Franchise on Friday….
Posted on March 5th, 2008 – 8:19 AMBy La Velle
Lefthander Francisco Liriano will make his spring training debut on Friday at Boston. It will be the first time Liriano will face an opponent since September of 2006.
Liriano threw batting practice on Tuesday and said this morning that he felt great. It’s unclear what his pitch limit will be on Friday.
The Twins are trying to smooth out Liriano’s delivery to reduce the risk of him re-injuring his left elbow. Their focus has been on his follow-through. Liriano used to spin out of his delivery so much that he would be facing third base or, as Ron Gardenhire said, “his (rear end) would face home plate.” They’ve asked him to eliminate that in exchange for something more controlled.
It’s also unclear if there’s enough time for him to build up enough stamina to begin the season in the starting rotation. But if there are no setbacks and he regains his command he’ll be close. Very close.
Joe C. and Reusse are on their way to Tampa to cover the game. I’m back in Fort Myers, monitoring the temperature at Hammond Stadium.
Here’s the Twins’ lineup for their game against the Evil Empire.
1. Gomez, CF.2. Harris, 2B. 3. Mauer, C. 4. Morneau, 1B. 5. Young, LF. 6. Buscher, 3B. 7. Knott, DH. 8. Jones, RF. 9. Tolbert, SS. Pitching: Slowey, with Kiesler, Barrett, DePaula, Reyes, Neshek, Bass, Sosa.
First pitch 12:15 central, on ESPN.
103 Responses to "Franchise on Friday…."
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
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 actually was thinking of this lineup 1-5 the other day. M&M are back to back, breaking the sacred R-L-R-L-R sequence. But it might work.
During the season, Cuddy could be 6 and Kubel 7.
It’ll be fun to see both Harris and Buscher today.
Game is on ESPN.
Cant wait to watch it… have the DVR set already.
Although I have no interest in watching Barrett, Kiesler or DePaula try to find the strike zone…
Sweet, I will be at City of Palms Park!
I know Kennedy is pitching, but does anyone know who the Skankees are starting today?
Joe C. should have that RyanW, once he arrives at the ballpark….
Wonderful LaVelle… I am giving final exams all day, nothing to do but get excited about watching a taped spring training game later in the afternoon.
And I thought Packer fans were pathetic.
Two LH 3B is not a problem.
There is always an opportunity for a LH pinch-hitter late in games.
Few (No?) teams have predominantly LH bullpens.
24rick, if you double-post from the day before, please tell us.
Or you can change your name to 2rick….
Interesting lineup, I like that Gardy’s trying Gomez at the top of the order. And I imagine he’ll be testing different combos of Harris/Mauer at #2, though Cuddy’s absence today may have something to do with their placement.
I’d like to see him try a lineup with Mauer/Young/Morneau 2-3-4 at some point. But wouldn’t be adverse if he experiments with different arrangements of Cuddy/Young around Morneau. But I like Mauer #2.
I don’t like reading that Liriano is not feeling his slider and that he is afraid to let it go. That is not good news.
He likely still has some reluctance to throw it, with his mind always thinking he could injure himself again.
This is what we should expect I guess, but it is still kinda unnerving. I think it’s gonna take a while for him to get a feel back for that slider and the confidence that he can throw it again without blowing his arm up.
Hopefully they can fix or slow down his violent motion, but still be able to keep that great slider. Without that pitch, he is not what he was.
M&M are back to back, breaking the sacred R-L-R-L-R sequence.
I like the idea of having a righty slotted in between Mauer and Morneau. I noticed a few times when it was Mauer/Morneau B2B that they’d go to their lefty specialist and that was that.
A righty in between at least forces the specialist to face a righty. So you can’t just throw out some bum lefty who gets eaten up by righty’s depsite his success against southpaws.
Are there any reports on how Tolbert has looked this spring? I’m suprised to see him starting.
“He likely still has some reluctance to throw it, with his mind always thinking he could injure himself again.”
Or he meant that he dosent like to let it go against live hitters because he dosent have control of it yet. It takes a while for pitchers to regain control after TJ surgery. I am not too worried yet.
Jon Knott is getting a lot of ABs… I guess with Monroe out for a couple more days and Kubel went yesterday it makes sense… but it is a lot of ABs for a guy who has very little chance of making the squad…
Since Span went yesterday, I hope Pridie will get some innings today. I would like to see him play… Same feelings about Machado.
I am a huge Sosa fan, so I hope he does well today. I know he doesn’t have much of a chance to make the rotation this year, but I think he is going to be a great major league pitcher.
a 2 pitch Liriano is still better than a 5 pitch Slowey any day of the week.
I am too BC, I just hope Oswaldo gets a chance to throw… being at the end of the list dosent look promising… Maybe Julio DePaula will walk a couple more people and Gardy will yank him…
Ryan W.
