Posted: Sat Aug 31 07:56:11 2002 EST

    MINNESOTA TWINS ORGANIZATION NOTEBOOK
    EDMONTON...C JAVIER VALENTIN registered two RBI in the bottom of the
    eighth inning to give the Edmonton Trappers the North Division pennant
    with a 5-4 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers on August
22. Valentin, who
    finished 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored, brought both OF MIKE
    RYAN and OF MICHAEL CUDDYER around to complete the scoring with a single
    into center field. Ryan was leading the league with 71 extra-base hits
    through August 28 and was tied for third with 29 homers and 36 doubles.
    Cuddyer was leading the league with a .596 slugging percentage...OF LEW
    FORD hit safely in 13 straight games (23-57, 3 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 4 SB)
    August 11-24 until it was broken August 25, raising his average from .298
    to .335...3B CASEY BLAKE was riding a 12-game hitting streak through
    August 28, raising his average to .309...RHP KEVIN FREDERICK saved five
    straight games August 17-27 (5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO).
    NEW BRITAIN...3B JOE DILLON blasted a two-run homer in the eighth inning
    to help the Rock Cats outlast Portland, 8-6, on August 23...OF LEW FORD
    was selected to the league All-Star Team...LHP BRENT HOARD struck out 11
    batters (7 IP, 6 H, 4 R) in a 5-0 loss at Portland on August
25. It was
    his fourth straight loss to drop to 10-8, 3.85 ERA...OF BRIAN BARON hit
    three doubles (3-4) on August 21 in a 3-1 loss at Binghamton.
    FORT MYERS...RHP DOUG SILVA did not allow a run in 14 innings over seven
    games August 9-28 (3 H, 1 BB, 13 SO), saving one of those games...RHP
    JOSH DAWS went 1-0, recorded a save and allowed no earned runs in 14 2/3
    innings over 11 games July 24-August 28 (4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 SO)...RHP
    RONNIE CORONA spun six scoreless innings (2 H, 2 BB, 7 SO) in a 2-1 win
    at Tampa on August 26...C ROB BOWEN was 3-for-33 with nine strikeouts in
    10 games August 12-28.
    QUAD CITY...DH GARRETT JONES singled home the go-ahead run in the top of
    the 10th inning to lift the River Bandits over Kane County, 5-4, on
    August 27...RHP JIM ABBOTT did not allow a run in 16 1/3 innings over
    eight games July 30-August 25 (9 H, 8 BB, 17 SO)...3B MICHAEL SANDOVAL
    hit safely in 13 straight games (16-51, 4 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI) August 9-22
    until it was broken August 23, raising his average from .256 to
    .264...RHP COLBY MILLER went 3-1 and allowed two earned runs or fewer in
    five consecutive starts August 7-27 (31 1/3 IP, 23 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 12 BB,
    29 SO)...LHP JASON MILLER allowed two runs or fewer in five consecutive
    starts August 4-24 (27 1/3 IP, 22 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 12 BB, 31 SO), posting a
    2-1 record over that span...C JOE MAUER was named the league's Prospect
    of the Year.
    ELIZABETHTON...LHP RICKY BARRETT finished the season with a 7-1 record
    and a league-leading 1.27 ERA. RHP SCOTT TYLER (8-1, 2.93) finished first
    in the league in strikeouts (92)...2B PETER MARTINEZ did not commit an
    error in his final 27 games of the season...Elizabethton rallied from a
    7-3 deficit in the sixth inning to beat Johnson City, 10-7, on August
26.
    The Twins scored three in the sixth and one in the seventh to knot the
    score at 7-7. In the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, 1B CORY
    AGAR hit a two-run double to put Elizabethton ahead for good. Agar's hit
    capped a 3-for-5 night with two runs scored. The comeback victory marked
    just the second time in 22 tries that the Twins pulled out a win when
    trailing after six innings.