Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Thursday, April 12,...

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Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Twins lift ban on chewing tobacco at Target Field. Star Tribune (Duchschere) p. 2

Torii said he 'felt like Mike Tyson hit me' on Parmelee triple. Associated Press (Krawczynski) p. 3

Hendriks sees opportunity to stick in Baker's absence. Star Tribune (Christensen) p. 4

Postgame: Pavano, Parmelee, ninth-inning defense. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 5

Scoggins: A ball or a wall, Willingham makes a dent in it for Twins. Star Tribune (Scoggins) p. 6

Elbow issue ends season for Baker. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 7

Twins finally get a victory. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 8

Twins pitcher Jason Marquis ready for final tuneup. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 10

With Scott Baker out, door opens for Twins' Liam Hendriks. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 10

Twins 6, Angels 5: Seventh-inning rally provides first win. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 11

Minnesota Twins’ Scott Baker out for the season with elbow injury. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 12

Minnesota Twins shake their hitting doldrums for first win. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 13

Tom Powers: Twins could use director of operations. Pioneer Press (Powers) p. 14

Gardenhire thankful for opportunity to restore order. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 15

Haren, Liriano both eye turnarounds. MLB.com (Walker) p. 17

Baker to have surgery, will miss entire season. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 18

Parmelee, Carroll stage late-game heroics for first win. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 19

Twins righthander Scott Baker to have season-ending elbow surgery. 1500ESPN.com (Zulgad) p. 20

Notebook: Twins to stay in-house to replace Baker; rotation shaping up. 1500ESPN.com (Mackey) p. 21

Twins no longer winless after equaling season run total against Angels. 1500ESPN.com (Mackey) p. 23

Zulgad’s Roundup: Matt Capps provides much-needed relief for Twins. 1500ESPN.com (Zulgad) p. 25

Mackey: One faulty flexor tendon likely alters career paths for two. 1500ESPN.com (Mackey) p. 29

Baker to have elbow surgery, will miss season. FSNorth.com (Mason) p. 31

Jamey Carroll, Josh Willingham help rally past Angels. Associated Press. p. 32

Twins RHP Baker to miss season with elbow injury. Associated Press (Krawczynski) p. 34

Rochester Red Wings’ Scott Diamond dazzles PawSox. Democrat and Chronicle (Mandelaro) p. 35

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Top Twitter Mentions p. 36

Twins lift ban on chewing tobacco at Target Field

By: Kevin Duchschere, Star Tribune- 4/11/12

Target Field may be smoke-free inside and out, but for the first time the ballpark is permitting fans to chew tobacco in public -- as long as it's

done discreetly and doesn't prompt complaints.

Not even the players can do that.

The Twins, which prohibit smoking in the ballpark and last week shut down the only smoking area outside the gates, banned chewing tobacco

in the ballpark's first two seasons. But the team is lifting that ban because "we found that not to be an issue," team spokesman Kevin Smith

said.

"People seemed to not mind chewing tobacco as much as secondhand smoke," he said.

Electronic cigarettes will continue to be prohibited because they resemble regular cigarettes and emit a detectable vapor, Smith said.

Legislation creating Target Field made it a smoke-free zone. But in a ballpark where naming rights are held by Target -- a corporation that

stopped selling tobacco products 16 years ago -- permitting chewing has raised questions among anti-tobacco advocates, who say that the

number of teenage boys who use smokeless tobacco is climbing.

"We appreciate what the Twins have done to have a smoke-free stadium, but smokeless tobacco is harmful and it's a very bad substance to

be using at a family-friendly event attended by millions of kids each year," said Marie Cocco, a spokeswoman for the Campaign for Tobacco-

Free Kids in Washington, D.C.

In a labor agreement signed with team owners in November, players and coaches agreed starting this season to avoid using smokeless

tobacco on TV and during team appearances, and not to carry tobacco products onto the field any time fans are in the ballpark. That means

that players can't even wedge a tobacco tin into a uniform pocket.

Smith said players can't smoke at Target Field, but they can chew tobacco as long as they're out of sight of fans.

Target Field's new chewing policy leaves just one major-league ballpark, Safeco Field in Seattle, as tobacco-free. However, Safeco permits

smoking in four areas near the gates. All ballparks restrict smoking, but 20 allow it in designated areas inside or near the facility.

Enforcement concerns

Among those who joined the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in seeking the smokeless prohibition from baseball were more than 200

national health organizations, youth groups, public health officials and baseball figures. They included the Association for Nonsmokers-

Minnesota, ClearWay Minnesota, cancer researchers Stephen Hecht of the University of Minnesota and Dr. Jon Ebbert of the Mayo Clinic and

Minneapolis Health Commissioner Gretchen Musicant.

Robert Moffitt of the Minnesota chapter of the American Lung Association said the Twins' removal of the last smoking area at the ballpark

sent "a positive message" for which they intend to give the team a special award. Enforcing a total tobacco ban would be difficult, he said.

"I'm sure that was one of the concerns they had," he said.

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Smith said the Twins did try to enforce a full tobacco ban in the first two seasons at Target Field. But it was tough to spot fans who were

chewing, he said, and other fans didn't seem to mind anyway. It was enforced perhaps two or three times each season, when chewers spit on

the stands rather than in a container.

Torii said he 'felt like Mike Tyson hit me' on Parmelee triple

By: Jon Krawczynski, Associated Press- 4/12/12

MINNEAPOLIS - It's not often that Torii Hunter looks bad in the outfield, especially when he's playing in Minnesota.

The former Gold Glover took an ugly tumble in the seventh inning on Wednesday night, and it cost the Los Angeles Angels.

Hunter went face-first into the right-field corner wall while chasing a ball down the line, and the stumble allowed Chris Parmelee to race

around for a tying triple that set up the winning run in the Twins' 6-5 victory over the Angels.

Leading 5-3 with runners on first and second and two outs, Parmelee ripped a pitch from Hisanori Takahashi (0-1) down the line. Hunter gave

chase and tripped, allowing the ball past him and the slow-footed Parmelee to reach third. Jamey Carroll followed with his second hit of the

day and the Twins (1-4) hung on for their first win of the season.

"I was punch drunk, felt like Mike Tyson hit me," said Hunter, who played for the Twins for 11 years. "But I got up man, it took everything in

my body to get up. ... I should've stopped the ball at all costs. I tried to and it just didn't work out. That's my fault."

Josh Willingham homered and Matt Capps picked up his first save of the season for the Twins, who had scored six runs total in their first four

games.

Peter Bourjos hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer and Albert Pujols went 1 for 4 with an RBI for the Angels. Jered Weaver gave up five runs

and seven hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.

Angels trainers rushed out to check on the dazed Hunter after the play was over, as did Pujols.

"I knew he was OK when he threw the ball in," Pujols said. "He's a strong man."

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Hunter would be evaluated again on Thursday morning before the series finale, but thought he would be

OK.

"He had to get to the ball," Scioscia said. "If he plays it soft into the corner, two runs are going to score and it might end up being a triple

anyway. So he was trying to cut it off and it looked like the ball just took a funny hop on him."

Hunter had no doubt he will be able to play.

"Oh yeah, I'm a beast," he said. "Beast mode."

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Hendriks sees opportunity to stick in Baker's absence

By: Joe Christensen, Star Tribune- 4/12/12

Food poisoning kept Twins pitcher Liam Hendriks from making Sunday's start in Baltimore, but now he's got a new assignment and a chance

to turn it into a season-long gig.

Hendriks will face the Rangers on Sunday at Target Field. With Scott Baker set to have season-ending elbow surgery, Hendriks could wind up

keeping that spot in the rotation for as long as he's effective.

Anthony Swarzak replaced Hendriks in Baltimore and held the Orioles to one run over five innings. The Twins like Swarzak in a bullpen role,

but he'll get another chance to start Friday against the Rangers.

Meanwhile, Jason Marquis will make one more start for Class AA New Britain on Thursday before making his Twins debut. He'll either pitch

April 18 at Yankee Stadium, in Swarzak's spot, or April 20 at Tampa Bay, in Hendriks' spot.

"If it's a tough decision, that means everybody's throwing well," Anderson said. "Hopefully it's a tough decision."

Hendriks, who was in the hospital for three nights before getting released Monday, said: "I feel strong. Sickness-wise, I don't feel bad at all."

Payroll update

Each year, USA Today calculates Opening Day payrolls, counting players on the official 25-man roster and disabled list. The newspaper listed

the Twins at $94,085,000 this year, down from $113 million last year.

But the newspaper's total didn't include Marquis and Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who are making $3 million apiece, even though they are in the

minors. Throw in those two players, and the Twins are at about $100 million, right where General Manager Terry Ryan projected when he

returned to the job in November.

Special visitor returns

A few years ago, Army Specialist Logan Hastings e-mailed manager Ron Gardenhire during a 16-month tour of Iraq, and the two became fast

friends. After his 16-month Iraq tour, Hastings found out he was heading to Afghanistan for one year. This came as Hastings' father, Jeff, an

Army captain and chaplain, was preparing for deployment to Kuwait.

Gardenhire invited the family to join him in Minnesota in May 2010, giving them a chance to see Target Field and the inner workings of the

clubhouse.

In Afghanistan, Hastings was manning a bulldozer when he was hit with a 400-pound improvised explosive device. He suffered a collapsed

lung, a traumatic brain injury and fractured multiple vertebra. Gen. David Petraeus presented Hastings, 26, with the Purple Heart.

On Wednesday, Hastings and his father were back at Target Field. Hastings was in the outfield, shagging balls during batting practice.

"He loves Twins baseball," Gardenhire said. "For me, it's just been an honor to meet him and get to know a real hero."

Lineup returns

Gardenhire went with his Opening Day lineup again Wednesday. Last year, he got to use his Opening Day lineup only once -- in Game 1 at

Toronto. Injuries made it impossible, though everyone was healthy for a few hours on Aug. 12 in Cleveland. That day, Gardenhire rewrote his

Opening Day lineup, only to see Michael Cuddyer injure his neck during batting practice.

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Postgame: Pavano, Parmelee, ninth-inning defense

By: La Velle E. Neal III, Star Tribune- 4/12/12

Recap: The Twins shook off 1-0 and 5-3 deficits to defeat the Angels 6-5 at Target Field.

Here are three things that are important to note after the game - or three things that aren't important that I just want to wrote about.

1. Carl Pavano's velocity: Actually, it didn't come up after the game, but Pavano hit 85-88 on the stadium radar run. A few people on twitter

(follow me at @LaVelleNeal) said Pitch F/X had it a couple mph higher, but I can't believe the Twins gun is two mph slow. Maybe it is.

Anyway, Pavano doesn't seem to be as concerned about his velo as he is his location. And he felt that he failed to execute a few pitches on

Wednesday that got him into trouble. "I made it tough on us today. I kept letting those guys back in the door."

Pavano said he felt better than he did on Opening Day but started feeling a little tired after the fifth inning. I expect his velo and stamina to

go up over his next two starts before settling into what we can expect from him through the bulk of the season.

2. Chris Parmelee against left-handed pitchers: Parmelee hit .226 against left-handed pitchers last season at New Britain. So how in the heck

was he able to look comfortable against Angels left-hander Hisanori Takahashi?

Parmelee hit .316 against lefties during his September callup. Then he spent a chuck of his offseason having a buddy who's left-handed throw

to him.

"A guy throws batting practice to me left-handed," Parmelee said. "That definitely helps me, facing lefties and stuff. But every year that goes

by, every half season that goes by, almost every at-bat that goes by I start to feel more and more comfortable against left-handers. I have a

little better approach against lefties."

