Cody Christie

The Twins seem to have found a nice little grove over the course of the last week. In their six games since last weekend's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks," the Twins have posted a respectable 4-2 record with plenty of offense along the way. Jamey Carroll, Justin Morneau, and Ryan Doumit all hit over .400 in the last week and Morneau, Doumit, and Josh Willingham each had multiple home runs during that span. Ben Revere saw his hitting streak reach 21-games before he was held hitless against Cleveland on Wednesday. It was an overall positive week for the Twins and they find themselves a game and a half out of the cellar in the AL Central. It was a slow week here at NoDak Twins Fan because I was in the midst of moving to a new apartment in Fargo and I had no access to internet for the last seven or so days. I had to get creative with how I connected to social media and I turned to my smart phone a lot to stay updated on the latest happenings. The internet got hooked up at my new place yesterday morning so it felt great to be able to type out a post for Friday morning after a short hiatus. I will be back next week with a full slate of Twins coverage including my regular Tuesday night minor league update and plenty of other news from across the organization. For now, get ready for a great weekend but make sure to check out the links that I provided below with some of my favorite stories from the last week. As always, there will be a few surprises along the way. Enjoy! Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a series to forget against Cleveland but the Twins are sticking with him at least until Trevor Plouffe is healthy. It is good to see Max Kepler putting it all together in the last month for the E-Twins. As the Twins saw this week, the Indians are a mess but they still ended their 11-game losing streak with a victory versus Minnesota. Former Twins slugger Jim Thome is going to miss another month of play and he might not play again in 2012. The outfield for the Twins could be fun to watch in 2014. While the future outfield looks bright, the current outfield has been very good for the Twins. There are plenty of former Twins players that you may have lost track of in recent years. Alex Wimmers will be following the same recovery template that Kyle Gibson did with the Twins. In what seems like a surprise move, the Twins top two picks from this year have already moved up a level in the minor leagues. After missing most of the last two seasons, Morneau seems like he can finally hit offspeed offerings again. Frank Viola pitched in a Game 7 of the World Series and that was nothing compared to watching his daughter compete in the Olympics. If the Twins are willing to trade Morneau in the coming offseason, there are other options for the Twins to fill his spot. Jose Mijares was let go by the Twins in the offseason and now it seems that hardly anyone wanted the lefty when he was put on waivers. I enjoyed this explanation that he might just have bad b.o. Have you ever wondered what MLB does to warn a pitcher if he takes too long between pitches? Eric Thames literally made sparks in a game earlier this week. There are 18 creepy hats on sale at MLB.com and Twins mascot TC is part of one of them. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pWcsHb_ULrU/UCP-pKueZVI/AAAAAAAADHk/ORh3rIyexuw/s320/mascotcaps.jpg It took 29-year old Jim Henderson 10 years to make it to the big leagues and he is already the closer for the Brewers. Clint Eastwood has a new movie coming out and it looks like it is an anti-Moneyball movie with a whole bunch of story lines. On Wednesday, it was the anniversary of the White Sox wearing their horrible jerseys with shorts. They should have brought them out of retirement for the day. I wish I could make finds like this at the thrift store. Mike Trout is not only the best player in the American League, he also celebrated his 21st-birthday by hitting the ball out of the park. It's dangerous to have your parents be White Sox fans. The Houston Astrodome continues to stand even though it can't be used any more. Buster Posey is the first MLB player to have his own iPhone game. I love listening to Vin Scully and his translation of Jim Tracy's on-field meltdown was classic. My Weekly Rundown Monday: Should fans have expected more from Valencia? Video of the Week: As already mentioned, Nishioka is back in the big leagues. That leads to some wonderful defensive plays like this. Even as a Twins fan, it is funny to see how awful he has been on the defensive side of the ball but any player can lose a ball in the sun... right...

The Twins seem to have found a nice little grove over the course of the last week. In their six games since last weekend's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks," the Twins have posted a respectable 4-2 record with plenty of offense along the way. Jamey Carroll, Justin Morneau, and Ryan Doumit all hit over .400 in the last week and Morneau, Doumit, and Josh Willingham each had multiple home runs during that span. Ben Revere saw his hitting streak reach 21-games before he was held hitless against Cleveland on Wednesday. It was an overall positive week for the Twins and they find themselves a game and a half out of the cellar in the AL Central. It was a slow week here at NoDak Twins Fan because I was in the midst of moving to a new apartment in Fargo and I had no access to internet for the last seven or so days. I had to get creative with how I connected to social media and I turned to my smart phone a lot to stay updated on the latest happenings. The internet got hooked up at my new place yesterday morning so it felt great to be able to type out a post for Friday morning after a short hiatus. I will be back next week with a full slate of Twins coverage including my regular Tuesday night minor league update and plenty of other news from across the organization. For now, get ready for a great weekend but make sure to check out the links that I provided below with some of my favorite stories from the last week. As always, there will be a few surprises along the way. Enjoy! Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a series to forget against Cleveland but the Twins are sticking with him at least until Trevor Plouffe is healthy. It is good to see Max Kepler putting it all together in the last month for the E-Twins. As the Twins saw this week, the Indians are a mess but they still ended their 11-game losing streak with a victory versus Minnesota. Former Twins slugger Jim Thome is going to miss another month of play and he might not play again in 2012. The outfield for the Twins could be fun to watch in 2014. While the future outfield looks bright, the current outfield has been very good for the Twins. There are plenty of former Twins players that you may have lost track of in recent years. Alex Wimmers will be following the same recovery template that Kyle Gibson did with the Twins. In what seems like a surprise move, the Twins top two picks from this year have already moved up a level in the minor leagues. After missing most of the last two seasons, Morneau seems like he can finally hit offspeed offerings again. Frank Viola pitched in a Game 7 of the World Series and that was nothing compared to watching his daughter compete in the Olympics. If the Twins are willing to trade Morneau in the coming offseason, there are other options for the Twins to fill his spot. Jose Mijares was let go by the Twins in the offseason and now it seems that hardly anyone wanted the lefty when he was put on waivers. I enjoyed this explanation that he might just have bad b.o. Have you ever wondered what MLB does to warn a pitcher if he takes too long between pitches? Eric Thames literally made sparks in a game earlier this week. There are 18 creepy hats on sale at MLB.com and Twins mascot TC is part of one of them. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pWcsHb_ULrU/UCP-pKueZVI/AAAAAAAADHk/ORh3rIyexuw/s320/mascotcaps.jpg It took 29-year old Jim Henderson 10 years to make it to the big leagues and he is already the closer for the Brewers. Clint Eastwood has a new movie coming out and it looks like it is an anti-Moneyball movie with a whole bunch of story lines. On Wednesday, it was the anniversary of the White Sox wearing their horrible jerseys with shorts. They should have brought them out of retirement for the day. I wish I could make finds like this at the thrift store. Mike Trout is not only the best player in the American League, he also celebrated his 21st-birthday by hitting the ball out of the park. It's dangerous to have your parents be White Sox fans. The Houston Astrodome continues to stand even though it can't be used any more. Buster Posey is the first MLB player to have his own iPhone game. I love listening to Vin Scully and his translation of Jim Tracy's on-field meltdown was classic. My Weekly Rundown Monday: Should fans have expected more from Valencia? Video of the Week: As already mentioned, Nishioka is back in the big leagues. That leads to some wonderful defensive plays like this. Even as a Twins fan, it is funny to see how awful he has been on the defensive side of the ball but any player can lose a ball in the sun... right...

It's the first Friday in August and that means the trade deadline came and passed in the last week. There was plenty of speculation that the Twins might be in the midst of a fire sale with the team on pace for their second straight 90-loss. Denard Span, Josh Willingham, and Justin Morneau were some of the players that other teams asked the Twins about but all of these players are still with the organization. Francisco Liriano was the only player to find himself wearing a different jersey over the course of the last few days. Many fans were disappointed with the players that the Twins got in return for Liriano and it is hard to think that the Twins turned the franchise around with this lone trade. On the field, the Twins have been in the midst of a very good stretch of baseball with the team winning five of their six games since last Friday. The Indians came to town last weekend and the Twins went on an offensive tear in the series by scoring 28 runs in the three game set. Good starting pitching has put the team in position to win contests as some of the starters try to prove that they belong in the rotation for the 2013 season. It was an overall good week for a team that has struggled to get any closer to the .500 mark over the course of the last few months. It's been busy for NoDak Twins Fan this week as I have moved from the Twin Cities back to NoDak to live and work with in Fargo, ND. If my posts are sporadic in the next week, it might be for the fact that I don't have internet service in my new place and my sister is getting married next weekend. I will do my best to keep the content flowing here. But for now, enjoy this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." One negative piece of news from the week was the fact that former first round pick Alex Wimmers was forced to have Tommy John surgery. As mentioned above, the Twins didn't do anything at the deadline and it might have been a good thing. Others find it very disappointing that the Twins didn't do anything before the deadline. Liriano made his first start with the White Sox at Target Field so that meant he was going to be good. The Twins farm system might be weak but check out this in-depth look at the top 50 prospects for the club. Sam Deduno has looked good in his two starts in the last week but his fastball is all over the place. How many things did you hate about the Liriano trade? The Fort Myers Miracle had a weird moment in their game this week. An umpire threw out the sound guy for playing "Three Blind Mice" when the umps made a bad call. At least the Twins aren't the Astros. Terry Ryan might have to wait until the offseason to move some players like Span and Burton. Have you ever wondered what players increased/decreased their WAR the most from one season to the next? Trevor Plouffe and Danny Valencia are friends that are fighting for the same job with the Twins. So far this season, it seems like the Twins are just (Red) Wing(ing) it with their starting pitching. Rene Rivera had a big hit for the Red Wings earlier this week and it came the day before his birthday. The last two years have been a little crazy at the trade deadline for Span with all of the rumors swirling around him. Jerome Williams gave up five runs for the Angels and still earned a save this week. A former Twins player holds the record for most runs given up while still earning the save. Twins fans got use to some weird behaviors with Carlos Gomez but now he is revolutionizing the home run. One member of the Twins pitching staff can call himself an Olympian. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1G8szXohQdQ/UBsq3A5pslI/AAAAAAAADHE/G4-jJ8LXNtM/s320/Brian+Duensing+Olympics+Day+8+Baseball+HTFitr-tNKLl.jpg In a related note, baseball should be brought back to the Olympics. That large set of vintage baseball cards found in an attic were sold at action this week. Dave St. Peter is going to be answering questions at the MLB Fan Cave tomorrow and you can leave a question on their Facebook page. Here are some reactions from across the baseball world about Lew Ford being back in the big leagues (see more on Ford below). My Weekly Rundown Monday: Fans frustrated even when Liriano is dealt Tuesday: Ford completes long journey back to MLB Wednesday: Twins rebuilding strategy is going to be slow Video of the Week: Since the Twins were quiet at the deadline, the best story line to follow for the week was the return of Lew Ford to the major leagues with the Baltimore Orioles. He hasn't played in at the MLB level since 2007 with the Twins. During the meantime, he has played in independent leagues, in Mexico and in Japan. The 35-year old outfield didn't waste any time making the highlight reels as he gunned down a runner in his first game back. A couple of games later, his first hit since September 2007 was also a special moment.

