Sunday pregame: Twins/Yankees
Posted on June 1st, 2008 – 11:39 AMBy Joe Christensen
Joe Mauer gets a day off after catching 12 innings Saturday, and Mike Redmond is in the No. 3 spot. Manager Ron Gardenhire said he likes how Redmond is swinging the bat lately, and today’s Yankees starter, Darrell Rasner, is a sinker/slider specialist who fits Redmond’s style of hitting balls the other way.
Nick Punto was in the lineup originally but has been scratched, with Brendan Harris taking over at shortstop. Punto also played all 12 innings and went back to the hospital to be with his wife and baby daughter.
Gardy said Punto is a little beat up. General soreness, not another hamstring issue.
Glen Perkins and Kevin Slowey are available to pitch out of the bullpen today. This is one reason the Twins haven’t made any decisions about the rotation with Scott Baker likely to return Thursday. If Nick Blackburn has to leave today’s start early, Perkins or Slowey might be called upon to pitch and wouldn’t be able to make their next scheduled start.
Eventually, the Twins might activate Baker and keep 13 pitchers on the roster, Gardenhire said. Bonser and Brian Bass are both out of options, and since the Twins won’t have another off day until June 16, the Twins need lots of help in the bullpen.
The relievers have pitched 11 innings in the past two days, so the Twins could use another long one from Blackburn, something that is never easy for a rookie against the Yankees.
Yankees (28-27)
1. Johnny Damon, CF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Wilson Betemit, 1B
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Chad Moeller, C
9. Melky Cabrera, CF
Starting pitcher: RH Darrell Rasner
Twins (28-27)
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Mike Redmond, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Jason Kubel, DH
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. Mike Lamb, 3B
9. Brendan Harris, SS
Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn
Metrodome. First pitch: 1:10 p.m.
185 Responses to "Sunday pregame: Twins/Yankees"
First
Its sad when you have your back up catcher who is hitting .220 hitting in the three hole. I’m suprised that Gardy doesn’t have Punto in there to have our usual punch less Sunday lineup.
LOL, I thought Gardy was done doing that, guess not.
Does Gardy put any thought at all into filling out the lineup card? This is no longer 2006, that season ended. Redmond is not good. Just wait until he’s up with RISP today and crushes an 8-hopper to 2B.
That sounds like, when Baker comes back, Macri is headed for AAA.
If Gomez or Casilla get to 1B (Redmond batting), they will want to play hit-and-run to avoid the DP and hopefully be at 1st and 3rd when Morneau bats.
13 pitchers is f’n crazy. There is absolutely no excuse for it, besides poor managing of the staff. 12 is too many as far as I’m concerned. Starting five of Hernandez, Baker, Blackburn, Slowey, and Perkins, with a bullpen of Nathan, Crain, Gurrier, Reyes, Breslow and Bonser. Send Rincon and Bass packing. The key is to not burn them all up in tie games, or games you trail in.
The only manager in the major leagues that would pull a stunt like this! He would be better off having Blackburn hit and dh for Redmond.
Mike Redmond in the three hole. I do not understand how anyone can say he is a good manager. Thank God Punto is banged up, or he’d be in there for sure also. Oh well, they continue to be about where we’d all thought they’d be this year (except Young and Cuddeyer).
why the hell cant monroe get in this lineup….redmond hitting 3rd??? has gardy lost touch…he seemed awfully strange on his show today…almost as if he didnt care about losing, which i know better, but he sure seems to shed any seriousness about it- kinda disturbing to me…i would like to see this team get very serious and start winning again..they have a chance if they want to………
Jason where are you?
You have been complaining all year that Mauer should not be in the 3-hole.
Somebody was listening.
You got your way.
Mauer is out.
Put down the champagne.
Redmond (.226BA, 0HR-3RBI) is in.
Careful what you ask for.
Why not send Macri down? He’s gotten all of a game’s worth of playing time. And once they’ve determined if Baker’s back 100% they can make a decision on their pitching staff on their terms.
The last thing the Twins want to do while rebuilding is take somebody that could be of value somewhere and just “dump” him.
The Rays were willing to take Rincon. I’d wager somebody else would be interested.
