Twins-Royals: Sunday Pregame
Posted on April 6th, 2008 – 12:29 PMBy La Velle
I almost caused a catastrophe in the clubhouse this morning.
I was talking with Justin Morneau about hitting (he did most of the talking) when, out of the corner of my eye, I see a hand extending out towards me.
I thought someone wanted to shake my hand, so I reached out to grab it. It was Michael Cuddyer, who was trying to show me the stitches on dislocated finger. “Whoa, whoa, WHOA!” Cuddyer yelped as he pulled his hand away. “Good thing I have good reflexes.”
I felt terrible.
Anyway, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has an interesting lineup in play today. One thing he likes to do use his bench early in the season. After six weeks of spring training he’s not going to stick a player on the bench and not use him. “You’ll lose a player that way,” he said. “This way, everyone feels he’s a part of this thing.”
So Tolbert gets another start, this time at short. Brendan Harris has kicked the flu bug and is back at second. And Denard Span, who was at the park at 8:15 a.m. to shag fly balls in right field, makes his major league debut.
The Twins can move into first place with a win and a Chicago loss. You can feel the drama in the air today.
Royals (3-2)
1. Joey Gathright, CF.
2. Alberto Callaspo, 2B.
3. Mark Teahen, LF
4. Jose Guillen, RF
5. Billy Butler, DH
6. Alex Gordon, 3B.
7. Ross Gload, 1B.
8. John Buck, C
9. Tony Pena, SS
Pitching: Brett Tomko
Twins (3-3)
1. Go-Go, CF.
2. Matt Tolbert, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C.
4. Justin Morneau, 1B.
5. Delmon Young, LF.
6. Jason Kubel, DH
7. Brendan Harris, 2B.
8. Mike Lamb, 3B.
9. Denard Span, RF.
Pitching: Boof Bonser
239 Responses to "Twins-Royals: Sunday Pregame"
thanks len…i love this lineup….speed
Time for the bats to come alive again, boys!
Good to see they are leaving Gomez leading off. Let him get comfortable out there.
I like to see that Tolbert gets to play again. He has been great so far and I hope he plays until he has a bad game.
Hopefully Go-Go can get a hit or two after ending his hitting streak yesterday.
I hope Tolbert plays until he has a bad MONTH.
Huge fan of this lineup, very interested to see what can happen here. Kubel at DH, thank you God. I like putting Span at 9. Might give Gomez some good pitches to hit if Span can get on base and be a threat to steal. I’m also very happy with Tolbert so far. Hoping he can keep it up.
Tolbert is probably a better player than Harris, Everett, Punto, and Lamb. I doubt if he’s playing because Gardy wants him to feel “he’s a part of this thing”.
i have a feeling tolbert is slowly winning the 2nd base job, after hearing gardy today…jmho
I wasn’t happy with Tolbert’s fielding in the first inning Friday…, Not sure anything would have been different if he would have played the bunt differently, but his hesitation on the ground ball likely cost the Twins a run. Still, he’s been hitting good and fielding has been OK, just not great. Hard to judge someone on just a couple games, though.
By the time Cuddyer gets back, Kubel may have played every day.
He (Kubel)may find his stroke and end his part-time days forever.
Glad to see lots of Tolbert…. i said a week or so ago that i think Tolbert has a good chance to be an everyday player before the year is up… either at short or second… but i’m guessing short
Tolbert is definitely having a good showing right now, but we really need to remember the small sample size.
I am very happy with the progress of this team right now. We have won 3 “CLOSE” games, and lost 2 close games. Our starting pitchers are doing well, our bullpen has had one poor outing. Our defense is above average. Now, if we can just get the hitting going, we should be looking at a very fun season.
Truth is, coming into the season, I was worried about the pitching, and figured our bats would be needed to pull them out of the fire. So far, the pitching has pulled the bats out of the fire.
If he can keep it up he just might take over at 2B or maybe even SS. For as good of a defender as Everett is that noodle arm of his is infuriating. If I would have known he had such a bad arm I wouldn’t have been excited when the Twins signed him.
If and it’s a big if, Tolbert wins 2B I wouldn’t mind a Harris/Lamb straight lefty righty platoon at 3B.
I too like Span # 9. I want Casilla to play SS and bat 8th. The 8 & 9 hitters should set up Gomez.
Yeehahhh! The piranhas are coming back.
I like the line up, but I’d put young in right and Span in left, makes more sence because of Young’s arm. Will see what Span’s made of today.
I love this lineup too. Good defensively but, more importantly, this lineup has the potential of pressuring the Royals’ defense bigtime. I wouldn’t be surprised if Span has a nice game offensively. I like the things that Tolbert brings both offensively & defensively. If Go-Go gets his thing going again today, this will be a fun game to watch.
BTW, I like what Baker brought Friday night & what Livan’s brought both games. We get Liriano back relatively close to his 06 form & have Nick Blackburn contribute & this could be a fun season to watch.
Me Too,
If you look at this minor league numbers there is reason to believe he could keep hitting well. He’s had pretty decent plate discipline throughout the minors. If nothing else he looks like a major upgrade over Punto as our super utility guy.
Miller,
You need to get Delmon comfy out in left. Shifting him around at different outfield positions is not good. Same with Gomez in center.
