Just as predicted, Torii Hunter is back in the lineup today after taking a bit of a break on Sunday (he did have to pinch hit).
Not much else is new here at the Metrodome, seems the Twins are anxious to see if they can restart what they had going against Oakland in this three-game series against the Tigers -- certainly one of the biggest series of the year so far.
Lineups ...
Minnesota
Luis Castillo 2B
Jason Bartlett SS
Joe Mauer C
Michael Cuddyer RF
Justin Morneau 1B
Torii Hunter CF
Jeff Cirillo DH
Jason Tyner LF
Nick Punto 3B
Matt Garza P
Detroit
Curtis Granderson CF
Placido Polanco 2B
Gary Sheffield DH
Magglio Ordonez RF
Carlos Guillen SS
Ivan Rodriguez C
Sean Casey 1B
Marcus Thames LF
Brandon Inge 3B
Nate Robertson P
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Twins recall Garrett Jones
The Twins recalled Class AAA Rochester first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones because of Rondell White's latest setback. The team had hoped White would be ready after the All-Star break, but recent soreness in the outfielder's troublesome calf has extended his recovery time.
Jones was batting .295 with 29 doubles, 11 home runs and 58 RBIs for the Red Wings. In four appearances with the Twins earlier in the season, Jones went 1 for 8.
Jones was batting .295 with 29 doubles, 11 home runs and 58 RBIs for the Red Wings. In four appearances with the Twins earlier in the season, Jones went 1 for 8.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Sunny on the South Side
The weather is pretty perfect right now at U.S. Cellular, though the sun might get a little hot by this afternoon. There is a bit of a breeze, though, and the humidity is low. That might help the Twins get through today's doubleheader without getting too fatigued.
Manager Ron Gardenhire, despite general manager Terry Ryan's contrary belief, said he remains optimistic that Rondell White will return after the All-Star break. White (I know, I know, you all are sick of hearing about this) went 2 for 4 and played left field for 7 innings yesterday for the GCL Twins.
The skipper said the decision to start Baker in the first game today came in part because Baker has proven lately that he's capable of pitching deep into games. That, Gardenhire hopes, will save his bullpen from being depleted this afternoon with another game to go tonight.
If the Twins have to go to the pen early this afternoon, Gardenhire joked they might have to "fly in a reliever from the closest city on a leer jet" to get here in time for game 2.
Game 1 lineups ...
Minnesota
Luis Castillo 2B
Jason Bartlett SS
Joe Mauer C
Michael Cuddyer RF
Justin Morneau 1B
Torii Hunter CF
Jason Kubel LF
Jason Tyner DH
Nick Punto 3B
Scott Baker P
Chicago
Jerry Owens CF
Juan Uribe SS
Jim Thome DH
Paul Konerko 1B
Jermaine Dye RF
Rob Mackowiak LF
Josh Fields 3B
Alex Cintron 2B
Toby Hall C
Jon Garland P
Manager Ron Gardenhire, despite general manager Terry Ryan's contrary belief, said he remains optimistic that Rondell White will return after the All-Star break. White (I know, I know, you all are sick of hearing about this) went 2 for 4 and played left field for 7 innings yesterday for the GCL Twins.
The skipper said the decision to start Baker in the first game today came in part because Baker has proven lately that he's capable of pitching deep into games. That, Gardenhire hopes, will save his bullpen from being depleted this afternoon with another game to go tonight.
If the Twins have to go to the pen early this afternoon, Gardenhire joked they might have to "fly in a reliever from the closest city on a leer jet" to get here in time for game 2.
Game 1 lineups ...
Minnesota
Luis Castillo 2B
Jason Bartlett SS
Joe Mauer C
Michael Cuddyer RF
Justin Morneau 1B
Torii Hunter CF
Jason Kubel LF
Jason Tyner DH
Nick Punto 3B
Scott Baker P
Chicago
Jerry Owens CF
Juan Uribe SS
Jim Thome DH
Paul Konerko 1B
Jermaine Dye RF
Rob Mackowiak LF
Josh Fields 3B
Alex Cintron 2B
Toby Hall C
Jon Garland P
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Garza recalled, will pitch in 'pen
The Twins called up RHP Matt Garza from Class AAA Rochester. Garza will start one of the team's double headers next Friday in Chicago but otherwise will pitch from the bullpen.
