We can officially say goodbye to a few former Twins this week. Matt Guerrier signed with the Dodgers, Jesse Crain signed with the White Sox, Orlando Hudson is going to the Padres, and Jose Morales was traded to the Rockies for prospects.
I was hoping the Twins would be able to keep one of Guerrier or Crain to keep the bullpen strong -- preferably Matty. When Guerrier's signing was announced, I still held a little hope that the Twins could still snag Crain. But, alas, it was not meant to be. Those two have been pillars in the Twins bullpen for a lot of years, and it's going to be weird to not have either one of them around. I may have been critical of both their up-and-down tendencies, but by and large, they've been very, very reliable. Unfortunately, many fans seem to remember only certain bad days, especially against the Yankees (why, yes, I do remember when Guerrier gave up that grand slam to A-Rod, thanks for asking), but if folks would consider their entire bodies of work, they'd realize they were both very solid pitchers. The Twins will miss having them around.
Orlando Hudson announced on an XM Radio interview his agreement with the Padres, thereby scooping everybody (well, everybody in my Twitter feed) on any rumors about it. He will join former-Twin Jason Bartlett to staff the Padres' middle-infield.
I was quite surprised when I saw that Jose Morales was traded. At first, I was kind of bummed: I like his smile I figured that he's too good for what the Twins got in return. But then I realized that I was kind of doing that remembering only a certain good day (his MLB debut) thing and not considering his entire player profile (shame on me), and I changed my mind. He was out of minor-league options (which meant that if the Twins wanted to send him down, he'd have to clear waivers first, which wouldn't be likely) and they needed the space on the 40-man roster, so it wasn't such a bad trade after all.
I wish all them the best of luck. Well, maybe slightly less luck to Jesse Crain because he's a White Sox now and he's fair game for my rival ire.
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And We Say Hello...
The Twins officially signed and introduced Tsuyoshi Nishioka (he says we can call him "Nishi"). I didn't see any of the press conference, but from everything I read, he seems like a good guy. I'm getting more and more excited to see him play, even if I'm cautiously optimistic. He said all the right things, and he seems to have some personality. Here's he and Gardy modeling the Justin Morneau "sluggies"...if this ain't personality, I don't know what is.
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Twins
Welcome, Nishi.
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Here's hoping you have a fabulous Christmas. Enjoy.
1 comment:
Good luck Nishi,
http://sportschatterings.blogspot.com/
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