Miller for Life,
I was thinking the same thing but from what I understand the way the lights are in the dome and how easy it is to lose balls they want Young to just get used to the nuances in Left Field. I’m still waiting to see him gun someone down on a sac fly attempt.
I like to see Tolbert getting more starts. Right now he’s playing well. Harris and Everett need to stay on top of their game.
Boof is going to strike out 15. 1 batter for every 2 pounds he lost.
“I like the line up, but I’d put young in right and Span in left, makes more sence because of Young’s arm. Will see what Span’s made of today.”
Absolutely correct. Plus, Span has faster wheels, more range and a better glove than Young (though Young is not bad). Those assets are big pluses in LF in the dome.
Span hasn’t played RF, since the 11th grade. Probably the same with LF.
Jeagabombs!
Tolbert could play every day if he continues to do well.
He can replace Everett at SS if we need offense and replace Harris if we need defense.
When Casilla develops into a MLB SS, he could replace Everett (or Punto) on the roster.
Do you think they re-fit Boof after he lost that weight, I mean he looks much lighter but he’s swimming in that jersey.
You don’t move regulars for a call-up from the minors. Young needs to get used to LF just as much as Span would, so it doesn’t make sense to shift everyone around for Span.
Boof has a loose-fitting uniform and loose-fitting skin.
Why would you want to put an inexperienced player into left? You usually have your best athlete in center, a good one in left, and you hide you poorest defensive outfielder in right. Gomez has wheels, he can help out if Span has a poor read. No reason to put two players out of position when only bringing one player into the game.
Leave Young where he is projected to play. The comment keeps popping up about Kubel needs more time to get his groove on, well, the same thing goes for getting in the groove in the field. You can’t be moving these players around willy-nilly and expect them to play top-knotch. The old saying goes, jack of all trades, master of none.
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Admit it, Span promised you half of his daily allowance if you pulled the finger. “Shaking a hand”..right.
I can’t help but think Go-Go is coming up to bat to the wrong music at the dome. They should be playing Lupe Fiasco’s “Go-Go Gadget Flow.” Quite appropriate for our favorite speedster.
Unsettling Trend of 2007: Pointing Fingers
Unsettling Trend of 2008: Pointer Fingers?
Tolbert…..the kid can hit.
Its a judgement call:
Speed in LF and strong arm in RF vs. familiarity in LF for Young.
There are pluses and minuses either way.
When the baserunners go 1st to 3rd on Span’s throwing arm in RF, it will hurt.
If Young later (or Span now) loses sight of the ball in LF, that also will hurt.
Pick your poison!
Why is FLUSH playing RF?
Tolbert is looking amazing. So for all the grief I get it’s nice to see my boy coming through.
He’s doing even better than I expected.
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday effin’ Bert
Happy birthday to you
BC,
We only kid because we care.
You and Craig were both right about Tolbert.
T-
From yesterday’s post. There is a difference in my tone of voice than a whiner. I’M ANGRY. Quite a difference, but thanks for noticing.
And Jon.
I could out do Bill Smith for 1 tenth the price.
Ellsbury just hit a homer about 10 minutes ago, but it was more about the whole package than it was about just Ellsbury whom I still think is going to be an All Star. I had no idea that Gomez was going to be as good as he is so on that one I am willing to back off a bit, but I would still take Lowery, Masterson, over the two pitchers we have in AAA from the Mets. Guerra could be interesting, but right now I would still take the Red Sox deal.
Morneau with a nice solid hit! The bat looks as good now as it looked bad against the Angels.
BC B, from what you’ve seen so far this season - Gogo or Ellsbury?
The big problem with watching the games at home on sundays is that we have to watch ads for “under one roof” on my 29
we have to watch ads for “under one roof”
No kidding. That theme song is trying to hard to be the next Fresh Prince…and instead it’s just plain annoying.
And Boof. Buddy. You’re better than this.
Way to go Booflet
Boof is garbage.
Hopefully this inning is just a bump in the road for today’s game.
Whats the over/under for when Boof is moved to the pen?
I suppose I could look it up, but does anyone remember even one assist for the girls we had in LF last year. Delmon has a gun out there.
Is Boof better than this? They’re hitting the ball HARD off him. When does a slump (hasn’t won at the dome in a while) become a pattern? I’ve never been a fan of his, but oh well.
my my 29
i shure hope the twin wins this geme
Whats the over/under for when Boof is moved to the pen?
Either when Liriano’s called up (soudns like they want him to get one more start) or when Slowey’s healthy.
Whichever comes first.
The Royals hitters are going BOOF! BOOF! BOOF! BOOOM!
That drunk driving public service commercial is creepy.
“Tonight, I’m going to kill my girlfriend!”
“This is the last time my parents will see me alive.”
…and they have these big smiles on their faces.
Steve,
It’s not a slump. He is just not that good. The batters seem to pick his pitches up easily. Just ask the Angels.
I don’t know if you guys know this but I guess it’s Bert’s birthday. I wish he would talk about it more.
PS: Tolbert made a baserunning mistake in the bottom of the first. When Mauer hit that foul ball he should’ve been back on 1st. He had a shot to tag up I think, and that would’ve been a run on Morneau’s hit.
About six more BOOF’s and BOOF may go back to (the) JOHN.
Just ask the Angels.
He’s given up 2 today and only 3 (earned) to the Angels.
The 9-1 game is primarily on the bullpen.
