Applauding Jacque Jones

Jacque Jones didn't make the team this spring.

And he still got ovation after ovation in the two Target Field shakedown games.

He was always a flawed player — he couldn't hit lefties, his strike zone judgment was poor, his throwing arm was subpar. He was miscast as a leadoff hitter, and then he was miscast as a right fielder.

But he was a key part of the 2001-04 team that turned the franchise from hapless to divisional champs, a team made up of flawed players with a knack for adding up to more than the sum of their parts.

I suspect that any significant player from the 2002 team who dons the Twins uni again will be warmly greeted by Minnesota fans, no matter how little they have left in the tank. Yes, even A.J. Pierzynski.

A few of the players from the 2002 playoff squad are still stars, or at least key regulars — Johan Santana, Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, Pierzynski. Some of them — Corey Koskie, Brad Radke, Eddie Guardado — have retired. Others — Luis Rivas, Eric Milton, Doug Mientkiewicz — have slid into athletic senility; they haven't left, but the jobs are harder to find and keep.

But the Jones saga is a bit different from the rest. There's something endearing about his quest to come home again, his willingness from the outset to accept a bench role, or even to return to Triple A and bide his time for another chance.

Whether that chance ever comes, Jones can head to Rochester secure in the knowledge that he has a place in the hearts of Minnesota fans.

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No real surprise: Clay Condrey is going on the DL. What is a surprise: Alex Burnett is getting the roster spot, not Anthony Slama or Kyle Waldrop, the two young pitchers who were brought north for the Target Field test games, or veteran Ron Mahay.

The end of camp

The headline developments of Spring Training 2010 are pretty obvious: Joe Nathan's injury and Joe Mauer's contract. I've written plenty about each, both in this blog and in the print column, and while I'm sure there'll be more to say at some point, I haven't anything today.

But there were under-the-radar developments worth noting as well ...

Ben Revere. The non-roster invitee impressed everybody this spring, particularly Ron Gardenhire. He even had four extra-base hits, a bit of a surprise considering that he had all of 19 last season in High A ball.

He hasn't had an at-bat in Double A, much less Triple A, but Gardenhire already sees him as a possible call-up this summer.

Jacque Jones. (Photo above) Another who is possibly an outfield injury away from the call. Jones had been released by three teams the past two years — Tigers, Marlins, Reds — but the longer training camp went, the better he hit. He's 35, but there appears to still be some juice in him.

I would rather he made the 25-man roster out of camp than Alexi Casilla.

Kevin Slowey. The right hander opened camp talking about how his pitching wrist might never feel the same after what he described as a reconstruction. But his command and control — the key to his pitching — was as spot-on in exhibition play as ever.

Francisco Liriano. The outward signs are good. But ... except for his final outing, against the Pittsburgh Pirates "b" lineup — so weak it doesn't deserve a capital letter — he didn't go deep in his starts, suggesting that his fastball command remains lacking.

There are a lot of expectations here. Until I see him using the fastball well, I'm going to be skeptical.

Wilson Ramos. Even more than Revere, Gardenhire thinks he's ready for the bigs. The front office right now thinks he's more valuable in the minors — perhaps to keep his service time clock from starting to tick.

If the Twins decide they have to trade for a closer, Ramos is the most valuable chip in they have in the minors — a premium, ready-for-the-majors prospect at a premium position.

Juan Portes. Played mostly outfield in camp, but word is he'll play third at Double A. He hit three homers early in exhibitions, but once the breaking balls came out, the long balls (and his playing time) diminished.

Bullpen issues. Clay Condrey has not impressed and reports some shoulder stiffness; I won't be surprised he goes on the DL in the next week. Jose Mijares has not been sharp. Pat Neshek's velocity is down slightly from his pre-injury days.

The roster takes shape

The "battle" for the 25th spot on the roster has been decided, barring a last-week injury or trade.

Alexi Casilla (left) stays. Matt Tolbert has been optioned to Triple A, and Jacque Jones has been told that he's going to be assigned to Triple A as well, but gets to make the trip north for the exhibition games next weekend at Target Field.

The decisive aspect, as suggested here last week, appears to be roster status. Casilla is out of options and would have to clear waivers to be sent down, and the organization didn't dare risk losing his .259 slugging percentage. (Note: that last clause was sarcasm.) Tolbert has options left, and Jones— who had the best spring of the three, for as little as that's worth — isn't even on the 40 man roster.

This is in keeping with recent tradition of carrying a player who has no real purpose.

Assuming — risky business — that Dan Gladden's broadcasting accurately reflects the thinking of Ron Gardenhire and Co., the Casilla-in-the-outfield trials this spring were found wanting.

