Gomez scratched from Twins lineup
Posted on March 27th, 2008 – 10:04 AMBy Joe Christensen
SARASOTA, FLA. — Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez took batting practice but was scratched because of residual soreness in his left leg. The team stressed that the move is precautionary, that Gomez could have played if this were the regular season.
Nick Blackburn starts against the Reds, while Boof Bonser pitches in a minor-league game back in Fort Myers. Adam Everett is scheduled to play in that game, as well.
Update: Bonser allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits in five innings, pitching against one of Boston’s Class A affiliates. He threw 81 pitches. Everett went 1-for-4 in that game.
Twins
1. Matt Tolbert, SS
2. Nick Punto, 3B
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, RF
6. Mike Redmond, C
7. Brendan Harris, 2B
8. Brandon Roberts, CF
9. Nick Blackburn, P
(Jesse Crain and Joe Nathan are also scheduled to pitch for the Twins.)
Reds
1. Corey Patterson, CF
2. Jeff Keppinger, SS
3. Ken Griffey Jr., RF
4. Brandon Phillips, 3B
5. Adam Dunn, LF
6. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
7. Joey Votto, 1B
8. David Ross, C
9. Bronson Arroyo, P
Ed Smith Stadium. First pitch: 12:05 (Central)
253 Responses to "Gomez scratched from Twins lineup"
I’m interested to see how Jesse Crain performs. I was surprised he will make the team after only pitching four innings in spring training.
I know it’s spring training, but has anyone seen Carlos Silva’s numbers with Seattle? 4 games, 0-2, 9.20 ERA,
14.2 IP, 28 hits, 16 runs/15 earned,
2 HR’s, 4 BB’s, 5 K’s. I know he had
a rough spring in 07, but trust me the Mariners will not come close to getting their money’s worth on that ridiculous
contract. I am so glad I don’t have to watch him pitch anymore with the Twins.
bufftwins,
Silva was worse last year in ST.
Then during regular season, he earned himself a $48 million contract.
Your gloating is probably premature.
Will the Mariners be as patient with Carlos as the Twins staff was? I guess Bedard is struggling also, so the pressure is on.
I didn’t get the memo… Will there be complaining about Punto as the starting 3B today?
Carlos is taking his 40 Million bucks and calling it a day I think.
Will we have to read about another 0-4 for Punto, but that he has a lot of grit and remember 2006.
Punto IS going to be a member of this team, whining or no whining. Might as well get behind the guy. Maybe we can project some positive thinking on him. It is for the good of the club. Not as good as him being someplace else, but that clearly isn’t going to happen.
tolbert starting at short for the second straight day, and the most this spring, kinda makes me think he may have beaten everett out for the spot
Will an 0-for-4 take the Wiffer below .100? The Mendoza Line is feeling pretty phat lately.
I’m all about positive talk about scrubs.
no chance skylark
Everett is not 100%, that’s why he is starting in a minor league game today
Everett will start tommorow. He is not 100% yet from the flu. Everette and Harris will have little room not to produce in reg. season or Tolbert will take their spot.
If Punto goes 4 for 4 today he will be at punto line .200
who has more hits today, Punto or Blackburn?
Enough with the negative waves Moriarty!
Sy: I’m just saying the M’s overpaid for an at best .500 pitcher who is a good guy but a head case. I won’t miss his starts in Cleveland or Chicago when the Twins were down 2-0, or 3-0 after the first inning.
Where’s T today?
Am I allowed to whine about Punto being in the lineup….well, I’ll do it absent permission…Gardy still doesn’t get it…his ass needs to sit…he needs to get comfortable with the idea that his role this season will be entertaining Steve Liddle in the dugout.
tolbert’s clearly better than everett, a switch hitter with 6.4 speed thats taller, quicker, and stronger at the plate. come on now
SARASOTA, FLA. — Carlos Gomez talked his way back into the lineup today, after leaving Wednesday’s game with cramping in his left hamstring.
How the hell did LNP talk his way into the lineup??? Did he threaten to break out the photos???
Seriously, fans…we need to band together on this one…you stick the guy in the two-hole…I don’t care if this game is taking place on a playground in Woodbury, there’s ZERO excuse for that…Gardy is my favorite manager in baseball but he is dead wrong on how he is handling LNP.
I would have liked to see Tolbert batting second. He has only struck out 3 times in ST and has a .349 OBP.
silva only got that contract from the mariners because they were foolish enough to do it, i agree with the one guy i am glad he is not pitching for the twins this year, they could afford to lose him to that inflated contract because thay have several prospects that could do what silva did here,
“tolbert’s clearly better than everett”
“Clearly” to you and the rest of the cult.
Not so clear to the Twins FO, The Twins field staff, about half the bloggers,the Baseball America staff (which has NEVER rated Tolbert in the top 30 Twins prospects) and MLB, which drafted 480 players ahead of him in 2004.
skylark, Everett was signed for his D. They already knew he has a light bat. He may sit more often than a stronger offensive player, but he won’t lose his starting job unless he pulls a Juan Castro.
