Thunderstorms force cancelation of Miracle game

Mother Nature 1, Fort Myers 0

The Fort Myers Miracle went into the All-star break a little early as heavy thundershowers which included hail(!) moved into the area, causing the cancellation of Thursday night's game between against the Vero Beach Devil Rays.

The first half of the FSL season ends for the Miracle with a three-game road trip to Dunedin starting on Monday. As the Miracle and Vero Beach do not meet again in the first half of the season, the game is canceled and will not be made up.

The Miracle will send six representatives to the Florida State League All-star game in Brevard County. Starting pitcher Jeff Manship, 3rd baseman Danny Valencia, 2nd baseman Brian Dinkelman, catcher Wilson Ramos, and relievers Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama will all represent the First-Half West Division Champion Fort Myers Miracle at Spacecoast Stadium for the Showcase on Saturday, June 14th.

Outfielder Rene Tosoni was also named to the All-star team but is unable to participate as he suffered a broken foot during a game last month.

The Miracle hold a franchise leading 44-22 record. The second half of the season begins on Thursday with a homestand against the Sarasota Reds at Hammond Stadium.

Thursday's Florida State League game between the Brevard County Manatees and the Lakeland Flying Tigers was also canceled due to inclement weather.

Roster Moves: The Twins made several roster moves, releasing former Miracle Errol Simonitsch who had been with the New Britain Rock Cats and sending reliever Frank Mata to New Britain. RHP Yohan Pino was activated from the disabled list and infielder Luke Hughes was added to the disabled list in New Britain.

The Twins also parted ways with with Juan Rincon. The 29-year-old reliever stuggled this season, going 2-2 with a 6.11 ERA in 24 games. He has been outrighted to Rochester and may choose between the AAA assignment or free agency. The Twins recalled 3rd baseman Brian Buscher from the Rochester Red Wings. He has been hitting .328 with 7 home runs and 27 RBIs in 51 games with the Triple A club. Buscher appeared in three major league games earlier this season.

Dismantling begins as Miracle fall in 12th inning

Fort Myers 1 at Brevard County 2

W: T. Wendte (3-0, 4.91); L: M. Allen (0-1, 6.75)
HR: None.

It was old friends day at Spacecoast Stadium as Henry Reyes took the start against the Brevard County Manatee and Mike Allen took the loss. It also appears that the Twins have started to move players as Heath Totten was given his release today from AAA Rochester.

On the whole though, it was a pitcher's duel. It just involved a lot of different pitchers. Reyes worked 2.1 innings, allowing 1 hit and walking 4. Frank Mata took over for the next 3.2, allowing 3 hits and fanning 3. Jose Lugo worked 2, allowing 1 hit and striking out 4. Blair Erickson worked the next inning, striking out 2.

Meanwhile Brevard's Jeremy Jeffress pitched 7 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8.

Rob Delaney would be on the mound for the Miracle, and Casey Baron for the Milwaukee farm with the game still scoreless when the 10th inning rolled around.

Juan Portes and Danny Santiesteban hit back-to-back singles that got Portes all the way to 3rd. Yangervis Solarte then hit a sac-bunt, scoring Portes to give the Miracle a run.

Darren Ford would single off of Delaney and steal 2nd. With 2 outs on the board, Delaney intentionally walked Tyler Green. Charlie Fermaint's line drive scored Ford to tie up the game.

Edward Ovalle would reach on a fielding error in the 11th but the Miracle left him stranded.

Mike Allen would allow a single to Martin Muldanado and hit Brent Brewer with a pitch. A wild pitch put a runner on 3rd, but Darren Ford would fly out to end the inning.

Whit Robbins singled in the top of the 12th, but Wilson Ramos ground into a double play. In the bottom of the stanza, Lorenzo Cain would single, then steal 2nd. Following a fly out ot Jimmy Mojica, Charles Fermaint doubled off Allen to drive in Cain, ending the game.

Yancarlos Ortiz was 2-for-4 at the plate while Robbins was 2-for-5. Valencia was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and Ovalle was a one hit wonder through 5 at bats, with a pair of strike outs.

The two teams rematch Saturday with Cole Devries (4-5, 3.50) on the mount for the Miracle. Brevard County will send Alexandre Periard (5-4, 4.55) to throw out first pitch at 7:00 P.M.

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"Big Henry" Reyes pitched a total of 13 games last year, 11 in Elizabethton, 2 in Beloit before being injured. Allen, a native of Orange Park, Florida, pitched 13 games for E-Town last season.

Tyler Robertson was placed on the 7-day DL with tendinitis, which freed up the roster spot for Allen. The Miracle already had one free roster spot following the retirement of Danny Vais ealier this week.

Lakeland's Ryan Strieby and Jeff Kunkel were added to the Florida State League West All-star team. More at Florida State League Log.

Dogs pick up late inning win

Peo Saguaros 3 at Phoenix 4

W: E. Morlan (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Anderson (0-2, 3.60)
HR: PES: T. Gosewisch (1).

Ryan Sweeney (Chicago White Sox) singled, stoled 2nd, moved to 3rd on Jason Delaney's (Pittsburgh) fly out, then came home on a Nolan Reimold (Baltimer) single to break open a 3-3 tie in the bottom fo the 9th inning and give the Phoenix Desert Dogs a 4-3 win over the Peoria Saguaros Wednesday afternoon.

Former Miracle pitcher Eduardo Morlan (Minnesota) struck out 2 batters in the 9th inning to pick up the win, his first of the 2007 Arizona Fall League season.

Peoria took an early lead when Greg Golson's (Philadelphia) doubled, then was plated on Scott Sizemore's (Detroit) single to put the Saguaros on the board. Dog's starter Jack Egbert (Chicago white Sox) gave up the run to the first 2 batters he faced.

Golson would hurt Egbert again in the 3rd, singling, then stealing 2nd and coming in on Sizemore's line drive.

However, the Desert Dogs would tie the game up in the bottom of the inning, starting out with a pair of walks by Blake Davis (Baltimore) and Matt Macri (Minnesota). Sweeney then tried for a sac-bunt, but reached base on throwing error by Greg Miller (LA Dodgers). Delaney doubled to drive in the first two runners, but a pitcher change paid dividends for the Saguaros, as Phoenix was not able to get anything else.

Tuffy Gosewisch (Philadelphia) homered off David Haehnel (Baltimore) in the 5th to again put Peoria on top.

Burke Badenhop (Detroit) would walk Reimold in the 5th, which would prove costly when Reimold made it to 3rd on Trevor Plouffe's (Minnesota) ground ball single, then crossed the plate on Drew Butera's (Minnesota) line drive to tie up the game again.

It would stay that way until Sweeney's late inning heroics ended it with the Dogs on top.

Macri was back at 3rd base for the Dogs, and was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run. He doubled in the 1st inning, but the Dog's could not capitalize, and he was left stranded. Plouffe was 1-for-4, and Buetera was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI.

Phoenix takes Thursday off, before hosting Scottsdale on Friday.

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The Twins announced that former Miracle pitcher Jason Miller, a Sarasota, Florida, native, as re-signed to a minor league contract as were pitchers Armando Gabino and Josh Hill. The Twins remain in talks with Felix Molina, Trent Oeltjen and Rochester pitcher Brian Bass.

Miller, who was treated to a major league call up last season, posted a 1-5 record in AAA Rochester with a 3.94 ERA. He appeared in 31 games, pitching 75.1 innings. Hill, who began the season with the Miracle was promoted to AA New Britain, recording a 3-2 record with a 4.36 ERA in 16 appearances (53.2) innings with the Rock Cats. His record was the same in Fort Myers (3-2) where he posted a 3.00 ERA in 17 games (39.0 innings). Gabino also enjoyed a call up to New Britain after starting the season with the Low A Beloit Snappers. Gambino pitched in 10 games (16 innings) for the Rock Cats, were he allowed 4 runs (all unearned) on 12 hits and 8 walks. He had a 2-0 record with the Cats and picked up 4 saves during his time in New Britain.

Twins release Betsill, Powers

Two former Miracle players were part of a group of nine prospects released by the Twins this week.

Matt Betsill, who started his season with Fort Myers ended up in Beloit for the second half of the season. He hit .213 for the Class A Snappers, picking up 42 hits in 197 at bats and recording 10 runs including 3 home runs. Betsill hit .155 (20 hits, 129 at bats) with Fort Myers before his demotion.

