Let’s get this started
Posted on February 9th, 2009 – 9:55 AMBy La Velle
Joe C. knocked it out of the park the past two weeks as he tracked Twins news while I decompressed and got ready for spring training. I’m sure you’ll hear from both of us this week as camp opens in Fort Myers, Fla.
Word of warning to those who ever need to forward mail for several weeks at a time: Make sure you get the right address. I set up a temporary forwarding address in Fort Myers but got an e-mail on Saturday from my Florida contact telling me the address I received was wrong.
So I was at the airport post office this morning trying to get everything straightened out. The post office worker and I agreed that things are going to be screwed up for about a week down there. I just wonder what the residents at the first address I was given are going to say when a bunch of letters and magazines appear in their mailbox. If you owe me money, hold off on mailing those checks!
I still like my chances of opening my mail down there before the Twins come up with a new third baseman…..
Anyway, here’s a quick peek at the week ahead.
Today: I’m sitting in with KFAN’s Paul Allen in about 5 minutes for the remainder of his show. I think we’re going to open up with the Grammys then move into baseball talk.
Tonight: At 7 p.m., you can click on FSN and watch the replay of the Diamond Awards baseball banquet that raised $268,000 for various research efforts at the U. Keep an eye out for Justin Morneau, who took a playful MVP-related shot at me when he received an award late in the show.
Tuesday: I fly to Fort Myers to get set up for spring training. I’m currently working on juicy profile for Sunday but will swing by the Lee County Sports Complex a few times to see who’s working out early. I spoke with Michael Cuddyer over the weekend, and he’s already there. If fact, a handful of Twins players usually are down there by now.
Thursday: Twins manager Ron Gardenhire arrives. Other Twins officials should be down by then, too.
Sunday: Pitchers and catchers report.
Next Monday: First workout for pitchers and catchers.
That’s all for now. Check back here or on Joe C.’s blog if there’s news….
66 Responses to "Let’s get this started"
I was just in FL….made me ready for Spring Training…
Thanks for passing on what was on FSN toniht. Now I have something to watch at 7 PM
[…] Twins Insider – […]
I’m so ready for Spring Training! I’ll try to weigh in from Vegas this week if I can find the time. I’m thinkin’ it’s time to place a bet on the Twins winning the Division title at the very least. Go Twins!
When is Joe C going down? Or is the Strib cutting back on the budget/travel?
You’re in luck LEN3. The traffic is noticably down this year and the weather has been cold, but starting today it is warm/nice again!!!
This is good news i really envy you Len3 i would love to attend some of the spring training activities.
[…] [By the way, spring training starts next week. Twins pitchers and catchers report on Sunday!] […]
See ya down there, but I’m waiting until the umps holler—”Play Ball”
HAVE FUN !!! GO TWINS!!!
Hope springs eternal and I’m excited to get Spring Training underway and see what this bunch of players can do. Don’t know if Ayala is the answer for our 8th inning but we should give him a chance to prove himself. Can’t wait to see a spring training game - it’s just great to have the boys back in action. Go Twins!!!
I hope Danny Valencia has a monster spring training.
The Giants are about to sign Rich Aurilia - looks like Crede is there for the Twins to take now.
I am so excited for baseball to start again! LEN3 I am so jealous of you. The offseason was very uneventful, I’m hoping they can surprise us again this year!
If Crede works out and nobody is there to watch, does it make any noise?
I think I mixed my metaphors.
sane - sure it does. It makes a sound like “Ow, my back!”
Dont worry sane you cant help it after watching all the noise the Twins have made this off season.
if punto gets hurt sliding into first base in the wbc playing for italy will we hear gardy’s head explode up here in minny? the season will be lost before it begins!
Hey BC - My sincere condolences. Welcome back.
LEN3 - Have a great time. Are there any positions that will actually be at stake?
“Hey BC - My sincere condolences. Welcome back.”
I’m not sure what the condolences are for Marv.
