Midwest All-stars join Miracle for 2nd half of season

The Fort Myers Miracle received some reinforcements early from Beloit in the form of 3 position players and a reliever.

All-stars infielders Greg Olson (.247, 5 home runs, 27 RBIs and 10 stolen bases) and Steve Singleton (.302 average, 37 runs, six home runs and 32 RBIs), catcher Danny Lehmann (.240 average, 13 runs, 4 doubles and 9 walks) and reliever Matt Williams (2-0, 2.09 ERA, 38.3 innings pitched and 42 strike outs) are all headed to Fort Myers.

In addition, pitchers Danny Berlind and Brad Tippett were send down to Extended Spring Training. Both will likely spend the second half of the season in Elizabethton.

To replace the outgoing Snappers for the All-star game, shortstop Chris Cates, reliever Loek Van Mil and catcher Jair Fernandez were all added to the Midwest League All-star roster.

The addition of Lehmann, a catcher, means that Wilson Ramos is likely headed to AA New Britain, although no official announcement as been made at this time.

This will be Williams second stint with the Miracle as he was here briefly in the 2005 season as part of a late season call up from the Gulf Coast league. He appeared in only one game at the time, and pitched 2 innings.

Star Tribune writer LEN3 reported in his blog that starter Jeff Manship, 2nd baseman Brian Dinkelman, 3rd baseman Danny Valencia and either closer Rob Delaney or Anthony Slama, but not both, would be headed to New Britain. Rocky Palacios was promoted to fill the spot vacated by Jeff Christy who headed to AAA Rochster to replace the injured Jose Morales on the AAA roster.

It appears now that Palacios will be switched out with Ramos and Lehmann will get the bulk of the work behind the plate. *

An eighth round pick, 272nd overall, in the 2007 draft, Lehmann spent 2007 with the Elizabethton Twins. He is the nephew of TV personality Dog the Bounty Hunter.

The new players will join the Miracle in time for their road trip to Dunedin to face the Blue Jays. It is likely that pitcher Matt Fox will come out of the bullpen to take over the starting position vacated by Manship. Fox worked part of the 2007 season as a starter for the Beloit team that progressed to the Midwest League Championship series.

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*As of Monday morning, the Rock Cats are reporting that Manship, Dinkelman, Valencia and Delaney are going up and that Oswaldo Sosa and Jay Rainville are being re-assigned to Fort Myers.

From the Rock Cats Press Release:

RHP Jay Rainville, a 22-year-old native of Providence, RI, has been reassigned to Ft. Myers in the Florida State League. The Minnesota Twins' 2nd Round selection out of Rhode Island's Bishop Hendricken High in the 2004 Draft, the 6'2"/235-pound Rainville made 13 starts for the 2008 Rock Cats. He departs for Florida with a 5-6 record and 7.00 ERA.

RHP Oswaldo Sosa, a 22-year-old native of Tovar, Venezuela, has also been reassigned to Ft. Myers in the Single-A, Florida State League. A member of the Twins' 40-Man Major League Roster, Sosa was signed by Minnesota as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2002. The 6'4"/225-pound Sosa made 13 starts for the 2008 Rock Cats, compiling a 2-5 record and 5.81 ERA.

RHP Robert Delaney, a 23-year-old resident of River Vale, NJ, joins the Rock Cats from Ft. Myers in the FSL. Signed in June of 2006 as a non-drafted free agent out of St. John's University, the 6'3"/233-pound Delaney was one of the top Closers over the first half of the 2008 Florida State League. In 23 Ft. Myers appearances, Delaney amassed 13 Saves - tied for 2nd in the League - to go along with a 1-2 record and 1.42 ERA. His K/BB ratio was an impressive 34/4.

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Former Miracle Scott Baker recorded a rare feat Sunday afternoon in his start against the Milwaukee Brewers. Baker struck out four batters in the 3rd inning of the game.

He would get Ryan Braun to strike out swinging for the first out of the inning. Prince Fielder then struck out swinging as well, but reached first base on the dropped catch of a wild pitch. Baker then went on to strike out Russell Branyan and Mike Cameron to end the inning.

