Kirsten Brown

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VhO3HOnh3Ek/T-kRGZaRzsI/AAAAAAAAB7s/1X1Bs0Em1Y4/s400/cappsshoulder.PNG The Twins have placed RHP Matt Capps on the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation. He had a MRI on Monday, which indicated that there is no damage, just inflammation, and it sounds like he's going to have a cortisone shot this week. Left-handed pitcher Tyler Robertson was recalled to take Capps' roster spot. Gardy said that he will use LHP Glen Perkins and RHP Jared Burton, as matchups dictate, as the closers. With lefty Brian Duensing now in the rotation, Robertson will be used as the LOOGY (lefty one out guy). So, let's recap Capps' last week or so. He pitched on June 15th against the Brewers in a tie game and lost the game, though it was on an unearned run. The next day, he mentioned that his shoulder was sore, so the Twins shut him down for a week to let it heal. Then, about Friday or so, it sounded like he was getting kind of impatient with the resting thing. Actually, the way I read it, it seemed like he was getting kind of snippy. Then, he backed off and said he understood. Then, the Twins found a nice, low-pressure situation on Saturday. He looked horrible, but he said he was only rusty, and he was pretty encouraged with the outing. Then he woke up Sunday morning, and it hurt again. Finally, the Twins got serious and put him on the DL. The whole idea of the DL -- its entire reason for existence -- is for the team to get a replacement man while the injured player heals. It's completely intended to protect the team so that all 25 men on the roster are truly available as needed. Sure, giving a banged up guy a day or two rest is pretty common, and totally expected. But if a team is committed to giving a guy a full week's rest, it may as well fill out the paperwork, make a phone call to the AAA club, and do it right. It takes pressure off the injured player to try to get out there before he's ready, and it takes pressure off his teammates who have to fill his void. So, the Twins unwillingness to put Capps on the DL when he first experienced the inflammation is beyond me. And because they let him try to pitch on Saturday, the whole "retroactive to June 15th" thing is gone. So now the earliest he can come back is July 9. What's going on here? Did Capps under-report the extent of his pain? Probably. Do the Twins over-value being gutty and playing through the pain? No doubt. Did the medical staff mess up? Well, ... It's frustrating that not only are so many players getting hurt, but the Twins also don't seem to be able to handle the ones who do correctly. Also, I really don't believe Gardy will stick with the "closer by committee" scheme for more than a game or two. He's too in love with the idea of having an assigned closer.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VhO3HOnh3Ek/T-kRGZaRzsI/AAAAAAAAB7s/1X1Bs0Em1Y4/s400/cappsshoulder.PNG The Twins have placed RHP Matt Capps on the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation. He had a MRI on Monday, which indicated that there is no damage, just inflammation, and it sounds like he's going to have a cortisone shot this week. Left-handed pitcher Tyler Robertson was recalled to take Capps' roster spot. Gardy said that he will use LHP Glen Perkins and RHP Jared Burton, as matchups dictate, as the closers. With lefty Brian Duensing now in the rotation, Robertson will be used as the LOOGY (lefty one out guy). So, let's recap Capps' last week or so. He pitched on June 15th against the Brewers in a tie game and lost the game, though it was on an unearned run. The next day, he mentioned that his shoulder was sore, so the Twins shut him down for a week to let it heal. Then, about Friday or so, it sounded like he was getting kind of impatient with the resting thing. Actually, the way I read it, it seemed like he was getting kind of snippy. Then, he backed off and said he understood. Then, the Twins found a nice, low-pressure situation on Saturday. He looked horrible, but he said he was only rusty, and he was pretty encouraged with the outing. Then he woke up Sunday morning, and it hurt again. Finally, the Twins got serious and put him on the DL. The whole idea of the DL -- its entire reason for existence -- is for the team to get a replacement man while the injured player heals. It's completely intended to protect the team so that all 25 men on the roster are truly available as needed. Sure, giving a banged up guy a day or two rest is pretty common, and totally expected. But if a team is committed to giving a guy a full week's rest, it may as well fill out the paperwork, make a phone call to the AAA club, and do it right. It takes pressure off the injured player to try to get out there before he's ready, and it takes pressure off his teammates who have to fill his void. So, the Twins unwillingness to put Capps on the DL when he first experienced the inflammation is beyond me. And because they let him try to pitch on Saturday, the whole "retroactive to June 15th" thing is gone. So now the earliest he can come back is July 9. What's going on here? Did Capps under-report the extent of his pain? Probably. Do the Twins over-value being gutty and playing through the pain? No doubt. Did the medical staff mess up? Well, ... It's frustrating that not only are so many players getting hurt, but the Twins also don't seem to be able to handle the ones who do correctly. Also, I really don't believe Gardy will stick with the "closer by committee" scheme for more than a game or two. He's too in love with the idea of having an assigned closer.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Hi. It's been a while. Nothing like a busy-at-work-busy-at-home lifestyle to put a dent in one's blogging ambitions. But anyhoo... I have a few thoughts. My thoughts on Ben Revere How much fun has Benny been to watch lately? The plays in the outfield, the improved hitting, the smiling, the adorableness, the little chicken wing thing he does in the batting box, the plays in the outfield ... I was excited about him last year, but this year I'm even more so. This is his year, and he's blossomed into a full-fledged big leaguer. Sure, his throwing arm still isn't stellar, but his outstanding range pretty much makes that issue moot. Nobody's perfect. The thing is, every time Benny shows off how capable he is at being big-league outfielder, the closer Twins fans are to trading Denard Span. Denard's value as centerfielder and lead-off man is at an all time high. And there are plenty of contending teams that could use his services to help them toward the playoffs. This season is already lost for the Twins, and they have many needs to begin a rebuilding project. And as much as I would hate to see him go, Denard could fetch some much-needed pitching prospects. Benny gives the Twins the confidence to move forward with that plan. My thoughts on Brian Dozier After a nice hot spell, Brian has cooled off -- both offensively and defensively. Ok, he's a rookie, and other teams probably have started figuring him out. It happens. The Twins seem content to just let him be and figure it out on his own. I'm ok with that. But it does make me wonder: why am I ok with Dozier hanging around until he works out the kinks, but last year I had run out of patience with Nishioka quite quickly? I don't really have a good answer. Maybe it's because Dozier has been a little better (.247 ba/ .263 obp/ .340 slug) through 37 games than Nishi (.228/ .291/ .260), but he's not recovering from a devastating injury either. And Dozier's fielding percentage through 37 games (.956) is worse than Nishioka's for 66 games (.961) (I couldn't find defensive game splits, so I couldn't see how Nishi was doing at 37 games). So, really, Dozier isn't a super huge improvement. But why was I so quick to ship out Nishioka, but I'm still rooting for Dozier? I guess perception is a lot of it -- Nishi just looked lost and confused but Dozier has continued to look confident even while struggling. Also, Dozier did show some flashes of brilliance while I don't really remember seeing that with Nishioka. It could be that my patience was worn so thin last year that my standards are lower this year. I don't know. But I believe Dozier will work things out and get back to that awesome player I saw a few weeks ago. I hope it happens soon. ~~~ Injury and Transaction Updates http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VQQzG1Z6hW4/T9_uq2jufRI/AAAAAAAAB64/7oHo-PTJ1r8/s400/waltersshoulder12.PNG 6/14 -- The Twins placed RHP JP Walters on the DL with shoulder inflammation. No further word on his recovery timetable. Lester Oliveros was recalled to take Walters' roster spot. 6/16 -- Lester Oliveros was optioned to AAA Rochester and Liam Hendriks was recalled. I hope Lester didn't pack a whole lot.