Twins (and ex-Twins) in the World Baseball Classic

Twins players are in bold.  Ex-Twins are in italics.

Australia: Peter Moylan, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Brad Thomas, Brendan Wise, Allan de San Miguel, James Beresford, Justin Huber, Luke Hughes, Coach Glenn Williams

Brazil: None.

Canada: Andrew Albers, Jesse Crain, Justin Morneau, Rene Tosoni

China: Ray Chang

Cuba: None.

Dominican Republic: Samuel Deduno, Eddie Morlan

Spain: None.

Italy: Dan Serafini, Drew Butera, Chris Colabello, Nick Punto

Japan: None.

Korea: None.

Mexico: Dennys Reyes, Gil Velazquez, Coach Juan Castro

Netherlands: Shairon Martis, Tom Stuifbergen, Loek Van Mil, Coach Bert Blyleven

Puerto Rico: Jose Berrios, J. C. Romero, Eddie Rosario

Taipei: None.

United States: R. A. Dickey, Glen Perkins, Joe Mauer

Venezuela: Deolis Guerra, Jose Mijares, Juan Rincon, Alex Romero

Winterball Wrapup: How the Lads Fared--The Pitchers

THE GOOD

Tim Atherton (Sydney, Australian), 2-1, 2.44, 0.99 WHIP, 39 Ks in 44.1 innings (9 games, 8 starts).

Samuel Deduno (Aguilas, Dominican), 2-0, 0.35, 1.13 WHIP, 32 Ks in 25.2 innings (6 games, 5 starts).

Deolis Guerra (Magallanes, Venezuelan), 3-2, 3.81, 1.12 WHIP, 31 Ks in 26 innings (20 games, 0 starts).

Josh Guyer (Sydney, Australian), 0-0, 0.00, 1.26 WHIP, 4 Ks in 6.1 innings (3 games, 0 starts).

Angel Mata (Aragua, Venezuelan), 0-0, 1.32, 1.46 WHIP, 16 Ks in 13.2 innings (12 games, 0 starts).

Bruce Pugh (Anzoategui, Venezuelan), 3-0, 1.08, 1.20 WHIP, 10Ks in 16.2 innings (19 games, 0 starts).

Lewis Thorpe (Melbourne, Australian), 0-0, 1.69, 0.94 WHIP, 5Ks in 5.1 innings (1 game, 1 start).

Dakota Watts (Aragua, Venezuelan), 0-1, 1.98, 1.07 WHIP, 24Ks in 41 innings (29 games, 0 starts).

THE AVERAGE

Tyler Herr (Sydney, Australian), 3-2, 3.57, 1.42 WHIP in 17.2 innings (16 games, 0 starts).

Josue Montanez (Ponce, Puerto Rican), 0-1, 3.66, 1.07 WHIP in 19.2 innings (12 games, 2 starts).

Luis Perdomo (Aguilas, Dominican), 2-2, 3.26, 1.55 WHIP in 19.1 innings (16 games, 0 starts).

Anthony Slama (Mazatlan, Mexican), 0-1, 3.68, 1.59 WHIP in 22 innings (21 games, 0 starts).

THE BAD

Cesar Ciurcina (Aragua, Venezuelan), 0-1, 16.20, 1.80 WHIP in 3.2 innings (2 games, 0 starts).

Nelvin Fuentes (Mayaguez/Santurce, Puerto Rican), 2-0, 6.75, 1.98 WHIP in 14.2 innings (15 games, 1 start).

Sam Gibbons (Melbourne, Australian), 2-3, 6.88, 1.81 WHIP in 35.1 innings (10 games, 5 starts).

Edgar Ibarra (Aragua, Venezuelan), 1-4, 8.65, 1.92 WHIP in 26 innings (10 games, 7 starts).

Yorman Landa (La Guaira, Venezuelan), 0-1, 7.36, 2.45 WHIP in 3.2 innings (2 games, 0 starts).

