August 10, 2007

Offensive woes back again...

The Twins gave their fans some much needed optimism after their 11-4 shalacking against the Royals on Wednesday. But Thursday, they made fans return to the "what if" phase. What if we made a deal at the deadline for a "big bat?" What if we traded away some of our future free agents and coinsidently raise the white flag on this season? What if...
Well, what if we scored just 1 run in this game? Could we have pulled out a win in extras?

The Twins lost 1-0 and lost the series 2 of 3 against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.

The offense was dead. Well almost. Alexi Casilla, Torii Hunter and Jason Kubel were the only Twins to get hits. That's it. The others combined to go 0-21 with 6 K's and 12 left on base. Michael Cuddyer accounted for 4 of the strikeouts and 3 of the men left on base.

It's a shame, the Twins yet again wasted a great effort by the starting pitching. Matt Garza gave up just the 1 run in 6 and two-thirds innings while he struck out 6 and walked no one. Dennys Reyes finished the 7th inning by throwing just 6 pitches to two batters. Pat Neshek threw a scoreless 8th with 1 strikeout.

Game Ball!
Pretty sad that the game ball goes to the only batter who had 2 hits in the game. It's ironic, probably the only person who didn't cry to management about the loss of Luis Castillo is the only batter who made any sort of contribution to the offense. Hmmm. Matt Garza also deserves this.


Game Ball
Profile: Alexi Casilla, #25, Second Base
Game: 2-3, 1 BB, SB


Next
The Twins head out west to face the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Scott Baker hopes to continue his recent success but will likely have to do so with little (or no) run support since the Angels will counter by sending Kelvim Escobar to the mound. Escobar pitched a complete game 1 run win against the Twins on June 5th. He only gave up 3 hits but also walked 3 batters as well.

Twins to sign Williams.
No, unfortunately I'm not talking about Reggie Williams whom the Twins drafted in the June draft and who still hasn't signed. But I'm talking about Jerome Williams. Williams is a former first round pick by the Giants in 1999. He had some success as a 22-23 year old with the Giants a few years ago, but since he was traded for ex-Twins LaTroy Hawkins, he's been horrible. After being cut by the Cubs, and nontendered by the A's, he signed with the Washington Nationals and was released after poor performances and injuries.

According to La Velle E Neal III, the deal was made because the Wings are shorthanded with pitchers right now. But it raises the question, what about Anthony Swarzak? Is it a punishment for his 50 game suspension earlier this year? He clearly deserves a shot after having great success after the suspension.

Rochester Red Wings
No Games Scheduled

New Britain Rock Cats vs. the Erie Sea Wolves.
Game cancelled due to rain.

Ft. Myers Miracle beat the Brevard County Manatees, 6-4.
Starter Jeff Manship had a good game for the Miracle. Jeff gave up 3 runs in 7 innings while he struck out 5. Eddie Morlan later picked up his 15th save of the season while striking out 3 in a scoreless 9th inning. With Brian Dinkelman getting a day off, Steven Tolleson took the leadoff spot in the lineup and he delivered with a great game. His leadoff double in the 1st lead to a 3 run inning. Tolleson finished with 2 doubles and an RBI. Dustin Martin hit his 25th double and 59th RBI. Erik Lis also drove in a run, his 59th of the year.
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Incase you missed it, Jeff Manship answered some questions for us earlier this week.

Beloit Snappers lost to the Wisconsin Rattlers, 5-3.
Cole DeVries struggled in this start giving up 5 runs in 6 innings. The Eden Praire native and University of Minnesota alumnus gave up 2 solo home runs but did strike out 4 batters. Jose Lugo and Anthony Slama both pitched scoreless appearances. Steven Singleton had 2 hits and 2 RBI's for the Snappers. Danny Santiesteban also had 2 hits and an RBI. Elit Tintor moved up in the batting order ahead of Chris Parmelee and he responded with 3 hits in 4 at bats. Parmelee meanwhile went 0-4 with 3 K's while moving down a spot in the order.

GCL Twins lost to the GCL Pirates, 5-4.
Glen Perkins made his first rehab start since reaggravating his last month. He went the first 2 frames while he gave up no hits, he did walk one batter and struck out 2. Danny Berlind has been stellar all year for the Twins, until yesterday. The 6'7'' 19-year-old rookie gave up 5 runs while he pitched 4 2/3 innings. He did strike out 4, but his ERA jumped from .074-1.76. Jeanfred Brito hit his first home run of the season, it was a two run home run. Juan Richardson went 3-4 with his 8th double. Jon Waltenbury had two hits including his 5th double of the season. Andrew Schmiesing had 3 singles for the Twins. And James Beresford had 2 RBI's as well. Ben Revere and Danny Rams both went hitless in 4 at bats.

Elizabethton Twins beat the Johnson City Cardinals, 11-5. (Game 1)
Elizabethton Twins lost to the Johnson City Cardinals, 7-6. (Game 2)
Game 1: Henry Reyes threw 10 K's while he picked up his 5th win of the season, giving up 2 runs through 5 innings. Danny Latham gave up a 2 run home run in the 7th. D.J. Romero went 3-3 with 2 RBI's and his 8th home of the season. Rene Leveret had 2 doubles, 2 walks and 4 RBI's. Ozzie Lewis had 2 hits including his 11th double. Mark Dolenc drove in RBI's #31 and 32. Greg Yersich had 2 hits and 2 doubles as well.

Game 2: Michael Rogers gave up 2 runs throughout the first 4 innings. Omar Alcala gave up 3 runs (2 earned) in his inning and a third. And Bradley Tippett gave up 2 runs in his 3.2 innings pitched. It was his 1st loss of the season. Estarlin De Los Santos went 2-3 with his 10th double. Rene Leveret went 2-5 with his 47th RBI. Ozzie Lewis and D.J. Romero also drove in a run each.

Have a great weekend!

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