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The Minnesota Twins have announced that they will activate third baseman Trevor Plouffe in time for Saturday night's game. To make room for him on the 25-man roster, they optioned Chris Herrmann to AAA-Rochester. Plouffe has been out of the lineup since he suffered a concussion on May 21st when he was hit in the head with a knee while sliding into second base. He had been placed on the 7-day concussion disabled list, and activated back on 5/29, but suffered a calf injury in warmups and was put on the 15-day DL. After recovering, he's been playing in Rochester since Monday. His return adds a right-handed bat to the Twins lefty leaning lineup, and a decent one at that. At the time of his initial injury, Plouffe was hitting .254 with a 758 OPS. Chris Herrmann will return to Rochester after being called up on 5/26. He served as the team's third catcher and backup center fielder, with six hits (and his first major league home run) in sixteen at-bats. Herrmann is an interesting choice, as the Twins are adding an infielder but losing a catcher/outfielder. It also isn't clear what options they'll have as a backup to Clete Thomas in center field, should they need one.

~~~ Sponsored by Ticket King ~~~ Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack. And a pork chop. And a gluten free snack. And a Walk A Taco. Things were a lot simpler when Take Me Out To The Ballgame was written, but they were also a lot less delicious. (And, admittedly, probably a lot thinner.) So how do you keep track of all delectables that Target Field has to offer? Easy – you just ask the Ticket King. Where your ideal Minnesota Twins tickets are depends on what it is you’re looking for….. Wanted: High-End Minneapolis Meat [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Got a friend coming to town who likes their steak and chops? Now you don’t have to choose between taking him to Murray’s Steak House for a steak sandwich and JD Hoyt’s for their legendary pork chop. Instead, you can take them to Target Field and have a taste of both. Murray’s has a special steak sandwich (Secton 105 and 319) they developed just for Target Field, complete with a slice of that crispy garlic toast. Meanwhile, you can get Hoyt’s Pork Chop On A Stick at the State Fair Classics stand in center field. Yeah, they’re both expensive - but so is the meat at Murray’s and JD Hoyt’s. Wanted: Special Occasion Got a special someone that loves the Twins and a special occasion? If so, consider reserving a couple of deck seats at the Metropolitan Club. It’ll cost you, but you’ll be treated to a buffet of gourmet food while overlooking the game from the first base line. The only trick – you need to be a season ticket holder to access the Metropolitan Club. Wanted: Pacifiers You would think taking small children to a Twins game would be super enjoyable. In reality, there is a good chance that they’re going to become bored quickly, at which point it’s not dissimilar to taking kids on a long airplane ride, only with 30,000 more people and less leg room. However, this year, the Twins have brought back a parent’s best friend: The Malt Cup. When you want a couple of innings of peace and quiet in your Twins seats, just have the kids start looking for a vendor hawking this treat. It will take your little treat-mongers forever to chip away at this rock-hard frozen concoction with the provided wooden “spoon.” And they LOVE it. If you feel like really pushing the envelope, when they’re thirsty afterwards, follow it up with a Lemon (or Berry) Chill, which is almost the exact same thing, yet somehow even colder and harder and pokier. Alleluia. Wanted: Mini-Donuts They’ve become ubiquitous wherever Minnesotans meet, but unlike Target Field’s cheese curd canoe (which just makes me sad), these are almost exactly as good as they are at the State Fair. They’re in right center field (Section 134), and I recommend the bag, not the bucket, as overly stuffed kids won’t have room for the Malt Cup ploy. Wanted: The Basics To some people, a ballgame isn’t a ballgame without a hot dog, and I’m in those ranks. The Schweigert dogs Target Field serves now are fine, but stay with the “original” dogs candy-striped vendors throughout the park will deliver to your seat. Many of the concession windows only sell “Big Dogs” which sound like they would be awesome, but come in a bun that is way too bready. Don’t make that mistake or you’re going to feel robbed. Wanted: More Tubular Meats If you’re looking to move beyond the basic hot dog, you’re covered by the choice of sausages and bratwursts around the ballpark. Sheboygan’s is a new purveyor at several concession stands, but the legendary ones are the Kramarczuk’s Sausage kiosks at sections 113, 116 and 312. Their polishes and brats are big, delicious and covered with onions and/or sauerkraut. About the only downside is that you might have trouble eating them with your hands and maintaining any dignity. Which has never stopped me. Wanted: Impress Your Kid You can get Killebrew Root Beer all over the ballpark, but if you really want to see your kids eyes grow wide, make your way to the Townball Tavern and order the Killebrew Root Beer Float. It’s served in a German beer hall sized mug and is sure to impress your kids and their friends, or that sweetie with a sweet tooth. Plus, it’s made to share, so you get some too. Wanted: Off The Beaten Path If you want something a little different, you’ll be happy to hear that the chefs at Target Field have tried to mix in some gourmet items. Behind home plate, you’ll find a selection of spicy mac n cheeses (cajun, buffalo and jalapeno) branded by The Food Network. And down the first base line (section 120) is Andrew Zimmerman’s AZ Canteen, where you can get a burger made out of blended goat and lamb meat. I know, I know – but it’s really good. Trust me on this. Wanted: MORS. Believe it or not, I’ve only scratched the surface. There are at least 25 or 30 other unique offerings. If you want to get the full list, stop by an information booth at Target Field and ask for the “Concessions and Retail Guide.” It’s small, it’s free and in it you’ll find 30+ foods as well as where they’re located. Then just make sure you have a full wallet and an empty stomach.

