Notes, quotes and comments

Alexi Casilla has been getting quite a bit of playing time at shortstop this spring.

Part of that, no doubt, is that J.J. Hardy has been shelved with a leg strain. Somebody's got to play short when Hardy isn't.

But even beyond that, Casilla's out of options, and if he's going to stick with the Twins as a reserve player they need to feel comfortable with him at multiple positions. He's seen significant playing time in the majors only at second.

For that matter, if the Twins expect to trade him, other teams have to see him play other positions well.

---

Jack Morris, doing radio on an exhibition broadcast this week, talked about how a closer has to be able to get a strikeout when he needs one.

Truth of the matter is that pitching — starting, closing, set-up, mop-up, whatever the role — really boils down to three things: Avoiding walks, avoiding home runs, getting strikeouts.

Those are the "three true outcomes." You do all three things well, you're a star. Do two of them well, and baseball will make you a rich man.

Joe Nathan has been outstanding at all three. Nobody else in this bullpen has a track record of excellence in all three.

---

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on Texas counterpart Ron Washington's admission of cocaine use:

"As long as they don't test for vodka and Corona I'm fine."

Guillen said more than that, of course. But that was the amusing line.