Rookies get'er done for Miracle

Dunedin 1 at Fort Myers 3

W: J. Testa (1-0, 1.80); L: R. Boone (3-4, 5.44); SV: J. Lugo (1)
HR: DUN: M. Liuzza (3).

Injuries have been affecting the Miracle now for quite some time, but Wednesday night saw the Fort Myers Miracle ace, Cole Devries, sidelined with a sore back. Never fear! Southpaw Joe Testa was called up from the Gulf Coast League Twins and the former Wagner College ace performed admirably as a fill in starter.

Jake Mauer had called over prior to the game to say Testa'd never gone more than 2 innings and 30 pitches with the GCL Twins, but I felt that he might surprise Jeff Smith and I was not mistaken. The lefty worked five quick innings, allowing only 1 earned run on 3 hits and a pair of walks while fanning 3. The run came in the top of the fifth, went Matt Liuzza put his 3rd home run of the season over the center field fence.

The Miracle were already on the board though at that point. Juan Portes had hit a single in the bottom of the 4th. Danny Berg then took a double off Randy Boone that drove in Portes. The line drive out to left was deep enough that it was a near triple, with Berg racing for third base, only to be tagged out as he was sliding in. While it was the third out of the inning, Wilson Ramos and Johnny Woodard having both flown out, the run counted, which is what really mattered.

Eli Tintor took a walk in the bottom of the 5th. Garrett Olson doubled to move Tint to 3rd, and he'd be sacrificed in by Steve Singleton. Edward Ovalle followed suite, with his sac-fly to center plating Olson for the insurance run.

Russian Andrei Lobanov, also called up from the Gulf Coast League worked the next two innings for the Miracle, allowing only one run and one walk while fanning 3.

Lobanov would walk Chris Emanuele in the top of the 8th before giving way to Jose Lugo. Brad Emaus would reach on a force attempt, with 2nd baseman Steve Singleton missing the catch. Lugo would then take David Cooper down on strikes before unleashing a wild pitch that advanced the two runners. Cory Patton flew out, but Marcos Cabral drew a walk to load the bags, but Lugo was able to get Anthony Hatch to ground out, ending the inning and stranding the runners.

With one out on the board in the ninth, Adam Calderone doubled. Lugo then hit Jonathan Diaz with a pitch, but he was able to get Emanuele to line out and Eamaus to pop out to end the contest.

Telsa picked up his first FSL win, Lugo recorded his first FSL save.

The Miracle had only five hits on the night, with Olson going 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk, a double and a run. Tintor was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run, while Portes and Berg were 1-for-3 each, Portes with a run, Berg with a double and a RBI.

The Lakeland Tigers fly into town now on their next mission. Barring injuries, Alex Burnett (7-5, 3.84) will be on the mound for Thirty Thursday. The game will also feature the "Redneck Olympics" for the amusement of the beer drinking crowd.

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Nicky Lobanov was also recalled from the Gulf Coast League. The two Russians are not related, despite sharing a last name.

Cole's has aggravated an old high school injury. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday, but it is considered to be "nothing major" and that he should be fine with a bit of rest.

Tyler Robertson returned to Minnesota for a check up, but word is that the Twins want to shut him down for the remainder of the season, so that he doesn't re-injure his shoulder trying to return too soon.

Testa's start brought a lot of the GCL boys too the park, so I was able to catch up with a few for autographs. I asked Khol Nanney if I could trouble him for an autograph and he said "no". "No?" "It's no trouble at all ma'am." Oh! One of those nice southern boys!

Danny Santiesteban will be converted to full-time pitching in Fall Instructional League. There isn't any info available for FIL at this time, perhaps next week, but I have been told it will start on September 22nd.

Team USA lot their opening game of the Olympics to the Koreans 8-7. (Recap) Former Miracle Terry Tiffee had a pair of hits in the contest. They rebounded against Team Netherland however, topping the Dutch 7-0. (Recap) Twins prospect Loek Van Mil was to pitch for Team Netherland, but the 7'1" Dutchman was sidelined with an injury before the games even began (twinsbaseball.com). "Loek Van Tall Guy" as he is affectionately known, will likely start next season with the Fort Myers Miracle. Don't forget to check out former Miracle Brian Duensing's blog as he corresponds from the Olympic games.

In order to qualify for the FSL playoffs, a player must be on their respective team's roster as of Friday, August 15. You cannot call players down, only up. If they are added to the FSL roster, they become inelligable to play for any other team in the playoffs. Unless Beloit is magically eliminated from the playoffs by tomorrow, don't expect any help from the corner. By the same token, we won't be able to add Aaron Hicks from the GCL roster as they are currently the wild card team for the GCL playoffs.

Odds and Ends

Mostly Miracle & GCL related but...

Johnny Woodard was pulled off the field prior to today's game against the GCL Reds and activated to the Miracle. Andres Diaz took his place in the line up.

Once a New Britain pitcher is promoted to Rochester to replace the Beijing bound Brian Duensing, Jose Mijares will be sent to New Britain. Names batting about include Ryan Mullins and Anthony Swarzak although Yohan Pino's last outing certainly makes him a candidate for the Red Wings.

Tyler Robertson says he has the same thing wrong with his shoulder that Kyle Waldrop has, but in Wally's case it's been building up over the last two years. They caught it early enough with Tyler that the condition can be corrected with physical therapy as opposed to surgery. As a result, he expects to be pitching again in two weeks, probably for a brief stint in GCL and will be back with the Miracle for the playoffs.

Jake Mauer said they may just go with a bull pen start every fifth day in GCL to give the kids more innings as opposed to moving someone into the rotation to replace Alex Curry. They used Andrei Lovanov yesterday, but have had mixed results with him as a starter.

The GCL Twins have added a new permanent assistant coach, Ramon Borrego, who had previously been with the Venezuelan Academy.

Miracle falter on the road

Fort Myers 2 at Vero Beach 5

W: C. Tiffany (1-0, 2.25); L: T. Robertson (5-3, 2.72); SV: N. Frontz (19)
HR: None.

The Miracle dropped game one to the Vero Beach Rays as Tyler Robertson gave up four runs in the 2nd inning suffer just his 3rd loss of the season. The big lefty has beens suffering some control issues due to an arm ailment, and that seemed to be the problem Monday night.

Matthew Fields reached in the bottom of the second on a throwing error by shortstop Yancarlos Ortiz. Ryan Royster then singled and Nevin Ashely walked to load the bases. Neil Walton ground into a force out which scored Fields, and a wild pitch by Robertson put him on second base. Robertson got Jair De La Rosa out on strikes before Joey Callendar doubled to drive in two. Garrett Groce then singled to drive in Callender before John Matulia would ground out to end the inning.

Danny Lehman and Yancarlos Ortiz both took walks to lead off the the top of the 3rd. Following a fly out to Yangervis Solarte, Steve Singleton would sacrifice in Lehmann for the first Miracle run.

In the bottom of the 3rd Ceasr Suarez singled and stole 2nd. A throwing error by Lehmann put him on 3rd. He'd come in on Field's ground out. Ashley took another walk, one out later and stole 2nd, but Walton lined out to end the inning.

Solarte hit a grounder to short to get on base in the top of the 5th. Singleton then doubled him in to make it 5-2 Rays.

Jose Lugo worked 3 inning in relief of Robertson, who only lasted four, giving up 5 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 1. Danny Santiesteban was the surprise closer of the contest, striking out 2 in his first appearance on the mound.

Solarte went 2-for-5 at the plate for the Miracle with a run. Edward Ovalle and Danny Berg each had a walk and single, while Lehmann finished up 1-for-3 with a run and run scored. Singleton was 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and 2 RBIs.