Aaron and John talk about Miguel Sano's promotion to Double-A, first-round pick Kohl Stewart and the rest of the Twins' draft, John's incredible bus-dancing ability, Mase as a unit of time measurement, Kyle Gibson being trapped in Rochester, turning pro out of high school, Alex Wimmers' comeback, Jamey Carroll nearing the end, and heckling golfers from party decks. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Or, just click on the link below:

The Twins draft two arms - well, technically, they got four arms - but they got two pitchers out of the first night of the draft. Jeremy, Seth and John talk about the selection of Kohl Stewart, how that came down, whether he was really the BPA (best player available), his first press conference with the Twins and how soon fans could see him in Target Field. Then they move to the second round selection of Ryan Eades and ... well, who is Ryan Eades. They finish by mentioning a couple of other Minnesotans who were drafted in the first two rounds. You can listen to the audio here. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] We would really appreciate any feedback you have, both on the topic as well as the production. This is something we're playing with and we're looking to improve it. So please fill up that comment section! How is the sound? Which person sounds the best? How is the music? Did you have any problems with playing it? How was the interaction of the hosts? How would you like to see this used? What kind of podcast would you like to hear? What would you change? What would you keep?

A new rumor about the Rockies preferred choice has all heck breaking loose in the MLB Draft. In yet one more test podcast, Jeremy, Seth and John go through the possibilities, including what the Twins will do if Mark Appel falls into their laps. You can find the podcast here. We would really appreciate any feedback you have, both on the topic as well as the production. This is something we're playing with and we're looking to improve it. So please fill up that comment section! How is the sound? Which person sounds the best? How is the music? Did you have any problems with playing it? How was the interaction of the hosts? How would you like to see this used? What kind of podcast would you like to hear? What would you change? What would you keep?

Jeremy, Seth and John talk about the breaking news surrounding two of the players recently associated with the Minnesota Twins. Jonathan Gray tested positive for a stimulant? Is Kohl Stewart's status at Texas A&M in doubt? And does either revelation shuffle the board for the top four teams, including the Twins? Listen to our second test podcast to find out. You can listen (or download) our second test podcast here. We would really appreciate any feedback you have, both on the topic as well as the production. This is something we're playing with and we're looking to improve it. So please fill up that comment section! How is the sound? Which person sounds the best? How is the music? Did you have any problems with playing it? How was the interaction of the hosts? How would you like to see this used? What kind of podcast would you like to hear? What would you change? What would you keep?

If you’re coming to Twins Daily for the stories, thank you – thank you very much. But you’re really only using about 45% of the site. The Twins Daily Forum is where the information can go yet a level deeper. For instance, we have threads where members break down the MLB Draft rumors, where the Twins Official Scorer has explained scoring decisions and game threads where there is discussion during each game. You’re likely familiar with the comments sections of each story, and each of those is also a thread on the forum. But here are some additional tips for navigating and using the forums. You need to register to post a comment or start a thread. We’re not big fans of anonymous posts. We have a pretty restrictive comment policy that basically boils down to “Don’t be a jerk.” We work hard to keep our discussion lively but civil, so we take that policy seriously and haven’t been afraid to ban people. If you want to comment, we would love to have you do so, but please play nice. If you see a comment you think is questionable, there is an icon with a triangle and an exclamation point on each comment. Just click it and our moderators will pay special attention to what is going on. If someone repeatedly gets under your skin, you can choose to ignore them, meaning you won’t see their posts. Just click on their name to go see their user profile page and click on “Add to Ignore List.” Alternately, if you like someone’s post, you can click on “Like” so they know that, or you can “Friend” them by clicking on their name and selecting “Add as Friend.” That makes it easy to see posts they have written in other threads. I’ll be honest – there is a lot more functionality here than I can possible cover (or even know) so if you have a tip or comment or questions, feel free to list it below. And if that means you have to register and take the personal risk of posting your thoughts – try it. You were given a voice for a reason.