To make room on the roster Minnesota sent catcher Chris Heintz back to Rochester.
To make room on the roster Minnesota sent catcher Chris Heintz back to Rochester.
Morneau in the lineup
Justin Morneau took batting practice on the field before today's game and decided he's ready to go. He's in the fifth slot as the designated hitter.
Morneau said his chest muscles are still sore, but not enough for it to bother him. Doctors told him his injury can't get any worse by DHing. Ron Gardenhire said Morneau will likely DH all of the Detroit series.
Luis Castillo came to the park feeling a little sore, normal for the second baseman on a day game after a night game, so he's out of the lineup today.
With that ...
Minnesota
Jason Tyner RF
Jason Bartlett SS
Joe Mauer C
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Justin Morneau DH
Torii Hunter 8
Jason Kubel LF
Luis Rodriguez 3B
Nick Punto 2B
Carlos Silva P
Blue Jays
Alex Rios RF
Howie Clark 3B
Vernon Wells CF
Matt Stairs 1B
Frank Thomas DH
Aaron Hill 2B
Adam Lind LF
Jason Phillips C
John McDonald SS
A.J. Burnett P
Morneau said his chest muscles are still sore, but not enough for it to bother him. Doctors told him his injury can't get any worse by DHing. Ron Gardenhire said Morneau will likely DH all of the Detroit series.
Luis Castillo came to the park feeling a little sore, normal for the second baseman on a day game after a night game, so he's out of the lineup today.
With that ...
Minnesota
Jason Tyner RF
Jason Bartlett SS
Joe Mauer C
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Justin Morneau DH
Torii Hunter 8
Jason Kubel LF
Luis Rodriguez 3B
Nick Punto 2B
Carlos Silva P
Blue Jays
Alex Rios RF
Howie Clark 3B
Vernon Wells CF
Matt Stairs 1B
Frank Thomas DH
Aaron Hill 2B
Adam Lind LF
Jason Phillips C
John McDonald SS
A.J. Burnett P
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Nathan Keeps Going
Several stories have been written about how Johan Santana’s record doesn’t reflect how he’s pitched this year, but the same could certainly be said for Joe Nathan. Like Santana, a simple examination of one statistic -- wins for the starter, saves for Nathan -- could lead you to believe he’s having an off year. Nathan has only 14 saves so far this year, ranking him an amazing 14th in the majors, with barely half of Coco Cordero’s 27 saves for Milwaukee.
It seems like a down year for a guy who has averaged 41 over the past three years -- and yes, his ERA of 2.43 is higher than last year’s incredible 1.58 -- but it’s all a matter of circumstance.
The Twins just haven’t had many save situations for Nathan this year, but he feels he has made adjustments to his game that make him just as effective.
His 33-pitch effort Tuesday night, by the way, won’t keep him out of tonight’s game, if the situation arises.
Tonight’s lineups:
BLUE JAYS
Wells cf
Rios rf
Stairs 1b
Glaus 3b
Thomas dh
Zaun c
Lind lf
Clark 2b
Clayton ss
Towers p
TWINS
Castillo 2b
Bartlett ss
Mauer dh
Cuddyer 1b
Hunter cf
Kubel lf
Redman c
Ford rf
Punto 3b
Bonser p
It seems like a down year for a guy who has averaged 41 over the past three years -- and yes, his ERA of 2.43 is higher than last year’s incredible 1.58 -- but it’s all a matter of circumstance.
The Twins just haven’t had many save situations for Nathan this year, but he feels he has made adjustments to his game that make him just as effective.
His 33-pitch effort Tuesday night, by the way, won’t keep him out of tonight’s game, if the situation arises.
Tonight’s lineups:
BLUE JAYS
Wells cf
Rios rf
Stairs 1b
Glaus 3b
Thomas dh
Zaun c
Lind lf
Clark 2b
Clayton ss
Towers p
TWINS
Castillo 2b
Bartlett ss
Mauer dh
Cuddyer 1b
Hunter cf
Kubel lf
Redman c
Ford rf
Punto 3b
Bonser p
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Transcript from Morneau interview
Justin Morneau met with reporters before the game tonight. The transcription is below. Enjoy.
