Under Construction

The baseball use of the dutch word "berm", that is, a grassy hill on from which you can watch a baseball game, isn't found in wikipedia or other online resources.



Considering the one at William H. Hammond stadium doesn't look very grassy, perhaps it's a good thing. However, my cat would think that's one HECK of a sandbox they're building there.



The back of the berm, which still has a ways to go. There also will be new deck seats behind the berm. No work, that I could see, on the relocation of the visitors bullpen.



The new first two rows will hold the dug out seating, which isn't in place yet. The dugout box seats will be available to season-ticket holders with priority given to fans who have owned season tickets the longest.



There will be a new net, which includes a tighter weave, making it easier to see through. However, the new net will not have a backdrop, so sitting behing the netting will not protect you from foul balls that might get up over the netting.

Some discussion with the Miracle staff that the old timers are going to like that. They sit behind, or under, the netting to be protected because they're not fast enough to get out of the way of balls that might be coming towards them.



You can see where this extends "the pit" seating out a bit. The county is spending just less than $2.1 million for the new seating and other ballpark improvements. There will be around 400 new seats at Hammond Stadium.



The roof is off the stadium and in the parking lot.



Evidently, there was a small accident in which a portion of the roof fell on the dugout of the adjacent practice field and also caused damage to the bleachers. More things to fix before spring training opens.



A long line for single game tickets.



Dick Mingo teaches pitching at the Twins youth clinic. Mingo coached high school baseball for 33 years following his professional career.



Twins 1st rounder and pitching prospect Kyle Walrop (left) was one of the minor league players helping out at the clinic.



T.C. Bear was also helping out - to the delight of the youngsters.

Twins prospects receive season ending honors

Several of the Twins prospects were named to the Minor League season end All-star teams as reported by Baseball America.

Danny Hernandez, who spent the season with the Appalachian League Elizabethton Twins was named to the Rookie team.

1st baseman Eric Lis and pitcher Yohan Pino were both named to the Low A team, Kevin Slowey was named to the High A team and Pat Neshak made the AAA All-star team.

Slowey was also named to the Overall Second All-Star team, while pitcher Matt Garza was named to the Overall First All-star team.

Hernandez was 1-1 with 18 saves, with a 3.81 ERA and issued only 9 walks in 28 innings pitched. There is no doubt that Hernandez has earned a promotion to Beloit, and if he keeps up the sterling work, he could well make it to High A ball by mid-season of 2007.

Pino has gone 6-0 with a 1.67 ERA in 21 games of relief in Venezuelan Winter Ball this year. He struck out 23 batters, and allowed just 16 hits in 27 innings of work. While with the Snappers in 2006, Pino had a 14-2 record with a 1.91 ERA. In 121 combined innings between the Midwest League and the Venezuelan Winter League he has a 1.86 ERA with 122 strikeouts and has a 20-2 record.

With Barry Zito's signing by the Giants being cited as the sort of money two time Cy Young winner Johan Santana can expect to earn once he makes it to free agency in 2008, many prospect watchers are considering Pino to take over his place on the Twins roster. Pino will start the 2007 season with High A Fort Myers, but expect him to get on the fast track through the minors.

Lis hit .326 with the Snappers in 2006, including 16 home runs will bringing in 70 runs. He scored 69 runs during the year for Beloit, with 4 stolen bases. Lis looked impressive in Fall Instructional as well, and is well suited to take over for Brock Peterson as a Miracle corner man.

There's little I can say about Slowey that I haven't already said. He spent the first half of the year with the Miracle, record a 4-2 record with a 1.01 ERA and issued only 9 walks in 89 innings pitched. He struggled a bit originally in AA, and ended up with a 4-3 record, a 3.19 ERA and 13 walks in 59.1 innings pitched. He struck out 151 batters between Fort Myers and New Britain, 3 less than Garza's total, and about 6th overall in minor league baseball. Slowey is expected to start the season in AAA Rochester, but might well find a way onto the Twins pitching staff before the season is over.

Neshak made the Twins roster by the end of the season. He posted a 6-2 record with 14 saves in Rochester, a 1.95 era and allowed 14 walks over 60 innings. There's no doubt that he'll become a staple in the Twins bullpen for the coming year.