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Hi. It's been a while. Nothing like a busy-at-work-busy-at-home lifestyle to put a dent in one's blogging ambitions. But anyhoo... I have a few thoughts. My thoughts on Ben Revere How much fun has Benny been to watch lately? The plays in the outfield, the improved hitting, the smiling, the adorableness, the little chicken wing thing he does in the batting box, the plays in the outfield ... I was excited about him last year, but this year I'm even more so. This is his year, and he's blossomed into a full-fledged big leaguer. Sure, his throwing arm still isn't stellar, but his outstanding range pretty much makes that issue moot. Nobody's perfect. The thing is, every time Benny shows off how capable he is at being big-league outfielder, the closer Twins fans are to trading Denard Span. Denard's value as centerfielder and lead-off man is at an all time high. And there are plenty of contending teams that could use his services to help them toward the playoffs. This season is already lost for the Twins, and they have many needs to begin a rebuilding project. And as much as I would hate to see him go, Denard could fetch some much-needed pitching prospects. Benny gives the Twins the confidence to move forward with that plan. My thoughts on Brian Dozier After a nice hot spell, Brian has cooled off -- both offensively and defensively. Ok, he's a rookie, and other teams probably have started figuring him out. It happens. The Twins seem content to just let him be and figure it out on his own. I'm ok with that. But it does make me wonder: why am I ok with Dozier hanging around until he works out the kinks, but last year I had run out of patience with Nishioka quite quickly? I don't really have a good answer. Maybe it's because Dozier has been a little better (.247 ba/ .263 obp/ .340 slug) through 37 games than Nishi (.228/ .291/ .260), but he's not recovering from a devastating injury either. And Dozier's fielding percentage through 37 games (.956) is worse than Nishioka's for 66 games (.961) (I couldn't find defensive game splits, so I couldn't see how Nishi was doing at 37 games). So, really, Dozier isn't a super huge improvement. But why was I so quick to ship out Nishioka, but I'm still rooting for Dozier? I guess perception is a lot of it -- Nishi just looked lost and confused but Dozier has continued to look confident even while struggling. Also, Dozier did show some flashes of brilliance while I don't really remember seeing that with Nishioka. It could be that my patience was worn so thin last year that my standards are lower this year. I don't know. But I believe Dozier will work things out and get back to that awesome player I saw a few weeks ago. I hope it happens soon. ~~~ Injury and Transaction Updates http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VQQzG1Z6hW4/T9_uq2jufRI/AAAAAAAAB64/7oHo-PTJ1r8/s400/waltersshoulder12.PNG 6/14 -- The Twins placed RHP JP Walters on the DL with shoulder inflammation. No further word on his recovery timetable. Lester Oliveros was recalled to take Walters' roster spot. 6/16 -- Lester Oliveros was optioned to AAA Rochester and Liam Hendriks was recalled. I hope Lester didn't pack a whole lot.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog So, I didn't really get a chance to pay much attention to this series. I was kind of busy with the "having a life" thing -- watching my kid play baseball, improving my golf game (this is a hilarious statement if you've ever seen me golf), etc. But I was able to check in from time to time, so I'm not completely lost Some notes: Seems to me that the best starting pitching performance of the series (Liriano's) was the one that resulted in a loss. But it was good to seen Frankie pitching better. I think Jared Burton wants us to love him. ~~~ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h8BzHIhGLEE/T9FUXCVPq5I/AAAAAAAAB6I/fc8jsuDowjE/s400/pavanoshoulder.PNG The Twins have placed RHP Carl Pavano on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 2 with what they're calling a right anterior capsular strain. Wow, that's a mouthful; let's break it down. Right means, well...your other left? Anterior means front. The capsule is a static group of ligaments in the shoulder that stabilize the joint. I guess strain means that it hurts. Pavano's been bothered by this most of the season, and the Twins have decided to shut him down for a little while to let it heal, and have him start a throwing program sometime in the future. I've tried to do some reading on the injury, but I can't really get a sense of how long he'll be out. Nick Blackburn was activated off the DL (quad strain) to take Pavano's roster spot. ~~~ When Baseball and Bad Spelling Collide I haven't done this little segment in a long time. In fact, it's been so long that I kind of forgot I used to do it. Until I saw this from Wednesday's game: http://c0014334.r32.cf1.rackcdn.com/x2_cd07faf Oh, poor Jeff Manship. It's not like it's a hard name like Mastroianni or even Parmelee. And according to Rhett Bollinger from MLB.com: Manship said he had no clue his jersey was misspelled when he went out to the mound. #Twins — Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 7, 2012 and Manship added guys were laughing at him when he was warming up in the bullpen but he didn't know why. Burton said they all knew. #Twins — Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 7, 2012 It seems like Mr. Mansihp ... er, Manship, has some getting even to do. ~~~ On Thursday, the Twins optioned pitcher Cole De Vries to AAA Rochester and recalled first baseman Chris Parmelee. Due to a favorable line up of off-days, the Twins don't need a 5-man rotation for a while, so this gives De Vries a chance to hone his skills at a more appropriate level. And Parmelee has been smacking the ball around in AAA, so it's time to give him another chance in the bigs.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog So, I didn't really get a chance to pay much attention to this series. I was kind of busy with the "having a life" thing -- watching my kid play baseball, improving my golf game (this is a hilarious statement if you've ever seen me golf), etc. But I was able to check in from time to time, so I'm not completely lost Some notes: Seems to me that the best starting pitching performance of the series (Liriano's) was the one that resulted in a loss. But it was good to seen Frankie pitching better. I think Jared Burton wants us to love him. ~~~ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h8BzHIhGLEE/T9FUXCVPq5I/AAAAAAAAB6I/fc8jsuDowjE/s400/pavanoshoulder.PNG The Twins have placed RHP Carl Pavano on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 2 with what they're calling a right anterior capsular strain. Wow, that's a mouthful; let's break it down. Right means, well...your other left? Anterior means front. The capsule is a static group of ligaments in the shoulder that stabilize the joint. I guess strain means that it hurts. Pavano's been bothered by this most of the season, and the Twins have decided to shut him down for a little while to let it heal, and have him start a throwing program sometime in the future. I've tried to do some reading on the injury, but I can't really get a sense of how long he'll be out. Nick Blackburn was activated off the DL (quad strain) to take Pavano's roster spot. ~~~ When Baseball and Bad Spelling Collide I haven't done this little segment in a long time. In fact, it's been so long that I kind of forgot I used to do it. Until I saw this from Wednesday's game: http://c0014334.r32.cf1.rackcdn.com/x2_cd07faf Oh, poor Jeff Manship. It's not like it's a hard name like Mastroianni or even Parmelee. And according to Rhett Bollinger from MLB.com: Manship said he had no clue his jersey was misspelled when he went out to the mound. #Twins — Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 7, 2012 and Manship added guys were laughing at him when he was warming up in the bullpen but he didn't know why. Burton said they all knew. #Twins — Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 7, 2012 It seems like Mr. Mansihp ... er, Manship, has some getting even to do. ~~~ On Thursday, the Twins optioned pitcher Cole De Vries to AAA Rochester and recalled first baseman Chris Parmelee. Due to a favorable line up of off-days, the Twins don't need a 5-man rotation for a while, so this gives De Vries a chance to hone his skills at a more appropriate level. And Parmelee has been smacking the ball around in AAA, so it's time to give him another chance in the bigs.