For Cats, 2-out-of-3 ain't bad

The New Britain Rock Cats took 2-of-3 games this weekend against the Binghamton Mets posting a loss on Friday and Wins on Saturday and Sunday.



Friday: Binghamton 4 at New Britain 3

W: R. Parnell (10-6, 4.33); L: K. Aselton (4-5, 4.42); SV: E. Kunz (27)
HR: NBR: B. Peterson (14), E. Lis (11).

Kyle Aselton took the start, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks while fanning 4 over five innings worth of work.

New Britain drew first blood in the bottom of the 2nd, with Brock Peterson putting his 14th home run of the year over the left field wall. The run came off B-Met's starter Bob Parnell, who would allow all three New Britain runs on 7 hits while fanning 2 over six innings.

The lead would not last long though as Jose Coronado singled off Aselton in the top of the 3rd and Jonathan Malo took a walk. Mike Carp tripled the pair in and a throwing error by Toby Gardenhire allowed Carp to cross the plate as well, giving the Mets 3. Aselton would allow a singled to Ambriorix Concepcion one out later, but picked Conception off trying to steal 2nd before taking Shawn Bowman out on strikes to end sent the Cats up to bat.

Jose Coronado doubled in the top of the 5th, and would move to 3rd on a Jonathan Malo sac-bunt. Mike Carp then sacrificed in Coronado to make it 4-1 Mets.

Erik Lis went yard in the bottom half of the inning, the solo shot home run over the left field wall was his 11th of the season. Peterson would follow that up with a single, then steal 2nd. Gardenhire singled Peterson to 3rd, but would be caught stealing 2nd. Drew Butera's ground out plated Peterson to give the Cat's three, cutting the Mets lead to one.

But one would be all they'd need as New Britain managed only 2 hits and a pair of walks in the final three innings of the game.

Dustin Martin and Peterson both went 2-for-4, Martin with a double, Peterson with a pair of runs and a run scored courtesy of the home run. Lis was 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and a RBI. Steve Tolleson was 1-for-3 as was Gardenhire, although Tolleson added a walk as well. David Winfree, pinch hitting for Gardenhire in the ninth was 1-for-1 with a double.

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Saturday: Binghamton 5 at New Britain 8

W: J. Rainville (8-8, 6.19); L: J. Sanchez (10-6, 4.24); SV: Z. Ward (1)
HR: BIN: M. Carp (13).

Jay Rainville would allow only one run, earned, on 4 hits and a pair of walks while striking out six over six innings to pick up his 8th win of the season. Zach Ward would be credited with the save, despite allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 3 innings. He'd fan four during his time on the mound.

The Cats were more offensively minded on Saturday, taking advantage of B-Met's starter Jose Sanchez early.

Dustin Martin doubled with one out on the board in the bottom of the first and moved to 3rd on Brock Peterson's fly out. David Winfree singled in Martin and Erik Lis advanced Winfree with a single of his own. Danny Valencia then tripled in the pair and would, in turn, be plated by Matt Moses' double.

Mike Carp would take his 13th home run of the season off Rainville in the top of the 3rd, putting a line drive over the right field wall.

New Britain took the point back in the bottom of the stanza when Winfree reached on a fielding error. One out later, Valencia would reach on an error as well that allowed Valencia to score.

Following a double to Felix Molina in the bottom of the six, Casey Hoorelbeke would come in to replace Sanchez. Martin would reach on a fielding error by Carp in the bottom of the 7th and Peterson followed that up with a double. A Winfree ground out brought Martin home, to make it 6-1 Cats.

With Elvys Quezada on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, Valencia doubled. Moses' ground out moved him ot 3rd and Drew Butera sacrificed him in. Felix Molina would single and Steve Tolleson would be hit by a pitch putting two runners on. Martin's line drive got Molina to the plate, but Tolleson would be thrown out at 3rd. to end the inning.

There would be one out on the board in the top of the 9th when Caleb Stewart drew a walk off Ward to begin a B-Met's rally. Ambiorix Concepcion struck out, but Shawn Bowman and Saloman Manriquez both singled, plating Stewart. Josh Peterson then doubled to bring in Bowman and Jonathan Malo would single to drive in Manriguez before Ward could get Jose Coronado to strike out, ending the game.

