Sid Hartman: Twins' Guerrier is another key find

Former Twins General Manager Terry Ryan had a history of picking up good minor league players in trades or off waivers, such as David Ortiz, Joe Mays and Alexi Casilla, who recently has been nothing but sensational at second base and at the plate.

Add to that list relief pitcher Matt Guerrier, who has appeared in 45 of the Twins' 95 games this season, compiling a 5-4 record and 3.35 ERA in 51 innings. He was outstanding in the recent series in Detroit, where he pitched three crucial innings. He got the win with two innings of one-hit ball Thursday in beating the Tigers 7-6, then pitched a hitless inning the next night in a 3-2 victory.

Guerrier was drafted by the White Sox in the 10th round in 1999. He was traded to the Pirates in 2002 for pitcher Damaso Marte and infielder Edwin Yan.

Guerrier spent two years with the Pirates' Class AAA Nashville farm team, going 7-12 with a 4.59 ERA and 4-6 with a 4.53 ERA, and spent some time on the disabled list each season because of arm injuries.

"After my second season there, they put me on waivers about Thanksgiving, and that night Terry Ryan called and I was a Twin. I've been a Twin since," Guerrier said.

Guerrier hasn't had any arm problems since joining the Twins organization.

"It was kind of a thing where I just threw a lot of innings one year and continued to throw and continued to throw and didn't take enough time off," he said. "So it was just kind of learning how [much] my arm can take. I talked to Terry when he called that day and asked me about it. I told him everything had gone well and my arm was feeling good."

Guerrier has had different relief roles, filling in for other injured pitchers, but seems to have adjusted each time.

"It wasn't really like anything that they set me down and talked to me about," he said. "It was kind of one of those gradual things over the past couple of years. At times I had to fill in when Jesse [Crain] went down, and my role got a little bit more of the setup stuff. Then with [Pat] Neshek going down this year, it kind of escalated a little bit more, too. So it's been kind of a transition that's taken a while."

Guerrier said the Twins coaching staff often asks how the relievers' arms feel, so they know who can pitch and who needs rest.

"I keep telling them I feel all right, and I think that's what they go off of -- if we feel all right," he said. "So with the way we've been used the past four or five days, we've all kind of had to pitch a little bit. We've got four days off coming up for the All-Star break, so as long as my arm keeps feeling good, I'm going to try and get out there and give them what they ask."

Jottings Randy Wittman is looking for a Timberwolves assistant coach now that Bob Ociepka has decided to join the staff of the Chicago Bulls. "I let Bob go for only one reason," Wittman said. "His home is in Chicago and he has family there. Otherwise, I would have held him to his contract." ... Regarding the recent trade the Wolves made to acquire Calvin Booth and Rodney Carney from the 76ers, Wolves owner Glen Taylor said the 76ers are paying all of Booth's $1.1 million salary and about two-thirds of Carney's $1.6 million.

Twins shortstop Adam Everett continues his rehab assignment for Fort Myers of Class A Florida State League. He went 0-for-3 in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday. He went 3-for-5 in two games with the Gulf Coast League Twins. He is expected to move up to Rochester next, but it's going to be difficult for Twins manager Ron Gardenhire to farm out one of the current infielders and activate Everett.

Aaron Hicks, the Twins' top draft choice last month, is hitting .309 with one home run, 13 RBI and 11 runs scored in his first 16 games for the GCL Twins. ... Steven (Shooter) Hunt, who the Twins selected in the supplemental round (31st overall) as one of two compensatory picks for losing Torii Hunter, pitched three innings for Elizabethton in his first start and struck out six of the nine hitters he faced and didn't allow a single baserunner.

Steve Plasencia, the new Gophers track coach, is only the fourth track coach at Minnesota since 1937.

Ex-Twins outfielder Bobby Kielty was released by Boston's Class AAA Pawtucket farm team Saturday. He was hitting .228 for Pawtucket. Kielty split last season with Boston and Oakland, hitting a home run in his only World Series at-bat for the champion Red Sox.

Juan Rincon -- who was released by the Twins, picked up by the Indians and sent to Class AAA Buffalo -- now is up with the Indians, where he has pitched 1 2/3 innings, given up four earned runs and has a 21.60 ERA in two appearances. But the Twins are still stuck for the $2.475 million on Rincon's 2008 contract. ... Shakopee native Chase Hentges, who was drafted by Kansas City and assigned to the Surprise Royals of the Arizona Rookie League, has pitched in four games and has given up three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Gophers associate athletic director Marc Ryan and Kevin Lewis of the Minneapolis Convention Bureau will meet in Indianapolis on Aug. 4 to discuss a bid for an NCAA Final Four between 2012 and 2016. Ten cities are competing for those five years of the tournament. The NCAA will select the cities by November. The Metrodome will be the site of a regional tournament next year, and unlike other NCAA tournaments that have been at the site, this time the floor will be installed in the middle of the dome, allowing for seating as high as 60,000 for the two-day event.