AL Central Notes: Dunn, Knapp, Nathan
February 28, 2011
A few tidbits of note from what may be one of the more competitive and intriguing divisions in baseball in 2011 ...
- White Sox slugger Adam Dunn suspects that his now-infamous war of words with then-Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi in 2008 hurt his value on the free-agent market that offseason, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Dunn, of course, was traded from the Reds to the Diamondbacks in a post-deadline deal in 2008 and signed a modest two-year deal with the Nationals in the subsequent offseason. He reportedly was unwilling to be a full-time DH then, but when he hit free agency this offseason after two productive years in Washington, he had no such qualms, signing a nice four-year, $56MM deal with the South Siders.
- Indians right-hander Jason Knapp could "rocket up" next year's prospects lists if he's healthy this year and continues to polish up his raw talents, writes Jim Callis of Baseball America. It feels like a lifetime ago that the Indians acquired Knapp from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee deal, and it looks like Knapp may be Cleveland's last hope of salvaging a player with big upside from that swap. As Callis notes, Knapp has logged only 40 innings since the Tribe acquired him in 2009 due to injuries, but he's still only 21.
- Twins reliever Joe Nathan, recovering from Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2010, will have to prove that he's his old self before he returns to closing duty, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. “I don’t make any decisions until the end of spring training," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told Passan. "If [Nathan] comes back and throws like he did two years ago, he’ll probably be our closer." Of course, the Twins have a nice insurance policy in Matt Capps should Nathan not be ready. The Twins acquired Capps in a midseason trade last year and avoided arbitration with him this offseason, settling on a 2011 salary of $7.15MM.
Mackey: Nomo experience helps Vavra, who won’t toy with Nishioka yet
February 28, 2011
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- After one week of full-squad workouts, Minnesota Twins middle infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka has had no problems fitting in with his new teammates -- at least, as much as he possibly can considering the language and cultural differences.
But in a Twins clubhouse that consists mostly of good, genuine dudes, the question was never whether Nishioka would be an outcast. It takes only minimal effort to induce a smile from Joe Mauer or Michael Cuddyer.
The question...
Cashman On Pitching Market: "Nobody’s Available"
February 28, 2011
Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com that no matter what you've heard about Francisco Liriano or anyone else, the Yankees aren't pursuing trades for starting pitching (Twitter link). Starters may be in demand, but the Yankees say the best pitchers aren't on the trading block.
"I'm not talking to anyone about anything right now," Cashman said. "Nobody's available. Nobody of value, anyway."
Liriano definitely has value. He's making just $4.3MM next year and is under team control through 2012. Last year, the left-hander posted a 3.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 191 2/3 innings. Liriano has fully recovered from Tommy John surgery to regain the form that he showed as a dominant 22-year-old rookie in 2006.
Though USA Today reported that the Yankees are watching Liriano, Twins assistant GM Rob Antony recently told Jesse Lund of Twinkie Town that the club isn't discussing trades involving Liriano.
Live from Florida, Day 12: Healthy Blackburn says arm feels ‘newer’
February 28, 2011
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A rundown of the news, notes and quotes from Monday at Minnesota Twins spring training:
Monday's result:
Red Sox 7 (1-1), Twins 6 (1-1)
Catching up with ... Nick Blackburn
Right-hander Nick Blackburn pitched two scoreless innings in his spring-training debut Monday, allowing two hits and inducing four groundouts against a Boston...
Mayor’s Cup Competition Take 2: Twins at Red Sox 2/28
February 28, 2011
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
Fort Myers, Fla. — The Twins are getting set to play their second of three straight contests against the Red Sox to open up the spring. This time they’re at City of Palms Park.
Michael Cuddyer said this morning that there is really no update about the wart on his left foot. Cuddyer is trying the cream that he received this weekend to treat the wart but for now, there has been no change and it’s a waiting process. One that Cuddyer certainly does not enjoy as he said he really wants to get back on the field.
Other than that, not much news yet this morning. We’re going to try to talk to manager Ron Gardenhire before the game and if there are any updates, including about exactly when Justin Morneau might go see a doctor this week to get cleared for games, I’ll pass them along.