~~~ Sponsored by Ticket King ~~~ Baseball and beer go together like…well….they go together so well, they should be the comparison in that kind of sentence. Like when your friend finally finds a girlfriend that is legitimately good for him. You might say “They go together like baseball and beer.” Or imagine baseball staring very intently at beer and emphasizing “You COMPLETE me.” That’s how much they belong together. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Fortunately, Target Field gets this. Since it opened in 2010, the Minnesota Twins have added all kinds of variety to their beer options, with an emphasis on local brewers. With the Brewers coming to town, it seemed like a good time to list Top Ten Best Seats in which to enjoy this natural pairing. #10 – Anywhere EXCEPT sections 310 and 311. Those are the family sections, so they’re alcohol free. If you get a Twins ticket for anywhere else, people called “vendors” will lug a variety of beers up and down stairs right to your aisle. Isn’t that nice of them? Tell them keep to the silver. #9 – Section 202/302 You can find Leinenkugel all over the ballpark, but there is a hidden kiosk near the right field foul pole on the third deck with a couple of taps and no line. You can be there and back and still catch some of the Underwater Camera gimmick. Sorry. #8 – Section 220/320 Similarly, right behind this section is a small kiosk of Grain Belt Nordeast on tap. It is a slight upgrade because of the view of downtown. You can sit (sip?) and enjoy if the game gets away from the hometown nine. #7 – Section 116 Great seats, right behind home plate. Also, a great selection of beers awaits you at the top of the stairs as this is where the “Beers of Twins Territory” stand is located. Despite the name, these aren’t just local beers; they have a wide selection, though they’re all in bottles. The only downside is there is almost always a line, so you’re going to miss some action. #6 – Sections 223/323 and 125 Behind both these sections is a smaller version of the “Beers of Twins Territory” called “Minnesota Brews.” These are only local beers, so the selection is smaller but so is the line and that moves it up to #6. #5 – Budweiser Roof Deck Minnesota Twins tickets for the Budweiser Roof Deck are not available every game as it often hosts private events, but for a little different experience, seek them out. You’re limited to Bud products and your view of left field is cut short, but they have bar stool and rail counter seating that overlooks the game, the lines are short, there’s a fire pit for when it’s cold and there is a party feel to the experience. #4 – Section 123 or 17 Right behind this section are two kiosks for Schell’s and Goose Island, both with tap beer and limited lines. This section gets extra points for being in the sunshine for afternoon games. If baseball and beer were interested in a threesome, sunshine would be at the top of their wish list. #3 - Twins Pub, near Section V These last three, in my humble opinion, separate themselves from the rest of the stadium. Most of the second level at Target Field is closed off to regular ticket holders but down the left field line is the “Twins Pub,” which was previously called the “Captain’s Deck.” It is similar in feel to the Budweiser Roof Deck, except that the views are better, it’s covered, and you don’t need a ticket to watch the game from there. In fact, you can’t get a ticket, because there are no seats, just a railing and counter from which to watch the game. Spots go to whoever gets there first and the party feel exceeds that of the Budweiser Deck. When I was there, there was even a distributor giving away samples of liquor. The beers at the Twins Pub are limited, but right behind it is the Townball Tavern, which has eight tap beers including four different Summit brews. And best of all, after the game (or after they cut off beer sales), you can meander into the Townball Tavern, where they serve beer for up to 45 minutes after the game. #2 – Section 213 There are three sections – 213, 214 and 215 that are steps away from the 2 Gingers Pub on the lower half of the 3rd level. The view is good, there are a few kiosks a short distance away, and the 2 Gingers Pub (which does not require a ticket) has Summit Pale Ale and a few other beers on tap, though the crowd at the bar can be daunting. Finally, the Kramarczuk sausage stand next door is a nice addition. Those are all fine, but what launches 213 to the next level is that Twins organist Sue Nelson sits in the 2 Gingers Pub and watches the game, talks to customers, and deftly launches into her designated riffs as soon as a double-play is turned. That’s not an experience that you’re going to get in many (any?) other major league ballparks. Even if you don’t sit in this area, you owe yourself a visit to watch (and maybe get a picture with) Sue. #1 – Section 140 and 139 – the Great Clips Great Seats Here it is – beer nirvana. This is literally everything a beer drinker could want. Except maybe the organist. Let’s start with the beer. There are no fewer than four craft beer stands within a stone’s throw of this section, which is next to the right field foul pole. On one side is a Leinie kiosk which always has at least one tap of Summer Shandy. In the other direction is a Summit kiosk and a Blue Moon kiosk. Those three by themselves would make this a destination. But it’s the fourth stand that separates it from the pack. Directly behind this section is built-in stand which is unfortunately also called the “Twins Pub.” This is the only place in the ballpark that has taps reserved for Surly and Fulton beers. They also serve the “Summit Bomber” bottle, which is an incredibly large Summit Pale Ale, in case you don’t want to make too many trips. But honestly, that isn’t much of a problem with the Bomber. Unlike the lines at the Surly kiosk last year, fans haven’t found this stand, yet. This year I’ve never had to wait in any kind of line there. Finally, the section itself was redone this year, now having stool seating with a counter railing as you watch the game. The view of the infield is excellent, although you lose the view of deep right field. It gets sun through all the early and late afternoon games. And you have about as good a chance here as anywhere of catching a home run ball. One final tip: no matter which seats on which you settle, consider getting to the ballpark very early, as soon as the gates open, to watch batting practice. Warm sun, cold beer, green grass, blue sky, relaxed pace, no crowd and the occasional mad scramble for a home run ball. It does not get much better than that. No matter where you are, it feels like the best seat in the house.

