Category: Dailies

Hundred Dollar Bill

When manager Ron Gardenhire walked into his office after Wednesday night’s Spring Training opener against the Red Sox, he found a $100 bill sitting on top of his laptop.

Next to the bill was a note from first baseman Justin Morneau that read “Gardy, Forgot to run. I fined myself.”

Turns out that after Morneau had gone to the batting cages to get some extra swings after exiting the game with a strikeout in the fifth inning. But afterward, he forgot to go back out to the outfield and run.

The Twins have been talking all spring about Morneau’s increased leadership on the team. Perhaps no better sign of that is when the runner-up for last year’s AL MVP is fining himself in the first game of Spring Training.

Bonser likely out for the 2009 season

The Twins will likely be without pitcher Boof Bonser for
the entire 2009 season after doctors discovered partial tears in the labrum and
rotator cuff in his right shoulder during arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday.

Two previous MRIs done on Bonser’s shoulder had revealed
no structural damage. But the tears were discovered and repaired during the arthroscopic
scope performed by Rays orthopedist Dr. Koko Eaton.

Bonser is expected to miss six to eight months recovering
from the surgery.

The pitcher first began experiencing shoulder discomfort
at the end of last season. An MRI performed at that time revealed no structural
damage, and Bonser was ordered to rest the shoulder and begin a rehabilitation
program.

But the rehab didn’t help. Bonser tried to throw in early
January and felt the same discomfort. The right-hander received a cortisone
shot from Dr. Eaton just a few days before he reported for Spring Training, The
shot had little effect on the problem, and Bonser has not really thrown since
workouts began last Monday.

With Bonser out of the mix for the Twins bullpen,
right-handers Philip Humber, who is out of options and Jason Jones, a Rule 5
pick, are now the favorites to win the final spot if the Twins keep seven
relievers. R.A. Dickey, a knuckleballer, and left-hander Sean Henn are also
among those expected to compete for the job. 

There is a chance that the Twins could break camp with an
11-man pitching staff, meaning just six relievers will make the Opening Day
roster, but so far that appears to be a long shot.

Game Time

It’s now less than 24 hours before the Twins first game of the spring and like the players, I’m ready to see some real action on the field. While it’s always exciting to get down to Florida and to see the players report, the games are always what bring about the most intrigue in spring.

Manager Ron Gardenhire likely put it best during some of his post-workout comments on Tuesday.

“I think the guys are ready too,” Gardenhire said of the games starting. “They’re excited. They’re tired of facing each other. That gets old. Hitters facing the pitchers, that’s not a lot of fun. It’s a little more fun when you face the other guys.”


Glen Perkins will get the start in the Twins Graperfruit League opener against the Red Sox on Wednesday night at Hammond Stadium. Among the pitchers also expected to throw in the contest are Joe Nathan, Jesse Crain, Luis Ayala, and Bobby Keppel. Mike Redmond will catch the first game and the infield will be Justin Morneau at first, Alexi Casilla at second, Nick Punto at shortstop and Brian Buscher at third. I haven’t yet heard who will be starting in the outfield.

Here are a few nuggets that came out of camp on Tuesday:

  • Other than Boof Bonser’s shoulder problems, the only other injury so far in camp belongs to infielder Steve Tolleson who has a strained oblique. Gardenhire said that Tolleson is expected to miss some time on the field but that he’ll be re-evaluated in 3-4 days.

  • Joe Mauer certainly seems excited by the progress he’s made over the last week. Along with playing catch and working on some light agility drills, Mauer is now beginning to take swings in the cage as well. It’s still unclear what Mauer’s timetable is for rejoining the team out on the field but for now, it’s just nice to see him encouraged by the steps he’s taken since Spring Training began.

  • Former Twins pitcher Brad Radke stopped by the team’s clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon. Radke, who resides in Largo, Fla. which is near Clearwater, was greeted with a hug and handshake from many of the veteran Twins players who were clearly excited to see him. There were also quite a few congratulations offered to Radke in regards to his selection to the Twins Hall of Fame. The normally modest pitcher seemed a little sheepish about the honor, but he said that he’s looking forward to being in Minnesota for the induction ceremony this summer.

