Jeff Manship promoted

One other note - the Twins just promoted AAA pitcher Jeff Manship for pitching depth after placing Glen Perkins on the 15-day DL recently. Manship is 4-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 50-1/3 innings pitching with Rochester so far this season. He started the year with Double-A New Britain and was promoted after 13 starts at that level in 2009.

Maybe there's room for Anthony Slama to move from AA now? Why he's been allowed to dominate without promotion is beyond me. In his past 13 innings pitched, he's struck out 20 batters and allowed just two earned runs on 13 baserunners. I'd like to kick Bill Smith about now.

"Must NOT-see TV"

I played basketball last night, so I was feeling a little tired around 8:45 and thought I might go to sleep after a couple innings of the game. But nooooo, I had to call a friend and go to his place and watch the entire 3-2 Twins loss in HD. I really could have used that few extra hours, too. Instead, I witnessed an offensively sluggish team struggle to hit vs. lefty Dana Eveland. Seemed like J-Morneau was hitting the ball hard, but right at people every time. So annoying. And Brendan Harris looks lost at the dish right now. And that Jason Kubel at bat in the ninth inning... good lord. Horrid. Take a pitch, buddy. I wish there were some easy answers, but I can't think of anything aside from getting new players. This Athletics ARE who we THOUGHT THEY WERE, and we LET 'EM OFF THE HOOK!!

The good news, however, is that Nick Blackburn - 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER - managed a nice bounce-back outing after getting beaten up a bit this past weekend by Anaheim (10 hits, 2 BB in 4 2/3 IP). The bullpen even looked OK until the ninth when left a pitch up for Kurt Suzuki, who deposited it into the left field gap for the game-winning hit. Boof Bonser kept up the resurgent month with a scoreless 1 1/3 inning outing - he's got a 2.92 ERA in 12 August innings after racking up a 8.73 ERA in 22 2/3 combined June/July innings.

And if you get a chance, on SportCenter or otherwise, try to get a peek at the Casilla-to-Punto double play from last night. One of the most incredible plays I've seen in awhile. I'll try to find the link.

Here's hoping for better things tonight - it's Kevin Slowey vs. Dan L. Meyer. I always feel better about a matchup where the opposing pitcher regularly uses his middle initial in print. What a tool. Only authors and politicians can get away with that.

That's all for now!

Minor League Notes:

• New Britain got some SWEET pitching last night. Starter Jeff Manship went six scoreless innings, allowing just five baserunners while striking out seven. Ben Julianiel pitched 1 1/3 innings to record save number 25.
• Beloit (Low-A) Starter Mike McCardell baffled Kane County for seven innings, striking out four batters while allowing six men to reach base. Aside from his horrible outing late last week (5 ER in 6 2/3 IP), McCardell has looked ready for a promotion.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Fooled by Raul

First of all, I was physically sick the past couple of days - Monday it was my stomach, and Tuesday it was my entire body going into shock after the late-night collapse the Twins dropped on us. Then again last night... and I can't stay quiet any longer.

Raul Ibanez is absolutely killing the Twins so far in this three-game series. He's gone 6-for-10 with two home runs and 11 RBI. That's right, ELEVEN RBI, my friends. And Matt Guerrier, who is simply not cut out for the set up role, has now given up eight runs in his past five outings. That's a sparkling 19.64 ERA over that stretch (3 2/3 IP). And it's not like the starting pitching has been any good either - Scott Baker(what happened?) and Glen Perkins combined to pitch 11 2/3 innings, giving up 11 runs on 21 hits and three walks. What the hell happened to our pitching on the trip out West? Add to it the fact that our bullpen has a four-run differential in its home/road ERA splits, and this seemingly powder-puff road trip to Seattle and KC could turn out disastrous. 

The good news/silver lining in all of this is that the Twins' bats have actually been pretty good, providing 13 combined runs of support in the two losses. On Monday, J-Mo and Mauer each collected two hits, and Mike Lamb (3-for-6 in the series) even drove in a run. Tuesday was Kubel day, as Jason bashed his 15th and 16th homers of the season. Too bad it wasn't enough... it's like Guerrier is trying to keep it close or something. Unbelievable.

Nick Blackburn (8-6, 3.56 ERA) will try to salvage the Seattle series at 3:40 CST today... it's nice to have a day game after two late finishes. Blackburn has been the best starter of late, with a 2.21 ERA and sub 1.000 WHIP over his past six starts (including the NYY debacle!). He's probably our best chance outside of Liriano to stop the bleeding, and he'll face Jerrod Washburn (5-10, 4.77 ERA), who's been excellent in his own right lately before getting absolutely bombed for six runs and 13 combined base runners on August 1. I'll be listening at work... hope you all enjoy the game!

Last, it looks like Michael Cuddyer is going to be back next week (August 10 is likely) after a quick rehab stint in Rochester! Good news all around.

Let's talk Minor Leagues... it's been too long!

• Daniel Valencia has kept hitting for AA New Britain, stroking three multi-hit games in his past four appearances - 7-for-18 (.388) over that period.
• Also in New Britain, David Winfree has turned up the heat of late, batting .389 over his past 10 games, bucking the trend of his .239 season average. He's got eight RBI, a homer and four multi-hit games during this productive streak.
• Looks like Jeff Manship is going to be chilling in Double-A for the rest of this season. He gave up another four runs on 10 hits with just two strikeouts last night for the Rock Cats. This, coming off a solid performance (6 IP, ER) in his last start.
• It's nice to see a catcher with power, and Wilson Ramos (A-Fort Myers) flashed the bat again Monday night, hammering his 12th home run of the season.
• Luke Hughes is batting .300 in 20 Triple-A at bats so far, and seems to be holding his own with two multi-hit games over his past four starts.
• Jason Pridie is officially on fire in Rochester as he now has an 11-game hit streak where he's batted .396 and driven in nine runs as the leadoff man. He stole his 20th and 21st bases over that stretch as well, and is looking like a sure-bet to be called up Sept. 1. 
• Another recent call up to Triple-A, Anthony Swarzak, had himself a GREAT time Monday night, pitching seven solid innings to earn his second win with Rochester. Swarzak gave up just two runs and scattered eight hits and a walk while striking out five. That's now a 2.25 ERA over his first two starts... and the Twins keep pumping out pitching prospects...
• With five homers over his past 10 games and a current .326/.387.582 hitting line for Elizabethton so far this season (44 games), it's pretty obvious that Jonathan Waltenbury is going to get a promotion at some point. He's been tearing up the league and pounded out two home runs last night, his seventh and eighth on the season.
• Last, Cole Devries bounced back in a big way for Fort Myers this past Saturday, going six innings and striking out nine batters for his eighth win of the year. Devries allowed eight base runners and gave up two runs, but it was a far cry from his previous outing where he let five men cross the plate.

Thanks for reading - have a great day!

Subscribe to Twins Hotspot by Email