Joe is on the 15 day list and Steve Holm is enroute to share catching duties with Sweet Drew.  Not that the season hasn't started quite how we expected and following the heartbreak of two blown saves in Tampa, this is not good news.  I hope this is just something minor but comes at a bad time and leaves a struggling team without there best hitter on a key road trip.  Hurry back Joe as we need you!

I was op checking MLB.TV to make sure everything was loaded and ready for opening day watching the Angel verses Dodgers preseason game with the Dodger feed up listening to Vin Sculley and it made me wonder why no other announcers try to call a game like he does?  I live in Corpus Christi so watch the Twins via MLB.TV or other national broadcasts so hear a lot of different broadcast teams and most of them are not good. All Vin does is describe the action in a clear manner keeping viewers informed with what is happening on the field.  When I compare this to Dick Bremmer or John Gordon, I wonder why more announcers can't do this.  I grew up listening to Herb on WCCO so I was spoiled but I still find it hard to believe no other announcers try to just call the game and not "entertain" which is not what I want or an looking for.  Are there any good announcers out there or is it a lost art?

Great line by the Hawk on the Sox / Indians game on WGN tonight: " Minnesota keeps trying to die and we keep giving them CPR."  That happened again tonight as Cleveland pulled our tails out of the ashes and left us with a chance to not only make the playoffs but clinch tomorrow!  All we need to do is win and we at least get to play the Sucks for the right to go on.  But if we can win tomorrow, the pressure is on the Sucks to win both games just to force the game Tuesday.  Who could believe we could lose two to KC and still be in the drivers seat but we are!  I will be cheering on the Twins tomorrow and hoping Cleveland can do us a favor and put Chicago out of the post-season.  See you tomorrow!

Over on John Sickels' Minor League Blog site is a FanPost grading the manages.  I am technologically challenged to actually link to it but find the results contrary to what my eyes tell me.  Please check it out and let me know if you agree or disagree with  the way they rank them and the results.

The Twins home page roster lists 41 players on their 40 man roster, including Livan.  I would guess that one player from the remaining 40 is on waiver right now to clear a spot for him - who do you think it is?   My guess is Garrett Jones as he is out of options and it might be easier to sneak him through now than at the end of spring training.  Any insight on who they risked to make room for Livan?

A lot of thought and words have gone into discussion on whether to sign Johan or trade him but I have seen little on the subject of whether ANY team has benefited from signing a pitcher to more than 4 years.  I can think of a bunch of horror stories but not one case where the team signing the pitcher got value for the life of the contract either through actual performance or trade value received.  I think the Twins don't want to sign Johan to more than a 4 year extention because they don't see the history of that working for the team.  I know Johan is Johan but is even he worth more than a 4 year extention?  I am not a research guy but have followed the game closely since before Curt Flood brought about this thing called free agency and don't remember a contract of more than 4 years that people agreed was a good deal for the original team in the later years for any pitcher.  That is why I think Johan is done as a Twin and as much as I love to watch him pitch, it is probably the smart choice for the Twins.  

The man who taught Johan and Fransico to throw the change-up and now he is back as Manager of the New Britain Rock Cats.  Does anyone else see this as a good thing with all of those great pitching prospects in our system?  Who is the next "good" prospect in our system who he turns into the next $300 million dollar man?  An I reading too much into this hiring or do any of the rest of you see this as a good move?