Southpaw Ryan Morse (2-4, 3.32) will make the start for the Rays Tuesday against Miracle righty Matt Fox (4-3, 3.65). First pitch is due out at 7:00 PM. Fort Myers returns home on Friday to face the Jupiter Hammerheads.

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From MiLB.com:

THE WEEK THAT WAS: Fort Myers won the first five games of the week before dropping a pair. The strong week pulled the Miracle within 2 1/2 games of FSL West-leading Dunedin. Fort Myers is in second place, a half game ahead of third-place Lakeland.

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: DH Edward Ovalle is hitting at a pretty good clip lately. In the past 10 games the Dominican native has 11 hits in 34 at-bats for a .324 average. ... 2B Yangervis Solarte is having a tough time in recent games. In his past 36 plate appearances he only has four hits.

PLAYER TO WATCH: SP Tyler Robertson threw five hitless innings in a 4-0 home win July 2. The southpaw from California struck out five and walked two as he raised his record to 5-1 with a 2.73 ERA.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: SP Deolis Guerra limited Tampa to three hits July 1 in a 4-0 Miracle win at Fort Myers. The native of Venezuela, acquired by Minnesota in the Johan Santana deal, recorded his first complete-game shutout and struck out four.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I felt like I was locating the ball well," Robertson told MiLB.com. "[Tampa is] aggressive. They like to swing early and put the ball in play. I got ahead in the count and was able to put guys away. I lost a couple of games early on. I think I was over-thinking, trying to do too much. I looked at some video from last year, noticed some stuff in my mechanics, and cleaned that up pretty good."

Sarasota's Drew Stubbs was named the Player of the Week for the Florida State League. Stubbs used the short right field in Casa de Steinbrenner to hit a pair of home runs. They went along with his triple-a-game streak earlier in the week against the Dunedin Blue Jays and his .429 (9-21) batting average. The 23-year-old has had 26 stolen bases this season, only one during the week of June 30 through July 6.

The Atlanta Braves have sold the contract of Barron Collier High School star Chris Resop to the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese central league. The right-hander had been sent to Triple A Richmond to be converted to a starter. He had a 5.89 ERA in 18 appearances out of the Braves Bullpen. The Naples, Florida, resident was a fourth-round draft pick of the Florida Marlins in the 2001 First-year Player Draft.

Former Miracle Denard Span extended his career-high hitting streak to eight games Sunday afternoon. He has hit .400 (6-for-15) with five runs scored and two RBI since his recall to Minnesota from Triple-A Rochester. Another Miracle alumni, Alexi Casilla, tied his career-long long hit-streak, hitting safely in 13 straight, dating back to June 20.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer led all catchers in voting and will start for the AL squad in next week's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. He’ll be joined on the team by teammates Justin Morneau, who was named to the team via the players' ballot, and Joe Nathan, who was selected by manager Terry Francona. Mauer and Morneau, the "M & M Boys", both played for the Miracle during their minor league career.

Buzzwords: The most used search phrases to find www.miraclefans.com are "steve singleton the minn miracles", "guillermo moscoso july 4", "minnesota twins whit robbins" "anthony slama miracle", "eddie Santiesteban baseball", "cincinnati reds scott carroll" and of course the ever popular "are you ready for a miracle" or some variation there of.

Robertson near perfect through five

Tampa 0 at Fort Myers 4

W: T. Robertson (5-2, 2.75); L: J. Stephens (2-1, 1.06)
HR: None.

Lots of rain around the Florida State League tonight and it originally looked like we'd be playing two tomorrow, but the skies cleared and game got underway 1 minute late a 7:06 PM.

Tyler Robertson took the start, throwing a no hitter through five innings although he did labor a bit at one point walking 2. He would strike out 5, stifling the Yankees with a nice curve ball.

Garrett Olson doubled out to left to start off the Miracle offense. Yancarlos Ortiz would move him on sac-bunt, and he'd come home on a Steve Singleton double.

The Miracle would load the bags in the 3rd, but could not capitalize as Olson was called out on strikes and Ortiz flew out to end the inning.

Robertson would just keep chugging along through 3. However, in the bottom of th 3rd, Wilson Ramos went down after a final swing that struck him out, and had to be helped from the field. As Danny Lehmann was the designated hitter, the Miracle put Danny Berg behind the plate.

After getting Eduardo Nunez to ground out, Robertson would walk Luis Nunez and there seemed to be a bit of a communication problem in the way Berg was framing the plate for him. Robertson would sit Kevin Smith down on strikes, but walked Andres Perez. A bit of a conference on the mound with Berg a few adjustments and he's put Seth Fortenberry to rest on strikes as well.

There would be no such problems in the top of the fifth, as two of the three batters he faced added a couple more Ks to the Kwick Kopy "K" Korner.

In the bottom of the 5th with one out on the board, Olson would single but would get caught stealing. Ortiz drew a walk, and Singleton would pop out to put two outs on the board. Berg knocked a nice line drive to center to bring in Olson, and Juan Portes singled out to left to drive in Ortiz. Edward Ovalle's line drive to center plated Berg to make it 4-0.

Jose Lugo would take over for the top of the 6th and would allow a singled to Eddie Nunez. But this time, it seemed like Jeff Smith managed to get the GOOD Jose Lugo on the mound as we'd take no damage in the inning.

Lugo would also get through the seventh allowing a walk to Fortenberry.

Steve Singleton would smack a nice double off Tampa's Edgar Soto and would move to 3rd on Berg's ground out, but he'd end up stranded as Portes hit into a ground out as well.

Blair Erickson took over the top of the 8th, A fielding error by Portes would allow Eddie Nunez to make his way to 3rd, but with 2 outs on the board, Erickson was able to get Luis Nunez to line out send the Yankees back to the dugout with more goose eggs.

For a man who professes to like rock'n'roll, plays the guitar and named his dog David Bowie, Johnny Cash seems like a really strange selection to make for your mound music. But Cash started to "Run on for a long time" and Anthony Slama trotted on out to mound. One fly out, one single and a pair of strikes later, it was all over, as the slightly damp Miracle faithful made their way home with a happy feeling inside.

Olson, Singleton, and Ovalle were all 2-for-4, Olson with a pair of runs, Singleton and Ovalle each with a run scored. Berg was 1-for-2 with a run and a RBI; Portes was 1-for-4 with a RBI. Solarte and Lehman were the one hit wonders of the game.

The annual Independence Day Fireworks game kicks off Independence weekend Thursday night at Hammond Stadium. Matt Fox (3-3, 3.95) will kick off the on-field fireworks against Tampa's Ivan Nova (3-9, 5.10).

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Whit Robbins is not officially on the DL, but he is not playing because he has stress fractures in his back. This is the same problem that finished off the second half of last season for him. There's no return date for him, as the only cure is rest. He's been serving on and off as first base coach, spelling Slice.

With Berg catching the game, Danny Santiesteban got to serve as bullpen catcher.

Mircle slip against Reds on Water Day

Sarasota 4 at Fort Myers 3

W: S. Carroll (4-1, 4.94); L: J. Lugo (1-3, 5.06); SV: R. Geronimo (8)
HR: FTM: D. Berg (3).

Matt Williams likes to pitch to the outside of the plate and they call a tighter strike zone in the Florida State League. This is not a combination for success as the young reliever gave up two runs in the fifth, tying the game. The Sarasota Reds would go on to defeat the Fort Myers Miracle, 4-3.

Miracle ace Tyler Robertson was making his first start after missing a brief time on the disable list with shoulder tendinitis. He described it more a sore bicep but in any case, he was held to a lower pitch count than usual and threw only the first 4 innings. Even so, he limited the Reds to just 3 hits and walked only 1 while fanning 5.

