Where They Stand

Rochester is 23-35, sixth (last) in the IL North, 14 games behind Lehigh Valley.  The Red Wings have lost three in a row and are 4-6 in their last ten games.

New Britain is 32-26, third in the EL East, 3.5 games behind New Hampshire.  The Rock Cats won their last game and are 5-5 in their last ten games.

Ft. Myers is 30-30, second in the FSL South, one game behind St. Lucie.  The Miracle lost its last game and is 2-8 in their last ten games.

Beloit is 30-30, tied for fourth in the ML West, 10.5 games behind Burlington.  The Snappers have won two in a row and are 7-3 in their last ten games.

The DSL Twins are 5-3, tied for second in the B.C.B.C., 1.5 games behind the White Sox.  The Twins won their last game.

This Week in Ex-Twins

Actually two weeks:

Atlanta organization sends Eliecer Cardenas from Mississippi (AA) to Lynchburg (A).
Baltimore organization sends Armando Gabino from Norfolk (AAA) to Bowie (AA).
Boston assigns Darnell McDonald to Pawtucket (AAA).
Cubs activate Matt Garza from the disabled list.
Cubs organization (AAA Iowa) activates Augie Ojeda from the disabled list.
White Sox organization (AAA Charlotte) places Michael Restovich on the seven day disabled list, then activates him from the disabled list.
Dodgers outright Juan Castro to AAA Albuquerque.
Dodgers recall Trent Oeltjen from AAA Albuquerque.
Yankees organization (AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) places Carlos Silva on the seven day disabled list.
Oakland places Grant Balfour on paternity leave.
Oakland organization (AAA Sacramento) places Steve Tolleson on the temporarily inactive list.
Oakland organization (AAA Sacramento) trades Steve Tolleson to San Diego organization (AAA Tucson) for cash considerations.
Philadelphia organization sends Jeff Lanning from AA Reading to extended spring training, then sends him to Lakewood (A).
Pittsburgh places Joe Beimel on the fifteen day disabled list.
San Diego organization (AAA Tucson) activates Bobby Kielty from the disabled list.
Minatitlan of the Mexican League adds Hector Carrasco to the roster.
Veracruz of the Mexican League places D’Angelo Jimenez on waivers.

Minor Details: Games of 6/9

Columbus 7, Rochester 1 in Columbus.  The Clippers scored three in the fourth and three in the fifth.  Dustin Martin singled and doubled.  Scott Diamond surrendered all seven runs on eight hits and four walks in 4.1 innings.

New Britain 14, Akron 3 in New Britain.  The Rock Cats scored in only three innings:  three in the first, five in the third, and six in the fourth.  Daniel Rohlfing had two doubles and a single, driving in three.  Chris Parmelee and Mark Dolenc had three hits each.  Evan Bigley singled and homered.  Liam Hendriks gave up one run on seven hits and a walk in six innings.  Tyler Robertson got a save despite giving up two runs on seven hits in three innings.

Palm Beach 11, Ft. Myers 5 in Ft. Myers.  The Cardinals scored three in each of the third, sixth, and eighth innings.  Anderson Hidalgo had a homer and two singles, raising his average to .319.  Aaron Hicks and Jon Goncalves each had two hits.  Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Joe Mauer each went 1-for-3, with Mauer hitting a double.  Brad Stillings allowed four runs on four hits and two walks in three innings.  He did strike out five.  Shooter Hunt, after a hopeful start, is struggling again.  He gave up three runs on a hit and four walks in a third of an inning.  Over his last 7.1 innings (five appearances), he has walked nineteen batters.

Beloit 11, Ft. Wayne 8 in Beloit (completion of suspended game).  The Snappers scored four in the bottom of the eighth to overcome an 8-7 deficit.  Wang-wei Lin hit a three-run homer to provide the margin of victory.  Michael Gonzales had a double and two singles to raise his average to .305.  Lance Ray had two doubles and a single, scoring three times.  Jairo Perez had two hits in his Snapper debut.  Manuel Soliman allowed five runs on ten hits and a walk.  Jose Gonzalez pitched the final 1.1 innings scorelessly to get the win.

Beloit 3, Ft. Wayne 0 in Beloit (regularly scheduled game—scheduled 7 innings).  All the runs were scored in the third inning.  Andy Leer doubled two drive in the first two and scored the third.  Leer had two doubles in the game.  Daniel Santana had two hits.  Ryan O’Rourke gave up just one hit in 3.2 innings, striking out four.  Michael Tonkin got the win, also giving up just one hit in 2.1 innings.  Clinton Dempster pitched a perfect seventh to get the save.

