I’m about to hit the road for Sarasota for tonight’s Twins game against the Orioles, but I wanted to try to drop a quick post this afternoon because it will likely be late tonight or early tomorrow morning (at the earliest) before I get around to posting anything about that game.
I spent a little time today back at the minor league complex and had the opportunity to watch a few players that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing during recent seasons with the Beloit Snappers, when they’ve visited Cedar Rapids to face the Kernels. I didn’t have time to watch the whole game, but I was there long enough to see former Snappers James Beresford and Angel Morales get hits in the bottom of the first inning and eventually come around to score. In addition to Beresford and Morales, I recognized at least one other former Snapper on the field, Deibinson Romero. Romero was playing first base, though I seem to recall him being a third baseman when he was with Beloit a couple of years ago.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a Knuckleballs Spring Training report without a few pictures.
James Beresford gets a lead off of second baseAngel Morales coils at the plateDeibinson Romero ready at first baseMorales at first base following a base hitCoach Jake Mauer and Beresford share a smile at 3B in the first inning
With that, I’m headed up to Sarasota for the evening!
When I set up my plans for this year’s trip to Ft. Myers, I knew the Twins would only have two home games during the six full days I would be here. That’s really not a big deal to me because I kind of enjoy seeing some of the other spring training sites around the state of Florida.
I planned to make the trip up to Lakeland today for my first look at the Tigers’ spring training home, not to mention seeing a bit of action from the only other member of the AL Central Division that trains in Florida. In fact, I was so certain I would be making the 2+ hour drive north that I did something I don’t normally do down here… I bought a ticket in advance.
That ticket is still waiting for me at the Will Call window, I suppose.
When the Twins announced yesterday that the batteries of Carl Pavano/Drew Butera and Matt Capps/Joe Mauer would be getting some work in during a pair of minor league games, I decided to skip the Tiger game and hang around the Lee County Complex today. I’m really glad I did.
Sure, I would have enjoyed seeing Luke Hughes hit home run number five this spring and it sounds like Dusty Hughes, Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Alexi Casilla provided some highlights. But I didn’t really need to see Brad Penny drill Casilla and Delmon Young with pitches and I certainly didn’t need to see Pat Neshek give up two home runs.
Instead, I got out to the Twins complex around 9:00 this morning and spent some time watching the minor leaguers working out before heading in to Hammond Stadium where some of the Twins who didn’t make the trip to Lakeland were taking batting practice.
The last grouping included Justin Morneau, Jim Thome, Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer (nattily attired in his WIN!/Don’t Be Denied! t-shirt) and sure enough, there next to the batting cage were none other than Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew. Oliva has been a fixture at the complex, but Killebrew just arrived Wednesday night.
Killebrew met with the media earlier in the morning and is expected to be on hand for three days. Usually, by the time I get down to Ft. Myers, Killebrew has been here and gone, but this year, his trip was delayed a bit due to his health issues. I hate that Harmon is going through the challenges related to fighting esophageal cancer, but for a child of the 60s like me, it was terrific just to get to see him on a ballfield again.
After the Twins’ BP finished up, I slipped back over to the minor league side of the facility again and struck up a nice conversation with a couple from the Quad Cities while we waited to find out which fields Pavano, Butera, Capps and Mauer would be playing at.
I’ve got to be honest… I’m not a huge Carl Pavano fan. Sure I want him to do well and since Bill Smith couldn’t/wouldn’t come up with a true top-of-the-rotation pitcher in the off-season, I was fine with bringing Pavano back as long as it wasn’t on a bank-breaking deal. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret… when media types write about what a great, fan-friendly group of guys the Twins players are, they aren’t referring to Carl Pavano. He may be a lovely human being among his friends and family and he may even love kittens, but… well… yeah I’d bet he hates kittens… almost as much as he seems to dislike baseball fans.
And in case you think this is just a JC thing… I’ll just mention that it’s an opinion I found to be shared rather widely among other fans I talked to today.
