Gomez OK after crash
Posted on March 16th, 2008 – 2:49 PMBy Joe Christensen
FORT MYERS — Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez left today’s game in the fifth inning after crashing into the outfield wall on a spectacular catch.
Gomez had the wind knocked out of him, but was otherwise OK.
Toronto had a runner at third base with one out in the fifth, when Matt Watson hit a ball to deep right-center field. Gomez made an over-the-shoulder catch just before crashing face-first into the wall.
He lay on the ground for a few moments, as Manager Ron Gardenhire and assistant trainer Dave Pruemer ran to check on him. Gomez’s uniform was covered in dirt, and without much pause, Gardenhire pulled him off the field.
Gomez was 1-for-2 with a bunt single, a stolen base and a run scored.
76 Responses to "Gomez OK after crash"
Thanks Joe for the update
That’s a relief. Though I can imagine both Span and Pridie held their breaths for a moment thinking they’d thin the CF herd.
its going to be tough to keep this kid off the roster this year…listening to tk this afternoon was so interesting, my guess is they go north with gomez…and span is playing so well, thats tough…makes me wonder if they would ever keep span and gomez and send pridie to AAA, but all reports say pridie is the 4th of…..this is going to be a big decision…going into the spring i didnt give span a chance in hell and didnt want him, but hes changed my mind completely this spring and looks so ready to lead off and play cf—what say y’all
I think Pridie is the 4th outfielder. Between Span and Gomez, one is going to AAA.
Yes, a big decision — whether to go 70-92 or 68-94.
Here’s a radical thought:
With Casilla targeted for SS by Gardenhire how about trading Span and Plouffe for a top 3B prospect?
Hey Joe–
We all know Gardy is a moron, but could he possibly be idiotic enough to start Punto over Harris at 2nd? I know Harris is struggling but so is Livan and Gardenhire will still spew his usual BS to justify starting Hernandez.
Gomez has really started to turn it on. He’s gotta be the guy unless he goes into a huge slump. He’s had a two hit game, followed by a three hit game with a homerun, and another hit and stolen base today.
Can’t wait to see him out preform Torii on opening day!
gomez seems to have turned a cornor. three solid games in a row…
Just for ticket sales alone, the Twins have to take this Gomez kid north. I can’t see too many people rushing out to get Denard Span jerseys.
Gomez is out of his slump. So he should win the job. But I wouldn’t trade Span. We need depth at the position, as if today’s scare is not enough to convince people that center fielders are just one long fly ball from the DL.
IMO, he has game-changing speed. That play yesterday in which he slid past the catcher before the catcher could turn around to tag him was amazing. I’ve seen videos where he goes to steal a base, the ball beats him there, but the guy can’t apply the tag fast enough. He’s like Dash from the Incredibles. If he gets on base 200 times this year, he could break the single season stolen base record.
What Gomez showed yesterday and today, that wasn’t evident previously, was baserunning intuition.
There are many fast (but clueless) baserunners.
If Gomez is the fastest runner in MLB AND aggressive-smart as a baserunner, his value and excitement level will be off the charts.
i would hope his horrible spring would eliminate any possibility hernandez would be pitching on opening day. not that it matters, it’s looking like we can just chock up a blowout every 5th start when he’s on the mound.
Trade Span and Plouffe for a top flight 3B prospect?!?!?! If Span can’t be the Twin’s starting CF do you really think he’s worth anything on the trade market? Then on top of that a light hitting SS prospect who barely hit .270 last year? That is a radical thought!
We would take a 270. hitting SS. any day of the week
“I think Pridie is the 4th outfielder. Between Span and Gomez, one is going to AAA.”
This is incorrect. Monroe and Kubel are the 4th & 5th OF. Punto is the emergency OF.
Only one of the three will go north and I hope that is Gomez. Pyrdie will be the first call if an OF goes down.
With 12 pitchers…..we only have 4 bench spots and they are:
Punto (Utility)
Monroe/Kubel
Redmond (Catcher)
Buscher, Williams, Ruiz (Power & 1b)
I hope the last spot goes to Ruiz. I like his power (20+ HRs the last three years in the minors)
I’m very happy to find out that Gomez is healthy.
