A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
It was been a VERY long, cold, and snowy winter for nearly all of America, so whether baseball is your favorite sport or not, there has to be something about this coming weekend that warms your heart. (And no, Valentine’s Day is not until Monday). I’m talking specifically about pitchers and catchers reporting to most Cactus and Grapefruit League Spring Training sites within the next 48 hours!
If there was a single ray of hope that shined last year for the Cubs, it was pitcher Randy Wells. In a year full of disappointments and distractions, the Cubs had one player who looked to be growing in talent and not wasting it.
Wells’ numbers were very good for a rookie season: 12-10 with a 3.05 ERA and a 5.65 K/9 rate.
With those numbers alone there is hope that Wells can become a #2 starter in the future. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
The Minnesota Twins have started off hot in the Grapefruit League posting a 4-1 record thus far. We all know that the records and scores are irrelevent during Spring Training, but what we can take away from this is how our guys have looked at the plate.
Who’s Hot?
Delmon Young – 6/7, 2B
Delmon’s trying to play his way into the lineup after Ron Gardenhire’s offseason quotes leaving him off the opening day card. So far, he’s looked solid, crushing the ball all over the field.
Brian Buscher – 6/10, 2 2B, HR
Buscher has played out of his mind over the last few days. It’s just a matter of time before we start hearing the ‘Why did we sign Joe Crede’ chants. I imagine eventually he will regress to being Brian Buscher again, but until then, he’s playing his way into the opening day squad. Buscher’s solid performance puts pressure on Harris, Tolbert, and even relievers trying to make the opening day squad. If Buscher increased his defensive 1B ability, his stock would certainly increase.
Dustin Martin – 6/9, 2 2B
Martin’s reminding us all that we have quite the outfield beyond Span, Gomez, and Young waiting in the minors.
Jason Kubel – 2/4, 2B, HR
Kubel’s only had a few at bats – but he’s done quite a bit with them. You have to believe he’s going to live up to his extension this season.
Who’s Not?
Carlos Gomez – 2/9, HR – Is he trying to become a power hitter?
Denard Span – 1/9
Alexi Casilla – 1/6
Matt Tolbert – 2/12
Nick Punto – 1/10
Michael Cuddyer – 1/7
Joe Crede – 0/5 – Still waiting for that much anticipated first hit.
…..
Today the Twins take on Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, MLB.TV won’t be picking up either the video or audio for this game. Here’s our lineup for this afternoon:
TWINS – Scott Baker (SP)
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Michael Cuddyer, RF
4. Jason Kubel, DH
5. Joe Crede, 3B
6. Brian Buscher, 1B
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. Mike Redmond, C
9. Matt Tolbert, SS
PUERTO RICO – Ian Snell (SP)
1. Bernie Williams, CF
2. Ivan Rodriguez, C
3. Carlos Beltran, CF
4. Carlos Delgado, 1B
5. Alex Rios, RF
6. Hiram Bocachica, LF
7. Felipe Lopez, 2B
8. Mike Aviles, SS
9. Ramon Vazquez, 3B
So hopefully, we’ll get to read about Joe Crede’s 4 Home Run game in the papers tomorrow. Looks like we’re fielding a solid lineup realizing that Morneau (Canada) and Punto (Italy) have reported to their respective teams’ WBC camps.
…..
A few links from around the Twins Nation:
LaVelle Neal’s lasted entry discussing Delmon Young and some notes from around the minors.
Joe C’s lasted entry discussing today’s game against Puerto Rico
Twins Now discussing Jason Jones’ superb outing the other day.
Twinkie Town discussing Delmon Young and Jason Kubel’s recent performance
SethSpeaks discusses the Twins signing of Carmen Pignatiello – not quite Juan Cruz
Nick and Nick discuss the WBC
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The Minnesota Twins Spring Training season kicks off tonight as they take on the Boston Red Sox in Ft. Myers at 7pm (Perkins v Wakefield). Carlos Gomez will be sitting out tonight’s game giving some other guys looks, while Joe Crede will make his Twins debut this Friday. Don’t expect to see much of Mauer this month as he is still recovering from kidney surgery, but after taking a light batting practice, he says he feels good and should be ready for opening day.
The Lineups for tonight should look something like:
Boston
P Wakefield
1. Ellesbury CF
2. Pedroia 2B
3. Youkilis 3B
4. Bay LF
5. Wilkerson RF
6. Lowrie SS
7. Bailey DH
8. Bard C
9. Velazquez
Minnesota
P Perkins
1. Span CF
2. Casilla 2B
3. Cuddy RF
4. Morneau 1B
5. Young LF
6. Kubel DH
7. Buscher 3B
8. T.Gardenhire/M.Redmond C
9. Punto SS
In other news, Boof Bonser opted to undergo surgery next week on his ailing shoulder. Expect him to be placed on the 60 day disabled list shortly. This means that the Twins may make a harder push for Juan Cruz, or that Phil Humber’s odds of making the opening day squad drastically increased over the last 48 hours.
