Gomez returns to lineup for Twins
Posted on April 29th, 2008 – 3:31 PMBy Joe Christensen
Carlos Gomez is back in the lineup for the Twins, as they get set to face Gavin Floyd and the White Sox tonight. Gomez had been out since Friday with a sore calf.
Update: Manager Ron Gardenhire said Adam Everett (strained right shoulder) could be activated from the DL in time for Friday’s game. Everett is eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday, but the team wants to see him go through another on-field workout on Wednesday.
Scott Baker (strained groin muscle) will test the injury in a bullpen session Wednesday morning. Gardenhire said if Baker feels even the slightest hint of pain, he will head to the DL.
“We’re going to be very careful with this thing,” Gardenhire said. “He’s going to have to have no issues for us to put him back out there. The plan is to have him throw Saturday [against Detroit], but that could change tomorrow with his bullpen session.”
White Sox (14-10)
1. Nick Swisher, CF
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Jim Thome, DH
4. Paul Konerko, 1B
5. Jermaine Dye, RF
6. A.J. Pierzynski, C
7. Carlos Quentin, LF
8. Joe Crede, 3B
9. Juan Uribe, 2B
Starting pitcher: RH Gavin Gloyd
Twins (11-14)
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Brendan Harris, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Jason Kubel, DH
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. Mike Lamb, 3B
9. Nick Punto, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Boof Bonser
Metrodome. First pitch: 7:10 p.m.
118 Responses to "Gomez returns to lineup for Twins"
First
well, a slight difference from my projected lineup:
Gogo
Mauer
Cuddyer
Morneau
Kubel
Young
Lamb
Harris
Tolbert
Just had to get LNP back in the saddle, baby!
And to be honest, on paper, wow, that White Sox lineup is far superior…
Good thing the game isn’t played on paper…let’s go Boooooooof.
Punto just needs to play more to break out of his slump. Remember last year, he needed five months to get warmed up. He just takes longer to find his groove than every other player in mlb.
ES16 says:
April 29th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Punto just needs to play more to break out of his slump. Remember last year, he needed five months to get warmed up. He just takes longer to find his groove than every other player in mlb.
now thats funny
wow….hilarious ES16…yeah, obviously the sight of Tolbert’s double on Saturday was too much for Gardy to bear…next thing you know Matty T. might actually get a third RBI and eliminate any possible excuse to play Punto.
Two phrases that have become a foreign language to Bat Girl’s first love “double” and “RBI”
Also, just went to twinsbaseball.com…they’re asking us to vote some Twins in for the All-Star game already. Umm, hmm, even the biggest Twins die hard geek couldn’t justify a hanging chad for anyone other than Morneau and Nathan.
Yes!! More frickin’ Punto!!!!
I voted for Punto
Jason i agree and other than those two the only one worth consideration is Blackburn.
The silly, failed experiment of Mauer batting 2nd, is long over.
Check the Twins website and the article “Mauer back where he belongs”.
Gardy says he’s sticking with Mauer 3rd and Morneau 4th, versus left or right hand pitchers. I would hope so.
Does Gardy think it is a mortal sin to
1.) Move Gomez to the 9 spot
2.) Bat Mauer in his natural position #2
3.) Not play Punto for a whole week.
4.) Have a higher OBP guy hit leadoff
or F it All of the Above
Harris
Mauer
Cuddy
Morneau
Kubel
Young
Lamb
Punto
Gomez
In Bizarro World, Bizarro Nick Punto is an all-star.
in 34 ABs Punto has produced 0 runs. No RBI and no runs scored.
I can’t believe there are still fans out there that defend this guy.
I guess Gardy feels like he needs to play him since they are paying him $2.4M this year.
mortal sin, for sure…
Go Boooooof…..boof struggled in his last outing, but he did get job done (2 ER in 6 IP)…they aren’t scoring for him, however.
Gardy has the potion for that:
L-N-P
Well, Jimmy, Gardy needs to read the papers then…
Headline: Zito moved to bullpen
I hope Boofs control is a lot better then that last start didn’t he throw like 100 pitches in 6 innings?
