One thing Twins fans have been looking for in spring training is for one of the pitchers to step up and lay claim to the title of number one starter, a position that is wide open after the departure of Johan Santana. Most of the Twins projected starters, like Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey, are young and inexperienced . The one veteran pitcher in camp, Livan Hernandez, is a middle of the rotation innings eater, but not a guy you want to rely on as your ace.
So the Twins need someone to pick it up, and today Boof Bonser at least showed some potential to do so. He threw four shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That's good in and of itself, what's even more encouraging is that he showed an ability to throw his breaking pitch and a change-up for strikes. As Boof himself said, last season he threw maybe two changeups a game, today he worked it into his regular routine. if he can keep that up, it will turn him into a four-pitch starter, and quite possibly make him the effective, reliable starter that the Twins hope he can be.
On a different note, several of the twins, plus Ron Gardenhire and Tom Kelly entered uncharted territory and took up the task of reciting poetry. A couple of weeks ago fans were asked to send in haiku recounting their thoughts on the Twins and the upcoming season, and the Twins rewarded their efforts with a video of players reciting the fans poetry. You can watch the video here.
Keywords: Boof Bonser, haiku, Ron Gardenhire, Tom Kelly, Twins