And one more time… my comments in the earlier blog started off just playful, and having fun. I even had fun with the first person making personal comments, but my god… I’m talking about baseball, and it’s funny how it becomes comments against ME…
So if anyone should have problems with me, or they don’t like my writing or whatever… go to the myspace page for the personal attacks. Let’s stick to baseball here please????
And to Burning Bush… I’m not jumping off a cliff, and I’m not going to step in front of a bus, or do anything else to harm myself. Hopefully you can grow up a little bit, and stick to baseball in a baseball chat! My daughter really didn’t like what you had to say so remember the personal attacks are seen by others.
Span is one of those guys you were talking about with great speed and clueless on the basepaths.
It’s about time someone got it right with Monroe being the #4 OF. But he could actually win the CF spot. Kubel is the DH first, 5th OF second. I’d take Gomez in CF myself, just because it seems that when he gets on, he’s going to get one or two more on his own needing just the slightest bit of help from others. Wowie is he exciting.
krismop,
Who is Williams?
Is that Tommy Watkins?
T- Pirdie will be the starting right or Left fielder in AAA this year to start with Span as the starting CF. With Monroe and Kubel (what is wrong with him this spring?) we are only going to bring one of those three guys north man.
In all seriousness, I’m a bit worried about Kubel this spring.
Span and Plouffe both have upside and therefore trade value, IMHO. It makes no sense to hold onto them with Gomez and Casilla so young and with our desperate need for a long-range answer at third. Pridie and Tolbert can fill in if Gomez or Casilla are hurt.
kurosawa
What can we get for Span and Plouffe?
I am wondering if Trevor Plouffe could be moved to become our next 3rd baseman?
I am wondering why Gardy doesn’t try Span in LF and Gomez in CF, With Cuddy in RF. With the Twins pitching they are going to need the best defense they can get. Both kids can cover a lot of ground and have good arms.
The lineup is going to be pretty pathetic with Everett and/or Punto in anyways.
Why not try the kids. Kubel can’t play the OF worth a darn. DH him and use Monroe as the 4th OF.
lineup
Gomez
Mauer
Young
Morneau
Cuddy
Kubel
Harris
Span
Everett
BFE,
You have 5 OF in your lineup.
YOUNG,Gomez,Cuddy,Kubel,and Span.
Not a bad idea if the pitching is terrible.
BFE,
First off, you didn’t say what position you’d have Young play but you show him in the lineup. So having Span, Young, Cuddy, Gomez, and Kubel all in the lineup leaves you without a 3B. So it doesn’t make sense. On top of that Young is pretty darn good defender in his own right. He wouldn’t have quite as much range as Span but more than enough to play good in Left Field. He also has a much better throwing arm. Even though I’m hesitant to crown Gomez the CF/ leadoff guy because of a good weekend. This is what I would think the lineup would be if the season started tomorrow.
CF Gomez
C Mauer
RF Cuddy
1B Morneau
LF Young
DH Kubel/Monroe
3B Lamb
SS Everett
2B Harris
More Gardy logic: He praises Hernandez for “getting his innings in” during today’s ass-kicking, yet he sends Cali to the Rochester camp after the guy has a spotless spring.
Wouldn’t it be wise to get another lefty in the pen and perhaps unload Juan “I used to be good before they took my ‘roids away” Rincon once and for all???
Gardy’s like baseball’s version of Einstein, man. He’ll have Hernandez starting for two months, piss away another eight games during that stretch, and then find a way to get both Everett and Punto into the line-up on a daily basis. Why? Because they’re all “such good clubhouse guys.”
Christ. I pray Billy doesn’t extend this favorite-playing clown beyond ‘08. Give Scotty the job, or hire Molitor. Whatever. Bring in Sal Butera, I don’t care; just do SOMETHING!
With Casilla targeted for SS by Gardenhire how about trading Span and Plouffe for a top 3B prospect?
Isn’t that what Matt Macri is?
Wouldn’t it be wise to get another lefty in the pen and perhaps unload Juan “I used to be good before they took my ‘roids away” Rincon once and for all???
It’s funny that people can hate a player so deeply, yet somehow think that other teams would just gladly take the guy in a trade.
“Oh yes. We know you hate Rincon and though you’re pitching staff is shaken you think he sucks and will never use…but please…send him our way!”
