Gomez injured, leaves game
Posted on March 26th, 2008 – 1:17 PMBy Joe Christensen
FORT MYERS — Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez left today’s game against Tampa Bay in the fifth inning with what appeared to be a left leg injury.
Gomez ran deep into the left-center gap to catch a fly ball from John Weber. Afterward, he stayed close to where he caught the ball and was grabbing his left leg.
Manager Ron Gardenhire and trainer Rick McWane went to check on Gomez and removed him from the game. Nick Punto took Gomez’s place in center field.
UPDATE: Gomez was diagnosed with a left hamstring cramp. He’s day-to-day. Details after the game.
UPDATE: Gomez seems to be OK. “I want to play tomorrow, Friday and Saturday,” he told a Twins staffer in the clubhouse.
61 Responses to "Gomez injured, leaves game"
great…….
Maybe Span will get his chance after all. I hope it isn’t some kind of lingering muscle thing that sticks for weeks / months.
Ruh roh Rorge…..
Wipe your tears away Denard Span…you just won yourself a starting centerfield job for opening night…now don’t F^*- it up.
ughha
Anybody have any idea what kind of injury it is? Is it a cramp, or is it a strain, or is it an ACL tear?
even though injuries are a part of the game they really suck, like bakers and now gomez hopefully Mauer can go a full season. as a fan i hate seeing the good players go down it seems it is always someone and it is g-damn irritating. thank you for letting me express this raw nerve today
god danget!!!!! gomez you better be alright or ill be very mad.. idc dont do anything else till season opener im just saying if someone like punto startsin center on opening day because your injured ill be very very mad.. (this is why i didnt buy season tickets this year.. no hope right now 
no cytana no hunter so so sad )
*eyes roll*
LNP first off the bench, huh. Seriously, prepare for a long season, folks.
According to Gladden, the report is it’s a hamstring cramp. Nothing serious. Return to your weeping Nards Pane.
Gomez is out for the season, has to have ligament replacement surgery.
So did Gardy take an interpreter with him out to CF this time?
great line jim, I’m sure that LNP went out there with and said that Gomez couldn’t play anymore.
nice try, Robert….that diagnosis couldn’t come until after an MRI.
I can diagnose it from here Jason.
Gotta get those at-bats for Punto somewhere. He’s a real gamer. A good clubhouse guy. Makes Gardy’s job easier. Nevermind the batting averages and Twins record. Punto = Good clubhouse guy. Kinda like that Matty Lecroy. Terrible hitter that had no defensive position. But a heck of a clubhouse guy. Probably should re-sign him.
Well there really wasn’t anybody else that they could’ve put in CF, Everett is out sick, and Tolbert is already in the game. Although the VORP by putting Knott out there might be through the roof.
also, LNP was first off the bench because Monroe was the DH. we don’t even know who else was available to play.
seriously has anybody heard how long he will be out and if that jepordizes the season opener.
Travis–Joe updated on the top and said it’s a leg cramp and that he’s day-to-day.
does that mean he will be ok for the opener
Maybe, maybe not–depends on how he feels in a few days is what I’d gather from that info.
also, LNP was first off the bench because Monroe was the DH.
That and Span and Pridie I believe are both over with Rochester now. The only other option would be Young to CF and Kubel in at LF.
But “Is Kubel available today?” would be the appropriate question.
anybody hear how baker did in the minor league game
LOL ok, pop quiz…if this were a regular season game and this happened in the early innings, who would vote for using Monroe in CF and losing the DH before inserting Punto into the lineup that early in a game?
I would.
As far as today goes, I assume Kubel would’ve been available…they could’ve moved D. Young or Cuddyer to center (recall all the offseason chatter about Cuddyer playing center).
Bottom line is you keep LNP out of the lineup at all costs if this is a regular season game. Late-inning defensive / pinch runner only.
I’m hoping Gomez is alright.
If Span steps foot on the Major League roster I am taking the 68-70 win season and dropping the number to 42-45 wins
phewww… just a cramp… hopefully
Jason
I would lose the DH if Livan was pitching, his numbers are better than punto’s anyway.
This isn’t a bad thing, maybe the Twins will do what they should have done in the first place. Send Gomez down to AAA for 2 months so they save themselves a year of arbitration elgibility.
get span on the phone. this was meant to be.
Gomez has AIDS, they’re going to start him on medication so he might be back by midseason.
