Catching Up on My Filing

It's been a while since I've kept up with the Twins news. I figured I'd go back and see what I missed and file the info away as needed.

File under: Recognizing a Good Thing While You Have It
Glen Perkins signed a 3-year, $10.3 million extension with an option for 2016. Twins fans remember that things weren't always so rosy between the Twins and Perkins, dating back to 2009 and 2010. In fact, I'm guilty of losing my fandom of him, too -- regrettably. He's matured and proven himself. The Twins have allowed the ugly past to stay there. And I've changed my mind. Everyone's cool now.

File under: I Didn't Really Think They Would
The Twins optioned Tsyoshi Nishioka to AAA Rochester. Last fall, I asked that the Twins admit their mistake regarding Nishioka, but I kind of figured they wouldn't listen to little ol' me. He's been in the MLB for a year now; the adjustment period has been more than generous. While it's true that he had a tough go with a new country and a broken leg and all, it's alarming that during his second spring training with the Twins he still didn't know fundamental stuff such as where to position himself to be the cut-off man. According to several writers and baseball analysts, he's been lost and the plate and lost-er in the field -- literally out of his league. He has bigger baseball problems to solve than some culture shock and a (should be healed by now) fractured fibula.

File under: On The L Back To Chicago
The Twins sent Rule 5 draftee, RHP Terry Doyle back to the White Sox. The deal with Rule 5 drafts is that if the drafted player can't make the 25-man roster for the whole season, the drafting team must return the player to the original team or work out a trade. The Twins claim that they couldn't find common ground with the White Sox, so they sent him packing. He made a memorable first impression with me -- memorable for all the wrong reasons. He was largely responsible for a 10-run first inning for the Pirates. Doyle couldn't find the strike zone, and when he did, he grooved the ball in the heart of the plate.

File under: Better Luck Next Year, Kid
The Twins are beginning to cull their Spring Training roster. They've optioned several players to the minor leagues:

• Arcia, Oswaldo (OF)
• Diamond, Scott (LHP)
• Guerra, Deolis (RHP) 
• Gutierrez, Carlos (RHP) 
• Mastrionni, Darin (LF) 
• Nishioka, Tsuyoshi  (IF)
• Oliveros, Lester (RHP)
• Robertson, Tyler (LHP)
• Tosoni, Rene (OF)

C'mon! Enough Already! (Injury and Illness Update)

Good grief! I don't know what the Twins did to piss off the injury and illness demons, but they had better figure it out and correct it really quickly before things get any more serious.

Let's take inventory, shall we:

We already know that Nick Blackburn's season is over.

Joe Mauer's season is over. He has been diagnosed with "mild" pneumonia, and he needs to rest for two weeks -- which will take up the rest of the season. Mild pneumonia, often called "walking" pneumonia, is the least serious of the pneumonia infections, and it usually doesn't require hospitalization. This is not to say that Joe's not miserable. Pneumonia of any strain is an infection of the lungs. He can probably walk around and do some light activity, but he's got a bad cough and probably has a hard time catching his breath when he runs.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka's season is over. He has a nagging oblique strain that just doesn't seem to be getting better, so the Twins shut him down. According to LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune, the Twins have sent him on his way with instructions for an off-season workout program.

Justin Morneau's season is most likely over. He's still fighting concussion symptoms and now he's got the flu. The concussion symptoms are quite worrisome because they reappeared after he made a somewhat routine play attempt at first base. This article by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports explains just how scary and frustrating Justin's situation is.

Jason Kubel's season is most likely over. The foot injury he suffered earlier in the season has flared up again, and he's in quite a bit of pain. He'll have it looked at more during the off-season.

Denard Span's season might be over. He also can't shake off the concussion symptoms and migraines.

Scott Baker is still on the DL with a forearm strain. He hopes to be able to pitch out of the bullpen soon.

Alexi Casilla is still on the DL with a hamstring strain. He hope to be able to play before the end of the season.

Danny Valencia has the flu.

Ben Revere just got over having the flu.

Brian Duensing just got over having the flu.

Fransico Liriano pitched two innings out of the bullpen on Saturday. So that's good news.

~~~

Since we're talking about injuries and whatnot, here's Michael Cuddyer's paper doll:


Michael Cuddyer missed several games in August due to a sore neck. Then when he came back from that, he was promptly hit in the wrist by a pitch.

He played the day after he was hit by the pitch after verifying with medical staff that playing wouldn't damage it further and all he needed to do would be manage the pain.

This, of course, riled up columnist Jim Souhan, who praised Cuddyer's toughness (kind of omitting the fact that he missed time from the neck the week before) and used him as an example to prove that Joe Mauer is soft. Cuddyer, of course, wasn't able to play particularly well with the sore wrist.

Of course, all that put some bloggers and fans into a small snit (Souhan puts people into snits pretty regularly). A lot of folks (not wrongly so) kind of used him as an example that playing hurt is not necessarily a good option.

Once rosters expanded, Cuddyer missed some time to get the wrist feeling better.

I don't think it mattered too much either way whether he played hurt or not. He played when the team despirately needed warm bodies, and it wasn't like his poor play blocked anyone else from getting a chance. Then, when there were warm bodies, he sat. No problem.

2012 Wish List, Part I: Admit Your Mistake on the Nishioka Experiment

A note from k-bro: We're all in agreement that the Twins are merely playing out the rest of 2011 with no hope of October baseball. So I have a whole bunch of ideas on how to improve the team (and by "improve the team," I mean "make me happy") for 2012 and the future. Like, about 84 bizillion words' worth of ideas (because none of us wants to live through this again). And rather than putting all those words in one long post, causing you to choke on your coffee and skip the whole thing, I'll chunk them up over a series of posts. I know that doing this kind of thing seems like an off-season activity, but frankly, I've nothing of value to say now anyway, so I'll just go for it. Besides, I don't want to forget what I wanted to say.

Step 1: Respectfully inform Tsuyoshi Nishioka that, come Spring Training, he must legitimately beat out Trevor Plouffe for the spot on the roster. If he can't, either send him down or buy out his contract so he can move on.

When Nishioka was signed, we all expected that he would require a pretty generous adjustment period. A new country and a faster style of play would be a lot to take in and adapt to. I was thinking he would need, like, a month...

Now, as the season is nearing an end, he is still playing like a boy among men. He's tentative both in the field and at the plate. He has limited range, he can't throw well, and he backs out of the batter's box when he's hitting. He never drives the ball, but he doesn't really slap it well either. And the broken leg he suffered back in April probably sapped a lot of his speed.

Obviously, the scouts saw something of value in him, or the Twins would never have signed him; he didn't make up all those accomplishments he achieved in Japan. The expectations around him seemed real and reasonable, and, because of that, the Twins front office seems to have redoubled its commitment to sticking with him for the future. It was pretty costly to bring him here  -- not only did they have to pay his posting fee and his contract, but they also traded JJ Hardy to make room for him -- and it sounds like they don't want to admit failure.

However, this whole situation is a mess. I think fans would be more tolerant if there were some real signs of improvement. But this lack of discernible progress should indicate that his ability to play in the MLB has likely plateaued. It's time to end the experiment and move on. 

Short Notes

And by "short," I mean: terse, tense, curt, crabby, rude. Which I am. And I'm unapologetic.

Jim Thome has been traded to the Indians for a player to be named later. And, I'm sorry, but I just can't get over being upset about this. I'm not mad at Big Jim at all; I'm mad that it came to this. I hate that the Twins are in a position to shed players, and I especially hate that the Twins put themselves in the position that a great player like Jim Thome simply deserves better.

I am very grateful to have been able to watch him play in a Twins uniform and lead this team for these last two season. It was a real treat to watch him step into the box late in the game and watch the pitcher shake in his boots. Many Twins fans agree that some of the best memories of Target Field's short history involve the great Jim Thome. And no one can take that away from us.

I sincerely wish the very best for Jim. This move might be a harbinger of a farewell tour for him. I hope the Indians' fans love him as much as they did years ago. And I really want him to hit a few more home runs -- I don't even care if they're off the Twins.

