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.
Thursday, June 2, 2005
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Great Expectations from Goose
I was questioning the wisdom of going to watch a game on Saturday, especially with what was amounting to a super-head cold and voice that was kind of squeaky and sort of came and went.
But I figured, what the heck, the sun would do me good, grabbed a half gallon of orange juice and headed out to the ballpark.
I've had little luck catching the minors players as two weeks ago they moved the game up until 10:00 to allow for travel time to the Trop and last weekend the Reds forgot to show up.
I was told Friday night that the Rookies had won 10-1 over the Pirates, so I was hyped to get to see them on Saturday.
The Orioles showed up with a double bus load. I quickly figured out we had Rookie Blue on one field and Rookie Red on the other. Even under the influence of cold medication, I'm quick on the uptake like that. Then I wondered what game I wanted to watch.
Eventually, I saw Joe "Goose" Gault, who is one of my favorite players, and I croaked "Blue" and "Red" pointing the respective fields.
"Oh, I'm closing for team Red," he says.
"I knew someone would come along and eventually tell me where to go," I rasped as I joined him on the walk to Field Two.
"They have me closing mostly now," he says. "I kind of like it."
Goose "kind of likes" everything the Twins give him to do, even if it's collecting foul balls, something I've seen him doing a lot of during extended spring training.
I watched him pitch quite a bit last season in the Gulf Coast League and probably know more about him than any other player down in the minor leagues. But this is not why I like him.
I like him because I've watching him pitch some very good games.
Consider the "Fried Chicken" start last Fourth of July:
"Joe Gault started on the mound for the Twins and issued three straight strike outs to close out his first inning. His counter part on the Reds, Frankie Keller, returned the favor, but used damage control to take out the three first Twins batters. Gault would allow a double to Carlos Sanchez in the second, but was other wise up and down. Keller struck out Dante Blancarte. Christopher Brown would hit a single, but Jilmar Arriata would hit into a double play to end second for the Twins.
"Goose was cooked by the middle of the fifth but had a solid outing allowing only one earned run on four hits while striking out eight."
There were more. His 5.18 ERA was not really indicative of his performance, but of a few bad outings that even Rick Knapp could not explain.
"Sometimes, you're mechanically good," Knapp said, "and they still hit you."
Knapp, by the way, considers him a legitimate prospect.
Gault was drafted in the 24th round of the 2003 draft out of Canyon High School. His high school coach was only one of two coaches that Gault has had problems with in baseball. The other was a little league coach, but after his mom took him back -- kicking and screaming -- the next season, he fell in love with baseball all over again.
Canyon was difficult though as they wanted him to throw twice a week, potentially endangering his arm. He refused, and so when the scouts came around, they had a hard time getting a look at him. He'd be held out from pitching just for spite.
But it would come back to haunt the coach eventually. With crosscheckers present, Gault was allowed to put in a bull pen performance. But suddenly Canyon found themselves without a relief pitcher. Gualt was all warmed up.
He threw 93-miles-per hour that performance.
While his parents considered colleges, the Twins came a knocking at the door. And the majors only knock once.
Gault joined the Gulf Coast League Twins and has been there for the last two season. He is expected to be moved to the Elizabethton team. His slow down?
"Gulf Coast League Syndrome." We know it happens, we just don't know why. Pitchers generally lose 5 MPH off their pitches, be it the heavy air or the exhaustion related to playing under a 90+ degree sun with 100% humidity in the middle of summer.
So Knapp's challenge to Gault has been to get his speed back up, and that is what Goose has been diligently working on.
Now, don't let all of this fool you. With a 6'5" lanky frame, Gualt is well in a position where he can be throwing some mid-to-high 90 MPH heaters once he fills out. He just need to grow into his power. He reminds me of Travis Bowyer quite a bit in that respect.
And yes, there will be a period in which his control will fall off as he adjusts to the increase in speed.
So don't count on him rising fast and furious through the minors. But look for him to make a big splash a couple or three years down the road when everything suddenly comes together for him.
And it will. If there is one thing Goose is not afraid of, it's hard work.
"I kind of like it," he says.
Saturday at the Park
The Twins lost 4-1, but the game wasn't a total waste. For one thing we had a father and son pair show up. For them, it was an unexpected delight. They'd stopped to purchase Miracle tickets for the Saturday night's game and the 7-year-old noticed the baseball players on the back field and wanted to go check it out.
They never realized that was all back there. The kid started out by running down foul balls. The first one he brought back and gave to a player and they gave him a drink of Gatorade in return. Before you know it he was trading foul balls for Gatorade and when he wasn't chasing balls, the players were teach him drills. They took a real shine to him. Had him in the dugout, tried to let him swing a "real" bat, and loaned him gloves.