T,
He was running on the 3-2 count anyway…a chance of him tagging up from 1st on Mauer’s foul out wasn’t going to happen.
Stats are deceiving. The Angels hit everything real real hard.
To put it in perspective, Baker gave up 3, Livan 2 and 3/4. Blackburn 1, Slowey 3.
He’s right on pace with everybody else.
T,
It was run-and-hit on all the 3-2 pitches, (I am pretty sure) so Tolbert was going on the pitch. he had no chance to tag up.
So….was that “safe at 2nd” a home call?
thanks for clearing that up.
…Awww dang it Lamb. Well, here comes Span.
Mike Lamb is starting to remind me a lot of Jeff Cirillo, only we have him for 2 years and not 3 months.
T,
That’s some serious nit picking for a guy who just got called up.
Nice AB by the “big” free agent signee by the Twins.
Okay, seriously. The comment I made was based on the footage. It looked like Tolbert was on his way back to 1st as the throw was coming in. It made it look like he wasn’t running back until AFTER the catch vs. while the ball was going fair.
That was a gutsy take by Span on 1-2.
I think I could play third, then red dog could pick up some slack at the bottom of the order.
Harris ripped that ball
Kevin-
Right now so far without a doubt Gomez. I’ve said this since the 3rd week of spring training. I underestimated Gomez. The guy is pretty electric. But I still love Ellsbury’s game, and as a leadoff hitter that’s what I was look for in a CF. Gomez could grow into a 3-5 hitter at 6′4… Hopefully I’m wrong and Bill Smith and the gang are right.
I do love all of our negativity, and it’s not just here. On my blog before the season I was talking to a Reds fan who was worried about Cueto, and I said he would be a great pitcher, not too worry because of his attitude, and his slider. No one has commented back that I was right on that one, but I’ve sure gotten my grief for the Ellsbury situation, and for the thinking Detroit would win 105 games this year.
Twins should go with this lineup
Gomez
Tolbert 3b
Mauer
Morneau
Young
Kubel
Monroe
Harris
Everett
T,
If Tolbert is running on the 3-2 pitch he will be near 2B when the ball is hit in the air.
There is nothing else he can do, but hang out near 2B until the ball is caught - then run back to 1B.
I know that now sane. Now that like 10 people have told me.
The Twins should also cut Bert/Dick, how bout a dazzle and someone else in the booth. Love listening on the radio but can’t stand the tv. Bert just reads the media guide, same thing day in an day out, and I am not sure if Dick knows what planet we are on
“On my blog before the season I was talking to a Reds fan who was worried about Cueto, and I said he would be a great pitcher, not too worry because of his attitude, and his slider.”
BC - What is the link to your personal blog? I’d like to link to it on mine, if you’re interested.
Wow. That was a very rookie mistake. Where’s White on that one?
ugh!!!
He must have thought jacque jones or shannon was in right
’nuff said.
Well, let’s start the bandwagon.
FIRE JERRY WHITE! Any IDIOT should’ve been able to tell Gomez to hold up. IDIOT!
so it should be 1st and 3rd with 1 out right now…
Jerry White had absolutely nothing to do with that.
no-no-go-go. Span wouldn’t be able to make that mistake. You need a hit to do that.
Jerry White had absolutely nothing to do with that.
I know. It’s sarcasm.
How many more base runners are the Twins going to waste versus Brett freakin’ Tomko!?
Speaking of shows overly advertised during baseball…whatever happened to FrankTV on TBS?
Jerry was yelling ALTO ALTO ALTO you could see it
Personally, I like the aggressiveness. Maybe not against Guillen, but I like that aggressiveness. He almost had a double on that, and against most other RF, he would have made it.
First base coaches seldom make the decision on that play to RF. The runner has the ball in front of him and makes an instantaneous decision. If the coach gets involved in that play, the runner will often be out just because of the recognition-communication-recognition delay.
No I think he was yelling ANDALE ANDALE ANDALE!!!
SethSpeaks says:
April 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Jerry White had absolutely nothing to do with that.
EXACTLY!!
Maybe if there were 1 or 2 outs no excuse for Gomez to try with no outs he probably would have stole second anyway. Then Tolbert could have bunted him to third.
Gomez gets his first introduction to Mr. Wall. Hopefully Hunter mentioned where the posts were before LAA left.
Okay sane. Lesson learned. I won’t joke around anymore. Ever.
In the words of the Joker: “Why so serious?”
T,
Wasn’t talking to you.
Check the other posts.
Dick seriously doesn’t know who Lando is? Wow.
Gladden says that Gardy thinks Kubel has trouble with the straight change, and Monroe has trouble with the slider. Interesting.
Who is Lando?
And Punto has trouble with a fast ball, slider, curve and change.
Another wasted base runner.
From Wikipedia:
Lando Ndasingwa, a Rwandan politician and businessman, killed during the 1994 genocide.
Okay, now I know who Lando is.
Uh…Craig. That’s not quite the Lando I was looking for.
Good to see Boof bounce back from a tough start. Though I hope the offense can at LEAST get him a ND.
Craig,
Get a Star Wars video.
Span draws the walk. Good job, young man.
I think Gomez is taking “Smell’em” too literally.
Looks like Gomez still has some nerves about him when men are on during his atbats.
“Craig,
Get a Star Wars video.”
What is Star Wars?
Span needs to do a better job breaking that up
Span slid AWAY from the SS on the DP.
