So Long, and Thanks For All the Hits

Today, the Twins placed outfielder Michael Restovich on waivers, where he was promptly claimed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who need good players like fish need H₂0. Lefty reliever CJ Nitkowski, who until very recently appeared to be a lock for the Twins bullpen, was released. (He may have jinxed himself by taking Corey Koskie's #47. Those were some big Canadian shoes to fill.)

But why, oh why, must we bid these fine young men farewell?

Resto, simply put, failed to make himself indispensable to a contending team overflowing with talented outfielders. It doesn't reflect badly on him, really--he'll be an excellent addition to Tampa's lineup, and Tampa fans will no doubt spend the next few years chortling about snatching this prize from under Minnesota's nose. Fair enough.

Nitkowski's case is murkier. He had a couple of awkward outings lately, sure, but overall his spring has been excellent. The Twins' radio broadcast team mentioned that he appeared extremely and obviously frustrated on the mound during at least one of those bad outings, and hinted that such behavior may have carried into the dugout and even the clubhouse. Is threatening to disrupt the "chemistry" of a team that relies so heavily on that ephemeral trait a cardinal sin for a non-roster invitee, even if he is lefthanded, breathing and fairly productive? Perhaps it is. This is one of those situations I doubt the fans will ever be privy to the full story on. But being, as mentioned, lefthanded and breathing while coming off of a mostly good spring, he'll no doubt catch on with another club in short order.

Me, I'm just glad Resto didn't end up with New Yord or Chicago.

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That's It, We're Moving To Canada

An excerpt from To Pakistan, With Thanks By Joshua Kucera:

The United States imposed weapons sanctions in the 1990s after it found out about Pakistan's secret nuclear bomb program. But then came Sept. 11 and the war in Afghanistan. Pakistan became our new best friend, and the sanctions were lifted. And although Pakistan's military is still overwhelmingly oriented toward India--hardly a major front in the 'war on terror'--Washington has opened up its pocketbooks again. Over the next five years, Pakistan will get at least $1.5 billion in defense aid from the United States.

An announcement made at IDEAS 2004 suggests where some of that money is going to be spent: Pakistani officials revealed that the United States is ready to reverse its longtime opposition to selling new F-16 fighter jets to Islamabad. The chief of the Pakistan Air Force told me Washington wants to provide the F-16s, in part, to help Pakistan fight Islamist extremists in the tribal areas in the northwestern part of the country.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has deftly played the United States since Sept. 11, and Washington has let him get away with it. Shortly before IDEAS 2004 opened, he announced that he will not step down as chief of the army, as he had promised. The United States barely let out a peep. The operations against the insurgents in the northwest are centered in Waziristan, not around Quetta or Peshawar, where intelligence officials and analysts believe most Taliban and al-Qaida operatives are based. One analyst told me the Pakistanis are attacking Waziristan because it's an easy target, and because tribal forces humiliated Pakistani army troops there earlier this year, and now the military establishment wants revenge. Yet U.S. officials praise the operations as an important battle in the "war on terror."

Even if Pakistan were serious about fighting the Taliban, it could certainly find a better way to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars the F-16s will cost. But the Pakistanis gave a clue as to what they really want with the planes: They are requesting that the F-16s be armed with top-of-the-line air-to-air missiles that would be of little use against targets like the Islamists it's fighting on the ground. Other equipment Pakistan is getting from the United States—navy surveillance planes, for example—is similarly useless against a guerrilla insurgency. They would, of course, be useful in a war against India.

Where to begin?

First of all, how is it that I heard of this only because a passing reference on Air America Radio (bless them) aroused my husband's curiosity, which he passed on to me, and I promptly Googled? This should be headline news. It should at least be news! But no, all I see on TV news and read in the paper is something on the order of "Terry Schaivo, school shooting, Terry Schaivo, Michael Jackson, school shooting, Robert Blake, and did we mention Terry Schaivo?".

Second of all, what the hell were they thinking? No, wait, scratch that, it's been over four years and I'm still waiting for the first lucid brainwave out of this administration. Is it too much to hope for, though, that mounting deficits, runaway war expenses, a sinking economy, record unemployment, a burgeoning fuel-cost crisis, and the need to spend our defense resources on actual threats might at least give these folks pause before throwing a $1.5 billion match onto the India/Pakistan fuse?

I love my country, but I fear my government. And frankly, the love's wearing a little thin these days.