He’ll have Hernandez starting for two months, piss away another eight games during that stretch, and then find a way to get both Everett and Punto into the line-up on a daily basis. Why? Because they’re all “such good clubhouse guys.”
I see that with a lack of any facts to complain about that you’ve decided to create hypotheticals to whine about instead.
Well done.
I wouldn’t call Macri a top 3B prospect by any stretch of the imagination, T.
Halfchest and Sane: — My BAD…Can’t believe I forgot about Young. Not enough sleep the last two nights I guess.
Maybe the Twins can ask for an exception an play 4 outfielders.
Well hopefully Span or Gomez can light up AAA so that they can be worth something.
The lack of outout in the infield is going to be worse then last year I am afraid.
The idea of having a team with Gomez/Span, Everett and Punto in the lineup at the same time is just dreadful. An with Kubel looking like he still hasn’t developed it is looking worse an worse.
I am concerned about Hernandez. His stats last year featured a lot of homers given up and in the AL he will face some really deep lineups with the DH. If he gives up hits at the rate he has been giving them up the “inning eater” label will be about five with 6-8 runs given up. This may not turn out to be much better than Ponson/Martinez.
Pat H,
Your concern about Hernandez is well justified.
How many innings can an inning-eater eat when he gives up nine runs in the first?
You guys keep whining about the starting line-up and pay no attention to the fact that we have no starting pitching. Lighten up on LNP, he’s a fine utility player, it’s not his fault Gardy was dumb enough to keep him in the starting lineup all last year. Any other manage would have come to his senses in July and not ruined the guy’s psyche. The rest of the lineup including Kubel will be fina and Go-go Gomez may prove me wrong and be a MLB-ready hitter this year which would make this a very competitive starting 9. But you aren’t going to win many games with this horsecap starting rotation. Not a single 10 game winner in the bunch.
Joe, much of that dirt on Gomez’s uniform was from earlier in the game when he beat out the bunt and then stole 2nd and 3rd, going into all three head-first.
Yes, Blackburn, Humber and Slowey can all easily approximate what Livan will do, at a minimum. But much cheaper…it’s not that the Twins are cheap–they just make some poor choices.
it’s not his fault Gardy was dumb enough to keep him in the starting lineup all last year.
Step in the right direction. Punto can only do what he’s put in the game to do. If he’s in the lineup he does what he can.
However, up until about August…the Twins FO didn’t do anything to give Gardy a 3Bman to replace Punto. After that, there was some very unfortunate injuries.
I believe it was mid August when Bartlett, Buscher, and Watkins were all either on the DL or nursing injuries. Casilla was playing 2nd when he could, and we all hated Rodriquez. There wasn’t a heck of a lot left for Gardy to do.
The primary party responsible for Punto’s ABs in 08 was the Twins FO.
I wouldn’t call Macri a top 3B prospect by any stretch of the imagination, T.
Wasn’t Macri the guy we got in the Ramon Ortiz trade? I thought he was a 3B? Or was he just “IF”?
Macri can play third and second (has played both about equally in the minors) and has played a bit of SS. He played first for the Twins in an exhibition game, so I would say he is an IF.
Who would you rather have right now?
Livan Hernandez - one year/5 million
Kyle Lohse - one year/4.25 million
Bring back Blyleven, he’d be about as good as Livan and much more entertaining.
LNP is probably ruined because of alst year. Ruining Rodriquez (what was there to ruin?) would haave been a better choice.
Isn’t that what Matt Macri is?
Come on T. Matt Marci top 3B prospect? WOW maybe you know something about him i dont already know
T
Marci was a 3B prospect we got from the Mets. We all are just confused because nobody thinks he is a top prospect, yet somehow you do?
Hows Reyes looking.
We all are just confused because nobody thinks he is a top prospect, yet somehow you do?
I didn’t know. Which is why I asked. Funny thing huh?
With the Angels injuries in the starting rotation, I’d see if I could pry their top flight 3B prospect from them. He doesn’t field well yet, but he can hit, and they have others playing in front of him again. The minors look quite devoid of 3B that are close to ready, and seem to be short a 2B and SS that will definitely be ready next year. They really need to take a chance and deal a SP or two before they find out which ones are good or not, as they won’t be able to deal the ones that turn out not to be good.