I even have to admit I found it just a little amusing when Pavano got knocked around a bit by a bunch of kids wearing Red Sox minor league uniforms. Some people just seem like they could use an occasional humility lesson. I suspect Pavano is one of those people (then again, some would say I am, too). I also could almost see him do a slow burn when one of those Red Sox punks laid down a bunt that died along the third base line for a hit.
Not to fear, however, the ‘Stache’s trusty sidekick, sweet Drew Butera, gunned down the little twerp when he tried to steal second base.
I was actually more interested in the game on an adjoining field where Matt Capps was pitching the first two innings and Joe Mauer was doing the catching.
Capps looked pretty good to me and I think the young hitters he was facing would probably agree. He didn’t give up any earned runs (a bit of miscommunication between his left and center fielders resulted in an unearned run) and it was good to see he can go more than one inning, when necessary.
Joe Mauer batted in both the first and second innings and while he was 0 for 2, he hit a couple of balls very, very hard. He hit a deep fly ball to CF and almost ended his day by hitting in to a triple play. He hit a shot at the third baseman who immediately doubled off a runner at second base. The second baseman didn’t make a throw to 1B to try to turn the triple play and probably wouldn’t have got that runner if he had made the throw… but it might have been close.
After Capps and Mauer finished up their two innings, I watched Pavano and Butera a bit more. Drew had a nice double to the gap and Pavano settled down after that nasty second inning. I watched Pavano throw five innings before heading out to a Sports Bar to watch some NCAA Tournament basketball. I don’t know if he threw another inning or not, but then again, I really didn’t care all that much.
If you’re wondering what it’s like to have Major League stars play in minor league spring training games, imagine having them show up at your local beer-league softball complex. It makes getting your picture album filled up pretty easy, that’s for sure. Here are just a few examples from the 150 or so I took today.
JIm Thome gets some BP, surrounded by Mauer, Morneau, Killebrew, and Cuddyer (Tony Oliva was behind the cage)Michael Cuddyer's shirt says it allFrom inside Hammond Stadium, looking out over the practice fieldsDenard Span doing the autograph thingJoe Mauer gets loose before his game on the minor league complexThe 'Stache delivers during his game on the minor league fieldsMatt Capps was looking good against the RedSox kids
Of course, these were MINOR LEAGUE games, so we really should give a couple of those guys some love. A couple of the Twins top prospects were also playing in these games. Miguel Sano was a team mate of Joe Mauer for the day and Aaron Hicks provided some offense behind Carl Pavano.
Aaron HicksMiguel Sano
That’s it for today. Friday night, I’ll be making the trip up the highway to Sarasota to watch Francisco Liriano face off with the Orioles (again). Rumor has it that Justin Morneau may make the trip and Joe Mauer may get a few more swings in during another minor league game in the afternoon.
I hope all of you in the great upper midwest are staying warm! Excuse me while I put something on this little sunburn before I head back to the Sports Bar for some more basketball.
Obviously there is a LOT of attention being given to the Twins newest infielder, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, but Twins fans really don’t have much to SEE yet. (If you are a Facebook user, I encourage you to go to his Fan Page). The Twins have even put out a little video heads up from the clubhouse but if you can’t wait for the televised spring training outings, here is some videos put together interviewing him on his home turf and even on the field.
Mike Pomeranz from Kare11 actually got to go to Japan to meet Nishioka and brought the video back to share with us in Minnesota. At least this should give all of us a better idea of what to expect when the boys hit Ft. Meyers!
Kare11 Interview, Part I:
Kare11 Interview, Part II:
And even a little extra attention on his new wife:
Obviously, this is just not quite the same as seeing him actually play with the rest of our team but let’s call it whetting the appetite!
With all the off-season signings that took several of our Twins to other teams, we thought we would take a moment to bid a fond farewell with a little photo montage of some of our memories of their time with the Twins. Obviously, for those that had been with us longer, I had a LOT more time to take pics of them.
Since we won’t get to see their adorable faces (or other features of choice) on the field this spring, here’s an opportunity for you to get one last look of Guerrier, Crain, Fuentes, Rauch, Hardy, Punto, Hudson and Harris in Twins uniforms. We really do with you all the best with your new teams guys!