WTF!!
Can I just say we have, by far, the least professional broadcasters in all of pro sports.
Guess what guys, no one cares about your birthday.
Thank goodness for the mute button.
Enough with the fucking birthday and get back to the game
Can I just say we have, by far, the least professional broadcasters in all of pro sports.
I dunno. With Joe Buck spending half the game kissing Jeter’s butt, and Joe Morgan busy kissing his own…not to mention the inane homerism that is the WGN broadcasters.
I don’t mind Dicknbert by comparison.
Guess what guys, no one cares about your birthday.
You’d think that…yet all those signs at the Dome seem to suggest otherwise.
Circle me Jerk!
Santana thought he couldn’t get run support here. The Mets have 4 hits in 8 innings and the only extra base hit is Santana’s double. No runs.
Star Wars: Ronald Reagan’s missile defense plan.
Huh. What does that have to do with Lando, the dude from Rwanda?
The Mets have 4 hits in 8 innings and the only extra base hit is Santana’s double.
Good to see Santana hitting just as well as he’s pitching.
T if you think that, then to me, that proves you are one of the biggest nerds around…kind of like the two guys in their 20s who sat next to us at the game yesterday and had their baseball gloves on the entire time.
If you meander around the MLB extra innings package, you’ll find that no one, i mean no one, is as childish, cheesey, and unprofessional as Dick and Bert. It’s good if you’re either 9 or 90, but that’s about it.
Holy Cow!!!
When are we going to see that “power” from Delmon Young that so many people claim he has?
T if you think that, then to me, that proves you are one of the biggest nerds around…
You must’ve missed the “by comparison” comment. Because the only annoucers I hear other than Dicknbert are ESPN (who aren’t bad when they get the names right, except for Morgan), and FOX (again not bad, except for their premier guys Buck and McCarver), and WGN (gotta love catchphrases EVERY pitch…)
So by comparison to what I see on a typical day by day basis I don’t mind it.
If you meander around the MLB extra innings package
I don’t have that, so I don’t. I guess that pretty much explains that.
But I appreciate the personal attack. Even considering that this was a fairly civil conversation.
Erik,
We saw it twice yesterday and once today already.
Morneau took a peek at that one….hard to blame him, it was a bomb!
Do you think the people that sit up there ever expect one to get up there?
I mean, they occasionally go that far…but not with any sort of regular basis.
When are we going to see that “power” from Delmon Young that so many people claim he has?
Young’s bat will come around. We were saying the same thing about Morneau earlier this week. 
“When are we going to see that “power” from Delmon Young that so many people claim he has?”
Those people are projecting the future.
He has line drive power now.
He doesn’t have homerun power with backspin on his drives.
I’m just saying, I know Buck comes off sounding foolish cause he tries way too hard to be cool or Mr. Smart (ala Bob Costas)…and I know Morgan gets too caught up in overanalyzing at times….but they are not even close to stooping the unprofessional level of Bert and Ernie…they are not embarrassing themselves by making stupid “calls”, talking about their b-days, their California math, or their high school teachers…is it too much to ask of these guys to pretend they are broadcasting to a mature audience?
I also like Dick and Bert. Dick calls a good game, and Bert is extremely knowlegeable about the game. Two of the best, in my opinion.
Harris is flashing some leather. He showed good wood earlier too.
but they are not even close to stooping the unprofessional level of Bert and Ernie
Morgan bothers me a LOT with how often he turns things into stories of his life. They had the President in the booth during the Braves/Nats game and I couldn’t beileve how much Morgan continued to blather on about one thing or another as though he weren’t there.
Bonser got hit pretty hard in both games but you gotta give him some props for only 3 ER in each game. We have 3 innings to get 3 runs. let’s go twins, give the boofer some support.
Agreed. This was a great start by Boof. He got roughed up early and recovered. The 7th inning hit a snag, but this lineup should have 2 more runs in it.
CG,
Hopefully we can get him three runs right not so he can get him a win.
This is the other reason I respect DnB moreso than some of the annoucers I’ve mentioned. WGN’s crew barely acknowledges the other team. Try watching replays of Twins highlights when they have the Sox call.
Boof has been one FIGHTIN’(ex)FATMAN!!
The KC leadoff guy in the 7th should have been called strike 3. Well above the knees and had a lot of the plate.
Anderson in the dugout took his hat off.
In the old days, the less a play by play guy said, the better. The focus was on the game. Today, people want to be entertained. Non stop talking and analyses, supposedly entertains people. The game itself isn’t thought to be entertaining enough.
Dick and Bert try to entertain and analyze, but, comparatively speaking, they aren’t that bad.
Regarding Dick and Bert, realize that the Twins get some of the highest TV ratings in the league, they are part of the reason why.
Especially on My29 they have a very large audience. Most of these people are casual baseball fans, and the My29 may be one of only 1-2 games per week that they tune in to. These people (who make up the majority of the audience) don’t need or want to hear in-depth statistical analysis. They enjoy the off-topic banter about birthdays, etc. It may be annoying to the more hard-core fans (those who are on this blog) but the majority of the audience would disagree.
Today, Gladden, Morris and Gordo are all yapping at the same time. How many guys do you need to change a light bulb? I miss Herb.
You guys notice how when Morneau is swinging well, his eyes get big and he takes that quick breath with his cheeks puffed out just as he is about to swing? Must be an amazing feeling to hit a ball that hard.