It's the first Friday in August and that means the trade deadline came and passed in the last week. There was plenty of speculation that the Twins might be in the midst of a fire sale with the team on pace for their second straight 90-loss. Denard Span, Josh Willingham, and Justin Morneau were some of the players that other teams asked the Twins about but all of these players are still with the organization. Francisco Liriano was the only player to find himself wearing a different jersey over the course of the last few days. Many fans were disappointed with the players that the Twins got in return for Liriano and it is hard to think that the Twins turned the franchise around with this lone trade. On the field, the Twins have been in the midst of a very good stretch of baseball with the team winning five of their six games since last Friday. The Indians came to town last weekend and the Twins went on an offensive tear in the series by scoring 28 runs in the three game set. Good starting pitching has put the team in position to win contests as some of the starters try to prove that they belong in the rotation for the 2013 season. It was an overall good week for a team that has struggled to get any closer to the .500 mark over the course of the last few months. It's been busy for NoDak Twins Fan this week as I have moved from the Twin Cities back to NoDak to live and work with in Fargo, ND. If my posts are sporadic in the next week, it might be for the fact that I don't have internet service in my new place and my sister is getting married next weekend. I will do my best to keep the content flowing here. But for now, enjoy this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." One negative piece of news from the week was the fact that former first round pick Alex Wimmers was forced to have Tommy John surgery. As mentioned above, the Twins didn't do anything at the deadline and it might have been a good thing. Others find it very disappointing that the Twins didn't do anything before the deadline. Liriano made his first start with the White Sox at Target Field so that meant he was going to be good. The Twins farm system might be weak but check out this in-depth look at the top 50 prospects for the club. Sam Deduno has looked good in his two starts in the last week but his fastball is all over the place. How many things did you hate about the Liriano trade? The Fort Myers Miracle had a weird moment in their game this week. An umpire threw out the sound guy for playing "Three Blind Mice" when the umps made a bad call. At least the Twins aren't the Astros. Terry Ryan might have to wait until the offseason to move some players like Span and Burton. Have you ever wondered what players increased/decreased their WAR the most from one season to the next? Trevor Plouffe and Danny Valencia are friends that are fighting for the same job with the Twins. So far this season, it seems like the Twins are just (Red) Wing(ing) it with their starting pitching. Rene Rivera had a big hit for the Red Wings earlier this week and it came the day before his birthday. The last two years have been a little crazy at the trade deadline for Span with all of the rumors swirling around him. Jerome Williams gave up five runs for the Angels and still earned a save this week. A former Twins player holds the record for most runs given up while still earning the save. Twins fans got use to some weird behaviors with Carlos Gomez but now he is revolutionizing the home run. One member of the Twins pitching staff can call himself an Olympian. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1G8szXohQdQ/UBsq3A5pslI/AAAAAAAADHE/G4-jJ8LXNtM/s320/Brian+Duensing+Olympics+Day+8+Baseball+HTFitr-tNKLl.jpg In a related note, baseball should be brought back to the Olympics. That large set of vintage baseball cards found in an attic were sold at action this week. Dave St. Peter is going to be answering questions at the MLB Fan Cave tomorrow and you can leave a question on their Facebook page. Here are some reactions from across the baseball world about Lew Ford being back in the big leagues (see more on Ford below). My Weekly Rundown Monday: Fans frustrated even when Liriano is dealt Tuesday: Ford completes long journey back to MLB Wednesday: Twins rebuilding strategy is going to be slow Video of the Week: Since the Twins were quiet at the deadline, the best story line to follow for the week was the return of Lew Ford to the major leagues with the Baltimore Orioles. He hasn't played in at the MLB level since 2007 with the Twins. During the meantime, he has played in independent leagues, in Mexico and in Japan. The 35-year old outfield didn't waste any time making the highlight reels as he gunned down a runner in his first game back. A couple of games later, his first hit since September 2007 was also a special moment.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r7yl9XAx0lM/UBihSU6hJiI/AAAAAAAADG0/gi0SivModSI/s320/LirianoWhiteSox.jpg When the trade deadline passed on Tuesday afternoon, the Twins were left with all but one of the veteran players on their roster. Francisco Liriano was the only player to be dealt and that happened over the weekend. Before and after that time, there had been plenty of rumors surrounding players like Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, and Justin Morneau. All of those players found themselves still wearing Twins uniforms for their contest against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. It was a quiet ending to what had been a very rumor filled deadline for the Twins. For the second year in a row, the Twins stood pat at the trade deadline even though the team didn't seem to be in contention. The 2011 version of the Twins had teased fans with some good play in the middle months of the season but the team would go on to one of their worst finishes in franchise history. Players like Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Matt Capps were all scheduled to be free agents at the end of the season and it seemed like the Twins should try and deal some of these players to contending teams. During last season, the Twins did have the possibility of getting draft pick compensation if some of these free agents left the club. Cuddyer, Kubel, and Nathan found plenty of money in new cities and the Twins were compensated for them leaving for greener pastures. Many of the names being tossed around with the Twins at this trade deadline have multiple years of team control left before each player will be a free agent. This left the Twins in a position to want to be overwhelmed by a deal before considering an offer for their veteran players. In the case of Span, Willingham, Perkins and Burton, their contracts will all be very reasonable for next season if the Twins keep them for 2013. Morneau is owed around $20 million for the rest of this season and all of next season so a trade for him might have been more of a challenge to accomplish. There were no overpowering offers for these players so the Twins decided to stay the course with their rebuilding process. The problem for fans of the Twins as the look at the rebuilding process from the outside is trying to understand what the organization's plan is for making this team back into a contender. It is the third season of being in a beautiful new stadium but fans aren't going to come out and watch a sub-par team on the field. The minor league system is ranked in the lower half out of all of the farm systems in baseball and that makes the road to rebuilding an even slower process. When the team makes one move before the deadline and it is for two very marginal minor league players, it is hard to view the organization as making a complete overhaul. From the sounds of quotes from Terry Ryan, the Twins wanted starting pitching back and other teams weren't offering the right packages. Ryan and the Twins front office have another option when it comes to all of the players listed above. Since each player is still under team control for next year, there could still be trades made by the Twins during the offseason. The Winter Meetings for all of the GMs across baseball brings out plenty of trade speculation and it can be expected that all of these players will hear their names on the rumor mill again. Some of these veteran players are in the midst of their best seasons as professionals so there could be even better offers for the Twins if the players continue on this pace for the remainder of 2012. The Twins might be out of contention but plenty of the players in the line-up are competitive enough to be striving to finish the season on a strong note. There was no need to rush into a deal before July 31st and now the Twins will have the next few months to make a plan for the offseason. One of the scariest thoughts for the future is the fact that the Twins might be looking at cutting payroll for the second straight offseason. In the first couple of seasons at Target Field, the Twins had a total team payroll of over $100 million and now the team sits under the $100 million mark for 2012. The first cut in payroll was hard for many fans to swallow since the team had a lot of revenue with their new ballpark. Another cut in payroll for the start of the 2013 season could bring out the torches and pitchforks from fans across Twins Territory. Terry Ryan has been able to put together some very good teams in the past with a small payroll but the Twins have a $23 million franchise catcher to pay and not many cheap minor league players ready to make a difference. It also always helps to be able to have extra money to pay for all of the parts to fill up a roster. After a decade of excellence for the Twins franchise, it would be nice if the turnaround were quick and efficient. Unfortunately, it looks like it will be a slow process to rebuild this franchise into a contender for multiple seasons. The big league rotation seems like it is in shambles and there are holes at multiple levels in the minor leagues. It is going to take time and patients from fans to bring the team back to prominence in the American League. That's one the great things about the game of baseball; a team can be good for multiple seasons and then go through a rough patch for multiple years. The Twins are in the middle of one of those rough patches and it is going to be a slow process to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r7yl9XAx0lM/UBihSU6hJiI/AAAAAAAADG0/gi0SivModSI/s320/LirianoWhiteSox.jpg When the trade deadline passed on Tuesday afternoon, the Twins were left with all but one of the veteran players on their roster. Francisco Liriano was the only player to be dealt and that happened over the weekend. Before and after that time, there had been plenty of rumors surrounding players like Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, and Justin Morneau. All of those players found themselves still wearing Twins uniforms for their contest against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. It was a quiet ending to what had been a very rumor filled deadline for the Twins. For the second year in a row, the Twins stood pat at the trade deadline even though the team didn't seem to be in contention. The 2011 version of the Twins had teased fans with some good play in the middle months of the season but the team would go on to one of their worst finishes in franchise history. Players like Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Matt Capps were all scheduled to be free agents at the end of the season and it seemed like the Twins should try and deal some of these players to contending teams. During last season, the Twins did have the possibility of getting draft pick compensation if some of these free agents left the club. Cuddyer, Kubel, and Nathan found plenty of money in new cities and the Twins were compensated for them leaving for greener pastures. Many of the names being tossed around with the Twins at this trade deadline have multiple years of team control left before each player will be a free agent. This left the Twins in a position to want to be overwhelmed by a deal before considering an offer for their veteran players. In the case of Span, Willingham, Perkins and Burton, their contracts will all be very reasonable for next season if the Twins keep them for 2013. Morneau is owed around $20 million for the rest of this season and all of next season so a trade for him might have been more of a challenge to accomplish. There were no overpowering offers for these players so the Twins decided to stay the course with their rebuilding process. The problem for fans of the Twins as the look at the rebuilding process from the outside is trying to understand what the organization's plan is for making this team back into a contender. It is the third season of being in a beautiful new stadium but fans aren't going to come out and watch a sub-par team on the field. The minor league system is ranked in the lower half out of all of the farm systems in baseball and that makes the road to rebuilding an even slower process. When the team makes one move before the deadline and it is for two very marginal minor league players, it is hard to view the organization as making a complete overhaul. From the sounds of quotes from Terry Ryan, the Twins wanted starting pitching back and other teams weren't offering the right packages. Ryan and the Twins front office have another option when it comes to all of the players listed above. Since each player is still under team control for next year, there could still be trades made by the Twins during the offseason. The Winter Meetings for all of the GMs across baseball brings out plenty of trade speculation and it can be expected that all of these players will hear their names on the rumor mill again. Some of these veteran players are in the midst of their best seasons as professionals so there could be even better offers for the Twins if the players continue on this pace for the remainder of 2012. The Twins might be out of contention but plenty of the players in the line-up are competitive enough to be striving to finish the season on a strong note. There was no need to rush into a deal before July 31st and now the Twins will have the next few months to make a plan for the offseason. One of the scariest thoughts for the future is the fact that the Twins might be looking at cutting payroll for the second straight offseason. In the first couple of seasons at Target Field, the Twins had a total team payroll of over $100 million and now the team sits under the $100 million mark for 2012. The first cut in payroll was hard for many fans to swallow since the team had a lot of revenue with their new ballpark. Another cut in payroll for the start of the 2013 season could bring out the torches and pitchforks from fans across Twins Territory. Terry Ryan has been able to put together some very good teams in the past with a small payroll but the Twins have a $23 million franchise catcher to pay and not many cheap minor league players ready to make a difference. It also always helps to be able to have extra money to pay for all of the parts to fill up a roster. After a decade of excellence for the Twins franchise, it would be nice if the turnaround were quick and efficient. Unfortunately, it looks like it will be a slow process to rebuild this franchise into a contender for multiple seasons. The big league rotation seems like it is