twins/mlb
Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.
Posts about Off the field
Pregame post
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: July 14, 2011 - 5:26 PM
Just a few bits and notes:
Lineup change: Thome, penciled in at DH, told Gardenhire he wanted to have another day "to run around" on his sprained toe before going in the lineup. He should be available to pinch-hit, however.
The new lineup is 1) CF Revere, 2) 2B Casilla, 3) C Mauer, 4) RF Cuddyer, 5) 3B Valencia, 6) LF Young, 7) DH Plouffe, 8) 1B Hughes, 9) SS Nishioka.
Gardy said the new lineup, with Hughes now at first, would give him "a chance to work with him a little bit and see where he’s at."
Span update: It was reported yesterday that Span was cleared for assignment -- in fact, he took concussion tests and the doctor's were pleased with his results, but he still has to wait to be approved by MLB (Span didn't know the procedure). Trainer Rick McWane said there is no timetable for how long that will take.
Baker: The righty will throw a bullpen session tomorrow. He is expected to start on Monday.
Morneau: He was cleared to start non-baseball activities. He can do pretty much whatever he wants in the weight room and off the field but needs another week or so before he can throw or hit.
AMELIA RAYNO
Delmon Young carted off the field with sprained right ankle
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: June 25, 2011 - 9:41 PMMILWAUKEE -- Twins left fielder Delmon Young was carted off the field after suffering a sprained right ankle in the fifth inning of Saturday's game against the Brewers.
The Twins placed Young on the 15-day day disabled list and recalled outfielder Rene Tosoni from Class AAA Rochester.
Young was on crutches after the 11-1 loss and will have an MRI exam on Monday. He said he sprained the same ankle in 2003, before being drafted, and that one was worse.
Young smashed his right foot into the left-field wall, trying to catch a deep fly ball from Yuniesky Betancourt, who continued rounding the bases for an inside-the-park home run that gave Milwaukee a 7-1 lead.
Young appeared to get his right food stuck beneath the out-of-town scoreboard on the wall. He fell to the ground and grabbed the leg in obvious pain.
Young had X-Rays taken at the ballpark, and they showed no broken bones.
Nishioka out with a broken fibula
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: April 7, 2011 - 2:58 PMNEW YORK -- Twins second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka was helped off the field at Yankee Stadium Thursday in the seventh inning of the Twins 4-3 loss to the Yankees. The Twins said their prized offseason signing suffered a broken fibula and was placed on the disabled list. There was no timetable set for his return.
Nishioka was hurt on a take-out slide by Nick Swisher.
With one out in the seventh inning, Mark Teixeira grounded to third baseman Danny Valencia, who threw to Nishioka at second for the force out. As Nishioka relayed the ball to first, Swisher slid wide and clipped Nishioka with his shins.
Nishioka lay on the ground for a few moments before leaving the field with assistance from assistant trainer Dave Pruemer and his translator, Ryo Shinkawa.
I will pass along updates as soon as possible.
The Twins were held in check by Yankees starter A.J. Burnett and three relievers. Francisco Liriano started for the Twins and gave up four runs in five innings.
Twins' closer Nathan to have Tommy John surgery
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: March 21, 2010 - 9:11 AMFORT MYERS, FLA. -- Twins closer Joe Nathan said today that he will undergo Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow with an eye toward returning for Opening Day in 2011.
Nathan played catch with pitching coach Rick Anderson this morning. It was Nathan's first throwing session since he suffered a significant tear of his ulnar collateral ligament on March 6.
"Didn’t go like we hoped," Nathan said. "We knew it was a long shot, but what this did do is clear my head. Definitely was no gray area. Definitely was on the black side, where it didn’t go as well as we like, and we know now we’re going to have to go in and get some surgery done, get this thing fixed up."
Nathan said he will have the surgery as soon as possible, though he hasn't decided where or when. The estimated recovery time is 12 months, and Nathan said he's "very confident" he'll be ready for Opening Day next year.
"Any time you’re going to be out for the season -- but especially the timing of this, with this ballclub, this new stadium, the excitement -- it’s definitely tough," Nathan said. "But right now I’ve got to take care of myself and get myself ready for next year."
The throwing session took place along the right-field line of Field 5, here at the Lee County Sports Complex. Nathan was making some strong throws before it ended. I couldn't tell from the body language if it had gone good or bad.
Anderson patted Nathan on the back before they walked off the field, expressionless.
