Various Twins and Twins-related items that will tide you over until the Justin Bieber movie premieres next Friday:
- Ron Mahay: GOIN' OUT WEST. The Los Angeles Dodgers, already home to former Twin Matt Guerrier, have signed Mahay to a minor-league deal and invited him to spring training. We've been unable to confirm if he'll change his name to Hannibal, or maybe just Rex.
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka: PROFILED. KARE sent former Twin/current anchorman Mike Pomeranz and his impossible teeth to Japan to interview Nishioka as he prepares for his first season of North American baseball. Of note: he drives a Lamborghini. Elsewhere in Nishioka-dom, Sid doesn't like him, and would have preferred they kept Nick Punto. Reasonably sure this derives from the fact that there is no way in hell Sid can pronounce Tsuyoshi Nishioka correctly on a consistent basis.
- Nick Nelson: WORLDWIDE LEADER'D. As noted earlier this week, Rob Neyer left ESPN for SB Nation, leaving behind his Sweet Spot blog consortium. Who's in charge now? Today, at least, it will be friend of TwinkieTown and corporate lion-tamer Nick Nelson. Check in early and often.
- Johan Santana: NOT WORTH IT. Ted Berg has an interesting take right hurr. While it's doubtful the Twins will ever realize equal value from the trade (Deolis Guerra, feel free to prove me wrong), the Mets still have an ungodly amount of money invested in a 32-year-old pitcher coming off of shoulder surgery.
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Andy Pettitte: RETIRING. The longtime bane of Minnesota's post-season existence is calling it a career. If the Twins should somehow find themselves pitted against the Yankees in the ALDS yet again in 2011, I like their odds better against whoever replaces him (Bartolo Colon? Freddy Garcia?).
- John Gordon: TESTING MY ABILITY TO SAY SOMETHING NICE. He's hanging it up after this season, and will be working an abbreviated schedule. I can't believe he's been doing this since 1987. As per usual, I request that the Twins bring back Halsey Hall.
Will check in later today if anything of note pops up. Pitchers and catchers is less than two weeks away, friends.