Jason, since when does LNP have to talk his way into the lineup?
I agree.
The Twins sgning Silva to that money would have been nuts.
The point was, his ST numbers last year and this year don’t mean anything.
The Twins are playing in Sarasota today, That don’t take all of their regulars when they travel in ST. That is why Punto, Tolbert, etc. are playing today.
Carlos Silva is a .500 pitcher at best, and his contract proves baseball salaries are insane. Hard to understand how a so-so pitcher will make an average of $50,000.00 per inning pitched. In 10 minutes of work, he will make as much as a grown working person in a year or more…
I have no ill will towards Carlos but wouldn’t it be sweet if Livan ends up having a better year then he did?
Sy
try and actually go watch a twins game.Instead of pulling stats from 2004 Then you might see why coaches and fans are high on Tolbert. He will starting at 2B next year.
Where’s T today?
Sorry Jason, I find there are better things to do in life than race to a blog everyday to cycle through the same conversation for 3 hours.
But to talk about things not related to Punto (because despite Jason’s wishes there’s another 24 guys on this team worth talking about), it’s good to see Gomez back.
My only concern is that his ego may keep him from “holding back” so to speak when running today. It’s only Spring, don’t kill yourself making a play if your leg’s still a bit off.
Joshua B,
A .500 pitcher on a sub-.500 team is not that bad.
And when 30,000 people buy tickets to watch 25 grown working persons work, then the comparison will be valid.
I have no ill will towards Carlos but wouldn’t it be sweet if Livan ends up having a better year then he did?
He doesn’t even have to do better. Just match Silva’s performance this year and it’ll be a better deal.
“Sorry Jason, I find there are better things to do in life than race to a blog everyday to cycle through the same conversation for 3 hours.”
Sure you do. We knew you’d be here for us.
You are right, James.
I had to choose between going to a game and pulling stats from 2004.
As a result, I have never actually SEEN a baseball game but I have heard it described on the radio.
If you think Tolbert is a better SS that Everett, then actually SEEING a game was no help to you.
Thats true T but contrary to what some of the other bloggers think i believe Carlos will have a good year for Seattle not a Cy Young type year but i’d bet he’s close to 15 wins.
He doesn’t have to do much of anything to make it a better deal.
Is Gomez not playing?
I agree with Sy if the Twins even thought there was a remote chance that Tolbert could win the SS job they would have never signed Everett likewise they didn’t sign an veteran CFer because they did believe they had one of three guys who could play that position.
gomez scratched for some reason….
LOL Reds broadcaster just called Nick Punto a “fan favorite” in Minneapolis…
Punto gets a hit on what could’ve been an error! Way to go LNP!
If Punto needs so many at-bats Gardy says he does, why doesn’t Punto play with the Minor league team and stop polluting the Major league line-up?? And 100,000 at-bats won’t fix his swing. It’s mechanically awful. I get it, all regulars aren’t here. But what’s the excuse for Punto still batting second?
I knew Gomez wouldn’t play today. I don’t know why Gardy allowed him to talk his way onto that bus.
The team stressed that the move is precautionary, that Gomez could have played if this were the regular season.
That’s good to hear. I was worried when I saw the update.
Well, those of you who wanted to see them try out Tolbert at the top of the order…there he is. 
And Brandon Roberts. That name is vaugely familiar. Who did the Twins trade to get him…Lohse?
Thats true T but contrary to what some of the other bloggers think i believe Carlos will have a good year…
It really depends on which Silva shows up. It’s amazing how consistantly inconsistant he could be at times.
they didn’t sign an veteran CFer because they did believe they had one of three guys who could play that position.
Well. Not entirely true. I think the Twins would’ve made a play for a guy like Rowand, but the Santana trade talks really held up anything major in terms of CF (remember that the Boston and New York deals both featured a MLB ready CFer)
Gameday is updating almost real time so far. Here is the link:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/y2007/gd.html?2008_03_27_minmlb_cinmlb_1&brand=mlb
Silva in 2008 with Seattle. 8-14, 4.80 ERA. He will miss Rick Anderson big time, but he’ll forget all about Andy on pay days.
I like Carlos. He was good for the Twins last year. I hope he does well this year. Seattle is payin gway too much. Tolbert MAY be better than Everett. He will have to prove that over a good part of the season. Punto is not good. Buscher and Casilla did not step up and take the job form Punto. Plus, Punto has the contract. Punto does not have embarrasing photographs of Gardenhire. I like onion rings. Seeing is better than looking at stats. Minor League stat from previous years may not mean much. Players are in the minors to improve. Sometimes they do improve beyond their A, or AA stats.
The Twins had no intention of Tolbert Making the roster at the start of ST. I wonder what changed their mind?
Casilla was still not ready. Buscher couldn’t hit. Tolbert moved up.
