Roll call

FORT TRAFFICJAMBURG, Fla. -- Everyone who matters is in camp now.

Ramon Ortiz arrived here this afternoon. GM Terry Ryan was heading down the stairs mid-afternoon to the clubhouse to welcome the Twins' new pitcher. Luis Castillo reported today, too. First full-squad workout is tomorrow morning. Gardy delivers his annual this-is-what-it-means-to-be-a-Twin speech at around 8:45 a.m. EST, with the workout starting soon thereafter.

Let the grind begin!

Emptying the notepad:

• Joe Mauer received two CDs in the mail today: Justin Timberlake and Nick Lachey. The former was autographed by I'm Bringing Sexy Back boy himself. Mauer said Timberlake promised he’d send the Twins catcher an autograph when they met at JT’s Xcel Energy Center concert last month. “Joe, you’re better than that,” I joked with him. He replied: “I was skeptical at first, too, but he’s talented.” Sure.

• Major League Baseball is asking players and base coaches not to toss balls into the stands this year. Instead, MLB is requesting players and coaches hand balls to fans.

• Gardy and Terry think highly of Rule 5 pick Alejandro Machado. He’s only got 10 big-league games under his belt, all with Boston in ’05. But he’s only 24. If this kid works out, Gardy might not have to pull out what’s left of his hair after being frustrated with his bench limitations last year. Machado can play shortstop, third, second, left and right. Plus, he’s a switch-hitter with speed. The Twins seem bent on adding depth at shortstop. Bartlett started 99 straight games after his mid-June call up, and the Twins want to keep him from wearing down over what they hope will be his first full season in the majors.

• The Twins’ spring training home, Hammond Stadium, is seemingly an even nicer place after some offseason upgrades. But some of the improvements might actually be hazards. Gone are the tall, chain-link fences down the lines near the bullpens. Now there are padded, waist-high fences, and there could be some legitimate injury concerns when a player pursues a foul ball. “Padded or not padded, I think we’re going to see some guys go over those fences,” Gardy said. “It’s scary.”

• Backup catcher Mike Redmond said he can tell many of his teammates still are stung by last year’s playoff flop and feel they have unfinished business: “I think that hurt a lot of guys. You can’t take the playoffs for granted, and last year we let it slip away. I think guys will use that as motivation. There are a lot of guys in this room who know now that there’s another level to get to.”

• Morneau has been wearing a sleeveless, gold Everlast T-shirt underneath his batting-practice uniform this week. An avid weightlifter, MVP said Everlast mailed him some apparel. Morneau said the Bertuzzi T-shirt will return once games start.

• Check out some roster projecting on one of the top Twins fan blogs: http://twinsfanatnicks.blogspot.com/

Wee hours roster projecting

FORT TRAFFICJAMBURG, Fla. -- It's early, but we're sitting here at Pressbox Central wondering whether the Twins will keep 12 pitchers or the extra bench player.

Projection: extra bench player. Reading between the lines of what Gardy said the other day, he'd prefer to have 11 pitchers after carrying the extra arm for most of last season. He was often frustrated with his bench limitations. Then again, the Twins had to carry the extra pitcher because of the eroding situation with the rotation, and those uncertainties could be prevalent again.

Nonetheless, how's this for an Opening Day roster?

LINEUP: 2b Castillo, 3b Punto, C Mauer, RF Cuddyer, 1B Morneau, CF Hunter, LF White, DH Kubel, SS Bartlett

STARTING ROTATON: Santana, Silva, Ponson, Ortiz, Bonser

BULLPEN: Nathan, Rincon, Crain, Reyes, Neshek, Guerrier

BENCH: C Redmond, IF Cirillo, OF Ford, IF Machado or Rodriguez, OF Tyner

If the Twins have to go with the extra pitcher, I'd say Durbin if he's healthy. That probably would make Tyner the odd man out. But I would not be surprised by a preseason trade. Maybe Lew Ford for a backup middle infielder?

Something to prove

FORT TRAFFICJAMBURG, Fla. -- Justin Morneau isn't satisfied after the MVP season.

“If anything, I’d say I probably worked a little harder this offseason," Morneau said. "I’ve got something to prove this year. Some people (fans) didn’t believe it was right. People are sitting there waiting to say last year was a fluke. I’m going to go out and prove them wrong again.”

Morneau seems hungry. He was one of the earliest non-Fort Misery resident position players to show up at camp. A big weightlifting guy, Morneau said he worked harder on core training. Like last spring, he's been out working one-on-one with hitting coach Joe Vavra in the cages at 7:30 every morning.

Gardy on Torii

FORT TRAFFICJAMBURG, Fla. -- The reality of Torii Hunter's contract status is starting to set in with manager Ron Gardenhire. Torii's contract is set to expire at the end of this season, and it's highly unlikely the Twins will be able to re-sign him.

“I don’t want to think about it, and I’m not going to think about it," Gardy said. "I’m just going to enjoy the moment and hope that everything gets taken care of. I’m not oblivious to it. I know it’s out there and what’s going on. Everyone here knows what Torii means to myself, to this organization and what he’s all about. I don’t think we even need to talk about that anymore.”

Afternoon news notes

Cleaning out my notebook from Day 2 here in Fort Trafficjamburg/Misery, Fla.

