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The Baseball Guy’s Twins news and notes
By
Gordy Jones
Spanning
the Outfield
Since being called
up from
Denard told me he’s been getting ready for this opportunity since
he was five. He said that hitting his first major league home run against the
White Sox on July 28 was an incredible feeling.
“It’s something that
I’ve always dreamed about! And to come at a time like that, in a close game
against a team we’re chasing. ”
Was Denard able to get his first home run ball for a keepsake?
“Yes. It bounced
back in. I knew [my teammates] had it. After the game, we went into the locker
room and they gave me a ball, saying it was my home run ball. But they had
crazy things written all over my ball—jokes, pictures. I was looking at my home
run ball and thinking, ‘How could they write this crazy stuff on my first home
run ball?’ I wanted to cherish it for the rest of my life. How could they do
it? Five minutes went by and I saw they were all staring at me and laughing.
Then they threw me another ball and told me it was the real one. They had me
going for five minutes. Just like the great fans here, we have great guys in the
clubhouse.”
I asked Denard who was the major influence on him, someone who may
have shaped his life and/or career.
Without hesitation
he proudly said, “My Mom! She raised me and my brother in a single-parent home.
She is a strong woman. I grew up watching her go to work every day and support
two kids – that just drove me. Now I see her smiling a lot. I look at her and I
know that I am putting that smile on her face. That’s very satisfying to me.”
Welcome
Home
During Twins manager
Ron Gardenhire’s one-day suspension for “expressing
his opinion” to the umpires during the recent
He had a ball
pitching to the players’ children during the weekly, early-Sunday-morning
family day on the field. When he finished, I jokingly welcomed him back to the
Dome. With both jubilation and a little mockery in his voice, he replied, “I
get to play today!”
Then he threw his
arms above his head. A few hours later he was even happier; his team had given
him a win.
Who
Wants Gum?
Twins infielder Alexi Casilla felt bad that he
couldn’t sign autographs for children before the Indians game last week because
of an injured writing hand. He felt so bad that he decided to pass out a treat.
He was heard saying, ”I’m sorry I can’t sign; my hand is hurt. Have some bubble
gum instead.”
Get
Out of the Way!
Pitching coach Rick “Andy” Anderson, on Francisco Liriano’s
return and on his pitching staff in general, “I’m excited! We have such a
young, talented pitching staff. I just stay out of their way and let them do
their stuff!”
He’s quite modest.
If a guy is having problems, Andy is the best in the business at figuring out
what’s wrong and helping his pitcher to rectify it. He is an expert on pitching
mechanics and has a special talent in communicating with these young, talented
guys. He is a great teacher. There’s a lot of mutual respect between Andy and
his staff.
Goodbye!
Hello!
Relief pitcher Brian
Bass, on Livan Hernandez leaving and Francisco Liriano returning: “Livan was a
very influential pitcher on our staff. He’s a great guy and we’ll all miss him.
But Francisco’s back! We’re very excited. He’s also a great guy. He’s very
talented. The guys [on the pitching staff] are in a great mood. We have such a
good chemistry that hasn’t been affected by anything, and we are in a race!” he
said with a smile.
Uncle
Joe
The usually reserved
Twins catcher, Joe Mauer, was quite excited about the
birth of his niece to his brother Billy and Billy’s wife, Stephanie, earlier
this season. And with Joe’s love for children, he was their first choice to be
the baby’s godfather. When I congratulated Joe, he said with an excited look: “More
good news! Now my brother Jake and his wife are expecting. I’m going to be an
uncle again!”
Terry
Ryan Express
Former Twins General
Manager Terry Ryan, who stepped down last year and is now Senior Advisor to GM
Bill Smith, was at the Dome recently, and he looked great — very
relaxed.
“I have nothing to
worry about anymore,” he said, laughing. “I travel around and I do some
scouting. I watch baseball at every level.”
I asked Terry how
often the Twins call him for advice. Chuckling, he said, “More than I thought
they would. But that’s all right. That’s my job. I just tell them what I think,
and the rest is up to them.”
Coach
Jake
Terry Ryan was
recently in
Jake is a natural
leader and has fantastic baseball smarts. Rumor has it: In the far-off future,
someday when Gardy retires, Jake will be groomed and
ready to take over and manage his brother Joe and the Minnesota Twins.
I asked Jake what he
thought of that notion, and he said with a surprised sort of smile, “Yeah! That
would be great to manage my brother and the Twins. But that’s a long way off. I
have a lot of work to do before that ever happens.”
Deal
or No Deal
Rob Antony, Assistant General Manager, was hanging out at the
Dome, relaxing with his family after a hectic week of trade talks that never
led to a trade.
“We had a lot of
offers. But we were not going to do anything unless it would have improved the
club. You also have to consider what any move will do to the chemistry of the
team. You have to be very careful there.”
I asked Rob if there
were any offers that were too ridiculous to consider. He said, “Definitely. But
then you realize that they [other teams] place a higher value on their own
players, as we may do on ours. They are just saying that this is what it would
take to make this move.”
It’s all a matter of
perspective.
Sleeping
Contently
Nick Punto’s hand has healed, and he’s playing often and was
playing fairly well….until the Twins went to
On the bright side,
his family is doing well. Proud Papa Nick says, “My baby sleeps like a rock.
We’re so happy. We’re really blessed. Yeah, everything’s great.”
Happy
Birthdays!
Twins reliever Matty Guerrier had the best
birthday of his life. On his birthday, which was August 2, he and his wife, Dejie, adopted a 3-day-old baby girl. Matt said the baby is
the greatest gift ever. Congratulations!
More
Twins Injuries/More Baby Talk
Michael Cuddyer was very excited that his hand felt better and that
he could grip a bat. “I’m going to rehab, and soon I’ll be back in the lineup!”
were his first words when he saw me during the Indians series. Little did he
know that while at rehab, he’d break his foot— which may have ended his season.
I asked Michael how
new baby Casey was doing, and how he and wife Claudia were adjusting to life
with the little guy. “It’s going well. Every time I hold him, and feel him on
my chest, I know how special he really is. We’re up a little more at night, but
we know that we are providing for someone who will love us for the rest of our
lives.”
Check out Gordy’s book at baseballguy.org. Gordy
can be reached at gejones1@aol.com.