Tagged: Philip Humber

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)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

Monday lineups and another fellow blogger

Not too much to report this morning as the Twins had a MLB security meeting that kept the clubhouse closed for about an hour.

Today’s game against the Orioles will mark Philip Humber’s first start of the spring. The Twins gave the spot start to Humber in order to get a better look at him as he’s currently out of options.

Rule 5 draft pick Jason Jones is also scheduled to pitch in contest, along with Jesse Crain and Craig Breslow.

Oh and before I forget again, I want to let everyone know that Twins shortstop prospect Trevor Plouffe has started to blog. A first round pick by the Twins in the 2004 Draft, Plouffe is going to share some of this thoughts during Spring Training and the season. But don’t expect it to be all baseball. Plouffe has a wide variety of interests and told me, he plans to share some of those on the blog.

UPDATES (6:05 p.m. ET): Still no word on Joe Mauer. As for other injury news, Nick Punto said that he expects to be back in the lineup on Friday against the Yankees. The swelling has gone down in his elbow and he took batting practice today.

The Twins will be making their first set of cuts on Tuesday. A total of 11 players will be cut, manager Ron Gardenhire said after Monday’s game, trimming the roster from 55 to 44 players. 

All right, here are today’s lineups.

Twins:
Denard Span, CF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Joe Crede, 3B
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Jason Kubel, DH
Delmon Young, LF
Mike Redmond, C
Matt Tolbert, SS
Pitching: Philip Humber, RHP

Orioles:
Justin Turner, 3B
Adam Jones, CF
Nick Markakis, RF
Aubrey Huff, 1B
Ty Wigginton, DH
Felix Pie, LF
Gregg Zaun, C
Chris Gomez, SS
Carlos Rojas, 2B
Pitching: David Pauley, RHP    Mark Hendrickson, LHP 

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.