Eli Tintor singled his way onto base in the bottom of the 3rd. Danny Lehmann then lay down a ground ball bunt that would have made former Miracle field manager Jose Marzan proud. Yancarlos Ortiz followed this up with his own bunt to advance the pair. Nick Punto ground out to first, plating Tintor to put he Miracle on the board.

In the bottom of the fourth, Danny Berg would knock his 3rd home run of the year over the left field wall.

Williams would take over for Robertson in the top of the fifth and walked Eddy Rodriguez. Jake Kahaulelio would move Rodriguez to 2nd with a sac bunt. Jose Castro then hit a line drive out to center, scoring the runner. Williams would get Chris Heisey out on strikes, before Juan Francisco doubled to the left field line to score Castro.

Iris was a little concerned that they didn't go for a play at the plate, but Lehmann really wasn't in position to make one and a throwing error would have cost them another run. Sometimes you just have to suck it up. Drew Stubbs would go down swinging to retire the side.

Sarasota right hander Scott Carroll worked 7 innings to pick up his 4th save of the season. He'd allow 5 hits and fan seven over the time.

After his shaky fifth, Williams worked the next two innings, using a combination of fly outs and ground outs to get Sarasota to sit down and keeping the game tied.

Field Manager Jeff Smith would then send Jose Lugo to the bullpen and once again, it was the not the good Jose Lugo. Heisey would walk before Francisco doubled off the Dominican reliever to put the Reds on top. Stubbs would single to move Francisco to 3rd, and after Carson Kainer when down on strikes, Jason Louwsma would reach on a fielder's choice as the Lugo caught the ball and sent it back to Lehmann to make the play at home, saving the run. Catcher Jacob Long would ground into a force out to retire the side.

With two outs on the board in the bottom of the 8th, Nick Punto would draw a walk from Phil Valliquette, then steal 2nd. Wilson Ramos, pinch hitting for Steve Singleton would ground out however, leaving him stranded.

With the loss of Rob Delaney to Double A New Britain, Smith is looking more to Blair Erickson to take over the closer role.

After getting Rodriguez out on strikes, Erickson would allow Kahaulelio to single out to center. Castro would ground into a force out and would be tripled in by Heisey before Erickson could get Francisco to strike out.

Juan Portes would get hit by a pitch in the bottom of the ninth, after a fly out to Berg, Garrett Olson would reach on a fielding error by Francisco that put Portes at 3rd. Yangervis Solarte then singled to score Portes. Reds closer Ramon Geronimo would then get Whit Robbins and Danny Lehmann to fly out, ending the game.

Solarte finished up 2-for-4 in the game. Punto was 1-for-3 with a walk. Tintor was 1-for-3 with a run and a pair of strike outs. Lehmann was the one hit wonder, finishing up 1-for-4.

The two teams rematch Saturday evening with Matt Fox (3-1, 3.80) taking to the mound against major leaguer Josh Fogg (0-0, 4.35) who is pitching on a rehab assignment from Cincinnati.

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Kudos to Sharpie for being able to say "Kahaulelio". But dude, that Square Bob Spongepants song was TOO loud. You hurt my ears!

Iris wanted to know Saturday's promotion was. "It's Cat night," I tell her. "You get a free kitten when you walk through the gate."

"NO IT'S NOT!" she says, but she had to think about it first.

In truth, the first 750 people through the gate get a free snazzy looking Miracle cap courtesy of North Trail RV. Myself, I'd rather have the free kitten.

"Big Country" rocks Tampa

Fort Myers 6 at Tampa 1

W: T. Robertson (4-2, 2.76); L: C. Garcia (2-2, 4.12)
HR: TAM: J. Calzado (4).

One of the best pitchers currently in the Florida State League didn't make it to the FSL All-star game. Southpaw Tyler Robertson worked all nine innings against the Tampa Yankees, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5.

Brian Dinkelman and Edward Ovalle opened up the game with back-to-back singles. Danny Valencia drew a walk to load the bases. Whit Robbins would sacrifice in Dinkelman before Wilson Ramos hit a double that brought in Ovalle and Valencia. Following a ground out to Eli Tintor, Danny Santiesteban doubled to plate Ramos, giving the Miracle an early 4 run lead.

Ramos, Tintor and Santiesteban all took singles off Tampa starter Chris Garcia to add another run to the total. A wild pitch moved the pair left on base, and Rocky Palacios took a walk to load the bags. Yancarlos Ortiz ground into a force out that scored Tintor, to make it 6-0 Miracle.

Josue Calzado homered - his fourth of the season - off Robinson in the bottom of the fifth for the lone Yankees run.

Santiesteban was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, Ramos was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, and Dinkelman and Ovalle were both 2-for-5 with a run each.

The Miracle return home for a 3-game set against the Dunedin Blue Jays on Monday. Cole Devries (4-4, 3.70) will handle the pitching chores for the Miracle, while Dunedin is expected to counter with Rob Ray (4-2, 4.66).

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Trenton 9 at New Britain 3

W: J. Jones (8-1, 2.28); L: O. Sosa (2-5, 6.88)
HR: NBR: T. Plouffe (3).

It was a different story at New Britain Stadium as Oswaldo Sosa allowed 6 runs on 5 hits and 7 walks while striking out 5 over 5 innings. The lefty got little run support form the Cats, who only manged 3 runs on 9 hits and 5 walks.

Dustin Martin took a walk in the 5th. Trevor Plouffe followed that up with a double. Following a Jeff Christy ground out, Luke Hughes would also hit into a ground out but managed to plate Martin in the process.

The Cats picked up two more in the 7th - one on a solo shot home run by Plouffe and the other coming off back-to-back walks to Christy and Hughes. A Steve Tolleson single would bring in Christy for the 3rd Rock Cats run.

Matt Moses and David Winfree were both 2-for-4 but did not factor into the scoring. Plouffe was 2-for-3 with a run and a run scored.

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Scranton/WB 7 at Rochester 8

W: P. Humber (3-5, 5.53); L: S. White (4-3, 4.55); SV: B. Korecky (6)
HR: SWB: E. Duncan (6). ROC: C. Basak (4).

The 3-way battle of the farm systems concluded with the Rochester Red Wings picking up a 8-7 win from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

Phillip Humber allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 over six inning for his 3rd win of the season. While those numbers are not great, for once, the Red Wings bats were up to the task.

Rochester started out a six-run third inning with Chris Basek homering, his fourth of the year, over the left field wall. Ryan Jorgenson would get plunked by a pitch. Tommy Watkins singled and Jason Pridie walked to load the bags. Darnell McDonald would sacrifice in Jorgenson and Garrett Jones would single to again fill up the bases. Brian Buscher then walked to force in a run. Sergio Santos doubled in three more before the Yankees could find the third out.

Jogensen would single in the bottom of the 4th, move to second on a Watkins Sac-bunt, and to 3rd on a fielding error by Ben Broussard. Darrell McDonald's ground out served to plate him, adding another run to the Red Wings total.

Buscher and Randy Ruiz would hit singles in the bottom of the fifth. Two outs later, they paid dividends when Jorgensen singled in Buscher.

Jorgenson was an unlikely hero, going 2-for-3 with 2 runs a run scored. Watkins was 2-for-4 with a run. Buscher was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, 2 runs and a RBI.

The Wings are the only team not quite done with the Yankees farm, as they play one more against Scranton Monday at 7:05 PM.

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Beloit Snappers (Midwest League, Single-A) lefthanded pitcher Michael Tarsi is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for May 24-May 30. The 21-year-old allowed just one run on eight hits in two starts. He went 2-0 and struck out 15 batters in 12.0 innings while walking just one.

Tarsi was the Twins 12th round selection in the 2007 First-Year Player draft out of University of Connecticut. He made his professional debut last season going 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA for Elizabethton.

Roger's Minor League Report is now online and he names Juan Portes as his player of the week.

