The Twins were still without Jason Kubel (wrist), Jim Thome (back), Orlando Hudson (ankle) and Brian Fuentes (back) for Thursday’s game against Detroit, and the long list of players relegated to day-to-day status had manager Ron Gardenhire searching for a solution.

Gardenhire said he asked general manager Bill Smith for more help from the minor leagues. The Twins called up catcher Jose Morales and infielder Trevor Plouffe when rosters expanded Sept. 1, but Gardenhire said that still leaves him one man short on the bench while playing without Kubel, Thome and Hudson.

“I’m still asking for more (players), which I haven’t received yet,” Gardenhire said. “I’m in search of the general manager.

Six lead changes, five ties, four errors, two blown saves, 25 runners left on base and at least four botched double plays. The series finale between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins was about as ugly as it gets, until Gerald Laird and Jose Valverde finally put an end to a game that seemed like it was never going to finish.

Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected in the seventh inning against Detroit on Thursday night after arguing a close play at second base. Second baseman Alexi Casilla took a relay throw from J.J. Hardy at the bag and started to the turn the double play, and appeared to drop the ball on the exchange from his glove to his hand.

Minnesota Twins starter Scott Baker left Thursday night's game against Detroit after two innings because of pain in his right elbow. Baker allowed two runs and three hits, including a homer by Don Kelly. He has had trouble keeping his arm loose in some starts this season, and there was no immediate word on the severity of the injury.

C'mon, you knew I would find a way to work 9/02/10 day on to the Stew, didn't you?

The Minnesota Twins have sent 7-foot-1 pitcher Loek Van Mil to the Los Angeles Angels to complete last week's trade for left-hander Brian Fuentes. The Twins announced the move before Wednesday's game. Van Mil is a right-hander from the Netherlands who turns 26 later this month. He was designated for assignment to make room for Fuentes when the deal was made last Friday.

Divorces can be such ugly affairs. Take the one Frank and Jamie McCourt are going through right now in a Los Angeles courtroom. Just a few days into their trial, there have already been tales of tears and fears as they battle for control of what turns out to be one highly leveraged baseball team. There's a lot at stake there, namely the future of what used to be a proud franchise.

The Minnesota Twins have scratched designated hitter Jim Thome from the lineup because of tightness in his back. Thome told manager Ron Gardenhire he felt fine swinging, but he felt tightness jogging before Wednesday's game. Jose Morales replaced Thome, who hasn't played since leaving Saturday's game due to discomfort.

The Minnesota Twins are reported to have completed the recent trade for lefty reliever Brian Fuentes, sending 7’1″ Dutchman Loek Van Mil to the Anaheim Angels as the player to be named later.

Aside from his astounding height, Van Mil doesn’t look especially promising to me.  He currently has an ugly 6.37 ERA at AA New Britain in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League, and he turns 26-years of age in two weeks.

Van Mil was as recently as last year highly regarded by Baseball America as a prospect, and his career minor league numbers suggest he has decent stuff: 3.59 ERA, 188 IP, 181 hits, 12 HRs and 104 walks allowed and 144 Ks.  For a guy who has never pitched above the AA level, however, his control looks poor.

In other words, the deal looks almost certainly like a dump of Fuentes’ remaining $1.89 million in salary; as the Angels are now convinced they aren’t going to catch the Rangers.  Fuentes has a $9 million option for 2011 that vests if he finishes 55 games this season.  With only 33 games finished so far and the Twins’ intent to use him as a set up man, it’s extremely unlikely Fuentes’ 2011 option will vest.

Getting back to Van Mil, tall pitchers tend to have trouble developing a consistent release point and that is reportedly one of his problems.

It may seem strange nowadays, with the recent success of Randy Johnson (6’10″), Jon Rauch (6’11″), Chris Young (6’10″) and Mark Hendrickson (6’9″), among others, but as late as about 1960, there was still a huge prejudice against pitchers who were more than about 6’4″ or 6’5″.  The thinking was that pitchers much taller than that just didn’t have the coordination or the ability to develop a consistent release point to be effective major league pitchers.

There were a few exceptions to this rule (Ewell “The Whip” Blackwell, who stood 6’6″, comes to mind), but they were few and far between.

The thinking on tall pitchers appears to have changed as result of changes that occurred in the 1950′s and 60′s.  First, the formation of the NBA in the late 1940′s showed that tall men could be highly coordinated, and there were a few NBA players who performed double duty as major league pitchers during the summer months.

Most notable of these was 6’8″ Gene Conley, who went 91-96 between 1952 and 1963, pitching for the Braves, Phillies and Red Sox.  He also helped win three NBA championships as a forward for the Boston Celtics in the late 1950′s and early 1960′s.

Another big factor was when the major league strike zone was expanded in 1962, which favored big, hard-throwing pitchers because it’s extremely difficult to catch up with high fastballs thrown at or just above the strike zone.  Don Drysdale (6’6″) came up in 1956 and was a star before the strike zone was expanded, but he had his best seasons starting in 1962.

Drysdale may still be the tallest pitcher in baseball’s Hall of Fame, but his status will obviously last only until Randy Johnson becomes eligible.

Other tall pitchers who blossomed after the strikezone expanded include Dick Radatz (6’6″), Bob Veale (6’6″) and “Sudden” Sam McDowell (6’5″).

Another tall fire-baller who contributed to ending the prejudice against tall pitchers was J.R. Richard (6’8″) who came up with the Astros in early 1970′s.

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CLEVELAND – Manny Ramirez has a hit and has been hit in his debut with the White Sox.