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Restovich Redux

Well, well, well.

The Twins released Eric Munson on Saturday. Not just assigned to AAA, but released: poof!, out of the organization. Quite a turnaround.

Now, Munson's spring was terrible, but on paper he's shown enough promise in the past to at least be worth keeping in the organization. Makes you wonder what the Twins staff saw that we're not privy to, doesn't it? Left-hitting outfielder Michael Ryan, whose spring hasn't been anything to write home about either, was optioned to AAA Rochester at the same time.

This, of course, moves Michael Restovich one step closer to staying with the Twins. His big competition now? Switch-hitting corner infielder Terry Tiffee.

On the heels of Munson's abrupt departure, Restovich argued his own case (finally) with a grand slam in the first inning of Sunday's game against Baltimore's LHP Eric DuBose. He actually had two hits on the day, raising his spring training average to .261. I'd post his OBP, too, but the stupid spring training stats don't include walks. He's slugging a .457, though, which is high for his BA.

Terry Tiffee is still the frontrunner for the "left-handed bat off the bench" spot, mostly because he can hit lefthanded. But amid rumors of carrying a third catcher (LeCroy doesn't count), I began to wonder how many spots really are up for grabs. Assuming they carry eleven pitchers, they'll have 14 position players on the roster when they break camp.

1. C - Joe Mauer
2. C - Mike Redmond
3. DH/1B/C - Matthew LeCroy
4. 1B - Justin Morneau
5. 2B - Luis Rivas (may break camp as a backup)
6. SS - Jason Bartlett
7. 3B - Michael Cuddyer
8. LF - Shannon Stewart
9. CF - Torii Hunter
10. RF - Jacque Jones
11. OF/DH - Lew Ford
12. UT - Nick Punto (may break camp as starting 2B)
13. UT - Juan Castro

So yes, one spot remains, and it probably belongs to Tiffee. Which isn't to say we're out of options. We could release Castro, that's my favorite. We could trade LeCroy to a team that would actually use him. We could trade Rivas (would anyone take him?) and pray Punto stays healthy, knowing we have Augie Ojeda and Luis Rodriguez at AAA if needed.

All of the above are unlikely, though not impossible, and it still doesn't look very good for Resto.

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Bob Casey, R.I.P.

Minnesota Twins : News:
One of the truly distinct voices in the game of baseball was silenced early Sunday, when Twins public-address announcer Bob Casey died at the age of 79 as a result of complications of liver cancer and pneumonia.
A PA man for 44 seasons and the only one in Twins history, Casey passed away at 12:30 a.m. at the Veterans' Medical Center in Minneapolis.
The Twins said Sunday that they would dedicate the 2005 season to Casey's memory.

And remember, folks: "Do not throw anything--or anybody--onto the playing field!"

Vade in pace, Mr. Casey. It won't be the same without you. (Especially when Frank Catalanotto comes to town.)

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The Restovich Conundrum

If I worked for the Twins' marketing department, I'd be tearing my hair out over Michael Restovich right about now. "Resto" is a ready-made fan favorite, a handsome Minnesota boy with an aw-shucks grin and a power swing. That power swing, coupled with a good glove in the outfield, have made him a bright light in the organization for several years.

Back in the bad ol' days when the Twins routinely sucked, he would have become our everyday right fielder as soon as he proved he could hack it in AA. But these last three years, bountiful with division championships and talented outfielders, have seen him stalled in AAA, waiting for a chance and steadily whittling down his store of options.

Now he's out of options, slowly recovering from an offseason injury to his throwing shoulder and having an unimpressive spring for a team that probably only has room for a left-handed bat on the bench (Resto bats right). If put on waivers for yet another stint in AAA, he will surely be claimed by another organization less rife with right-handed outfielders and in need of a young, inexpensive power threat in their lineup.

He's done nothing this spring to make himself indispensable to the Twins, and after a lousy showing at Rochester last year (fueled no doubt by the futility and boredom of a third season at AAA) the Twins will have a hard time justifying keeping him on the roster over other players with such advantages as a good spring or a left-handed swing.

On the other hand, the left-handed hitter most likely to make the team in his place, Eric Munson, is batting a horrifying .184 on the spring, nearly a hundred points below Resto's spring average. There's also switch-hitting Terry Tiffee in the mix; while no outfielder, he hits well and can play first and third. Tiffee's chances would be better if the Twins didn't already have two utility infielders and a spare first baseman/catcher.