DSL Twins 6, Rockies 3 at Twins.  The Twins scored three in the seventh to break a 3-3 tie.  Adonis Pacheco singled and doubled.  Erick Gonzalez and Pedro Estaba each had two hits.  Felix Martinez drove in three runs.  Sterling Bonilla gave up two runs on six hits and a walk, striking out five in five innings.  Jose Jimenez got the win, giving up one run on two hits and a walk in three innings.  Edgar Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save.

Friday Music Day: June 10, 2011

I think this is the best song I've heard all year: "Wicked Games" by Canadian R&B singer the Weeknd. (Warning! Foul language!)
I love that it nearly shares a title with the Chris Isaak song, which had a foreboding feel, but never went this dark. This is so dark it's evil. If any other R&B sounded like this, I'd actually give the genre a better chance.

I left my girl back home
I don't love her no more

I keep listening over and over and over, dreaming about CJ.

You can get the whole album for free direct from him. Nothing else this great on one inattentive listen through.

There's a video on vimeo, too, which is pretty awesome, but it's got nudity and drug use, so you'll have to put in the legwork.

What've you got?

[PS. Soundcloud embeds don't seem to work, or this would have been even cooler.]

Happy Birthday–June 10

Jack Graney (1886)
Garland Braxton (1900)
Danny McFayden (1905)
Vic Harris (1905)
Mike Kreevich (1908)
Frank Demaree (1910)
Chuck Thompson (1921)
Hank Foiles (1929)
Ed Palmquist (1933)
Johnny Edwards (1938)
Ken Singleton (1947)
Elias Sosa (1950)
Gerry Hunsicker (1950)
Francisco Barrios (1953)
Scott Ullger (1955)
Floyd Bannister (1955)
Pokey Reese (1973)
Freddy Garcia (1975)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 10

Game 62 Recap: Twins 5, Rangers 4

MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 4
Record
- 24-38 (2.5 games out of 4th place)
Highest WPA
- Chuck James (0.2 IP, SO), Casilla (2 for 5, GWRBI) and Cuddyer (2 for 4, HR, 3 RBI)
Lowest WPA - Mijares (2 batters faced, 2 hits), Revere and Morneau (both 0-4)
Fangraphs
MLB Recap

-----------------

Alexi Casilla in the last month - .325/.400/.410

Will it continue?

Probably not.

Is it fun while it lasts?

It was tonight.

2011 Game 62: Rangers at Twins

The Twins return from a road trip that turned out to be pretty respectable, particularly because of winning six of their last seven. The team isn't that good, but they weren't as bad as they played up to that point, either, so whatever.

Now the Twins host the West-leading Rangers in another chapter in the ongoing saga of Josh Hamilton vs. Jason Morneau. Who will they be jacking 28+ dongers against tonight?

Derek Holland 5-1, 74.1 IP, 4.36 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 3.72 xFIP, 1.1 WAR
Nick Blackburn 5-4, 75.2 IP, 3.57 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 3.85 xFIP, 0.5 WAR

Some similar numbers there, but Holland's value comes from his ability to strike some punks out (60 in 74.1 innings, while over the same workload, Blackburn has negative three strikeouts). Holland is a lefty who tends to wreck lefties, so it's all up to Cuddyer and pals tonight. Ahem.

I'm feeling a little better about the Twins after the last week, but the Rangers could easily bring that to a screeching halt if our team continues to lose at home. Let's avoid that, Nick "Big Game Ace Superstar" Blackburn.

Is a return in sight?

From Joe C:

Meanwhile, at Class A Fort Myers, Joe Mauer is back in the lineup at catcher tonight after catching eight innings last night, according to the Miracle's broadcaster, Alex Margulies (via Twitter).

Mauer isn't eligible to return from the 60-day disabled list until Sunday. The Twins are off Monday, but there is growing speculation that he'll be back at Target Field on Tuesday to face the White Sox.

Can you imagine the excitement if the Twins win the series with Texas and then Mauer returns Tuesday? And don't forget Kubel and Nishi should be back pretty soon. Glen Perkins and Joe Nathan have been starting to throw as well, although it sounds like Nathan is a lot further away. Haven't heard much on Jim Thome.

Anyways, the Twins play 30 of their next 40 at home and Interleague is coming up. Sounds like a good time to get healthy and make a run to get back in this thing. It would be a record comeback, but the schedule is in their favor, now they just need to get real major league bodies back in the lineup and bullpen.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.