OFFICIAL Minnesota Twins 2009 Season Thread (87-76)---> AL CENTRAL CHAMPS! Great season guys.

Undefeated in Spring Training. Big accomplishment.

I'll write more on our club this year later.
 
Originally Posted by 651akathePaul

Originally Posted by JPZx

All of them came in the span of one half-inning...

Young scored from 3rd off a bloop hit and the other 2 runs were tag ups.
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C'mon JPZ. Tag ups was a the term in little league. It's called a sacrifice.
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j/j
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and your 3rd base coach yelling "get back to the base!!!! get back to the base!!!! you have to tag up first!!!!!!!!!!!"
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anyways, i'm glad i found this thread
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Fast forward spring training...I'm getting really excited for baseball season. I could smell it in the air the other day...You know...That brisk cold, yetthat hint of warmth from sunshine. The sounds of birds in the morning again (will get annoying soon though)..




But yeah, hold that thought. I'm really interested in the WBC, but man...It's about that time.
 
[h1]Twins reward Baker with four-year deal[/h1]
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Twins announced Saturday that they have signed pitcher Scott Baker to a four-year, $15.25 million contract that includes a $9.25 million club option for the 2013 season. Baker, 27, was 11-4 with a 3.45 ERA in 28 starts for the Twins last season. He held opponents to a .247 batting average and led all of the Twins pitchers with 141 strikeouts in 172 1/3 innings. He's scheduled to be the Twins' Opening Day pitcher on April 6.
The right-hander was in line to be eligible for arbitration after the 2009 season. The contract will buy out all three of Baker's arbitration years and would also cover his first year of free agency should his option be picked up.
Baker holds a career record of 28-24 with a 4.23 ERA.
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I'm about to purchase some tickets for the 3 games they play in Seattle in June. I can't wait. I love being the only Twins fan in attendance. Hit thathomer to me griff. I'm throwing that %#*% back.




I really wouldn't, I'd probably give it to some kid. Same with Ichiro. Anyone else...it's going back on the field. My dream is to be booed by awhole stadium. haha.
 
Originally Posted by 651akathePaul

I'm about to purchase some tickets for the 3 games they play in Seattle in June. I can't wait. I love being the only Twins fan in attendance. Hit that homer to me griff. I'm throwing that %#*% back.




I really wouldn't, I'd probably give it to some kid. Same with Ichiro. Anyone else...it's going back on the field. My dream is to be booed by a whole stadium. haha.
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you're crazy, I'm keeping a Griffey HR ball. Anybody get home opener tickets? My mom called and told me it was basically sold out by 3. Got 3 Upper Deck GA tickets to the Home Opener and the last game of the season.
 
Slowey pitching VERY well this spring..

This Mauer situation makes me
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...we're going to have to go with theRedmond/Morales/Butera rotation at catcher for a while
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But anyway...with opening day nearing, anybody got tickets to the first series .vs. Seattle?
 
^

I don't have tickets to opening day yet, but that could change. Me and nine other friends of mine first bought tickets for the last regular season homegame, which hopefully will not be the "last" home game at the dome.

Slowey will have a breakout season. 15+ wins.
 
^ Dude you inspired me...me and a group of friends just got tickets to go to the last Twins home game in the Metrodome (10/4 vs Royals)...should be a greattime
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16-2 hammering today over the Rays
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...

Kubel: 4-4 w/ 1 HR and 3 RBIs
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....glad I have him on my fantasy team. I thinkhe'll have a great year if he stays healthy.

Morneau and Cuddyer both had homers today too which is good to see

Only 8 spring training games remain...
 
Baker WILL NOT be our opening day starter...instead he'll start the season on the DL
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...right shoulder stiffness. Liriano will be the opening day starter. R.A. Dickey is slotted as the #5 starter right now...
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[h1]Baker pushed from Opening Day to DL[/h1] [h2]Liriano to start Monday for Twins; Mauer, Bonser also on shelf[/h2]
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins right-hander Scott Baker will not get the Opening Day start, as originally expected, having been placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday morning with right shoulder stiffness.

Left-hander Francisco Liriano will start in place of Baker on Monday, when the Twins host the Mariners for Opening Day at the Metrodome.

"It stinks," Baker said of missing what would have been his first career Opening Day start. "The timing is just not great. I would have loved to throw Opening Day, but that's not the best thing for the team."

Twins general manager Bill Smith said that the club doesn't expect the shoulder stiffness to keep Baker out for longer than his DL stint, meaning that he'll likely miss one or two starts.

Baker last pitched in a Grapefruit League contest on Friday, so he'll be eligible to come off the DL on April 12.

"We think it is a very short-term thing," Smith said. "We just want to make sure that he's 100 percent."

Baker's stiffness is in the back of his shoulder. The issue first popped up "a couple of starts ago," the pitcher said, when he felt a little more soreness than usual following his outing.

So the Twins took some precautions with Baker, which included starting him in a Minor League contest on Wednesday. The right-hander pitched five scoreless innings against Triple-A Norfolk in the start, but he found it difficult to get the shoulder loose between innings. After throwing just 58 pitches, Baker cut the outing short due to the stiffness.

Despite the shortened outing, Baker said he still felt that he could start on Opening Day. He said that the possibility of him starting the year on the DL wasn't even raised until the club met with him on Thursday morning.