So I asked him if hitting .226 against lefthanders last year at New Britain motivated him to address the issue.

"I don't know, did I really hit .226 against lefties?" He said while chuckling.

One reason Twins manager Ron Gardenhire left Parmelee in against Takahashi: He was tougher on right-handed hitters (.206) then left-

handed hitters (.261). And Parmelee came through with his first career triple, scoring two runs to tie the game.

3. Gardy's late-inning defense. I thought the game was set up for a Ben Revere appearance in the ninth inning to boost the defense. But

Revere didn't enter the game.

I asked Gardenhire if he was tempted to use Revere. He said he was but he didn't want to take Josh Willingham (who's thumping the ball) out

of the game. He could have pulled Ryan Doumit but Gardenhire said that taking his backup catcher out of the game worries him. If the game

goes extras, and Mauer wears down or gets dinged, then he has to use Luke Hughes behind the plate.

Gardy is always concerned about being short a catcher. It doesn't help that Willingham prefers to play left and Doumit is the least

comfortable at first (I was thinking Revere could replace Parmelee and go to right with Doumit going to first). I can see why Gardy feels the

way he does. But I think Revere should have been on the field somewhere in the ninth inning yesterday, If he can't get on the field in those

situations why is he here?

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Scoggins: A ball or a wall, Willingham makes a dent in it for Twins

By: Chip Scoggins, Star Tribune- 4/12/12

Josh Willingham chooses his words judiciously and shares thoughts in snippets, at least in the presence of media members or if the topic

involves himself. A typical answer is proceeded by a shrug.

There's nothing boring about the way he plays baseball, though.

At the plate or in left field.

He demonstrated that again Wednesday night as the Twins defeated the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 for their first victory of the season,

Willingham's first in his new uniform.

Willingham gave the Twins their first lead of the season with a massive home run to left in the fourth inning. He followed that with an Evel

Knievel crash-landing impersonation while chasing a fly ball, which resulted in an inside-the-park home run by Peter Bourjos.

"It was an adventurous night," Willingham said.

Nothing wrong with a little adventure to lighten the mood. In response to an 0-4 start that included some sloppy defense, anemic hitting and

a 6.14 earned-run average by starting pitchers, Twins fans wondered whether it's too early in the season to panic. That, of course, was more

a rhetorical question because any whiff of trouble on the heels of a 99-loss season makes it impossible to muffle fan angst.

Naturally, news surfaced before the game that a second opinion on Scott Baker's troubled right elbow revealed damage to a tendon that

requires season-ending surgery. That, perhaps, pushed fans even closer to panic.

The Twins desperately needed a victory -- regardless of how it looked -- and Willingham added his own touch of excitement, in both good and

forgettable ways.

His two-run, 407-foot blast in the fourth inning gave the Twins a 3-1 lead, a foreign position for them so far this season. The Twins' struggles

at the plate through four games were alarming, but the slump didn't touch Willlingham.

Signed to a three-year, $21 million contract this offseason, Willingham has hit safely in all five games with three home runs. His six RBI are

half of the Twins' team total.

"My approach is simple: I look for something good to hit," he said. "Usually that's in the middle of the plate. That's pretty simple. If I get a

pitch, I swing at it. See what happens. I'm not trying to hit it out of the park or anything. Just hit it hard."

Willingham earned the nickname "Hammer" from teammates years ago and it stuck. He's quick to note it's merely a play on words off his last

name, but it's fitting nonetheless. The guy is powerfully built and tries to pummel baseballs.

Or walls.

The poor Target Field wall found that out when Willingham crashed into it while attempting to catch a fly ball off Bourjos' bat. Willingham

missed the ball by a foot and then bounced off the wall. That misplay allowed Bourjos to circle the bases and three runs to score.

"He's just got to learn the wall a little bit better because he tried to knock it down with his body," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire joked. "We

don't mind him hitting it over it, but let's not knock the wall down with your body."

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That seems like a reasonable tradeoff. Willingham is not exactly nimble in the field and already has two errors this season, matching his

season total in Oakland last season. Luckily for the Twins, his crash landing Wednesday didn't result in injury, although his cleat ripped the

padding on the wall.

"I was just trying to make a play and got there a little late," he said. "I felt the warning track and knew I was close to the wall so I just jumped

and tried to make a play on the ball. I hit the wall pretty hard and fell back down. Just tried to make a play."

His defensive adventure notwithstanding, Willingham's transition to a new team has been fairly seamless. He's adjusted to a new clubhouse

and lineup and picked up offensively where he left off last season when he hit 29 home runs with 98 RBI for Oakland.

"So far, so good," he said.

That's about as deep as he's willing to delve into his fast start.

"The reasons we went after the young man is because we knew he is a great guy for the clubhouse," Gardenhire said. "A very good baseball

player but a good guy for the clubhouse. One of these guys that you're going to follow and watch him do some pretty special things, and I

think you're seeing it early."

Elbow issue ends season for Baker


Going through three consecutive seasons with elbow problems was enough for Twins righthander Scott Baker.

"I guess the elbow has always been my Achilles' heel," he said Wednesday, seated next to General Manager Terry Ryan in the Twins interview

room.

Baker will undergo surgery to clean up a flexor pronator tendon, which is located on the inside of the elbow. The Twins and Baker were

relieved to learn that the ulnar collateral ligament, which is replaced during Tommy John surgery, is sound. Unfortunately for Baker, the

recovery period following flexor tendon surgery will be about six months, which wipes out his 2012 season before it can begin.

The surgery will be performed, as soon as it can be scheduled, by Mets team physician David Altchek, a prominent elbow specialist who has

done Tommy John surgeries in recent years on Joe Nathan and Twins prospect Kyle Gibson.

According to Baker, part of the procedure includes cleaning out scar tissue.

"Obviously, it's been a battle and, unfortunately, it's a losing battle at this point,'' Baker said. "The training staff and I have done everything

we possibly could to pitch through it. There's no way around that. We have been trying to do it the whole time. We went up there [to see

Altchek] for some clarity and for what exactly needed to be done."

It's a blow to a Twins team that hoped to be more competitive this season after losing 99 games in 2011. Baker might be their most complete

pitcher. He went 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA last season in 23 appearances (21 starts) around two trips to the disabled list when the tendon flared

up.

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The Twins will move forward with a likely rotation of Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Jason Marquis, Nick Blackburn and Liam Hendriks.

Marquis, who left the team for two weeks during spring training after his daughter was in a serious bicycle accident, will join the club after

making one more minor league start on Thursday for Class AA New Britain.

Anthony Swarzak is expected to start on Friday against Texas as a fill-in. Hendriks, who missed his start last weekend because of food

poisoning, will start Sunday, when the Twins will need a fifth starter for the first time.

Marquis likely will replace Swarzak in the rotation, with Swarzak moving back to the bullpen.

"It gives somebody a chance to step up, whether it be Swarzak or Hendriks or whatever," Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said.

"Somebody else will have to step in and do it. Losing a guy like [Baker] ... he was starting to come into his own pretty good."

They can fill the innings but, considering his career record of 63-48 with a 4.15 ERA, can they replace Baker's productivity?

"This isn't good by any stretch, because we've got a guy in the prime of his career, and his raw numbers are about as good as we have," Ryan

said. "And now he's not available. So we've got to move on, and unfortunately this will be a challenge, but we'll get through it. I feel bad for

Scott. I've always said he's one of the hardest workers we've had. It just wasn't happening."

Baker battled elbow pain near the end of the 2010 season, had cleanup surgery in the offseason, then landed on the 15-day disabled list

twice last season because of the flexor pronator tendon strain.

He was able to return to pitch three innings in September after his second stint on the DL and reported to spring training confident he could

move forward. But his velocity was down and he appeared to be holding back while throwing.

He was shut down during the middle of spring training. When he attempted to pitch for Class A Fort Myers in its season opener last Thursday,

he lasted 11 pitches before leaving the game because the elbow wasn't responding well.

That led to a visit with Altcheck, when the decision to have season-ending surgery was made. The timing couldn't be worse for Baker, who's

making $6.5 million in the final guaranteed year of a four-year, $15.25 million contract. There's a club option for 2013 for $9.25 million, but

it's unlikely the Twins will pick it up, not knowing how healthy Baker will be.

Baker was asked if he was worried that he had thrown his final pitch for the Twins.

"Honestly I can't think about that right now," Baker said. "The Twins are all I've known, and obviously I enjoy it here, so I hope that's not the

case. But I just have to really focus on getting healthy. I know the work's going to be there. I'm going to work as hard as I can to get healthy."

Twins finally get a victory


Twins shortstop Jamey Carroll picked up his phone after Wednesday's game, scrolled through some videos, found one and pressed the play

button.

It was of his teary-eyed 4-year-old son, Cole Patrick, being asked questions by his mother, Kim.

"Why are you crying?" Kim asked.

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"Because Daddy doesn't have a hiiiiiiiiit," he wailed.

The Carroll household was a happier one on Wednesday night, as Dad collected his first two hits as a Twin, including the game-winner in a 6-5

comeback victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Twins households everywhere were happier when the club became the last one off the island of winless teams. The Twins began the day 0-4

and, consequently, were starting to be asked if this was 2011 and 99 losses all over again.

But they bounced back from 1-0 and 5-3 deficits to win. Matt Capps came on in the ninth to earn the save. The announced crowd, however,

was 31,413 -- the smallest in Target Field's brief history.

"You've got to keep playing," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We know we can score runs, but it has to happen on the field. We got

some big hits and some clutch hits and good things happened and they will happen to these guys. They get after it pretty good."

Carroll was 0-for-13 with three walks when the day began, but he still had a sense of humor. He played the video of his son crying for

teammates before the game.

"They got a good laugh," Carroll said.

Carroll struck out in his first at-bat against Angels righthander Jered Weaver. But he opened the fourth with a double to left, pumping his first

as he pulled into second. He then scored on a line single to left-center by Joe Mauer that tied the score at 1-1.

His clutch hit came in the pivotal seventh.

Singles by Ryan Doumit and Danny Valencia put runners on first and second with no one out. Chris Parmelee, facing lefthander Hisanori

Takahashi, hit a ball down the right field line. Torii Hunter went after the ball as it bounced down the line, but it took an unexpected bounce.

He tried to adjust but fell head and shoulder into the wall.

"I was punch drunk," Hunter said. "Felt like Mike Tyson hit me."

The ball rolled to the corner as both runners scored and Parmelee pulled into third with his first career triple. He was almost stranded there,

but Carroll batted with two outs against former Twin LaTroy Hawkins. Carroll looked for something on the outer half of the plate and slapped

a single to right, scoring the winning run.

"He's been champing at the bit," Gardenhire said of Carroll. "It was great to see him after his first hit, a huge smile."

He wasn't the only one. Josh Willingham saw a fly ball sail over his glove in left for an inside-the-park home run, but he hit his third homer of

the young season and has at least one hit in all five games. Capps, in his quest to put last season's struggles behind him, came through in his

first save opportunity. Glen Perkins entered in the eighth and got two strikeouts, including one of Albert Pujols.

"I know these guys want to move on past last year," Carroll said. "You start off 0-4 and it trickles back in as far as getting asked about it and

you hear about it. Guys didn't want to have that kind of start, but that was the case. It was good to come off the off day and get a win."

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Twins pitcher Jason Marquis ready for final tuneup

By: John Shipley, Pioneer Press- 4/11/12

Jason Marquis is scheduled to start and throw 90 for Class AA New Britain on Thursday, April 12, at New Hampshire. The Twins are confident

it will be a final tuneup before joining the big league rotation.