How are you feeling?
“I’m feeling better. We’ve got to talk to the doctors at six o’clock. On the scan this morning there was still something there, but they said it showed improvement, so it’s getting better. We just have to figure out how we’re going to go after it. Pretty simple.”
When would you like to return?
“As soon as possible, but I don’t want to put a date on it. It should be, who knows, hopefully in the next couple days, but you don’t want to push it too much and then have something come back and all of the sudden I’m out for two or three weeks. You may as well take the extra day or two to make sure everything’s better and then we’ll be ready to go the rest of the way.”
Do you feel like you’ll be ready to come back this homestand?
“I don’t know. It’s hard to say. Who knows. We’ve got to see how it goes, and then I’ve got to run around a little bit and see how it goes, see it makes anything worse or anything like that, and then we’ll go from there. Right now we’re just going to wait to talk to the doctors when they come in at 6, and then see what our plan is.”
You said the test showed there is still something there, what does that mean?
“Just the bruise, the contusion on the lung is still (there). You could still see it on the CT scan I had this morning. They said it’s still there, but they said it showed improvement like it’s supposed to, and it looked good.”
Is that something that’s supposed to clear up before they clear you?
“I don’t know. I guess we’re going to find out when they come in. That’s all I heard from the doctors so far. When they come in they said we’re going to get together with the trainers and figure out what our plan is and go from there.”
How scary was this for you?
“It was pretty scary, especially after. After it happened I thought I just got the wind knocked out of me, and then you know I get up and get back to the dugout and all of the sudden I start coughing and then I’m coughing spitting and there’s blood. Anytime that happens that’s real scary. I wasn’t too sore and then once we got back in the clubhouse I started to get real sore. I started to get a little bit worried, and that probably didn’t help anything. We get over to the hospital, they take the scan and everything looked to be all right. It was kind of a lot of waiting around just to get the tests done, just to make sure everything was OK. It was a little frustrating, but I managed to find the game on TV. The game Sunday wasn’t on TV. I had to watch that little pitch-by-pitch thing on the computer. That was a long day, but it was good.”
Are you in any kind of pain?
“Right now, yeah a little bit but not too much, not anything I’m on any crazy painkillers for or anything like that. It’s tough because you walk around, you feel all right, but swinging or if I had to dive for a ball, or something, who knows what would happen there. That’s where it would get a little dicey. It’s a reaction in the game. If you’re going to dive, you’re going to dive, and you don’t want to re-injure yourself or anything like that, so I think that’s what we’re kind of waiting for.”
Did you see the replay? What did you think?
“It was a little embarrassing. You run the catcher, the catcher is supposed to fall over not you. I got a few messages for that one. (Corey) Koskie asked me if I wanted to come over, he could teach me how to run the catcher. He said he could set his kids up. He said we’d start with the youngest one who’s one and a half or whatever, so I told him that was real good. The (Wild winger Mark) Parrish asked me if (former Wild defenseman) Willie Mitchell taught me how to hit. They love that stuff. That was after I got out of the hospital. They waited a couple days before they started to get one me. It was one of those things, just kind of a reaction play, kind of got me just in the wrong spot. It’s just part of the game. (Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo) made sure I was all right.”
What’s the most physical activity you’ve done in the last few days?
“I just walked on a treadmill for 10 minutes. That was pretty strenuous. No, it was fine. They said they just want to wait and see what our plan is before I do anything. You don’t want to take a step back and do anything backwards.”
Is it strange to see someone else playing first?
“I remember the last time Cuddy played first was the last time I took a day off over there. It was June, I think it was June 7. I didn’t ever want to see that again. Well, not against Cuddy, but just because I want to play everyday. You never want to miss a game, and how good Cuddy is in right field, but Cuddy can handle it. He’s played everywhere, and we’re doing what we can to fill all the holes right now with a lot of guys banged up. Hopefully I can get back sooner than later and help us win.”
