Jason Bartlett, who almost lost two fingers on Saturday when he was hit by a line drive, is better and is in the lineup.

 

Joe Mauer, who now has the most talked-about left fibula in the Twin Cities, said he feels better and will go through normal pre-game workouts. He said he would like to play some time this week. My opinion is that he should play Friday, take two at-bats Saturday and then get ready to hack against Erik Bedard and the O’s. I would risk a few regular season games to get sharp for the greater good of the the remaining 159 games, the fan base, the Upper Midwest, the nation and the baseball world…..

 Also, I’ll be finishing up special section stuff this morning. That means I’ll more consistent in my appearances here.

And I want to say hello to my friends, Scott, Jason, Sarah, Karen, Paul, Julie, Randi, Ken, Andrea and Mike, who stopped through Florida over the weekend before beginning their Caribbean Cruise. There’s a P and an A in PLAY….. 

 

 

 

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Twins: Tyner, Cirillo, Redmond, Cuddyer, Jones, LeCroy, Rabe, L-Rod and Bartlett. Pitching: Boof.

 

Devil Rays: Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, Ty Wigginton, Jorge Cantu, Delmon Young, Carlos Pena, Dionner Navarro, Brendan Harris. Pitching: Casey Fossum.

 

I’ll try to update what I can because I know the game isn’t on radio - they’ve given me the radio booth!!!! Lots of stuff to work on during the game. Mauer seems to be O.K. But I want to see how he is come Monday.

For those of you who are into the Twins minor leagues, Angel Garcia and Johan Pino are on the trip. Trent Oeltjen, who’s supposed to be the greatest bunter in the history of bunting, is on the trip, too.

 

Twins East: Ryan Freel, Scott Hatteberg, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Hamilton, JAVIER VALENTIN, Alex Gonzalez, JUAN CASTRO, Chris Denorfia, CHAD MOELLER. Pitching: ERIC MILTON.

Twins: Castillo, Cirillo, Mr. .206, Cuddy, MVP, Torii, Rondell, Kubel, Casilla. Pitching: Sir Sid

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Jerry Bell, President of Twins Sports, Inc., said the Twins are prepared to move forward with the stadium project. They are convinced the process of acquiring the land behind Target Center will no longer foul up the process.

They will accept bids on excavation work at the site, and they will finally unveil the stadium desgin on Apr. 5.

The only problem: I could only get one side of the story while covering the game tonight. Don’t know how Hennepin County or the people who own the land feel about things.

And Bell was non-committal about the Twins chipping in more $$$$ to make up the difference between what the county budgeted and what the cost of the land will be. That concerns me. 

Let’s see how the other parties involved respond…..

 

Rule 5 draft pick Alejandro Machado has a tear in his rotator cuff and is out indefinitely. The Twins, for now, will rely on Jeff Cirillo and Luis Rodriguez as backups, but there’s always a chance a deal could be swung for a reserve shortstop before Opening Day.

 

Nick Punto was a late scratch from tonight’s game because of sore right hip flexor. Punto said he would have played if it was the regular season or if he ran like, “Matthew LeCroy or Mike Redmond.”

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I read through all the comments yesterday in reaction to how the Twins have their rotation set up, and there were a lot of strong feelings.

I had to keep it close to the vest over the weekend, but I knew I was going to write about Carlos Silva today. The coaching staff is doing all it can to get him right, but he’s not producing. It appears the club is committed to opening the season with him in the rotation (that could change!) but with the talent the Twins have knocking on the door, Silva is on thin ice.

Many readers were furious yesterday that Silva and Sidney Ponson look to be part of the rotation. I understand the concern over Silva, but Ponson looked very good in his last outing. He was hit in the outing before that, but I think he’s been fine considering he had chips removed from his elbow during the offseason.

I’ve seen Sidney twice - the B Game against Boston and the Baltimore game. And the man looked like he knew what he was doing. He has a good sinker, he was busting guys in on their hands, and he has a nice curveball. I also watched him throw in the bullpen on Sunday and listened in on how he communicated with his catcher on where to set up and what he was trying to achieve with his pitches.

I think he’s determined to do well. I think he’s comfortable with his teammates. His hatred toward the Baltimore media last week was startling, but he’s been fine with us. He just may be in the right place at the right point in his career to turn things around. He deserves that chance. I don’t see anything wrong with giving him two months to see what he can do. The $1 million - in this day and age - is a cheap gamble. The Twins are not ruining Perkins and Garza by leaving them in the minors for a few more weeks.

I guess this is my attempt at starting a second straight day of discussion about the Twins’ rotation, focusing on Silva and Ponson.

 

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