We all recognize that the Twins have work to do yet this off-season as the front office continues to mold a roster together and various players complete their rehab work as they continue efforts to overcome injuries of various degrees. Yet, as we toss out the 2010 calendars and put up those new 2011 versions, we’re reminded that baseball is coming!
Yes, the temperatures where most of us call home remain bone-chilling and it’s far too early to store away the snow shovels. But pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training NEXT MONTH so regardless of how cold it may feel outside, it’s time to get in the mood for baseball!
I’ve made the journey to Ft. Myers FL for the past few years to take in anywhere from a couple of days to a full week at the Twins’ Spring Training complex and I can’t recommend it strongly enough. I can’t speak for anyone else, but by March, there’s nothing quite like getting a jump on the warmer weather with a trip to the Florida Gulf Coast and when you can combine the warmer weather with getting a sneak peek at the upcoming year’s Twins roster, it just makes for a terrific trip.
But rather than try to describe what it’s like, I thought I’d dig in to my photobucket scrapbook and share this Spring Training Tour to make you feel warm all over… I hope you enjoy. – JC
Making the 4 and a half hour drive home after the game Saturday made for a late night, but I really have only myself to blame for feeling sluggish on Sunday. After all, nobody MADE me stay up to watch the final couple innings of the Bitch Sox and Royals game. Even then, that game finished a bit after 1:00 am so I could have gone to bed then instead of watching a movie and sorting the weekend’s photos for the next two hours.
Now that I’m watching the Sox and Royals play yet another close ballgame (and occasionally chuckling at Hawk and Frank Thomas constantly whining about Joe West and his umpiring crew), I figure I might as well post a slideshow of the pictures I took Friday and Saturday. If photos aren’t really your thing, then feel free not to spend the time necessary to glance over the 70+ pictures in the slideshow. We’ll have a GameChat posted in a couple of hours anyway.
About the photos… I discovered that night games viewed from the upper deck are not real conducive to getting good pictures (at least for someone with hands no steadier than mine), so there aren’t a lot of pictures from Friday and those I did include aren’t the highest quality. Ah well. Saturday’s vantage point was from Section L in the Legends Club so those came out much better, I thought. I hope you enjoy. – JC
Ok, not everyone has the same kind of feelings about TC that I do but as KL can tell you, I’ve taken every opportunity I could over the years going WAAAAAY back to collect fun shots of TC and followed his career. But I know there are a few of you like me out there – yes, you, Jamar, and you, Betsy, and I’m sure there are others. So, this post is for you!
Most Knuckleballers figure out in about 5 minutes that I kind of have a thing for kids. I also take my responsibilities for passing on the love of baseball to the next generations seriously! That includes the love of TC BEAR! So when he informed me, via Twitter (@TC_00 if you’re interested), that he would be a library near my house doing a reading for kids, I knew what to do!
Oh yeah, I took a few kids along too! My youngest brother, Ben, my nephew Camden, and his mommy and Aunt Lexi and her friend ALL went to the library to see TC Bear. It was a really wonderful event. They read a great baseball story while TC and a couple volunteers acted it out. I’ve always been amazed by the hitting and catching that TC accomplishes given his limitations but he goes ALL OUT when he’s acting out a story. He really knows how to commit to an action and not only that, the kids loved every minute of it! So did the adults quite frankly. Thanks TC! And of course, I had to take lots of pictures!
I have no idea what kind of schedule TC has to keep in addition to his game schedule but a) it’s heavy and b) he is a wonderful reflection on baseball and the Minnesota Twins. I don’t care what your job is, when you do it THAT well? You are an honorable person.. err.. Bear. 😀
So I got to see the game from a new vantage point on Sunday thanks to my friend Deb! Honestly, I’ll take any excuse and suffer pretty much any indignity to get to a game when circumstances and/or finances allow. That includes getting rear-ended by a knucklehead while parking at a meter (long story, no damage, no biggie). That being said, it was a GREAT game!!