I knew Gomez wouldn’t play today. I don’t know why Gardy allowed him to talk his way onto that bus.
*shrugs* Build team spirit? Get him used to hanging around his teammates? From what I’ve heard in interviews it sounds like they really like Gomez.
Maybe he’ll come in later in the game to get an AB or two (or play the field a bit to keep his legs fresh)
James: I think it was Punto’s repeat of ‘07 at the plate this March, and the defensive questions with Harris and Lamb that made Gardy feel he needed an extra back up infielder.
imo this lineup today will get after it and play the right way!
” Well. Not entirely true. I think the Twins would’ve made a play for a guy like Rowand, but the Santana trade talks really held up anything major in terms of CF (remember that the Boston and New York deals both featured a MLB ready CFer)”
I agree that was a factor but i believe Rowand was swapped up prior to the Santana deal being finalized correct? I was mainly thinking of the CF free agents that were still on the market such as Paterson or Lofton. They obviously thought one of our guys would be just as good an option as one of those two.
The Twins Way.
I agree that was a factor but i believe Rowand was swapped up prior to the Santana deal being finalized correct?
That is correct. But you have to remember that Santana trade talks were essentially the biggest part of the Winter Meetings and into the early part of January. And from day one of Santana talks it was at least Ellsbury/Lester and Hughes/Cabrera being tossed about.
Gardy kept Tolbert bc he knows Punto is gone after this year. Tolbert at the least will take over future utility spot if not a starting job.
Food for thought:
The Twins need a LH reliever
The Twins have too many RH relievers
Punto/Tolbert on the bench is pretty much a duplication
The Braves need help in the middle infield positions
The Braves have a surplus of LH relievers
What are the chances that the Twins can package Punto & Rincon for someone like Will Ohman or Royce Ring?
I don’t see a Punto & Rincon package returning anything. Anything at all.
tolbert’s has a lot more upside than everett or harris, and i’ve seen that by watching games this spring, and i guess GARDY and the rest of twins coaches have too
Maybe what changed their mind is he(Tolbert) out played Everett, Harris, Punto, Buscher and Casilla if you want to go by ST stats. Also he wont be out worked according to Gardy
basically tolbert can play anywhere in the infield and outfield, but he’s pretty solid at short and second, and is quick as well. makes me optimistic about the season with him on board
Gardy kept Tolbert bc he knows Punto is gone after this year. Tolbert at the least will take over future utility spot if not a starting job.
Exactly.
I don’t see a Punto & Rincon package returning anything. Anything at all.
The Twins almost were able to include Rincon as part of the Young trade (he was switched for Morlan due to lingering elbow problems). So there’s a possibility he could be packaged along with other pieces and sent somewhere. It may not be easy though.
Punto is a different story. He had a horrible 2007 and an equally bad Spring. He’s in a bench role and making too much money for it. He’s also a free agent at the end of the year.
Any team that wants Punto at this point would likely wait till he hits FA and sign him as some invite or something. If they trade for him at this point they’re paying him starter’s money for a superutil role. Bad investment.
tolbert’s a star rising, a rookie that our team has a need for and a switch hitter that can play any position with we put him at
tolbert’s has a lot more upside than everett or harris…
Everett was signed for one reason, to hold down the starter’s job for a year while they assessed guys like Casilla and Tolbert. (They apparently liked Tolbert more).
He’ll do that just fine, and then move on with no problem after 08. Lamb and Monroe will also likely thank the Twins and leave after a year.
It’s what they were signed to do.
he (tolbert) might just have the best glove on the team too…
I could see a team headed for the play-offs making a trade for Punto before the deadline. Especially if they are weak defensively up the middle. Kind of the role Doug M. played with Boston a few years ago.
T thats a good point i’m sure they were thinking they would get there starting Cf in the trade. It’s going to be interesting to see how Gomez does compared to Ellsbury,Caberera and the blue chipper the Mets wouldn’t give up(I can’t think of his name now).
T,
Any team that wants Punto at this point would likely wait till he hits FA
The Braves want to content this season. Their middle infield is horrible. It is that bad that actually Punto would be an upgrade on either their 2B or SS. Rincon is serviceable, had a decent Spring and no elbow problems and going to the NL would help him.
Blackburn has a no no going through 2
I think there should be a concern on Gomez! Gladden and Gordon just said the pain is behind the knee and not in the hamstring and that was the reason for the scratch.
Hope for the best!
I’m not a big fan of Punto but he is now worse than Al Newman was and he served a purpose on the teams he was on. As long as Punto remains a utility guy I’m ok with it.
Everett is hitting great (for a SS) this spring, and if he keeps it up I hope we re-sign him. It is good to have the best defensive SS in all of baseball on your team.
Some empathy for Gardy. He wants to be a players’ manager. So he let’s Gomez talk him into the road trip.
But Gomez is still favoring his injured leg slightly, according to Gladden.
Sometimes you can’t win. Like someone blogged, you want to keep Gomez in and get his game and rhythm going leading up to the opener.
