Seth Stohs

According to a tweet by Ken Rosenthal, the Minnesota Twins are looking to hire a president of baseball operations type. That person would then be in charge of hiring a new general manager and other front office types. This has become the trend in the last decade or so throughout baseball, and it would seem to be a good direction for the Twins to go as well.Here is the tweet from Rosenthal: This is a direction that Nick presented back in May, even before the announcement that GM Terry Ryan had been fired. He wrote that he believes current Twins president Dave St. Peter does his job well as it is currently laid out, but adds that the duties associated with that title are changing across the majors. Nick wrote: St. Peter would likely remain in his current role of running the Twins business, but this new president of baseball operations would be more involved in roster construction and such. Few names have been mentioned as potential candidates over the last month or so. Ben Cherington appears to be a favorite. Darren Wolfson has reported that he is very much interested. The Twins hired a search firm, Korn Ferry, to conduct their search and make recommendations. A new president of baseball operations would likely come in and evaluate current Twins front office personnel, including interim GM Rob Antony, along with outside options to determine the new general manager and other front office posts. Presumably, the Twins will want to hire a president of baseball operations by the end of the season so that person could get his or her staff in place. They would certainly want to have new staff in place by organizational meetings (which could be pushed back). Click here to view the article

It totally has his best interests in mind. He's 27 and gets to pitch in the big leagues for a month. Pitching at the big league level gives the new front office more data points to determine whether to keep him on the 40-man or let him become a minor league free agent. And, who comes up is probably less important than Berrios and Duffey not making big league starts right now.

Twins made it official a bit ago: https://twitter.com/Twins_morsecode/status/769198392333504512

I hve a lot of thoughts on Garver. Do I think he's been mis-handled? No. In fact, if I were asked whether he or Turner have been mis-handled, I'd say Turner. Here are a few random thoughts on the subject: - Garver was a senior sign. While they obviously really liked him, the fact they could sign him for WAY below slot because he had no leverage is an unfortunate reality of the current slotting system. - Pushing Turner straight to Ft. Myers wasn't really fair to him. While he is great behind teh plate, his offense wasn't ready for the Florida State League. And then they pushed him right to AA the next year. (oh wait, the Twins move prospects too slowly...) - Garver wasn't as highly regarded and went to the Midwest League. He missed time twice that season with concussions. (the 2nd was right at the end of the season) - Garver's come a LONG way defensively. While pitchers have always enjoyed working with him, there were some mechanical things that simply had to be worked on. Evaluators have finally started saying into this season are just now saying that he can be a major league catcher defensively. (Which is good and I would argue a very good positive for the system) - Keeping them on separate teams made some sense earlier, but obviously Garver needed to move up to AA this year, and obviously Turner needed to stay there. Both are still thought of as potential big leaguers and needed to play. Mientkiewicz did a nice job of getting them both time behind the plate. Garver earned his playing time at DH and 1B because of his bat. Also, having him able to play a second position can be valuable. - I still don't know that the Twins (or scouts/evaluators) see Garver as a full-time catcher in the big leagues. I think if he can catch half of the Twins games next year, that would be great! If he earns more playing time, he'll get it.

I often wonder the same thing... I assume other team's fans think their front office, even if they're generally considered good, do nothing right.

There is no question whatsoever that Romero's ceiling is the highest...

While I didn't like so many voices in Berrios's ear, sending him down made the world of sense. It's hard to blame Molitor for them optioning Berrios. I was hoping he wouldn't have to, but he was lost, control was terrible. Making him do that every fifth day was doing him no good.

