Good friend Kevin Luckow e-mailed today:
"I think I like this whole TF idea. So much so that I'm going to incorporate it into my scorebook at games. When a supposed game winning grand slam by Span lands safely into Corey Hart's glove, I'll denote it with a TF-9 instead of the usual F-9."
I like it. The TF'd concept has riled some people up. Another buddy, Jeff Shelman, was all over me with text messages after Jason Kubel's sixth-inning blast last night. "Was that a TF shot?" OK, he had me there, although Kubel's ball was more to right field than a gap shot. "It is pretty simple," added Shelman, an avid golfer. "Hit more club."
Look, I get it. The conditions are the same for both teams, and the Twins have been out-homered at Target Field 21-12 through 24 games. Twins pitchers have benefited a few times from opposing hitters getting TF'd, too. But watching the way several balls have died -- two by Michael Cuddyer stand out -- this issue isn't going away.
NEXT: THE RANGERS
The Yankees might be gone, but the intensity better not drop for the Twins. The AL West leading Rangers are here, and these should be three interesting games.
RF Nelson Cruz (.330/.408/.306) strained his left hamstring Wednesday and might be headed to the DL. He had an MRI exam on Thursday and the team planned to re-evaluate him today. This would be a big loss for the Rangers. Cruz has 10 home runs and 34 RBI in 106 at-bats.
The Rangers still have intriguing players all over the diamond, including Vladimir Guerrero, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and 21-year-old shortstop Elvis Andrus.
