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: Jason Repko...Whatever

Ok, I should have done this yesterday, but I was busy until after the game, and then by then, I was so pissy, I kind of forgot. Besides, it seems kind of shady, so waiting a day isn't a big deal.

The Twins have placed Jason Repko on the 15-day DL, retroactive to August 11th, with left shoulder bursitis. This announcement completely came out of nowhere. However, he's a bench player, so it's not like he missed any starts that we could notice. He could have been in agony for days, and we were totally oblivious to it.

Bursitis is inflammation of the fluid-filled (bursa) sac that's between tendons and bone.

I think one of the 57 beat writers I follow on Twitter said something about that Repko had and MRI, and that's when they found the bursitis. I'm pretty sure if they did an MRI on me, or you even, they'd find bursitis. I just find it rather convenient that he suddenly is hurt right when Justin Morneau is ready to be activated. I'm not sayin'...I'm just sayin'. It sounds like someone didn't want to be sent to AAA.

~~~

Other Updates:

Friday marked the triumphant return of Justin Morneau. Ok, "triumphant" may be a smidge strong -- he went 0 for 4, but it's sure swell to have him back with the team. He swaps spots on the roster with Repko.

Alexi Casilla was also activated on Friday. Trevor Plouffe was optioned to AAA Rochester to make room.

Also Watching:

Gardy was quite excited to finally write up the opening day lineup on Friday's lineup card, but, alas, it was not to be. Michael Cuddyer felt a pop in his neck during batting practice. Reportedly on his last swing of the session. Because that's how things roll with this year's Twins. Everyone is hoping that it's minor and he'll be ok after a day or two off.

Also under the "that's how things roll with this year's Twins" category, Casilla tweaked his hamstring -- yeah, the same hamstring that supposedly just healed -- in the seventh inning of Friday's game -- yeah, the same game that he was just activated for. So, yeah....

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.

Quick Notes: Dec. 5, 2010

On Tuesday, as expected, all three free-agent players that the Twins offered arbitration to; Carl Pavano, Jesse Crain, and Orlando Hudson; declined. So, if they all sign elsewhere, the Twins will receive four draft picks. I do expect them to try to re-sign Pavano and Crain. Unfortunately, there is a lot of interest from several other teams, so it's likely the Twins will be outbid. We'll see.

~~~

On Thursday, the Twins tendered contracts to all nine arbitration-eligible players. The odd thing was, apparently Clay Condrey was quietly released on November 5. It's odd because no one seemed to know, not even the beat writers. I guess the poor guy has been forgotten and left at the curb.

So now the Twins and the players have to get to work and accomplish the ever-important "avoid arbitration." Like I've mentioned before, no one actually wants arbitration. They've already taken care of Jason Repko and Pat Neshek and came to terms for next season.

There were a lot of rumors that the Twins weren't going to tender JJ Hardy a contract. Now that they have, there are a lot of rumors that a few teams are interested in trading for him. I hope not; I want him to be the Twins starting shortstop for awhile.

~~~

Our old friend Mike Redmond, who retired from the Cleveland Indians last mid-season, has been named the new manager of the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts (of the Toronto organization). Good for him. I read somewhere that he's always wanted to manage. In fact, he was quite close to starting a managing career years ago. When he was in AAA, his manager wanted to cut him, but he begged for two more weeks, and if it didn't work out he'd go manage somewhere. It did work out for him, and later that season, he made his major league debut.

I heard an interview with him a few days ago. He said that he knew it was time to retire when baseball became a "job." His body's been aching for a couple years, but because the Twins were winning, he was having fun and he felt better. The Indians weren't very good, and the losing wasn't fun at all. So, when they cut him, he knew it was time to call it a career.

He said the Blue Jays organization called him about managing about four hours after he announced his retirement (I couldn't really tell if he was exaggerating). He said that he was kind of hoping to take a year off to spend time with his family, but this was a great opportunity and he couldn't pass it up. He said his sons are looking forward to being bat boys.

The hosts went on to ask him about the Indians' young catcher Carlos Santana and pitcher Fausto Carmona. He already sounded like a manager as he was talking about their bright futures.

Good luck to him. Maybe in a few years, we'll see him back in the Twins organization.