Just add Ramos; rally monkees not needed

Palm Beach 2 at Fort Myers 10

W: T. Robertson (3-2, 3.04); L: B. Furnish (3-3, 3.80)
HR: FTM: W. Ramos (7).

Wilson Ramos as always had the ability to hit for power, at least, he's had the ability since playing North American professional baseball. The problem in the past has been his plate discipline and waiting for the right pitch.

That's something that's developed over the past two months. Sunday afternoon, during the fourth inning of a drubbing of the Palm Beach Cardinals, the Fort Myers Miracle slugger hit a bomb over the right field wall for his seventh home run of the season, a grand slam that was the icing on the cake of a Palm Beach route.

The Miracle quickly jumped all over Redbird's starter Brad Furnish, with Edward Ovalle singling in the bottom of the first inning, then moving to 2nd on a wild pitch. Ovalle then stole 3rd, and came home on Danny Valencia's ground ball single to right.

Danny Santiesteban singled his way onto first base, then stole 2nd. With two outs on the board, Santiesteban stole 3rd, then came home on a throwing error by Palm Beach catcher Tony Cruz.

Ovalle and Valencia would both single, with Valencia's ball slamming into Furnish. Following a break in which he was looked at by the Card's trainer, he was taken off the field in favor of Eddie Dagerman. Whit Robbins greeted the new hurler with a single to score Ovalle, and Ramos would ground into a double play, which served to plate Valencia. It was now 4-0 Miracle going into the top of the fourth.

Tony Cruz would get a free pass from Miracle starter Tyler Robertson. Andrew Brown hit a double that plated Cruz for the first Palm Beach run.

Palacios singled in the bottom of the 4th, and move to 2nd on Santiesteban's ground out. Yancarlos Ortiz took a walk, and a wild pitch by Degerman moved the pair. Brian Dinkelman then walked to load the bases. Ovalle would reach on a rare catcher interference call when Cruz's glove interfered with his swing. The dead ball situation forced in Palacios, and Valencia's sacrifice brought in Ortiz. Robbins then drew a walk to again load the bases, just in time for Ramos blast.

In the fifth, Luke Gorsett singled and then moved on a pair of wild pitches. Not saying anything about Palacios, but there seems to be a lot more wild pitches when he catches than when either Ramos or Allan de San Miguel are behind the plate. Nick Derba drew a walk, but Nathan Southard would ground into a double play that brought in Gorsett. Robertson would take Marmol out on strikes to retire the side.

Neither team saw much in the way over scoring opportunities over the next few innings. Robertson would work six, giving up the 2 earned runs on 2 hits and 2 walks while fanning 4. Dagerman would be replaced in the sixth by Justin Fiske, while Danny Hernandez worked the 7th and 8th innings.

Hernandez would give up a walk in the 7th and a single in the 8th, but was efficient otherwise and seems to have settled down from the problems he was working through earlier in the season.

Dinkelman singled in the bottom of the 8th, but was taken down in a force out. Ovalle moved to second on the play, when Redbird 2nd baseman Donovan Solano threw the ball between Andrew Brown's legs at first, and into the dugout. Yangervis Solarete, who was brought into the game as a pinch hitter, ground out to end the inning.

Matt Fox would get Brown to fly out, but issued a walk to Brian Cartie. Luke Gorsett would pop out however and Fox would take Derba out on strikes to finish off the game.

Valencia was 2-for-3 with a run and 2 RBIs, Dinkelman and Ovalle were both 2-for-4, Dink with a walk and a run and Ovalle with 3 runs and a run scored.

The route split the set with the Cardinals. The Miracle rest on Monday. The Sarasota Reds come into town on Tuesday for a pair in the first part of a 3-game home-and-home series. Cole Devries (3-4, 4.13) starts for the Miracle.

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Slama Honored: Ft.Myers righthanded pitcher Anthony Slama is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for May 17-May 23. Slama, 23, allowed just one hit in three games and recorded two saves for the Miracle (3.1 innings). He struck out eight and did not allow an earned run. Slama was the Twins 29th round selection in the 2006 First-Year Player draft out of University of San Diego. He made his professional debut last season going a combined 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA for Elizabethton and Beloit.

Baker to pitch rehab start: TwinsBaseball.com reported Friday that current Twin and former Miracle pitcher Scott Baker will make two minor league rehab starts with the first one on Monday, May 26, at Extended Spring Training. The game, which is played at the Lee County Sportsplex, starts at 10:00 AM. It is free, and open to the public.

Robertson 3-hits Jupiter

Fort Myers 5 at Jupiter 0

W: T. Robertson (2-2, 3.04); L: J. Allison (2-5, 3.08)
HR: None.

Tyler Robertson owned the Jupiter Hammerheads tonight, allowing only 3 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings while striking out 4. This time Jose Lugo also got the memo about the shut out, as the Fort Myers Miracle blanked the Jupiter Hammerheads, 5-0.

(Nice work Mr. Robertson. Please keep it up! I would like to see you graduated to the Rock Cats sometime in the not too distant future.)

Danny Valencia returned to the Miracle line up as well, lacing a line drive double into left field in the first inning to bring in Brian Dinkelman, who had lead off the game with a walk.

An Eward Ovalle triple in the top of the 2nd, turned into another run on Wilson Ramos' ground out.

Whit Robbins and Ovalle hit back-to-back singles off Hammerhead's starter Jeff Allison in the top of the 4th. The Boston native would get Ramos to ground into a double play however, putting Robbins on 3rd and 2 outs on the board. He's then give up walk to Danny Berg. Rookie Yangervis Solarte's line drive brought in Robbins, and moved Berg over to 2nd. Yancarlos Ortis then hit his own line drive out to left to score Berg. Dinkelman would be called out on strikes to end the inning.

Portes would walk in the top of the 5th, then move to second when Allison unleashed a wild pitch. Valencia's single moved him to 3rd, followed by a walk to Robbins that loaded the bags. Ovalle would ground into a double play that plated Portes. Ramos' fly out would end the inning.

A walk to Berg in the 6th would be all the Miracle would get off Allison, and Brad Stone was as stingy as a reliever could get setting three down quick in the top of the 7th. Ovalle would get a single in the 8th, but could go no where with it, as Adam Campbell got Ramos to fly out and Berg to ground out to strand him. Solarte would double off Campbell in the 9th, but Ortiz and Dinkelmen when down on ground outs and Portes flew out to finish off the Miracle offense.

Lugo allowed back-to-back singles with one out on the board in the 8th, and a fielding error by Ortiz put Agustin Septimo on 3rd. Lugo would get Spike McDougall to strike out before issuing a walk to Jake Blackwood that loaded the bases. A John Purdom ground out got him out of the jam however, preserving the goose eggs on the Jupiter side of the board. Anthony Slama continued to be lights-out for the Miracle, striking out 3 in the 9th, allowing only a walk to Gregory Burns before sending Jupiter off to bed.

Solarte went 2-for-4 in the contest with a run scored, making a case for staying with the Miracle past this next weekend. Ovalle was 3-for-4 with a run, while Valencia was 2-for-4 with a RBI. Berg was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run in the designed hitter role.

The two teams finish up the series tomorrow with Cole Devries (2-4, 4.56) taking a morning start against Marlins prospect Jarrett Santos (4-1, 2.73). First pitch is due for 10:35 a.m.

The Miracle return home Thursday for Indiana Jones night, marking the release of fourth movie, 19-years after the last one was made. It is also Thirsty Thursday at the ball park with half priced beer. So don't forget your bull whip as you raid the Kingdom of the Crystal Keg!

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Future Fish

Kelly Thesier reported on www.twinsbaseball.com that former Miracle pitcher Scott Baker felt discomfort during his bullpen session and will not progress on to the next stage of his rehab. Instead he will stay at the Lee County Sportsplex to rehab until he can pitch without discomfort.

