Thursday, March 5th

Yesterday the Twins played Pittsburgh in grapefruit action and lost a tough 2-1 outing to the Pirates. There were a lot of good things that happened and a few things to be concerned about.

• Francisco Liriano really bounced back in his second start after struggling a bit his first start. He pitched 3 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts. Liriano may not have the explosive stuff anymore, but I think he will be consistantly good for the season and really thats all you can ask for from a pitcher.
• The Twins were only able to put 4 hits together so I want to talk about is what they are going to do in the outfield. Yesterday the Twins played all 4 outfielders with Cuddyer at DH and Young in Left, Gomez in Center and Span in Right. If not done right there could be hard feelings and the chemistry could be hurt. However, as my colleague first suggested they can do a rotation where you play 4 games out of 6 a week so that everyone gets their playing time. Also, I know some people disagree with me but Jason Kubel in my opinion can not hit lefthanded pitching on a consistant basis so you sit him against left handers.
• I am not real concerned about Joe Mauer's recovery from offseason kidney surgery, however I am more concerned than I was after reading Joe Christensen's article about Mauer taking a step back in his recovery. So my question is if for some reason Mauer has to start the season on the disabled list who becomes backup catcher with Mike Redmond taking over the starters job. Is it going to be Jose Morales or Drew Butera. I know its not a big deal because they wouldn't play much but if Butera would get the call what does that say about Morales being skipped by Butera. I know that is a long way down the road and Mauer probably will be fine, however we should think about a plan B in case.
• Today, the Twins take on the Netherlands WBC team led by pitching coach Bert Blyleven. Kevin Slowey gets the start for the Twins today. Joe Crede is expected to play third base today so it will be interesting to see how he does. Gametime is at 1:00pm in Fort Myers.