Twins pregame: Cuddyer activated and available
Posted on September 13th, 2008 – 2:07 PMBy Joe Christensen
BALTIMORE — The Twins activated Michael Cuddyer from the disabled list, and he is listed among the righthanded hitters available off the bench for Game 1 of this doubleheader against the Orioles.
Manager Ron Gardenhire said Cuddyer is running at about 60-70 percent, as he recovers from the broken bone in his left foot, suffered Aug. 8.
Cuddyer said his foot pains him to run but he has been assured he won’t reinjure himself — unless he gets hit with another line drive.
Gardenhire said he would pinch run for Cuddyer if he reaches base.
With the minor-league affiliates done and instructional league a week away, this might be the best way to let Cuddyer face live pitching. If one of these games turned into a blowout, Cuddyer could get an at-bat.
(*) It’s mostly sunny here now but showers are in the forecast through the evening. So we’ll see how much baseball these teams can play.
(*) FSN is beginning its coverage at 6 p.m., joining Game 1 in progress. On Saturday’s Fox has an exclusive window for its national games of the week, so FSN has to wait that out.
(*) Gardenhire said his plan is to have Joe Mauer catch Game 1 and sit Game 2, with Justin Morneau getting a chance to DH in Game 2.
(*) Gardenhire said he is open to bringing back Scott Baker on three day’s rest to pitch Wednesday, but that will depend on how today’s start goes and how Baker feels physically. Gardenhire sounded more inclined to use Baker on Wednesday than Philip Humber or Boof Bonser.
Twins (80-66)
1. Denard Span, RF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Brian Buscher, 3B
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Carlos Gomez, CF
Starting pitcher: RH Scott Baker (8-4, 3.66 ERA)
Orioles (65-80)
1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Nick Markakis, RF
3. Melvin Mora, 3B
4. Aubrey Huff, DH
5. Ramon Hernandez, C
6. Luke Scott, LF
7. Kevin Millar, 1B
8. Jay Payton, CF
9. Brandon Fahey, SS
Starting pitcher: Daniel Cabrera (8-9, 5.26 ERA)
Camden Yards. First pitch: 4:05 p.m.
283 Responses to "Twins pregame: Cuddyer activated and available"
Cuddy being back can only help. What a big day ahead with the Twins and White Sox both playing a pair.
Cuddyer may not provide instant offense to this team but should give them a little of an emotional lift hopefully. The weather in Chicago is steady rain with heavy rain for tonight and tomorrow. They are in danger of having another rain out or two which could only help us.
Feels good to have him back.
We can pick up two games on the white sox and .5 on the other sox. Let’s win a pair twins!
I mean 1.5 games
[…] Originally published by Around the Majors […]
Great work, Joe C.! Is Mrs. Joe C watching ASU tonight???
Wow, the Chisox just got cancelled today.
YES!!!!!!!!!!
Their rotation oughtta be screwed up royally now.
Double header scheduled tomorrow.
I’m hoping for a blowout win in game 1, see Cuddyer hit and pull Mauer out. If he gets out early enough, maybe Gardy will let him play game 2 as well.
“Gardenhire sounded more inclined to use Baker on Wednesday than Philip Humber or Boof Bonser.”
Joe C, did you read my post on the last blog about the Baker situation? Hope some of Gardy/Smith/Anderson has.
Konerko to take BP tomorrow and see how it is. I don’t think he’ll be back in the saddle for at least a week.
Chicago now has re-scheduled a double header for tomorrow. The forecast for Sunday there is more of the same as in steady rain. If they cannot play, the games will be made up at the end of the year as they share no common days off. If there are playoff ramifications the playoffs would be pushed back. This can only help the Twins.
I dunno… do we REALLY want playoff chances riding on a Detroit team who would be forced in to playing a couple extra days after their season was supposed to end? Talk about no motivation.
JimCrikket,
“do we REALLY want playoff chances riding on a Detroit team who would be forced in to playing a couple extra days after their season was supposed to end? Talk about no motivation.”
IMO, to play games with playoff importance to the opponent in the national spotlight is often the BEST motivator for a team that has been playing meaningless games all month.
If Detroit has a chance to effect the playoffs, I think that is a lot of motivation…
So if the twins win two games they will be in first.
Does somebody have to come off the 25 man roster for Cuddy to be activated for postseason play?
No, just off the 25 man roster for the playoffs, should they make it. The rosters are expanded to the full 40 man major league roster.