Twins great Tony Oliva will once again represent the Twins at the 2008 Draft, which will be held in Orlando at Disney's Wide World of Sports on June 5-6.

Beloit 2 at Clinton 4

W: D. Holland (4-0, 2.45); L: D. Berlind (3-4, 3.99); SV: R. Tatusko (1)
HR: None.

Danny Berlind suffered his fourth loss of the season as the Beloit Snappers only managed to put a pair of runs on the board against the Clinton Lumber Kings.

Ramon Santana tripled in Greg Yersich for a run in the top of the fifth inning with 2 outs on the board. Venice native Chris Cates doubled in the top of the 6th, moved to 3rd on a passed ball and was plated by Jair Fernandez's fly ball single.

Ben Revere was 0-for-4 in the contest, a turn about for the young slugger that is batting .412 on the season. Steve Singleton also went without a hit, falling to .336 on the season. Joe Benson had the fifth Snappers hit but it did not factor into the scoring.

Berlind would finish the game giving up 4 runs, earned, on six hits and 4 walks while striking out 4 over six innings.

The series continues tomorrow at 7:00 PM central time with Brian Kirwan (3-1, 3.68) on the mound for the Snappers.

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Harrisburg at New Britain - Postponed

Tuesday's Eastern League game between the Harrisburg Senators and the New Britain Rock Cats was postponed by rain Monday night. The teams will play a pair Wednesday, May 21, starting at 5:05 PM eastern time.

Rochester 2 at Syracuse 3

W: J. De Jong (3-1, 3.60); L: T. Lahey (2-4, 3.93)
HR: None.

The Rochester Red Wings fell in extra innings to the Syracuse Chiefs, with former Miracle Tim Lahey taking the loss on the mound. Syracuse had lead 2-0 up until the ninth inning when two Fort Myers alumni - Garrett Jones and Jose Morales - hit back-to-back doubles to lead off. Jason Pridie would replace Morales as a pinch runner and would come home on a Chris Basak single one out later to tie up the game.

Naples native Carmen Cali replaced Lahey on the mound with one runner on in the 10th inning. He'd allowed Buck Coats to reach on a throwing error. After getting Adam Lind to pop out, Matt Watson's ground out moved Wyane Lydon to 3rd, and he'd score as an inherited runner on an Adam Russ single.

Tommy Watkins was 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of walks but did not factor into the scoring for Rochester. Morales was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a pair of strike outs. Matt Macri was 2-for-5, also with a pair of strike outs. Rochester would record 10 hits on the night - and 10 strike outs as well.

Denard Span broke a finger in the game while attempting a bunt in the 9th inning, and is expected to miss 3-to-4 weeks.

Span was honored as the International League Batter of the Week on Monday. Span had 13 hits during the week and lead the league with a .619 average. 3 of his 13 hits were for home runs, and five of his six games were multi-hit efforts. Span also lead the International League in on-base percentage (.704), Slugging percentage (1.190) and was second in the league in runs (9) and hits (13). (Press Release)

Red Wings manager Stan Cliburn will throw out the first pitch for the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats Wednesday night. Cliburn was selected as the manager on the New Britain 25th Anniversary All-Time Team in the fall. The Wings rest on Wednesday so Cliburn will not be missing a game. They then head on the road for a 4-game series against Pawtucket starting on Thursday at 7:05 PM

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Fort Myers blows lead, wins late

Tampa 5 at Fort Myers 6 (10 innings)

W: F. Mata (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Valdez (5-2, 2.14)
HR: TAM: T. Battle (5).

Southpaw Tyler Robertson made a quality start, working through seven - yes count 'em! seven! - innings and allowing three runs on six hits while striking out 9 and looking like the top prospect that he is. It was by far Robertson's best start of the season, and with the Miracle leading into the top of the 9th and ace closer Rob Delaney on the mound, the game looked to be a win for the Sacrament, California native.

Whit Robbins threw off the 1st base bag past Danny Berg to allowed Andres Perez to get on board with a bunt single. Seth Fortenberry then hit a line drive out to center. Delaney got the next two batters out, but a wild pitch by Delaney moved the runners. Luis Nunez hit a fly ball to right that dropped, bringing in the pair to tie up the game and put the Yankees on top.

Juan Portes, Yancarlos Ortiz and Brian Dinkelman all found singles in the 9th, but even as Rene Tosoni ground into a double play, Portes scored to tie up the game and send the contest into extra innings.

Frant Mata would work the top of the 10th, going 3-up, 3-down. Danny Berg singled his way onto base and was plated by Johnny Woodard with a follow-up triple, good for a Chicken Ranch with Cheese and Bacon AND a Ham sandwich.

The teams would remain scoreless until the bottom of the 3rd inning when Brian Dinkelman walked with 2-outs on the board. He then stole second, scoring on a Rene Tosoni grounder to left. Tosoni would move to 2nd base as Tim Battle threw the ball to plate trying to save the run, and would come home on his own run when Valencia singled out to right.

Danny Valencia was taken out of the line up at the top of the fifth - I assume so they could get Danny Berg some playing time and perhaps rest Valencia. There was no evidence of any injury.

Kyle Anson doubled to lead off in the left. A Luis Nunez line drive to right scored Anson. Tim Battle then went yard over the left center wall to bring in Nunez. Despite that, Robertson struck out Chris Kunda and got the next two players to ground out, showing a good deal of poise on the mound.

He would also take the next three batters he faced in the sixth out as well, right through the heart of the order.

Berg would single and Woodard would double. with two men on, Edward Ovalle would fly out and Wilson Ramos would strike out. A pitcher change brought Winklins Arias to the mound for the Yankees, and Whit Robbins single to center brought in the pair and restore the Miracle lead. Robbins would move to 2nd on a wild pitch before Portes would be taken out on strikes to end the inning.

Jose Lugo would work one inning of relief, strike out all three batters he faced, before Delaney came in, which lead us to the wild ending to what was, in the end a very long game.

Berg would finish up 2-for-3 with 2 runs, while Woodard was 2-for-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI. Robbins was also 2-for-4, scoring 2 runs as well.

By contrast, the Ovalle/Ramos pairing, which was so lethal just a few games ago, went 0-for-4 with a pair of strike outs each at the plate.

The two teams rematch for a morning game with Cole Devries (2-4, 5.13) throwing out the first pitch at 10:35 AM. Hoards of Southwest Florida school children will get to see Tampa ace Eric Hacker (2-1, .086) on the mound for the Yankees.

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NP - Dog Daze
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Pending Pinstripes

Clinton 4 at Beloit 2

W: D. Holland (3-0, 2.61); L: D. Berlind (3-3, 3.62); SV: D. Sattler (3)
HR: None.

Ben Revere doubled to lead off the bottom of the first inning, moved to 3rd on a Ramon Santana sac-bunt, then came home when Garrett Olson reached on a fielding error by Clinton's Renny Osuna.

In the 2nd, Joe Benson doubled, then came home on a Ben Petsch single.

Beloit seemed to be off to a really good start. Unfortunately a 3-run 5th by Danny Berlind gave Clinton the lead and they'd never relinquish it.

Berlind lasted only 4.1 innings, with 2 of the 3 runs being earned on 5 hits and 1 walks. He was unable to record a strike out.

Petsch was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI; Revere was 2-for-5 with 1 run.

The Snappers drop to 19-20 on the year. Next up, they face the Peoria Chiefs for a 3-game series starting at 6:30 PM central time at Pohlman Field.

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New Britain 6 at Binghamton 7 (Extra Innings)

W: E. Camacho (2-2, 2.05); L: B. Julianel (0-2, 3.05)
HR: NBR: L. Hughes (10). BIN: S. Paniagua (1).

