Wednesday lineups: Twins/Rangers
Posted on May 21st, 2008 – 3:39 PMBy Joe Christensen
Alexi Casilla gets another start at second base for the Twins, with Brendan Harris on the bench.
Updates to come…
Update (6:20 p.m.): Manager Ron Gardenhire said Harris will likely start at shortstop on Thursday. For now, Casilla is playing well, and Gardenhire likes how the lineup has looked.
Scott Baker had a pain-free bullpen session today in Fort Myers, Fla., so the next step is likely a live batting practice session.
Here’s Gardy, on Denard Span’s broken finger injury: “Yeah, that does stink. That’s part of baseball and all that, but he was playing so well, swinging so well, and now he’s going to have to sit out three weeks. That’s too bad. Too bad. Hurts that [Rochester] ballclub, too, because he was playing good for them.”
Rangers (22-25)
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Michael Young, SS
3. Josh Hamilton, CF
4. Milton Bradley, DH
5. David Murphy, RF
6. Gerald Laird, C
7. Brandon Boggs, LF
8. Chris Shelton, 1B
9. Ramon Vazquez, 3B
Starting pitcher: RH Sidney Ponson
Twins (23-22)
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Alexi Casilla, 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. Adam Everett, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn
Metrodome. First pitch: 7:10 p.m.
126 Responses to "Wednesday lineups: Twins/Rangers"
What a perfect combo- $1 Hot dogs and getting to watch the Twins absolutely clobber Sid Ponson.
Hey Joe,
I was wondering how Delmon Young has blended in with the Twins clubhouse and coaching staff. Chemistry is important during a 162 game season and I really like him as a potential All Star.
Not too bad of a line up for tonight. Would look better with a better SS in the 9 hole, but I’ll take it.
I understand Gardy being frustrated with Harris’ inability to turn the double play, but Casilla isn’t a fielding savant either. Guess it doesn’t matter as long as Casilla keeps hitting the way Harris had been.
Isn’t it strang that Delmon Young has about 9 extra base hits since that article in the Strib said he was a singles hitting weenie. I guessing a homerun tonight.
Is Harris finished when Punto returns? Gardy doesn’t have much confidence in Casilla, so you can kind of figure how he feels about Harris.
Cuddyer needs to benched for a couple games or at least moved down the batting order. He looks terrible at the plate for the last several games. Maybe switch him and Young around in the lineup
Harris should not be done as a Minnesota Twins he should take the place of either Lamb or Everett. WHY IS HARRIS TAKING ALL THE BLAME!!!! BLAME EVERETT AND LAMB TOO!!!
The Twins need to cut everett when punto and tolbert are healthy if he continues to suck. Put Casilla at SS, Harris at 2B, and Punto at 3B, and put Lamb on the bench.
I hope Casilla blows up so Gardy has no choice but to keep him up and let Everett go when LNP returns.
Hopefully, Cuddy gets going and finishes strong. Span needs to play everyday next season. I’d like to see the Twins trade Cuddy in the off-season, or sooner.
JDW
I completely agree. Maybe put Young in the 2 spot, i think he is finally ready.
Harris doesn’t have the glove to be a Minnesota Twin. Gardy didn’t say so, in so many words, but that was my interpretation of what he said.
Gardy became extremely frustrated with Harris, in their final game in Colorado. I think he’s close to finished. I’ll bet the Twins are working on making a move.
tyler, i agree that young should be the permanent #2 hitter. he has decent speed and should benefit from seeing some more fastballs with gomez on base. only problem is, you put two free swingers in front of mauer and potentially bring him up with 2 outs and nobody on. i really liked tolbert in this spot. he has a nice, short swing and a good eye at the plate. really bummed to see him go down with the injury. i’m surprised that hasn’t happened to LNP before!
Is Craig Monroe still on the team? With Cuddy having a hard time right now why not sit him for a game and let Monroe play.