Garza sped through the minor league system, posting a combined 14-4 record with a 1.99 ERA between Fort Myers, New Britain and Rochester. Following a shakey first outing with the Twins near the end of the season, Garza seems to have solidified. He'll be looked at for a place in the Twins rotation for 2007, a rotation that will need some solid arms following Francisco Liriano's Tommy John surgery and the Brad Radke's retirement.

Not picked for an All-star team was pitcher Oswaldo Sosa, but much like Pino, he's been having an outstanding winter season over in Venezuela. Sosa is 5-0 with a 2.30 ERA in the Winter League. He went 9-7 for the Snappers with a 2.75 ERA. Sosa struck out 95 batters in 117.2 innings for Beloit. He earned a promotion to the Ft. Myers Miracle last season where he went 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA. Sosa, who pitched 34.2 innings for the Miracle in 2006, may start the season in Double A. Certainly, he'll be given a look with consideration for moving him that pitching staff.

Although major league pitchers and catchers don't report for spring training for another 41 days, one notable catcher, Joe Mauer, is in Fort Myers, going through Winter workouts. Mauer is a resident of Fort Myers, were he is less known than he is in the Twin Cities and does not attract a crowd when he goes out. Twins short stop Jason Bartlett is also among the players, getting into early work outs down at the Lee County Sportsplex.

"There’s something driving these players, the fact that they’ve been to the playoffs and they haven’t been to the big game," former Miracle coach and current director of Latin American development Jose Marzan said of the players that are in town early during a recent article in the Fort Myers News Press. "The guys are here early because they want to get ready for the season. It’s not only for individual accomplishments but it’s also because they want to take it to the next level.”

But no worries Twins fans, both Mauer and Bartlett will in the Twins Cities for the opening of Twins Fest on January 26th. Slowey, Garza, and Neshak are also schedule to appear. More information on Twinsfest can be found here.

In other news, the Twins inked pitchers Sidney Ponson and Brad Voyles to minor league deals with invitations to major league camp. Both pitchers will be given a shot at making the major league pitching staff. Ponson's acquisition has drawn some concern from the fans, as his recent numbers have not been strong.

"This is an opportunity for him to compete for one of our rotation spots with a host of others, and he is still just 30 years old," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said in an article on Twinsbaseball.com. "It wasn't too long ago that he threw well over 200 innings. We feel like we are a good fit for him and I thought it certainly was worth taking a shot at bringing in a guy that has the Major League experience that he has."

While it should be noted that many of players brought in to try out for spots in spring training don't make the team or even stay with the organization, the Twins have have had some success bringing in pitchers in the past. Most recently, Dennys Reyes emerged as one of the best left-handed relievers in the league for the club after struggling to find a fit with other teams.

Minor League pitchers and catchers are still nearly two months away, and winter league baseball has ended.

Fort Myers locals are reminded that the Twins will be holding 11 baseball clinics for the area youth, with the first two being held this Saturday at the Lee County Sports Complex.

The two-hour clinics require no registration and are open to boys and girls ages 5 to 16. Twins instructors will teach hitting, fielding, and throwing at each clinic. Parents are encouraged to participate with their sons or daughters in the sessions.

The first clinic starts at 10 a.m and runs until noon, the second clinic starts at 1 pm and runs until 3 pm. More information on the youth clinics can be found at Twinsbaseball.com.

Caravaning in the sub-tropics

The Minnesota Twins have announced what, in effect, amounts to the Twins Caravan efforts in South West Florida, the annual free youth clinics. 11 clinics are scheduled for each Saturday starting on January 13 and continuing one through February 10th.

While the coaching staff for the clinics was not formally announced, look for some of the local Twins coaches such as Milt Cuyler, Rick Knapp and Eric Rasmussen to be in attendance as well as the cast of local players (::cough::cough:: Tommy Watkins) who always seem to show up to help out at these functions.

There is no pre-registration, the Clinics are free and open to boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 16, irregardless of skill level. Hitting, fielding, and throwing will be taught at each clinic, and parents are encouraged to join their children on the field.

There are two clinics on January 13, 2006, the first from 10 a.m. until Noon, the second from 1 until 3 PM. Both those clinics along with the Challenger (children with handicaps) Clinic on February 10, will be held at William Hammond Stadium at the Lee County Sportsplex on Six Mile Cypress.

