This one will be short. The workout started an hour late because of photo day, and there was the annual media luncheon and I still haven’t thrown down all my knowledge for tomorrow’s ink edition.

 Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Joe Crede should make his Twins debut on Friday at home against the Yankees. Crede told Gardenhire that he likes a lot of at-bats during spring but he still needs at least a couple of days to get his legs in condition before playing in a game.

Glen Perkins will start the spring opener on Wednesday against Boston. He’s not the Opening Day starter, however. Scott Baker will take the ball on Apr. 6 against Seattle.

The Twins worked on relays and rundowns today. Funny how they are flawless during the rundown drills here but once the regular season starts the plays look like the area code of Pleasantville, Pa. You know: 1-6-3-4-1.

Thanks to lobbying by Justin Morneau, Corey Koskie has been added to Team Canada’s roster for the World Baseball Classic.

Jose Mijares almost beaned Morneau during batting practice.

Finally, today was drug testing day at Twinsland. I remember 10-12 years ago when players would whine about their rights being violated. No one complains now….

But before that….

JUAN CRUZ UPDATE

The Twins, who HAVE made an offer to free agent reliever Juan Cruz, did not speak with Cruz’s agent, Barry Praver, on Sunday like expected.  While the sides are expected to continue negotiations this week, indications are that it will be tough for the Twins to agree to terms with Praver AND agree on the players to trade to Arizona.

I’m not predicting that a deal won’t get done but, based on the people I have spoken with, it’s going to be tough. One phone call changes everything. But that phone call had not happened as of last night.

BACK TO CREDE-MANIA!

I was warned that Crede was Jason Kubel-esque - a pleasant fellow who doesn’t say a whole lot. I think Crede will be a little more talkative than Kubel.

In an attempt to make Crede my newest best friend, I started to chat him up about Jefferson City, Mo. ,where he was born. I told him about my career at the Kansas City Star and how I covered high school sports all over the state.

“I think the state basketball tournament used to be there,” I said of Jeff-City, (as Missourians refer to it).

“Yeah, I played against Kareem, Rush there,” Crede said.

That unlocked a good talking point. I covered Kareem’s older brother, JaRon, a little bit when they were at Pembroke Hill high school in Kansas City. We chatted prep hoops for little bit before he was summoned by a media sentinel. So I’m on my way with the new guy…

Anyway, there are some leftover Crede quotes from yesterday I thought you’d like to read:

on not wearing a Sox jersey: “It takes a little bit to get used to. But it’s a good change of scenery and hopefully it’s for the better.”

On getting to know the team:  “Yeah, I had a chance to meet Morneau. We were in the same group so we got a chance to joke around. It was a lot of fun. ”

on having any nerves: “You always have nerves when you come in because of the unexpected. As a player you are kind of a creature of habit. Do the same things for 6-7 months. Used to doing the same things. But then it gets broken up and…there’s a new team a new atmosphere. There’s definitely some nerves there. I think my family was more nervous than I was last night when they flew in . It was a lot of fun. It’s gets back to one thing and that’s trying to win ballgames.”

How big is the family? : “Two girls (ages 5 and 3) and one on the way, we don’t know yet, due in June.”

on if he was looking for a place to play or a place to win:“I think a lot of factors were involved in it. I think winning was one of them. This team definitely has got the potential to not only go to the playoffs but go deep in the playoffs. They manufacture runs in so many different ways. Not only the home run but they have a lot of speed on the bases. When you get those guys on base and add the big guys in the lineup that takes more pressure off of you. And they can steal a base here and there you don’t have to worry about getting a guy over and stuff like that. That stuff is going to happen as well. This is a team that is very competitive we have seen over the past 4-5 years playing against them. It’s going to be a lot of fun to be in this lineup and see what you can do this year.”

on if it was easy to get up to speed: “Absolutely. I’ve been doing baseball work for the past month. Physically I feel really good and I passed with flying colors all the running and everything else. Bottom line is that you are out there doing the same thing. You are taking the same ground balls - it doesn’t matter what uniform you have on You do the same things and the same goals.”

on getting used to the Twins’ way of preparing for a season: “We did different drills. We did some drills I’ve never done before in spring. It all comes down to the same thing. It doesn’t matter how you do it or what way you do it as long as you get it done. That’s really the only difference, the way things were done. It’s very similar to what we did in Chicago. But like I said it comes down to winning ballgames and doing thing fundamentally sound.”

Gotta write fast. The system is shutting down for several hours today for maintenance.

First of all, Joe Crede is big. Bigger than a lot of Twins remember him, Not in a fat way. More of a this-man-fills-a-doorway big.

