Puckett's Pond » Rochester

Down on the Pond, Weekend Recap

Paul Pleiss — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:00:57 +0000

Over the Mother’s Day weekend all four of the Twins full-season minor league affiliates were in action. The Twins flirted with their first winning streak of the season before losing Saturday evening’s 2-1 battle against our neighbors to the North, the Toronto Blue Jays. Twins minor league call-ups have been the story lately for the Twins with stellar pitching performances from both Scott Diamond and P.J. Walters who combined to throw 20.0 innings. Last week Diamond pitched 7.0 innings of shutout baseball before giving way to the Twins bullpen who were able to secure the W. Walters gave the Twins a quality start going 6.0 innings and gave up only 2 runs but the offense was unable to respond against Drew Hutchison and the Toronto bullpen, managing only 1 run when Hutchison walked Brian Dozier to force home a run. Dozier is 8-for-29 in his first week in Minnesota and Drew Butera has three hits in his four games of action since getting called up to join the Twins. Diamond pitched again on Mother’s day and pitched another 7 scoreless innings to bring his scoreless inning streak to 14 and although Jeff Burton tried to give the game away, Diamond is now 2-0 on the season with the Twins and has yet to surrender a run. But enough about the guys playing in the big leagues, let’s take a look Down on the Pond!

AAA Rochester Red Wings (14-22)
Friday: Red Wings vs Syracuse Chiefs – L 2-8
Saturday: Red Wings vs Syracuse Chiefs – L 0-11
Sunday: Red Wings vs Syracuse Chiefs – L 2-4
The Red Wings played the first three games of their four game set against the Syracuse Chiefs and lost all three. On Friday, Jeff Manship struggled early giving up 3 runs in the first and 6 total in his 4 innings of work. The Red Wings offense scattered 8 hits on the day with 2 each from Ben Revere and J.R. Towles but managed only 2 runs in the 2-8 loss. On Saturday, things got worse for the Red Wings as Daryl Thompson gave up 7 runs in 3.2 innings of work and the offense managed just 5 hits, 2 from Clete Thomas who had a double and a triple for the day, but were unable to score any runs as the Chiefs shutout the Red Wings 11-0. Rochester lost again on Sunday despite a strong pitching performance from Liam Hendriks on Mother’s day. Hendriks went 6.0 innings, giving up 1R, 1BB and 4K’s, but Deolis Guerra could not hold the slim 2-1 lead and gave up 3 runs (2 earned) in his first inning of relief. The bats were quiet the last 5 innings and the Red Wings lost 2-4 despite out hitting the Chiefs 7-5 over the course of the game.

Studs: Ben Revere continues to have a hot bat, Revere was 4-for-12 over the weekend with no K’sand is 11-for-27 on the current 7 game road trip. His season average in AAA sits at .319 and his on base plus slugging is .674.
Liam Hendriks pitched 6.0 innings and gave up only 1 run in his no decision, and has given up only 2 runs in his 11.2 innings of work for the Red Wings this season.

Duds: Jeff Manship took his first loss of the season giving up 6 runs in 4.0 innings of work, and recording only a single strike-out.
Daryl Thompson gave up 7 runs in 3.2 innings of work on Saturday and was tagged with the loss to move his record to 1-4 on the season.
Casey Fien came in to mop up the 9th inning on Saturday and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in a single inning of work and saw his ERA rise from 3.20 up to 4.79. Fien had given up only 7 runs in 19.2 innings of work prior to entering the game.
Joe Thurston went 0-for-7 over the weekend and has a slash line of .139/.267/.236 (BA/OBP/SLG) on the season and is now batting .038/.133/.154 in the month of May.

AA New Britain Rock Cats (22-14)
Friday: Rock Cats vs Reading Phillies – W 4-1
Saturday: Rock Cats vs Reading Phillies – W 8-4
Sunday: Rock Cats vs Reading Phillies – L 4-6
On Friday afternoon the Reading Phillies’ Trevor May took a no-hit bid into the top of the 7th before the Rock Cats’ bats came alive. The Cats would score one in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th. Wilkin Ramirez homered in the 8th to make it three games in a row with a HR. The Rock Cats’ own David Bromberg also had a nice evening on the mound pitching 6 innings and giving up no runs and striking out 7. Lester Oliveros came on to pitch 2 innings of perfect relief and picked up the win. Daniel Turpin came on for the ninth and gave up a run to spoil the shutout, Rock Cats 4, Phillies 1. On Saturday the Phillies took an early 1-0 lead off of B.J. Hermsen, but he settled down to pitch 7.0 innings and gave up only 2 runs, no walks to go with 3K’s. The Rock Cats got the bats out and scored in 5 different innings and Wilkin Ramirez went 3-for-4 and hit another HR to take his HR streak to 4 games which ties a Rock Cats record. Aaron Hicks went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and 3RBI. Blake Martin pitched a scoreless inning of relief and Louis Perdomo made things interesting in the 9th when he came in and surrendered 2 before securing the win for Hermsen, Rock Cats 8, Phillies 4. On Mother’s Day, with the series lead 2-1 on the Phillies, the Rock Cats were unable to get the W and had to settle for a series split. Andrew Albers gave up only 3 runs in his 6.0 innings of work, however; the Rock Cats were hitless until Nate Hudson broke up the no-no in the bottom of the 6th. The Rock Cats would score 4 runs on 4 hits, but Caleb Thielbar was unable to keep the Phillies at bay and gave up 3 runs in 1.1 innings of work. The Phillies would hold on for the W, Rock Cats 4, Phillies 6. The Rock Cats now sit a half-game back of the Phillies for the division lead.