~~~

Baseball's Winter Meetings start Monday in Orlando. This is when team GMs, agents, some players, media, and other baseball folks get together and talk 2011. There is a lot of hype around the event, and baseball fans seem to really look forward to it. GMs get together to talk about possible trades; agents meet with GMs to talk free agents; free agent players shmooze to try to increase their value; and all the while, media hounds are lurking around, peeking around corners, riding elevators up and down, and performing all manners of sneaking hoping to hear a bit of information. However, for all the excitement, it usually turns out to be more talk than action.

It totally reminds me of the tech writing conferences I go to. Except on the opposite end of the nerd-cool scale.

A's at Twins: Sweep out the Ugly Shoes

Recap:
Friday -- A's 3 - Twins 4
Saturday -- A's 0 - Twins 2
Sunday -- A's 2 - Twins 4

Record: 68-50, 3 games ahead

Well, isn't that nice. A very groovy sweep, with the added bonus of gaining some ground in the division (thanks Tigers!). I like it a lot!

I've gotta admit, I didn't catch much of Friday's or Saturday's games. (I'm really really bummed that I missed Duensing's gem -- I was hanging out with friends who wanted to watch the Vikings preseason game. I know, I know, but they're great friends anyway.)

So, since I went to Sunday's game, I'll talk about that. I had a wonderful time.

• Beautiful day for baseball. After the recent hot and humid streak Minnesota's been having, it was an absolutely glorious day. It was maybe a bit breezy, but not too chilly.
  
  
  
• Ok, I know I'm a grown woman. Heck, even my kids are grown. But I bought myself a package of Twins Silly Bandz.

(If you don't know what Silly Bandz are, don't worry about it. You'll find out soon enough.)
• Remember the breeze? Well, it's a lot swirlier inside the ballpark. To which, my husband proclaims "it's too windy, there's no way anyone's hitting a homerun today." This comes into play later.
• The 9-year-old girl who sung the National Anthem was fantastic. 
• Twingo! I've never done Twingo -- I don't know why; it just never happened. But I quickly learn that it's kind of hard...I mean how often does one see CI, K-PB, or 7-4 anyway? This also comes into play later.
• I want to hug Jason Repko. Ain't no way Delmon Young makes those catches.
• About the fifth inning or so, I find myself shushing guys around me for saying words that rhyme with "bo bitter." Yes, I'm superstitious. 
• About the same time, I notice Kevin Slowey is getting into some 3-ball counts, but he's been also getting a lot of called third strikes. 
• My son seems to have every play that happens printed on his Twingo card. And when Slowey plunked Mark Ellis, he won. He got a t-shirt.

(He thought it was lame, so he gave it to me.)
• Remember the wind and what my husband said about it? Yeah, well Jim Thome went ahead and proved him wrong...right after I told my mom "Jim Thome is horrible against lefties." I guess he showed us, huh? It was awesome that the guy who caught that hot tater was wearing a Thome shirt.
• And then the booing...Kevin Slowey had pitched 7 innings of no-hit baseball, and Gardy took him out and went with Rauch to start the eighth. Many fans were not happy about it. And said so. I agree with Gardy's decision -- Kev just missed a start with elbow soreness; there's no need to re-sore it. Also, he was beginning to pitch erratically and leave some pitches up; he was getting outs by sheer luck. When he hit Ellis, it was pretty clear he was done. Gardy made the right choice. I don't really blame the fans for booing, though. It was turning out to be a special game, and we wanted it to stay that way. It's not very often that an average fan gets to see a no-hitter, and we were mad that it wasn't going to happen this time. Gardy may have made the right decision, but it doesn't mean we have to like it. For what's it's worth, I didn't boo. I don't ever boo (well, that's not exactly true; I've been know to boo an umpire or two). But I did groan when I saw Rauch come out. I would've rather seen Guerrier or Crain.
• Rauch rewarded my groaning by giving up two doubles, and both those runners scored. So much for that. Crain makes it a little interesting by throwing a wild pitch, then getting one of those famous 6-5-4-6 fielders' choices. But then he gets one of those Slowey-esque called third strikes.
• This was my first chance seeing Matt Capps live. Single. Double-play. Ground-out. I'll take it.
• If there was any negative about this game, it was that the Twins left 12 (twelve!) men on base. Not good. Not good at all. But, as long as they win...