"As we kept throwing, it became clear that it was getting harder and harder to play catch," Nathan said. "It became clear that it didn’t feel great. This was going to be an easy answer for me to know I wouldn’t be able to pitch without getting this thing taken care of."
Friday update: Liriano, Neshek, Liddle, Mauer
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: March 12, 2010 - 12:02 PMFORT MYERS, FLA. -- The Mets made it to Hammond Stadium, after driving across the state from Port St. Lucie, before today's game was cancelled.
The Twins wound up taking batting practice in the cages. Pitchers tried to play catch before more rain chased them off the field.
Manager Ron Gardenhire still held his daily press briefing. Some highlights:
* Asked if Francisco Liriano is a closer candidate, assuming Joe Nathan can't do it, Gardenhire said every pitcher in camp is a candidate, aside from the team's top four starters: Scott Baker, Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey.
* Asked about Pat Neshek's closing prospects, Gardenhire said, "There’s a ways to go. He hasn’t had the adrenaline flow of facing a hitter in a long time, and as soon as he did, he couldn’t walk for two days [because of a sore hamstring], and he didn’t do drills for a couple days. That’s where you’re at with Shaq. He’s got a ways to go. I think the arm’s OK, but the rest of the body didn’t cooperate, so there’s issues, we’ll see."
I spoke to Neshek earlier today and he said his hamstring feels better. He's eager to show what he's got over the final three weeks of camp.
* Bench coach Steve Liddle, who is in the hospital after experiencing chest pains, left a message for Gardenhire and sounded upbeat. "He went through a lot of tests last night and is going through a test this morning that's going to be all-day event," Gardenhire said. "Everything seems to have checked out so far from the gallbladder on up. They're doing some more testing on his heart and all that stuff."
* Gardenhire said Joe Mauer's right shoulder is sore from a foul tip Thursday night. Mauer won't play Saturday against the Phillies, but this isn't a big concern.
* Some upcoming pitching assignments:
Saturday vs. Philly: Pavano, Blackburn, Condrey, Mijares, Neshek, Slama, Swarzak, Burnett
Sunday vs. Boston: Slowey, Perkins
Monday vs. Florida: Liriano, Duensing
Tuesday vs. Baltimore: Baker
Wednesday vs. Tampa Bay: Blackburn/Perkins
Friday update: Liriano, Neshek, Liddle, Mauer
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: March 12, 2010 - 12:02 PMFORT MYERS, FLA. -- The Mets made it to Hammond Stadium, after driving across the state from Port St. Lucie, before today's game was cancelled.
The Twins wound up taking batting practice in the cages. Pitchers tried to play catch before more rain chased them off the field.
Manager Ron Gardenhire still held his daily press briefing. Some highlights:
* Asked if Francisco Liriano is a closer candidate, assuming Joe Nathan can't do it, Gardenhire said every pitcher in camp is a candidate, aside from the team's top four starters: Scott Baker, Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey.
* Asked about Pat Neshek's closing prospects, Gardenhire said, "There’s a ways to go. He hasn’t had the adrenaline flow of facing a hitter in a long time, and as soon as he did, he couldn’t walk for two days [because of a sore hamstring], and he didn’t do drills for a couple days. That’s where you’re at with Shaq. He’s got a ways to go. I think the arm’s OK, but the rest of the body didn’t cooperate, so there’s issues, we’ll see."
I spoke to Neshek earlier today and he said his hamstring feels better. He's eager to show what he's got over the final three weeks of camp.
* Bench coach Steve Liddle, who is in the hospital after experiencing chest pains, left a message for Gardenhire and sounded upbeat. "He went through a lot of tests last night and is going through a test this morning that's going to be all-day event," Gardenhire said. "Everything seems to have checked out so far from the gallbladder on up. They're doing some more testing on his heart and all that stuff."
* Gardenhire said Joe Mauer's right shoulder is sore from a foul tip Thursday night. Mauer won't play Saturday against the Phillies, but this isn't a big concern.
* Some upcoming pitching assignments:
Saturday vs. Philly: Pavano, Blackburn, Condrey, Mijares, Neshek, Slama, Swarzak, Burnett
Sunday vs. Boston: Slowey, Perkins
Monday vs. Florida: Liriano, Duensing
Tuesday vs. Baltimore: Baker
Wednesday vs. Tampa Bay: Blackburn/Perkins
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