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Twins’ Michael Cuddyer discovers passion for photography
On any given road trip, Michael Cuddyer may bring four or five gloves along with him to be prepared to play any of the six different defensive positions he has played in his career.
In his 11th season with the Twins, Cuddyer has added something else to his bag this year — a brand new Canon EOS 60D digital SLR camera.
During the offseason, Cuddyer saw some pictures his brother-in-law had taken at a beach house, with some picturesque sunrises and sunsets, and it got him thinking.
“We’ve got some great access to some pretty cool places in this country that people pay to go to, and we get to go to them every day for free,” Cuddyer said. “So I thought, ‘Why not just start taking shots of them, pictures to kind of chronicle our season on the road and be able to make something like a coffee book at the end of the year for family members?'”
Cuddyer started doing his homework. He read up on photography and researched cameras after Thanksgiving.
He didn’t want to just take the average vacation pictures taken by most amateur photographers and posted online for friends and family to see. Cuddyer wanted his photos to look good; he wanted something he could be proud of, and that his family would be impressed by if he printed them out and gave them as gifts.
“I’m the type that if I’m going to do something, I want to do it the right way. I didn’t want to just take snapshots of stuff,” Cuddyer said. “I wanted to, first of all, learn how to take pictures, and I’m still learning every day. I wanted to learn how to use a camera and how to make cool effects and stuff like that, and apply it to the stadiums.”
Cuddyer kept studying through the end of Spring Training, when he finally settled on a camera and lenses to purchase. His wife bought it for his birthday — Cuddyer turned 32 on March 27 — just in time for the start of the regular season.
The Twins traveled north of the border for Opening Day to Toronto, which turned out to be an excellent location for Cuddyer to test out his new camera. He liked the results that first weekend of the season, especially with the pictures he took of the skyline just before sunset.
From Toronto, the Twins went to New York, giving Cuddyer another excellent opportunity. Minnesota has traveled to five other cities already this season, and Cuddyer has photographed three of them: St. Petersburg, Baltimore and Boston.
While the Twins also took trips to Kansas City and Chicago, the trips were short and the weather did not make for good photos. Knowing he’d be back to both cities, Cuddyer saved those two for another time.
“I think as I’ve gotten better, the pictures have definitely gotten better,” Cuddyer said. “I really like the skyline I’ve taken of Toronto, at night as the sun was going down and the lights are starting to come on, which I thought was pretty cool.
“I took one, with the baseball and the warehouse blurred out in the background in Baltimore; I thought that was a good one, too. I just like looking at the stadiums; they’re some of the most awesome places in the country that have ever been built.”
In addition to doing his homework on how to take photos, Cuddyer has been studying the Twins’ travel schedule and scouting interesting backdrops for his project. His hope is to take photos of every stadium the Twins play in, while also getting shots of the city when his family is not with him.
On the club’s next road trip, he’s hoping for some good shots of Oakland/San Francisco and Seattle, though he won’t have a lot of time with just two games against both the Mariners and the A’s.
“That’s the big thing — I have very, very little time for photography. Very, very little,” Cuddyer said. “I get out for maybe an hour and take all these pictures of the stadium in that time. Then I get back to concentrating and focusing on the game.”
Cuddyer is sharing his photos with more people than just his family, too.
Shortly after getting his camera, Cuddyer opened up a Flickr account where he can share the photos digitally with fans. They’ve been popular, too, with nearly every photo on his account having been viewed 500 or more times, and some more than 1,000 views.
This week, Cuddyer had a few of his favorites printed out, which he plans to sign and give away to fans.
“I just got these prints made to see what it looked like, see if I had the right colors and stuff like that,” Cuddyer said. “I really like the way they turned out, so maybe I’ll sign them and we do a bunch of charity auctions and stuff throughout the year, so maybe we’ll auction some off and some people will like it.”
As he balances his time between a new hobby and his profession, Cuddyer even sees some similarities between baseball and photography, particularly with the work involved.
Cuddyer said both take a lot of studying, comparing the video and scouting reports he uses in baseball to the research and scouting he does to find good locations for taking photos. In both, preparation is important for success.
