Tuesday in St. Petersburg [RAINED OUT]
Posted on March 4th, 2008 – 9:36 AMBy La Velle
I got here early to visit former Twins Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza. Bartlett, actually, is one of the older guys in camp and is looked to for a little leadership. I’ll have more on their feelings about leaving the Twins in the print edition.
Former Twin Grant Balfour also is in Rays camp and sez he’s throwing fire again. .
There seems to be more professionalism and optimism in Rays camp this year. We’ll see if they can jump on some teams early and give their fans some hope. You feel bad for some fans who put up with perennial losers, and the Rays have drawn the short straw in having to play in the AL East.
It’s overcast here with a threat of scattered afternoon thunderstorms….
Joe. C is back in Fort Myers watching Francisco Liriano throw and should have a report in by midday. Pat Reusse has arrived. Jim Souhan leaves tonight. So, for a few hours, we’ll be a full throttle.
Lineups:
Twins: 1. Span,CF. 2. Punto, 2B. 3. Cuddy, RF. 4. Jones, 1B. 5. Red Dog, C. 6. Mike Lamb, 3B. 7. Kubel, LF. 8. Clark., DH. 9. Everett, SS. Pitching: Less of Boof.
Rays: 1. Iwamura, 2B. 2. Bartlett, SS. 3. Pena, 1B. 4.Baldelli, DH. 5. Floyd, RF. 6. Eva’s brother, 3B. 7. Rodriguez, LF. 8. Riggans, C. 9. Weber, CF. Pitching: Jackson.
Note: The game was delayed at 1:24 Eastern. The Twins led 3-0 going into the top of the fifth. . Boof Bonser tossed three scoreless innings, followed by a 1-2-3 fourth by Nick Blackburn. Denard Span is 2 for 3…
Note II: The game has been cancelled because of rain. Everyone is headed back to Fort Myers, and so am I….
117 Responses to "Tuesday in St. Petersburg [RAINED OUT]"
Well, I was down in Florida for a few days of Spring Training. Here is where things stand according to my infallible expert opinion:
Gomez (CF): Our big payoff from the Santana trade. The guy who made the whole deal worth it. - Can’t hit and can’t throw from center field. Speedy little guy, but all that means is he’ll get back to the dugout after grounding / striking out faster. If he really improves, he might be a right fielder some day. Carlos Gomez, you are no Torii Hunter.
Lamb (3B): Good hitter. Has all the mobility and fielding talent of Tony Batista. Feet rooted to the ground.
Everett (SS): Can’t hit, barely fields. Woo hoo!!
Harris (2B): Can’t hit, barely fields. Double woo hoo!!
Garret Jones (no discernable position, but OF at the moment): Welcome to the minor leagues for the rest of your disappointing career.
Casilla (2B): Still doesn’t hit all that well, but he made some really smart decisions at his position. Not bad.
Bonser (P): He looks healthier and he pitched pretty well.
Nathan (P): Well . . . . . at least he won’t have many save opportunities this year.
Morneau (1B): Nothing special when I saw him. He didn’t screw up, but he didn’t do much.
Mauer (C): Good eye at the plate. Walked three times. I don’t think he swung the bat.
Buscher (3B): Good fielding, very good hitting. Why do we need this Lamb stiff?
Young (LF): Very good hitting, very good fielding. I feel happy about him in LF. He was worth the trade.
Span (CF): Very good fielding. Excellent throw to the infield. Not much of a hitter, but he showed signs of knowing what he’s doing. I’d rather have him in CF than Gomez.
Cuddyer (RF): He was there.
Ruiz (1B): There’s some potential there. He bombed out a homerun the day after I left.
Punto (UI): Yeah. Can you say “Flash in the pan?”
Pitching staff as a whole: I hope the defense gets its act together. Some offense would be helpful as well.
Prediction for the 2008 season: 69 to 71 wins - 91 to 93 losses. Fourth place (or last place if Kansas City has actually improved).
“Bartlett, actually, is one of the older guys in camp and is looked to for a little leadership.”
No wonder the Rays are a 100 loss team.
Gomez can’t throw from CF? Is that a joke or are you an idiot? Gomez has a tremendous arm & has shown it off more than once this spring
Red Dog on a road trip???
What is Reusse doing down there, he doesn’t even like the Twins.