I AGREE ABOUT CUDDYER NEEDING TO BE BENCHED. HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE LEADER AND VETERAN FOR THIS TEAM. THE TWINS GO OUT AND PAY HIM HIS MONEY AND HE TANKS IT! JASON TYNER COULD HAVE BETTER NUMBERS AND MAKE A FRACTION OF WHAT CUDDY MAKES. HE IS A GREAT GUY BUT COMEON BUDDY STEP UP AND HIT!
the same lineup 2 days in a row? Crazy!
Gardy will probably turn Harris into a bench bat if Casilla keeps it up. Then Howie Clark gets sent down. When Tolbert comes back in about July, the organization may cut Punto or Everett if Casilla is playing well.
Shawn
There is no reason we would cut punto. There is every reason why we would cut everett is Casilla plays well. Punto provides more energy as well as better offense and defense.
Punto may have more arm, but he is not better with the glove or bat…. he probably isn’t worse either.
I am sure Gardy would cut Everett first, but they are pretty much the same guy. Neither will be here in 09.
I don’t know whether to be excited or nervous to see Sidney Ponson starting against the Twins. Excited because he is so awful that most teams would feast on his garbage stuff. Nervous because the Twins do such a good job of jumpstarting (a) struggling offenses, (b) awful pitching, and (c) teams that are below them. I do believe we’re dealing with 2 of 3 here…and with Ponson on the mound, the Twins SHOULD be able to hit him hard…but then again, we are talking about my Twins here…
Gardy is struggling with the offense/defense issue. Last night Bert said that Gardy envisions Casilla at SS. He knows that Harris and Lamb are needed to win against the Red Sox. We swept them with a better hitting lineup. Gardy has almost never one a series that easily against a strong hitting opponent.
Why not Harris to 3B on a more perm basis. It would minimize his fielding deficiencies and keep his bat in the line up. He’s slumping right now, but I can see him as a .280 hitter with 15 home runs/year over time. Better than we’ve had at 3rd sack in a long while…
Er, one 3 out of 4 I mean. It felt like a sweep.
Ponson is having a similar pattern that he had with us last year, fast start then big crash.
Here are is five starts:
1. 5R/1ER
2. 1R/1ER
3. 1R/1ER
4. 6R/6ER
5. 7R/3ER
He won his 2 1R games and got ND in the others.
I keep typing one instead of won. I need to go home.
Awesome Twins show:
http://media.myfoxtwincities.com/livestream/webcast/archive.htm
I will admit that, while I usually have no complaints about Gardy’s lineup (unusual for this space) I would like to see Harris at second (batting 9th) with Casilla at short and see how they did with that lineup.
this lineup scored 11 last night, i am willing to ride it out a couple of days.
Punto is not better with the glove or bat?
How many errors does Everett have while already missing nearly 3 weeks?
Granted in limited play, how many erors to Punto have?
Who makes the more spectacular plays?
Has everett ever hit over .290 for an entire year?
What is everett batting right know?
Punto is better than Everett. Although they both are nothing great, punto is faster, brings more energy, plays better defense in EVERY aspect of the game, and is better offensively, he is loyal to the twins, accepts ANY position to play, which makes him for verstile obviously. Punto is better period.
*which makes him versitile
Tyler,
this is Punto you are defending. Punto! don’t hurt yourself talking him up, you will be ripping him later.
I’m still scratching my head as to why the Twins went out to get Everett when they already had Punto.
Notice I said he is nothing great, but he is good of the bench. Everett is weak. Punto is the better player for all the reasons above. that is my only point. Cut Everett once punto is healthy
I enjoy having all this speed at the top of the order.
I miss Punto.
I’m sad.
I feel a huge void in the awesomeness department.
I thought the Trib mentioned the other day that Harris could see some time at 3B,according to Gardy.Lamb had a couple of knocks last night,so maybe a platoon is shaping up with Harris and Lamb.Gardy says he thinks Casilla is better suited for SS,so if Everett cintinues to struggle that could be an option.Once Punto returns from the hammy I could see him getting lots of playing time at 2b,at least until Tolbert recovers from the thumb injury.