I wish people would stop talking about Monroe as an everyday option in center field. He is a decent hitter, but he’s nowhere near the others defensively.
I could see him being the guy if all three of the others had bad springs. But I think they all are having good springs. Gomez has had an up-and-down spring. But he certainly has done more amazing things than anyone else in camp, not just center fielders but all other position players. Span has really impressed me with his ability to work counts and make contact, traits that he did not exhibit in the minors. So he’s really stepped up his game. And Pridie has been solid in all phases. I think the staff would be content to bring any one of the three north to play center everyday.
Monroe should not even be an option at this point, except as an occasional sub and pinch hitter who can stay in the game in center in a pinch.
Oh, and Tyler, the Twins got Macri from the Rockies in exchange for Ortiz. He’s not a top prospect, but he could be a good platoon option for Lamb down the road.
The third baseman of the future is DJ Romero. But he will start at Beloit this year, so he’s at least four years away from being an everyday option at third. So the Twins will either need to acquire someone or hope that the likes of Buscher, Macri, or Valencia take an unexpected step forward.
I will keep saying this Gomez needs to come north!!! Punto needs to be utility and defensive replacement. NO Gardy!! We are not going to DH him or play him on a regular basis!! He is a hustler and plays defense but we need to have others playing until late innings. Lets bring the young guys in and let them play. Maybe we can be the rockies of last year. I liked that comment about about our record being 2 or 3 games less wins. It is true. Let the young guys learn ‘together’ and we will all have a good year this year and better next. Even you Gardy!! Have good night everyone!!
Wake up, people.
Gomez is the most exciting player to put on a Twins uniform in over 20 years.
His speed changes everything. He can throw, and he can hit for power.
You will not want to miss the first inning this year–he might do something never seen before.
BC,
“My daughter really didn’t like what you had to say so remember the personal attacks are seen by others.”
You are right.
Remember, Gardy, Punto and BS also have families. “Personal attacks on them have the same affect on their families.
Even worse, those attacks could be taken seriously by one of the many serious wackos who read these blogs.
Threats can trigger serious consequences.
sy,
good point. At any point did I threaten anyone? If my dislike for Punto, or Gardenhire who are public people came across as threats against their lives then I was totally in the wrong. I know the closest thing I said was to give Nick Punto a surfboard, and let him paddle out and keep paddling… so that could be taken quite negative under and extreme, but I don’t think pointing out that Punto is one of the worst if not THE WORST PLAYER IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL is all that much of a stretch. I also think that this year with al the options that the twins have… if Punto gets more than 150 at bats that it should be Gardenhire’s job on the line. I save most of my negativity for the NBA blog. Where the very worst thing I have ever said was posting a quote from another site when I said that “McHale and Wittman were so worthless that they could play russian roulette with a fully loaded automatic weapon, and we’d still lose… they’d both somehow find a way to survive.”
I don’t attack other bloggers on here. I may challenge their decisions, or question their comments, but I don’t make personal attacks against other twins fans. That is not my style, and I think it’s in very poor taste. We had a gentleman on here tell me to jump off of a mountain cliff or some such crap, and then when someone else told me to calm down that the guy was only joking, the guy asking me to commit suicide said, no I want him to be hit by a Bus. So my comments about baseball players and management are hardly the same.
So when I say that I disagree with Bill Smith, and that I think that Gardy should be fired, or that Joe Vavra is the worst hitting coach in major league baseball, and the 2nd worst in the last 20 years of baseball to Scott Ulger my opinions are about having them fired. Having them removed from their jobs. I do not question them as people… When that person came after my writing… I was totally ok with that. That’s fair game. Coming after me as a writer if fair, coming after me as a person, and wishing me to commit suicide, or be injured or killed by a bus is horribly wrong.
I have been asked not to talk about politics, and I try very hard not to. I have been asked to stick to baseball, and I think I do a damn good job of that thank you… And still I get one bozo after another coming after ME. On the wolves blog I had someone steal my identity, and bad mouth me to the point that the strib almost went to a policy like they have on the Vikings blog.