Restaurant of the Day: The Mucky Duck 
Every Spring Training all of the Twins beat writers take a trip to Captiva Island to visit this restaurant for dinner. The goal is always to make it out there in time to see the sun set from the beach on which the restaurant sits. It’s hard to beat that view and the food is pretty good as well. Just know it’s a little bit of a drive to get out to the restaurant — particularly when there is vacation traffic out on both Sanibel Island and Captiva — but if you get the chance, it’s really worth the time.

Welcome to Minnesota, Joe Crede

It sure didn’t take long for the Twins new third baseman to get a little taste of Minnesota nice.

While Crede was standing alongside the batting cage on one of the fields at the Lee County Sports Complex on Sunday morning and waiting to take his first round of batting practice as a Twin, a fan sitting in the stands yelled out, “Welcome to Minnesota, Joe Crede.” And Crede responded with a wave of his bat and a head nod in the man’s direction.

Crede looked good during his first workout with the club. Many people commented on what a “big” guy Crede is, a statement based upon the third baseman’s athletic-build stature. He certainly looks like a ballplayer and if you didn’t know that he’d had back issues, you wouldn’t have been able to tell by Sunday’s workout.

I spent quite a bit of time around Crede while I was an MLB.com intern in Chicago during the ’05 season (yes, Twins fans, I spent a year writing about the White Sox — although I did spend time reporting on the Cubs and Brewers that season too). He’s a quiet and humble guy from Missouri who possesses a very strong work ethic. If there was a player who fits perfectly into the Twins clubhouse, it’s Crede. By watching Crede joke around with Justin Morneau during their BP
session and fist pumping with pitcher Joe Nathan, it’s easy to see that
he’ll mix right in with the group.

As for my initial thoughts on the move, it appears to be a great nab for the Twins. Considering that the Twins paid $6.6 million to Mike Lamb for 81 games last season, the $2.5 million guaranteed to Crede seems like a very low risk. Crede has shown to make some spectacular plays at third. And if he can stay healthy and produce a similar season to the one he had in 2006 when he recorded 30 homers and 94 RBIs, Crede would be well worth the $7 million he could earn.

Other news from the day:

  • I watched Corey Koskie take batting practice on one of the back fields of the Twins’ complex on Sunday. Koskie certainly has come a long way in his recovery and it appears he’s reached another big step — making Team Canada for this year’s World Baseball Classic. Although he wasn’t on Canada’s provisional roster, Koskie will join the team when camp opens on March 2 at the Blue Jays facility in Dunedin, Fla.

  • Gardenhire said he hasn’t yet considered how he might structure the lineup now with the addition of Crede. There seems to be a number of ways he could slot Crede into that group — and it would be interesting to hear all of your thoughts on what the Twins batting order might look like for Opening Day.

Restaurant of the Day: Patinella’s Chicken Grill.   Okay so this isn’t your typical sitdown restaurant (more like healthy fast food) but it’s one of the favorites of the Twins beat writers and also the team’s players and coaches. Located in the Plantation Shoppes, just down the street from the ballpark, it features a number of chicken and rice and gyro dishes. The #3 with yellow rice is one of my favorites. I would label this a must-visit place for anyone visiting Fort Myers.

Crede update plus Friday round-up

Just when it seemed like the Twins might be easing on their pursuit of Joe Crede, talks between the two sides are heating up once again.

As Jon Heyman of SI.com first reported, the Twins appear to be closing in on a deal with Crede. It was indicated to me that the two sides could be nearing a deal but I haven’t been able to get much info on what the possible deal might entail. It’s clear that Crede’s agent, Scott Boras, and Twins GM Bill Smith remain in discussions, although, I’m making sure to point out that I’ve heard nothing is finalized yet.

