Category: Dailies
Morneau headed back to Twin Cities
By Kelly Thesier
MLB.com
ARLINGTON — Twins first baseman Justin Morneau left the team today, as he’s headed back to the Twin Cities to see an ear, nose and throat specialist.
Morneau has been bothered by the effects of an inner-ear infection since the team returned from a roadtrip in Detroit. He has not played since Monday due to bouts of dizziness and feeling light-headed over the last few days.
“At times I start to feel better and then it comes back again,” Morneau said.
He was given new medication by the Rangers doctors on Tuesday, but the first baseman did not see any real improvement. So the decision was made to have him go back to Minnesota and see more doctors.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is hopeful that Morneau can join the team this
weekend in Kansas City. But the team has seen how long the effects of an inner-ear infection can linger, as Denard Span battled his symptoms for over a month and required a stint on the disabled list. So there is still a possibility that Morneau could also wind up on the DL.
Morneau seemed frustrated by the whole thing, particularly that it’s come at a time when the team is fighting to stay in the playoff hunt.
With Morneau still out, Michael Cuddyer is at first base for the third straight day. Joe Mauer, who got beat up a little behind the plate and fouled a ball off his foot, is getting a DH day with Mike Redmond behind the plate as they face left-hander Derek Holland.
Also, the name of Jose Mijares’ son is Javier Alejandro Mijares. He was born on Aug. 17 in Venezuela.
Here are today’s lineups:
Twins (57-62)
3rd place in AL Central, 6.5 games back
Denard Span, RF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, DH
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Joe Crede, 3B
Delmon Young, LF
Mike Redmond, C
Carlos Gomez, CF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Anthony Swarzak (3-6, 5.87)
Rangers (67-52)
2nd place in AL West, 6.5 games back (one game back in AL Wild Card)
Julio Borbon, DH
Michael Young, 3B
Josh Hamilton, RF
Marlon Byrd, CF
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Nelson Cruz, RF
Hank Blalock, 1B
Taylor Teagarden, C
Elvis Andrus, SS
Pitching: LHP Derek Holland (6-7, 4.88)
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Kubel in, Morneau still out
Jason Kubel still had a sleeve on his left knee Wednesday afternoon, but he told manager Ron Gardenhire that he was good enough to play. So Kubel is back in the lineup as the DH.
Carlos Gomez’s hand is also still a little sore after getting hit with a pitch (or not according to the umpires last night), although he said the wrapping around his wrist helped to prevent it from being worse.
Justin Morneau on the other hand is still feeling the lingering effects of his inner ear infection. While doctors have told him that the infection has cleared up, he is still being affected by dizzy spells and feeling lightheaded. It’s as if things are “in slow motion” at times, he said. The hope is that new medication will help Morneau to feel better.
Gardnehire said he’s going to be patient with Morneau and hope that he’s better perhaps tomorrow. It seems that neither Morneau nor Gardenhire want to see the first baseman wind up on the disabled list, so they’ll wait a couple days to see how Morneau is feeling.
Of course there was more talk about Mauer’s incredible run of late, I’ll have more on that later. But here is one impressive note to leave you with — according to the Elais Sports Bureau, Mauer is one of five American League players to have at least 25 home runs and a .380 batting average this late in the season. The others were Ted Williams (1941 and 1957), Joe DiMaggio (1939), Lou Gehrig (1930 and 1936) and Babe Ruth (1931).
Yeah, that’s pretty good company.
Here are today’s lineups:
Twins (57-62)
3rd place in AL Central, 6.5 games back
Denard Span, RF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Joe Crede, 3B
Delmon Young, LF
Carlos Gomez, CF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Scott Baker (10-7, 4.54)
Rangers (67-51)
2nd place in AL West, 5.5 games back (tied for AL Wild Card lead)
Julio Borbon, DH
Michael Young, 3B
Josh Hamilton, RF
Marlon Byrd, CF
David Murphy, LF
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Hank Blalock, 1B
Ivan Rodriguez, C
Elvis Andrus, SS
Pitching: RHP Kevin Millwood (9-7, 3.31)
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Morneau out of lineup
Justin Morneau was not in the lineup on Tuesday due to the lingering effects of an inner ear infection and he’s officially considered to be day-to-day.
