This is the second week of the Making the Team series for the hitters, and a lot of changes have been made. Players have been taken off, added and had their ratings changed. Plus, every player has a new comment.

The players removed this week are Jose Morales, Darnell McDonald and Alejandro Machado. The reason -- all of these players were included in the team’s first set of cuts. Two players were added this week, Jon Knott and Randy Ruiz. Both players have been hitting well and have worked their way into the mix for the final bench spot.

Name	Chance	Note
Carlos Gomez		Carlos Gomez has been up and down at the plate so far, but his speed and defense have impressed coaches. He can currently be considered the favorite for the centerfield job.
Jason Pridie		Pridie may have the best batting average, but he hasn’t received a lot of at-bats, and other than a few games hasn’t been really stellar. He is probably third in the race since the others offer better defense and a lot more speed.
Denard Span		Span’s chance went from even to up mainly because he has done a few good things at the plate. If he doesn’t make the team, don’t be surprised if this is his last spring with the Twins.
Brendan Harris		Harris is not competing with Punto as much for the second base job as he is Alexi Casilla. He has been good at the plate lately, and would probably need to really drop to lose his job.
Nick Punto		It doesn’t seem like Punto has played very much, and when he has, he hasn’t stood out. Look for him to make the team, but as a utility player.
Alexi Casilla		Alexi Casilla has used his bat and speed to impress the coaches. Casilla has overtaken Punto in the second base race, and can also be considered for a bench spot.
Garrett Jones		Jones has no options remaining, which could help his chances of making the team. He has hit pretty well so far.
Matt Tolbert		Matt Tolbert has made an impression on coaches so far, but it’ll still be hard to break camp with the team with so many other infielders.
Matt Macri		Macri is in the same boat as Tolbert. He has helped his chances of being a call-up down the road.
Brian Buscher		Brian Buscher has hit the ball well, and has learned how to play first base. He and Jones are currently the two players going hard for the final bench spot.
Howie Clark		Clark’s chances of making the team are very small. It’ll be interesting to see if he goes to Rochester or free agency.
Tommy Watkins		Tommy Watkins hasn't hit very well, but is still in camp because this is really his last option.
Randy Ruiz		Randy Ruiz has hit the ball very well so far, and has shown power as well. He can now be considered an option for the bench spot.
Jon Knott		Knott has hit the ball well, but with so many outfielders, it’s hard to imagine him heading north.

It’ll be interesting to see if Alexi Casilla can take the second base job, and the centerfield position is still wide open. With a couple weeks remaining and less players in camp, look for the competitions to start heating up with players getting more innings of work.

This is the second week of Making the Team for the pitchers, and the list has seen some changes. There have been some players removed after being sent to minor league camp, and all players have new comments with some players getting new ratings as well.

The players that are no longer on the list include Brian Duensing and Zach Day.

Name	Chance	Note
Scott Baker		Baker is a lock for the rotation, and has looked magnificent thus far. The lone question remaining for him is whether he’s number one or two in the rotation.
Kevin Slowey		Slowey has had a few poor outings so far, but can still be considered the favorite to land the spot with not much competition.
Boof Bonser		Bonser will almost certainly be in the rotation, and has pitched pretty well in his early outings. He’ll be pitching for the third or fourth spot in the rotation.
Glen Perkins		Perkins has pitched very well so far including his start at the end of this past week. He has a good chance to be the long reliever, but don’t count him out for the rotation spot.
Nick Blackburn		Blackburn has pitched pretty well so far, and if he continues, he could make the rotation competition pretty interesting.
Brian Bass		Bass has looked pretty good in his few outings, but its still hard for me to see him making the team out of camp.
Philip Humber		Humber had a poor first outing, but since has not allowed a run. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets added into the rotation mix, and its definitely possible if he continues to pitch well.
Kevin Mulvey		Mulvey has pitched well in all of his outings, and after making it through the first cut, it may mean that the Twins would seriously consider him for a roster spot.
Jason Miller		Miller hasn’t seen a lot of innings so far, and with other guys getting a lot more time, its hard to see him in the bullpen on Opening Day.
Bobby Korecky		Korecky has pitched pretty decent, but there are so many guys that seem to have a better chance at this point.
Julio DePaula		DePaula’s chance has risen with a few good outings. While the Twins don’t necessarily need a setup-man or middle reliever, DePaula has been in the Bigs before and can definitely be considered for a roster spot.
Carmen Cali		Cali, like Miller, hasn’t seen a lot of time thus far. Its hard seeing him making the team unless his innings increase.
Ricky Barrett		Barrett has been shaky so far, and I was a little surprised he didn’t get sent to minor league camp. His chance of making the team is very small.
Randy Keisler		Keisler has made one start, and it wasn’t very good. He’ll likely start the season in Rochester or become a free agent.
Casey Daigle		Daigle hasn’t pitched very bad, but its hard to see the Twins giving him a spot over Perkins, Slowey or other young guns.

