Cody Christie

Download attachment: mauercatch.jpg After an injury-plagued 2011 season, the Twins had to take an alternative approach with Joe Mauer and his time on the defensive side of the ball. In 2012,he started 72 games at catcher, 42 games at DH, and 30 games at first base. It was the first time in Mauer's career where he started more than 100 games and didn't play at least 90 games behind the plate. In spring training, Mauer made it be known that he wanted more time at catcher. Ron Gardenhire and the Twins front office have met his request.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Mauer has started 81 of the Twins 86 games this season. He has started 54 at catcher, 22 at DH, and five games at first base. He's up to 484.2 innings; that puts him on pace to get over 900 innings for the sixth time in his career. Innings at Catcher 2005: 999.2 2006: 1059.1 2007: 777.2 2008: 1203.0 2009: 939.0 2010: 951.2 2011: 408. 2 2012: 628.1 Mauer has also been more effective at his natural position. According to the defensive runs saved statistic, Mauer is having his best season. The highest mark he has posted in any season is three runs above average. In 2013, he has already posted his best defensive runs saved mark with five runs above average. Only Royals catcher Salvador Perez has a higher mark among American League catchers. Another area where Mauer has shown improvement is rSB or "Stolen Base Runs Saved." This stat measures how many "runs" a catcher contributes to their team by throwing out runners and preventing runners from attempting steals in the first place. Mauer is tied with Matt Wieters for first place in the AL with two runs saved. In 2007, Mauer posted his highest rSB with three runs saved, so he could be on pace to break that mark. This year runners have found it harder to steal bases on Mauer. For his career, Mauer has thrown out 33% of potential base stealers. This season he has been able to raise his percentage to 46%; the league average is 25%. His caught stealing percentage currently ranks second in the AL behind Yan Gomes of the Indians. A catcher's ability to frame pitches continues to be something that interests fans. Ryan Doumit is one of the worst catchers at framing pitches and this can be tough on Twins pitchers. Joe Mauer does better behind the plate and umpires are more willing to give him some close calls. Over the course of his career, Mauer has compiled some of the best catcher framing seasons in history. To think about where the Twins were a season ago with the 2012 version of Mauer, it is hard to believe the team has gotten to this low point with the 2013 Mauer. There were plenty of questions about how much time Mauer should spend behind the plate. It seems that Mauer has put many of those concerns to rest. He is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball and the Twins are a better team when he is behind the dish. He's also not too bad with a bat in his hand and Twins fans are lucky to watch him on a daily basis. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Romero-Deibinson.jpg Before the season began, Deibinson Romero wasn't cracking top prospect lists. As a 26-year old prospect(?), there had been some tough seasons in the minor leagues. He needed multiple seasons in Beloit, Fort Myers, and New Britain. After 2,600 plate appearances in the minors, Romero had never faced a pitch above Double-A. Things have changed so far this season for Mr. Romero.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] This year it took another trip back to the Eastern League for Romero to get back on track and he did so in a big way. He wasn't there long, batting .355/.429/.710 with three home runs and two doubles in eight games. The team promoted him to Rochester and he has continued putting together his best professional season. Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com In 18 games at Rochester, Romero is hitting .308/.394/.583 with four home runs and two doubles. Those numbers are great but he has been even better in the last ten games. Over that stretch, Romero is hitting .395/.452/.684 with three home runs. This also includes one game on June 3rd where he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI. On the defensive side, Romero has continued to improve his play at third. He has averaged close to 20 errors a season over the last four years. So far this year he has three errors in 55 chances. If he continues to hit well and play strong defense it will be hard for the front office not to notice him. One man who has noticed his recent play is Ron Gardenhire. In an interview this weekend, the Twins skipper said, "He's gotten better and better. He's really brought himself back into the picture here. Another option -- and he is an option for me." This is high praise from a manager who has seen a revolving door at third base since the departure of Corey Koskie many years ago. The Twins coaching staff was excited at the prospect of getting an extended look at Romero during spring training this year. Unfortunately, Romero got tied up in the Dominican Republic due to a visa issue. This cost him a chance to impress the front office and Gardenhire's staff. There might be some issues with finding a place for Romero. He is currently not on the 40-man roster so the Twins would need to clear a space for him in order to call him up. The Twins have been willing to move people from the 40-man roster this year so this shouldn't be much of a stumbling block for Romero. Another obstacle in Romero's way could be the return of a healthy Trevor Plouffe. The last month has been interesting for Plouffe. He was placed on the 7-day concussion disabled list after sliding hard into second base to break up a double play. On the day he was removed from concussion DL, he injured his calf in warm-ups and he had to be placed on the 15-day DL. Plouffe will be heading to Rochester on a rehab assignment at the start of this week. This could mean his return to the line-up in the next handful of days. Minnesota has struggled since Plouffe went on the disabled list May 22. Entering play on Sunday, third basemen have combined to go 7-for-68 (.103) with one extra-base hit. There will be a lot of talk about Miguel Sano's promotion from High-A to Double-A because he is the future at third base. However, Romero has been a pleasant surprise this season and it would be nice to see him get an opportunity to prove himself on the big league stage. Click here to view the article

It's the last Friday of the regular season and that means this will be the last Friday the Twins will be playing until opening week of next year. That might be sad to think about for some fans but it has been two tough seasons in a row. The 162 game schedule can be grueling for the players and it seems logical to think some of them are ready for their up coming break. It's been the second year in a row that the Twins haven't been close to making the playoffs and that hasn't happened since the 1999-2000 campaigns. Sigh... [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]There are things to watch as the season comes to a close. Joe Mauer is inching closer to the top of the leader board for the batting title in the American League. It would be his fourth batting title and his first title since 2009, his MVP year and the last season in the Metrodome. Over the last six games with the Tigers and the Blue Jays, Scott Diamond could add to his already impressive season and Glen Perkins could increase his final save total. If Willingham is healthy, he could tack on a few more home runs to his final tally. After losing two out of three to the Yankees, the Twins will try to play the upset role with the Tigers over the weekend. Twins pitchers can help Mauer get closer to a batting title if they can hold Miguel Cabrera in check. Before the start of the weekend, check out the latest edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Glen Perkins took a reporter pitch by pitch through his save against the Yankees and it turned into an interesting and entertaining article.Since 1990, there has been quite the variety of Twins prospects to crack Baseball America's Top 100 list.It has been quite the journey for Sam Deduno to get to this point.Jared Burton has looked good for the Twins this year so what should they do about his future?As the season comes to a close, it's time for the Twins to concede that it was a lost year.Josh Willingham has most likely been the most clutch player on the Twins in 2012.Is clubhouse chemistry something the Twins need to consider going into the offseason?Baseball America named Byron Buxton as the top prospect in the Gulf Coast League and later in the week he was named top prospect in the Appalachian League.For Liam Hendriks, it has been a homer happy season at the big league level.Since Ron Gardenhire took over as manager, the Twins have