It's been a long journey, full of ups and downs for Alex Wimmers. However, on Thursday afternoon, he finally got the call he had long been waiting for. "Alex Wimmers, you're heading to the big leagues! Congratulations!" Following the Twins loss to the Tigers on Thursday afternoon at Target Field, they announced that Jose Berrios and Tyler Duffey had been optioned to Rochester. The club announced that lefty Andrew Albers was called up and another pitcher would be promoted before Friday's game. Twins Daily has learned that player is Alex Wimmers. In June of 2010, the Minnesota Twins selected the two-time Big 10 Pitcher of the Year with the 21st overall pick out of Ohio State. There was reason to believe, and many scouts around baseball concurred, that he could be a quick-riser, nearly MLB ready. He began his professional career later that summer by allowing one run in 15.2 innings (5 BB, 23 K) for the Ft. Myers Miracle. He headed into that 2011 season with an opportunity to move quickly, as Kyle Gibson had in 2010. But that's when things went off track.Wimmers showed up to minor league spring training in 2011, but something clearly wasn't right. He wasn't able to throw strikes, at all. In his first start, Wimmers walked the first six batters he faced before being removed from the game. He was essentially shut down, sent to extended spring training, and started from scratch. He came back in mid-July, working out of the Miracle bullpen. The problem appeared to be corrected. He ended the season with two starts. In his final start, he threw a seven-inning no-hitter for the Miracle. Again, hope was high. Wimmers was set to start the 2012 season in AA New Britain. He made his first start, and then he didn't start again that year. In fact, he lost his season, and the 2013 season, to Tommy John surgery. He returned to the Miracle to start the 2014 season. He primarily pitched out of the bullpen, though he made some starts. He struggled. In 2015, he moved up to AA Chattanooga to start the season. He struggled in 18 starts, but he ended the season posting a 2.91 ERA in 12 relief appearances. The bullpen is where he has pitched through the 2016 season. He posted a 6.43 ERA in six games (7 IP) for Chattanooga to start the season but was promoted to Rochester. He struggled for about a week, but since the end of May, he has really taken to the bullpen job. He's worked two innings a handful of times, but for the most part, he's pitched one inning at a time. And manager Mike Quade isn't afraid to use him late in games. Wimmers has responded well. In fact, he's recorded 11 saves in 12 save opportunities with the Red Wings. IN 49.2 innings, he's walked 24, but he's struck out 50. And after pitching an inning to complete another Red Wings win in Norfolk on Thursday afternoon, Wimmers got The Call he'd dreamed about. I'd imagine that Wimmers got off the phone, and after likely loud cheers from his teammates, he had to have spent a few moments reminiscing about the long trek that the minor league career has taken. I'm sure he thought about those low points. I'm guessing he thought about the times when he certainly wondered what he would do next. Every minor leaguer likely experiences that discussion in their minds, but then imagine the pride he and his family must have upon receiving that phone call. The 27-year-old became a father for the first time earlier this summer. I would imagine that that event, as well as his wedding day, were great moments of pride for Alex Wimmers and his family. I would imagine that today, August 25th, 2016, is another day that the Wimmers family will never forget. While it's disappointing for Twins fans that Berrios and Duffey needed to be sent back to Rochester, there can't be a single Twins fan that doesn't feel really good for Alex Wimmers getting that phone call. Even more important, Wimmers isn't just getting The Call, he has earned this opportunity. Click here to view the article

It's still way too early to give up on him because of his ground ball tendencies, but there's no doubt that the K-rate continues to be a concern, and the walk rate continues to increase. I expect him to spend all of 2017 in Chattanooga, and I think that's just fine since he doesn't even need to be added to the 40-man roster until after the 2017 season. There's absolutely no reason to rush him at all. They knew he was a talent, but a project, when the selected him...

He went 0-9 over a two-game stretch once... Ha!! He hasn't gone cold for too long at any point this season. At the end of April, he went 0-10 over three games. He typically has an 0-fer and backs it up with a multi-hit game. Turner is definitely not one to give up one.

