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attgig Apr 01 2008 07:52 AM

I think the twins have become my favorite AL team this offseason with the trade. Gomez sure did make his Twins debut a memorable one: 2-3, 1 2B, 2R, 1BB, 1SO, 2SB. I hope Gomez is able to be consistently good throughout the year. He's going to be the Reyes of the AL terrorizing pitchers once he gets on base.

metirish Apr 01 2008 07:54 AM

Yep, for the first time I watched a Twins game with some interest(not counting IL ).

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 01 2008 07:59 AM

I think part of his problem last year was that he was so obviously not a 27. I mean, who is? And so he's much sleeker and effective wearing No. 22. Milledge in the meantime has the 'nadintude to continue wearing 44. I think Millz is probably headed for a more difficult future than CarGo, even if his present production will be be better. Seriously, I'm all well and good with the Carlos Beltran signing, but its downside, such as it is, is that two of the better center field prospects the team had ever developed -- possibly the best two when its all said and done -- will do their evil for other guys.

AG/DC Apr 01 2008 08:09 AM

Craig Swan is a 27. That's about it.

soupcan Apr 01 2008 08:09 AM

I understand what your're saying Lunchy and I prefer having homegrown guys myself, but you know the odds are that neither of those guys will be as good as Beltran when its all said and done. I watched some of that Twins game too and Go-Go did look good.

metirish Apr 01 2008 08:10 AM

A gushing view from the Twin Cities. ] By JIM SOUHAN, Star Tribune In the third inning of his Twins debut, Carlos Gomez bunted the ball toward first base, accelerated at an improbable rate and dived toward the bag. Those unfamiliar with Gomez might have assumed he slid into first trying to avoid a tag. Those who have seen him run probably figured he was just trying to avoid slamming into the right field wall. Until baseball players are allowed to wear parachutes on their backs, Gomez might have to find creative ways to apply the brakes. He never slowed down Monday in the Twins' opener, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk, two steals, two runs, a double and a long running catch on which he covered more ground than Minnesota slush. He also drew six pickoff attempts and one pitchout and came close to christening the FieldTurf with tears. "I was so excited to be here, to have this opportunity, that when I came down the stairs to stretch today, I felt like I could cry," Gomez said. "I said thank you to the coaches and the staff and my teammates for the opportunity." Gomez promised to grab the attention of opposing pitchers, and he did so on the third pitch of his Twins career. During his first at-bat, he fouled a 1-1 pitch off a speaker in foul territory, which is a dead ball in the Metrodome. When the ball glanced back toward the field, Angels starter Jared Weaver began sprinting to catch it and Gomez reacted, almost running over Weaver on his way to first. Then Gomez smacked a high, inside pitch over the third-base bag for a double, and scored easily on Joe Mauer's single to center. In the third, Gomez pushed a bunt toward first. Weaver had no chance. First baseman Casey Kotchman fielded it and had no chance, so he flipped to second baseman Howie Kendrick, who, it turns out, had no chance. Gomez slid -- whether for safety or dramatic effect -- and, as he promised, the Angels began fretting. Weaver tried three pickoff attempts, then a pitchout as Gomez took off toward second. Catcher Mike Napoli rushed his throw, which was high, but Gomez would have beaten it anyway. He moved to third on Mauer's grounder before being stranded. In the fifth, Gomez, who sometimes swings so hard he falls to one knee, drew a walk, then two pickoff attempts, before stealing second again. He moved to third on Mauer's grounder and scored on Michael Cuddyer's single. Gomez struck out in the seventh, maybe just to give his legs a rest. "He got goosey," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's going to happen. But he had a great bunt to first base, and a Nick Punto dive, and all the pickoffs. We got it all." Even a walk. "It might be the last one," Gardenhire said. "But he drew one." In the field, Gomez handled the dingy Dome without a problem and made one running catch that might not have been fully appreciated. In the top of the fifth, with two outs and a runner on first, Gomez was playing Gary Matthews Jr. in the left-center gap. Matthews hit a shot toward right-center. When the ball left the bat, it looked like a double. When it landed in Gomez's glove, he had almost overrun it. The Twins won 3-2, and Gomez had created two runs, legged his way to third another time and saved at least one run, while Torii Hunter went 0-for-4 in his return. After the game, Twins closer Joe Nathan raved about what Hunter did for the Twins, then about what Gomez promises to do. "He was outstanding," Nathan said. "That's pretty much as perfect a game as you could write up for the guy. "When he gets his wheels going, it doesn't look like he's running, it looks like he's floating across the field. He's a special talent." Gomez looked elated and grateful after the game, having heard ovations for his predecessor and himself. "I know everybody loves a player like me," Gomez said. "Today, we hit two base hits. Maybe tomorrow we won't have no base hits, but when you play hard, everybody loves you." And when you play fast, everybody watches.

