For those of you who have watched the Twins on television: Have you noticed the really old guy in the dugout in the last few years. He's Wayne Hattaway, longtime clubhouse attendant. Hattaway, nicknamed "Big Fella" doesn't walk, he shuffles around. He turned 75 this year, and looks 95.
Right now, Big Fella could hold his own in a race with Glen Perkins.
Perkins pitched on Tuesday but came down with back spasms on Wednesday, the second time in two weeks he's dealt with them. On Thursday, he walked like someone with a stiff back, slowly lowered himself into the chair in front of his stall and wondered why this is happening to him.
``When I woke up yesterday, I couldn't get out of bed," Perkins said. ``It completely blindsided me. It's going to take a little bit more time than last time."
Kevin Jepsen will be the closer for now. Trevor May likely will be the eighth-inning specialist, although manager Paul Molitor said others could be options based on matchups and workload.
Perkins will not join the team on its Houston-Kansas City-Chicago road trip. The club hopes he responds well to a few days of treatment and can join the club sometime during the trip.
Miguel Sano is not in the lineup, as Molitor tries to give him a day to rest his balky hamstring. The manager did not like the sight of Sano jogging to first on a grounder yesterday. But the Twins are in a tight spot here. They need Sano, who has been a force in the middle of the order, but can't risk him totally blowing out his hamstring and missing an extended amount of time.
Molitor said if it was earlier in the season, Sano would be a candidate for the disabled list. But the postseason is at stake now.
The Twins hope that Kennys Vargas can live Sano's life for one day.
