Because the game today is actually televised (!!!!), I wanted to get the lineups and the reminder up a little earlier – so early, in fact, that even Kelly doesn’t have lineups posted yet! But our ever-striving LaVelle E. Neal over at the Strib does! So, here’s temporary lineups from him. I’ll add the nifty little link chart when MLB posts them later.
With today’s roster moves, we’re beginning to see some clear winners (and losers) in the battles for the final roster spots remaining open before the Twins break camp and head north… or are we?
To review, here’s what we’ve known pretty much since the beginning of Spring Training:
Roster Locks:
Position Players: Mauer, Morneau, Hudson, Hardy, Punto, Harris, Young, Span, Cuddyer, Kubel and Thome.
Starting Pitchers: Baker, Blackburn, Slowey and Pavano
Bullpen: Rauch, Guerrier, Crain, Mijares and Condrey (yes, I know it’s hard to say he earned a spot based on Spring Training performance, but he was seen as a virtual lock going in and I’d imagine he probably still has his spot as long reliever).
That’s 11 of the 13 Position-player spots that were never up for grabs, 4 of the 5 rotation spots locked up and 5 of 7 bullpen spots taken.
With today’s announcement that Jacque Jones won’t be making the roster and re-assignments/options sending Matt Tolbert, Ben Revere and Matt Maroth to AAA, it’s becoming clear who some of the winners and losers in the battle for the five open rosters spots are going to be… and what a coincidence that it’s looking pretty much like what most people thought it would be before camp opened. (Obviously, Joe Nathan’s season ending TJ surgery opened up one extra bullpen spot.)
So what do we know and what’s still up in the air?
We know Alexi Casilla has “won” the lone remaining non-backup-catcher-position-player spot. It’s reallllllly hard to say he “won” that position, though, given he hasn’t had a very impressive spring. Lexi is getting the spot because (a) he’s out of options, and (b) Matt Tolbert didn’t impress anyone enough to prove he should get the spot instead. Based solely on performance, this spot should be Jacque Jones’, however. But then we all know these decisions aren’t based solely on performance.
We DON’T yet know whether Drew Butera or Wilson Ramos will break camp as the backup catcher (and literally the holder of the 25th roster spot). It’s not a terribly important decision, in my opinion, because whoever gets the job is only going to be holding it warm until Jose Morales is healthy.
The 5th rotation spot was billed as a battle between Francisco Liriano, Brian Duensing and Glen Perkins. Perkins has been eliminated by losing innings due to, well, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say it’s an injury. It sure looked like Francisco Liriano was the clear front runner for the final rotation spot, but over the last week a couple of things have happened that have cast some level of doubt on that. First, Joe Nathan was lost for the year and Liriano keeps getting mentioned as a possible replacement as the Twins’ closer. Second, frankly, Duensing has arguably out-pitched Liriano over their last couple of appearances.
In the bullpen, while I’ve heard possible reasons why Pat Neshek may be sent to AAA to start the season, they all sound like excuses to me. It’s almost like someone in the organization simply doesn’t want him with the Twins. He’s performed as well as, if not better than, almost every other relief pitcher this spring. If they really don’t want him, put him on the market and get something for him! But let’s stop with the “he’s not ready yet” crappola, already.
The final pitching spot then is going to come down to Duensing and Anthony Slama. Both guys need regular work so I don’t think you want either guy to sit around waiting for mop-up opportunities (that has to be what Condrey is there for, right?). If the Twins feel they need someone who can throw a few innings when a starting pitcher gets beat up early in a game (or perhaps feel they need another lefty), the gig goes to Duensing. He’s proven he is capable of getting Major League hitters out.
But if they decide they need another one-inning shut down arm out of the pen, Slama could get the call, while Duensing gets regular starts in Rochester. I consider this a bit of a long shot, though, given the guys who already have claimed spots in the bullpen. Condrey is arguably the only relief pitcher you’d feel you could use for more than an inning (or two at the most). Based on that, alone, I believe Duensing is staying (yes, I know Perkins could get that spot, but I’ll believe that when I see it). I suppose what this means is Slama is actually battling Neshek for that last short relief spot in the pen.
So, here’s my take…
Losers:
Winners:
Still competing:
UPDATE: So, it seems that while I was in the drafting process, LaVelle E Neal at the Strib posted an update to his blog that indicated Slama has been advised he will be heading to AAA after the exhibition series vs. the Cardinals, so that makes the bullpen discussion moot… probably. It remains somewhat interesting to see whether Ron Mahay, signed this week, might maneuver his way on to the staff. Absent that happening, it looks like the pitching staff is pretty much set with only the decisions as to who starts and who closes yet to be determined. -JC
Glad to report the news from Kelly Thesier that Joe Nathan’s Tommy John surgery went well. I hope to hear more details soon but I’m just glad that things are going as expected for now.
MLB is being slow again.. maybe it’s Spring Training vs Regular Season but they used to have lineups up at the latest half an hour before the start of the game. The lineups are always available elsewhere but they aren’t official and don’t come with the handy links to the players stats! So, here’s Kelly’s contribution and I’ll replace it with the chart as soon as they put it up.
I’m heading out bright and early Thursday morning, but before I call it a night, I wanted to post one final “Spring Training Report.” (OK, it might not be the final one published, depending on whether a final ‘Jim Crikket Report’ makes an appearance in Howard Sinker’s “A Fan’s View From Section 219″ blog Thursday).
I can’t recommend highly enough this kind of spring vacation, if you’re a Twins fan or a fan of Major League Baseball at all. I’m sure Target Field will be terrific, but you don’t get opportunities to watch talent of this level as “up close and personal” anywhere but during spring training. And the opportunity to check out the Twins’ “future stars” on the minor league complex is a huge bonus, in my opinion.
With that, I’ll leave you with a few images from my last day at Twins 2010 Spring Training.
Spending the day at the Twins’ spring training complex, for me, involves spending a good bit of the morning on the minor league complex. I enjoy watching the coaches put the younger players through their drills and give a bit of instruction along the way. I thought this would be a good time to share a couple of pictures from my Sunday morning.
On the way back over to the Hammond Stadium, this familiar face was spotted on Field 5 (next to the stadium).
Finally, a few shots taken during the Sunday afternoon game with the Rays. (No story today… nothing I could come up with would top the “story” of Joe Mauer signing a contract that will keep him a Twin for the next 9 years!)
The Twins baseball world started dark enough to bring to mind Shakespearian tragedies… “Alas, poor Nathan…” I’m sure there will be no end to the discussion of his loss to this team and not only what will this year look like but next year as well. For today, I’ll just wish him well and hope to see him again.
I’m putting up the GameChat a little early just to remind people that it’s actually being broadcast on local TV in addition to local radio!! We get to SEE baseball!! So I’ll see y’all back here for realtime game discussion at noon!