~~~

The Twins lost a four-game series to the Orioles. Let me clarify that statement a bit...

The Twins, with sucky pitching and even suckier batting, lost four games in a row at home to a team that has the worst road record in the league (I think that statement is true; I'm in no mood to verify it).

I sincerely hope that after Thursday's game, Gardy flipped every buffet table over, tossed some baseball bats into the showers, and threw a loud, good old-fashioned, Hulk-smash snit...no, outright fury. And then, I hope he made each and every one of the players clean it all up until the clubhouse attendant was satisfied. And then, I hope he made each and every one of the players give the clubhouse a generous tip for his trouble. Because something, anything, has to be done to grab their attention.

These guys are clearly not trying and it's hard to imagine that they even care. I suppose that it's hard to go to work every day knowing that your beginning of the year goals simply won't be met. Baseball is supposed to be filled with failure, but, jeez, not this much failure.

Whatever happened to the Joe DiMaggio philosophy on playing hard? -- "There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best."

More of that "my best" stuff, and less of whatever the hell they've been doing the last month.

~~~

DL Report: Another repeat injury.

The Twins have placed Francisco Liriano on the DL with left posterior (back) shoulder strain. He was taken out of Thursday's game after two innings in which he was quite ineffective.

This is probably the same injury he suffered back in May.  However, because Anthony Swarzak, who was scheduled to start Friday's game, had to pitch 3.1 innings on Thursday, and there wasn't anybody else they could plug in for Friday's start, the Twins were probably quick to put Liriano on the DL so they could call someone up right away (run-on sentence much?). Scott Diamond has been recalled to take his place.

Other DL Updates:

Baker is throwing. Casilla is running.

Blackburn only has some swelling in his arm that happens to be pinching a nerve, so some rest should help that.

It's likely that Jason Repko will be activated to replace Thome's spot on the roster, but an official announcement hasn't been made yet.

Joe Mauer was out on Thursday with a stiff neck. He says that he has a hard time looking left and right

Tsuyoshi Nishioka was still out Thursday with a sore back.

On Wednesday, Michael Cuddyer got hit in the wrist by a pitch. It hit so hard, you could hear it on the TV broadcast, and it dropped him immediately. He said later that he was sure it was shattered, but x-rays and an MRI came back negative. He played on Thursday. However, I imagine that it is still sore and it might bother him for a few days.

DL Report: Nick Blackburn

The Twins are just piling on names to the Disabled List. With this latest addition, they've now used the DL 23 times. I wondered if that was a record, so I asked the only people I knew would have an answer: Twitter. My Twitter buddy Dan Wade (@dwade), who contributes to Sports Illustrated's Under the Knife fantasy sports column, came back with an answer. Turns out that the Twins are close to the lead for DL transactions, but, in fact, the Dodgers have 24. So, at least there's that. For now.

The Twins have placed Nick Blackburn on the 15-day DL with a right lateral forearm strain. He was taken out of Sunday's game in the second inning after having absolutely no command.

I'm kind of having a hard time figuring out exactly what hurts. "Lateral forearm" is kind of nondescript. In his interviews with the media, he describes it as a sharp pain near the top of the forearm near the elbow. I'm no expert by any means, but I've had that sharp pain in that location...tennis elbow (or, more classily referred to as: Lateral epicondylitis). At any rate, Blackburn didn't seem to think it was terribly serious, but he is scheduled to have more tests and such on Tuesday.

Anthony Swarzak has been added to the rotation and will pitch Friday in Blackburn's place. Right-handed reliever Lester Oliveros, acquired as the "player to be named later" in the Delmon Young trade, has been recalled to take Blackburn's roster spot.

~~~

Also watching:

Justin Morneau has been out for two games so far after fouling a pitch off his right foot on Saturday. X-rays were negative, but if it's still sore tomorrow, he'll have an MRI.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka has missed three games due to back spasms.

Other Updates:

Michael Cuddyer returned to play on Monday after missing a handful of games with a sore neck.

Denard Span won't be with the team for awhile. He's been sent home to rest.

DL Report: Justin Morneau

There are now nine men currently on the DL (two will come off in the next 24 hours), 13 men to be on it sometime this year, and two men twice, for a total of 15 transactions. Oy. Plus, with all the minor leaugers filling in, only 10 guys on the current 25-man roster have had no transactions at all. I've had to rearrange my spreadsheet quite a bit.

The Twins have placed Justin Morneau on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 10, with a left wrist strain. He had a cortisone shot a few days ago, but unfortunately, it didn't give him any relief. He had it re-examined, and the doctor told him to immobilize it for 10 days. He'll get a cast on it sometime Thursday.

