs 8 (13 innings) Box Score Rochester staked themselves to an early lead but the bullpen faltered in the late innings to send this contest to an exciting finish. The Red Wings got three home runs from Clete Thomas, Eric Farris, and Nate Hanson. It was the Triple-A debut for Hanson and he certainly made his mark. He finished 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Farris and Thomas both racked up three hits in the game. Virgil Vasquez started the night on the mound for Rochester but he would be long gone before this one was decided. He tossed 5.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits. It was his second consecutive start throwing five innings and allowing two runs or less. As the game went to extra innings, it looked like the Red Wings were close to winning. The team scored a run on a throwing error in the top of the 11th inning. This run would be answered by the Chiefs in the bottom half of the frame and the game continued on into the night. Rochester tried to mount another rally in the 13th inning. The team loaded the bases with one out. Farris grounded into an ill-timed double play and another scoring opportunity was lost. Michael O'Connor came out for his second inning of relief work in the bottom of the 13th. Syracuse started the inning with three straight bunt attempts. The first one was good for a single, the second caused an fielding error by Ray Olmedo, and the third put two runners in scoring position. The next batter would single to end the game. With the loss, Rochester still has but one victory on the road this year. The Red Wings have three more games in their series with Syracuse before heading home this weekend to face Buffalo. The club will need to figure some way to win on the road. New Britain Rock Cats --, New Hampshire Fisher Cats -- (Postponed) The Rock Cats were trying to end a three game skid on Tuesday evening. Mother Nature had other plans. Their game with the Fisher Cats was pushed to Wednesday night as part of a double-header. Thursday's game is scheduled for 10:35 AM so the teams will play three games in less than 24 hours. Trevor May was scheduled to make his first start in over a week. With cold weather and early season pitch counts, May hasn't made it through more than 5.1 innings in any of his starts. He also hasn't faced Syracuse yet this year so maybe he is in line for a good start. New Britain heads home for a seven-game home stand. The action starts this weekend with a three game set against Richmond. At the beginning of next week, the team has an important four-game series with Harrisburg. Fort Myers Miracle 5, Palm Beach Cardinals 1 Box Score The Palm Beach Cardinals are getting really sick of seeing Miguel Sano trot around the bases. He hit a grand slam against them last week in Fort Myers. Some fireworks flew on Sunday when a Palm Beach pitcher threw at Sano and he responded by cracking the ball over the fence. Tuesday brought another game and another Sano home run. It was a solo shot, Sano's 7th of the year. He was involved in another scoring play in his next at-bat. The Miracle had already scored twice in the inning on singles by Vargas and Morales, a walk to Pettersen, an Eddie Rosario single and a Lance Ray sacrifice fly. Sano would get his second RBI of the game with a single to center field. The club would score four runs in the inning to push their lead to 5-0. Taylor Rogers made his first start of the year after being called up from Cedar Rapids. He performed well by limiting the Cardinals to four hits and no runs. He struck out four batters and walked two. Zach Jones gave up the lone run to the Cards. Nelvin Fuentes and Corey Williams each had a perfect inning of relief. Fort Myers got back on the winning track after losses in their last three games. The club still has the best record in the Florida State League. The Miracle have a scheduled off-day tomorrow before playing three games against Charlotte Cedar Rapids Kernels --, Burlington Bees -- (Postponed) Rain washed out the final game of the series between the Kernels and the Bees. The game will be made up later in the first half as part of a doubleheader in Cedar Rapids. The Kernels are on a bit of a roll with wins in their last three games, including the first two games of the series against the Bees. Byron Buxton still has a batting average over .400 and his OPS of 1.128 is off the charts. He is making his first full professional season look easy. The team has a scheduled off day on Wednesday before returning home for a three-game series vs. Great Lakes. The six-game home stand will conclude with a three-game set against Lansing. Click here to view the article

The Twins finished off their road trip with two wins in Milwaukee over the last couple days. Now the border battle moved to Target Field for a couple of games. Trevor Plouffe was reinstated from the 7-day concussion disabled list but he was a late scratch with some left calf tightness. This meant Chris Colabello was sent back to Rochester. Maybe it was because the rookie wore the wrong jersey on Tuesday night. This leaves the Twins with three catchers on their roster including Chris Herrmann. Here's a look into Wednesday night's minor league action.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Rochester Red Wings 8, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 7 (Completion of 5/28 Game) Box Score Weather got in the way for these two clubs on Tuesday evening. This meant their game got suspended in the top of the fifth inning with one out. The IronPigs were leading 6-5 at the time of the suspension. There was still plenty of time for a Rochester comeback. Andrew Albers started the game on Tuesday and he pitched 4.1 innings before the rains came. It was his worst start of the season as he allowed five earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. The six runs allowed by Albers were a career high. When play resumed, Luis Perdomo took over the pitching duties. He got the final two outs of the fifth inning and went on to pitch another two frames. Perdomo allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts. Tyler Robertson got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth with a pop out and a strikeout. At the plate, Jeff Clement had himself quite the game. He hit a solo home run in Tuesday's portion of the game and he hit another solo shot in Wednesday's portion. Brian Dinkelman had his first triple of the season. The hit moved him into third place