While Crede became the news on Friday night, there were a few interesting tidbits to pass along from the day.

  • Manager Ron Gardenhire said that one area he’d like to address this spring is his backup first baseman. Justin Morneau played all 163 games last season (155 at first base). And while Morneau was able to handle that workload, Gardenhire would like the option this season of giving him more rest from playing the field. Michael Cuddyer has held the backup duties at the spot in previous seasons, but Gardenhire would like to keep him in the outfield. So the likely candidates to see playing time at first will be Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris, who would make up the platoon at third base if the Twins don’t sign Crede.

  • Gardenhire also mentioned that it’s not necessarily a given that the team will go with 12 pitchers out of spring. It still seems the most likely scenario but Gardenhire won’t rule out the possibility of keeping an extra position player — “I’d like to go with 14 [position players]. But I have to talk to my pitching coach on that one. It’s going to be tough.”

  • In addition to the five Spring Training games already being televised, the Twins announced Friday that the MLB Network will be carrying four additional contests that were not previously scheduled to air on Fox Sports North or WFTC. They include the following games: Feb. 25 — Red Sox @ Twins – NESN, Feb. 28 — Twins @ NY Yankees – YES, March 1 — Red Sox @ Twins — NESN, March 17 – Twins @ Red Sox — NESN

  • Also of note, hitting coach Joe Vavra said that he’s been pleased with some of the early adjustments that he’s seen in Delmon Young’s swing. Vavra said that his stance is a little wider and that Young looks to be using his legs more. The hope is that these changes will allow Young to turn on the ball more and to use the natural power he generates with his quick hands.

I figured as something fun, I might recommend some good places to eat/see while visiting Fort Myers during Spring Training as a daily (or weekly) thing. A little warning — I don’t get out much other than to eat while I’m here so it will most likely be food related. However, I have played some nice golf courses during the few off days I have here so I’ll try to include those too. So here goes the first  recommendation.

Restaurant of the day: Cantino Laredo — a good Mexican restaurant that is located near the Bell Tower Shops at the corner of Daniels Parkway and U.S. 41. It’s first on my list because I’ve already eaten there a couple of times this trip. If you like guacamole, be sure to get it as they make it fresh at the table.

Golfing for Charity

One day that’s always a little chaotic for beat writers at
Spring Training is when the club’s charity golf outing takes place and for the
Twins, that day was Thursday. It means the workouts go by a little quicker than
normal and afterward access to the players is limited with guys hurrying to
make their 1:00 p.m. tee time.

For me, it’s also the one day where I can qualify golf as work.

Having played golf for nearly my entire life, I’ll admit that I hardly pass up
the chance to hit the course. That’s especially true when it’s for a good
cause. So when the Twins staff has asked me in each of the last three years to
take part in the annual charity golf scramble outing, I gladly say yes —
getting permission from the boss first, of course.

This year I was lucky to play with three wonderful people who all live in the
Fort Myers/Naples area. Besides being great conversationalists over the four-plus
hours of our round, they also possessed some golf skills as well. We finished a
respectable 9 under par, having birdied five straight holes to finish our
round (nothing like getting on a hot streak late, right?). But we were not even close to the
winning groups. The tournament took place on two 18-hole courses – Nick Punto’s
group took first on one course with a 57 (15 under par) and Matt Guerrier’s
group finished first on the other with a 56 (16 under par).

My highlight of the round came on our last par three when I
stuck my iron shot four feet from the hole — good enough to beat out Kent
Hrbek for closest to the pin.

But the story of the day belonged to outfielder Dustin Martin,
who played for Double-A New Britain last season. Martin recorded the lone hole
in one of the day – the problem was it came on a mulligan. For the non-golfers,
teams can usually buy “extra shots” to use during their rounds. So if no player
hits a good shot or someone just wants a second try, one member of the group can hit again — which is exactly what Martin
did on that particular par three.

If Martin had hit the ball in the hole on his first try, he
would have won a Bose Stereo sound system. Instead, he just won closest to the
pin on that hole – with a very unusual “Zero inches” marked on the card.