Valencia and Molina were both 2-for-4 for the Cats, Valencia with a pair of runs and a pair of RBIs, while Molina had a double and a run. Martin finished up 3-for-5 with a double, a pair of runs and a RBI. Tolleson, Peterson, Winfree and Moses were all 1-for-4 at the plate, Winfree with a pair of runs and a pair of RBIs, Moses with a run scored. Peterson had a double, leaving Tolleson to be the one hit wonder, with 3 strike outs on the side.

Lis finished up 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.

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Sunday: Binghamton 5 at New Britain 6

W: B. Julianel (2-2, 2.37); L: T. Lavigne (2-3, 4.86)
HR: None.

The Cats would rally back late to tie up the game in the eighth, and pick up the game winner in the ninth to finish off the first half of their six-game homestand.

Shawn Bowman doubled off Ryan Mullins in the top of the 2nd. Following a fly out to Josh Petersen, Salvador Paniagua singled to drive in Bowman.

Ambriorix Concepcion singled in the top of the fourth, and Bowman took a walk. After a fly out to Petersen and line out to Paniagua, Anderson Machado doubled to plate Concepcion, giving the B-Mets an early 2 run lead.

Bowman would double again, in the top fo the sixth, and Petersen followed it up with a triple. Following a Paniagua ground out, Machado singled to score Petersen. Machado would be taken out at 2nd though, when Jose Coronado ground into a double play.

That was about the time the Rock Cats started feeling feisty. Brian Dinkelman, recently returned from the D.L. (Press Release), doubled a line drive out to left. Steve Tolleson's fly out moved him to 3rd. Dustin Martin would go down on strikes before Brock Peterson doubled in Dinkelman. David Winfree would reach on a fielding error by Coronado that scored Peterson. Erik Lis and Danny Valencia hit back-to-back singles that plated Winfree and also saw the B-Mets replace pitcher Eric Brown with reliever Edgar Alfonzo. Matt Moses would ground into a force out to finish off the inning with the Cats still down by one.

Jason Miller replaced Mullins in the top of the 7th, and walked Jonathan Malo. Mike Carp would ground out, moving Malo to 2nd, and a Caleb Stewart single scored the B-Mets 3rd baseman. Stewart would steal 2nd, but Conception lined into a double play to give New Britain a turn at the plate.

Dinkelman would be hit by a pitch and Tolleson and Martin would draw walks, loading the bags, the but Cats wasted the chance as Rocky Palacios, Peterson and Winfree all struck out.

So it would be Lis' double in the bottom of the 8th that started things rolling again. Valencia reached on a fielding error, but Moses went down on strikes. Felix Molina, pinch hitting for Palacios who has dropped to .200 at the AA level, singled in Lis. Dinkelman's double drove in Valencia for the tying run. Tolleson would pop out and Joe Hietpas would intentionally walk Martin, getting Peterson to pop out to end the inning with the game even.

Ben Julianel worked an uncharacteristically quick top of the 9th, letting Tim Lavigne come up to pitch for the B-Mets in the bottom half of the stanza. Winfree would double and Lavigne would intentionally walk Lis to get at Valencia, who singled to load the bags. Moses ground into a force out that saw Winfree taken out at the plate. Butera would ground into a force out as well, but this time Moses was taken out at 2nd and Lis scored, ending the contest.

Dinkelman finished up 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a run and a run scored at the bottom of the order. Tolleson and Lis would both go 2-for-4, Tolleson with a walk, Lis with a walk, a double and a pair of runs. Valencia was 2-for-5 at the plate with a run and a RBI, while Peterson and Winfree were both 1-for-5 with a double and a run, Peterson with a run scored as well. Molina was 1-for-1 with a RBI.

The Cats now host the Dunedin Blue Jays New Hampshire Fisher Cats for three games, the first being played Monday night with a 7:05 start time.

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Former Rock Cats manager Stan Cliburn has been named by Major League Baseball to manage the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League when his season (when) the Rochester Red Wings conclude.

Cliburn will manage a team of prospects stocked by the Twins, A's, Diamondbacks, Rockies and Blue Jays.

"It's me representing the Minnesota Twins which means the most to me because Major League Baseball selects this," Cliburn said. "You only have six teams and to be one of six managers named out of all the managers in Minor League Baseball is quite an honor." (NB Herald)

Road not kind to Cats, Wings

New Britain 0 at Binghamton 3

W: J. Sanchez (6-4, 4.57); L: K. Aselton (2-1, 4.04); SV: T. Lavigne (4)
HR: BIN: N. Evans (9).

