Punto scratched from starting lineup
Posted on May 8th, 2008 – 1:00 PMBy Joe Christensen
CHICAGO — Twins infielder Nick Punto was scratched from today’s starting lineup. Brendan Harris will take his place at second base.
The team said Punto has cramping in his left hamstring and was kept out of the lineup for precautionary reasons, especially in cold weather. It was 52 degrees with a 13-mph northeast wind at first pitch.
Note: Howard Sinker is hosting a live blog during today’s game, so click here to join the action.
Twins (17-15)
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Matt Tolbert, 3B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Craig Monroe, DH
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, 2B
9. Adam Everett, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Kevin Slowey
White Sox (15-17)
1. Alexei Ramirez, SS
2. Carlos Quentin, LF
3. Jim Thome, DH
4. Paul Konerko, 1B
5. Jermaine Dye, RF
6. Nick Swisher, CF
7. Joe Crede, 3B
8. Juan Uribe, 2B
9. Toby Hall, C
Starting pitcher: LH John Danks
U.S. Cellular Field. First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
139 Responses to "Punto scratched from starting lineup"
Thankfully, fate saved Gardy from himself.
Yes, because how dare he put someone in the lineup who had a couple of extra base hits yesterday and drove in 5 runs, and who is hitting .265 on the year . . .
I realize a lot of people hate Punto, but his presence in the lineup on any given day is not a sign of the apocalypse.
When Gardy puts three Puntos in the lineup, it might just be.
A blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile. Punto does not deserve a spot on this team. End of story.
It’s time to send Gomez a message and send him down to Beloit. At least drop him down to 9th. The fewer number of at bats we can get our 22 yr old CF the better off we will be. Maybe even leave him on the bench for a pinch running role where he can excel. The last thing we need is him turning into another Manny Ramirez.
Don’t worry, Gomez will never be anything resembling Manny Ramirez.
Gomez will resemble Gomez. He is in a different class of player. Not many guys with his electrifying speed, in fact none. Probably be a good time to collect his autograph and rookie cards. The kid will be sending a lot more stuff to the HOF before he gets there 20 years from now. He will give us some heartburn this year, but he is single-handedly worth the price of a ticket.
OK, there is my hyperbole moment for the day. Enjoy. Time to go off to a meeting… stupid day games.
Does Gomez steal here?
You betcha.
Well I didn’t see that coming.
He looked safe to me, both the first time and on the replay.
In the 2nd inning, the strike zone to Twins hitters was about 3 feet wide.
Hah this time I outdid myself on another blog for the stymulis check ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Just more costly mistakes by Gomez that could be ironed out in Beloit.
dont like that live blog…too messy…jmho
time to start some scoring ….now
damn…after a day off, it looks like vavra is back at work…lol
Joe C:
On Howard’s live blog, I can’t keep up with the comments and have any time at all to watch the game. The scrolling moves too fast. I can’t even read a single entry.
And actually, I haven’t been able to get it to function so I can send an entry.
romer - he screens them…not all entries get on….that sucks….and yes its way to fast…
mj1 says:
May 8th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
dont like that live blog…too messy…jmho
That is typical Howard
mj1 says:
May 8th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
romer - he screens them…not all entries get on….that sucks….and yes its way to fast…
that is why Howard ticks me off and i will continue to boycott his blog. Darn blog nazi’s. He will actually go through and pick out entries he doesnt care for and start deleting them.
get some damn runs for slowey….what a boost he has given them so far today….
lavelle and Joe c are normal where is Howard is a controlling blog nazi
Young looking like the .260 hitter he is.
like the soup nazi…
jimmy bee, I’ve read some of the comments that have eventually gotten deleted. They deserve it when it happens.
As far as this game goes, both Danks and Slowey are pitching well today. It’s going to come down to the long ball I bet. Let’s hope the Twins can put one over first.
exactly. “NO BLOG FOR YOU”!!!!!!!