This is the lineup according to Yes Network
Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Jason Giambi 1B
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Wilson Betemit 3B
Melky Cabrera CF
Pitching
Ian Kennedy (2-3)
Joba Chamberlain (2-3)
Jon Albaladejo
Ross Ohlendorf
Christina.. thanks…
wow. Almost opening day linup… It will be good to see Chamberlain as well.
i cant remember such enthusiasm for a twins st game in years…especially going against the skankees….this should be alot of fun and interesting to see how these few roster spot openings play out…hope to see more of pridie in cf…span has played alot and has done well, but i think pridie is the man until gomez is truly ready to take over…
I have a feeling after today I will feel better about the Johan deal than I do now.
excuse my double negative, but Melkey Cabrera never fails to leave me unimpressed.
I’m curious to see how Kennedy will do. I hope the MLB will show it live.
Jon Knott warrants the opportunities based on the power he has shown throughout his career. He has zero chance of being a starter, but he is probably a guy who would not mind being a righty off the bench with an occasional DH start against the tough lefties.
Its on ESPN.
Christina, it is on ESPN today…
Seth,
To say Jon Knott “would not mind” coming off the bench is a little bit understated. He would probably consider selling family members for a spot on the 25-man roster.
Hey LEN3,
When do the minor leaguers report across the parking lot?
“I’m curious to see how Kennedy will do. I hope the MLB will show it live.”
its on espn at 12:15 live…
i cant wait to see gomez though
i have really high hopes for him…. just one word of advice…
TIE YOUR SHOES THIS TIME SO YOU DONT TRIP GOING TO 3RD!!!!!!!
(just kidding about the shoes but seriously…. DONT TRIP GOING TO 3RD!!!!)
I had no idea.Thanks.
RyanW?
Interesing attack on Packer fans. What makes us so “pathetic?”
Anyway, I am pumped to see the Franchise is going to pitch on Friday.
watch twins baseball on espn, or mlb.com (yankee feed) and listen to game on twins radio …gladden and gordon…..great day
but it is a lot of ABs for a guy who has very little chance of making the squad…
Bolstering trade value maybe? *shrugs*
Time for the Yankees lovefest on ESPN. Pregame already started it and it looks like it’ll carry through the game. Time to listen to John and Dan.
How many times has Jeter been shown so far?
One time is too many in my opinion.
len3 commenting in joe c blog…
twins radio just a bit behind espn coverage….
goin back to joe c…
it still burns me how so many east coast media people couldn’t understand the morneau mvp and how jeter didn’t get it. of course i heard one say he had only seen morneau play one game typical espn yankees and sox all the time nobody else really counts.
Gobbledy - I’m unable to watch the game because I’m at work, but your comment intrigued me. Have they mentioned at least once about how Jeter should have been MVP in ‘06? I really hate the east coast bias.
espn is all over the yanks….its sickening…oh well …delmon gave them something to take a look at anyway…
Who cares if ESPN “doesn’t fully appreciate” the Twins?
The Twins real value is not dependent on East Coast media approval.
Let those jackasses lineup to kiss the Yankees and Red Sox butts.
I think Robinson’s opinion from a couple days ago is pretty accurate. Gomez may have enough arm for CF someday, but he has looked like crap today.
I know he is young and will develop, but everyone got on Robinson, and Lavelle defended Gomez’ arm. He must look great in practice!
John Robinson was right based on todays play.
Is John Robinson really Peter Gammons? Based on todays performance Slowey wont make the rotation and Delmon Young should hit 40 home runs.
Passing judgement on Gomez’s arm based on 1-2 throws is a typical blogger call.
He obviously has a strong arm and accuracy is correctable with better footwork and mechanics.
He also looked great in some previous games so he is not a 9AM player.
But bloggers aren’t bloggers unless they rush to judgement.
Gogomez looks green to me. Maybe he’s pressing.
Homerun against Joba. I love it.
Casilla does NOT look green. Nice recovery on that out of Giambi.
Who hit the homerun against Joba the Butt?
G. Jones got the HR.
Rick Sutcliff is the windiest and smartest announcer in baseball. He even knows what the players in the field are thinking.
Gomez should go to AA
Span to AAA
Gomez sucks
Make a trade for coco and give us one more year for someone to emerge
I’m sorry sane, of course your right. A few drills and he’ll be be another Clemente. I’m sorry for being a typical blogger.
I couldn’t watch too close as I was watching Johan in midseason form today.
Gomez made mistakes today but his talent is undeniable. I don’t think playing in AAA is going to make him better. His mistakes have more to do with inexperience then anything.
I think he is gonna be a great player. I think Justin Morneau and Gardy agree.
G,
“A few drills and he’ll be be another Clemente.”
