Boof Lite

Much has been made of the fact that Boof Bonser lost anywhere from 20-30 pounds this off-season, depending on which reports you believe.

There was a wide assumption - because most Twins fans take everything the team tells them as gospel without bothering to question it - that a slimmer Boof would mean a better Boof, but of course, if it were that easy, Jared would be getting paid to pitch baseballs and not sub sandwiches.

While it looked to me like Boof has already started to put a couple of those pounds back on (I could be wrong, I just thought he looked thinner the couple times I saw him in spring training games), there was some evidence from his start Tuesday that he has benefitted from his new diet.

He got knocked around pretty good in the first inning to the tune of two runs, then gave up a deep double to lead off the second, but settled down pretty nicely from then on.

This is basically the opposite of what we saw from Boof last year. He would often mow through the lineup once, racking up strikeouts through 3, 4 or 5 good innings, but then he'd hit a wall and start getting whacked (and sometimes start walking people, too).

One theory to explain that phenomenon would be that Boof just doesn't have enough pitches to get good hitters out 3 or 4 times in a game, and that he'd be better suited for the bullpen.

That's usually how most relievers become relievers.

The other theory, the one the Twins decided to go with, is that his fatness limited his stamina and wore him out quick.

I think the jury is still out as to which theory is true. Considering Boof has been working hard to make his changeup a real option and not just a token pitch, the Twins are obviously at least somewhat willing to consider the former theory as well as the latter.

So back to Tuesday night. After the rough first inning he gave up the leadoff double in the 2nd, but got out of the inning without even letting that runner reach third. He then put up two more zeroes, before getting into a little trouble in the 5th, thanks in part to some shaky defense.

I thought he'd be pulled after five, but Ron Gardenhire took a chance and sent him back out for the 6th. That would have been a recipe for disaster last year, but Boof responded with a clean inning, which should be a big confidence boost to him.

Does that mean he has more stamina? That the weight-loss will pay off as the Twins have claimed? It's certainly possible.

He gave up 8 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings, but only 3 of the 4 runs were earned, and most impressively, he didn't walk a batter on the night, while striking out four.

The results don't show it clearly, especially since the bullpen and defense were of no help on this night (more on that another day), but Boof's first start of the year was a positive.