Kubel packs his bags

NEW BRITAIN -- A rash of injuries at the big-league level have effected the promotion of the Rock Cats’ leading hitter Jason Kubel to Triple-A.

Kubel, who will turn 22 on Tuesday, went 1-for-3 in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Portland when the telephone rang in manager Stan Cliburn’s office. Kubel received his travel orders, destination Rochester, N.Y.

"(Twins outfielder) Shannon Stewart has some kind of foot problem, (Doug) Mientkiewicz has a bad back and (Luis) Rivas wasn’t in the lineup so a lot of guys are beat up (in Minnesota)," Cliburn said. "(Former Rock Cats first baseman Justin) Morneau went up for Stewart so we’re losing Kubel."

Kubel leaves with an Eastern League-leading batting average of .377. In 37 games, the left-handed South Dakota native has 14 doubles, six homers and 29 RBI.

Speculation was that Kevin West, the team RBI leader with 34, would be the next Rock Cat to pack his bags. West had a 19-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday, and Twins general manager Terry Ryan indicated that he would be the prime candidate for promotion. But minor league director Jim Rantz called for Kubel.

"I think they wanted to replace a left-handed bat with a left-handed bat," Cliburn said. "Both of those guys deserved it but I think it came down to who (Rochester manager) Phil Roof wanted. Just like I did last year, he’s been wanting Kubel. He wanted him earlier in the year when Matt Scanlon and Ryan Owens went up. Finally, he got his wish."

Kubel’s spot on the New Britain roster will be filled by first baseman Billy Munoz. Munoz went on the disabled list April 26 when he suffered a broken bone in his foot. Cliburn said Munoz will serve as designated hitter. West, the DH for most of the season, fills Kubel’s slot in right field.

Pitching coach Stu Cliburn came into the room and said, "My job just got a lot tougher."

So did Stan’s.

"Losing Jason Kubel’s going to leave a big void in our lineup," Stan said. "Now the rest of them have to pick each other up. Somebody’s got to step in his shoes and I hope Munoz, being the veteran he is, can do that. If he can do that, we’ll be fine."

HELLING WAITS: While arrangements for Kubel’s promotion stirred up one side of the manager’s office, pitcher Rick Helling sat on the opposite side and reflected on his future.

Helling, in his fourth start for the Rock Cats, pitched effectively. He was told after his previous start that there was no room on the Twins’ staff and Ryan said the Twins would make it easy for another club to acquire him if the interest is there.

Helling, a native of North Dakota, would prefer to pitch for Minnesota.

"I told Terry Ryan that the reason I signed with the Twins is I want to play for the Twins," he said. "I’m not worried about getting a big-league job. I know I can pitch in the big leagues with somebody but I want to play for the Twins. I took less money to play for the Twins. I took a non-guaranteed roster spot to play with the Twins. I turned down more money and guaranteed roster spots with other teams because I want to play for the Twins."

Helling went to Minnesota between his first start on May 4 and his second five days later. He felt that his work on the side at the Metrodome is the best he’s thrown since coming back from the broken shin he sustained late in spring training.

"It’s a different feeling when you’re up there," Helling said. "The adrenaline gets going a little more. It’s nothing against the competition here but when you’ve been in the big leagues 10 years like I have, it’s hard to get that feeling going against Double-A hitters. There’s no question that when I get back, it’ll get stepped up a level."

If Helling’s phone doesn’t ring, he expects to start another game for New Britain. That would be at home against the Bowie Baysox Tuesday.

"We’ll see what happens in these next couple days," he said. "There were some teams here looking at me tonight. The Twins have had injury problems albeit mostly with their hitters. There are a lot of things that can happen between now and five days from now. I’ll just play it by ear."

The reviews on Helling were rave from both dugouts.

"There’s no doubt in my mind that there’s somebody out there this guy could help," Portland manager Ron Johnson said. "If it’s not the Twins, somebody can use a guy who throws like this."

Stu Cliburn will pass along high grades to Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson.

"His pitches are getting crisper," Stu said. "He made a mistake on (John Hattig’s) home run when the ball tailed back over the plate, but a solo shot isn’t going to beat you."

The game-tying single by Eric Johnson came off a cut fastball that hung high in the zone.

"He pitched well enough to win," Stu said. "And you’ve got to take into consideration that you take this major-league veteran, put him in a major-league atmosphere and he’s going to up his game a notch. I think he’s ready."