Monday March 8, 2004
FORMER TWINS UPDATES
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TWINS WEEKEND UPDATE
The Twins played three games over the three-day weekend, and here is a quick rundown of each:
FRIDAY afternoon, the Twins played the Cincinnati Reds and won 10-4. Looking to make the starting rotation, Carlos Silva and Rick Helling each gave up 1 earned run in 2 innings. Jesse Crain tossed an impressive inning, striking out two. From the offensive side, the Twins got production from a bunch of players. Shannon Stewart went 2-2. He was replaced by Jason Kubel who went 2-3 with a two-run homer. Nick Punto went 2-2. Former #1 pick BJ Garbe had two doubles in four at bats. Justin Morneau went 2-3 with a homer and 3 RBI. The lone negative from the game was that Torii Hunter sprained his wrist banging into the wall in centerfield on a home run ball. He will miss a few games but it doesn’t sound too serious.
SATURDAY afternoon, the Twins matched up with the Boston Red Sox again and this time came out victorious 6-2. Brad Radke got the start and gave up one run in 2 innings, striking out 2. JD Durbin came in and gave up a run in 2 innings. He struck out 3. Peter Munro threw two shutout innings and struck out two. Offensively, Joe Mauer went 2-3. Michael Restovich was 2-4 with a home run and 3 RBI. For the Red Sox, former Twin David Ortiz went 2-3 with a long home run off Brad Radke.
SUNDAY afternoon, the Twins defeated the Reds 7-4 in the 11th inning. SS Jason Bartlett’s run scoring double scored the go-ahead run. It was followed by a two run single by Justin Morneau for the cushion. On the mound, Johan Santana started and gave up 4 first inning runs on two 2-run home runs. In his two innings, he gave up 5 hits and a walk and didn’t strike out anyone. Jeromy Palki, Joe Nathan and Aaron Fultz each pitched a scoreless inning. Colby Miller, Adam Johnson and Brian Wolfe each pitched two scoreless innings. Lew Ford went 2-4 with 2 RBI. Jose Offerman had a 2 run double. Justin Morneau went 3-6 with 2 RBI. On the negative side, he did strike out the other three times he came to the plate.
MONDAY the Twins will split their squad. One team will stay in Ft. Myers and host the Red Sox. The other half of the team will head north to Tampa to take on the Yankees.
As I mentioned last week, I love Spring Training for a lot of reasons. One of the biggest things I like about it is that I can look through box scores again. It’s fun to see that James Loney of the Dodgers finally got out today! It’s really fun to see that Edwin Jackson threw 3 shutout innings. But it’s also fun seeing how former Twins have been doing and where they are now. Last week, I mentioned that Tom Prince will be a hitting coach for the Pirates short-season Class A team in Williamsport. Here are more former Twins players coaching or managing in the minor leagues in 2004:
· Brian Harper - Anaheim Angels - Manager of Rookie League team in Mesa, AZ.
· Chip Hale - Arizona Diamondbacks - Manager of their AAA team in Tucson, AZ.
· Wally Backman - Arizona Diamondbacks - Manager of their Hi-A team in Lancaster, CA.
· Matt Walbeck - Detroit Tigers - Manager of their Low-A team in West Michigan.
· Gary Gaetti - Houston Astros - Hitting Coach of AAA team in New Orleans.
· Nelson Liriano - Kansas City Royals - Hitting Coach of AA team in Wichita, TX.
· Tom Burgmeier - Kansas City Royals - Pitching Coach of Low-A team in Burlington.
· Tim Teufel - New York Mets - Manager of Hi-A team in St. Lucie, FL.
· Dave Hollins - New York Mets - Hitting Coach of Low-A team, Capital City.
· Tom Nieto - St. Louis Cardinals - Manager of Hi-A team in Palm Beach, FL.
· Ken Landreaux - Toronto Blue Jays - Hitting Coach of AAA Syracuse, NY.