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Another series win! We all could get used this, right? There's nothing like winning to make everyone all confident and happy. A couple of notes: I think that my buddy Brian Dozier needs a day or two off to clear his head a little. It seems like he's scuffling a bit, especially with his glove. I think he'll be fine, though. Did you see that sick Ben Revere catch on Saturday? That perfect somersault in the outfield with a catch in the middle of it? I was impressed that he held on to the ball and perfectly tucked in his head. He almost stuck the landing, too. I really like watching Glen Perkins pitch. I'm also beginning to warm up to Matt Capps' pitching, too. We still need to work on that whole trust thing, but we're getting there. ~~~ It's really nice to see Scott Diamond succeeding. The Twins really need to have some stability in the rotation, and he's been a nice cornerstone. The rotation has been weakest part of the Twins season. The offense usually does enough to win most games, and the bullpen has actually been a pleasant surprise. But, oy, the rotation... When many baseball analysts and columnists talk about pitchers, they refer to them as a "number one starter," "number two starter," etc. on down the line to "number five starters." A number one starter is generally considered an "ace" (think Verlander, Sabathia, or Gonzalez), and a number five starter is generally considered to be just good enough to keep his job as a starter. Some analysts use the stat WAR (wins above replacement) to make that determination. WAR is a long, convoluted formula, and there is even disagreement over which formula is more accurate (two respected statistical websites, Baseball-Reference.com and Fangraphs.com, each have their own definitions), but "replacement" level (a player with a WAR of 0) is generally considered a good AAA player who is ready to break into the big leagues. A positive WAR means a guy is helping his team win; a negative WAR means he's costing his team wins. So I decided that I wanted to suffer a little and look up the WAR values for the Twins current rotation (I use B-R.com's). First, let's take a peek at the aforementioned Verlander (+3.2), Sabathia (+2.0), and Gonzalez (+2.4). This is what aces look like. This is what the Twins look like: Carl Pavano: -0.9 Francisco Liriano: -1.1 Scott Diamond: +0.7 PJ Walters: +0.5 Cole De Vries: -0.1 So, yeah, at slightly above replacement level, or a number five starter on any other team, Scott Diamond is currently the ace of the staff. ~~~ MLB's Rule 4 amateur draft is Monday evening. The Twins have the second overall pick; they haven't picked this high since they drafted Joe Mauer in 2001. They also have six of the top 100 picks. Needless to say, this is an important draft, and the Twins had better get it right. I haven't really been following any of the draft prospect, so I have no insight or legitimate opinion on the matter. But I am interested to see how it goes. A lot of the experts have been saying that this draft class isn't as spectacular as recent years; there are no Stephen Strasburgs or Bryce Harpers this year. But there are two guys that the experts keep talking about: RHP Mark Appel from Stanford University and OF Byron Buxton from Appling County, HS (in Georgia). All the rumors on Twitter indicate that the Astros will take Appel with the first pick, so he probably won't be available for the Twins. I googled Buxton, and he seems pretty cool -- five tool guy: speed, throwing, fielding, hitting, and hitting with power. Plus, his nickname is Buck. So, I'm going to go ahead and hope the Twins pick him. I know that the Twins already have an abundance of outfielders, and they really could use more pitching, but the key to a good draft is to choose the best available player, not necessarily the player the team needs most. Besides, some decent pitchers will probably fall to the later picks. No matter what, I hope the Twins don't mess it up. The problem is: we won't know how well it went for, like, four years or so. ~~~ Injury Watch and Updates Carl Pavano left Friday's game early, clearly suffering some more discomfort in his shoulder. He has returned to Minneapolis and is scheduled to have another MRI on Monday. Things don't sound hopeful that he'll be able to avoid the DL. Joe Mauer left Sunday's game a bit early because he slightly sprained his thumb. He insisted after the game that it's no big deal and he'll be fine. Kyle Waldrop, who was put on the DL at the end of spring training, was activated as assigned to AAA Rochester.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Another series win! We all could get used this, right? There's nothing like winning to make everyone all confident and happy. A couple of notes: I think that my buddy Brian Dozier needs a day or two off to clear his head a little. It seems like he's scuffling a bit, especially with his glove. I think he'll be fine, though. Did you see that sick Ben Revere catch on Saturday? That perfect somersault in the outfield with a catch in the middle of it? I was impressed that he held on to the ball and perfectly tucked in his head. He almost stuck the landing, too. I really like watching Glen Perkins pitch. I'm also beginning to warm up to Matt Capps' pitching, too. We still need to work on that whole trust thing, but we're getting there. ~~~ It's really nice to see Scott Diamond succeeding. The Twins really need to have some stability in the rotation, and he's been a nice cornerstone. The rotation has been weakest part of the Twins season. The offense usually does enough to win most games, and the bullpen has actually been a pleasant surprise. But, oy, the rotation... When many baseball analysts and columnists talk about pitchers, they refer to them as a "number one starter," "number two starter," etc. on down the line to "number five starters." A number one starter is generally considered an "ace" (think Verlander, Sabathia, or Gonzalez), and a number five starter is generally considered to be just good enough to keep his job as a starter. Some analysts use the stat WAR (wins above replacement) to make that determination. WAR is a long, convoluted formula, and there is even disagreement over which formula is more accurate (two respected statistical websites, Baseball-Reference.com and Fangraphs.com, each have their own definitions), but "replacement" level (a player with a WAR of 0) is generally considered a good AAA player who is ready to break into the big leagues. A positive WAR means a guy is helping his team win; a negative WAR means he's costing his team wins. So I decided that I wanted to suffer a little and look up the WAR values for the Twins current rotation (I use B-R.com's). First, let's take a peek at the aforementioned Verlander (+3.2), Sabathia (+2.0), and Gonzalez (+2.4). This is what aces look like. This is what the Twins look like: Carl Pavano: -0.9 Francisco Liriano: -1.1 Scott Diamond: +0.7 PJ Walters: +0.5 Cole De Vries: -0.1 So, yeah, at slightly above replacement level, or a number five starter on any other team, Scott Diamond is currently the ace of the staff. ~~~ MLB's Rule 4 amateur draft is Monday evening. The Twins have the second overall pick; they haven't picked this high since they drafted Joe Mauer in 2001. They also have six of the top 100 picks. Needless to say, this is an important draft, and the Twins had better get it right. I haven't really been following any of the draft prospect, so I have no insight or legitimate opinion on the matter. But I am interested to see how it goes. A lot of the experts have been saying that this draft class isn't as spectacular as recent years; there are no Stephen Strasburgs or Bryce Harpers this year. But there are two guys that the experts keep talking about: RHP Mark Appel from Stanford University and OF Byron Buxton from Appling County, HS (in Georgia). All the rumors on Twitter indicate that the Astros will take Appel with the first pick, so he probably won't be available for the Twins. I googled Buxton, and he seems pretty cool -- five tool guy: speed, throwing, fielding, hitting, and hitting with power. Plus, his nickname is Buck. So, I'm going to go ahead and hope the Twins pick him. I know that the Twins already have an abundance of outfielders, and they really could use more pitching, but the key to a good draft is to choose the best available player, not necessarily the player the team needs most. Besides, some decent pitchers will probably fall to the later picks. No matter what, I hope the Twins don't mess it up. The problem is: we won't know how well it went for, like, four years or so. ~~~ Injury Watch and Updates Carl Pavano left Friday's game early, clearly suffering some more discomfort in his shoulder. He has returned to Minneapolis and is scheduled to have another MRI on Monday. Things don't sound hopeful that he'll be able to avoid the DL. Joe Mauer left Sunday's game a bit early because he slightly sprained his thumb. He insisted after the game that it's no big deal and he'll be fine. Kyle Waldrop, who was put on the DL at the end of spring training, was activated as assigned to AAA Rochester.