Offense seemed to be at a premium in the Twins minor league system, but while the Cats outhit the B-Mets, they couldn't out run, not being able to string enough together to cross the plate.

Jose Sanchez struck out 9 over six innings for Binghamton. He allowed 6 hits to New Britain and one walk.

Brock Peterson would single in the first inning with 2 outs on the board, Erik Lis then doubled, but Peterson would be taken out at home plate, saving the run and retiring the side.

Steve Tolleson doubled in the top of the 3rd, but would be picked off at second base.

In the bottom of that inning, Jonathan Mato doubled with one out on the board. Jose Coronado hit a line drive to right so plate him. Nick Evans then went yard over the right center field fence to give the B-Mets two more, for a 3-0 lead.

Taking a Bullpen start, Kyle Aselton would work 4 innings allowing the 3 runs on 3 hits while striking out only 1. Armando Gabino worked the next 3 allowing only 2 hits and striking out 3.

Lis doubled in to the top of the fourth, and following a strike out to David Winfree, Moses walked. Toby Gardenhire would ground into a double play however as the Cats continued to chase futility.

Back-to-back singles to Matt Moses and Gardenhire in the top of the 7th put two runners on base. He'd advance on a wild pitch by reliever Eddie Camacho. Felix Molina would be called out on strike, but Jeff Christy would walk to load the bags. Dustin Martin then ground into a force out, ending the inning.

Moses would go 3-for-3 with a walk at the plate, Peterson and Lis were 2-for-4. Christy was 1-for-3 with a walk and Tolleson was 1-for-5 with a double. Gardenhire was the lone one hit wonder, while the rest of the team Martin, Molina and Winfree all came up empty.

The Cats finish up the series with a 1:05 game today then head home to host the Altoona Curve for a three game homestand starting on Tuesday. Eric Brown (2-5, 6.79) will start for the B-Mets against Jay Rainville (5-5, 6.02) of New Britain.

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Rochester 2 at Lehigh Valley 8

W: G. Knotts (2-1, 3.25); L: D. Graves (2-1, 3.68)
HR: ROC: J. Morales (3).

It's a fairly well known fact by now that this year's version of the Rochester Red Wings isn't a road team (10-24 away), but I'm sure that being trounced by the lowly Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs probably has the whole city howling.

Danny Graves gave up 3 runs on 7 hit and 4 walks while striking out 1 over four innings. Julio DePaula surrendered 3 more runs on 3 hits and 1 walks while striking out 2 over 2 innings. Carmen Cali allowed the final two runs on four hits and a walk in the final 2 innings while fanning 2.

Rochester would be kept off the board until the top of the 7th inning, when John Ennis replaced Gary Knotts on the mound. Jose Morales would greet him with a home run, his 3rd of the season. Sergio Santos and Ryan Jorgenson both singled. Tommy Watkins would ground into a double play that put Santos on 3rd. Jason Pride would single drive the run in for the Cats two.

Morales finished up 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and a RBI, Ryan Jorgensen was 2-for-4 while Pridie was 2-for-5.

The good: The Red Wings offense has hit at least one home run in 10 straight games. The bad: Randy Ruiz had his eight-game hitting streak snapped. The ugly: The Wings struck out 10 times, most in a game so far this season.

Howie Clark left the game with an abdominal strain in the fifth inning. He'll be re-evaluated today.

The two teams rematch on Sunday for a 1:35 game.

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Former Cats help do-in New Britain

Harrisburg 5 at New Britain 2

W: M. Estrada (5-2, 2.45); L: J. Sawatski (1-3, 8.03); SV: S. Schmoll (3)
HR: HAR: L. Montz (9).

I'm not sure if it was by coincidence or design, but the entire Eastern League played day games today. After the marathon 7-hour double header yesterday, including a rain delay, I can't imagine that either team was excited about hitting the field again for a 10:35 AM start.

The New Britain Rock Cats tried to look lively early on, pouncing on an early first inning lead. Steve Tolleson lead off with a walk, and Matt Moses doubled to move him to 3rd. Luke Hughes would hit into a ground out that scored Tolleson and moved Moses to 3rd. Erik Lis then sacrificed in Moses.