followed an interesting pattern.There are questions in the middle infield for the Twins and it's tough to know where Jamey Carroll fits into the picture.It was a turnaround year for Ben Revere.Kevin Love threw out the first pitch at a Twins game earlier this week. Download attachment: love_firstpitch.jpg In one of the coolest stories of the year, Adam Greenberg is going to get one at-bat in the big leagues after a tragic end to his only plate appearance.With every victory for RA Dickey this year, it looks like Twins had him on their roster a few years too early.Cleveland is making a managerial change with six games to go in the season. Luckily, they had their next manager wanting to take over.Doug Fister set a new American League record by striking out nine consecutive batters.An interesting Babe Ruth autograph was found in an surprising location.Brandon McCarthy suffered quite the head injury when he was hit in the side of the head with a ball off the bat. He doesn't think helmets should mandatory for pitchers though.Torii Hunter Jr. is a very good high school wide receiver and he committed to play football at Notre Dame.It might be tough for Ozzie Guillen to find another managing job if the Marlins fire him.Is it time to rethink Native America imagery in sports?The Wall Street Journal named the most bias announcers and there wasn't much of a surprise at the top.My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Cabrera vs. Trout: The MVP Debate for the AgesTuesday: Matt Capps and his looming option yearWednesday: The Killer Speed of Byron BuxtonThursday: Ryan and Gardenhire speak to season ticket holders Video of the Week: One of the best defensive plays of the year happened this week and it came from an unlikely source. Travis Snider did his best impersonation of Michael Jordan and Spider-Man while hauling in a ball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I enjoy the fan underneath Snider and a little to the right that is standing up and pointing at him making the catch. Enjoy and have a great weekend Click here to view the article

Download attachment: No_Hitter.jpg There have been two series so far for the Twins and each one has produced the same result, a Twins win. Minnesota is tied with the Chicago White Sox for first place in the Central Division. It is very early in the season but the Twins are finding ways to keep games close and to come out victorious. Similarly remarkable things are happening in the Twins farm system. One pitching staff combined for a no-hitter and plenty of the top prospects in the organization are off to hot starts. There were a few other surprises as we take a look around the Twins minor league system. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Cedar Rapids Kernels 9, Beloit Snappers 1 Box Score It was a special day in Cedar Rapids as three Kernels pitchers combined to toss the organization's first no-hitter of the 2013 season. Tyler Duffey started for the Kernels and tossed seven perfect innings before being removed. He struck out seven and picked up his first win of the year. Duffey, the Twins fifth round pick last year, was starting his first game with the organization after being used as a relief pitcher in Elizabethton at the end of last year. Josue Montanez would pitch the eighth inning and he surrendered the only run of the game for Cedar Rapids. He walked three batters in the frame and this allowed Beloit to get on the board. Tim Atherton struck out the side in the ninth inning to close out the no-hitter. On the offensive side of the ball, Bryon Buxton continued his strong start to the season. He went 4-for-5 with his first double and his first triple of the year. Buxton is now hitting .563 with three extra-base hits and four runs scored as the leadoff hitter for Cedar Rapids. Dalton Hicks went 3-for-4 with a couple doubles. Travis Harrison also notched a couple of hits including his third double of the year. Ft. Myers Miracle 9, Bradenton Marauders 8 (10 Innings) Box Score Fort Myers continued their hot start to the year by winning their fourth consecutive game. The Miracle jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on the strength of a five run third inning. Michael Gonzalez hit his second home run of the year to give the Miracle the go-ahead lead. He knocked in three runs in the game. Miguel Sano had a three hit game to raise his batting average to .438. Eddie Rosario went 4-for-6 with a double and two runs. Andy Leer also had his first home run of the season. Scott Diamond made his first rehab start in this game. He pitched five innings and gave up four earned runs including one long ball. All of the runs came in a long fourth inning. Madison Boer pitched in relief of Diamond and gave up four earned runs of his own. There were some control problems as he had three walks in a little over two innings of work. Chad Rodgers got the win and Corey Williams picked up his second save with a perfect bottom of the tenth inning. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Richmond Flying Squirrels 3 (11 innings) Box Score New Britain was the lone Twins affiliate to lose on Sunday. It was a tough luck loss as the club fell in extra-innings to mark their third loss on the season. The Rock Cats were leading for most of the game after the team scored a run in the second and the fourth innings. Michael Tonkin gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth to blow the save and let Richmond back in the game. Highly touted pitching prospect Alex Meyer made his Double-A debut and did well. He threw five innings and gave up one run on six hits. He struck out eight and issued one walk. Meyer threw 75 pitches in the game and 53 were for strikes. It was a slow offensive day for New Britain. The Rock Cats combined for five hits in the game. No hitter had more than one hit. Josmil Pinto cracked his first home run of the year in the second inning. Daniel Ortiz got his first triple of the year. The team was 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position and the club left 15 men on base. Rochester Red Wings 14, Buffalo Bisons 5 Box Score The Red Wings were riding a three game losing streak to start the year but they made sure to snap that skid on Sunday. The team pounded out 17 hits and scored 14 runs. There were home runs from a trio of players including Brandon Boggs, Chris Colabello, and Clete Thomas. Colabello would finish the game 4-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and two RBI. It was the first four hit game of the Red Wings season and of his career in affiliated baseball. He is hitting an eye-popping .600 through four games. Thomas would knock in five runs with a homer and a two-bagger to his credit. Oswaldo Arcia continued his hot start to the year by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored. The 3-4-5 hitters combined to go 10-for-13 with two home runs, two doubles, 9 RBI, and 8 runs. Virgil Vazquez had plenty of run support as his team scored 10 runs for him in the first two innings. He threw six frames by allowing eight hits and four earned runs, all solo home runs. Michael O'Connor pitched two innings in relief and gave up one run on two hits. Anthony Slama got the final three outs of the game for the first Red Wings W. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Josh+Willingham+Justin+Mornea.jpg In an interview with reporters on Monday night at the Winter Meetings, Minnesota Twins General Manager Terry Ryan tamed expectations. When asked if the Twins will be competitive in 2013, he said, "We will try to have that happen... We have to be realistic on all fronts." This most likely means that the Twins won't be handing out buckets of cash to front-line starting pitching but that could be expected from the start of the offseason. There could be some other deeper meanings that are going to transpire in the rest of this offseason or before the end of the year. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] If the Twins can't be competitive in 2013, what else should the club accomplish before the start of next season? Is it time to dump Justin Morneau and/or Josh Willingham? From the sounds of reports, neither Morneau or Willingham will be changing jerseys before the start of the year. Morneau will be entering the last year of his contract and is due $14 million. Willingham only joined the club last season but his value might be at its highest after a career year. If the Twins were able to trade both of these players for talent that would be ready in the next couple of seasons, it could be a step in the right direction. Morneau's money will also be off the books for 2014 so this could help the Twins add depth at other positions. Will the outfield of the future be able to breakout by 2014? Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks each had fantastic seasons in 2012, but were at the Double-A level. Both players will likely start at Triple-A in 2013, and both could see their major league debut at some point next season. An outfield with Arcia, Hicks and Ben Revere could be in place for multiple seasons if all of these players can stay healthy and productive. The jump from Double-A all the way to the big leagues can come with some bumps and bruises so the Twins might have to be patient with their rising prospects. Could the rotation be stronger by the start of 2014? Entering next season, the Twins have plenty of question marks in the rotation. By 2014, some of those question marks might be dissolved. Kyle Gibson will most certainly be on an innings limit in 2013 after coming back from Tommy John surgery and he might not even start the year in the rotation. In 2014, he should be able to pitch a full season and he should be in the starting rotation from the start of the year. Newly acquired Alex Meyer will most likely start next year in Double-A, which could mean he debuts with the Twins by the end of 2013. If Gibson and Meyer can put together positive seasons, these two pitchers along with Scott Diamond could make up three-fifths of the rotation in 2014. For a successful 2014, a lot of things have to go right in 2013. The Twins need Arcia and Hicks to continue to progress and Diamond, Gibson and Meyer to stay healthy. When relying on younger players, there can be a learning curve and that might be why the Twins would want to trade other player this offseason. By giving some of these younger players time to iron out the kinks, the team could be better set up for success in the future. Most fans know the Twins aren't going to win 100 games next year. It would be nice to see the Twins be competitive in what has been a very winnable division during the last few seasons. But the time doesn't feel right for the Twins to charge back in the Central. It might be more important to focus on the future and moves that will help the Twins succeed in the long run. <br> Click here to view the article

The Twins seem to have found a nice little groove over the course of the last week. In their six games since last weekend's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks," the Twins have posted a respectable 4-2 record with plenty of offense along the way. Jamey Carroll, Justin Morneau, and Ryan Doumit all hit over .400 in the last week and Morneau, Doumit, and Josh Willingham each had multiple home runs during that span. Ben Revere saw his hitting streak reach 21-games before he was held hitless against Cleveland on Wednesday. It was an overall positive week for the Twins and they find themselves a game and a half out of the cellar in the AL Central. It was a slow week here at NoDak Twins Fan because I was in the midst of moving to a new apartment in Fargo and I had no access to internet for the last seven or so days. I had to get creative with how I connected to social media and I turned to my smart phone a lot to stay updated on the latest happenings. The internet got hooked up at my new place yesterday morning so it felt great to be able to type out a post for Friday morning after a short hiatus. I will be back next week with a full slate of Twins coverage including my regular Tuesday night minor league update and plenty of other news from across the organization.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] For now, get ready for a great weekend but make sure to check out the links that I provided below with some of my favorite stories from the last week. As always, there will be a few surprises along the way. Enjoy! Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a series to forget against Cleveland but the Twins are sticking with him at least until Trevor Plouffe is healthy.It is good to see Max Kepler putting it all together in the last month for the E-Twins.As the Twins saw this week, the Indians are a mess but they still ended their 11-game losing streak with a victory versus Minnesota.Former Twins slugger Jim Thome is going to miss another month of play and he might not play again in 2012.The outfield for the Twins could be fun to watch in 2014.While the future outfield looks bright, the current outfield has been very good for the Twins.There are plenty of former Twins players that you may have lost track of in recent years.Alex Wimmers will be following the same recovery template that Kyle Gibson did with the Twins.In what seems like a surprise move, the Twins top two picks from this year have already moved up a level in the minor leagues.After missing most of the last two seasons, Morneau seems like he can finally hit offspeed offerings again.Frank Viola pitched in a Game 7 of the World Series and that was nothing compared to watching his daughter compete in the Olympics.If the Twins are willing to trade Morneau in the coming offseason, there are other options for the Twins to fill his spot.Jose Mijares was let go by the Twins in the offseason and now it seems that hardly anyone wanted the lefty when he was put on waivers. I enjoyed this explanation that he might just have bad b.o.Have you ever wondered what MLB does to warn a pitcher if he takes too long between pitches?Eric Thames literally made sparks in a game earlier this week.There are 18 creepy hats on sale at MLB.com and Twins mascot TC is part of one of them.http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pWcsHb_ULrU/UCP-pKueZVI/AAAAAAAADHk/ORh3rIyexuw/s320/mascotcaps.jpg It took 29-year old Jim Henderson 10 years to make it to the big leagues and he is already the closer for the Brewers.Clint Eastwood has a new movie coming out and it looks like it is an anti-Moneyball movie with a whole bunch of story lines.On Wednesday, it was the anniversary of the White Sox wearing their horrible jerseys with shorts. They should have brought them out of retirement for the day.I wish I could make finds like this at the thrift store.Mike Trout is not only the best player in the American League, he also celebrated his 21st-birthday by hitting the ball out of the park.It's dangerous to have your parents be White Sox fans.The Houston Astrodome continues to stand even though it can't be used any more.Buster Posey is the first MLB player to have his own iPhone game.I love listening to Vin Scully and his translation of Jim Tracy's on-field meltdown was classic.My Weekly Rundown Monday: Should fans have expected more from Valencia?Video of the Week: As already mentioned, Nishioka is back in the big leagues. That leads to some wonderful defensive plays like this. Even as a Twins fan, it is funny to see how awful he has been on the defensive side of the ball but any player can lose a ball in the sun... right... Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's finally Friday and the Twins are coming home to welcome a couple of teams that have yet to make a trip to Target Field. Interleague play means the Cubs and the Phillies will make their inaugural trek to Minneapolis to explore the friendly confines of Target Field. Some people love interleague play and others hate it. I see both sides of the argument but I do enjoy getting to see some National League players that I wouldn't normally get to see otherwise. Lucky enough for the Twins, the Cubs and the Phillies have also been struggling through the early portion of the season. Both teams are under .500 and the Cubs are one of two teams in all of baseball that have fewer wins than the Twins. The Phillies do play very well on the road with a 16-12 record so far but the Twins should be able to put up a good fight in the next couple series.