on the Red Wings all-time hits list in the Twins era. The biggest hit of the game was a two-run single off the bat of Ray Olmedo to give Rochester the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Rochester Red Wings 8, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 7 (7 innings) Box Score Three home runs were just enough for Rochester in this game. Doug Bernier, Clete Thomas, and Dan Rohlfing all hit home runs and the Red Wings had another comeback victory up their sleeves. The win clinched a series victory for Rochester and the club can go for the sweep tomorrow morning. Pedro Hernandez made his second start since being sent down by the Twins and things didn't go so great. He was roughed up over 3.1 innings to the tune of six runs and nine hits. Only three of the runs were earned but he only struck out one batter and walked two men. Daniel Turpen and Shairon Martis did a fine job in relief of Hernandez. Turpen earned his second victory of the year by throwing 1.2 innings. The only blemish on his night was a solo home run. Martis earned his first save of the year and his first save since the 2005 Arizona Fall League. Danny Lehmann went 3-for-3 with a run scored. Clete Thomas finished the night with a double, a home run, and three RBI. Oswaldo Arcia didn't join the hit parade as he went 0-for-3 with a strike out. He has yet to record a hit since being sent down. New Britain Rock Cats 5, Richmond Flying Squirrels 10 Box Score There was a whole lot of offense going on in New Britain on Wednesday night. The Rock Cats ended up on the wrong end of a shoot out and there were some rough moments on the mound and in the field. New Britain had four errors in the game but the defense also turned three double plays. DJ Baxendale got called up from Fort Myers to make his first Double-A start. He had been terrific in the Florida State League with a 1.10 ERA and a perfect 7-0 record. Things didn't go so great for him on this night. He surrendered seven earned runs on nine hits over 4.2 innings. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a double. Danny Santana and Jordan Parraz both went 2-for-4 and Parraz added his third double of the year. Chris Pettit had his first multi-hit game since joining the Rock Cats seven days ago. He went 2-5 out of the leadoff spot with his second double. New Britain sits five games under .500 and the team will look to salvage the last game of the series tomorrow morning. Pat Dean is scheduled to start and he is looking to repeat a solid outing in his last start. Fort Myers Miracle 10, Bradenton Marauders 3 Box Score Matt Tomshaw, Eddie Rosario, and Kennys Vargas worked together to put on quite the show for the Miracle. The win marked the fourth in the last five games for Fort Myers. It also clinched a series win and the Miracle have not lost a series in the month of May. Tomshaw was terrific on the mound. He gave up two hits and one earned run on a solo home run. Over six innings, he struck out four and only walked one batter. It was his first start since being called up from Cedar Rapids and it couldn't have gone much better for the lefty. Download attachment: Matt Tomshaw.jpg As good as Tomshaw was on the mound, Rosario and Vargas were just as good at the plate. Rosario finished the night 3-for-5 with a home run and a double. Vargas was 2-for-3 with a home run and a double. Both players knocked in two runners with two outs in an inning. It was the 37th win of the year for Fort Myers and the team will go for the series sweep on Thursday evening. After that, the club will head to Palm Beach to play the Cardinals in a three-game weekend series. Cedar Rapids Kernels --, Clinton LumberKings -- (Postponed) The game between the Kernels and the LumberKings was postponed on Wednesday evening. A double-header will be played on Thursday starting at 4:00 pm. Thursdays games will both be scheduled for seven innings. Cedar Rapids has only won one game in the last week. This has shrunk their lead in the Western Division of the Midwest League to one game. The club boasts an 18-7 record at home but the club is only one game over .500 on the road (13- Click here to view the article

The Twins concluded their three-game series with the White Sox by playing a little Wednesday afternoon baseball. With how bad the White Sox looked in recent weeks, it seemed like the Twins should be able to earn a series win. That didn't happen as the Sox took the final two games of the three-game set. Joe Mauer has been on fire lately and his recent hot streak has him in some rarefied air. He took over the active career leader board for batting average. Albert Pujols (.323 BA) had been on the top of the list followed by Ichiro Suzuki (.321 BA). Those two players are on the decline and Mauer looks to be in the prime of his career. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] On the most recent edition of the "Talk to Contact" podcast, we had Baseball Prospectus' Jason Parks on the show to talk about some of the big names in the Twins farm system. It is a great interview and you should make sure to download the episode if you haven't heard it yet. There were plenty of games today down on the farm. Here's a look into the Twins farm system... Rochester Red Wings 7, Durham Bulls 10 Box Score Cole De Vries continued his rehab trail with a start in Rochester on Wednesday night. His previous two starts had been with the Fort Myers Miracle and the New Britain Rock Cats. With a Triple-A start under his belt, his rehab time could be coming to an end. His performance on Wednesday would play a pivotal role in the team's decision. I wrote about De Vries and contemplated his place with the Twins now that he is healthy. For De Vries, his start with Rochester didn't go perfectly. He got knocked around over four innings for a total of 11 hits and six earned runs. The fifth inning was where most of the trouble happened for De Vries. He had allowed three runs in the first four frames before not recording an out in a three-run top of the fifth. Rochester's offense faired pretty well against one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Jake Odorizzi made it through 5.1 innings but he surrendered six earned runs and three long balls. Chris Colabello had a monster game as he went 3-for-4 with two home runs and a double. His five RBI were great but it wasn't nearly enough to keep pace with the Bulls. Eric Farris extended his hit streak to nine games with a single in the bottom of the fourth. Download attachment: Colabello1.jpg The loss puts the Red Wings ten games under .500 for the first time this season and for the first time since May 28, 2012. The club has also lost six of their last seven contests. There are two more games left in the series with the Bulls and the Red Wings have to find a way to get back to playing winning baseball. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Bowie Baysox 10 Box Score Pat Dean is going to want to forget about the bottom of the second inning on Wednesday night. The Baysox gave him a rude awakening and knocked him out of the game early. The first batter of the frame hit one over the fence and it didn't get much better from there. He would give up six more hits including another home run and he would be charged with seven earned runs in a little over an inning of work. Danny Santana was the only Rock Cats hitter with two hits. He is in the midst of an eight game hit streak and he has six multi-hit games during that stretch. Over the last ten games, he is hitting .425/.465/.550 with three doubles and a triple. Daniel Ortiz had his 12th double of the year and his 23rd RBI. New Britain's bullpen was counted on to eat up a lot of innings tonight. Blake Martin threw two hitless innings and struck out two batters. Aaron Thompson continued his impressive work with one hit and two strikeouts in an inning of work. His ERA dropped to 0.61 for the year and he has only given up one earned run in his last ten outings. The Rock Cats sit one game over .500 but the club has lost their last three games. Tomorrow night marks the last game in their series with Bowie before the club returns home for a weeklong home stand. By only trailing Portland by three games in the standings, the next week could be important. Fort Myers Miracle 4, Dunedin Blue Jays 5 Box Score The Miracle jumped out to an early lead in this contest but the offense slowed down for six innings before waking up in the bottom of the ninth. Dunedin held a slim 3-2 lead before tacking on a couple of insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. Fort Myers scored two runs of their own in the ninth without recording an out. With Angel Morales at second and Eddie Rosario at first, Andy Leer attempted a bunt and the pitcher was able to get the lead runner at third. Levi Michael was the next batter and he struck out. Aderling Meijia was walked to load the bases but Stephen Wickens struck out looking to end the game. There were plenty of opportunities for the Miracle but the team left seven runners on base. The club also went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position including a couple of untimely double plays off the bats of Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas. Sano went 0-for-3 and he only has one home run in his last ten games. Vargas went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Even though Leer couldn't get a successful bunt down in the ninth, he hit his third home run of the season earlier in the game. Rosario didn't start the game but he was used as a pinch hitter in the critical ninth inning. He almost hit a game tying home run but it went foul. He settled for a single to keep the inning alive. Kyle Davies started the game for the Miracle. The seven-year MLB veteran was making a rehab start with the club. Minnesota signed him as a free agent in February and this was his first appearance with the organization. He tossed five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. It was only the tenth loss of the year for the Miracle and the club will finish their four-game series with Dunedin on Thursday night. From there, the club will head on a seven-game road trip that includes stops in Charlotte and Lakeland. Cedar Rapids Kernels 6, Burlington Bees 5 (7 innings) Box Score In the first game of a double-header, the Kernels used a couple of late inning runs to slide by the Bees. Cedar Rapids had nine hits in the game and over half of those hits were for extra-bases. The team went 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position and they needed every one of those runs in this game. Jorge Polanco paced the offense with a 2-for-3 night. Both of his hits were for extra bases including his fifth triple and tenth double of the year. Dalton Hicks had a big two-out double in the fifth inning to tie the game. Byron Buxton reached base in two of his three plate appearances. He finished the game going 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Jeremias Pineda would come in as a pinch runner in the bottom of the 6th and wreak havoc on the bases. He stole second base, advanced to third on a ground out, and then scored what turned out to be the winning run on a wild pitch. Hudson Boyd started the game and allowed five runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out four batters and walked three men. Josue Montanez would earn his first win of the year in only his third appearance with the Kernels. He tossed two scoreless innings by allowing one hit and striking out two. Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Burlington Bees 6 (7 innings) Box Score The Kernels and the Bees had to play two on Wednesday to make-up a game from April 23rd. After powering their way to a win in the first game, the Kernels bats fell a little flat in the second game until the last inning. Cedar Rapids scored two in the bottom of the ninth but the team still fell short. Steven Gruver pitched three innings in a spot start for him. He gave up three earned runs on three hits but he struggled with command and walked four batters. Alex Muren made his second appearance with the Kernels and pitched three innings while allowing two earned runs. Josh Burris pitched the final frame and gave up a run. It was the fourth consecutive outing that he gave up at least one run and his ERA sits above 12. Byron Buxton played DH in the second game of the double header. He would strike out twice in the game but he notched his 10th double of the year. Tyler Grimes added a 2-run home run but the team only managed a total of three hits. The club struck out 13 times and left six runners on base. Cedar Rapids will play the final game of their series with Burlington tomorrow night. Over the weekend, the club will play four games with Kane County. The Cougars are a .500 club and they will be looking to make an impression on the current leaders of the Midwest League, the Kernels. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: PInto_Josmil_Stretching_US_600.jpg The Twins continue to play out the rest of the 2013 season without their $23 million man, Joe Mauer. There is plenty of concern surrounding Mauer's concussion-related injury. As Twins fans are well aware from incidents with Denard Span and Justin Morneau, head injuries can be tough to resolve. This leaves Minnesota with an interesting situation behind the plate as the team looks to the future. No one knows when Mauer will be back on the field and if he will ever be able to suit up behind the plate. The Twins have been auditioning a variety of players this September in hopes of shedding some light on the situation. Will one of these new players be the Twins full-time backstop by the start of next year or will Mauer be able to solve the puzzle of his brain injury? Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Here's the breakdown of the men fighting for catching time in 2014. It is a mix of young and old as the Twins begin to shift their roster to a more youthful core of players. Joe Mauer 2013 (113 G, 73 G started at C): .324/.404/.476, 11 HR, 35 2B, 62 R Concerns over Mauer's injury will be one of the biggest story lines entering spring training next year. The 2013 season is only the second time since 2007 where he has failed to play over 135 games. Justin Morneau is gone and this leaves a hole at first base. Mauer's power numbers don't exactly fit with the typical first baseman mold but the Twins need him to fit somewhere. Depending on how the offseason progresses, fans have to hope that Mauer will be able to do some catching, play some time at first and even get into the line-up as a DH. This might be a wild dream at this point but there are multiple months until Opening Day 2014. Ryan Doumit 2013 (124 G, 41 GS at C): .239/.310/.386, 13 HR, 24 2B, 43 R With Mauer out of the line-up, one figured Doumit would get more time at catcher. This hasn't been the case and Doumit had his own concussion-related DL stint earlier this season. Minnesota loved the production Doumit provided in 2012 and the team signed him to an extension. His offensive production dropped this season and there's a chance the team could try to deal him in the offseason. He will be 33 years old next season and in the last year of his contract. His does represent the lone veteran presence behind Mauer so this could give the Twins a reason to keep him around. Chris Herrmann 2013: (49 G, 22 GS at C): .218/.302/.361, 4 HR, 7 2B, 14 R Herrmann can't be a free agent until after the 2019 season and the Twins have been willing to use him in multiple defensive positions. His numbers dropped across the board as he struggled at the plate in Rochester and Minnesota. There were some good signs from him during 2012 at Double-A. One has to hope for that version of Herrmann to appear at the big league level, especially if Mauer is no longer able to catch. If he is able to make the right adjustments, Herrmann could end up taking over the role vacated by Doumit after next season. Otherwise, he is an adequate back-up catcher to keep on the bench. Josmil Pinto 2013: (11 G, 9 GS at C): .405/.463/.703, 2 HR, 5 2B, 6 R In his first taste of the big leagues, Pinto has made a quick impression on Twins Territory. The kid can hit the ball and he has continued to show this ability as he has moved through the upper levels of the Twins farm system. In the past, there have been some questions about his catching ability and this year there were concerns about his shoulder. He was able to throw out 29% of base stealers between New Britain and Rochester this season. At the big league level, he has caught three out of seven potential runners. Fans that continue to watch the Twins in September will keep their eye on Pinto because he might be getting a lot more time behind the plate next year. Fans might be worried about Mauer's future so it's good to have a plan in place. Pinto has been impressive but it has been a small sample size and it's tough to get too excited before seeing a full season of play from him. It would be great for both men to be able to spend some time behind the plate next season but for now the future is a little cloudy. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 2012-topps-baseball-card-display.jpg Most baseball fans can remember a time when they sat down to sort through shoe boxes full of cardboard with the faces of their favorite players on the front. I grew up in a small town in North Dakota without cable so one of the easiest ways for me follow my favorite players was to collect their trading cards. The hobby has changed a lot since the late 80s and early 90s but some fans still flock to get their hands on the latest edition of Topps Baseball Cards. The year on the field hasn't been that great for the Twins but there have been some unique and popular card that feature members of the Twins. Here is a rundown of all of the releases so far with a few of the best cards to feature the Twins in 2012.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 2012 Topps Series 1 Baseball Release Date: January 28, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 62 Ben Revere 81 Liam Hendriks - RC 95 Chris Parmelee - RC 97 Jim Thome - Checklist 111 Kevin Slowey 164 Carl Pavano 179 Denard Span 230 Justin Morneau 235 Joe Benson - RC 249 Trevor Plouffe 276 Scott Baker 292 Ben Revere - Topps All-Star Rookie 303 Danny Valencia 316 Nick Blackburn Unique Cards: Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a short print variation card with him and Butera messing around on the bench. The hardest Twins card to get in the set was a 1/1 card featuring a cut signature of Harmon Killebrew. My favorite photo of the year for a Twins card came in this set (see awards at the bottom). 2012 Topps Tribute Baseball Release Date: March 9, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 43 Harmon Killebrew 51 Joe Mauer Unique Cards: This set is all about the autographed and relic cards. Mauer was the only Twins player featured in the autographed card section. As usual, there is a relic card of Mauer but there were also relic cards of Twins Hall-of-Famers Harmon Killebrew and Bert Blyleven. There were some unique cards that featured players debut digits from their first year. David Ortiz and Rod Carew were part of this set. 2012 Topps Heritage Baseball Release Date: March 14, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 26 Scott Baker 40 Chris Parmelee - RC 80 Jamey Carroll 89 Liam Hendriks - RC 95 2012 Rookie Stars - Joe Benson/Chambers/Brown/Taylor 125 Ron Gardenhire - Manager. 