I guess that’s what I was really trying to say.
Yup, Gogomez has the talent. Looks like he’s at about where Casilla was last year.
G,
I wasn’t referring only to you. There were many Gomez critics after his brutal throw.
If Gomez and Span both fail, I think Pridie (.400 BA in ST) and Monroe (33HR in 2006) would be a good CF platoon.
Nice play by Gogomez with the glasses, sun and all.
Maybe he’ll get some sleep and have a great ST starting next week. You know, get the world off his shoulders.
Bad day for Melky, Kennedy and Joba.
That NON-trade looked good today.
Gman,
You two plus others on JoeC’s blog.
But I concede that they all agree with you.
Sane….. If you wern’t referring to G then you must hae been referring to me being we were the only two that were talking about Gomez. If thats the case I feel the same as G does.
Truth is, Gomez didn’t look good today. Didn’t sound like Gardy or Morneau were too concerned about it though. As a matter of fact, Justin basically said he was excited by him as a player. That is not a bad review of a player, at least in my opinion. I will give him time to prove the Twins front office correct before I start bashing.
Hopefully, it won’t take long to see him fulfill his potential.
Nothing wrong with putting up a W, especially against the evil empire.
Hey La Velle and all you Twins Fans out there,
For cool New Ballpark Updates in PHOTOS, please check out my blog, 408′ at
I try to get to the ballpark site every two or three weeks or so and take all the photos myself!
I just posted some great new photos from today’s big cement pouring for the plaza.
Let me know what you think!
SANE ……It is just a opinion nothing to get critical about.
Corey Sauer,,, Good job thanks for the Info,,,
The Twins will be fortunate to win 80 games this year. Gomez definitely sounds like he isn’t ready including the “I’m a star attitude” that he has done nothing to earn (almost as bad as Span). No professional has a swing that is so violent he would hurt himself. He needs to get humble, to learn and keep his mouth shut and shut.
Gomez would learn in the minor how to throw home from shallow centerfield. If he threw that badly in high school he would get critisized. let get real that was terrible.
24rick, you are assuming he can’t make that throw. He knows how to make that throw, he is just trying to hard. That isn’t going to stop happening without big league experience. He has a big league arm and knows how to throw to the plate. He has shown it.
He was way too excited to be on ESPN and playing. He just needs experience.
As for the attitude, I haven’t heard Gardy or his teamates complaining he is cocky. I don’t know where that “perception” is coming from.
I would rather have a cocky player than one who wasn’t sure of himself. What you don’t want is a cocky lazy player. Work ethic is everything. If they come in and do what is asked of them, push themselves, let them be. I like that Span expects to be the starter, they all should. I like that Gomez envisions himself a star player, he has the talent. If you don’t believe you can do it, you don’t even have the chance.
AaronK, right on on Gomez being excited. Here’s the 22 year old guy everyone knows they got for Santana playing a national broadcast against the Yankees, who wouldn’t be.
Not everyone can be aw shucks robo Joe. David Ortiz seems to be doing a lot better as Big Papi. Attitude is everything
If Gomez is still making those throws next spring, then we have some issues
Part of issues Gomez has is his skill level is so high, things he could do in AAA aren’t going to be there in the Majors. That will be fixed by MLB experience
Just listen to Lamb on XM radio. He just like Justin Morneau and Gardy are all in awe of Gomez. His talent level is that good, he is making a huge impression with his teammates and coaches. He will be just fine.
While I agree you do not put much stock in one spring training game, you also can not put a lot of stock into what the team says about Gomez? What do you expect them to say? He was the centerpice of a trade in which the Twins traded (gave?) away the best pitcher in baseball, one who put up Koufax-like numbers, for a very talented but extremely raw player. The streets are littered with 5-tool guys who could never harness their talent.
Gomez is Mr. BP, which is what Roger Cedeno was for the Dodgers and then the Mets. That’s what Gomez is at his peak, he already showed Cedeno like defense out there in center. He is quite possibly the most overrated prospect in the game and Baseball America said the same thing. NY overhyped the heck out of him.
I don’t know La Velle, I was out at the park watching practice all morning and did not see you out there, where were you hiding?
Mike,
“He is quite possibly the most overrated prospect in the game and Baseball America said the same thing.”
Where did BA say that?
I am a long-time subscriber and have their Prospect Handbooks for 2006-2007-2008 in front of me.
All three of those handbooks rave about Carlos Gomez.
Which of their writers disagree with those conclusions?
Buchholz got bombed the other day (did anyone say AAA if Schilling was healthy); Joba gave up a HR today… well maybe, the Twins are better off with Gomez and the other former Mets.. 