With all the coverage of roster moves, the minor leagues and the upcoming MLB Draft we’re having trouble finding room for all the quality blog entries members are cranking out. Here’s a few from yesterday you might want to check out: Cody Christie profiled new Twins Chris Collabello. Mr. Horrorpants recaps the Braves series. I can’t think of a more appropriate named author given that series. Barks’ Lounge laments the lack of an emotional leader on the current Twins team. And John Swol notes the depressing spiral in which the Twins find themselves. We would love to hear from you, either in our forums or our blogs. Register and let us hear your thoughts.

Twins Daily's mission is to bring attention to Twins bloggers and independent baseball writers, whether they are writing here or not. Why? Because we've been there - hollering into the void. We actively encourage Twins baseball writers to use Twins Daily to recruit more readers to their sites. Here are a couple of ways: Put a link to your posts in our forum All kinds of links to media stories and blogs are added to our Minnesota Twins forums. These threads get several hundred and sometimes thousands of reads. So put a link to your latest post, along with a good (or controversial) quote from the story in our forum to let our readers know about it. For instance.... a. "Over on Buteriffic.com, I've written a story that discusses......" b. Add a quote you're proud of from the story c. Add the link d. Finish with another note about the story that gives people a little more info or another reason to click over. Or just "I'm really interested in what the Twins Daily community things about my analysis/opinion, etc....." Double-post In Your Twins Daily Blog When you register for Twins Daily.com, you automatically get your own blog. Some independent bloggers will "double-post" stories, which means take a story on their site that they like and then copy it and paste it onto the blog on our site, along with lots of links back to their blog or other stories. The blogs on TwinsDaily get some traffic - but if it's good, we'll promote it to our front page where it will get hundreds to thousands of reads. Just a couple of aspects to keep in mind.... a. We'll only promote a full story to the front page. So you can't write a half story and then link back to your own for the whole story and expect it to be promoted. We just don't feel that is fair to our readers. b. Feel free to include links back to your site like "Originally published on Buteriffic.com" or whatever. Another tactic is to link to additional related content like "For more on XXX, check out my story last week on Buteriffic.com." We may move these links around in the story when we promote and edit it because we don't want them cluttering up the preview on the front page, but we'll try and keep them if they don't distract from the content too much. The bottom line - we want you to get as much attention as you can, but you need to be the proactive one. That's where we always fell down in the past - too often we would link to someone but forget to check in with them because we got too busy with our own blogs. But if you try to stay in front of us, we'll try to keep letting people know about you. Indeed, it is why we started Twins Daily. Click here to make this your default homepage

