Minnesota Twins have ten days to rest injured players
[picappgallerysingle id="9775088"]The Minnesota Twins have ten days left to prepare for the playoffs, and they’ll need all ten to rest both healthy and injured starters.
The new magic number for the Twins is three: the number of Twins wins and/or Texas Rangers loses that will result in home field advantage for the Minnesota Twins for the first round of the playoffs. Since we’ll probably be facing the very tough Tampa Bay Rays, the Twins could use home field advantage, too.
In the meantime, here are the injuries plaguing the Twins right now:
1) Joe Mauer’s knee. Apparently, Joe Mauer has been playing with a sore knee – on and off – for most of the season. The Twins didn’t tell us about this until Mauer left the Twins game against the Athletics earlier this week. Now, Mauer has indeed received a cortisone shot in his left knee, which will knock him out of the next 4 or 5 Twins games. But, he should be moderately healthy for the playoffs.
2) Denard Span’s shoulder. Span was in the lineup for the Minnesota Twins throughout their sweep of the Cleveland Indians (Span was only one of three regular Twins starters in yesterday’s lineup), but Span missed games against Oakland due to a sore shoulder.
Apparently, Span has been battling soreness in his shoulder since June (again, the Twins didn’t let anyone know about this until now). Could be why Span’s been hitting so poorly. Span is scheduled to have a previously-scheduled MRI on that shoulder today, despite having been in the Twins lineup for the last three games.
3) Jim Thome. I don’t think this is anything serious, but Thome is listed as day-to-day by the Twins due to general soreness. Probably his back – Thome’s back has a tendency to tighten up on him. Not that it’s stopped him from crushing 25 home runs this season. I’m sure Thome will be ready to light up the post season for the Twins.
4) J.J. Hardy. Just what Minnesota sports fans need – another player with migraines (Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin also suffers from them). Hardy, while a terrific shortstop, is a little bit fragile, so I don’t expect to see much of Hardy in the Twins lineup the next several games. I think they’ll rest Hardy as much as possible; between his head and his on-again off-again sore wrist, Hardy needs it. Hardy is listed as day-to-day.
5) Orlando Hudson. Hudson, the Twins terrific second baseman, is just as fragile as Hardy – and he’s just as important to the Twins lineup, too. Hudson is currently suffering from a sore shoulder (which doesn’t explain his penchant for major base-running mistakes of late), and I don’t expect to see much of Hudson, either, before the post season begins. I expect that Hardy, Hudson, Thome, and Mauer will play very little so that they can be as rested as possible for the playoffs.
6) Justin Morneau. First of all, congratulations to Morneau and his wife, Krista, for the birth of their daughter, Evelyn, this morning around 4:45 am. But no Twins injury list this season (at least since July 7th) would be complete without Justin Morneau, who continues to suffer from symptoms related to the concussion he received on the aforementioned date in Toronto, playing the Blue Jays.
Currently on the 60-day disabled list, I don’t expect Morneau to return to the Twins lineup this season. I just hope he recovers enough to return to the Twins next year.
Minnesota Twins clinch AL Central division! Hurrah!
[picappgallerysingle id="9775096"]With a spectacular come-from-behind win last night against the Indians (and a 7-2 loss by the Chicago White Sox to the Athletics), the Minnesota Twins clinched the American League Central division. The Twins are a phenomenal 91-60 on the year thus far, with no reason to believe they won’t rack up more wins before the season is out – no matter who they have in the lineup.
The thing that has been so commanding about the Minnesota Twins this season has been their depth. The Twins clinched the division without either of their star players and biggest producers: Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer (out with a sore – but structurally undamaged – knee).
And the Twins wouldn’t have that depth without having talented, selfless players. Like Michael Cuddyer, for example, who moved from right field to third base to right field to first base without a complaint – plus, Cuddyer plays every game.
And how about Jason Kubel, who went from designated hitter to right field? Or Alexi Casilla, who will play anywhere from second base to third base. Or Jason Repko, who will play anywhere in the outfield.
There’s been nobody quite like Michael Cuddyer in that respect for this Twins team, but those younger guys are watching and learning what it takes to be a truly great baseball player. And on an offensive note, how about Jim Thome, with his 25th home run of the year? The guy’s a stud. I sure hope the Twins get Thome back next year.
And now, the Twins have 11 days to figure out how they’re going to handle the playoffs. With all that time to think about it and to rest injured players, I think the Minnesota Twins will have a phenomenal playoff run this year.
And I can’t think of a baseball team that deserves it more.