Of course, I had the same problem I always have. I took too many pictures! It took me forever to get them narrowed down and as it is, there are still too many to post individual pics. Mostly I was trying to get as many shots of the new guys as I could for our media library purposes (at least that is the excuse I use). But I hope you guys enjoy the record of the game in snapshots!
Here’s my favorite shot of the game though – Repko making that amazing catch in LF:
And for the record since I was at the game and it seems to be the thing everyone is talking about, Gardy absolutely did the right thing not sending Kev back out there in the 8th. It’s not about pitch count – it’s about the fact that there was no way he was going to FINISH that game anyway. He’d been erratic (fairly effectively so) but we all know that inning-ending double play for the 7th was a thing of beauty because Kevin NEEDED it there. He was done. I don’t know what game you were watching if you couldn’t see that but I’ll argue with you if you want – doesn’t make you right. *GRIN* I don’t ever want Kevin to WANT to come out of a game but the fans who were standing and cheering when he left the field at the end of 7 knew he wasn’t coming back.
I hope you all enjoy the slideshow and I can’t wait to get back! You just can’t get too much baseball at Target Field!
I’m still constantly amazed at how much attention Carl Pavano’s mustache gets. I mean, the guy is tied for the lead in wins in the American League after notching his 15th on Friday night but if you ask 10 people what they know about him, 9 will mention the mustache before anything else. (OK, if any of the 10 people you ask are Yankee fans, they might not mention the mustache first… but I’d be too busy snickering at their answer to care).
You think I’m wrong? Then let me ask you this: We started posting on this blog in March. Which post do you suppose has been the most-read? Was it one of our early pictorial posts from our first visits to Target Field? No. Was it the rant about Why the Yankees $uck? No. (But that was quite popular.. I wonder why.) It was the post where we sought to assign “blame” for Pavano’s mustache. And it’s not even close. That post was published weeks ago and it still gets a number of new hits every week.
So just to make the point that it’s not completely unheard of for a Major League ballplayer to have some hair above his lip, we’ve come up with the following “mustache quiz”.
Below are pictures of 12 Major League ballplayers, all of whom anyone claiming to be a serious baseball fan should have at least some casual knowledge of. Some of these are tougher to identify than others but there are no obscure one-year wonders here. They all had more than just 15 minutes of fame. In fact, among the choices, there are Hall of Famers and some guys who either arguably should be Hall of Famers or likely will be some day. We’re also showing you more than just the mustache… in fact you’ve pretty much got the lower half of each player’s face to go on. Let’s see how many you can name.
(The answers will be posted in the Comments section, but no peeking until you’re finished with the quiz!)
1234
………………………….
5678
………………………….
9101112
………………………….
How well do you know your mustaches?
0-1 players identified = Just what part of the players’ bodies are you focused on all game anyway?
2-3 players identified = Amateur. Apparently, you’ve only been watching baseball since 2008
4-6 players identified = Minor Leaguer. Not great, but at least you know your Hall of Fame mustaches.
7-9 players identified = Major Leaguer. Not perfect, but you know a Major League mustache when you see it!
10 players identified = Show off! Nobody likes the smartest kid in the class, yanno.
As I mentioned in my little essay about minor league baseball on Saturday, the Twins’ Midwest League (low-A) affiliate, the Beloit Snappers, are in Cedar Rapids taking on the Kernels in a four game series that runs through Tuesday. I’ve been to the first two games of the series, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon and I’m hoping to get out to the Tuesday game, as well. Monday’s game is a noon start so that would could be a bit iffy. (The blogging gig hasn’t blossomed to the point where I can quit my day job… yet.)
Saturday night, I was at the game with family and friends and friends of family, so the social aspect was fine. It was a pleasant enough evening, just a bit on the humid side, but nothing compared to what it was a week or so ago (or what it would be on Sunday). But the game itself was among the more difficult professional games to watch I’ve been to in a while.
Snapper/Kernel games are always a bit of a challenge for me, anyway. I’m a Kernels fan, of course, since they’re my hometown team. But when the Snappers come to town, I also look forward to seeing the Twins’ young prospects do well. So I root for the Kernels to win and the Beloit players to do well individually.