People find out how tough first base can be?
“It’s a little different. Guys that play third, they say it’s easy to move over there, but if you don’t go for that ball, you still have to get to the bag and cover the bag. It takes a little while. You just have to get used to it. It’s not as hard as I make it look sometimes. It’s something you have to learn. It’s a different feel, but those guys, Cirillo’s been in the league forever, so he knows how to play, and Cuddy’s been over there a bit, so you have faith in those guys.”
This couldn’t have happened at a worse time, could it have?
“Yeah, definitely. We have 11 games in 10 days or whatever it is. We’ve got four in New York, which will be tough, and Chicago and Detroit, which are tough places to play. We always have good games against them. You want to be there, but at the same time you want to be smart. There’s a fine line between toughness and stupidity. You want to be out there, you want to be tough, but at the same you don’t want to do anything to hurt yourself.”
Was this a freak accident? If you’re in the same position again, will you hesitate a little bit coming down the third baseline?
“It’s just kind of a reaction play. When you’re going in, you know rounding third, you know if the play is going to be close, if you’re going to have to run the catcher. You kind of read the catcher, and if you think he’s going to get the ball before you get there and it’s a close game, tight situation, you try to knock the ball lose, that’s what you try to do. It’s hard to stop yourself from doing that reaction … Right now I don’t think I’d feel comfortable if I had to go run the catcher tonight, but it’s something that will hopefully clear up and we’ll be good in a couple days.”
When you said you’re in pain, what type of pain? Where?
“Just my chest. Just if I move around quick or do anything like that. Kind of soreness, nothing too bad.”
Is breathing tough?
“I haven’t really gotten my heart rate up too much, but first it was if I took any kind of breath it was sore, and then after they’d come in and check your lungs, they’d tell you to take a deep breath and that would hurt. Now it’s starting to clear up a little bit. That kind of pain with breathing is mostly gone.”
What are the doctors main concerns?
“Just not doing anything to make it worse. You don’t want to take a step back. You don’t want it to start bleeding in there or anything like that … Anytime you have fluid in your lungs it can turn into pneumonia or things like that. We haven’t really discussed that, so I’m not too worried about that. You just want it to clear up, go away.”
How are you feeling?
“I’m feeling better. We’ve got to talk to the doctors at six o’clock. On the scan this morning there was still something there, but they said it showed improvement, so it’s getting better. We just have to figure out how we’re going to go after it. Pretty simple.”
When would you like to return?
“As soon as possible, but I don’t want to put a date on it. It should be, who knows, hopefully in the next couple days, but you don’t want to push it too much and then have something come back and all of the sudden I’m out for two or three weeks. You may as well take the extra day or two to make sure everything’s better and then we’ll be ready to go the rest of the way.”
Do you feel like you’ll be ready to come back this homestand?
“I don’t know. It’s hard to say. Who knows. We’ve got to see how it goes, and then I’ve got to run around a little bit and see how it goes, see it makes anything worse or anything like that, and then we’ll go from there. Right now we’re just going to wait to talk to the doctors when they come in at 6, and then see what our plan is.”
You said the test showed there is still something there, what does that mean?
“Just the bruise, the contusion on the lung is still (there). You could still see it on the CT scan I had this morning. They said it’s still there, but they said it showed improvement like it’s supposed to, and it looked good.”
Is that something that’s supposed to clear up before they clear you?
“I don’t know. I guess we’re going to find out when they come in. That’s all I heard from the doctors so far. When they come in they said we’re going to get together with the trainers and figure out what our plan is and go from there.”
How scary was this for you?
“It was pretty scary, especially after. After it happened I thought I just got the wind knocked out of me, and then you know I get up and get back to the dugout and all of the sudden I start coughing and then I’m coughing spitting and there’s blood. Anytime that happens that’s real scary. I wasn’t too sore and then once we got back in the clubhouse I started to get real sore. I started to get a little bit worried, and that probably didn’t help anything. We get over to the hospital, they take the scan and everything looked to be all right. It was kind of a lot of waiting around just to get the tests done, just to make sure everything was OK. It was a little frustrating, but I managed to find the game on TV. The game Sunday wasn’t on TV. I had to watch that little pitch-by-pitch thing on the computer. That was a long day, but it was good.”