Here is a quick look at how former Twins performed this weekend (If someone is missing, please e-mail me.):
FRIDAY
· Chad Allen LF - Texas Rangers (2-2)
· Casey Blake 3B - Cleveland Indians (0-1)
· Brian Buchanan 1B - San Diego Padres (1-2, RBI)
· Greg Colbrunn DH - Arizona Diamondbacks (1-5, 2B)
· Eddie Guardado RP - Seattle Mariners (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R)
· Denny Hocking SS - Colorado Rockies (0-2)
· Bobby Kielty LF - Oakland A’s (1-3)
· Matt Lawton LF - Cleveland Indians (2-3)
· Quinton McCracken OF - Seattle Mariners (0-1)
· Dustan Mohr RF - San Francisco Giants (1-2)
· Warren Morris 2B - Detroit Tigers (0-2)
· Greg Swindell RP - Kansas City Royals (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R)
· Todd Walker 2B - Chicago Cubs (0-3)
SATURDAY
· Chad Allen LF - Texas Rangers (0-2)
· Danny Ardoin C - Texas Rangers (0-1)
· James Baldwin SP - NY Mets (2 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 2 K)
· Jon Barnes RF - Los Angeles Dodgers (0-1)
· Brian Buchanan 1B - San Diego Padres (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI)
· Chris Gomez SS - Toronto Blue Jays (0-2)
· LaTroy Hawkins RP - Chicago Cubs (1 IP, 1 K, 0 R, Save)
· Mike Jackson RP - Chicago White Sox (1 IP, 2K)
· Todd Jones RP - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1 IP, 1 K)
· Matt Lawton LF - Cleveland Indians (1-3, 2B)
· Jason Maxwell PH - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1-1)
· Quinton McCracken CF - Seattle Mariners (1-3, 2B)
· Chad Moeller C - Milwaukee Brewers (2-3, 2-2B, 3 RBI)
· Warren Morris 2B - Detroit Tigers (0-3)
· AJ Pierzynski C - San Francisco Giants (0-3, RBI)
· Rick Reed SP - Pittsburgh Pirates (2 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 ER)
· Todd Walker 2B - Chicago Cubs (0-2)
SUNDAY
· Chad Allen LF - Texas Rangers (1-1)
· Danny Ardoin C - Texas Rangers (0-1)
· Jon Barnes OF - Los Angeles Dodgers (0-1)
· Casey Blake 3B - Cleveland Indians (2-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI)
· Brian Buchanan 1B - San Diego Padres (0-2)
· Tony Fiore RP - Houston Astros (1 IP, 2 H, 0 R)
· Chris Gomez SS - Toronto Blue Jays (0-2)
· Denny Hocking CF - Colorado Rockies (1-3)
· Mike Lincoln RP - St. Louis Cardinals (1 IP, 1 H, 1 K)
· Pat Mahomes RP - Montreal Expos (2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 long Pujols HR!)
· Jason Maxwell 2B - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (0-2)
· David McCarty 1B - Boston Red Sox (0-4)
· Quinton McCracken PH - Seattle Mariners (0-1)
· Dustin Mohr RF - San Francisco Giants (0-2)
· AJ Pierzynski C - San Francisco Giants (0-2)
· Kenny Rogers SP - Texas Rangers (2 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 ER)
· Todd Walker 2B - Chicago Cubs (1-3)
Am I leaving anyone off this list? I am looking forward to seeing how David McCarty fares in his attempt to become a lefty-relief pitcher for the Red Sox. I didn’t see Todd Sears in any of the Padres box scores this weekend. Oh, Chris Coste scored the winning run for the Brewers on Friday. He reached base on an error. He was 0-2 in that game and did not play on Saturday or Sunday. If anyone is missing, send me an e-mail. Thanks! I would like to be the best source for Former Twins information.
Check out a great article by Gordon Wittenmeyer on the change ups of Brad Radke and Johan Santana.
LaVelle E. Neal wrote a great article on local (OK, not Mauer-local, but North Dakota-local) boy, Rick Helling. His rise from high school star, to football and the University of North Dakota before transferring to Stanford, playing for Team USA and much more.
Jim Souhan writes another great article on the struggles of Eddie Guardado with his new team. Part of me feels bad for him. Part of me knows it just makes a good story for Twins fans. Part of me wants to know if the extra $5 or $6 million was worth it?
The Wolves just don’t seem to play well on Sundays. I can’t explain it at all. Two straight Sundays, the Wolves have lost at home to an Eastern Conference team on ESPN’s national telecast. Last night, it was the Celtics beating the Wolves 80-77. Granted, the Celtics came into the game having won four in a row, but they are clearly a weaker team than the Wolves. However, it also seems to me that the Wolves have begun to play to their competition. How else can you explain losses to the 76ers and Celtics with their demolition of the Mavericks? This is going to have to be addressed by the team because they are not only falling further behind the Sacramento Kings (2.5 games back) for home-court advantage in the playoffs, but they are allowing the San Antonio Spurs to gain ground on their lead in the Midwest Division (2 game lead).
Kevin Garnett led the Wolves with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists. Michael Olowokandi added 10 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Sam Cassell added 13 points and 6 rebounds. The Wolves, primarily Trenton Hassell, did a great job of controlling the Celtics best player, Paul Pierce, holding him to 4-21 from the field.
The loss was the Wolves 3rd in their last four games. Friday night, the team lost a 112-109 decision to the Houston Rockets, another team that is playing really well, and a team, like the Golden State Warriors that just seem to have the Wolves number. The Rockets were led by Yao Ming with 27 points and 6 rebounds. Steve Francis scored 25 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Cuttino Mobley added 18. Maurice Taylor had 16.
Kevin Garnett led the Wolves Friday night with 32 points and 18 rebounds. Sam Cassell scored 25 points and dished out 13 assists. Latrell Sprewell (8 assists), Michael Olowokandi and Troy Hudson each scored 12 points.
This week sees the Wolves heading west to Seattle and Portland (Tuesday/Wednesday) before meeting up with the Lakers and Blazers at home next weekend.
Thoughts on the Wolves? E-mail me.
The Gophers men’s basketball team won Saturday 78-62 against Penn State. The Gophers finish the year with an 11-17 record, 3-13 in the Big Ten. Kris Humphries made a little history. He became the first freshman to lead the Big Ten in both scoring and rebounding. Last week, I discussed his likely decision to turn pro and enter the NBA Draft. Check it out.
And on that note, I am going to call it a day. I got more work done on my Twins project which I hope to have completed for you for later in the week. Spring Training is here. March Madness is barely over a week away. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to e-mail me. Have a great week!