Now that he’s developed his photography skills, does Cuddyer see a future for himself in profession after baseball?
“As a hobby, a personal hobby,” Cuddyer said. “I don’t think I’ll be doing it as a profession or anything like that. I think it’s definitely something that I have a passion for. I always felt like in my head I was artistic, but I could never draw, I could never paint, I could never put what I saw in my head on paper. I think taking pictures is a way for me to do that.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Twins 5/11
Young expected to rejoin team on Friday
MINNEAPOLIS — Left fielder Delmon Young, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 27 with a strained left oblique, is scheduled to play left field on Wednesday for the first time in three weeks.
Young, who batted five times in a designated hitter role on Tuesday for the Twins’ extended Spring Training club, is expected to play six innings in left field on Wednesday in Fort Myers, Fla. Barring any setbacks, Young will rejoin the club on Friday as the Twins open a three-game series against the Blue Jays.
Joining Young on the Twins daily injury report from head trainer Rick McWane were second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka and designated hitter Jim Thome, both of whom are also in Fort Myers.
Nishioka was scheduled on Wednesday to continue taking batting practice, ground balls and do some progressive running. Thome was scheduled on Wednesday to take batting practice.
After the injury report was completed, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was asked about the number of big leaguers rehabbing at the Spring Training complex.
“I’m not counting how many people are down there,” Gardenhire said. “I’m counting how many people are getting closer to coming back, that’s all.
“That’s our rehab site. I don’t think the number’s important. Well it might be important, but I think getting them back is what’s important. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Repko heads down to Twins’ spring complex
MINNEAPOLIS — Outfielder Jason Repko was the latest injured Twins player to head south to the club’s Spring Training complex, flying out Wednesday afternoon to Fort Myers, Fla.
Repko, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 2 with a strained right quad, also worked out in the morning at Target Field before the Twins wrapped up their series with the Tigers.
As he heads to extended Spring Training, Repko will join Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Jim Thome in Fort Myers, as they continue to rehab their own injuries.
Rare hailstorm delays Tigers and Twins
By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
As tornado warnings were issued for the area and funnel clouds were spotted in other parts of the city, rain gave way to hail, ranging in size from pebbles to golf balls, which covered the field.
“That was a first in the big leagues, no doubt,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of the hail delay.
Gardenhire was not the only one who saw a hail delay for the first time. On both sides, players who were asked about it said they’d never seen anything like it.
“I’ve never seen that. It was big. First time for me that I’ve seen that in a game,” said the Tigers’ Jhonny Peralta, who has spent his career in the American League Central and has seen plenty of wintry weather during games. “I’ve seen everything. I’ve seen a lot of snow. I’ve seen ice rain.”
A good portion of the delay was due to the time needed to clear the hailstones from the field. In addition to putting down Quick Dry on wet spots in the infield, the grounds crew grabbed rakes, shovels and buckets to collect the hailstones that had fallen in the outfield and in foul territory. Detroit won the game, 10-2.
Twins designated hitter Jason Kubel thought the hailstorm was fitting, considering everything else that has gone wrong this season for the club.
“It just makes perfect sense,” Kubel said. “Why not?”
Many had fun with the storm, including a few players.
Young fans could be seen throughout various parts of the stadium having the hail equivalent of snowball fights, tossing the small balls of ice at each other.
In the visitors’ dugout, Tigers ace Justin Verlander could be seen tossing hailstones back onto the field. Later, Verlander broke out the fungo bat and took a few swings as teammate Phil Coke pitched the balls of ice to him.
“They were big ones,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of the hail. “When somebody talks about golf ball-sized hail, that was it, to the fact.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Twins beat, 5/10
Young anticipating Friday return
MINNEAPOLIS — Left fielder Delmon Young is expected to rejoin the Twins on Friday after going on the 15-day disabled list on April 27 with a strained left oblique.
Young batted five times Tuesday in an extended Spring Training game, collecting three hits and showing that he is healthy enough to play left field in another rehab game Wednesday.
