Hit hard by injuries, Twins lose Mauer

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 5/08/2007

The good news and the bad news is that Major League Baseball is a marathon and not a sprint. Playing 162 games over six months often leaves time to recover, as the Twins proved last year in coming back after a slow start and winning the division crown. It’s not always how you start — it’s how you finish.

Last year, the Twins overcame significant injuries in their pitching staff to starters Brad Radke, All-Star sensation Francisco Liriano, and centerfielder Torii Hunter. They were still able to recover and win the division.

 

Injuries are always that intangible that you really can’t measure. Yes, the Twins overcame those injuries last year in the regular season, but in the playoffs they sorely missed Liriano, getting swept by Oakland in the playoffs. So far, injuries have slowed the Twins again; left fielder Rondell White has been out four weeks already with a torn right calf muscle.

 

Steady second baseman Luis Castillo has already missed a week with a left quad injury, while 100-RBI man right fielder Michael Cuddyer has missed several games with a bruised back. And just when you thought it could not get any worse, the Twins Sunday put All-Star catcher and 2006 American League batting champion Joe Mauer on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quadriceps muscle.

Mauer was hitting .353. The Twins are keeping their fingers crossed on this injury because an MRI in the swollen injured area detected some internal bleeding. When you’re a catcher, you’re always squatting and bouncing up and down blocking pitches in the dirt; it’s a physically demanding position. The Twins have called up catcher Chris Heintz from Class AAA Rochester to replace Mauer on the roster. Veteran back-up Mike Redmond will take over every day for Mauer at catcher.

 

Over the weekend, the Twins lost two out of three hard-fought games to the first-place Boston Red Sox, who have the best record in baseball. The 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers play back-to-back three-game series against the Twins at the Dome starting Tuesday night. 

 

The good news is that Torii Hunter is carrying the Twins, hitting .340 with a career-high 21-game streak as of May 7. It’s the longest hitting streak by a Twin since 2002, when Christian Guzman hit safely in 23 straight games.

 

Fitz Notes & Quotes

Tom Condon is the Vikings number-one pick. Adrian Peterson’s agent and Peterson said they do not think he’ll have a problem getting his deal done with the Vikings on time.

 

One of the reasons why the San Antonio Spurs have won three NBA titles in recent years is lightning-quick All-Star point guard Tony Parker. And after Dallas and Houston were beaten in the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs are carrying the mantle again for the Lone Star State.

“We seem to always play well the second half of the season,” Parker said. “We just picked it up as a team after the All-Star break, and now we are playing our best basketball, and that’s what you want, to play your best in the playoffs.

 

“I’ve tried to improve my game every year since I arrived as a rookie,” Parker continued. “It was a long road for me. I was 19 when I first came into the league. So I’ve tried to improve every year and tried to make the All-Star team. I’ve made it twice. You can’t be satisfied with that. The competition is coming, and so you try to work on your game every summer and try to improve and be the best player you can be.” 

 

So far, the NBA playoffs have been shocking. First, the Chicago Bulls swept the defending NBA Champion Miami Heat 4-0, the first time that’s happened for a defending champ since 1954.

The Dallas Mavericks, with one of the best regular seasons in NBA history at 67-15, are history too, beaten 4-2 in the first round by the surprising Golden State Warriors. That is the biggest upset in NBA playoff history, and the Utah Jazz rallied from a 0-2 deficit to beat Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and the Houston Rockets in game seven.