RHP Danny Powers also received his release. Powers was one of several pitchers that came down from New Britain the 2nd half of the season. He posted a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings with the Miracle in 2007. In 2006 he had 6-2 record with a 3.10 ERA in 58.0 innings. Powers posted a 2-5 record with the AA New Britian Rock Cats earlier in the season, with a 5.28 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched.

Another Rock Cat's pitcher that was released was righthander Jesse Floyd. Floyd's 130 innings pitched led the Rock Cats, but his 7-9 record with a 5.05 ERA was nothing to get excited about. Floyd was taken in the minor league protion of the Rule V draft by the Twins in December of 2006.

Lefthander Jesus Carnevales, who joined the Twins this season as a non-draft free agent, was released after spending time with the Beloit Snappers. The reliever had a 5-5 record with the Snappers with a 4.04 ERA in 55.2 innings.

Released from Rookie League Elizabethon was left handed pitcher Michael Rogers, and right hander Jose Castillo. Rogers had a promising start with the GCL Twins in 2004, but was plagued with injuries there after, missing all of the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Castillo was 5-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 36 innings pitched for the Apply League Champions.

Outfielder Wesley Connor was also released after 2 years with the Elizebethton Twins. Conner posted a .293 average in 140 at bats, appearing in 40 games for the Betsy Twins.

Rookies Jose Acosta and Nick Biagini were also cut. Acosta posted a 2-0, 3.18 ERA record in 22.2 innings pitched with the GCL Twins. Biagini, a free agent signee out out of the University of Minnesota appeared in 23 games for the GCL Twins, with a .258 batting average (17 hits, 66 AB).

In related moves the Twins signed former Miracle Tommy Watkins to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Shortstop Alejandro Machado, who spend the season on the disabled list after being picked up in the Rule V draft by the Twins, was signed to the same type of contract.

Both are expected to start the 2008 season with Triple-A Rochester.

Jeff Smith named Miracle Field Manager for 2008 season

The Minnesota Twins announed their coaching staff assignments for the upcoming 2008 season today. As expect, Naples resident Jeff Smith was named the manager of the Florida State League Fort Myers Miracle.

Smith, 33, spent the past two seasons as manager of the Beloit Snappers, the Twins' Single-A affiliate (Midwest League). He has a 153-125 (.550) record during his two years of Minor League managerial experience. Smith played professional baseball as a catcher in the Twins organization for many years before picking up becoming a coach. He holds a baseball camp each winter in Naples for youth that are serious about developing their potential as baseball players.

Joining Smith will be pitching coach Eric Rasmussen and hitting coach Jim Dwyer. Rasmussen will begin his 10th season as pitching coach and Dwyer will begin his third year as a coach at Ft. Myers, after spending the previous nine as minor league hitting coordinator. Larry Bennese returns for his ninth season as trainer for the Miracle.

Former Miracle shortstop Jake Mauer takes up the coaching reins for the Rookie League Gulf Coast League Twins. Mauer has served as an assistant coach for the GCL Twins for the last two seasons. He will also run the Twins Extended Spring Training Program.

Stan Cliburn will begin his third year as manager of the Twins' Triple-A affiliate Rochester Red Wings (International League). Cliburn, 48, spent the five seasons managing the Twins' Class AA New Britain Rock Cats (2001-05). He has a 850-837 (.504) record during his 14 years of Minor League managerial experience, 587-543 (.519) with the Twins. Stuart Cliburn will return for his third year as pitching coach and Riccardo Ingram will begin his first Triple-A season as coach, after spending the last two seasons as the manager of Double-A New Britain. Rich Miller, who spent the last four seasons as Rochester's hitting coach, will begin his first season as a Roving Instructor between Rochester and New Britain, specializing in outfield play, bunting and baserunning. Tony Leo will return for his fourth season as trainer for the Red Wings.

Bobby Cuellar will begin his first year as manager of the Twins' Double-A affiliate New Britain Rock Cats (Eastern League), after spending the past two seasons as the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen coach. Cuellar was the Twins' Triple-A pitching coach from 2002-05. Cuellar, 55, has a 130-149 (.466) record during his two years of managerial experience with Wausau (1986-87). Steve Mintz will begin his first year as pitching coach, after serving in the same capacity for Single-A Beloit last season and for the GCL Twins from 2002-05. Floyd Rayford returns for his fourth season as a coach at the Double-A level, his ninth season in the Twins' system. Chad Jackson will return for his fourth season as trainer for the Rock Cats.

Nelson Prada will begin his first year as manager of the Twins' Single-A affiliate Beloit Snappers (Midwest League). Prada, 31, spent the previous four seasons as manager of the GCL Twins. He has a 91-72 (.558) record during his three years of Minor League managerial experience. Gary Lucas will begin his second stint (2005) as pitching coach after spending the past two seasons as pitching coach for Double-A New Britain. Rudy Hernandez will begin his fourth season as a coach with Beloit. Alan Rail will return for his fourth season as trainer with the Snappers.

Ray Smith returns as manager for the rookie level Elizabethton Twins (Appalachian League). Smith, 52, who will be in his 22nd season on staff for Elizabethton, has a career managerial record of 579-365 (.613), with eight first place finishes in 14 seasons guiding the Twins. Jim Shellenback will begin his 13th season as pitching coach, his 31st year in the Twins' system, and Jeff Reed will return for his seventh season as a coach. Ryan Hedwall returns for his third season as trainer for Elizabethton.

In addition to these staff assignments, Joel Lepel, returns for his third year as the Twins' minor league field coordinator. Rick Knapp returns for his 12th year as pitching coordinator and Bill Springman returns for his third season as hitting coordinator. John Kertis returns for his second season as minor league strength and conditioning coordinator and Lanning Tucker returns for his 10th season as the club's head minor league trainer and rehab coordinator. Jose Marzan returns for his third season as the Twins' Latin America coordinator, overseeing Latin America scouting and international field coordinating. Also, former Twins' great Tony Oliva will continue in his role as hitting coach, as well as various duties involving community relations, former Manager Tom Kelly will continue in his role as Special Assistant the the General Manager, and Hall of Famer Paul Molitor will continue in his role as Minor League Infield/Baserunning Coordinator.

Scoreboard for May 29, 2007

Richmond 6 at Rochester 7

Record 25-20

W: B. Bass (2-1, 6.84); L: B. Hernandez (5-1, 1.19); SV: B. Korecky (11)
HR: RIC: G. Koonce (6). ROC: D. Deeds (3).

E: Casilla (4, missed catch).

From redwingsbaseball.com: The Red Wings finally put on a strong offensive performance to defeat the Richmond Braves 7-5 Tuesday night at Frontier Field. Rochester trailed 5-1 before rallying with three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Tommy Watkins went 2-for-4 with four RBI to lead the Wings hitting attack. Doug Deeds also had two hits, including a solo home run that tied the game in the seventh.

Nick Blackburn (0-1) earned a no-decision after throwing six innings, giving up four runs on six hits and striking out three. Brian Bass (2-1) pitched one scoreless inning in the seventh to get the win. Braves starter Trey Hodges also earned a no-decision after pitching six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and striking out five.

The Wings got off to another rough start after leadoff man Gregor Blanco started the game with a walk, followed by a nice bunt single down the third base line by J.C. Holt. A pickoff throw by starter Blackburn was mishandled by second baseman Alexi Casilla and allowed both runners to advance to second and third base. The damage followed when Graham Koonce hit a three-run home run that was barely fair inside the foul pole, giving the Braves an early 3-0 lead.

The Wings, held scoreless over the last 20 innings at Frontier Field, got a run back against Richmond starter Trey Hodges in the second inning. Garrett Jones led off with a double to right-centerfield, moved to third on Matthew LeCroy's ground out, and scored on Tommy Watkins' ground out.

With two outs in the fourth, Blackburn hit Bill McCarthy - and that mistake turned into two more runs for Richmond, who got consecutive RBI doubles to make it a 5-1 game. In the bottom of the inning after Jones and LeCroy both struck out looking on questionable calls, Stan Cliburn and LeCroy were tossed for arguing by home plate umpire Jason Klein. LeCroy's ejection prompted the Wings to use emergency catcher Glenn Williams behind the plate because of back spasms that have plagued starting catcher Jose Morales. Gil Velazquez filled Williams' spot at first base.