It is the first time a Twins pitcher as ever accomplished the feat. He is also the first American league pitcher to do it since Kazhuiro Sasaki struck out four in an inning on April 4, 2003 while pitching for the Mariners.

Dodger Brad Penny was the last major leaguer to strike out four in an inning when he did so on September 23, 2006 in the second inning of a contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Despite Baker's heroics, the Minnesota Twins fell 4-2 to the Brewers. The Twins could only manage four hits in the game in support of Baker, who allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 9 over six innings. (Press Release)

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Baker picks up win in rehab start

Fort Myers 8 at Tampa 6

W: S. Baker (1-0, 5.40); L: Z. McAllister (0-1, 9.00); SV: R. Delaney (12)
HR: FTM: W. Ramos (8).

Despite a somewhat troubling performance by the bullpen, the Fort Myers Miracle hung on to win 8-6 over the Tampa Yankees. The victory extended the win streak to six games.

Twins hurler Scott Baker made the second of two scheduled minor league rehab starts, and the Miracle were quick to give him some offensive help. Danny Saniesteban doubled, and singles by Yangervis Solarte and Yancarlos Ortiz (a.k.a. "the Yans") plated him. Brian Dinkelman would fly out to right before an Edward Ovalle single would bring in Solarte. A line drive by Danny Valencia brought in Ortiz. Tampa starter Zach McAllister then got Whit Robbins and Wilson Ramos out on strikes to end the inning.

It was just in time too, as Kevin Smith would hit a ground rule double for the home team with one out on the board. A wild pitch by Baker moved him to 3rd. and Brian Chaevez would reach on a fielder's choice. Unfortunately, the play at the plate could not get done in time, and Smith put a run on the board for Tampa.

In the top of the fourth Juan Portes would single. Following a pop up to Santieseban, Portes would steal 2nd, and move to 3rd on a wild pitch by McAllister. Solarte would reach on a fielding error by Tampa 3rd baseman Mitch Hilligoss, and Ortiz would double to bring in Portes. McAllister would then issue an intentional walk to Dinkelman. Ovalle sacrificed in Solarte to add another run to the Miracle total before Valencia would ground into a force out.

With one out on the board, Andres Perez singled, and Hilligoss doubled him in. Hilligoss then stole 3rd. Josue Calzado would triple him in to make the score 5-3 Miracle.

Robins would single off Wilkins Arias who replaced McAllister at the top of the 5th. Ramos then went yard to increase the Miracle lead by two.

Baker would end up allowing the 3 runs on seven hits while striking out 4 over five innings. He'd be replaced by Jose Lugo for the sixth who allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.

Blair Erickson finally made his long awaited debut for the Miracle, allowing a double in the bottom of the 7th before setting down three Yankee batters to end the inning.

With one out on the board in the 8th, Hilligoss would take a walk, then move to 2nd on a wild pitch by Erickson. Calzado then doubled to score Hilligoss. Anthony Slama would come in at that point. The Miracle All-star allowed a single to Smith that plated Calzado. After getting Ben Blumenthal to swing into a strike out, Luis Nunez singled putting runners at the corners. A single by James Cooper plated Smith. Jose Gil would be plunked by a pitch before Slama finally got Kyle Anson to ground out.

The offense never rests for the Miracle. With Stephen Antz on the mound for Tampa, Ovalle singled then stoled 2nd. Following a fly out to Valencia, Ovalle would make his way to 3rd on a Robbins single. Jose Valdez then stepped in to try to stop the Miracle, but Ramos greeted him with a single that plated Ovalle. Valdez would get the next two batters out on strikes. The Miracle would call in Rob Delaney to end the game and end it he did, retiring 3 Tampa batters to preserve the Miracle win.

Ortiz was 3-for-4 with 1 run and 2 RBI for the Miracle. Ovalle was 2-for-4 with a run and 2 runs scored, plus a pair of strike outs. Robbins, Ramos and Santiesteban were all 2-for-5 with a run, Ramos with 3 RBIs. Valencia, Juan Portes and Solarte all collected single hits for Fort Myers. Dinkelman had a bad night, striking out 3 times. Portes and Ramos, like Ovalle, would record 2 strike outs in the game.