Studs: David Bromberg, 6.0 innings, 0 runs, 7 K’s.
Lester Oliveros, 2.0 innings, no hits, no runs, 1 K.
Wilkin Ramirez, 4-for-8 over the weekend, with HR’s in 4 straight games and is now batting .388 on the season. Ramirez enjoyed a well earned day off on Sunday. Over the course of his last 10 games, Ramirez has a slash line of .419/.444/.884 with 9XBH.

Duds: Joe Benson was 0-for-9 this past weekend with 3 K’s. Benson is batting .095 (2-for-21) since his demotion to New Britain earlier this month.
Caleb Thielbar pitched 1.1 innings in relief and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and a walk. He recorded no K’s. Tough outing for the usually reliable Thielbar who had pitched 6.1 scoreless innings of releif since being promoted from Fort Myers before his Mother’s day struggles.

A+ Fort Myers Miracle (15-21)
Friday: Miracle vs Dunedin Blue Jays – L 5-8
Saturday: Miracle vs Charlotte Stone Crabs – W 3-1
The Miracle had 2 games over the weekend as they continued their road trip. Friday afternoon’s game was a 8-5 loss for the Miracle at Dunedin, but they still managed to split the 4 game series. Marty Popham struggled early, giving up 4 runs in the second and finished the day giving up 6 runs on 7 hits and 3 BB’s in 5.2 innings. The Miracle offense came alive for 5 runs in the game (5th time this month w/ 5+ runs), including a 2-run HR by Josmil Pinto, but it was not enough to overcome the tough outing for Popham. Saturday the Miracle headed down to Charlotte and stole the series opener from the Stone Crabs 3-1. The Miracle managed only 3 runs, but a 2-run double by Daniel Rohlfing in the first inning was all the offense that Pat Dean and the Miracle bullpen would need. Dean (2-2, 3.23ERA) pitched 5.0 strong innings, giving up only 1 run to go with a walk and 2K’s.

Studs: Josmil Pinto was 4-for-8 with a HR, 2RBI and did not leave any runners in scoring position (RISP) and raised his BA 18 points and now has a slash of .263/.307/.404 (BA/OBP/SLG).
Pat Dean earned his second W of the season on 5 innings of 1 run baseball.
The Miracle bullpen had a strong weekend, giving up only 2 runs in 6.1 innings of work. Of the 5 pitchers who came in to relieve for the Miracle over the weekend, only Matthew Hauser gave up any runs. Jose Gonzales, Kyle Waldrop, Nelvin Fuentes, and Ricky Bowen gave up no runs and each pitched at least an inning in relief.

Duds: Levi Michael was 1-for-9 over the weekend with 3K’s and no BB’s. The Twins 2011 first round draft pick picked up his 7th error of the season and is batting .167 with 11K’s and only 4BB’s over his last 10 games.
Daniel Ortiz was also 1-for-9 over the weekend and is now sporting a slash of .195/.267/.195, woof!.

Low-A Beloit Snappers (22-15)
Friday: Snappers vs Peoria Chiefs – L 2-6
Saturday: Snappers vs Clinton Lumberkings – W 3-1
Sunday: Snappers vs Clinton Lumberkings – W 3-1
Friday afternoon the Snappers sent Jason Wheeler to the mound but he gave up 5 runs in the first inning and hopes of sweeping the Peoria Chiefs quickly went out the window. Wheeler would settle down and would give up only 1 more run in the next 4 innings but the Snapper bats were unable to overcome the early defeciet and Wheeler was tagged with his first loss of the season, Snappers 2, Chiefs 6. On Saturday the Snappers returned home to Beloit to take on the Clinton Lumberkings. In their April match-up vs the LumberKings in Iowa the Snappers split the series, 2-2. Matthew Summers (3-2) got the start for Beloit on Saturday and pitched 7 innings giving up only 1 run while striking out 5 to lower his ERA to 4.02 on the season. Tyler Grimes hit a 2 run blast in the 5th to put the Snappers up 2-0 and then Goncalves doubled home a run in the 6th and the Snappers went on to win 3-1 as A.J. Achter and Corey Williams each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. On Mother’s day Matthew Tomshaw made his mother proud by pitching 6.0 scoreless innings giving up only 3 hits while striking out 6. Miguel Sano blasted his 11th HR of the season, a 3-run HR to give the Snappers the lead. Michael Tonkin would come in and earn a 3.0 inning save giving up 1 run and scattering 4 hits to perserve the W for Thomshaw, Snappers 3, Lumberkings 1.