How he hurt it is unclear. I haven't seen any definitive reports in the media. It could be caused by some kind over-compensation of his sore neck and shoulder (experts call this a "cascade injury"). However, I've also read some speculation that he may have hurt in in a fit of frustration.

Either way, it's hurt, and he has to sit. With a cast.

No announcement yet as to who will take his spot on the roster, but both Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Glen Perkins are due to come off the DL on Wednesday or Thursday.

Updates:
Tsuyoshi Nishioka has been playing some games at AAA Rochester and is ready to come back to Minnesota. He'll be evaluated again once he arrives to Target Field, and he may be ready to play Wednesday night. Because he's currently on the 60-day DL, someone will have to come off both the active roster and the 40-man roster to make room. Pitcher Dusty Hughes has been outrighted from the 40-man roster.

Glen Perkins should be in the line up Thursday, or maybe even Wednesday night.

Joe Mauer is very close to returning, too. I'm hoping he'll be in the line up Friday. He faced Joe Nathan in some batting practice in Fort Myers on Wednesday. I wonder if Nathan "got him with the slider" and then Mrs. Mauer came by and told them to go play outside. Ha. And, like Nishioka, he's on the 60-DL, which means a 25-man and 40-man roster spot will need to be cleared for him.

Joe Nathan will be returning to Minnesota soon. He's not quite ready to return to the line up, but he's very close.

Jim Thome and Kevin Slowey are in Fort Myers doing rehab.

Jason Kubel is taking swings in the batting cage, but still has pain in his foot when he runs.

Denard Span is feeling better every day, but is still suffering concussion symptoms.

Sometimes It's Not Who You Play, But When You Play Them...

... and then sometimes it is who you play.

This nice little sweep of the Royals was the first more-than-two-game-series win of the season and the first four-game winning streak of the season. In the previous series against Detroit, our Twins looked overmatched, scared, and frustrated. It's not like the Tigers blew them away, but the Twins just didn't look good.

Since the Royals always play the Twins tough, I was hoping the Twins could at least earn a split. But they, ...

"for whatever perverse reason, began playing baseball with joy and verve and poetry"

...and it was good. In fact, it was beautiful.

Is it too soon to think that they've turned the corner into being a good team again?

~~~

One thing I have been enjoying, regardless of the outcomes of the games, is rooting for the kids. With all the injuries, we've seen a lot of them. And they're all playing like they don't want to be sent down again...not that anyone ever wants to be sent down again...and that's what makes this fun.

Ben Revere is just fun to watch. He's fast, small, and, well, adorable. I just love how he smiles all the time. He covers a lot of ground in the outfield, and he absolutely flies around the bases. About the only knock on him is his throwing arm, but the team can work with that. I see a pretty good future for him.

Anthony Swarzak has really stepped up in times of need. He did serviceable work from the bullpen, but as a starter, he's sparkled. And he has a great attitude -- he just wants the ball whenever Gardy needs to give it to him. It's great having him around to fill in for starters as needed and not feeling scared about it.

And, how about Brian Dinkelman? After only one major league game, he's earned himself quite a fan club. During Saturday's game, and reportedly at the bars after the game, loud chants of "DINK-EL-MAN" could be heard. How much fun is that? I hope he appreciated every moment of it. I don't think there are very many guys who received both a HBP and IBB in their major-league debuts.

I'm even rooting for Trevor Plouffe, although his defensive miscues drive me nuts. I know he's back in Rochester working those out right now, but it's better that he's there playing everyday rather that with the big club sitting on the bench. He'll be back soon enough, and he'll be just fine.

~~~

DL Updates:

This is the time of the season when if starts becoming a grind for the players. The freshness of the new season has worn off, and it's still to early for the excitement of a playoff push. Players are worn down and sore. Everyone's playing hurt. And everyone's hoping that "hurt" doesn't turn in to "injured."


Thankfully, there were no new additions to the DL during this series ... yet. We're watching Denard Span, who missed Saturday and Sunday with a sore neck, though he was available to pinch hit on Sunday if needed. Justin Morneau also missed Saturday and Sunday with a swollen wrist. Nick Blackburn's start on Saturday was cut short due to back spasms, although he said after the game that he was hopeful it wasn't serious.

Joe Mauer has been catching in real games for the Single-A Fort Myers Miracle (where, by the way, his brother Jake is the manager -- I wonder if they call each other "Butthead" like my boys do). He'll likely have to move up to AA or AAA for a few games in order to face better pitching before he heads back to Minnesota.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka will also start playing for Fort Myers soon. Gardy has indicated that when Nishi does return, he'll likely be at shortstop rather than at second base.

DL Report: When Thome Goes to DLandia, He Doesn't Go Alone

First, let me start by saying that I don't really mean to stick to doing only DL reports with this blog. I fully intend to keep writing other stuff too. I'm trying to think of clever things to say, but, unfortunately, I'm usually only clever when I'm content. And, well, I'm not feeling terribly content with my baseball team. It'll come back soon enough. I'm sure you understand.

Anyway, on to the paper dolls...

The Twins have placed DH Jim Thome on the 15-day DL with a strained left quad. He tweaked it taking a swing on Wednesday. This after he just returned on May 23 from a DL stint due to an oblique strain. I'm guessing, but could it be that he's still favoring the oblique, so he swung differently, which cascaded to tweaking the leg? Hard to tell.

IF Luke Hughes has been recalled from AAA Rochester to take his place on the roster.

Apparently, Thome's a-scared of DLandia because he never goes alone. Last time, he brought Jason Repko with him. This time, since any old Jason will do, he's bringing Jason Kubel. (Yes, I know, Jason got hurt first. Just go with the joke, ok?)

The Twins have placed OF Jason Kubel in the 15-day DL with a sprained mid-left foot (I know that's worded weird, but that's how it is in the transaction report). It's interesting they used the word "sprained"; this means there is some actual tissue damage. ("Strain" usually means "sore"; "sprain" means "tear.") He hurt it going after a homerun ball in Detroit on Monday. According to the Twins radio broadcast on Wednesday, he said that he hurt it right when he broke to chase the ball, not when he jumped up the wall.

OF Ben Revere has been recalled from AAA Rochester to fill his spot.