If Aurilla signs with the Giants what other options is there for Crede. I believe he will be here soon, if Boras messes around to much Crede Is going to miss the chance. I think Crede sadly needs the Twins more then they need him. At the very least to prove he can get through a season without back issues.Boras better take 4 if its out there when the Giants back out the Twins will be able to sign at a even bigger discount.
Boras will just have Crede sit out until he gets an acceptable offer.
See:
Weaver, Jared, and
Hochevar, Luke
Boras will just have Crede sit out until he gets an acceptable offer.
Even better for the Twins they can go with Harris then and see if it works.
BC of ND,
“Even better for the Twins they can go with Harris then and see if it works”
Good point.
Sign Crede on a one year deal with some incentives and lets get this season started! Can’t wait for baseball!!!
Yes but what other teams need a third baseman, my guess not many. Give the Twins credit for this one, Boras already lost a chance with the Giants. It appears he is asking too much in a counter offer. Crede has got to have his head spinning by now if he is even going to have a job.
coachcal,
Sometime during the season, some team will discover that, because of failures or injuries, they NOW need a third baseman.
That’s when Boras’ phone will ring.
Problem is they won’t just go with Harris. Buscher will see the field 75% of the time.
I see your point sane I just think Crede would be chopping a the bit to prove he can do it for a full year so his next contract would be huge. The longer he sits the less value he will have for next year and on top of that if he gets hurt even after sitting no one will want to toutch him next year.
“Buscher will see the field 75% of the time.”
Is that mandated somewhere?
Wow. Why do I bother reading your blog. Thanks for the update on your mail situation. At least Joe C. seems to take his blog seriously, instead of just pimping other programs he’s going to be on.
Just give us someone to protect Justin in the lineup Billy please!!!
does anybody know if buscher still has options? if he does sign crede and if gets hurt half way through the season (which he would put up better numbers than harris/buscher in an entire season) then call up buscher, or hughes or velancia if ready
the twins a paying another guy on this team more than 7 mil who has been injured the last couple of seasons and isn’t putting near as good of numbers as crede. they’re even giving him the start rf spot over a younger healthier (imo better) player
“Buscher will see the field 75% of the time.”
That’s probably close to correct, IMO, until somewhere around 60 games in, when Buscher will be seeing the field 0% of the time.
“Buscher will see the field 75% of the time.”
If nobody is standing in front of him while he is seated in the dugout.
see a-rod admits to taking roids in 01-03. his #’s show 13 per yr more hr’s and + .40 in slg %. i guess they don’t help that much!
In regards to Crede,why not take a chance if they think he’s healthy.Nothing is certain in baseball,Justin could go down for the season the first day of spring training and Mauer the second.
Anyone ever been to Twins Fantasy Camp? If so, is it worth it? What ages/abilities are there? What scheduled activities are good/bad?
I am not sure the plan will be to platoon Buscher and Harris all year. Rather, I think the team will expect one of them to step up and claim the job. Buscher will proabably get first shot as he is of limited use elsewhere (he can back up Morneau - but so can Cuddaver).
werbellik says:
February 9th, 2009 at 10:45 am
I’m so ready for Spring Training! I’ll try to weigh in from Vegas this week if I can find the time. I’m thinkin’ it’s time to place a bet on the Twins winning the Division title at the very least. Go Twins!
~~~Hey, if you’re gunna do it - DO IT! In the Worst to First season title over the Braves, I was living in LV, and about 7 games into their first mega-long winning steak early that year, I put a $5-spot on the Twins to win it all at 200-to-1.
Figured I would throw a five’r away as a donation to my belief and dedication. Hindsight, dammmmmmm! I could have retired early, ha.
Vegas is very tight and conservative in giving out long odds on baseball futures since that season…
The Twins will in fact sign Crede IF his injury risk is as small as all of us hope and as Boras says, and IF he’ll accept a fair offer. Neither of those things are in Billy Smith’s control.
Hey Ben W,
Aurilla signed a minor league deal only…he still needs to make the team. The SF Chronicle reports the team may release him if they sign Crede.