Read my game recap and commentary on Rookie Whites

Luke Hughes returned to the New Britain line up and extended his Eastern League-best hitting streak to 17 games with a lead-off home run in the first.

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Columbus 3 at Rochester 1

W: S. Shell (2-1, 2.75); L: F. Liriano (0-2, 4.28); SV: C. Booker (4)
HR: None.

Francisco Liriano gave up 3 runs, earned, on 7 hits and one walk while striking out 4 over 8 innings for a quality start. Sadly, he also suffered the loss as the Red Wings could not solve Nationals farm hand Steven Shell.

After Denard Span was caught stealing, Jason Pridie took a walk in th first inning, then stole 2nd. A Brian Buscher single brought him home.

Span would finish up 2-for-3 on the night, boosting his average to .369; Pridie was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks. Buscher, Rany Ruiz, and former Miracle catcher Jose Morales had the other hits for Rochester who only had a total of six on the evening.

Darnell McDonald was placed on the DL Thursday with a strained hamstring. The Wings activated INF Matt Macri before the game.

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Putter about with the Miracle tonight at Castle Golf!

Miracle crush Mets, 11-3

Fort Myers 11 at St. Lucie 3

W: T. Robertson (1-2, 3.47); L: E. Niesen (0-4, 6.28)
HR: FTM: W. Ramos (3), J. Portes (2).

In what I consider a long overdue event, Tyler Robertson picked up his first win of the season for the Fort Myers Miracle, who crushed the St. Lucie Mets 11 - 3.

Robertson limited the Mets to 1 run on six hits and three walks while striking out 7 over six innings, looking more like the pitcher that helped take Beloit deep into the Midwest League playoffs.

He was helped out by a lot of Miracle offense starting in the first inning. Brian Dinkelman would be hit by a pitch and Juan Portes got the fireworks going, homering over the center field wall to two runs. Danny Valencia singled but tried to stretch it for a double, being taken out at second base. Johnny Woodard would get hit next by St. Lucie's Eric Niesen, who lated only 1.2 innings in the start. After Eddie Ovalle was taken out on strikes, Wilson Ramos went yard for his 3rd of the season, giving the Miracle another two runs for a 4-0 lead.

Dinkelman next used a fielding error by third baseman Leivi Ventura to get on the bags with one out in the second inning. Portes would strike out swinging. Dinkelman would steal 2nd, then advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by Mets catcher Jason Jacobs. Valencia then hit a fly ball to left to plate Dinkelman. With Woodard at the plate Neison would be charged with a balk which sent Valencia to second. Woodard then singled to bring in Valencia, earning himself a ham sandwich.

That finally prompted a pitching change as the Mets brought in Tim Stronach to replace Niesen, who was evidently having a very bad day on the mound.

D.J. Wabick would single in the bottom of the second, and Ventura doubled to put runners in the corners. Robertson would get the next two batters he faced out, one on strikes, before issuing a walk to Joshua Petersen to load the bags. Ezequiel Carrera then singled which brought in Wabick. Ventura would try to run for the plate, but was taken out at home as Danny Santiesteban fired a ball back from center to Ramos at the plate.

Stronach would work four scoreless innings for St. Lucie. With one out on the board. Valencia and Woodard hit back-to-back singles. St. Lucie would replace the tiring Stronach with John Wesley, who hit Ovalle with a pitch to load the bags. Ramos hit a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Valencia. Danny Berg then singled out bring in Woodard. A throwing error by 2nd baseman Luis Rivera helped move the pair over. Rocky Palacios singled out to right to bring in two more. A passed ball by Jacobs moved Palacios to second and Santiesteban would then hit a ground rule double to bring in the final runner, giving the Miracle a total of 11.

While it was not impossible for the Mets to rally back from that deep a hole, certainly we've watched the Miracle bullpen give up that kind of a lead before, it would be beyond the St. Lucie's capabilities.

Danny Hernandez has struggled and there is some speculation that because he is still not 100% and only played 7 games last season at the Low A level, that he is playing beyond his current ability in High A. His ERA of 11.81 certainly bears that out, but he would get through two innings Saturday evening, only allowing one walk. That came after he allowed a single to Ruben Tejada. Jomar Hill would take the free pass, and Josh Peterson then singled to load the bags on the Twins young reliever. Ezequiel Carrera would hit a sac-fly out to right to bring in Tejada, and Luis Rivera then sacrificed in Hill, for two more St. Lucie runs.

Danny Vais came in to shut the door, striking out 1 in the final inning.

Valencia was 3-for-5 at the plate with 2 runs and 1 BRI, Woodard was 2-for-3 with a walk, 2 runs and 1 RBI, Berg ws 2-for-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI, and Santiesteban was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI.

The two teams rematch on Sunday with right hander Cole Devries looking to give the Miracle a sweep of the series while Tobi Stoner (1-2, 3.14) will try to prevent that from happening. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM, a change from their normal 5:00 PM start which as made on Wednesday. (Press Release)

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Homestand Happenings



The world’s sexiest plumber stops by Hammond Stadium on Thursday, May 15. "Desperate Housewives' actor James Denton will put down his plunger and pick up a bat. Denton will take batting practice with the Miracle, sign autographs and throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the 7:05 p.m. Thirsty Thursday game against the Tampa Yankees.

If you happen to thing that promotion is as much of a dog as we at MiracleFans.com do, well, don't worry. It's also Dog Daze I, time to bring your best friend to the park for a bark. A special celebri-cat guest appearance by Reptar, Fort Myers own baseball lovin' cat, is also planned. So come on out with your trusty canine friend because - well - very bitch deserves a night out!

Miracle rally past Cubs, split series 2 games each

Daytona 2 at Fort Myers 4

Record: 19 - 13

W: A. Slama (2-0, 0.50); L: C. Lambert (0-1, 4.11); SV: R. Delaney (8)
HR: None.

Prior to the start of the game, reliever Zach Day was released. I understand he is finished with professional baseball.

If you like good pitching, this was your game. Jeff Manship gave up 2 runs, earned, on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8 over 6 inning. But his performance was overshadowed by that of Daytona's Jose Ceda, who allowed only 2 hits and 2 walks to Fort Myers over 6 innings, while striking out five.

Even so, it was the Miracle who got on the board first, with Brian Dinkelman and Rene Tosoni hitting back-to-back singles. Danny Valencia walked to load the bases. Following a line out to Whit Robbins, Eddie Ovalle hit a sac-fly to bring in Dinkelman. Wilson Ramos would be hit by a pitch, but Juan Portes ground out to end the inning and Miracle scoring threat.

Daytona however did not let the Miracle hold their lead long. Darwin Barney drew a walk in the top of the 5th with one out, and Jonathan Wyatt doubled to move him to 3rd. A sac-fly by Tony Thomas scored Barney to tie up the game. James Adduci then got a double off Manship to bring in Wyatt. Yusef Carter would single, but Miracle shortstop Yancarlos Ortiz fired the ball back to Allan de San Miguel at the plate to get Adduci out at home and safe the run.

The score would stay at 2-1 Cubs throught the next 3 innings until the bottom of the 8th. With the fans calling for a rally, Ortiz would reach on a throwing error to first by pitcher Billy Petrick who missed his first baseman and tossed the ball into the outfield. Ortiz found himself on second, and Petrick found himself being replaced by Casey Lambert. The Miracle seemed to like Lambert however, as Brian Dinkelman's line drive to left brought in Ortiz to tie up the game. Rene Tosoni then hit a ground rule double over the right field wall. Lambert would intentionally walk Valencia to get at Whit Robbins, a move that originally worked, as Robbins popped out, but Edward Ovalle hit one into the gap out to left to bring in 2 and suddenly the Miracle had a nice lead.