I don’t think Jim Leyland would let the Tigers tank it if they were to play after the season.
No, Perry. Roster expand up to 40 in September….
rosters….
Ponto is the sack. Why has Gordy given up on Harris and Everett?
Lavelle. Who would get bumped for Cuddyer on the 25 man postseason roster?
I would assume a relief pitcher.
My goodness, even the Gophers may have a shot at Michigan this year - if the Wolverines are on the sked…
If Cuddyer is added to the post season roster the logical choice to be left off would be Ruiz. He has not been able to get many at bats lately anyway.
Anyone else besides me happy to see the Yankees as bad as they are? You can laugh at them all the way to the bank as they continue to waste their money on washed up “stars” while the Twins continue to have arguably the best minor league system in baseball and are competetive year in and year out (except last year, of course!) GO TWINS!!
Well this is just stupid. Three games in 24 hours when one could have just as easily been played today at noon. I hope this idiocy doesn’t leave a permanent mark on the Twins playoff hopes.
I didn’t see that the Red Sox are playing a double header so the twins can still pick up two games on the red sox.
Or even at the end of the season since the Sox already got one.
I was really hoping Gardy was going to DH Morneau the first game and Mauer the second, but a lot of things I wish Gardy would do never materialize.
Bufftwins
I thought vice versa. DH Mauer in the first game and Morneau in the second
you don’t DH a catcher in the first of a double header, then have him catch the nightcap.
That Gardy fat boy is a frustrating manager for Twins fans. I miss TK.
Mauer almost hit into a DP…
Time for Kubel to make him pay for pitching around Morne…
If your going to DH Mauer, you do it in the 2nd game so Red Dog is in the game that has a LHP
Just almost…which means maybe we’ll have good luck on the road trip! Trying to be optimistic…
Yay, we scored, 1-0 twins on Kubel double
Young had a pitch go up and in…
Effen fsn. Cuddyer? Bah Humbug! OK, Ok. I’m in a poopy mood. Sorry. Go Twins. Go Baker. Gardenhire and Punto, like Chris Matthews and John McCain.
Typical twins pitching fashion: get the lead and give it back
And of course baker cannot hold the lead since the twins scored the inning before…
Baker got 2 outs on five pitches. He then proceeded to throw 12 pitches to get the third out.
On Gameday, Baker’s pitches do not look like they have too much movement today.
He better bunt
Is anyone else annoyed that FSN is airing a half marathon that took place two weeks ago in Virginia Beach, VA? I also question why this was not a day night double header. The Sox will have that luxury tomorrow.
So nice of Gomez to hit into that DP
Like I said, LNP should have bunted….what happened to Gardy’s talk about going back to basic, playing for one run at a time.
basics
Why Punto wasn’t bunting there mystifies me.
Does anyone have MLBtv because I want to know if some of these flyball outs are going as deep as the graphic shows
or is it a Dick Bremer opererated graphic…
jeff, MLB is forbidding any broadcast until the game of the week on FOX is over or until 6:00.
DENARD HR!
Thanks Romer
Could that problem have been solved with a day-night game?
punto is never asked to bunt when he should. I think Gardy leaves too much of that up to his guys “playing the game right” instead of forcing them to do things and that is not acceptable now. Basically, these last games are playoff games and need to managed accordingly.
As Span continues to mature, his body will get stronger. He’ll be as good a player as G. Anderson ever was.
The reason for the Sox day night tomorrow is that the second game was already scheduled for ESPN.
Wow, Mauer swung a the first pitch…
He’ll be better than Anderson.
Get an RBI morne!
So close!
i hate that the game Cant be on.. Screw Fox and their rights! lol
Nice double for Morneau
I’m sure FSN is pissed that they can’t run all of those ads…
Time for Young to make them pay for pitching around Kubel…
Bases loaded for Buscher, one out.
Get the GS, Buschy, then the Twins can go through the motions and save it for the next game.
We’re fortunate. Let’s capitalize and get to their bullpen early.
Wow, the heat index is 91 in Baltimore.
Buscher grounds out, but plates a run, 4-1 twins…
It is supposed to be a muggy weekend in Baltimore…
Gotta go to work. Get to it, Baker.
It is the the bottom of the third and the twins have already left 10 men on base…
I would love to know how many times Punto has popped up this year. Has to be some kind of a record doesn’t it?