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The MLB Draft was the main story for most of the week but there was still plenty of other news and notes from around the league. Check out this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." The Twins selected high school outfielder Byron Buxton with the second pick in the draft on Monday. You can like his page on Facebook or you can follow him on Twitter for the latest updates.Here is the official video of Bud Selig announcing Byron Buxton as the Twins pick along with his reaction.If you want to know more about Buxton, check out this profile on him.Speaking of the draft, I was on the Seth Speaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcastto discuss the draft and the current situation with the Twins.Former Twins pitcher RA Dickey is having an amazing year for the Mets and he seems to be one that got away.Twins catching prospect Chris Herrmann sat down for an interview with Twins Fan From Afar.After the draft, the next major milestone in the season will be the trade deadline and there could be more than one team vying for the services of Denard Span.Span was taken in the draft that took place 10 years ago. So what happened to all of those players?Trevor Plouffe was called out and he seems to have answered with a recent hot streak.Last Friday former Twins ace Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in Mets history and the ticket stubs are selling for more than games that have yet to be played.Here is the complete list of players that the Twins took in all 40 rounds of the draft.There was an issue with Jeff Manship's jersey on Wednesday night and something like this has happened to him before.http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WCBMrV7E1gQ/T9FmK6u_B8I/AAAAAAAAB8o/i67bJY6drKM/s400/jeffmanshipormanhsip.jpg It didn't take long for Jason Marquis to get back to the majors but the results in his first start were similar to when he was with the Twins as he got the loss.There was a crazy first pitch at a Rochester Red Wings game this week.Jim Thome is back from the DL in enough time to make a return trip to Target Field.Earlier this week, it was the anniversary of D-Day and there are some baseball connections to this historically significant day.The Territory Train went to Beloit last week and here are some thoughts on some of the best players for the Snappers.Did the Twins stay with the pitch-to-contact approach in the draft for too long?Miguel Sano headlines a group of Snappers headed to the Midwest All-Star Game.The Twins have been winning more games lately but could this be a bad thing?My Weekly Rundown Monday: 2012 Twins MLB Draft PrimerTuesday: Twins go with Buxton over AppelTuesday's Trip through the MinorsThursday: Liriano seems to be changing his release pointVideo of the Week: Denard Span did an interview with MLB Network's Intentional Talk while the team was in Kansas City. The whole interview is a lot of fun and it is always cool to see the players kick back and have some fun. So take a couple minutes and watch Denard talk about some silly topics Click here to view the article

Download attachment: ecommerce-vs-traditional-shopping.jpg Everything was nice and fuzzy last Friday when the Minnesota Twins had pulled off some nice wins and they had themselves near the top of the American League. Things have changed in the last week as the club got swept by the Kansas City Royals and the Twins are near the bottom of the AL Central. However, there was still plenty of good material across the web this week. Check out the latest edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks" and have a fantastic weekend! Eduardo Escobar seems to have found a good niche with Minnesota. The Twins front office looked pretty silly after the $15 batting practice story came out. Miguel Sano is the youngest player in the Florida State League. Minnesota has the fourth most money to spend on the international market this year, which will feature a tiered cap for the first time. Denard Span might have the whole beating traffic thing figured out. Vance Worley is an interesting character. Fans are going to have to be patient with the Twins youngsters. Jake Mauer has a new job and some interesting prospects to tutor. Supplemental draft picks have a tough decision between college and professional baseball. Is the glass half empty or half full for the Twins?We talked about this on this week's episode of Talk to Contact so here is Bryce Harper's older brother and his fantastic mustache. It's real and it's spectacular. One of the most powerful stories from this week looks at Ken Griffey Jr. and his attempt at suicide. It is hard to believe "The Sandlot" turns 20 this year. Here is a look at where the stars are now. The most valuable baseball card in the world was altered even though people suspected this for years. Vin Scully can make anything sound better even when he doesn't know the meaning of hashtag. A goat's head showed up on the doorstep of Wrigley Field. The Kansas City Royals almost ended up with a dome but thankfully they didn't. Who does this Justin Verlander bobblehead look like? My vote is for Jamey Carroll. Plenty of fans don't like the wave but these Nats fans are going to the extreme. Will there be an MLB International Draft for 2014? MLB is going to establish a training academy in Puerto Rico. Those fancy pink wireless phones haven't shown up in the dugout yet.My Weekly Rundown Monday: Talk to Contact: Episode 32Tuesday: Anthony Swarzak could be key to the bullpen Wednesday: Will the real Twins base stealers, please stand up? Wet Wednesday in the MinorsVideo of the Week: A terrible strike call end a game with the Rangers and the Rays earlier this week. One of the biggest parts of this strike was the fact that it capped Joe Nathan's 300th save in the big leagues. Twins fans got to see Nathan climb the club's all-time list before he broke the record. He continues to rack up saves and it will be interesting to see how high he can get on MLB's all-time list. Click here to view the article

Much like the major league squads, the best players at the Triple-A level gathered in Reno, Nevada for their All-Star Game Wednesday evening. The Rochester Red Wings had two representatives, Chris Colabello and Andrew Albers, and they both played roles in different parts of the game. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Colabello was the starting first baseman for the International League team and he batted in the third spot in the order. After not hitting any home runs in the Triple-A Home Run Derby, Colabello looked to make some noise with his bat. He got the scoring started with an RBI double in the top of the first. He ended the night going 1-for-3. Albers pitched the fourth inning and things didn't go exactly perfectly. The first two batters reached on singles; a passed ball moved both men into scoring position. Albers coaxed a ground out that drove in a run from the next batter. With a runner on third and one out, Albers struck out the next batter for the second out. The final batter of the inning hit a ball hard but it was right at the center fielder. New Britain Rock Cats 4, Harrisburg Senators 3 Box Score The Rock Cats pounded out 11 hits, squeaking out a one-run victory over the Senators. The win brought New Britain to within two games of .500. Since the All-Star Game last Wednesday, the club has posted a 3-4 record. Tomorrow marks the start of an important eight-game home stand over the next seven days. DJ Baxendale pitched admirably, throwing 5.2 innings and limiting the Senators to two runs. He gave up five hits and struck out two while walking one. After starting the year 7-0 with the Miracle, his victory on Wednesday gave him with a 3-3 record at Double-A. He's allowed two earned runs or fewer in his last three outings. Eddie Rosario has been on a tear lately. He's in the midst of a seven-game hit streak and in his last 10 games he is batting .366/.409/.561. In this afternoon's contest, he went 3-for-5 with half his team's RBI. Rosario is hitting .306/.374/.494 with 12 extra-base hits in the 31 games since his promotion. Danny Santana did a good job setting the table ahead of Rosario. He went 2-for-4 i with his 16th double and he scored two runs out of the leadoff spot. Santana has a nice five-game hitting streak of his own, so he and Rosario are doing a fine job at the top of the order. Fort Myers Miracle 6, Dunedin Blue Jays 4 Box Score Kennys Vargas came up with a big two-run double in the top of the ninth to help put a stop to the Miracle's six game losing streak. Recent games saw Vargas deep in a 1-for-18 slump and he had already gone 0-2 in this game with two strikeouts. The big hit from Vargas wasn't the only story from this game. DJ Hicks, in his Florida State League debut, got the Miracle on the board early with a two-run home run. Byron Buxton helped add to the lead when he hit a fly ball that was lost in the lights. He ended up at third base and eventually came in to score. Aderlin Mejia, Matt Koch, and JD Williams each added two hits. Tyler Duffey was excellent on the mound but he ended up with a no-decision. He tossed seven shutout innings while allowing one hit. Through the game he had to work around four walks but it helped he was able to strike out seven. The Miracle brought a lead into the eighth inning before a rough outing from Nelvin Fuentes. He gave up four hits including the go-ahead grand slam. After the Vargas double, Zach Jones came on in the ninth to earn his tenth save. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Lake County Captains 6 (12 innings) Box Score This game continued long into the night as neither club could gain the advantage. Both teams managed big four run innings in the early going before reaching a stalemate at the end of nine. Christian Powell started the game and he made it through five innings after a rough fourth. Overall, he gave up five runs on seven hits including two long balls. He wasn't around for the end of this game as it turned into a battle of the bullpens. Dallas Gallant recorded five outs and he did so by striking out all five. There were some wild moments among those five outs as he threw a couple wild pitches and base runners-- one walked and one reached first on a third strike wild pitch--were on in both frames he worked. David Hurlbut also struck out five after coming on into a tough situation, in the bottom of the seventh, with a runner at third base. One unearned run was scored against him as he allowed only one hit in over two innings of. The Kernels struck out 19 Captains with the help of two strikeouts each for Alex Muren and Tim Shibuya in the last two innings. Jorge Polanco helped to stop what seemed like an endless game which lasted four hours and six minutes. His RBI single in the top of the 12th inning was the first run for the Kernels since the sixth inning. Earlier in the game Jeremias Pineda hit his second home run of the year, a three-run shot. He ended the night 3-for-5 with four runs scored. Niko Goodrum was 4-5 with two walks. GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 4 Box Score The bullpen for the GCL Twins gave up three runs in the final three innings to cough up the lead. The Rays took an early lead by scoring in the bottom of the first. The Twins came back and scored three runs in the middle frames to regain the lead. Unfortunately, it didn't last and the team dropped one game under .500 and 2.5 games out of first place. Zach Larson powered the offense with two hits, including his fourth home run of the year. Chad Christensen had the only other extra-base hit with a triple and he came around to score. Alex Swim has a five-game hitting streak after going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Alex Wimmers continued his comeback from Tommy John surgery. He pitched two innings and gave up one earned run. He was able to strike out three batters but he did walk a couple. Stephen Gonsalves tossed three innings, struck out three, and gave up his first run of the year, raising his ERA to 1.13. Daniel Sattler was charged with the loss after giving up two runs on four hits in one inning. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Meyer_Alex_headshot_US_720.jpg Two men were having very different feelings on Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta. Chris Colabello continued his remarkable journey, making his MLB debut in Atlanta. His dream came true today. But the nightmarish season for Vance Worley continued as the Braves roughed him up for 10 hits and eight earned runs in less than four innings of work. Following the game, the Twins sent Worley to Rochester to try working out his kinks. In the minors, Alex Meyer was on the mound for New Britain, the Miracle tried to continue their winning ways, and Cedar Rapids faced a familiar foe in the Beloit Snappers. Let's go down on the pond![PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings (Off Day) While the Red Wings enjoyed an off-day, two of their best offensive players from the beginning of the year were playing against the Atlanta Braves. Oswaldo Arcia and Chris Colabello had put together numbers in the International League that were worthy of promotion. Now it will likely become harder for Rochester's struggling offense to put up runs. The team ranks 9th in the International League in OPS and 11th in runs scored. Infielder Deibinson Romero was promoted from New Britain to try to spark the offense. Romero was hitting .355 in eight games with three homers and six RBI. In a corresponding move, Nate Hanson was down sent to New Britain. Rochester will look to turn things around during an eight game homestand. The club has lost six of their last nine and they sit nine games out of first place in the International League North. Both teams coming to Rochester in the next week are below .500, so this homestand gives the Wings a chance to make up some ground. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Binghamton Bees 8 Box Score A costly error by Rock Cats shortstop Danny Santana led to three unearned runs in the four run fourth inning. Those runs put New Britain in a hole they were never able to climb out of. He had another error in the ninth inning. Santana had 18 errors last year at shortstop and his two errors today push his 2013 total to 17. He hasn't been getting on base or hitting for much power so he needs to make some strides on the defensive side of the ball. Alex Meyer started and pitched into the seventh inning. Over 6.2 innings, he gave up three earned runs on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. It was the first time all season he has recorded an out in the seventh inning. This was his best start in May and one hopes that he is turning a corner for the rest of the year. On the offensive side of the ball, Daniel Ortiz put together a three hit effort. He hit his 15th and 16th doubles of the year and scored a run. In the last ten games, he has a .333 batting average with six doubles. Reynaldo Rodriguez added his 11th double of the year. In his first game since being demoted, Nate Hanson went 0-for-4. The Rock Cats have lost 9 of their last 10; it has been a rough stretch of baseball. The team can salvage a split of their series with Binghamton if they win on Thursday. Over the long weekend, New Britain will play a four-game set against New Hampshire. Fort Myers Miracle 1, Lakeland Flying Tigers 4 Box Score The Miracle scored a quick run in the top of the first inning and then the Lakeland pitching staff proceeded to put a lot of zeros on the scoreboard. Fort Myers didn't score another run and the Flying Tigers pounded out 13 hits. Matt Koch was the only Miracle batter to collect more than one hit. He went 2-for-4 with his first triple of the year. Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas, the three and four hitters, combined to go 0-for-7. Fort Myers had plenty of opportunities, leaving 10 runners on base and getting shut out in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Taylor Rogers pitched admirably, throwing five innings and allowing one earned run. He scattered nine hits but he was able to limit the damage. In the second, third, fourth innings he was able to leave the bases loaded, not allowing a run until the fifth inning. In a perfect eighth inning, Zach Jones struck out two and lowered his ERA to 0.90. Adrian Salcedo was saddled with his first loss of the year by giving up two runs over two innings. These are the first runs he has allowed in this month. The Miracle are 32-13 and they wrap up a seven-game road trip with their tilt against Lakeland tomorrow night. Following that game, Fort Myers will head home for a weekend series with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Cedar Rapids Kernels 6, Beloit Snappers 7 Box Score The Kernels tried, with a ninth inning rally, to be the only Twins affiliate to win on Wednesday. Trailing by three runs at the start of the frame, Candido Pimentel walked before a fielding error allowed Byron Buxton to reach. Niko Goodrum stepped to the plate as the tying run but he grounded into a double play. Jorge Polanco was the next batter and he sent one over the fence to cut the lead to one. But, to close the game, Dalton Hicks popped out to the catcher. Hudson Boyd coughed up seven earned runs in a little over five innings. The Snappers pounded out three home runs against him and he struck out four. Josue Montanez and Manuel Soliman combined to shut down the Snappers for the rest of the game. In fact, Beloit got only one more hit after Boyd left. None of the Kernels hitters were able to knock more than one hit. Byron Buxton was 1-for-4 with his 5th triple and 20th stolen base. J.D. Williams had an interesting line as he went 0-for-1 but collected three walks. Travis Harrison hit his 15th double. Cedar Rapids has two more games in Beloit before returning home for a six-game homestand. The Snappers are the team right behind the Kernels in the standings so these next two games are important to both teams. Click here to view the article