Jason Lane (Oriente, Venezuelan), 0-1, 7.36, 2.73 WHIP in 3.2 innings (2 games, 0 starts).

Shairon Martis (La Guaira, Venezuelan), 1-1, 7.50, 1.67 WHIP in 18 innings (5 games, 5 starts).

Miguel Munoz (Aragua, Venezuelan), 0-1, 13.50, 3.00 WHIP in 2 innings (2 games, 0 starts).

Gonzalo Sanudo (Guasave, Mexican), 0-1, 6.52, 1.60 WHIP in 19.1 innings (17 games, 0 starts).

WHAT IT MEANS

Again, probably not much.  The competition is uneven and the playing time is sporadic.  The most innings anyone pitched was 44.1.  But it's baseball.  It's interesting, it's fun, and it's something to help us get through the long winter.

Winterball Wrapup: How the Lads Fared: The Batters

We'll look at the pitchers tomorrow.

THE GOOD

Oswaldo Arcia (Aragua, Venezuelan), .258/.317/.475 with 10 homers in 198 at-bats.

Chris Colabello (Guasave, Mexican), .332/.399/.644 with 17 homers in 205 at-bats.

Daniel Ortiz (Mayaguez, Puerto Rican), .322/.368/.416 in 149 at-bats.

Deibinson Romero (Escogido, Dominican), .273/.333/.455 in 11 at-bats.

Eddie Rosario (Mayaguez, Puerto Rican), .338/.386/.496 in 133 at-bats.

Miguel Sano (Oriente, Venezuelan), .265/.373/.571 with 4 homers in 49 at-bats.

THE AVERAGE

James Beresford (Melbourne, Australian), .284/.324/.343 in 67 at-bats.

Pedro Florimon (Escogido, Dominican), .260/.336/.293 in 123 at-bats.

Harold Garcia (Zulia/Aragua, Venezuelan), .267/.313/.356 in 45 at-bats.

Darin Mastroianni (Zulia, Venezuelan), .256/.381/.337 in 86 at-bats.

Wilkin Ramirez (Este, Dominican), .213/.309/.362 in 47 at-bats.

THE BAD

Jhonatan Arias (Oriente, Dominican), .143/.200/.143 in 28 at-bats.

Brandon Boggs (Magallanes, Venezuelan), .197/.307/.263 in 62 at-bats.

Drew Butera (Oriente, Dominican), .189/.328/.245 in 53 at-bats.

Brian Dozier (Margarita, Venezuelan), .208/.240/.208 in 24 at-bats.

Eduardo Escobar (La Guaira/Anozategui, Venezuelan), .205/.277/.322 in 146 at-bats.

Jorge Fernandez (Carolina, Puerto Rican) .167/.167/.167 in 6 at-bats.

Aaron Hicks (Margarita, Venezuelan), .204/.306/.296 in 54 at-bats.

Angel Morales (Ponce/Carolina, Puerto Rican), .153/.219/.288 in 59 at-bats.

Ray Olmedo (La Guaira, Venezuelan), .237/.274/.288 in 59 at-bats.

Josmil Pinto (Aragua, Venezuelan), .172/.250/.345 in 29 at-bats.

Rory Rhodes (Brisbane, Australian), .250/.294/.281 in 32 at-bats.

Kennys Vargas (Mayaguez, Puerto Rican), .181/.280/.333 in 72 at-bats.

Logan Wade (Brisbane, Australian), .167/.253/.205 in 78 at-bats.

JaDamion Williams (Sydney, Australian), .218/.281/.278 in 133 at-bats.

WHAT IT MEANS

Probably not much.  It's winter ball.  The competition is uneven and the playing time is often sporadic.  The highest number of at-bats for anyone listed is 205, and most of them had less than a hundred.  Still, it's fun to follow and interesting to look at.  For me, anyway.