AG/DC Apr 01 2008 08:19 AM

CarGo wrote: "I know everybody loves a player like me," Gomez said. "Today, we hit two base hits. Maybe tomorrow we won't have no base hits, but when you play hard, everybody loves you." The love-mongering beginning and end of this comment are just begging for backlash. The middle is just bizzarre, speaking in the first-person plural. Who is he, Gollum?

attgig Apr 01 2008 09:15 AM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Seriously, I'm all well and good with the Carlos Beltran signing, but its downside, such as it is, is that two of the better center field prospects the team had ever developed -- possibly the best two when its all said and done -- will do their evil for other guys. well, hopefully, when fernando's good and ready (maybe 2010?), he'll push 'old knees' to a corner and you'll have home grown patrolling CF. that's my hope at least, but, obviously dependant on how his knees feel after 162 (or hopefully... 173+) games. if the surgery really did do what it was supposed to, it'll be hard to push him out.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 01 2008 09:22 AM

Years from now, one of the factors that will determine how the Santana trade turned out (for both clubs) will be the difference between the careers of Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez. In other words, did the Mets trade the wrong guy? Did the Twins get the wrong guy? My take on the trade (based on my outsider perspective) is that both teams preferred that Gomez be included because the Mets preferred Martinez' potential and the Twins preferred Gomez' readiness.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 01 2008 09:38 AM

Nah, the Twins needed a center fielder above all, and FMart ain't that. I think the Twins liked Gomez and quite a bit. Otherwise they may have taken the Yankees' offer. I think they saw Melky Cabrera as the fully-formed, below-average player he is, no matter how the Yankees try and spin it that their pitching prsospects were too valuable to surrender.

Fman99 Apr 01 2008 09:49 AM

This stung a bit less after watching Pagan and Church get back to back RBIs earlier yesterday. Nonetheless Gomez looked mighty fast on that turf.

metirish Apr 01 2008 09:56 AM

Joe McIlvaine who is a special assistant to Bill Smith apparently was one of the people who scouted the Mets prospects heavily and if you believe what's said by the Twins they trusted their scouts on this. Terry Ryan who serves as a special assistant said this. ] “We trust our scouting,” Ryan said. “When one of your evaluators has been around and knows what he is looking for - taking the mental makeup into account and his durability and all that stuff that scouts do - you put your faith in them. That's why you hire them to go watch games. “I could never understand why you don't listen to a guy who has first hand information. We've done a good job listening to our guys in the last 10 years.” Yeah he would say that but they have been very good with trading their better players and getting good returns. From the same article. ] Swapping former Cy Young winner Frank Viola to the Mets for key World Series contributors Kevin Tapani and Rick Aguilera, dumping an unhappy Chuck Knoblauch to the Yankees for Christian Guzman and Eric Milton (among others) and swapping A.J. Pierzynski to the Giants for Francisco Liriano, Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan are the three most significant moves the Twins have made in the trade market over the past 20 years, at least before this offseason.

AG/DC Apr 01 2008 10:03 AM

How do they feel about trading Rod Carew for Ken Landreaux, Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell, and Brad Havens?

Frayed Knot Apr 01 2008 11:27 AM

Also, trying to see a trend in how teams trades worked out over 2 or 3 decade timespans is dubious at best as usually the people making those deals have completely turned over during that time to the point where one deal has virtually nothing to do with another.

soupcan Apr 01 2008 11:30 AM

Not a believer in 'organizational philosophy'?

Frayed Knot Apr 01 2008 11:44 AM

I just don't believe it stays consistent all that long. If a team has a stable ownership, a stable front office, and a stable field manager then maybe. But ball teams are like most other corporate structures which change dirctions and philosophies with the times and their personnel. I mean was there anyone in charge in Minny who had a say in both the Viola and Santana deals?