However, with two of his power lefty hitters down, Gardy needs another left-handed hitter. So the Twins have purchased the contract of OF Brian Dinkelman. To make room on the 25-man roster, IF Trevor Plouffe has been re-assigned to AAA Rochester, and to make room on the 40-man roster, C Joe Mauer has been added to the 60-day DL. This move means that Mauer won't be eligible to return until June 12. It was highly unlikely that he would've returned before then, so it's just a paperwork move.

Updates:

Joe Mauer caught three innings in an extended spring training game, and went 0-5. He reported feeling fatigued after the game. He'll continue alternating DHing and catching. He's been struggling at the plate against prospect pitching.

Liriano and Perkins are throwing and making progress.

Nishioka is playing in the field in extended spring training, but he's also still struggling at the plate.

Here We Go Again...DL Report

The Twins have placed LHP Francisco Liriano on the DL retroactive to May 23rd with left shoulder inflammation. This doesn't come as too much of a surprise as he's been experiencing soreness since he pulled himself out of Saturday's start. Like I mentioned last time, an MRI showed inflammation and maybe a bit of tendinitis. According to the StarTribune's Joe Christensen, Gardy is hopeful he'll only miss one more start.

Anthony Swarzak took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning in a spot start replacing Liriano on Saturday. Swarzak will start in Liriano's place again on Thursday.

The Twins called up RHP Anthony Slama from AAA Rochester to replace him on the roster.

Other transactions:

The Twins activated LHP Jose Mijares off the DL who will be available Monday.

The sent down LHP Dusty Hughes to AAA to make room.

Updates:

Joe Mauer continues to play extended spring training games. Mauer has been DHing rather than catching due to some shoulder soreness. I think I remember reading somewhere that Gardy hinted that maybe they'll send Mauer to AAA at some point to face better pitching, but I don't remember where I saw that.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka has been playing both 2nd base and shortshop in extended spring training. He's eligible to return June 7.

Glen Perkins could begin throwing again in a couple days.

Also watching:

Jason Kubel hurt his left foot trying to bring back a home run by Victor Martinez in Monday's game. X-rays showed no breaks, but he is wearing a boot. He said it's the top of his foot, not the ankle or the toes.

The "Win" Stat

The series against the Angels pretty much sums up everything I hate about the "Win" stat for pitchers. I hate it so much, I usually won't acknowledge it when determining a pitcher's worth and I use stats that pitchers actually have some kind of control over such as WHIP or K/BB rate. (For the record, I do use ERA, even though it's flawed. It generally gives an accurate feel for how well a pitcher does, as long as he pitches enough innings to make it meaningful.) I believe that teams win games; pitchers just guide the team there.

This series paints the ridiculous picture of the Win stat is.

First, let's define the Win: if you're the guy who threw the last pitch before your team took the lead for good, you get a "W". If the other team ties or goes ahead after you come out of the game, you can't get a W. Oh, and if you're a starter, you have to pitch 5 innings or more in order to earn the W, but if you're a reliever, all you need is one pitch -- as long as your timing of that one pitch is good. Getting a Loss is easy -- you cough up the baserunner that turns out to be the go-ahead run, and that go-ahead sticks, you get the L. It's not so easy to get the W; it depends so much on the rest of the team.

Take Scott Baker for example. On Friday, he pitched brilliantly, going seven innings without giving up a run and leaving the game with a 5-run lead. He must have felt pretty good about himself as he sipped his Gatorade in the bottom of the 7th -- as well he should have. And then he probably choked on that Gatorade as he watched Alex Burnett, Dusty Hughes, and Jim Hoey parade through to piss away the lead. Scott Downs, who faced two batters, got the W because he happened to throw the last pitch before the half-inning when the Angels scored their sixth run. Scott went home with a homely "No Decision" for his efforts. That's all he deserved because he couldn't get his bullpen to pitch well.

On Saturday, both Anthony Swarzak and Jered Weaver sparkled as they pitched eight and nine scoreless innings, respectively. However, neither one would take home a W, as they simply couldn't make their teammates score runs. Alex Burnett got it, because he was able to will that winning run in the 10th. Fortunately for Swarzak, his No Decision wasn't as homelys as Baker's because at least his team won. Poor Hisanori Takahashi had to wear the L, and he wasn't even on the mound when the Twins went ahead.

Then Carl Pavano was going for his 100th career W on Sunday. This was his sixth try at that golden stat. Now, to be honest, in some of those tries, he didn't pitch well enough to actually earn that W. However, on Sunday, he probably did, except he just didn't have the ability to make his fielders behind him make routine outs. If he had, well, who knows.... But, instead, he takes home another ugly L.

~~~

DL Report:

The Twins have placed RHP Joe Nathan on the 15-day DL with elbow and forearm soreness. This is probably an expected condition as a result of his Tommy John surgery. The forearm flexor muscle has to be pulled apart during the ligament replacement, and can be easily irritated if the patient works very hard during rehabilitation, which Joe did. An MRI showed only inflammation, and no other damage, so he and the Twins are hopeful that two weeks' rest will do the trick.

(Don't worry, he's not as deformed as this paper doll suggests. I'm at the lake this weekend, and I'm borrowing my nephew's computer. It only has Paint for photo editing, and only one of those lame touch pad things for a mouse. This was way harder to do than it looks. Although the Popeye forearms and lack of wrists are kind of funny.)

The Twins purchased the contract of LHP Chuck James to replace Nathan. In order to make room on the 40-man roster for James, the Twins placed Tsuyoshi Nishioka on the 60-day DL. This transaction is paperwork-only as it does not change the expected return date for Nishioka.

Updates:

Matt Capps experienced some soreness in his forearm earlier in the week, but after resting a couple of days, he's fine.

Jose Mijares has been pitching in extended spring training games and could be activated Monday.

Joe Mauer is continuing to play in extended spring training games and increasing his activity. Gardy says he's doing and feeling well. As far as I know, the super-secret timetable for his return has still not been revealed.

Also watching:

Jim Thome needed a cortisone shot in his right shoulder that he tweaked while swinging hard on Saturday.

Francisco Liriano was pulled from Saturday's start due to shoulder soreness. According to ESPN1500's Phil Mackey, an MRI showed some inflammation and maybe a touch of tendinitis. They'll determine his status on Tuesday after his scheduled bullpen session.

Shuttle Plane: MSP/ROC

First of all, I just want to kiss Nick Blackburn fully on the lips. Oh, and I think he pitched pretty well on Tuesday, too. Complete games are hawt!

Oh, and I want to give Matt Capps a time out. A time out in my house consists of sitting on the floor holding a folded-up washcloth against the wall with your forehead until I'm not mad anymore. It's hell; just ask my kids (although, if they were really tired, they'd just fall asleep that way). And Capps isn't the only one; he's just the only one I can think of right now. I have plenty of washcloths to go around.