I’m sure Boof’s confidence will be sky high knowing Punto is in the lineup ready to provide some big run support.
And to be honest, on paper, wow, that White Sox lineup is far superior…
And not surprisingly far superior off the paper as well.
So far, Punto has gotten on base more frequently than Gomez, Kubel and Lamb.
Of course, just about any player could do that.
You guys have it all wrong on Punto….the reason he has 0 RBI is because the people in front of him aren’t getting on base! It’s not his fault…
Signed,
Joe Mauer
Exactly. 100 pitches in 6 innings. 4 walks, 2K’s. 56 pitches for strikes.
C’mon guys, you go with the guy that is hot.
Matty is 1-15 over the last 4.
Nicky is 2-14 over the last 4.
Any further questions?
Personally I am more concerned about how many runs a player is producing than whether or not they get on base a few more times on average than someone else. Kubel has 14 RBI Punto has 0. Yes Kubel plays more and hits in a better spot but the fact is Punto doesn’t produce runs. His spot is in AAA or AA.
Umm, Kubel is in the lineup, Jimmy…what does he have to do with Punto?
You guys have it all wrong on Punto….the reason he has 0 RBI is because the people in front of him aren’t getting on base! It’s not his fault…
That could have a little something to do with it (only 5 PA’s with RISP), as well as being an awful hitter.
Oh, you were being facetious, silly me. Funny how even when you’re being sarcastic you end up being wrong.
Fail.
see, Gardy, that’s why you get paid the Big Bucks…why didn’t I think of that?????
New and improved guy pointed out that Punto has a better OBP than Gomez, Kubel, Lamb. I was just saying I don’t think that means much.
What you don’t realize is that when Punto watches a called third strike sail down the middle of the plate, it’s not the horrible blunder it appears to be. It’s all part of his master plan to make the pitcher over-confident.
Jimmy,
I agree it doesn’t mean much….but not beacuse of run production. OBP has much to do with run production. It doesn’t mean much because of sample size. Punto might have a higher OBP, now, but we all know that Kubel and Lamb are much more proven run producers and better hitters then Punto. Gomez, well, he is hitting very Punto-like right now…but man is he fast.
Boy, what’s Gardy going to do next year when LNP is gone?
Wait, I am sure LNP is at work getting photos on Billy Boy.
10 year extension here we come!
well he better not have been implying that Punto is a better option than Kubel…
Cue Jim Mora:
“Don’t blame this one on the pitching…when you have 0 extra base hits, 0 runs batted in, 8 hits, all for singles, 7-2 strikeout to walk ratio…you’re not going to win a Little League game, much less a college or pro game…in my opinion that sucks…we gave them the friggen game…
“Punto…Punto…don’t talk about Punto….are you kidding me, Punto? I’m just trying to win a game….
“
ES16…nice. Just like when Gomez swings with all his might at outside pitches in the dirt. They are masters of the psychological part of sports!
Yes. And, I didn’t even bother giving you the on base differences over the last 4 games. If I had included walks, it would have changed the numbers from:
Matty 1-15 and Nicky 2-14 to
Matty 1-15 and Nicky 2-14.
Still a dominating position for Nicky, I think you would have to agree.
Carlos Gomez has a .362 SLG%, while that’s not terribly impressive, there is nothing Punto-like about it (absolutely no XBH potential out of Poon).
The same goes for Kubel.
Jason,
That was actually pretty funny. Nice pull on the “playoffs??!!” bit. Cool.
Gardy when you are right you are right. You can’t deny the stats. Depressing to think those are the Twins only two options.
Man, is this White Sox lineup one of the slowest ever in MLB history? They always talk about “Ozzie Ball” but it’s the same old White Sox. Hit it over the fence or they don’t win.
Leave me Alone!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, JT…it just came to me…by far THE best coaching rant of all-time, and I doubt it will ever be topped…
Snepp,
True. .633OPS (gomez) to .513 (punto) is significant. I just wish they would move Gomez to the 9 or 8 spot for the rest of the year. I understand Gardy’s desire to get him at-bats…make him feel he isn’t going to lose his job. But that type of OBP at the top of the line-up is killer. There is no reason for him to get the most at bats this season on the team, when he is perhaps one of the 2-3 worst everyday hitter on the team. He’ll still get plenty of at-bats if he plays everyday, but I think baseball as shown that you win more games when your best hitters get to the plate the most!