It was fun to watch them and it showed a side to players I rarely see. But perhaps he was one of their own. "He's been baseball crazy since the day he was born," the boy's father said. "If he's not outside playing baseball, he's inside playing baseball on the Play Station 2." And for seven, the boy was very well versed in the game and actually knew what he was watching.
As for the father, well, it's always fun sharing my passion with a newbie. Danny Vais' family joined us in the stands and there was actually a good turn out on both fields.
on the game side of things, Jeff Schoenbachler took the start allowing (by my count) one run on seven hits, while fanning three. He issued no walks. I'm reasonable sure that the run would be unearned though as the players advanced on a throwing error by the 2nd baseman during the inning.
Vais pitched a scoreless inning in the sixth, while Jose Castillo allowed a run in the seventh. The problem was the eighth inning, a performance by a player I only know as "Willey". And yes, I walked over to the office and looked for a new roster but there were none available.
Eddie Ovalle had the RBI in the first and Jilmar Arratia hit for a double in the seventh. That was probably our best chance to score again, but Arratia was taken out at third as Joe Arabella reached on a fielders choice, Larry Jones struck out and Rodalfo Palacios flew out to end the inning.
Jones turned in an excellent performance in the field however, with four put outs in the first three innings. He tried for a fifth, running full tilt into the fence which caused a moment of concern for players and spectators alike. But Jones played football and was quick to get up, dust himself off and throw the ball back in.
This is the second week I've seen a very good effort out of Jones. Two weeks ago when I was watching he turned in a phenomenal performance on the basepaths. I don't think this defense or his baserunning are holding him back, only his batting. He was 1-for-3 with two strike outs Saturday.
Odannys Valdez was 2-for-3 in the game, and was walked once. Patrick Ortiz has the lone run for Fort Myers.
I'm sure they would have played harder if I could have yelled louder, but as it was my voice was sparse and coming in patches.
We also saw some very good pitching out of the O's kids, so I won't hold the game too much against the boys. I know they were trying their best.
Another Crawford in the System
Australian righty Nathan Crawford as reported to camp. Nathan is the younger brother of Miracle reliever Tristan Crawford.
I've not had the pleasure of seeing him pitch yet.
Crawford, who is 6'5" and 18 years old appealed to the Twins for both his height and the smooth action he has with his arm. He has however had some medical problems in the past, including bone chips in his right elbow and bicep tendonitis. The Twins believe he has recovered fully from both, but they will certainly be keeping an eye on his health.
He is expected to spend the summer with the Gulf Coast League Twins, so I will have a bit more to say once I've seen him throw.
Fox back in Action
1st Rounder Matt Fox is back to throwing duties although I've not caught him yet either. Perhaps this is a good thing. He's been off for nine months and while he said his arm felt fine, the rest of him did not.
It will take a bit for him to work back into shape after the layoff, but he did say it was nice to throw without pain for once. And that yes, he said it was really nice to get back out on the mound.
In other news, Beloit pitcher Billy Mauer retired this week following another flair up of tendonitis. "He's going to move on." said minor league director Jim Rantz in a recent article in the Star Tribune. Fellow Snapper Angel Gracia is expected to miss two weeks with an impingement in his right shoulder.
In AA Rochester, Jake Mauer has been activated off the DL, as has pitcher Kevin Cameron. Southpaw Jan Granado was added to the disabled list.
The Twins released infielder Jesus Merchan, placed pitcher Peter Tautor on the disabled list and reassigned him to extended spring training, and activated outfielder Justin Arneson (not to be confused with FSL broadcaster of the year Sean Aronson).
More Miracle news coming soon, including word on the 2005 Miracle card sets. Three first rounders! How can you resist?!
But I figured, what the heck, the sun would do me good, grabbed a half gallon of orange juice and headed out to the ballpark.
I've had little luck catching the minors players as two weeks ago they moved the game up until 10:00 to allow for travel time to the Trop and last weekend the Reds forgot to show up.
I was told Friday night that the Rookies had won 10-1 over the Pirates, so I was hyped to get to see them on Saturday.
The Orioles showed up with a double bus load. I quickly figured out we had Rookie Blue on one field and Rookie Red on the other. Even under the influence of cold medication, I'm quick on the uptake like that. Then I wondered what game I wanted to watch.
Eventually, I saw Joe "Goose" Gault, who is one of my favorite players, and I croaked "Blue" and "Red" pointing the respective fields.
"Oh, I'm closing for team Red," he says.