~~~

Kevin Slowey is hurt again (more about that in a bit). This sure changes things with his "traaaade meeee, traaaade meeee" dilemma (check out what I wrote about it over on From The Third Baseline). Instead of sending him down to AAA to get stretched out to start, the Twins placed him on the DL and will call up another pitcher.

So, all this moving of guys back and forth between Rochester and Minneapolis made me think that the Twins should just invest in a commuter plane. Just run it every-other day; someone will need it.

See what I mean?

Some serious frequent-flyer miles for some of these guys. And it's only May.

~~~

DL Report:

At least this time I didn't have to make a new paper doll; I just had to move the boo-boo on one I had.

RHP Kevin Slowey has been placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to 5/21, with  strained rectus abdominis. This is a pair of muscles that go from the sternum down alongside the belly-button -- the "6-pack abs" muscles.

He had an MRI with the team physician a few days ago, and that showed nothing. He, or maybe the Twins, requested a second opinion (I have varying reports). A specialist gave him the diagnosis.

The recommended course of action is 7-10 days rest and ice. 

No one has yet been called up to take his spot; many are speculating that it will be RHP Jim Hoey.

Updates: (info from StarTribune)

Tsuyoshi Nishioka is continuing his rehab, and could start playing in games as early as Friday.

Jose Mijares threw a bullpen session on Wednesday, and could pitch in rehab games this weekend.

Joe Mauer has been DHing in rehab games and felt good running the bases. Oh, and now there is a timetable for his return, but Gardy isn't telling anyone what that is. So, it's a super-secret timetable.

Also watching:

Michael Cuddyer has been out for a couple of games with a sore hip, but he was available to pinch-hit on Wednesday. Thursday's an off-day; he should be ready to go on Friday.

Matt Capps has a sore forearm, probably from overuse his last few outings. He's day-to-day.

Bah!

So just when we fans get all excited and begin to believe that things were looking up, then WHAP! we're slapped with more mediocrity.

This series did feature some timely hits, homeruns even, but those were countered with lame strategy and even lamer pitching. Oh, and don't even get me started on the defense. Really?!

It's sad that the team needs the death of a legend to motivate them. It's even sadder when that doesn't even last more than three games.

Ok, so I'll cut myself short again. I don't want to rant and rave like a crazy woman. But, I tell ya', I'm this close...

Let's hope this upcoming home stand will be better. Much better.
~~~

Check out what I wrote over at From The Third Baseline regarding the players who might be traded if the Twins are sellers at the trade deadline.

~~~

DL News:

Glen Perkins has been placed on the DL with a strained right oblique. This is kind of a blow to the Twins because he was just establishing himself as a reliable set-up man. However, his reliability may have cost him; it was beginning to seem like Gardy was over-using him. In fact, my buddy Andrew predicted it on Twitter (he tweeted this just as Perkins was coming out of the 'pen on Saturday's game).

The Twins recalled Dusty Hughes to take his spot.

Also watching:

Kevin Slowey is scheduled to have an MRI on his abdominal area on Monday in the Twin Cities.

In better news:

Jim Thome and Jason Repko are ready to play and have been activated for Monday's game. Ben Revere and Luke Hughes have been re-assigned to AAA Rochester to make room.

Updates:

No new news on Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

Joe Mauer has been increasing his baseball activities, donning catching gear, blocking balls, etc. Still no timetable for his return.

A Little More Fun

Let me ask you something...which was more fun: the last three games, or the previous nine?

Ok, yes, obviously winning is more fun. However, I'm a little scared to admit that maybe the Twins turned a corner and are finally becoming the Twins we all know and love. Of course, I'd love nothing more to say that with all the confidence I have, but I'm not there yet. I mostly don't want to jinx it.

But there were things about the last few games I really liked seeing. Justin seems to be swinging the bat better. How much did you love that two-run homerun on Thursday? Off a lefty even? And he's swinging more like Justin, and less like a little leaguer.

Liriano looked good on Tuesday. It seems like every time we're all ready to give up on him and send him to the bullpen (or worse, send him packing), he pulls out a gem and makes us forgive him. I like that Francisco; the icky Francisco can stay away. He admitted that his shoulder (elbow?) had been bothering him, but he's feeling better now.

Pavano looked better on Wednesday than he had been. He still didn't really strike out very many, but he got outs when he needed them. So hopefully he's back to being the good Carl.

And how awesome was Nick Blackburn? More of the same, please.


It's only three games, but it's great how a little winning streak improves our attitudes.

Inter-league play next!

~~~

Injury update:

Jason Repko and Jim Thome might be able to re-join the Twins in time for their next homestand on Monday. Thome has had a number of plate appearances in extended spring training, and will have a few more this weekend. Repko is with the Rochester Red Wings.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka is suffering some pain as his fractured fibula, which is to be expected. He's working through it, and as a few days away from playing in games.

Jose Mijares had an MRI on his sore elbow and it showed no structural damage. He should be able to start throwing again soon.

And, Joe Mauer (remember him?), has flown to Florida and is working out there. LaVelle Neil from the StarTribune reports that his elbow and shoulder are feeling better. Which is odd, because he was put on the DL because his legs were weak. Apparently, according to an article by Jim Souhan of the StarTribune, the problem isn't that his legs are hurt so much, but rather it's one leg overcompensating for the other one that had knee surgery and then both legs overcompensating for a sore shoulder. Or something like that. I don't know; I don't think Joe knows. And, of course, there's no timetable for his return. Maybe that could be his mob name: Joey "No Timetable" Mauer.