That would be it for the Cats though, who only managed four hits in the whole game.

Former Miracle and Sarasota native Jason Miller would be on the mound for the Cats. Evidently, I'd missed the move that put Yohan Pino on the 7-day DL with shoulder stiffness, so J-Mill would take his start.

Garrett Guzman - another Twins farm alumni - would double for the Senators to lead off in the 3rd inning. Two outs later, Luke Montz would go yard over the left field wall to tie up the game.

Jay Sawatski would replace J-Mill for the top of the 5th, and after getting Guzman to strike out, allowed a ground rule double to William Bergolla. He'd get Roger Bernadina out on strikes, but issued a walk to Montz. Luis Jimenez, a former Rock Cat, then singled out to center to score Bergolla for the game winning run.

Sawatski would hold the Sens off for the next two innings and gave way to Kyle Aselton in the top of the 8th. The lefty, who has posted some good numbers this year in the Rock Cats pen, walked Jimenez to start out the top of the 8th. Ofilio Castro singled, and the pair would advance a base each on a throwing error by Steve Tolleson. Andrew Lefave then drew a walk to load the bases. Aselton would take two Senators out on strikes before a Guzman single plated Jimenez and Castro for the insurance runs.

Jeff Christy would single off yet another former Twins farmhand, Levale Speigner, and then move to second on a wild pitch. Matt Moses would also draw a walk, but the pair went nowhere as Steve Tolleson ground out and Hughes hit into a double play to end the game.

Hughes and Erik Lis would have the other two hits in the contest.

The loss drops the Cats to .500 on the season; they are 3-7 over their last 10. Next up the Cats head over to Portland to face the Sea Dogs for a four-game series which kicks off at 6:00 PM on Friday. The games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday are all 1:00 PM EST contests.

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· Former Miracle lefty Glen Perkins notched his first career major league victory in Tuesday's 11-4 win over the Texas Rangers. The St. Paul, MN native limited the Rangers to two earned runs and six hits in a career-high 6.1 innings. The outing was his third start since being promoted from Triple-A Rochester and his 26th overall appearance with the Twins. In 18.1 innings with the Twins this season, Perkins has compiled a 1-1 record with a 3.44 ERA and 12 strikeouts.

· Last season Zach Ward threw well for the Miracle, but couldn't get a break, compiling a 5-17 record with a 4.08 era in the Florida State League.

Moved to the bullpen in New Britain, the 6'3", 225-lb. right hander has made life miserable for Eastern League batters. In 28 innings of work, he has posted a 2-0 record with a gaudy 0.32 ERA. He has limited the opposition to just 18 hits and a .178 batting average while racking up 24 strikeouts in 17 relief appearances.

Ward was obtained in the trade from the Reds which sent Kyle Lohse to Cincinnati. Prior to the current season, he'd always been a starter.

"I was a mental mess last year," Ward said in an interview with Heather Cavaliere for the Rock Cats website. "I had a lot of things going on in my head and I let that kind of effect me on the field. We didn't score a lot of runs as a team and I had kind of tough luck and had a lot of close games that I lost. There were also a lot of games where we scored plenty of runs and I didn't get the job done. It went both ways. It wasn't just a matter of me not catching the breaks.

"People throughout the organization told me to keep my head up and just keep doing what I was doing because the numbers were there for the most part. I just wasn’t getting the results in the win-loss column."

· Despite time off for an injury, Luke Hughes continues to lead the Rock Cats in runs (33) and hits (54), and is tied for the lead in home runs (10) with David Winfree. Winfree leads the team in runs scored with 36, one more then Brock Peterson, who has appeared in one less game. Steve Tolleson has taken the most walks for the Cats, while Brock Peterson heads up the strike out list with 42.

· Joe Christensen is reporting at Twins shortstop Adam Everett is headed back to the disabled list after experiencing more pain in his right shoulder. The team will announce a roster move following Thursday's game. Twins field manager Ron Gardenhire did not rule out the possibility of promoting Trevor Plouffe or Luke Hughes from AA New Britain to replace him. The Twins are thin through the middle with Matt Tolbert and Nick Punto on the DL. Alexi Casilla has already been promoted from AAA Rochester, so the pickings are slim for replacements.