Carry 13 pitchers up until Baker’s first start. If he shows he’s back, then you can decide from there who of Rincon, Bass, or maybe even Hernandez could be used to bring in somebody that could fill a long-term need.
Or in the case of Rincon, somebody who just is somebody vs. Rincon leaving and the Twins getting nothing.
“why the hell cant monroe get in this lineup….”
…Can he catch?
After seeing the burblings from the nattering nabobs of negativity here, put me down for 100 shares of “Redman rocks today.”
…Can he catch?
Depends on your definition of catch.
T,
You are right.
Macri, Clark, Monroe, and Redmond (except for today) never play anyway.
We could keep a 14-man pitching staff, if the backup catcher and the “other DH” are the only bench guys who get to play.
…Can he catch?
Did you say fetch?
T - (from previous blog) in the interview, Olney was quoting scouts saying the Twins “gave up on Garza”. I actually loved the DY trade at the time because it was the type of move Twins never make. It has not worked out so far.
I usually don’t complain about lineups, but Redmond in the 3-hole is strange to say the least.
I dont know why all of you are so negative about Monroe. If he got more than an at bat a week he would probably surprise some of you.
and another thing about Monroe, if he can play left in Detroit, he can play anywhere in the Dome
Olney was quoting scouts saying the Twins “gave up on Garza”.
IMO, that is not from Twins scouts who actually have a clue about the Twins thinking.
IMO, that is just outside scouts’ interpretation of the Twins actions in trading Garza.
If they had released him, then “giving up” would be a fair appraisal.
If you trade Morneau for Utley, neither team is “giving up” on their player.
You’re probably right sane - I was just pointing out that I did not say they gave up on him.
Macri should definitely be in the lineup today. That is almost as bad as Redmond batting third.
Bonser and Bass are worth keeping around for now. Rincon… not so much. That should be an easy choice really.
Seth,
You are right.
I think the Twins have held their water long enough on Rincon.
Rincon seems to doing his best to make himself untradeable, banking that the Twins won’t just release him when they owe him a couple mil this year.
Holy Christ, did Cuddyer just get a clutch hit?
Checking out the lineups as shown above, I am curious if the Yankees are really going with two centerfielders and no one in left this afternoon?
If Cuddy and Lamb start hitting, and Baker can replace Pile of Boof I think the team can manage quite well. I do worry about having Bonser, Bass and Rincon in the pen. There has to be a team that is desperate for a starting pitcher to try and get rid of Bonser.
Redmond doubles and scores a run in the 1st.
Will Delmon or Mauer hit a homerun before the All-Star break?
So sad (actually I am mad) to see the Twins (and many other teams) who pay these folks way above the national salary of many of us allow such low expectations. I guarantee you that in the real work world this would not be tolerated!
What kind of name is that??!!
Have you noticed that true winning teams rarely change the batting lineup especially from late May on?
Obviously no matter where Blackburn throws the ball to Jeter it is automatically a ball.
Uh, Mauer is pretty darn productive in every other area. There is more to the game then HRs. Ask the Tigers how their HR lineup is helping them.
Would LOVE to erase that smirk off Derelic’s face - CANNOT STAND HIM!!
I agree Austin, there is no way that Jeter earned that walk, he was given that walk by the ump.
“Yankees players very disciplined. . .” comment on TV = I would too, if I knew that the league umpires protect us 90% of the time - duh!!!
This is almost exactly what happened last night when Boofy let the yunkies start their rally.
These umps are giving the Yankees too much leeway. Alot of balls they are calling should be strikes! These are the teams that cause the long ball games.
Boy this ump needs to be whacked on his coconut
Great job of pitching out of trouble by Blackburn there.
Good job Blackburn.
Nora - you are right!
Way to go Nick B.!!
I really hope that we don’t have to use Perkins or Slowey out of the bullpen today because that would mean another start for Boof more than likely.
If I were the Yankees I wouldn’t swing. Boy, they get away with alot.
Yeah - NYC is a media and Vegas favorite - esp. in the pocket book! You figure it out from there.
That right there is a pitch we don’t get in the top half.
You gotta be kidding. That was a strike on Casilla? With what Yankees have been getting away with?