“He got three infield hits, and scored from first,” Twins trainer Rick McWane said. “It doesn’t bother him to run, it doesn’t bother him to swing.”
Young is just one of three Twins players currently rehabbing in Fort Myers, Fla. Joining him are second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka and designated hitter Jim Thome, both of whom also are making progress with their rehab work.
Nishioka is doing “very light work,” according to manager Ron Gardenhire, without much lateral movement.
“Right now, very light activities on the field, under control,” Gardenhire said. “It’s not like hitting ground balls, fungos all over. Rolling the ball to him, very light.”
The soreness that Nishioka had been experiencing in his left leg was reported to be much better Tuesday.
Thome, who has been out since May 1 with a strained left oblique, took batting practice Tuesday. The Twins hope he’ll be able to begin rehab games soon as well.
“He’s going to take BP again tomorrow,” McWane said. “No problems with his oblique, hopefully he’ll start playing in games on Thursday.”
Twins players, coaches hold meeting
MINNEAPOLIS — With all the injuries to key players early this season, the Twins’ roster is filled with players that have been called up from Triple-A Rochester.
While the difference in talent level is an obvious result, chemistry and experience bring other issues as well. A number of Twins players and coaches met Tuesday afternoon to address some of those issues.
“Talking baserunning, talking quality of at-bats, situations, you handling the situation rather than it handling you, all those things,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Last night, we had a lot of opportunities to get a hit, and we were chasing. We were chasing a lot of pitches, and it looked like the situation kind of controlled us.
“We just have to be better. We have to control the situations a little better, and I’m not saying it’s easy, but you know what, we have to keep working at it. That’s all we can do.”
Rays beat, 4/27
Shields honored to be AL Player of the Week
MINNEAPOLIS — It’s not every day that you throw complete games in consecutive starts, so Rays starter James Shields had an idea he’d be considered for the American League Player of the Week Award.
Still, it was a big honor and a bit of a surprise when Shields heard the news.
“It’s exciting,” Shields said. “There’s a lot of good players that had good weeks, so it’s definitely an honor. To be able to be the player of the week for last week is pretty nice.
“I would imagine with two complete games in one week, I definitely thought I was going to be up there. I didn’t know if I was going to win, I’m not too familiar with what everyone is doing around the league. I saw some of the numbers that some other players put up and it was pretty impressive, so I’m honored to have it.”
Shields was just the third Rays pitcher to throw consecutive complete-game wins, joining Rolando Arrojo in 1998 and Albie Lopez in 2000. With left fielder Sam Fuld being a co-winner last week, the Rays have back-to-back winners for the second time, dating back to Scott Kazmir and Carl Crawford in May 2006.
The rest of Tampa Bay’s rotation has been impressive as well, having thrown seven or more innings in 11 of its last 12 games. During that span, the starters have accumulated a 2.46 ERA.
“Over the last few years, I think our starting rotation has done a great job of feeding off each other,” Shields said. “The way [David] Price has been throwing and Wade [Davis], it definitely helps out. You have a little friendly competition between each other and we’re all rooting for each other.”
Maddon sees Fuld garnering All-Star votes
MINNEAPOLIS — After taking advantage of the opportunity given to him this season, left fielder Sam Fuld is now on the 2011 All-Star Game ballot. Rays manager Joe Maddon thinks he’ll get plenty of votes, too.
“I think you’re going to be surprised by how many people vote for him, for two reasons,” Maddon said. “He’s playing really well. You look at his numbers, they’re pretty darn good. You watch every night on ESPN, you see the highlight film, etc.
“But I think beyond that, I think there’s a lot of average Americans that can identify with this fellow, and how he plays the game also I think matters. He’s hard not to like.”
Fuld, who has quickly become a fan favorite for his incredible catches in the outfield and the energy with which he plays, has started 19 consecutive games for the Rays including Wednesday night, at four different positions. Entering the series with the Twins, the Rays were 11-6 since moving Fuld to the leadoff spot on April 7.
Maddon has been pleased with Fuld’s production, suggesting his energy at the top of the order, along with veteran Johnny Damon batting second, has helped turn the team around.