Immediately following today's 8-3 loss to the Braves, the Twins demoted Opening Day starting pitcher, Vance Worley, to AAA-Rochester. Worley had given up eight runs in 3.2 innings in today's game, raising his ERA to 7.21 on the year. The Twins did not announce a corresponding move, though they have announced that Samuel Deduno will pitch on Friday and has not been called up. However, he will be taking Hernandez' - not Worley's - spot in the rotation. Worley joined the Twins this offseason when he was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies along with pitching prospect Trevor May for outfielder Ben Revere. With the Phillies, Worley had posted 3.50 ERA over 2+ seasons with a 7.7 K/9 ratio. However, his 2012 season had been cut short for elbow surgery to remove bone chips. With the Twins, his K/9 is just 4.6. If he has had any injuries this year, neither he nor the team has revealed them. Worley's turn in the rotation would come on Monday the 27th. The Twins have not announced who will ultimately take his place in the rotation. Earlier this week, they chose Deduno over Kyle Gibson, Andrew Albers and PJ Walters to replace Hernandez. Prospect Kyle Gibson, who has thrown two complete game shutouts in his last three outings, was originally scheduled to have his next start in AAA this weekend. If he makes that start, he would not be available for Monday, so that might be an indicator whether the Twins are leaning towards calling him up for his major league debut.

