The Twins came into this spring thinking that the only spots up for battle were in the rotation and bullpen. They were right too, well, until this morning.
There's an opening on the Twins bench now that utility outfielder Lew Ford will be out 4-6 weeks. Ford has to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
"It's just another opportunity for somebody else," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We don't want to see Lew hurt, but now that he is, people ought to take notice out there in the clubhouse. They ought to go out there and try two times as hard."
Damn it. Now I won't be able to get Wyclef's voice out of my head. Two times, two times.
Anyway, Ford had been feeling the pain in his knee since camp started, and was hoping a cortisone shot would help reduce inflammation and get rid of the soreness. Obviously, it didn't.
The Twins do have Jason Tyner as their primary backup outfielder as of now, and with Jason Kubel showing some signs that he can stay healthy, he could see time in the outfield as well. So it turns out this whole thing could be a tease for the Twins minor leaguers because Gardenhire may just choose to go with 12 pitchers instead of 11. Which is really good news for Sidney Ponson because he needs that per diem money for Twinkies and vino.