Also the Twins Starting Rotation was announced and the opening day starter will be…..Scott Baker!
1. Scott Baker RHP
2. Francisco Liriano LHP
3. Kevin Slowey RHP
4. Glen Perkins LHP
5. Nick Blackburn RHP
It’s interesting that Perkins got the nod for the 4th spot. Maybe they really like following Slowey up with a lefty?
Kick back and enjoy some baseball tonight! Spring is just around the corner!
The Minnesota Twins kick off their 2009 Spring Training campaign this Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox. The Twins will be playing a 35 game ‘preseason’ starting this February 25th with home games based out of Ft. Myers, Florida. If you are in the area and want to catch a game you can get tickets here. If you are like the rest of America freezing up north, you can catch some spring training games live on MLB.TV. The premium package starts at 109.95, while their regular package starts at 79.95. If you’re going to get MLB.TV, you might as well get it now and make that dollar stretch as the price likely won’t go down after Spring 
Training.
……..
SPRING TRAINING PREVIEW
Here’s a few things to keep your eye on this Spring Training:
1 – Don’t Expect to see much of Joe Mauer
Mauer is still recovering from minor kidney surgery and most likely won’t see much action early in the preseason. The team is optimistic he will return by Opening Day.
2 – Keep an eye on
Joe Crede. The Twins newest and biggest free agent addition this offseason arrived in Ft. Myers late last night after inking a one year $2.5M dollar deal with incentives pushing the contract up to $7M. The world will finally get to see how healthy he really looks and if it appears like the deal was money well spent. Nonetheless, it will be fun watching a fresh face in camp. We will also get to see if the rumors about Buscher ‘crushing’ the ball had any substance behind them, but again, has anyone ever read a report of a guy not crushing the ball in Spring Training?
Bullpen. The Twins finished last season with only one arm really clicking in Jose Mijares. It will be good to see some fresh arms getting some work. Also, keep an eye on guys like Luis Ayala, R.A. Dickey, and hopefully Juan Cruz (if he signs with the Twins this week), to see how our new guys stack up. Also, keep an eye on Boof Bonser’s ailing shoulder as well as Phil Humber’s progress. Both could be looking on the outside in come Opening Day.
3 – Key Battles
Outfield. Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young, and Michael Cuddyer all lay legitimate claim to three outfield spots this Spring Training. Look for them get a lot of looks in the outfield this March. Last season, Cuddyer, a fan favorite, ran into health problems. This allowed the Twins’ three young stars to get serious face time in the Major Leagues, and they outperformed expectations. Denard Span should be a lock to play LF after last seasons success. As for CF and RF: expect Ron Gardenhire’s love affair with Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Gomez to land them spots on the opening day lineup. The organization doesn’t seem to be too high on former #1 overall pick Delmon Young. Ron Gardenhire publicly stated in the winter that he would be out of the Twins’ opening day lineup and trade rumors subsequently swirled. However, Young has more potential than anyone currently wearing a Twins uniform and should see plenty of action this year. If the raw Carlos Gomez doesn’t learn the strike zone early in the season or Michael Cuddyer can’t return to previous form, I would expect to see Delmon Young’s face in the everyday lineup. Scott Ullger, the Twins third base coach said yesterday: “Delmon is locked in. And he’s in great shape” providing even more reason why Delmon should be seeing loads of playing time this season.
Punto – Harris. This is a new battle that arises as a result of the Joe Crede signing. Harris has the ability to play anywhere in the infield and had shown flashes of potential last season. The Twins seem to be looking to crowd their roster with infielders (Casilla, Punto, Crede, Buscher, Harris, and Tolbert) this season. This will put pressure on the recently extended defensive ace Nick Punto.
Relief Pitching. The battle for the 8th inning set-up job will be between Jesse Crain, Luis Ayala, and Juan Cruz (assuming he somehow signs in the coming weeks). If Cruz is in camp, he should be looking to have the job. He’s a bit wild, but had an unbelievable 2008 season. It will be interesting to see how Ayala performs after regaining his health in the offseason. He performed well late in 2007, but ran into trouble last year. If all else fails, Jesse Crain 
would be a fine plug to fill the void.
4 – Projected 25 Man Roster
Lineup
LF – Span
2B – Casilla
C – Mauer
1B – Morneau
3B – Crede
RF – Cuddyer
DH – Kubel
SS – Punto
CF – Gomez
Bench
OF – Young
IF – Harris
IF – Buscher
IF – Tolbert
C – Redmond
Starting
SP – Liriano
SP – Baker
SP – Slowey
SP – Blackburn
SP – Perkins
Relief
CL – Nathan
SET – Crain
RP – Ayala
RP – Breslow
RP – Guerrier
RP – Humber
On the Outside Looking In
RP – Bonser (Out For Season)
RP – Mijares
RP – Mulvey
RP – Dickey
OF – Pridie