Left-handed relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar, who played in Randolph, Minnesota and pitched for the St. Paul Saints as recently as 2011, will be called up by the Minnesota Twins today. To make room on the roster, the Twins are demoting fifth starter Pedro Hernandez to Rochester. That would open up a spot for Twins starting pitching prospect Kyle Gibson to make his big league debut on Friday. Thielbar was signed by the Twins out of the independent Northern League in 2011 and raced through High-A and AA up to AAA-Rochester in 2012. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]He began this year fairly slowly, but, most recently, has had eight straight outings without an earned run. His overall numbers include more strikeouts (34) than innings pitched (26.1) and good control (just 8 BB). (For more on Thielbar, check out his "Adopt-A-Prospect" page on Twins Daily.) The Twins travel to Atlanta this week, a National League city, where they will be unable to use a designated hitter. American League teams often like to add a bullpen arm for such trips. With Hernandez's demotion, the Twins are shorting themselves a fifth starter until Friday, when they next need one. If that's the case, Theilbar's promotion to the big leagues could be short-lived. For Friday's start, the assumption is that Kyle Gibson would be first in line to join the Twins rotation. Gibson, a first-round draft choice who missed most of 2012 coming back from Tommy John surgery, has thrown two complete game shutouts in his last three outings. Gibson is also on the 40-man roster. The only other AAA starter on the 40-man is Cole DeVries, who is also just coming back from an injury. He too pitched on Sunday, so his next turn in the rotation could also fall on Friday. For more photos like the one above, follow @BitzyBetsy on Twitter

John rejoins Aaron and they talk about the Minnesota Twins tumble, two AAA players that could soon join the team, Darin Mastroianni's new diagnosis, Joe Mauer's new hot streak, ballparks, baseball bars, David Ortiz's return, Aaron's Apple fetish and difference between baseball prospects and baseball prospects. To listen, you can check out: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe or[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] the podcast on iTunes. Or just click below:

Twins Daily will be starting draft player profiles tomorrow, since the Minnesota Twins have the #4 pick in the upcoming MLB draft. However, Thrylos has contributed his own lists - a total of 345 names to know for the upcoming draft: 129 college pitcher names everyone should know for the 2013 MLB Draft. 114 college position player names everyone should know for the 2013 MLB Draft. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 101 high school player names everyone should know before the 2013 MLB draft.

Like the Minnesota Twins, Twins Daily has a farm team on the blog page. Here's what you've been missing if you haven't been checking it out the writing from our top prospects... Cody Christie reminds us of a Twins starting pitcher who is about ready to rejoin the team. And it's not Kyle Gibson. Thrylos gives you 129 college pitchers that you will want to know before the Twins start drafting them in June. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] When Oswaldo Arcia gets a big hit, he starts doing something with his arms. Brad Swanson explains. Twins Daily writers (and "Creative User Name" award winners Mr. Horrorpants and Peanuts From Heaven go beyond the box score, telling you what you REALLY need to know about the Twins latest series. Like, which Twins player proves magic exists. Finally, Jeff A is publishing biographies of Twins/Senators on their birthdays over on his blog. Recently, that included Jack Morris, Billy Martin and Justin Morneau. We'd love to have you join us. If you register with Twins Daily, you get your own blog on which to discover your inner Hemingway (as well as be able to post comments). What have you got to lose?

Our friends at DraftStreet are giving away more money to TwinsDaily members. $300 to be precise. It's free. It's legal. It's easy. Just draft a team for one night and get paid out as soon as the games end that night. DraftStreet.com is at the forefront of this new trend in the fantasy world and is promoting it by giving us a FREE one-day fantasy league with $300 in prizes. Just click here now to sign up.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I signed up last time - and there's nothing nasty like asking for a credit card. Give them your age, state and pick a password. The game is also pretty easy. Our contest will be Pick 'em style drafting and runs on Friday nigth (the 17th). The way Pick 'Em leagues work is you have 8 tiers of players and each tier will have players to choose from. All you have to do is select 1 player from each tier. You even have your choice of several Twins (or Red Sox, who face the Twins) that night. It really is simple. If the weather changes, you can also adjust your roster up until the contest starts at 7:05 CT. At that time your rosters will lock - but then the Live Scoreboard will be available. The Twins Daily guys will be trying it too, so even if you're not one of our readers that wins their share of $300, you'll get some bragging rights. Unless, of course, you lose to us. In which case you will never hear the end of it. Last chance to try it. CLICK HERE to sign up for free and join the Twins Daily $300 Freeroll on DraftStreet.com. What have you got to lose? The only obstacles are internal.