With two pitching spots still open (one starting rotation and one bullpen), it’ll be interesting to see how the competitions unfold. Slowey will need to step up to secure his rotation spot, and others will need to pitch well to unseat Perkins from the bullpen.

The Twins offense was basically non-existent in their loss to the Yankees 6-4. Boof Bonser had a rough outing to put the Twins down early and then the guy the Twins almost got for Santana, Phil Hughes, shut them down for four innings. After that, the Twins never got back into the game, collecting just four hits over the course of nine innings.

** Boof Bonser has pitched well so far, but today pitched poorly in his three innings of work. Bonser’s final line was three innings, two hits, four walks and three runs. It was the walks, and not the hits, that hurt Bonser. That’s the good sign since walks are a common thing early on.

** After Bonser the Twins sent out Randy Keisler and he continued to drop his stock. In two innings, Keisler allowed four hits, three walks and two runs. He has pitched poorly in nearly every outing so far.

** Matt Guerrier, Joe Nathan, Carmen Cali and Brian Bass each received one inning of work a piece after that. Guerrier was the only one of the four pitchers to give up a run, he also gave up two hits. Nathan allowed no hits or runs but walked one. Bass and Cali meanwhile each gave up one hit.

** The Twins offense scored four runs which was pretty good considering they collected just four hits. All four runs were scored in the eighth and ninth innings.

** Centerfield watch: Denard Span and Carlos Gomez each started. Span was in center and Gomez was in right. Span outdid Gomez at the plate, going 0-1 with an odd four walks. Gomez went 0-3. In the field though, Gomez again showed off his arm nailing Robinson Cano at second base. Jason Pridie went 0-2 after he pinch hit for Gomez in the seventh. At the conclusion of this eleventh game, Span is hitting .214, Gomez is hitting .190 and Pridie .238. Gomez should be the leader with that average because the others aren’t much better and his speed and glove have both outdone the other two by a long shot.

** Tommy Watkins picked up his first hit of the spring in the loss, he went 1-3. Eli Whiteside also picked up a hit, going 1-2. Garrett Jones and Randy Ruiz each continued to hit pretty well. They both picked up hits and Ruiz is now hitting .471 on the spring.

** On a final note, lets remember that spring isn’t as much for getting wins and hits and stats, but to get work in for the season. The Twins did very well at the plate as far as being patient. They drew a total of ten walks as a team.

In case you missed it, the Twins cut twelve players before their game today. They now have 49 players remaining in camp and the battles are starting to heat up.

Tomorrow morning, look for the second week of the pitchers Making the Team. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get a game recap up tomorrow, and if I don’t look for the hitters edition of Making the Team on Tuesday morning.

In a move that we knew was coming since earlier this week, the Twins have cut twelve players from camp and assigned them to minor league camp. These moves will allow players that actually have a chance at a roster spot more innings. And they will also allow the pitchers to extend a little bit more.

Here are the moves:

Catcher Jose Morales was optioned to Class AAA Rochester. Right-handers Jose Mijares and Oswaldo Sosa were optioned to Class AA New Britain.

Right-handers Armando Gabino, Zach Day and Deolis Guerra, lefthander Brian Duensing, catchers Jeff Christy and Allan de San Miguel, infielders Alejandro Machado and Felix Molina and outfielder Darnell McDonald were assigned to the minor league camp.

Other than maybe Morales, none of the players optioned really surprise me. I was a little surprised to see Morales get sent down so early mainly because he is thought to be the organization’s third catcher. The Twins now have just Drew Butera and Eli Whiteside left as catchers along with the two locks for the roster, Mauer and Redmond.

From the second list, the only player that I was surprised to see get sent to minor league camp was Alejandro Machado. He does still need to get some strength in his shoulder, so starting in the minors was probably expected.

If you’re wondering why three were optioned and the rest assigned to minor league camp, its because the Twins aren’t exactly sure where they want certain players to start the 2008 season.

With the moves, the Twins are now down to 49 players in camp.