Studs: Jonathon Goncalves was 4-for-9 over the weekend w/ 2 BB and rasied his BA from .256 up to .273. Over the last 10 games Goncalves is .286/.366/.314.
Matthew Tomshaw scattered 3 hits in 6.0 innings giving up no runs, 1 BB and 6 K’s. Tomshaw earned his second W of the season, and his first as a starter.
The Snapper Bullpen scattered 7 hits over 8.2 innings of work and gave up only 1 run.

Duds: Jason Wheeler pitched 5.0 innings on Friday but gave up 6 runs off of 9 hits and a couple of walks including a 5 run first inning.
Beloit First Basemen combined to go 0-for-9 over the weekend. Adam Bryant was 0-for-3 on Friday and Sunday. Rory Rhodes was 0-for-2 on Saturday. Bryant did, however, manage 2 hits on Saturday as the DH.
Note: Miguel Sano was 1-for-6 over the weekend but did hit his 11th HR of the season, a 3-run HR in the third which were the only runs scored by Beloit on Sunday.

Summary: The Twins minor league affiliates finished the weekend with 5 wins and 6 losses and the cumulative record for the season now sits at 73-72. Check back later in the week for more minor league news and notes here Down on the Pond.

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Down on the Pond – Opening Weekend 2012

Paul Pleiss — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:59:52 +0000

Brian Dozier opened the 2012 season in AAA but he may hit his way up to MLB before too long

On Thursday of this past week all four of the Twins full-season affiliate teams were in action, and although the teams split the games with 2 wins and 2 losses, there were a lot of good things to take away from both opening day and the first few days of the 2012 MiLB schedule. As this will be my first season covering the minors with anything more than a casual glance to the big name prospects, I’m still figuring a few things out, including the format for my weekly Down on the Pond updates. It’s a daunting task to cover 4+ teams day in and day out, but I’m looking forward to getting to know the guys toiling down in the minors. I’ll start at the top of the organization and work my way down; let’s start by taking a look at what’s been going on with the Twins AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings.

Rochester Red Wings (2-1)
The Red Wings started off the season with two wins (Jeff Manship, Scott Diamond) against Syracuse before dropping the home opener to Buffalo. In the first game of the season P.J. Walters pitched 4.0 scoreless innings striking out 4 while giving up only 2 hits before Manship came into the game and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up the win. In the home opener Daryl Thompson pitched 5.0 innings giving up 3 runs (2 earned) and struck out 5, but the Buffalo pitching, lead by Chris Schwinden, held the Red Wings to 5 hits over the course of the game. The Red Wings Take on Buffalo this afternoon to close out opening weekend.

Studs: Matt Carson opened the season 4 for 5 and has hit safely in all three games going 7-13 with 3XBH (extra base hits, 2 doubles and a triple).
Brian Dozier, like Carson, has hit in all three games going 6 for 12 with 2 doubles.
Scott Diamond pitched 6.1 scoreless innings scattering 4 hits and striking out 3 en root to the Red Wings 2nd W of the season.

Duds: Tsuyoshi Nishioka opened the season 0 for 9 and was caught stealing in his only attempt. On the plus side he has drawn a free pass in each of the teams first three games.
Tyler Robertson has pitched only one inning for the Wings this season but managed to give up two runs on three hits before he was chased from the game. Luckily Rochester had put up 5 runs in the top half of the inning and were able to hang on for the W.

New Britain Rock Cats (3-1)
The Rock Cats opened the season with 3 wins before dropping the last game of the opening series to Richmond in the 12th inning. The pitching in New Britain has been phenomenal giving up only 8 runs in the first 30 innings of the season.

Studs: Rock Cats Starting Pitching. Starters for the Cats have been very impressive Luke French, Logan Darnell, Steve Hirschfeld and Jason Marquis have all gone at least 5.0 innings and have given up only a single run between them earning 3 W’s for the team. Marquis gave up the only run in a 3H first inning and then settled down to pitch 5 scoreless innings.
Pedro Florimon is 6 for 12 with only a single K and has reached base in each game for the Rock Cats.
Chris Hermann is 4 for 12 in three games of work with 4RBI.
Danny Lehmann is only 1 for 4 at the plate but has earned himself 4 walks in the last game of the series.
Andrew Albers. Albers has 2 relief appearances for 3.0 innings this season giving up no runs on 2 hits.