Infield:
1B Morneau
2B Punto/then Tolbert
3B Lamb/Harris - platoon
SS Casilla
Ben,
“I’m still scratching my head as to why the Twins went out to get Everett when they already had Punto.”
IMO you need a late-inning defensive replacement for every offense-only starting infielder (Lamb and Harris).
So you’ve got Punto, Everett and Tolbert/Clark/Casilla to finish the game if the Twins are leading.
I like it Doug i like it a lot
Wow, this Souhan versus Coomer thing is horrible. I would like ot vote for None of the Above. Souhan made Coomer look like (and even bigger) idiot!
I hate to agree with Souhan, but other than the Yankees argument, he was right.
The Yankees may be done…. but it is too early to know for sure.
i hope so…. makes living out here easier.
Seth- I missed it, was it similar to the thing FSN did with Gorg and The meat head color guy on Wild telecasts.Its funny that FSN can’t come up with new ideas regarding the pre and post game shows.The “on the field/ice/court demonstration bits are lame also.
I love Gomez, I do…. but i hope FSN isn’t actually suggesting that Gomez is the best leadoff hitter in the league right now
So Seth….. who has been more valuable this year. Carlos Gomez or Torii?
I haven’t been following his numbers, but I think Gomez has done a lot for this team considering the fan expectations and the pressure he faced coming in as “that guy in the Santana trade”
I should add in the additional pressure of being “that guy that isn’t Hunter in CF”
Bradley should’ve been ejected. I’ve seen players get tossed for less.
Long story short, hopefully the Rangers are now down their cleanup hitter for the rest of the game.
Nice to see the Twins offense.
Wait, I was watching last night’s game.
Yikes! The wheels fell off in a hurry…
Casilla showing everyone why he will be heading back to AAA. You can’t drop a simple DP throw. A one run inning turns into 7! Crud.
He better hit a bunch more 3 run HRs if he is going to screw up routine ground balls. Lifetime .225 average is not going to get it done.
This is his history - messing up the easy plays. Crud, crud, crud!
Is it me or does it seem like the Twins hit a triple a game?
Sir Sidney is in Cy Young form, huh?
I was going to stay offline tonight but I can’t help myself. I assume everyone wants to see Harris back in tomorrow? What was Casilla doing on that nubber that went past Blackburn and he quit on. Everett came to his side of the base to field it and then Casilla wasn’t on 2B either???
Oh dang that Vavra. He went and got all stupid and bad again.
And Morneau…ouch buddy. Is that a couple of 0fers the in the past few games?
Who was it the Twins used to have that would get to 0-2 and then would start nibbling…
Was that Lohse?
Rincon channeling his inner Romero with that one.
good ole Rincon, no pressure… still can’t do it
Sad to say that Rincon needs to go……Ever since he gave up the drug he has not pitched well. He is no longer a major league pitcher…….The end is here for Juan. Gardy, start using your bullpen better. Let Bobby K pitch!!! Get Danny Graves up!!!!
Just tuned in. Who’s Pontoon pitching for, us or them? Who got the 7 zip lead, us or them? Who’s manager got tossed, us or them?
I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
Gomez is a super star in the making!
Gogomez=that guy that isn’t Hunter in CF.
Good one.
This is the best time for Rincon to pitch. The game is very likely out of hand…why waste one of the guys we need in a TIGHT game on some late inning mop up work.
“Gogomez=that guy that isn’t Hunter in CF.”
That’s not my way of looking at it. I’m saying for Gomez, he had double pressure.
1) Being “the guy” that was the focus of the Santana trade.
2) Being “the new CF” that came after Hunter left.
He should not even be on the team is my point
Punto does not deserve a spot on this roster. Simple as that.