Coming Up Next

There are no more winter league games, but we're not going dark here.  Within the next few days, we'll have a recap of how Twins players did in the various winter leagues this year.  Then, we'll take a look at Twins and ex-Twins who are participating in the World Baseball Classic.

We haven't decided yet whether we'll do game recaps of the WBC.  We certainly could, but it may be that the games will be publicized widely enough that our recaps would be superfluous.  If you have an opinion on that, please let us know.

Once the minor league seasons start, of course, we'll be back here to report on the Twins affiliates.  We're looking forward to a great season, and we hope you'll join us!

Australian League: Game of February 9

CANBERRA 7, PERTH 6

Game summary: Perth took an early lead, scoring two in the top of the first on a two-run single by Michael Ohlman (Baltimore). Kody Hightower led off the bottom of the first with a homer to cut the lead to 2-1. Canberra came up with four in the second to take a 5-2 lead on a single, an error, a single, a walk, and two more singles. An RBI single by Ryan Stovall (Arizona) in the third made it 6-2, and it looked like Canberra might cruise to an easy victory. In the fifth, however, Perth came back with a four-spot of its own to tie the game. Three singles produced the first run, a two-run triple by Luke Hughes pulled Perth within one, and an Allan de San Miguel (Baltimore) single tied the score. It remained tied until the seventh, when a two-out homer by Michael Wells put Canberra back on top. Perth could not get the tying run past first base after that.

Perth: Tim Kennelly (Philadelphia) was 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch, scoring twice and driving in one. Ohlman was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.

Canberra: Jack Murphy (Toronto) was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Aaron Sloan was 3-for-4 and scored once.

The win means Canberra sweeps the best-of-three series and is the champion of the Australian League.

Australian League: Game of February 8

CANBERRA 6, PERTH 4

Game summary: Canberra scored one in the first, three in the second, and two in the fourth to go ahead 6-0. It stayed that way through seven. Perth got two in the eighth and two in the ninth to make the final score closer, but did not get the tying run up to bat.

Perth: Corey Adamson (San Diego) was 2-for-5 with two doubles. Carter Bell (Arizona) was 2-for-5 and scored once.

Canberra: Brian Grening allowed two runs on six hits and four walks, striking out six in 7.2 innings. Kody Hightower was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.

Canberra takers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Caribbean Series: Game of February 7

MEXICO 4, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 3 (18 INNINGS)

Game summary: The Dominican Republic went up 1-0 in the third when Abraham Almonte (Yankees) doubled, took third on an error, and scored on a ground out. Mexico grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a double by Barbaro Canizares, a bunt, a walk, a ground out, and an error. It stayed that way until Ricardo Nanita (Toronto) led off the bottom of the ninth for the Dominican Republic with a home run to tie the score at two. Karim Garcia led off the top of the fourteenth with a home run to put Mexico in front 3-2, but the Dominican Republic came back to tie the score with a pair of walks and a Miguel Tejada (Kansas City) single. With one out in the eighteenth, Doug Clark hit a home run to give Mexico a 4-3 lead. Marco Carillo, in his fourth inning of relief, gave up only a two-out single to Tejada in the bottom of the eighteenth to preserve the victory.

Mexico: Rodrigo Lopez (Philadelphia) gave up an unearned run on six hits and two walks in 7.2 innings. Clark was 2-for-7 with a walk.

Dominican Republic: Angel Castro struck out seven in 7.2 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks. Donell Linares was 3-for-9.

NOTES

The Dominican Republic out-hit Mexico 16-6. The teams combined to leave 31 men on base (21 by the Dominican Republic) and go 1-22 with runners in scoring position (1-16 for the Dominican Republic). They combined to use 21 pitchers, 11 by Mexico. The game ended at 2:43 a.m. local time. The time of the game was seven hours, twenty-eight minutes. There were five hundred seven pitches thrown.

The victory means the Mexico is the Caribbean Series champion.