in shambles and there are holes at multiple levels in the minor leagues. It is going to take time and patients from fans to bring the team back to prominence in the American League. That's one the great things about the game of baseball; a team can be good for multiple seasons and then go through a rough patch for multiple years. The Twins are in the middle of one of those rough patches and it is going to be a slow process to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWiLv8JtTfQ/UBdQeXeo7lI/AAAAAAAADGk/7td5fRBR3v0/s320/LewFordOrioles.jpg It has been quite the journey for Lew Ford since he last played in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins during the 2007 season. Since that point, he has played baseball in Japan, Mexico, and the Atlantic League. But on Sunday afternoon for the first time in half a decade, the soon to be 36-year old outfielder was in the line-up at the big league level. It is hard to believe that the players that achieved cult status with Twins fans has made it back to the major leagues but he took the hard road to earn his way back to the biggest stage. The Baltimore Orioles were the team that gave him a shot with their organization in May when he was sent to their Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk. With the Tides, he got off to a blistering pace by hitting .386/.426/.596 in the first month with the club. His numbers would cool down a little of the next few weeks but he was still hitting the ball at a very good clip. In 62 games at Triple-A, he hit .331/.390/.550 with 11 home runs, 14 doubles and 40 RBI. Those numbers were too good to ignore for the Orioles and he made what seemed like his second major league debut on Sunday. Through his first two games with the Orioles, Ford has failed to get a hit by going 0-for-3 on Sunday with a walk and 0-for-4 on Monday night. He has drawn one walk during his eight plate appearances and he had a nifty defensive play during his first game back (see video here). The Orioles are in the thick of a pennant race and Buck Showalter was not afraid to write his name down in the middle of the line-up. He has played in front of the hometown crowd in Baltimore and his second time in the line-up was at Yankee Stadium, a far different venue than some of the places he played in Japan and Mexico. Ford made a name for himself with the Twins as a scrappy outfielder that put together a couple of decent seasons with the Twins during their runs to multiple division titles in the late-2000s. He debut with the team as a 26-year old rookie in 2003 and his best season with the Twins would come the following year. During the 2004 season, he batted .299/.381/.446 with 15 home runs and 72 RBI. He even managed to get a few MVP votes by the end of the season. It was downhill for Ford from this point as he battled injuries and inconsistent play before he and the Twins parted ways. It seems that Ford is elated to be back in the major leagues and his performance in the first two games might be signs that he is suffering from a few jitters. He just joined Twitter at the end of March and he took to the social media site to share some of his thoughts when he got called up. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5Xjkbmjd9M/UBdLH_fqTQI/AAAAAAAADGU/q-4MrY1k6ls/s320/LewFordTweet.png The second time around sounds like it might be sweeter for Ford since he had to work so hard to get back to this level. He had a smile on his face when he played with the Twins but that smiles is even wider now that he has completed this journey. In interviews, it sounded like he was content to stay in the Atlantic League with the Long Island Ducks to try and help that team win a championship. He hadn't been given a chance in so many years that he thought it might never happen. The Orioles have given him the chance and now it is up to Ford to prove that he belongs in the middle of the pennant race for a contending team. There might have been other options for Baltimore in the midst of one of their best seasons in years but there were plenty of people that put their faith in Ford. Before his first game on Sunday, Ford thanked many of the coaches and front office people for the Orioles that gave him this second chance. Buck Showalter said before the game, "That's one of the great things about this jobs is that I get to take in those moments." The Orioles hope Ford can continue to find some magic and provide the team with many more special moments in the coming months. Fans from across Twins Territory might not have a team fighting for a playoff spot this season but the story of Ford is something for everyone to follow. Chants of "LLLLLLLLLLEEEEEWWWW" will be heard across the upper Mid-West as people dust of their number 20 jerseys and shirts with the name Ford on the top. Baseball is a wonderful game and it's stories like this that make following the sport with every minute.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWiLv8JtTfQ/UBdQeXeo7lI/AAAAAAAADGk/7td5fRBR3v0/s320/LewFordOrioles.jpg It has been quite the journey for Lew Ford since he last played in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins during the 2007 season. Since that point, he has played baseball in Japan, Mexico, and the Atlantic League. But on Sunday afternoon for the first time in half a decade, the soon to be 36-year old outfielder was in the line-up at the big league level. It is hard to believe that the players that achieved cult status with Twins fans has made it back to the major leagues but he took the hard road to earn his way back to the biggest stage. The Baltimore Orioles were the team that gave him a shot with their organization in May when he was sent to their Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk. With the Tides, he got off to a blistering pace by hitting .386/.426/.596 in the first month with the club. His numbers would cool down a little of the next few weeks but he was still hitting the ball at a very good clip. In 62 games at Triple-A, he hit .331/.390/.550 with 11 home runs, 14 doubles and 40 RBI. Those numbers were too good to ignore for the Orioles and he made what seemed like his second major league debut on Sunday. Through his first two games with the Orioles, Ford has failed to get a hit by going 0-for-3 on Sunday with a walk and 0-for-4 on Monday night. He has drawn one walk during his eight plate appearances and he had a nifty defensive play during his first game back (see video here). The Orioles are in the thick of a pennant race and Buck Showalter was not afraid to write his name down in the middle of the line-up. He has played in front of the hometown crowd in Baltimore and his second time in the line-up was at Yankee Stadium, a far different venue than some of the places he played in Japan and Mexico. Ford made a name for himself with the Twins as a scrappy outfielder that put together a couple of decent seasons with the Twins during their runs to multiple division titles in the late-2000s. He debut with the team as a 26-year old rookie in 2003 and his best season with the Twins would come the following year. During the 2004 season, he batted .299/.381/.446 with 15 home runs and 72 RBI. He even managed to get a few MVP votes by the end of the season. It was downhill for Ford from this point as he battled injuries and inconsistent play before he and the Twins parted ways. It seems that Ford is elated to be back in the major leagues and his performance in the first two games might be signs that he is suffering from a few jitters. He just joined Twitter at the end of March and he took to the social media site to share some of his thoughts when he got called up. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5Xjkbmjd9M/UBdLH_fqTQI/AAAAAAAADGU/q-4MrY1k6ls/s320/LewFordTweet.png The second time around sounds like it might be sweeter for Ford since he had to work so hard to get back to this level. He had a smile on his face when he played with the Twins but that smiles is even wider now that he has completed this journey. In interviews, it sounded like he was content to stay in the Atlantic League with the Long Island Ducks to try and help that team win a championship. He hadn't been given a chance in so many years that he thought it might never happen. The Orioles have given him the chance and now it is up to Ford to prove that he belongs in the middle of the pennant race for a contending team. There might have been other options for Baltimore in the midst of one of their best seasons in years but there were plenty of people that put their faith in Ford. Before his first game on Sunday, Ford thanked many of the coaches and front office people for the Orioles that gave him this second chance. Buck Showalter said before the game, "That's one of the great things about this jobs is that I get to take in those moments." The Orioles hope Ford can continue to find some magic and provide the team with many more special moments in the coming months. Fans from across Twins Territory might not have a team fighting for a playoff spot this season but the story of Ford is something for everyone to follow. Chants of "LLLLLLLLLLEEEEEWWWW" will be heard across the upper Mid-West as people dust of their number 20 jerseys and shirts with the name Ford on the top. Baseball is a wonderful game and it's stories like this that make following the sport with every minute.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dIPIYAGfOY8/UBXy-kYuy4I/AAAAAAAADGE/zS9ZpCGr_NE/s320/mlb_g_franlts_576.jpg The moment many Twins fans had been waiting for over the course of the last week finally happened during the weekend; Francisco Liriano and his expiring contract were dealt away from the Twins. After seeing other teams walk away with huge halls for rental players like Liriano, the expectations were decently high for the Twins to pick up something of value in a trade. When the news broke late on Saturday, fans were left scratching their heads over the "haul" the organization received back for their hard throwing lefty. As many have probably already heard, Liriano was sent to the White Sox for IF Eduardo Escobar and LHP Pedro Hernandez. The White Sox have one of the worst minor league systems in baseball and neither one of these players is ranked very high among their up-and-coming players. It is not often that teams will make a deal in the division but Liriano will only make a handful of starts for the White Sox before becoming a free agent. Twins GM Terry Ryan took the best deal that he was offered and unfortunately, it doesn't look like a great deal for the organization. Escobar has spent most of the time at the big league level this year but he is not much of an offensive threat. He struggles to get on-base at a decent clip but his defense is very good at multiple infield positions. The 23-year old infielder has hit .207/.281/.276 in 36 games with the White Sox this year. In 104 plate appearances as a big leaguer, he has managed five extra-base hits with no home runs. During his time in the minor leagues, he hit .270/.315/.354 over the last six seasons. His defensive skills have been focused on third base at the MLB level but he mostly played shortstop in the minor leagues. Hernandez is a left-handed pitcher that has split time at Double- and Triple-A this year with one start at the big league level. During his big league debut, he got hit pretty hard by giving up three home runs at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. The 23-year old pitcher tossed four innings and allowed eight runs on 12 hits with two strikeouts. He fits the mold of most Twins pitchers by not throwing very hard and trying to command the strike zone. His numbers at Double-A this season look good, 7-2 record with a 2.75 ERA, but he has only made seven appearances at the Triple-A level. The Twins will give him some time to get more experience in the minor leagues. Liriano's time with the Twins could be described with many words but frustrating seems to fit the bill. The Twins acquired Liriano along with Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan from the San Francisco Giants for AJ Pierzynski. For the Twins, it was a deal to make room for Joe Mauer to take over the catching duties for the club. It is now seen as one of the most lopsided trades in the history of the organization. Bonser put together a couple of decent seasons with the Twins but Nathan and Liriano became parts of multiple division winners for the club. Nathan became one of the best closers in the game and the team's all-time saves leader before leaving the team in free agency at the end of last year. Liriano looked to be one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball before an elbow injury changed his future. On September 5, 2005 in front of a crowd that didn't have many of the 15,627 ticket holders left in their seats, Liriano made his much anticipated debut for the Twins in a relief role. He came in during the ninth inning of a game that the Texas Rangers already had in hand by a score of 6-0. From my seat in the upper deck of the Metrodome, I couldn't make out every piece of action on the field but Liriano's fastball looked faster than anything I had seen in person since Randy Johnson. He was hitting speeds on the radar gun that I had never seen before and he seemed like he was going to be able to strike out any batter at will. Gary Matthews Jr gave Liriano his welcome to the majors moment by crushing a fastball to the upper reaches of the home run porch. The ball was absolutely destroyed but this one at-bat would not define Liriano's career. His rookie season was magical to watch as he looked like the best pitcher in baseball by striking out 144 batters in 121 innings pitched. His ERA was 2.16 and he posted a WHIP of 1.000 over the course of his 28 games and 16 starts. Along with Johan Santana, Liriano looked to be another front end started that the Twins would need to make a deep push into the playoffs. Something happened during his start on August 7 at Detroit that would change his career forever. Liriano only lasted four innings on that day and he wouldn't appear in another game until September. That start in September was a chance for the Twins to see if Liriano had worked his way back from whatever was bothering him. It didn't work and he was forced to go under the knife. Since coming back from Tommy John surgery, Twins fans had been aching to see the Liriano that took the mound for his rookie season. Santana had been traded away and the team needed a pitcher to step up and be an ace. Liriano's career would be a roller coaster ride for the rest of his time with the Twins. Following his surgery, he would post a win-loss record of 37-47 with a 4.69 ERA in 122 games. There were moments of excellence like his no-hitter versus the White Sox and seasons like 2010 where he seemed to be putting it all together. On the other hand, there were plenty of low points like the multiple times that he was relegated to the bullpen to try and get himself back to pitching the way the Twins thought that Liriano should be able to do. Years from now, fans of the Twins might look back at Liriano's time with the team and not be frustrated. Maybe they will be able to look back fondly on his rookie season, the 2010 campaign, and his no-hitter in 2011. In the meantime, fans are going to be frustrated with the way Liriano pitched during the last couple seasons and the mediocre return the team got from trading away his rights. Twins Territory will watch closely as Liriano dresses in the colors of the hated White Sox. If he succeeds with that team, fans will be frustrated with the deal that gave him away. If he pitches like the inconsistent Liriano of old, White Sox fans will feel their own frustration. "Frankie" is no longer the Twins headache and that might be a good thing for fans of the Twins.