What a mess. Everything below are crazy thoughts typed over the course of four rain delays. 

I have no explaination why this game hasn’t been called yet.

We have just been told there will be a meeting between the umpires and grounds crew people at around 11:10.

More later…..I want to go home.

OLD PROGRAMMING 

Seriously, I looked at the radar a little while ago, walked over to Phil Miller of the PP and said, “It will start to rain in 12 minutes.”

Miller quickly looked at his watch to mark the time.

Well, the rain is coming down now.

“You’re within the margin for error,” Miller said. “I’ll give it to you - but you still owe me a Delmon Young homer.”

Yes, I did predict before the the game that Young would homer. So I need more baseball to be played. That’s not the only reason. Ken, the Star Tribune copy editor, is on my case about a first edition story.

He’ll get a story - but first, I’m going to read about Chelsea and Barcelona… 

The tarp is back on….glub, glub, glub. ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian is sitting next to me, complaining about how he cut his grass yesterday and will have to cut it tomorrow because it grows so fast.

Thrilling stuff in the pressbox. What did you expect, a conversation to break out about isolated power?

 Get ready for a long night of this weather..

REGULAR PROGRAMMING 

 Joe Crede is undergoing tests to figure out what’s wrong with his stomach.

Update at 6:15: The tarp is coming off, It normally takes 30-35 minutes once the tarp is off to prepare the field and get the pitchers ready.

Alexi Casilla was sent to the minors moments after the Twins arrived at their Baltimore hotel. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire couldn’t stand the mistakes, especially the lack of hustle when Casilla didn’t hit.

When asked for the reports on Matt Tolbert, Gardenhire said: “They said he’s been busting his tail…but I already knew that.”

If Matt Tolbert fails, it won’t be because of a lack of effort. He’s in constant motion, constantly in the batting cages, always trying to figure out how to win. If he slumps at the plate, chances are that he’ll play even harder in the field.

After all, this is the guy who works on his swings while wearing nothing but a towel and would practice his baserunning in 7-Eleven parking lots during stops after minor league games. He had two hands on a bat while sitting in front of his clubhouse stall during the entire time we talked this afternoon. I call him Triple Espresso.

Gardenhire said Tolbert and Brendan Harris will split time at second base.

Here are the lineups, which should provide plenty of conversation as Gardenhire attacks lefthander Mark Hendrickson. He said Joe Mauer would get a day off in Baltimore, and today is the day. Gardenhire figures that he’ll mix in off days and DH days for Mauer for about a month, then use him like he did a year ago.

Update: Joe Crede has been scratched with an upset stomach. Brendan Harris moves to third. Update: Crede is being checked to make sure it’s not a virus. He’s going to the bathroom a lot, if you know what I mean.
 

Twins (13-14)

1. Denard Span, LF
2. Matt Tolbert, 2B
3. Brendan Harris, 3B
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Delmon Young, DH
7. Carlos Gomez, CF
8. Mike Redmond, C
9. Nick Punto, SS

Pitching: Kevin Slowey

Baltimore (10-17)

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Adam Jones, CF
3. Nick Markakis, RF
4. Aubrey Huff, 1B
5. Melvin Mora, 3B
6. Luke Scott, DH
7. Gregg Zaun. C
8. Felix Pie, LF
9. Cesar Izturis, SS

Pitching: Mark Hendrickson

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 3:43 pm and is filed under Game threads. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.