You know the offense is stalled when DicknBert are the main topic of the thread.
I like some of the “banter” that an annoucing crew brings. Because sometimes it’s a way to get to know things about players other than their stats.
I know some people don’t care if Cuddyer can do magic, or if Young likes bacon on his pizza instead of sausage, but it’s stuff like that for me that helps the whole “get to know’em” thing.
I didn’t realize this was Span’s first set of ABs. I thought he had gotten into a few games during callups in the last few years at some point.
Wow, Tolbert must be on Cloud 9 after these past few games.
lets go Maur!
sane says:
April 6th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
“I hope Tolbert plays until he has a bad MONTH.”
Thats my story and I’m sticking with it.
I really can’t wait until “Under One Roof” is on, that show looks awesome.
/end sarcasm
Robert, I give it a month (4 episodes) before it’s canned.
I imagine the overabundance of ads for this show are going to have the opposite effect on people.
“sane says:
April 6th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
‘I hope Tolbert plays until he has a bad MONTH.’
Thats my story and I’m sticking with it.”
Sane,
I am willing to even give Tolbert a bad month, but I have to admit, Hairass played a pretty good game today.
Still have a problem with my spelling?
good to see the main man moauer getting some good groundouts. Gosh!! he even hit one to deep short today. he’s over rated.
You usually have your best athlete in center, a good one in left, and you hide you poorest defensive outfielder in right.
In high school yes, that’s typically the case. In the majors left is where you dump a big stick not good enough to play elsewhere.
craig,
I have no problem with anyone’s speling from now awn.
In the majors left is where you dump a big stick not good enough to play elsewhere
I’d imagine that’s doubly the case when you’ve got a weird baggy out there in right.
It’s a bummer they couldn’t finish the sweep, but that’s tough anytime.
I predicted the Twins would start 4-3 (split with LAA and take two from KC), so this isn’t far from what I thought.
If they can take two from Chicago it’ll help build confidence that they won’t go quitely in the division this year.
“In the majors left is where you dump a big stick not good enough to play elsewhere.”
Not in the Metrodome. The big field, tough lights, quirky roof, and quick Fieldturf, demands a good glove-man with fast feet.
To be fair, I gotta admit that my man probably cost us a big run and maybe big rally when he tried to run on guillen. He will learn when to be aggressive and when not to be stupid. 2 of 3 from a hot team is ok, even if it was the royals. Still happy with the pitching. Need a little more consistency in the middle of the lineup. See you later.
bc twins fan: Your language on the post at 2:43 p.m. is totally unacceptable. You should be banned.
I thought baseball players were superstious. Twins win Monday in white jerseys, Boof pitches Tuesday in blue jersey…loss. Twins win Friday and Saturday in white..Boof pitches Sunday in blue…another loss. I do believe it’s the starting pitchers choice on what jersey the team wears? Boof, try the white’s next time at the Dome. It couldn’t hurt.
You guys worry too much about Span. It’s like you think he’s got to throw left-handed, catch with a Jai-Lai racket and wear roller skates.
He’s a professional baseball player. He can figure out how to play right field in about one day, and do so competently. Maybe not as well as Cuddyer, but given a few more days, no problem.
Meanwhile, bat Span 9th, and watch as he and Go-Go drive pitchers crazy.
Next series, Gardy is going to use his secret weapon: Sparky
The team needs some spark, and Sparky is ready to play 3B.
or we could trade kubel for a real dh.
im glad our dh platoon has the potential for power with a puntonian average.
Speaking of trades…
What would it take for the Twins to trade for a superstar in the making in a year that:
a. The Twins are under budget
b. is his arbitration year
c. his current team has publicly said that they cannot afford him
If Smith offers a choice of 5-6 players from everyone in the organization not named Gomez, Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, Slowey, Liriano, Baker, Blackburn, Crain, Hernandez, Guerrier and Reyes, plus cash, would the Marlins trade Hanley Ramirez?
In the worse case scenario, Kubel/Benson, Guerra, Casilla, Span, Revere and Swarzak will go to the Marlins. I think that its a price that the Twins should be willing to pay
I think that its a price that the Twins should be willing to pay
6 for 1? Uh…no. Unless you’re leaving out padding from the Marlins side…that’s about as lopsided as a trade can get.
Overall, the homestand wasn’t terrible. They has a 3 game losing streak and recovered to take two from a team that just got done sweeping Detroit.
One of our biggest worries (the pitching) doesn’t seem to be too big a problem at the moment *knock wood*, and Morneau appears to have remembered his bat can be used to make contact with that small white sphere being thrown at him.
3-4 is a good start considering they played a LAA team that’s supposed to be very good this year.
A sweep is tough no matter what team they’re going up against. Let’s not start packaging spare parts and planning a major trade at this point. Especially when you start talking about young talent the team is trying to build around.
T,
sure and that is my point (worst case scenario). It’s extremely lopsided, but it will make the Twins contenders for years. So something more reasonable should be able to bring Ramirez here. Smith should be on the phone.
As far as this series goes:
Last year the Twins overall were 9-9 vs the Royals. This year they are a game ahead, and this is a good thing.
If they win 75% of the series against AL Central opponents and split the rest of the games, they are guaranteed (do the math, that’s about a .620 winning percentage that translates to 100 wins) to win the division and this series has been a step in the right direction.
