Spring Training - Game 14 - at Phillies

[Shane Wahl]

3 easy outs for Manship. Easy bouncer to 3rd, strikeout, high bouncing ball back to the pitcher. Faced Wigginton, Mayberry and D Brown. I'm really starting to think that Manship may be the setup man this team needs.

Good for him.

[Mr. Ed]

Manship is working his way to roster spot.

[Thrylos]

Manship is working his way to roster spot.

Good appearance yes, but he still has options.
I think that at this point Burton and Maloney are ahead of him and Waldrop, Wise, Fien and Gutierrez pretty close to him. Still a long Spring. They just need to start cutting so these guys can pitch more to have separation

[Mr. Ed]

Gray walked a batter, stolen base off Rene Rivera in the 6th, still 5-4.

[Thrylos]

That stolen base, was totally on Gray. He throw one at the RH batter's box that Rivera had to reach to get.

[Mr. Ed]

Burton and Maloney should be considered at the front. If they're striking guys out, that's what the bullpen needs. More K's,less traffic and contact.

[John Bonnes]

Gray got out of the inning with a couple of fly balls to CF. He was not helped by his IF - there was a ground ball that probably should have been turned for two, but it wasn't.

Just saw highlights of several of the Phils runs. They were all groundballs to Burroughs right. I don't know if they need to literally plant him on the line there or what. I think the report that Gardy cited saying Burrough "can pick it" was talking about something besides ground balls. I don't want to speculate what that was.

[glennhl]

Good appearance yes, but he still has options.
I think that at this point Burton and Maloney are ahead of him and Waldrop, Wise, Fien and Gutierrez pretty close to him. Still a long Spring. They just need to start cutting so these guys can pitch more to have separation

Good point about having options left, however, I'm betting that Gardy is going to put the best possible players on the field, with or without options. I think Manship is throwing exceptionally well this spring and I'm really hoping he is in the bullpen come opening day.

[John Bonnes]

JUST a bit outside by Deduno. I have no idea who this guy is, I'll be honest.

[Mr. Ed]

Morneau 0-4 drops him to .143, with 2 Ks today. Come on big guy, get it turned around. Sure pulling for him, after all he's been through.

Denudo sighting!

[Fanatic Jack]

John,

Your one of the smartest baseball writers out there. Do you really think Jason Marquis has any talent? The guy was signed for one reason and that is to save Jim Pohlad money. There is a reason the new ballpark was named Target Field. What is Target's motto "Expect more Pay less." This is without question the Twins philosphy of the front office in everything they do. Just look at how many people they are projecting will step up and have a good year. Mauer, Morneau, Liriano, Baker, Blackburn, Capps, Willingham, Doumit, Marquis, Carroll, and 3 unproven bullpen pitchers. There is absolutley no way in a million years the team could be successful. It's like playing the lottery and soon Target Field will be like a ghost town. Other more optimistic people may write what people want to hear, but it's not reality. I really would appreciate your thoughts as what I see as another inevitable losing season.

[Gernzy]

Morneau will get there. It's been awhile since hes played

[Thrylos]

JUST a bit outside by Deduno. I have no idea who this guy is, I'll be honest.

First appearance this ST. Had leg issues. Played for the Padres & Rockies a bit. Wild thing. Thing Jim Hoey lite

[Mr. Ed]

At least Denudo got to face regulars. Good experience.

[John Bonnes]

Well, just saw Sam Deduno for the 1st time. 1st pitch was a fastball to the screen. But he struck out that batter looking on a slider that fell right onto the lower right hand corner. Threw it for strikes a couple more times, too. His fastball looked solid but was all over the place. he's a 28yo RHP who was with Padres last year and is on a minor league deal. Interesting.

BTW, he gave up a hit, but rally was erased when ground ball was picked up by Burroughs to start a DP.

[Twins Fan From Afar]

Morneau will get there. It's been awhile since hes played

I think there are two related issues: health and ability. If Morneau stays healthy, I'm confident the ability will come around. He's beyond rusty, I'm sure. If he can't stay healthy, then, that's where the retirement talk comes into play.

[Fanatic Jack]

Twins Fan From Afar,

I agree with you!! I remember people saying the same thing last year. If Morneau retires the Twins will get back money for his last two seasons (2012 & 2013) because the contract is insured. This means the Pohlad family would get another $28 million to deposit in their already large bank accounts. I know it's depressing to talk about but sure glad the front ofice cut payroll by $15 million. This is essentially a $29 million dollar savings in 2012 alone.

[Thrylos]

From Joe C:

Marquis not concerned about ground-ball hits. Said first 3 starts were
all sinkers and change-ups. Will mix in slider and cutter soon.

[Thrylos]

Game over. Twins win! 6-4 Oliveros gets the Save

[Gernzy]

Besides Morneau, offense looked good today.