'Bout damn time the Twins get some credit. ESPN better cough up one or two of those columns for Torii when it gets to the outfield section.

Wow. At this rate, the Twins might actually be picked to win the division.

Well is he or isn't he baseball's best control pitcher? (Of course he is!) However, after reading the article, it seemed like Schwarz was backing off the statement. Seemed like he was giving just as much luv to Lieber and Wells and that it was really the (unnamed) scouts that picked Brad.

At any rate, it's nice to see some Twins getting national attention. 'Bout time.

Amen, to the Twins recognition. There is a certain charm to the stealth aspect of the Twins' success, but it's nice to see our dudes gettingn some good PR.

Those Torii ads are getting a lot of attention --including a mention in the New York Times Advertising column by Stuart Elliot on 1/24. (I wonder how Brad would look in the Torii shirt.)

Johann would seem to be the guy that a national advertiser could get some mileage out of. Nice-looking dude who could probably sell shavers or men's fragrances or something.

Dear Bat-Girl,

Shoeless Joe came to Bat-Girl for witty and informative insight into the Twins' signing of lefty reliever CJ Nitkowski (of the Sheboygan Nitkowski, I believe, not the Appleton Nitkowskis). And there is nothing, nothing!

You should be concerned about this signing. Not you as a Twins fan. You as a blogger. Nitkowski has his own Web site - www.cjbaseball.com - and post content from time to time.

Please note - Mr. Nitkowski's web site is superior to Bat-Girl in at least one respect. It offers fans the existential choice of "Baseball" or "Christianity."

Forgive me Jesus, but I love baseball.

Warmest regards,

Shoeless Joe

The twins just signed CJ Nitkowski for a minor leauge deal. I watched him pitch for the New York Yankees this past year. Don't take him lightly, he's really nasty. I watched him pitch all year. If I'm not mistaken, I think the Yankees brought him in to pitch in close game situations against the Red Sox on two occasions - and he shut them DOWN. I think...

WOW! Imagine that...the Twins being taken seriously?

I do find it disturbing that Chuck Knoblauch is on the voting for the Twins Hall of Fame.

Sasha might be thinking of a different Nitkowski - this one pitched only 13 innings for the Yankees last year, spent much of the year with Atlanta. He did face the Bosox twice in late Sept, one was good and one was bad, both were brief. He didn't pitch in either playoff series.

I've always kind of liked him myself, but he hasn't had a very good career. His ERA with New York last year was 7.6, throw in his 20 innings with the Braves and his 2004 ERA was about 6.0.

I like the move because it puts a bit more heat on Romero, but I don't much see Nitkowski earning a letter next year in Minny. He hasn't had 50 major league innings in a year since 2001, and he gives up too many walks and homers for a true loogy. Maybe he can be an elder statesman in Rochester. C.J. turns 32 in March, and he's been traded five times and released six times. He was a first-round draft choice in 1994, and I hope he saved his money.

Can't believe that the Marlins gave Carlos Delgado $52 million for four years. Sheesh.

I'm sure this is old news to everybody, but our Rule 5 draftee Ryan Rowland-Smith was brilliant in his opener at the Claxton Shield tournament Down Under. He went 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 K, and picked two runners off base. New South Wales scored three in the eighth for the 3-0 win via two errors and a dinger. I think Rowland-Smith will pitch Wednesday in a must-win fixture for NSW. (I think it's fun to say "fixture" in reference to non-American sporting engagements, it feels like the cricket scores on the BBC.)

Last year when Bat-Girl was campaigning for our dear Mr. President, I jokingly referred to Bradke has "The Dictator." ("Because sometimes complete control is a good thing.") While I know Twins fans have known for years that Bradke has control, it's nice to see ESPN realize this, too.

By the way, Mientkiewicz has been traded to the Mets.

Poor Dougie. Getting traded for nothing twice in a year. A single-A player and cash? Yeesh.

And even worse, my one-time favorite Twin will now play for a team I'm sworn to root against and ridicule. Meanwhile my team gets Guzman. Grrrr!