With the rash of injuries, expect call ups to effect most of the minor league system shortly. On a more positive note, Scott Baker threw a pain free bullpen session on Wednesday and will now likely progress to throwing live batting practice. If that goes well, he could make a rehab start in Extended Spring Training on Monday.

Is Defense important?

Matt Moses: a rebuttle

I find myself endlessly perplexed by this question. First we had Michael Sandoval at third base. He could not play this position. He showed no apparent aptitude at ever learning to play the position. So Miracle fans got treated to a guy for a year and half who would stand around at third, wave his glove at a passing ball and hope that it would somehow magically jump in there.

So why did we keep him around that long? Well, he could hit, of course. .294 in 2003 with an OBP of .385. And yes, this is the Florida State League so those are big numbers. It's all relative.

They finally released Sandoval, not because he couldn't learn to play third base, but because well...he stopped hitting. But that was okay, we had other problems in 2004. This time at first.

His name was Danny Matienzo. Matienzo had been a catcher, and then got moved to first base. I'm not sure anyone really explained to him that you have to more around a bit more at first base than you do behind the plate. So Danny stood around at first base and waited for balls to be thrown to him -- not to the right, not to the left, not a little over his head -- but exactly to him. Hit him on the numbers and he could catch it.

Not a good first baseman. But he had one great talent. He could swing the bat. Finished up 2004 with a .305 average. So he gets promoted to New Britain...not because of his stellar defensive skills at first, but he because he could hit the ball.

The Twins took three of the top four batters from last season's underachieving Miracle squad and moved them up to New Britain.

Now remember, the AA Eastern League is a batter's league. Smaller ballparks mean that the ball should be launching itself, right?

Yet just over two weeks into the season, the Rock Cats are hitting sixth in the 12-team league with a .239 average. Matienzo is only hitting .230. And former FSL All-Star Jose Morales has only hit twice, as he's been injured.

Now the other guys they got from the Miracle, Doug Deeds and Alex Romero have been hitting; Deeds especially with a not really surprising .302 average. But some of the guys brought in to replace the slackers on the Fort Myers squad -- Luis Jimenez for example -- are not producing.

Jimenez is only hitting .067. But maybe that's not surprising for a guy that, in his statement on his substance suspension said "I've weighed 270 pounds for three years and I don't have muscles."

Gil Velazques who was brought into play short, is only hitting .195. Makes you wonder if Cliburn is regretting not taking Jesus Merchan up. After all, he was hitting .200 through Saturday's game.

So needless to say, its not surprising that suddenly everyone is pushing for Matt Moses to be moved up to Double A. My handy Miracle program tells me the guy has played a grand total of 48 games in his two professional years. That's not a whole lot of experience. And I can't help but think that eventually, that inexperience is going to show up in more than just his baserunning and defensive skills.

Moving him to AA isn't going to guarantee that he's going to feast on AA pitching either. After all, James Tomlin hit .303 in 2003 in the FSL. He ended up hitting .216 in New Britain last year, and is only hitting .179 in the early going this season. Maybe they should get rid of Tomlin, who does bring some brilliant fielding work to the team, and some excellent baserunning skills. After all, those skills seem to be meaningless in a game where you need to be successful at the plate only one-third of the time to excel.

But I have to question if a promotion for Moses is really warranted. Then again, I need only look at the examples over the past couple of years to know that the Twins could really give a rats ass about his fielding. As long as he hits the ball.

Baseball America writes in today's Daily Dish that "Moses, a first-round pick out of Mills Godwin High in Richmond, Va., in 2003, appears to have fully recovered from the bulged disc in his back that limited him to 29 games last year, and he is impressing the Miracle coaching staff."

I'm not sure that statement is true. Moses was scratched from the April 14th game because his "back was acting up". I'm not saying that's not the case. But I found it odd considering he was out on the field prior to the game playing catch. Ricardo Ingraham saw him and said "I don't want you throwing the ball if you're too hurt to throw the ball," and chased him off the field.

So was Moses really hurting? Or did he just want a day off?

I suppose if his back is going to act up, I'd rather it did it up in AA. But then I also have to wonder why, when the bats aren't working in Double A the first thing everyone wants is to pluck a big, juicy hitter out of the FSL.

Stan Cliburn made the following comment in the New Britain paper "Based on the guys who are new here, they didn't learn how to win last year. They had a terrible year down in the Florida State League. It was not a good situation down there. I heard a lot of negative things."