"I knew someone would come along and eventually tell me where to go," I rasped as I joined him on the walk to Field Two.
"They have me closing mostly now," he says. "I kind of like it."
Goose "kind of likes" everything the Twins give him to do, even if it's collecting foul balls, something I've seen him doing a lot of during extended spring training.
I watched him pitch quite a bit last season in the Gulf Coast League and probably know more about him than any other player down in the minor leagues. But this is not why I like him.
I like him because I've watching him pitch some very good games.
Consider the "Fried Chicken" start last Fourth of July:
"Joe Gault started on the mound for the Twins and issued three straight strike outs to close out his first inning. His counter part on the Reds, Frankie Keller, returned the favor, but used damage control to take out the three first Twins batters. Gault would allow a double to Carlos Sanchez in the second, but was other wise up and down. Keller struck out Dante Blancarte. Christopher Brown would hit a single, but Jilmar Arriata would hit into a double play to end second for the Twins.
"Goose was cooked by the middle of the fifth but had a solid outing allowing only one earned run on four hits while striking out eight."
There were more. His 5.18 ERA was not really indicative of his performance, but of a few bad outings that even Rick Knapp could not explain.
"Sometimes, you're mechanically good," Knapp said, "and they still hit you."
Knapp, by the way, considers him a legitimate prospect.
Gault was drafted in the 24th round of the 2003 draft out of Canyon High School. His high school coach was only one of two coaches that Gault has had problems with in baseball. The other was a little league coach, but after his mom took him back -- kicking and screaming -- the next season, he fell in love with baseball all over again.
Canyon was difficult though as they wanted him to throw twice a week, potentially endangering his arm. He refused, and so when the scouts came around, they had a hard time getting a look at him. He'd be held out from pitching just for spite.
But it would come back to haunt the coach eventually. With crosscheckers present, Gault was allowed to put in a bull pen performance. But suddenly Canyon found themselves without a relief pitcher. Gualt was all warmed up.
He threw 93-miles-per hour that performance.
While his parents considered colleges, the Twins came a knocking at the door. And the majors only knock once.
Gault joined the Gulf Coast League Twins and has been there for the last two season. He is expected to be moved to the Elizabethton team. His slow down?
"Gulf Coast League Syndrome." We know it happens, we just don't know why. Pitchers generally lose 5 MPH off their pitches, be it the heavy air or the exhaustion related to playing under a 90+ degree sun with 100% humidity in the middle of summer.
So Knapp's challenge to Gault has been to get his speed back up, and that is what Goose has been diligently working on.
Now, don't let all of this fool you. With a 6'5" lanky frame, Gualt is well in a position where he can be throwing some mid-to-high 90 MPH heaters once he fills out. He just need to grow into his power. He reminds me of Travis Bowyer quite a bit in that respect.
And yes, there will be a period in which his control will fall off as he adjusts to the increase in speed.
So don't count on him rising fast and furious through the minors. But look for him to make a big splash a couple or three years down the road when everything suddenly comes together for him.
And it will. If there is one thing Goose is not afraid of, it's hard work.
"I kind of like it," he says.
Saturday at the Park
The Twins lost 4-1, but the game wasn't a total waste. For one thing we had a father and son pair show up. For them, it was an unexpected delight. They'd stopped to purchase Miracle tickets for the Saturday night's game and the 7-year-old noticed the baseball players on the back field and wanted to go check it out.
They never realized that was all back there. The kid started out by running down foul balls. The first one he brought back and gave to a player and they gave him a drink of Gatorade in return. Before you know it he was trading foul balls for Gatorade and when he wasn't chasing balls, the players were teach him drills. They took a real shine to him. Had him in the dugout, tried to let him swing a "real" bat, and loaned him gloves.
It was fun to watch them and it showed a side to players I rarely see. But perhaps he was one of their own. "He's been baseball crazy since the day he was born," the boy's father said. "If he's not outside playing baseball, he's inside playing baseball on the Play Station 2." And for seven, the boy was very well versed in the game and actually knew what he was watching.
As for the father, well, it's always fun sharing my passion with a newbie. Danny Vais' family joined us in the stands and there was actually a good turn out on both fields.
on the game side of things, Jeff Schoenbachler took the start allowing (by my count) one run on seven hits, while fanning three. He issued no walks. I'm reasonable sure that the run would be unearned though as the players advanced on a throwing error by the 2nd baseman during the inning.
Vais pitched a scoreless inning in the sixth, while Jose Castillo allowed a run in the seventh. The problem was the eighth inning, a performance by a player I only know as "Willey". And yes, I walked over to the office and looked for a new roster but there were none available.
