Restless Natives
March 30, 2009
With only one week to go before the opener, there definitely has been a buzz in the air about the upcoming baseball season. It shouldn’t come as a surprise either as the young Twins team won 88 games last year and have many of the same faces returning. Even with the buzz, however, there have been a lot of fans crying foul and nay saying each and every move the team has made throughout the off season and into spring training.
The new 2-year deals for Nick Punto and Jason Kubel were met with a ton of criticism. Fans clamored on and on about adding to the weak left side of the infield and several names had come and gone with the spot finally being filled by Joe Crede. Due to previous injuries, though, Crede was also met with a lot of criticism and skepticism from the fans.
Nagging injuries have also been a source of nagging fans in the case of Boof Bonser and Joe Mauer. Almost immediately after arriving to spring training, Bonser was sidelined with soreness in his shoulder. He was first given cortisone shots to help with tendonitis but an MRI revealed that partial tears in the labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Mauer, who had kidney surgery in the off season, hasn’t participated in a single spring training game. His current injury, however, seems to be unrelated to the kidney surgery as he is suffering from an inflammation in the joint between his spine and pelvis. The injuries suffered by both Mauer and Bonser have been used as fodder for fans to criticize the way the team and players operate and react to pain.
The Twins also have had to deal with having too many good outfielders and not enough positions. Almost every single outfielder has been fed to the fan firing squad as to who should be traded, who should stay in Triple-A, and who should be starters. I’m not sure when having too many good players was a problem, but I guess it is in Minnesota.
I recently brought this up to a colleague of mine and his response was simple – typical Minnesota sports fans. Thinking on that for a moment, I felt that he had hit the nail on the head with that remark.
At any rate, the Twins have been given more than their fair share of criticism, warranted or not, leading up to this season. The AL Central is one of the few division that is totally up in the air as to who can walk away with it, but the Twins should give it a good run if not have the best chances to win the title, no matter how pessimistic their “fans” seem to be.
Entire Twins 40-man roster now under contract for ’09
March 8, 2009
The Twins announced that they have finalized contracts with the remaining 27 of their pre-arbitration-eligible players.
The Twins made the announcement one day after signing their ace pitcher Scott Baker to a four-year, $15.25 million contract. Baker’s new contract will pay him $750,000 in 2009, $3 million in 2010, $5 million in 2011, $6.5 million in 2012 and includes a fifth year, $9.25 million club option for 2013.
- Scott Baker
The following players were signed to one-year contracts: Nick Blackburn, Boof Bonser, Craig Breslow, Brian Buscher, Drew Butera, Alexi Casilla, Brian Duensing, Armando Gabino, Carlos Gomez, Brendan Harris, Luke Hughes, Jason Jones, Francisco Liriano, Matt Macri, Jose Mijares, Jose Morales, Pat Neshek, Glen Perkins, Trevor Plouffe, Jason Pridie, Wilson Ramos, Deibinson Romero, Kevin Slowey, Denard Span, Anthony Swarzak, Matt Tolbert, Steve Tolleson and Delmon Young.
All of the players listed have under three years of service with the Twins.
The entire Twins’ 40-man roster is now under contract for the 2009 season.
Boof Out for Season
March 1, 2009
Another bullpen problem has struck the Twins as it is likely that Boof Bonser is out for the season due to partial tear in the labrum and rotator cuff in the shoulder of his throwing arm. Bonser’s name can be added to the list along with Pat Neshek of relief pitchers who will be out for the 2009 season.
With Bonser out, the Twins will be looking for a pitcher to step up in Spring Training and take over the long relief/spot starter role that Bonser would have more than likely been in. The two pitchers that immediately come to mind are Philip Humber and R.A. Dickey.
Philip Humber was acquired by the Twins in the Johan Santana trade and would be the obvious choice for the team as he is out of options. Like Bonser, Humber is a starting pitcher but could flourish in a long inning relief role and spot starter for the Twins. He pitched briefly with the club late last season and gave up 6 earned runs in 11.2 innings. Not great numbers by any means but working closely with pitching coach Rick Anderson could do him wonders.
R.A. Dickey is a knuckleballer who signed a minor league contract and was invited to participate in Spring Training with the club. This is the second time Dickey has been acquired by the Twins who lost his services last season to the Mariners due to the Rule 5 draft. Dickey is known to be wild at times and has the potential to give up a lot of home runs, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be a viable option to take over Bonser’s spot in the ‘pen.
The team has a couple of other options as well in Jason Jones, a Rule 5 draft pick, and left-hander Sean Henn. I would love to see Dickey brought up in the role to see what a knuckleball pitcher can bring to this exciting pitching staff (plus, it seems to work well for Boston), but as it currently stands, my money is on Humber, who will more than likely win the spot due to the fact that he is out of options.
Even though it hurts to lose both Bonser and Neshek at the start of a season, it should be safe to say that the Twins can and will find quality pitchers to fill the roles of their injured teammates. Not to mention, the bullpen will more than likely play with a chip on their shoulders due to the criticism that they have received during the end of last season and this past off season. Take my word for it, the bullpen will be something to watch during the 09 season.