That’s very true Dewey, he really shouldn’t anymore. Who in AAA is ready to go in the pen?
What we need is Baker and Liriano to get back to 100% and get back with the club.
That’ll force them to do something with guys like Rincon…
Let Bert make a comeback and be the extra man in the pen for mop up!!!
Brasky, if Casilla can show he’s ready to be with the club, he and Tolbert should be the SS/Bench IF with Punto and Everett taking a long walk.
We are totally in agreement there.
I knew what you were saying, T. Just agreeing on how he handles the pressure.
Rincon doesn’t start the fire, but he sure does keep it hot!
Cuddyear needs to go out and find a slumpbuster.
Casilla went from penthouse to outhouse tonight. I wonder who Gardy hates more right now, Harris or Casilla.
this loss is on Casilla. A simple catch of a DP throw and this game is 1-1 and we talk about a great Blackburn outing.
My guess is Clark starts at 2b tomorrow. Casilla just bought himself some bench time. Gardy hates this crap even more than I do. And, I hate it a lot.
Way to blow the game alexi! (No coaching was to blame for this one folks).
I knew exactly what you were saying, T. Just agreeing on how he handles the pressure. The comment didn’t read like I wanted it to.
Blackburn still got beat up. Casilla’s play didn’t help, but Blackburn must’ve let it shake him a bit more than we woudl expect.
Can’t score 11 in all of them 
Must be that kid’s first brain freeze.
T:
don’t make me say it again! LOL
Casilla’s play didn’t help???? Blackburn gave up 1 earned run if you want to be technical. Casilla’s error gave up 6. Yea, his error didn’t help. For sure.
Korecky needs to come in not only to pitch, but to help the Twins’ offense!
Let’s see if the Twins will eat some salary and cut Rincon and 2 mil and do the same with little short stop Adam I hit a buck 90 and his 2 mil……Get Luke Hughes up now.
TK,when asked about what he thought of Blackburn,he said Blackburn sometimes gets a little excited.What happened to him in the sixth was an example of letting a bad play get to you.You could see him muttereing to himself.No excuse for Casilla, that play has to be made,but sometimes a pitcher needs to pick up his teammates.Everetts goosed throw on the play up the middle also should have resulted in an out.If he whould have gotten the ball to Mauer sooner they had the runner at third.
From a previous Ponson gem against the Twins with thanks to many other contributors.
In the spirit of finding those responsible:
Joe Vavra should be fired, because we can’t even hit Sidney Ponson.
Rick Anderson should be fired, because he failed with Ponson before the Rangers’ pitching coach salvaged him.
Gardy should be fired, because he hired Vavra and Anderson.
TR should be rehired, then fired because he hired Gardy.
Pohlad should be fired because he hired TR.
And Calvin Griffith should be exhumed, then fired for bringing the franchise from Washington D.C and selling it to Pohlad.
I should be fired because I double post too mush.
I should be fired because I double post too MUCH.
Mudcat,
You are shlurring your wordsh.
Now THAT is irony.
…or is it?
Speaking of firing, if we should fire Rincon can it be from a cannon?
Like I said last night, blowouts don’t count.
…unless it’s the Twins getting blown out. Then it’s time to ring the alarm.
Bobby K is the man to fill a spot!!!
Great hands there Everett.
Everett just doesn’t have it, does he.
The Rangers by a TKO in the 9th round.
OMG…Nice relay throw Everett. A big league SS can’t even make a 120 foot throw.
How this team is .500 is amazing.
Everett has to go on the DL again. This team is a disaster up the middle. Harris at SS tomorrow. OMG
Not to mention we’re paying Cudyyer $8 million for .220 and 1 frickin’ HR.
I love how they’ll try to spin this into a quality start for Blackburn.
this will be the last time the Twins ever sign 3b, ss,or 2b who have offense again….. Hopefully someday we will develop a guy who can play both offense and defense.
