A note: if you're new to Batter's Box, the Advance Scouts, in the past,
"have offered a bullet-point series of notes to help Bauxites prepare
for the Jays' upcoming opponents. Traditionally, this has meant a mix
of local-media accounts, statistical trends of key players, and a
breakdown of team lineups." Thanks to Mike D, our regular Scout, for
the explanation.
Speaking of Mike, media reports indicate he has been kidnapped by a law firm in New York and forced to do their bidding for the low, low rate of $150/hour plus benefits. Or something. Anyway, with his work committments, he is unfortunately not able to provide the regular high-quality scouting readers have come to expect. But it's all right, as yours truly is here to either a) save the day or b) become the Ross Moschitto to Mike's Roger Maris.
Enough preamble -- On to the Advance Scout!
As usual, we have the following player notes, as well as the regular charts: expected lineups and pitching matchups. Oh, and don't forget to check out Aaron Gleeman's Twins preview at The Hardball Times.
General: The Twins will use Jesse Crain in the eighth to let Juan Rincon ease back into the "pressure" situation, as Rincon missed all of Spring Training this year ... Juan Castro somehow got the starting shortstop job over Jason Bartlett ... They recently got smoked by their Triple-A team by a score of 15-3 ... Finished last in runs scored, second-last in slugging average and 10th out of 14 in OBP ... It doesn't matter, since this series is in Toronto, but the Twins play in the ugliest stadium in the majors, as I cannot call that thing in St. Pete a ballpark ...
Johan Santana: Actually making his first Opening Day start for the Twins ... Should be back-to-back Cy Young winner, but the voters...ah, forget it ... Has a higher career OBP than Juan Castro: .273 vs .271 ... His changeup is a thing of beauty, the biggest floater I've seen since Mariusz Czerkawski as a Hamilton Bulldog ...
Brad Radke: To steal Gleeman's prediction: "At some point, in some game, Radke will get out of the first inning without allowing a run." ... Facing Towers on Wednesday, which means a lot of "here, hit the ball" pitches ...
Shannon Stewart: Old friend, welcome to age 32 ... Walked just 34 times last year and slugged only .388, his lowest marks since 1997 and never, respectively ... At age 12, I tried to imitate his throwing motion and the ball went ten feet. True story ...
Carlos Silva: Nine walks in 188.1 innings. That is not a misprint ... Threw the most fastballs of any pitcher in the majors last season (thank you, Will Young) ... UPDATE: Threw 83% fastballs in 2005, thanks to Chuck this time.
Torii Hunter: Still dealing with ankle injury after crashing into a Fenway Park wall ... No truth to the rumour that he's confused for Vernon Wells at times ...
Justin Morneau: Big bopper didn't bop too well in 2005 ... Though, to be fair, he did go through removal of his appendix, a fight with chicken pox, a lung infection, and pneumonia ... Hit .308/.400/.538 for Canada in the WBC, though he's no Adam Stern ...
Tony Batista: Yes, he's back ... Has apparently been a good storyteller in the clubhouse ... Doesn't help the fact that he can't hit, though I remember when he could ... As long as we're remembering stuff, how about this two-homer game? Gregg Zaun actually tied it up in the ninth off Billy Koch ...
Jason Kubel: Sat out all of 2005 with a knee injury after hitting .343/.398/.560 for Rochester in 2004 ... a career .323/.388/.501 hitter in the minors ...
Willie Eyre: Will make his major league debut sometime this week, presumably ... 2.72 ERA, extreme groundball pitcher with Rochester last year in relief, his third year at Triple-A ...
Michael Cuddyer: Misses the days when the club was loose: "You don't have Koskie throwing itching power [sic] in your pants. [...] You don't have Eddie [Guardado] running around naked all over the clubhouse."
Speaking of Mike, media reports indicate he has been kidnapped by a law firm in New York and forced to do their bidding for the low, low rate of $150/hour plus benefits. Or something. Anyway, with his work committments, he is unfortunately not able to provide the regular high-quality scouting readers have come to expect. But it's all right, as yours truly is here to either a) save the day or b) become the Ross Moschitto to Mike's Roger Maris.
Enough preamble -- On to the Advance Scout!
As usual, we have the following player notes, as well as the regular charts: expected lineups and pitching matchups. Oh, and don't forget to check out Aaron Gleeman's Twins preview at The Hardball Times.
General: The Twins will use Jesse Crain in the eighth to let Juan Rincon ease back into the "pressure" situation, as Rincon missed all of Spring Training this year ... Juan Castro somehow got the starting shortstop job over Jason Bartlett ... They recently got smoked by their Triple-A team by a score of 15-3 ... Finished last in runs scored, second-last in slugging average and 10th out of 14 in OBP ... It doesn't matter, since this series is in Toronto, but the Twins play in the ugliest stadium in the majors, as I cannot call that thing in St. Pete a ballpark ...
Johan Santana: Actually making his first Opening Day start for the Twins ... Should be back-to-back Cy Young winner, but the voters...ah, forget it ... Has a higher career OBP than Juan Castro: .273 vs .271 ... His changeup is a thing of beauty, the biggest floater I've seen since Mariusz Czerkawski as a Hamilton Bulldog ...
Brad Radke: To steal Gleeman's prediction: "At some point, in some game, Radke will get out of the first inning without allowing a run." ... Facing Towers on Wednesday, which means a lot of "here, hit the ball" pitches ...
Shannon Stewart: Old friend, welcome to age 32 ... Walked just 34 times last year and slugged only .388, his lowest marks since 1997 and never, respectively ... At age 12, I tried to imitate his throwing motion and the ball went ten feet. True story ...
Carlos Silva: Nine walks in 188.1 innings. That is not a misprint ... Threw the most fastballs of any pitcher in the majors last season (thank you, Will Young) ... UPDATE: Threw 83% fastballs in 2005, thanks to Chuck this time.
Torii Hunter: Still dealing with ankle injury after crashing into a Fenway Park wall ... No truth to the rumour that he's confused for Vernon Wells at times ...
Justin Morneau: Big bopper didn't bop too well in 2005 ... Though, to be fair, he did go through removal of his appendix, a fight with chicken pox, a lung infection, and pneumonia ... Hit .308/.400/.538 for Canada in the WBC, though he's no Adam Stern ...
Tony Batista: Yes, he's back ... Has apparently been a good storyteller in the clubhouse ... Doesn't help the fact that he can't hit, though I remember when he could ... As long as we're remembering stuff, how about this two-homer game? Gregg Zaun actually tied it up in the ninth off Billy Koch ...
Jason Kubel: Sat out all of 2005 with a knee injury after hitting .343/.398/.560 for Rochester in 2004 ... a career .323/.388/.501 hitter in the minors ...
Willie Eyre: Will make his major league debut sometime this week, presumably ... 2.72 ERA, extreme groundball pitcher with Rochester last year in relief, his third year at Triple-A ...
Michael Cuddyer: Misses the days when the club was loose: "You don't have Koskie throwing itching power [sic] in your pants. [...] You don't have Eddie [Guardado] running around naked all over the clubhouse."