T some do and some don’t deserve to be deleted. Lavelle and Joe c let the blog work it’s way out. Howard tries to fix the blog himself by deleting entries. Some of the stuff I have seen deleted did not actually deserve it
so frustrating at times…if young and monroe would ever get hot this offense would be second to none..but i want it now, not later….getting impatient
Yeah, Young’s an enigma right now. We know he’s better than this.
Of course, he had a hot season last year. It’s quite possible he’s in his sophomore slump as pitchers around the league start getting their scouting reports on him.
The test is to see if he can now adjust to the adjustments.
Morneau’s been leaving ‘em on base lately.
Punto’s cramp wouldn’t release before the game. He’s had a lot of excitement coming his way, huh…
Good to see Tolbert and Mauer come through with some hits there. 2-0, let’s get through this Slowey.
ya knew it was only a matter of time till they got at least one…at least its a single shot
All eyes on Slowey. First 2 pitches to Dye didn’t have any command, so he throws one right down the middle. Bye-bye.
Wow, three homers in three games for Dye. The man is a machine.
Gonna get harder and harder to justify benching Tolbert for Lamb.
or tolbert for everett/punto
Nah, T. He just hit a cookie. And not much of an accomplishment to homer off of Livan in the 9th last night………meaningless off a pitcher just eating some innings.
Ben, right idea…wrong sub.
Bench Punto for Tolbert, release Everett, and bring up Buscher.
Then bench Lamb for Buscher. 
T we could have gotten Dye for less then Hunter wanted before the Sox resigned him this year and for not to much $$$. We needed a jumbotron though to use in 3 years
i still think if they make a change at 3b it will be to bring buscher up…tolbert will stay a utility guy with punto at least for this season…..
That may be true Romer, but I’d still love to have a guy on the Twins knock one out in three straight…
For those having problems with the scrolling you can click the second button from the left on the bottom and it will stop scrolling
T we had a chance to get Dye for cheap but just think of that beautiful jumbotron
Seriously Jimmy Bee…WTH?! Unless I’m mistaken, both Dye and Buerhle were resigned by the Sox in the middle of the season.
You know, when players are still exclusive property of the team for which they’re playing?
slowey just ran out of gas i believe…
I can’t believe people will whine when Pohlad doesn’t fund the stadium…then whine when he does.
What next? Whine when he resigns bunch of players?
Oh wait…you did that too.
Another one right down the middle with no movement.
Slowey/Baker/Liriano/Perkins haven’t been working yet this year for the Twins.
I agree. I think Everett and Punto will gone next year. The only reason Lamb will be here is I think he signed 2yr contract.
T he lowered the payroll and took money I feel should have been reinvested in players and bought a jumbotron
Slowey doesn’t look tired at all. But he doesn’t look intense either.
Looks like the Twins’ pregame opinion that he could go 100 pitches today was a pipedream.
Yeah romer, the injury bug is biting rather viciously. First Liriano, then Baker, then Slowey, then Baker again…and now it looks like Slowey isn’t all the way back yet.
Hopefully the staff can at least get through 6 or 7 innings on average over this next few weeks worth of games. Or else you may see a guy get optioned to bring up a spare arm.
Jimmy
You are wrong as usual. As T pointed out Dye resigned while still under contract with the Sox. He was never a free agent. Using your logic the Twins could have doubled the Rays offer for Longoria and they’d have a great young 3B!
T ok i will shutup about the jumbotron. I feel that players should have been signed with the money instead of being used on video equipment. I won’t bring it up again. I just feel it could have been used wiser
romer- imagine that and still in 1st place on the 8th of may…not bad, if we can get all pieces healthy and working properly, this team can do some serious, serious!! damage…….no less than wild card if not more…
Somebody put jimmy bee’s smiling face on the jumbotron so he quits complaining….
jimmy bee, you continually prove to be of a one track mind.
The team’s goal going into 08 was to reload with young players. Young players don’t usually cost that much (Shocker…I know).
Let’s see what happens now that the teams has shown signs that it could make a better run than most expected this season.