Boy - the Twinks sure get caught looking a ton this year! What is up with that?
You gotta be kidding? If that was a strikeout of Casilla then the Yankees should not have the bases loaded last inning on 2 walks.
The calls are forcing the tWins to swing and the Yanks to be more relaxed - it is by design and many of the fans are in denial about what really goes on out there. But it is “entertainment” so who cares, right?
oops sorry for double post didn’t think it took my other comment
redmond grounded out! fire gardy!
Yeah Gardy should be the next US Secretary of Defense - we would have peace - lol
if this game pisses you off, you sould be watching what is on SciFi channel - pretty interesting.
. . . or watch the White Sox v. Rays on mlb.com - it is tight game!
Melky is milk
double! let’s get one or more runs! Let’s wear this guy out now!!
here is the guy I am losing the most confidence in - Kubel
Gotta put a crooked number on the board this inning.
wouldn’t it be funny if young hits one out now?
Come on Delmon….
Geeze Delmon that was pathetic.
young sure looks like a minor league with the twins - is he homesick or what?!!
Delmon (and his brother, Demitri) went to school here in Ventura Co. and Delmon has never been much of a story - not sure why he was so high on Twins list with BJ Upton in TB as a much better option
I tell ya - this team HAS NO FIRE IN THEIR BELLY!!!
Dmitri, not Demitri
You know what is really frustrating about this team, and has been for a number of years? When they load the bases with zero outs, you can pretty much bet the bank that zero runs will cross the plate. How many other teams can boast that?
Speaking of which, who names their kids Dmitri and Delmon? Harris, you aren’t doing yourself any favors for more playing time with today’s performance.
the Astros
Yep - yet another 3 strike called on these great hitters! Now I bet the Twins lead in that category as well.
Look at the last 5 guys (ladies) in the order and you can cut/demote/trade each and every one of them, and sitll succeed with others in this supposed “rebuilding” year.
funny how the TV announcers mentioned how Young had no clue where the ball was on Derelict’s homer. Young really does not want to be in Minn. - bank on it!
wow - what a smack
Dang that is a tough break for Blackburn.
What happened to Blackbuen?
what happened?
*Blackburn
He got hit in the face with a line drive and went straight to the clubhouse with a bloody nose.
What happened to Blackburn, gamecast doesnt give out that info…
he may have fractured his cheeck bone - with blood coming out of his nose perhaps his sinuses are bleeding meaning fractured check bone.
It looked like the blood was coming from his mouth, not his nose, but it was hard to tell.
Yankee broadcasters seem to think it was a glancing blow; he turned his head and it wasn’t a direct hit. It looked bad enough
I am watching on MLB.COM premium and they (Twins TV broadcast) are sepculating he may have a fracture of the cheek bone
abreu lined a shot right off the side of his face. he went down immediately, but he got up and walked off on his own. he was pitcing so well, too.
I dunno about the glancing blow… it seemed pretty solid from the relplays on FSN.
BIG out esp. after a 3-0 count
Nice job by Bass in a tough situation.
still 3-3 White Sox and Rays - top of 8th
I guess they meant he turned his head.. i agree it looked solid on the replays… didn’t knock him out, thankfully
what’s the deal with all the cheers for the Yanks in Minn?????
FSN is reporting that the ball deflected off his glove. He is getting X-rays, but didn’t lose any teeth.
Yankee broadcasters just said the good news is the line drive hit Blackburn’s glove, then his cheek; no loss of teeth; he’s going to hospital for X-Rays
i hope Blackburn will be ok but if he has to go on a the dl there’s the pitching move to get Baker back up here
i hope he dosent have to though
Twins Fan in So Cal, they draw fans in every city. Basically the same people who are Laker and Patriot fans.
Just in from the broadcasters (and the team): Ball deflected off Nick’s glove, hit his nose, nothing appears broken but he is being taken in for x-rays.
Boof is beginning to look like the Punto of last year. You just can’t get im out of the rotation as bad as you want to. Let’s hope Blackburn doesn’t require a trip to the DL but at this point it sure doesn’t look good.
not like Red Sox and Braves fans or Cowboy fans in football - Yanks fan are usually very small compared to those teams’ fans - but I can clearly hear them at the Dome over my ecast
I think now we know why the Twins are hesitant to make any formal announcement on Boof/Baker/Rincon, etc. Something like this happens, and although he may not need a DL stint, if he does, it delays a decision.