The teams finish up tomorrow with a 1:00 start time as Fort Myers looks for a sweep. Miracle southpaw Tyler Robertson (3-2, 3.04) will get the start against Tampa righty Christian Garcia (2-1, 1.72).

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Where are they now? Luis Maza and Terry Tiffee each have been called up to the Dodgers. Maza is hitting .360 with 1 home run and 2 RBIs through 11 games (25 AB). Tiffee is batting .500 through 2 games (2 AB)

Alex Romero earned the last roster spot out of spring training for the Arizona Diamond Backs and is hitting .250 through only 14 games.

Josh Rabe is tearing it up in the independent Atlantic League, hitting .370 in 25 games (92 AB), with 4 home runs and 18 runs batted in. He is playing for the Camden Riversharks.

Kyle Geiger signed with the Ottawa Rapidz of the independent CanAm league, and is hitting .375 through 5 games (16 AB) with 1 home run and 2 RBIs. That is the same league that the Goldkang owned Brockton Rox participate in.

Catcher Korey Feiner is currently playing in the Seattle System.

Josh Hill was picked up the Pittsburgh Pirates and is currently pitching for the AA Altoona Curve where he has a 3-5 record with a 4.12 ERA in 9 games.

Miracle stump T-Yanks for 5th straight

Fort Myers 7 at Tampa 1

W: A. Burnett (4-2, 3.07); L: I. Nova (3-6, 4.20)
HR: FTM: J. Portes (3).

After a slow start to the season, the Fort Myers Miracle suddenly have five starting aces on their pitching staff. And a couple more in the bullpen.

Alex Burnett worked 6.1 inning allowing 1 run on 4 hits and a pair of walk. He struck out none, that has hardly noticeable.

Meanwhile the battery got to work early. Ivan Nova would get Brian Dinkelman to fly out to start the game, but Edward Ovalle singled. A wild pitch moved him to second. All-star Danny Valencia would ground out, but Whit Robbins took a walk to put men at the corners. Wilson Ramos and Juan Portes both hit ground ball singles to bring in Ovalle and Robbins respectively, giving the Miracle a pair of runs.

With two outs on the board in the bottom of the 4th, Andres Perez doubled. Jose Gil then singled out to to left to plate Tampa's designated hitter. Gil would advance to third on a throwing error by Ramos, but Burnett got Smith to fly out to end the inning.

Ovalle opened up the top of the fifth with a triple. Valencia would sacrifice him in. Robbins walked and Ramos singled to put two men on. After Portes struck out, Eli Tintor would take a walk to load the bases. Yangervis Solarete singled out to left to bring in 2, and Yancarlos Ortiz would send a grounder to short to score Tintor.

Portes would hit a single shot homer in the top of the 9th as a going away gift for the Yankees, who only got a double off Matt Fox before he closed down the side.

Ortiz was 3-for-5 with a run, Portes was 2-for-4, with a walk, a run, and 2 RBIs, and Dinkelman, Ovalle, and Ramos were all 2-for-5, Dink with a walk, Ovalle with a pair of runs and Ramos with a run and a RBI.

The Miracle continue to Party with the Pinstripes tomorrow at Casa de Steinbrenner, with Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Baker making his second minor league rehab start, his first in the Florida State League. The Yankees pitcher is T.B.D. after the club lost All-star Eric Hacker to AA Trenton on Wednesday.

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Photos from Monday's EST Game

Click HERE for pictures of Scott Baker on the mound, plus Nick Punto and some assorted Minor Leaguers from Monday's Extended Spring Training game at the Lee County Sportsplex.

I didn't have the right film with me, so the second roll didn't turn out as well as I'd have liked.

For more pictures from extended spring training, please visit gcltwins.com/photos.html

Baker's 3rd inning

Also Nick Punto's second at bat.