So I suppose on some ego level I should be flattered, but I’m mostly disgusted because this is about baseball… a sport I love very much, and I don’t question your love or anyone else’s love of the game. I question the owner, and the management and the players… I may question your ideas because I disagree, or I don’t understand, but as far as I know that’s not a crime, or even in bad taste. Asking someone to commit suicide, or get hurt horribly… at the very least low class, and disgusting. At most could be seen as a threat as you mentioned. I don’t threaten, I bring the attention to the proper authorities, and they solve the problems.
If someone doesn’t like my comments… they can scroll down… they do not have to make personal attacks. It’s that simple!
Mathewson—
The twins are not high on Velencia anymore? I thought I’d read a while back that he was the team’s hope at 3rd base now that Moses is an outfielder, and Buscher wasn’t much of a fielder.
I have not seen much for a depth in the baseball draft list… is there any power hitting 3rd baseman, or great glove guys that can hit for a decent average in this coming draft? We are going to have some decent picks so hopefully we can find someone because I’m not 100% sold on DJ Romero either.
bh on March 16th at 9:00 p.m. says:
“You guys keep whining about the starting line-up and pay no attention to the fact we have no starting pitching.”
Strib Twins blog participants believe pitching isn’t important, and that quantity beats quality as far as starting pitching goes. The conventional wisdom(?) is that a starter only plays once every 5 days, so better to spend money on the everyday player.
Old manager Gardy
Went to the cupboard,
To fetch his poor team a starting pitcher.
But when he got there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so his poor team had none.
I am also a poet.
If my dislike for Punto, or Gardenhire who are public people came across as threats against their lives then I was totally in the wrong.
Oh yeah, I have no idea how:
and I think it’s time to take Gardy out back, and put the old horse out of his misery… maybe we can make glue out of him so he has some value?
…could possibly be misunderstood.
Here’s what happened. You saw Nick Punto in the lineup, and as the DH. You completely overreacted and spent the better half of yesterday complaining about three at-bats in an meaningless Spring game. Despite a good number of other people respectfully explaining to you how you were completely overreaction and that it was much more logical to give Punto (who’s going to be on the roster in 08 whether we like it or not) a chance to get his bat back with ABs in ST vs. ABs that count in April…you continued to cherry pick posts from people who were being equally rude.
To the point that you made it near impossible to discuss baseball amidst your rhetoric.
And the fact your an “accomplished writer” doesn’t make your overreactions yesterday any more appropriate.
One other thing BC. You say you’re free to rip on Gardy because he’s a public figure. Well wasn’t it just yesterday you were in here selling yourself as a poet who’s been published…and even interviewed on MySpace?
Sounds to me like your trying to pass yourself as some public figure as well. So maybe you should take a step back from those claims. Unless you can take the heat that comes with being a “celebrity.”
BC,
BC Beneke says:
March 16th, 2008 at 11:25 am
holy crap, this game is on tv, and punto is the DH. I change my mind… Ty Cobb Pistol Whipping the guy to death was not worse than this. This is a slap in the face to every single Twins fan, and I think it’s time to take Gardy out back, and put the old horse out of his misery… maybe we can make glue out of him so he has some value?
BC Beneke says:
March 17th, 2008 at 12:43 am
sy,
good point. At any point did I threaten anyone? If my dislike for Punto, or Gardenhire who are public people came across as threats against their lives then I was totally in the wrong. I know the closest thing I said was to give Nick Punto a surfboard, and let him paddle out and keep paddling
Sounds like a threat to me. Sounds like a personal attack too.
Thats it though im done wasting my time with you.
Just a heads up, you should probably reword the headline a bit “Gomez OK after crash” had a few people I was talking to thinking car crash at first.
livan sure didn’t make me feel any better about what he has to offer yesterday, can’t hold runners terrible for a “veteran” presence. gomez looked like he could be the real deal if his hitting holds up??? amazing fast!
punto dh-ing? no comment!
This Gomez kid might be about the best thing for this team and fan interest. I like him so far but it was just one weekend so we still have time to see.
hey guys, it’s your choice, but maybe you could just forgive and forget and get back to baseball.
As for Livan, when some of us point out during the season that we didn’t want him signed, don’t accuse us all of being second guessers. Some of us were off the bandwagon before it was even announced. Yuck.