John Robinson says:
March 4th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Well, I was down in Florida for a few days of Spring Training. Here is where things stand according to my infallible expert opinion:
Gomez (CF): Our big payoff from the Santana trade. The guy who made the whole deal worth it. - Can’t hit and can’t throw from center field. Speedy little guy, but all that means is he’ll get back to the dugout after grounding / striking out faster. If he really improves, he might be a right fielder some day. Carlos Gomez, you are no Torii Hunter
all of us no that he is not that great at hitting right know but what i heard and seen of him he looks like a prety good cf to me dude when hunter was 22 what did he do not a lot i dont think he even made it to mlb when he was 22 give it a year or two
Gomez: Not a joke and I’m pretty sure I’m not an idiot. I was actually there and saw him play. A throw to the plate from shallow center field that was twenty feet up the baseline; another to the infield that was way off. He had trouble muscling the ball from deeper center field to the infield. If you were there and personally saw something different, let us all know.
All I hear is Gardy & crew raving about this kids (Gomez) speed & defense???
John Robinson reminds me of Reusse. Apparently he is a great judge of talent. Even after he saw the first couple of Spring games. There are MLB teams looking for scouts.
John Robinson,
everyone else has raved about his arm, range and power on his bat. To see you come on here and say the opposite doesn’t quite fit. And to say that Everett can’t field, when he is regarded as maybe the best fielder in the majors, is boarderline heresy. Are you sure you have the right numbers on these guys??
well john i guess we should just pack it in and call it a year…wow. while we’re bashing, what did you think of johan’s first outing for the mets. boy are they idiots for trading for that stiff???
I was there, caught friday and saturday’s games against the red sox. Gomez played a fleet footed center field, closing on balls much quicker than I am used to after growing up with Mr. Hunter. He had one poor throw that I witnessed, chasing a ball down hit to right center, throwing off balance, momentum carrying him towards right, and throwing a third of the way up the 1st baseline when trying to hit home. This was not a great throw, should have probably conceded(sp?) the run and hit second. You can complain all you want about that throw, but that toss Friday night to home got me out of my seat to bad mouth all the darn Red Sox fans around me.
ps- don’t take that as a knock on hunter, he was quick too, Gomez is just faster. period.
When John Robinson called Gomez a “Speedy little guy” he lost all credibility in my book. ESPN lists him at 6′ 4″, which is hardly little.
I appreciate John Robinson’s analysis. He obviously put some time and thought into it. I am holding back any opinions til we get into the season a little bit here and we can actually watch these guys in games that matter. All I know is what I read in the paper, and right now, everyone is trying to sell hope (common).
Mauer still isn’t swinging, crap. Why use spring training at bats to stand there with the bat on your shoulder Joe?
Go Twins - I still think they will finish around 500. Great bullpen still, that will get you somewhere. If they bullpen breaks down, it will be a long season though.
John: after that report i don’t have to waste time watching the twins this year. when’s the season over so we can think about next year?
happy day we finally may not have to listen to the brett favre drivel day in a day out or 24-7-365. and how come they talk about his streak of games and they never mention jim marshall like he doesn’t count? don’t let the gouda hit you in the a**!
sorry not baseball
I saw Gomez throw one guy out at the plate easily. One play that looked bad-a throw into the infield thas off the plate was because he was throwing to a cut-off man who was not in position. Every scout and all the coaches for the twins and Mets rave about his arm. It’s certainly better than Hunters arm.
John
How many games did you watch? Also, did you watch Pridie? Who would you put in Center? Just curious, not trying to rip you at all.
We may not know anything about Gomez, but he lost his credibility real quick when he talked about Everett. He is the best fielding SS in all of baseball. That isn’t just looking at errors, that is looking at the full package. Go ahead an google all the complicated formulas that figure out the best fielders. He is among the top 2 along with the young stud in Colorado.
I guess John Robinson is an uberscout and we can expect a 120 loss season. Oh well. When do the Vikings open spring minicamp?
John i’m not questioning that your observations were not accurate because i haven’t seen a pre season game yet but the most you could have seen is what 5 games? It’s impossible to evalute all these players after one week of play so lets wait and see. I’m more curious to see what happens when our regulars get 3 and 4 at bats in a game.
Jama- I only saw 2 games. By no means am I an expert. But I saw Gomez play and I saw him show off his arm. I saw Pridie in a game-he replaced Gomez- and I liked what I saw defensively. He knows what he’s doing out there- being in position tracking down balls, etc.
IMO- start Gomez in CF- but I’m one of those people who believe in giving youngsters w/ above average talent/skills every opportunity to shine in the big leagues.
