Minor Details: Games of 8/19

Rochester 8, Lehigh Valley 5 in Rochester.  The Red Wings scored three in the third and never lost the lead.  Brian Dinkelman had two singles and a homer.  Dustin Martin hit a home run, his fourteenth.  Eric Hacker got the win despite allowing four runs on eleven hits and a walk in 5.2 innings.  Jim Hoey worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save.

New Britain 3, New Hampshire 1 in New Britain.  The Rock Cats broke a scoreless tie with two in the third.  Brian Dozier doubled and homered, raising his average to .315.  Evan Bigley had two hits.  Bobby Lanigan pitched seven shutout innings, giving up three hits and three walks.  Tyler Robertson allowed an unearned run on one hit while striking out three in two innings to get the save.

Ft. Myers at Charlotte.  Postponed.

Beloit 7, Kane County 4 in Kane County.  The Snappers scored five in the first.  Adam Bryant had two doubles and a triple.  Andy Leer singled and doubled.  Jairo Perez had two hits to bring his average back to .333.  A. J. Achter struck out thirteen in seven strong innings, giving up three runs on four hits and no walks.  Madison Boer struck out both men he faced to get the save.

Elizabethton 12, Greeneville 7 in Greeneville.  The Twins scored six in the fifth to take a 10-1 lead.  Eddie Rosario had two homers and a single, driving in three.  He now has fifteen homers.  JaDamion Williams had two singles and a double, scoring three times.  Nick Lockwood had three hits and drove in three.  Miguel Sano hit a home run, his sixteenth.  Marcus Limon got the win despite allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings.

GCL Twins 7, Red Sox 1 at Twins (8 innings--rain).  The Twins scored in each of the first five innings, getting three in the fourth.  Julio Torres and Jacob Younis each had two hits, with Younis driving in three.  Starter Nathan Fawbush lasted just 4.2 innings, giving up a run on seven hits and two walks.  Markus Solbach got the win with 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

DSL White Sox 4, Twins 0 at Twins (Game 1--Scheduled 7 innings--played 5 1/2 innings--rain).  The White Sox scored three in the third and one in the fifth.  The Twins had three hits and made three errors.  Sterling Bonilla pitched a six-inning complete game, allowing four runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk.

DSL White Sox at Twins (Game 2--Scheduled 7 innings).  Postponed.

11 thoughts on “Minor Details: Games of 8/19”

  1. since its getting close to September callup time, is there a short list of players that might get a call up? I imagine Jim Hoey is one guy since he was with the team earlier this year

    1. The way the Twins do things, I doubt we'll see anyone we haven't already seen, with the possible exception of Toby Gardenhire.

      There are guys I'd like to see. I think Aaron Bates should get a call-up, and I think he should have been up earlier in the season when Morneau was out. I understand that he's kind of old for a prospect, and I don't have high hopes for him, but he's hit over .300 and draws quite a few walks. Given the weakness of the Twins' bench all year, I don't see what it would've hurt.

      There are a few guys from New Britain I'd like to see: Joe Benson, Brian Dozier, Yangervis Solarte, Chris Parmelee. I'm not saying those guys are ready to step in and play, but with the team going nowhere, I don't see how having them around would hurt anything.

      For that matter, I've never understood why teams don't take full advantage of the expanded rosters in September. Have all forty guys you're allowed to have. Be honest with them, tell some of them they're not likely to play, but that you want them to observe what life is like in the big leagues. Also tell them that you want them to be ready to play, because you never know when someone might get hurt or you might have a twenty inning game or something. I don't see what the downside would be to that.

      1. I would be very, very disappointed if they failed to bring up Benson.

        Doesn't a guy have to be on the 40-man to get a september call-up? The cupboard is pretty bare.

        1. Yeah, and there are some financial obligations that kick in when a player hits the big leagues, although in the scheme of things they're probably not that significant.

        2. I'd be disappointed, too, but they haven't exactly been pushing Benson forward. Last year, they pushed him back to Class A for a month just as he was recovering from a slow start. This year, they've held him in AA all year, giving him two years there, despite the fact that he's done well there and they don't exactly have a lot of hot prospects in AAA keeping him down.

          I don't think there are "personality issues"; I remember seeing an article in which hitting coach Tom Brunansky praised him not just as a hitter but also personally. I think there's just something about his game that they don't like or think he needs to improve. And they may be right, I don't know, but it was obvious some time ago that he really has nothing more to prove at AA. Whatever he needs to learn, he needs to go to a higher level to learn it.

          1. Yea, I don't get it. Benson is the kind of player who could be a superstar (err, ok, that's a bit optimistic; how about "all-star caliber player"?). High, high ceiling, even if he might also bomb out. Revere, in contrast, well, his ceiling still seems to be Juan Pierre. A useful player, but not the kind of player you build around. (and oh-by-the-way, Pierre hit 327/378/415 in HIS age-23 season as a full-time major leaguer)

          2. I think the Twins have focused a little too much on strikeouts with Benson. He still reaches base very well and has shown good power. I don't think they're holding him back this year, I just think they would rather he stay in AA and help out a winning team (or nearly) instead of playing for the disaster that has been Rochester this year. I do think with all the decisions in the outfield for next year (Cuddyer and Kubel are free agents, can they count on Span?), they should call him up and give him a look in September when New Britain is eliminated.

      2. Rene Rivera will be called up just to have that third catcher. Toby Gardenhire isn't on the 40-man, so I doubt they'll make a move to bring him up in September. Of position players, Benson and Parmelee are the most likely, but they wouldn't be called up until the Rock Cats are eliminated. Seth Stohs said that Revere might be the only person in the organization faster than Benson, who also has a strong arm. I hope he gets called up and Span recovers so we can see Benson, Span and Revere in the same outfield. That could be a lot of fun. If Baker keeps the ball out of the seats or off the walls, he might finally get that no-hitter.

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