Bobby Korecky is now a Diamondback

The Twins announced Wednesday afternoon that pitcher Bobby Korecky had been assigned to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a waiver claim.

The move signifies that the Twins officially signed right-hander Luis Ayala to his one-year, $1.3 million contract. Ayala has been in camp since Sunday but his deal had not yet been finalized. To make room for Ayala on the 40-man roster, the Twins put Korecky on waivers and he was claimed by Arizona. Korecky was 2-0 with a 4.58 ERA in 16 appearances for the Twins last season.

I’ll have more details on the move after we meet with general manager Bill Smith later this afternoon.

UPDATE: The Twins still haven’t officially signed Ayala. The club is just waiting on the official contract to come through from MLB so that it can be signed. That should happen very soon. The signing is close enough that Smith did talk about the pitcher and that will be in the story I’ll file a little later.

Pitchers and Catchers Day 2 — Tale of Inspiration

Spring Training is a time for new beginnings and one of the most inspiring stories of this spring is taking place on the back fields of the Lee County Sports Complex.

Former Twins third baseman Corey Koskie is working out there, with the Twins permission, as he tries to make Team Canada for next month’s World Baseball Classic.

Koskie, 35, hasn’t played in a Major League game since July 5, 2006 when, as the Brewers third baseman, he suffered a concussion that left him with dizziness and headaches that would not go away. After two-plus seasons out of baseball, Koskie hopes that the Classic could be a showcase for him and might lead to him getting another shot in the big leagues.

The fact that Koskie is even back on a baseball field is inspiring to anyone that watched him go through his rough ordeal — when he couldn’t drive at times or even play with his kids. One person that is particularly encouraged by Koskie’s latest step is Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.

“He’s one of the all-time favorites,” Gardenhire said. “It’s nice to see him back on the field. He’s been going through a lot. That’s the big thing with Koskie. It’s actually good to see him not bouncing off the walls when he’s walking down the hallway because he’s dizzy.”

It was a little bit of a busy day so I didn’t get to watch much of the pitchers fielding work today. Most of the position players have already arrived (some new faces on Tuesday were Matt Tolbert, Trevor Plouffe and Deibinson Romero). While the pitchers worked out, the position guys spent the morning doing some work on the back fields of the complex. I think I’ve counted seven players who I haven’t seen in the clubhouse yet: Denard Span, Delmon Young, Jason Pridie, Dustin Martin, Danny Valencia, David Winfree and Alejandro Machado. Position players must report by Friday so it’s likely we’ll see more of these players starting to arrive in the next few days.

Here are a few other things that were noteworthy on Day 2 of camp:

  • Twins general manager Bill Smith said that the club expects to finalize Luis Ayala’s contract soon, possibly as early as Wednesday. The final medical report on Ayala is expected at that time. When the signing is completed, the Twins will have to create a spot on the 40-man roster for him. It’s still unclear which player might be outrighted or released to make room for the pitcher.

  • When answering the questions about players taking part in the World Baseball Classic, Gardenhire joked that he’s most concerned about his players facing each other in the event. Closer Joe Nathan could pitch to first baseman Justin Morneau when Team USA plays Team Canada in the opening round in Toronto. And they’ve already kidded about what might happen at that point. “My guys are talking about buzzing each other now,” Gardenhire said while shaking his head.

Welcome to spring drills…need help finding your way?

The first day of workouts for pitchers and catchers is always a bit confusing — well, confusing for the new players at least.

That’s due to the long and complicated workout schedule that’s posted for the players on the wall inside the clubhouse.

Bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek (“Stelly”) is responsible for making camp go smoothly and he has his own unique way of communicating that in his schedule. Left-hander Craig Breslow spent the final four months of last season with the Twins, but Monday marked the first time that he had to read the Spring Training schedule.

Breslow seemed excited to see there was a schedule for the day posted. But he stood in front of it with other Twins players for a bit of time as they tried to figure out where they all were supposed to go first.

