Tagged: Michael Cuddyer

Twins 2009 Diamond Award Winners

The Twins announced the recipients of the 2009 Diamond Awards, which are voted upon by the Twin Cities Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Here are the winners:

  • Calvin R. Griffith Most Valuable Twin — Joe Mauer
  • Joseph W. Haynes Pitcher of the Year — Joe Nathan
  • Charles O. Johnson Most Improved Twin — Michael Cuddyer
  • Bill Boni Outstanding Rookie of the Year — Jose Mijares
  • Dick Siebert Upper Midwest Player of the Year — Mauer
  • Mike Augustin Media Good Guy Award — Denard Span
  • Bob Allison Leadership Award — Cuddyer

The Twins also select a few winners of their own, here they are:

  • Carl R. Pohlad Award for Community Service — Justin Morneau
  • Kirby Puckett Award for Alumni Community Service — Rod Carew
  • Sherry Robertson Award for Minor League Player of the Year — Ben Revere
  • Jim Rantz Award for Minor League Pitcher of the Year — David Bromberg

The awards will be given out at the Fifth Annual Diamond Awards Dinner, which will take place on Jan. 28, 2010, at the Hilton Minneapolis. The event will benefit brain, nerve and muscle disorders research at the University of Minnesota

Wednesday Lineups: Twins at Blue Jays

Michael Cuddyer is getting a little breather today while manager Ron Gardenhire shuffles the lineup a bit to get Joe Mauer in the DH spot. With Cuddyer out, Kubel is in right field. And yes, for those of you who were aware of yesterday’s lineup mixup, that’s accurate this time.

Francisco Liriano has been activated from the disabled list but he won’t be available out of the bullpen until tomorrow.

As for Joe Crede, Gardenhire said that he’s not ready to start in the field right now. The belief is that if Crede were to dive in the field, his back probably would not be able to handle that yet. So instead, Crede is being looked at as a pinch-hitter or perhaps a DH option against a left-handed pitcher.

The Twins have a stiff test in Toronto tonight as they face Roy Halladay, who is 8-0 with a 2.77 ERA in his career against Minnesota. There aren’t many Twins with strong numbers against Halladay with the exception of Delmon Young, who is 6-for-14 (.429). So Young is in left field again tonight.

Here are today’s lineups:

Twins (69-69)
2nd place in AL Central, 6.5 games back
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, RF
Delmon Young, LF
Brian Buscher, 3B
Jose Morales, C
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Carl Pavano (11-11, 5.09)

Blue Jays (62-76)
4th place in AL East, 27 games back

Marco Scutaro, SS
Jose Bautista, RF
Adam Lind, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Rod Barajas, C
Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
Travis Snider, LF
John McDonald, 2B

Pitching: RHP Roy Halladay (14-8, 2.98)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

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)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

Sunday updates: Twins vs. Angels series finale

Michael Cuddyer said that his back was feeling better on Sunday morning, but he was not in the starting lineup as expected. The plan still is to have Cuddyer use today and Monday’s off day to rest his stiff lower back before playing again on Tuesday when the club opens a three-game series in Cleveland.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said that Cuddyer could possibly be available to pinch-hit, although my guess is that he’ll try to avoid that option if at all possible.

Francisco Liriano threw a bullpen session this morning. Gardenhire hadn’t gotten an update on how it went before he spoke with the media, but indications were that no news was good news. So it’s still expected that Liriano will start Wednesday at Cleveland.

Here are today’s lineups:

Angels (62-40)
1st place in AL West

Chone Figgins, 3B
Erick Aybar, SS
Bobby Abreu, DH
Juan Rivera, RF
Kendry Morales, 1B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Gary Matthews Jr., CF
Jeff Mathis, C
Sean Rodriguez, LF
Pitching: RHP Jeff Weaver (10-3, 3.71)

Twins (52-52)
3rd place in AL Central, 3.0 games back

Denard Span, RF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Delmon Young, LF
Brendan Harris, 3B
Carlos Gomez, CF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: LHP Glen Perkins (6-6, 5.42)

And your center fielder is….Michael Cuddyer

The Twins outfield setup from the final two innings of Wednesday’s game is back for Thursday’s series finale against the A’s.

Michael Cuddyer is getting his first start of the year in center field. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Justin Morneau felt it would be a good day to DH, as he’s been getting beat up a little. And with left-handers hitting .306 vs. A’s starter Trevor Cahill while right-handers have hit just .227, Gardenhire wanted to stack as many lefties in the lineup as possible. So Jason Kubel will be in right field and Brian Buscher will play first base.

