Game 119: Indians 3, Twins 1

No more excuses.

If I thought that the Twins had packed it in for the season like most teams would have a long time ago, then I would understand it. But, that would mean Ben Revere playing and Trevor Plouffe on the roster, so I don't believe that.

Josh Tomlin? Really? His picture is next to the word "junkballer" in the dictionary. He's got nothing. A team with this many lefties who supposedly can hit should be teeing off on him.

I saw one inning in which a bunch of hard-hit balls found gloves, but I'm tired of the excuses. But what I'm really tired of is incompetence.

I'm tired of seeing impatient at-bats. I'm tired of seeing not making routine plays. I'm especially tired of seeing Matt Tolbert. Is there anyone that has brought so little to a team that was allowed a major league job for this long? He has zero power. He can't hit from either side of the plate. He has no patience at the plate. He's a below-average fielder. He might have average speed, but he's not a good base stealer. He makes me long for the days of Nick Punto or even Denny Hocking. Even Al Newman.

I'm not asking for the Twins to try to make a miracle run. Right now, I'm just wanting to see some sign of hope for 2012.

Minor League Players of the Month: July

I don't know if anybody really cares any more, but I did promise I'd get to it eventually, and besides, I like to be complete:

ROCHESTER

Position Player:  Jeff Bailey hit .341/.389/.614.  For the season, he was .252/.366/.424 at the end of July.  Honorable Mention:  Brandon Roberts hit .387/.395/.533.  For the season, he was .277/.303/.365 at the end of July.

Pitcher:  Kyle Waldrop was 2-0, 1.37, 0.76 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 19.2 innings (13 appearances).  For the season, he was 5-4, 4.20, 1.32 WHIP in 64.1 innings (44 appearances) at the end of July.  Honorable mentionLiam Hendriks was 2-0, 3.66, 1.17 WHIP in three starts in July after being promoted from New Britain.  He struck out ten in nineteen innings.

NEW BRITAIN

Position Player:  Chris Parmelee  hit .305/.406/.559.  For the season, he was .289/.377/456 at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  Deibinson Romero hit .308/.350/.615  For the season, he was .270/.346/.440 at the end of July.

Pitcher:  Spencer Steedley was 1-0, 1.38, 1.00 WHIP in 13 innings (8 appearances).  For the season, he was 3-2, 3.13, 1.39 in 37.1 innings (22 appearances) at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  Blake Martin was 0-2, 1.88, 1.33 in 28.2 innings (7 appearances, 4 starts).  For the season, he is 1-3, 5.08, 1.74 in 39 innings (15 appearances, 6 starts).

FT. MYERS

Position Player:  James Beresford hit .361/.439/.417.  For the season, he was .282/.340/.311 at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  Oswaldo Arcia hit .286/.309/.451.  For the season, he was .266/.287/.422 at the end of July.

Pitcher:  Jhon Garcia was 0-3, 3.21 with 20 strikeouts in 33.2 innings.  For the season, he was 3-5, 3.87, 1.45 WHIP with 62 strikeouts in 78.1 innings at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  Ricky Bowen was 0-1, 1.54, 1.29 WHIP with 15 strikeouts in 11.2 innings.  For the season, he was 0-2, 4.37, 1.41 WHIP with 28 strikeouts in 22.2 innings at the end of July.

BELOIT

Position Player:  Jairo Perez hit .320/.382/.610.  For the season, he was .351/.427/.613 at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  Lance Ray  hit .312/.385/.602.  For the season, he was .272/.360/.453 at the end of July.

Pitcher:  B. J. Hermsen was 5-1, 1.89, 1.08 with 25 strikeouts in 38 innings.  For the season, he was 11-7, 3.08, 1.32 with 75 strikeouts in 117 innings at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  Manuel Soliman was 2-3, 3.99, 1.16 with 18 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.  For the season, he was 5-7, 3.87, 1.34 with 96 strikeouts in 100 innings at the end of July.

ELIZABETHTON

Position Player:  Eddie Rosario hit .298/.344/.561.  For the season, he was .314/.371/.628 at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  Miguel Sano hit .287/.339/.574.  For the season, he was .280/.329/.541 at the end of July.

Pitcher:  Matthew Summers was 1-1, 1.50, 0.92 with 21 strikeouts in 12 innings.  Those are also his season numbers.  Honorable mention:  Pedro Guerra was 2-1, 3,41, 1.21 with 30 strikeouts in 29 innings.  For the season, he was 2-1, 2.97, 1.07 with 38 strikeouts in 36.1 innings at the end of July.

GCL TWINS

Position Player:  Michael Quesada hit .284/.363/.531.  For the season, he was .250/.350/.450 at the end of July.  Honorable mention:    Joshua Hendricks hit .282/.330/.364.  For the season, he was .255/.298/.321 at the end of July.