Minor League seasons are coming to an end quickly. Next Thursday marks the final regular season games for the two Twins short season teams. The full season seasons come to an end on Labor Day, though the final Miracle game is on the Sunday before Labor Day. Playoff spots are still up for grabs for the Twins affiliates. Also over the next week, we’ll start hearing about September call-ups, but we’ll also hear more about which players will represent the Twins in the Arizona Fall League.On that note, the Red Wings played plenty of bonus baseball. The Lookouts had a big offensive night. The Miracle and the Kernels each got great pitching performances. One of the top 2016 draft choices had his best game as a pro. It was a full day, six games in the Twins farm system. Read on for the entire minor league report. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Norfolk 3 (13 innings) Box Score There was bonus baseball down in Norfolk on Wednesday. Byron Buxton’s eighth home run gave the Red Wings a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Unfortunately, that was it for the Rochester run-scoring. Kennys Vargas walked twice. Wilfredo Tovar and Adam Brett Walker each had a single and a walk. David Hurlbut continues to impress in his AAA starts. On this night he gave up two runs (1 earned) on eight hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out four and dropped his ERA to 2.70. Neil Ramirez threw a scoreless eighth inning. Alan Busenitz gave up two hits and walked two over two scoreless innings. Edward Mujica gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. Jake Reed got the 13th inning. He gave up a run on two hits and a hit batter to take the loss with one out in the bottom of the inning. Norfolk’s left fielder, LJ Hoes, worked a scoreless top of the 13th inning and recorded the win in the game. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Jacksonville 3 Box Score Kohl Stewart improved to 8-6 with the Lookouts with another quality start. A look into the numbers and you have to wonder how. Stewart went six innings and gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked five and struck out just two. His ERA with Chattanooga is now just 3.14. Brandon Peterson struck out two over two scoreless innings. Luke Bard worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Stuart Turner led the strong Lookouts offensive attack. He went 4-5 with his 22nd double, his sixth home run and two RBI. Zack Granite went 3-5. He stole two bases and now has 50 on the season. Edgar Corcino went 2-5. He had a bases-clearing triple in the team’s five-run seventh inning. Levi Michael went 2-4 with his second homer of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 0 Box Score Mad Money Miles Nordgren recently returned to the Miracle, and on Wednesday he put together his best start yet and recorded his first Florida State League win. Nordgren gave up just one hit over six shutout innings. He walked one and struck out two. Cam Booser got two outs in the seventh inning, but he walked three to load the bases. Nick Anderson got the final out of the seventh and worked two more scoreless innings to record his seventh save of the season. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out three. The Miracle had just four hits in the game. Their run scored when AJ Murray doubled home Daniel Kihle. It was Murray’s tenth Miracle double. Murray went 2-4 in the game. Alex Perez walked twice. Check out this defensive play by Center Fielder Tanner English. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 0 Box Score The Kernels got a terrific pitching performance, giving up just two hits in the shutout. 2016 draft pick Sean Poppen went the first four innings. He gave up just one hit, walked three and struck out five. Michael Cederoth came on and went the next three innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out five. He improved to 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA. Tom Hackimer hit a batter over two scoreless innings to pick up his fourth save with the Kernels. Rainis Silva went 2-3 with his second double and an RBI. Travis Blankenhorn hit his fourth double since joining the Kernels. Luis Arraez hit his 28th double of the season. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 3, Burlington 8 Box Score The Twins fell behind early and weren’t able to put together enough offense for a comeback. Alex Schik started. He gave up six runs (five earned) on five hits (including two home runs) and four walks. He struck out five in his five innings. Alex Robinson came on and gave up two runs on one hit, three walks and two hit batters in 1.1 innings. All four outs came via strikeout. Quin Grogan gave up just a walk over 2.2 scoreless innings finish things out. He struck out three. Ben Rortvedt had his best game in an Elizabethton uniform. He went 3-3 with a walk. Shane Carrier went 2-4 with his 14th double and second triple. Amaurys Minier and Caleb Hamilton each hit their seventh double. Ariel Montesino added his fourth double. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 14 Box Score Minnesota-Duluth’s Bo Hellquist was back on the mound on Wednesday. He gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits, two walks and a hit batter in five innings. He struck out six. Safe to say that this wasn’t the best performance for right-hander Daniel Martinez. He gave up eight runs on seven hits and a walk. He recorded just one out. Onas Farfan hit a batter but got the final two outs of the inning. Mat Jones came on and gave up four runs on two hits and two walks. He got just two outs, both came on strikeouts. Matz Schutte walked one and got four outs. Jorge Munoz went 2-2 with two doubles his 11th and 12th of the season. Lean Marrero went 2-3. They combined for four of the team’s five hits on the day. For the Orioles, Brian Duensing threw one inning in his rehab outing. He gave up one hit, no runs and walked one. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Miles Nordgren, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Stuart Turner, Chattanooga Lookouts THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Norfolk (11:05 am CST) - RHP Omar Bencomo Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05 CST) - RHP Ryan Eades Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells Burlington @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article

