The New Britain Rock Cats defeated the Bowie Baysox, 5-4 in the second preseason game of training camp.
Bowie took a two run lead in the second, both runs were unearned with players advancing on errors. Justin Jones took the start for the Rock cats, striking out two in the first inning. His pick off throw to Erik Lis in the second however was off target however, accounting for the first run.
The Baysox player had gotton on base on a double, one of two Jones issued up in that inning.
New Britain reliated though as Scott Whitrock hit a double to get the inning started. Javier Sanchez walked, and Justin Arenson hit a single. Alan De San Miguel brought in the first runner has he flew into first base. Sanchez was tagged out on the basepaths, but Kaulan Kuhaulua hit a single, and advanced to second on a throwing error, driving in another run.
With runners on second and third, Angelo Fermin knocked in a double that scored both, before the inning was rolled over.
Nick Blackburn allowed a double in the third that the Baysox were able to convert when Kyle Phillips missed a throw to the plate, but he otherwise pitched two solid innings, striking out three of the eight batters he faced.
Fermin hit a long double that he ran out for a triple in the fifth and came home on a sac-fly by Erold Andrus.
Bud Smith allowed a single home run in the eighth for the Baysox fourth.
On the whole, this was a really well played game for the Twins prospects, and was satisfying to watch as my first minor league game of the season. Justin Jones, Nick Blackburn, J.T. Thomas and Matt Yeatman all pitched, and I enjoy watching all three, even though J.J. still drags his foot when he throws -- the visual equivalent of finger nails on a chalk board.
Thomas and Yeatman both experienced some trouble as did Bud Smith who had to work to get three outs in the seventh.
Fielding wise, David Winfree and Angelo Fermin both had some excellent plays, but it was Larry Jones who stole the show, getting his glove on a long outfield fly which could well have gone over the fence. An excellent play by Jones who had one single for his two at bats in the game.
Winfree hit two singles in the game during his two at bats. Fermin was 2-for-3 at the plate as was Andrus, the only two players to get three at bats as the fielding changed over after the fifth inning.
I am being cautiously optimistic about having Javi Sanchez and Allen De San Miguel behind the plate for the Miracle this season. Despite his young age, De San Miguel proved he could play at the High A level last season and remains one of the most explosive players in the farm system. The burst of speed he put on the second was nothing short of phenomial, drawing cries of "WWWHHEEEEEELLLSSSS!" from his teammates on the bench.
Rochester and New Britain journey to Bradenton tomorrow, while I will likely watch the Miracle take on Lynchberg for a 1:00 PM game at the Lee County Sportsplex.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
That's the Ticket!
Evidently, I'm not as crazy as I thought I was for hanging on to my ticket stubs. While it's not yet a huge industry, ticket stub collecting is growing in popularity and has already earned its own little nitch.There are several products available to collectors and some of them are quite innovative.
That's My Ticket.com offers Ticket Frames for example. Their spiel: "You got the tickets. You went to the game. You took the pictures. Perhaps there were even hotel, airline, and rental car expenses? It may have been the single greatest sporting event you ever attended. May have been? Okay, it was the single greatest sports event you've ever seen. Your friends and family are jealous. Now you're back at work and just dying for someone to ask you about your seats, the halftime show, the bone-crushing tackle, the 500-foot home run, that birdie on 17, the diving catch, or how great a time you had. But nobody has.
"Enter the Ticket Frame from That's My Ticket the perfect item for capturing the experience and memory of being there. With your game ticket as its centerpiece, the Ticket Frame combines every aspect of attending a sports event. The headline and sub-headline trumpets the game's significance. The officially licensed 8-by-10 game photo spotlights the key on-the-field moment. The 600-word game summary illustrates the day's newsworthy events and includes post game quotes from the individuals who made history. The TMT composite stat box highlights all the game's scoring and action. And, your Ticket Frame gets personalized by your 4-by-6 photo; thus you not only get to relive the memory of the game, your Ticket Frame allows you to relive your experience at the stadium."
Nice, except, I'm not the kind of person to have my photo taken every place I go. Plus, their package, while nice, is sort of limiting. For example, I'm not going to be finding frames for the Everblades games or even the ECHL All-Star game. While fun for me, I doubt my "buddies" are going to be all that impressed that I attended. And they certainly don't have the 1997 World Series available. Besides, what would I put into that photo space?
That's My Stub.com offers an alternate idea. For just a low price, they digitally reproduce your ticket(s), typically to a scale of approximately 3:1 or 4:1 onto high quality 3mm thick reinforced PVC backed card and covered with a high UV protected matt seal. Once again, you have a piece, suitable for hanging on you wall at home or in the office. They can repair damage, or add a few fake tear marks if you think what will make it look mor authentic.
Ticket collectors enjoy tickets because they are a real piece of memorabilia from a sporting event, concert, broadway show, etc. Tickets are less collected, researched and sold than trading cards, However, tickets are scarce and limited to seating capacity. The scarceness of ticket stubs translates to money value. Scarcity adds value to the price of a ticket stub. When you add the historical significance of event the value can really jump.Ticket prices are varied and full of gaps. It takes the new collector time and effort to find their bearings. New tickets from this year All-Star, World Series or Super Bowl are expensive as people pay $100-$3,000 to attend the event and often keep the ticket. Tickets stubs from these recent events sell for about $150 a ticket stub. Even these stubs are worth the price considering the scarcity, beauty and significance.
And yes, autograph tickets have a place too. Obviously I'm not the only one getting autographs on ticket stubs.
Ticketstubcollector.com lists the factors for determining value as follows: Full ticket vs. ticket stubs. (Many venues now check your ticket with a optical scanner and do not tear it. For older games however, finding a whole ticket is very tough.) Condition: Mint, Near Mint, Fine. It should be noticed that some collectors do like the nicks and tears in the stubs. Game Results or historical value, such as Cal Ripkin's 3,000-hit game. And rare games: world series, super bowl, etc.
PSA is getting ready to offer Ticket Grading for sporting event tickets. They also plan to open the PsA Set Registry and offer a few suggestions - like all seven of Nolan Ryan's No Hitters. They have already posted ticket grading standards on their website.
For myself, I'm just kind of amused to have the tickets, and look back on them and say "Oh, man, I remember that game/show/event." To that end, I stopped by the scrap book store, got a journal sized book for $5.00 and have started adding my ticket stubs to the album using photo mounts. Not perhaps the most creative of ideas, but it's simple and it keeps them from getting crunched up or damaged any more than they are now.
And who knows, maybe one of these days, one of those tickets might actually be worth something.
Friday, January 13, 2006
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!
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!
Friday, December 23, 2005
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.
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.
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