So now all us Monday morning quarterbacks can blast Gardy for getting suckered by the important Gomez.
If Punto is an upgrade, so are a lot of other players hanging around various AAA clubs. They won’t want to pick up LNP’s salary.
Oldtimer…he got 472 at-bats last year…what part of that sounds like “utility guy” to you???
IF they limit Punto to under 100 ABs for the season, I guess I would be okay with hanging on to his sorriness for the remainder of 2007 and go Lew Ford on him at the end of the year….
The problem here is Gardy doesn’t seem content to do that!
Tolbert has, maybe, the 4th or 5th best glove on this team. Everett would have won multiple gold gloves in the NL if it wasnt for Vizquel. Punto’s glove is better, and I dare say, Morneau has a very underrated golve, and could win a gold golve at 1st base.
Marty and Thom Brennaman making fun of Hillary on-air during the game…wow
I meant glove not golve
If a team had a utility infielder with stellar defensive skills and the ability to hit for power and average, how long do you think he would stay on that team? He’d be the first guy traded to fill another hole, or even for some good prospects. How would you keep that kind of player on the bench?
Blackburn has been very solid this spring i think he deserves a spot in the rotation.
Marty Brennaman does seem like kind of a smart ass…this is the first I’ve heard of him, but he really likes to editorialize….
Recall the Griffey, Jr., incident of several years ago…I had sympathy for Brennaman in that situation because I think it’s totally legit for a broadcaster to point out if someone isn’t hustling down the line, but after listening to him for a couple innings, I can see how people would take him as being smug.
I agree BC…he’s quietly been the best story of Spring.
Blackburn has been solid, but assuming Liriano and Baker are healthy, whose spot would you give him? And don’t say Livan’s, because that’s not going to happen.
Blackburn has been solid, but assuming Liriano and Baker are healthy, whose spot would you give him?
Bass’
1. Livan
2. Boof
3. Slowey
4. Baker
5. Blackburn
Liriano will stay at extended Spring Training for a little while. He will replace whoever is struggling in the rotation at that time.
What if Livan is the one struggling?
Morneau needs to pick it up!
thrylos, so you would want Blackburn to be a long releiver? I think I would rather keep him a starter in AAA.
Livan is not going anywhere unless it would be the DL. My pick would be Slowey to have some hard times yet.
“the pain is behind the knee and not in the hamstring and that was the reason for the scratch.”
I can’t believe Twins training staff would mis-diagnose a possible PCL strain as a hamstring injury.
It won’t hurt Blackburn to pitch at AAA this year, as a starter. He is no threat to take Bass’s spot. Bass is a relief pitcher. Frankly, based on what he showed this spring, Humber is a relief pitcher. We need a starter in AAA that is ready to pitch at the major league level, because we will surely need him this year.
The only one with a hit off Aroyo today? NICK PUNTO. He must be reading this blog for inspiration.
ha ha ha punto has the only hit!
JP see Ponson/Ortiz last year i don’t think the twins will hesitate to put him in the bullpen.
CharlieMurphy,
I would rather have you make that decision than have the Twins make it.
The Twins would send Blackburn down, even if he hadn’t given up a run at the time.
Allright, BC and Jason. So why haven’t the Twins stretched out Blackburn yet?
And the Baker situation still scares me. No matter how well he does in his minor league game this weekend, he still isn’t ready. And he’s pencilled in to start against KC on Friday.
I smell injury. I guess they trust him to stay within himself and not try to hard? Like Gladden said, it’ll be an extended spring training game for him, but it’s at the major league level. Goofy.
Some pointed questions need to be asked of Anderson about the whole Liriano/Baker/Blackburn situation.
and then trade him at the deadline for someone…
god i still think we got a steal for ortiz..
(macri) hes going to be a good baseball player
I think Punto can go 1 for 8 today and raise his average.
How did Kubel triple!
If Punto raises his average, he will bat 3rd tomorrow.
Runner on third no outs and we cant score!
We need to get rid of Redmond and keep Eli Whiteside.
Twins with a man on third and nobody out is equal to the Vikings in the Red Zone.
If Punto gets more than 1 hit today harris may lose his starting job at 2B
Romer correct me if i’m wrong but Blackburn has only made like 3 or 4 starts in ST I think thats why he hasn’t been stresched out. The Twins do have a nice situation here having so many good young arms is a nice problem to have.
Ben D, sounds like Griffey loafed it a little. So Kubel’s double turned into a triple.
Next batter, Redmond, failed on the SF try. Twins fail to get the leadoff triple in.
Arroyo sounds awesome today. He’s crafty.
1-2-3 5th for Blackburn.
Woooooooooooooh get rid of Kubel Woooooooooooh The “Nature Boy” say’s get rid of Kubel Wooooooooh Wooooh Back hand slap to Gardy Woooooh get Kubel Gone Wooooh
I guess Kubel faster than he looks!