Can’t figure out the strike zone. That outside pitch to Cuddy looked like a strike to me.
It was in the 2nd inning.
Can anyone tell me the inning and score really quick?? Thanks.
thank god for pitching depth….
T - onto a new subject. I have a great question for you. I was reading in USA Today about Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey jr possibly being traded if the Red’s continue to struggle. Any thought’s on the Twins picking either one up. Dunn or Griffey would make a great DH
Top 6 3-2 Sox
Is that 2 sb for Cuddy
Romer that is not a bad idea. I would love to have my pic on a jumbotron. Can I hold up a sign that says trade Kubel pleeeease, or put Boof in the MR or LR role
Thanks Ben - can only get quick peeks in - have to “appear” to be working.
Monroe looking like the common batter he is.
i dont think i can blame monroe for that one..pitch looked real low to me…but what the hell do i know…
Cuddyer with his running shoes today.
Romer here is one sign I would hold up “Rincon has tainted juice stats”
Punto needs to show Cuddy how to do the head first into first base slide
How about sign that says “Trade Santana last December” so the Twins could have played in the FA market or made some trades.
So when will the Twins send Delmon down?
mj1, the replay showed it above the knees.
jb, I know Dunn’s name has come up quite a bit. Griffey’s is the first I’ve heard as a potential DH for the Twins.
Since I currently don’t even recall which handed either of these guys (I think the Twins need some righty power still with Young struggling and Monroe being…Monroe) I’d have to take a closer look.
At this point, I wouldn’t be against giving Bonds a shot, though that’s only short term and as such something they shouldn’t do until they’re sure they can make a run.
Erik, I think a better course of action would be to bench him for a few days. Put Kubel out there for a bit and let Young collect his thoughts.
Unbelievable 3 straight k with runner on 2B.
For the record, Slowey looked pretty good today, until he probably got tired in the 5th. So the stats don’t lie in this case.
So I’m still optimistic about him.
when things arent going right …who do we blame…vavra of course…must be vavras fault…we hit too damn much last nite..
we need adam dunn like we need another j kubel…forget it and griffey also…
I was reading the origin on the saying “Can of corn”. Interesting. It actually is a baseball term meaning a lazy flyball. I could just hear Bert right now saying it. “here is Joe Blower and he swings and hits the ball, can ah corn”
Once again I ask, why was Guerrier warming up in the 9th last night?
romer we should have brought in Crain
How can that crazy home plate ump not have called that a called strike!!?
what the hell just happened?
romer, I think it was a “just in case” sort of thing. Hernandez showed signs of struggling, and I think the idea was if he gave up any more runs they’d take him out for Guerrier.
In a game like that, you don’t want to let the opposing team take any kind of momentum out of the final half-inning.
poor gardy…life is just tough right now…he didnt need that…effn ump has a very short fuse….
gardys tardys. Did anyone see Gardy’s brother, he looked like a Grady clone
Thome…steals?
But T, why Guerrier last night. Should have been Rincon.
I’m just wondering what that warming up and not pitching last night might have done to Guerrier. He isn’t looking sharp.
Ozzie Guillen is not very classy with what he was seen on Comcast doing by making fun of Guerrier
Gardy clone sorry
should have been Korecky warming up last night. He is the one getting send down for Perkins isnt he
Need DP now
Another horrible call…..that was a ball to Swisher.
Man the sox announcers are HOMERS i guess that they always have been sure would be nice to come back and beat them so they will SHUT UP
How did he get ejected? I saw a mound visit and then *pop* no more Gardy.
COME ON get out of it!!!!!!
T did you see that thing on Swishers chin was pink last night. At first I thought it was vomit running out of his mouth and down his chin
T Gardy was arguing the check swing call that allowed them to steal 2nd and 3rd and got ejected!
WOW Great job of getting out of it now get a couple runs!!!!!!
need a big inning badly…get r done this time….
Ah. I see what you’re saying romer. Yeah, in that case it is weird. I think they mentioned Nathan was warming up as well yesterday.