The Wings responded in the sixth inning. Casilla led off the inning with a single, followed by a double down the right field line by Denard Span that sent Casilla to third. Williams hit a two-run single to right field to score both runners and cut the deficit to 5-3. Jones then hit a single and Velazquez hit a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners into scoring position. Watkins followed with a run-scoring single to make it 5-4.

In the seventh inning the Wings continued their hot offense. Deeds hit a leadoff home run of relief pitcher Buddy Hernandez the opposite way to left field that was just out of reach of Doug Clark's glove. With two outs Williams reached first base on an error by pitcher Hernandez, who proceeded to hit Jones and then walk Velazquez to load the bases for Watkins. Watkins followed with the biggest hit of the game-- a tie-breaking two-run single on a 1-1 pitch to give the Wings a 7-5 advantage. Hernandez got the loss and a blown save after pitching two innings and giving up one run.

Ricky Barrett did not allow a run and struck out Koonce in the eighth inning after Bass pitched a scoreless seventh. Bobby Korecky came into the ninth inning and got the first two batters to fly out before Wes Timmons doubled to give the Braves one last chance. The speedy Blanco followed with an RBI triple. Holt then grounded out to Watkins-- who created some suspense by barely getting the out in time after double-clutching his throw to first base.

NOTES: RHP Kevin Slowey has been called to Minnesota, and will start Friday at Oakland. The Twins will send a pitcher to Rochester to make room for Slowey; LHP Brian Duensing has been called up from Double-A New Britain and will make his Triple-A debut Wednesday for the Wings against Richmond. Duensing had a 4-1 record with a 2.66 ERA in nine starts for the Rock Cats, with 38 strikeouts and seven walks in 50 2/3 innings; he was the Twins' 3rd round pick in June 2005, after playing college ball for Nebraska. Duensing pitched seven innings and struck out eight in a no-decision start on Friday for New Britain...Twins C Joe Mauer's return from the DL could take place this weekend, which will prompt another player move from Minnesota to Rochester...OF Josh Rabe (sore shoulder) was out of the lineup again Tuesday...The Wings' 2007 team picture was taken by Cardinal Sports Imaging on Tuesday afternoon; the team picture giveaway is scheduled for Friday June 15.

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Binghamton 14 at New Britain 4

Record: 25-19

W: S. Aguilar (2-1, 6.57); L: J. Floyd (3-4, 4.44)
HR: BIN: C. Stewart (8), W. Batista (1). NBR: M. Allegra (7).

E: Plouffe (11, fielding), Buscher 2 (8, fielding, fielding), Sawatski (1, missed catch), Peterson (3, fielding).

From rockcats.com: New Britain starter Jesse Floyd was knocked out of the game in the fourth inning and the bullpen didn’t fare much better as the Rock Cats fell to the Binghamton Mets 12-4.

The Rock Cats got on the board in the third inning when Rashad Eldridge reached base after being hit by a pitch. Felix Molina (4-for-5) delivered a double to put Eldridge on third and Trevor Plouffe’s ground out scored Eldridge for a 1-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last long for the ‘Cats. In the top of the fourth, Plouffe’s fielding error at shortstop allowed Fernando Martinez to reach base. Brett Harper followed with a single before Caleb Stewart’s single to center field knocked in Martinez to tie the game, 1-1. Miguel Negron drew a walk to load the bases before Jose Coronado laced a double to deep center field to clear the bases and put the B-Mets ahead 5-1.

The Rock Cats clawed back in the bottom of the inning, with a two-run double by Kyle Geiger to close the gap, 5-3.

Stewart (4-for-4) hit a two-run homer and Mark Kiger added an RBI double in the fifth. Wilson Batista also had a two-run home run in the eighth.

B-Mets’ starter Salvador Aguilar (2-1) tossed six solid frames, limiting the Rock Cats to three runs (one earned) and seven hits. He struck out four. Brett Harper had three hits and scored three runs for the B-Mets.

Floyd (3-4) allowed five runs (3 ER) on six hits and two walks to take the loss. He struck out three. The bullpen trio of Brian Forystek (1 IP, 3 H 3 R, 2 ER), Danny Powers (3 IP, 1 H, 2 ER), and Jay Sawatski failed to stop the offensive attack of the B-Mets. The pitching staff wasn’t helped by its defense, as the Rock Cats committed four errors on the night.

Matthew Allegra connected for a solo home run for the Rock Cats in the bottom of the eighth inning. It was his team-leading seventh homer of the season.

So much for Ricardo's 13

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The New Britain Rock Cats announced two roster moves, each one involving a left handed pitcher whom they had selected in the third round of the 2005 draft.

LHP Brian Duensing, a 24-year-old resident of Omaha, NE, will depart the Double-A Rock Cats to join the Rochester Red Wings in the Triple-A International League. The 5'11", 195-lb. southpaw was selected by the Twins out of the University of Nebraska in 2005. The former Cornhusker was outstanding for the Rock Cats in 2007, compiling a 4-1 record and 2.66 ERA over nine starts. This is his first trip to AAA.

LHP Ryan Mullins, a 23-year-old resident of Nashville, TN, will replace Duensing by joining New Britain from Ft. Myers in the Single-A Florida State League. The 6'6", 190-lb. Mullins comes to the AA Rock Cats after having compiled a 3-3 record with a 1.98 ERA over 10 appearances in 2007 with the Miracle. He also posted an impressive 56 strikeout-to-12-walk ratio. Mullins leaves the FSL ranked sixth in ERA and strikeouts. Rock Cats


Dwayne White

Fort Myers 8 at Sarasota 2

Record 21 - 30

W: J. Hill (1-2, 3.55); L: T. Wood (2-1, 4.58)
HR: FTM: E. Ovalle (5), D. White (2). SAR: D. Dorn (6).

From miraclebaseball.com: A four-run fifth inning for the Fort Myers Miracle capped off an offensive output on Tuesday night as the Miracle knocked off the Sarasota Reds 8-2. Dwayne White, who went 3-for-5 and came up a triple shy of the cycle, had a three-run blast helping out in the Miracle fifth.

White also started things off for the Miracle in the first singling in Steve Tolleson with the game’s first run. Two unearned runs would come across in the second Miracle inning as Toby Gardenhire reached on a two-out throwing error by shortstop Raul Tablado to keep the inning alive.

Luis Ugueto, who enjoyed a 4-for-6 night at the plate, picked up his first hit in the variety of a RBI-double that scored Gardenhire with the inning’s first run. Tolleson would follow with his second hit of the night plating Ugueto to give the Miracle a three-run lead.

After Edward Ovalle blasted his team-leading fifth home run in the third, a solo-shot to the opposite field, Sarasota would tack on a run in their half of the third to get on the board. B.J. Szymanski led off with a double and would later score on a Miracle throwing error that allowed Mike Dejesus to reach and cut the lead to 4-1.

The Miracle fifth began with Juan Portes reaching on Tablado’s second error of the night at short followed by Ovalle reaching on a hit by pitch. White would send a 1-1 fastball over the wall in right, a no-doubter, sending the Miracle lead to 7-1. Matt Betsill, who picked up a two-out single, would score the final run on Ugueto’s second of four hits on the night.

Danny Dorn would smack a solo-shot to right for the Reds to lead off the seventh, but relievers Angel Garcia and Armando Gabino would combine to retire the final nine Sarasota hitters allowing Josh Hill to pick up his first win of the season.

Hill got the start on Tuesday night as the Miracle saw lefty Ryan Mullins depart for double-A New Britain earlier in the afternoon. Hill went five innings, allowing one run on three hits, while striking out six in his first start.

The Miracle and Reds will square off again in game two of the home and home series at Ed Smith Stadium on Wednesday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

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Kane County 5 at Beloit 2

Record 31-18

W: T. Cahill (1-1, 5.40); L: B. Kirwan (1-1, 0.00); SV: S. Moore (6)
HR: BEL: J. Woodard (6).

E: Santiesteban (5, fielding).

From snappersbaseball.com: The Snappers were never able to overcome the two runs Kane County put on the board in the top of the first inning. Brian Kirwan picked up his first loss of the season in the Snappers’ 5-2 loss to Kane County.

After the Cougars scored two in the top of the first inning, Beloit came back to put one of their own on the board in the bottom of the second. Joe Benson scored on an error by Michael Affronti, drawing the Snappers to within one of the Cougars, 2-1.