Also w/Monroe being injured and an iffy investment, I’d seriously think about releasing him and keeping Pridie on the big league roster, if both he & Gomez show readiness to play for the Big league squad.
Don’t know if Monroes contract is guaranteed or can the Twins release him in ST and not have to pay him.
Monroe is on the roster. What I haveheard via the radio games is Gomez has a gun for an arm and made a strong put out at home. Based on the first post, I wonder if the guy was dreaming stuff. Overall, lots of negativity from top to bottom.
Win Twins!
My guess is Gomez starts in the minors and pridie is the CF for opening day!
John Robinson:
I heard Gardy interviewed concerning the play you are referencing where Gomez bombed it into the infield. They aksed Gardy about the errant throw and Gardy put the blame on the cutoff guys. Apparently there was confusion over who was supposed to be the cut off and as a result no one was there to cutoff so Gomez let it fly into the infield. Gardy said he wasn’t concerned about Gomez’s arm or decision making. However, he did not seem at all happy about the play of those middle infielders who couldn’t figure out what to do.
John Robinson -
“Can’t hit and can’t throw from center field. …. If he really improves, he might be a right fielder some day.”
outfielders who can’t manage to make a throw from center field don’t find themselves in right field, where arm strength and accuracy is more important than either of the other outfield positions. this isn’t little league, where you stick the lamest player in right field. right fielders need to be able to make the longest throw in baseball - right field to third base.
i respect your decision to offer your opinions, but i think you have put too much weight on your first impressions.
I want to kick John Robinson in the teeth.
John Robinson-
Relax buddy, Gomez is only 22 years old! Everything thing I read says that Gomez has a cannon for an arm, but you say he can’t throw at all? hmmmmm ya i guess i’ll take your word over actual people who know what their talking about.
I think Robinson has Gomez confused with Span. He called him a “speedy little guy”. Gomez is 6-4, 200. He said he couldn’t throw. Tell that to BA, which rates his outfield arm among the best in baseball.
Aside from that, it seems like he’s a bitter little troll. How many guys go to Florida for the winter to watch baseball and come back with virtually nothing positive to say about an entire team? I found three positive comments out of around 30.
Does anybody know who’s pitching today?
Boof Bonser starting after that???
Boys..Boys…. Sid told me to SCROLL down yesterday if I didnt like what was being posted and I was just kind of mad.
bonser is pitching today…
I think what we have here is a case of somebody who holds guys like Torii Hunter and Johan Santana in the the highest regard and cant wrap his brain around the fact that they aren’t here.
Do the Rays actually plan on Baldelli batting clean up. Thats an interesting lineup.
If Barlett can hit the Rays have potential to have a pretty darn good lineup. I think they could really see a large jump in wins this year if their pitching can stay healthy. Kazmir is already dinged up but they have quite a few young pitchers that are thought of highly.
wish they would start pridie in cf and let him lead off for some games …usually has been span or gomez
Folks,
Just because John Robinson has a different opinion doesn’t mean everyone should converge on him like it’s Night of the Living Dead.
He’s wrong about Gomez’s arm but that doesn’t make him an idiot.
Reyes, Duensing and Cali are scheduled to pitch today.
Tomorrow: Slowey vs. Ian Kennedy. Hmmm…
no twins radio today…hope lavelle or joe will update any hilites….
Good Grief. There are two fans here with cowbells. For a spring training game?
Denard Span grounds a double just inside the first base bag….
lavelle…just heard you on kfan..hope you are on the mark about blackburn…damn the twins are deep in arms…there will be some good arms in AAA…just need some experience..this could be very exciting…remember the braves young arms years ago….lets hope we get even similar production …
Thanks La Velle keep them coming also do you think we have an addiction to baseball?
joe c just made a great report on lirianos bp session….good for liriano…every day gets better
Bottom of the first. Uninformed fan yells, “Hey Boof, did your parents not love you very much with that first name?”
End of first no score….
cow bells? i thought that was for skiing or bobsledding.
I disagree with La Velle. John Robinson is an idiot! Gomez has a cannon according to scouts and our own manager. Everett is one of the top defensive shortstops in the game. Also to say that Harris can’t hit after five spring training games when he batted 285 for an entire regular season is completely rediculous.
This Jackson is supposed to have some good stuff, a little wild though. A good test for our guys
I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but i am really excited to watch the Twins play tomorrow on ESPN! the best part is i dont have class tomorrow so i can watch the whole game!
just pray for no rain tomorrow…no domes in st
wolvesfan…. Ihear you but chances are that Gardy wont play some of the new guys that were excited to see just to be onry. He has done that sort of thing before.