Jeff Smith would then call in The Sandman, Rob Delaney, to put the Cubbies to sleep in the 9th. Mark Reed gave him some trouble, fouling several balls out to keep the Cubs alive with 2 outs, but he'd finally connect for a soft grounder that Delaney caught easily and tossed over to Robbins to end the game.

The Cubs have very much been a travel team, with a 10-8 record on the road verses a 6-8 record at home.

With the win, the Miracle hang on to first place in the West Divison, tied with the Tampa Yankees who have won their last six. The Yankees might be in for some trouble though, as their ace, Eric Hacker, has been reportedly placed on the Disabled List.

Fort Myers takes the night off, then travels to Port St. Lucie on Thursday to start a four game series agaist the Mets, who are 8-24 on the season, but are 6-4 in their last 10. Five of their 8 wins have come on home turf.

Deolis Guerra (2-1, 4.61) will get the start for the Miracle. He will likely face Dillon Gee (2-2, 4.55) on the Tradition field mound.

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Prior to the game, the trivia question posed by Gary Sharpe was "What was Jake Mauer's number with the Miracle? Did he ever wear #4?" The answer is that Jake wore #12 while he was with the Miracle. He did wear number 4, but it was with Quad Cities, and never in Fort Myers.

I had questioned Tyler Robertson's speed during his start on Sunday, but Tyler says that what he is throwing is normal for him at this time of the year. "I'm a slow starter," he explained, and went on to say that he didn't start hitting 92 MPH until he got up to Beloit for the second half of the season. He suggested I check my notes from last season, but the problem is...I don't know where I put them?

He also states that he likes the white uniforms better become they look more professional, despite the fact that traditionally, the Miracle tend to lose when they wear them. I guess he's not superstitious, as he doesn't believe in the day game curse either.

Around the system: the Snappers finished off the Lugnuts, the Rock cats defeat the Baysox, and the Wings and the Twins both drop their games.

A couple of people had asked about the layouts I'm having signed. They are stashed on Photobucket and while I do not sell them (as they are not licensed for commercial distribution), nothing would stop you from getting prints via Photobuckets' Qoop service for your personal use. Note that they are formated to 8 x 10 size and will likely print out cropped if ordered at a smaller size.

I've also been adding pictures from the 2008 season games, be sure to stop by the Photo gallery and check them out. No videos yet - I'm working on that.

Miracle open home stand with win

Dunedin 2 at Fort Myers 3

Record 5 - 4

The Miracle opened their 3 game home series against the Dunedin Blue Jays strong, watching both Brian Dinkelman and Johnny Woodard take advantage of strong winds to put balls over the right field fence.

Tyler Robertson's first appearance against the home town crowd seemed to start out strong as well, as he struck out Chris Emanuele to start out, then retiring Sean Shoffit on a fly out and 2006 1st rounder Travis Snider on a ground out.

But Robertson started to struggle in the 2nd. Brian Dopirak opened with a double out to left. After two consecutive strike outs, Bradley Emaus took a walk. Jesus Gonzalez singled to load the bases and a Jonathan Diaz single saw Dopirak across the plate for the first Dunedin run. With the bases still loaded, Robertson was able to entice Emanuele to his second strike out of the game.

Kenny Rodriguez took the start for the Jays and worked six innings, keeping the Miracle to only 3 hits during that time, two of which were the first inning home runs. He issued only one walk and struck out 5.

After a 3-up, 3-down bottom of the second for the Miracle, Shoffit walked to start out the top of the 3rd. While Snider struck out swinging, Shoffit would steal second on catcher Wilson Ramos. A line drive by Dopirak saw Shoffit across the plate as the Jays tied the game.

While Robertson's seven strike outs were impressive, the six hits and 2 walks marred the performance. He also threw a lot of pitches, giving way after the 4th inning to Danny Vias, who would hold the Jays to only one hit, while striking out 3 over the next four.

Edward Ovalle came into the game in the 7th to pinch hit for Whit Robbins, drawing a walk to get on base with one out. A wild pitch by reliever B.J. Ryan saw Ovalle to 2nd and a balk by Ryan got him to 3rd. After Juan Portes struck out swinging, Danny Santiesteban took the first pitch he faced deep for a double bringing in Ovalle for the game winner.

With Dinkleman on 3rd base in the top of the 9th, both Danny Valencia and Johnny Woodard had a chance to add an insurance marker, but both struck out, ending the winning.

Emaus singled out to right in the 9th and stole 2nd, but three strike outs by Anthony Slama shut the door on a Jays rally, letting the Miracle take game one of the series.

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Seeing Red Socks Again

Rene Leveret stopped me prior to the game about his new nickname "Tiny". He said J.W. started calling him that, and because I'd blogged on it, he got a call from St. Maarten on it.

"Well, what would you like to be called?" I asked him.

"They always called me 'Big Papi Junior' at home."

See...that's the problem. They all want to be the second coming. No one wants to be the first coming. And being an original is so much more fun.

I mean, if we're gonna call him "Junior", we may as well stick with "Tiny".

The boys were calling Ivan "Big Papi" last year and he didn't like it.

Tyler Roberston's new nickname is "Socks" but we'll get to that in a bit.

The GCL Twins defeated the GCL Red Sox in an extended spring training game that Lee County Sports Complex, 4-1. Big Papi was not there, although I'm sure the Red Sox coach felt differently about it.

The only run the Sox (not to be confused with "Socks") scored was an unearned run off Elliott Biddle in the fifth inning. I'd just gotten done telling Jose "Cheo" Hernandez, catcher David Hernadez's father, about 3rd baseman D.J. Romero's lack of hands when he kindly demonstrated the problem for us.

Otherwise it was the pitching that carried the day, and the Red Sox never really threatened.

Matt Lawman hit a nice single in the first inning and was driven home by catcher Wilson Ramos who doubled out to center field. It was a nice hit by Ramos, who should be Elizabethton bound in another month.

Liam Hendricks pitched two strong innings to start the game for the Twins. My notes for the first inning are very garbled, but I recall Ramos caught someone stealing second, and I believe we ended that inning on an outfield fly, so I'd say he only faced three batters. He had one strike out in the second inning, which I Youtubed, and which I will put up shortly.

Carlos Garcia pitched a third, getting a groundout and two flies. Kevin Harrington hit a nice single to get on base, and J.W. Wilson laid down a nice sacrafice bunt to move him to second. Esterin De Los Santos smacked a double, drive Harrington home, making the score 2-1.

Mike Rogers, who I'd not seen pitch in about forever, thrilled me by getting out on the mound for the fourth inning. I was talking to Cheo and missed the first out when I said "Who is that on the mound? Please excuse me..." Rog allowed a single, got the next batter to ground out and took the final guy on a strike out (dropped 3rd K, Ramos tagged him).

Ramos singled to start off the fourth, and Romero followed in suit. Tiny singled as well, pushing Ramos across the plate. Rodolfo "Rocky" Palacios ground out, and Wes Conner reached on an error (which makes 3 of Wes' 6 base hits that I've seen coming on an error or a fielder's choice). For the seven games I've seen him in so far, he's hitting over .300. He also had a nice diving catch in the outfield earlier in the game.

Harrington got up to bat and they decided the roll the inning. "Kevin, what did you do? You scared them all back into the dugout!" Beware the Shag-master!!!

Elliott Biddle got up for the fifth inning. Biddle is on the roster from Victoria, Australia, and is "visiting" us for extended spring training. I understand he has another year of baseball academy to attend so he won't be here for the GCL season. So...I've been trying to get to see him pitch before he heads back down under.

He got the first two batters out handily, but then got a little flustered and allowed a pair of singles. It was on the second one that Romero missed the catch at third and what should have been a ground out, ended up driving in the lone Red Sox run. He got the following batter to ground out, ending the inning. I tried to get both video and film in one inning, something that's really hard to do, as I'm only one person, and which I probably didn't do very well.