Baker's not quite half-dozen

GCL Pirates 8 at GCL Twins 1

I am not a big fan of extended spring training games in general, and rehab games in particular. Hosting a pitcher on rehab isn't bad, it's the batters that get to me. Winning or losing or even how you play the game is not the point. The point is getting the work in for the individual that is rehabbing, so that he'll get back up to the Twins as soon as possible.

Scott Baker pitched the first five innings of Monday's Annual Memorial Day Game (with Terry Ryan). He pitched very well and was a pleasure to watch, from the first strike out to the last line out. He allowed one run a pair of wind-fed doubles in the fifth inning, but was otherwise solid, allowing four hits and at least 3 strike outs (I missed two outs in the second inning as I was messing with the camera.)

Baker is expected to make one more minor league start, most likely on Saturday. As the Fort Myers Miracle are in Tampa, I'm going to guess it's not going be with the Twins High A Affiliate. As the GCL boys are in Bradenton on Saturday, I'm guessing it's not going to be with them either.

Most likely Baker's next start will be at Frontier Field in Rochester on Saturday.

Baker's performance was heartening from a Twins fan perspective. After Saturday's 19-3 loss to the Tigers including Bonsor's 9 run, 7 hit performance, it's clear the Twins need Baker back A.S.A.P.

The less then happy side of today's game was Nick Punto's six at bats, in which we had four fly outs, one double play and one strike out. Punto did play second base through the first six innings as well, and his defense was not part of the problem. He still has a ways to go though, and will be sticking around the Lee County Sportsplex at least for a little while longer according to Terry Ryan who said "He's not ready".

And given that the idea was to get little Nicky Punto as many at bats as possible, it was a little hard for the regular GCL boys to get anything going with the batting order disrupted.

As a result, the Twins did not get onto the board until the 9th inning, when Anderson Hidalgo doubled, then came home on a failed double play that took out Andres Diaz at second base. After tagging the base for the first out, the Pirates shortstop threw the ball into Diaz - an accident - but I'm sure that didn't make Andres feel any better. It's tough to see a player get injured anytime, but it's doubley so when his parents are watching.

Curtis Leavitt would take over from Baker and would work the 6th and 7th innings. He faired well enough in the seventh, although I had made my way over to the first base side to talk to my buddies.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ryan asks me.

"I occasionally like to go to the English speaking side of the park so I can have a conversation," I explain.

And Winston Marquez wasn't around to translate for me today, as he suffered an ACL tear and will be headed up to Minnesota for surgery. He is done for the season.

It was in the 8th with two outs that Leavitt got into trouble allowing 4 hits, including a double and a triple and a walk for five runs - all earned. I was considering whining to Jake to please, please, please roll the inning, when Leavitt finally got the last out, striking the batter out looking.

Chris Anderson, the new little lefty from New Hampshire, worked the 8th inning, allowing only 1 base hit and striking out 1. Lee Martin pitched the ninth. The first batter would reach on a fielding error (E6) and the second Pirates' boy would put one over the fence.

Note that the Pirates had new uniforms which did not have their names on the back and as I do not have a roster for them I have no idea who was who on their team. He would also allow a single before getting the fourth batter he face to hit into a double play and the final out on an outfield fly.

As for our guys, Jeanfred Brito was 0-for-4, James Beresford was 0-for-2, and reached on a throwing error in the fifth inning. Angel Morales was 0-for-2 with a walk and a pair of strike outs, Danny Rams was 0-for-3, Hidalgo was 2-for-2 with a double, Alex Soto was 0-for-1 with a walk, Hyun-Wook Choi (the outfielding Choi - we have two) was 0-for-2 with a walk and Reggie Williams was 1-for 2.

And Eli Tintor...well...Eli was our new first baseman and he went 1-for-3 with one strike out. He hit into a very controversial triple play in the bottom of the the fifth, fueled by a terrible call by the umpire, who made several questionable calls in the game. I also got my first look at Tim Atherson, the new Aussie infielder, who was 0-for-1. He would be hit by a pitch in the 6th inning. Nick Papasan would take a walk for him in the 8th.