This outfield configuration could stick through this weekend for the three-game series at Wrigley Field. Gardenhire said there was no news on what has been causing Denard Span’s dizzy spells. Span saw team physician Dr. Tom Jetzer on Wednesday and was run through a battery of tests but so far nothing has been found. The outfielder is scheduled to see more doctors today. Gardenhire said it’s difficult to imagine that Span would be ready to rejoin the team on Friday as the skipper wants to find out why Span has been dizzy before returns to the lineup.

Gardenhire also said that a roster move should be coming after today’s game to activate Nick Punto (strained right groin) from the disabled list.

Here are today’s lineups as the Twins go for only their second road series win of the season:

Twins
Matt Tolbert, 2B
Brendan Harris, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, DH
Jason Kubel, RF
Joe Crede, 3B
Michael Cuddyer, CF
Brian Buscher, 1B
Delmon Young, LF
Pitching: Nick Blackburn, RHP

A’s
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Adam Kennedy, 2B
Jack Cust, RF
Matt Holliday, LF
Jason Giambi, DH
Landon Powell, C
Daric Barton, 1B
Rajai Davis, CF
Jack Hannahan, 3B
Pitching: Trevor Cahill, RHP

Also a reminder that you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier for more Twins updates

And now for the pitching change, Rick Anderson…Saturday lineups: Twins at Mariners

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was still hobbling around on Saturday morning after injuring his hamstring during Friday’s early batting practice at Safeco Field. He was shagging in the outfield when he took a step and spun, pulling his hamstring in the process.

The injury prevented Gardenhire from being able to go to the mound to make pitching changes in Friday night’s 2-1, 10-inning win. He said it’s likely that pitching coach Rick Anderson will hold that duty again for Saturday’s contest since it’s still difficult for the skipper to walk up stairs.

“I haven’t had that feeling in a long time,” said Gardenhire, who acknowledged that he pulled his share of hamstrings during his playing career. “I took one bad step and spun with my tennis shoes a little bit.”

While Gardenhire is on injured reserve, Michael Cuddyer was back in the lineup on Saturday to face left-hander Jarrod Washburn. The Twins don’t have great career numbers vs. Washburn. Only Alexi Casilla, 4-for-12 (.333), and Brendan Harris, 5-for-10 (.500), are hitting above .300 agianst the tough lefty.

Here are today’s lineups for one of FOX’s Games of the Week.

Twins
Denard Span, CF
Joe Mauer, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Joe Crede, 3B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Brendan Harris, SS
Mike Redmond, C
Delmon Young, LF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: Nick Blackburn, RHP

Mariners
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Russell Branyan, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Ken Griffey Jr., DH
Jose Lopez, 2B
Ronny Cedeno, SS
Endy Chavez, LF
Guillermo Guiroz, C
Franklin Gutierrez, CF
Pitching: Jarrod Washburn, LHP

 

Welcome to Sunny Seattle

I don’t know what it is about the Twins’ trips to Seattle, but they always tend to come at ideal weather times in the city. I took advantage of the weather this morning and did something I rarely do — played a round of golf on the road. For any of you who might travel to the Seattle/Tacoma area, I would highly recommend playing Chambers Bay. It’s about 45 min. or so away from Seattle and ranked among Golf Magazine’s top courses in the country that anyone can play. It is also scheduled to host the 2015 U.S. Open. Just a beautiful course and a challenge as well.

OK, enough with golf and back to baseball.

Michael Cuddyer (strained right finger) took early BP and regular BP on Friday, but was not back in the lineup. Cuddyer said that his finger felt fine after hitting and throwing during the early session, but the club wants to watch his finger and see how much the swelling comes back. He could be ready to return to the lineup on Saturday.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire also reported that Glen Perkins’ left elbow felt fine after his first rehab start on Thursday for Class A Fort Myers. Perkins pitched four innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits — including two home runs– and struck out five. Gardenhire siad the reports were that Perkins threw a lot of fastballs and didn’t start mixing in his breaking pitches until after giving up the home runs. The expectation is still that Perkins will make one more start for Fort Myers on Tuesday — throwing between 90-100 pitches — and the club will evaluate his status after that.