Kane County had three more in the top of the sixth inning to stretch their lead to 5-1. Beloit’s Johnny Woodard tried to keep the Snappers in it with his fifth homer of the season in the bottom of the sixth. That, however, would be all the Snappers could do against the Cougars.

Brian Kirwan pitched five innings of two run (zero earned), four hit baseball to pick up his first loss of the season.

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Kane County 1 at Beloit 3

Record 32-18

W: M. Fox (1-0, 0.00); L: H. Rodriguez (1-2, 3.24); SV: R. Delaney (17)
HR: BEL: J. Woodard (6).

From snappersbaseball.com: Johnny Woodard hit his second home run of the doubleheader in game two and helped lead the Snappers to a 3-1 victory over the Kane County Cougars. Woodard’s bomb came in the bottom of the first inning after the Cougars took a 1-0 lead.

The Snappers added another run in the bottom of the third inning off the bat of Danny Valencia. Valencia singled home Joe Benson, who was earlier hit by a pitch. Danny’s RBI gave Beloit a 3-1 lead.

That would be all that the Snappers’ pitching staff would need. Tyler Robertson, Matthew Fox, and Rob Delaney combined to allow only one run off four hits. Delaney pitched a scoreless, three strikeout, ninth to pick up his seventeenth save of the season.

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Snappers Reshuffle Roster

Snappers Press Release

The Beloit Snappers have placed catcher, Allan de San Miguel, on the Disabled List with a right ankle sprain, recalled left handed pitcher, Jose Lugo, from the Disabled List, and added left handed pitcher, Tyler Robertson, from extended spring training, all effective today.

Allan de San Miguel is batting .206 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI’s. de San Miguel has a .324 slugging percentage.

Jose Lugo went on the DL on May 18th and is currently 1-2 with a 4.68 ERA. Lugo also has 28 strikeouts in seven games so far this season.

Tyler Robertson went 4-2 last season with a 4.25 ERA for GCL Twins. Tyler had 54 strikeouts in 48.2 innings pitched last year. Robertson was the Twins’ 3rd round pick in the 2006 June draft.

The three transactions put the Snappers’ roster at the Midwest League maximum of 25.

Home not so sweet for the Miracle

Ed Pelegrino had written in his Miracle blog on Tuesday about the wonders of home cooking.

"Being on the road in empty ball parks instead of in front of loving home crowds can throw your game. The Miracle are playing very good baseball this season. As a team, they are taking form. The road games are getting the better of the Miracle however."

I had to go over late in the game and point out the home cooking' wasn't. The Miracle played a game that can only be described as sloppy, including the performance by pitcher Kyle Waldrop, who has, up until this point, been the stud in the starting rotation.

I attribute some of the this to Kevin Boles "fielding by committee" approach, in which players are moved around from position to position, almost it seems, by chance. In an article in the Fort Myers News-Press, Boles is quoted as saying "We're going to increase their versatility."

Enough with the versatility already. It only seems to be increasing their confusion. Even EriK Lis, who is primarily a first baseman looked sloppy at first base. The other problem there is that Lis probably has a better chance to move through the organiztion in the outfield, and in fact, the move to the outfield was talked about in an Naples Daily News article, so one would believe this is move sanctioned by the Twins.

And there's more to outfielding than just chasing down fly balls. "You’re talking about angles from a left or righthanded hitter, first-step quickness, initial reads," Boles is quoted as saying the article. "All that, plus backing up bases when the ball’s not hit to you. Those ins-and-outs, if you haven't played there, it takes a while to feel that out."

Well, if he's playing at first base, how is he "feeling out" this position change? And is he taking outfielding drills during practice?

This was a position change that just suddenly happened. You have the man through Fall Instructional League and the entire time, he plays first base. All through spring training, with the exception of the last two games, he plays first base. And now suddenly, out of no where, he's an outfielder?

I know, as a FAN of developmental baseball, I have no right to complain about the wins or losses. It shouldn't matter to me if the team wins or loses, as long as they play the game and get the players ready for the next level. I hear this all the time. "We're not here to win games, we're here to develop the players."

So why am I putting down money to watch a team lose all the time? Do I not, as a consumer, have a right to watching a good game, irregardless of the level of play? And doesn't it benefit the organization to develop their players in a winning atmosphere?

However, Bolesy's experiment into versatility should not be effecting the batting, and the lack of hits has been a big problem. You can't tell me we've run into really HOT pitching five times in our last 11 games, which is the number of shut outs we've seen recently. And this is also a period, where the Miracle have only won twice.

So what seems to be the problem here? In the past, when Jose Marzan was the coach, he talked about working the players harder on drills in the first half while the weather is cooler. This is understandable and yes, could account for 31-36 records, such as the Miracle posted in 2004. However, the team posted winning records in the first half in 2005 and 2006, just missing a first half championship last year.

Perhaps the extra work during this cooler time of the year is the case, that Boles is blowing off the first half of the year, and is looking to have a more productive second half, but it's still painful for the consumers in the seats who paid to get in to watch a bunch of slopiness on the field.

Then again...one might argue at at least 900 of the announced 973 people at the game were there for the "Bing on the Berm" promotion, free T-shirts, the Spiderman appearance and other assorted "fun" that Goldklang feels is necessary to turning a profit on minor league baseball. (You really didn't think they were doing this because they wanted us to have FUN did you?) So the execution of the game really shouldn't matter...the vast majority of the fans "got their moneys worth".

Ah well. Call me disgruntled. I was really hoping to see a good game. (I saw one last Thursday out of the rookie team, that will have to last me a while, I suppose.)

I'd gone down the Miracle dugout prior the game, and Eli Tintor had come out to warm up and was wearing the navy blue batting gloves he'd been wearing during the game he struck out four times. I had not actually gone down to the dugout to see him, but one must take the opportunities available.

"Take those off your hands," I tell him. "Go back in there and put the white ones on."

"You know," he says, "I was thinking about that..."

"You struck out four times in one game wearing those things, they've got bad karma. You need to take them out and burn them."

"But they're $50 a pair!" (Ed quickly divides this down into $12.50 a strike out.)

"I'll buy you a new pair, just get rid of those things." Geez. Maybe a nice white pair with red inserts. Those would look nice on him.

In any case...I like to believe making him go back in and change his gloves got us at least one hit. We only had three, we really can't sacrafice any opportunity here.

Beyond that, I did not accomplish what I was hoping to down there, however, I can pursue the matter at the Mini-golf tournament on Friday. Justin has given me a set of Charleston Riverdog cards to collect Yankees autographs on, so that's what I'll be doing tonight.

I also need to re-shoot Ryan Mullins tonight, because the last shots I took I was not happy with. He however, had a different opinion of them, and seemed just touched as heck to get them. "You mean these are for me?" Oh, that's right. He skipped GCL. Maybe they don't have a photog in E-Town. Maybe the boys are not crazy for wanting to take me with.

I did a re-shoot of Waldrop last night, even though well...the preformance wasn't all that.

Maybe it's just me, but I think the new roof has messed with the lighting in the stadium. However I think the stills from yesterday will look much better than the previous set, and well, I really need to redo the sets for Ryan and Ozzie. Neither were up to my standards.

I was also trying to get the batters some yesterday and as Ryan is a lefty, that will give me a chance to get the righty batters tonight as I'll be camping out on the first base side of the stadium.

Giving Ryan his shots though was an invitaion for Alex Smit to crain his neck around to see them. "I have Loek (Van Mil)'s pictures," I tell him. "Would you like to see Loek's pictures." He does, so I fetch them. He's flipping through and suddenly starts laughing...



Well, it IS a fun-nee picture. (He'd gone down to get out of the way of catcher on a stealing attempt, and just sort of stayed there for a second or two....)

Let's see...odds and ends...Henry Sanchez is still on the DL with a hammate bone injury in his hand. Tyler Robertson said he was not taking batting practice, but really didn't know anything more than that.

"I heard he can hit."

I've heard that too, but he didn't exactly wail for the GCL Twins in 2005 (16H, 70AB, .229 Avg) nor with Elizabethton (9H, 41AB, .220 Avg) in 2006. Plus Jim Rantz's quip "There's this thing called a curveball that he's never seen before," in the Strib is a little bit disturbing.

A first round supplemental pick in 2005, Sanchez underwent surgery in July of 2006 to remove scar tissue associated with hammate bone surgery that he had prior to joining the Twins organization. It will be interested to see if he ever does get healthy, and if so, if he really can hit.