A Two Paper Doll Day: Thome and Repko

Good grief. I'm beginning to think I need to make preemptive paper dolls for everyone on the team. It would be easier; these things are kind of a pain to make. Two more guys now puts the current number at six. I'm also beginning to wonder if Ron Gardenhire shouldn't send a multitude of gifts to Tom Nieto, the manager of the Rochester Red Wings, as an apology for destroying his team. I kind of feel bad for the Red Wings fans; it's hard to win with so much thrash -- don't we know it. Now that I'm done complaining, let's get on with this.

Jim Thome - Strained Left Oblique, retroactive to May 1

Big Jim has been slowed by soreness for a few games now. He sat for a couple of games, tried to man-up and power through on Saturday, but on Sunday, he just couldn't get loose again. The cold weather the Twins have been playing in can't be much help. And, well, to be blunt, he is 40.

The thing about oblique strains is that they can be kind of naggy. We've all had an oblique pull -- they take forever to feel better. And I imagine that anything I've suffered from is much, much less that what he's probably got.

He'll need plenty of rest; workouts could re-aggravate it. And hopefully the weather will turn more seasonal and warmer conditions will help.

The Twins have recalled INF Trevor Plouffe from AAA Rochester. He's batting .282 ba/ .344 obp/ .590 slg in 21 games. He struggled defensively during Spring Training, but has been doing much better during the Red Wings season.

~~~

Jason Repko - Right Quad Strain, retroactive to May 2

Jason Repko's quad muscle has been barking for about a week. Gardy's tired of having a bench full of guys he can't use, so he put Repko on the DL.

I haven't been able to find much info on how this happened, so I'm going to go ahead and blame the cold weather on this one too. It's hard to keep one's legs loose when it's so cold that one needs earflaps on one's ballcap.

I don't know much about Repko's injury history, either. So it's really hard to tell when fans should expect him back. Hopefully, it's a slight strain, and he'll be back when the weather gets warmer.

The Twins recalled OF Ben Revere from AAA Rochester. He's batting .293/ .330/ .315 in 23 games. He started the season out slow, but he has been hitting very well the last handful of games. His defense is good, but his arm is a bit weak. He's fast, and can steal a base or two.

Updates:

Joe Mauer's legs feel stronger and he has started participating in baseball activities. He admitted that he wasn't strong enough coming out of Spring Training to handle everyday catching duties. There is still no timetable for his return.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka is in Fort Myers to continue his rehab after X-rays indicated that his fibula is healing on schedule. He's still at least 10 days away from rejoining the team. Some media members are speculating that he could be put at shortshop when he does return.

Kevin Slowey is pitching well in his rehab stint in Fort Myers. Gardenhire admitted that he's trying to increase his pitching load in case there's an emergency in the rotation, but that doesn't seem likely for now. The Twins expect to put him in the long relief role -- ready to pounce fill in if a starter needs him to.

Delmon Young is following his rehab program and feeling better every day. He's eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday, but he may need a bit more time. He should return within a week or so.

Currently, no one has the flu. At least, no one is admitting it.

There's been no word on whether the garbage can in the visiting dugout in Kansas City that Carl Pavano taught a lesson to will be placed on the DL or will simply retire from baseball. Word is that Alexi Casilla's bat, also involved in the lesson, is fine and has since resumed bunting baseballs into foul territory.

Other Transactions:

The Twins optioned C Steve Holm to AAA Rochester, with no corresponding move back up. They need a backup catcher, so this is an odd move. Even odder; they immediately quelled rumors about adding someone from outside the organization. They'll likely call up Danny Lehmann or Rene Rivera from Rochester. This is a head scratcher because neither Lehmann nor Rivera is much of an upgrade from Holm. Why bother wasting another minor-league option...unless they know that Mauer is still quite a long time from returning.

DL Report: Delmon Young

After not playing since April 18, and pulling himself out of Wednesday's lineup because he "couldn't get loose," Delmon Young has been placed on the DL with soreness in his left rib cage area. He was also a victim of that viral bug that's been plaguing the clubhouse, but he's reportedly over that.

It's unclear what the cause of the soreness is; it's possibly an oblique strain or a bone injury. He had an MRI a few days ago, and it came back ok. UPDATE: The Twins announced that it's an oblique strain.

The Twins are currently hurting for depth on the team, and since a double-header is scheduled for Thursday, it became necessary to fill in some gaps. The DL assignment is retroactive to April 19.

Rene Tosoni, a 24-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder, will take Delmon's roster spot. He hit .286 avg/.329 obp/.500 slg with three HRs and six doubles in 19 games with AAA Rochester.

~~~

Also watching:

Carl Pavano has the flu. His scheduled Saturday start has been pushed back to Sunday.

Jim Thome was unavailable Wednesday due to oblique soreness.

Jason Repko felt tightness in his quad muscle, but was available if necessary on Wednesday.

~~~

Catching up with the others:

Joe Mauer is due to come off the DL on Thursday, but he won't be ready. There is no time table for his return. A rehab stint sometime in the future is likely.

Kevin Slowey has been pitching for the Fort Myers Miracle on a rehab assignment. On Saturday, he allowed one run on one hit and one walk in one inning. Rumor has it that he paid for the clubhouse spread for all the guys after the game. I last read that he was due to pitch again on Wednesday, but he didn't.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka is progressing on schedule.

~~~

Other transactions:

Due to the scheduled double-header on Thursday, and because he pitched in long relief on Wednesday (not very well I might add), Eric Hacker has been optioned to AAA Rochester. Anthony Swarzak has been recalled to replace him. Swarzak will start the evening affair on Thursday on only three days rest.

~~~

I suspect that after reviewing all this, Gardy will go home...and weep.

Twins at Orioles: Better?

Recap:

Monday: Twins 5 - O's 3
Tuesday: Twins 0 - O's 11 (!)
Wednesday: Twins 4 - O's 5
Thursday: Twins 3 - O's 1

Obviously, winning is more fun than losing. Bit by bit, being a Twins fan is becoming more fun. We're all getting tired of telling our friends "it's only April," but it's still a true statement. Aside from the ugly blowout on Tuesday, I think the Twins played well considering the roster is pretty thin right now. Things will get better once everyone is healthy again, right? Right?

Right?

Please tell me I'm right...

High Fives:

Scott Baker -- pitched magnificently on Thursday
Michael Cuddyer -- 2 homeruns
Drew Butera -- 3 RBI on Monday
Jim Thome -- #591


~~~

DL Report: Updates

Tsuyoshi Nishioka's rehab on his broken leg is progressing nicely. He's in Minnesota riding a stationary bike and running a underwater treadmill. He's on schedule to return in four to six weeks.

