Andy just has not been getting the breaks this year.  First, he hasn't gotten much playing time (documented all over this site).  Then he happened to be the first hitter up Thursday after Casilla was hit for the Twins, and paid the price for Ron Gardenhire's bad-loser hissy-fit reaction (which should earn Gardenhire a one-game suspension if MLB is consistent with their rulings).

Then there's this.  In thinking through the makeup of the lineup with Victor, I came to the conclusion that Marte should play every day against lefties, as Gutz and BenFran would play in the OF, Garko would DH, and Blake would play 1B.  The only way he would sit is if Velandia, Choo, or Dellucci played ahead of him (hold comments, please).  Then I looked at the schedule...

First off, the Padres...who throw three righties in a row this weekend.  Oh well, how about next week?  Interleague play on the road!  No DH!!  Garko stays at 1B, Blake stays at 3B, and Marte stays you-know-where.

OK, what about when they return home on 6/24?  What's that?  Oh, Hafner is probably going to be back on that date.  He'll DH, Garko stays at 1B, Blake stays at 3B, and Marte stays you-know-where.

This guy can't buy a break!  And yes, I wanted to ensure the words Andy Marte appeared in the subject line of another fanpost!

Baseball America has published Top Ten rankings by position of the top prospects in the minors, according to them. Some interesting rankings:

Catcher - Matt McBride (5th)
A little surprised here...haven't looked at the numbers lately.  I thought he was having a fine year but wasn't tearing it up or anything. FYI, Max Ramirez is 7th.

1B - Jordan Brown (5th)
Again, a little surprised. Big question here is if the doubles power will translate to home run power.

3B - Wes Hodges (7th)

SS - Cabrera (3rd)

CF - Barton (9th)

RH starter - Miller (9th)
Injuries obviously hurting this ranking.

LH starter - Lofgren (4th)