So while we didn't win, and the game was certainly a let down from that aspect, we did get a good outing from Baker, so I'll take the positive from the experience.

Hurry back Scotty, Minnesota needs you!

Video of Baker's third inning is currently uploading and will be available a little later today. Photos are also in the works. We are very multi-media friendly around here.

Despite Guerra's walk-fest, Miracle top Palm Beach

Palm Beach 3 at Fort Myers 5

W: D. Guerra (5-1, 4.56); L: B. Dickson (2-5, 3.64); SV: R. Delaney (11)
HR: None.

The Miracle picked up a 5-3 win Friday in a very long game to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend at Bill Hammond Stadium.

Brian Dinkelman singled in the bottom of the seventh. Juan Portes would fly out and Danny Valencia's line drive would put two men on. Whit Robbins then drew a walk to load the bags. Edward Ovalle doubled out to left to drive in two, Robbins would try to cross the plate as well, but was tagged out at home. Ovalle decided to run for three, but the ball was relayed back to second for the 3rd out. Still it proved to be the game inning runs for the Miracle.

Fort Myers actually got on the board first with Dinkelman walking. A missed catch on a pick off attempt moved Dink to 2nd. Portes would line out, but Valencia's line drive to center drove in Binkelman.

Deolis Guerra was struggling with his control early on. With two outs on the board, he'd walk Tony Cruz. Danny Descalso then doubled out to Danny Santiesteban in right to bring in Cruz, tying the game. Nick Derba would pop out to catcher Wilson Ramos, who made a great catch by the netting near the visitor's dugout to end the inning.

In the third Guerra walked Antonio DeJesus. James Rapoport would hit into what should have been a double play, but the umpire called Rapoport safe at first. Rapoport then stole second, but Donoval Solano would draw a walk off Guerra, who suddenly seemed to lose the strike zone. Following a ground out to Brian Cartie, Guerra issued walks to Brown and Jones to force in a run. He finally put one over the plate, which Cruz hit to the outfield and which was handled by Mr. Santiesteban.

Guerra would be tagged for 2 runs, both earned on 2 hits and 7 walks. He fanned only 2 and lasted 5 innings. I wasn't all that excited by his performance. Granted, it's a little hard to get his speed when Tyler Robertson is operating the gun, but I was only seeing speeds off him in the mid-to-lower 80s. Supposedly he throws 93, but I didn't see it.


Dear Mr. Robertson, please hold the gun still, some of us are trying to look at it!

Yancarlos Ortiz walked in the bottom of the fifth, and Dinkelman would double. Portes sac fly scored Ortiz, and Valencia would sacrifice Dinkelman home.

Frank Mata was pitching in the 90s, and would handle the sixth and seventh innings, giving way to Anthony Slama in the 8th. After striking out Brown, he would issue a walk to Jones. Cruz then reached on a force attempt when Ortiz flubbed the catch. Daniel Descalso then doubled off Slama to drive in Jones. Slama would get the next two batters out on strikes to preserve the Miracle lead.

Rob Delaney picked up his 11th save of the year, going three up and three down to finish of the game.

Santiesteban was pulled in the fourth inning, supposedly due to an injury. He did however return to the field as first base coach for the last two innings, so perhaps it was more of a precautionary move than anything.

Dinkelman was 2-for-3 in the contest with 3 runs, Valencia was 3-for-3 with 1 run and 1 RBi. Ramos was 2-for-4 but did not factor into the scoring.

The homestand continues Saturday eveing with Alex Burnett (3-2, 3.16) tossing out the first pitch at 7:05 PM. Shaun Garceau (3-0, 1.93) will be on the mound for the Cards. Fireworks will provided by North Trail RV and Coors Light and - one hopes - by the Miracle bats.

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Jeff Manship and Yangervis Solarte sign autographs before the game

Note: TwinsBaseball.com reported Friday that RHP Scott Baker will make two minor league rehab starts beginning Monday at Extended Spring Training. The game, which is played at the Lee County Sportsplex, starts at 10:00 AM.