“My biggest concern is keeping him strong,” Maddon said. “I think that’s the X factor there. He’s always going to tell me that he’s well and he can play. We’re going to have to choose the right times to sit him down to maximize his strength, though. I think that, resting him properly, is going to permit him to play, not at quite the level you’re seeing now, but at a very high level for the whole season.”
Rays not thrilled with day-night twin bill
MINNEAPOLIS — When it was announced the Rays and Twins would play a day-night doubleheader Thursday to make up Tuesday’s game, manager Joe Maddon and his club were not shy about expressing their unhappiness with the plan.
Between the poor weather conditions and the late-night travel back to St. Petersburg, the idea of a July doubleheader during the Rays’ next trip to the Twin Cities sounded much more favorable.
Before Wednesday’s game, Maddon joked that he might just spend the night at Target Field due to the schedule. On a more serious note, he also shared some details on the team’s plans that were in place to accommodate for the day-night doubleheader.
The first those involved switching the order of starters Jeff Niemann and Jeremy Hellickson, to have Hellickson start Game 1 and Niemann the nightcap.
“It’s just something that’s part of our research stuff,” Maddon said. “Pitching Helly in the first game, in the day game; Jeff’s a little more comfortable in night games. That’s a big body to get going by noon, so we don’t want to tempt biology or whatever.”
For Niemann, pitching in Game 2 gives him the chance to treat it more like any other start.
“I’m probably going to try to get here around game time I guess for the first game, and just hang out,” Niemann said. “I really don’t like hanging around the hotel by myself, I’d rather come here and be around the guys.
“Fortunately for me, it’s going to be a normal day. For the rest of these guys, it’s going to be a long day.”
As for their starter Sunday against the Angels, it will depend on if the Rays need to pitch Andy Sonnanstine in either of Thursday’s games. If night, he’s expected to start Sunday. If he’s unavailable, Maddon said they’d likely bring someone up for the start.
Friday’s starter, lefty David Price, is scheduled to fly home on his own Thursday afternoon during the first game. Price is leaving early in order to get a normal night’s rest before his start.
“That’s just because they’ll be getting in so late that night,” Price said. “Game’s done at 10 p.m., leaving by 11 p.m., pick up the wheels at 12 a.m., which is really 1 o’clock our time, 2 1/2-hour flight, means you’re getting to your house by 4 or 5 a.m.
“I’ll be deeply asleep by then.”
Maddon also noted he had a lineup in mind for Thursday’s first game, and how the game went would dictate his plans for the nightcap.
For at least the first game, he does not plan to use Johnny Damon in the outfield. Damon may end up out there in the Game 2, though, especially with Maddon’s concerns about overworking Sam Fuld.
“With the weather the way it is, with the way the guys have been rested, and with the way we can move a couple guys around — again Sam would be the guy that I’d be most concerned with — I think that they’re all going to be OK and I’m not going to have to worry about that [Thursday],” Maddon said. “Over the weekend maybe, day games after night games, things like that — the two day games after the night game [Friday] bother me more than anything.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Reversal unfortunate for Tribe in loss to Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — When left fielder Michael Brantley crushed a slider deep to right in the fourth inning, it initially looked like he had a three-run home run.
As it hit off the top of the limestone in right field, the umpires signaled home run, and Brantley trotted around the bases and back to the Indians dugout. But the Twins thought otherwise, and after talking to manager Ron Gardenhire, the umpires reviewed the play.
That proved to be the difference in the Indians’ 4-3 loss Sunday to the Twins at Target Field. Some persuasion from Gardenhire may have helped convince the umpires to take a second look.
“We haven’t had an opportunity to see a lot of balls like that, but I know the ball has to go off the top of the wall. We kind of decided that when we went over the ground rules,” Gardenhire said. “It looked like it hit on the corner to me, bouncing back.
“The only way it could do that [and be a home run] is if it ricochets off the [steel] fence. So in my opinion, it went off the corner, and that’s what I tried to explain to the umpires.”