The remaining 8 clinics are as follows:

Jan. 20  10 a.m. to 12 p.m.  Cape Coral (TBA)
         1 p.m. to  3 p.m.  Fort Myers Little League, Deleon
Jan. 27  10 a.m. to 12 p.m.  Buckingham Little League
        1 p.m. to  3 p.m.  Lehigh Little League
       Noon to 2 p.m.      Centennial Park, Fort Myers
Feb. 3   10 a.m. to 12 p.m.  Desoto County Little League
        1 p.m. to  3 p.m.  Charlotte County Little League
Feb. 10  10 a.m. to 12 p.m.  San Carlos Little League

Locations addresses and contact numbers are as follows:

Jan. 13 & February 10 (Challenger)
Minnesota Twins/Lee County Sports Complex
14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway
Fort Myers, FL 33912

Jan. 20
Jason Verdow Memorial Park
801 Se 27th Street Cape Coral, FL 33990
Art Avellino - 239-772-4232

Fort Myers Little League
Sam Fleishman/Deleon Community Park
1750 Matthew Drive Fort Myers, FL 33907
Don Overhouser - 239-872-7787

Jan. 27
Buckingham Little League
9800 Buckingham Road
Fort Myers, FL 33905
Pat Shannahan - 239-33-8355

Lehigh Little League
1400 West 5th Street 33936
Darrel Willis - 239-823-6126

Feb. 3
DeSoto Little League
Speer Recreation Center
185 West Winifred Street
Arcadia, FL 34266
Tara & Matt Anderson - 863-990-0529

Charlotte County Little League
Harold Ave Recreation Center
Port Charlotte, FL 23400
Lou Agusto - 941-629-6552 or 941-629-0114

Feb. 10
San Carlos Little League
18215 Three Oaks Parkway
Three Oaks Park Fort Myers, FL 33912
Todd Backster - 239-989-5868

It should be noted that Jeff Smith will NOT be at the clinic scheduled for January 13th, as he will be holding his annual baseball camp at the Community School of Naples. Visit GCL Twins or phone 239-659-6543 or 239-269-8742 for additional information on the Jeff Smith Professional Baseball Camp.

The clinics will take us pretty much up until the start of Spring Training in February. Major League pitchers and catchers will arrive on Sunday February 18th, with the first workouts scheduled for Monday, February 19th. Position players report on February 23, with the first full-squad work out taking place on Saturday, February 24.

The twins have invited minor league catchers Korey Feiner, Jose Leger and Jose Morales to Major League spring training. Free agent infielder signee Ken Harvey has been invited to camp as has Gil Velazquez and Tommy Watkins (New Britain/Rochester) and Glenn Williams (Rochester).

Outfielder Josh Rabe, who appeared in 24 games for the Major League Twins last season was also invitied. Rabe was removed from the 40-man roster earlier this year and outrighted to Rochester, where he spent most of last season.

Pitchers invited to camp include free agent signees Carmen Cali, Mike Venafro, and Jeremy Cummings, as well as Jason Miller and Australian Tristan Crawford, who have both been playing in the Twins minor league system. Also on the list of invitees, is the Twins second round pick in 2005, Kevin Slowey.

Aside from the major league coaching staff, the following coaches will also be at major league spring training: Tom Kelly, Tony Oliva, Phil Roof and Terry Steinbach, as well as National Baseball Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Paul Molitor.

The Twins have signed short stop Nicholas Papasan, who was their 24th round (726th overall) pick in the 2006 June Draft. He's been scouted as having an excellent bat with surprising power for his size (5'9", 175 lbs). He'll be joining the GCL Squad this season, where he may end up being switched to second base.

Josh Taylor mentioned on his blog Taylor's Twins Talk the signing of Jesus Carnevales from Puerto Rico and Jae-Hyung Jang from South Korea. Both are expected to join the GCL Twins for extended spring training. There is little information forthcoming, I guess I'll just wait for the media guide.