Marquis, 30, missed most of the final two weeks of spring training to be with his family while his daughter, Reese, recovered from an accident.

"He's game-on," Gardenhire said. "If it were up to him he would be pitching for us tomorrow, not down there. But we're trying to do the smart thing here and try to get him some innings under his belt before we throw him into the hot box here."

Briefly

Left-hander Francisco Liriano will pitch this afternoon's series finale, and right-hander Swarzak is set to pitch Friday's opener against Texas.

With Scott Baker out, door opens for Twins' Liam Hendriks


Scott Baker's absence has opened up a spot for Liam Hendriks to make his own. The rookie right-hander made the team out of spring training

but mostly because Baker was on the disabled list and Jason Marquis was working his way back in the minors.

Now Baker is out, opting for season-ending surgery to repair a tendon in his elbow.

"The kid with food poisoning was one of our better performers in spring training," general manager Terry Ryan said, referring to Hendriks, who missed his scheduled start last Sunday after being hospitalized for food poisoning.

Between Hendriks and Anthony Swarzak, who filled in for Hendriks and pitched ably in a 3-1 loss at Baltimore, Ryan said, "We've got something to work with."

In other words, the Twins will fill Baker's spot from within, not that they have much of an alternative outside of signing a free agent. The Twins invited 34 pitchers to camp, and free agents Jeff Gray, Jared Burton and Matt Maloney made the roster. Maloney, in fact, was stretched out late this spring in case the Twins needed him to start.

"Our big issue has not been pitching; we haven't hit too much," Ryan said. "Our pitchers have done relatively decent job here. So let's give these guys a chance to settle in and see exactly what we've got in the rotation. It's not going to be easy to replace the guy that was going to be our home opening starter, but you get put in some situations and you've got to adjust, and that's one of the reasons why we've got a little bit more depth.

"We went out and signed plenty of pitchers just for the very reason (that) we were hurt so much last year."

Hendriks' bad timing

Hendriks went down with food poisoning the night before his season debut. What are the odds?

~ 11 ~

"Knowing me, quite high," he said.

The week before he was supposed to participate in the 2010 Futures Game, Hendriks had an appendectomy. The week before he was meant to go to Mexico with Australia's Under-17 team, he had knee surgery.

"So I'm kind of used to it by now," he said.

This time, at least, he's expected not to miss any more time. Hendriks, 23, went through a light workout and tested his arm Wednesday and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session before the Twins wrap up their three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels this afternoon at Target Field.

If all goes well, he could start Sunday's game against the Texas Rangers, though manager Ron Gardenhire didn't want to look that far ahead. He has yet to meet with pitching coach Rick Anderson to figure out the rotation.

"We'll set down and start writing it all out and figure who fits where," Gardenhire said. "First we have to see what the kid does. He feels pretty good, but he was sick. We'll see how strong he is."

Twins 6, Angels 5: Seventh-inning rally provides first win


RECAP: Chris Parmelee's first career triple ignited a late comeback, and Jamey Carroll drove in the winning run as the Twins won their first game of the season Wednesday, April 11, in front of 31,413 at Target Field.

Josh Willingham's third home run of the season, a two-run shot just left of the second deck in left field, put the Twins up 3-1 in the fourth, but Twins starter Carl Pavano couldn't make it stand. He gave up three hits in the fifth, including a three-run, inside-the-park home run by Peter Bourjos, which evaded a leaping Willingham and banged off the left field wall.

But Parmelee tripled home Ryan Doumit and Danny Valencia in the seventh and came home on Carroll's two-out single, his second hit of the night after starting the season 0 for 14. Matt Capps pitched the ninth for his first save.

MEANING: The Twins (1-4) avoided their worst start since moving to Minnesota in 1961.

ETC.: Jeff Gray (1-0) earned the victory by getting one out, on one pitch, in the seventh....Willingham has all three of Minnesota's home runs and six of the team's 11 RBIs.

UP NEXT: vs. Angels, 12:10 p.m. today, FSN, KSTP-AM 1500

~ 12 ~

Minnesota Twins’ Scott Baker out for the season with elbow injury


It's not the pain, Scott Baker said, it's the stuff. And the velocity. Everything that makes him an effective pitcher has been compromised by scar tissue on a tendon connecting his elbow to the flexor muscle in his right forearm.

So he's having it removed.

Unfortunately for his baseball team, a procedure characterized by general manager Terry Ryan as "a cleanup" will require six months of rehabilitation, effectively ending Baker's season before it begins and rekindling memories of last season, when the Twins' season was undone by a major league-high 27 trips to the disabled list.

"I don't mind pitching through pain, as long as you don't have the chance to further the injury," Baker said Wednesday, April 11. "But when it

comes to a point where your velocity's not there, and you don't have the ability to finish pitches like you know you're capable of doing, then something's got to be done."

Baker, 30, will have surgery to clean scar tissue off the flexor pronator tendon in his right elbow, an issue he's dealt with for some time. It's essentially the same injury that ended Baker's 2011 season, when he was the Twins' best starter with an 8-6 record and 3.14 earned-run average. On July 17 and Aug. 9, he was placed on the disabled list with a right flexor strain.

"Obviously it's been a battle, and unfortunately it's a losing battle at this point," Baker said. "The training staff and I have done everything we possibly could to pitch through it; there's no

way around what we've been trying to do the whole time."

A magnetic resonance imaging exam taken Friday in Fort Myers, Fla., revealed what the Twins called a mild strain of the flexor muscle. After getting a second opinion from specialist Dr. David Altchek in New York this week, Baker decided to have surgery.

"I went up there," Baker said, "for some clarity and for what exactly needed to be done."

The decision might well have ended Baker's career in Minnesota. The right-hander is in the final year of a four-year, $15.25 million extension. The Twins hold a $9.25 million option for 2013, but it's highly unlikely they would pick it up now.

"Honestly I can't think about that right now," Baker said. "The Twins are all I've known, and obviously I enjoy it here, so I hope that's not the case. But I just have to really focus on getting healthy. I know the work's going to be there. I'm going to work as hard as I can to get healthy. It's just like I said earlier, if I get healthy, things will take care of themselves."

In any case, his absence leaves a mammoth hole in the Twins' rotation. Though he has thrown only 200 innings once, in 2009, he has been the team's best starter for the past several seasons. Since 2008, his first full major league season, he has averaged 12 victories and a 3.92 ERA.

"This isn't good by any stretch, because we've got a guy in the prime of his career, and his raw numbers are about as good as we have," Ryan said. "And now he's not available. So we've got to move on, and unfortunately this will be a challenge, but we'll get through it.

"I feel bad for Scott. I've always said he's one of the hardest workers we've had. It just wasn't happening. So now there's some finality and a little peace of mind for him. 'OK, I know what's wrong, I'll get it fixed,' and then he'll get ready for spring training."

~ 13 ~

Baker can rehab in Minnesota or the Twins' facilities in Fort Myers, Ryan said. No date for the surgery has been set, but Baker said he wants to have it done, "ASAP."

"As far as I know it won't be this week," he said, "but I think the sooner the better, for sure."

Minnesota Twins shake their hitting doldrums for first win


Every night during spring training, Jamey Carroll would tuck in his 4-year-old son, Cole.

"He'd say, 'Dad, maybe you can get a homer tomorrow,' " Carroll said. "It's progressed down to, 'At least you can get a hit.' So he's starting to understand me, as well."

The Twins don't need home runs from Carroll, and if they keep winning ballgames the way they did Wednesday night, April 11, it should be more than enough for Cole Carroll, who was so distraught over his father's 0-for-14 skid that it reduced him to tears on Tuesday.

His father finally broke out in a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, going 2 for 4 with a run scored and a two-out, game-winning RBI single in the seventh off reliever LaTroy Hawkins in Minnesota's

first win of the season.

A video of Carroll's son made the rounds in the clubhouse Wednesday, lightening the mood of an 0-4 start.

"He was also a little tired at the time, too," Carroll explained, "and he asked my wife if I got a hit today and she said, 'No.' I think that threw him over the edge."

Twins fans were pretty close to that edge after watching their team drop the first four games of the season and look bad doing it. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Twins were just the third team in 40 years to lose their first four games while scoring two or fewer runs in each game. The other two were the 1988 Orioles, who set a major league record with 21 straight losses, and the 2003 Tigers, who finished 43-119.

But Minnesota

rallied twice to win Wednesday, erasing a 1-0 deficit on Josh Willingham's two-run homer in the fourth, and tying the score 5-5 on Chris Parmelee's two-run triple in the seventh. After Alexi Casilla (pop out) and Denard Span (strikeout) failed to bring Parmelee home, Carroll drove a 1-0 pitch over the head of second baseman Howard Kendrick for a 6-5 lead.

Glen Perkins struck out two in the eighth, and Matt Capps pitched the ninth for his first save, stranding Torii Hunter on second after a one-out double as the Twins avoided their worst start since moving to Minnesota in 1961.

"There's more where that came from," said Ryan Doumit, who played his first home game in right field and went 1 for 4. "With the track record of this lineup? We're not rookies. It's nice to get off the snide, but there's no doubt there's more where that came from."

~ 14 ~

Doumit was on second and Danny Valencia on first when Parmelee, facing left-handed reliever Hisanori Takahashi, took an 0-2 pitch down the right field line. Hunter, who moved from center to right field last season, tripped while chasing it down and took a face plant into the padding on the limestone wall in right, allowing the ball to slip past him.

"I was looking for something up, just to get that guy in from second," Parmelee said. "I wasn't trying to do too much."

He also didn't know Hunter fell while trying to field the ball.

"To be honest with you, when I rounded second to third, I didn't know whether I was going to be thrown out or not," he said. "I didn't see him hit the wall like that. So when our first-base coach Steve Liddle kept bringing me, I was like, 'Oh, man. Am I going to get an inside-the-park home run here?' That got shot down real quick."

Peter Bourjos put the Angels up 4-3 with a three-run, inside-the-park homer off starter Carl Pavano in the fifth. Willingham made a leaping attempt to catch it, but it bounced hard off the wall and Bourjos scored without much of a play.

But that was ancient history by the time Carroll knocked in Parmelee with the go-ahead run, the news of which will no doubt brighten the morning for little Cole Carroll.

"Hopefully," Carroll said, "there's a 4-year-old who will wake up pretty happy tomorrow."

Just like every other Twins fan.

Tom Powers: Twins could use director of operations

By: Tom Powers, Pioneer Press- 4/12/12

Some guys like to buy a round of drinks. Terry Ryan has bought a round of arm surgeries. The Twins now are on the hook for two major medical procedures that will net them zero benefits.

Still, it probably seemed like a great day after the Twins recorded their first victory of the season, 6-5 over the Los Angeles Angels. Ladies and gentlemen, step away from the panic button. And everybody take a deep breath.

First, Joel Zumaya showed up at camp, threw 13 batting practice pitches and then opted for Tommy John surgery. The Twins had signed him to a one-year, incentive-laden contract. Zumaya's arm already is held together with screws, chicken wire and duct tape. But it's hard to turn down a free Tommy John.

So on the off chance

Zumaya is able to pitch again, it won't be here. But even if he doesn't pitch again, at least he'll have a fresh ligament as a souvenir of his several hours as a member of the Minnesota Twins.

And now Scott Baker has opted for surgery to remove scar tissue in his elbow. He's out for the year. The Twins have a $9.25 million option on him for 2013. They would be nuts to pick that one up. So whenever Baker pitches again, it will be someplace else. But at least the Twins have his contract insured. Let's just hope it isn't with one of those cut-rate Internet companies.