Boof’s had 4 of 5 quality starts. The team has rallied for a massive 7 runs over those starts. Whether or not he’s a good pitcher is tbd, though the 8 ball points to “probably”. But his W/L (worst pitching stat ever) is beat up entirely by our pathetic offense.
Nick PUnto…taking questions…
Man, same old White Sox team. Hit it over the fence or they don’t win. Got to be one of the slowest teams in recent MLB history.
42nd!!!!
Jason,
I am a fan of the “we let them off the hook…they are who we thought they were” from Denny Green, but the Mora is classic.
I am who you thought I was
3rd in OBP and first in HR’s is a great way to score runs. No speed needed. But when those old men slow down and stop hitting it out…not good.
How about this one…
John L. Smith….
“Yeah, I’m very upset…we shoulda had a (RBI) there…(Punto) shoulda got him in; he didn’t get him in…that’s a damn hitting mistake…the kids are playing their tails off, and (Punto’s) screwing it up…”
ya but i saved 6 runs on defense
Nice. There was a great Youtube video with all the great coaching rants, including the college coach who kept talking about his age, “I’m 42…I’m a man, I’m 42…” something like that.
Good times.
Punto makes the plays in the field, at least. The way Gomez plays CF, there’s no telling how many runs the White Sox might score.
It want to watch Ozzie laugh at Carlos’ swing. Hilarious.
yep….Mora’s is the all-timer though…the spontaniety with which he uttered those lines was absolutely priceless….same with John L…
On Denny’s, the interesting thing was he responding to a softball question about how the Cardinals had Rex Grossman bottled up all game…also very good, but it doesn’t top Mora IMO
Agreed.
What was great about Mora is that it came around the same time as Iversons, “practice….we’re talking about practice, not a game, right, practice?” one of my favorite player interviews.
This is the worst fielding Twins’ OF, since Cordova, Becker, and Lawton, were bungling around in the late 1990’s. At least Cordova and Lawton could hit a little.
Sure wish I had Matthew LeCroy right about now.
Is there anything that’s keeping tolbert out of the lineup, I don’t want to sound like a fool for ripping Punto at short.
What was awesome about Mora’s (and puts it over the top–other than the hilarious high-pitched delivery) is it had to be 100% unscripted…here we have a pro sports world where everyone–players, coaches, GMs, PR types–will sell hope like it’s going out of style, yet Mora was basically saying don’t even dare try to convince our fans that we’re going to the playoffs–we have no prayer…you just don’t get that kind of brutal honesty very often.
Joe@icanplay3rd
Yes, me.
I LOVE YOU GArdy
GArdy always tells me how i remind him of him as a player…and that is why he plays me…he is living vicariously through me
I got a feeling that Nicky is going to score a run tonight and save a run tonight. Sometimes you go with your gut.
That reminds me, I gotta get to the pre-game meal. Later, boys.
i won’t let you down Gardy!!!
I’m batting .300 with 50 ABs… not that it makes any difference to our offense or anything… (cough cough) 3 stolen bases too (cough cough)… not to metion we both have one error this year, at 3rd not short.
“Is there anything that’s keeping tolbert out of the lineup, I don’t want to sound like a fool for ripping Punto at short.”
Gardy is giving both Punto and Tolbert some playing time, until the everyday player, the less talented Everett, returns.
Everett is my arch-rival…just as bad at the plate, but some people think he is better than me in the field…good thing Gardy has my back
When Ever-Out Returns, I will re-open this debate, I’d rather have Punto or Tolbert in there than him, so I won’t complain yet…please stay on the DL from a twins fan view, but as a fellow human, get well soon… and book a condo in Rochester
Gardy and Punto sittin in a tree
All you punto haters there is a new worst athlete in minnesota sports………..BOOTY!!!
DOWN WITH BOOTY
shameless… up your booty
Gavin Gloyd…he’s gonna be tough to beat.
