What's new on Easter Sunday

Surprisingly, there are a few things going on in the Twins world on Easter Sunday. For one, left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith, a Rule V pick from Seattle, was cut and thus sent back to Seattle yesterday. Rowland-Smith would be a plus in the future, as he's a left-hander who throws in the mid-90's. However, he's not ready and the Twins simply have no room for him. Hopefully, Glen Perkins will be that future left-hander, as he has plus stuff that will be available a few years down the line. For now, however, C.J. Nitkowski has taken the lead for a spot in the bullpen. The journeyman left-hander hadn't allowed in run in spring training until yesterday. He'll likely round up the bullpen with fellow lefties J.C. Romero and Terry Mulholland.

Nitkowski made an interesting post yesterday on his website concerning steroids. He wrote that he considered using them in 2001 while struggling, noting its widespread use at the time.

In other news, several Twins players, including Joe Mauer and Shannon Stewart, were tested for steroids. Of course, it seems preposterous that any Twins would use steroids, as we haven't had a 30 HR hitter since 1987. People should be happy, though, as recent events have deterred further steroid use and use is down from 7 percent to 2 percent last year. That's significant improvement.

Lastly, in a sad bit of news, Twins PA Bob Casey is gravely ill with liver cancer and pneumonia. Casey, who has been with the Twins for all 44 years of their existence in Minnesota, likely will not return this year. I'd like to wish him and his family the best, as he is obviously a very nice, classy individual who has been always been the voice of the Twins.