Don't look now but it looks like Francisco Liriano might have remembered how to pitch. His last two starts have looked much better than the horrendous pitcher that was on the mound at the beginning of the year. This might be jumping the gun a little since his last two outings came against two poor offenses, the Oakland A's and the Kansas City Royals. The Twins offense couldn't back the strong outing by Liriano because Bruce Chen shut them down at the plate. Jonathan Broxton made the ninth inning a little interesting with two men getting on base but he was still able to preserve the 1-0 win for the Royals. After a couple more games with the Royals, the Twins will head home to start a couple weeks of interleague play. The Cubs, Phillies, and Brewers will all visit Target Field and there is a chance for the Twins to do well with the way some of these teams have looked on the field. For now, let's look at the abbreviate minor league schedule from Tuesday night.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 4, NORFOLK 6 The Red Wings were facing a Tides roster full of players with major league experience in this game. Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts, and even former Twins player Lew Ford were all in action on Tuesday evening. Roberts had the biggest game out of this grouping with a 3-for-5 night including two doubles. Red Wings manager Gene Glynn must not have liked all of the MLB talent on the Tides because he got ejected for arguing a close play at the plate. As far as the Red Wings go, there were some decent nights at the plate even though it was in a losing effort. Rene Rivera went 3-for-3 with a couple of RBI and his third home run of the year. Pedro Florimon added a couple doubles in four at-bats to help raise his batting average to .270 for the year. After quite the hot streak in recent weeks, Chris Parmelee was held hitless in three trips to the plate. Matt Maloney started the contest for the Red Wings and there was some rough defense behind him with three errors charged to Rochester. He pitched five innings and allowed four runs on nine hits but only two of those runs were earned. Carlos Gutierrez was saddled with his second loss of the year for giving up two earned runs in the sixth inning. Casey Fien and Tyler Robertson combined to pitch three scoreless innings to end the game but it wasn't enough on this night. NEW BRITAIN 2, AKRON 6 Akron got to the Rock Cats starter BJ Hermsen with one run in the first and two runs in the third. It was Hermsen's first loss since the first week of May and he only gave up one earned run. An error by Estarlin De Los Santos cost the Rock Cats two runs in the fifth and it was hard for the team to recover from that point. It was a night for managers getting ejected as the Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith didn't stick around for much of this game as he was tossed in the top of the third. Andrew Albers followed Hermsen on the mound and he managed a very dubious distinction; he gave up two runs on no hits. The three walks he allowed came back to haunt him. The only pitcher to record an out for New Britain and not give up a run was Luis Perdomo and he only pitched one-third of an inning. Delbinson Romero went 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the year in support of the Rock Cats. Evan Bigley also hit a home run but that would be all of the scoring for New Britian. Rene Tosoni had a double but he also had a couple of strike-outs in the contest. Aaron Hicks left the game after trying to break-up a double play at second base so hopefully this is nothing serious. FORT MYERS -, TAMPA - The field conditions in Tampa were unplayable on Tuesday night after hours of rain during the day. This means the Miracle and Yankees will have to play a double-header on Wednesday to make-up for the lost game. Both games are scheduled to be seven inning affairs tomorrow evening. On Monday, Oswaldo Arcia was named Player of the Week by the Florida State League so make sure you check out the press release on his award. BELOIT (Off Day) After back-to-back losses at the hands of Wisconsin, the Snappers got a day of rest on Tuesday before they start a series versus Burlington. Two weeks from tonight the MWL All-Star Classic will be held and seven Snappers were named to the team. Miguel Sano will start the game at third base and he will be joined by fellow position players John Goncalves, Tyler Grimes, and Eddie Rosario. The pitchers from the Snapper to make the team were A.J. Achter, Michael Tonkin, Jason Wheeler. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Rene Rivera http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x3B8LuXugOI/T87VjDXTAjI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/UWEMDyxyYRE/s320/ReneRivera.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Casey Fien http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I6tfPwtaIQU/T87VnH7LciI/AAAAAAAAB1g/nrBIAT-0qYc/s320/CaseyFien.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, June 5th Schedule Rochester at Norfolk-RHP Steve Hirschfeld New Britain at Akron- RHP Brett Jacobson Fort Myers at Tampa (1)- RHP Marty Popham Fort Myers at Tampa (2)- LHP Cole Nelson Beloit at Burlington- LHP Jason Wheeler --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them. Click here to view the article

Since I was gone for most of the week, it was fun to put together this week's version of Friday Links-N-Thinks. It allowed me to get caught up on all of the news I might have missed this week and prepare for a little weekend of watching March Madness. Download attachment: mlb_g_michael-cuddyer_mb_576.jpg Enjoy!!! MLB released its social media policy and for the most part it seems to make sense. The Twins have started to clear out a little room in the clubhouse at Hammond Stadium by sending some players to the minor league camp. There are three weeks until Opening Day and Seth Stohs tried to piece together the 25-man roster that will be coming north for the Twins.Twins Fan From Afar wonders if the Twins need to hire a sports psychologist.Imagining the Twins starting rotation in 2013 could be scary business. Nick over at Top of the 1st has done a little roster analysis of the Twins during the week. Here are his middle infield notes. Really Scott Baker?!? I leave for a week and your elbow starts acting up?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Baseball Outsider wonders if Brian Duensing could be the LOOGY this season. Do veteran pitchers have more of an advantage in spring training? Minnesota Twins Musings tries to address this question. When I was in Arizona, there was plenty of talk about the addition of Jason Kubel to a crowded D-Backs outfield. It sounds like they want to keep it that way. Michael Cuddyer will be one of the youngest members of the Rockies lineup and that's not a good thing. Two Twins minor leaguers were suspended for PEDs this week but luckily they weren't huge prospects at this point. Ozzie Guillen got kicked out of his first game as manager of the Marlins and he did it to protect former Twins player Terry Tiffee. Who could be ready for a breakout season this year for the Twins? Jim Crikkett at Knuckleballs tries to find the answer. John Sickels at Minor League Ball wants fans to pick out which catching prospect is under pressure and Chris Herrmann made the list. Jim Thome is back in the NL and this means he might need his glove a couple of times this season. I never had anything against the Dodgers but now I do. Hello Kitty is evil.My Weekly Rundown Tuesday: Playing Pepper: 2012 Minnesota TwinsVideo of the Week: Trevor Bauer was the third pick in the 2011 MLB Draft and he could be ready to make some noise for the Arizona Diamondbacks this year. This video of him throwing long toss before a game is amazing to see. He could be close to setting a world record if his throws were official measured. Check it out. Click here to view the article

Brian Duensing put the Twins in an early hole by giving up two runs in each of the first two innings but the Twins were able to make a game of it versus the Tigers. A big bottom of the third inning helped to even the score with Josh Willingham providing most of the damage with a 3-run home run, his 30th of the season. It is a new career high for Willingham and it breaks the previous record that he set last season with Oakland. Unfortunately, the Twins woudn't score again and the Tigers would come out on top in this game. Most of the minor league teams fared better than the Twins so let's take a trip through the minors on a Tuesday night.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 3, INDIANAPOLIS 1 Things got a little dicey for the Red Wings in the ninth inning with two outs as the team was clinging to a 3-0 lead. Daniel Turpen had already pitched a couple of innings and it seemed like the last out was going to be a little troublesome for him to get. A double followed by a single brought the score within a couple runs. He walked the next batter to have runners at first and second and it was time to turn to another arm. Anthony Slama came in and struck out the final batter of the game on four pitches to earn his 10th save of the year. PJ Walters continues to make his way back from injury as he started the game and threw a little over two innings. He struck out two and only allowed a couple of hits. David Bromberg picked up his first win of the season as a member of the Red Wings in his third appearance since being called up from New Britain. He pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball while giving up three hits. Matt Carson did most of the offensive damage by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Chris Parmelee continues to punish Triple-A pitching with his 15th double of the season. Danny Lehmann had managed four total hits since being called up from New Britain in the middle of July and he almost doubled that total with three hits in this contest. It was the second time that he has hit two doubles in a game for Rochester. The Red Wings improved to 26-16 since July 1, the best record in the International League in that time. NEW BRITAIN 5, RICHMOND 1 Deibinson Romero notched his 17 home run of the year and knocked in three runs as the Rock Cats defeated the Flying Squirrels. Oswaldo Arcia scored a couple runs and hit his 16th double of the year with New Britain. Chris Herrmann and Nathan Hanson each went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. It was a very balanced offensive attack for the Rock Cats with 10 hits on the board by the end of the night. Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson were the only players to be held with out a hit in the game. Logan Darnell was the story of the game for New Britain as he held Richmond scoreless for six innings. He would finish the game with one run allowed on six hits and eight strikeouts. For Darnell, it was his ninth win of the year and his first victory since July 9th against New Hampshire. Bruce Pugh did a good job in relief by striking out four over two shutout innings. FORT MYERS 2, JUPITER 6 Kyle Gibson is continuing his trip back through the minor leagues as he tries to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. Tonight was his first start at Fort Myers since being promoted from the GCL Twins. It sounds like the Twins would like to see him reach Rochester by the end of the season and that would put him in a good position for next season. On this night, he would toss three innings and give up one run on three hits. The third inning could have been worse after he gave up back-to-back hits to start the frame. He worked out of the jam by only allowing one run and his night was done. Madison Boer came in for the next three innings and he was hit pretty hard to the tune of five runs on eight hits. By the end of the game, the Miracle posted ten hits but only two runs were able to cross the plate. Daniel Ortiz went 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the season since being promoted from Beloit. Josmil Pinto had a three hit game for the second time in his last five games. His 49th RBI came in the third inning and he ranks second on the team in this category. Daniel Santana had his third multi-hit game in the last five appearances for Fort Myers. BELOIT (OFF DAY) Back-to-back homers by Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas gave the Snappers a spark on Monday night to help the team enjoy their off day a little more. Beloit has been on quite the stretch of baseball over the last week and a half as the team has rolled off eight victories in their last nine games. A look at the standings shows the Snappers three games out of first place as they start a series versus the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Miguel Sano has hit another one of his hot stretches by batting .371/.439/.771 in his last ten games. Over that stretch, he has three home runs, three doubles, and a triple. It will be fun to see how high Sano can get his numbers by the end of the season. ELIZABETHTON 7, BLUEFIELD 3 A big offensive output in the first inning made it easy for the E-Twins to come out on top in this game. By the time the team loaded the bases in the first, Joshua Hendricks followed with a double and Travis Harrison tripled to clear the bases. A couple batters later Jorge Polanco hit a 2-run home run to put the team up for good. First round pick Byron Buxton went 1-for-4 in the game with a run scored and an RBI. Since being promoted to Elizabethton, Buxton has managed at least one hit in every other game. Brett Lee won his fourth game for the E-Twins and it was by far his best start since being moved into the rotation. He threw five innings and the only run and the only hit that he allowed was on a home run. His eight strikeouts were a career high and he lowered his ERA to 2.12 over his 14 appearances. Tyler Duffey pitched two perfect innings and struck out four. The E-Twins have won seven games in a row and they are 8.5 games up in the Appalachian League's West Division. GCL TWINS 2, GCL ORIOLES 0 GCL TWINS 0, GCL ORIOLES 3 Gonzalo Sanudo pitched five strong innings to put the GCL Twins in position to come out victorious. Even though he wasn't awarded the victory for his start, he still pitched five scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.03 in 31 innings pitched. Alexander Muren threw three perfect innings for his third victory and his first win since the middle of July. Melciades De La Cruz finished the game for his fifth save of the year. When a team scores two runs, there weren't a lot of outstanding offensive performances. Bryan Haar had the lone extra-base hit for the GCL Twins with a double that lead to a run in the ninth. Javier Pimentel knocked in a big second run in the top of the ninth to give the team a little bit more breathing room. The second game saw the GCL Twins compile six hits but the team left six runners on base and failed to score a run. There were no extra-base hits for the squad but Jermias Pineda and Logan Wade both had two hits in the contest. Pineda, the player acquired for Danny Valencia, has a .406/.439/.500 batting line during GCL play this season. He is an older player for the league but he seems to be performing decently well. Since this was a seven inning game, the Twins only had two pitchers take the mound. Yorman Landa pitched the first three innings and was charged for three runs on two hits with four strikeouts. His three walks allowed came back to haunt him and he was charged with his second loss in as many starts. Kuo Hua Lo pitched the last four frames without allowing a run. He gave up a couple hits but struck out five without walking a batter. --- Players of the Day for August 14, 2012 Pitcher of the Day: Logan Darnell (6.2 IP, 1 ER, 8 SO) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bln4Q51iMEI/UCsJPDj-ocI/AAAAAAAADIU/m03T8embCMI/s320/LoganDarnell.JPG Hitter of the Day: Matt Carson (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4qQ4cxEc-Fk/UCsJ984TsyI/AAAAAAAADIc/lcod7Mrpens/s320/MattCarson.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, August 15th Schedule Rochester vs. Indianapolis- RHP Esmerling Vasquez New Britain vs. Richmond- RHP BJ Hermsen Fort Myers vs. Jupiter- RHP Matthew Summers Beloit vs. Wisconsin- RHP Cole Johnson Elizabethton @ Bluefield- RHP Hudson Boyd GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays- TBA --- If you have any questions or comments on the minor league system, leave them in the comments section and someone will certainly answer them. Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boy did it feel good to have a day to recover on Thursday after watching the Twins get no-hit by Jared Weaver on Wednesday night. This performance came on the heels of the Twins putting together a lack luster performance against Jerome Williams on Tuesday night. All together the Twins have been held hitless in 15 straight innings and now their focus will turn to the Seattle Mariners. The Twins record sits at 6-18, the worst in Major League Baseball, and they have lost nine of their last ten games. Compiled with the terrible season last year, this bad start has some of the fan base up in arms. There are plenty of challenges facing the Twins but there are still lots of games left on the schedule for the team to try and figure out how to turn this mess around. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There are still some positives to find in the baseball world. The Twins have the number two pick in the MLB Draft that is a little over a month away. There are surprise division leaders in Washington, Cleveland, and Los Angeles and Matt Kemp looks like he could be on pace for one of the most historic seasons in history. Just last weekend, teenage phenom Bryce Harper made his debut for the Nationals and he has lived up to the hype in his first week in the big leagues. Take some time to enjoy some of the great baseball related stories linked below and make sure to have a great weekend across Twins Territory. Since the first month of the season is over, Seth Stohs picked out the minor league players of the month for the Twins system. In a series of posts, he selected the best hitter, the top starting pitcher, and the number one relief arm.Speaking of Stohs, I was one of many guests on the Seth Speaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. We discussed a variety of Twins topics in the last 15 minutes of the show.Francisco Liriano might have taken some positives steps forward this week, but Parker Hageman wonders if it will continue.Twins Fan From Afar looks into Joe Mauer and his frequency (or none frequency) of hitting into 4-3 putouts.In a popular post from Twins Daily, John Bonnes breaks down the anatomy of a Mauer boo.Forbes