Notebook: Gomez's gaffe costs Twins in Game 2

NEW YORK (AP) -- Carlos Gomez is one of the most energetic players on the pesky Minnesota Twins. He's also one of the biggest challenges for manager Ron Gardenhire.

"He's one of those guys you just love, because his enthusiasm for the game and how much fun he has, it just kind of flows around everybody else," Gardenhire said. "But there's times when, yes, you're like, 'Go-Go, you have to see what we're trying to do here."'

Gomez gave his manager something to cringe about early in Game 2 Friday night after sitting out the opener.

With two outs in the fourth inning of a scoreless game, the Twins had Delmon Young on second and the speedy Gomez on first. Matt Tolbert singled to right-center, and Gomez slipped and fell as he rounded second.

Instead of trying to get into a rundown to give Young more time to score, Gomez tried to scramble back to second where he was easily tagged out to end the inning. Young didn't make it home in time.

The Twins obtained the 23-year-old Gomez in February 2008 as part of the deal that sent ace Johan Santana to the New York Mets and put him right in the lineup.

With boundless energy, Gomez responded. He hit .258 with 33 steals in his first full big league season, earning him and fellow youngster Alexi Casilla the nickname "The Loose Cannons."

"We're always playing tricks," Gomez said.

But Gomez regressed this year. He struggled early and saw his at-bats cut in a crowded outfield, finishing with a .229 average and just 14 steals.

He did score the winning run in the one-game playoff against the Tigers for the AL Central title and he eats up a lot of territory with his speed. And despite the frustrations, Gardenhire believes he can be an everyday center fielder.

"He's very, very talented and has a lot to learn, yes," Gardenhire said. "But like I said, when you see him out there in center field covering all that ground and then some of the offensive things that he can do that other people can't do, that's why the guy is in the big leagues."

YIKES!: The Colorado Rockies cringed when they saw replays of former teammate Matt Holliday botching a catch that dearly cost the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of their playoff series at Dodger Stadium.

Holliday's two-out error in the bottom of the ninth inning helped send Los Angeles to a 3-2 win Thursday night and a 2-0 edge.

"As outfielders we know that's a tough play, it's a tough read," Colorado's Ryan Spilborghs said Friday. "Whether it was Holliday or not, you feel bad for the outfielder because that's a tough play in a game of that magnitude in the postseason obviously to a friend of ours, we feel bad.

"He probably felt terrible, just like anybody, you lose a game. And it wasn't his fault. There's a lot of other plays that led up to that. I mean, you can't say one play is the reason why they lost. They had a bunch of reasons why. It just stinks that it has to be that play on that scale and to a guy that we all are familiar with and friends with," he said.

Holliday was traded from Colorado to Oakland last winter and then was shipped to the Cardinals at midseason. Two of the players the Rockies received in return from the Athletics, closer Huston Street and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, played pivotal roles in the Rockies' wild-card run this season.

FEELING GOOD: The doctor who operated on Alex Rodriguez's right hip examined the New York Yankees slugger before Game 2 of the AL division series and said he doesn't think the third baseman will need another operation after the season.

Dr. Marc Philippon repaired torn cartilage in Rodriguez's hip in March and had thought he would need another more extensive operation in the fall. But after examining him Friday and watching him take batting practice, Philippon said he felt Rodriguez wouldn't need a second procedure.

"His power is excellent, the rotation in his hip is excellent," he said. "At this point in time, based on my clinical exam and what I saw in batting practice -- and I'll need a few more tests -- but so far I don't think he'll need surgery."

Rodriguez missed the first month of the season after the March operation. He returned May 8 at Baltimore and homered on the first pitch he saw.

He finished with 30 homers and 100 RBIs this season for New York, which went 90-44 after he returned to the roster.

"I have to say, I'm impressed with his progression and the way the season went," Philippon said. "I wouldn't say I'm surprised because you're dealing with a world-class athlete who has a lot of discipline."

HAVING A BALL: After earning a save in Game 2 of the NL division series, Rockies closer Huston Street went through a line of teammates as he shook hand after hand.

When he approached second baseman Clint Barmes, Street reached into Barmes' glove and swiped the ball.

Barmes, who had caught the final out of a 5-4 win over Philadelphia, looked almost stunned at the thievery.

Nothing personal, it's just that Street collects all the baseballs from his saves. It's a routine he started his rookie season with the Oakland A's in 2005.

The collection is now at least 132 baseballs strong, each marked with the date of the save and the opponent.

Barmes didn't mind, really.

"If I catch the last out, I always give the ball to the closer," he said. "I've got enough stuff, so they can have it. I don't even know what they do with them."

Street doesn't have them displayed in a trophy case quite yet. That's something he'll work on after his career.

"Some are at my parents, some are at my condo, some are at the new house my wife and I just bought," Street explained. "There's no real method right now, but they're all accounted for. That's all that matters."

Street added quite a few to his collection in his first season with the Rockies, saving 35 games in 37 chances. He might have had more, but missed most of the final month with soreness in his biceps tendon.

Not that it's bothering him now.

"Arm feels really good," said Street, who was acquired, along with Carlos Gonzalez, in the deal that sent Matt Holliday to Oakland last November.

So, how exactly did Street latch on to the idea of saving baseballs from his saves?

The concept was actually suggested to him by Oakland A's color analyst Ray Fosse after Street won the closer's role.

"He told me, 'It might be something cool to have,"' Street recounted. "After every save my rookie season, he'd say, 'Did you get the ball? Did you get the ball?' I've been getting them."

BIG PAPI'S LESSONS: Looking back, David Ortiz still isn't sure what caused his slow start this season.

The Boston Red Sox slugger finished the regular season with 28 home runs -- his most since hitting 35 two years ago -- but his first one didn't come until May 20 against Toronto. It was his first homer since Sept. 22, 2008, a career-high span of 149 at-bats without a long ball.

He drove in just 18 runs through his first 47 games of the season, but finished with 99 RBIs, just missing his sixth career 100-RBI season.

"I still don't know what happened the first two months," he said Friday. "It wasn't even that I was trying to do something different, because I try everything. I was about to start hitting right-handed just to see if things change. But I just went back to the basics and act like I used to do when I played Little League. Just come to the field. Try to hit the ball and that's it. That's when things started clicking back."

Ortiz went 0 for 4 in Boston's 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in their playoff opener Thursday, ending a personal seven-game hitting streak at Angel Stadium in the postseason since 2002.

"This might be one of the seasons that I learned the most about the game," he said. "I'm the kind of guy that I take things with me and analyze it in the offseason, and go through it and try to get the best benefit out of it."

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