Checked in with three players this morning, and the news was all good.

Righthander Nick Blackburn said his left knee felt good one day after he threw in the bullpen. His next bullpen session is scheduled for Saturday. If that goes well, I would expect the Twins to slip him back into the spring training rotation.

Brendan Harris is back in the starting lineup today after getting plunked behind his left shoulder by Takashi Saito on Sunday, which led to a bruise and swelling.

And, because I feel I need to do this every so often, I checked in with Joe Crede, who making his third spring start at third base today. Crede said he feels great and it’s great to be able to move around again without back pain. He feels he’s on his normal path to being ready for the regular season.

I didn’t talk to Joe Mauer or Joe Nathan. But I saw Mauer through the doorway to the trainer’s room, getting his daily work in. That seemed normal. And Nathan was cheerful as he walked through the clubhouse. All seems to be well but we’ll make sure after the game.

I’m going to post the lineup. MLB rules state that teams must travel with at least four regulars. The Reds must interpret that to mean former regulars.

Reds: 1. Chris Dickerson, CF. 2. Adam Rosales, 2B. 3. Jay Bruce, RF. 4, Juan Francisco, 3B. 5. Daryle Ward, 1B. 6. Jacque Jones, LF. 7. Paul Jarish, SS. 8. Ryan Hanigan, C. 9. Devin Mesoraco, DH. Pitching: Aaron Harang.

Twins: 1. Denard Span, RF. 2.Alexi Casilla, 2B. 3. Joe Crede, 3B. 4. Jason Kubel, DH. 5. Delmon Young, LF. 6. Brian Buscher, 1B. 7. Carlos Gomez, CF. 8.  Jose Morales, C. 9. Brendan Harris, SS. Pitching: Glen Perkins, then Jason Jones, Craig Breslow, Kevin Mulvey, Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 8:16 am and is filed under preseason. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.