Paul Molitor told assembled reporters at Target Field before Wednesday night's game that 1B/DH Byungho Park will have season-ending wrist surgery on Thursday morning.In a July 7th Rochester Red Wings game against Lehigh Valley, the IronPigs announcers mentioned that they overheard Red Wings personnel talking about Park's wrist injury. He had not played for a few days, and they overheard a comment that Park had been having the wrist issues most of the season. He came back and had a nice stretch, but then he slumped mightily and was recently placed on the DL with the a wrist problem. Mike Berardino learned that Park had spent time with Twins team doctors in the Twins Cities in the last couple of days. And now the news that he is having surgery. According to the beat writer reports, he is expected to rehab for a month before heading home to Korea for the offseason. According to Berardino, Park will have surgery "to repair subluxation of tendon in back of his hand.... Different area than right wrist tendinitis before." This situation is a bit reminiscent of the Chris Colabello situations in 2014. Colabello was hurt early in the season and chose not to tell the Twins about it because he wanted to keep playing. Even when he was optioned to Rochester, he never used it as an excuse. Similarly, Park said nothing about his wrist injury until well after the injury happened. Likely, he wanted to play and prove himself as a big leaguer. Likely, it may have hurt his wrist even more. While surgery is never a good thing, it is possible that his struggles with the bat for some long stretches may have been caused by pain in his wrist and hand.To what degree it affected his overall stat line, we can't know, but it certainly played a part. Click here to view the article

Exactly. They needed arms and did so at the expense of a hitter. I'm sure they had a nice message for Vargas. I'm sure he'll be up on September 1st, or 5th at the latest.

And it was like 1 a.m. when I had to publish the article, so... HA!

That's probably something that is true as well. I think Kevin Garnett went through some of that with the Wolves. Garnett was often unselfish to a perceived fault. Garnett chose to trust his teammates to take and make a better shot than he was going to get. It wasn't until he was part of a championship and more competitive teams that people better understood how great he really was, not only himself for his teammates. Different game, of course, but I think it's the same with Mauer. Could he have expanded his strike zone and swung at more balls in RBI situations? Sure, and maybe a few times it would have resulted in runs. More often, it would have resulted in a bad at bat. Instead, he looked in the on-deck circle and noticed Morneau or Cuddyer or Sano and said, but if I get on base, then that guy can knock in the run and me too and at the end of the day, we have even more runs.

To be fair... the compensation in the game of baseball is more than a bit different in the last 15 years than it was when Killebrew and Carew played for Calvin Griffith. And it's much different now than when Puckett and Hrbek played. In fact, at one time, Kirby Puckett was the highest paid player in baseball (for a few days, I believe). Mauer wasn't. So, the compensation is what it is, and dependent upon era.

This is where I'll disagree a little. Just because we never see his emotions does not mean he doesn't have tremendous drive and passion. It doesn't mean he doesn't care. For some, being able to control one's emotions helps make them great. I'd have to think that's part of why his career numbers in "clutch" situations, late in close games, runners in scoring position, are better than his overall numbers. Because he can stay calm when others might try to do too much. I just don't think the fact that he doesn't outwardly show fire means that he doesn't have tremendous passion for the game.

I can't help but wonder how things for the Twins and Mauer's career perception would be different if his RBI double in the playoffs had been accurately called fair.