Gardenhire’s at it again.
He raved about KC’s pitching.
I guess we can’t expect him to talk to the press about his team’s hitting for s%#&.
If all those opposing pitchers are so good, why aren’t they all Cy Young candidates?
That closer did make the Twins big guys look silly, though, didn’t he?
I can’t wait til tomorrow. ChiSox!
lilbiscuit,
“that closer” (Joakim Soria) is really good. Last year he had 75 Ks in 69 innings and opponent’s OPS was .509. For comparison, Nathan had 77 Ks in 71.2 innings with opponent’s OPS .572. And Soria is just 23 years old…
If all those opposing pitchers are so good, why aren’t they all Cy Young candidates?
You know, not every pitcher the Twins face suck. Some of them (heaven forbid) are actually pretty good.
put it on the BOARD…………..YEEEEEEESSSSSS
According to Gladden, Gardy says Monroe has trouble with slider and Kubel has trouble with the straight change. Gardy is mixing and matching, depending on who’s pitching. Good luck with that plan, Skip.
Lamb has sure been a flop. Too bad the Twins are committed for 2 years. Sparky is ready to take over.
Another error on Morneau called a base hit, today. The “official scorer” at the Metrodome will not call an error on Morneau. It definitely would have to be an egregious error, to be called. Morneau is all but guaranteed, that in half his games, he will not be charged with an error.
Gardy is going to have to step up the running game, in order to generate some runs. He can’t stand around waiting for the HR. He doesn’t have enough of those kind of horses in his stable.
Bill Smith said today that Alexi Casilla doesn’t know how to play. He said a full season in AAA would be good for him.
I didn’t see them, but I read where Casilla tried to make a couple of razzle dazzle, hot-dog plays in spring training. I am sure that didn’t impress anyone.
Smith said Casilla was sent out early, at least in part, in order to send him a message.
craig,
where did bill smith said all of that?
here is some food for thought:
Adam Everett so far has a higher batting average and twice as many RBI as Miguel Cabrera
The scorer made the right call on the ball hit to Morneau.I’m not sure how but it either had odd spin on it or it hit something…
Boof was better!!
Gardy had a good line-up but should have put Kubes in right and DH’d Monroe.
No Span please!!!
That ball past Morneau took an odd bounce when it got to him, no time to react.
Maybe some of those get scored as errors but I think it is fairer for it to be a hit.
bc-Again you say,you would rather have the Boston deal.How do we know for sure what deals were ever on the table?
here is some food for thought:
“Adam Everett so far has a higher batting average and twice as many RBI as Miguel Cabrera”
and more errors too
So I watched the majority of the Detroit/Sox game.
Verlander got pounded, and then the bullpen got pounded.
I know Verlander’s a better pitcher than that…but it’s starting to look like this 0-5 (now 0-6) thing is getting into their heads.
And as much as I hate Boston, does anybody think the Tigers can break outta this funk at Fenway?
All that work building an offense…and they traded a ton of pitching to do it.
“Bill Smith said today that Alexi Casilla doesn’t know how to play.”
Craig,
You must have paraphrased the hell out of Bill Smith’s actual quote. No competent GM would make that negative a statement about a player even if he believed it. Could you reference the source or quote the statement directly please? Maybe BS was just stopped for a DUI like Mel Gibson.
sane,
Smith was asked about Casilla. He began talking about young players needing to learn how to play the game. He also referred to the adaptations young Latin American players must make. He said Casilla does not know how to play. He said a full season in AAA, would be best for him.
I watched Casilla last fall, and I would agree, that at that time, he did not know how to play. Apparently, he still doesn’t.
Again, I am backing up Craig… what is this world comming to?
I heard the interview on AM 1500 before the game yesterday. Smith said that Casilla “does not know how to play the game the right way.” I was suprised at how blunt he was, but he said that he was sent out of camp early to be given a message. Smith said that he still thinks that he is very talented and will have a future with the Twins, and may even be called up at some point this year- but he put it on Casilla to learn how to play the game right. He later emphisized his point by said something along the lines of: “right now he is not a Major League player”
Also interesting, he said that Casilla is a “natural shortstop.” But that they will not commit to just one position, because they do not want to limit future position possibilities.
the giants are looking for a left handed hitting first baseman shouldn’t we trade morneau there for pitching? it appears this team doesn’t need to hit.
A number of years back the Twins had a player named Chris Latham. He was described by AAA manager Phil Roof as the most exciting player on the team. The Twins acquired him in a trade with the Dodgers. I believe it was the deal that sent Tapani and Guthrie to the Dodgers. I could be wrong about that. Anyway, Latham was a swift CF. When he first came up, TK informed Terry Ryan that Latham was not a major league ballplayer. He lacked baseball instincts. Well, over TK’s objections he sat on the bench for some games with the Twins. Eventually another team snagged him. As I recall, the Twins tried to send him down and he didn’t clear waivers. He had a couple brief appearances with other teams, and then vanished.
When I first saw Casilla, Latham was the player I thought of. I hope it is not the case, but I wonder if this player just lacks baseball instincts.
Actually, Smith did say Casilla “does not know how to play”, but in the context of what he was saying, he meant as the game needs to be played in the major leagues.
He wasn’t talking about the “Twins way” as it is sometimes referred to.
Craig and Ryan W,
Thanks for the clarification.