Are you in any kind of pain?
“Right now, yeah a little bit but not too much, not anything I’m on any crazy painkillers for or anything like that. It’s tough because you walk around, you feel all right, but swinging or if I had to dive for a ball, or something, who knows what would happen there. That’s where it would get a little dicey. It’s a reaction in the game. If you’re going to dive, you’re going to dive, and you don’t want to re-injure yourself or anything like that, so I think that’s what we’re kind of waiting for.”
Did you see the replay? What did you think?
“It was a little embarrassing. You run the catcher, the catcher is supposed to fall over not you. I got a few messages for that one. (Corey) Koskie asked me if I wanted to come over, he could teach me how to run the catcher. He said he could set his kids up. He said we’d start with the youngest one who’s one and a half or whatever, so I told him that was real good. The (Wild winger Mark) Parrish asked me if (former Wild defenseman) Willie Mitchell taught me how to hit. They love that stuff. That was after I got out of the hospital. They waited a couple days before they started to get one me. It was one of those things, just kind of a reaction play, kind of got me just in the wrong spot. It’s just part of the game. (Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo) made sure I was all right.”
What’s the most physical activity you’ve done in the last few days?
“I just walked on a treadmill for 10 minutes. That was pretty strenuous. No, it was fine. They said they just want to wait and see what our plan is before I do anything. You don’t want to take a step back and do anything backwards.”
Is it strange to see someone else playing first?
“I remember the last time Cuddy played first was the last time I took a day off over there. It was June, I think it was June 7. I didn’t ever want to see that again. Well, not against Cuddy, but just because I want to play everyday. You never want to miss a game, and how good Cuddy is in right field, but Cuddy can handle it. He’s played everywhere, and we’re doing what we can to fill all the holes right now with a lot of guys banged up. Hopefully I can get back sooner than later and help us win.”
People find out how tough first base can be?
“It’s a little different. Guys that play third, they say it’s easy to move over there, but if you don’t go for that ball, you still have to get to the bag and cover the bag. It takes a little while. You just have to get used to it. It’s not as hard as I make it look sometimes. It’s something you have to learn. It’s a different feel, but those guys, Cirillo’s been in the league forever, so he knows how to play, and Cuddy’s been over there a bit, so you have faith in those guys.”
This couldn’t have happened at a worse time, could it have?
“Yeah, definitely. We have 11 games in 10 days or whatever it is. We’ve got four in New York, which will be tough, and Chicago and Detroit, which are tough places to play. We always have good games against them. You want to be there, but at the same time you want to be smart. There’s a fine line between toughness and stupidity. You want to be out there, you want to be tough, but at the same you don’t want to do anything to hurt yourself.”
Was this a freak accident? If you’re in the same position again, will you hesitate a little bit coming down the third baseline?
“It’s just kind of a reaction play. When you’re going in, you know rounding third, you know if the play is going to be close, if you’re going to have to run the catcher. You kind of read the catcher, and if you think he’s going to get the ball before you get there and it’s a close game, tight situation, you try to knock the ball lose, that’s what you try to do. It’s hard to stop yourself from doing that reaction … Right now I don’t think I’d feel comfortable if I had to go run the catcher tonight, but it’s something that will hopefully clear up and we’ll be good in a couple days.”
When you said you’re in pain, what type of pain? Where?
“Just my chest. Just if I move around quick or do anything like that. Kind of soreness, nothing too bad.”
Is breathing tough?
“I haven’t really gotten my heart rate up too much, but first it was if I took any kind of breath it was sore, and then after they’d come in and check your lungs, they’d tell you to take a deep breath and that would hurt. Now it’s starting to clear up a little bit. That kind of pain with breathing is mostly gone.”
What are the doctors main concerns?
“Just not doing anything to make it worse. You don’t want to take a step back. You don’t want it to start bleeding in there or anything like that … Anytime you have fluid in your lungs it can turn into pneumonia or things like that. We haven’t really discussed that, so I’m not too worried about that. You just want it to clear up, go away.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)