Catcher Javi Sanchez had Tommy John surgery last year. He missed the 2006 season because of it, and while he is playing this year for the Fort Myers Miracle, reports that he is still not 100%. While Tommy John sugergy can improve the throwing ability of the player who recieved it, it is still a hard operation to come back from.

The Twins released outfielder Mark Robinson and pitcher Adam Revelette and placed pitcher Sean Land on the 7-day Disabled List with a left elbow injury. All three were playing with the Beloit squad. In turn, the Twins activated shortstop Steve Singleton, RHP Aaron Craig, and LHP Jesus Carnevales from extended spring training. The moves regarding Robo and Rev are not really a surprise. Craig has still been struggling with his fastball and Carnevales was a free agent signee in November with the team, so as replacments, they are kind of unexpected.

RHP Michael Allen is expected to join the Beloit squad, but that may not happen until the All-star game break.

I think that's about it for now. I do have some other tidbits, but the Miralce are on the road on Saturday, the rookies are off and well...I will needs something to rattle on about.

Here's hoping for a better effort tonight out of the Fort Myers squad, otherwise I might have to end up cheering for the Yankees.

Baseball Advanced Media

I got a very interesting piece of e-mail from the Florida State League’s Brevard County Manatees regarding the redesign of their website. It seems that Baseball Advanced Media is the organization working on it. Now, you probably know BAM from mlb.com. They are the company that designed and built mlb.com and put Yankees material on the Twins page.

The letter states “BAM is working to incorporate all Minor League Baseball team web sites into this operation, however that will be a few years away.”

Now honesty, do you really like mlb.com? Granted, after looking at some minor league team’s websites on the internet, having the sort of content that BAM can provide, plus the look and feel is going to be an improvement. But I honestly feel the “cloned” team sites, and I’m sorry, they are very cloned, is kind of annoying. And when you get into areas like voting for the All-Star team or the coverage for the Hall of Fame voting, reporting that impacts all of Major League Baseball, the articles are generally not written to be team specific before they are published. Additionally, if you are on a narrowband connection – and yes, I know there is a narrowband version – it either takes forever to upload, or you lose a good deal of content.

And in the end, somewhere on the page there is other MLB content. And I’m sorry, but I really don’t particularly care to have Red Sox or Yankees content on my Twins site. Nope, not even headlines for those teams. They just don’t belong there.

Now we’re looking at “cloning” all the minor league sites. In a way, this will be sad. Individuality has gone down the drain. Just like most fans quite creating and running unofficial fan pages for things and have gone over to straight blogging. And most blogs are rarely topic specific.

Which is another thing. MLB.com now offers you the chance to write blogs. Great. I’d like to find a Twins blog on there, but…there really isn’t a good search mechanism worked into the site, at least not on the blog page.

Well, on the bright side, it means they won’t be pulling the Miracle page down every off-season to “rework” it.

In other news, Florida Gulf Coast University passed a resolution to go to NCAA Division I competition. The Fort Myers local college has already produced infielding prospect Chris Brown for the Twins, and that was when they were a Division III university. Baseball is one of the programs designed to be fast-tracked, making them eligible for post-season play in about three years if everything should go well. The Eagles are projected to join the Atlantic Sun Conference, which has several universities in the area (Stetson, Jacksonville and North Florida) none of which have football programs, a notable lack on FGCU’s athletic program.

However, the Eagle’s baseball program has been largely successful to date and with a large number of scouts in the area, the students they attract are guaranteed to get a pretty good look, not just by the Twins, but by many of the Major League teams who will already have scouts in the area to watch the FSL and Gulf Coast League teams that play out of Fort Myers, as well as the players who work out in the area during the off season.

The move has already drawn a lot of interest, but a number of details need to be worked out before the move can be finalized. In the meantime, the Division II Eagles prepare to take the field, with FGCU opening on February 1st against Barry University.

Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles

Outfield Jason Grove has not played baseball in a year after leaving the Yankees’ organization in March of 2005. The Twins signed Grove to a minor league contract with the intention of having him join the New Britain Rock Cats for the start of the 2006 season.

The Washington state native had played two seasons with the Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League before cutting ties with the Yankees. The Twins have promised him a swift promotion to Rochester if he can produce with New Britain. Grove can produce hits (180 hits for 619 at bats for a .291 two-year batting average), but needs to improve his long ball game if he is to contribute offensively at the higher farm levels. Grove has only hit 16 homers during his two years at the AA level.

Former minor league coach Jeff Carter has left the Twins to join the Kansas City Royals organization. Carter served as the hitting coach for last year’s High-A Fort Myers Miracle team while he helped mentor field manager Riccardo Ingram through his first season of High-A ball. Carter served as a hitting coach in AA New Britain during 2004, and was the field manager that led the 2000 Elizabethton Twins to an Appalachian League championship while winning manager of the year.

Carter, who lives in Arizona, also led the low-A Quad City River Bandits to a 256-218 record from 2001 to 2003, including two playoff appearances.

The Twins extended family wishes him well in his new endeavors with the Royals.

Gulf Coast League – Game On!

Last year in August, Minor League Baseball, as well as several newspapers reported the “potential” end of the Gulf Coast League and the Arizona League (not to be confused with the Arizona Fall League). Both leagues are low Rookie A-ball; do not charge admission to the games and good information on both is pretty difficult to get. Twelve MLB teams, including the Twins, use the GCL, while nine use the AzL. The teams that use neither league, such as the Cleveland Indians, use two short-season clubs and they too, would have lost an affiliate to replace the teams for clubs that would be losing affiliates under the new system. Additionally, the short-season Appalachian League would have become a co-op league, similar to the way the Arizona Fall League (not to be confused with the Arizona League) is currently run – all of the clubs place a set number of players, say six or eight, to play on teams that are not owned by any one club.

The idea was to cut out – or at least cut down – on the prospects drafted out of high school and have the teams focus on college prospects.

I had a lot of problems with the proposed system, not the least of which is my concerns for health problems in college players – especially pitchers. Former first round draft pick Matt Fox is currently our Twins poster child for said injuries. (Fox had arthroscopy on his shoulder before the start of the GCL and was shut down after pitching only several innings in extended spring training. He will have to prove that he is healthy, and that he can remain that way in Spring Training this year, or you can write him off as a wasted first-rounder.)

Evidently I was not the only one with concerns as many GM’s had issues with the Instructional Leagues being made mandatory, what do to with their existing training complex and where to put Latin-American, Australian or Euro-Asian players that were signed as free agents, and probably not quite good enough to keep up with the college kids.

The issues regarding the closing of these leagues were tabled until the Winter Meetings. Currently there has been little or no resolution on the issues and the proposed shut down of the Gulf Coast and Arizona Leagues is not going to happen, at least not this year.

So yes, the Gulf Coast League Twins will play a 2006 season. Nelson Prada returns as field manager for the 2006 season and Milt Cuyler returns as batting coach. Eric Rasmussen was originally announced as pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Twins. This was not a demotion; Rasmussen wanted to stay closer to Fort Myers (GCL is less travel than FSL) where he also conducts a private pitching school. However, Bobby Cuellar fled the organization for a major league pitching job and Ras again found himself as pitching coach for the Fort Myers Miracle. Ivan Arteaga, a veteran of the Mets organization, has been hired to replace him as the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League.

No, I do not have a GCL or even an extended spring training schedule available yet. However, I have posted the Twins Minor League Spring Training Schedule which is available at the Gulf Coast League Twins website. Please remember that this is baseball and the schedule is subject to change without notice.

A couple of other notes, Joel Lepel becomes the Twins minor league field coordinator replacing Joe Vavra, who has been promoted to hitting coach for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins also announced that minor league pitchers Omar Burgos, Tim Henkenjohann, Peter Tautor, and Joe Gault were released. Henkenjohann, who hails from Germany and Tautor, from Australia were both Southpaws. Outfielder Ron Perodin and infielder Odannys Valdez were also released. Nothing here was really a surprise, although I am a little disappointed to see Gault go, I felt he had potential.

Meanwhile, I just can’t wait until March 10th! Being a former catcher (yeah, okay, even if it was softball), I LOVE pitchers and catchers camp!