I witnessed going through the motions in Seattle when it was 6-1 in to the 6th. Can’t do that with this team, particularly in a DH. Two years ago, the Twins kept after it in winning a game 18-14 (or something like that) in game 1 against the Sox in Chicago and won the nightcap 12-0 because they maintained the momentum. Baseball is all momentum and with a critical DH today, they need to keep piling them up and not let up a minute. You can’t take anything for granted iwth this bullpen. Even Gardy won’t throw a guy (Mijares) out there with a six run lead because he is worried he may have to use Nathan if things go south.
90 fly balls, but he has hit 100 ground balls also for a GB/FB ratio of 1.11.
I think the score was 20-14 in the first game and then garza shut the WSox down in the second game.
That can’t be a good ratio for a guy who averages one homer a year (if that)
Wow, morneau’s double was almost a HR…
The more ground balls Punto hits, the better.
Baker is all over the place, but he gets through the inning without allowing a run.
i know it got dicey in game one. don’t forget that morneau hit 3 bombs in game 2 as well. the twins pounded out 35 or 36 hits that day. My point was momentum is key on days like this.
wont the game be on at 5:30 because that is when the pre game show starts or not?
Momentum is very key in double headers, I agree. In game two, morneau almost hit for the home run cycle. Hit hit a solo, two-run, and a three-run HR. He actually had an at bat with the bases loaded, but he couldn’t hit another one out.
Looks like the Brew Crew is in another September collapse mode…
I hoping that Baker’s luck with his control issues is not running out
From Goldeneye:
- “Half of everything is luck James”
- “And the other half”
- “Fate”
Baker is getting more control of his curve ball as the game progresses…
And if Fate has anything to say about Baker it is that he will not get 10 wins this year.
Yeah, Baker probably won’t get 10 wins, but you never know…
By all means, I hope he does, but fate and all…
Fate = Bullpen
Homer time.
Yeah, look at liriano throwing eight innings and not getting the win…
Young sucks big time.
Delmon sure knows how to first pitch GIDP…
*shakes head*
Young has 5 first pitch GIDP this year.
Now he will nibble and lose him…
I was wrong…sorry, Mr. Scott Baker.
Baker’s slider is starting to look good…
He is starting to pitch better, but he is already at 80 pitches
Twins better be getting some more runs. Baker probably won’t last past the 6th, and you know what that means. Hopefully we can get a look at this Mijares kid. Can’t be any worse than what they’ve been trotting out there.
Good inning for Baker, maybe he can make it into the seventh. Maybe.
Only way he makes to the 7th is to keep his count at or under 90 in the 6th. So he’s got ten pitches. Good luck. Too bad Hardy… I mean Gardy, has to stick to his knee jerk pitch count BS.
Keep in mind they are thinking about him on three days rest
Who are we kidding Gardy will never use him on three days rest.
Yes, gomez just walked on four pitches…
Wow, I think Gomez has only swung at 1 of the last 10 pitches he has seen…
someone check the weather in Hell…because Gomez walked on 4 pitches
i know, i almost fell over when i read that. maybe he will bend when his options are bonser and humber. If they do not plan to go with baker on three days rest, they need to let him go a little today.
Lefties are hitting .345 against this reliever…
yep its frozen over
it looks like the forecast is not good for tonight, looks like tomorrow may be a double header. they got showers/thunderstorms all night planned in baltimore.
Does anyone remember when the last time a twins player had a multi-HR game? Please don’t tell me it was craig monroe against the red sox…
Nice
didn’t kubel have two in seattle?
Yep
Yeah that’s right
Jack it
Why do I feel a loss coming on?
Because this is baseball where a team usually loses 60 or more games…
Buckwheat says:
September 13th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Why do I feel a loss coming on?
Because this game is following the standard pattern: 6-7 good innings from starter, game still close (i.e., within 4-5 runs), bullpen blows it.
how many guys the twins have left on
What’s going on with the game? ESPN’s gamecast still has Casilla batting…
so does MLB
GIDP…thats about right
casilla hit in a double play
The twins offense really wants to give this one away
d’oh!
Individual LOB tally: 17
Team Total: 7
Ball 4 to Ramon was a strike
Is Baker done?
It would be nice to knock in some of those runs, but need to hold this lead.
Maybe saving the RBI’s for the second game? Chicago/Detroit in a rain delay again. Maybe if the Twin’s sleep they will be in first place.
FSN has it backwards. They should show the first six innnings or cut out when the bullpen comes in…
GAME’S ON!!!!
i say baker starts the 7th he has 94 pitches
I hope you are right
It should be ok to get a win but the bullpen is so bad. I’d rather a tired Baker threw then bring the bullpen in.