So Jr is sitting at 593 Hr’s on his career does anyone think he has an outside chance of catching Bonds before he retires?
Kubel may have taken a shortcut to 3B across the mound.
Right BC. And I think before today his longest stretch has been 3 innings.
The Twins are treating their starters with kid gloves this ST (except Livan probably). It’s like they’re one appearance behind what other teams are doing.
Looks like we’ll have the 12-man staff for a long, long time.
I don’t think Griffey has a shot at bonds. A-rod yes, Griffey no.
BC of ND So Jr is sitting at 593 Hr’s on his career does anyone think he has an outside chance of catching Bonds before he retires?
Wooooooh not a chance back hand knife edge chop wooooooh
rick flair = jimmy bee?
Punto smacks the ball, but right at Dunn.
No radio comments on how his swing looks, or his approach.
He’s 38 years old now so he would need to hit at least 34 hr per year over the next 5 years i think it’s possible.
rick flair - old man with sagging breast syndrome (in real life)
Tolbert 1 out double…Punto doesn’t advance…his 1-3 day has his avg up to .136
Good 5 from Blackburn
5IP 3H/R/2BB/4K
Junior can catch Bonds. Eeeeeeyaaahhhh shot to the bread basket
Tolbert 2B = Punto never getting a start this season in my book.
(reverse knife edge chop) Jr. catching Bonds Wooooooh not even close Woooooh Morneau or Arod will catch Bonds
Morneau won’t even catch Kent Hrbek. Aaaarrrgghhh forearm smash
Griffey hasn’t had back to back 30 HR seasons yet this decade, so i don’t see it very likely that he could average 34 over the next 5 years. Unless he borrows Bond’s trainer and they stop testing for the juice.
Crain is not doing so well today
BC,
Except Griffey has only hit more than 34 once (35) since 2000.
For jr to break Bonds record he would be the oldest Jr I ever new Wooooooooh
I can’t see Crain on the roster opening day. If anyone needs more time, it’s him.
looks like crain may need some time in aaa.
checked the mets-braves game and they are using the dh, doesn’t that seem strange?
Griffey would need to have 3 remarkable seasons before it would be something one would even consider. I mean he needs 3 seasons of 35 or more homers before we could seriously talk about him and Bonds. Griffey was on pace for over 900 homers before he went to the Reds. Injuries, and bad luck, and maybe Bad Karma hit him pretty hard, but that is still one beautiful swing he has.
The Brewers released p Claudio Vargas yesterday he may be woth taking a look at if Baker and Liriano can’t go right away he started 23 games for the brewers last year and had a 11-6 record also a good long releaver.
Crain is on a leash as he won’t be pitching back-to-back games this year.
12-man forever. No Ruiz, Casilla, Knott, Buscher……..not matter how hot they get.
Anyone care to venture a guess what the rotation will look like by the break? I’m saying Liriano, Baker, Hernandez, Boof, Blackburn. Slowey implodes by June.
Sweet One i think thats mainly due to some nagging injuries if healthy he’s still one of the best hitters in the game.
romer,
First, they didn’t say Crain won’t be pitching back-to-back this year, they said he won’t do it for a month or so.
Second, their plan has always been to carry 12 pitchers all season. They never had any intention of dropping down to 11.
Justin i disagree i picked Slowey as one of my picks to click this year if anyones in jeopardy of not surviving the season it’s Hernandez.
you turkey neck rastler wanna bes go get a keg and do a little polka wit some dollies instead of wasting blog space.
Maybe it will be his year BC. It just takes me a LONG time to trust twins pitching prospects for the most part. I’m just learning to trust Baker. Somebody’s going to blow up though. It always happens with the twins rotation. Probably a couple of them. If Hernandez is anything, he is a guy that knows how to pitch in the majors. He’s had 200 innings almost every season he’s pitched I think…
blackburn has a good day, 5 IP, 3 hits, 1 R, 4 K’s, 2 BBs. I don’t like that he walked 2 people, but none of those were the guys that scored so he got away with it.
I think Baker is gonna start the season on the DL and Liriano will come north after a second consecutive strong showing tomorrow, so blackburn comes north as well, and I hope he never goes back down.
I want slowey to do well, I’m still having a hard time understanding how he leads the twins in K’s this spring, he’s a control pitcher (ala Radke) and they’re not known for K’s, but I think it’ll take one more send down to the minors for him. I think thats a bad stat on our pitching staff though, Baker hasn’t got to pitch much, but I find it weird, hopefully Liriano can come back and change that…
does anyone have the new 2k8 baseball game for xbox 360. I play this at home on my 50in plasma and boy is it sweet. I am not on line yet but I heard it is great. Gomez is not on there though and it also is depressing to see Johan as a Twin still on it till next years version. Boy I can not wait till Monday
Yeah JP. Crain, Liriano and Baker are in pergatory.
Twins will be lucky to go 8-12 the first 20 games.