~ 15 ~

From the very beginning of training camp, it was very clear that Baker wasn't going to pitch. He talked about "working through" some issues, but never once cut loose with

the baseball. Baker received the same diagnosis from Dr. David Altchek that he did from Twins physicians.

Nothing was torn, frayed or out of place. There was considerable scar tissue in the area. Although there is some pain involved, pitching will not cause further damage. Some guys can pitch with this type of injury. Baker is not one of them. So here we are, replacing the guy with the bad elbow with the guy with the food poisoning, Liam Hendricks.

Let's just hope Ryan enrolled in the frequent surgery program. Maybe he'll wind up with enough points for a couple of free hotel nights.

Meanwhile, game No. 5 wasn't looking so hot as the local nine fell behind 5-3. But Chris Parmelee, who hammered his way onto the team with an impressive spring training, delivered a two-run triple in the seventh and scored the game-winner on Jamey Carroll's single.

The story going around the ballpark was that Jamey's young son had asked his mom if daddy had gotten a hit in the home opener. When told "no" - that made daddy 0 for 13 as a Twin - the 4-year-old started bawling. This was all captured on video and then shown in the clubhouse.

When Carroll struck out in his first at-bat, and looked bad doing it, there was some fear that his youngster might wind up dehydrated before the night was over. But Carroll promptly rapped two hits, including the clutch game winner with two outs and Parmelee on third. As important, the bullpen did excellent work in relief of Carl Pavano.

Parmelee also had two hits, including that all-important triple in the seventh. He pulled the ball down the first-base line against lefty Hisanori Takahashi. Torii Hunter, tracking the hot grounder, did a face plant into the right field wall, and Parmelee made it all the way to third.

"I came around second and I didn't know Torii hit the wall," Parmelee said. "I looked at Steve Liddle and he waved for me to keep coming. I didn't know if I was going to get thrown out at third or what."

I'm surprised he could spot Liddle. A couple of batters earlier, with Josh Willingham at the plate, Liddle was so far beyond the coaches box that he was just a speck down the left field line. Clearly he wanted no part of any hot smash off Willingham's bat. But apparently he had time to take a cab back to his position by the time Parmelee stepped in.

So it was one of those mixed days. Everyone basically found out that Baker had pitched his last game in a Twins uniform. But the team also won for the first time, allowing the fans to sigh deeply.

Normally, a season-ending injury such as Baker's is a major deal. But a lot of folks here still are in 2011 mode. There's a collective shrug and a quick check of the roster to see who is next in line.

Liam Hendricks, you will be given the baseball. Stay healthy.

Gardenhire thankful for opportunity to restore order

By: Rhett Bollinger, MLB.com- 4/11/12

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins did something in their fifth game of the season on Wednesday night that they didn't do at all last year -- they used

their Opening Day lineup.

~ 16 ~

The Twins dealt with a plethora of injuries last season, including early-season setbacks to Joe Mauer and Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and never used their Opening Day lineup after their regular-season opener against the Blue Jays.

They came close against the Indians on Aug. 12, but Michael Cuddyer ended up being a late scratch with a strained neck suffered during batting practice.

"I almost got it in Cleveland, except for early batting practice killed me," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire joked before Wednesday's game against the Angels.

Gardenhire said that Ryan Doumit was ready to make a start in right field at Target Field after practicing there during pregame warmups on Monday and Wednesday. Doumit served as the catcher in the home opener against the Angels on Monday, which gave Mauer back-to-back starts at first base.

"I said I wanted to give him a day out there working and he had that," Gardenhire said. "We got Joe some nice days off from behind the plate after a long spring. We're rested. We're ready to go. We'll see what happens. It's tough putting both your catchers in the lineup. It's really tough. But I like to see Dooms' bat in the lineup. The guy can swing it."

Hendriks recovering, hoping for Sunday start

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins right-hander Liam Hendriks, who missed Sunday's start with food poisoning, worked out without any problems on Tuesday and Wednesday at Target Field.

Hendriks, who was hospitalized in Baltimore from Saturday to Monday, played catch both days, and said he's in line to throw a bullpen session on Thursday with the hope of starting on Sunday against the Rangers.

"I came in yesterday and did some running and throwing and everything feels good," Hendriks said. "I feel strong. So we'll see what happens from there. I'm throwing a bullpen tomorrow. I've just been playing catch."

The Twins need a fifth starter on Sunday, as they opened the year with a four-man rotation because of an off-day on Tuesday.

Right-hander Anthony Swarzak, who started in Hendriks' place on Sunday, is expected to start on Friday against the Rangers, while right-hander Nick Blackburn will start on Saturday.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said the rotation remains in flux, especially considering right-hander Scott Baker will miss the year due to elbow surgery.

"We'll sit down and start writing it all out and figure out who fits where and where everyone is slotted," Gardenhire said. "First, we've got to see what the kid does. He feels pretty good. But he was pretty sick. See how strong he is and go from there."

Marquis' return to Twins' rotation is in sight

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins right-hander Jason Marquis remains on track to start with Double-A New Britain on Thursday, and is slated to rejoin the rotation after his outing.

Marquis, who missed two weeks of Spring Training tending to his 7-year-old daughter, who was injured in a bicycle accident, is expected to throw around 100 pitches. He allowed just one run over six innings in his first outing with New Britain.

The Twins haven't decided where Marquis will be slotted in the rotation just yet, but it could be as early as Tuesday against the Yankees in New York.

"He's game-on," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "If it were up to him he'd be pitching for us tomorrow, not down there, but we're trying to do the smart thing and let him get some innings underneath his belt, as you need in Spring Training, before we throw him into the hot box here. He's pitched 13 years. He knows when he's ready. But he also knows this is the right thing now."

~ 17 ~

Haren, Liriano both eye turnarounds

By: James Walker, MLB.com- 4/11/12

The finale of the three-game series between the Angels and Twins on Thursday at Target Field features two talented starting pitchers looking

to put first-start-of-the-season struggles behind them.

Angels right-hander Dan Haren and Twins lefty Francisco Liriano both will be trying to find better command and control of their pitches.

Haren gave up 11 hits and five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 6-3 loss to the Royals on Friday, giving up home runs to Eric Hosmer and Mike

Moustakas.

Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher thinks Haren's poor first outing was an anomaly, considering he had an outstanding Spring Training.

"He was just a little up in the zone," Butcher said in an interview Wednesday. "He just has to get the ball down.

"I know that we're not going to get too many starts like that from him throughout the year, so I'm very confident."

Haren will be trying to bounce back at a place where he has not fared too well.

He has given up 10 runs in 13 innings in two career starts at Target Field.

Liriano didn't have much to say about Thursday's start. He struggled against the Orioles on Saturday, allowing six runs, five of them earned, in

four-plus innings.

"My game plan didn't work," he said. "I'm just going to keep working. I got behind in the count, and made a couple mistakes. I just got to get

ahead in the count, make whatever pitches I need to make."

Angels: Trumbo may get start

• Manager Mike Scioscia indicated Wednesday he is leaning toward getting Mark Trumbo back into the lineup at third base on Thursday

against the left-hander.

Twins: Gray gets easy win

• Reliever Jeff Gray got a one-pitch victory in Wednesday's 6-5 victory over the Angels, taking over for starter Carl Pavano in the seventh

inning and getting Peter Bourjos to hit a soft grounder to third baseman Danny Valencia.

Worth noting

• Former Twins center fielder Torii Hunter is in the last year of his contract with the Angels and would like to play for them again next season,

but acknowledges it is not his call. "I want to be back," Hunter said. "In my mind, I tell myself I want to be back. But I can tell myself that. It's

up to them."

~ 18 ~

Baker to have surgery, will miss entire season


MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins' rotation was dealt a huge blow on Wednesday, when general manager Terry Ryan announced that right-hander

Scott Baker will undergo surgery to repair the flexor pronator tendon in his right elbow and will miss the remainder of the season.

Baker flew to New York this week to meet with Dr. David Altchek, who recommended the surgery, which will also repair scar tissue around his elbow. The recovery time is six months.

"We're going to get this done sooner rather than later," Ryan said during a news conference at Target Field. "He's going to get it done by Dr. Altchek out in New York. This isn't exactly the news that any of us wanted to hear. Scotty doesn't, I don't, the club doesn't, but this is where it is going to go. We're going to get it taken care of, then [he is] going to do the therapy and the rehab under our guidance, and hopefully, he'll be ready to go for the 2013 season."

Baker, who started the year on the disabled list with tendinitis in his elbow, underwent an MRI in Fort Myers, Fla., on Friday after leaving a rehab start with Class A Fort Myers after just 11 pitches.

The results of that exam were similar to those of an MRI performed in July, when he missed 18 games with a strained flexor pronator tendon. But he pitched well when healthy last season, posting a 3.14 ERA in 134 2/3 innings.

After Friday's MRI, Baker went to Altchek for a second opinion and was told he needed surgery.

"He said this is something that's not going to repair itself," Baker said. "It's not going to cure itself. It's something that needs to be taken care of. Fortunately, he said the [ulnar collateral] ligament looked great, so I guess in a way, as bad as this is, the flexor pronator tendon is what needs to be repaired. Nobody hates this more than me. So it's tough."

Baker struggled with his velocity this spring, and said that it was tough to get loose before his outings. He only threw 4 2/3 innings in Grapefruit League play, with his last outing coming on March 26, when he allowed seven runs over just 2 2/3 innings against the Rays.

"It's something that I've been battling for a while," Baker said. "I don't mind pitching through pain, as long as you don't have the chance to further the injury. But when it comes to a point where your velocity's not there and you don't have the ability to finish pitches like you know you're capable of doing, then something's got to be done."

Baker also could be done with the Twins, as the club holds a $9 million option for him for next year. He was drafted by the Twins in 2003 and has pitched with them since '05. He has a career 4.15 ERA with 770 strikeouts and 224 walks in 958 innings.

"Honestly, I can't think about that right now," he said. "The Twins are all I've known, and obviously, I enjoy it here, so I hope that's not the case."

The Twins are expected to replace Baker with in-house options this season, as Jason Marquis is close to returning after a stint with Double-A New Britain to start the year. The Twins will also give looks to right-handers Anthony Swarzak and Liam Hendriks. Swarzak made his first start of the year on Sunday, when Hendriks was out with food poisoning.

"You're going to find a spot for Marquis, and Swarzak threw the ball well, and [Hendriks] was one of our better performers in Spring Training," Ryan said. "We've got something to work with there. Our big issue has not been pitching. We haven't hit too much. Our pitchers have done a relatively decent job here. So let's give these guys a chance to settle in and see exactly what we've got in the rotation."

~ 19 ~

Parmelee, Carroll stage late-game heroics for first win


MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins didn't make it look easy, but they came away with their first victory of the season against the Angels on

Wednesday at Target Field.

After blowing their first lead of the year, they rallied late to avoid opening the season with five straight losses for the first time in team

history with a 6-5 win over the Angels.

It was an impressive win for the Twins, who managed to score five runs against ace Jered Weaver and hold on to win after key hits from Chris

Parmelee and Jamey Carroll in the seventh inning.

"I know these guys really wanted to get past last year and when you start 0-4, it trickles back in as far as getting asked about it and hearing

about it," Carroll said. "I know guys didn't want to have that start but that was the case. So it was good to come off the off-day and get a win,

especially against a guy like Weaver pitching."

Down 5-3, Parmelee provided the big hit with a two-run triple off reliever Hisanori Takahashi after Weaver allowed back-to-back singles to

Ryan Doumit and Danny Valencia to open the seventh inning.