Joe Mauer is also back in Minnesota working to regain strength after suffering the flu and also to get his legs into baseball shape. Kelsie Smith of the Pioneer Press has a nice article about him.

Kevin Slowey threw a bullpen session last weekend with positive results and will probably throw another one this coming weekend when the Twins come home. After that, he'll likely do a little rehab stint in AAA.

Justin Morneau is still sick. According to the tweets from the press folks, he's been in the bathroom a lot (I know, TMI). He's taken five bags of IVs, and was running a fever of 102 on Wednesday (which is why he was not available to pinch-hit). I don't even want to think about him having to ride the plane after Thursday's game. Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck.

We're also watching Delmon Young. He's been out a few days with both the flu and soreness in his ribcage area. The flu is reportedly better, but he'll get (or already got -- not sure) an MRI to see what's going on in his side.

A's at Twins: Well...

Recap:
Friday: A's 1 - Twins 2
Saturday: A's 1 - Twins 0
Sunday: A's 5 - Twins 3

Record: 3-6

"Well..." I've been saying that a lot this weekend (imagine it all snotty-like; it kind of sounds like "welp"). There were just a whole bunch of missed opportunities. The Twins were getting me all excited with a nice hit, just to disappoint me. "Well..." Sure, the Twins faced some good pitching, but was it really that good?

Fortunately on Friday, there were runners on base for Joe Mauer, so he could drive in the go-ahead run. The fielders couldn't do their usual shift for him. If the bases would have been empty, it would have been yet another ground out to second. That saved the home opener, and the series apparently.

Blackie's nice start on Saturday was absolutely wasted by much flailing of the Twins' bats. So much flailing in fact, that one little error -- ok, one big error -- cost the Twins the game. "Well..."

Sunday's game was a little better as far at the Twins runs were concerned. Thome's blast was a ton of fun. And what a blast it was. But there were so many other wasted opportunities to score. And Baker's pitching wasn't all that sharp. "Well..."

Oh, and that baserunning gaffe by Valencia? It was hard to tell from the stands if Jerry White was telling him to "go to two" ('cuz that what he do) not realizing that Liddle was holding Kubel, or if Danny just rounded first too far, assuming that Jason would go home. Either way, some one was a bonehead. "Well..."

The brightest spot of the whole weekend was Thome's blast. That ball flew out of Target Field so fast. It cleared the new batters' eye screen. I heard it crossed the concourse and hit one of the TVs that hang over the State Fair booth. Heh heh. 

I was at Sunday's game. I took some fun, albeit lousy, pictures. I'll post them sometime soon. I only had my phone, so the pictures aren't very good. I want to try to make them a little better.

High Five:

Only one this time: Jim Thome. #590

A pat on the back for Nick Blackburn for a really good effort.
~~~

DL Report:

The Twins placed RHP Kevin Slowey on the DL with what they're calling "shoulder bursitis." Kevin first indicated that it was biceps soreness, but after an MRI, the Twins reported it as a shoulder strain. Perhaps they reviewed the images again to determine bursitis. It's hard to pinpoint the cause; Slowey won't venture a guess. Gardy was uncharacteristically outspoken about it, indicating that Slowey needs to learn how to pitch from the bullpen. Phil Mackey of ESPN1500 has the full story here. I asked Phil via Twitter if Gardy sounded as chippy (I may have used the word "snotty") as those quotes seemed. Sometimes it's hard to get tone-of-voice from printed direct quotes and I wanted to give Gardy the benefit of the doubt -- maybe his words came across more diplomatically as I was reading them. Phil replied that, yes, he did.

Bursitis is inflammation or irritation of a bursa sac that protects and cushions a joint. In this case, it's in the right shoulder. There has been no timetable for return announced.

Right-hander Alex Burnett has been called up from AAA Rochester to take the roster spot.

Nishioka Update:

Nishi's broken fibula won't require surgery or even a cast. The break occurred in a place where there is quite a bit of muscle tissue that stabilizes the bone.

Twins at Yankees: On Moral Victories, Actual Victories, and Big Losses

Recap:
Monday: Twins 3 - Yankees 4
Tuesday: Twins 5 - Yankees 4
Wednesday: PPD (Make-up game in September)
Thursday: Twins 3 - Yankees 4

Record: 2-4

I'm not sure if I should actually write a recap since the series isn't technically over. In fact, the Twins will have this whole there's-one-more-game-in-Yankee-Stadium thing hanging over their heads until September. But at any rate, it is slightly comforting to know the Twins won't get swept in this series.

At least this series wasn't terribly embarrassing. Baker and Duensing pitched well, except for those homeruns they dished up. But I am encouraged that they were able to settle down, make adjustments, and figure it out.

Of course, how much fun was it to see the Twins come back from a four-run deficit on Tuesday? It was absolutely thrilling to see Joe Nathan have a clean save. Sure, he still has more work to do regarding velocity and location -- and getting that slider. But, it's been a while since he's earned a save against the Yankees; he even had trouble when he was healthy.

The Twins seem to play the Yankees hard, and they're right there in the games. But yeah, the losing is getting old. These are winnable games. At least I don't feel demoralized by these losses; they're just like any other losses. I'm just annoyed.

HIGH FIVES:

1. Delmon Young, for his bases-clearing double on Tuesday to allow the Twins to come back and tie, and then go on to win.

2. Matt Capps, for pitching two clean innining on 8 pitches each on Tuesday.

3. Joe Nathan, for a better save on Tuesday than the last one.
~~~


DL Report:

The biggest loss, of course, is the injury to Tsuyoshi Nishioka. He suffered a broken fibula on a hard take-out slide by Nick Swisher.

Let's take a look at the Injury Paper Doll. Note that, according to Joe Christensen of the StarTribune, the break was just below the knee (I already had the paper doll made before I knew that and it's really a pain in the ass to fix, so just pretend that that red starburst is up a little).

There's no specific timetable for Nishi's return yet, but I've seen a number of reports that indicate that it might be a couple of months. And the pain may linger up to a year.