Whatcha gonna do when hulkamania and my 24 inch pithons runs wild over Kubel, Punto and you
jimmy bee, I have the game for PS3 and Gomez is in the game along with Humber, Mulvey (fake name) and Guerra (fake name)…
Any word on how Bonser’s outing went? Not a big deal, he’ll ne starting second no matter what…
Anyone’s guess on the final score for Monday’s game
11-9 Twins win, sound good
Is Gomez used as a player substitution because for the 360 he isn’t listed as the everyday player. I will have to check for Humber and Mulvey. Also the 360 and PS3 version came out at the same time didn’t they cause if it didn’t that may explain something
Sweet One, thanks for the correction on the one-month Crain thing.
I’m still hoping it gets down to 11 eventually, because……..
Slowey has had an excellent curve and may pitch 7+ innings some this year. I’m presuming Baker and Livan will be like that too.
So we’ll see about Boof’s stamina…….
How is GO going to survive on the turf? He needs to calm it down a notch.
Romer,
The extra pitcher is to protect the starters, mainly Baker, Slowey and Liriano. Baker and Slowey should pitch no more than 200 innings max this year and Liriano should pitch no more than about 150 innings.
Tolbert 2 out RBI
Is Gomez used as a player substitution because for the 360 he isn’t listed as the everyday player.
The rosters in the game are likely set using the previous season (in this case 07).
I would guess Gomez would still be with the Mets organization. As would Young and Harris.
LOL heckling Reds fans are calling Punto “Pinto”
The Brewers released p Claudio Vargas yesterday he may be woth taking a look at if Baker and Liriano can’t go right away he started 23 games for the brewers last year and had a 11-6 record also a good long releaver.
Vargas has had one average season (his rookie year) and 4 pretty awful years. There’s absolutely nothing he can do that half a dozen Twins AAA pitchers could do better.
“Tolbert 2 out RBI”
Might as well start the platoon at 2b already until Harris shows he can handle it.
everett - turf will help gomez, a lot. fastest player in baseball+fast surface to play on=really fast, lots of steals, running down fly balls. he’s only 22 or whatever, dont have to worry about aching knees yet, its a problem for guys who are 30+, not 22 year olds.
“T” Hunter is on the Angels where as I think Delmon is on the Twins and Johan is on the Twins and Gomez must be on the Mets as a sub
Tolbert continues to show why he made the team. I hope Gardy gives him a few starts at 2B.
-Keep
Gomez could have a blowout though and lose the speed for good, that is what concerns me
jimmy bee, when you go online, there is a roster update. Download that and they’ll have all four on the Twins.
Mulvey is in AA or AAA with the initials KM and Guerra is in A or AA with the initials DG.
Gomez if he starts runnng like a mad man will be my new favorite player along with Young and of course Morneau
TwinsTerritory thank you very much I will do that today. I will be attacking the basepaths by 5:15 tonight
Sweet One, Boof and Livan are aiming at 200 too.
Big frickn’ game tomorrow. All eyes on Franchise. But Gomez, Everett and Young need to get going too.
Young has been on a decline for quite a while now.
Gomez is quickly becoming one of my favorites too.
I’d say my top five are:
Young
Cuddyer
Morneau
Mauer
Gomez
(Not counting pitchers…)
HUGE GAME tomorrow….
I hope he goes 5-6 strong like Sunday and makes the rotation out of camp.
LOL heckling Reds fans are calling Punto “Pinto”
Racist remarks are not funny or should be a joke. It’s shameful
thrylos98
Pinto is also a small piece of garbage car manufactured by Ford. Does not make it racist to say that.
I almost forgot about Cuddy. I used to actually also like Tyner and I had my nicknames I would call him. Squinty and Pesky (for Tyner)
Explain the racisim in “pinto” not aware of what that might mean?
Exactly as CharlieMurphy said…they were talking about a crappy Ford car, which at this point, might be worth more…
I know about the 70s Ford piece of garbage that used to get on fire with every collision, but most of those fans have not even seen one in their lifetimes…
“Pinto” is also a current racial slur…
And Harris needs to get going too. He just blew a standard DP relay.
Achilles heal = Twins IF defense.
thrylos98
If they are using it to mean “short white guy who can not hit a baseball” they are using the term correctly. It just seems that WAY too many conversations turn into something that they were never intended to become.
Everett - you can’t think like that. Everyone and anyone can blow out there knee wherever they play, grass, turf, cement, wood, doesn’t matter.
The fact that he is going to play on turf shouldn’t be worrisome until something does happen, which you can’t predict. a Cramp doesn’t worry me, and it shouldn’t worry you, give him a couple days rest and some stretching and no biggie.
heel
tolbert’s two hits today and nine innings at short really make me think he is in the race for short or second, he’s consistently getting better this spring… rbi hit was big with two outs in game
Punto and Everett will be just Awesome together for defense just to bad neither one can hit for the life of them
If they are using it to mean “short white guy who can not hit a baseball” they are using the term correctly. It just seems that WAY too many conversations turn into something that they were never intended to become.