Parmelee was able to lace an 0-2 changeup down the right-field line and reached third for his first career triple, as Torii Hunter face-planted

into the wall in foul territory.

"I was just looking for something up," Parmelee said. "I was just trying to get the guy from second in. And I happened to bring in a couple

more."

Carroll, who entered the game hitless in 13 at-bats, then had the go-ahead hit with an RBI single off reliever LaTroy Hawkins with two outs. It

was Carroll's second hit of the game, and he joked that it came after his 4-year-old son pleaded with him to get his first hit before the game.

"I just figured to look for something away and try to put it in play," Carroll said. "I was fortunate enough to put it that way. That's me. That's

how I usually hit so it was a good feeling to see it go through."

The rally came after the Twins let their first lead of the season slip away on a three-run, inside-the-park homer from Peter Bourjos off right-

hander Carl Pavano in the fifth. Left fielder Josh Willingham jumped for the ball near the wall but fell down, allowing Bourjos to record his

first career inside-the-parker.

"It was an adventurous night," Willingham said. "I was just trying to make a play and got there a little late and the ball jumped off. He can

really run."

Willingham was the hero in the previous inning, hitting a two-run homer off Weaver to give Minnesota its first lead of the year. It was

Willingham's third of the season, and also scored Joe Mauer, who had an RBI single earlier in the frame.

~ 20 ~

It ended up being an atypical start for Weaver, who allowed five runs for the first time since surrendering six against the Twins on Sept. 3.

"It was just a matter of time before they snapped out of it," said Weaver, who allowed five runs on seven hits over six-plus innings. "They

have a great lineup over there, and I didn't get away with much. The boys did a good job of getting the lead back after I gave up that homer

to Willingham, and we just couldn't hang on."

The Angels got on the board first with an RBI single from Albert Pujols in the fourth to score Howie Kendrick, who reached on a fielder's

choice and stole second base.

They tacked on an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI double from Chris Iannetta that knocked Pavano from the game. Pavano ended up

allowing five runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings.

"It looked like after we took the early lead that they'd come back and jump us right away," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "That can

knock your socks off, but credit to our guys out there. They didn't quit. They kept battling and we got a win today."

Twins left-hander Glen Perkins and closer Matt Capps each pitched a scoreless inning in relief to preserve the club's first win of the year.

Capps allowed a one-out double to Hunter but was able to get Vernon Wells to ground out and Alberto Callaspo to pop out to end the game.

"It's a great team win," Pavano said. "I made it tough on us, though. I kept letting them back in the game. We battled and got some key hits

with some good pitching down the stretch from the bullpen. So to come away with a win is great."

Twins righthander Scott Baker to have season-ending elbow surgery

By: Judd Zulgad, 1500ESPN.com- 4/11/12

MINNEAPOLIS -- Scott Baker's 2012 season is over before it began.

The Minnesota Twins righthander will need surgery to repair the flexor pronator tendon in his pitching elbow. The procedure will require a six-month rehab, general manager Terry Ryan said Wednesday at a press conference at Target Field before the Twins played the Los Angeles Angels. The flexor pronator tendon is located on the inside part of the elbow.

Baker, who was 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA last season, learned he would require the surgery after being examined by Dr. David Altchek this week in New York. Baker, 30, underwent an MRI last week on his elbow that the Twins said looked very similar to the one he underwent last July. That MRI showed a minor flexor strain.

Baker was on the disabled list for 18 days last July because of the injury. Altchek has performed Tommy John surgery on former Twins closer Joe Nathan and prospect Kyle Gibson.

"(Altchek) said this is something that's not going to repair itself," Baker said. "It's not going to cure itself. It's something that needs to be taken care of. Fortunately, he said the ligament looked great, so I guess in a way, as bad as this is, the flexor pronator tendon is what needs to be repaired. Nobody hates this more than me. So it's tough."

http://www.1500espn.com/pages/roster.php?pID=1


~ 21 ~

Baker experienced elbow issues in spring training but that was diagnosed as tendinitis. He made a minor league start last week but threw only 11 pitches before leaving because he could not get the elbow loose.

The pain Baker experienced last season and this spring was caused by the issue with the flexor pronator tendon.

"It's something that I've been battling for a while," he said. "I don't mind pitching through pain, as long as you don't have the chance to further the injury. But when it comes to a point where your velocity's not there and you don't have the ability to finish pitches like you know you're capable of doing, then something's got to be done."

Baker, who was to have been the Twins' third starter this season, signed a four-year, $15.25 million contract in March 2009 that includes a club option for 2013. He will make $6.5 million this season and the option would be for $9.25 million.

No date has been scheduled for the surgery but Baker and the Twins want it done as soon as possible. Baker also will have scar tissue in his elbow cleaned up during the procedure.

Altchek told Baker that his ulnar collateral ligament looked fine.

"He said there's no need to mess with that," Baker said. "I haven't had any discomfort there, which is a good thing. But at the same time, what's going on right now, I just know two things: It's painful and it's affecting my ability to be effective in a major league baseball game. What do you do when that's the case? You have to get it taken care of."

Considering the Twins could decline the option on Baker's contract for 2013, it's possible he's thrown his last pitch for the team.

"Honestly I can't think about that right now," said Baker, a second-round pick of the Twins in 2003. "The Twins are all I've known, and obviously I enjoy it here, so I hope that's not the case. But I just have to really focus on getting healthy. I know the work's going to be there. I'm going to work as hard as I can to get healthy. It's just like I said earlier, if I get healthy, so things will take care of themselves.

Notebook: Twins to stay in-house to replace Baker; rotation shaping up

By: Phil Mackey, 1500ESPN.com- 4/11/12

MINNEAPOLIS -- Following news of Scott Baker's season-ending surgery, general manager Terry Ryan said the Minnesota Twins will stay in-house to replace the void in the rotation. "You're going to find a spot for (Jason) Marquis, and (Anthony) Swarzak threw the ball well, and the kid with food poisoning was one of our better performers in spring training," Ryan said. "OK, we've got something to work with there. Our big issue has not been pitching. We haven't hit too much. Our pitchers have done relatively decent job here.

"So let's give these guys a chance to settle in and see exactly what we've got in the rotation. It's not going to be easy to replace the guy that was going to be our home opening starter. But you get put in some situations and you've got to adjust, and that's one of the reasons why we've got a little bit more depth. We went out and signed plenty of pitchers just for the very reason, we were hurt so much last year."

The Twins initially placed Baker on the disabled list retroactive to March 27 so he could be available to start on Sunday -- the first day the Twins need a fifth starting pitcher.


~ 22 ~

Instead, it's likely Liam Hendriks will make his first start of the season on Sunday.

Hendriks was slated to start against the Baltimore Orioles last Sunday, but he came down with food poisoning. Instead, Anthony Swarzak started and allowed one run in five innings.

Swarzak will likely start again on Friday against the Texas Rangers before moving back to the bullpen to make room for Jason Marquis, who will start once more for Double-A New Britain on Thursday. If all goes well, Marquis could join the rotation next week.

"He worked pretty hard while he was away," Gardenhire said about Marquis, "and just looking at his outing that we saw (in Florida) and listening to what people said about his last outing (for New Britain), everything's going along really good."

Marquis was away from the team for two weeks tending to his 7-year-old daughter, whose life was in danger following a serious bicycle incident. Marquis described baseball as a reprieve mentally, and Gardenhire confirmed that the veteran right-hander is in a "really good spot mentally" right now.

"He's game-on," Gardenhire said. "If it were up to him he'd be pitching for us tomorrow, not down there, but we're trying to do the smart thing and let him get some innings underneath his belt, as you need in spring training, before we throw him into the hot box here. As he said, he's pitched 13 years. He knows when he's ready. But he also knows this is the right thing now."

Not only will the Twins need Marquis to be in a good spot mentally, but they also need him to eat innings and pitch effectively.

If everything goes well with Hendriks and Marquis this week, the Twins rotation over the next few days could look like this:

Thursday vs. Angels: Francisco Liriano Friday vs. Rangers: Swarzak Saturday vs. Rangers: Nick Blackburn Sunday vs. Rangers: Hendriks Monday @ Yankees: Carl Pavano Tuesday @ Yankees: Liriano or Marquis

Waldrop progressing

Kyle Waldrop's bid for a 25-man roster spot ended the last week in March when the right-hander was shut down due to discomfort along the inside of his elbow.

Waldrop is going through his rehab process at Target Field, and on Wednesday he threw pain-free from 90 feet for the first time since being shut down.

The plan is for Waldrop to throw from 120 feet on Thursday, and if all goes well he will throw a bullpen session this weekend.

"I want to test it out," Waldrop said. "It felt great throwing from 90 feet, but that's only 75 or 80 percent."

Here we go again?

With Baker out for the season and Hendriks struck with food poisoning last week, is there a sense the Twins might be headed down the same injury road as last year?

Manager Ron Gardenhire doesn't believe so.

"Last year's gone. It's over with. I can't deal with last year. Scott has an arm injury. Unfortunately, in sports, injuries happen. Last year we got beat up pretty bad. But they do happen. They aren't ever going to stop.








~ 23 ~

"You try to prevent them as much as you can, but arm injuries are going to happen. Pulled hamstrings are going to happen. It's part of baseball. It's part of sports in general, every sport. ... Hopefully we'll be lucky enough not to have to deal with a lot of them."

Twins no longer winless after equaling season run total against Angels


MINNEAPOLIS -- Chris Parmelee's triple tied it, and Jamey Carroll's single secured the Minnesota Twins' first win of the season -- a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.

The skinny

The Twins scored only six runs in the first four games of the season.

They needed all six of those to beat Jared Weaver and the Angels on Wednesday.

Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Parmelee ripped a two-run triple into the right-field corner off lefty Hisanori Takahashi to tie the game. Shortly after, Carroll drove him in with an opposite-field single off Latroy Hawkins. "I was looking for something up, and something to get just that guy from second in," Parmelee said. "I wasn't trying to do too much right there. I was just trying to get that guy in from second. I happened to bring in (another)."

Glen Perkins struck out Albert Pujols to end the eighth inning, and Matt Capps tallied his first save of the season. Heading into Wednesday the Twins were the only team in baseball yet to tally a victory.

The Twins' first lead of the season lasted very briefly.

Josh Willingham blasted a two-run homer between the left-field foul pole and the facing of the third deck off Weaver to put the Twins up 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was his third home run of the season and the first time in any game this season the Twins have pulled in front.

The Angels wasted no time charging back in the top of the fifth. Vernon Wells singled with one out, and Chris Iannetta singled with two outs to put men on the corners. Outfielder Peter Bourjos followed with a three-run, inside-the-park home run when Willingham was unable to corral a fly ball that bounced off the left-field wall.

Willingham faded back and attempted to make an over-the-shoulder catch against the wall, but he couldn't get there in time. The ball bounced off the wall back toward the infield, and Willingham bounced off the wall to the ground.

By the time center fielder Denard Span could pick the ball up and throw it in, Bourjos flew around third base and slid into home for a three-run, inside-the-park home run that put the Angels back in front, 4-3.

Pavano eventually left after 6 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits, including an Iannetta RBI double in the seventh. He struck out three, walked nobody and threw 101 pitches (70 strikes).







~ 24 ~

Weaver allowed three earned runs on seven hits in a walk while striking out seven in six innings. "It looked like after we took the early lead, they come back and jump us right away, that can normally knock your socks off," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "But credit to the guys out there. They didn't quit. They kept battling and we got a win today."