As for Gomez, I think I’d stick him in the minors to protect a year of arbitration eligibility. I’d rather watch him play, but I’d rather they have him for an extra year even more. Too bad the Twins don’t believe in teaching patience and OBP and walks to their hitters. Gomez is a perfect example of why OBP is important.
I have to disagree with you on sending him to AAA for that reason I could see that if you though he needed more seasoning than yes sendind him down but if a guy is ready i think that he needs to see major league pitching.
BC,
This is my take on the boundary line.
“Gardy should be fired” or “Punto should be released” are distasteful but so often repeated and they have become acceptable.
Suggesting someone should be hurt or ended is over the line and dangerous. There are psychopaths in cyberspace who would like to believe that someone(anyone) condones that kind of deviant behavior.
I am repulsed when you (or anyone) are the attacker or the attacked.
Gomez can raise his OBP without increased patience. As a leadoff hitter, he can bunt for hits early in the count and his OBP will increase dramatically.
He could not do that batting 8th (ahead of the pitcher) for the Mets.
If the bunt goes foul, then he can push the patience button.
The twins are not high on Velencia anymore?
I think they like him. But he’s not a high-ceiling guy. He’s probably a little more talented than Macri, but you don’t say a guy is the future of the position unless he has star-quality talent. He could turn a corner and become the guy, but that is not expected. He was a 19th round draft choice for a reason.
I was listening to TK yesterday on the radio and he raved about Romero. Add that scout’s eye to his 912 OPS in Elizabethton last year, and he has the highest ceiling of any third base prospect in the system.
Interesting (and rare) how BC has suddenly gone all silent. Maybe his ego is jumping tall buildings in a single bound.
I just gotta ask, how is suggesting that Punto be cut distasteful? Some of us believe his defense is over rated (see advanced defensive statistical analysis done by people that watch every game played), and we all agree that he’s not a good hitter.
So how is suggesting that there are better options distasteful?
I haven’t read up on the blog for a month or so. Gee whiz what happened to all the Gomez bashing and how the guy needs to start in AAA because he doesn’t know how to hit? Just curious.
I wouldn’t say “distasteful”…but rather “done to death”.
Yes. It was a mistake to sign him to a big contract after one career year, but nobody could have expected such a disasterous fall back down to Earth.
But just once I’d love to have a conversation that doesn’t turn into “PUNTO RAWR!” after 10 posts.
And yeah, I understand that people are free to talk about whatever when it comes to baseball and the Twins. But it gets to a point where people take a conversation about Gomez, or Liriano and direct it right back at Punto.
That’s what bugs me. And unfortunately to some there’s no difference between those that want to move on to new discussions and those who worship the ground Punto walks on.
The mob mentality on this place is a dangerous thing sometimes.
One last note:
Remember during the offseason how there were complaints that all the Strib guys wrote about were Santana rumors? Remember how some of you guys got really bored about hearing Santana news everyday for nearly two months?
Okay, now imagine taking that and expanding it to involve every day of the year.
Hopefully that helps you understand how some of us can get fed-up/bored of constant Punto-bashing. We get it, you don’t like him…move on.
That all makes sense T. I go to a Vikings site most days, and every day there for a while someone started a Fitzgerald to the Vikings thread. Wow.
I can see how the constant Punto talk would get boring, but for some of us it is painful to see posts about his gold glove ability, when it is clear to most people that he’s not that good. I’m not sure why we continue to bang our heads against the wall and point out he’s not, though, so I’ll take a personal break on that front.
We don’t all agree he is a bad hitter. 2006 and 2007 were both unusual. In his proper role as a utility guy he can hit .250-.260 which is fine for that type of player.
but for some of us it is painful to see posts about his gold glove ability
In their defense, I usually don’t see those come out until the Punto-bashing starts up.
Unless it’s Craig. Then he’ll come in and mention Punto’s glove in a conversation about Morneau’s bat.
Usually something akin to: “Morneau’s a terrible fielder. Put Punto at first and trade Morneau for pitching.”
Punto isn’t a first baseman.
I am looking at Morneau in a whole new light. Don’t people have a right to change?
I’m never going to say anything about Morneau’s fielding, now. I’m never going to mention it, no matter what. People love Morneau, and now I love him too.
I also am not going to mention his base-running, or his speed. I’m not going to talk about it. I refuse.
