Bits and Pieces

The Jets failed to reach a new, reduced salary deal with Percy Harvin and released him outright. His locker room influence seems to turn most teams off. He's now available to anyone who wants him.

The Twins have won their last couple of preseason games. It's hard to judge pitching this early because no one is going longer than a couple of innings.

Sano's homer on Monday was the highlight of the week so far. With Plouffe pencilled in at third, the Twins are considering sending Sano back to the minors anyway in the next couple of days. Because of union rules, if Sano is hurt in any way while with the big league team he would be put on the MAJOR league disabled list and that would count for major league PLAYING TIME. That basically means he would be due for larger contracts, arbitration, and free agency earlier. Most teams avoid such things by sending minor league stars back to the minors after seeing them awhile in the spring.

Sano is a big guy. Reports this spring are that he's put on a considerable amount of muscle since the Twins signed him. He's listed at 6 foot 4, 235 pounds in most recent media guides. And yet he's still only 21. He was 195 pounds when the the Twins signed him.

The future corners for the Twins in Vargas and Sano will weigh over 500 pounds when they start playing together. That's some pretty big homerun hitters.

I'm not sure what the Twins are looking for from Hicks this spring to convince them he's the man for the center field job. I'm quite sure that it isn't the vapor lock he's exhibited the past couple of games.

The other day Hicks was picked off first and saved by a balk call, which moved him to second -- where he promptly got picked off again.

On Tuesday Hicks lost track of the outs so Paul Molitor, in disgust, pulled him from the game and inserted Byron Buxton.

Buxton drew a pair of walks and pulled off a Buxton base running move, going first-to-third on a single to left that the Toronto broadcasters described as a "looping liner." Base runners generally don't make that play work -- the throw to third is a short one -- but Buxton motors. I don't know that he's the fastest guy in baseball, as Tom Kelly suggested in the summer of 2013, but he's close. Hicks is fast. Buxton is faster.