Turning point

With runners on first and second and nobody out in the seventh, Parmelee smashed a hard groundball past Pujols down the first-base line off Takahashi.

Right fielder Torii Hunter ran over to field the ball along the foul line but face-planted into the padded wall, allowing the ball to trickle all the way into the corner.

Parmelee wound up on third base with a game-tying triple, and a trainer ran out to check on a dazed Hunter, who remained in the game. "It was just a bad bounce and tried to stop it, my body angle just changed, just something that happens in baseball a lot," Hunter said. "I was punch drunk. I felt like Mike Tyson hit me. But I got up, man. It took everything in my body to get up. I said, 'Get up, get up,' I was telling myself. I got up and I ran after the ball, a little drunk but I got it in. I should have stopped the ball at all costs. I tried to and just didn't work out. That's my fault." Parmelee knew he likely had a double, but didn't realize what happened at first. "To be honest, when I rounded second and I was going to third, I didn't know whether I was going to get thrown out or not, because I didn't see him hit the wall," Parmelee said. "When Steve Liddle kept bringing me, I was like, 'Oh man, am I going to get an inside-the-park home run here?' But I got shut down real quick."

Gardenhire had right-handed bats available on the bench if he wanted to play the platoon split (right-handed hitters own a .722 OPS off Takahashi, as opposed to .635 for lefties). But he chose to stick with Parmelee.

"I let him face lefties all spring," Gardenhire said. "I think he stays on the ball really good, and he stays on lefties really good."

Numbers game

0: The number of innings the Twins had led for this season until Willingham's home run in the fourth.

9: Consecutive batters retired by Pavano to start the game.

1: Career triples for Parmelee.

0-for-14: Personal streak snapped by Carroll with a double in the fourth inning. "On the way home from the game the other day, I got a video from my wife," Carroll said. "My kids are four, and they really enjoy the game of baseball, but my son was upset. My wife asked him why he was upset, and he's like, 'I just want dad to get a hit.' He was crying. He was also a little tired at the time too, but he asked my wife if I got a hit today, and she said no. I think that threw him over the edge. But the funny thing is every day in spring training when I'd put him to sleep, he'd be like, 'Dad, maybe you can get a homer tomorrow.' So it's progressed down to, 'At least you can get a hit.' So he's starting to understand me as well." Carroll played the video for teammates prior to Wednesday's game. "It was actually what I needed the other day."

2: Hustle doubles for Hunter.

Health report



~ 25 ~

• RHP Scott Baker will undergo season-ending surgery to repair his right flexor pronator tendon.

• RHP Kyle Waldrop (strained elbow) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session this weekend. Overheard "With velocity, guys have to make decisions. My slider's been good this year. It was real bad in spring training, but I just had maintained that once my arm caught up to it my slider would catch up with my fastball, and I can run my fastball in there. And if they see it out of my hand, they've got to decide, 'Am I going to swing or am I not going to swing?' And they don't have a lot of time to react." -- Perkins, talking about striking out Pujols on a slider down and in.

On deck

Thursday: vs. Angels, 12:10 p.m. LHP Francisco Liriano (0-1, 11.25 ERA) vs. RHP Dan Haren (0-1, 8.44)

Zulgad’s Roundup: Matt Capps provides much-needed relief for Twins

By: Judd Zulgad, 1500ESPN.com- 4/11/12

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Twins set-up man Glen Perkins had terrific stuff on Wednesday night as he completed a 1-2-3 eighth inning by striking out Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols to preserve a 6-5 lead at Target Field.

Perhaps that was why it sounded like there were a few groans in the top of the ninth inning when Matt Capps was announced as the new Twins pitcher. The closer had pitched an inning in Monday's 5-1 loss in the home opener as his team dropped its fourth in a row, but this was the first time Capps had entered a game in 2012 when it had meaning.

Last season, of course, was a tough one for the veteran. Capps finished with 15 saves but tied his career-worst by blowing nine save opportunities.

After getting Kendrys Morales to ground to second to open the inning, Torii Hunter hit a ball up the middle for what looked like a single. However, Hunter saw that center fielder Denard Span was playing deep to avoid giving up an extra base hit and the savvy veteran hustled to second for a double.

Capps remained cool and got Vernon Wells to ground to short and Alberto Callaspo to pop out foul to third. The Twins had a 6-5 win and their season-opening skid was finished.

"It's nice to finish on top for a change," said Capps, who has posted a 3.00 earned-run average in his past 32 appearances, dating to July 19, 2011. "0h-and-four to start the season is never fun, but nobody in here is going to panic or throw in the towel or anything like that.

"It's a four-game losing streak. I don't know but I'd be willing to bet there have been a lot of teams that have lost four games in a row in a year and finish out pretty good. It's just a little more magnified at the beginning of the season."

Capps admitted that coming into a game in which the Twins had rallied to take a lead in the bottom of the seventh on Wednesday was far different than what he experienced Monday when Target Field had mostly emptied out by the time he took the mound.







~ 26 ~

"Quite a bit different," Capps said. "The crowd is into it and everybody's excited. You obviously know what's at stake and see how they respond."

Capps added a split-fingered fastball this offseason but he did not break it out on Wednesday.

"I didn't," he said. "I was pretty dry (out there), cold and dry (it was 50 degrees at first pitch). I was struggling all night with just trying to get a grip on the ball and get it over the plate. I think I threw one slider. Everything else was fastballs."

Capps did give thought to using the split-finger pitch with a three-ball count against Callaspo but decided not to do it.

"I had the grip in my hand," Capps said, "and like I said, taking a chance with the way I felt with it to walk him and put the go ahead run on base ... if I'm going to get beat there it's going to be with a fastball."

Bright future

Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher was disappointed to see his team miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, but he is optimistic about the direction the franchise is headed.

The Wild is expecting to get an infusion of young talent next season - big-time prospects include center Mikael Granlund and winger Charlie Coyle -- and will have enough salary-cap space to be an aggressive player in the free-agent market.

There already has been speculation the Wild will make a run at big-name free agents Zach Parise (New Jersey) and Ryan Suter (Nashville). Both would be sure to receive plenty of interest on the open market.

Parise, a winger, would provide the Wild with much-needed scoring punch, and Suter would give them offense from the blue line. Parise had 31 goals in 82 games this season; Suter contributed seven goals and 39 assists in 79 games and was a plus-15.

Considering the Wild's leading goal-scorer had 24 this season (Dany Heatley) and the leading scorer among their defenseman (Jared Spurgeon) had 23 points, the team likely would pay big bucks for Parise and Suter.

Fletcher can't comment on specific players but he can speak in generalities.

"We have a lot of cap flexibility, we have a lot of room and that's one of the reasons we took our payroll back last summer," Fletcher said this week during an appearance on "Judd & Phunn" on 1500 ESPN. "We didn't sign any unrestricted free agents to long-term deals that may have impacted our cap flexibility. Obviously that hurt us a bit (this) season, but, as we said last summer, we wanted to leave cap flexibility for this coming summer.

"We wanted to play young players. We paid a bit of a price for it this year, but that's part of what we said we would do and we have that now. We have that flexibility and we do have young players coming in to give us some depth.

"That will be our challenge is whether it's through the trade market or through the free-agent market to land a couple ... certainly one if we can, if not two or three players to come in and help our club. We have the flexibility financially to do it.

"At some point we'll do it, whether it's this summer or it happens in the fall or the winter, time will tell. There's a lot of competition for scarce resources -- whether it's the trade market or the free-agent market -- there's a lot of teams that will be looking to do what we want to do so it's going to be difficult. But certainly we'll compete as hard as we can."

Despite the Wild's struggles in recent seasons, Fletcher thinks players on the market will like what they see when they exam his team's situation.




~ 27 ~

"I think there's a lot of knowledgeable hockey people in the industry and when they look at our team they see a team with a core of seven or eight players that are pretty darn good," he said. "A team that knows how to compete and play well defensively that needs one or two players to make a difference offensively. If you get a (Pierre-Marc) Bouchard back healthy and you add a Granlund and maybe a Coyle to your team and then you add a couple veteran players, this team has tremendous upside.

"The best days are clearly ahead of it and anybody that comes here is going to have a chance to make a real big impact on a team. There's a lot of situations around the league, but generally when you sign players to five-, six-, seven-, eight-, 10-year deals, they're not looking at where the team is going to be necessarily in November. They want to know where the team is going to be over a five-to-10 year pace.

"I guess (I would) say this in as humble of way as I can, but over the next five, six, seven years, I can't imagine there are many teams -- maybe just three or four teams in the entire league -- that have the potential that we have. We have a very good thing going and we're not far away. I think it's a very exciting opportunity for some veteran players to look at. I think there's going to be a lot of really good players in the trade market this year, too, and we'll do our best to add a player or two."

A big addition

Coyle, who is playing for Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after starting the season with Boston University, had 15 goals and 23 assists in 23 regular-season games with the Sea Dogs.

He has been teammates with center Zack Phillips, another Wild prospect who was taken in the first round last June. In fact, Phillips and Coyle are 1-2 on Saint John's in scoring in the QMJHL playoffs in scoring. Phillips entered Wednesday with 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in eight games and Coyle has 21 points (11-10) in eight games.

Fletcher admits he is looking forward to seeing what Coyle can do.

"Obviously, (Brett) Bulmer and (Jason) Zucker have had a taste of (the NHL) this year," Fletcher said, "and (Johan) Larsson was just named the rookie of the year in the Swedish Elite League and he finished in the top-20 in scoring over in Sweden in the men's league.

"But I've got to be honest with you, the guy I'm most excited about seeing is Charlie Coyle just with his skill and his size (6-foot-2). He's a 215-, potentially 220-pound power forward with skill. We just don't have a lot of those types of players, nor does anybody. He could obviously make a very positive impact on our club. Over the long run we expect it, but if he could do it in the short term that would be an unbelievable boost."

So how many of the Wild's prospects will be expected to crack the roster next season?

"A lot of these kids, potentially seven of them, are turning pro that will be 20 years old," Fletcher said. "They're not 18, they're not 19, they are 20. But they will be turning pro. They'll either be in Minnesota or Houston (with the Wild's AHL affiliate). It's really going to be up to their performance. If they can earn a spot on the team, they will.

"I'm pretty comfortable in saying we certainly expect Granlund to do it. And we hope one or two others will surprise us. But we're going to take the long-term view, and I do think that over the course of the season quite a few of them will get games in the NHL even if they don't start with us in October. That will help our depth and that will help our talent base.

"If we do have a run of injuries like we did the last few years, we'll have some young, energetic talent that we can bring up at certain points of the year that might infuse some offense into our lineup even with injuries. ... I think over the next one or two seasons, you should see a lot of these players make a bid for our lineup. That's the exciting thing and it's not going to happen overnight, but some of it will happen right away."

Yeo gets credit

~ 28 ~

The Wild was in first place in the NHL in mid-December, but plummeted out of the playoff picture in part because of injuries and just an overall collapse. They finished with 81 points, placing them 24th in the NHL and slated to draft seventh this coming June in Pittsburgh.

Nonetheless, Fletcher felt Mike Yeo did an outstanding job in his first season as the Wild's coach.

"I shudder to think where we would have been without him," Fletcher said. "We may have been 10 or 15 points less without him. Coaches are judged on how quickly they bring a team together and how a team defends. Coaches can't create goals, they can't make players score. Talent leads to offense and good coaching leads to defensive structure and goals against.

"Our goals against was very good this year, we were in the top 10 for the most of the year. We fell, I think, to 12th or 13th at the end after we had a 10-game stretch there about three weeks ago where we really struggled.