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dIPIYAGfOY8/UBXy-kYuy4I/AAAAAAAADGE/zS9ZpCGr_NE/s320/mlb_g_franlts_576.jpg The moment many Twins fans had been waiting for over the course of the last week finally happened during the weekend; Francisco Liriano and his expiring contract were dealt away from the Twins. After seeing other teams walk away with huge halls for rental players like Liriano, the expectations were decently high for the Twins to pick up something of value in a trade. When the news broke late on Saturday, fans were left scratching their heads over the "haul" the organization received back for their hard throwing lefty. As many have probably already heard, Liriano was sent to the White Sox for IF Eduardo Escobar and LHP Pedro Hernandez. The White Sox have one of the worst minor league systems in baseball and neither one of these players is ranked very high among their up-and-coming players. It is not often that teams will make a deal in the division but Liriano will only make a handful of starts for the White Sox before becoming a free agent. Twins GM Terry Ryan took the best deal that he was offered and unfortunately, it doesn't look like a great deal for the organization. Escobar has spent most of the time at the big league level this year but he is not much of an offensive threat. He struggles to get on-base at a decent clip but his defense is very good at multiple infield positions. The 23-year old infielder has hit .207/.281/.276 in 36 games with the White Sox this year. In 104 plate appearances as a big leaguer, he has managed five extra-base hits with no home runs. During his time in the minor leagues, he hit .270/.315/.354 over the last six seasons. His defensive skills have been focused on third base at the MLB level but he mostly played shortstop in the minor leagues. Hernandez is a left-handed pitcher that has split time at Double- and Triple-A this year with one start at the big league level. During his big league debut, he got hit pretty hard by giving up three home runs at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. The 23-year old pitcher tossed four innings and allowed eight runs on 12 hits with two strikeouts. He fits the mold of most Twins pitchers by not throwing very hard and trying to command the strike zone. His numbers at Double-A this season look good, 7-2 record with a 2.75 ERA, but he has only made seven appearances at the Triple-A level. The Twins will give him some time to get more experience in the minor leagues. Liriano's time with the Twins could be described with many words but frustrating seems to fit the bill. The Twins acquired Liriano along with Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan from the San Francisco Giants for AJ Pierzynski. For the Twins, it was a deal to make room for Joe Mauer to take over the catching duties for the club. It is now seen as one of the most lopsided trades in the history of the organization. Bonser put together a couple of decent seasons with the Twins but Nathan and Liriano became parts of multiple division winners for the club. Nathan became one of the best closers in the game and the team's all-time saves leader before leaving the team in free agency at the end of last year. Liriano looked to be one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball before an elbow injury changed his future. On September 5, 2005 in front of a crowd that didn't have many of the 15,627 ticket holders left in their seats, Liriano made his much anticipated debut for the Twins in a relief role. He came in during the ninth inning of a game that the Texas Rangers already had in hand by a score of 6-0. From my seat in the upper deck of the Metrodome, I couldn't make out every piece of action on the field but Liriano's fastball looked faster than anything I had seen in person since Randy Johnson. He was hitting speeds on the radar gun that I had never seen before and he seemed like he was going to be able to strike out any batter at will. Gary Matthews Jr gave Liriano his welcome to the majors moment by crushing a fastball to the upper reaches of the home run porch. The ball was absolutely destroyed but this one at-bat would not define Liriano's career. His rookie season was magical to watch as he looked like the best pitcher in baseball by striking out 144 batters in 121 innings pitched. His ERA was 2.16 and he posted a WHIP of 1.000 over the course of his 28 games and 16 starts. Along with Johan Santana, Liriano looked to be another front end started that the Twins would need to make a deep push into the playoffs. Something happened during his start on August 7 at Detroit that would change his career forever. Liriano only lasted four innings on that day and he wouldn't appear in another game until September. That start in September was a chance for the Twins to see if Liriano had worked his way back from whatever was bothering him. It didn't work and he was forced to go under the knife. Since coming back from Tommy John surgery, Twins fans had been aching to see the Liriano that took the mound for his rookie season. Santana had been traded away and the team needed a pitcher to step up and be an ace. Liriano's career would be a roller coaster ride for the rest of his time with the Twins. Following his surgery, he would post a win-loss record of 37-47 with a 4.69 ERA in 122 games. There were moments of excellence like his no-hitter versus the White Sox and seasons like 2010 where he seemed to be putting it all together. On the other hand, there were plenty of low points like the multiple times that he was relegated to the bullpen to try and get himself back to pitching the way the Twins thought that Liriano should be able to do. Years from now, fans of the Twins might look back at Liriano's time with the team and not be frustrated. Maybe they will be able to look back fondly on his rookie season, the 2010 campaign, and his no-hitter in 2011. In the meantime, fans are going to be frustrated with the way Liriano pitched during the last couple seasons and the mediocre return the team got from trading away his rights. Twins Territory will watch closely as Liriano dresses in the colors of the hated White Sox. If he succeeds with that team, fans will be frustrated with the deal that gave him away. If he pitches like the inconsistent Liriano of old, White Sox fans will feel their own frustration. "Frankie" is no longer the Twins headache and that might be a good thing for fans of the Twins.

For the first time in quite awhile, the Twins game was very enjoyable to watch on Friday night. Scott Diamond had his best pitching performance in his big league career by throwing a complete game shutout with only three hits surrendered. He was remarkably efficient by throwing less than 100 pitches during his nine innings on the mound. With some not so smooth outings in his last few appearances, it was good to see Diamond get a fantastic start under his belt and hopefully he can stay on track for the rest of the season. While Diamond was busy tossing a gem, the Twins offense blew up for 11 runs on the strength of 15 hits. Justin Morneau crushed a huge 3-run home run in the first inning to put the Twins up from the early going. Later in the game, Josh Willingham hit his team leading 26th home run of the season by sending one into the bullpen and he now has 76 RBI. Joe Mauer had two RBI and three hits to raise batting average to .332 for the year. ROCHESTER 1, SYRACUSE 2 There was just not enough offense for the Red Wings on Friday evening. Danny Valencia was noticeably absent from the line-up with his call-up to the Twins so this could have taken a little away from the offensive output. But most of the credit should go to Yunesky Maya for holding the Red Wings to a single run over eight innings pitched with the lone run being scored on a home run from Chris Parmelee. Besides the home run from Parmelee, there were no other hits for the Red Wings during the entire game so there is not much else to discuss from an offensive standpoint. Jeff Manship pitched a very good game for Rochester as he tossed six innings with a couple earned runs. It was his first loss since May 11th and it's not often that a pitcher expects to get a loss when they only give up two runs. Lester Oliveros did very well in his three innings on the mound. He pitched three innings while allowing a single hit and striking out six to lower his ERA to 3.04 for the season. Before the game, there were a few different roster moves including the Red Wings. RHP Deolis Guerra was reinstated from the 7-Day Disabled List and he was replaced on the DL by RHP Daniel Sattler. As many fans heard about on Thursday's off day, Anthony Swarzak had to make a trip to the DL so RHP Luis Perdomo was called up to Minnesota for the first time. To take the place of Perdomo with Rochester, RHP Daniel Turpen was transferred from Double-A New Britain. NEW BRITAIN 9, READING 10 The Rock Cats tried their best to comeback against the Phillies by scoring multiple runs in the last three innings but Reading had too much of a lead. There were five members of the Rock Cats to collect multiple hits in the game including 2-for-4 nights from Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni. Benson hit his second home run with New Britain and he knocked in three runs. Chris Herrmann matched the three RBI of Benson including his 22nd double of the season, the second most two-baggers on the team. Logan Darnell started for the Rock Cats and lasted five innings while giving up six earned runs on 10 hits. He didn't walk any batters but he only struck out one hitter and gave up two long balls for his eighth loss of the year. David Bromberg pitched a scoreless inning by striking out two of the four batters that he faced while on the mound. Edgar Ibarra got roughed up for the second straight outing by giving up three runs and only being credited for one out. FORT MYERS 6, BREVARD COUNTY 3 Madison Boer picked up his first win since July 1st and his fifth win of the year. He threw six innings by giving up eight hits and three earned runs. The two home runs that he allowed were basically harmless since the Miracle jumped on starter Taylor Jungmann of the Manatees for six runs in under four innings. Clint Dempster and AJ Achter threw three hitless innings to finish out the victory for Fort Myers. It was the second hold fro Dempster and the fourth save for Achter. Steven Liddle was appearing in his fourth game for Fort Myers but he didn't waste any time making his mark with the Miracle. On this day, he went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI to raise his batting average to .583 during his second trip to the FSL. Lance Ray and Daniel Santana each had three hits to their credit but Ray knocked in three RBI including his 11th home run of the year. The only other member of the Miracle to have a hit was Michael Gonzales and he did collect an RBI. BELOIT 2, BURLINGTON 7 The Snappers didn't manage any extra-base hits against the Bees and the team went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position so it's hard to come out on top with very little offense. Adam Pettersen had the only RBI for New Britain with his two-out RBI in the fourth inning. Miguel Sano had a hit for the third straight game but he hasn't had an extra-base hit since he hit a home run on July 19th. Kennys Vargas had a hat trick by striking out three times to lower his batting average to .211. Beloit sent Taylor Rogers to the mound for his first start since being called up from Elizabethton. He took the loss by giving up three earned runs on six hits over four innings. The worst part of his outing might have been the six walks that he allowed compared to his three strikeouts. Cole Johnson did very well in relief with four strikeouts and no hits in two innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.16 in nine games with the Snappers. ELIZABETHTON 9, GREENVILLE 12 The Greenville Astros pounded out 17 hits against the pitching staff of the the E-Twins. Hudson Boyd got shelled for eight hits and four earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. It was easily his worst start of the year as it only raised his ERA to 2.15 for the season and he hadn't given up more than one earned run in his last five starts. Christian Powell tried to relieve Boyd but he didn't fare much better by giving up four runs in a little over two innings on the mound. Tyler Duffey and Andrew Ferreira combined to give up three runs over the last three innings. Candido Pimentel lead the team with three hits in his four at-bats including his third double of the season and two RBI. The other E-Twins player with multiple hits was Adam Walker who went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, an RBI, and his seventh home run. Niko Goodrum only got one hit but his double did knock in his 26th, 27th, and 28th RBI of the year. Max Kepler seems to have found his man muscles by hitting his seventh home run of the season when he only had one home run during the last two years. GCL TWINS 12, GCL RED SOX 3 The Twins might have gotten a glimpse of their future with Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario in the same line-up on Friday afternoon. Rosario is rehabbing on the way back from an injury and he went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI before being lifted from the game. Buxton wouldn't be outdone by Rosario as he hit a home run of his own while going 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Joel Licon and Jose Ramirez helped pace the offense with three hits each. A few different big name pitchers got into the game for the Twins. Two former first rounders, Kyle Gibson and Luke Bard, pitched scoreless outings to help improve their ERAs in the GCL. Alexander Muren picked up his second win of the season by tossing two innings without giving up a hit but he did walk three batters. It was good to see Muren not give up any runs for the first time in his last two appearances but his three walks were the most this season. --- Players of the Day for July 27th, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Lance Ray (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l-4GiMgniCA/UBNNk8PgpfI/AAAAAAAADFs/OTBWOGj4174/s320/LanceRay.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Lester Oliveros (3.0 IP, 1 H, 6 SO) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uoMLBTALO-A/UBNOQWxL3NI/AAAAAAAADF0/bCE64eVkwlk/s320/LesterOliveros.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Saturday, July 28th Schedule Rochester @ Columbus- RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain @ Reading- RHP Steven Hirschfeld New Britain @ Reading- Game 2 Fort Myers vs Brevard County- LHP Pat Dean Beloit @ Peoria- TBA Elizabethton vs Greeneville- RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox- TBA --- If you have any question or comments about the minor leagues, leave them in the comments section and someone will be sure to answer them.