I would beg to differ. I always see more Yankee fans at Twins-Yankee games than BoSox fans at Twins-Boston games.
wonder if Brunanski or Hrbek are available?
maybe Boston fans garvitate to the bigger metro areas
Nice recovery by Casilla there.
Just got a report that there may be “good news” on Nick Blacknurn!
yes casilla did recover; betemite should have been running out of the box… not looking
Tom Brunanski’s not going to walk through that door. Kent Hrbek’s not going to walk through that door. Gary Gaetti? He won’t walk through that door either… and if they did, they would be old, and gray.
Do you suppose this is Bass’ tryout for a future with the club (since he likely wouldn’t clear waivers)?
Bass should get out of this
he did get out - twin killing!!
Wow, what an error by Cabrera.
Bass isn’t going anywhere. He’s proven that he can eat innings, even in defeats. Rincon has worn out his welcome even with Gardy.
Nice little league HR by Morneau, btw!
WOW!! Milky fell and did a girlie toss - lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jonas, no I believe he will be with the club even if no pitcher needs to be put on the DL. I think Korecky would be the odd man out.
Update: White Sox 3 Rays 3 bottom of 9th
That was a nice swing by Young. It sure is good to see him pull the ball for once. Rasner is running out of gas.
Gasner is running out of ras
White Sox and Rays are going to the 10th.
Austin — Korecky is already the odd man out. He got sent down when Breslow was added to the roster.
Peter Abrahams, the Yankees beat writer, reports that the he arrived at the Metrodome early today and saw the Twins run Brett Lawrie through a workout. Lawrie is the best prospect in Canada in the draft. He is a shortstop and catcher who compares to Dan Uggla as a hitter and signed with Arizona State. Based on what little he saw, he has a terrific arm and a ton of power.
Tippy Cano(e) made a very good play
PD, you are correct, my bad.
Hey, they’ve had some success with Canadian players before! Let’s go get ‘em.
Oh Canada!
The Yankees are just toying with Gomez this series.
3rd strike called! How many will we endure - this is ridiculous. But we have a 4-1 lead.
White Sox blow a great chance, runner on third with one out, and don’t score. Going to the bottom of the 10th, still tied.
White Sox doubled with no outs at the top of the 10th and failed to score, still 3-3 going to the bottom of the 10th.
This inning is scary with Crain in and the top of the order now with a runner already on.
Crain appears to be a shadow of his former self
Huge DP there.
this is the typical rally time and part of the order - I can almost guarantee the Yanks will score at least one if not more, but I hope not!
Gabe Gross hits the walkoff for TB.
Ha! Knew I would hex the dreaded Yanks!
Gabe who??? What a year - we could go 75-87 and still be in the central division race
i think we will more around 85 wins
I sure hope Slowey is just throwing to get some work in. It would be really stupid to use him for one inning in the 8th.
Gardy dont use Rincon in the 8th
I’m with you dano, I don’t know how you figure being 8 games below .500 will put you in the race considering the White Sox are still 4 games over .500
Just Release or Trade Rincon!!!!
i would use slowey for one inning then rincon
Give the 8th to Guerrier. He worked 1/3 of an inning last night and 1 and 1/3 on Friday, but he should be able to go one inning.
so will Bass pitch tormorrow to
Better yet, let Breslow or Reyes start the inning and then finish it with Guerrier.
I have a feeling that Gardy will ride Livan tomorrow for 7 regardless, even if he is getting bombed.
Good, looks like Slowey was just getting his work in.
Abreu sure seemed to have a tough time with that ball on the warning track.
Is anybody else sick and tired of hearing Dick Bremer freak out about every well hit ball? I mean c’mon Dick, that ball didn’t even reach the warning track.
Why is it that MLB has this big-small market issue and small market teams, like the Twins, have these affordability issues and the NBA and NFL do not????
Well the Twins finally caught a break there. Shut up Bert, that wasn’t close to being a strike.
