Notes: Trade deadline approaches

07/19/2006
MINNEAPOLIS -- The July 31 trade deadline remains just a little over two weeks away, and the Twins aren't exactly sure how they will approach the anticipated date.
Prior to the club's streak of winning 21 of 23 games, it had appeared very likely that the Twins would be selling in this year's market. But their run before the All-Star break and the continued strong play of the team has changed matters.
"If we stay in the race, then we're not going to be in the seller mode, and that's the goal," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "The goal is to play good baseball and stay close with what we have.
"We have a couple weeks here to decide [our approach], and that's good because it gives us a chance to see where we're going to be at here at the deadline and what we have to do."
Much of the Twins' outlook hinges on the club's upcoming road trip. To remain in the race for the division, the Twins have to improve upon their 17-29 record away from home.
The team has yet to win a division game on the road outside of Kansas City so far this season, and with the Twins approaching three games at Cleveland followed by three more at Chicago, there is no question this is a critical junction.
"This road trip is going to be very big for us," Gardenhire said.
There are a few areas that could be strengthened, such as adding another starter or adding infield and outfield depth. But the market dictates that there isn't a strong chance of that occurring.
"It's going to be hard to find awful much right now," Gardenhire said. "So we'll go with our infield as long as it stays healthy."
That means sticking with Nick Punto at third base despite the rumors that the Twins are shopping for an everyday third baseman. Punto's recent knee scare caused some concern, but as long as Punto is able to continue playing, the Twins will leave him as their starter at third.
"I think he brings a lot to the lineup and has been very good for us if we can keep him out there on the field and healthy," Gardenhire said. "If he were not able to play, then you probably have to look for a third baseman if you can find one. But I don't think find too many awful big names out there that we can attack."
Next step to return: Matt Guerrier is making his final step toward returning to the Twins from his broken right thumb injury. He leaves for a rehabilitation assignment on Thursday with Double-A New Britain.
Guerrier will join the team in Erie, Pa., and is scheduled to throw one or two innings on Friday. The goal is to stretch Guerrier to around 50-60 pitches before his return, which likely will take somewhere between four or five outings. If everything goes well, Guerrier could be set to return during the team's next homestand when they host the Tigers on July 28-30.
Before leaving on his rehab stint, Guerrier threw a simulated game of around 30-35 pitches on Wednesday afternoon. Everything seemed to go as anticipated.
"He was letting it go pretty good," Gardenhire said. "He was using his breaking ball and his slider, and he threw his changeup, too."
Guerrier got plenty of support in the simulated game, with teammates Jesse Crain, Kyle Lohse and Joe Nathan all wearing "Guerrier" jerseys and holding up a sign with cutout holes for their heads and the words, "You're Grrrreat!"
It was much appreciated by Guerrier, who admitted there was a little extra adrenaline in his first real pitching experience since being sidelined on June 8 with the injury. Guerrier said there is still a bit of pain while throwing, which the doctors told him was normal.
"It relaxed me a bit to see those guys," Guerrier said with a laugh. "My heart was beating fast and I had to step off a few times to just relax. I think maybe that made my hand feel better, too, with the adrenaline. I just hope there is more of that in a real game."
Twins tidbits: Rondell White was slotted into left field for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. Gardenhire has been happy with the way the veteran has played since his return, but could give him a rest from the outfield for the club's day game on Thursday. ... According to Elias, the matchup between Francisco Liriano and Scott Kazmir on Tuesday was the first time in 80 years that two left-handed pitchers both 22 or younger and with at least 10 wins for the season went head-to head. The last time was Babe Ruth (Red Sox) vs. Harry Harper (Senators) on Aug. 12, 1916. ... Since the beginning of the 2003 season, the Twins are 235-10 when they hold a lead after seven innings.
Down on the farm: Garrett Jones blasted his 13th home run of the season as Triple-A Rochester defeated Syracuse, 6-0, on Tuesday night. Mike Smith pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits and striking out 11. ... Daniel Matienzo doubled to drive home the only run in Double-A New Britain's 6-1 loss at Reading. ... Brandon Roberts went 4-for-5 with two runs scored in Class A Fort Myers' 8-4 victory over Jupiter.

Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/

White's big night sparks Twins

07/19/2006
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins didn't quite know what to expect from Rondell White when he made his return from a rehab assignment with Triple-A this past week.
And frankly, neither did White.
With his callup coming a bit earlier than expected due to the rash of injuries the Twins had in the outfield, White wasn't sure if his swing and his shoulder were ready to come back to the big leagues.
An impressive night on Wednesday, when he belted two home runs and a double in the Twins' 7-2 victory over the Devil Rays, officially signaled the rebirth of the power hitter the club had expected when it signed him in the offseason.
"It ranks No. 1," White said of how much this game meant to him. "With all the things I've been going through this year and how I've been struggling, it felt really good to come out and help the team and swing the bat well."
White's timing couldn't have been better. Having lost three of their outfielders to the DL, the Twins needed a veteran to fill a hole. And having that veteran help carry the team to its sixth straight victory was a big boost.
"[Twins general manager] Terry Ryan has been telling me that this guy is going to be a big lift for us in the second half, and this is a good start," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And right now, because of the injuries, we need it."
White's first homer came in the second inning, when the Twins trailed, 1-0. The 395-foot blast to left field off Devil Rays starter Jae Seo knotted the game at 1.
The game remained tied until White's next at-bat in the fifth. Leading off the inning, White delivered another shot to left -- this one carrying 410 feet to put the Twins up, 2-1. It was the first multihomer game for White since Aug. 22, 2000, when he played for the Expos.
The best part of White's night may have come when he came to the plate for his final at-bat. White was greeted by the fans with a standing ovation, to which White tipped his helmet.
"It felt great, man," White said. "I've been struggling all season and those fans have been behind me."
White's homer in the fifth sparked a four-run inning courtesy of a two-run triple by Nick Punto and an RBI sacrifice fly by Michael Cuddyer. The hit by Punto extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
More runs were added to the team's lead in the sixth, as the Twins drove home two on a Jason Bartlett RBI triple and an RBI single by Luis Castillo.
Every Twins batter recorded at least one hit, and Brad Radke continued his hot streak with another quality start.
Radke (8-7) allowed just two runs, both coming on homers, on four hits. Besides the two mistakes, Radke was able to show good command, issuing no walks and throwing just 87 pitches over seven innings. Radke has not lost since June 3.
"I felt I had good command of my fastball and had a pretty good breaking ball," Radke said. "I just kept them off-balance, and for a team that is going to come out swinging, they did that quite a few times tonight and I got quite a few quick outs.
"I'm just so happy for Rondell," Radke said. "It's just great to see him have a night like that. ... Everybody felt bad for him [during his struggles], but he stayed professional about it and didn't get down on himself. He just kept trying and didn't give up."

Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/

Notes: Morneau working lefties

07/20/2006
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins have long believed that Justin Morneau could be the type of power hitter they've been lacking for nearly two decades. And with his numbers this season, he's certainly proving himself capable.
One of the biggest reasons behind the change in the first baseman's power numbers may be due to Morneau's improvement against left-handers.
Morneau has blasted nine homers off southpaws this season after recording just four last year. Some of those have come off impressive left-handers such as Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia and 22-year-old Devil Rays phenom Scott Kazmir on Tuesday. For Kazmir, it was only the third homer he has given up to a lefty over 341 career innings.
So what exactly has made the difference?
For Morneau, it seems to be a combination of getting more playing time facing lefties and changing his approach. Early in the year, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire would often take the first baseman out of the lineup with a tough lefty starter. But in May, that changed as Gardenhire began sticking with Morneau -- good performance or bad -- and it's appeared to pay off.
"Now, I come to the field knowing that I'm going to play," Morneau said. "Earlier in the year, I was looking over my shoulder a bit because you never know if you're going to get pinch-hit for, or what. It never happened, but when you are struggling and the team is not doing well, it's easy to try to make changes. Gardy stuck with me and kept putting me out there and letting me face them, so he showed confidence in me, too."
The result of keeping Morneau in against lefties has been an overall increase in his average from .201 against southpaws in 2005 to .281 through 88 games, heading into Thursday, this season.
"He's swinging the bat good and if they make a mistake, he puts a good swing on it," Gardenhire said of Morneau's changes. "He's not trying to do too much with it. He's been working very hard with [hitting coach] Joe Vavra, doing a lot of different things and it's all coming into play now. He's feeling very comfortable at the plate -- lefty, righty, it doesn't matter."
Morneau isn't the only batter doing well against left-handers, as the entire Twins squad has improved its numbers. The Twins are hitting .287 vs. left-handed pitchers, the third-highest average in baseball, compared to last season when they hit a Major League-low .247 vs. lefties.
It's something that teams used to be able to count on when facing the Twins with a left-handed starter, but that clearly has changed.
"Cleveland set up its rotation so that it could throw three lefties against us the last series," Morneau said. "That's how it used to be, you throw a lefty against us and it messed us up. But we're proving that the more you see them, the better chance you are going to have at having success."
Bring on the burns: The Twins have been a part of some pretty funny game promotions, but none may be more entertaining than the one the club recently announced.
The Twins, along with sponsoring partner Mall of America, will host "Joe Mauer Sideburn Night" on Thursday, Aug. 10 when the club plays the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:10 p.m. CT.
As part of the promotion and in honor of Mall of America's 14th birthday, the first 10,000 fans will receive replica Joe Mauer sideburns. The synthetic hair will include double-sided tape so that fans themselves can look like Mauer.
The night is just part of an onslaught of attention being directed at the 23-year-old catcher and his impressive season. But for Mauer, it's still a little bit surprising that it's his sideburns that have been the topic of so many questions, along with being the focus of one of the Twins' commercials.
"I don't know why everybody is so into my sideburns," Mauer said with a laugh. "It should be a funny day, though, to look in the stands and see people with blond and red hair wearing brown sideburns."
Sticking with what works: The initial plan for the Twins had not been to keep Rondell White as the everyday starter in left field upon his return to the club.
But with the way that White's been hitting since his callup -- going 8-for-14 with three home runs, six RBIS and five runs scored -- it's been almost impossible to take him away from the position.
Though White never blamed his offensive woes on changing to the designated hitter role, it's becoming clear that maybe the extra time in the outfield has helped his confidence a bit.
"With Rondell swinging like he's swinging out there and feeling comfortable, you're thinking that if this works out for him, and he's playing good defense, you're not going to change it," Gardenhire said. "You might mix it up every once in awhile, but I don't think you go and take a guy out when it appears that the outfield is helping the situation."
Twins tidbits: Both Shannon Stewart and Torii Hunter will not make the upcoming trip with the team due to their inability to really do any type of rehabilitation with their injuries. Hunter will head home to Dallas to work on some weights, upper body work and throwing, while staying off his injured foot. "By the time we get back, Torii should have three or four days to be ready and that should be plenty for him," Gardenhire said. ... Mauer got a day of rest from catching during Thursday's day game. He was slotted in the DH role in order to keep his bat in the lineup. ... The Twins' 36 wins in their first 47 home games set a new franchise record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The last time a team won at least 36 of their first 47 home games was in 1998 when the Yankees were 39-8, the Padres were 36-11, and both teams went to the World Series that season.
Down on the farm: Boof Bonser threw five innings, allowing three hits as Triple-A Rochester beat Syracuse, 1-0, on Wednesday. Andres Torres went 2-for-4 with an RBI. In Game 2 of the doubleheader, Pete Munro lasted 5 1/3 innings and gave up five hits and four runs as the Red Wings lost, 4-2. ... Third baseman Matt Moses went 2-for-5 with four RBIs to push Double-A New Britain over Reading, 8-7. ... The club's Class A affiliates -- Ft. Meyers and Beloit -- were off on Wednesday.

Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/

Twins down Rays in series finale

07/20/2006
MINNEAPOLIS -- The goal for the Twins coming out of the All-Star break was simple: Take advantage right away of an eight-game stretch at home, the place where they had played their best baseball all year long.
Completing the homestand by winning seven of those games, including a 6-4 victory over the Devil Rays on Thursday afternoon, it appears that it was mission accomplished for the Twins.
"We were hoping out of the break that we could get off to a good start, heading into this upcoming road trip," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And that's exactly what we did. Right now, we're playing good baseball."
After completing a four-game sweep of the Devil Rays on Thursday, it didn't take long for the focus to shift to the team's six-game road trip, as the Twins take on two of their American League Central rivals -- the Indians and the White Sox.
The Twins have yet to pick up a win in either Cleveland or Chicago this season, as part of a woeful year of road play where the club is just 17-29 away from the Metrodome. So these two series have long been circled as what could be a turning point for the club and its postseason hopes.
"These next two series on the road are a big test for us," closer Joe Nathan said. "We're going to need to start playing well on the road, and that's especially the case within our division."
But before the talk could turn to playing their division rivals once again, the Twins had to concentrate on picking up that seventh straight victory at home.
The Twins felt very comfortable heading into Thursday's finale with their ace, Johan Santana, taking the mound, knowing that, if they could score some runs, they would have a great chance at winning.
But they would need those runs even more than expected.
Santana didn't have his best outing of the year, as he struggled to find control, especially in the fifth inning.
With the game knotted at 1, after Santana had given up a home run to Travis Lee in the third inning, the southpaw had trouble finding the plate. He walked three batters and allowed two runs on two hits to put Tampa Bay ahead, 3-1.
Even more troublesome was the fact that it totaled up to be a 30-pitch inning that shortened Santana's outing to just six innings, as he threw a total of 101 pitches, giving up three runs on six hits, while walking four and striking out seven.
"I think I had the worst performance of the starting pitchers in this series, and yet we still ended up with a win," Santana said. "Whatever it takes for you to keep winning and winning, that's all that matters. It doesn't matter for me if I had a good day or a bad day, as long as I do my best to help this ballclub."
But in the bottom half of the inning, one that the Twins like to call "the fifth-inning misery," the club was finally able to take advantage of Devil Rays starter James Shields and put together a run that would help overcome Santana's problems just a half-inning before.
The Twins scored four runs in the fifth, as Shields (4-4) allowed four hits, two walks and delivered a wild pitch that saw Jason Tyner cross home. Shields recorded just one out in the inning before being pulled.
Mike Redmond jumpstarted the Twins' fifth-inning rally, leading off with a double to center field. Tyner followed with an RBI single to pull the Twins within one, 3-2. Two walks and a wild pitch would knot the game at 3, before Joe Mauer drove home the go-ahead run with a single to right. Michael Cuddyer added one more to the lead with his RBI single to left.
The Twins gave the bullpen one more run to work with, as three pitchers combined to hold Tampa Bay to just one run over the final three innings. Pat Neshek struck out the side in the seventh, while Juan Rincon gave up one run in the eighth. Joe Nathan came in to pitch the ninth and recorded his 18th save of the season.
For the Twins, it was just another day where almost every person on the field helped to capture the club's 20th victory at home.
"That is what it takes, everyone to be a part of it, so we can continue to capture wins," Gardenhire said. "We have to find a way to do that on the road now, as it's going to be a big series for us facing Cleveland and Chicago."
This road trip comes at a critical juncture for the club, with the team trailing the White Sox by just four games in the Wild Card race. Winning certainly hasn't been a problem for the club at home, where they have a Major League-best 37-11 home record. But the road has been an entirely different story.
"We're playing perfect here at home, so hopefully, we can find a way to make it that way when we're on the road," Santana said.
The goal for the Twins, now, isn't to try and replicate the success they've had capturing sweeps at the Metrodome, but rather, just to do what will keep them squarely in the postseason hunt.
"At this time of the year, you have to win series," Gardenhire said. "That's what it's all about. We have to get back to winning series on the road. We're trying to win two out of three, that's the goal. And if we get more than that, that's great."

Source: http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/