Speaking of the GCL, for a league that was close to being disbanded at the end of the 2005 season, it sure has become lively. Both the Baltimore Orioles and the St.Louis Cardinals have opted to field GCL teams this season, bringing the number of teams in the league to 15. The Toronto Blue Jays were considering joining the League as well. The addition of the Orioles means that I'll get to see a few more games this year, as the league will be play every other Sunday now as well.

Unfortunately, it means the boys will not get as much time off as they had last year.

Meanwhile the Appalachian League will operate with only 9 teams this season, as Pulaski was unable to drum up any interest once the Blue Jays pulled out.

I have been in an organizational mood of late - very strange since anyone who knows me will tell you I've never been organized a day in my life. In any case, I've gotten all of the 2006 photos for the Twins and the Miracle into albums and tagged. There is something in the range of 1,500 of them (not counting spring training pictures). I've now started working on 2005. What this means is that if I have your address (like Vicki Harrington) I've finally dug out and sent the photos that I was supposed to send back in oh August...September...

If I don't have your snail mail address (Leavitt, Buenrostro, Parmelee) and you'd like to e-mail it to me, I'll be happy to drop said photos in the mail to you. Otherwise, you'll have to look me up at spring training.

No, sorry Eli. No photos for you until I get an autograph.

The baseball portion of this blog is now being duplicated on Blog Spot: Rookie Whites. If you'd like to exchange links, please let me know, links will appear on the Blog Spot location not on Xanga or Myspace.

I've also been doing some hockey blogging through the offseason at Live Journal for the entertainment challenged.

Finally, there was article in the Naples Daily News which related to lefty shooters on the ECHL Florida Everblades and the ratio of lefties to righties in hockey in general. What I found interesting about it was the a number of Canadians in the Twins organization - Justin Morneau, Rene Tosoni and Jon Waltenbury -- all bat lefty even though they they seem to be otherwise right handed.

Everblades president Craig Brush advanced the following theory in the article: "Your top hand on a hockey stick is your strong hand, so if you start playing hockey when you're a little boy, if you're right-handed you're going to shoot left-handed and if you're left-handed you're going to shoot right-handed. All three of my kids are right-handed, Matt played baseball first, he shoots right-handed, the other two shoot left-handed. If you played baseball first, like a lot of American kids do, and you learned how to hit right-handed then you'll shoot right-handed, whereas if you surveyed Canadians, there would be more lefties."

Could all the lefty batting in the Canadian contingent stem from playing hockey first? It's an interesting thought. Perhaps I need to have a chat with our neighbors from up north during spring training this year.

A slight draft

Everyone should know the story by now...Terry Ryan takes Johan Santana in the Rule V Draft, puts him in the Twins bullpen for a year, sends him down to the minors for a bit and manages to come up with a two-time Cy Young Award winner.

The odds of this happening are on the same level as picking up the next Triple Crown winner for $50,000 in a maiden claiming race. Which, however, does not stop general managers, including Mr. Ryan, from trying their hands at it.

In fact, Ryan snags someone each year. He just rarely keeps them.

The Twins potentially lost two pitchers in the major league portion of today's Rule 5 Draft, with closer Kevin Cameron being picked up by the Padres, in the first round, and reliever Levale Speigner being picked up by the Nationals in the second round.

Of the two, Cameron probably has the best chance to stick with a major league club. He was on the fast track for Minnesota a few years ago until he was derailed by injuries. In fact, Pat Neshek was sent down to High A Fort Myers as he was not getting enough time behind Cameron in AA New Britain. But Neshak is now in the majors, and Cameron took over for Neshak in Rochester after the Minnesota native was pulled up to the majors.

He got a bit of a showcase in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 1-1 record with a 8.59 era, but on the whole he can be solid. Cameron was 6-4, posting a 2.98 era with 9 saves, 53 hits, 26 BBs and 65 Ks in 66 IPs with Triple-A Rochester.

Speigner split time between New Britain and Rochester this year, allowing 5 home runs in 40 games in AA, but is considered a good prospect. He throws a low 90s fastball and a solid curveball, but his projection into a major league bullpen right now is kind of questionable.

Meanwhile, Ryan claimed infielder Alejandro Machado from the Nationals. Machado's numbers were not stellar in AAA Pawtucket: .260/.356/.346 with 21 SBs in 373 at bats. Nor is a change of scenery likely to make a difference, as he's been traded four times in the last five seasons. Still he may be an insurance policy if Jason Kubel is not ready to play next season after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus at the end of November.