Aaron and John talk about why their Minnesota Twins podcast was dumped off of the radio this week and whip through several dozen small topics. These include a discussion the Twins winning pace, the debate the meaning of "lucky", Ticket King's local focus, Joe Mauer's slump, the tragedy of losing Nick Punto, why Aaron likes girls who make bad decisions, road tripping to St. Cloud and Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, Ryan Pressly, Kyle Gibson, Aaron Hick, Oswlado Arcia, Justin Morneau, Joe Benson, Clete Thomas, Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe. Whew. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Or click on the link below:

According to Phil Miller, the Star-Tribune's Minnesota Twins beat reporter, Oswaldo Arcia will be called up on Monday to fill-in for Wilkin Ramirez, who will go on paternity leave. Twins Daily ranks Arcia as the #4 prospect in the Twins system, is only 21 years old and is currently hitting .414 with a .793(!) slugging percentage in Rochester. According to Miller, he will be the youngest player to debut for the Twins since Joe Mauer. How much playing time he'll have remains to be seen. Ramirez is a bench bat, but the Twins are unlikely to be calling up Arcia to sit on the bench. He has played mostly right field for the last two years, but Chris Parmelee is relatively young and healthy and also hits left-handed, like Arcia. The other corner outfield, Josh Willingham is a veteran who hit 35 home runs last year. It seems most likely Arcia will serve in one of those spots or as designated hitter, and the positions will rotate, giving Parmelee, Willingham, Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit or Justin Morneau some time off. It's also unclear how long he will remain with the team. Ramirez should only be gone for a few games. For Arcia to remain much longer would require an injury, some serious roster re-shuffling or a change in position. Last year in AA-New Britain, Arcia did play 10 games in center field and played their full time in rookie league. His move to a corner spot supposedly had more to do with the organization's depth than his inability to play the position. So the Twins could try for a game in center field. If he can handle the position defensively, it might make things interesting for the Twins. Current center fielder Aaron Hicks has struggled from the left side of the plate in the past and has just two hits and two walks versus 17 strikeouts from that side this year. The Twins could platoon the two as they learn the ropes their rookie years.

Happy Opening Day! Again! Today is Opening Day for the Cedar Rapid Kernels, which explains the site takeover today (Thurs). This year, Twins Daily and the Kernels will partner to promote each other to midwest-based Minnesota Twins fans. Seth Stohs will be in Cedar Rapids this week to cover their season kickoff and Jim Crikket will provide us with weekly updates on the ballclub. Also, Twins Daily will sponsor the Twins Organizational Report and Twins Highlight Segment, shown on the Kernels new scoreboard before every game. Listen for us on the radio broadcast, too. Cedar Rapids is just four hours from the Twin Cities, and as the new Twins Low-A affiliate, they'll likely feature several of the Twins top prospects this year. It's an affordable way to see players like Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios up-close before they become MLB All-Stars. (editors note: knocking furiously on wood.) We think it's a match made in heaven (or Iowa) and hope the rest of the Twins Daily community thinks so too. Please join me in welcoming the Kernels to Twins Territory and to Twins Daily.

The Twins bats were shut down again last night, this time by the Pirates pitching staff. Which Liriano do you expect to see tonight against the struggling Pirates offense? Which Twins bat do you expect to come through tonight, if any? And when did the Pirates get good? Box Score - 6/19/2012 - Pirates 7, Twins 2 Minnesota Twins (26-40) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-31) [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Twins Lineup Denard Span 8 Ben Revere 9 Josh Willingham 7 Justin Morneau 3 Trevor Plouffe 5 Brian Dozier 6 Jamey Carroll 4 Drew Butera C Francisco Liriano, P (1-7, 6.24 ERA) Pirates Tabata LF Harrison RF McCutchen CF McGehee 1B Walker 2B Alvarez 3B Barmes SS McKenry C Bedard, P (4-7, 4.36 ERA)