That was hilarious.
thrylos, you’re kidding us right…you think Florida retirees and others rich enough to be able to attend mid-week spring training games are too young to remember a Ford Pinto?
Tolbert avg. up to .302
I don’t think Tolbert is in the running for anything, except hopefully moving ahead of punto on the backup infeilder list.
Does anyone know that Torii Hunters real first name is I think Kazaa
i think tolbert will make an impact early and often this season
remember that outfielder for the twins a few years back, I forget his name, he went back to the wall after a fly ball (not at the dome if I remember correct), grabbed it on a bounce, turned around and flopped to the ground in spectacle of pain from blowing his knee, but got the ball back to the infield to save an inside the park homerun from happening. what was that guys name?
tolbert’s bat and switch hitting abilites and quickness give him a bit of a edge over harris, punto, and even everett
what is casilla playing in aaa, ss or 2b? who is the better ss tolbert or casilla?
writings on the wall - tolbert will be starting by mid-season
tolbert’s better than casilla in the field and at the plate
Keep are you talking about Kubel?
So how did a hamstring cramp turn into pain behind the knee today? And he’s saying he get cramps all the time at night.
They should have left him home.
give me a break guys, i’m getting after it, playing the game the right way, i just need to get through the year so i can cash in next winter in free agency!
tolbert four hits last two games
Thay want Casilla to play SS
With a tie game in the 8th inning would you bring in Punto and Everett for great defense or do you go for more Offense and leave Punto and Everett on the bench for a more potent offense lineup
I’ve never heard Pinto used as a racial slur. Any word I guess could be used as a racial slur.
.302 tolberts batting average
BC - I’m 95% sure it wasn’t Kubel.
romer - i haven’t read anything in credible print about pain behind the knee…if theres a link throw it my way please.
as for cramps, I get them at night all the time as well, its a common problem, my doc told me so. Basketball players and football players gets cramps during games all the time and come back to play in the same game after a few minutes of rest and stretching. there are no time outs in baseball, so if a guy pulls up from a cramp, they gotta sit him and sub in a guy, no injury layoffs. so cramps I don’t see as a problem.
tie game, bring tolbert in, he better than everett and punto, and harris too
agreed, twinsfan, tolbert’s pretty smooth in the field
Tolbert has a very good glove, He is better at 2B than SS
I think they were calling him a painted horse which is an insult because we all know he’s a pure bred stallion.
Keep he’s the only one i can think of who played OF and had a serious knee injury i know it wasn’t Kielty or Mohr or Jones so who else would it be?
the guy I’m thinking of was like a Tyner type player, a call-up to fill a spot. was it david lamb? this is gonna bother me now…
tolbert should start at second or short on opening day, a rookie with an upside we finally have in the middle infield
Kubel blew his knee out in a fall league, so I’m betting that’s not who you’re thinking of.
Lamb was a 3B wasn’t he? I vaguely remember the play your talking about thats why i said Kuble but i think he got hurt on the base paths.
hah, found it. It was Chad Allen.
thats funny, my brother interned at KFAN one summer and was at a lot of publicity events with twins players, and I remember him telling me that Chad Allen was a jacka$$ and thought he was king sh*t because he was on a major league team.
I want a video of that injury now, because I remember it being incredibly funny and awkward
Hunter ran into a wall and hurt his knee but I am not sure about throwing the ball in
Keep,
Was it Chad Allen?
few seconds to slow red…
Keep
if you find it on utube forward me the link
dang, i should learn how to type faster!
Keep, Gladden said Jerry White was hitting fungos to warm up Gomez, and they noticed him limping slightly. Thought he mentioned pain behind the knee too.
I think the injured guy you are talking about is Chad Allen. I also remember Brian Buchanan breaking his leg while playing the outfield, but I’m pretty sure the one you’re remembering was Allen.
Sounds like Gomez has a stress fracture oooooh no. Ala Foye and Mccants please no
where did u hear that jimmy bee?
Keep; Gomez said he gets cramps because his body fat is too low. I’m guessing yours are menstrual.
Racist remarks are not funny or should be a joke. It’s shameful
“Pinto” is not a racial slur. Though if you drop the ‘n’ in “Punto” it becomes a derrogatory spanish term for women.
*correction*
You have to change the ‘O’ to an ‘A’ as well.
stress fracture of a hamstring?
stress fracture of a knee ligament?
Give me a break!!
Jason I never heard this but it sounds like by the description given when those 2 players got hurt please do not take that blog to heart it just has similar sounding details
put tolbert in center
T,
Thanks for updating my derrogatory racial vocabulary. I often can’t come up with the correct word in social situations.
“Here comes Spany clause, here comes Spany clause, right up tripple A lane”
ahh, Macleod, I was actually waiting for that one, not too original though…
but as you stated, cramps happen in people whose body fat is too low, I’m 6′1″ and weigh only 150 on a good day, and would estimate my % body fat to be less than 5%, I would say thats low, and thats why they happen to me as well.