Morneau left Monday night’s contest against the Rangers after the third inning due to dizziness. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Morneau was put on medication for an inner ear infection before the team left Minnesota. He saw the Rangers doctor before the game who concurred with the original diagnosis and Morneau is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Wednesday.
Philip Humber has arrived in Texas and is available out of the bullpen tonight. The right-hander was supposed to start for Rochester today so he’ll be the long relief option if the Twins need one.
Gardenhire said that Thursday’s starter Anthony Swarzak will also be in the ‘pen tonight. Today was Swarzak’s day to throw a side session before his start, but the team will wait and see if they need him as well. If everything goes smoothly, Swarzak will throw his side session during the game in the bullpen.
Also, Brian Duensing is tenatively penciled in to start Saturday in Kansas City. The Twins hope to use the left-hander in that start but will see how the next couple of games go. After all, things have been a bit screwy with the pitching staff of late. Like yesterday when the plan had been to start Duensing against the Rangers on Thursday, but that changed when Francisco Liriano went on the DL with a tired left arm.
Here are today’s lineups:
Twins (56-62)
3rd place in AL Central, 6.5 games back
Denard Span, RF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Joe Crede, 3B
Delmon Young, LF
Carlos Gomez, CF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Carl Pavano (10-9, 5.16)
Rangers (67-50)
2nd place in AL West, 4.5 games back (leading AL Wild Card by 1 game)
Julio Borbon, LF
Michael Young, 3B
Josh Hamilton, RF
Marlon Byrd, CF
David Murphy, DH
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Hank Blalock, 1B
Taylor Teagarden, C
Omar Vizquel, SS
Pitching: RHP Scott Feldman (9-7, 3.90)
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Waiting on a deal
After a week off, I’m back on the beat and it’s a busy day to return thanks to today being the deadline for teams to sign their 2009 Draft picks.
The Twins continue to have negotiations with their first-round pick, right-hander Kyle Gibson. Scouting director Deron Johnson has remained optimistic that a deal will get done, although indications today were that it would likely go down to the wire with the deadline coming at 11:01 p.m. CT.
Brian Duensing will start Thursday’s contest in Texas, manager Ron Gardenhire said today. That means Anthony Swarzak is moving to the bullpen, although he likely won’t be available to pitch in relief until Tuesday after throwing 80-some pitches in his start against Cleveland on Saturday.
Joe Nathan said his right knee is fine after he took a line drive off his kneecap in Sunday’s contest. So the Twins All-Star closer is good to go out of the ‘pen tonight.
Orlando Cabrera is getting a day off today. Gardenhire said that Cabrera told some of the coaching staff that he was a little worn out so they felt this was a good game to give him a rest. Brendan Harris gets the start at shortstop in Cabrera’s place and will be batting second in the lineup as well.
Here are today’s lineups:
Twins (56-61)
3rd place in AL Central, 6 games back
Denard Span, CF
Brendan Harris, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Joe Crede, 3B
Delmon Young, LF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano (5-11, 5.39)
Rangers (66-50)
2nd place in AL West, 4.5 games back (leading AL Wild Card by 1/2 game)
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Michael Young, 3B
Josh Hamilton, RF
Marlon Byrd, CF
David Murphy, LF
Andruw Jones, DH
Hank Blalock, 1B
Kevin Richardson, C
Elvis Andrus, SS
Pitching: RHP Tommy Hunter (5-2, 2.26)
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Perkins to have MRI on his shoulder
Glen Perkins will not make a start for the Twins this week as he’s set to undergo an MRI on his left shoulder when the team returns to Minnesota. Perkins said it’s a “precautionary” MRI that he and his agent decided needed to be done after he’s had a hard time getting loose lately.But for now, Perkins is out of the rotation.
As for the two undecided starts on Wednesday and Thursday against the Royals, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Francisco Liriano would make one of them and Anthony Swarzak or Brian Duensing would make the other.
- Twins third baseman Joe Crede said that his right shoulder is feeling better again and that the cortisone shot hit the right spot. He’ll be ready to do some activity on the field Tuesday, but the Twins will probably wait until at least Wednesday before slotting Crede back into the lineup.