For now, here are the lineups and pitchers:
Twins
(1-0)
Ben Revere, LF
Trevor Plouffe, SS
Jason
Kubel, DH
Luke Hughes, 3B
Jeff Bailey, 1B
Brian Dinkelman, RF
Matt Tolbert, 2B
Rene Rivera, C
Jason Repko, CF
Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn
Others scheduled to pitch: Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, Anthony Slama, Jim Hoey, David Bromberg, Deolis Guerra, Eric Hacker, Kyle Waldrop
Red Sox (0-1)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Brent Dlugach, SS
Drew Sutton, 1B
Yamaico Navarro, 3B
Pitching: RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka
Others
scheduled to pitch: Tim Wakefield, Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard, Matt Albers, Matt Fox
Mayor’s Cup Competition Take 2: Twins at Red Sox 2/28
February 28, 2011
Fort Myers, Fla. -- The Twins are getting set to play their second of three straight contests against the Red Sox to open up the spring. This time they're at City of Palms Park.
Michael Cuddyer said this morning that there is really no update about the wart on his left foot. Cuddyer is trying the cream that he received this weekend to treat the wart but for now, there has been no change and it's a waiting process. One that Cuddyer certainly does not enjoy as he said he really wants to get back on the field.
Other than that, not much news yet this morning. We're going to try to talk to manager Ron Gardenhire before the game and if there are any updates, including about exactly when Justin Morneau might go see a doctor this week to get cleared for games, I'll pass them along.
For now, here are the lineups and pitchers:
Twins (1-0)
Ben Revere, LF
Trevor Plouffe, SS
Jason Kubel, DH
Luke Hughes, 3B
Jeff Bailey, 1B
Brian Dinkelman, RF
Matt Tolbert, 2B
Rene Rivera, C
Jason Repko, CF
Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn
Others scheduled to pitch: Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, Anthony Slama, Jim Hoey, David Bromberg, Deolis Guerra, Eric Hacker, Kyle Waldrop
Red Sox (0-1)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Brent Dlugach, SS
Drew Sutton, 1B
Yamaico Navarro, 3B
Pitching: RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka
Others scheduled to pitch: Tim Wakefield, Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard, Matt Albers, Matt Fox
Live from Florida, Day 11: Morneau getting close?
February 27, 2011
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A rundown of the news, notes and quotes from Day 11 at Minnesota Twins spring training:
Health watch
• 1B Justin Morneau (concussion) is scheduled to see a doctor within the next couple days about the possibility of being cleared to play in games, manager Ron Gardenhire said Sunday night. Morneau has participated in all workouts since arriving to Fort Myers last week, and he continues to face...
Pavano starts spring-opening win, says playoff sweep ‘drives me’
February 27, 2011
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Minnesota Twins opened the 2011 Grapefruit League schedule with an 8-4 win over the Boston Red Sox at Hammond Stadium on Sunday night.
Right-hander Carl Pavano threw 26 pitches over two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.
"My goal out there was to use my fastball and establish my fastball down and move it around the plate, so I did that," Pavano said. "I kept the ball on the ground. I was hoping to be a little quicker out of the...
It’s Game Time: Grapefruit League Opener 2/27
February 27, 2011
Tonight marks the start of game action for the Twins as they host the Red Sox in the Grapefruit League opener at Hammond Stadium. It's also the start of the Mayor's Cup competition between the two clubs with five matchups between them this spring (three of which will take place in a row to start off the schedule).
Here are the lineups for the opener:
Red Sox (0-0)
Darnell McDonald, LF
Jed Lowrie, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Mike Cameron, CF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Ryan Kalish, RF
Lars Anderson, 1B
Jose Iglesias, SS
Pitching: RHP Josh Beckett
Others scheduled to pitch: Clay Buchholz, Brandon Duckworth, Hideki Okajima, Scott Atchison, Dan Wheeler
Twins (0-0)
Denard Span, CF
Tsuyoshi Nishioka, 2B
Jason Kubel, RF
Jim Thome, DH
Danny Valencia, 3B
Chris Parmelee, 1B
Jason Repko, LF
Alexi Casilla, SS
Drew Butera, C
Pitching: RHP Carl Pavano
Others scheduled to pitch: Pat Neshek, Dusty Hughes, Alex Burnett, Jeff Manship, Scott Diamond, Anthony Swarzak, Yorman Bazardo
Live from Florida, Day 10: Cuddyer to sit; Slowey bonds with Nishioka
February 26, 2011
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A rundown of the news, notes and quotes from Saturday at Minnesota Twins spring training:
Catching up with ... Kevin Slowey
Right-hander Kevin Slowey had a chance this week to face newcomer Tsuyoshi Nishioka during a live batting practice session. After the session concluded, Slowey -- one of the more animated figures on the Twins roster -- approached Nishioka to discuss what the two players...