Morne is clutch!
MVP doing his thing and adding RBIs.
122 rbi vs. Hamilton’s 124
Hamilton has been stuck at 124 for a while.
Kubel looked bad on that strike out.
Pretty sad, Hamilton had 95 at All Star break.
Remember, lefties are hitting around .350 against this reliever.
I guess they ar looking for a DP but still, intentionally walking the swing happy Young?
isn’t this a good spot for cuddy?
This should make the blog happy!
that is what they are doing
No, I bet cuddy is too rusty for this key situation.
A PH his comming up now, anyway.
could be. i was`shocked they activated him already
Isn’t it harris, or is it cuddy?
Twins now on TV. Let’s blow this game open!
nice rack
Gameday has Harris.
Game has Harris
It is all up to punto
Yes!
Nice gatty
do the twins still have the best average with risp?
Yes, by 20 points I believe
that was pretty
At least Punto struck out instead of GIDP
Punto strikes (out) again!
Release the Punto haters!
was hoping cuddy wold pinch hit here
Now release the Gomez haters!
I actually like Punto, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make fun of them at times.
GOMEZ!!!
Gomez with a clutch hit.
Man that was a poor throw and a poor play by the catcher…
delmon young runs like tony batista. what is up with that?
Smell those RBIs, GoGo!
nice
please get mijares going
Bad ankle maybe.
Rein in the Gomez-haters!
A six run lead isn’t big enough for gardy. Remember?
we goona see mijares?
Not that I’ve looked at the numbers, but it definitely seems like Gomez’s hitting with RISP is much improved lately.
Apparently a 6 run lead is big enough to hand to the other relievers though. I really don’t get Gardy on that one.
To me it seems the quality of his AB’s have improved
mijares is the invisible man, maybe in the ninth?
I am sorry Dick, that ball was not hit well at all
Since they didn’t bring Baker back out to me that must Gardy is pretty serious about pitching him again on 3 days rest.
I know everyone keeps asking for Mijares, but I’d rather Gardy go with the ‘regular’ relievers. When the Twins make the playoffs(and I did say when, not if) Mijares isn’t going to be on the roster. No doubt about it, the other relievers have been shelled lately. But that is all the more reason to send them out there. Sink or swim, they need to get back in their groove before the playoffs start, not come in waiting for the sky to collapse on the road in a clinching game.
“Major League Level” - first time
What harm does it do to send out Mijares see what he has and figure out if he can help out next year?
Bonser is begging for his ERA to go up
Perhaps the collapse has begun for the bullpen
which “regular”?
why not rest those guys, its a double hitter for crying out loud…
How can someone suck so bad? It really mystifies me. Get two quick outs, then fold up??????????
I know what you are saying, but it isn’t like crain, guerrier, reyes, etc have ben lights. With games piling up, i think it is worth a shot at new life. Can it be worse than Bonser? Once in a while you capture lightning in a bottle and it can carry you. Remember K-rod in 2002?
I think if I were a starter for the Twins, I would never want to come out of a game when I had the lead. I would want to pitch until my arm fell off.
Odds are Mijares goes out there and walks a bunch of guys and makes a mess for another reliever but why not take the chance that he goes out and dominates and provides a boost into the playoffs. I understand why they don’t want to put him in with a 2 run lead but if you wait for a 10 run lead or deficit he isn’t going to get in a game and when the bullpen blows a couple games we won’t know whether he could have helped or not.
Gardy talked about pitching Bonder Wednesday, but with Bonser pitching, it would seem that Baker will go on 3 days rest.
Twins offense has to score 10 runs in order to see mijares today…
Odds are the bullpen will do that anyway
What about Humber to keep the rotation on track?
4-4 for Morneau
If I had to bet, I’d bet two things
1)Somehow out of all this mess Humber gets a start
2)The rotation gets redone so that Liriano pitches against Chicago
I don’t think they pitch Liriano against the Sux. Keep his confidence up just in case he does get shelled.
Ahhhh, Liriano. So nice to have Liriano.
Keep his confidence up for what? The offseason?
Boy, Guardado sure has put on some miles since leaving the Twins.
They had better make sure Liriano pitches against the sox. If he can’t pitch against a good team because it will “hurt his confidence” he has no business in the big leagues.
Nice play by Morne
Agreed!
If liriano has confidence issues too damn bad. This is the playoff chase. I doubt confidence is a concen for liriano.
