Minnesota Twins report: Speed game slowed but not stopped

Minnesota Twins report: Speed game slowed but not stopped
Twins stealing fewer bases but still causing foes trouble
By Kelsie Smith


http://www.twincities.com/ci_9953797


Article Last Updated: 07/22/2008 12:30:17 AM CDT


NEW YORK - Their speed is highlighted, promoted and often referenced as
thrilling to watch and exciting to have by Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.

The Twins perhaps are faster now than they were at the beginning of the
season with the addition of Denard Span in right field, but they are
stealing fewer bases.

The Twins stole 23 bases and were caught stealing seven times in April. In
May, Minnesota runners swiped 18 bases and were caught seven times. In June,
they stole seven bases and were caught nine times, and this month they've
managed just four stolen bases and have been caught twice.

Part of the downturn can be attributed to Carlos Gomez's offensive decline.
He has 21 stolen bases but none in July. He explained it simply: You can't
steal if you can't get on base.

Gardenhire said steals have declined for a couple of reasons.

"A lot of people are doing a little bit different things against us now,"
Gardenhire said. "They're really slide-stepping a lot more than early in the
year and not giving us a whole lot of opportunities for us to run. When we
get our two guys on top (Gomez and Alexi Casilla) on, sometimes it's a
little hard to run with (Joe) Mauer and (Justin) Morneau up there just
because you want to leave the hole open for them, and when you run they get
walked."

That doesn't mean Minnesota's speedsters aren't affecting games. When
Casilla, Span or Gomez are on base, Gardenhire said pitchers are prone to
pouring in fastballs to deter base stealing.
"It's not always just running, it's putting pressure on the defense, them
looking for you to run and their pitcher making mistakes because we can
run," Gardenhire said. "That bodes well when you have speed. You can do a
lot of things. You can mess with a lot of people."

Help for hands: Nick Punto was wearing a defense-themed T-shirt on Monday
afternoon, the front bearing a picture of a hand with the slogan, "Hands,
you can't teach them." It could have said, "Hands, you can't heal them."

Punto's sore knuckle on his left ring finger is feeling better, and the
infielder said he expected to be available off the bench Monday, but right
fielder Michael Cuddyer was back in Minneapolis getting a CT scan on his own
lingering and worrisome finger injury.

Gardenhire said hand specialist Dr. Tom Varecka was in surgery Monday and
wouldn't be able to read the scan until today. Whatever the news, Gardenhire
is hoping the team learns something about why Cuddyer's strained tendon on
his left index finger isn't healing and, more specifically, why the pain has
moved down into his palm.

To complete the hand injury updates, infielder Matt Tolbert has started to
swing off of a tee in Florida, Gardenhire said.

The Twins originally projected that Tolbert would return to the big-league
club in early August, but Gardenhire said that seems unlikely. Tolbert still
is experiencing pain and swelling in his surgically repaired left thumb.

Briefly: Adam Everett is just four games into his 20-game rehab stint
(through Sunday), but the shortstop already has received another cortisone
injection in his ailing shoulder, assistant general manager Rob Antony said.
Antony said the shot (not the first Everett has received this season) helped
and the infielder is feeling better.


Rochester pitcher Brian Duensing has been named to the U.S. Olympic team.
Duensing, 5-10 with a 4.18 earned-run average in 22 starts for the Red
Wings, will join the U.S. team on Monday.