135 2012 Rookie Stars - Chris Parmelee/Lombardozz/ Florimon/Pacheco 159 Ryan Doumit 162 Twins - Team Card 186 Joe Mauer 191 2012 Rookie Stars - Liam Hendricks/Liddi/Moore/Schwinden 198 Joe Benson - RC 269 Justin Morneau 281 Jason Marquis 314 Alexi Casilla333 2012 Rookie Stars - Joe Benson/Hendricks/Parmelee/Waldrop Unique Cards: Everybody loves stickers and you can get a Joe Mauer Stick-Ons card from Heritage. It doesn't stop there with Mauer as he is also featured in their Clubhouse Collection Relic Cards. 2012 Topps Museum Release Date: April 6, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 18 Joe Mauer Unique Cards: Harmon Killebrew had a "Canvas Collection" short print cardfor collectors to hunt out. Joe Mauer's duel autograph card with Johnny Bench was one of the nicest cards in the set. As with most sets, Mauer gets all of the autograph/relic card love. 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Release Date: April 18, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 73 Ben Revere 119 Justin Morneau 121 Scott Baker 140 Joe Mauer Unique Cards: Joe Benson didn't have a base card in the set but he had autographed cards to be found. Ben Revere's amazing catch at Target Field in 2011 was one the set's "Glove Stories." Joe Mauer had an exchange card that got the holder an autographed relic card of the Twins backstop. Cards with Indian Head pennies were inserted into the set and Mauer was the Twins representative on this insert. One of my favorite Twins cards of the year was in this set (see awards at the bottom). 2012 Bowman Baseball Release Date: May 4, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 65 Ben Revere 73 Justin Morneau 87 Joe Mauer 208 Liam Hendriks - RC 215 Joe Benson - RC 219 Chris Parmelee - RC Prospect Cards (Regular & Chrome): Eddie Rosario, Michael Gonzalez, Levi Michael Unique Cards: Autograph cards of Eddie Rosario were doing very well in the secondary market. Miguel Sano was featured in their "Bowman's Best Prospects" insert series. Some of the coolest cards in the set had a silver ice finish to them. 2012 Topps Archives Baseball Release Date: May 23, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 90 Joe Mauer 175 Justin Morneau Reprint Cards: Rod Carew (2 different), Harmon Killebrew Unique Cards: Former fan favorite Chili Davis had an autograph card in the setbut it wasn't in a Twins uniform. Bert Blyleven and Paul Molitor have framed mini autographed cards featuring 1983's design. The deckled edge cards of Mauer and Killebrew are among my favorites from the set. 2012 Topps Series 2 Baseball Release Date: June 6, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 337 Glen Perkins 389 Alexi Casilla 411 Tsuyoshi Nishioka 501 Matt Capps 512 Josh Willingham 517 Francisco Liriano 529 Luke Hughes 535 Joe Mauer 655 Ryan Doumit Unique Cards: Topps must really like Nishioka because he had cards in Series 1 and Series 2 but he also got a silk insert card. It's funny to think that Liam Hendriks can be part of the "Golden Moments" setwhen he doesn't have a big league win to his name. There's a ring implanted into this Harmon Killebrew card. 2012 Topps Tier 1 Baseball Release Date: June 20, 2012 No Base Cards in this set. Only relics and autographs. Unique Cards: This entire set is made up of unique cards. Joe Mauer had a "Prestigious Patch" card that was a 1/1 insert. One of the most unique cards is featured in the award section at the bottom of this post. There were also multiple relic and autograph cards from Mauer in this set. Ben Revere had multiple cards featured in their "On the Rise" Autograph cards. 2012 Allen & Ginter Baseball Release Date: July 11, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 78 Joe Mauer 125 Ben Revere 138 Josh Willingham 144 Joe Benson - RC 147 Tsuyoshi Nishioka 239 Liam Hendriks - RC 265 Chris Parmelee - RC 297 Justin Morneau Unique Cards: There were low numbered silk/cloth cards of Mauer and Morneau inserted into packs. Mauer's sweet signature could be found in a few different varieties in the set. In a set like Allen & Ginter, there are plenty of unique cards but most of them are not related to baseball. 2012 Bowman Platinum Baseball Release Date: July 25, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 2 Liam Hendriks - RC 3 Joe Mauer 84 Justin Morneau Prospect Cards (Regular & Chrome): Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, Brian Dozier Unique Cards: Rosario, Levi Michael, and Oswaldo Arcia all had autographed cards included in this product. There were also low numbered (out of /25) black autograph cards of Michael and Rosario. Sano's low numbered autos are going for a lot on eBay. 2012 Topps Finest Baseball Release Date: August 8, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 77 Liam Hendriks - RC 83 Joe Mauer 88 Chris Parmelee - RC 96 Joe Benson - RC Unique Cards: Benson and Brian Dozier have autographed rookie cards in the set. Liam Hendriks has some very cool autograph/jersey cards that can be found in this product. There are a few different versions of Joe Mauer autographs in the set with the few on eBay going for over $200. 2012 Twins Trading Card Awards Photo of the Year: Topps Series 1 Baseball #62 Ben Revere http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5s2OJCEHuYE/UDKwywnsyLI/AAAAAAAADJc/UaoiCeIu-Z0/s320/2012-topps-62-ben-revere.jpg Favorite Card of the Year: Harmon Killebrew/Joe Mauer Gypsy Queen Autograph Relic Insert http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib_X-OiXh38/UDKxTbccxBI/AAAAAAAADJk/wdnZthfihoo/s320/2012-gypsy-dual-auto-relic-killebrew-mauer.jpg Unique Card of the Year: Joe Mauer Bat Knob Tier One 1/1 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AZJln676mr8/UDKxvkDIuVI/AAAAAAAADJs/R-AVk27duoE/s320/mauerbatknob.JPG Click here to view the article