Ah, them’s some good samiches. Now, where were we? Oh, yea. People been complaining about some of my moves. Some people been questioning my playing of my nephew Nicky. I thought I had cleared that all up with my earlier post (see 4:15 pm).
You boys really need to get a life. If all you got to do is question my moves, then maybe you should get a hobby — take up bowling or something.
Now, just watch Nicky hit, run, slide, score, play defense, and make the acrobatic plays. Enjoy. Just like me — watch me smile.
This line up should be
Tolbert
Harris
Mauer
Morneau
Cuddyer
Kubel
Young
Lamb
Gomez
I will bat Mauer 3rd if you put two guys in front of him that can get on base, and it guarentees that Morneau should have at least one atbat with a runner in scoring position at some point in time during a game so as he’s the only person on the team driving in runs, put as many high ob% people in front of him as possible!!!
Mauer to go yard in 1st inning with Gomez on 2nd. My call for the night.
Christ, already. Enough of the Nick Punto starting bit. Someone slap this manager upside the damn head and tell him we didn’t go and trade away half our starting pitching just so we can start Nick Punto every night!!
Nick Punto
<3
huzzzzaaaaah!
would love to see boof pitch with a lead for once…he never gets support from this bunch….will that change tonite or are we in for more of the same…..and wheres blyleven tonite…anyone know…coomer is calling the game with dick???might be good for a change…is bert ok???
“The silly, failed experiment of Mauer batting 2nd, is long over.
Check the Twins website and the article “Mauer back where he belongs”.
Gardy says he’s sticking with Mauer 3rd and Morneau 4th, versus left or right hand pitchers. I would hope so.”
Craig, really, do you know ANYTHING about baseball???
Mauer is only batting .375 in the 2nd hole with an RBI every fourth AB, while he’s batting a meager .288 in the third hole with an RBI every ELEVENTH AB!
lalaa72…breath…
And guess what
Doesn’t matter where he hits, it seems as If he always hits into double plays.
And if I see one more tonight, I might flip out.
*sees lineup*
…
*leaves*
i would say mauer has the weakest .300 avg in the game…saw the interview today on the pregame…hit everthing up the middle- whatever happened to turning on a ball and pull it down the damn line for a double, triple and maybe even, god forbid a homerun…….this dink, dunk crap up the middle reminds me of someone else in town that boasts of a kick ass offense…am i wrong??
I just wonder when the ’silly, failed experiment’ of Gardy as a manager might be over…
I say again, what if mauer has a career ceiling of TOny Gwynn, or Wade boggs will people be disappointed?
Boof looks like he gained back at least half of the weight he lost during the offseason. I wonder whether the lack of run support turned him into an emotional eater…
brent,
people will be disappointed for a good 10 years
Coomdog has been on the air for ten minutes and he has already offered more indepth analysis than bert. Of course Dick is still the cheesiest JA on earth so I shouldn’t get to excited.
Coom saying Boof has great command tonight already has caused me to hit the mute button
djb,
at least he didn’t finish his comment with some ridiculous inuendo, or a long diatribe about pitch counts.
Brent, I agree with you. Twins would sell more media guides if they fired bert.
thanks for nothing joe, where’s the HRs…. 
He missed his pitch there.
great defense punto…awesome….thats my man
Nice swing, Kubel. Three runs for Bonser–that’s the most he’s had this year!
how about the new beefier boof?
I’m getting a new email address tonight!
Bonser is a totally different pitcher when his slow curve is working!!
Looks like the boof I used to believe in!
I just realized how sane stays loyal. He said yesterday it was too early to judge Twins hitters; he was going to wait until September. Then when September comes and the offense is still terrible, it will be time to say, “Better luck next year! The squad should be great with a year to mature!!!”
He doesn’t look like the Boof I used to believe in. I’m pretty sure the old Boof kept a cheeseburger in his back pocket. This guy doesn’t look like he could single-handedly drive Hormel out of business during dollar dog nights.
I got back in the game!!! Look out Marino!
I heard Rincon wrote that commercial.
yes.
Huh. Surprised to see it so dead in hear during a divisional game.