It may be my own gut reaction, but “doesn’t know how to play” sounds much more negative than “doesn’t know how to play the right way”.
I agree that Casilla doesn’t know how to play the right way. In fact, I agree with both of your assessments. (and that of Bill Smith)
Last year, Casilla made some mistakes baserunning and defensively that stunned me as a HS coach who wouldn’t expect (or accept) from his HS players.
But if the Twins simplify the situation by limiting him to SS (his natural position), the sky could be the limit.
Or he might disappear ala Chris Latham as Craig pointed out.
I still have high hopes for Casilla. It could be he was a little overwhelmed by his first major league experience.
I would also like to see the Twins try to nab a talented young SS and/or 3B, if someone becomes available. They are thin on the left side, with little depth.
I’d like to know what people think of Adam Everett’s range. I’m not talking about stats. I’m talking about the real world, on Fieldturf, in the dome, in April of 2008.
Craig,
If Bonser, Baker, Blackburn, Liriano, Slowey, Humber, Perkins and Mulvey can boost the Twins young SP depth, maybe they can swing a trade for a good young SS/3B who is blocked in another organization.
There are several other MLB organizations with talent and depth at 3B.
GO MINNESOTA TWINSERWOLVES!!!!!
Is that a good name the “Twinserwolves”
Everett’s arm strength has been disappointing, so I don’t think he can throw out anyone from the 5-6 hole.
The throwing and range both may still be recovering from his broken leg in 2007.
Craig, I think Everett has had issues adjusting to turf. It’ll be interesting to see if problems continue once he gets to the natural grass in Chicago and KC.
There are several other MLB organizations with talent and depth at 3B.
*eyes Garret Atkins greedily*
I know. But I can dream right?
Did Gomez run right through a first base coaches signal to stop on the double attempt. I can’t believe they actually wanted him to stretch a single into a double. Out by a mile. Funny quote I heard during the game Sunday was that if Gomez bunted on every play he would still bat .310
Our only chance at Atkins was last june when he was slumping and the Rockies were open to dealing… after his tear at the end of the season and a good perfomance in the postseason, he will be a mainstay for the Rockies.
Young 3b talent seems to be always overvalued, so it is hard to find at even a fair price. Who is the last good young 3B to be moved? I cant think of one recently, maybe someone will be able to help out…
Usually a team’s best option is to draft well and develop one. Maybe Deibonson Romero will devlop…
Jimmy, it was a single to right… a the runner doesnt look at signs when the ball is being played in front of them. He made that decision on his own.
It was a heck of a throw, if he learns anything, it should be to know who is throwing the ball…
Mike lamb was the last good 3rd baseman to be dealt. I actually think he will start lighting it up. Weird to interview him because he makes everyone very uncommfortable. I love his interviews
I think Lamb will be fine too… he has fielded better than I expected. He isnt Brian Buscher over there…
How odd. Bill Smith says Casilla can’t play, yet last year Terry Ryan thought there’d be no dropoff at second after trading Castillo.
I didn’t think Casilla could play last year, and I don’t think he can play now, so I guess I agree with Bill Smith.
The question is, was TR that wrong, or was he just blowing smoke up our arse to cover for the salary dump?
Everett also needs to learn where to play the AL hitters. That should help him some when he does.
Some SS seem to compensate for the Fieldturf by playing a little deeper, and then lack the arm strength to make the plays.
Gladden noted how much the infield draws in when Gomez hits, anticipating the bunt. That is going to help his batting average, especially on the turf. Span and Tolbert should also try to draw in the infielders with the bunt.
I predict Delmon Young will get his first HR in Chicago. Great little playing field for a line drive HR.
I think Everett’s range has been fine, but his arm hasn’t been what you would expect. He has made a couple nice plays to his left I don’t think anyone else on the team would have.
I agree with Sane that he probably can’t make the throw from the hole against anyone with average speed, but I’m not sure Tolbert can either and I know Punto can’t.
Interesting point USAF…
I think it was a salary dump, the trade ended up backfiring as it turns out Castillo would have been a “Type B” so we would have recieved a sandwich pick. While Butera might do well handling pitchers in the minors and Martin might make it to the majors as a 4th OF someday, I would have rather taken my chances with a high draft pick.
I think Everett’s range is deceptive, he makes good reads off the bat and is relativly smooth to the ball, so he makes really tough plays look rather routine. He has done this his entire career.
His arm strength is a bit of a concern, too bad we cant switch Harris’s arm strength to Everett…
How does Jimmy Rollins hit so many homers for being a skinny midget. I could not even imagine how he does it. I think he is smaller then Tyner
USAF,
I made the same point when they moved Casilla out of Spring training early. I think it is likely TR was forced to move salary, but he wouldn’t admit that and had to put the best spin on it he could. I still get a chuckle thinking someone could say with a straight face that Casilla wasn’t going to be a drop off from Castillo.
By the way, I love the AL east standings right now:
Baltimore
Toronto
Tampa Bay
New York
Boston
Beautiful.
Everett just has to start throwing the ball into the astro turf thus producing spin and a faster throw to first. I have seen this alot of times.
Hey, the reverse order of the final standing, eh?!?
“Bill Smith says Casilla can’t play, yet last year Terry Ryan thought there’d be no dropoff at second after trading Castillo.”
TR, BS (and I) all thought Casilla could play. Then we all SAW HIM PLAY last September and we all changed our minds. We all have more visual observations now than TR had before trading Castillo.