:)
Gomez is trying too hard to impress - with perfect, flamboyant throws, Home runs.. etc.. As soon as he calms down, and plays within himself, he will be just fine. He may start out the year in AAA - and that may not be a bad idea…
Gman,
“It is just a opinion nothing to get critical about”
When I post my opinions, I usually draw criticism of those opinions from those who disagree. I don’t expect criticism of myself, (because no one knows me personally) but I do expect criticism of my opinions which are out there in public.
In the same way, if I sharply disagree with the opinions of others, I will criticize those opinions, but I respect that poster and his right to express those opinions.
If that behavior is deemed inappropriate, than I will confine myself to reading and I shall write only statements of agreement.
Sorry, I don’t buy it that it’s good for a guy to fill himself up with hot air. Play the game, that’s how you earn the right to talk about being a star or claim that you’re ready for the bigs. For Span to say he was not “respected’ because he wasn’t given the centerfield job is an embarassment. Try hitting at AAA (or AA for that matter) before you spew that garbage.
The Twins are going to be extremely ugly this year. Delmon is a great pick-up but they don’t have a #1 or #2 pitcher and their # 5 just isn’t good enough. You cannot win without pitchign and the Twins have nothing in their rotation that will last the season.
Give Gomez a little bit of a break right now…
He’s a 22 year old kid who will have his moments of brilliance and then periods of struggle, it just goes with a player’s development.This is why most players don’t hit their peaks till their late 20’s.
If he hasn’t developed into a top 10 CF when he is 25 then we can start to be concerned.
SANE….. My thoughts and opinions are that only and not to be cunfused for being fact. What I was wondering is if you have any of your own opinions or you just waiting for a typical blogger like myself to jump on and critize as if you are a self proclaimed know it all that is full of himself.
Shaun says:
“RyanW?
Interesing attack on Packer fans. What makes us so “pathetic?””
A. I was being self depricating, saying that I am as pathetic as any rube fan of any team.
B. If you need evidence of pathetic Packer fans, see my co-workers who were crying yesterday… real tears and hugging, when Brett Favre retired.
Dont get so sensitive, it was just a playful ribbing…
I am a Gomez defender, but wow did he look bad today. It is a small sample size, and nothing that can not be fixed (keeping his feet under him while throwing to maintain balance)… but a few more of these games he will earn an AAA spot.
Pridie and Buscher looked good today… Buscher’s swing is nice when he connects.
BH, Blackburn has done nothing but pitch superbly the last half of the season at AAA, in the AFL, and now in ST. What’s wrong with him being the #5 pitcher?
And Baker and Boofless are doing real fine.
So let’s see how Livan will do.
And let’s see if Franchise can become an ace again. (No evidence so far that he can’t.) There’s still a decent chance the starting 5 can be way above average.
Gman
“Bad day for Melky, Kennedy and Joba.
That NON-trade looked good today.”
That would be an opinion of my own posted at 3:17PM.
As far as MY being critical,
“you are a self proclaimed know it all that is full of himself.”
could be also be taken as critical.
Sane…… Forget this is going noplace, and my purpose here is not to argue. Its not my style. ITS LIKE G. said Ishould have known that your right.
Gman,
Peace.
I’m out.
Buscher’s swing is nice when he connects.
Was he one of the guys doing winter ball this offseason?
…and yeah, leave it to this place to have fights break out even after a victory.
I should clarify: I thought he was one of the guys going to Winter Ball, which may explain where his improved swing is coming from.
Did anyone else notice today that Gardy said he’d like to have Mauer bat second during the in game interveiw?
Jim Callis of BA said Carlos Gomez was the most overrated prospect in the game this winter.
Robimus: Gardy’s mentioned Mauer batting 2nd a couple of times before as well. His idea is X Mauer X Morneau X.
The trouble is Cuddy/Young (who goes between M&M), and leadoff. Otherwise I think Gardy has a fairly good idea of what the lineup will look like.
I haven’t had a chance to watch many games…but I haven’t heard much about Monroe (other than he’s hurt), Lamb, and Everett.
I know the big stories right now are Young and the leadoff/CF battle, but how about a bit of an update on the two new infielders?
In the interview, Gardy said he sees the middle of the linup “looking something like:”
2nd Mauer
3rd Cuddy
4th Morneau
5th Young
6th “Lamber” (his name for him)
He didnt mention Kubel…
Mike,
“Jim Callis of BA said Carlos Gomez was the most overrated prospect in the game this winter.”
Thanks for the info.
You are right. Callis is down on Gomez.
John Manuel of BA who compiles the Mets prospects rates him #32 overall in 2007 while Callis doesn’t rank him in the top 50.
He didnt mention Kubel…
“Something like” is the key words. He’s probably still debating if he’d want Kubel or Lamb hitting behind the 5th spot.
Are they both lefties?
WHY ARE WE HANGING ON TO PUNTO!!!!! 