Eddie Ovalle had the RBI in the first and Jilmar Arratia hit for a double in the seventh. That was probably our best chance to score again, but Arratia was taken out at third as Joe Arabella reached on a fielders choice, Larry Jones struck out and Rodalfo Palacios flew out to end the inning.
Jones turned in an excellent performance in the field however, with four put outs in the first three innings. He tried for a fifth, running full tilt into the fence which caused a moment of concern for players and spectators alike. But Jones played football and was quick to get up, dust himself off and throw the ball back in.
This is the second week I've seen a very good effort out of Jones. Two weeks ago when I was watching he turned in a phenomenal performance on the basepaths. I don't think this defense or his baserunning are holding him back, only his batting. He was 1-for-3 with two strike outs Saturday.
Odannys Valdez was 2-for-3 in the game, and was walked once. Patrick Ortiz has the lone run for Fort Myers.
I'm sure they would have played harder if I could have yelled louder, but as it was my voice was sparse and coming in patches.
We also saw some very good pitching out of the O's kids, so I won't hold the game too much against the boys. I know they were trying their best.
Another Crawford in the System
Australian righty Nathan Crawford as reported to camp. Nathan is the younger brother of Miracle reliever Tristan Crawford.
I've not had the pleasure of seeing him pitch yet.
Crawford, who is 6'5" and 18 years old appealed to the Twins for both his height and the smooth action he has with his arm. He has however had some medical problems in the past, including bone chips in his right elbow and bicep tendonitis. The Twins believe he has recovered fully from both, but they will certainly be keeping an eye on his health.
He is expected to spend the summer with the Gulf Coast League Twins, so I will have a bit more to say once I've seen him throw.
Fox back in Action
1st Rounder Matt Fox is back to throwing duties although I've not caught him yet either. Perhaps this is a good thing. He's been off for nine months and while he said his arm felt fine, the rest of him did not.
It will take a bit for him to work back into shape after the layoff, but he did say it was nice to throw without pain for once. And that yes, he said it was really nice to get back out on the mound.
In other news, Beloit pitcher Billy Mauer retired this week following another flair up of tendonitis. "He's going to move on." said minor league director Jim Rantz in a recent article in the Star Tribune. Fellow Snapper Angel Gracia is expected to miss two weeks with an impingement in his right shoulder.
In AA Rochester, Jake Mauer has been activated off the DL, as has pitcher Kevin Cameron. Southpaw Jan Granado was added to the disabled list.
The Twins released infielder Jesus Merchan, placed pitcher Peter Tautor on the disabled list and reassigned him to extended spring training, and activated outfielder Justin Arneson (not to be confused with FSL broadcaster of the year Sean Aronson).
More Miracle news coming soon, including word on the 2005 Miracle card sets. Three first rounders! How can you resist?!
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Strike Out for Troops
I appologize for my lack of posts, but I'm getting over Strep throat -- I'm down to the nasty summer cold stuff now, and have been sleeping rather a lot.
This article showed up in the Herald today and reminded me that I forgot to include in my article on Errol Simonitsch:
Barry Zito providing for troops
It seems Zito is not the only one with a generous soul.
Miracle pitcher Errol Simonitsch has pleged $10 per strike out to SFT this season. He and Zito share an agent.
If you don't think that sounds like a lot, consider this: Simonitsch had 9 strikeouts Sunday for a total of $90. Yet he only makes around $250 a week and needs to provide not only his food and personal expenses, but his housing from that amount as well.
Drafted in the Sixth round of the 2003 draft, Simonitsch joined the team with a modest $140,000 signing bonus. He's not rich by any means. Yet when he heard about this deal well...
"It was just something I had to do." he says.
Simonitsch is not the only Miracle member contributing. Catcher Kyle Phillips, taken in the 19th round of the 2002 draft, has pledged $10 per hit.
"I'm not donating too much though, as I'm not getting any hits," he says. It's a stituation he hopes to change.
Phillips donation was only $50 last week, a total of $200 to date.
Simonitsch's $470 though is outstanding for a minor league player.
Miracle pitcher gives $10 per strike to troops
Strikeouts for Troops was at William Hammond Stadium Sunday to watch Simonitsch pitch and accept donations.
You can pledge per pitch if you want, or just make a one time donation. To get involved, visit their website at www.strikeoutsfortroops.org which unfortunatly, seems to largely ignore the minor league contribution to this effort.
If you're "pitching" in with a donation, please also take a moment to "pitch" in and write to kathy@kj-pr.com and ask her to include minor league content on their website.
Hang tight, I should have some updates coming shortly including a feature on a little known minor league prospect.