Whoever starting-pitches next Wed, Thurs and Fri will start in Chicago on April 7th, 9th and 10th in the cold. And it won’t be Liriano.
Blackburn and Slowey have made the starting rotation for next Wed and Thurs. And they’ll go with Baker on Fri, the thinking being he’ll at least give ‘em as much as Perkins or Humber would, even if he really isn’t ready.
So the rotation looks set, and Liriano won’t be in it the first two times through.
Reds win! Like Juan always did, I’m running toward second like “Encarnacion taking a big lead at first. It looks like he’s going. Blackburn looks over and Edwin refuses to budge. Blackburn with the pitch and there goes Encarnacion! The speedster got a great jump and there won’t even be a throw from Mauer. Encarnacion into second with a stolen base and he’s now in scoring position for Joey Votto with 2 down in 9th.”
I’ve read that Gomez said he was ready to go today, and that Gardy has said if it was the Regular season, we would have played him…
I’ll take those remarks as he’s fine, don’t get so worried…
could somebody elaborate on GoGo’s leg?
If Gomez would have had a stress fracture he would not have asked to play. They hurt like Hell
heh, chad allen also happens to be mentioned in the Mitchell Report and supposedly used steroids to help recover from said injury.
Romer,
I left Boof & Livan off the list as they don’t need innings protection as they are both can go 225+ innings.
It has been said that young pitchers should never go more than 30 innings than the year before as it can cause problems and greatly shorten there careers.
Boof & Livan don’t fall into that category as the are already in the 200 inning club.
I am guessing that the T-Wolves trainers did not diagnose Foye and McCants as having muscle cramps when in fact they suffered stress fractures.
I’m not finding any videos of Chad Allen’s injury, I’m bummed now…
SweetOne,
Add Slowey at 200 1/3 innings last year.
Keep; much like Punto, when I see a meatball down the middle of the plate I crush it!!
Now the rest of the bloggers have me making fun of Punto. Dang. I’m tired this afternoon.
keep I needed a good laugh regarding watching the CA crippling crash
SweetOne,
Baker had 186 IP last year.
Blackburn had 160 IP plus AFL innings.
I’d say only Liriano needs much protection.
Macleod you are Down by a run in the 9th inn with two outs and you need a PH for the occasion because you are playing an interleague game and your pitcher is up do you bring in Punto to strike out or Kubel to fly out
Okay I’ll stop being a worry wort about Gomez.
But that’s some ugly, ugly news about Boof in the update above. And against an “A” affiliate.
This team’s prospects aren’t good unless we get adequate defense from both Lamb and Harris and we get some soaring offense from these two.
I don’t see it yet.
jimmy bee
ok so first of all Punto would pop up NOt strike out. Kubel may take a called 3rd strike though. You didn’t mention who the pitcher is. Maybe he can hit for himself.
If the bases are loaded I tell Kubel to get up there and get hit by the ball. Besides, I already had Punto in the game as a late inning defensive replacement. He has already struck out in the 9th, hence the 2nd out. After Kubel walks (hit batter) in the tieing run I bring in Redmond to check swing a blooper down the first base line to win the game.
I got after it today! You’d think I could hit .150 by accident. Can’t wait to get that big payday in free agency next winter.
Great call Macleod so Kubel steps on top of the plate and gets hit in the melon by high heat up and in by Joel Zumaya late in the year. Then we get a PR to take first. Next Redmond knocks in the winning run just scurrying by Cabrera down the left field line to seal the game
Redmond’s hit has to be down the right field line. He couldn’t get his bat around fast enough to pull the ball.
If I’m Gardy this year I say screw it; instead of making solid contact and using the whole field, just swing away. You know, like you did your whole career in order to make it to the majors.
Macleod who do you have Gardy say screw it to and swing away on the team
Hey T, we got Roberts from the Reds.
Twins trade infielder Castro to Reds. … traded infielder Juan Castro back to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday for minor league outfielder Brandon Roberts. …
sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2486109
Updated: June 15, 2006, 6:14 PM ET
Everybody swings away. This is the year to have fun!! Certain people can’t lay down the bunt anyway, so swing away.
I Gootcha
Tim that article I believe is from Updated: June 15, 2006, 6:14 PM ET
Why does that matter Jimmy bee?
To hell with positivity for LNP. Everytime he bat’s anything but ninth there should be fire Gardy chant’s in the dome. Punto is what he is and that is a no count at the plate. Punto will always be a source of controversy for how bad he tanked it last year.
traded infielder Juan Castro back to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday for minor league outfielder Brandon Roberts.
Thanks Tim. Do you also remember who they got for Lohse?
T,
My memory (which is crappy)tells me that
Zach Ward, RHP, was obtained in the Lohse deal.
Ward was 5-17 4.08 at Fort Myers, but he was losing 2-1, 3-2, 1-0 all year.