The Twins pulled off yet another win today, this time against the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 8-4. Baker gave them another good outing to get them going and other than one bad inning, their pitching was great. On the offensive side, homeruns powered them to victory.

Here are the notes:

** Scott Baker made another start today and this time went two innings. In his outing, Baker allowed just two hits and struck out three batters. On the spring, Baker has still not allowed a run.

** After Baker, Brian Duensing was given another chance to show what he has to offer. The first inning was great, but when they put him back out for another, things went south. In his second inning, he didn’t record an out and gave up two homeruns. His final line was one inning, two hits and three runs. He is likely to be a cut tomorrow with an ERA of 19.29 in just a few appearances.

** The rest of the pitching was good. Rincon came in an cleaned up Duensing’s mess, collecting two strikeouts. Casey Daigle then pitched two innings of work and allowed just an unearned run. Zach Day, Deolis Guerra and Bobby Korecky each received innings after that, and they gave up just one hit combined (Day).

** The Twins started the scoring in the third inning. Craig Monroe and Jason Kubel hit back-to-back homeruns with two outs while Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau each picked up an RBI as well. It was Kubel’s first bomb, and Monroe’s second in as many days.

** Michael Cuddyer was the key hitter in the game. Overall, he went 3-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Brendan Harris was the only other Twin to collected multiple hits, he went 2-3.

** Centerfield watch: Jason Pridie didn’t do much to help himself move ahead in the battle, he went 1-5 on the day with a run. Denard Span went 1-1 in his lone plate appearance with an RBI. Gomez received the day off.

** Jon Knott continued to impress, hitting his second homerun of the spring in the seventh inning. It’ll be hard for him to make the team with so many outfielders, but he has played pretty well. Randy Ruiz also collected another hit.

The Twins played two games today in a split-squad doubleheader, and managed to win both games to extend their spring winning streak to six straight games. The Twins received two brilliant starts, and one of those was the return of Francisco Liriano.

We’ll go game-by-game with the notes:

** Francisco Liriano took the mound in his return to game action. He pitched solid in his first outing, lasting 1.2 innings while giving up two hits and no runs. Liriano also collected a strikeout and picked up the victory.

** After Liriano, Nick Blackburn took the hill and pitched 2.1 innings in his outing. Blackburn allowed no hits or runs in the outing. Matt Guerrier was up next, and while he did give up three hits in his inning of work, he was able to escape allowing no runs. After Guerrier, Dennys Reyes pitched an inning of work and allowed three hits and a run.

** Jesse Crain and Pat Neshek pitched the seventh and eighth innings, and both were solid. Neither allowed a run and both collected a strikeout. The ninth went to Mariano Gomez and he allowed a solo homerun in his outing.

** Denard Span was the only centerfielder to play from ‘the battle’. He didn’t have a day that will help his chances of making the team. Span went 0-4, but did manage to reach base on a fielders choice and stole a base.

** Justin Morneau finally knocked a ball out of the park. Both Morneau and Craig Monroe belted their first homeruns of the spring. Jason Kubel also had a nice day, going 1-4 with 2 RBI.

** Mike Lamb has been a great hitter thus far, and if this is a preview of what he’ll do when he plays everyday at third, it’ll be very good. Lamb went 2-3 on the day and is now hitting .462 on the spring.

** Other players that collected hits include: Brendan Harris, Alejandro Machado and Chris Basak.

** Glen Perkins took the mound for the Twins in their other game and pitched very well (maybe well enough to take over the lead for that fifth starter spot). Perkins went 3.0 innings and gave up just two hits while also collecting three strikeouts.

** After Perkins, both Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey pitched two innings. Humber was up first and had another solid outing. In his two innings, Humber allowed just a hit and struck out three batters. Mulvey did just as good, giving up no hits or walks in his two innings and collecting two strikeouts.

** Julio DePaula and Ricky Barrett finished up the shutout for the Twins. Both pitchers went one inning and allowed just a hit a piece. If you’re wondering, yes, the main guys played for Toronto. Rios, Zaun, Overbay, Thomas and others were all in the starting lineup.

** While Span did nothing to improve his shot at the centerfield spot, Carlos Gomez did. Gomez went 2-5 on the day with a triple. He scored two runs (half of the team’s) while also picking up an RBI. He made no spectacular plays, but had no errors and stole another base. Pridie went 0-1 in a pinch hit opportunity.

** Randy Ruiz played another stellar game, and it might be time to consider him an option for that bench spot. Ruiz belted another homerun, his second of the spring. Overall, he went 3-4.