They could do that.
I think the Giants are sending Crede the signal that they don’t need him as much as he thinks they need him.
2 weeks from tomorrow I’ll be in Fort Myers, ready for my first Spring Training experience!!!! Woo Hoo!!!
weather it’s 3m, 4, 5, 6 or 7m a year if crede is healthy according to the twins doctors sign him because he will help and we need his bat. if the doctors don’t pass him no reason to keep talking.
Harry Plooper - I’ll be in Ft Myers Feb 21-28 for my first Spring Training. Coming from the frozen tundra of South Dakota. Does anybody have any advice? I’ll be happy just to watch some workouts. I already have my tickets for the first to Home games.
Houston is planning a sneak attack on the Cubs and might improve its chances of success if it signs Adam Dunn to a one-year deal before camp starts. Dunn, a 40-homer man for five straight seasons, would allow the Astros to move Hunter Pence to center field and Michael Bourn to the bench. That would mean a huge lift to run-production. Dunn has multi-year offers on the table, including one from Washington, but clearly isn’t crazy about them.
IMO the Giants are more likely to go with Pablo Sandoval at third (with perhaps Aurelia as a backup) if they don’t sign Crede.
GW…I used to live in Naples and frequented spring training quite often. My best advice may sound strange…but get seats towards the back - they are in the shade. (The ticket office can help you with what is in the shaded areas depending on game time). Logic is to get close, but all the seats are close enough at Hammond Stadium compared to the Dome…plus you can walk around ahead of time and see players, bullpen sessions, etc. In the past, too often I bought tickets for my family, extended family - and invariably it gets hot in Florida, which is fun at the beach, but gets old after about 3 innings for many young children, Gramma, etc. Many times we had to leave early and I was bummed. Okay, I sat in the 2nd row once behind the scouts when Johan was pitching. It was 90 degrees but worth getting fried…but again, I had no kids or grandparents with me. Enjoy GW, Spring Traing is one of the best experiences and hope that evetnually it will get nice here someday too~
The Twins #1 motivator right now (contrary to what Mr. Pohlad said) is money and fear of the economy. The Twins won’t sign Crede. They will wait until the trading deadline and re-evaluate if they are still in it…are Harris/Buscher working out? If not, what veteran 3rd baseman can we get on a song? What does the economy look like? Many things will be sorted out by July - but don’t hold your breath anything will happen between now and then….only thinkful wishing!?!?
Dave– there is NO way Houston is signing Adam Dunn….one he wants too much money for a one year deal and I don’t think Wade is stupid enough to have an outfield of Lee, Pence and Dunn…. It is bad enough our leftside of the infield is a huge gaping hole… to have Pence cover 75% of the outfield is way too much to ask. No if we had a DH option then we could be talking…..
IMO the Giants are more likely to go with Pablo Sandoval at third
there has been a lot of discussion at Giants’ blogs and columns about that option. The bottom line is that Sandovar is 5′11″ and 240 lbs. Think Kubel with extra 40 lbs. Or think a shorter version of Prince Fielder…
Or Ray Lewis at 6′-1″ 250 lbs.
sid,
Saldoval’s weight distribution is slightly different than Ray Lewis’ 
here:
Unbelievable! - THANKS!
thrylos,
Sandoval looks a lot better now, since delivered the baby.
since HE delivered the baby.
Buscher and Harris split time at 3rd today. Get used to it. Slowey is here, Guerrier, Korecky, Breslow, Justin Jones threw off a mound today. There was a bunch that took bp and infield. It’s that time! See ya tommorrow, LEN3.
brook,
I hope you meant Jason Jones.
Justin was a 2-3 years ago.
Thanks, La Velle, for the heads-up on the Diamond Awards broadcast tonight.
Morneau wouldn’t leave you alone, would he. You’re not THAT to him, are ya?
American League
NEW YORK (AP) — The 72 remaining free agents:
BALTIMORE (2) — Kevin Millar, 1b; Jay Payton, of.