Hot Stove

I need one. It's a balmy 64 degrees here in lovely downtown Cape Coral and to my warm weather acclimated constitution, that's cold. Yes, I know if you hail from Hibbing, Minnesota, that it's summer weather for you, but for us Florida Crackers, even those like me of the half-baked variety, believe me, it's cold. So let's start…

Charlie Walters reported into today's PiPress that Jason Kubel has received clearance to start working without a brace on his surgically repaired leg and that he is expected to compete for a job in the Twins outfield in spring training. Kubel missed the 2005 season after injuring his leg in the Arizona Fall League, but posted excellent numbers (24 HR, 127 RBIs, 44 doubles, four triples and a .347 batting average) in games played at the AA and Triple A level in 2004. He was one of the Twins top 10 prospects before the injury, how he fairs after will be the big question for the spring training-watching crowd.

The Twins inked catcher Shawn Wooten to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. Wooten, 33, batted .267 (114-427) with 20 doubles, 17 homers and 60 rbi in 114 games for Pawtucket (AAA, International League) in 2005.

Minnesota also signed 1B/OF Jason Hart to a minor league deal for 2006. Hart hit 21 HR for Texas' Double-A Frisco club in 2005, after missing the 2004 season with a non-cancerous brain tumor. Hart was the Topps Minor League Player of the Year in 2000 after hitting a combined .324-31-125 at Double-A and Triple for the Oakland organization. He is expected to replace Kevin West in the Rochester line up. West was injured playing winter ball in Venezuela and is expected to miss most or all of the 2006 season.

The Twins added right-handed pitchers Adam Harben and Pat Neshek, lefthanded pitchers Justin Jones, Jose Mijares and Errol Simonitsch and outfielder Alex Romero to the 40-man major league roster. I don't believe any of them – maybe Neshek and Romero later in the year – are candidates to make it to the majors out of spring training, but they may find invites to join the team when the rosters open up in September waiting for them. Harben, Jones, and Simonitsch will likely start the year in AA ball, and Mijares finished last season with the Fort Myers Miracle and will likely start the 2006 season there as well.

The Twins dealt Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Luis Castillo. I'd kick Terry Ryan for that except it's just too good of a deal to quibble. And at least Bowyer will be close, as he's projected to be well in the mix as closer in the depleted Marlins line up.

Grant Balfour, who missed the 2005 season with Tommy Johns surgery had been non-tendered by the Twins, but will be offered a minor league deal. Balfour is not expected to be able to pitch again until June, and will likely start the season with the Rochester Red Wings once that happens.

Outfielder and local Fort Myers product Tommy Watkins was resigned by the Twins to a minor league deal. Watkins had a disappointing season in New Britain, hitting only .229 (4 HR, 24 RBIs) but has shown an inclination to work hard. He's player that may never make the major league level, but will likely stay with the Twins for a long while, moving over to coaching once his playing days are over. Watkins just finished up his annual baseball camp at the Lee County Sportsplex and will be one of the player who will be helping out the coaching staff for a six week period running from January 7th through February 18th, as the Twins host their annual free youth clinics in the Collier/Lee/Charlotte county area. A schedule of dates and locations for the clinics can be found at www.miraclefans.com. The clinics are for children ages 5 though 16 and parents are encouraged to participate with their sons and daughters in the sessions.

So…that's warmed me up for the moment. We'll take a look at who the Twins acquired in the Rule 5 draft and where they might fit into the system in another posting.

Rookie pitcher Nick Blackburn promoted

23-year-old righty Nick Blackburn has been promoted to Triple-A Rochester of the International League.

Blackburn replaces Dave Gassner on the Red Wings roster who is out with a elbow inflamation.

The 6'4", 230 lbs. Oklahoma native is continuing his rapid professional ascent as it was less than a month ago, on July 14, when he was promoted from Single-A Ft. Myers to Double-A New Britain.

He has been impressive in Connecticut, having thrown two complete games in his 4 EL starts, surrendering only 20 Hits and 9 earned runs over 30.1 innings of work. His record stands at 1-3 and his ERA is a very solid 2.64.

Justin Olsen has taken over Blackburn's place on the Rock Cats' starting rotation.

Meanwhile, the Cats have received righty reliever Jannio Gutierrez, a 23-year-old native of Maracaibo, VZ, from Fort Myers of the Florida State League.

Gutierrez will be making his second career trip to the Eastern League as he began the 2004 season in New Britain.

The stocky right-hander has appeared in 15 games for Single-A Ft. Myers in 2005, compiling a 1-1 record and 1.78 ERA out of the Miracle's bullpen. In 25.1 total innings of work, Gutierrez has yielded only 5 earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 39/10.

More pitching changes affect Cats

New Britain left-handed reliever Jason Miller was called up to Rochester after Wednesday's All-star game. Miller, who pitched a scoreless seventh inning in the Double-A All-Star Game, was 1-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 26 games for the Rock Cats.

Leval Speigner returned to the Rock Cats from Rochester. Speigner, 24, was 2-7 with a 3.86 ERA for the Rock Cats when he was promoted to Rochester July 4. Speigner was 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA in two games (one start) for the Red Wings.

With Speigner's return, Matt Yeatman was moved to the Cats' bullpen.

Angelo Fermin joined High A Fort Myers from Low A Beloit. Fermin had 23 runs off 32 hits with the Snappers and was batting .224 before joining the Miracle. Fermin is a switch hitting infielder who was part of the 2003 Appy League Championship Team. He was signed as a free agent in 2000 and is a native of Santo Domingo, DR.

Moses, Blackburn join the Rock Cats

The final two 2005 Fort Myers Miracle All-Star players were promoted to Double-A as Matt Moses and Nick Blackburn were called up to the New Britain Rock Cats on Monday night following the Miracle game against the Palm Beach Cardinals.

The 20-year-old Moses made his first All-Star team in 2005 while hitting .306-7-42 in 74 games with the Miracle. He entered play on Monday night tied for sixth in the league in batting. Moses was a first round pick by the Twins in 2003 and played just 48 professional games in his first two seasons. While with the Miracle he set career highs in every single category in just a little over one half of baseball. He also participated in the home run hitting contest at the 2005 Florida State League All-Star Game.

The 23-year-old Blackburn, ended his time with the Miracle by hurling seven shut out innings on Monday night allowing just five hits while walking two and striking out seven. He participated in his first All-Star Game in 2005 and recorded the victory for the FSL's Western Division. He finished with a 7-5 record and a 3.36 ERA in 15 games, all starts. In a team high 95.2 innings pitched he struck out 55 while walking just 16 and opponents hit .265 against him. Blackburn was a 29th round pick by the Twins in 2001 and spent the final month and a half with the Miracle in 2004.

Additionally, Catcher Jose Morales has been placed on the Disabled List through the end of the season.

A CAT scan revealed a stress fracture of the fifth lumbar in his back. He has been sent home to heal and rest. He is expected to make a complete recovery and will return to the Rock Cats in 2006. The switch hitting Morales hit .250 in seven games with New Britian this season, including one run on five hits.

Reinforcements Arrive

The Rock Cats have received two first round draft picks, and a top notch pitcher from the Fort Myers Miracle as left-handed pitchers Errol Simonitsch and Glen Perkins as well as All-Star centerfielder Denard Span were send to Double-A New Britain.

Simonitsch, who pitched Tuesday night for the Miracle giving up just one run in seven innings, was spectacular all season long. The 22-year-old was a sixth round pick of the Twins in 2003. He was tied for second in the league in wins, going 8-3 with a 2.69 ERA (5th). He tossed two complete games and was tied for first in the league in shutouts with one. In 80.1 innings pitched he walked just 12 and struck out 72.

The 22-year-old Perkins was a first round pick and 22nd overall player chosen in the 2004 draft by the Twins. He began the season on the DL, but mowed down FSL hitters during his 10 appearances (nine starts). He was 3-2 with a 2.13 (3rd) in 55.0 innings. He struck out 66 while walking just 13 and the opposition hit a measly .205 against him.

The 21-year-old Span was a first round pick (20th overall) by the Twins in 2002. He was selected as one of the three Miracle All-Stars this season while leading the league in hitting, .335, with one home run and 19 RBI. He led the league in on-base percentage at .410. Span led the club in runs (38) and was tied for the team lead in triples (three) and stolen bases (13).

In exchange, the Rock Cats have sent struggling reliever Jan Grando to Fort Myers.