Twins clinch AL Central tonight with win and White Sox loss
[picappgallerysingle id="9775098"]Tonight could be the night: the Minnesota Twins could clinch the American League Central division tonight if they win at home and the Chicago White Sox lose at Oakland. The Twins recently lost to Oakland, so there’s no reason to think that the White Sox won’t. And the Twins already beat the Indians, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t do it again.
Above all, the Twins have shown their depth in recent weeks as one player after another has been hobbled by minor injuries: Denard Span, Jason Kubel, Danny Valencia, and Joe Mauer have all left the lineup at various points. Jim Thome, too.
Despite those holes in the lineup, the Twins have played admirably. Jason Repko, Alexi Casilla, Drew Butera, and even youngster Ben Revere have towed the line successfully and kept the Twins ahead in the race for the AL Central division.
And now, the Twins are on the verge of clinching the AL Central.
We also have our stalwart guys to thank: Michael Cuddyer, who has been a stud this whole season (and a season-saver, I might add), and Danny Valencia, who has taken over at third base and has recently been hitting home runs nearly every game. And of course, Delmon Young – despite the occasional Delmon Young fielding experience and a slight dip in his batting average of late, Young has been terrific for the Twins this season.
So, with all the challenges they’ve had to overcome (Justin Morneau’s concussion in July leading the list), it’s nice to see the Minnesota Twins on the cusp of clinching the AL Central division. A win from the Twins and a loss from the White Sox tonight – that’s all it takes.
Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer suffers knee injury; out how long?
[picappgallerysingle id="9441798"]It wasn’t bad enough that the Minnesota Twins dropped two out of three to the Oakland Athletics at home, I guess; Twins catcher and all-around stud Joe Mauer suffered a knee injury in the sixth inning. And to make matters even worse, Mauer hurt the same knee in which he tore his meniscus during his rookie season.
Yikes.
With top slugger Justin Morneau out for what looks like the rest of the season, the Minnesota Twins cannot be without Joe Mauer. While Mauer’s not hitting for power much this season, he is hitting: Mauer has the third-highest batting average in the American League.
Mauer describes what he did in the Twins loss to Oakland yesterday as “tweaking” his knee, so he decided to get out of the game. At the moment, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire insists that it’s just day-to-day thing, and no big deal.
That’s what they said about Justin Morneau. The Twins didn’t even put Morneau on the disabled list until he’d already been out for weeks. Needless to say, I’m rather concerned about this unfortunate turn of events.
Gardenhire did admit, however, that Mauer has sometimes been playing with a sore knee this year. This is the first we’ve all heard of it, so I guess it’s a minor thing. But when you come out of a game and you’re listed day-to-day, it starts to look a little more serious.
At this time, it seems there are no plans to get an MRI on Mauer’s knee.
I’m really hoping that this is as minor as Ron Gardenhire and Joe Mauer are playing it off to be. Because if it turns into another Justin Morneau-type situation, the Minnesota Twins are in enormous trouble.
Twins pitcher Scott Baker out of starting rotation for season
[picappgallerysingle id="9459037"]Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Scott Baker is no longer that – a starter – for the remainder of the 2010 season. Baker has some serious tendinitis in his right elbow – that’s his throwing arm. It’s bad enough that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire wants Baker in the bullpen rather than the arduous starting rotation for the rest of the season.
Scott Baker has been suffering from tendinitis in his right elbow all season; Baker received a cortisone shot just before the All Star break, and another a couple of weeks ago. Now, it seems that Baker will play the role of reliever until next season, allowing that right elbow to heal up properly – without risking the playoff fate of the Minnesota Twins.
It’s a bit of a bummer as far as I’m concerned, because Scott Baker has a history of really coming on the second half of the season – a trend which was also true this year, except now we won’t be able to reap the benefits with Baker sidelined.
But I understand what Ron Gardenhire’s doing. What Gardenhire and the Minnesota Twins have going right now is working like crazy, so why change it? Gardenhire describes it as, “staying status quo,” which I think means that he doesn’t want to mess with what’s working.
And that’s the right choice. Gardenhire isn’t exactly making a lot of bad decisions right now. Let’s hope that trend continues.
And so, until they’re sure he’s 100% healthy, Scott Baker will stay in the bullpen and out of the starting rotation. That means the Twins are looking at the following pitchers to start the rest of September: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Brian Duensing, Kevin Slowey, and Nick Blackburn.
I think the starters for the Minnesota Twins playoff run will be Pavano, Liriano, Duensing, and Blackburn, with Slowey and Baker in the bullpen.
