Big Move by Twins

Twins general manager Bill Smith made his first big move (of many I am sure) on Wednesday. The Twins dealt the Tampa Bay Devil Rays right-handed pitcher Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett and minor league pitcher Eduardo Morlan in exchange for outfielder Delmon Young, shortstop Brendan Harris and minor league outfielder Jason Pridie.

"Coming into the offseason it was critical that we improve our offense. We certainly lost a piece last week with Torii (Hunter) going to Anaheim," Smith said. "For the last month we've been discussing this deal, and (Young) was the bat out there that we felt was the best for this club.

This Twins fan hopes Young turns out to better than Torii so all of the whining Twins fans that thought Torii hung the moon will shut up and move on. Young finished second in the American League rookie of the year voting after appearing in all 162 games. He batted .288 with 13 home runs, 38 doubles, 93 runs batted in, a .316 on-base percentage. Young will be under the Twins' contractual control through 2012.

TWINS SPRING TRAINING OPENER

The Minnesota Twins opened spring training with a bang! The Twins tied the Boston Red Sox 4-4 after 10 hard fought innings in Ft Myers, Florida. The highlight of the game was when defending American League batting champion Joe Mauer belted a three-run homer in the fifth inning – go, Joe, go! I suppose Mauer wants to be sure that there are no doubts he is worth every cent the Twins are paying him and if he keeps swinging like that, there will be no worries. Rondell White also had a productive outing, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. White is trying to prove he is worth keeping. It would be nice if White could be more consistent than last year and be a solid hitter every game. Matt Garza was on the mound for the Twins and held the Red Sox hitless over two innings. Garza definitely put his best foot forward as he is trying to win a spot in the rotation. Scott Baker didn't fare as well, getting belted around for seven hits and four runs over 1 1/3 innings – ouch!

Up next: The Twins travel to Tampa for a 12:15 p.m. ET game against the Yankees on Thursday, March 8th. Right hander Carlos Silva is scheduled to start. Go Twins Go! I love Minnesota Twins Spring Training and wish I was in Florida to see my boys swing the bats…especially when I am shoveling 3 feet of snow off of my driveway.