The Twins no longer tell their pitchers to “pitch to contact”

Remember this gem from a couple of years ago?

Gardy on Liriano: “We understand that he can strike people out, but if he really wants to become a pitcher, pitch to contact… #Twins

— Phil Mackey (@PMac21) April 13, 2011

Yeah, the Twins are out of that business now, it seems:

The phrase “pitch to contact” has been deleted from the Twins’ lexicon. It is gone forever … “I’m never saying it again,” Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said. “I’ve taken enough crap for it.”

For his part, Anderson doesn’t think he was wrong to tell pitchers to pitch to contact. He simply thinks that everyone misunderstood him. Read the article to see if you buy his explanation.

In other news, Crash Davis is off someplace crying a little bit for the death of democracy.

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports that Phillies owner John Middleton flew to Las Vegas for a meeting with Bryce Harper on Friday. Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, it’s “more of a meet-and-greet than a sign-a-deal” affair, but as the club is still at the forefront of trade rumors involving the All-Star slugger, there remains a possibility (however slight) that something could be completed in the days to come.

Even now, the Phillies aren’t alone in the race to sign Harper, but recent rumors have helped whittle down the competition from five or more teams (Phillies, Nationals, White Sox, Giants, and Padres) to three strong contenders. The Giants are said to be interested in a lucrative short-term deal with the outfielder, while the Padres remain in the conversation despite inking Manny Machado to a mammoth 10-year, $300 million contract this week. It’s not yet clear just how far either team would go to outbid Philadelphia as talks with Harper intensify.

As for the Nationals and White Sox, the former officially bowed out earlier today, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds that the latter won’t make a strong play for Harper as they feel the asking price and competing offers are “getting too high” for the 26-year-old’s services. If a mystery team is still in the mix, there’s been no word on their standing with Harper in the last month or so.