There is no doubt in any Twins fan’s mind that Rod Carew is one of, if not the greatest players in team history. He is beloved by Twins fans who may or may not even remember his playing career which ended (and not prettyily) with the Twins after the 1978 season, nearly 40 years ago. Now consider this. In his 12 seasons in a Twins uniform, his on-base percentage was .393. His slugging percentage was .448. His OPS was .841. Now consider, Joe Mauer career numbers in a Twins uniform include a .393 on-base percentage, a .447 slugging percentage and an OPS of .840. Now, not even I will tell you that Joe Mauer’s Twins career has been as great as Carew’s. Carew was an All-Star all 12 of those seasons. Mauer has participated in six. Mauer has won three batting titles. No catcher had a batting championship in about 55 years when Mauer did it the first time, and no American League catcher had ever done it. Carew won so many American League batting titles that Major League Baseball announced at this year’s All-Star Game that all AL batting champions going forward will win the Rod Carew Award. No, I won’t tell you that Joe Mauer is the greatest player in Twins history. There’s no reason to make such claims. What I think the numbers below will illustrate for you is that he is, without a doubt, one of the top five hitters in Minnesota Twins history. (In fact, I wouldn’t rank him lower than fourth if I were asked to.)Below is where Joe Mauer ranks in most offensive statistics in his career with the Twins. Obviously there have been a lot of really good players, and there have been Hall of Fame caliber players. To be an all-time great for a team, obviously longevity plays a huge role. There aren’t a lot of players who have played 12 years in the big leagues with the same organization anymore. It seems that with greatness these days, players are expected to be more. Mauer is expected to keep hitting .330 every season despite the fact that he is now 33-years-old and caught for the first 14 seasons of his professional career (not to mention the years of amateur ball). People seem to forget the fact that when he suffered his season-ending concussion late in the 2013 season, he was hitting .324/.404/.476 (.880) which as 42% better than the average player by OPS+. BC (Before Concussion): .323/.405/.468 (.873) - 135 OPS+ AC (After Concussion): .272/.356/.385 (.741) - 105 OPS+ WHERE JOE MAUER RANKS IN MINNESOTA TWINS HISTORY? Games Played: 1,573 - #6 in Twins history As you would expect, Harmon Killebrew (1,939) leads the way with Kirby Puckett (1,783) about a season behind. Next up for Mauer is Rob Carew (1,635). By the end of his current contract, Mauer should have played around 1,900 games and in clear sight of Killebrew’s top spot. WAR (Wins Above Replacement): #4 in Twins history Rod Carew has a big advantage in this one, sitting at 63.7 for his Twins career. Harmon Killebrew was at 53.7, and Kirby Puckett was at 50.9. By Baseball-Reference, Mauer has been worth about 2.4 WAR in 2016. He’s not going to catch Carew, but with two more seasons like 2016, he’ll easily pass Puckett and Killebrew in the Twins rankings. Runs Scored: 879 - #5 in Twins history Kirby Puckett tops the list at 1,071. Harmon Killebrew is #2 at 1047. Next up for Mauer on this list is Kent Hrbek and 903. By the end of the two years left on his current contract, he should have passed a thousand runs scored and be right on the tail of Killebrew. Hits: 1,814 - #4 in Twins history Kirby Puckett leads the way with 2,304 hits. Second is Rod Carew at 2,085. Next on the list for Mauer is Tony Oliva, whom he should pass around the All-Star break next year. He will likely pass Carew by the end of the 2018 season as well. Doubles: 360 - #2 in Twins history Only Kirby Puckett has more doubles in Twins history. He hit 414 doubles in his career. Though inexplicably he has hit fewer doubles this season, Mauer is typically good for 30+ doubles a year. If he can reach that number the next two seasons, he’ll likely be atop this category by the end of 2018 too. Triples: 28 - #13 in Twins history Rod Carew tops this list by a bunch with 90. Next up for Mauer will be John Castino at 34. Unlikely he’ll do that, though triples are a bit random. Home Runs: 129 - #12 in Twins history Obviously Harmon Killebrew tops this category with 475 homers. Kent Hrbek is well behind at 293. Eight players in Twins history have hit over 200 homers in a Twins uniform. Mauer isn’t going to get there, but it’s possible he jumps into ninth place. With 34 homers, he can pass his current hitting coach, Tom Brunansky, who hit 163 homers in his six seasons with the Twins. Next for Mauer are Jacque Jones (132) and Michael Cuddyer (141). RBI: 800 - #6 in Twins history On Tuesday night, Mauer knocked in the 800th run of his career. He is the sixth player in Twins history to reach that number. Again, Killebrew leads the way with 1,325 RBI. Mauer should surpass Justin Morneau’s 860 next season. Walks: 811 - #3 in Twins history Surprise! It’s Harmon Killebrew leading the way in this category as well with 1,321 punch outs. Early next season, he will pass