For the first time in quite awhile, the Twins game was very enjoyable to watch on Friday night. Scott Diamond had his best pitching performance in his big league career by throwing a complete game shutout with only three hits surrendered. He was remarkably efficient by throwing less than 100 pitches during his nine innings on the mound. With some not so smooth outings in his last few appearances, it was good to see Diamond get a fantastic start under his belt and hopefully he can stay on track for the rest of the season. While Diamond was busy tossing a gem, the Twins offense blew up for 11 runs on the strength of 15 hits. Justin Morneau crushed a huge 3-run home run in the first inning to put the Twins up from the early going. Later in the game, Josh Willingham hit his team leading 26th home run of the season by sending one into the bullpen and he now has 76 RBI. Joe Mauer had two RBI and three hits to raise batting average to .332 for the year. ROCHESTER 1, SYRACUSE 2 There was just not enough offense for the Red Wings on Friday evening. Danny Valencia was noticeably absent from the line-up with his call-up to the Twins so this could have taken a little away from the offensive output. But most of the credit should go to Yunesky Maya for holding the Red Wings to a single run over eight innings pitched with the lone run being scored on a home run from Chris Parmelee. Besides the home run from Parmelee, there were no other hits for the Red Wings during the entire game so there is not much else to discuss from an offensive standpoint. Jeff Manship pitched a very good game for Rochester as he tossed six innings with a couple earned runs. It was his first loss since May 11th and it's not often that a pitcher expects to get a loss when they only give up two runs. Lester Oliveros did very well in his three innings on the mound. He pitched three innings while allowing a single hit and striking out six to lower his ERA to 3.04 for the season. Before the game, there were a few different roster moves including the Red Wings. RHP Deolis Guerra was reinstated from the 7-Day Disabled List and he was replaced on the DL by RHP Daniel Sattler. As many fans heard about on Thursday's off day, Anthony Swarzak had to make a trip to the DL so RHP Luis Perdomo was called up to Minnesota for the first time. To take the place of Perdomo with Rochester, RHP Daniel Turpen was transferred from Double-A New Britain. NEW BRITAIN 9, READING 10 The Rock Cats tried their best to comeback against the Phillies by scoring multiple runs in the last three innings but Reading had too much of a lead. There were five members of the Rock Cats to collect multiple hits in the game including 2-for-4 nights from Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni. Benson hit his second home run with New Britain and he knocked in three runs. Chris Herrmann matched the three RBI of Benson including his 22nd double of the season, the second most two-baggers on the team. Logan Darnell started for the Rock Cats and lasted five innings while giving up six earned runs on 10 hits. He didn't walk any batters but he only struck out one hitter and gave up two long balls for his eighth loss of the year. David Bromberg pitched a scoreless inning by striking out two of the four batters that he faced while on the mound. Edgar Ibarra got roughed up for the second straight outing by giving up three runs and only being credited for one out. FORT MYERS 6, BREVARD COUNTY 3 Madison Boer picked up his first win since July 1st and his fifth win of the year. He threw six innings by giving up eight hits and three earned runs. The two home runs that he allowed were basically harmless since the Miracle jumped on starter Taylor Jungmann of the Manatees for six runs in under four innings. Clint Dempster and AJ Achter threw three hitless innings to finish out the victory for Fort Myers. It was the second hold fro Dempster and the fourth save for Achter. Steven Liddle was appearing in his fourth game for Fort Myers but he didn't waste any time making his mark with the Miracle. On this day, he went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI to raise his batting average to .583 during his second trip to the FSL. Lance Ray and Daniel Santana each had three hits to their credit but Ray knocked in three RBI including his 11th home run of the year. The only other member of the Miracle to have a hit was Michael Gonzales and he did collect an RBI. BELOIT 2, BURLINGTON 7 The Snappers didn't manage any extra-base hits against the Bees and the team went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position so it's hard to come out on top with very little offense. Adam Pettersen had the only RBI for New Britain with his two-out RBI in the fourth inning. Miguel Sano had a hit for the third straight game but he hasn't had an extra-base hit since he hit a home run on July 19th. Kennys Vargas had a hat trick by striking out three times to lower his batting average to .211. Beloit sent Taylor Rogers to the mound for his first start since being called up from Elizabethton. He took the loss by giving up three earned runs on six hits over four innings. The worst part of his outing might have been the six walks that he allowed compared to his three strikeouts. Cole Johnson did very well in relief with four strikeouts and no hits in two innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.16 in nine games with the Snappers. ELIZABETHTON 9, GREENVILLE 12 The Greenville Astros pounded out 17 hits against the pitching staff of the the E-Twins. Hudson Boyd got shelled for eight hits and four earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. It was easily his worst start of the year as it only raised his ERA to 2.15 for the season and he hadn't given up more than one earned run in his last five starts. Christian Powell tried to relieve Boyd but he didn't fare much better by giving up four runs in a little over two innings on the mound. Tyler Duffey and Andrew Ferreira combined to give up three runs over the last three innings. Candido Pimentel lead the team with three hits in his four at-bats including his third double of the season and two RBI. The other E-Twins player with multiple hits was Adam Walker who went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, an RBI, and his seventh home run. Niko Goodrum only got one hit but his double did knock in his 26th, 27th, and 28th RBI of the year. Max Kepler seems to have found his man muscles by hitting his seventh home run of the season when he only had one home run during the last two years. GCL TWINS 12, GCL RED SOX 3 The Twins might have gotten a glimpse of their future with Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario in the same line-up on Friday afternoon. Rosario is rehabbing on the way back from an injury and he went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI before being lifted from the game. Buxton wouldn't be outdone by Rosario as he hit a home run of his own while going 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Joel Licon and Jose Ramirez helped pace the offense with three hits each. A few different big name pitchers got into the game for the Twins. Two former first rounders, Kyle Gibson and Luke Bard, pitched scoreless outings to help improve their ERAs in the GCL. Alexander Muren picked up his second win of the season by tossing two innings without giving up a hit but he did walk three batters. It was good to see Muren not give up any runs for the first time in his last two appearances but his three walks were the most this season. --- Players of the Day for July 27th, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Lance Ray (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l-4GiMgniCA/UBNNk8PgpfI/AAAAAAAADFs/OTBWOGj4174/s320/LanceRay.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Lester Oliveros (3.0 IP, 1 H, 6 SO) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uoMLBTALO-A/UBNOQWxL3NI/AAAAAAAADF0/bCE64eVkwlk/s320/LesterOliveros.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Saturday, July 28th Schedule Rochester @ Columbus- RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain @ Reading- RHP Steven Hirschfeld New Britain @ Reading- Game 2 Fort Myers vs Brevard County- LHP Pat Dean Beloit @ Peoria- TBA Elizabethton vs Greeneville- RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox- TBA --- If you have any question or comments about the minor leagues, leave them in the comments section and someone will be sure to answer them.

It was a rough week for the Twins in Chicago as the team got swept by one of their biggest rivals in a three game set. Minnesota won't have to wait long to get another shot at the White Sox as Chicago will come to Minnesota at the beginning of next week. For now, the focus of the club will turn to the Cleveland Indians over the weekend, a series where the Twins could play spoiler to a team trying to get back into the division race. Even with the team playing some important games over the course of the next week, the focus of many fans will be on the trade deadline on Tuesday afternoon. The Twins are one of three teams in the American League that is a below the .500 mark by quite a lot and this should mean that the team will be sellers in the next handful of days. Players like Francisco Liriano and Denard Span have heard their names mentioned multiple times in the rumor mill. It should be an interesting couple of days to see what Terry Ryan can do with his first trade deadline since taking back the GM chair. Another Friday means a collection of links to enjoy before you head off for your weekend fun. Sit back and buckle up for this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." It sounds like the Angels and Orioles are in the mix for a deal including Francisco Liriano. The trade market for Liriano seems to be fluctuating but at least there is still interest. The Reds have some interesting in adding Denard Span but it could cost them a pretty penny. If the Twins are going to trade any of the big three available bats (Morneau, Span, Willingham), it seems that the team is going to ask for a lot. One of the teams interested in Justin Morneau could be the Dodgers. They have money to spend but LA already added Hanley Ramirez to their line-up. What would the Twins outfield look like without Span manning center field? The Nationals are looking at adding middle infield depth in the form of a Jamey Carroll or Nick Punto type player. Could the Twins swing a deal that included Carroll and Span to the Nats? Even though Carl Pavano and Matt Capps will be on the DL until after the trade deadline, the Twins are hoping they will be able to get the players traded through waivers. Over the last two seasons, the Twins and the Astros have gone about losing in different ways. Which philosophy is better? Looking at the other trades made in the last couple weeks, it's a little easier to project the returns the Twins could get for their players. Someone is very excited that Luis Perdomo is joining the bullpen for the Twins. This photo of former Twins manager Tom Kelly was making the rounds on multiple sites this week. Apparently, "No Smooooking in the Metrodome" wasn't for everybody. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N_wAcUlReZQ/UBIVRa5iGHI/AAAAAAAADFc/91ITK5glRBg/s320/TomKellyZubaz.jpg Joe Mauer thinks that he can still win a championship in Minnesota so it's good to hear that he is staying positive. There was a sighting of Mauer's furriest fan in the stands at a game this week. Jason Marquis was unbelievably bad with the Twins and he has turned it around with a shift back to the NL as a member of the Padres. While Marquis was bad with the Twins earlier this year, Nick Blackburn is entering the same territory. Should the Twins just cut him loose? Glen Perkins is a player that everyone should root for. Aaron Hicks, one of the top prospects for the Twins, had a career day earlier this week and it's not too early to look at his future. The entire incident with Cal Ripken's mother was scary to hear about. Luckily, everything turned out much better than it could have ended. Topps gets creative with their baseball cards and this is sure a strange item to pull from a pack. Fans got a couple years off from the World Baseball Classic and now the sites for next year's tournament have been announced. Ever wanted to own an official World Series trophy? The trophy given to the 1912 Boston Red Sox is being auctioned off. The Indians had three birthday parties on the same day for the same person. That's a lot of birthday cake. My Weekly Rundown: Sunday: Sunday Links-N-Thinks Monday: Hendriks lost in translation to big leagues Tuesday: Tuesday's trip through the Minors Wednesday: Plouffe's injury could mean Valencia's return Video of the Week: Carlos Gomez has been known to be a show boat during his career and Twins fans will remember plenty of things that he did on the field. Earlier this week, he got a little excited over a deep foul ball and he trotted around the bases. Just watch the video because it will bring a smile to your face.

