Twins postgame: Morneau can run a little, too
Posted on September 14th, 2008 – 12:00 AMBy Joe Christensen
BALTIMORE — Justin Morneau is not known for his speed, but he had two moments on the bases that impressed me in Game 2 tonight.
First inning, no outs, he’s on second base. Delmon Young flies out to right field. Nick Markakis, who leads the American League in outfield assists catches the ball, and Morneau dashes to third base — later scoring on Brendan Harris’ single.
Third inning, no outs, runner at first. Morneau hits a bouncer to second baseman Brian Roberts. Should have been a double play, but Morneau beats the throw to first from shortstop Juan Castro.
Hall of Famer Paul Molitor must have been proud.
“Moli says it to us all the time when we do our base running in spring training: ‘You don’t have to be fast to be a good baserunner,’” Morneau said. “The easiest thing to do in this game is to hustle, and it’s the only thing I know.”
Morneau explained that Markakis didn’t look like he was set to throw when catching Young’s fly ball.
“That’s kind of what I need to be able to go on that ball,” he said. “I don’t know. I’ll take it.”
So will the Twins. Manager Ron Gardenhire tried to let Morneau DH in Game 2, but Morneau remained at first base. I can’t stress this enough, but Morneau has started all 148 games this season, including 141 at first.
“I had the option to DH, but I wanted to go out there and show everybody you’ve gotta play hard,” he said. “If we don’t get into the playoffs, there will be plenty of time off, so grind it out as much as we can.
“We’ve gotta get in. If that means I play first every game, so be it. If that’s the best lineup we can put on the field, I’ll run out there until I can’t run any more.”
22 Responses to "Twins postgame: Morneau can run a little, too"
We would have won 12-0 if I could have pitched from the first inning onward.
I hope the young players on this team learn from Morneau’s gritty play this season. Great two games for the Twins; not only do they pull into first place, but they put the pressure on the White Sox to play well.
Also, congratulations to the Twins organization for producing yet another winning season this decade.
[…] Originally published by Around the Majors […]
“jump on my back!”
Why does that guy keep talking abou Crain? Is that suppose to be funny?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the conflict between Hunter and Morneau shortly after the Canadian came up - wasn’t that because Torii felt that the rook wasn’t working hard enough? In an era of trash talking etc, it is nice to have a team that we can be proud off the field as well as on it.
Let Perkins pound the corners EVEN WITH A BIG LEAD, (instead of pitching down the middle to avoid walks) and his problems may disappear.
Gardy and Andy overemphasize the HORROR of walking a batter or two with a (big?) lead.
Just let the kid continue to pitch the same as he was pitching when we got the damn lead!
Is first pitch still 1235 today or did they make a change because of the late night games.
Nevermind I found it.
I LOVE JUSTIN MORNEAU. HE IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE TWIN. HE PLAYS THE GAME THE WAY THE OLD TIME TWINS LIKE HARMON KILLEBREW (MY FAVORITE OLD TIME TWIN) PLAYED. GO GET EM JUSTIN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Re: Telly Hughes
I just had to bring this up after ignoring an identical performance after the first Angels game.
Telly asks Joe,”So how important was it to get the first win on this road trip”
They pay this guy for that!
Too bad because I really like the FSN expended Twins coverage. I know its a matter of taste but Coomer and Smalley really bring some knowledge to the show and, unlike some, I really like LaPanta. Marnie asks some halfway decent questions and seems at ease in front of the camera. Once in a while Timmy L. is good to give some behind the plate perspective.
But even if you don’t particularly care for the above c’mon. “how important was it to get the first win?”
Thanks, I had to get that off my chest.
Joe,
Is it possible to ask or find out Gardy’s feeling about playing Everett more at shortstop during the stretch run instead of Punto? Adam is better defensively and Punto has certainly had his issues both in the field and the plate this past month.
And what about the option of bringing back (or serving up as the sacrificial lamb) Perkins on 3 days rest against Cliff Lee on Wednesday so you can have Baker on full rest against both the Rays and White Sox?
Thanks & Go Twins!
Heinie Manush,
“how important was it to get the first win?”
Telly’s alternative opening interview question:
“How’s it goin’?”
Morneau may not be that vocal in the clubhouse, but he is leading by example. And of course he’s tough and has grit…He’s CANADIAN! As for Perkins, although he is struggling, I like the idea of bringing him back on 3 days rest to face Cleveland. That’s our best option. The Twins may see a lot of rain in Cleveland the way the forecast is looking. We might end up in the same boat (or ark) as the White Sox were yesterday.
I really thought Gardy was going to have to use up the whole bullpen last night when they pulled Perkins after the 3rd inning. But we managed to keep tacking on runs and Korecky, Breslow, Reyes and Humber got it done. Good to have Nathan, Guerrier and Crain get more needed rest.
Reports in this City don’t seem to ask hard question. They ask vague leading questions. Its not terrible and i do think that the guys for the trib do a fine job of reporting on the team. I just wish they were a little harder on the team at times. As for Telly Hughes you have to remember who is writing his check he is not going to go up there and say things that might seem negative to the players of the team that pays him.
Imagine Telly Hughes saying to Morneau after the last game against the Tigers
“Justin you were the last out in back to back games do you think that a MVP type player gets at least one hit there?”
Burning Bush,
Agreed, but still “how important is it to win the first game . . .” Like the answer could possibly be, “not very important”.
Non-critical questions can be asked that provide some insight. (See Coomer)
Sorry for the rag but Telly is just so inferior to the rest that I just feel the need to shout it out.
Perkins could essentially have around 17 wins under his belt if he didn’t have these Livan Hernandez meltdown innings. IF Twins make the playoffs: three man rotation of Baker, Liriano and Slowey make the most sense to me.
Imagine Telly Hughes saying to Morneau after the last game against the Tigers
“Justin you were the last out in back to back games do you think that a MVP type player gets at least one hit there?”
You want to see Telly get beaten to a pulp on live TV? That kind of question would ensure most players would never come on camera with the reporter again. Live in the real world, please.
Hunter was upset because he thought Morneau wouldn’t play hurt, not because he didn’t hustle.
[…] night, I wrote a postgame blog about two impressive base running plays Morneau made in Game 2. I was struck by his resilience. “I […]