I didn't see Swisher's slide, but just about everyone who did said it wasn't dirty. The Twins, in fact, said it was fair. There's a replay here. Hard slides like that happen all the time in MLB. I'm not necessarily a fan of how Swisher's leg goes up like a kick. However, usually the infielder jumps or gets out the way. That style of hard slides may not be done in Japanese ball, and Nishi may have been caught off-guard.

It's quite unfortunate. Twins fans were very excited to greet him in Minnesota. And his parents flew in from Japan to see him at his home opener. Very, very bad luck.

I was glad to read that Swisher went to apologize to Nishi. Of course, Nishi apologized right back.

The Twins recalled Luke Hughes from AAA Rochester to take the roster spot.

Also Watching:

Kevin Slowey has been shelved for a couple days due to tenderness in his bicep. Hopefully it's nothing series and it feels better after rest.

~~~

Further Updates on the Charter Issues:

I received word from Eric, one of the Umatter2Charter non-bot humans, that Charter Communications has an agreement-in-principle with Fox Sports North to air the additional 44 games.

Yay! Thanks Charter! And thanks Eric!

See the comments section in my previous post to see his entire message.

Twins at Blue Jays: Working out the Rust

Recap:
Friday: Twins a little - Blue Jays a lot (3-13)
Saturday: Twins 1 - Blue Jays 6
Sunday: Twins 4 - Blue Jays 3

Record: 1-2

 

There was a lot of rust for the Twins this series, but Sunday's win kept it from being a complete clunker.

Forgive me, I'm experiencing some rustiness. I haven't done a series recap in so long, I had to look up posts from a year ago to remember how.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who has some rust to work out. Pavano, Manship, D. Hughes looked very rusty. Liriano didn't look so sharp either.

It's hard to tell if Nishioka is suffering from rust or jitters. He's made some mistakes at second; some of them costly. I'm willing to give him a whole bunch of slack because he's got a lot to learn very quickly, but, man, some of those mental mistakes are hard to watch. I hope he's the type who learns from his mistakes and works hard to avoid them in the future. Anyway, I don't mean to be terribly critical; it's only been three games. I'm sure he'll settle in soon and be just fine.

Of course, the owner of the most rust was Joe Nathan. And understandably so. That save, which is his first since Oct. 3, 2009, was probably the most difficult, nerve-racking, excruciating, stressful, heart-thumping, nail-biting, prayer-inducing, hair-pulling, oh-my-god-Joe-just-get-him-out pleading performance I've ever witnessed. It very well could be a good thing it was that way. He had to have been extremely nervous, excited, and scared. And, though it wasn't a pretty save, he certainly earned it. It must have been a great boost to his confidence to face that challenge, stumble but not fall, and finally complete it mostly intact. All with Gardy believing in him enough to let him get that far (although you know he was done after that last batter). I'm sure Joe will be better next time. The only concern now is how his elbow feels after throwing that many pitches. Let's hope for the best, of course.

Another guy with more rust that the others is Justin Morneau. This series takes him back to the place where he suffered his season-ending concussion last year. He played in all three games, but DHed on Sunday. That's great progress. Unfortunately, he didn't his first hit until Sunday -- a broken-bat infield single. That's kind of amusing.

~~~

High Fives:

I've never really done this kind of thing before, but I may as well give some credit where credit is due. As long as the Twins aren't swept in a series, I'll try to figure out three players (or more, if I'm so inclined) who deserve a high-five.

1. Nick Blackburn. He was outstanding on Sunday. He pitched in and out with movement, and when the Jays made contact, it was weak. Well, except for Jose Bautista, but Nick's not going to be the last guy to give up a homerun to that guy.

2. Denard Span. He had a game-saving catch and a moonshot on Sunday. Plus, he's currently leading the team in batting.

3. Joe Nathan. Well, he earned a save. And by that, I mean, he really earned a save. Oh, if you watched the game on TV, did you notice how sweaty he was during the post-game interview? I guess he was a bit anxious.

Utility Guys and Shoes

I was thinking about Nicky Punto today. Mostly because I was wearing the shoes I compared him to on Nick Punto Day last year. I was thinking I should get rid of those shoes -- they are wearing out, -- but the shoes I was going to replace them with broke. Literally broke. In half. Both of them.You can't get good replacements these days.

Which is also true of utility players, I guess. Although I'm not aware of the current crop of potential bench-infielders to have literally broken in half. That would be unfortunate. But I digress.

I loved Nick Punto as a utility guy. Yeah, I didn't love that he was making $4.5 million to be a utility guy. But that role was perfect for him. But he's a Cardinal now. A Cardinal with a hernia.

So, who will be the bench infielder for Gardy this year? Take your pick of Matt "Tigger" Tolbert, Trevor "Error-boy" Plouffe, and Luke "Fireworks" Hughes.

Tolbert has the most major league experience, and, when spring training started, was the one everyone figured would come north. I call him "Tigger" because he's one of those guys who never stops bouncing around; seriously, have you ever seen him chew gum? It's cute for about ten minutes, then it's trying. I have a feeling Gardy feels the same way too. According to LaVelle E Neal of the STrib, he's still got a minor-league option left, so he's not completely a shoo-in. But he is reasonably fast and can pinch run whenever Jim Thome gets on base late in games.

Plouffe wasn't really impressive the few games he did spend in the major leagues (.146 BA! Yikes!). And he's been having a horrible spring. He's committed a team-leading 6 errors. And many of them seem to happen when Joe Nathan is on the mound. Not cool, Trev. Not cool at all. It's really hard to have a ton of confidence in him.

And then we have Hughes. When spring training started, he was just one of the lucky minor-leaguers who was invited to the big league camp. No one really expected him to do much more than get some experience. But he had different ideas. Seems like he hits a home run every other at-bat. It might be tempting to bring him up, but I'm not sure he's ready. Plus, he has a history of being injury-prone.

So, yeah, kind of slim pickings. Add to this that I'm not entirely comfortable with the starting middle-infielders. Nishioka will probably be ok, but he's still getting acclimated to MLB. But Gardy handed shortstop -- the position of leadership -- to Alexi Casilla. He could be brilliant; he could be brutal. No one knows. While I hope he'll be ok -- good grief, he's had enough experience by now -- I'm just not confident. I just hope he is.

Ok. So I doubt things are as bleak for the middle infield as I'm making them seem. But I won't be surprised if these guys give me indigestion just a little. I miss Nicky Punto.

And I need new shoes.