- Carlos Gomez’s calf is doing much better, Gardenhire said. Gomez didn’t start Sunday because he’s 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in his career against LHP Jarrod Washburn.
Here are today’s lineups:
Twins (54-56)
3rd place in AL Central, 4.5 games back
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Delmon Young, LF
Mike Redmond, C
Nick Punto, 3B
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: RHP Scott Baker (9-7, 4.59)
Tigers (58-51)
1st place in AL Central
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Marcus Thames, LF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Carlos Guillen, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Gerald Laird, C
Ramon Santiago, SS
Pitching: LHP Jarrod Washburn (8-7, 2.93)
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Saturday Lineups: Twins at Tigers
There was quite a bit of entertainment following the Twins’ 10-8 loss to the Tigers on Friday night thanks to the verbal war of words between Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.
Gardenhire read all of Wendelstedt’s comments in the paper and he had a humorous response on Saturday to the invitation the skipper was given to attend umpiring school.
“If he’ll agree to take the classes again, I’ll go with him,” Gardenhire said.
Gardenhire said he hasn’t heard from the Commissoner’s office about any possible repercussions of his comments — a fine or perhaps suspension. At least not yet, anyway.
- Carlos Gomez is out of the lineup with a bruised calf, after fouling a ball off it in Friday night’s contest.
- Gardenhire started Nick Punto at third base to get some additional speed in the lineup and also to have his defense there with a groundball pitcher on the mound (Pavano).
- The rotation is still unsettled for this next week. Gardenhire said that Nick Blackburn will pitch Tuesday and Carl Pavano on Friday. But the club is still undecided on the starters for Wednesday and Thursday. Anthony Swarzak joined Glen Perkins and Francisco Liriano as a possibility to be removed from the rotation following his one inning outing on Friday. So there are two spots for the three pitchers.
Here are the lineups.
Twins (53-56)
3rd place in AL Central, 5.5 games back
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Delmon Young, LF
Nick Punto, 3B
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: RHP Carl Pavano (9-8, 5.37)
Tigers (58-50)
1st place in AL Central
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Clete Thomas, LF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Carlos Guillen, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Gerald Laird, C
Adam Everett, SS
Pitching: RHP Justin Verlander (12-5, 3.29)
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Pavano arrives in Detroit and Crede out for series
A busy day here at Comerica Park for the Twins, starting of course with the acquisition of pitcher Carl Pavano from the Indians. So here a few quick updates while I work on more stories for later.
— Carl Pavano arrived at the ballpark this afternoon after driving up from Cleveland and spoke with the media before batting practice. He’s excited to come to a division-contending team. He’ll get his opportunity to pitch quickly for Minnesota. Pavano is set to start Saturday against the Tigers and Glen Perkins will move into the bullpen for this series. Pavano will wear Torii Hunter’s old number, 48.
–Here is how the rotation will roll out for now. Scott Baker will make Sunday’s start in the series finale.Nick Blackburn is set to pitch Tuesday vs. Kansas City and he’ll be on regular rest, thanks to Monday’s off day. For now both Francisco Liriano and Perkins are still considered to be in the rotation, although as I said earlier Perkins will be out of the ‘pen for now. More decisions will be made on the rotation after they can talk to Liriano, who is currently in the Twin Cities dealing with a family matter.
— Third baseman Joe Crede will miss this series, as he’s going to have another cortisone shot in the AC joint of his right shoulder tonight. The pain has been steadily getting worse in his shoulder again and doctors feel another shot should help that. The hope is Crede will be ready to play Tuesday vs. Kansas City.