Kent Hrbek who walked 838 times in his Twins career. Intentional Walks: 137 - #2 in Twins history Mauer is just 15 intentional walks behind Killebrew’s 152. This statistic speaks to the respect that Mauer has around the league and with opposing managers. Even this year, there have been several times that Mauer has been walked to get to Miguel Sano. Strikeouts: 852 - #5 in Twins history You’ve got it! Killebrew leads this one by a wide margin too, with 1,314. Torii Hunter is #2 on the list with 975. Mauer will pass Gary Gaetti late this season or early next year, and he’s almost certain to pass both Puckett and Hunter before the end of his contract is up. Batting Average: .310 - #3 in Twins history (2,000+ PAs), #5 in Twins history (1,500 PAs) Carew leads this one by a healthy margin with a .334 career average. Next up is Kirby Puckett at .318. That is the same average as Lyman Bostock who didn’t reach 2,000 plate appearances with the Twins. Paul Molitor also didn’t reach 2,000 plate appearances, but he hit .312 over his three seasons with the Twins. Let’s hope that Mauer is able to keep his career average over .300. On-Base Percentage: .393 - #1 in Twins history (2,000+ PAs) Mauer is currently tied with Carew at .393. They are just ahead of Chuck Knoblauch’s .391 on-base percentage during his six seasons with the Twins. OPS: .840 - #5 in Twins history Killebrew tops the list at .901. Shane Mack’s underrated time with the Twins ranks second on the list at .854. Kent Hrbek ranks third at .848, and Rod Carew is at .841. So there you have it… a look at the raw numbers of Joe Mauer, with how they rank among Twins all-time leaders. In his 13 years in the big leagues, Mauer has some terrific overall numbers. His rate numbers have certainly taken a tumble the last few years, again, since the concussion. 2014 and 2015 were difficult, but 2016 has been a nice season for Mauer. No, not a .330 season, but a very solid season. Mauer is hitting .276/.376/.406 (.781) which equates to 13% above average (113 OPS+). HALL OF FAME? Yes, Joe Mauer will be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. He will also be the last player in Twins history to wear the #7. But is the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown still a possibility for Mauer. It’s never a real good reason to simply compare the numbers of any player against current Hall of Famers because there are certainly several Hall of Famers who, under today’s scrutiny,would likely not be inducted. But, just so you have it at your fingertips, here is a complete list of the 17 players in the Hall of Fame who played primarily at catcher: Johnny Bench. Yogi Berra. Roger Bresnahan. Roy Campanella. Gary Carter. Mickey Cochrane. Bill Dickey. Buck Ewing. Rick Ferrell. Carlton Fisk. Josh Gibson. Gabby Hartnett. Ernie Lombardi. Biz Mackey. Mike Piazza. Ray Schalk. Deacon White. Add Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez who should go into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, though likely not for a couple of years. I feel like Mauer will likely be one of those guys who is on the ballot all ten years and then doesn’t get it. But I would be pleasantly surprised if he does. Like I said earlier. I get it. Mauer set the bar high when he came to the big leagues as a 20 year old in 2004. He set it high when he became the first American League catcher to win a batting title. And then he did it two more times. He set the bar high when he led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS in 2009 when he won the AL MVP. People want to complain about the contract. He earned the contract. Get over it. People want to complain about him not catching. There isn’t a doctor who would support that idea. It won’t happen. Get over it. The doctors won’t support it because he had a brain injury. Its effects lasted a few years. He’s been durable the last few years, and he’s become a pretty good defensive first baseman through hard work. He’s been in the lineup most days. He doesn’t say the exciting things to the media. Oh well. He doesn’t pull the ball often enough. He doesn’t expand the strike zone. He takes too many first-pitch strikes. He doesn’t show enough fire. He should get thrown out of games more often. He may not be the perfect baseball player. He may not be what you picture for a great major league player. But, if you consider his position, his rankings in the organization’s history, and the respect that he has earned in the game of baseball, he’s had a pretty good career (note - ‘pretty good’ is low-balling it significantly). I get that the Twins haven’t been great the last several years. I get that Mauer’s career trajectory took a huge fall the day that that foul tip jarred his face mask. But of all of the things to complain about in 2016 for Twins fans, Joe Mauer (anything about Joe Mauer) should not be in the top 15-20 things. Maybe it's time for Twins fans to realize the greatness that we have had the opportunity to see the last 13 seasons so that kids wh will be our age in 40 years don't think more highly of Mauer than we do today. Click here to view the article