While, your waiting, also check out GCL Twins for an interview with minor league pitching prospect Eduardo Morlan which was included in a recent edition of At the Yard magazine.
This article showed up in the Herald today and reminded me that I forgot to include in my article on Errol Simonitsch:
Barry Zito providing for troops
It seems Zito is not the only one with a generous soul.
Miracle pitcher Errol Simonitsch has pleged $10 per strike out to SFT this season. He and Zito share an agent.
If you don't think that sounds like a lot, consider this: Simonitsch had 9 strikeouts Sunday for a total of $90. Yet he only makes around $250 a week and needs to provide not only his food and personal expenses, but his housing from that amount as well.
Drafted in the Sixth round of the 2003 draft, Simonitsch joined the team with a modest $140,000 signing bonus. He's not rich by any means. Yet when he heard about this deal well...
"It was just something I had to do." he says.
Simonitsch is not the only Miracle member contributing. Catcher Kyle Phillips, taken in the 19th round of the 2002 draft, has pledged $10 per hit.
"I'm not donating too much though, as I'm not getting any hits," he says. It's a stituation he hopes to change.
Phillips donation was only $50 last week, a total of $200 to date.
Simonitsch's $470 though is outstanding for a minor league player.
Miracle pitcher gives $10 per strike to troops
Strikeouts for Troops was at William Hammond Stadium Sunday to watch Simonitsch pitch and accept donations.
You can pledge per pitch if you want, or just make a one time donation. To get involved, visit their website at www.strikeoutsfortroops.org which unfortunatly, seems to largely ignore the minor league contribution to this effort.
If you're "pitching" in with a donation, please also take a moment to "pitch" in and write to kathy@kj-pr.com and ask her to include minor league content on their website.
Hang tight, I should have some updates coming shortly including a feature on a little known minor league prospect.
While, your waiting, also check out GCL Twins for an interview with minor league pitching prospect Eduardo Morlan which was included in a recent edition of At the Yard magazine.
Sunday, May 8, 2005
Simply Simonitsch
While not quite as impressive as Jacob Tata's complete game shut out for the Lakeland Tigers earlier in the Week, Errol Simonitsch spun a very good game Thursday against the Tampa Bay Yankees.
The 23-year-old from Glendale, California allowed eight hits, but only one run -- a solo shot homer -- through seven innings while striking out six. Nor did he issue a free pass, something he's been very stingy with through six games, allowing only five.
At 6'4" and 225, Simonitsch presents a big powerful figure on the mound, a bit of an illusion, as the southpaw is not a power pitcher.
Simonitsch's fast ball tops out at 89 miles per hour, but he has a good change up and an excellent curveball. He locates his pitches well, and he moves them around quite a bit, baffling hitters who are never quite sure what to expect next.
A sixth round draft pick for the Twins in 2003, Simonitsch played NCAA for the Gonzaga University Bulldogs and received honorable mention as a Louisville Slugger All-American in his freshman year. He played short-season Elizabethton the year of his draft and pitched a full season in Low A with the Quad City Swing last season.
Simonitch, who grew up a Dodger's fan and who is a bit of a car conoisoure (he drives a '69 Chevy El Camino) relaxes before the game with a good book. He says it helps him focus.
The Twins have Simonitch pegged as a fourth or fifth starter if he continues his steady improvement through the minors. While he's never going to be a power pitcher, he is a big strong prospect that throws a lot of strikes, has a great mound presence and puts in effective performances.
Certainly someone for farm watchers to keep an eye on through out this season.
Walk wise, Simonitsch is not the only stingy player on the team. Nick Blackburn, who sports a 3-1, 2.90 ERA record as only given up three in 31 innings. Blackburn has been hot, but struggled early on Tuesday, giving up four earned runs on 9 hits during the second inning. The Miracle bounced back though with a stellar 7 run rally in the ninth in a game that saw everyone except first baseman Omar Burgos get at least one hit.
Education Day
Once again, I've gotten through a homestand without a chance of seeing Glen Perkins pitch. Perkins made his first home start on Wednesday, but the game was at 10:30 in the morning, a field trip day for the children of Lee and Collier Counties.
It was also the first game that Perkins went five innings after recovering from a bruised wrist earlier this season. He allowed one run on three hits, walked two and struck out five.
(On a side note, he did seem to find our harassment of the outfield umpire Thursday evening rather amusing.)
The education day question however was how does a pitcher, facing two batters in the sixth, give up two runs, both earned on one walk and no hits?
The Miracle put Peter Tautor on the mound for the start of the sixth. The struggling Australian walked one and hit the second batter before he was pulled from the mound. Josh Gray, who was not fully warmed up, came into the game and allowed the hits that drove in the runs.