Twins (53-55)
3rd place in AL Central, 4.5 games back
Denard Span, LF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Brendan Harris, 3B
Carlos Gomez, CF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Anthony Swarzak (3-4, 4.25)
Tigers (57-50)
1st place in AL Central
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Clete Thomas, LF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Carlos Guillen, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Alex Avila, C
Adam Everett, SS
Pitching: RHP Armando Galarraga (5-10, 5.22)
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Thursday lineups: Twins at Indians
Twins (53-53)
3rd place in AL Central, 3.5 games back
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, LF
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Joe Crede, 3B
Mike Redmond, C
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn (8-5, 3.83)
Indians (44-62)
4th place in AL Central, 11.5 games back
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin Soo Choo, RF
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Travis Hafner, DH
Chris Gimenez, 1B
Luis Valbuena, 2B
Trevor Crowe, LF
Wyatt Toregas, C
Pitching: RHP Fausto Carmona (2-6, 7.13)
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One-liners with Gardy
Roadtrips are often very beneficial for a beat writer because it often gives you a little more time to talk to the players and coaches then you do when they’re at home.
And that usually leads to some humorous moments as well.
On the road, manager Ron Gardenhire’s pregame media sessions will often run much longer and feature a wide variety of topics. Like it did today when Gardenhire brought up former Twins pitcher, Rick Reed.
While talking about Scott Baker’s better pace on the mound of late, a reporter asked Gardenhire who was the slowest working pitcher that he’d had since taking over as manager. And Gardenhire didn’t hesitate with his answer of Reed.
“He was Father Time,” Gardenhire said. “He had birthdays during his starts. Not one birthday. Birthdays.”
This trip has already been memorable thanks to some of Gardenhire’s hilarious quotes, including one about Carlos Gomez’s bat flip following his home run on Tuesday night. While the manager didn’t see the flip, he said that it could have been worse.
“At least he didn’t have a cell phone at home plate and dig it up and call his mom or something like that,” Gardenhire joked.
As for Twins news, Michael Cuddyer is back in the lineup as the designated hitter. Gardenhire said that he’ll try to ease Cuddyer back into playing and there is a chance Cuddyer could return to right field in Thursday’s day game finale in Cleveland. But that will all depend on how his back responds tonight.
Joe Mauer is catching tonight. So there is a possibility he could be the DH on Thursday. Gardenhire said he’ll see how Mauer feels, adding that he’d like to have him as the DH in the contest.
Twins (53-53)
3rd place in AL Central, 2.5 games back
Denard Span, RF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, LF
Michael Cuddyer, DH
Joe Crede, 3B
Carlos Gomez, CF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano (4-10, 5.56)
Indians (44-62)
4th place in AL Central, 11.5 games back
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin Soo Choo, RF
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Chris Gimenez, 1B
Jamey Carroll, 2B
Kelly Shoppach, C
Andy Marte, DH
Trevor Crowe, LF
Pitching: LHP Aaron Laffey (4-3, 4.08)
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Back in Cleveland, but facing a much-different team
The Twins are set to get their first look at the Indians following the club’s recent fire sale. There are still a few recognizable names in Cleveland’s lineup including Grady Sizemore, Shin Soo Choo, Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner.
But perhaps the most stark reminder of the changes that took place in Cleveland is the two posters that have been painted over in the upper deck — which used to feature Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez.
As for Twins news — Michael Cuddyer was on the field this afternoon, taking early batting practice and running the bases. Everything went well and Cuddyer said he was feeling ready to play, but team trainers didn’t want Cuddyer to start the contest without seeing how his back reacted to the outfielder’s first activity in a couple days.
So Cuddyer will have to wait until Wednesday to be back in the lineup. Manager Ron Gardenhire did say that Cuddyer is available as a pinch-hitter for tonight’s contest.
UPDATE: Kevin Slowey underwent successful surgery on his right wrist Tuesday in Baltimore. The doctor was able to remove the bone chip in Slowey’s wrist. Afterward, Slowey went a text message to team trainer Rick McWane saying, “It went exactly as planned and we were happy with the outcome.”
Twins (52-53)
3rd place in AL Central, 3.5 games back
Denard Span, RF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Joe Crede, 3B
Delmon Young, LF
Carlos Gomez, CF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Scott Baker (8-7, 4.86)
Indians (44-61)
4th place in AL Central, 11.5 games back
Grady Sizemore, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin Soo Choo, RF
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Travis Hafner, DH
Chris Gimenez, C
Luis Valbuena, 2B
Andy Marte, 1B
Trevor Crowe, LF
Pitching: LHP David Huff (5-5, 6.39)
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Kelly's Corner 