"But when you really look at our team defense and our identity, how hard we played and how committed we were to each other, the unity in the room and the communication that went on, he and his staff did a very good job. He's one of the bright young coaches in the game. As we add more talent and give him more tools to work with, I think we're going to be very happy with the results."

Asked about the season as a whole, Fletcher said:

"It was a very strange season. We came into the season probably with very low expectations in a sense where we got younger over the summer. We let (Andrew) Brunette, (Antti) Miettinen go, (Chuck) Kobasew, (John) Madden, traded Brent Burns to add (Devin) Setoguchi and a couple of future prospects. Really we were building as much for the future as we were for the present.

"So I think we came into the season trying to build a team, trying to build an identity, become a hard working team and then all of a sudden 30 games in you're on top of the league. So it was a very quick rise to the top and pretty unexpected I would say by most people.

"And then we couldn't sustain it with the injuries we had. We just didn't score enough goals the last 50 games to win games. We still defended pretty well for the most part this year. Our team defense and goaltending are still in the top half of the league, and I think are strengths of our organization.

"The last 40 or so games we scored about 1.7 goals a game and you need to score almost a goal a game more than that to win in this league. We weren't close to being strong enough offensively once we lost three top six forwards for the majority of the second half of the year. It was pretty easy to see why we weren't winning at the end. But it was frustrating to be that strong early on and then have it all go down the tube pretty quickly."

End notes

The Twins became only the third Major League team in the past 40 years to begin a season with four consecutive losses while scoring two-or-fewer runs in each game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The two other teams to do that over the last four decades were the 1988 Baltimore Orioles and the 2003 Detroit Tigers. The '88 Orioles started the season with 21 consecutive losses en route to a 54-107 record and the '03 Tigers finished 43-119, the worst record for any Major League team since the 1962 New York Mets.

The Twins sellout for Monday's home opener was their 139th at Target Field and first since Sept. 5 of last season when they played the Chicago White Sox. The Twins did not sell out their final 11 home games of the 2011 season. The announced attendance Wednesday night for the Twins' second home game of the season was 31,413.

Brian Dozier's stay at Class AAA Rochester could be a short one. The shortstop was hitting .474 (9-for-19) in his first five games with a home run and four RBI.

Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio, who is rehabbing from a torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligament in his left knee, said it isn't easy to watch games on television now but that's all he can do. "It's hard to watch TV and watch games, and you know you can't play,




~ 29 ~

even if you want to play so bad," Rubio said. "But you just have to enjoy watching basketball, 'cause it's the only way you can do it now. You can't play, but you can watch it."

Mackey: One faulty flexor tendon likely alters career paths for two


MINNEAPOLIS -- At the start of spring training, it appeared as if Minnesota Twins right-hander Liam Hendriks was destined for Triple-A seasoning to start the season.

The Twins already had five starters slotted in -- Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn and Jason Marquis.

It became apparent near the end of March, however, that the Twins would need a spot-starter for the opening series against Baltimore, with Marquis gone from the team for two weeks and Baker trying to fire his elbow back up.

Hendriks impressed Twins decision-makers this spring with his ability to pump strikes and record outs, so he was pegged as the next man in line.

But general manager Terry Ryan necessarily didn't see Hendriks, 23, as just a fill-in spot-starter.

"Once you give that guy the ball, and they keep getting people out, you keep giving him the ball," Ryan said on March 31. "You see where it takes us. He may throw so good that you don't have to worry about it."

As it turned out, Hendriks never made his spot start. Or his non-spot start. Or whatever it would have been.

He came down with food poisoning and Baltimore and caught a later flight back to Minneapolis on Monday after spending time in the hospital.

But now that Baker is out for the season, Hendriks might be a mainstay in the rotation before he even throws a pitch.

"We'll see," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We like him. We like the way he came up last year. He's got courage, he changes speeds, he spins the ball. He adds and subtracts really well. He's just got to continue to do that, but we like what he's done."

In one calendar year, Hendriks has gone from not even being invited to major league spring training to making his major league debut to earning Twins minor league pitcher of the year honors.

He owns a career minor league ERA of 2.78 with 343 strikeouts and only 60 walks and 12 home runs allowed in 375 2/3 innings. He struck out 16, walked six and allowed three home runs in his first four major league starts last year.

"I definitely feel bad for Bake. Surgery's not a fun thing a tall, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Hendriks said. "But at the same time it opens the door for me, and I'm looking forward to showing them what I can do and hopefully stay up here for the rest of the year. ...

"I feel like I'm ready for six months. I had a good spring training, I really worked hard this offseason to be ready for this six months."

Hendriks pumps strikes, and in the minor leagues he did so without allowing much damage offensively.







~ 30 ~

Now he's about to be thrown in the fire -- likely on Sunday against the Texas Rangers.

Progressively worse

The demise of Baker's elbow, or flexor tendon, played out over parts of three seasons.

After undergoing cleanup surgery in October of 2010, Baker's elbow appeared to be fresh through the first three months of 2011 when he was on pace to post career numbers in multiple categories.

That tune changed slightly when Baker left his July 5 start after only five innings with some discomfort.

"I think I almost didn't say anything (to the trainers) to be honest with you," Baker said after that game, "and I was going to continue to pitch with it, but it just was a little more discomfort then I would have liked to continue to pitch with. I think it's just a precautionary thing. ... There's no doubt in my mind that I could continue to pitch tonight but I just, I'm just trying to be smart about it."

An MRI the next day showed a minor strain of Baker's flexor tendon, and he was back on the mound 18 days later holding the Tigers scoreless over five innings.

But three starts later, the discomfort returned. And Baker's level of concern clearly rose.

"It's tough getting the work in between (starts), and obviously we've got to talk about it. ... But you really have to be, physically, 100% to compete. At least I do. I'm going out there and giving it everything I've got. ... I'm OK with it being a little sore, but if you're not effective because of it, then that's a different story. So we've got some things to talk through and work through, and I guess we'll have to make a decision."

At the time, Baker's elbow was believed to be caught in a gray area -- not injured severely enough to operate on, but not comfortable enough to pitch regularly.

He wound up rehabbing for a few weeks and pitching three innings of relief at the end of September, just to prove he could get back on the mound heading into the offseason.

Baker called his elbow a "non-issue" upon reporting to spring training. The elbow was "so far so good" one week into March as well. But following a 'B'-game start in Bradenton against the Pirates on March 10, Baker developed inflammation that sidelined him for more than a week.

With Jason Marquis away from the team and the regular season approaching quickly, Ryan and Gardenhire expressed frustration that Baker -- healthy enough to pitch in minor league games -- was not cutting it loose. Most of Baker's fastballs sat in the mid-80's during the second half of March.

"He never let it go," Gardenhire said Wednesday. "He kept telling us, 'It's just not right. It doesn't feel right.' ... He never could really let it go. At one point we thought he was getting better. He said, 'I feel better this time than I did the last time,' but obviously there was pain in there."

The last straw came in a Single-A start last week when Baker left after only 11 pitches. He was scheduled to throw 75.

"Now he has finality to it," Gardenhire said. "We were just on hold waiting to see what happens. We can't do anything about it, as far as myself and (Rick Anderson). We had to wait and find out what happened to him. For Scott, it's been driving him crazy obviously. He's been trying to work his way through this thing. For him, this is a good situation -- not that he's having surgery, and not that he's going to have to get his arm fixed, but at least he knows what he's got."

Twins career could be over


~ 31 ~

It's likely a tough pill to swallow at the moment.

But for Baker, 30, the revelation that his right flexor tendon will require surgery not only ends his 2012 season, it might also put an end to his eight-year Twins career.

Baker signed a four-year, $15.25 million contract prior to the 2009 season that included a $9.25 million team option for 2013.

It's almost a certainty that the Twins will not pick up that option.

"Honestly, I can't think about that right now," Baker said. "The Twins are all I've known, and obviously I enjoy it here, so I hope that's not the case. But I just have to really focus on getting healthy. I know the work's going to be there. I'm going to work as hard as I can to get healthy. It's just like I said earlier, if I get healthy, those things will take care of themselves."

When healthy, Baker has actually been one of the more underrated pitchers in the American League over the past few seasons. He has consistently posted FIPs between 3.79 and 4.08, along with a 3.45 mark last season when able to pitch. His career ERA to this point is 4.15, and he strikes out more than seven batters per nine innings while limiting walks.

It's possible the Twins could decline his team option and find a way to re-sign him at a lower cost, if they feel that he'll be healthy and productive. That decision is several months of rehab away.

Baker to have elbow surgery, will miss season

By: Tyler Mason, FSNorth.com- 4/11/12

MINNEAPOLIS — Scott Baker's 2012 season is already over. Baker, one of the Minnesota Twins' best pitchers last season before he was sidelined with an elbow injury, will have surgery on that same right elbow to clean up the flexor pronator tendon, the team announced Wednesday. Twins general manager Terry Ryan said the rehab process for that type of surgery is six months, meaning Baker won't pitch in 2012. "Nobody hates this more than me. So it's tough," Baker said Wednesday. "What's going on right now, I just know two things: It's painful and it's affecting my ability to be effective in a major league baseball game. What do you do when that's the case? You have to get it taken care of." Baker had an MRI on his elbow Friday and sought a second opinion by Dr. David Altchek in New York, who also will perform Baker's surgery. Baker reiterated Wednesday that Altchek told him the ligament in his right elbow looked "great." "He said there's no need to mess with that," Baker said. "I haven't had any discomfort there, which is a good thing." Baker wasn't sure when the surgery will be done, but said he hopes to have it performed "ASAP." "We're going to get this done sooner rather than later," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. "This isn't exactly the news that any of us wanted to hear. Scotty doesn't. I don't. The club doesn't. But this is where it is going to go. We're going to get it taken care of, then we are going to do the therapy and the rehab under our guidance, and hopefully he'll be ready to go for the 2013 season."

~ 32 ~

The Twins have a $9 million club option on Baker's contract for the 2013 season, meaning 2012 was an important season from a contract standpoint for the 30-year-old Baker. Now that he'll miss all of this season, the chances that Minnesota would pick up his option seem unlikely. Baker was asked whether he had thought about his contract situation, and if he wondered whether he had thrown his last pitch for the Minnesota Twins, the team that drafted him in 2003 "I can't think about that right now," Baker said. "The Twins are all I've known, and obviously I enjoy it here, so I hope that's not the case. But I just have to really focus on getting healthy." Baker started the 2011 season by posting an 8-5 record with a 2.88 ERA through his first 18 starts. But his elbow problems flared up in early August and limited the Twins' most productive pitcher for the rest of the season. He went on the disabled list twice last year with elbow issues, and he said Wednesday that his latest elbow problem is the same as the one that kept him out in 2011. Because of the injury last year, Baker made just 21 starts, the fewest since 2006. He missed almost all of August and made just two relief appearances in September last year. "It's something that I've been battling for a while," Baker said. "I don't mind pitching through pain, as long as you don't have the chance to further the injury. But when it comes to a point where your velocity's not there and you don't have the ability to finish pitches like you know you're capable of doing, then something's got to be done." In seven seasons with the Twins, Baker has posted a record of 63-48 with a 4.15 ERA in 159 career starts. He won a career-high 15 games for Minnesota in 2009 and went 12-9 the following season. With Baker out for the year, the Twins are left to find someone to fill his spot in the rotation. Minnesota is also waiting for the return of Jason Marquis, who is pitching in the minor leagues after missing time during spring training. Ryan said he expects Marquis back soon, and the Twins will promote a pitcher to the rotation from within the organization. Right-handers Anthony Swarzak and Liam Hendriks remain the top two options to assume the starting role. Hendriks was originally scheduled to start Sunday against Baltimore but fell ill with food poisoning. Swarzak started in his place and has made 24 career starts with the Twins. "Our big issue has not been pitching. We haven't hit too much," Ryan said. "Our pitchers have done a relatively decent job here. So let's give these guys a chance to settle in and see exactly what we've got in the rotation."