The 22-year-old Granado was a rule V pick up by the Twins in 2004 from the Cincinnati Reds organization. He pitched seven games for the Miracle earlier in the season going 4-0, 0.68. In 13.1 innings pitched he walked two and struck out 10 while the opposition hit just .213 against him. He was called up to Double-A New Britain on May 3. While with the Rock Cats he was 2-2, 5.61 in 12 games. In 25.2 innings he walked nine and struck out 19 while opponents hit .286 against him.

Two Former Cats Honored

Former Rock Cats' reliever Travis Bowyer was named to the International League All-Star game on Wednesday, June 22nd.

Bowyer, who is six saves shy of the AAA Red Wings club record (22), is 2-1 with 16 saves and a 1.36 ERA in 30 games for the Wings. Bowyer currently leads the International League with 16 saves and has emerged as the top closer in the Twins farm system.

Bowyer (U.S squad) and ex-Rock Cats' Southpaw Francisco Liriano (World team) will also play in the MLB Futures Game Sunday, July 10, in Detroit (ESPN2, 4 pm EDT).

Maza Promoted, Pattee joins Cats

The Rochester Red Wings have called up second baseman Luis Maza from the Rock Cats. Maza was hitting .247 with 6 homers and 23 RBI in 48 games for New Britain.

To replace him, the Cats have added infielder Ben Pattee who has been promoted from the Fort Myers Miracle. Pattee was batting .333 in 81 plate appearances for the Miracle this season.
The 6'0" 23-year-old from Ukiah, California, was named to the 2004 MWL All Star team prior to his mid-season promotion to Fort Myers. Pattee started the 2005 season on the injured reserve list, but has been batting well since his activation. The utility infielder can also play first and third base and has also spent time in the outfield.

The Rock Cats also announced today that RHP Colby Miller was placed on the disabled list due to a strain in his right shoulder. Miller has a 2.50 ERA in 57.2 innings this year.

In other organizational moves, infielder Brent Abernathy and outfielder Michael Ryan were called up to Minnesota on Tuesday night, and third baseman Terry Tiffee was demoted to their AAA affiliate. Red Wings outfielder Josh Rabe is nursing a leg injury and is listed as day-to-day.

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...

Sloppy Seconds

The Miracle's 6-0 start on the season proved they were good. The loss to Tampa proved they were human.

The three games series against the Dunedine Blue Jays is proving they've got some things to work on.

Thursday the Miracle managed only hit against the Blue Jays who took a 6-0 win.



Steve Tyler took the start on the mound. Tyler, who is on the Twins 40-man roster, had wanted to start the season with the New Britain Rock Cats.

According to an interview on Will Young's Blog, he did want to play in Fort Myers. He went five innings allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out four. Not exectly the kind of performance that's going to land him on the Rock Cats Roster fast.

Julio DePaula faired little better against the Dunedin bats through allowing two runs on four hits in three innings worth of work.

It's hard to pinout the collapse. Was the Dunedin pitching that good? Or were we back to the home excuse of they've been doing a lot of off-field work that Marzan trotted out frequently for yearly early season home losses.

Omar Burgos was getting some one-on-one instruction before the game on how to be a good hitter, but the tips that he picked up certainly didn't serve him well in the game. On the whole, it was hard to find a stellar spot in Thursday's performance.

Friday's was a little better, but Adam Harben struggled through three innings of ball allowing three run, (two earned) on four hits while walking four and fanning five. He certainly didn't a lot of help from the fielding either.

Brock Peterson was solid on first and the outfield played well. The problems lay in the middle infield of Matt Tolbert and Felix Molina, both of whom seemed have problems hanging on the to the ball. Tolbert's problems were eased a little though by the fact that he got a hit -- and a run, batted in by Scott Whitrock.



Pitching coach Eric Rassmussen had a fairly busy night, with several trips to the mound to have a talk to his young pitching staff. Harben and Peter Tautor both got his attention, as Ras tried to get them into the "mental" part of the game. However, for as much as Harben and Tautor were struggling, there was some good Miracle pitching Friday night as well.

Chris Schutt turned in a very solid performance, fanning six in three innings and allowing only two hits. Whether he was "Schutt 'em out", "Schutt 'em down" or "Schutt the door", he got his job done.

Jay Sawatski kept the Jays at bay through one 1.1 inning as well, replacing the stuggling Tautor.

I'm hoping that tonight's outing will be a bit more positive for the team. I knew that Dunedin would be difficult for this young team, but I don't believe they should prove impossible. It would be nice to see the Miracle back on the winning track.

THIRD BASE: The Twins third baseman of the future is not Matt Moses. It's David Winfree who's been ripping the cover off the ball in Low-A Beloit. Winfree is hitting .379 through 29 plate appearances and has four runs and four RBIs. He's also turning in some nice defensive work for the Snappers.

Moses nearly had another home run Friday night, but the winds were blowing back into the park, and the ball didn't go as far as it could have. He also hit it to one of the deeper parts of the field -- he might of made the fence if it had gone further to the right. As it was though, it turned into a harmless little put out at the hands of Jay's center fielder Jason Tingler.



STELLAR: Kyle Waldrop made an outstanding start for Beloit Wednesday night, pitching a complete game (7 innings, the second game of a double header) allowing only three hits while walking one and striking out three in route to a 3-0 win.

ROSTER MOVES: Beloit right-handed pitcher David Shinskie was placed on the Snappers seven-day disabled list with right elbow soreness and Jay Rainville was added to the roster Monday, April 11th to replace him, being promoted from Extended Spring Training.

First baseman Johnny Woodall was also placed on the DL with a broken right foot. Chris Brown, a stand out with the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles, was promoted to the Snappers to take his place. Brown was a free agent signing who received no bonus money. He struggled with the batting at the Gulf Coast level last season but spent extra hours in the batting cages trying to improve. He was rewarded when the Twin picked up his option for a second year. He'll now have the opportunity to prove himself at the single A level.

Beloit swept Kane County before falling last night to the Lansing Lugnuts, 6-4.

Twins starter Carlos Silva will make a rehab start with Beloit on Sunday night and his knee will be elvaluated to see if he can continue to pitch for the Twins.



ROCKY ROADS: The Rock Cats are back in the win column with an 1-0 victory in 11 innings over the Harrisburg Senators. The Cats dropped their last five including the home opener to the Senators, 4-0 on Thursday.

Colby Miller, coming off an injury which ended his season last year, when seven innings in the game, allowing only four hits, walking one and striking out three.

John Thomas picked up the win, throwing 2 1/3 innings without a hit for the Cats.

CLIPPED WINGS: The Red Wings got a much needed night off after splitting a series against the Norfolk Tides.

Scott Baker turned in a better outing than his first, allowing five hits, walking one and striking out three on Tuesday night. Travis Bowyer picked up the win on that game, fanning four in two innings worth of work.

The Wings have added reliever Brian Wolfe to their roster, as well as former Pirate Jimmy Anderson, who was picked up by the Twins after being released by the Pirates. The 27-year-old lefty replaced Dave Gassner in the Red Wings line up.



SPRING CONTINUES: The Extended Spring Training schedule is now available online HERE. I will not have regular reporting on it the scores are generally not released, however, I will be able to attend tomorrow's game against the Bosten Red Sox as the Miracle take a day off before facing the Threshers for three starting on Monday.

This means I will likely have the extended spring training roster available shortly as well.

FOUL BALLS CAN CAUSE INJURY: On my blog here Tuesday I wrote a rant about parenting and baseball.

Friday, the San Carlos Scrappers Little League team was present and not sitting in their seats. As a result, one kid got drilled in the ribs by a foul ball.

He managed to get out of the stands with a little help, but EMS was still working on him after the game.

These kids were sitting down in row 1 of section 114, just past the third base dugout and had been told AT LEAST a dozen times, if they were going to sit there, they had (1) sit and (2) pay attention to the game.

The child in question was (1) not sitting and (2) was not paying attention to the game.

Anyway..I just want to restate what I'd already stated. If you bringing a child to the game with you, PLEASE make them sit down and pay attention to the game. If you, as a parent can't do this, don't bring them to the game.

Remember, once you walk into the park, anything that happens to you or your child is your own responsiblity.

A Good Friday, but only for the Miracle

We were given Good Friday off because my boss says he used to be an alter boy, one of the few that was not molested, and because, well...the Board of Realtors was closed. So I'm enjoying my long easter weekend at the ballpark.

Having three days to watch games, I had to pick and choose who I was going to watch when. My first priority was to track down Travis Bowyer and find out when he was pitching. He said Sunday, so...it's Red Wings on Sunday. This left Friday and Saturday to sort out.

