Greetings

Hi.

I just thought I'd check in with a recap of the developments of the last week.

Hello...again

First a Twin, then a free-agent, then a Twin again, Carl Pavano accepted the Twins' offer of arbitration. So he'll be around in 2010.

That's fine. He did well while he was with the Twins at the end of this season. And there's no reason to believe that he can't do more of the same. And I am quite impressed with his attitude -- he really seems to like Minnesota and he thinks he can help the team win. Cool.

However, I've got this feeling I just can't shake. It's not quite panic; it's not even really apprehension. I guess it's good old fashioned doubt. But I'm not really sure why. Maybe I'm worried about his history of injury. Maybe it struck me just how much Yankees fans really hate him (even he admits how much he hurt the team during his four years there). I don't know. But, whatever it is, for the sake of the team, I hope I'm wrong.

Good Bye

In order to make room for Pavano, the Twins had to remove someone from the 40-man roster tout de suite. And the unfortunate victim of all this hurried paperwork was Boof Bonser. He was designated for assignment to put Pavano on the roster, but then the Twins were able to complete a trade with the Red Sox for him. That's a bit surprising, because had Boston just waited until Saturday, they could've signed him as a free agent without giving up anybody.

I'll miss Boof. He always seemed like a fun guy. Plus, he's a charter member of my Cool Name Roster, and Minnesota's only representative. I hope he has a great stint with Boston.

Hello

So, in return for our beloved Boof, we get a Chris Provence. Ok. Don't expect to see him in the majors anytime soon. Apparently he has only one pitch -- a sinker. You can't really succeed in the majors with only a sinker. In fact, only one guy, Mariano Rivera, succeeds with basically one pitch. But that pitch is a cut-fastball that he can locate anywhere he wants. Plus, he does have other pitches in his file if he needs them. I'm pretty sure Rivera is greater than Provence. Which could explain why Boston wasn't too heartbroken to give him up for Boof.

Stay Awhile

The Twins tendered contracts to all their arbitration-eligible players (Crain, Guerrier, Liriano, Neshek, Young, Hardy, Harris, and then Pavano). This means they'll all be coming back next year. And, they'll all get raises. There were rumors that one or two would be non-tendered, which would've made them free agents, but that didn't happen.

So, that's that.