Face the facts, always going to uninformed people coming in here to “fan the flames” and get off on people replying to their BS.
I just wish we could filter out messages on here, like on the Twins website.
[…] La Velle E Neal III reported earlier that Francisco Liriano was going to throw BP again today. Now I see Joe Christensen just posted that the session went well without any pain. Joe also said […]
Man, Mike Lamb just made a great stop of Shawn Riggans’ smash but pulled the first baseman off the bag with his throw. Would have been a great play.
Still no score….Boof is throwing first-pitch strikes….Span 2 for 2.
Nick Blackburn warming up…
this will be sick if craig is actually right about span.
Just because John Robinson has a different opinion doesn’t mean everyone should converge on him like it’s Night of the Living Dead.
LEN3, while I respect differences in opinion…there’s a differenec in having an opinion because that’s what you think and just stating some random complaint because you want to rile fans up.
That entire post smacks of “Let’s see what I can say to make everybody angry.”…nothing more.
Boof strands two in the third, still no score. Boof should be done for the day…
sounds like a good outing..actually all the twins pitchers seem to have been doing pretty well, probably better than we could have expected, although its hard to tell much from here in the cold north…
Cuddyer and Jones lead off with singles. Runners on first and third for Mr. Shoot it…
im guessing that boofs weight situation will help him alot this year…i hope he can keep it off
And Mr. Shoot it does just that, grounding an opposite-field single to right to score Cuddyer. It’s 1-0 Twins on the classic Mike Redmond slap shot.
I love what Bonser is doing this year… proving me and others wrong.
He has yet to give up a run this year…
Garrett Jones scored on a infield hit by Jason Kubel. 2-0…
Redmond scored on Howie Clark’s groundout. It’s 3-0….
Hi La velle, Thanks for the reports. I’ll be in Tampa tomorrow for he game. Also in FM for Thurs. and Bradenton on Sat. Hope to see some good games and I would love to see Pridie and Gomez first hand, as well as Liriano. Keep the reports coming, we really appreciate it here in Duluth.
Brett Favre retires, not baseball but big news
Gobbledy- No! don’t mention “He who should not be named” It’s like casting a Black Magic spell for him to appear.
Thanks for the updates LENIII.
By the way AC MIlan and Arsenal today.
LEN3…have you noticed gardy putting any more emphasis on bunting this spring…seems like last season was such a disaster whenever we needed a bunt down…and then the predictable double play….
Go red dog easily one of my favorite players all the guy does is play hard, deliver and never complains.
jdw i thought the c person was banned?
call it spring fever, but I am excited to watch these guys this year. You never know, they could go on a Rockies like season. This should be a fun bunch to watch. I am not going to get dragged into a ton of negative conversations this year. Constructive criticism great, but negativity be damned.
red dog just seems to come thru…he truly is mr clutch…all those puches to rt field….best backup in the game by far…he will definately become a great coach/manager someday….
Gobble- was it this blog or Joe C?
The Twins should give Red Dog a year to year contract until he decides to retire. Would love to see him able to play in 2010 in new stadium. I think he’s 37 yrs old?
LaVelle,
Thanks for the updates. No radio and the stupid MLB box had no hit for Kubel, so I was trying to figure out how the Twins got three runs on three singles, no walks, no errors and no stolen bases.
Red dog is just a stud! I dont know how he does it? every time it seems like we need a hit, red dog pokes one between first and second. Its great
Here here Bobb.
Unwavering optimism is my definition of being a fan. The heck with all the poo pooers. Thanks for the feed LENIII, watching the box scores isn’t quite enough. I’m being tortured to death that they’re not broadcasting on the radio nor xm.
RedDog is definately an asset to this team. How many backup catchers and such team leaders and garner such respect? I’m excited for this season even though it is a season for growing pains. The optimism of spring is a wonderful thing (although when I look out the window here in Alaska I still see several feet of snow).
its hard to imagine outdoor baseball in minn in less than a month if it were 2010 now…wonder how thats going to work with no dome….thiw winter is not going away any too fast…
I think this game is going to get banged. They are anchoring the tarp and the bat boys are packing up….
Bobb
I too love your optimism but if you expect this team to win 24 out of their last 25 you might be waiting for awhile. People don’t realize that the Rockies had what is probably the best winning streak in the history of the game just to win the Wild Card.