Hey Stan? What about the winning situation with the Rock Cats this year? Maybe you should try teaching them instead of raiding the cupboard ever time something isn't working for you?

New Britain is now 7 and 10 on the season. Even with Moses, the Miracle dropped two game to the Lakeland Tigers this week and struggled against the Dunedin Blue Jays. What Baseball America failed to report is that Moses' 3-for-4 plate performance Sunday came against the Clearwater Threshers, who are the bottom feeders in the FSL in terms of pitching right now.

Against Lakeland he was 1-for-4 and 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Still not bad, but not quite as stellar as his performance on Sunday. Against the Jays, who took a 16-2 win over Lakeland yesterday, he was 0-for-7 (and laid off with bad back).

Considering all of that, does he still look like a prime candidate for promotion? All of Moses' success has come against Sarasota, Tampa and Clearwater and guess which three teams are on the bottom of the FSL in terms of pitching? You got it! Sarasota, Tampa and Clearwater.

Maybe we should just stop jumping the gun when it comes to promotions and look at the overall picture. I'd like to think the Twins do. But then, I know better.

· Injury updates:

Jason Kubel was out on field four Sunday afternoon, playing catch. No, don't get your hopes up. He still had a knee brace on and it was part of a therapy work out.

Yes it bends, but he still has a very long way to go before he'll be ready to start patrolling the outfield again.

First round draft pick Glen Perkins made his debut with the Miracle Friday allowing two hits and striking out four in three innings worth of work. Josh Gray took the loss, allowing one run on four hits while striking out five in the last three innings. Julio DePaula also gave up a run in two innings, while the Miracle bats were relatively silent, managing only one run on seven hits.

Another first rounder, Matt Fox reports that he is about a week and half away from pitching extended spring training games. A college pitcher for the University of Central Florida, Fox pitched 8 game -- 26.2 innings -- with a 5.40 ERA so far in his professional career.

Also close to returning is Tim Henkenjohann who pitched in 2003 in Elizabethton and who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. The 6'5" 215 German import came up through the beer leagues in Germany and said the closest baseball field to his house was 80 miles away!

Trent Oeltjen has also come off the IR and returned to the Fort Myers squad. "Dingo" is hitting .385 through 13 at bats following his very scary eye injury during spring training.

· Movements:

The Twins have released lefty Jeff Randazzo. The 6'7" Pennsylvania native suffered a major accident in 2003 while playing in the Appalachian league. Once considered a top pitching prospect, he never regained his earlier form and was struggling in the New Britain bullpen. Brian Wolfe was demoted from Triple A Rochester to take his spot.

Both Terry Tiffee and Dave Gassner were reassigned to New Britain by the Twins. The Twins also signed southpaw Jimmy Anderson for Rochester following his release from the Pirates organization.

· Extended Spring Training:

The rookie Twins dropped their Sunday game 2-1 in front of some strong Reds pitching a the Lee County Sports Complex. Armando Gambino took the loss, allowing two runs on nine hits, while walking two and striking out three. Jeff Schoenbachler allowed only a single in two innings of relief, but managed to run his pitch count up to 95! Kyle Edlich was competent for three more, before Jose Mijares was brought in to close out the game. I've been seeing a good deal of Edlich so far and have not had a problem with him.

Of note was William Luque who hit a double and single in the game and made a couple highlight reel catches at short. Mijares also made a stellar play on the mound, snagging a hit ball midair and riffling it to first. Mark Robinson batted in Odannys Valdez for the lone Twins run.

Rick Knapp was in town, "teaching" he said. I caught him giving helpful suggestions to Kris Langford behind the plate, but from what I could get from the rest of the pitching staff who joined me for the game, he was not teaching, but terrorizing.

"Oh," I said. "Knappy's a really nice guy."

The boys scoffed at this suggestion, saying "Oh yeah, he's nice to YOU." Well, he is. However, I decided again having them "practice" signing my GCL ball since Knappy had already signed it and decided a get a new TC ball for them to practice on.

The Extended Spring Training roster is now available online for those that are interested.

· The Skunk Story:

This is Brock Peterson's to tell, but he was driving in Tennessee while playing for the Elizabethton Twins when the vehicle in front of him hit a skunk and the carcass was flipped up onto the windshield of his truck. He tried to get rid of it by turning on the windshield wipers, but the skunk got stuck in the blades.