Tautor's continued presence in the line up was been a bit of a bafflement. Josh Hill was demoted down to Beloit after struggling a bit early on, but his 6.71 era at the time of his demotion is nothing compared to Tautor's, who was not really impressive during spring training either. However, Beloit wanted a potential starter and Hill fit that roll, actually getting a start last night for the Snappers who defeated the Fort Wayne Wizards, 13-3.
Hill allowed two runs on six hits, walking three and fanning five. Kevin Culpepper received credit for the win, however.
And yes, while I understand it's really hard to evaluate a prospect on 3.2 innings pitched through five games, the point remains that if Tautor wasn't struggling so badly, he'd have had more time on the mound. I did check, but there is no report of injury to the Melbourne resident, although his performance does remind me of prospect we had several years ago who was struggling badly while coming off a shoulder injury.
Talk of the Town
Tim Lehey - just another righty or the Twins' secret weapon?
When Tim Lahey reported to minor league spring training, it was as catcher. Drafted in the 20th round in 2004 out of Princeton (yes! Princeton) University, the Ivy Leaguer spent short season with Elizabethton where he had seven runs on seventeen hits in 26 games, including 3 yarders.
By the time Extended Spring Training started, the 6'4", 248 pound 23-year-old had hung up the mask. Two weeks later, he stepped out on the mound for his first professional game as a pitcher -- and promptly hit 93 MPH on the radar gun.
A native of Worcaster, Massachusetts, Lahey has only pitched relief innings for the GCL Twins, but look for him to be getting a lot more time in if he continues to dominate.
And dominate he did on Saturday during a 10-9 rally win over the GCL Red Sox. Lahey took to the hill for the ninth, and struck out two of the three batters he faced. The first two pitches to the first batter were fast balls, with the third pitch being a deceptive slider that slipped beautifully past the bat. And yes, those fast balls were hitting 93 on the radar gun.
It was the type of performance that made you sit back afterwards and say nice, VERY NICE. Lahey may well be back in short season Elizabethton for the 2004 season, but don't expect to him stay there long if he continues to live up to his early billing.
Injury Report
Tim Henkenjohann & Matt Fox
The ranks of the wounded are starting to thin out a bit. First round draft pick Matt Fox has started throwing extended spring training games again. German prospect Tim Henkenjohann made his debute for the Miracle, allowing two hits, issuing one walk and striking out 2 in two innings worth of work.
Denard Span who spent a week on the disabled list with a hamstring injury was actived again and played for the Miracle Saturday night against West Palm Beach. Billy Mauer was activated from the DL and sent to Beloit and Fergus Falls native Justin Arneson made a rehab start with the GCL Twins.
Continuing to nurse injuries however is Justin Jones, the lefty prospect the Twins received in the Doug Mientkiewicz trade, who has been suffering with tendinitis through extended spring training. He says he is still three weeks away from resuming pitching activities.
The Aussie Connection
The Twins recently signed a 17-year-old infielding prospect in Matt Lawman, who is considered to be promising short-stop, as well as one of the best hitters to come out of Australian baseball in a while.
The Victorian prospect however will not report to the GCL Twins this season but will instead go to the MBLAAP Baseball Academy. He will report for Minor League Spring Training in 2006.
Signed by Howie Norsetter, Lawman received a lucrative signing bonus as well as opting into the Twins college scholarship plan.
One 17-year-old who has reported to the Twins however is catching prospect Allan de San Miguel, and he has been opening eyes early on.
De San Miguel turned down another season at the MBLAAP Academy, and a rather lucrative job in his father's business to report to the Twins camp this season.
He did offer some insight into "The Wizard of Aus" though. "Howie will sign anyone," he laughed. "He'd sign every ballplayer in Australia if he could. He'll throw ten-thousand dollars at them in the hopes they'll sign cheap."
Rock Cats Report
Rock Cats' outfielder Selwyn Langaingne currently ranks 10th in Eastern League batting with a .310 average, and seven RBIs.
Hitting, especially clutch hitting has plagued the Cats, whose are currently ranked eighth overall in Eastern League batting.
Pitching wise, the Cats rank 5th over, and Rock Cat starter Colby Miller is third in the league with 0.82 ERA. He is 2-0 on the season and has struck out 24. Lefty ace Francisco Liriano is tied for league second, with 43 strike outs.
One stat that the Cats do not like to see belongs to Levale Speigner, who is tied for first in the league with Home Runs Allowed, giving up five so far on the season.
The Cats made several roster moves this week, adding Rick Bell to shore up the infield at 3rd base.
