Mijares' prospects looking tenuous

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: March 21, 2009 - 1:02 AM

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FORT MYERS, FLA. — Lefthander Jose Mijares pitched in a tumultuous eighth inning on Friday.

Todd Linden greeted him by hammering a solo homer to left.

Mijares then fell behind 3-0 to Doug Bernier and Juan Miranda and eventually gave up singles to both. Fans cheered when he finally got a strike over against Miranda.

Mijares got out of the inning after a sacrifice fly, but the two earned runs pushed his spring ERA to 11.37. That's not good news for the Twins, who might have to look at other bullpen options.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said after the game that he has heard suggestions that Mijares should be sent to Class AAA as a wake-up call. Not yet.

"What we need to do is get him straightened out right here," Gardenhire said. "I can always throw problems to somebody else. We'll just try to do it ourselves here. He's got a pretty good arm, and if we can figure this out we'll be a better baseball team. So we're going to try that way first.

"Unless the boys upstairs decide something different, before I make my decision."

Rare play in the field

A rare play occurred in the fifth inning when the Yankees' Eduardo Nunez hit a grounder to Joe Crede at third. Nunez took two steps, tripped and did a face-plant 3 feet down the first-base line. Instead of throwing to first, Crede threw to catcher Mike Redmond, who tagged Nunez out. Score that 5-2.

Ramos among cuts

Catcher Wilson Ramos, righthander Kevin Mulvey and lefthander Mike Gosling were cut from camp on Friday.

Ramos, 21, one of the top prospects in the organization, opened some eyes.

"He's one of those tempting guys," Gardenhire said. "We all know he probably needs a little more catching down in the minor leagues. He gets a little sloppy at times."

Ramos hit .375 with two RBI in nine games. He will probably start the season at Class AA New Britain.

Flu has Morneau down

First baseman Justin Morneau was scratched from Friday's lineup because of the flu and will not play today against the Phillies at Clearwater, Fla. Outfielder David Winfree also was sent home with the flu. "We ran out of Z-paks," Gardenhire said of the powerful flu medicine.

Etc.

• Shortstop Nick Punto made his first appearance since he returned from the World Baseball Classic. Punto went 2-for-3, driving in Redmond with a single in the third.

• Righthander Matt Guerrier threw two scoreless innings for Class AAA Rochester as he got some work in.

• Luis Ayala, also returning from the WBC, threw a scoreless seventh inning.

On deck

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who has a chance to make the Twins roster as a reliever, will start today in Clearwater, Fla., against the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. Righthander Chan Ho Park will start for the Phillies.

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