Twins minor league report: All-Star Game fogged out
BY PHIL MILLER
Pioneer Press
The only San Francisco icon missing from last week's All-Star Game was the fog. The Eastern League took care of it.
The best players in the Class AA league were pulled off the field in the third inning of last Wednesday's All-Star Game in Norwich, Conn., when umpires and managers feared that someone would get hurt.
A thick fog shrouded the field, making every batted ball an adventure. In the second inning, a deep fly ball landed on the warning track and turned into a triple. An inning later, a routine fly ball landed a few feet from outfielder John Bowker, who didn't move until the ball was almost upon him. That's when the game was called at 2-2.
"When it becomes dangerous, that's when you have to draw the line," Charlie Dowd, general manager of the Connecticut Defenders, told the Hartford Courant.
Good call, said Jim Rantz, the Twins' minor league director. "It's too bad they couldn't play, but the big thing is the honor of being on the team," Rantz said. "It means you're at the highest talent level in that league, and that's something our guys will remember."
In addition to Justin Morneau, Johan Santana and Torii Hunter at the big-league level, several Twins prospects received that honor last week. The most notable was Rochester Red Wings infielder Matt Tolbert, the only Twins prospect invited to San Francisco for the annual Futures Game.
"That's a game that a lot of scouts look at, because it gives you a chance to see how kids react in a big-league setting," Rantz said.
Three days later in Albuquerque, N.M., Tolbert had a hit and an RBI in helping the International League to a 7-5 victory over the Pacific Coast League. Rochester closer Bobby Korecky pitched the eighth inning and got out of a bases-loaded jam. Catcher Jose Morales went 0 for 1.
Matt Garza was named to the team as well but was called up to the Twins. Still, that gave Minnesota's organization three Class AAA all-stars, most of any franchise. "That's an honor in itself," Rantz said.
And in Norwich, three New Britain Rock Cats were in uniform for the fogged-out game - pitchers Timothy Lahey and Jose Mijares and infielder Luke Hughes - though none got to play before the game was called.
KORECKY TIES RECORD
Korecky pitched the eighth and ninth innings of Rochester's 4-3 win over Indianapolis on Friday and ended one Indians threat by picking a runner off second base. That earned the right-hander his 23rd save of the season, tying him with Travis Bowyer for the Red Wings' franchise record set in 2005.
RED WINGS DON'T WALK
Only one American League team (Cleveland) has walked fewer batters than the Twins, and that emphasis on control extends to the minor leagues, too. Rochester's 218 walks allowed this season is by far the fewest in the International League, more than 40 fewer than second-place Norfolk.
ROOKIES CAN SCORE
The Elizabethton Twins continue to dominate the Appalachian (rookie) League, with a 19-3 record. The Twins have scored 204 runs through Friday; no other team has reached 150. Third baseman Deibinson Romero went 4 for 5 with three home runs in one game last week and had a whopping 10 runs batted in. He followed that up with five RBIs the next day, giving him 15 in two games.
Webposted July 14, 2007
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