that\’s right.
the outfield.
specifically, the outfield of the minnesota baseball twins has changed dramatically over the past 72 hours. to wit:
- the humidity is starting to get to jason kubel\’s kneesÂ
- light-hitting lew ford gets sent to the DL for straining an oblique muscle. no word on whether this occurred while he was ironing a shirt he was already wearing.
- the team loses both torii and sexy stew on saturday, due to a stress fracture and a scorching recurrence of plantar facsia, respectively.
which leaves the team with cuddy in right, tyner in left, and a platoon of nicky p. and rondell white in center.
please stop and read that last sentence again.Â
while it goes without saying, this is not a good thing for a team who is desperately chasing a wild card spot. no one should have expected anything else from stew, who has played his last game for the twins. but losing torii hurts, especially when his replacement is punto/white. although, to be fair: a) punto in center is getting gardy closer to his dream of fielding all positions with light-hitting middle infielders, and 2) rondell has hit a home run in every game since his return to the lineup from the disabled list. tyner has looked decent, but can you really trust a former devil ray as a corner outfielder? especially one whose career OPS is .604?
the next week or two will prove whether terry ryan and the team are willing to contend this season, or throw in the towel and trade veterans (stewart, lohse, maybe hunter?) for prospects. souhan says that the team wouldn\’t dare trade someone like hunter for prospects after having their new stadium approved. i say that souhan must not have been following this team as long as i have.
but the aforementioned devil rays swim (float? paddle?) into town tonight for a four-game set, and there\’s really no better feeling for a baseball fan than seeing that on the schedule. hopefully we don\’t lose any more outfielders, otherwise we may have to quickly find out where this guy ended up.
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