I think this team will be really fun to watch but this year is all about letting some of the young guns learn and next year should be a year to compete. And I’m okay with that.
MLB.com scoreboard is showing “Delayed: About to resume”. I was kind of hoping it was your typical St Pete 20 minute shower.
LEN
What are your thoughts on Monroe? Do you think he is going to make this team or are the Twins going to stick with the young guys?
Typical ST.
The hitters who are slotted for MLB are struggling. The hitters who are MLB long shots or minor league lifers are kicking butt.
Just what the GM and staff hates.
They want the players to cut themselves, but it seldom works that way. After they make some cuts, those guys will go to the minors and never again hit like they did in ST.
the game is postponed…
MLB.com now showing “Postponed: Rain”. Ah well. Nice to have a few guys hitting the ball and Bonser/Blackburn look good, even if it was only for 4 innings.
Jama, that isn’t what I am saying at all. What I meant by my statement is, maybe this could be the team that no one thought of at the beginning of the season. Most “experts” have the Twins finishing 4th or 5th. So, who knows.
I am quite aware that 24 of 25 will most likely never happen again.
What’s the program with Howie Clark? I guess I missed where he came from, was he wandering around outside the complex before spring training or what? I don’t want to beat the guy up, but his team bio says “he doesn’t play any position well enough to be a replacement”, although it appears that he got a hit or two…Info?
Howie Clark
34 y.o. career minor leaguer lefty batter (a couple cups of coffee in the majors). Utility player, plays most IF and OF positions (think Denny Hocking)
Dang, I wish Blackburn would have gotten a chance to throw a couple innings…
Oh well, on to tomorrow and ESPN… I love DVR
So do you get a refund if the game is rained out after 3 innings?? Just wondering as the forecast calls for rain in Ft. Myers on Friday and Sunday… I’m still hoping to see some baseball when I’m there. thx
imo-I think John Robinson is just trying to get attention.I guess he accompliced that.But that.s no reason to call him stupid.Derogatory remarks seems to be a stable only on the Trib blogs.
LEN,
Thanks for the updates! Did they bag it?
And Mr. Shoot it does just that, grounding an opposite-field single to right to score Cuddyer. It’s 1-0 Twins on the classic Mike Redmond slap shot.
I still don’t get how teams haven’t learned to play the slapshot against Redmond. He seems to be so good (lucky?) at getting those to fall fair.
I hope he sticks around as some kind of coach (I think he’d be an assest in the minor league coaching system)
thx len-
More cowbell.
Hunter turned 24 during his first full season with the Twins and had an OPS of a whopping .564. Someone once told me patience is a virtue.
T-
I agree. Redmond would make one hell of a coach.
Redmond is good enough with the bat, if you cheat too much he’ll pull it down the line.
LaVelle–
Have you had any conversations with Gardy about Bonds? Does he still think it would be great to have him in our lineup?
LaVelle, it was very, very good of you to shoot us game-time info. I really appreciate it.
John Robinson’s trying to rile some people up. Most of his reports are completely conflicting all other reports of the players. Either that or he saw a very small sample size of games and made rash judgments.
Either way, I’ve already read one report that described Carlos Gomez as “delivering a scud missile to home plate” to gun down Pedroia from center. Two stolen bases (including third base) so far is encouraging too through just a few games.
Great point about Torii too, LaVelle.
And as Jama brought up, I’m curious about Monroe too. I think he seems like overpaying for what we’re getting, but he’s a nice insurance policy in the case of an injury to one of our OFs. The only thing I don’t like is that I want to see Kubel getting ABs every day, and instead Monroe’s gonna be taking his ABs against lefties. Granted, Craig has some strong numbers against lefties, but how is Kubel ever going to fully develop if he’s platooning every year?
It seems to me that the way things are shaping up, the only way Monroe would get released would be if the Twins decided to keep both Buscher and Jones. It looks right now like those two are contending for the 25th spot. But if Buscher continues to impress and Jones looks good enough that they don’t want to lose him by trying to pass him through waivers (out of options), Monroe could be the odd man out.
Buscher and Jones are both lefty hitters. Same as Kubel and Lamb. Doesn’t give us many options off the bench. Monroe was a very good hitter just a couple years ago and had very good numbers in the Dome. I think he could be a good 4th outfielder and DH option.
we don’t need punto pinch hitting in the 9th when a lefty comes in. our 2 great rh pinch hitter, who produced mightly, Lew & DLRondell are both gone. any other possible rh hitters? we’re kind of left handed heavy at bat it appears and we all know how gardy likes to r-l-r-l thinks he’s marching in the army i guess.