Crede also is very polite. He stood straight up with his hands behind his back as he answered questions at today’s press conference. He then worked out with his new team. He lined the first two batting practice pitches he saw off the screen that protected the pitcher. He lifted one over the left field fence during his second round of b.p. He eventually made his way to the batting cages, where hitting coach Joe Vavra flipped him some balls.

He has a polished swing. No wasted movements.

Was it strange to not put on a White  Sox uniform?

“It takes a little bit to get used to. But it’s a good change of scenery and hopefully it’s for the better.”

As for his back, Crede said it took him several days to recover from the first back surgery after the 2007 season. But he was on a plane headed home two days after his procedure last October in Dallas, once in which fluid that was pressing up against a nerver in his back was removed. He’s very confident he’s got it licked now.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Crede will be allowed to back off workouts if he needs to.

As for reliever Juan Cruz, reports that the Twins are close to a sign and trade deal aren’t true, according to a person with knowledge of talks. And all indications are that this deal will be hard to pull off. It’s going to be hard enough to agree to terms with the agent. Getting the Diamondbacks to agree on a trade might be even tougher. Things could always change but, for now, there’s little reason to feel optimistic that the Twins can land Cruz.

One last thing. Fans of local product Ben Hendrickson take note: The Twins have signed the pitcher to a minor league deal. He’ll try to make Class AAA Rochester.

Joe Crede’s flight had to make an emergency landing in St. Louis but he’s in the air to Fort Myers as of this moment. We’re hoping the press conference starts by 7 p.m. EST, after Crede and his familiy lands, picks up their luggage and gets a rental car.

Update: The Twins have decided to hold the press conference at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. It makes it easier for Crede and his family to settle in tonight. It also helps me make the early deadline. 

It’s been a long day.

Anyway, I thought I’d post some Crede-related comments to whet your appetite while we wait for him to land in Fort Myers.

Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer:

“Crede has killed us over the past couple years. I think with the opportunity he’s going to have over here he’s going to have a hance to help us. He might be the guy to do it.

“If anything, he won’t be killing us.”

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire:

“We’ve been looking for a corner guy. You always look to upgrade, see if you can get an impact player. At a corner position that we went into spring thinking about. I mean, we went into the spring looking for one and this is the guy. This is the guy that we talked about way, way back. This guy, if he’s healthy, can do a lot of damage. We’ve seen him. He’s done it to us. He can pick it at third base. He’s a Gold Glove third baseman type player. He can put the ball in the seats as he’s done plenty of times against us. Those guys kind of make good impressions on you when they keep hitting balls in the seats against you. So when they’re out there, you think about it. We’ve been thinking about this guy for awhile, never knowing whether it was going to work out or not. But it finally has.”

And….White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen:

“He will make their pitching staff better because their defense will be a lot better. He will create double plays. He knows how to play the game. There is one player who didn’t grow up with the Minnesota Twins organization, and he played like a Minnesota Twin. He’s that type of player. They will help him, yes. They got better? If Crede is on the field they’re going to be better. I don’t think they’ll win the division because of one player.  They always had a good club and always will be in the pennant race and you have to handle it the way we always handle it and see what happens.”

The Twins have announced that they have reached agreement with third baseman Joe Crede’s on a year=year contract 

Another source with knowledge of negotiations called Joe Christensen with even more details.

The Twins will sign Crede to one-year deal with a base salary of $2.5 million with the chance to earn as much as $7 million with appearance bonuses. The bonuses begin once Crede reaches 250 plate appearances and tops out at $7 million when he makes his 525th plate appearance.

Crede, while traveling to Fort Myers, has run into weather problems - in Minnesota. The Twins had scheduled a 3 p.m. press conference but that now has been pushed back until they learn when Crede will arrive in town.

Joe C. is the man! He’s producing all the way from the Twin Cities!

This a is very, very good deal for the Twins. A $7 million base salary seemed too high. A $5 million base seemed reasonable. But a $2.5 million base really helps the Twins out from a risk standpoint. If Crede is healthy, he should play like a $7 million player. If he breaks down, the Twins have a good Plan B in Brian Busher and Bredan Harris. And there’s money available to add move talent - perhaps a free agent reliever like Juan Cruz.

This also means the Twins will have to make another 40-man roster move to clear space for Crede. Update: To make room for Crede, the Twins have placed injured righthander Pat Neshek on the 60-day disabled list. Neshek will miss the entire 2009 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Check back later to www.startribune.com for video highlights.

Juan Cruz update; Reliever Juan Cruz is now drawing interest from a few other teams. Indications are that Cruz and his agent will try to get a deal agreed upon in the next few days because up to another 48 hours would be needed for the team and the D-Backs to work out a trade.