Thursday, February 1, 2007
Twins Notes
Good morning! After two pretty large postings, today will be much more brief. By doing a Google News search for each of the Twins players, here is what we found:
With the political situation down in Venezuela, I can't help but wonder what the future of baseball players from the country will hold. Obviously Venezuela is very proud of its baseball heritage and the many stars that have come from there. But what if President Hugo Chavez really does do to Venezuela what Fidel Castro has done in Cuba, what will happen with the likes of Johan Santana and the other big time Venezuelan stars?
One of the things that I most look forward to in the offseason is learning who will be the new season's bobblehead choices. Well, according to this article, there will be three bobbleheads in 2007. There will be a Joe Mauer batting title bobblehead, a Justin Morneau MVP bobblehead and a Michael Cuddyer bobbleheaed. There will also be bronze statues of Bert Blyleven and Kirby Puckett. I am also excited to find out how the 20 year anniversary of the 1987 World Series championship goes.
Here is an excellent article by Jason Pugh from The Shreveport Times on the offseason workouts of Scott Baker and former Twins player Todd Walker. Apparently Baker "lives in the weight room" in the offseason, which is hard to believe because he is still so lanky! In a side bar, it shows what he does each day.
Ricky Barrett, a lefty reliever, was added to the Twins 40 man roster last December. He missed time last year because of shoulder pain. At Twins Fest, I asked him how his arm was, and he said, "It's great!" Denard Span heard the question and asked if he had surgery to which Barrett said, "No, just rehab." Anyway, Barrett is from Sacramento, and here is an article from the Sacramento Bee. He got married recently and spent his honeymoon in Rome. Sounds very nice!
This past weekend, The Pioneer Press's Jason Williams had a Q&A with Joe Mauer. Many of the answers were typical Mauer, but it was interesting to hear about his SportsCenter and Pepsi commercials, and I'm sure the ladies are all interested to know that he is currently single.
Alan Schwarz of ESPN.com wrote an article in which he discussed hitting with several young hitters including Mauer, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder and more.
According to this Baseball America article, Alexi Casilla "dramatically improved his stock this winter." In the Dominican Winter League, he batted leadoff and played 2B. He hit .338. Jim Rantz really sings his praises with a couple of quotes.
Justin Morneau and Johan Santana joined some other baseball greats to film a Spike Lee commercial in New York City for a new cap. Justin Morneau thought of a great way to stay warm, "I could find all the White Sox hats and light them on fire."
Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune calls Michael Cuddyer 'Worth Watching." Almost surprising that Rogers would write something genuinely nice about the Twins.
LaTroy Hawkins gives an example of how tough baseball workouts can be to those not in baseball. He tells a story about his days with the Twins.
Hopefully this and surgery will be enough to keep Jason Kubel healthy for the entire season. If he gets 500 at bats, I think that he can put up some very impressive numbers!
The same article tells us that Kevin Slowey will wear #59 during spring training which, probably not ironically, was the number that Brad Radke wore his first season. "Obviously, Brad had an amazing career here and did a lot for the Twins, just as much off the field as he did on the field. If, at the end of my career, I can look back and say that I was anything like him, I would be thrilled." So would all Twins fans!
Steve Lombardozzi's son, Steve, was born with club feet. However, now, he is one of the top high school basketball players in the state of Maryland, and he has a very good chance of being drafted in this summer's draft.
Former Twin Roberto Kelly was the South Atlantic League Manager of the year last year. He led Augusta to a 92-47 record, best in all of the minor leagues last year! He will be managing the team for the fourth year. It is the single-A affiliate of the Giants.
Former Twin Jeff Reboulet discusses Cal Ripken's Hall of Fame election, and college football.
Chip Hale is the manager of Tucson of the Pacific Coast League where he was named the league's Manager of the Year. I would expect him to be a big league manager within two years.
Eddie Guardado recently signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds. He also sponsors the "Every Day Eddie Kids Club" for the Stockton Ports minor league club.
Dan Serafini will start his third season playing in Japan, for Orix. Chad Allen is in his first year with the team. Brian Buchanan will be playing for Fukuoko, along with lefty CJ Nitkowski. Seth Greisinger, who pitched in 12 games in 2004 for the Twins will pitch for the Yokult Swallows.
Former Twin and 1979 AL Co-Rookie of the Year John Castino and his cousin, former NFL kicker Jay Feely, are partners in Wayzata, MN, business Wealth Enhancement Group Inc., a financial planning company. Here is a Q&A with Feely from Investment News.
Houston Jimenez was named the hitting coach of the Asheville Tourists, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.
Tim Teufel was named manager of the Savannah Sand Gnats, the Class A affiliate of the New York Mets.
Jim Eisenreich will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies on February 11.
Brian Harper will be starting his second season as a manager for Salt Lake, the AAA affiliate of the Angels.
Did you know that JT Bruett is the associate director of compliance for the Minnesota Gophers athletic department.
Aaron Gleeman posted his #22 Player in Twins history. It includes a quote from me.
As he is getting ready to head to Florida, Pat Neshek continues to take offers for some of his game-used baseball equipment.
Here is a great article on life after baseball in the Kansas City Star. It talks about the struggles players have after their career is done. It discusses several former Royals, but it also talks about Jeff Reardon and Maury Wills and others. Here is an incredible note, "One study found two-thirds of retired NFL players had emotional problems within six months of retirement and an 80 percent divorce rate within four years."
That is it for today. If you have news on any current or former Twins, please leave some Comments or send me an e-mail. I would appreciate your help. Have a terrific day!
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