Jamey Carroll, Josh Willingham help rally past Angels

By: Associated Press- 4/11/12

MINNEAPOLIS -- Jamey Carroll and the Minnesota Twins were in one heck of an offensive slump to start the season and badly in need of a pick-me-up to get them going.

Little did they know that 4-year-old Cole Carroll would be the one to provide it.

Jamey Carroll had his first two hits with Minnesota, including the go-ahead single in the seventh, and Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer to

lift the Twins to their first victory of the season, 6-5 over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/5349/jamey-carroll

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/min/minnesota-twins

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6024/josh-willingham

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/laa/los-angeles-angels

~ 33 ~

The Twins had dropped their first four games, scoring six runs combined, and began the day as the only winless team in baseball. Carroll was

hitless in his first 14 at-bats. As he headed to the ballpark on Wednesday, he got a video on his phone from his wife, Kim.

"My son was upset and my wife asked him why he was upset and he said, `I just want dad to get a hit,' " Carroll said. "He was crying. He was

also a little tired at the time, but he asked my wife if I had got a hit and she said no and I think that threw him over the edge."

Carroll showed the video to the rest of the team, and it provided a much-needed moment of levity during a difficult start.

"We got a good laugh out of it," Carroll said. "It was actually what I needed."

Chris Parmelee hit a tying two-run triple in the seventh before Carroll drove him in with a single off LaTroy Hawkins. Matt Capps pitched the

ninth for his first save.

Peter Bourjos hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer and Albert Pujols went 1 for 4 with an RBI for the Angels, who led 5-3 going into the

bottom of the seventh.

The Angels had the tying run on second with one out in the ninth, but Capps got Vernon Wells to ground out to shortstop and Alberto

Callaspo to pop out to end the game.

"It's nice to finish on top for a change," Capps said with a chuckle. "0-4 to start the season is never fun, but nobody in here is going to panic or

throw in the towel or anything like that."

Jeff Gray (1-0) got the last out of the seventh to get the win. Hisanori Takahashi (0-1) came in to face Parmelee and took the loss.

Carl Pavano gave up five runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings and Joe Mauer had an RBI single for the Twins.

Angels ace Jered Weaver gave up five runs and seven hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.

The Twins couldn't seem to catch a break to start the season and picked up more bad news when right-hander Scott Baker announced he

would have surgery on his elbow and miss the season.

Weaver wasn't as sharp as his opening outing, when he struck out 10 with no walks in eight shutout innings. He gave up a towering homer to

Willingham in the fourth inning that gave the Twins their first lead of the season at 3-1.

Then, in a flash, it was gone.

With two on and two out in the fifth, Bourjos hit a rocket to left field, and Willingham slammed into the wall trying to track it down. Almost

before center fielder Denard Span could get over to help, it was already over and the Angels regained the lead at 4-3.

But Ryan Doumit and Danny Valencia started the seventh with singles to chase Weaver, and Parmelee followed with a rip down the right-field

line. Former Twins Gold Glover Torii Hunter stumbled while chasing it into the corner and went face-first into the wall.

"I was punch drunk, felt like Mike Tyson hit me," Hunter said. "But I got up man, it took everything in my body to get up. ... I should've

stopped the ball at all costs. I tried to and it just didn't work out. That's my fault."

Hunter remained in the game, but Parmelee motored around to third before Carroll drove him in.

"Hopefully I'll go home tonight," Carroll said, "and there will be a 4-year-old who will wake up pretty happy tomorrow."

Game notes The Angels announced before the game that RHP Michael Kohn is scheduled to have Tommy John surgery on Thursday and will miss the entire season. Kohn appeared in 14 games as a reliever last season. ... The inside-the-park homer was the first allowed by the Twins since

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/30228/chris-parmelee

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/3176/latroy-hawkins

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6450/matt-capps

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/29318/peter-bourjos

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/4574/albert-pujols

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/4166/vernon-wells

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/28541/alberto-callaspo

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/28541/alberto-callaspo

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/29260/jeff-gray

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/30613/hisanori-takahashi

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/3784/carl-pavano

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/5378/joe-mauer

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6479/jered-weaver

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6261/scott-baker

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/29087/denard-span

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6304/ryan-doumit

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/29439/danny-valencia

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/3723/torii-hunter

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/30565/michael-kohn

~ 34 ~

Curtis Granderson did it for the Yankees on Aug. 21, 2011. ... Capps picked up his first save since July 10. ... The Twins send LHP Francisco Liriano (0-1, 11.25 ERA) to the mound to face RHP Dan Haren (0-1, 8.44 ERA) in the series finale.

Twins RHP Baker to miss season with elbow injury

By: Jon Krawczynski, Associated Press- 4/11/12

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Scott Baker has struggled with pain in his pitching elbow for more than a year now, and the right-hander finally will have surgery to fix the problem once and for all. The injury, and the surgery, couldn't have come at a worse time for Baker or the Minnesota Twins.

Baker will have surgery to repair the flexor pronator tendon in his right elbow, the team announced on Wednesday. He will miss the entire season while rehabbing, which puts the Twins rotation in a serious bind and throws his pitching future into flux. Baker will be a free agent after this season, and the injury could severely impact the 30-year-old's value on the open market.

The tendon has bothered Baker for the last couple of seasons and he says he can no longer pitch through the pain. He got a second opinion this week and was told he needed surgery, which requires six months of rehab.

''It's been a battle and unfortunately it's a losing battle at this point,'' Baker said before the winless Twins took on the Los Angeles Angels. ''The training staff and I have done everything we possibly could to pitch through it.''

Baker hit the disabled list twice last season with discomfort in his elbow, derailing the best season on the staff last year. He started on opening day and went 8-6 with 3.14 ERA in 21 starts. He said the pain went away in the offseason, but flared up again once he started ramping up his workouts in spring training to get ready for 2012.

The Twins' medical staff and Baker tried to devise a program that would allow him to pitch through the pain, but it didn't work out.

''We never got him right this spring,'' general manager Terry Ryan said. ''We thought things were progressing, and it came down to either he can pitch with this or he can't. He can't. So he's going to get it repaired.''

If there is any good news, it's that he does not need Tommy John surgery, the elbow ligament replacement procedure that often requires more than a year of recovery time. Baker initially was diagnosed with an elbow strain, but sought a second opinion from Dr. David Altcheck in New York this week. Altcheck told Baker that he needed surgery, but that his ulnar collateral ligament appeared to be in fine shape.

That does little for the Twins' immediate future, or Baker's long-term prospects. The Twins were relying on Baker to be one of their best arms in the rotation this season. Now youngster Liam Hendriks and veteran Jason Marquis will be leaned on more heavily than initially planned to get them through.

For a team that struggled mightily with injuries during last year's 99-loss disaster, this is not the way it wanted to start in 2012.

''This isn't good by any stretch, because we've got a guy in the prime of his career, and his raw numbers are about as good as we have,'' Ryan said. ''And now he's not available. So we've got to move on. And unfortunately this will be a challenge, but we'll get through it.''

Baker said he hasn't given much thought to his future yet. He's spent his entire career in the Twins organization, starting in 2003 as a second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6125/curtis-granderson

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6211/francisco-liriano

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/6211/francisco-liriano

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/5565/dan-haren

~ 35 ~

''The Twins are all I've known, and obviously I enjoy it here, so I hope that's not the case,'' Baker said when asked about the possibility that he's thrown his last pitch for the Twins. ''But I just have to really focus on getting healthy. I know the work's going to be there. I'm going to work as hard as I can to get healthy. ... If I get healthy, things will take care of themselves.''

Rochester Red Wings’ Scott Diamond dazzles PawSox

By: Jim Mandelaro, Democrat and Chronicle- 4/11/12

If Hell exists, Scott Diamond had his own apartment there in 2011.

The left-handed pitcher went 4-14 with a 5.56 earned-run average for the Red Wings, the worst team in Triple-A. He tied teammate Eric

Hacker for the most losses in the International League.

He also went 1-5 with a 5.08 ERA for the Minnesota Twins, the worst team in the American League.

That’s 5-19 for those keeping score. Five wins in 30 starts.

Talk about a Diamond in the rough.

“I was putting too much pressure on myself, trying to live up to the Twins’ expectations of me,” he said.

But that was then, and this is now. The Canada native has turned the page and is currently working on a best-seller. Wednesday, he allowed

four hits in six shutout innings as the Red Wings held off the Pawtucket Red Sox 2-1 at chilly Frontier Field.

Diamond also blanked the Syracuse Chiefs for 6 1/3 innings Friday, so he has yet to be scored on in 12 1/3 innings. And with Wednesday’s

news that Twins starter Scott Baker will undergo season-ending elbow surgery, Diamond may soon get a second chance in Minneapolis.

“He’s under control, using all of his pitches,’’ Wings manager Gene Glynn said. “Even when he’s behind in the count, he’s able to throw

strikes.’’

Diamond, 24, honed his skills over three seasons at SUNY Binghamton. He was signed by the Atlanta Braves as an undrafted free agent in

2007 and played three years in their farm system. He was selected in the major-league Rule 5 draft in December 2010, and the Twins liked

him so much they gave the Braves prospect Billy Bulluck for the right to send Diamond to the minors.

The Wings scored in the first on Aaron Bates’ RBI single and in the third on Matt Carson’s sacrifice fly.

~ 36 ~

Diamond worked out of trouble in the fourth. The PawSox had runners at second and third with no outs but failed to score as Diamond

fanned Mauro Gomez and Lars Anderson and retired Will Middlebrooks on a fly.

The PawSox put runners at first and second in the fifth, but Diamond again put out the fire.

“We battled through some tough innings,” catcher Rene Rivera said. “That’s pitching.”

Glynn was hoping to give infielder Brian Dozier a second night off after Dozier tweaked his back on Monday.

But Dozier appeared as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, replacing second baseman Brian Dinkelman after Dinkelman

injured his right wrist swinging.

Dozier went 2-for-2, raising his International League-leading average to .524. He has at least one hit in all six games in which he has played.

TOP TWITTER POSTS TO @TWINS

Rachel Barth @Doodle11Pretty excited to take Chris to his first @Twins game at #TargetField tomorrow!!!!

Brienne Miller @briennem23@Twins won last nite! YAY!

KyllaHummel @KyllaMBargfrede@Twins game today..even better, its my office for the day. #almostfriday

PeggySue Imihy @thepeggysueThe @Twins WON TONIGHT. #finally

John Halvorson @halv0021Perfect night: couple of brats from @Nate_Dogs , couple of beers from @fultonbeer & @Twins 1st

win of 2012! #fb

Nate Stein @MySteinToShineThe @Twins got their first win of the season! Lets roll baby!

Jess Eischens @JEischAwesome, awesome game, guys! First win of the season, woot woot! #GoTwins! :) @Twins

Laura @LauraKristineB@twins #PlayerOfTheGame Josh "Willy" Willingham!

Amanda Leonard @ALeonardCongrats to @Twins for their first win of the season but now it's bedtime. 430a comes early.

#Goodnight #stillsmiling

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https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23fb

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https://twitter.com/#!/JEisch

https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23GoTwins


https://twitter.com/#!/LauraKristineB

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https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23Goodnight

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Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Thursday, April 12,...

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