Now...logic defies me a bit on this because I can't really figure out how a skunk, even flattened by a previous vehicle, could manage to get trapped under the windshield wipers. In any case, I'm sure it was not only smelly, but a bit gruesome as well.

Finally he had to get paper towels and pull the critter off his truck that way. (I also have this really strange mental picture of him standing out on a dark road, on his cell phone going "Mom? How do I get rid of skunk stink?" I wonder if he had to wash the truck in tomato juice?)

I understand that some of the Betsy fans, when treated to the odor of skunk these days say "I smell a Brockie!"

· And Finally...

The Miracle are on the road and will not play at home until Saturday when the first 750 fans through the gate will receive free Miracle tote bags. This will make some of the rookies happy who have been harassing me about having a Marlin's tote bag. "But you do like the Marlins," Fox says, noting that I'd lived in Fort Lauderdale.

I assured him I did and also added that we know a guy that pitches in the Marlins Farm System. Chris Resop is a Baron-Collier High School grad who is currently with their AA squad in the Southern League. A converted fielder, Resop has a six saves on seven games, with a great big .000 ERA, no walks and 8 strike outs in 7 innings pitched. (Yes, I promised his dad I'd work him into at least one Twins report his season.)

However, aside from the fact that they'd eat me out of house and home, memorabilia is another good reason not to bring the rookies home. I'm sure they'd take one look at my autographed Derek Jeter jersey and I'd never hear the end of it...

Rounding Third

Sometimes, I Don't Know really WAS on third!

I bet you thought I was going to cover second base tonight. Hah! Tricked you. I hit a triple this outing.

Actually third base is one of the biggest controversial subjects this spring (the other being short stop). Is Mike Cuddyer the answer? What about Eric Munson? Who is Terry Tiffee?

And Why, Oh Why didn't they keep Corey Koskie.

Let's start at the beginning. Basically, it's Cuddyer's job to lose. And I don't think he's doing that. Munson's chances of making the roster are slim, in part because it's so hard to knock out an incumbant, and in part because Koskie has given Cuddy his blessing and Cuddy's seening a lot more work at 3rd than Munson is in Spring Training.

So in my endlessly optimistic state of mind, I'm going to ignore Munson's bid as a 3rd base candidate and I'm also going to believe he will choose free agency over Rochester, NY. Sorry Munson fans. Ditto for Andy Fox.

So, our next top candidate for third is in fact on the 40-man roster and will the the player most likely called up if Cuddy gets hurt or can't do his job.

That would be Terry Tiffee. A 6'3" switch hitter from Little Rock Arkansas, he is one of those guys who came in kind of low under the radar, especially after a slow start in Class A Quad Cities.

He progressed steadily, but one of the things that really helped him was an increase in his athleticism. That was part of the knock against him in High A. New Britain went better, a .315 batting average and a trip to the All Star game. But it wasn't until he hit Rochester that he became a serious prospect for the Twins. He rather redefined himself and his talent.

He hit .307 and was second on the team in RBIs to Jason Kubel.

The major question about Tiffee is his health, following first some back problems in Rochester and then a shoulder injury while playing for the Twins.

He will start the year in Rochester and have another year to refine his skills before the Twins have another look at him in the Fall when rosters expand again.

In New Britain, things become a little hairy. Stan Cliburn wanted his corners solidified, so he had Billy Munoz signed for first and Ryan Owens signed for third. Owens played 68 games for the Cats, going .204 with 33 RBIs. By June, the position was being platooned with utility infielder Tommy Watkins and and short stop Jake Mauer playing when Owens was not. This was in part due to Owens going up to cover third when Tiffee was out with a back injury. He played in 42 games up there, hitting .218. Following the end of the 2004 season, he was released.

The Twins signed both Glenn Williams and Brent Abernathy to minor league contracts. Both are AAA players and are likely to stay with the club in Rochester and both can play second or third. Whether either of these will go down to Rochester, or bump Tiffee down, remains to be seen.

Tommy Watkins is a local Fort Myers boy. What he lacks in skill he makes up for in heart. He did not want to leave Southwest Florida to go to New Britain, but once there he acquitted himself well, batting .267 with 47 RBIs. Watkins is a the ULTIMATE utility player, having played games at each position on the field except for catcher. He's even pitched a couple of games as a closer, with a 0.00 ERA and one strike out.

