Stewart off DL, THE INSANITY Goes to Rochester
Posted by SBG on Friday, June 30th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
The Twins activated Shannon Stewart off of the DL and sent THE INSANITY to Rochester for a "rehab assignment".
From ESPN.COM:
For now, Stewart will also bat in the bottom third of the order instead of his customary leadoff spot.
"Every time I've come back from rehab in the past, I've hit where I'm supposed to hit," he said, "but that's fine."
Got to love that quote. He's always hit where he's supposed to hit. Guess what Shannon. While you were gone, the world changed. And now, you are supposed to hit down in the lineup. And you are supposed to be the DH. This team has won 18 of 20. I don't want to hear where you think you should be.
I was about to take the Stop THE INSANITY ticker down, because I thought it wasn't necessary anymore. I was expecting that the Twins would cut bait on THE INSANITY when Stewart came back. Not quite yet.
THE INSANITY was signed to be Minnesota's DH this season, but the veteran outfielder was bumped after two unproductive months. Last week, he had a cortisone shot on his surgically repaired left shoulder. THE INSANITY, batting .182 with 15 RBI and no home runs in 181 at-bats, has experienced tightness in the joint this season -- which he said has kept him from catching up to good fastballs in games.
He will spend 10 days of rehabilitation with Rochester and be ready to return after the All-Star break. At that point, the Twins will likely have to trade or release one of their veteran outfielders.
Would the Twins actually part company with someone on the 25 man roster right now to make room for THE INSANITY? I can't possibly imagine that would happen. Perhaps the Twins could send Luis Rodriguez down and get him some playing time. Perhaps the Twins will move Stewart for a prospect. That's a possibility. Or, the Hunter deal could go down. But, if THE INSANITY starts taking playing time from someone, your bestest buddy SBG may just pop a blood vessel.
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I'd guess the club means to keep Ron-DL... er, sorry, THE INSANITY around just in case Sierra gets hurt again, Stewart's foot acts up, or there's some other reason the team might need "a veteran presence" filling a hole on the bench in the next month or so. It seems that Gardy is done giving him playing time ahead of anyone who is halfway productive, though.
If it means putting Stewart in the bottom of the order so he develops a bad attitude to ensure that he will not be re-signed, I am all for it. At this point, I think the best you can say about Stewart is that he's a savvy singles hitter who might keep his average around .290 if some things go his way.
It does gotta be tough to be a declining veteran. In my job, unless I get Alzheimer's, my skills should only improve as I get older. I would never get demoted unless I suddenly became a jerk and started intentionally doing my job poorly. Meanwhile, nearly every baseball player has a decline phase in which they have to give way to some young know-it-all punk who doesn't truly appreciate what he's got.
That said, he should keep his mouth shut or talk to Gardy about it in private.
It seems that ScruFi is done giving him playing time ahead of anyone who is halfway productive, though.
I know. I can't believe it. I really think that ScruFi has bought into the youth movement. Funny how 18 of 20 will do that.
In my job, unless I get Alzheimer’s, my skills should only improve as I get older.
And you are going to have to work as you get older, unlike baseball players at the major league level, who can play for the rest of their lives. I'm sure it stinks when your body breaks down and you can't play at the highest level anymore. C'est la vie.
Two lines of thought come to mind when Rondell White comes up. The Twins are a classy organization and they move slow when kicking someone to the curb, especially ones with a productive history e.g. Loshe and Badtista. The second thought is when giving .181 batting average playing time as a DH it's "insanity" "cut bait", its like playing with 8 players and automatically giving away 3 to 5 bats a game. Why not go get Matt Lecroy for DH at least he hit a occasional home run.
I personally, would love to have Matty LeCroy back as DH/PH instead of Sierra or RonDL. Plus, we then have our emergency catcher and can PH with Redmond and Mauer more often.
May not be the greatest need on the club, but I've always loved the guy.
Not only that, AMR, but LeCroy kills left-handed pitching. From 2003-05, LeCroy hit .307/.382/.554/.936 against left handers.