Duds: Aaron Hicks. HIcks is 1 for 12 with 4K’s, not a good start for one of the Twins top prospects.
Blake Martin. BM game into the 12th inning and gave up 3 hits, 2 runs and a walk giving the Rock Cats their only loss of the season. Blake gets the loss after a rough outing, but the real dud for the game was the Rock Cats offense that managed only 4 hits in 12 innings of work.

Fort Myers Miracle (0-3)
The Miracle started the season by getting swept in a three game series against Charlotte giving up 18 runs in the process. While the Miracle were able to score 11 runs of their own, the team ERA sits at 5.67 after 3 games and the Miracle find themselves winless after the first weekend of the season. Starting pitching, aside from Scott Baker who left in the first inning with soreness in his pitching elbow, has been solid for the Miracle with both B.J. Hermsen and Pat Dean going 5+ in their first starts of the season.

Studs: B.J. Hermsen pitched 5 scoreless innings only allowing 2 hits before giving way to the bullpen who would give up a couple runs and eventually the game.
Daniel Santana has started the season on a hot streak going 8 for 13 with a double, a homer and a stolen base.
Angel Morales has 5 hits in 11AB this season and has also walked twice and has 2 stolen bases.

Duds: The Miracle Bullpen. Only Edgar Ibarra and Caleb Thielbar have not yet surrendered a run in this young season. The bullpen has given up 14 runs in three games, but in their defense they were exposed in the season opener when Baker had to leave after only one out. The pen will need to pull things together for the Miracle to be successful in 2012.
Daniel Rams is 1 for 8 with 6K’s. Ouch.
Oswaldo Arcia is 2 for 8 with 5K’s. Fortunately for the Miracle he has also taken 5 walks for a .571 OBP.

Beloit Snappers (1-2)
The Snappers managed to snag one victory in their first series of the season on the shoulders of a grand slam by Twins top prospect Miguel Sano. Unfortunately that’s Sano’s only hit this season to go with 5K’s and only 1 walk. Starting pitching, aside from Steven Gruver who pitched 6.0 innings of 1 run ball, has put the Snappers in early holes.

Studs: The Snapper bullpen has been impressive this season giving up only 1 run and 6 hits in 13+ innings of work.
Eddie Rosario is 3 for 9 with a homer, a double 3 walks and 2 stolen bases.

Duds: Tim Shibuya gave up 5 runs (3 earned) in only 3.2 innings of work, walked 1 and struck on no one in his first start of the season.
Madison Boer pitched 2 quick innings in the season opener before giving up 4 straight singles to start the fourth.
Miguel Sano hit a monster grand slam to give the Miracle a game 2 victory, but that is the young sluggers only hit this year going 1 for 10 to start the season with 5K’s.

The Twins affiliates currently sit at 6-7 with one game remaining for opening weekend; hopefully Rochester can bounce back against Buffalo to earn a W and put the Twins minor league record up to .500. Check back later this week for more news from “Down on the Pond” and all of the Twins big league action.

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The Future is Coming

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:00:30 +0000

The season is still very young, and for the Minnesota Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays, the newness of the 2011 season helps to dissipate high levels of panic as each team was off to a sluggish start. Since starting 0-6 the Rays have been playing pretty decent baseball and now find themselves at .500 (thanks to a series against the then struggling Minnesota Twins and the slumping Chicago White Sox). The Twins, meanwhile, found their groove after leaving Tampa Bay and are only 3 games under .500 after some solid performances in the past week against Baltimore and Cleveland. The two face off tonight for the first in a three game series.

The Tampa Bay Rays have had some minor tweaks to their roster, most notable losing Evan Longoria to the DL, but through the first 22 games they’ve only brought up two guys from their Minor League system. The Twins, on the other hand, have faced plenty of adversity through their first 21 games and have already played 30 guys on their Major League team, due to a variety of reasons from ineffectiveness in the bullpen to bi-lateral leg weakness behind the plate.

Unfortunately for the Rays and the Twins these injuries have plagued both clubs where they have relatively weak depth, compared with their options in the outfield. In conjunction with my brother’s Baseball Card Series I will be showcasing a few baseball cards of my own, and today marks the first effort on that front. I’ll be profiling two MLB Rookie Cards from this year’s Topps collection, Desmond Jennings of the Tampa Bay Rays and Ben Revere of the Minnesota Twins. (more…)