Tyler Robertson would take the next two innings. Socks had his socks down today, but he tells me Dave Ringler is getting him some short pants so he can wear his socks up. This will also give me something else to tease him about - not being old enough to get out of short pants. I still like watching Tyler pitch though. He faced three batters in the sixth, recording one strike out and five in the seventh, recording another strike out, hitting one batter (and that hurt too), walking the next, and taking the next two guys on ground outs, one of which was a stretch and some nice work by Tiny at first base to make the play.

Shaggy lined out in to start the fifth, and the offense slumbered until the seventh, when Romero hit a single and stoled second. Tiny ground out, and Rocky and Wes both singled, which brought Romero home. Shaggy hit into a double play to end the inning.

That would be it for the Twins offense (batting line up to follow).

Brad Tippett finished off the game, striking out one in two innings, allowing one single, and ending the game on a nicely handled double play.

For those who like such things: DeLo was 1-for-4 (with the double), Lawmy was 1-for-4, Rene Tosoni was 0-for-4, Ramos was 2-for-2, Romero was 2-for-4, Tiny was 1-for-3, Rockey was 1-for-3, Wes was 2-for-3, Shaggy was 1-for-3, J.W. was 0-for-3 and catcher David Hernandez was 0-for-2. Interestingly enough, not one of the Twins walked today.

Notes: The Beloit Snappers placed left handed pitcher Jose Lugo, on the Disabled List with left shoulder soreness. Lugo is 1-2 with a 4.68 ERA and 28 strikeouts in seven games this season.

Brian Kirwan and Matthew Fox were added to the Beloit roster from Extended Spring Training. Pitcher Armando Gabino was transfered from the Snappers to the Fort Myers Miracle.

I knew Foxy had gone, Tom Stuifbergen told me about Kirwan. "Great now I have to tell the Betsy Babes and break their hearts."

"Why are you going to break their hearts?"

"They're all in love with Kirwan up there."

"Why?"

I can't figure that one out either.

"Hammerin' Hank" Sanchez has started taking batting practice as he recovers from a hammate bone injury. Cheo wanted to know what the story was on him. Well, I said, he came in here late, and he was having trouble hitting the ball because (supposedly) his contact prescription was wrong. Which made me wonder, you know, how he was playing baseball previously if he couldn't see. Then he gets up to Elizabethton and experiences something which Jim Rantz said he'd never seen before. It was called a curveball.

So now I'm wondering, what program did he play in that they didn't throw curveballs? He's from California and I'm pretty sure they know how to throw curveballs out there. On top of that, he plays the position bass ackwards (that's the only way I can explain it) and he's got a bad attitude. He's also a horrible athlete, something that was well documented in this scouting report.

And if you've not figured it out by now, I'm not a big fan of Hammerin' Hank Sanchez. Heck, I'll take Tiny or Tosoni at first over Sanchez any day of the week and as per my last blog entry, I think we've already got a much better first base prospect in Jon Waltenbury.

Joel Lepel is in town so we played on fields 2 & 3 so he could watch both games of the split-field double-header from the tower. The wind was a factor as it was blowing against us. We had quite a number of outfield flies that fell short, but then...so did the Red Sox.

It's time for Terry Ryan's annual trip, so I look forward to seeing him next weekend.

The GCL boys have tomorrow off, the Miracle take on the West Palm Beach Cardinals, who all wear their socks up and look like a bunch of elves (Tyler). And it's really embarrassing to be beaten by guys who look like a bunch of elves, so...I'm hoping we can get the High-A team turned around. Maybe Joel can make Bolesy behave.

Ugly pitch, beautiful results

When Tyler Robertson was drafted into the Twins farm system last year, the Baseball America report on him used the words "funky", "ugly" and "unorthodox" to describe his delivery.

"After he begins his windup, Robertson's left arm, in the words of one scout, plunges straight down," Baseball America wrote in their report. "He then brings the arm back up and goes to the plate."

It's a bit hard to visualize, but I needed to see him throw only one pitch to know who he was. It was that identifiable.

I've written about it, and generally, when someone shows up for a game, they "have to see this boy pitch" to see if I'm crazy or not. I'm not. Nor was B.A.

"I've cleaned it up some," Tyler tells me.

"You've never thrown a pitch in which you actually used that elbow," I tell him. It's okay. He pitches well. Funky, but well.

coming into the Twins out of Bella Vista High School, at 6'5" and 215 lbs, the question he generally gets asked is "What college are you from?" Well, they didn't make them that big when I was in high school either.

His size and his resume certainly override any mitigating factors the pitching style might hold. Some scouts don't feel that Robertson will be able to improve much without overhauling his mechanics. While not a fireballer, he has a good fastball that runs and can throw to overpower batters, at least at the this level.

Robertson finished up last year's Gulf Coast League season with a 4-2 record anda 4.25 era. But he lead the club in strike outs, 54 in 48.2 innings. It's his ability to get the strike outs that's key.

In any case, I've been wanting to get Robertson youtubed so that I could share his delivery with the rest of the world. So I was quite pleased when he showed up with in uniform. Except for the sock, which he says are staying up.

It's called a uniform, Mr. Robertson, because you are all supposed to look UNIFORM.

While the socks were up, so were his pitches in the first inning, which prompted him to say "I was terrible yesterday."

"Well, I wasn't really happy with the walk and the wild pitch, however you did get four strikeouts."

"I always get strike outs."

"You did really well in the second inning."

(He should teach Lirano to pitch, then he wouldn't need to worry about rehabbing that elbow.)

He seemed a bit tired of my teasing him about the elbow. He also gave up two runs in yesterday's game, a 9-4 shelling by the Pirates.

However, I can't lay the loss on him and I really can't say anything bad about the kid. He's very level headed around camp and doesn't goof off the way some of the guys do.

He enjoys fishing and was hanging around with Mike Allen last year, which seemed to suit them both. While Tyler had originally said he wasn't going to buy a car with his bonus money, he did end up purchasing a truck - don't ask, I forget which kind, but it's well tricked out - and his 16 year old brother is driving it around Sacramento. Which leaves him without wheels in Southwest Florida.

This year he's rooming with Thomas Wright, who is from Tennessee. I believe E-Town would suit them both.

"There's a place called the Electric Cowboy, which you'll like Tyler." Actually I think it's Johnson City, which if I'm not mistaken, is the next big city over.

"I'm there already," he says. Tyler really likes country music.

"You need to come to Elizabethton," he tells me. We'll see.

I think he was the only guy on the team who's mom came to visit him and told him to do his own laundry. I laughed and said "Good for her. But you're the only guy on the team who's mom took him Busch Gardens too."

I think the key point with him now is his speed...In high school he was going throwing 88-to-90 miles an hour, he's been around 87 with the GCL Twins. He keeps saying "I'm going to throw 90 today," but I've not been there when..if..he's hit it.

That should change in Elizabethton. GCL and Extended is notorious for wearing pitchers out and keeping their speed down. Most however bounce right back when they get out of Southwest Florida.

Given that he was one of our most reliable starters last year, and assuming that yesterday's first inning was more of an aberration than a normal happening, he should be bound for the Smokey Mountain in another month.

And sorry, I can't report any strange and unusual nicknames for him. Just a rather unusual pitching style.

A strange, funky and wonderful pitching style.

Tyler Robertson - Game of May 12, 2007 (First inning, Part I)
Tyler Robertson - Game of May 12, 2007 (First inning, Part II)
Tyler Robertson - Game of May 12, 2007 (2nd inning, Part III)
Tyler Robertson - Game of May 12, 2007 (2nd inning, Part IV)