Because 12 pitchers just aren't enough

The Twins shipped Matt Tolbert back to Triple A after the Toronto series and brought back Jeff Manship (photo left), who started as many games in his brief earlier tenure with the big club as Tolbert did during his time up.

This gives the Twins 13 pitchers, which is more than they really ought to have, but they had two short starts against the Blue Jays (five innings from Kevin Slowey, four innings from the Bad Carl Pavano) and were headed into Fenway Park, which is a graveyard for depleted bullpens.

And it's not like Tolbert was playing a vital role anyway.

This 13-pitcher crew won't last long; I don't know exactly when J.J. Hardy will be ready to play, but he's eligible to come off the disabled list now. When he's back, a pitcher will leave.

My guess is it will be Manship; my guess is that they're not ready to pull the plug on Jesse Crain. And I would hope that if they DO pull the plug on Crain that they'll fill his space with a bona fide relief pitcher -- Kyle Waldrop or Anthony Slama.

Manship, remember, is the rotation's Plan B now that Brian Duensing is pitching short relief. They need to keep him stretched out.