Machado played with the Florida State League's Brevard County in 2004, and entered professional baseball in 1999 with the GCL Braves. He DID hit .300/.359/.379 in 117 game in Pawtucket in 2005, but on the whole, the likelyhood of Machado staying on the Twins roster is going to be slim and will depend on the injury situation.

In the Minor League portion of the draft, the Devil Rays claimed Erold Andrus from the Twins in the first round, with the first selection. Andrus was acquired from the Yankees last spring and spent the season with the Fort Myers Miracle. He's a decent enough fielder but hit only .207 with the High-A team in 198 at bats.

Also gone from the Twins system is left handed pitcher Justin Jones, who was claimed by the Nationals. Jones started the season in AA New Britain, but struggled and was demoted to High A Fort Myers. He continued to have some problems, and did not look like the lefty ace he was in 2005. I had asked him if he was injured, and he said no, but shortly thereafter he was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder ailment.

He was supposedly activated to AA New Britain at the end of the season, but never went, as he was sitting in the stands for the Miracle's play off game against Dunedin.

I rather liked J.J. and wish him well with the Nats. I was hoping to get him to sign and 8 x 10 for me in spring training, but I don't want it bad enough to drive over to Spacecoast and find him.

Meanwhile the Twins took right handed pitcher Jesse Floyd from the San Francisco Giants in the first round and 3rd baseman Brian Buscher, also from the Giants in the second round.

Floyd, who pitched last season for the AA Connecticut Defenders is expected to join the Rochester Red Wings this season. The 6'5" native of Nederland, Texas, had a 4-14 record with a 4.00 ERa in 25 games (135 innings) for the Defenders. The Defenders were woeful last season, finishing 15.5 games behind Norther division leading Trenton, and half a game ahead of the Twins affiliated New Britain Rock Cats, which were cellar dwellars all season long.

Buscher also played for the Defenders last season. He hit .259/.321/.366 in 467 at bats with the AA team. This is an interesting pick up, as I was expecting Matt Moses to play for triple-A Rochester and David Winfree to handle 3rd base in double-A New Britain. Buscher's entrance into the system might mean the Twins have lost faith in one or the other of their current prospects. Winfree, the Twins 2005 minor league player of the year hit only .176 in the Arizona Fall League this season, but three of his 12 hits were for home runs and four more for extra bases. He also had 17 RBIs in 21 games and slugged .382.

Moses hit .297, but only hit 1 homer and drove in only 13 in 21 games played. Moses has spent the last year and a half in AA working on his batting, which was only .249/.303/.386 last season in 474 at bats.

It may be an interesting contest for third base this spring training down in the minors.

The Twins finished off their involvement in the winter meetings with out much activity, although there were several staff changes. Rob Antony was promoted to Director of Baseball Operations and Contracts and will now work in the contract negotiation role as well as taking care of his previous duties. Just in time to, as we get into the arbitration period and the Twins have several contracts to renegotiate.

Also Perry Castellano was named the Major League strength and conditioning coach. (Great going Perry, but I'm going to miss seeing you around the GCL games.) Perry has been the minor league strength and conditioning coach for the past six seasons.

The Twins also added Lee MacPhail and Kenny Compton to their scouting staff. There was no word on which territories they would be covering. MacPhail was recently with the Nationals organziation as Director of Baseball Administration while MacPhail, the nephew of former Twins general manager Andy MacPhail, has worked previously with the Twins organization.

Today was also the last day for the teams to offer salary arbitration to players or risk losing them to free agency. Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Nick Punto, Mike Cuddyer, Lew Ford, Jason Tyner and Juan Ricon are all eligable for arbitration this year.

Twins fest starts on January 26th and major league pitchers and catchers report on February 18th for the start of spring training.

Hibbing, revisited

Joe, my little friend from Wisconsin, was asking about autographs from Fall Instructional League -- mainly Parmelee, Benson and Brandon Roberts, but he included some words about Eli Tintor as well.