Don’t pitchers occasionally get “bullpen sessions” or something, where they get up and throw during a game but not neccesariliy becaues they come in?
Thanks luke, I’m on gameday so I was trying to see which pitch it may have been (I guess it doesn’t show checked swings)
I did see Swisher’s face strip, jimmy. I guess whatever it takes to be “That Guy”
BC, the ump called ball 4 to Konerko (he was wrong) and Mauer turned his head back and said something to the ump.
Meanwhile, Konerko takes off his shin guard. Mauer appeals the call. The 1st base ump calls it a strike. But by then both runners had advanced, thinking it was ball 4.
So Mauer did some goofs. He should have appealed first instead of arguing the called ball. And someone said he appealed to the 3rd base ump first. And he should have thrown the ball to 3rd to get the runner out after his appeal.
how the hell you can look at a pitch like that with 2 strikes is beyond me….i dont understand …get vavra on the phone for me please..i need to know…
Dotel has now struck out 5 straight batters.
At least Tolbert made contact.
Oh, NOW I get my Rincon wish. Thanks, Ullger……..
we will see if rincon still has what it takes …some say no…im not convinced of that, at least i hope so
Could it be? The beginning of the “Replace Gardy w/ Ulger movement?”
T,
surprised it hadn’t happened already.
c’mon T…we know better dont we…at least i hope so…
Thanks romer damn things were looking so good untill the bottom of the fifth. Still not a bad start for Slowey i guess only 4 hits.
*^##@*%!, Rincon. 0-2, and he hangs one right down the middle. Guy gets a single.
Now the guy steals on a high throw by Mauer.
Rincon SUCKS
if the twins could just start finding a 3 run homer now and then, they would not find themselves in these 1-2 run games all the time..they really need to find some power they can count on….minors, trade, free agents??? wherever they can find it
Rincon looked in control for a couple batters. But his velocity isn’t there.
Small ball produces a run for the Chisox.
Brain fart by Mauer gives Thome his first stolen base since 2002. Brain fart last night by Punto produces a DP on a bunt.
So far, the Sux deserve to win.
mj1, they just got rid of Knott, right?
For some cash……
romer - Thome stealing ha ha ha ha ha. Not as bad as an inside the park HR by Prince Fielder though but close
What can I say………the ball played Morneau instead of him playing the ball. Oh well, no harm done.
TOUGHEN UP, TWINS!!!
Earn your money Morneau
romer …not quite who i was thinking about..lol
morneau must need a day off or two…seems to sinkin into the deep…..
T which is the worst:
Prince Fielder Inside the Park HR
Thome Stealing
Dunn getting a triple
kubels weight seems to be going up as fast as his average is going down…please get rid of him…free him up …do me the favor..
mj1 says:
May 8th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
kubels weight seems to be going up as fast as his average is going down…please get rid of him…free him up …do me the favor..
You forgot that he looks like an inbreed tyroll with fetal alcohol syndrome
has anyone heard is Mulvey going to be called up soon
afraid its going to be 1 of 3 and home to face the boston red sox…..should be interesting to see how they hold up against the big boys from the east…anybody hate the redsox/yankees more than me…hate both those clubs with big passion….
not good for neshek
twins must have one hell of a buffet table ….even the trainer is none too light…
what happened to Neshek
jimmy bee-maybe sooner than we had hoped??good lord what next??
OH-oh, Neshek removed after he felt a pop in his elbow.
romer says:
May 8th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
OH-oh, Neshek removed after he felt a pop in his elbow
oh shite
I think Gordon just said his wife was fat.
Jimmy bee do you like Kubel or not?
rochester will be looking for pitchers pretty soon…damn
Joe has a new post
Ben D says:
May 8th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Jimmy bee do you like Kubel or not?
No, he is overated and Monroe is better
Can anyone guess what the average age of the rochester team is? I bet it’s higher then the big club.
Bc
Probably, I think Tommy Watkins is turning 53 next month.