Starter Scott Baker might have had the best definition for the schedule when he called it, “controlled chaos”

I used the morning to wander out on the fields watching the pitchers drills. Although I caught a glimpse of a little PFP (pitchers fielding practice), the majority of my time was spent by the bullpen to see some of the new guys throw. I was particularly interested to see R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball — which Mike Redmond caught with more success than I expected. One interesting thing about Dickey’s knuckleball is the speed at which he can throw it, much harder than some other knuckleballers.

In addition to the news that I wrote Monday about Boof Bonser’s cortisone shot and an update on Joe Mauer’s health, there were a few other items of note.

Francisco Liriano was the only pitcher not present for the first day of workouts. It’s the second straight year that the lefty has reported late to camp, but this time it was out of his control. Liriano’s flight on Sunday morning from the Dominican Republic was canceled. He and third base prospect Deibinson Romeo tried to get a later flight but that too was canceled. So the expectation is that both players would fly in on Monday and they’d be in camp on Tuesday.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire read a note on his desk after the workout that said Alexi Casilla and Carlos Gomez were going on Tuesday to get their drivers license. It was unclear whether this would be the first time for the players to get them because often players from other countries have to get a new license every year. Drivers licenses are only issued for the length of time for a player’s visa. So those players who are on one-year contracts have to constantly get new ones, which means taking the tests over again too — doesn’t exactly sound like fun to me.

Luis Ayala threw in the bullpen for the first time on Monday, but his deal with the Twins has not yet been finalized. So a corresponding move on the 40-man roster still has to take place.

All right, Day 1 of big league camp is in the books…more to come on Tuesday.

Reporting Day

The quietest day of Spring Training is always the day that pitchers and catchers report. While players have to technically be in Fort Myers, they aren’t required to be at the ballpark – let alone to work out. Usually the Twins have a few guys who, in addition to unpacking their lockers, head out to the fields to get a little throwing in, but it’s not an organized effort.

However this year was a little different than most. By around 11:00 a.m. there was a large group of pitchers who had gathered inside the clubhouse at Hammond Stadium and most of them proceeded out to the practice fields. It included a range of players from closer Joe Nathan to starter Scott Baker and even newcomers like Jason Jones and Sean Henn.

Of course, Reporting Day is also the day to catch up and chat with some of the guys that you haven’t seen in months. One of the guys that everyone looks forward to sitting down and talking to is Mike Redmond as he can always be counted on for an interesting conversation.

A funny exchange occurred on Sunday when Redmond walked back into the clubhouse following his workout.  Joe Mauer was sitting at his locker, which is next to Redmond’s, and had a glove waiting to hand to him. It was bigger than most catcher’s gloves and without having to see the name “Dickey” inscribed on the glove, Redmond knew exactly what it meant — time to start catching the knuckleball.

“We almost put a Mirabelli tag above your locker,” Mauer joked.

Redmond isn’t a stranger to knuckleballers like R.A. Dickey, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee. When he was with the Marlins, he caught Dennis Springer who was the club’s No. 5 starter in 1999. I chatted with Redmond a little bit about catching a knuckleball and he said that it takes some time to get adjusted to seeing that movement again. Mauer was a little disappointed that he won’t get to spend as much time catching Dickey this spring since he’ll be limited in his workload.

The glove was given to Mauer by R.A. Dickey, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee. Normally, Redmond said, knuckleballers don’t give catchers gloves. But it happened to be a good thing that Dickey had an extra one, since the ones that Mauer and Redmond ordered had not yet arrived.
 
In terms of news on Sunday, it was a pretty quiet day. Mauer was waiting to find out what he would be able to do during Monday’s first workout for pitchers and catchers. Right-hander Luis Ayala arrived at camp and is waiting for his contract to be finalized. He’s scheduled to take his physical on Monday and then the Twins will have to make a corresponding move to make room for him on the 40-man roster.