Today’s Lineups:

Twins
Denard Span, LF
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, RF
Joe Crede, 3B
Brendan Harris, SS
Brian Buscher, DH
Carlos Gomez, CF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: Francisco Liriano, LHP

Mariners
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Russell Branyan, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Mike Sweeney, DH
Jose Lopez, 2B
Wladimir Balentien, LF
Rob Johnson, C
Ronny Cedeno, SS
Franklin Gutierrez, CF
Pitching: Felix Hernandez, RHP

Back in Action…Thursday Lineups: Twins vs. Tribe

Sorry for the lack of blogging yesterday. It was one of those crazy days on the job where I had a lot of stories to get done and not enough time to add blogging into the mix. So my apologies and I’ll try not to let it happen again when I’m on game coverage.

OK, back to baseball. Jason Kubel gets the start in right field today as Joe Mauer is slotted in as the DH. Kubel’s numbers against Indians starter Fausto Carmona are likely a big reason that he’s in the lineup. Kubel is 8-for-18 (.444) vs. Carmona with two RBIs.

Alexi Casilla also gets a day off as manager Ron Gardenhire wanted to give Matt Tolbert a chance to try out some swing adjustments in a game. Tolbert has been working hard on his swing of late and this seemed the right time to give him a shot to see if those changes will help.

As for Michael Cuddyer, the soreness in his strained right index finger is moving from the knuckle to the palm of his hand. Gardenhire said he’s been told that it’s a good sign that the soreness is moving in that direction. Cuddyer was going to try to swing today and see how that goes.

And here are today’s lineups:

Indians
Ben Francisco, RF
Jamey Carroll, 3B
Victor Martinez, C
Shin-Soo Choo, LF
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Mark DeRosa, DH
Chris Gimenez, 1B
Trevor Crowe, CF
Luis Valbuena, 2B
Pitching: Fausto Carmona, RHP

Twins
Denard Span, LF
Joe Mauer, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, RF
Joe Crede, 3B
Brendan Harris, SS
Mike Redmond, C
Carlos Gomez, CF
Matt Tolbert, 2B
Pitching: Scott Baker, RHP

Also a reminder that you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

Another edition of the Banged up and Bruised

After getting two straight days off thanks to Monday’s off day, Joe Mauer is back in the lineup for the Twins in the series opener against the Indians tonight. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Mauer is still a little sore after taking his share of hits behind the plate in Saturday’s game at Tampa Bay, but he feels good enough to play so he’s in there.

Joe Crede and Michael Cuddyer are both still out of the lineup. Crede’s left knee is still slightly swollen and he showed off some nasty-looking bruises to a group of us reporters today. He’s got one right above the knee and one below it that extends down the leg. But Crede took batting practice with the team and fielded at third, so Gardenhire thinks Crede might be back in the lineup for Wednesday’s contest.

Cuddyer got good news when the MRI on his finger came back negative, meaning there is no structural damage. The doctors have told him they just have to wait for the swelling to get out of the knuckle, and the hope is that it will only be a couple days. Gardenhire sounded a little more concerned due to the fact that he doesn’t want to be short a player for very long, since  he only has a four-man bench right now. Cuddyer wasn’t doing anything on the field on Tuesday.

When I got to the ballpark this afternoon, the Twins were taking early batting practice but it wasn’t just the hitters this time. The pitchers were down there doing some bunting drills. Their upcoming 10-game roadtrip ends in Chicago with three contests agianst the Cubs so it’s time to get those pitchers’ bats warmed up for Interleague Play. I’ll admit, it’s always enjoyable to get a glimpse at some of the swings at this time of the year.

Here are today’s lineups:

Indians
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Ben Francisco, LF
Victor Martinez, 1B
Shin-Soo Choo, DH
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Mark DeRosa, RF
Luis Valbuena, 2B
Trevor Crowe, CF
Kelly Shoppach, C
Pitching: David Huff, LHP  (making just his 4th career start)

Twins
Denard Span, RF
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Brendan Harris, SS
Delmon Young, LF
Brian Buscher, 3B
Carlos Gomez, CF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: Kevin Slowey, RHP

Cuddyer leaves game with finger injury

Michael Cuddyer left Sunday’s game against the Rays in the second inning with a right index finger injury and was taken for X-rays in the stadium.

Cuddyer struck out in the top of the second inning, but it’s unclear whether he injured his finger at that time or if he aggravated a previous injury.

With Cuddyer out, Denard Span shifted to right field and Delmon Young entered the game playing left.

UPDATE: X-rays on Cuddyer’s finger were negative. He has a right index finger strain and is listed as day-to-day.