Hi, Shane. Oh, yeah, I'm a big believer in the importance of OBP...you can't score runs if you don't get on base. And, as cool as home runs are, I do appreciate the high on-base guys. I just saw humor in the irony of that one fluky game.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog A SWEEP! A real, honest to goodness, three-game sweep! A fun come-from-behind win! An even funner walk-off win! And a strong-pitching-performance win! Yay, winning! http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/images/history/y2010/120x120_logo_1987_m.jpg And all these wins came with the classic "M" caps. So you know that we'll be seeing more of them. I like the "M" logo and all (even though I still prefer the "TC" logo), but I do worry about unilaterally embracing a throwback item; last year was the old cream uniforms, and we all know how that went. But, as Crash Davis said, "respect the streak," so they may as well go with it for a while. A couple notes: Josh Willingham wants each and every one of us to love him. A note to Mr. Revere: Benny, honey, every one already pretty much loves you because you're fast, and scrappy, and smiley and all, but really, you need to work on that bunting thing. Seriously. I know bunting is hard, but dude... If I were to give this series a title, it would be "Building Pitchers' Confidence" ~~~ In the movie Moneyball, Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) said something like (I'm paraphrasing here, I don't really remember the quote word for word, and I tried to look it up on IMDb, but I couldn't find it, and I don't feel like putting the DVD in and waiting to hear it again, and it might have really been said by Jonah Hill's completely fictional character, so just go with me here)... "How do you win ballgames? By scoring runs. How do you score runs? By getting on base." Ha! So on Tuesday, Cole De Vries allowed a bijillion A's to get on base. Not one of them scored runs. And ultimately, they didn't win the game. So there. Ok, I know, that game was more of a fluke-fest than a commentary on on-base percentage, but it also demonstrates how truly bad Oakland's offense really is. I suppose I shouldn't get too gloat-y about the sweep, huh? ~~~ Notes Jason Marquis signed with the San Diego Padres. Erik Komatsu cleared waivers has been returned to the Washington Nationals. Phil Dumatrait, who has spent the season in AAA Rochester, has decided to retire. He's been battling a shoulder injury all year. The Twins released him rather than have him complete retirement papers so he can sign with another team if he changes his mind after a while.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog A SWEEP! A real, honest to goodness, three-game sweep! A fun come-from-behind win! An even funner walk-off win! And a strong-pitching-performance win! Yay, winning! http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/images/history/y2010/120x120_logo_1987_m.jpg And all these wins came with the classic "M" caps. So you know that we'll be seeing more of them. I like the "M" logo and all (even though I still prefer the "TC" logo), but I do worry about unilaterally embracing a throwback item; last year was the old cream uniforms, and we all know how that went. But, as Crash Davis said, "respect the streak," so they may as well go with it for a while. A couple notes: Josh Willingham wants each and every one of us to love him. A note to Mr. Revere: Benny, honey, every one already pretty much loves you because you're fast, and scrappy, and smiley and all, but really, you need to work on that bunting thing. Seriously. I know bunting is hard, but dude... If I were to give this series a title, it would be "Building Pitchers' Confidence" ~~~ In the movie Moneyball, Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) said something like (I'm paraphrasing here, I don't really remember the quote word for word, and I tried to look it up on IMDb, but I couldn't find it, and I don't feel like putting the DVD in and waiting to hear it again, and it might have really been said by Jonah Hill's completely fictional character, so just go with me here)... "How do you win ballgames? By scoring runs. How do you score runs? By getting on base." Ha! So on Tuesday, Cole De Vries allowed a bijillion A's to get on base. Not one of them scored runs. And ultimately, they didn't win the game. So there. Ok, I know, that game was more of a fluke-fest than a commentary on on-base percentage, but it also demonstrates how truly bad Oakland's offense really is. I suppose I shouldn't get too gloat-y about the sweep, huh? ~~~ Notes Jason Marquis signed with the San Diego Padres. Erik Komatsu cleared waivers has been returned to the Washington Nationals. Phil Dumatrait, who has spent the season in AAA Rochester, has decided to retire. He's been battling a shoulder injury all year. The Twins released him rather than have him complete retirement papers so he can sign with another team if he changes his mind after a while.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog On Friday when the Twins were beating up on the Brewers, for as much as I was enjoying the production, I was thinking to myself that they should save some of their hits for another day when they needed them. It's a cliched joke, I know, but considering how shaky this season has been, I worry about such things. But I'm reasonably pleased that the Twins still took the series, and things have been looking less glum. And, yeah, Sunday was pretty ugly; fortunately it only counts as one loss. A few notes about the series: After the game on Mother's Day, Trevor Plouffe cut off his flowing long hair for charity. It's a great story. Before then, he hadn't hit any homeruns; since then he's hit three, including the game-winner in extra innings on Saturday. Maybe his bangs were in his eyes. Maybe all that hair made his helmet too tight. Maybe he's more aerodynamic now. Whatever -- keep it up, Trev. I think Matt Capps's new pitch -- it's a splitter / chageup combo that he calls a "splange" -- is flirting with me. I think it's kind of sexy. I thought it would have been safe to take a nap on Sunday afternoon when the Twins were down 11-2. I was more than a little annoyed that no one woke me up when Drew Butera pitched the bottom of the 8th. I don't think Jason Marquis wants any of us to love him. ~~~ The Twins are sure handcuffed when it comes to dealing with their struggling pitchers. Hendriks was sent down to Rochester, Liriano was sent to the bullpen, and Blackburn was placed on the DL. Pavano has been fighting discomfort in his shoulder, and even though he looked pretty good on Saturday, the Twins would like to push his next start back a day. And then there's Marquis. The Twins are running out of options to fill in while the starters get on track. Swarzak could have made a spot start on Thursday to allow Pavano an extra day, but he pitched a ton on Sunday in relief of Marquis. Duensing could do it too, but it seems like he's been used a lot out of the pen lately. So, the Twins are stuck praying that batters haven't figured out Diamond and Walters yet, and then, after that, who knows? Liriano? Duensing? Call up Hendriks again? Someone else? Oh, and there still isn't anyone to replace Blackburn. Gardy said earlier this season that he can't replace the whole starting staff. But, man, he might have to. It's a bummer that it's come to this. ~~~ Injury updates: Carl Pavano received some extra treatment on his shoulder earlier this week, and was able to make his start on Saturday. He was pretty effective, and his velocity seemed better that it had been. The Twins still want to push his next start to Friday to let his shoulder get back to normal. According to Sports Illustrated, Ryan Doumit tweaked his calf muscle last week by leaping in the air celebrating a win. I didn't know that's how it happened. Anyway, I think he'll be fine. By resting for the most part during National League play (he did make a pitch-hitting appearance on Saturday, walked and got pulled for a pitch runner), plus the off day on Monday, he should be good to go again soon. It was good to see Denard Span back in the lineup. ~~~ Tweet of the series: We've all seen Drew Butera make strong throws from behind the plate. I guess he carries that skill to the other side of the battery as well. From blogger, and noted stat-head, Parker Hageman: @drewbutera hit 94.4 mph on the radar gun today pitching. Sick nasty filth. brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/pfx.php?