It was a rough week for the Twins in Chicago as the team got swept by one of their biggest rivals in a three game set. Minnesota won't have to wait long to get another shot at the White Sox as Chicago will come to Minnesota at the beginning of next week. For now, the focus of the club will turn to the Cleveland Indians over the weekend, a series where the Twins could play spoiler to a team trying to get back into the division race. Even with the team playing some important games over the course of the next week, the focus of many fans will be on the trade deadline on Tuesday afternoon. The Twins are one of three teams in the American League that is a below the .500 mark by quite a lot and this should mean that the team will be sellers in the next handful of days. Players like Francisco Liriano and Denard Span have heard their names mentioned multiple times in the rumor mill. It should be an interesting couple of days to see what Terry Ryan can do with his first trade deadline since taking back the GM chair. Another Friday means a collection of links to enjoy before you head off for your weekend fun. Sit back and buckle up for this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." It sounds like the Angels and Orioles are in the mix for a deal including Francisco Liriano. The trade market for Liriano seems to be fluctuating but at least there is still interest. The Reds have some interesting in adding Denard Span but it could cost them a pretty penny. If the Twins are going to trade any of the big three available bats (Morneau, Span, Willingham), it seems that the team is going to ask for a lot. One of the teams interested in Justin Morneau could be the Dodgers. They have money to spend but LA already added Hanley Ramirez to their line-up. What would the Twins outfield look like without Span manning center field? The Nationals are looking at adding middle infield depth in the form of a Jamey Carroll or Nick Punto type player. Could the Twins swing a deal that included Carroll and Span to the Nats? Even though Carl Pavano and Matt Capps will be on the DL until after the trade deadline, the Twins are hoping they will be able to get the players traded through waivers. Over the last two seasons, the Twins and the Astros have gone about losing in different ways. Which philosophy is better? Looking at the other trades made in the last couple weeks, it's a little easier to project the returns the Twins could get for their players. Someone is very excited that Luis Perdomo is joining the bullpen for the Twins. This photo of former Twins manager Tom Kelly was making the rounds on multiple sites this week. Apparently, "No Smooooking in the Metrodome" wasn't for everybody. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N_wAcUlReZQ/UBIVRa5iGHI/AAAAAAAADFc/91ITK5glRBg/s320/TomKellyZubaz.jpg Joe Mauer thinks that he can still win a championship in Minnesota so it's good to hear that he is staying positive. There was a sighting of Mauer's furriest fan in the stands at a game this week. Jason Marquis was unbelievably bad with the Twins and he has turned it around with a shift back to the NL as a member of the Padres. While Marquis was bad with the Twins earlier this year, Nick Blackburn is entering the same territory. Should the Twins just cut him loose? Glen Perkins is a player that everyone should root for. Aaron Hicks, one of the top prospects for the Twins, had a career day earlier this week and it's not too early to look at his future. The entire incident with Cal Ripken's mother was scary to hear about. Luckily, everything turned out much better than it could have ended. Topps gets creative with their baseball cards and this is sure a strange item to pull from a pack. Fans got a couple years off from the World Baseball Classic and now the sites for next year's tournament have been announced. Ever wanted to own an official World Series trophy? The trophy given to the 1912 Boston Red Sox is being auctioned off. The Indians had three birthday parties on the same day for the same person. That's a lot of birthday cake. My Weekly Rundown: Sunday: Sunday Links-N-Thinks Monday: Hendriks lost in translation to big leagues Tuesday: Tuesday's trip through the Minors Wednesday: Plouffe's injury could mean Valencia's return Video of the Week: Carlos Gomez has been known to be a show boat during his career and Twins fans will remember plenty of things that he did on the field. Earlier this week, he got a little excited over a deep foul ball and he trotted around the bases. Just watch the video because it will bring a smile to your face.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Qdgqbf61Ng/UBCQSvFvHiI/AAAAAAAADFQ/-4pM2fCneSs/s320/Trevor+Plouffe+Danny+Valencia+Minnesota+Twins.jpg For what seems like the 100th time, the Twins are taking their time deciding whether or not a player should be put on the disabled list. Trevor Plouffe has an injury to his thumb and he has missed five consecutive games as he tries to recover. He tried to work out over the last couple of days and it sounds like gripping and swinging the bat have been tough for him to do. During the game on Wednesday afternoon, Plouffe was going to try and do some work in the cage. If everything went fine during this workout, he could avoid time on the DL but the Twins might be forced to call-up someone for the start of the homestand on Friday night. This has been a reoccurring theme over the last couple years as the team waits for a week or more after an injury to place a player on the disabled list. It's fine to give a player a couple days to try and work through some kind of nagging injury but the Twins often wait longer than it seems would be necessary. The earliest that Plouffe would see action again is on Friday and that is a week after the last game that he appeared in. If he was place on the disabled list, he would be forced to the sidelines of 15-days. This might not seem like a big deal but there are negatives from waiting to put a player on the DL. Over the course of the last couple days, the Twins have been forced to play with a little bit of a short bench. Plouffe's non-availability meant that Ron Gardenhire was left with of a bench composed of Drew Butera and Darin Mastroianni. Later in the game when Alexi Casilla left the game, the Twins were forced to turn to Mastroianni at second base, the first time he appeared in the infield as a big leaguer. He had played five games at second base with Rochester earlier this season but it still wasn't the ideal situation for the Twins. When Friday rolls around and the Twins make a decision on Plouffe's injury, one of the options to replace him on the roster could be Danny Valencia. A couple of season's ago it seemed like Valencia would be the solution at third base that the Twins had been searching for since the departure of Corey Koskie in the mid-2000s. His rookie campaign was outstanding before coming back to the pack in 2011. The third base job was still his at the start of the 2012 season but his poor offensive numbers and spotty defense were hard for the team to ignore. In 27 games at the big league level this year, he hit .190/.204/.290 with seven extra-base hits to his credit. By the beginning of May, the Twins had seen enough and Valencia was sent packing to Triple-A for the first time since 2010. The opening at third base allowed for the emergence of Plouffe as one of the best power hitting threats in the Twins line-up. After having over 1000 plate appearances in the big leagues, Valencia should find the pitchers in the minors much easier to hit. He has done a little better with Rochester but he hasn't exactly been hitting the cover off of the ball. In 67 games with the Red Wings, he has hit .250/.290/.400 with 16 doubles and seven home runs. He has been given plenty of opportunities since he has been batting in the middle of the line-up for most games in Rochester. A report came out earlier this month that Valenica is unhappy playing in the minor leagues. Chris Perez, a college teammate of Valenica and a relief pitcher for the Indians, went on to say that Valencia is working hard in the minor leagues and he was just waiting for another opportunity at the big league level. It looks like the time might have arrived for Valenica to get another shot with the Twins. The poor play by Valenica earlier this year allowed Plouffe to shine at third base. Now an injury to Plouffe could mean a second chance for Valencia after he was cast off to the minor leagues. Overall, it would most likely be a short call-up for whoever is picked to replace Plouffe on the 25-man roster. The Twins could continue to let Jamey Carroll start at third base with Brian Dozier and Alexi Casilla filling up the spots in the middle infield. The only infielders at Rochester that are on the 40-man roster are Valencia, Chris Parmelee, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Parmelee has been called up multiple times this season and Gardenhire has a hard time penciling his name in the line-up. Fans of the Twins might revolt if Nishioka was brought back to the big leagues. Pedro Florimon has been having a great month of July but he would need to be added to the 40-man roster to make it to Minnesota. If Plouffe has to go on the DL, it looks like the Twins might be forced to give Valencia the second chance that he has been waiting for...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Qdgqbf61Ng/UBCQSvFvHiI/AAAAAAAADFQ/-4pM2fCneSs/s320/Trevor+Plouffe+Danny+Valencia+Minnesota+Twins.jpg For what seems like the 100th time, the Twins are taking their time deciding whether or not a player should be put on the disabled list. Trevor Plouffe has an injury to his thumb and he has missed five consecutive games as he tries to recover. He tried to work out over the last couple of days and it sounds like gripping and swinging the bat have been tough for him to do. During the game on Wednesday afternoon, Plouffe was going to try and do some work in the cage. If everything went fine during this workout, he could avoid time on the DL but the Twins might be forced to call-up someone for the start of the homestand on Friday night. This has been a reoccurring theme over the last couple years as the team waits for a week or more after an injury to place a player on the disabled list. It's fine to give a player a couple days to try and work through some kind of nagging injury but the Twins often wait longer than it seems would be necessary. The earliest that Plouffe would see action again is on Friday and that is a week after the last game that he appeared in. If he was place on the disabled list, he would be forced to the sidelines of 15-days. This might not seem like a big deal but there are negatives from waiting to put a player on the DL. Over the course of the last couple days, the Twins have been forced to play with a little bit of a short bench. Plouffe's non-availability meant that Ron Gardenhire was left with of a bench composed of Drew Butera and Darin Mastroianni. Later in the game when Alexi Casilla left the game, the Twins were forced to turn to Mastroianni at second base, the first time he appeared in the infield as a big leaguer. He had played five games at second base with Rochester earlier this season but it still wasn't the ideal situation for the Twins. When Friday rolls around and the Twins make a decision on Plouffe's injury, one of the options to replace him on the roster could be Danny Valencia. A couple of season's ago it seemed like Valencia would be the solution at third base that the Twins had been searching for since the departure of Corey Koskie in the mid-2000s. His rookie campaign was outstanding before coming back to the pack in 2011. The third base job was still his at the start of the 2012 season but his poor offensive numbers and spotty defense were hard for the team to ignore. In 27 games at the big league level this year, he hit .190/.204/.290 with seven extra-base hits to his credit. By the beginning of May, the Twins had seen enough and Valencia was sent packing to Triple-A for the first time since 2010. The opening at third base allowed for the emergence of Plouffe as one of the best power hitting threats in the Twins line-up. After having over 1000 plate appearances in the big leagues, Valencia should find the pitchers in the minors much easier to hit. He has done a little better with Rochester but he hasn't exactly been hitting the cover off of the ball. In 67 games with the Red Wings, he has hit .250/.290/.400 with 16 doubles and seven home runs. He has been given plenty of opportunities since he has been batting in the middle of the line-up for most games in Rochester. A report came out earlier this month that Valenica is unhappy playing in the minor leagues. Chris Perez, a college teammate of Valenica and a relief pitcher for the Indians, went on to say that Valencia is working hard in the minor leagues and he was just waiting for another opportunity at the big league level. It looks like the time might have arrived for Valenica to get another shot with the Twins. The poor play by Valenica earlier this year allowed Plouffe to shine at third base. Now an injury to Plouffe could mean a second chance for Valencia after he was cast off to the minor leagues. Overall, it would most likely be a short call-up for whoever is picked to replace Plouffe on the 25-man roster. The Twins could continue to let Jamey Carroll start at third base with Brian Dozier and Alexi Casilla filling up the spots in the middle infield. The only infielders at Rochester that are on the 40-man roster are Valencia, Chris Parmelee, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Parmelee has been called up multiple times this season and Gardenhire has a hard time penciling his name in the line-up. Fans of the Twins might revolt if Nishioka was brought back to the big leagues. Pedro Florimon has been having a great month of July but he would need to be added to the 40-man roster to make it to Minnesota. If Plouffe has to go on the DL, it looks like the Twins might be forced to give Valencia the second chance that he has been waiting for...