You're right about him playing for the NYY for only part of the year- but theres alot that isnt shown in stats that you get from just watching somebody play-the twins should know that best, i think. nitkowski was no johan - but he had somethin. i'm sure of that.

Dougie Doug now looks like he'll have a Greg Colbrunn type of career . . . a first base vagabond.

He was described as on ESPN radio this AM as "bringing his glove, the World Series Ball, but not a lot offense" to the Mets.

I like the guy a lot . . . too bad he can't play second base.

Anna Benson and Jodi Mientkiewicz in New York. The mind boggles.

Twins = second place in '05.

Look out, here comes Tadahito Iguchi!

Wait, didn't they say look out when Kaz came over?

Next 40-40 or something like that...

Yeah, that leaves no doubt the ChiSox will win the division. Their team looks incredible on paper. LMAO.

I expect Nitkowski to spend most of the season at AAA, unless the staff needs emergency help because of injuries or Mulholland forgetting where he put his cane. But it may be of interest to note that the Twins have signed one of only four pitchers in history to achieve the distinction of hitting three consecutive batters in a game. Too bad we didn't also get Steve Sparks. Then we'd have two of them.

ok i'll bite: who are the other 2?

-YF

>>I do find it disturbing that Chuck Knoblauch is on the voting for the Twins Hall of Fame.

I thought that was a little odd. On that note, when voting begins on Friday, I would like to ask you, on behalf of the GF, to consider voting for Gary Gaetti. I'm not sure there's too much in life, other than, maybe, marrying him, that would make her much happier. Thank you for your consideration.

YF: Dock Ellis and Wilbur Wood are the other two.

Why is it odd or disturbing that Knoblauch is on the Twins Hall of Fame ballot? He was Rookie of the Year and an integral part of a team that won a World Series for Minnesota. He's the team's all-time stolen base leader and in 1994 he was on the way to shattering the record for doubles when the strike ended the season. Anybody out there plan on voting for Leo Cardenas?

Word Smith is quite right - miserable as he was and presumably still is, Knoblauch was a hell of a player for a good long while. Four-time all-star with the Twins, and his "most similar" comparable players by age list four different Cooperstown HOFers, including two years each of Carew and Nellie Fox.

From 1994-97, with big chunks of games lost to strike, Knoblauch averaged .319, with 112 runs scored, 47 stolen bases, and 75 walks per year. He was indeed going to shatter the doubles record in 1994, but his best year no doubt was 1996, when he hit .341 with 140 runs scored and an OPS of .965. That's got to be one of the ten best Twins years ever by anybody. (Who among the Batlings will find ten better?) (Wild guess - 3 Killebrews, 3 Pucketts, 2 Carews, 1 Molitor, 1 Hrbek, maybe an Oliva... I don't know.)

Odd how most Twins fans remember how unpleasant he was as a human more than how good a player he was to watch. I hear that Ty Cobb might have been a jerk, too. Maybe we should vote CK into the Twins HOF just to get a chance to boo him at some Tampa or KC game here in June.

(I know a guy who told me a few years ago that the first millionaire from his high school graduating class was the young woman who married and later divorced Chuck Knoblauch.)

Meanwhile, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, young lefty Ryan Rowland-Smith was sharp again today in the Claxton Shield, aside from the run-scoring triple he gave up to his first batter. RR-S struck out 5 in 2.1 innings, with 2 H and 0 runs charged to him, and New South Wales eked out a badly-needed 3-2 win over Australia Provincial. Who needs C.J. Nitkowski with Ryan Rowland-Smith in the house! (Sorry, Sasha.)

My surprise has nothing to do with Knoblauch, personally. Honestly, I was unaware of his stats. But, my real reason for surprise is that, in my mind, it just seems that it hasn't been that long since he retired from baseball. I suppose I have this perception of HOFers having long, distinguished careers with a team, and not getting the recognition until long after they've retired.

Ok, checking out the web, it turns out he's only been retired for a couple of years. I dunno. I didn't say he might not be deserving, I just said I was surprised.