Bottom line is you keep LNP out of the lineup at all costs if this is a regular season game. Late-inning defensive / pinch runner only.
Agreed. I’m guessing Gardy will field a few questions from the press about why he went with Punto.
You’ll likely explode, but it could be part of that “ABs whenever possible” mentality.
Today Gardy’s goal was to try the starting 9. Something unexpected happened, and he saw an opportunity to give Punto some play time yet this spring.
This is what I interpretted “As many as possible” to mean. It’s not as likely now that the starting lineup is set, but when there’s an opportunity (hopefully less like this one) he’ll get a few swings in.
they could’ve moved D. Young or Cuddyer to center (recall all the offseason chatter about Cuddyer playing center)
I think you’re first thought was more closer to a real game situation. The DH (Kubel/Monroe) remains in. The one on the bench takes left and Young slides over (I think after the last couple of games Gardy’s come to realize just how much he trusts Monroe in CF)
If it really is just a cramp, he’ll be fine by tomorrow. Seriously, haven’t you ever had a cramp? Hurts like hell, but is gone by the next day.
But, it could be the dreaded “strain” that bad boy can linger all year.
I’m hoping for A.
I’ll add moving Cuddy to center means Monroe/Kubel in RF. And the “talks” were shot down pretty quick because of the way Cuddy can play the baggie.
it’s a spring training game!!! who cares if #8 plays a few innings of cf after an injury.
Gomez seems to be OK. “I want to play tomorrow, Friday and Saturday,” he told a Twins staffer in the clubhouse.
I appreciate the spirit, but he’s the future. So I’ll trust the staff to make the decision on this one. 
Bartlett has 3 hits now. He had 3 or 4 against us last time. He’s hitting like .700 against us. .357 in ST, not bad.
I had a hamstring pull, and have had a hamstring cramp. To be honest, the cramp is a sharp ache, where the pull is a stinging sensation. Definite differance between the two.
I am sure that if it is a cramp, he could play tomorrow if he was needed.
Manship pitches a 1-2-3. Game over. Twins 4-2.
What a great day
Maybe ol’ Livan doesn’t suck so bad afterall. I gotta believe Livan doesn’t give a crap about spring training. Why would he.
Not a bad start by Hernandez, even if it wasn’t against the best of teams (remember that even Ponson shut down the Rays last year)
He just needs to keep it up through the first half the season. By then Liriano and Baker will hopefully be 100% and this team will be ready for 09.
Punto = {…} a heck of a clubhouse guy. Probably should re-sign him.
Agreed. In a utility role where he can be very valuable: Water boy/Towel guy/Food delivery etc
I am joining T on the darkside….. Enough Punto talk. 
Hey Shawn, I’ll quit talking when he quits playing.
hopefully it will be soon
Where the **** is Binghamton? Europe?
When did he start playing???
New York
Hey Shawn, I’ll quit talking when he quits playing.
Funny. He wasn’t in today’s starting lineup (or even mentioned in JoeC’s blog entry) and you still decided to whine.
I am joining T on the darkside….. Enough Punto talk.
You call it that now, but come summer you’ll appreciate the shade.
thanks for the laughs boys …im glad
spring training is alost over …so you guys can really start the fun whining
Hey LNP is good card player too
(see good in the clubhouse)
doesn’t Binghamton have a Mets farm team??
Again, T, it’s difficult to respond to your “relative lack of knowledge”, steal a Bobby Knight phrase…
The comment this morning was a shot at Gardy, who changed his tune from a day ago on this apparent need to give Punto as many at-bats as possible…it wasn’t even a slam on Punto.
Yeah, I try to catch the couple games a year when the Rock Cats are in town
Go-B(binghamton)Mets
Again, T, it’s difficult to respond to your “relative lack of knowledge”, steal a Bobby Knight phrase…
Play whatever semantics game helps you sleep at night, but a whine is a whine is a whine.
listening to the chuckleheads on kfan talk about the Twins makes me feel like an expert.
i know how ya feel Shawn …reading some of this does the same for me
i gotta get back to work
gotwinsgo
[…] Joe Christensen got word from a clubhouse staffer after that game that Carlos told him “I want to play tomorrow, Friday and Saturday,” so at least Carlos is talking like it’s nothing that will keep him down. […]
Shawn in Binghamton…Agreed Dan Barreiro knows as much about baseball as the hair on his head. ZERO.
Do you mean that KFAN talked about something besides the Vikings and the Twolves? Holy Smokes!