… — Parker Hageman (@OverTheBaggy) May 20, 2012 He links to the Brooksbaseball.net site that tracks Drew's pitching performance. Cool stuff.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog On Friday when the Twins were beating up on the Brewers, for as much as I was enjoying the production, I was thinking to myself that they should save some of their hits for another day when they needed them. It's a cliched joke, I know, but considering how shaky this season has been, I worry about such things. But I'm reasonably pleased that the Twins still took the series, and things have been looking less glum. And, yeah, Sunday was pretty ugly; fortunately it only counts as one loss. A few notes about the series: After the game on Mother's Day, Trevor Plouffe cut off his flowing long hair for charity. It's a great story. Before then, he hadn't hit any homeruns; since then he's hit three, including the game-winner in extra innings on Saturday. Maybe his bangs were in his eyes. Maybe all that hair made his helmet too tight. Maybe he's more aerodynamic now. Whatever -- keep it up, Trev. I think Matt Capps's new pitch -- it's a splitter / chageup combo that he calls a "splange" -- is flirting with me. I think it's kind of sexy. I thought it would have been safe to take a nap on Sunday afternoon when the Twins were down 11-2. I was more than a little annoyed that no one woke me up when Drew Butera pitched the bottom of the 8th. I don't think Jason Marquis wants any of us to love him. ~~~ The Twins are sure handcuffed when it comes to dealing with their struggling pitchers. Hendriks was sent down to Rochester, Liriano was sent to the bullpen, and Blackburn was placed on the DL. Pavano has been fighting discomfort in his shoulder, and even though he looked pretty good on Saturday, the Twins would like to push his next start back a day. And then there's Marquis. The Twins are running out of options to fill in while the starters get on track. Swarzak could have made a spot start on Thursday to allow Pavano an extra day, but he pitched a ton on Sunday in relief of Marquis. Duensing could do it too, but it seems like he's been used a lot out of the pen lately. So, the Twins are stuck praying that batters haven't figured out Diamond and Walters yet, and then, after that, who knows? Liriano? Duensing? Call up Hendriks again? Someone else? Oh, and there still isn't anyone to replace Blackburn. Gardy said earlier this season that he can't replace the whole starting staff. But, man, he might have to. It's a bummer that it's come to this. ~~~ Injury updates: Carl Pavano received some extra treatment on his shoulder earlier this week, and was able to make his start on Saturday. He was pretty effective, and his velocity seemed better that it had been. The Twins still want to push his next start to Friday to let his shoulder get back to normal. According to Sports Illustrated, Ryan Doumit tweaked his calf muscle last week by leaping in the air celebrating a win. I didn't know that's how it happened. Anyway, I think he'll be fine. By resting for the most part during National League play (he did make a pitch-hitting appearance on Saturday, walked and got pulled for a pitch runner), plus the off day on Monday, he should be good to go again soon. It was good to see Denard Span back in the lineup. ~~~ Tweet of the series: We've all seen Drew Butera make strong throws from behind the plate. I guess he carries that skill to the other side of the battery as well. From blogger, and noted stat-head, Parker Hageman: @drewbutera hit 94.4 mph on the radar gun today pitching. Sick nasty filth. brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/pfx.php?… — Parker Hageman (@OverTheBaggy) May 20, 2012 He links to the Brooksbaseball.net site that tracks Drew's pitching performance. Cool stuff.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ena_kXOS54A/SNxatC0DMxI/AAAAAAAAAfs/ch91nmL3DHw/s200/broom.JPGI know it was another short series, and I know the wins weren't pretty, but it still counts as a series sweep, so I'm breaking out the broom, mostly because there's a real chance that I won't be able to break it out any more the rest of the season. Some notes from the series: Hits. Hits. Hits. Taking advantage of errors. Who's this Trevor Plouffe? I like this Trevor Plouffe. To be clear, I like this homerun-hitting Trevor Plouffe. Brian Dozier keeps flirting. I think I have a crush on him. I think the entire bullpen is flirting with me. ~~~ After Wednesday's game, the Twins announced that Ryan Doumit was going on the DL with a right calf strain. They also mentioned that Nick Blackburn was hurting as well. They called up OF Ben Revere to take the roster spot. Wednesday morning, Doumit had an MRI and it revealed that the strain wasn't serious. So, because Ben was already on his way, the Twins decided to place Blackburn on the DL instead. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nux0Sef5k74/T7W3YoRRddI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/YKtk_IxfxhI/s400/blackburnquad.PNG The Twins have placed RHP Nick Blackburn on the 15-day DL with a left quad strain. Blackburn reported a stabbing pain in his leg in his last two starts. His performance during those starts proves the point. It's unclear who will be used to start in his place. They can skip his next scheduled start because Monday is an off day. I just hope that Doumit's "mild" strain is really just that and the Twins don't have to put him on the DL in eight days. Other injury updates: Denard Span sat out both games of the series with a tight hamstring. Matt Capps was unavailable Wednesday due to a sore arm. He pitched on Thursday, and he was fine. ~~~ Tweets of the series On Thursday, Glen Perkins came in to the eighth inning with a one-run lead and served up two walks before snapping out of it and getting Prince Fielder to strike out and Delmon Young to hit into a double play. Whew. After the game, he tweeted: You guys weren't nervous, were you?? #Twins — Glen Perkins (@glen_perkins) May 17, 2012 Heh. Even funnier was Brian Duensing's reply: @glen_perkins someone was. At least it smelled like it in the pen — Brian Duensing (@BrianDuensing52) May 17, 2012 And funnier still was Matt Capps's addition: @BrianDuensing52 @glen_perkins yea that's my bad — Matt Capps (@MattCapps55) May 17, 2012 How mature.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ena_kXOS54A/SNxatC0DMxI/AAAAAAAAAfs/ch91nmL3DHw/s200/broom.JPGI know it was another short series, and I know the wins weren't pretty, but it still counts as a series sweep, so I'm breaking out the broom, mostly because there's a real chance that I won't be able to break it out any more the rest of the season. Some notes from the series: Hits. Hits. Hits. Taking advantage of errors. Who's this Trevor Plouffe? I like this Trevor Plouffe. To be clear, I like this homerun-hitting Trevor Plouffe. Brian Dozier keeps flirting. I think I have a crush on him. I think the entire bullpen is flirting with me. ~~~ After Wednesday's game, the Twins announced that Ryan Doumit was going on the DL with a right calf strain. They also mentioned that Nick Blackburn was hurting as well. They called up OF Ben Revere to take the roster spot. Wednesday morning, Doumit had an MRI and it revealed that the strain wasn't serious. So, because Ben was already on his way, the Twins decided to place Blackburn on the DL instead. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nux0Sef5k74/T7W3YoRRddI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/YKtk_IxfxhI/s400/blackburnquad.PNG The Twins have placed RHP Nick Blackburn on the 15-day DL with a left quad strain. Blackburn reported a stabbing pain in his leg in his last two starts. His performance during those starts proves the point. It's unclear who will be used to start in his place. They can skip his next scheduled start because Monday is an off day. I just hope that Doumit's "mild" strain is really just that and the Twins don't have to put him on the DL in eight days. Other injury updates: Denard Span sat out both games of the series with a tight hamstring. Matt Capps was unavailable Wednesday due to a sore arm. He pitched on Thursday, and he was fine. ~~~ Tweets of the series On Thursday, Glen Perkins came in to the eighth inning with a one-run lead and served up two walks before snapping out of it and getting Prince Fielder to strike out and Delmon Young to hit into a double play. Whew. After the game, he tweeted: You guys weren't nervous, were you?? #Twins — Glen Perkins (@glen_perkins) May 17, 2012 Heh. Even funnier was Brian Duensing's reply: @glen_perkins someone was. At least it smelled like it in the pen — Brian Duensing (@BrianDuensing52) May 17, 2012 And funnier still was Matt Capps's addition: @BrianDuensing52 @glen_perkins yea that's my bad — Matt Capps (@MattCapps55) May 17, 2012 How mature.