I want to watch the rookies one day but I wasn't sure about the college game. Anyway, a couple of the guys on the Beloit squad asked if I was going to watch them play today, to that settled that.

I'm not sure I'm their good luck charm though. Once again it was a slaughter of the Snappers, this time at the hands of the High A Fort Myers Miracle during an inner-organizational scrimmage that ended with a 13-2 score.

Oswaldo Sosa took the start for Beloit and pitched two very solid innings, walking only Justin Arneson and striking out Ryan Spataro and Javier Sanchez.

Meanwhile Beloit drew first blood. J.P. Martinez took the mound for the Miracle, and pitched well in the first. But he fell a foul of high winds in the second. With two outs, catcher Tim Lahey singled and then Javier Lopez got on base after catcher Josh Johnson lost the ball on a third strike call. Patrick Ortiz then sent a flyball to the outfield which got shoved around by the high winds and hit the ground out near center, driving in two runs.

Unfortunately, it would be the only two the Snappers would get.

Sosa came back out in the third, allowing a single to Johnson and then walking Denard Span. Mark Tolbert's high fly to left was also uncatchable as the winds again interfered, and he notched a triple, driving two in and then coming home on Arneson's following sac-play to center. Brock Peterson, who looked to be a threat at the plate, lined out to end the inning.

Bo Pettit, who is in camp on a try out agreement came into pitch for the Miracle. Deacon Burns made it a little hot for Pettit, lighting him up for a homer. Trevor Plouffe then singled, but that was all the Snappers would get out of Petitt through two innings. He issued no walks, and struck out Lahey in the fourth.

Meanwhile, lefty Mike Rogers came in for Beloit in the fourth. "Rock" usually has it going on, but not this afternoon. He issued two walks, a double and a single in the fourth, allowing two more runs, both earned. He also allowed a runner to advance on a wild pitch. He did however strike out Paul Rutgers in the fourth and Mark Zamojc in the fifth. In fact the three batter fifth was a little bit more of what we've come to expect from the Rock.

"Miracleman" has long been a fan of Peter Tautor and was hoping for him to come up back in the 2003 season, but this was my first look at Tautor.

He struck out both Landon Burt and Korey Feiner, but he allowed singles to Spataro, Heath Anderson, and Angelo Fermin, all of which came back to bite him when Paul Rutgers homered. With the bases cleared, Beloit manager Kevin Boles requested the inning be rolled and Tautor came in without a third out, something which made him very unhappy.

Tristan Crawford took the mound for the Miracle, allowing a single to Australian rookie Michael Lysaught, but then shut down the next three batters he faced all on pop-ups, including Burns, who fouled out.

I was somewhat surprised when Tautor took the mound again in the seventh, but he did redeem himself, taking out the three batters he faced, including one strike out to Zamojc.

Kevin Culpepper's parents were at the park today, and he did well by them, taking down Plouffe, John Woodard and David Winfree through the heart of the Beloit line up. Robbie Hebert came in for the seventh inning, striking out Travis Kalin to start, and sending Dwayne White out on a fly ball before allowing singles to Tarrance Patterson and Greg Najac. But he would finish off by striking out Lopez.

Alex Merricks was next up on the mound for Beloit. The eigth inning looked looked good -- three up and three down, but he got into trouble in the ninth. He walked Rutgers, and then hit Zamojc with his first pitch to him. It was not a good day at the park for Mark Zamojc who was struck out twice, and then took a ball to his arm. Arneson singled and then Ramiro Chamizo, also in camp on a try out agreement, doubled to bring in three runs. Boles again requested them to roll the inning, and Merricks came off without only two outs.

The eighth inning was little better for the Snappers. Trevor Plouffe tripled, but Woodard failed to bring him home.

I've long waited to have a chance to see Josh Hill pitch. He was injured at the start of last season and pitched some Gulf Coast League games last season, but given my weekend warrior schedule and the somewhat static pitching rotation in place for the GCL, I never got a chance to see him. Highly thought of in Quad City in 2003, 2004 was probably a disappointment for the Aussie righty. However, I have to say, he worth the wait. He dealt Winfree a fly ball, struck out D-White, and lined out Patterson.

Because Boles optioned to roll the ninth inning, we played ten. Lou Wieben, another player in camp on a try out, pitched the tenth. I was beginning to think we might go to eleven. He walked Rutgers, Spataro, Anderson and Feiner, bringing in another run that the Miracle really didn't need. Then Fermin singled, but I have to call it a fielder's choice as they took Spataro out at home on a really smart play. Burt singled as well, and Fermin was taken out at 2nd. Arneson would have reached on a fielder's choice, but they took Burt out at second to end the inning.

Which left it all up to Hill to end the game.

Greg Najac got a nice little single off Hill to open the bottom of the tenth. Not to let it go to waste, Burns followed him on base. Plouffe, who would end up 2-for-5 on the day flew out. Kalin followed, but Hill issued a walk to Lysaught, giving Beloit three men on base. Unfortunately, Lopez's grand slam hommer turn into an outfield fly ball to end the game.

On the whole, I'm not sure it was great batting by the Miracle squad, so much as it was really bad pitching by some of the Beloit squad. Both Tautor and Weiben are on the Miracle roster, but were loaned to Beloit for the game. I find it interesting that for a squad that has Jay Rainville, Kyle Waldrop, Anthony Swarzak, Matt Fox and Chris Marini on it, plus Sosa and the usually good Rogers, I find myself watching some really bad pitching when I'm watching Beloit.

That being said, I don't care how nicely the boys ask tomorrow, I'm watching the Rookies play.

I have often said I am easy to find at the ballpark. Just ask Kyle Waldrop's dad. He had no trouble finding me at all. He knows me from the DTFC board and he's also followed the discussion over to Twins Territory now. I feel bad that I've never gotten to see Kyle pitch yet, but as I've previously noted, the GCL schedule and pitching rotation allowed for some pretty stagnent line ups. I heard Kyle groaned a bit when he found out he was facing the Red Sox farm yet again on Wednesday, as he's faced them something like twenty times already. He got in 1 1/2 innings worth of work in the rain shortened game.

Sean Aronson and Justin Stecz from the Miracle staff stopped by during the game for a chat. Sean reported that shortstop Kaulana Kuhaulua is out with a broken ankle. They also believe that pitcher Jeff Randazzo will be starting with the AA New Britain Rock Cats.

Travis Kalin's parents were in attendance, parked in lounge chairs under a shadey tree as always. I told them that Elizabethton was going to be a bit of weekend haul for them and suggested maybe they take a week off. His dad said "More like a couple of months off".

Justin Arneson, who was a free agent signing and whose playing time was shortened in Quad City last year by injury impressed me quite a bit. I could easily see him sticking with the High A Squad this season. Brock Peterson and Paul Rutgers are two guys I'd also like to see on this year's version of the Fort Myers Miracle.

Matt Moses did not play, but did put in an apperance as "first base coach" and had no problem cutting it up with the Low A coaching staff while he was out there. Very amusing.

A gentleman asked me after the game if I was the ultimate Twins Fan. I guess he was impressed with my scorekeeping through a minor league game and the fact that number of the players and staff know who I am. "You seem to have quite a following," he said. I cannot lay claim to that title, but I do have several minor league pitchers who have stated in writing that I am the #1 Twins Fan. I am sure there are many of you out there who would like to contest the title, but...who are your references? I do not lay title to either the #1 Miracle Fan or the #1 Rock Cats Fan, however, I am without a doubt the #1 Gulf Coast League Twins fans because well...it's not like they have that many fans in the first place!

The gentleman turned out to be Trevor Plouffe's father, who thought that perhaps Trevor would make it to the Miracle mid-season this year. We shall see. Right now, I'm expecting to have Jesus Merchan and (fingers crossed) Sam Taylor at short for the Miracle this season. In any case, he said that Trevor had not been playing short as his arm was a little sore from throwing so they gave him five days off and that right now, he's more than ready to be back in the infield line up. I also had a request from Max Bats to get a picture of Trevor for their website, which I set up after the game. Trevor, by the way, is very fond of his Max Bat.

Today, the Minnesota Twins assigned catcher Gabby Torres, infielder Brent Abernathy and outfielders Todd Dunwoody and Jason Tyner to minor league camp. Righty Pat Strange was released by the Twins yesterday.