Good win. Offense had some struggles, but thankfully Kubel was able to break the tension with a no-doubter early in the game.
I think once that came, Boof was able to stay focused on his part of the game.
Some good defensive plays by the Twins…including one heck of a relay from Young to Punto to Morneau for the DP/Assist. (Are you watching how that works Gomez?)
Got a laugh out of Nathan fielding the ball. I wonder how much of that was fielding instinct…can picture Gardy, Andy, and Smith all collectively letting out a sign of relief when he pulled his hand back in time.
Congrats to the boys, now build off that tomorrow afternoon. (And seriously, Get Tolbert in there)
That should be “fielding the bat”
I guess I gave in to my instincts as well.
T,
that was Young to Harris to Morneau for the DP assist… Punto was clearing the astroturf off his cleats.
My mistake. Regardless, heck of a turn.
“He said yesterday it was too early to judge Twins hitters; he was going to wait until September. Then when September comes and the offense is still terrible, it will be time to say, “Better luck next year!”
That won’t happen! Luck is already factored in to any results.
I’ve said before, if 2008 hitting resembles 2007 at the end of the season, there will be a new hitting coach at the Dome. And everyone will be skewering the new guy next year.
But until someone can explain to me the differences between the techniques taught by Vavra and the techniques taught by the “good” hitting coaches, I will assume that the differences in teaching are minimal but the differences in the batter’s skills are the only significant difference.
With Cuddyer’s BA up to .286 and Delmon’s up to .273, we may soon have other options in the 3-hole.
Could be:
Harris
Mauer
Cuddyer/Young
Morneau
Young/Cuddyer
Kubel
Lamb
Tolbert/Everett/ Every Night Nicky
Gomez
With Cuddyer’s BA up to .286 and Delmon’s up to .273, we may soon have other options in the 3-hole.
Yes, Delmon’s .300 OBP and non-existent power are ripe for hitting 3rd.
Also, as of right now, Delmon ranks 166th in OPS out of the 197 qualified players.
*vomit*
Is Everett even worth taking off the D.L?
Delmon is gonna pull his OPS out of the toilet. He has a track-record of hitting. Mauer’s is of slap-singles, Delmon is a line-drive hitter. Line-drive hitters hit it into gaps for doubles much more frequently than slap-hitters. In Delmon’s case, I can see plently of room for upward movement of his OPS.
snepp,
“With Cuddyer’s BA up to .286 and Delmon’s up to .273, we may soon have other options in the 3-hole.”
I guess I didn’t qualify that statement enough by saying “MAY”, “SOON” and “OTHER OPTIONS”.
I left out “remote”, “one-in-a-million”, “when pigs fly” or “unless Mauer hits a double”
THE TIMBERWOLVES STINK. I can’t even watch who they draft because they will just ruin that players confidence, and with McFail they will never win. I would take less money to go somewhere else. Sorry to go on a tangent
good job last night Baron Von Boofenheimer
New Craig… just noticed your post where you blasted the Twins current OF: “This is the worst fielding Twins’ OF, since Cordova, Becker, and Lawton, were bungling around in the late 1990’s.”
Can’t disagree more with that.
This is the best OF since… maybe Puckett days; or maybe since Oliva, Hall, Allison days.
Their only weaknesses are over agressiveness by DY and not knowing where his throws are going all the time by Gomez; both of which will improve with coaching. However, they have the strongest arms we have EVER had in one OF and will set records for assists as a group. LF and CF have speed enough to save a lot of hits. Defensively, this is not a group that you can knock. It may well be the best in the AL, certainly top 3.
As far as very recent memory, can’t believe you would prefer Tyner, RonDL, Stewart, Kubel, and other weak LF’s over DY; Carlos is already making people forget about Hunter’s CF play; Cuddy is still playing RF.
So, gotta say… not getting the slam on the OF’s defensive play.
Why is today’s game in the afternoon?
The Twins are staying at home this weekend to play Detroit and the White Sox next game is Friday in Toronto?
With school still in, I don’t understand why this occurs?
My favorite is watching Gomez and Young almost slam into each other when a ball is hit inbetween the 2 of them. Learn how to call off the other player and just catch the Ball.