IMO Castillo was toast and the Twins were destined to be toast at the time of the trade.
we all were amazed with Casilla’s speed on the basepaths but now with Gomez we have a true base stealing threat. Casilla is not 1/2 the ballplayer that Castillo was. Castillo’s knees always bothered management because they always thought he was one play away from getting hurt and shelved. I never knew if the limp was a ploy to confuse the other team with or if it was an actuall injury ( sneaky sneaky Castillo )
Terry Ryan said last year that he thought the team could “absorb” the loss of Castillo. He was wrong. That trade teed off the players, took the wind out of their sales, and sunk the ship.
The players were expecting a strong hitter was about to be added. Instead they received a subtraction. Castillo was well liked, and appreciated by the players. He played hard down the stretch in 2006.
It’s pure speculation on my part, but I think the Pohlads told Ryan he had to dump salary before he could add any. The trading deadline passed before he could make a second deal. They were trying right up to the final hour, to add a player. I think Ryan thought the team would be okay at 2B, if he could add a strong bat at 3B.
I liked the way Castillo pretended that he lost the ball in the lights and then would trick the opposing team into trying to stretch the play out one more base
Casilla can look very good between his mental meltdowns.
I understand how the Twins FO may have thought he could replace Castillo at the time and be wrong in retrospect.
jimmybee,
There used to be a player named Jose Cardenal. He was 5′10 (claimed) and 155 lbs. (claimed). He was probably at least an inch smaller and maybe 20 lbs lighter. Skinny little guy with some dynamite in his bat. He played in the era of multi-use stadiums with huge playing fields. He played some with the Cardinals who had a huge park at the time. Check him out. He was about the size of Jimmy Rollins, only skinnier.
Remember Jimmy Wynn?
291 HR in MLB including 37,33 and 32 HR years.
5-9 170.
On the subject of 3B who have been traded:
Talented 3B, traded twice but still 24-yrs-old.
High potential-poor performance in MLB.
Andy Marte
Jimmybee,
Yeah, Jimmy Rollins hit 30 HR last year and 25 the year before. He plays in Citizens Bank Park, one of baseball’s notorious “band boxes”. Rollins is a sturdy little guy. He’s probably strong.
“Remember Jimmy Wynn?
291 HR in MLB including 37,33 and 32 HR years.
5-9 170.”
The Toy Cannon! And he played in Houston in a huge stadium. Didn’t he eventually go to the Dodgers?
“On the subject of 3B who have been traded:
Talented 3B, traded twice but still 24-yrs-old.
High potential-poor performance in MLB.
Andy Marte”
I haven’t seen much of Marte, but from what I have seen, he is one of the worst players, I have ever seen.
jimmy rollins must be olympic wrestler strong. Sane, Jimmy wynn must have been strong as heck. The New and Improved Craig jose Cardenal was very old school. Jose gave me a good chuckle
how is it that you have players like Jimmy Wynn and Jimmy Rollins hitting 30+ homers and yet Mauer at 6′5 only averages around 10. hmmm….
jimmy,
small batter = small strike zone = difficult to throw breaking ball strikes = mostly fast balls = Homeruns!!
Sane or Craig why didn’t Richie Allen or Dale Nurphy ever go to the HOF
As for going back to 3rd baseman who are very tallented who have been traded as of recently. 2 decent 3rd baseman I can think of would be Mike Lamb of course and the other one I would name off would have to be miguel Cabrera
We could try to go after Eric Chavez from Oakland but he has been injury plagued in the last 2 seasons
IMO Richie Allen and Dale Murphy are not in HOF, because sports writers don’t like players who don’t talk enough (Allen), or don’t drink enough (Murphy).
When I think back to the days of Steve Garvey playing and oooops I vomited a little bit in my mouth.
I suppose to answer my own question, Miguel Cabrara got dealt recently. He is a pretty darn good young 3B…
Of course the Tigers had to give up 2 top 10 prospects to get him… We dont have 2 top 100 prospects, so I am not too sure we could have compeated.
Mike Lamb wasnt traded, free agents do not count.
And he is not young.
I think Rollins hits for power despite his size because he is a really good baseball player.
What are the Twins going to do about their Blyleven problem? People are turning the channel and not watching the games anymore because of his crude behavior. Adding to his crudeness is the fact that he spends about 70 percent of his air time talking about himself. It’s a terrible thing to have put together a really fun team to watch, but then have such a terrible televison announcer who ruins the games for the fans.
Lavelle -
I am planning a trip to Texas in a couple of weeks. Where do you suggest staying - DT Dallas, DT Fort Worth, or near stadium? Looking for nightlife opportunities after the games on Friday and Saturday nights? How is the public transportation?
Thanks
Love watching DicknBert. I’ve seen some other announcers that have just been (yuck). White Sox come to mind, also Atlanta and the Yankees. Cubbies are decent, Morgan and Miller for ESPN are good too.
*Not worried about Lamb
*Not worried about Young- yet. (Shown no power so far, or clutch hitting for that matter).
*Worried about Harris. (Disappointing so far).
How could Matt Guerrier get a hold and a loss in the same game as he did in last night’s (4/7) game vs Chicago?
love watching Burt on the tube , one the best,,has a lot of insight for the game, can,t stand watching Morgan on ESPN. makes me turn the channal,