Now, I'm one of those people who thinks the signing of Juan Castro was a big mistake best rectified by putting him on waivers and hoping someone bites, thereby allowing Resto and either Munson or Tiffee to make the team. But we all know that's about as likely as a hurricane on Lake Minnetonka.

I believe we'll be bidding Restovich farewell in a week or two, for I simply cannot conceive of a baseball universe in which a 26-year-old power-hitting outfielder with a made-for-TV face and a cannon for an arm could actually clear waivers. And it might be the best thing for him, to go somewhere with fewer established outfielders where he'll have a real chance to carve out an everyday place for himself. But I'll be sad to see him go; the Twins overcome their tiny payroll by hoarding cheap talent, and that instinct toward miserliness trickles down to us fans as well, making us loath to see such promise slip away with no return on our investment. We get all twitchy and weird.

Just please, please, don't let him go to the Damn Yankees or the Whine Sox. Please. Anything but that.

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Twins vs Yankees, 03/26/2005

It was a playoff replay at Hammond Stadium today: Twins vs Yankees, Santana vs Mussina. Santana pitched well early, but tired late. Mussina was hittable, but not very. The Twins lost 5-3.

I hate losing to the Yankees. Even in spring training. Even when it's a close game, when Morneau is starting to look like his old self and Hunter hits a beauty of a homer. I hate losing to the Yankees because the Yankees are capital-E Evil. The Yankees are everything that is wrong with baseball and a perversion of everything that's right with it. Steinbrenner is an ass, a trait emulated by most of his players. Their misbegotten sense of entitlement is shared and amplified by their legions of clueless, obnoxious fans. I have met hundreds of Yankee fans in my life, and could count on one hand those who actually comprehended even the most basic subtleties of the game. Most Yankee "fans" actually think Derek Jeter is handsome--this gives you and idea of the depths of their delusion.

So when I think of my honest, hardworking, good-hearted Twins losing so much as an exhibition game to these pinstriped spawns of Satan, I just

[The remainder of this post has been forcibly censored by the FCC, on the grounds of extreme profanity.]

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Musical Middle Infielders

The latest buzz coming out of the Twins spring training camp has Jason Bartlett penciled in as our 2005 starting shortstop, with Nick Punto (the early favorite at SS) suddenly in the mix at second as perennial second baseman Luis Rivas tacks a pretty sucky spring training onto the end of four underwhelming seasons.

I threw my support behind Bartlett after seeing him play in two early spring training games. He just looked ready, and nothing he's done since has altered that impression a whit. But Punto at second? Intriguing...

Rivas is a .262 career hitter, and I think it was early last season when I stopped expecting that someday he'd do better than that. He hasn't improved in any significant sense in any significant offensive category since 2001. You can expect that in any given season he'll hit around .260, get a few homers and a few doubles, and steal four or five bases per hundred at-bats. If he were a better bunter, the above would be less disappointing; he is better than most of the team, but since most of the team bunts like angry howler monkeys, it's a pale compliment at best.

Punto, on the other hand, has less than 200 major-league at-bats over four seasons, which makes his entire career at the plate statistically insignificant. My impression from last season is that he hits fairly well when given regular playing time, but he'll need to get 300+ at-bats in a season to prove that out. He can bunt, though, and I do love a good bunt. He can squeeze that baby down the first-base line and pass it in three steps.

Did I mention he's fast? Well, he is. So is Rivas. Rivas steals bases; Punto steals bases. Rivas has a good glove and is consistent; Punto has a good glove and is fearless. If you could give Rivas some of Punto's nerve and Punto some of Rivas's caution, they'd both be greatly improved.

It looks to me that Punto would probably hit about as well as Rivas, and be as good or slightly better in the field...if he could stay healthy. That's our big question mark: will Punto continue to mangle himself attempting impossible plays?

On the other hand, he costs about 25% of what we're paying Rivas, and he's a switch hitter. He might hit for high average if played everyday, he's never had the opportunity to find out. Frankly, I'm ready to give him a chance just because he hasn't spent the last three years slowly disappointing all who behold him. Rivas has had his chances. Maybe he should spend some time sitting on the bench watching someone else play his position. And if Punto gets injured (again), we have an experienced Plan B waiting in the wings.

So hey, why not? We know what we'd get out of Rivas. Let's give the unknown a whirl.

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