** Other players who collected hits were: Delmon Young, Garrett Jones, Brian Buscher, Jose Morales, Adam Everett and Matt Tolbert.

After dropping their first three games of spring, the Twins have now won their last four with an 8-7 victory over Baltimore today. Starter Livan Hernandez had an off day, but the offense scored early and battled back late to take the win.

** Livan Hernandez told us after his first outing (which was good) that he isn’t a very good spring training pitcher. He proved that today giving up ten hits and five earned runs in three innings of work. There isn’t anything to be worried about as Gardenhire tells us, because Livan is a veteran. Plus, remember getting worked up over Silva last year? He did pretty well after that terrible month of March.

** After Livan the pitching was pretty good. Joe Nathan and Juan Rincon each pitched scoreless innings of work, and the Twins then brought Brian Bass in to pitch two innings. In his outing, Bass allowed one run on two hits, while also striking out four batters.

** Carmen Cali picked up the win after a solid eighth inning. He allowed no runs or hits and picked up one strikeout. The ninth went to Bobby Korecky, and he had a good outing to collect the save. He allowed no runs or hits in a perfect ninth.

** Centerfield watch: Jason Pridie finally received a start and went 0-3 on the day. After Pridie, Denard Span was given an at-bat and went 0-1. Carlos Gomez sat out the entire game and will likely return to the top of the lineup tomorrow.

** Delmon Young might be the best spring hitter I’ve seen in some time and I’m hoping this is a preview of what we’ll see in 2008. Young went 3-3 with a run scored and 2 RBI. So far this spring, Young is 8-13 which gives him a .615 batting average.

** Mike Lamb also had a good game over at third. He was the only other Twin to collect multiple hits. Lamb went 2-3 on the day with a double, a run and a RBI. Lamb has a .400 average thus far.

** Other players collecting hits were: Justin Morneau, Alexi Casilla, Jon Knott, Matt Macri, Howie Clark, Craig Monroe and Chris Basak.

One a side note, Gardenhire said to expect the team to make a significant number of cuts on Sunday so they can get players competing for spots more innings and at-bats.

The Twins extended their winning streak to three games today and got their record back to the .500 mark with a 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees. Slowey didn’t pitch well yet again, and the starting rotation opening and centerfield competition are both starting to heat up.

Here are some notes from the game:

** Kevin Slowey took the mound for his first start, and left a lot to be desired. He pitched two innings and gave up two walks, five hits and three runs. So far this spring Slowey has a 14.73 ERA. While his strikeout numbers have been pretty good, the rest has not. He is still the favorite to be the fifth starter with the other candidates not doing a whole lot better.

** Julio DePaula was on for an inning next and gave up his first run of the spring. Randy Keisler was then given two innings of work and improved a lot from his last outing. In two innings, Keisler gave up just a hit. Dennys Reyes was on for the sixth inning and pitched solid once again. In his inning of work, Reyes struck out one and allowed just one hit.

** Pat Neshek pitched a solid seventh inning and earned the victory. Neshek collected one strikeout and didn’t allow a walk or hit. Ricky Barrett came on for the eight and pitched well for his second straight time out. The save went to Oswaldo Sosa is a shaky ninth. Sosa allowed two hits and a run off of a homerun.

** The centerfield competition continued to get even more interesting. After a solid day yesterday for Span, Carlos Gomez got the start and was both good and bad. First, the bad. Gomez had a poor day at the plate going 0-5. He also made his first throwing error of the spring. Now the good. Gomez only struck out one time, so he did put the ball in play. Also, he collected another outfield assist. Jason Pridie went 1-1 with a run and RBI in a pinch hit opportunity.

And interesting note from Phil Miller:

Not that it means much yet, but just for the record: After six games, Jason Pridie is hitting .400 (4 for 10), Denard Span .286 (2 for 7) and Carlos Gomez .185 (2 for 13).

** Alexi Casilla got the start at second and continued to swing a hot bat. He went 1-2 with an RBI on the day and also stole another base. So far this spring, he’s hitting .300 and has three stolen bases. Officially enter him into the starting competition for second base.

** Delmon Young played his best game yet. He was patient and went 2-3 with a homerun and one RBI. So far this spring, he is batting .500.

** Other players that collected hits were: Brendan Harris, Joe Mauer, Jose Morales, Brian Buscher, Matt Macri, Alejandro Machado and Garrett Jones (HR).