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Short series; short recap; short paragraphs. Men left on base. Leaving pitches up. Shin-Soo Choo. Homerun. Homerun. Homerun. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Groan. ~~~ Injury update After Tuesday's game, Justin Morneau was activated off the DL. He's been swinging in batting practice for the last couple of days. The Twins optioned Chris Parmelee to AAA, so that means Justin will be back at first base. Carl Pavano's shoulder is still bugging him, even though he seems committed to keep pitching through it. He's going to hang back in Minneapolis while the team travels to Detroit so he can do some more work with a soft-tissue specialist. He'll meet the team in Milwaukee before his next scheduled start. I admire his willingness to play through this. He's not really helping the team, but he's certainly not hurting it. And it's not like he's blocking anyone who could do a better job. Denard Span was held out of the lineup on Tuesday due to a tight hamstring. It didn't sound serious. ~~~ Tweet of the series ESPN1500 writer and radio personality Phil Mackey had this little nugget of information after Tuesday's game: Holy crap. Derek Lowe threw 127 pitches today and 115 of them were sinkers. He threw the SAME pitch 115 times! — Phil Mackey (@PMac21) May 15, 2012Way to learn how to make adjustments, Twins.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Short series; short recap; short paragraphs. Men left on base. Leaving pitches up. Shin-Soo Choo. Homerun. Homerun. Homerun. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Groan. ~~~ Injury update After Tuesday's game, Justin Morneau was activated off the DL. He's been swinging in batting practice for the last couple of days. The Twins optioned Chris Parmelee to AAA, so that means Justin will be back at first base. Carl Pavano's shoulder is still bugging him, even though he seems committed to keep pitching through it. He's going to hang back in Minneapolis while the team travels to Detroit so he can do some more work with a soft-tissue specialist. He'll meet the team in Milwaukee before his next scheduled start. I admire his willingness to play through this. He's not really helping the team, but he's certainly not hurting it. And it's not like he's blocking anyone who could do a better job. Denard Span was held out of the lineup on Tuesday due to a tight hamstring. It didn't sound serious. ~~~ Tweet of the series ESPN1500 writer and radio personality Phil Mackey had this little nugget of information after Tuesday's game: Holy crap. Derek Lowe threw 127 pitches today and 115 of them were sinkers. He threw the SAME pitch 115 times! — Phil Mackey (@PMac21) May 15, 2012Way to learn how to make adjustments, Twins.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog After a truly awful, embarrassing effort by the Twins on Thursday, they got it together and acted like a big league team the rest of the series. A split of a four-game series against a pretty good team isn't bad, and Saturday's loss was at least somewhat respectable (if there is such a thing as a "respectable loss"). A few notes: Brian Dozier keeps flirting with me. I was happy for him for his first big league homer, and his defense makes me smile. Scott Diamond is flirting with me too. Another super-duper-quality start out of him. Speaking of Scott Diamond, there is one drawback to him pitching well: all the reporters use some kind of lame "Diamond/gem" play on words. Yeah, we get it. I've been pleased by Matt Capps performances lately. Speaking of Matt Capps: the lame name play on words trick applies to him too (Capps off the game, et. al.), but maybe not to the Diamond extent. PJ Walters didn't look too bad on Saturday. Too bad the Twins decided to be really good at leaving men on base that day. I don't have a problem with Willingham's defense lately. ~~~ Mother's Day weekend was very nice for me. I took my mom and a couple of friends to the Twins game on Saturday, and we had a unexpectedly great time. We were treated especially well, and we loved it despite the loss. Sunday was fun; I had the Twins game on the TV in the garage as I planted my flowers around the yard. My kids treated me like a queen. And the Twins won! I've got a good life, and I'm grateful for it. ~~~ Injury watch Justin Morneau hopes to begin swinging a bat again soon and try to return soon. Carl Pavano's velocity is noticeably lower this season. He had an MRI recently, apparently to see if there was an obvious cause. It's unclear if he's suffering any pain or discomfort. The MRI revealed some inflammation and a strain to the interior shoulder capsule (the front of the shoulder). He still plans to start on Monday, but I'm sure the long-relief guys have been put on alert. If things don't go well, he said he'll try a cortisone shot. Scott Diamond took a line drive off his shoulder area during Sunday's game, but he remained in the game and pitched well. He might feel it in the morning. Kyle Waldrop, who was placed on the DL (strained UCL) during Spring Training, has begun a rehab stint in Fort Myers. He'll need a few more starts before he's activated; the Twins will decide at that time where he'll report (I predict AAA at first).

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog After a truly awful, embarrassing effort by the Twins on Thursday, they got it together and acted like a big league team the rest of the series. A split of a four-game series against a pretty good team isn't bad, and Saturday's loss was at least somewhat respectable (if there is such a thing as a "respectable loss"). A few notes: Brian Dozier keeps flirting with me. I was happy for him for his first big league homer, and his defense makes me smile. Scott Diamond is flirting with me too. Another super-duper-quality start out of him. Speaking of Scott Diamond, there is one drawback to him pitching well: all the reporters use some kind of lame "Diamond/gem" play on words. Yeah, we get it. I've been pleased by Matt Capps performances lately. Speaking of Matt Capps: the lame name play on words trick applies to him too (Capps off the game, et. al.), but maybe not to the Diamond extent. PJ Walters didn't look too bad on Saturday. Too bad the Twins decided to be really good at leaving men on base that day. I don't have a problem with Willingham's defense lately. ~~~ Mother's Day weekend was very nice for me. I took my mom and a couple of friends to the Twins game on Saturday, and we had a unexpectedly great time. We were treated especially well, and we loved it despite the loss. Sunday was fun; I had the Twins game on the TV in the garage as I planted my flowers around the yard. My kids treated me like a queen. And the Twins won! I've got a good life, and I'm grateful for it. ~~~ Injury watch Justin Morneau hopes to begin swinging a bat again soon and try to return soon. Carl Pavano's velocity is noticeably lower this season. He had an MRI recently, apparently to see if there was an obvious cause. It's unclear if he's suffering any pain or discomfort. The MRI revealed some inflammation and a strain to the interior shoulder capsule (the front of the shoulder). He still plans to start on Monday, but I'm sure the long-relief guys have been put on alert. If things don't go well, he said he'll try a cortisone shot. Scott Diamond took a line drive off his shoulder area during Sunday's game, but he remained in the game and pitched well. He might feel it in the morning. Kyle Waldrop, who was placed on the DL (strained UCL) during Spring Training, has begun a rehab stint in Fort Myers. He'll need a few more starts before he's activated; the Twins will decide at that time where he'll report (I predict AAA at first).