Download attachment: ben_revere_catch.jpg Another week and another center fielder has been traded away by the Minnesota Twins. Without looking too far into the trade, let's take a look back at Ben Revere's short career with the Twins. The former first round pick quickly became a fan favorite for his all-or-nothing defensive ability and his speed on the bases. His smile was infectious and he seemed to be a great all around person. There were plenty of good moments for Revere in a Twins uniform but two specific incidents will stick in the mind's of Twins fans for the foreseeable future. The Catch It was named the best defensive play in 2011 because of the athleticism that it took to complete the play. Revere had to track down the ball over his shoulder and make a tough catch against the wall. The play was shown over and over again in highlight reels. It also made a long run in the top spot of SportsCenter's "Top Plays." It left Vladimir Guerrero, the batter, shaking his head. Reminiscent of Willie Mays and his famous over the shoulder grab, Revere added a little more difficulty to his catch by banging into the outfield fence. He even had to look up at his glove to make sure the ball was still in the webbing. Dick Bremer called it "one of the greatest catches you will see all year long." It might be one of the best catches in the history of the Twins. CLICK HERE for Video Clip The Somersault Download attachment: revere.jpg Even as a fan in the stands on this night, it was hard to believe what just happened. Revere knocks a ball down to the fence down the right field line and then he was off to the races. Jeff Francoeur was the outfielder for the Royals and he tried to get the ball back in as quickly as he could. It looked like it would be an easy triple for the speedy Revere.... but things got interesting after second base.Revere stumbled on his way to third and he started to fall forward. Instead of falling flat on his face, Revere gracefully (or not so gracefully depending on how you look at it) started a somersault before continuing on his path to third base. By the end of the play, Revere was in a pile at third asking for time to catch his breath. CLICK HERE for Video Clip It's sad to see both Span and Revere sent to other clubs but these were the right moves for the direction of the organization. The Twins were desperate for pitching and they had extra outfielders in the organization. The club got one major league ready arm and two very good prospects for the future. The Twins might not contend in 2013 but the future is looking much brighter after these two deals. Click here to view the article

Twins players will have will have plenty of things to reflect on this coming offseason. When a team has multiple 90-loss seasons in a row, changes are likely and some of those situations have started to play themselves out. Minnesota needs pitchers to stand out in the final games of the season as the team tries to figure out the future. Download attachment: Hendricks_Liam.jpg Liam Hendriks is one player on shaky ground for 2014. The team rushed him to the big leagues as a 22-year old and struggles have followed him since. Next season, he will be 25 and there is a chance the Twins remove him from the 40-man rosters, as Nick Nelson wrote here at Twins Daily, Hendriks might have run out of chances. ~~~ Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com ~~~ Minnesota needs some semblance of a starting rotation for next season and there aren't any sure bets on the free agent market. This might leave a window open for Hendriks to get one more shot in 2014. It might not be a good chance but it could be a chance. The Twins have jerked him back and forth between the minor leagues and the big leagues over the past three seasons. With the Twins, he has never started more than eight games consecutively and that was at the end of last season. It is a challenge to figure out big league hitters when a pitcher isn't given the opportunity to start consecutive games. His pitches are already bottom-of-the- rotation material and moving him up and down hasn't helped. In 2011 at Double-A and 2012 at Triple-A, Hendriks was a very effective pitcher. He posted ERAs of under 3.00 and he averaged over six innings per appearance. Strikeouts have never been his specialty; he is most effective when he limits walks and induces ground balls. This hasn't happened at the major league level but he has shown these skills in the minors. Another reason to keep Hendriks around is the fact he won't be arbitration- eligible until the 2016 season and he can't reach free agency until 2019. This means he will be a relatively cheap player on the roster and the Twins can use the money they save on him to spend on other pieces of the roster. Even in their recent down years, the Twins have found effective relief pitchers in various ways. One way has been to shift starters into the bullpen. Minnesota has seen successful transitions from Glen Perkins and Anthony Swarzak and this could be a path to follow with Hendriks. At the end of 2013 Minnesota has already used him as a long-relief man and it could be a sign of things to come. Is Hendriks going to be a key piece to the potential Twins turnaround? Likely not but it still doesn't mean it is time to give up on him. It would have been nice for Hendriks to get more opportunities at the big league level. The team has never given him a consistent shot at sticking in the rotation and most of this has been because of his ineffective pitching. Hendriks might not be the answer to all the Twins pitching problems but he deserves another chance to make it work in some kind of role for 2014. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Buxton_Byron_Batting_Rinaldi_686.jpg We are only a couple days away from getting an influx of talent into the Twins' minor league system. The MLB First Year Player Draft will start on Thursday night and the Twins have the fourth overall selection. It will be the second year in a row that the Twins are picking in the top five. Last year's first round selection, Byron Buxton, has been a great addition to the organization. By the end of this year, he could be the top ranked prospect in all of baseball. Last week, Seth Stohs moved him ahead of Miguel Sano as the Twins number one prospect.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Let's take a look at how the current crop of minor league players fared on Wednesday before some new players join their ranks in the coming weeks. Rochester Red Wings 4, Gwinnett Braves 2 (Rain Shortened- 8 innings) Box Score Through the first eight innings, the Red Wings were out-hit by the Braves but they still held a 4-2 advantage. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, the skies opened up and a rain delay ensued. Before the rains fell, Cole De Vries put together a very good start. He tossed seven strong innings by scattering nine hits and allowing two runs. He struck out two and walked one. This was the best start of the season for De Vries after some rough starts as he is coming back from an injury. Oswaldo Arcia had two hits for the second time in the last three games. His fourth double of the season scored the team's third run of the game. Chris Colabello knocked in his team leading 41st RBI of the year. The Red Wings left 11 men on base but that didn't affect the outcome tonight. The Red Wings have two more games in Gwinnett before heading home for an eight game home stand. With the win, Rochester moves to within four games of the .500 mark. An 8-2 record in their last ten games has put the Red Wings back into contention. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Richmond Flying Squirrels 3 Box Score Pat Dean did his best to keep the Rock Cats in the game but in the end it wasn't enough. An error by third baseman Mark Sobolewski cost the team an unearned run and that wound up being be the difference in the game. Over 6.2 innings, Dean allowed only two earned runs on seven hits. It was his third straight strong game and it was his first loss during that stretch. With this start, his ERA dropped below 5.00 for the first time since some awful starts in the middle of May Josmil Pinto continued his hot hitting by going 2-for-3 with his tenth home run of the year. In his last 10 games, he is hitting .355/.459/.581 with two home runs and a double. Reynaldo Rodriguez wasn't in the original line-up but he replaced Daniel Ortiz in left field in the bottom of the second inning. Rodriguez proceeded to go 2-for-2 with his 16th double of the year. The loss put the Rock Cats three games under .500 for the. Tonight's game was the first of a six-game road trip that will see the team play three games in Richmond and three in Bowie. New Britain had played to a .500 record on the road so they will look to get back to .500 with a win Thursday night. Fort Myers Miracle --, Brevard County Manatees -- (Postponed) The game between Fort Myers and Brevard County was postponed due to rain. The teams will make-up the game as part of a double header on Thursday evening. Game one is scheduled to begin at 5:05 eastern with the second starting 30 minutes after the completion of the first. The Miracle lost the first two games of this series with the Manatees so the club will be looking to bounce back. The team hasn't lost a series since mid-May. To keep that streak intact the Miracle will have to sweep this doubleheader. Cedar Rapids Kernels 14, Quad City River Bandits 5 Box Score One inning explained a lot for the Kernels on Wednesday night. In their half of the fourth frame, the Kernels exploded on the offensive side of the ball. They put 10 runs on the board, powered by 12 hits. 15 hitters came to bat and the club had nine straight hits to open the frame. Byron Buxton returned to action after not playing in a game in June because of a bruised thumb. He looked like he hadn't missed a beat as he got hits in his first five at-bats before being retired for the first time. On the night, he was 5-for-6 with two triples, a double, and three runs scored. Buxton wasn't the only offensive star for the Kernels. Jorge Polanco had four hits including two doubles and Dalton Hicks knocked in four with his two doubles. Catcher Michael Quesada added three hits of his own. Hein Robb made his second start of the season and he pitched into the fourth inning. He gave up five runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Alex Muren did a very good job in relief. He threw 3.2 innings of scoreless ball and gave up only two hits. The Kernels continue their series versus Quad Cities on Thursday night. The club will be looking to win their second series in the month of June before playing a three-game set against Kane County over the weekend. Click here to view the article

The Cedar Rapids Kernels are in the midst of their All-Star break so they were again out of action Wednesday night. This didn't stop the Twins from announcing that one of their top prospects, Max Kepler, would be joining that club. He had been at extended spring training working to recover from an elbow injury. The power hitting outfielder will take over a corner outfield spot since Byron Buxton is manning center field in Cedar Rapids. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Liam Hendriks was also reinstated from the disabled list and this meant another move had to be made. Right-handed pitcher Virgil Vasquez was sent from Rochester to New Britain as the corresponding move. It has been a rough season so far for Hendriks and it would be nice to see him put together some strong starts in the second half of the year. Here's a look at Wednesday night's action in the Twins farm system. Rochester Red Wings 7, Scranton/WB RailRiders 10 Box Score Liam Hendriks returned to the mound Wednesday after missing over a month with right elbow inflammation. In his first start since May 9th there was certainly rust to work through. Over four innings, he surrendered seven runs on nine hits including two home runs. Of his 77 pitches, 47 were for strikes but he limited his walks to two. The bottom four hitters in the Red Wings line-up each had an RBI. Doug Bernier went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a triple. Dan Rohlfing, James Beresford, and Drew Butera all knocked in a run. Jeff Clement and Chris Herrmann each added a double. Download attachment: Doug Bernier.jpg The Red Wings had plenty of opportunities with runners in scoring position. Over the course of the night, Rochester went 5-for-15 with men in scoring position. The club also left 11 runners on base. Antoan Richardson stole his 14th base since joining Rochester and he now has 27 steals between Double-A and Triple-A. Rochester started the year 2-11; hot play in recent weeks has gotten the Red Wings closer to the .500 mark (36-38). The team has won six of their last eight games and they are within striking distance of a wild card spot. A win tomorrow splits the two-game set with Scranton/WB. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Erie SeaWolves 2 Box Score After starting his Double-A career 1-for-17 with a single, Miguel Sano finally notched his first home runs since being called up to New Britain. His long ball broke a scoreless tie to put the Rock Cats ahead in the top of the seventh inning. Sano's home run wasn't enough though, as the SeaWolves scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning and they held on for the win. It was another tough luck loss for Pat Dean as he suffered his third consecutive defeat. In two of the three outings, he's surrendered two runs or fewer and pitched into the seventh inning. The Rock Cats offense hasn't offered much support when he has taken the mound. Matt Hauser did a fantastic job in relief of Dean. He recorded the last four outs of the game on four strikeouts. Since his promotion to New Britain, in five relief appearances and 7.1 innings, his ERA stands at 1.23. Following the previous night's four hit game, Danny Santana had a couple hits and his fifth double of the year. Eddie Rosario went 1-for-3 and has hit safely in five of his six games since joining New Britain. Daniel Ortiz was the only other player to record a hit. Fort Myers Miracle 5, Palm Beach Cardinals 8 Box Score Jason Wheeler failed to pitch through the fifth inning for the first time since May 21 and the Miracle weren't able to dig themselves out of an early hole. It marked only the second time this season Wheeler was saddled with a loss. He threw 4.1 innings, gave up eight runs and got knocked around for seven hits. The Miracle bullpen did a fairly good job in relief. Nelvin Fuentes, Jose Gonzalez, and Corey Williams pitched 4.2 innings and allowed two base runners while striking out seven. Fuentes entered in a tough spot with the bases loaded and he allowed all the inherited runners to score. From there, he was able to settle down and the zeros started to pile up. Kennys Vargas continued his power hitting ways with a double and two RBI. He finished the night 2-for-4 and he has had multiple hits in his last two games. Candido Pimentel and Mike Kvasnicka added a hit apiece. Stephen Wickens went 2-for-3 as he continues to get closer to a .250 batting average. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Blackburn_nick_pitching_us_orig.jpg The second half of the minor league season is well under way. Some of the Twins affiliates are trying to find their way into the playoff race. It will be an interesting couple of months leading up to the playoffs. Let's see how Nick Blackburn did in his first start back at Triple-A. Plus there were some fireworks from Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton on this night. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 1, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 8 Box Score Earlier on Tuesday, a roster move had to be made to fit Blackburn into the rotation for Rochester. His promotion from Double-A meant another pitcher had to go the opposite direction. LHP Blake Martin made the trek from the International League back to the Eastern League. In 12 games and 15.2 innings he had a 4.02 ERA, 15 strikeouts and WHIP of 1.53. Blackburn made his 2013 debut at Triple-A; the start was rocky, to say the least. He gave up six earned runs on 10 hits and barely made it through five innings. It was the most runs he has ever allowed in his 32 starts for the Red Wings. It was the first time the IronPigs won at Frontier Field since August of last year. An eighth inning double by Chris Parmelee drove in the lone run of the game. Parmelee went 2-for-3 with that double, a single and an RBI. Oswaldo Arcia had been ripping the cover off the ball since being demoted before the All-Star break. He had gone 7-for-11 with two home runs but he was pulled in the second inning after going 0-1 with a strike out. New Britain Rock Cats 7, Portland Sea Dogs 8 Box Score The Rock Cats got out to an early 5-0 lead after multiple run innings in the first and second. Portland came back with a big five-run top of the fourth to tie the game. This turned into a battle of the bullpens and, well, the Dogs had more bark than the Cats. Miguel Sano continued his hot streak as he hit a home run for the second consecutive night. He has homered in four of his last six games and is up to ten in the 37 games he has played for New Britain. He smacked a double in the earlier innings to help him finish 2-for-4 with two RBI. Josmil Pinto added his 14th home run of the season, a two-run shot. Former MLB pitcher Kyle Davies made his Rock Cats debut on the mound. He got knocked around for nine hits and five earned runs in 3.1 innings. On a more positive note, he did strike out six batters and he did not walk anyone. Fort Myers Miracle 4, Brevard County Manatees 10 Box Score Byron Buxton hit a home run, legged out a triple and scored three runs but it still wasn't enough. It was the first over-the-wall home run for Buxton at this level. Overall, Buxton went 3-for-4 and he added his fourth stolen base at this level. Dalton Hicks, Matt Koch, and Stephen Wickens all had two-hit games but none were for extra-bases. Miracle starter Taylor Rogers had a tough time getting out of the middle innings. The Manatees plated six runs, total, in the fourth and fifth frames. He went five innings and gave up six runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Steven Gruver tossed two scoreless innings. Chad Rodgers got pounded for four runs in his one inning of relief work. Elizabethton Twins 4, Kingsport Mets 5 Box Score The E-Twins did their best to come back in this game, scoring four runs in the eighth inning to take a one run lead. Unfortunately, the Mets had different plans as they stormed back to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth and come out victorious. Romy Jimenez and Javier Pimentel both went 2-for-4 with a double. It was the seventh double of the year for Pimentel. Zach Granite also had two hits and an RBI. Starter Felix Jorge went five innings and gave up three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Brandon Peterson was saddled with the loss after giving up both runs in the bottom of the ninth. GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 3 Box Score Four defensive errors didn't help the GCL Twins; only one earned run was scored by the Rays. Jonatan Hinojosa had two fielding errors at shortstop, second baseman Will Hurt had a throwing error and first baseman Chad Christensen was charged with an error on a pickoff attempt. Defensive mistakes will often haunt a team. Hurt tried to make up for his throwing error with a good day at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Amaurys Minier had the only extra-base hit, his fourth double of the season. Damian Defrank started the game and scattered three hits over four shutout innings. He struck out four and walked one. Stephen Gonsalves also pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in relief. Click here to view the article