"I could have done it, there is no doubt in my mind," Baker said of making the start on Monday. "But, obviously, no one can guarantee it's going to get better if I continue to pitch. It possibly could stay the same or get worse."

It was after Baker arrived at the ballpark on Thursday with his shoulder still feeling a little stiff and sore that the team decided it wasn't worth having Baker make that first start and risking his long-term health.

"It's the right thing to do," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We'll make sure that we protect him and get him back as soon as we can."

Liriano will now get the nod for Opening Day and will be pitching on three days' rest after tossing three innings against the Red Sox on Thursday. The left-hander will be followed in the opening series against Seattle by Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins.

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is then slotted to get the start on April 10 in Chicago against the White Sox, making him the club's No. 5 starter for now.

Blackburn had originally been scheduled to start that first game in Chicago, but rather than shifting all of the other starters, the Twins moved him behind Liriano to pitch on six days' rest and keep all the other pitchers in line.

"It was the easiest move," Gardenhire said. "So rather than him stay down here on Sunday and have a [Minor League] start, we're doing that with our knuckleballer. R.A. is going to stay down here and stretch out on Sunday."

Baker, who went 1-2 with a 6.85 ERA in six Grapefruit League starts this spring, will also remain in Fort Myers when the team departs for Minnesota. He won't throw over the next couple days and will be reevaluated by doctors on Saturday.

The hope is that the pitcher will rejoin the ballclub right after his DL stint has ended. It's unlikely that the Twins would have Baker's first start come on the 12th in Chicago, where he'd likely be pitching in cold weather, so there is a greater chance that he'll rejoin the rotation during the following series against the Blue Jays at the Metrodome.

For Baker, who signed a four-year, $15.25 million contract this spring, it certainly is not the way he had hoped to begin the season. But he understands why the team made the decision it did.

"Obviously, now I'm kind of an investment, so they are going to treat their investments how they feel best," said Baker, who went 11-4 with a 3.45 ERA in 28 starts for the Twins last season. "That's perfectly fine and I respect that. It's just unfortunate. There is not a lot that I can do about it or that they can do about it. We just have to make the best of the situation."
In addition to Baker, two other Twins players were also placed on the 15-day disabled list: Catcher Joe Mauer (inflammation in his right sacroiliac joint) and right-hander Boof Bonser (rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder). Both of those moves were expected.
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My boy Dickey...Don't sleep. He pitched well for the Mariners as a starter, but the Mariners had no offense to speak of.
 
Ehh...R.A. Dickey isn't too bad but he's definitely not good. He's definitely not good enough to be the #5 starter for a MLB club right now...Imean we were considering sending him down to Triple-A before Baker got injured, which is why I'm questioning the decision to use him as a temporarystarter. Maybe he's the type of the guy who can pitch a lot of innings in one outing but I'm not sure, don't him well enough. He's still new tothe franchise.

Also, I'm fine with giving a knuckleballer more room for error and more time to develop then another pitcher. There are so few of them in the league and ifwe get this guy going and putting up good numbers, it would be real good for our ball-club.
 
It seems like a week ago I thought the season would never get here. Now we're only a couple days away.

Speaking succinct, I believe we have a good nucleus of talent and leadership on this years team. I do not think any individual team in this division will runaway with the division. It will be a dog-fight until the final days of the season.

Players poised for breakout seasons? Kevin Slowey and Jason Kubel.
 
^ Me and you are thinking the same exact way...they're my breakout players as well. I actually drafted both of them in my fantasy league
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Maybe he's the type of the guy who can pitch a lot of innings in one outing but I'm not sure, don't him well enough.
No, he's certainly not that guy. He gave up six home runs in a single start (tied record) and he threw four passed balls in an inning (tiedrecord).

I can throw a knuckleball that would get deposited into the outfield seats, too.
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Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

Maybe he's the type of the guy who can pitch a lot of innings in one outing but I'm not sure, don't him well enough.
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No, he's certainly not that guy. He gave up six home runs in a single start (tied record) and he threw four passed balls in an inning (tied record).

I can throw a knuckleball that would get deposited into the outfield seats, too.





Yes, knuckleballers can be prone to giving up home runs when the knuckleball is off. Six home runs in one outing is rough, but it was one start (the first ofhis career). He didn't have a pretty statistical season last year, but he's thrown great this spring. He's young and gaining experience.
 
Originally Posted by djaman

Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

Maybe he's the type of the guy who can pitch a lot of innings in one outing but I'm not sure, don't him well enough.
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No, he's certainly not that guy. He gave up six home runs in a single start (tied record) and he threw four passed balls in an inning (tied record).

I can throw a knuckleball that would get deposited into the outfield seats, too.
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Yes, knuckleballers can be prone to giving up home runs when the knuckleball is off. Six home runs in one outing is rough, but it was one start (the first of his career). He didn't have a pretty statistical season last year, but he's thrown great this spring. He's young and gaining experience.




Don't worry homie. KLJ just hatin' trying to pick on me again I guess. He don't know what he's talking about on this one. Even Wakefield givesup tons of homeruns thats to be expected by any knuckleballer. 6 in a game is a bit ridiculous but like you said...One start means nothing. Dickey is young andhe just turned knuckleballer a few years ago if I remember correctly. He isn't as bad as his stats might show believe that. Or you can ask Dave Neihaus.Whatev..
 
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