Bill Brasky, Everett_Fan,
Thanks for the OMG sandwich.
anybody know if izturis is likely to be a free agent? I thought he was expected to be. I think we need a SS next year. We can cover 2b with Tolbert (or 3b) with a minor league player to cover the other spot. We don’t have a SS in the system.
Casilla sucks. Trade him and Rincon for Tyner and make jimmybee happy.
like say Michael Young
Hate to tell ya this Shawn, but Everett was not signed for his bat.
trade jimmybee for Tyner
Didn’t watch the game. Can anyone tell me how blackburn gave up 2 hrs an only 1 earned run.
i know, Harris and Lamb were…..
How ironic. Ponson is about to throw a CG against us. Gardy should lock these losers out of the clubhouse and take away their unifroms. They don’t deserve to wear “Twins” across their chest. Gardy included because he has been horrible this year at managing this ball club.
do you really want to know Toby?
Was it JoeC who said that the Rangers were baseball’s worst team?
Not tonight.
OMG Sidney Ponson COMPLETE GAME??? EMBARASSING!
I think I do…
Toby, are you Toby Gardenhire? If so text your Dad and tell him to figure it out or go down to A ball with you.
Can anyone tell me how blackburn gave up 2 hrs an only 1 earned run.
Stupid scoring rule that says after a two out error, the HR hitter wouldn’t have come to bat, but for the error.
Don’t ask me why, I’m just the messenger.
The Blame Order:
1. Casilla for being too dumb to catch a throw and make an easy DP.
2. Howard for giving Blackburn a victory this morning and dissing Ponson.
Howard, Joe C, LEN3… use your powers to make things come out exactly the opposite of your calls to our advantage! Not to our disadvantage. Sheesh!
sane you’re so right. It’s a good night to be a Twins fan in Florida. I’d hate being at the dome tonight. Oh crap, Punto just limped by.
bassamundo,
Good one.
Let us know when Punto stops limping.
After Everett, Harris, Casilla and Lamb,
Li’l Nicky will look like Ozzie Smith.
6th inning. casilla makes an error that would’ve been 2 outs. then, home plate umpire robs blackburn another out against laird, with a cutter that was clearly strike 3. sure enough, he gets an rbi single, followed by another 2 run single and 3 run homer.
just stupid errors and bad luck.
“just stupid errors and bad luck.”
and some bad pitching.
another nice effort by the local 8 1/2(Everett 1/2 a player) making a terrible pitcher look like the 2nd coming of Walter Johnson
Thanks sane,
I’ve got the shovel now, where’s Griffith?
We’ll get this thing going.
“They don’t deserve to wear “Twins” across their chest. Gardy included because he has been horrible this year at managing this ball club.”
Ah…there it is. I was wondering why I hadn’t heard the death bell tolling yet tonight. You’d think it would’ve been more noticeable, what with it not being rung for a few days.
And seriously, the Rangers should take every pitcher that took part in last night’s game and force them out too! Giving up 11 runs to that pitiful offense is insane.
FIRE RON WASHINGTON!
Oh oh oh! And because Terry Francona and the Red Sox lost three games of four to the lowly Twins…including that joke of a pitcher.
They should be forced out of the LEAGUE for that embarrassing display!
6th inning is over after 4 batters, IF Casilla can catch a simple throw. One run scores instead of seven.
Instead, Casilla continues his mind-boggling history of not being able to execute the simple plays. This is what got him sent down last time. This is why he can never start for Gardy.
Unless there is someone that can get him to pay attention all of the time… he is too big of a liability. It hurts the team and the pitcher too much to see simple plays screwed up.
Send Casilla back to AAA. Our next trade needs to be for a quality SS, not 3b.
Carlos G,
“Send Casilla back to AAA. Our next trade needs to be for a quality SS, not 3b.”
I disagree, but if you get your way, could we at least do that in the reverse order?
If we discard Casilla, Harris, Lamb, Everett and Punto before “our next trade”, ground balls to the SS or 3B will roll all the way to left field.