"Also watchout for Eli. He's got pop he hit 3 homers this two weeks that ended up game winners. I was there for the first, he was estatic. He had a smile from one ear to the other. I talked to him the day after and he said he didnt know how long it be before it ever happen again like that. a few days later in the playoffs bang. So watchout hes a 'Special Player'."

As if anyone needs to tell me about Eli. Tintor was drafted into the organization as a cather in the 18th round of the 2003 draft and played the 2003 and 2004 season with the Gulf Coast League Twins. 2004 was kind of a special season for him, as he got loaned up to the Miracle partway through, in part because the organization was a little thin catcher wise with Joe Mauer hurting his knee at the major league level.

Generally speaking, I'm tickled to death when we get any of the GCL boys on the Miracle squad, but I loved having Eli up. I bounded over to the gift shop, got a Miracle ball and had him sign it for me. Still have it too, and it's the only autograph on that ball.

Eli was a little tickled about being called up as well. "It was everything I could have imagined — playing in front of 1,000 people and all that stuff," he told his hometown newspaper.

He got to play in seven games before they sent him back down. "It was brutal (going back). Now I have to be up at 6:30 a.m. to be on the field by 7 a.m. With the Miracle, we were on the field at 3 p.m. I'm down a little bit, but I got the experience."

He was here when Terry did a group sales with the French foriegn exchange students, a game which left my friend Aaron majorly pissed off as they were seated in our section. They knew nothing about baseball, where all dressed like little tarts and refused to stay seated during the game.

And when I say they knew nothing about baseball, I mean NOTHING. They had to give them sheets with with lyrics to take me out to the ball game on them, so they could sing the seventh inning stretch.

However, they did enjoy getting this pictures taken with "real baseball players" and while Eli may not have been Derek Jeter, he was the next best thing as far as these girls were concerned. So I did get a laugh, watching him down on the field with girls just dripping all over him as he kept possing for pictures.

(If you want a laugh, ask him about the incident.)

He was here for Hurricane Charley too, an experience for anyone in the GCL class of 2004.

"We were right in the middle of it," Tintor said, again to his hometown newspaper. "There were 130 to 140 mile per hour winds. It was pretty nuts.

"Trees were down. Wires were down," Tintor said. "Houses were torn down. I guess there were casualties, too.

"Some stoplights came flying through the parking lot. You couldn’t get outside without getting hit by debris."

The boys lasted four days without electric and there had been some talk of transfering them over to the clubhouse to stay instead of at the host hotel, but it never came to that.

Lots of experience all in one year. I was pretty bummed when he was back with us for extended in 2005 but in the end he went up to Elizabethton. I has hoping they'd move him to Beloit, but his batting, .228 in GCL, probably wasn't up to snuff.

He did well in Elizabethon though, hiting .281 and earning Appalachian League Player of the Week honors. He was considered the the third string catcher at the time although some of his fans felt otherwise about the situation. But the bat is the key thing and the bat was coming around.

I told him that in spring training this las year too. As long as you can hit...he assured me he had the batting thing figured out. Evidently he did. It was the catching thing that was a problem and Eli was moved to the outfield for 2006 as a member of the Beloit Snappers.

I have no clue how his fielding was (10 errors seems like a lot for an outfielder, even in Beloit) but he hit .285 with 12 home runs, making him second on the team behind Erik Lis in the home run department. 54 RBIs sent him third in the team in that department was well. Not a bad plate perforance at all.

So he's here for Fall Instructional League to work on his fielding skills and perhaps I can now look forward to him gracing the Miracle roster again -- even if it is as a outfielder. I'll have to ask him how he likes being way out in the field, as opposed to being part of all the action behind the plate.

Of course, on a personal note he's a fun guy too, especially has he kept telling me that he's from so far up north -- Hibbing, Minnesota -- that it never unfreezes up there and they play baseball on ice covered fields all of the time. I'm quite certain he's pulling my leg, as I've since heard that it does unfreeze, for about a month and a half over the summer.

And that yes, air conditioners are luxery items in Hibbing and the only people that have built in swimming pools have them so they can play hockey on them in the winter. I wonder if he's every played hockey. Shall have to ask him that as well.

So, I'm hoping to get autographs for Joe at Fall Instuctional League (if I survive that long) and I will certainly keep an eye on his "special player", Eli Tintor.