Watkins progress has been slow and steady. While he may never be considered a top prospect for the Twins, his work ethic may end up surprising everyone. He was stated he'd like to pursue a career in coaching, hopefully with the Twins organization, once he finishes playing professional baseball.

Jake Mauer lives in the limelight of his younger brother, Joe. A short stop by trade, he played a good deal of third as well. Jake played Divion III baseball for the University of St. Thomas. The major knock against him is his lack of batting power.

Jake hit .258 last season with two triples and 11 doubles in 283 plate appearances. He has never hit a home run in his professional career.

Still he's good on the basepaths and not bad defensively and can put the ball in play on a relatively consistent basis.

Jake will either repeat with the Rock Cats or be released and signed by the independent league St. Paul Saints who would kill to have a Mauer on their roster.

Ben Pattee: I had a dream mid-season that Pattee was called up to the Miracle. "Why Pattee?" Miracle trainer Larry Bennesse asked me. "He had a good training camp but..."

A week later, Michael Sandoval a prospect who never should have been playing third base was released by the Miracle and Pattee was called up. Another utility infielder, and primarily a second baseman, Pattee did a fairly decent job defensively for the Miracle. He will likely repeat in Fort Myers, but not as a third baseman.

(Just a side note, Sandoval signed with the independent, Brockton Rox as an outfield following his release from the Twins Organziation. I only found it interesting that he was released because of his lack of production at the plate, and not because he stunk at third.)

Omar Burgos started the year at third for Fort Myers but was sent down to Quad Cities after 32 games, in part for his .208 batting average and five errors.

His batting average did not improve with the Swing, as he only hit .206 there. But all is not bad. Baseball America did rate him as having the best infield arm in the Twins minor league system.

Matt Moses....Wait! what? I don't have a page for Moses? I though I did! Oh yeah, here we go...Matt Moses a former first round draft pick for the Minnesota Twins.

Who scouted his guy? First he shows up for the Gulf Coast League following his draft and is diagnosed with a hole in his heart. Minor surgery corrected this. Okay good. Last year, he suddenly has a bulging disk in his back, reportedly from a trampoline accident he suffered in Junior High. How do you miss these kinds of medical problems?

My understanding of scouting is your supposed to know EVERYTHING about the guy, down to how many holes he has in his socks, let alone is heart.

Hit .223 in 29 games in the Quad and is making people wonder if this is another bust first rounder.

Projected to start the season with the Snappers and should receive a promotion to Fort Myers mid-season if he can stay healthy.

David Winfree: I LOVE OPIE! I made some remark to Don about the lack of 3rd base talent on the Miracle. "You should go over to Field D someday and check out those kids," he said around his toothpick.

I replied that I had and they actually had someone who could play the position!

Batted .286 for Elizabethton in 59 games after a solid outing in extended spring training. He was a "second year" rookie, but only played 23 game for the GCL Twins in 2003.

Will likely start the season with the Snappers, spelling Moses on third.

There were no clear third baseman in the Gulf Coast League as the position was pretty much platooned between second year rookie Travis Kalin (.244, 11 RBIs, 1 HR), Jilmar Arratia (.320, 29 RBIs, 2 HR), Michael Lysaught (.186, 7 RBIs, 0 HR), and Juan Portes (.327, 31 RBIs, 8 HR).

Portes and Arratia will likely advance to Elizabethton. Lysaught will spend another year in the Gulf Coast League and as there really isn't such a thing as a "third year" rookie, I have no idea what will happen to the very likeable Kalin. Hopefully they will ship him to Elizabethton as well.

TOMORROW: Pitchers and Catchers report so we will interrupt our look at the Twins minor league system by position for news from pitchers and catchers camp.

A Show to be Named Later

If you're in the Twin Cities area, tune in to Channel 11 Saturday night at midnight following Saturday Night Live for "A Show to be Named Later".

Kind of like "A player to be named later" they tell be ("but nobody gets it"). They shot footage at Spring Training last Sunday, the day Joe Mauer pulled up lame. I know that they shot a segment which I was in, but I have no idea if it will make it to the air.

In any case, check it out, as it seemed like a fun crew and let me know how it goes.