BOSTON (5) — Paul Byrd, rhp; Sean Casey, 1b; Curt Schilling, rhp; Mike Timlin, rhp.
CHICAGO (4) — Orlando Cabrera, ss; Joe Crede, 3b; Ken Griffey Jr., of; Toby Hall, c.
CLEVELAND (3) — Brendan Donnelly, rhp; Scott Elarton, rhp; Sal Fasano, c.
DETROIT (2) — Todd Jones, rhp; Kenny Rogers, lhp.
KANSAS CITY (1) — Mark Grudzielanek, 2b.
LOS ANGELES (1) — Garret Anderson, of.
MINNESOTA (1) — Dennys Reyes, lhp.
NEW YORK (4) — Bobby Abreu, of; Mike Mussina, rhp; Sidney Ponson, rhp; Ivan Rodriguez, c.
OAKLAND (3) — Emil Brown, of; Keith Foulke, rhp; Frank Thomas, dh.
SEATTLE (1) — Miguel Cairo, inf.
TEXAS (1) — Jamey Wright, rhp.
TORONTO (1) — Brad Wilkerson, of.
National League
ARIZONA (3) — Juan Cruz, rhp; Adam Dunn, of; Orlando Hudson, 2b.
ATLANTA (3) — Tom Glavine, lhp; Will Ohman, lhp; Julian Tavarez, rhp.
CHICAGO (3) — Jim Edmonds, of; Chad Fox, rhp; Jon Lieber, rhp.
CINCINNATI (2) — Kent Mercker, lhp; Corey Patterson, of.
COLORADO (1) — Livan Hernandez, rhp.
FLORIDA (2) — Luis Gonzalez, of; Paul Lo Duca, c.
LOS ANGELES (8) — Joe Beimel, lhp; Gary Bennett, c; Nomar Garciaparra, ss; Jeff Kent, 2b; Greg Maddux, rhp; Pablo Ozuna; Manny Ramirez, of; Mark Sweeney, 1b.
MILWAUKEE (4) — Ray Durham, 2b; Eric Gagne, rhp; Ben Sheets, rhp; Brian Shouse, lhp.
NEW YORK (8) — Moises Alou, of; Luis Ayala, rhp; Damion Easley, 2b; Orlando Hernandez, rhp; Pedro Martinez, rhp; Ramon Martinez, 2b; Ricardo Rincon, lhp; Matt Wise, rhp.
PHILADELPHIA (1) — Rudy Seanez, rhp.
PITTSBURGH (3) — Chris Gomez, 3b; Doug Mientkiewicz, 1b; Luis Rivas, ss.
ST. LOUIS (5) — Juan Encarnacion, of; Jason Isringhausen, rhp; Braden Looper, rhp; Mark Mulder, lhp; Ron Villone, lhp.
SAN FRANCISCO (1) — Rich Aurilia, 1b.
I’m looking forward to finally seeing some of the prospects I’ve been reading about finally play!
Dave your list is a little outdated—
Mussina, Casey, Maddux, Kent and Todd Jones are all officially retired so they will not be signing anywhere so they can come off the board.
Luis Ayala is a Twin, Brendan Donnally is in Texas, Toby Hall is in Houston, both on Minor league deals. Rich Aurilia just signed with SF and Juan Encarnacion suffered a career ending injury 2 years ago, he is more than likely done.
Leaving Juan on the list, maybe there is a team willing to take a player who can’t play anymore that now brings the list down to 63 remaining.
Smartass…
Why do I even bother to check on LaVelle. I think that I’ll just go straight to Joe C from now on. I hope that the C soon refers to Crede rather than Christianson.
I’m trying to think of a more useless and uninformative blog LaVelle, but I can’t. Gosh make sure you let us know what you have to eat in the airport!
Hey jackasses!
If you aren’t satisfied with the blog, demand your money back!
Oh, that’s right……
“Buscher will see the field 75% of the time.”
Is this akin to Mike Tice’s “Randy Ratio”?