Pitcher:  Angel Mata was 0-0, 0.56, 0.63 with 12 strikeouts in 16 innings.  For the season, he was 0-0, 0.78, 0.87 with 18 strikeouts in 23 innings.  Honorable mention:  Luis Nunez was 2-0, 0.82, 0.82 with 14 strikeouts in 11 innings.  He was 3-0, 2.12, 0.88 with 20 strikeouts in 17 innings at the end of July.

DSL TWINS

Position Player:  Erick Gonzalez hit .306/.456/.431.  For the season, he was .305/.462/.426 at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  None.

Pitcher:  Jose Abreu was 1-0, 0.00, 0.89 with 9 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.  For the season, he was 1-1, 1.65, 1.07 with 25 strikeouts in 32.2 innings at the end of July.  Honorable mention:  Junior Subero was 1-1, 1.00, 0.89 with 18 strikeouts in 18 innings.  For the season, he was 1-4, 0.99, 0.88 with 36 strikeouts in 36.1 innings at the end of July.

Minor Details: Games of 8/12

Columbus 6, Rochester 3 in Columbus (completion of suspended game).  The Red Wings were already down 5-1 when the game was suspended and could not catch up.  Chase Lambin had two hits.  Andrew Baldwin pitched a strange complete game:  he was the starter when the game began a while back, and he picked it up and finished it last night.  He did well last night, but for the game he allowed six runs on ten hits and two walks while striking out six.

Columbus 4, Rochester 3 in Rochester (Game 2--Scheduled 7 innings).  The Red Wings rallied in the seventh, scoring three times and putting the tying run on third.  Brandon Roberts singled and doubled.  Luke Hughes had two hits.  Deinys Suarez made his Red Wings debut, allowing three runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.

New Britain 4, Bowie 3 in Bowie.  The Rock Cats trailed 3-1 after six but scored three in the seventh.  Chris Parmelee had two singles and a double.  Logan Darnell gave up three unearned runs in 7.2 innings, striking out six while giving up four hits and a walk.  Steve Hirschfeld allowed just a walk in 1.1 scoreless innings to get the save.

Palm Beach 10, Ft. Myers 2 in Ft. Myers.  It was close until the ninth, when the Cardinals scored six runs.  The Miracle had only three hits and made three errors.  Starter Edgar Ibarra lasted five innings, giving up a run on four hits and a walk.  Alex Wimmers took the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk in two innings.

Beloit 4, Wisconsin 1 in Wisconsin (7 innings--rain).  The Snappers scored three in the third and it was all they needed.  Adam Bryant had two hits.  Manuel Soliman pitched a complete game, giving up a run on three hits and a walk.

Elizabethton 7, Johnson City 6 in Elizabethton.  The Twins led 7-2 after six, then hung on.  Miguel Sano had a double and two home runs, giving him twelve for the season.  He drove in three.  Adam Pettersen singled and homered.  Rory Rhodes singled and doubled.  Starter Tim Atherton struck out six in four innings, giving up two runs on three hits.  Todd Van Steensel got the win, striking out seven in 3.1 innings while giving up three runs (one earned) on three hits.  Corey Williams got the save, giving up a run on two hits.

GCL Twins 4, Red Sox 1 at Red Sox.  The Twins scored two in the fifth and two in the eighth.  The Twins had only three hits, but drew eight walks and took advantage of two Red Sox errors and three wild pitches.  Despite scoring four runs, they had no RBIs.  Bobby O'Neill went five shutout innings, striking out five while giving up two hits and two walks.  Kyle Wahl struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

DSL Orioles 5, Twins 3 at Twins.  The Orioles scored three in the third to take a 4-1 lead.  The Twins had only five hits and made four errors.  Starter Randy Rosario pitched only 2.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk.  Edgar Martinez threw 3.2 shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Episodic EPL Exposition – Opening Weekend Open Thread

The Premier League starts back up this morning. Here are the opening slate of matches:

Saturday

  • Wolves @ Blackburn Rovers
  • Aston Villa @ Fulham
  • Sunderland @ Liverpool
  • Bolton @ QPR
  • Norwich City @ Wigan Athletic
  • Arsenal @ Newcastle United

Sunday

  • Chelsea @ Stoke City
  • Manchester United @ West Brom

Monday

  • Swansea City @ Manchester City
You have until 10 AM to get picks into the 2011-12 Table Prediction challenge.   I'll update the contest sometime after lunch with everyone's picks

Happy Birthday–August 13

Fielder Jones (1871)
George Susce (1907)
Lou Finney (1910)
Sid Gordon (1917)
Jerry Neudecker (1930)
Vinegar Bend Mizell (1930)
Mudcat Grant (1935)
Tony Cloninger (1940)
Fred Stanley (1947)
Jerry Crawford (1947)
Andre Thornton (1949)
Tom Niedenfuer (1959)
Jim Reboulet (1961)
Tom Prince (1964)
Jay Buhner (1964)
Mark Lemke (1965)
Alex Fernandez (1969)
Jarrod Washburn (1974)
Corey Patterson (1979)

Jim Reboulet is the brother of Jeff Reboulet. He was in the minors for six years, reaching AAA. He had three seasons with sixty or more stolen bases.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 13

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.