Bell is the son of ex-big leaguer Buddy Bell, The 26-year-old was released by the Chicago Cubs Tuesday after going 5-for-25 (.200) with two RBIs at Triple-A Iowa. He arrived in town during batting practice Thursday, but has yet to play for the Cats, who were rained out on Saturday.
Meanwhile, struggling outfielder Matt Scanlon was released. An 8th round draft pick of the Twins in 1999, Scanlon has worn a Rock Cats jersey through parts of the last four seasons.
Jake Mauer, the older brother of Twins Catcher Joe Mauer was placed on the DL with an elbow injury. New Britain catcher Jose Morales was placed on the DL as well, while veteran catcher Gabby Torres came off the DL to replace him behind the plate.
Finally the Cats shipped relief pitcher Ricky Barrett to Rochester and received lefty reliever Jan Granado from the Miracle. Granado was one of the players drafted in the minor league portion of the Rule V draft this last winter.
The Cats were 3-3 on the last week finishing their series at New Hampshire with a split as well as splitting with the Portland Sea Dogs.
The 23-year-old from Glendale, California allowed eight hits, but only one run -- a solo shot homer -- through seven innings while striking out six. Nor did he issue a free pass, something he's been very stingy with through six games, allowing only five.
At 6'4" and 225, Simonitsch presents a big powerful figure on the mound, a bit of an illusion, as the southpaw is not a power pitcher.
Simonitsch's fast ball tops out at 89 miles per hour, but he has a good change up and an excellent curveball. He locates his pitches well, and he moves them around quite a bit, baffling hitters who are never quite sure what to expect next.
A sixth round draft pick for the Twins in 2003, Simonitsch played NCAA for the Gonzaga University Bulldogs and received honorable mention as a Louisville Slugger All-American in his freshman year. He played short-season Elizabethton the year of his draft and pitched a full season in Low A with the Quad City Swing last season.
Simonitch, who grew up a Dodger's fan and who is a bit of a car conoisoure (he drives a '69 Chevy El Camino) relaxes before the game with a good book. He says it helps him focus.
The Twins have Simonitch pegged as a fourth or fifth starter if he continues his steady improvement through the minors. While he's never going to be a power pitcher, he is a big strong prospect that throws a lot of strikes, has a great mound presence and puts in effective performances.
Certainly someone for farm watchers to keep an eye on through out this season.
Walk wise, Simonitsch is not the only stingy player on the team. Nick Blackburn, who sports a 3-1, 2.90 ERA record as only given up three in 31 innings. Blackburn has been hot, but struggled early on Tuesday, giving up four earned runs on 9 hits during the second inning. The Miracle bounced back though with a stellar 7 run rally in the ninth in a game that saw everyone except first baseman Omar Burgos get at least one hit.
Education Day
Once again, I've gotten through a homestand without a chance of seeing Glen Perkins pitch. Perkins made his first home start on Wednesday, but the game was at 10:30 in the morning, a field trip day for the children of Lee and Collier Counties.
It was also the first game that Perkins went five innings after recovering from a bruised wrist earlier this season. He allowed one run on three hits, walked two and struck out five.
(On a side note, he did seem to find our harassment of the outfield umpire Thursday evening rather amusing.)
The education day question however was how does a pitcher, facing two batters in the sixth, give up two runs, both earned on one walk and no hits?
The Miracle put Peter Tautor on the mound for the start of the sixth. The struggling Australian walked one and hit the second batter before he was pulled from the mound. Josh Gray, who was not fully warmed up, came into the game and allowed the hits that drove in the runs.
Tautor's continued presence in the line up was been a bit of a bafflement. Josh Hill was demoted down to Beloit after struggling a bit early on, but his 6.71 era at the time of his demotion is nothing compared to Tautor's, who was not really impressive during spring training either. However, Beloit wanted a potential starter and Hill fit that roll, actually getting a start last night for the Snappers who defeated the Fort Wayne Wizards, 13-3.
Hill allowed two runs on six hits, walking three and fanning five. Kevin Culpepper received credit for the win, however.
And yes, while I understand it's really hard to evaluate a prospect on 3.2 innings pitched through five games, the point remains that if Tautor wasn't struggling so badly, he'd have had more time on the mound. I did check, but there is no report of injury to the Melbourne resident, although his performance does remind me of prospect we had several years ago who was struggling badly while coming off a shoulder injury.
Talk of the Town
Tim Lehey - just another righty or the Twins' secret weapon?