It was no surprise that the Twins needed to get an arm to Kansas City after Friday night’s 11 inning, seven hour (with rain and light delays). The specifics may have been a bit surprising. Adalberto Mejia was called up to the Twins, his first big league promotion. Kennys Vargas was the one optioned to Rochester where he’ll have to spend the next ten days. Because of a short start from lefty Hector Santiago, Mejia also made his major league debut with two outs in the fifth inning. He got a groundout to end that inning. He went another two innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Following the game, he was optioned back to Rochester. The Twins will promote another pitcher to take his spot before Sunday’s series finale.Because Mejia was promoted, Omar Bencomo was brought back to Rochester to make the Saturday start. The Red Wings also officially announced the signing of veteran Edward Mujica. Also, lefty Randy Rosario was promoted from Ft. Myers to the Chattanooga bullpen. That means that five of the six Miracle starters at the beginning of the season have now made it to Chattanooga. Let’s get to the Saturday game action: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Gwinnett 5 (7-Rain) Box Score Omar Bencomo was summoned back to the Red Wings pretty last minute to make this start. He went five innings, though he gave up five runs on nine hits and a walk. He struck out four. Rio Ruiz took him deep twice. Neil Ramirez got the final two outs of the sixth inning before the game was called due to rain. The Red Wings managed just six hits. Wilfredo Tovar went 1-2 with a walk and his 22nd double. He scored the lone run on a single off the bat of Adam Brett Walker. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Montgomery 1 Box Score With Bencomo heading back to the Red Wings, Eades was back into the Lookouts rotation, at least for this start. He was tremendous. He gave up just one hit over six shutout innings. He walked one and struck out four. 51 of his 81 pitches were strikes. Zack Jones gave up a run on a hit in two innings. He walked two and struck out two. Raul Fernandez recorded his third save with a perfect ninth. TJ White had a strong game. The infielder went 3-4 with his fourth double and third triple. Stuart Turner was 2-4 with his 21st double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Jupiter 4 Box Score Before they batted, the Miracle were down 4-0, but they clawed their way back and scored seven unanswered runs to claim the win. It was a tough start for Sam Clay. The lefty gave up four runs on two hits and six walks in 4.2 innings. He gave up all four runs right away in the first inning. He struck out four. Luke Westphal came on and walked two and struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings. Cam Booser struck out five of the six batters he faced in his two perfect innings. Nick Anderson recorded his seventh Miracle save with two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth. Down 4-0 before they batted, Tanner English and Joe Maloney each hit solo home runs. English was 2-5. The homer was his fourth. Maloney went 2-4 with his fourth homer. He drove in four runs in the game. Chris Ibarra went 2-5 with his third double. Trey Vavra went 2-3 with a walk. Daniel Kihle went 2-4. Nick Gordon added his 22nd double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Burlington 3 Box Score The Kernels scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead. They added three more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth and earned the win. Tyler Beardsley started and gave up two runs on four hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out two. Michael Cederoth gave up a run on two hits and a walk over 2.1 innings. He struck out two. Max Cordy got the final two outs of the 8th inning, one on a strikeout. Tom Hakimer gave up a hit and hit a batter in a scoreless ninth inning. JJ Fernandez went 2-3 with his 24th double. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-4. Casey Scoggins went 2-4 with a walk. Brandon Lopez went 1-3 and walked twice. Nelson Molina contributed his 14th double. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Burlington 4 Box Score While the Kernels beat Burlington on Saturday night, the E-Twins dropped a game in Burlington. Random fun with minor league cities, of course. Miguel De Jesus started. He gave up three runs on three hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out six. Johan Quezada gave up a run on three hits over his two innings. Quin Grogan walked one and struck one out in his scoreless inning. The Twins managed just four hits in the game. Lewin Diaz was 1-3 with a walk and his 14th double. Alex Kirilloff was also 1-3 with a walk. Caleb Hamilton added his fifth double. Roberto Gonzalez doubled for the third time. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, Red Sox 1 Box Score Jordan Balazovic put together the best start of his very young professional career on Saturday morning. The young Canadian threw six shutout innings to earn his second win. He gave up five hits, walked none and struck out two. Matz Schutt hit two and gave up a hit in a scoreless seventh inning. Juan Gamez made his second pitching appearance. In this one, he gave up a run on two hits and a walk in just two-thirds of an inning. Clark Beeker got the final out of the eighth and then pitched a scoreless ninth for his second GCL save. Juan Miranda went 2-3 with his seventh double. Lean Marrero was 2-4 with his third stolen base. Justin Hazard knocked his fifth double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Eades, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – TJ White, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (1:05 CST) - LHP Nick Greenwood Montgomery @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) - RHP Keaton Steele Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Elizabethton @ Burlington (5:00 CST) - RHP Tyler Wells GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. Click here to view the article