Two-day layoff bends rotation
DETROIT ? The weather in Detroit went from bad to worse Sunday, as expected, and so did the Twins' starting pitching schedule as a second game in a row was postponed, this time with snow blanketing downtown.
The Twins and Tigers rescheduled one game for today's originally scheduled day off (12:05 p.m., no TV), and the second postponement is expected to be made up when the Twins return to Detroit in July for a four-game series.
"We're just going to back the pitchers up,'' manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You can't do any more than that.''
The immediate result of Sunday's postponement is that Joe Mays, whose start Saturday was pushed back, will be skipped until Wednesday. That leaves Brad Radke in today's slot, putting him just one day off his usual schedule.
But if today's game gets postponed as well ? the forecast is for warmer weather but rain ? then Radke will get pushed back to Tuesday, with Johan Santana, Mays, Kyle Lohse and Carlos Silva to follow.
"You hate to see them get out of their routines,'' pitching coach Rick Anderson said. "This gets them out of whack a little bit. You try to do the best you can. You try to keep them as sharp as you can by throwing (bull)pens.''
The Twins already had most of their starters backed up at least slightly from their routines with the insertion in the rotation Friday of Silva coming off the disabled list and with today's scheduled day off.
But with back-to-back postponements, all five will pitch on extra rest the next time through the rotation, most to extremes. Assuming today's game gets played, Mays and Lohse will be pitching on their 10th days (with more than twice their normal rest) and Silva on his seventh.
"Nothing you can do,'' Mays said. "No reason to get upset about it.''
Bad timing for Morneau: Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who made a powerful debut off the disabled list Friday, was especially disappointed to be idled by weather the past two days.
"I wanted to play (Saturday),'' said Morneau, the left-handed hitter who doubled off left-hander Mike Maroth in his second at-bat Friday and later homered off tough closer Troy Percival. "It sucks when you start feeling good and have one day off, two days off. You get that rhythm going, and now you've got to try to find it again.''
Friday was Morneau's first day back in the lineup since he suffered a concussion April 6 when he was hit in the head by a pitch from Seattle left-hander Ron Villone.
He said getting back in the batter's box in the big leagues Friday was not as big an issue as some have suggested, especially considering he was trying to capitalize on a first-and-second, one-out situation.
"I got out there with a runner in scoring position like I said I wanted,'' he said. "I didn't do the job (soft liner to third), but I wasn't even thinking about it.''
By his second at-bat, when he doubled, "It felt fine. Nothing felt different.''
Briefly: The snow day didn't bother everybody. Not only did the Twins show up to the park to get work in the batting cages and bullpens, but Canadian Morneau (in shorts), St. Paul native Joe Mauer and native, uh, San Diegan Nick Punto played in the snow before starting their workouts, engaging in a snowball fight.
? Twins reliever Grant Balfour, who chafed team officials when he missed a doctor's appointment Friday despite arriving in the Twin Cities in plenty of time, was examined Saturday by team physician Dr. Dan Buss, who ordered a magnetic resonance imaging test on his injured arm for today. Balfour has forearm soreness.
DETROIT ? The weather in Detroit went from bad to worse Sunday, as expected, and so did the Twins' starting pitching schedule as a second game in a row was postponed, this time with snow blanketing downtown.
The Twins and Tigers rescheduled one game for today's originally scheduled day off (12:05 p.m., no TV), and the second postponement is expected to be made up when the Twins return to Detroit in July for a four-game series.
"We're just going to back the pitchers up,'' manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You can't do any more than that.''
The immediate result of Sunday's postponement is that Joe Mays, whose start Saturday was pushed back, will be skipped until Wednesday. That leaves Brad Radke in today's slot, putting him just one day off his usual schedule.
But if today's game gets postponed as well ? the forecast is for warmer weather but rain ? then Radke will get pushed back to Tuesday, with Johan Santana, Mays, Kyle Lohse and Carlos Silva to follow.
"You hate to see them get out of their routines,'' pitching coach Rick Anderson said. "This gets them out of whack a little bit. You try to do the best you can. You try to keep them as sharp as you can by throwing (bull)pens.''
The Twins already had most of their starters backed up at least slightly from their routines with the insertion in the rotation Friday of Silva coming off the disabled list and with today's scheduled day off.
But with back-to-back postponements, all five will pitch on extra rest the next time through the rotation, most to extremes. Assuming today's game gets played, Mays and Lohse will be pitching on their 10th days (with more than twice their normal rest) and Silva on his seventh.
"Nothing you can do,'' Mays said. "No reason to get upset about it.''
Bad timing for Morneau: Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who made a powerful debut off the disabled list Friday, was especially disappointed to be idled by weather the past two days.
"I wanted to play (Saturday),'' said Morneau, the left-handed hitter who doubled off left-hander Mike Maroth in his second at-bat Friday and later homered off tough closer Troy Percival. "It sucks when you start feeling good and have one day off, two days off. You get that rhythm going, and now you've got to try to find it again.''
Friday was Morneau's first day back in the lineup since he suffered a concussion April 6 when he was hit in the head by a pitch from Seattle left-hander Ron Villone.
He said getting back in the batter's box in the big leagues Friday was not as big an issue as some have suggested, especially considering he was trying to capitalize on a first-and-second, one-out situation.
"I got out there with a runner in scoring position like I said I wanted,'' he said. "I didn't do the job (soft liner to third), but I wasn't even thinking about it.''
By his second at-bat, when he doubled, "It felt fine. Nothing felt different.''
Briefly: The snow day didn't bother everybody. Not only did the Twins show up to the park to get work in the batting cages and bullpens, but Canadian Morneau (in shorts), St. Paul native Joe Mauer and native, uh, San Diegan Nick Punto played in the snow before starting their workouts, engaging in a snowball fight.
? Twins reliever Grant Balfour, who chafed team officials when he missed a doctor's appointment Friday despite arriving in the Twin Cities in plenty of time, was examined Saturday by team physician Dr. Dan Buss, who ordered a magnetic resonance imaging test on his injured arm for today. Balfour has forearm soreness.