Hand-eye coordination at work…
any bets on who pitches the 9th?
I think Gardy might put mijares in for the ninth
Actually I think he will probably put in crain
“Major League Level” - 2nd time
how about korecky
It will most likely be a RHP
McCrory’s slowest pitch to Delmon - 95mph
whos playing 1st tonite…buscher?
Time for another clutch hit from gomez
LNP going for a hat trick.
Another clutch hit by gomez
My kingdom for a Bartlett.
is seven runs enough?
If he doesn’t bring in Mijares I am going to be more then a little irritated. This is the perfect opputunity to bring him in.
You just know that he is going to bring in crain.
use any of those callups now
i wonder if gardy had crain up? that is what kills those guys is the time they spend getting loose. If they come in and throw one pitch, everyone says they did not do much, however, they threw atleast 35 pitches in the pen, the 6 or 8 pitches on the mound, then whatever they throw to a hitter.
YES, DENARD!
can you believ that from span? swung out of his shoes
Span with another!?!!!
CUDDY!
Cuddy, no surprisingly, looks like he has gained 15 pounds.
TEN RUN LEAD
That’s the magic number!
Here come the Red Wings!
How many HR does Span hit next season? 20+ Definitely possible IMHO.
looks like cuddy is picking up where he left off.
sorry i could not resist
get this game over with, we need to get the 2nd going before the rain comes
Bad at bat by Ruiz
Ruiz works the count.
i think span is a 10 HR guy a season at best. he didn’t hit many HR in the minors so this may be a fluke. hopefully, he can prove me wrong and hit 15 or so homers as a leadoff guy.
span will hit 20 when mauer hits 30
Span could hit 20 HRs next year, he is only going to get stronger. Although the same has been said for Joe Mauer…
mijares is in the game!
I have been dying to see this kid.
Can the Twins transfer some of these runs to game 2? LOL
looks like a b game on the road in spring training
If the Twins don’t get 12 runs in game#2, someone will bitch about the inconsistent offense.
Hit 95 on the K pitch
Mijares reminds me of Sabathia. Big lefty, similar windup and delivery.
You are right, his windup and deliver very similar to CC
Mijares looks a bit like Reyes, except he got the guy out.
Hopefully there are similar results.
See, was that such a chore? Mijares looked pretty good.
One of the relievers needs to be injured to add Mijares to the playoff roster.
Alright, open a roster spot for Mijares. He’s already convinced me he is better than Crain, Guerrier, Bonser, etc.
nice work kid
Gardy says get the field dragged and chalked and “lets get after it” for game 2
Mijares is about 5″ shorter than CC.
Very nice debut for Mijares.
i wonder what it will take for gardy to use him again. he has abused guys that looked worse (bass, breslow come to mind)
He may be shorter, but he’s got the girth.
I was thinking that if Mijares does not come in for the 9th inning, the manager has to have his head examined. Well, he came in and looked pretty good! At least it was a start.
I’m wrong.
Mijares is 5′10″.
CC is 6′7″.
That’s a 9″ difference.
Player of the Game:
Morneau or Denard?
i would say morneau
Gatty, How about Gomez?
man 94 fast ball
with a nice slow curve for strikes
Gomez was pretty good too, he had two big hits
Just blogged about the ramifications of the White Sox rainout….
Game thoughts….
1. Mijares looks good. Not ready to call him The Answer, but I want to see more.
2. Span’s development over the past year has been incredible.
3. Morneau is locked in.
4. USC is about to WORK Ohio State.
LaVelle
Is Cuddy a DH only the rest of the year or will his foot allow him to play RF before the season ends?
When does game 2 start?
soon
I don’t see Cuddy playing any defense the rest of the year. I don’t see him starting at DH anytime soon.
He’s the designated Rafael Perez and Matt Thornton killer.
Was mijares injured?
Well it is boof, eddie, or mijares.
One of those is injured.
Which reliever do you HOPE is hurt? I can’t decide.
Bonser is injured, something with his back. Something sprained or strained
Pretty sure sane with his 708 post just voo doo dolled Bonser…haha
Everett is still on the team? I totally forgot about him.
Gomez is an RBI MACHINE
4 more runs and Mijares can pitch again…
Can you imagine how big of a lead in the division the Twins would have if they had just one good 8th inning reliever? At least5-6 games or more.
Perkins is absolutely choking the past 3 games. He is looking way too shaky right now even with a 10-3 lead.
Perkins’ goose is cooked - bye, bye chokers magnanimous