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Turns out the only guy who can breathe some life into the Twins' anemic rotation is a rookie. In fact, Scott Diamond is so magical, he even breathed some life into the Twins' hitters too. Alas, his magic only lasted one night. Some notes on the series: I'm so happy that the Twins are done with the Angels, and more specifically Albert Pujols. I love Albert, I really do, and I'm happy that I can start rooting for him again, but, lord, I'm tired of all the broadcasters trying to break down his swing. I don't care why he's struggling; I can't do anything about it anyway. He's Albert Freaking Pujols -- he'll figure it out. And I'll be cheering him on. I think Scott Diamond wants me to love him. Also Jared Burton. I'm not sure yet, but I think Brian Dozier is trying to make a case to get me to love him, too. Also Anthony Swarzak. Apparently, all the boys think that growing creepy mustaches paves the the path to victory. So far I've noticed Ryan Doumit, Carl Pavano, Trevor Plouffe, and I think Willingham (it's hard to tell). Also, Jamey Carroll had a classic truck driver 'stache for one day. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v21KzwNzVG0/T6xki18ZnFI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/bpAk5AhfwYw/s320/jameycarrollstache.jpg I have my doubts that the ugly 'staches are actually effective. ~~~ Roster moves The Twins made a few roster changes after the Angels series. I'll try to explain; try to keep up. The Twins have optioned Danny Valencia to AAA Rochester. He hasn't been hitting well at all (he has 23 strikeouts to only one walk this season), and his defense could still use a little work. I'm sure he'll be back soon enough. They called up OF Darin Mastroianni to take his roster spot. The Twins have also designated LHP Matt Maloney for assignment. They purchased the contract of PJ Walters to replace him. They've also moved Francisco Liriano to the bullpen. Mastrioanni came to the Twins in February when the Twins claimed him off waivers from Toronto. In Rochester, he was batting .283/.341/.345. He's 26. Walters was signed in December to a minor-league contract. I honestly don't remember seeing him in spring training. He pitched .270 in AAA. He's 27. He'll start on Saturday. ~~~ Injury watch Denard Span missed a game during Angels series, a day after he ran into the outfield wall making a catch. Gardy said that he had planned to give him the day regardless. Span is fine and has been back to play. Josh Willingham also missed a game. It was originally reported as flu-like symptoms, but then it was amended to a skin thing near his lip. I don't think I want to know what it really was. He's fine and playing as well. Justin Morneau had another opinion on his wrist by a specialist in Cleveland. He offered the same diagnosis -- post surgical swelling and soreness. Justin got a cortisone shot. He hopes to be ready to play again next week.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Turns out the only guy who can breathe some life into the Twins' anemic rotation is a rookie. In fact, Scott Diamond is so magical, he even breathed some life into the Twins' hitters too. Alas, his magic only lasted one night. Some notes on the series: I'm so happy that the Twins are done with the Angels, and more specifically Albert Pujols. I love Albert, I really do, and I'm happy that I can start rooting for him again, but, lord, I'm tired of all the broadcasters trying to break down his swing. I don't care why he's struggling; I can't do anything about it anyway. He's Albert Freaking Pujols -- he'll figure it out. And I'll be cheering him on. I think Scott Diamond wants me to love him. Also Jared Burton. I'm not sure yet, but I think Brian Dozier is trying to make a case to get me to love him, too. Also Anthony Swarzak. Apparently, all the boys think that growing creepy mustaches paves the the path to victory. So far I've noticed Ryan Doumit, Carl Pavano, Trevor Plouffe, and I think Willingham (it's hard to tell). Also, Jamey Carroll had a classic truck driver 'stache for one day. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v21KzwNzVG0/T6xki18ZnFI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/bpAk5AhfwYw/s320/jameycarrollstache.jpg I have my doubts that the ugly 'staches are actually effective. ~~~ Roster moves The Twins made a few roster changes after the Angels series. I'll try to explain; try to keep up. The Twins have optioned Danny Valencia to AAA Rochester. He hasn't been hitting well at all (he has 23 strikeouts to only one walk this season), and his defense could still use a little work. I'm sure he'll be back soon enough. They called up OF Darin Mastroianni to take his roster spot. The Twins have also designated LHP Matt Maloney for assignment. They purchased the contract of PJ Walters to replace him. They've also moved Francisco Liriano to the bullpen. Mastrioanni came to the Twins in February when the Twins claimed him off waivers from Toronto. In Rochester, he was batting .283/.341/.345. He's 26. Walters was signed in December to a minor-league contract. I honestly don't remember seeing him in spring training. He pitched .270 in AAA. He's 27. He'll start on Saturday. ~~~ Injury watch Denard Span missed a game during Angels series, a day after he ran into the outfield wall making a catch. Gardy said that he had planned to give him the day regardless. Span is fine and has been back to play. Josh Willingham also missed a game. It was originally reported as flu-like symptoms, but then it was amended to a skin thing near his lip. I don't think I want to know what it really was. He's fine and playing as well. Justin Morneau had another opinion on his wrist by a specialist in Cleveland. He offered the same diagnosis -- post surgical swelling and soreness. Justin got a cortisone shot. He hopes to be ready to play again next week.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Remember back in late April when the Twins faced the Red Sox and Royals and lost like 6-7 and I said "if you score six runs, you ought to win the ballgame" (well, I didn't actually say it so you could hear it, but my husband heard it, so just work with me here)? I miss those days. The Twins have officially become "that" team. You know, the team that all other teams, even if they're bad teams, look forward to facing because they know they'll win the series. "That" team starts trading off all their good players. Yup...no one wants to be a fan of "that" team. Home stand coming up; let's hope that helps. ~~~ Injury Report http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MRRi2g0hcVw/T6cpZXg95GI/AAAAAAAAB38/xCSK5P4OEqs/s400/morneauwrist_12.PNG The Twins have placed Justin Morneau on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 1, with soreness in his surgically-repaired wrist. I'm about 90% certain that it's his left wrist, even though the Twins transaction report on their website, and several news outlets, say that it's the right wrist. He had surgery on his left wrist during the off season. I'm going with left wrist. Justin, if you're reading, can you verify? It's not such a huge problem to put Justin on the DL; everyone wants him to get healthy. We all get that surgery is a trauma to the body, and sometimes the body fights back during the healing process. We're all also hoping that it's just that -- healing -- and that it's not something that requires re-doing. Putting Justin on the DL was the right move. The wrong move, however, was waiting until Sunday to make the move. The whole point of the DL is the ability to call up another man to replace the injured player. It's entire reason for being is to make sure teams aren't short-handed when someone gets hurt. So, every day the Twins waited to put Justin on the DL was a day they were short-handed. And with a 13-man pitching staff, their bench was already thin. It's never a good day when the entire available bench is comprised of Drew Butera. This isn't the first time that the Twins have gotten burnt by waiting. It happened several times last year. It may have been a little forgivable last year, because the Rochester team had been so ravaged by the number of DL stints by the big league club, there was no one left to call up at times. That is not the case right now. Here's a tip for the Twins: if you deem it necessary to fly a player back to Minnesota to have a specialist evaluate what hurts, it's probably necessary to put him on the DL. That day. ~~~ Roster Moves: The Twins claimed OF Erik Komatsu off waivers from the Cardinals. St. Louis acquired Komatsu as a Rule 5-draftee from the Nationals. Rule 5 rules still apply: he must remain on the big league club for the rest of the season. If the Twins want to send him down, he must go through waivers, and if he clears them, a trade must be made with the Nationals in order to keep him. The Twins designated OF Clete Thomas for assignment to make room for Komatsu. Thomas has cleared waivers and will report to AAA Rochester. The Twins have purchased the contract of INF Brian Dozier to replace Justin Morneau on the 25-man roster. Dozier's line is .276 BA / .339 OBP / .371 SLG in AAA Rochester this season. The Twins have optioned RHP Liam Hendriks to AAA Rochester and have called up LHP Scott Diamond. Diamond's stats in Rochester are: 2.60 ERA, 1.212 WHIP, and 3.71 K/BB ratio. Sean Burroughs has cleared waivers and has accepted the assignment to AAA Rochester.