Wow - a call against the Yanks???? What’s this world coming to?
Because there is a thing called a salary cap in the NBA and NFL.
it’s just Dick being dick but yea i am sick of hearing him freak out
I am watching over the Internet on MLB.com - who are the Twins announcers? Bert Blyleven and who?
I have to say that I am more surprised that Victor Martinez doesn’t have a homer than Joe Mauer.
Dick Bremer, he is terrible.
NFL and NBA have salary caps — MLB does not. The cap levels the playing field.
And yes Austin, I’m also getting tired of Dick’s premature excitement on deep fly balls. Used to be John Gordon was the worst at that — Dick’s giving him a run for the title now. Last night, I thought for sure Lamb’s ball was out of the park. So did Dick, obviously, but still — save the gushing for after the ball lands in the seats!
who do you (all) think may be the best announcer of all?
Nice quick inning by Crain, who woulda thought he had it in him?
Blackburn will have a blackened face but no broken bones - great news!
good two innings Jesse
Jesee is giving me hope! We may win today and hope that they can even this series tomorrow on national TV
Gotta believe Gardy will throw Nathan in the 9th even if it is a 4 run game.
Boy, Cleveland is looking pathetic
should Crain go back out there to get a three inning save
My guess is Nathan too
Re. Abreu’s check-swing — seems like when the Yankees are in a close game, they get every call, but when it looks like the game has gotten away from them (fingers crossed!), the umps figure, “Well, now I can even it out and show that I’m not biased, so anything close will go against them.” That’s probably the Minnesota homerism in me coming out, but it seems to be a common theme in all sports. The so-called money teams get all the calls when they’re still in the game, but refs/umps tend to even things out when the calls don’t matter as much.
(Said the longtime fan of the underdog …)
Young appears to be trying to pull the ball
PD, well I mean Lamb’s ball last night I could see it on, but usually he is trying to sell the homerun call on a ball that barely gets to the warning track.
nope - take it back
Jimmy Kaat calls a good game.
I miss Herb Carneal. Summer days just don’t seem right without hearing Herb’s voice out of a tinny AM radio. It’s really disrupted my napping sched.
PD - I am right there with ya!
Twins Fan in So Cal, Jack Buck was a great announcer in his day. Currently, I think the best play-by-play guy in the entire league (I have MLB TV like you) is Matt Vasgersian with the Padres.
I grew up listeing to Herb. I also remember as little kid, Halsey Hall but to me Herb was it
Too bad the Twins could not have half of the Rangers hitters - Kinsler, Hamilton, Young, etc.
Yeah the Padres do have a good annoucer - I get them on the radio, as well as the Dodgers and Angels - the Dodgers don’t have a bad one either
The Astros also have a good one and he’s a hall of famer
That’s it - good game
Vin Scully for the Dodgers is good although he is way past his prime. Nice game today for the Twins. They badly needed it to stop the bleeding (no pun intended with what happened to Blackburn).
Hope Blackburn heals quickly
Andy Pettite tomorrow -8-5 3.52 era v. Twins
We never had it better as Twins fans than when we had Ted Robinson and Jim Kaat on TV and Herb on the radio, even if that buffoon Gordo piped in all too often.
Now that DirecTV allows you to watch either team’s telecast (usually) I don’t hear the opponents’ announcers much, but I’ve always liked the Rangers’ team of Josh Lewin and Tom Grieve. The D-Backs aren’t bad either, with Mark Grace always keeping things interesting as the color man.
OK fellas, we need a split tomorrow. It would be a complete disaster to get anything less at home against a previously struggling Yankees team, especially when their No. 1 weapon on the hill (Joba) is literally a non-factor in the series.
Bert and Dick said that Cassila credits Vavra for suggesting a new approach towards hitting,for his success this year.Is that the same Vavra that BC Beneke and others want to fire? Truely amazing!
I think the Twins could improve their roster right away and for the future by getting rid of Punto, Redmond and Bonser. They have enough good infielders without Punto. Redmond is getting too old and runs worse than an old woman. Bonser has an ERA of over 5.00 and should be traded to any team in either league who will take him. The Twins need to bring up the catcher Morales from Rochester to be the back up catcher.