Pitcher Pedro Guerra and Danny Rams (1B)
Saturday night, the Kernels won the game 10-4, and it wasn’t among the better efforts I’ve seen out of the Snappers. Top prospect Aaron Hicks, had a nice double down the LF line in the first inning and I got to see Pedro Guerra get his first start since being called up to Beloit. The Snappers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead through two innings. Guerra had a respectable debut, though he didn’t throw the ball particularly hard. He gave up a couple of runs in the third inning and left after giving up a walk and a double to the first two hitters he faced in the 5th.
That’s when the wheels fell off.
The Kernels sent 8 players to the plate in the 5th inning while taking a 7-5 lead in what had to be one of the longest half innings I’ve witnessed all year, purely in terms of time elapsed. Deliberate pitching, hitters stepping out of the box over and over, an error or two and a pitching change made that half inning drag on forever.
There aren’t many bright spots among your pitching staff in a 10-4 loss, but Nelvin Fuentes entered the game in the bottom of the 7th and went on to strike out 3 in two scoreless, hitless, innings to finish the night. It was also a tough night for the Snappers in the field as they ended up being charged with 5 errors on the game. Second baseman Reggie Williams had a nice night at the plate, going 2 of 4 with a double (that I thought should have been ruled a triple).
After doubling, Aaron Hicks takes his lead in front of Kernel SS Jon Karcich
But the great thing about baseball is that there’s always another game tomorrow. In this case, the Snappers bounced back from Saturday’s 10-4 loss to win Sunday afternoon 10-9. Yes, they did still have some pitching issues and yes, they did rack up 4 more errors, so it may not SEEM like it was much of an improvement, but I’ll guarantee it was a happier clubhouse after the game than the night before.
Pitcher Martire Garcia and 3B Reggie WilliamsDanny Rams leads off behind Jeremy Cruz and in front of Jean Segura after a walk. He added a 2B and a HR in the game.
For the second straight game, Beloit manager Nelson Prada sent a pitcher to the mound for his first start as a Snapper. Sunday, it was Martire Garcia making his MWL debut. Garcia got off to a bit of a rocky start the first two innings but settled down and hung a couple of zeros on the board for the Kernels in the 3rd and 4th innings before calling it a day.
Nelson Prada's not telling the umpire a fish story
Of course, Prada didn’t see much of Garcia’s performance as he was tossed early in the bottom of the first inning for arguing with the home plate umpire over whether a Kernel double down the RF line was fair or foul. That left the team in the capable hands of Twins fans’ old friend Tommy Watkins, who’s the Snapper hitting coach.
And his hitters were doing their jobs at the plate (if not so much in the field). 1B Danny Rams and CF Aaron Hicks brought the big lumber. Rams went 2-3 with a walk, double and a home run. He also scored 3 runs. Hicks was 3-4 with two doubles.
Tommy Watkins signals pitches to his catcher
Once again, the pitchers struggled a bit, but lefty reliever Matt Tone managed to shut the Kernels out in his two innings (the 7th and 8th) of relief. That allowed Beloit the cushion to withstand a 9th inning rally and hang on to their 10-9 win.
It was one long, hot day at the ballpark for these guys following a very long game the night before. We’re approaching mid-August. It’s hot. They’ve been playing baseball virtually every day since they reported for Spring Training over five months ago. But that didn’t stop Aaron Hicks and Steven Liddle from diving for balls in the outfield (Liddle also showed off his arm on an impressive throw to the plate) or Reggie Williams from diving for hard ground balls down the line at 3B or James Beresford and Derek McCallum from hanging tough on double plays at 2B. And Josmil Pinto caught a day game in oppressive heat and humidity after catching the game the night before. The execution isn’t perfect, but there’s no doubting their effort and that bodes well for the future of our favorite Major League team.
Finally, just because we’re all Tommy Watkins fans, one last picture of Tommy positioning his outfielders from the bench Saturday night. – JC