The Twins seemed to be sitting pretty on Tuesday evening after a couple of long balls from Josh Willingham and a very solid start from Cole DeVries. The bullpen took over in the seventh inning and the White Sox decided to put on a slugfest for the rest of the game. During the explosion by the bullpen in the final two innings, the Twins offense failed to score any more runs and the game ended with a final score of 11-4, an ugly blowout loss at the hands of the White Sox. Tomorrow afternoon, the Twins will try and salvage one game out of the series before heading home for six-games against Central Division foes. Nick Blackburn will take the mound to face off against Jake Peavy. But before we turn our heads to tomorrow, let's look at what happened today across the farm system for the Twins. ROCHESTER 1, SYRACUSE 6 After scoring a run in the first inning, the Red Wings were shutout the rest of the way by the Chiefs pitching staff. It was the third loss in a row for Rochester after going 14-5 to start the month of July. Syracuse seems to have Rochester's number in recent games by beating the Red Wings in eight consecutive games, their longest current losing streak against any opponent in the International League. Brian Dinkelman, the lead-off hitter, started the game with a bang by knocking out his third home run of the season. He was also the only member of the Red Wings to manage more than one hit in the game with his double later in the game. In his last four games, Dinkelman is 8-for-14 (.571) with three doubles, a triple, and a home run. Danny Valencia hit his 16th double of the season but was left on base. After a brief trip back to the big leagues, Chris Parmelee returned to Rochester and went 1-for-3 with a walk. Shairon Martis made his second start since being called up from New Britain and it was his first quality start even though he got the loss. Over the course of six innings, he gave up three earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Bobby Lanigan gave up multiple runs for the first time in his last ten games with the Red Wings. All of the runs off of Lanigan came on a three-run home run in the seventh inning to turn a two run lead into a five run lead. NEW BRITAIN 3, BINGHAMTON 4 New Britain did their best to claw their way back against Binghamton but the Mets proved to be too much for the Rock Cats. There wasn't a single hitter in the Rock Cats line-up with more than one hit and New Britain still out hit Binghamton in the game. There were plenty of extra-base hits with Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Joe Benson and Deibinson Romero all hitting doubles in the game with Benson driving in two runs during an eighth inning rally. In the end, there was not enough offense to get the victory for the Rock Cats. Blake Martin started the game and he was saddled with his fourth loss of the season after giving up three runs on three hits. It was his first loss since joining the rotation for the Rock Cats at the end of June. Marty Popham pitched over an inning of scoreless baseball by striking out two of the four batters that he faced. Jose Gonzalez gave up a run for the first time in his last three outings. It came on a home run off of the bat of Eric Campbell in the eighth inning. It was the second loss in a row for the Rock Cats but New Britain is 7-4 since July 16th. FORT MYERS 5, CHARLOTTE 6 The Miracle took a two-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning but the Stone Crabs would not go away quietly. Michael Tonkin surrendered a single with two outs that pushed two runs across the plate to tie the game and send the contest to extra innings. An error by Levi Michael in the bottom of the 11th allowed a runner to reach base and the next batter smacked a double to make Charlotte the victors on this evening. From reports out of Fort Myers, it was a weird play in which the runner fell down twice on his way around third and he still managed to score. There were some positives for the Miracle with Angel Morales hitting a two-run home run that stretched the Miracle lead to 5-2 at the time. Kyle Knudson, Lance Ray, and Anderson Hidalgo all had two hits in the game with Knudson hitting his eighth double of the season. The top of the order had a rough night with the first two batters, Jonathan Goncalves and Levi Michael, combining to go 0-for-10 with two strikeouts. Matt Summers was solid for the Miracle even though he was given a no decision. He pitched five innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Michael Tonkin gets the blown save for giving up the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. The loss was charged to Ricky Bowen even though the lone run that he gave up was unearned. BELOIT (OFF DAY) A night after three Snappers pitchers combined to throw a seven hit shutout on Monday night, the team enjoyed an off day on Tuesday. The Snappers are playing .500 baseball in their last six games and now they hit the road for a stretch of six games away from home. Miguel Sano has gone hitless in his last four games to see his batting average drop to .240 for the season. This came on the heels of six games where he went 7-for-18 with two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored. At the beginning of the season, it looked like Sano was destined for Fort Myers by the middle of the season but he continues to need to work on his consistency. ELIZABETHTON 12, KINGSPORT 5 Two three-run home runs helped to separate the E-Twins from the Mets. DJ Hicks hit one three-run shot in the first inning to put the Twins on top and Max Kepler hit his own three-run homer in the next frame. Jorge Polanco had a couple of hits and two RBI out of the nine spot in the batting order. By the end of the third inning, the Twins were up 10-0 and it seemed like the game was all wrapped up at that point. Even with the blowout loss, the E-Twins had to use seven different pitchers during the course of the game. Kaleb Merck got his second victory of the year by throwing two innings and allowing one run on a single hit. Travis Huber got hit hard in the final inning by allowing three runs on four hits. The team had to bring in Tyler Herr to get the last out of the game after Huber struggled during his time on the mound. GCL TWINS 6, GCL ORIOLES 1 (7 innings) In his second game since returning from the DL, Byron Buxton hit his second extra-base hit in as many days. He went 1-for-3 in the game with his second double of the season to raise his batting average to .258 in his last ten games. It is good to see Buxton finding his swing after missing almost two weeks with a hamstring injury. Joel Licon and Zach Larson each had two hits to pace the GCL Twins. Jose Ramirez managed to get two RBI without recording a hit. Kyle Gibson made his fifth start since coming back from Tommy John surgery and he didn't give up a run for the second start in a row. His two innings on the mound were perfect and he struck out two of the six batters that he faced. Gonzalo Sanudo picked up his first professional win by throwing three innings and giving up one run on four hits. He pitched last season in the GCL but never earned a victory so congratulations are in order for Mr. Sanudo. GCL TWINS 5, GCL ORIOLES 4 (7 innings) While the other game on this day was a little one sided, this game was much more of a nail biter with the GCL Twins squeaking out the win. Luke Bard, the 2012 Draft pick, made his first start as a professional and he lasted two innings by giving up one run on one hit with two strikeouts. The back and forth contest meant that Markus Solbach was the pitcher of record when the Twins took the lead for good. It was his second victory of the season for the native of Germany. Trent Higginbotham earned his first save for the 2012 year by throwing the last two innings and only giving up a single run. The offense of the GCL Twins was lead by a pair of 2-run home runs from Bryan Haar and Javier Pimentel. For both players, it was their first home run of the season. Kelvin Ortiz had a perfect day at the plate by going 3-for-3 with three singles spread out across the game. Byron Buxton didn't play in this game as the team tries to slowly bring him back from his injury. --- Players of the Day for July 24, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Matthew Summers (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BL_KYZGsmoU/UA9jlrPf4cI/AAAAAAAAC_4/ywPS3Ei8H_8/s320/MatthewSummers.JPG Hitter of the Day- DJ Hicks (3-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hFhY4r70kXc/UA9j66S-ykI/AAAAAAAADAA/PTCryrVjMLE/s200/DJHicks.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, July 25th Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse- RHP Esmerling Vasquez New Britain vs Binghamton- RHP BJ Hermsen Fort Myers @ Charlotte- RHP Matthew Hauser Beloit @ Burlington- LHP David Hurlbut GCL Twins @ GCL Rays- TBA --- If you have any questions or comments on the minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will certainly answer them.