IMO all the above need more time to fix their problems, especially Casilla. I don’t think Casilla’s problems are incurable. Relaxation through security and comfort in his situation can cause amazing improvement in a player’s performance.
Sorry, but the pitcher gave up hit after hit and a HR after the error. He is more accountable than Casilla. They both blew it in that inning. It showed how young Blackburn is, really.
As for Casilla, I’d keep playing him. Why is it ok for Young to hit .280 and no power, but not ok for Casilla to make an error every week? Which one really costs your team more wins - I’m not sure. Plus, it isn’t like Young is exactly mister hustle and intelligence sometimes. If this is really a re-building, see what you have kind of year, then let Alexi play and see what you have. Having Everret does nothing for the team at this point.
Sane,
Funny about the balls rolling through the infield. Actually, I haven’t called for cutting Lamb, Harris, or Punto. I don’t recall cutting Everett in my comments either, although his arm looks to be getting weaker by the game again. I think he is covering an injury.
My suggestion also didn’t say send Casilla to the minors BEFORE we have a replacement. But, Punto is coming back. He can replace Casilla for now. Keep Clark.
My point is that we need SS help, more than we need a 3b. That needs to be our next focus of a hole to fill.
Casilla has a too nonchalant attitude for me. It is almost as if he is day dreaming out there. If this were the first time or the fifth time or tenth time he has failed to field a routine play, that would be one thing. But, it is his whole history. The trip to the minors after ST was to send a message that he needs to buckle down all the time. That seems to have not been learned yet.
The throw to him from Everett on a ball that was a certain DP, was within 6 inches of being in the perfect spot. It wasn’t like he was digging it out of the dirt. It was chest high. Just catch the ball. Please.
I agree that Blackburn needs to learn to bounce back after misplays behind him. He is a rookie and will learn. But, that one was particularly tough as it gave Texas TWO more outs. 5-out innings are tough to overcome.
Ha Ha, nothing better than the sweet taste of victory.
What Gardy had to say about it is a good tell of Casilla’s short term future, I think:
“This is the big leagues,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, “and we talk about it all the time: The first thing you have to do as an infielder is get the first out. And we didn’t do that; we dropped the ball.”
“Casilla has a too nonchalant attitude for me.”
He also has a too nonchalant attitude for Gardy. As long as Gardy is the manager that has to count for something. I don’t know what Casilla does when he’s in AAA, but the way he plays with the Twins he is never going to win favor with Gardy. I know some people (myself included) have criticized how Gardy handles players, but he is who he is. Unless something drastic happens, Casilla doesn’t have a future with the Twins.
Carlos G,
I was really addressing the blog, not you, when pleading for more patience with the infielders in general and Casilla in particular. If there is a chance that his past is behind him, lets not let a dropped ball (or three) be his downfall.
I think if he had played this way at AAA, the Red Wing staff would have given him bad grades and he would not have been promoted.
Bottom line - I want to see more Casilla evaluation before he gets shipped out.
“But, that one was particularly tough as it gave Texas TWO more outs. 5-out innings are tough to overcome.”
You can’t anticipate a double play. There are a lot of instances in baseball where a DP that looks like s sure thing isn’t completed. Blackburn still had to retire an extra batter, but he fell apart completely and that’s not all on Casilla. If there had been other misplays by the defense I’d be more sympathetic, but Blackburn gave up seven runs in the process of getting four outs. He’s lucky six of the runs were considered unearned.
Casilla’s main problem isn’t his ‘nonchalant attitude.’
It’s his hands of stone. He is about as brutal a middle infielder with the glove as you’ll ever see.
Combine that with no bat, and what do you have?
A really, really bad player who runs well. In my book that’s still a really, really bad player.
USAF,
Your opinion of Casilla’s hands is not shared by the Twins, the Angels and the player evaluators who have seen him play many more games and practices than we have.