Which means the alternative center fielder is Michael Cuddyer, and playing him in CF means moving him from right and putting the regular DH, Jason Kubel, in right.

This presents problems as an in-game move — if Denard Span sprains an ankle in the third inning, do you really want to go without the DH the rest of the way? — and problems defensively, as an outfield of Delmon Young, Cuddyer and Kubel might be as slow as any you've ever seen.

The only real decision pending on position players now is the backup catcher. Drew Butera is deemed the favorite for the job, although I'm rooting for Wilson Ramos to get it.

The 25th man

The Twins opened Saturday's exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays with a bizarro outfield alignment: Ben Revere, a speedy center field prospect, in left; Michael Cuddyer, a rather plodding right fielder, in center; and veteran Jacque Jones in right.

I guarantee this: Were it a game that counted, the outfield would have been Jones in left, Revere in center, Cuddyer in right. But if Cuddyer's going to open the season as the primary alternative in center field to Denard Span, he's got to get some innings there this spring.

For what it's worth — which isn't much — Jones had a couple of hits Saturday, including a double, at least one off a lefty with good stuff (David Price). He also got thrown out twice at home plate; the catcher had to be carted off the field after one of them. (Listening between the lines of Dan Gladden's radio commentary, Jones did not get a good break off third base on a fly ball on the other.)

Jones, according to the stats posted this morning on ESPN.com, is hitting .318 this spring. That's all of 22 at-bats, so it establishes nothing. If he were hitting .526 in those 19 at-bats, it wouldn't mean much either. Still, .318 is better than his primary competition for the final bench job, Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert, added together. (All three had doubles Saturday.) (This paragraph updated late Sunday morning.)

What's more meaningful is roster flexibility. Jones signed a minor league deal and agreed to report to Triple A Rochester if thus assigned; he'll be available later this season if needed. Tolbert has an option left, so the Twins can ship him to Rochester and recall him if needed. Casilla is out of options. He's use or (perhaps) lose.

Of course, the demand for Casilla and his .259 2009 slugging percentage may not be very high.

As matters stand, expect Casilla to open the season on the 25-man roster.

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Last week's poll — Who will lead the 2010 Twins in saves — drew no consensus.

There were 36 votes. Twelve (33 percent) picked Jon Rauch. Nine (35 percent) picked Pat Neshek. Matt Guerrier got six votes (16 percent), as did "none of the above." Two (5 percent) said it would be Francisco Liriano, and one (2 percent) holds out hope for Joe Nathan.

New poll up.

'I've always been a slow starter'

I got snarky about Jacque Jones' chances at Twins training camp in Monday's print column: " ... this tryout is likely the baseball equivalent of a pity date."

Jones, of course, is more optimistic — he has to be. From an MLB.com story last week:

"I don't know what happened, other than I've always been a slow starter. If I had hit .210 the year before and .220 the year before that, I would have been able to accept it and say 'OK, I can't play. I can't do it.' But it was weird -- nine straight years in the big leagues of putting up some decent numbers, and one bad month and now I can't play anymore."

The "I've always been a slow starter" line is a time-honored veterans excuse and often of dubious accuracy. This is one of those cases.

According to Baseball Reference.com's monthly splits, March/April has hardly been unkind to Jones over the course of his career: .287/.341/.450. Those slash lines are all above his career marks.

Jacque Jones is back

Yes, he is. The Twins signed their former mainstay to a minor league deal Tuesday, and also lost Jason Pridie, who had figured to compete for a spot on the 25-man roster, on waivers to the New York Mets.

See the Twins announcement here.

I continue to doubt that the Twins want to go without a legitimate reserve outfielder. There is a genuine function there beyond spelling Denard Span, and I don't see Ron Gardenhire being comfortable using Nick Punto to sub for Delmon Young or Jason Kubel in the late innings.

That said, if I'm Matt Tolbert, I'm bringing an outfielder's glove to Fort Myers. 

Whether Jones is a viable option is unknown. He's played very little the past two seasons — little and poorly, at least in the majors. I believe he was playing in an independent league last summer, and he was at the winter meetings in December looking for a team. He turns 35 in April.

But the Jones of 2007 was a legitimate center fielder defensively. If he can still move, and if he can hit righties, there may be a job for him.

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The other item in the press release — the invite to major league camp for Toby Gardenhire — is nothing. With Jose Morales' surgery, the Twins simply needed another catcher in camp to catch the pitchers in their throwing sessions. Don't read nepotistic implications into it.