I spoke with Missouri product and Twins pitching prospect Kyle Gibson about Missouri product Blaine Gabbert, who could be the first quarterback taken in the NFL draft...and could, possibly, wind up with the Vikings next season.
Yes, I'm a Missouri Journalism School grad. Deal with it. Also, consider this context: The Twins rave about Gibson's personality and work ethic, so he has some credibility here.
``Blaine works so hard," Gibson said. ``He was there my junior year as a backup, then the last two years he's been the guy. He gets after it.
``He knows his stuff, and from what i've heard he's a great team guy, a great leader on the field. I think people will realize how athletic he is. He's a pocket passer who can do it all.
Did they work out together?
``Our teams were on different schedules," Gibson said. ``But we always saw him in the athletic dining hall and he's just a nice guy. He just goes about his business and he doesn't think he's any better than anybody else on the team and he pushes eveyrbody. He'll be the first one to take the blame, and he'll be the first one to jump into the drills and do the dirty work. He's a good one."
-First impression of Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who made his Twins spring debut on Sunday and went 1-for-3 with an RBI single:
He's really fast. He is agile - he made sliding plays to his forehand and backhand. While he's certainly not a power hitter, he squared the ball up off Josh Beckett, hitting a hard grounder to short, and he's beginning to look more comfortable even in batting practice.