Instead of Brantley’s first homer of the season, it turned out to be a two-run double. But the Indians weren’t complaining about it afterward.
“They made the right call,” Brantley said. I watched the replay two innings later. It definitely wasn’t a home run. It hit the corner of the wall and came back. A little unlucky for us, but that’s the way the game goes.”
After the official review, the Indians’ rally was halted as Brantley was sent back to second. Cleveland appeared to have Twins starter Carl Pavano on the ropes, but the review gave the right-hander time to collect himself and get out of the inning.
Pavano walked the next batter, Lou Marson, before retiring the next two to end the inning. Over the next three innings, Pavano retired nine of 10 batters he faced.
“I didn’t like the fact that I didn’t know if I gave up three runs or four runs and that I had to wait out there for like five minutes,” Pavano said. “So I threw for a little bit. But it saved us a run and we ended up getting a win, so it’s even better.”
“You get a little bit of do-over right there so you want to make good by it. But the guys made some good plays out there and I made some good pitches to get out of it.”
While they agreed with the call that it was not a home run, the Indians disputed the decision to put Brantley at second.
In their opinion, based on Brantley’s speed, he should have been awarded third base.
“Every rule has its loophole,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “Is it a double? Is it a triple? You could rule it a triple with Michael running, but Michael couldn’t run hard because as soon as he stepped on first base he had three umpires in front of him signaling a home run.
“We wanted replay, we have it, it gets a correct call 99 out of 100 times, I guess. But it has its loophole that somehow, someway, still keeps the human element into it because the umpires have to make a judgment.”
Had the umpires put Brantley on third base, the Indians would have been able to drive him in with either a ground out or a fly out. And two batters later, third baseman Jack Hannahan flew out to right field for the second out of the inning.
While it’s hard to say what would have happened with Brantley on third base instead of second, the chances of his teammates driving him in certainly would have been higher.
The Indians would not score again, however, and it was left to the bullpen to hold the lead. But with right-hander Carlos Carrasco leaving after just three innings with right elbow tightness, that was no easy task.
Carrasco started to feel the tightness during his warm up in the bullpen, and when it got worse in the third inning, he approached Acta and the Indians brought him out of the game. The tightness affected Carrasco most on the fastball.
“Last time, against Kansas City, I threw 94 to 96, and today I threw 88 to 91,” Carrasco said. “Today it felt a little bit more tight in this spot right here, so I couldn’t throw the fastball.”
Carrasco allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and one strikeout. After holding the Twins to just one hit over the first two frames, Carrasco got hit hard in the third, putting the Indians in an early 2-0 hole.
Fortunately for Carrasco, a pair of Twins runners were out at the plate on throws by right fielder Shin-Soo Choo and it allowed the right-hander to escape the inning with minimal damage.
Choo retired Twins second baseman Alexi Casilla for the second out of the inning, after Casilla ran through a stop sign from third-base coach Steve Liddle. Two batters later, after first baseman Justin Morneau had driven in a pair of runs with a double to deep center, Morneau was Choo’s next victim at the plate on another single to right.
After he had already retired Casilla earlier in the inning, Choo said he was surprised to see Morneau take a shot at scoring on him.
“If he wins a Gold Glove, we’ll probably have Steve hand it out,” Gardenhire joked.
Jeanmar Gomez pitched in relief, as he had become available with his next start pushed back to Saturday by the rainout Friday and Monday’s off-day. Gomez pitched three innings, impressing Acta as he gave up one run on three hits and one walk with a strikeout.
After giving up a leadoff single in the seventh, Gomez was taken out in favor of Rafael Perez, but the lefty could not get the Indians out of the inning.
With one out, Perez surrendered a long double to right field off the bat of Jason Kubel that plated two runs to give the Twins a 4-3 lead they would not give back. The loss marked the first time this season the Indians had lost three in a row, sending them back home with a disappointing 2-4 mark on the road trip.
“We’ve got to get back home and start winning some games, that’s all it means,” Acta said. “We all know that everybody’s going to win 60 and lose 60. It’s what you do with the other 42 that counts. It’s a long season, we’ve just got to keep on playing.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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