• Veteran pitcher Ramon Ortiz missed his second day of camp because of visa issues in the Dominican Republic. GM Terry Ryan said Ortiz should arrive in camp Thursday or Friday.

• One-time hot pitching prospect J.D. Durbin will be given the opportunity to win the long relief job vacated when the Twins non-tendered Willie Eyre this winter. Durbin, 24, is out of contract options and still is having a nerve problem in his right biceps, an injury he incurred in the minors last year. He said he still has tingling in his forearm, but the Twins hope he will be ready to throw off a mound by the weekend.

• Gardy has been impressed with Sidney Ponson through the first two workouts. Ponson’s locker is close to the stalls of Santana and Silva, and Gardy is pleased that Ponson has formed a bond with the veteran pitchers.“We like the way he is working,” Gardy said of Ponson. “He fits in nicely here. He’s got a good smile on his face. That’s fun to see. He’s doing it the right way.”

• After 13 consecutive offseasons, reliever Dennys Reyes didn't pitch in winter ball in order to rest after being the only lefty in the bullpen most of last season and facing that same possibility in 2007.

• Reyes has been with nine teams in his big-league career. He paid a nice compliment to Twins fans today: “The fans in Minnesota are crazy about baseball. Best fans of anywhere I’ve played. And if you do bad, they don’t boo you like they do everywhere else. It makes you want to do good for them.”

• Apparently, some people in the front office “misread” one of my recent stories and went to Terry and told him I called him a “failure” for only locking up one of the three players in the middle of the batting order (Mauer, Cuddyer, Morneau) to multiyear contracts this winter. That's just not true. I went back and checked the story. I have the utmost respect for Terry. He is honest, trustworthy and a man of integrity, and I know Twins fans appreciate what he’s done for the organization and community.

• With Torii's arrival in camp today, the only key position players still not here are Luis Castillo and Jeff Cirillo.

• Earlier this month, Gardy had a street named after him in his hometown, Okmulgee, Okla. "Gardenhire Lane" was dedicated during a ceremony. Gardy showed the writers pictures of the ceremony today. He said the street is about a half-mile long and it leads up to the ballfield at the local high school. “There it is, right across from the Super Wal-Mart. Eventually, they’ll name the ballpark after me. But you have to die first.”

Torii arrives, talks about his future

FORT TRAFFICJAMBURG, Fla. -- It’s become an annual rite of spring that when Torii Hunter arrives, the scribes bombard him with questions about his future with the Twins. Well, Torii arrived and I fired away.

He’s realistic about the fact that this probably will be his last season in Minnesota. I thought it was interesting that he said the Twins’ focus should be on locking up Morneau and Cuddyer to multiyear deals and extending Santana’s contract. Torii said his agent and Terry Ryan have not discussed a contract extension.

Torii said he’s getting tired of talking about his contract situation with the media, because he doesn’t want to be a distraction to the team and he doesn’t want fans to view him as the spoiled, money-grubbing athlete. Torii shouldn’t worry about that. Fans and media know he’s a man of integrity and unselfish.

Twins fans should savor their Torii memories and enjoy watching him this year. With all the other big contracts looming, I just don’t see any way Torii is a Twin after this season.

By the way, Torii gave me a possible new name for the dateline. He calls this place "Fort Misery." He started coming here in the early '90s, and he says the traffic gets worse every year. Honestly, I think I'd trade this traffic for February Minnesota weather. Well, OK, maybe not.

Weighing on the mind

FORT TRAFFICJAMBURG, Fla. -- Everyone is concerned about Sidney Ponson’s weight. It’s become a phenomenon! I haven’t seen anything like it since Tony Batista. I checked with the training staff and was told Ponson hasn’t weighed in yet. Meanwhile, the skipper could care less how much Ponson weighs. “He’s a big guy,” Gardy said. “I really, honestly don’t worry about that with him. He looks fine.”

• Heck, Ponson fits right in anyway. The Twins could have the, ahem, beefiest starting rotation in the majors with Ponson, Boof Bonser and Carlos Silva. “All I know is when I got in the clubhouse late today, there was still food left,” Gardy said. “No one’s killed the spread, so I think we’re doing fine with all of our weight in this clubhouse. I really, really don’t consume myself with guys’ weights. If they can move, they can move. If they can’t move, then obviously you make some adjustments.” Besides, there are several hefty pitchers who have had success. David Wells and Bartolo Colon come to mind. On the other hand, there's always Runelvys Hernandez.

• Media favorite Rondell White reported today. He made it a point to tell me he’s a new man. I’m willing to bet all of my possessions and yours that Dell will hit his first homer before July 16 (barring injury, of course). That was the date of his first homer last season. In fact, I’m willing to bet your possessions that Dell hits at least seven homers by July 16. That was his total for 2006.

• Joe Nathan has taken over Brad Radke’s old corner locker at Hammond Stadium.

• Gardy on blogging: “I know what a blog is. No, I don’t have a blog. I feel blog when I get up in the morning a lot, but I don’t have a blog.” Just thought I'd ask, 'cause the skip's always got his laptop in tow.

• Have I mentioned how brutal the traffic is here? There is a certain giant franchise coffee chain store two miles from the training complex. Nonetheless, it’s a 40-minute venture just to get a cup of coffee. Ridiculous.

• I was having fun on the Web today and decided to type in www.toriihunter.com. You’d be surprised what comes up. (And, no, it’s nothing distasteful.)