I thought I read in the Strib the last week or 2 that Gardy stated he wanted to bring 12 pitchers north, which would eliminate a position player. Can anyone comfirm this?
I agree… and that makes it all the more likely Monroe sticks. My point was just that Jones being out of options could muddy things a bit. My guess is that Buscher starts the year at Rochester and gets the quick call-up if a corner IF gets nicked up. Could even get the call if an OF gets injured and Monroe or Kubel is called on to be a regular in the OF.
Yes, JDW, all reports have been that he intends to bring 12 pitchers north to start the season.
I’d guess the 13 other spots will go something like:
Starting locks (7): Mauer C, Morneau 1B, Everett SS, Lamb 3B, Young LF, Cuddyer RF, Kubel DH
Starting CF (1): whoever emerges from Gomez, Pridie and Span
Starting 2B (1): Probably Harris, but not really a lock yet.
4th OF/DH/Bench (1): Monroe
Backup C (1): Redmond
That leaves 2 utility positions. One of them will be Punto, who can play 3 IF positions and the OF, in a pinch. The final spot will come from the group that consists of Jones, Buscher, Watkins, and the two CFs who don’t make it as the starter. Jones being out of options would make him my odds-on favorite if he has any kind of productive ST at all.
Every year, there’s a fuss over the AAA mediocrity that’s out of options. Then he doesn’t make the team, and some other team picks him up and cuts him again. So long Jones. See you in Japan in a couple years.
Jones was a gentleman & gave me his autograph in Spring Training two years ago, so I wish him well. However Buscher &/or 2nd CF are more likely to make team. If I were Gardy ( I can bowl you know, just not quite as well), I would platoon Pridie & Monroe in CF. Buscher would be power hitting lefty bat on bench. Gomez would get polish in AAA for a couple of months & then with any success, takes over in CF. Monroe gets traded in July along with Nathan. Oh, I’ve got plans alright heh heh heh… 
Oh wait, I have faith in Twin’s managemant to do the best things to try to win in the near future. Go Twins.
Jones being out of options isn’t going to muddle anything. He was a poor minor league hitter, a worse major league hitter, and he doesn’t possess any defensive or baserunning value.
In other words, it’s unlikely he would get claimed off waivers, and if he did it would simply free up AAA at-bats for other players who could potentially become useful major league players in the future.
coco,
I agree with your plan except:
When Gomez returns from AAA, keep Monroe and trim your pitching staff to eleven guys who will have their innings/pitches properly stretched out.
G jones will not make the team (guarenteed)they need 2 back-up infielders 1 being Punto and the other needs to play first and third because they will pinch hit for Everett late in the game. It sucks that Buscher is left handed 2 left handed third basemans???? I agree 24 of the 25 spots are locked if you take pitchers out. I would like to keep Buscher trade Lamb. Sometimes we over valuate players from other organizations. I haven’t seen Lamb play but I heard he is a “stiff” on defense. OH, Now I sound like Sid
I take that back not trade Lamb,If Buscher doesn’t produce we have no one to back him up. It stinks that they are both left handed.Pirdie makes are cf because he is the most polished. Monroe is our back-up. (too expensive for that but also DH aqainst lefty’s)let Gomez and Span battle to see who gets called up first. Dont have Gomez Start the year to validate the trade because it will bite us in the donkey!
I just noticed (don’t know how long it’s been like that), but the Twins’ banner has been updated on the official site.
Delmon Young is now one of the featured players (along with Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, and Nathan front and center)
…
Also, I haven’t been following the actually results too closely, save for wins and losses. But I looked back and saw some uplifting news.
Though the first few losses were X-1 or simliiar low scoring, the next three games the Twins went 2-1 and scored 6, 8, and 8. That’s a pretty good boost in morale. Don’t know what the lineups were or who was pitching, but it’s maybe a sign things are coming together a bit.
Our defense looks good against our offense.
-Mike Tice
Hooray for finally updating the banner, I figured Cirilo and Ponson would be on it the entire year again this year.
Two LH third basemen are not a problem.
There is always an opportunity for a LH pinch-hitter late in games.
Few (No?) teams have predominantly LH bullpens.
The banner has been updated since the Santana trade (featured Mauer, Cuddyer, and Morneau at least). Didn’t notice if Nathan was always on there, so I won’t attempt to read anything into it regarding contract talks.