When Tim Lahey reported to minor league spring training, it was as catcher. Drafted in the 20th round in 2004 out of Princeton (yes! Princeton) University, the Ivy Leaguer spent short season with Elizabethton where he had seven runs on seventeen hits in 26 games, including 3 yarders.
By the time Extended Spring Training started, the 6'4", 248 pound 23-year-old had hung up the mask. Two weeks later, he stepped out on the mound for his first professional game as a pitcher -- and promptly hit 93 MPH on the radar gun.
A native of Worcaster, Massachusetts, Lahey has only pitched relief innings for the GCL Twins, but look for him to be getting a lot more time in if he continues to dominate.
And dominate he did on Saturday during a 10-9 rally win over the GCL Red Sox. Lahey took to the hill for the ninth, and struck out two of the three batters he faced. The first two pitches to the first batter were fast balls, with the third pitch being a deceptive slider that slipped beautifully past the bat. And yes, those fast balls were hitting 93 on the radar gun.
It was the type of performance that made you sit back afterwards and say nice, VERY NICE. Lahey may well be back in short season Elizabethton for the 2004 season, but don't expect to him stay there long if he continues to live up to his early billing.
Injury Report
Tim Henkenjohann & Matt Fox
The ranks of the wounded are starting to thin out a bit. First round draft pick Matt Fox has started throwing extended spring training games again. German prospect Tim Henkenjohann made his debute for the Miracle, allowing two hits, issuing one walk and striking out 2 in two innings worth of work.
Denard Span who spent a week on the disabled list with a hamstring injury was actived again and played for the Miracle Saturday night against West Palm Beach. Billy Mauer was activated from the DL and sent to Beloit and Fergus Falls native Justin Arneson made a rehab start with the GCL Twins.
Continuing to nurse injuries however is Justin Jones, the lefty prospect the Twins received in the Doug Mientkiewicz trade, who has been suffering with tendinitis through extended spring training. He says he is still three weeks away from resuming pitching activities.
The Aussie Connection
The Twins recently signed a 17-year-old infielding prospect in Matt Lawman, who is considered to be promising short-stop, as well as one of the best hitters to come out of Australian baseball in a while.
The Victorian prospect however will not report to the GCL Twins this season but will instead go to the MBLAAP Baseball Academy. He will report for Minor League Spring Training in 2006.
Signed by Howie Norsetter, Lawman received a lucrative signing bonus as well as opting into the Twins college scholarship plan.
One 17-year-old who has reported to the Twins however is catching prospect Allan de San Miguel, and he has been opening eyes early on.
De San Miguel turned down another season at the MBLAAP Academy, and a rather lucrative job in his father's business to report to the Twins camp this season.
He did offer some insight into "The Wizard of Aus" though. "Howie will sign anyone," he laughed. "He'd sign every ballplayer in Australia if he could. He'll throw ten-thousand dollars at them in the hopes they'll sign cheap."
Rock Cats Report
Rock Cats' outfielder Selwyn Langaingne currently ranks 10th in Eastern League batting with a .310 average, and seven RBIs.
Hitting, especially clutch hitting has plagued the Cats, whose are currently ranked eighth overall in Eastern League batting.
Pitching wise, the Cats rank 5th over, and Rock Cat starter Colby Miller is third in the league with 0.82 ERA. He is 2-0 on the season and has struck out 24. Lefty ace Francisco Liriano is tied for league second, with 43 strike outs.
One stat that the Cats do not like to see belongs to Levale Speigner, who is tied for first in the league with Home Runs Allowed, giving up five so far on the season.
The Cats made several roster moves this week, adding Rick Bell to shore up the infield at 3rd base.
Bell is the son of ex-big leaguer Buddy Bell, The 26-year-old was released by the Chicago Cubs Tuesday after going 5-for-25 (.200) with two RBIs at Triple-A Iowa. He arrived in town during batting practice Thursday, but has yet to play for the Cats, who were rained out on Saturday.
Meanwhile, struggling outfielder Matt Scanlon was released. An 8th round draft pick of the Twins in 1999, Scanlon has worn a Rock Cats jersey through parts of the last four seasons.
Jake Mauer, the older brother of Twins Catcher Joe Mauer was placed on the DL with an elbow injury. New Britain catcher Jose Morales was placed on the DL as well, while veteran catcher Gabby Torres came off the DL to replace him behind the plate.
Finally the Cats shipped relief pitcher Ricky Barrett to Rochester and received lefty reliever Jan Granado from the Miracle. Granado was one of the players drafted in the minor league portion of the Rule V draft this last winter.
The Cats were 3-3 on the last week finishing their series at New Hampshire with a split as well as splitting with the Portland Sea Dogs.
Monday, April 25, 2005
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...
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...
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