The Twins seemed to be sitting pretty on Tuesday evening after a couple of long balls from Josh Willingham and a very solid start from Cole DeVries. The bullpen took over in the seventh inning and the White Sox decided to put on a slugfest for the rest of the game. During the explosion by the bullpen in the final two innings, the Twins offense failed to score any more runs and the game ended with a final score of 11-4, an ugly blowout loss at the hands of the White Sox. Tomorrow afternoon, the Twins will try and salvage one game out of the series before heading home for six-games against Central Division foes. Nick Blackburn will take the mound to face off against Jake Peavy. But before we turn our heads to tomorrow, let's look at what happened today across the farm system for the Twins. ROCHESTER 1, SYRACUSE 6 After scoring a run in the first inning, the Red Wings were shutout the rest of the way by the Chiefs pitching staff. It was the third loss in a row for Rochester after going 14-5 to start the month of July. Syracuse seems to have Rochester's number in recent games by beating the Red Wings in eight consecutive games, their longest current losing streak against any opponent in the International League. Brian Dinkelman, the lead-off hitter, started the game with a bang by knocking out his third home run of the season. He was also the only member of the Red Wings to manage more than one hit in the game with his double later in the game. In his last four games, Dinkelman is 8-for-14 (.571) with three doubles, a triple, and a home run. Danny Valencia hit his 16th double of the season but was left on base. After a brief trip back to the big leagues, Chris Parmelee returned to Rochester and went 1-for-3 with a walk. Shairon Martis made his second start since being called up from New Britain and it was his first quality start even though he got the loss. Over the course of six innings, he gave up three earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Bobby Lanigan gave up multiple runs for the first time in his last ten games with the Red Wings. All of the runs off of Lanigan came on a three-run home run in the seventh inning to turn a two run lead into a five run lead. NEW BRITAIN 3, BINGHAMTON 4 New Britain did their best to claw their way back against Binghamton but the Mets proved to be too much for the Rock Cats. There wasn't a single hitter in the Rock Cats line-up with more than one hit and New Britain still out hit Binghamton in the game. There were plenty of extra-base hits with Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Joe Benson and Deibinson Romero all hitting doubles in the game with Benson driving in two runs during an eighth inning rally. In the end, there was not enough offense to get the victory for the Rock Cats. Blake Martin started the game and he was saddled with his fourth loss of the season after giving up three runs on three hits. It was his first loss since joining the rotation for the Rock Cats at the end of June. Marty Popham pitched over an inning of scoreless baseball by striking out two of the four batters that he faced. Jose Gonzalez gave up a run for the first time in his last three outings. It came on a home run off of the bat of Eric Campbell in the eighth inning. It was the second loss in a row for the Rock Cats but New Britain is 7-4 since July 16th. FORT MYERS 5, CHARLOTTE 6 The Miracle took a two-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning but the Stone Crabs would not go away quietly. Michael Tonkin surrendered a single with two outs that pushed two runs across the plate to tie the game and send the contest to extra innings. An error by Levi Michael in the bottom of the 11th allowed a runner to reach base and the next batter smacked a double to make Charlotte the victors on this evening. From reports out of Fort Myers, it was a weird play in which the runner fell down twice on his way around third and he still managed to score. There were some positives for the Miracle with Angel Morales hitting a two-run home run that stretched the Miracle lead to 5-2 at the time. Kyle Knudson, Lance Ray, and Anderson Hidalgo all had two hits in the game with Knudson hitting his eighth double of the season. The top of the order had a rough night with the first two batters, Jonathan Goncalves and Levi Michael, combining to go 0-for-10 with two strikeouts. Matt Summers was solid for the Miracle even though he was given a no decision. He pitched five innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Michael Tonkin gets the blown save for giving up the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. The loss was charged to Ricky Bowen even though the lone run that he gave up was unearned. BELOIT (OFF DAY) A night after three Snappers pitchers combined to throw a seven hit shutout on Monday night, the team enjoyed an off day on Tuesday. The Snappers are playing .500 baseball in their last six games and now they hit the road for a stretch of six games away from home. Miguel Sano has gone hitless in his last four games to see his batting average drop to .240 for the season. This came on the heels of six games where he went 7-for-18 with two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored. At the beginning of the season, it looked like Sano was destined for Fort Myers by the middle of the season but he continues to need to work on his consistency. ELIZABETHTON 12, KINGSPORT 5 Two three-run home runs helped to separate the E-Twins from the Mets. DJ Hicks hit one three-run shot in the first inning to put the Twins on top and Max Kepler hit his own three-run homer in the next frame. Jorge Polanco had a couple of hits and two RBI out of the nine spot in the batting order. By the end of the third inning, the Twins were up 10-0 and it seemed like the game was all wrapped up at that point. Even with the blowout loss, the E-Twins had to use seven different pitchers during the course of the game. Kaleb Merck got his second victory of the year by throwing two innings and allowing one run on a single hit. Travis Huber got hit hard in the final inning by allowing three runs on four hits. The team had to bring in Tyler Herr to get the last out of the game after Huber struggled during his time on the mound. GCL TWINS 6, GCL ORIOLES 1 (7 innings) In his second game since returning from the DL, Byron Buxton hit his second extra-base hit in as many days. He went 1-for-3 in the game with his second double of the season to raise his batting average to .258 in his last ten games. It is good to see Buxton finding his swing after missing almost two weeks with a hamstring injury. Joel Licon and Zach Larson each had two hits to pace the GCL Twins. Jose Ramirez managed to get two RBI without recording a hit. Kyle Gibson made his fifth start since coming back from Tommy John surgery and he didn't give up a run for the second start in a row. His two innings on the mound were perfect and he struck out two of the six batters that he faced. Gonzalo Sanudo picked up his first professional win by throwing three innings and giving up one run on four hits. He pitched last season in the GCL but never earned a victory so congratulations are in order for Mr. Sanudo. GCL TWINS 5, GCL ORIOLES 4 (7 innings) While the other game on this day was a little one sided, this game was much more of a nail biter with the GCL Twins squeaking out the win. Luke Bard, the 2012 Draft pick, made his first start as a professional and he lasted two innings by giving up one run on one hit with two strikeouts. The back and forth contest meant that Markus Solbach was the pitcher of record when the Twins took the lead for good. It was his second victory of the season for the native of Germany. Trent Higginbotham earned his first save for the 2012 year by throwing the last two innings and only giving up a single run. The offense of the GCL Twins was lead by a pair of 2-run home runs from Bryan Haar and Javier Pimentel. For both players, it was their first home run of the season. Kelvin Ortiz had a perfect day at the plate by going 3-for-3 with three singles spread out across the game. Byron Buxton didn't play in this game as the team tries to slowly bring him back from his injury. --- Players of the Day for July 24, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Matthew Summers (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BL_KYZGsmoU/UA9jlrPf4cI/AAAAAAAAC_4/ywPS3Ei8H_8/s320/MatthewSummers.JPG Hitter of the Day- DJ Hicks (3-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hFhY4r70kXc/UA9j66S-ykI/AAAAAAAADAA/PTCryrVjMLE/s200/DJHicks.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, July 25th Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse- RHP Esmerling Vasquez New Britain vs Binghamton- RHP BJ Hermsen Fort Myers @ Charlotte- RHP Matthew Hauser Beloit @ Burlington- LHP David Hurlbut GCL Twins @ GCL Rays- TBA --- If you have any questions or comments on the minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will certainly answer them.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_VClOccTc8/UA4Qt482pAI/AAAAAAAAC-I/EhjxB2NHgnc/s320/HendriksTranslation.jpg Twins fans have gotten a couple of different glimpses of Liam Hendriks since the September of last season. In that time at the big league level, the 23-year old pitcher has been less than underwhelming to the tune of an 0-7 record with an ERA of 6.71 in 12 starts. His struggles with the Twins have meant more than one trip back to Rochester this season after making the rotation out of spring training. The story of Hendriks with the Red Wings has been much different over the course of the 2012 campaign. Before last night when Hendriks lost his first game of the season for Rochester, the right-handed pitcher had a perfect 7-0 record in ten games started at the Triple-A level. His ERA of 1.74 was nearly as perfect over the course of those starts with one bad start at the end of May accounting for six of the 15 earned runs that he has allowed. If you take out this terrible outing, Hendriks has an eye-popping 1.19 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 68.1 innings on the mound. He seems to have the game figured out at the Triple-A level but something seems to get lost in translation when he gets the call to the big league level. Throughout his minor league career, Hendriks has been known as a control pitcher because he doesn't have overpowering pitches to get batters out. He relies on throwing the ball around the edges of the plate to force batters into making mistakes. In the minor leagues, this approach has served Hendriks well because he moved through the system fairly quickly and he made his MLB debut as a 22-year old. His ability to avoid walking batters in the minor leagues has been a feat to behold and he continues to impress with his ability to avoid giving up home runs, especially for a control pitcher. The qualities that have made Hendriks valuable during each stop along the way in the minor leagues have been absent during his time as a big league player. His outstanding walk rate of 1.5 BB/9 on his way to the big leagues has ballooned to 2.3 BB/9 as a starter with the Twins. He has also given up an average of 1.9 home runs per nine innings in the big leagues and that number sits at around 0.3 HR/9 in the minors. While Hendriks was with the Twins, he was left searching for his first career win at the MLB level and the struggles have clearly been present over his limited sample size of 12 starts and 61.2 innings pitched. It is hard to know what to expect from the Twins and their pitching staff over the course of the next few months. The team seems to be giving plenty of opportunities to pitchers that have less up-side than Hendriks. Players like Cole DeVries and Sam Deduno are older than Hendriks and they looked like career minor league players before the season began. During their limited amount of starts this season, each of these players has shown some good and some bad signs but it seems that they will continue to get opportunities in a starting rotation that needs plenty of help. Most Twins fans hope that Hendriks can be more of a long-term option over the likes of DeVries and Deduno but only time will tell if this is true. For next season, there are going to be plenty of openings for starting spots on the Twins roster. Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, and Scott Baker will all be free agents when the offseason arrives and this could leave some opportunity for other younger pitchers to step up and show that they belong with the big league squad. Out of the current members of the starting rotation, Scott Diamond and Nick Blackburn might be the two frontrunners for a spot in next year's rotation and Blackburn is far from being a lock. This leaves the remainder of this season as a try out for the rest of the untested pitchers and the coaching staff should get a pretty good look at each of these men. Over the course of the next week, the Twins will most likely part ways with Francisco Liriano and this will leave another opportunity for a pitcher to emerge as a viable option in the rotation of the future for the Twins. Hendriks has done almost everything that he could at the Triple-A level and a call-up seems eminent at some point before the season is through. The Twins need Hendriks to find success at the major league level so the team can be comfortable penciling him into the rotation for the start of next season. It is up to Hendriks to find a way to translate his minor league success into respectable numbers at the next level.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_VClOccTc8/UA4Qt482pAI/AAAAAAAAC-I/EhjxB2NHgnc/s320/HendriksTranslation.jpg Twins fans have gotten a couple of different glimpses of Liam Hendriks since the September of last season. In that time at the big league level, the 23-year old pitcher has been less than underwhelming to the tune of an 0-7 record with an ERA of 6.71 in 12 starts. His struggles with the Twins have meant more than one trip back to Rochester this season after making the rotation out of spring training. The story of Hendriks with the Red Wings has been much different over the course of the 2012 campaign. Before last night when Hendriks lost his first game of the season for Rochester, the right-handed pitcher had a perfect 7-0 record in ten games started at the Triple-A level. His ERA of 1.74 was nearly as perfect over the course of those starts with one bad start at the end of May accounting for six of the 15 earned runs that he has allowed. If you take out this terrible outing, Hendriks has an eye-popping 1.19 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 68.1 innings on the mound. He seems to have the game figured out at the Triple-A level but something seems to get lost in translation when he gets the call to the big league level. Throughout his minor league career, Hendriks has been known as a control pitcher because he doesn't have overpowering pitches to get batters out. He relies on throwing the ball around the edges of the plate to force batters into making mistakes. In the minor leagues, this approach has served Hendriks well because he moved through the system fairly quickly and he made his MLB debut as a 22-year old. His ability to avoid walking batters in the minor leagues has been a feat to behold and he continues to impress with his ability to avoid giving up home runs, especially for a control pitcher. The qualities that have made Hendriks valuable during each stop along the way in the minor leagues have been absent during his time as a big league player. His outstanding walk rate of 1.5 BB/9 on his way to the big leagues has ballooned to 2.3 BB/9 as a starter with the Twins. He has also given up an average of 1.9 home runs per nine innings in the big leagues and that number sits at around 0.3 HR/9 in the minors. While Hendriks was with the Twins, he was left searching for his first career win at the MLB level and the struggles have clearly been present over his limited sample size of 12 starts and 61.2 innings pitched. It is hard to know what to expect from the Twins and their pitching staff over the course of the next few months. The team seems to be giving plenty of opportunities to pitchers that have less up-side than Hendriks. Players like Cole DeVries and Sam Deduno are older than Hendriks and they looked like career minor league players before the season began. During their limited amount of starts this season, each of these players has shown some good and some bad signs but it seems that they will continue to get opportunities in a starting rotation that needs plenty of help. Most Twins fans hope that Hendriks can be more of a long-term option over the likes of DeVries and Deduno but only time will tell if this is true. For next season, there are going to be plenty of openings for starting spots on the Twins roster. Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, and Scott Baker will all be free agents when the offseason arrives and this could leave some opportunity for other younger pitchers to step up and show that they belong with the big league squad. Out of the current members of the starting rotation, Scott Diamond and Nick Blackburn might be the two frontrunners for a spot in next year's rotation and Blackburn is far from being a lock. This leaves the remainder of this season as a try out for the rest of the untested pitchers and the coaching staff should get a pretty good look at each of these men. Over the course of the next week, the Twins will most likely part ways with Francisco Liriano and this will leave another opportunity for a pitcher to emerge as a viable option in the rotation of the future for the Twins. Hendriks has done almost everything that he could at the Triple-A level and a call-up seems eminent at some point before the season is through. The Twins need Hendriks to find success at the major league level so the team can be comfortable penciling him into the rotation for the start of next season. It is up to Hendriks to find a way to translate his minor league success into respectable numbers at the next level.