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Remember back in late April when the Twins faced the Red Sox and Royals and lost like 6-7 and I said "if you score six runs, you ought to win the ballgame" (well, I didn't actually say it so you could hear it, but my husband heard it, so just work with me here)? I miss those days. The Twins have officially become "that" team. You know, the team that all other teams, even if they're bad teams, look forward to facing because they know they'll win the series. "That" team starts trading off all their good players. Yup...no one wants to be a fan of "that" team. Home stand coming up; let's hope that helps. ~~~ Injury Report http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MRRi2g0hcVw/T6cpZXg95GI/AAAAAAAAB38/xCSK5P4OEqs/s400/morneauwrist_12.PNG The Twins have placed Justin Morneau on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 1, with soreness in his surgically-repaired wrist. I'm about 90% certain that it's his left wrist, even though the Twins transaction report on their website, and several news outlets, say that it's the right wrist. He had surgery on his left wrist during the off season. I'm going with left wrist. Justin, if you're reading, can you verify? It's not such a huge problem to put Justin on the DL; everyone wants him to get healthy. We all get that surgery is a trauma to the body, and sometimes the body fights back during the healing process. We're all also hoping that it's just that -- healing -- and that it's not something that requires re-doing. Putting Justin on the DL was the right move. The wrong move, however, was waiting until Sunday to make the move. The whole point of the DL is the ability to call up another man to replace the injured player. It's entire reason for being is to make sure teams aren't short-handed when someone gets hurt. So, every day the Twins waited to put Justin on the DL was a day they were short-handed. And with a 13-man pitching staff, their bench was already thin. It's never a good day when the entire available bench is comprised of Drew Butera. This isn't the first time that the Twins have gotten burnt by waiting. It happened several times last year. It may have been a little forgivable last year, because the Rochester team had been so ravaged by the number of DL stints by the big league club, there was no one left to call up at times. That is not the case right now. Here's a tip for the Twins: if you deem it necessary to fly a player back to Minnesota to have a specialist evaluate what hurts, it's probably necessary to put him on the DL. That day. ~~~ Roster Moves: The Twins claimed OF Erik Komatsu off waivers from the Cardinals. St. Louis acquired Komatsu as a Rule 5-draftee from the Nationals. Rule 5 rules still apply: he must remain on the big league club for the rest of the season. If the Twins want to send him down, he must go through waivers, and if he clears them, a trade must be made with the Nationals in order to keep him. The Twins designated OF Clete Thomas for assignment to make room for Komatsu. Thomas has cleared waivers and will report to AAA Rochester. The Twins have purchased the contract of INF Brian Dozier to replace Justin Morneau on the 25-man roster. Dozier's line is .276 BA / .339 OBP / .371 SLG in AAA Rochester this season. The Twins have optioned RHP Liam Hendriks to AAA Rochester and have called up LHP Scott Diamond. Diamond's stats in Rochester are: 2.60 ERA, 1.212 WHIP, and 3.71 K/BB ratio. Sean Burroughs has cleared waivers and has accepted the assignment to AAA Rochester.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Oy. That was a punch in the gut. Followed closely by a knockout punch to the jaw. There's no need to go into detail about how awful that was. Not only has the starting pitching failed to improve to a satisfactory level, but now the offense has taken a break from acceptability. Let's hope that a day off in beautiful Seattle helps matters. Although we all said that for the last off day... Just keep fighting. A few notes: I don't think Clete Thomas wants us to love him anymore. At least hes' not acting like it. Guys who want us to love them don't strike out 15 times in 28 at-bats. If anyone needs some time away, it's Gardy. He'll get to miss the Seattle series to attend his daughter's college graduation. Maybe hanging out with his family and forget about baseball for awhile will add a new spring to his step. I think I know why Albert Pujols didn't hit any homeruns during the Twins' visit -- it's kind of hard to swing a bat with Roy Smalley's lips firmly placed on his butt. Ok, I exaggerate, but Roy really, really needs to use fewer words. And he really, really needs to stop saying "really, really." I never thought I'd say so, but I'm really, really looking forward to Bert coming back. ~~~ It's been well-documented that I love excellent pitching. Few things in life exhilarate me more than a well-spun no-hitter, or even a beautiful shut-out, except when my team is on the received end. Normally, when an historic pitching happens, I'll buy that man a beer. But not for Jered Weaver; not today. I'm just too sad. In fact, there may have been tears flowing in my house right after Torii caught Casilla's fly ball for the final out on Wednesday. Real tears. (In my defense, three day's worth of frustrating west-coast games leads to sleep deprivation, and sleep deprivation usually leads to over-the-top emotions.) Clearly, I'm not the only one who's upset. I didn't stay up late enough to see Gardy's post-game interview, but all the reporters say that he was raging. Who can blame him? It's his job to get these guys to play well enough to win, and, for whatever reason, they're just not doing it. A lot of fans believe that perhaps Gardy should be fired in the face of this debacle. I don't agree with that sentiment, mainly because I don't see how it would help. Who would they get to replace him? The problems feel deeper than just the manager. This is a team comprised mostly of replacement-level players, but even so, they need to own their work ethic. The team needs a shake up, but I don't think firing the manager is the ticket. Especially with no clear successor in mind. Unfortunately, however, is that this is beginning to look like another "great sucking period" -- like the '90s. And there's not much anyone can do about it in the immediate future. Thus, we're all very rage-y. Or sad. So, no, Jered Weaver, you'll not be getting a beer from me, even though you deserve one. Sorry. Perhaps a nice Phillies or Cardinals fan out there would be willing to do so in my place. ~~~ Injury watch Justin Morneau left Monday's game early due to soreness in his surgically-repaired wrist. He flew back to Minneapolis to have it checked out. Fortunately, it sounds like it's just some fluid build up and swelling. He's still day-to-day. Danny Valencia sat out on Wednesday with tightness in his back. He should be fine. Joe Mauer's leg is still pretty sore from taking a foul ball off it during last series. He's been limited to DH or first base duties for a few days. ~~~ Roster moves With Joe Mauer unable to catch for a few days, the Twins really needed a third catcher for a while. Drew Butera has been recalled to the Twins. Infielder Sean Burroughs has been designated for assignment to make room for him.

Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Oy. That was a punch in the gut. Followed closely by a knockout punch to the jaw. There's no need to go into detail about how awful that was. Not only has the starting pitching failed to improve to a satisfactory level, but now the offense has taken a break from acceptability. Let's hope that a day off in beautiful Seattle helps matters. Although we all said that for the last off day... Just keep fighting. A few notes: I don't think Clete Thomas wants us to love him anymore. At least hes' not acting like it. Guys who want us to love them don't strike out 15 times in 28 at-bats. If anyone needs some time away, it's Gardy. He'll get to miss the Seattle series to attend his daughter's college graduation. Maybe hanging out with his family and forget about baseball for awhile will add a new spring to his step. I think I know why Albert Pujols didn't hit any homeruns during the Twins' visit -- it's kind of hard to swing a bat with Roy Smalley's lips firmly placed on his butt. Ok, I exaggerate, but Roy really, really needs to use fewer words. And he really, really needs to stop saying "really, really." I never thought I'd say so, but I'm really, really looking forward to Bert coming back. ~~~ It's been well-documented that I love excellent pitching. Few things in life exhilarate me more than a well-spun no-hitter, or even a beautiful shut-out, except when my team is on the received end. Normally, when an historic pitching happens, I'll buy that man a beer. But not for Jered Weaver; not today. I'm just too sad. In fact, there may have been tears flowing in my house right after Torii caught Casilla's fly ball for the final out on Wednesday. Real tears. (In my defense, three day's worth of frustrating west-coast games leads to sleep deprivation, and sleep deprivation usually leads to over-the-top emotions.) Clearly, I'm not the only one who's upset. I didn't stay up late enough to see Gardy's post-game interview, but all the reporters say that he was raging. Who can blame him? It's his job to get these guys to play well enough to win, and, for whatever reason, they're just not doing it. A lot of fans believe that perhaps Gardy should be fired in the face of this debacle. I don't agree with that sentiment, mainly because I don't see how it would help. Who would they get to replace him? The problems feel deeper than just the manager. This is a team comprised mostly of replacement-level players, but even so, they need to own their work ethic. The team needs a shake up, but I don't think firing the manager is the ticket. Especially with no clear successor in mind. Unfortunately, however, is that this is beginning to look like another "great sucking period" -- like the '90s. And there's not much anyone can do about it in the immediate future. Thus, we're all very rage-y. Or sad. So, no, Jered Weaver, you'll not be getting a beer from me, even though you deserve one. Sorry. Perhaps a nice Phillies or Cardinals fan out there would be willing to do so in my place. ~~~ Injury watch Justin Morneau left Monday's game early due to soreness in his surgically-repaired wrist. He flew back to Minneapolis to have it checked out. Fortunately, it sounds like it's just some fluid build up and swelling. He's still day-to-day. Danny Valencia sat out on Wednesday with tightness in his back. He should be fine. Joe Mauer's leg is still pretty sore from taking a foul ball off it during last series. He's been limited to DH or first base duties for a few days. ~~~ Roster moves With Joe Mauer unable to catch for a few days, the Twins really needed a third catcher for a while. Drew Butera has been recalled to the Twins. Infielder Sean Burroughs has been designated for assignment to make room for him.