magazine did a story on the top mascots in all of sports but TC was no where to be found in the top 10.Sean Burroughs seemed like he could be a feel good story for the Twins but his time with the club was short lived and Nick Nelson looks into why he was dropped.Seedlings to Stars put together their second version of the 2012 Mock Draft. Who will the Twins take at number two?Puckett's Pond asks the question, "Why do the Twins keep snubbing Anthony Slama?"One of the worst calls in baseball history was made this week when Jerry Hairston was called out on a play at first base. Here is the photo evidence:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kADK2j_dGEM/T6NDix8slwI/AAAAAAAABPw/s-iLtkJDQIY/s320/WelkeBadCall.jpg It turns out Mark Prior is still finding work in professional baseball. Just think the Twins could have picked him instead of Mauer.I don't know what would possess someone to wear a horse head to a baseball game and it turns out drinking beverages isn't easy when you do.When the Phillies signed Jim Thome and said he would play first base, it didn't sound like a good idea. He ended up on the DL this week with back problems.There was a David vs. Goliath battle when 6-foot-11 Jon Rauch pitched to 5-foot-5 Jose Altuve.The Cardinals saw the Twins were going to retire the number 10 for one of their best managers and they had to beat them to the punch.Identity fraud in Latin America has been a problem in the past and it continues to evolve to this day.The Twins might not play two series with the Brewers anymore as baseball shifts the Astros to the AL next year.MLB attendance is up so far this year but the Twins are going in the wrong direction.My Weekly Rundown: Monday: What will the hype be like for Sano's debut?Tuesday: AL Central looking weak after first monthWednesday: VOTE: Best Twins offensive performance everThursday: Carroll, Span among best on defenseVideo of the Week: A soccer club from England is mad at a group of Minnesota Twins fans for stealing their anthem. Fans of Leeds United are upset over the new renidition of the song that was put together by the Minnesota Culture Club. It is a collection of Skype videos hashed together with fans singing the lyrics to the Minnesota version of the song. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Aaron Hicks Minnesota Twins.jpg In the 2013 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (which is now available in paperback and e-version copies), I wrote an article looking back at all of the players that were considered rookies in 2012. From Brian Dozier and Chris Herrmann to Scott Diamond and Tyler Robertson, there were 15 rookies to make appearances with the club. On a team fighting for every win, there were plenty of opportunities for some young blood to sink or swim. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Now that the Prospect Handbook has been out and fans have been able to look through it, the future can turn to those prospects that have the chance to make an impact on next year's squad. It can be tough to guess which players will be given the opportunity but the Twins have made hints at a few different names. Joe Benson and Aaron Hicks will both have the opportunity to earn the starting center field job out of spring training. If one of these two young men sticks with the club for the entire year, there is a good chance they will have the big impact on next year's club. Hicks seems to have the best chance of making the club. There is also a chance that neither of them earn the job and that could make their opportunity to shine a little harder. When looking to the pitching core, there are a few names that could make a splash in 2013. Kyle Gibson, the former first round pick, should be making his big league debut this year. He missed most of last season following Tommy John surgery. At the end of last season, he came back healthy and he looked good for portions of the Arizona Fall League. His innings limit this year could hinder him but he could still make a big impact. BJ Hermsen was the organization's minor league pitcher of the year and he was strong at two different levels this past season. He accumulated most of his innings at the Double-A level so this could put him at the cusp of making his debut next year. If the Twins start him in Rochester, he is only an injury or two away from getting the call. Out in the bullpen, Caleb Thielbar or Ryan Pressly could factor into the team's plans for this year. Theilbar, a Minnesota native, has been slowly working his way towards the big leagues. He pitched out of Rochester's bullpen for all of last season so he only has one more level to conquer. Pressly was the Twins Rule 5 pick this year from Boston. This means that he will have to stay on the big league roster for the entire year or be offered back to the Red Sox. The one player that could be considered a dark horse for next year's squad is Oswaldo Arcia. His performance in 2012 earned him Twins Minor League Player of the Year honors so it would exactly be a breakout year. The surprise would come from the fact that he doesn't seem to have an open position on the roster. He fits into a corner outfield spot and the Twins are looking to use Josh Willingham and Chris Parmelee in left field and right field. This could leave Arcia at Triple-A hoping for someone on the big league roster to get injured. In the end, there are a few different ways to look at who will be making the biggest impact. Some of the names on this list are almost guaranteed to make their big league debuts and some of the others have less of a chance. Kyle Gibson is most likely going to pitch more big league innings than Caleb Thielbar. Aaron Hicks will probably get more at-bats than Joe Benson or Oswaldo Arcia. Here is a ranking of the top five players from the list above based on the kind of impact they will have on next year's team. This list isn't completely based on talent. It is based on what type of playing time each player is expected to get next year and what kind of impact he will have at the big league level. 1. Kyle Gibson RHP- He looked healthy at the end of last season and in the Arizona Fall League. Gibson is ready to prove that he is completely recovered from Tommy John surgery. 2. Aaron Hicks OF- He might have to start the year in the minor leagues and this could hinder his ability to make an impact. A hot start at Triple-A could have him in the big leagues sooner than expected. 3. Caleb Thielbar LHP- There is always a need for left-handed pitchers in the bullpen. Thielbar could make the team out of spring training and stick with the club for most of the year. 4. BJ Hermsen RHP- The Twins have been stocking up on questionable starting pitching this offseason. This could leave a hole in the rotation for Hermsen. 5. Ryan Pressly RHP- If the Twins want to keep him, he has to stick on the big league roster. They could make him a long relief man or use him as a spot starter since he has experience as a starting pitcher. Which rookie do you think will have the biggest impact on next year's squad? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

The thought of Joe Mauer getting taken out at the plate is a scary thought for fans to process. ~~~ One of the hottest topics across the baseball universe as pitchers and catchers have reported is surrounding whether catchers should block the plate. The Giants suffered a major blow last season when their budding superstar Buster Posey was bowled over at home plate by outfielder Scott Cousins. As a result of the collision Posey suffered a broken leg and ligament damage that required multiple surgeries to repair the damage. The Giants offense suffered without their star and the manager of the Giants felt that changes needed to be made for 2012. Download attachment: buster-posey-injury.jpg On Monday Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced that Posey would no longer be blocking the plate. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]He told reporters that the decision was "out of Buster's hands," and he went on to say, "As a manager, that's my job. I certainly don't want people to think he's backing off on his own. It's something we'll work on with him this spring." Bochy is a former catcher so there might be lessons he could teach his young catcher about the art of making plays at the plate. The Twins have millions and millions of dollars tied up in their MVP catcher so the thought of Joe Mauer getting taken out at the plate is a scary thought for fans to process.Twins General Manager Terry Ryan told the Star Tribune that Mauer wouldn't be told to stop blocking the plate. The Twins claim that their All-Star catcher knows plenty of techniques to help protect himself in event of a collision. But even knowing this, there will be a collective gasp from Twins Territory every time there is a collision involving Mauer. Download attachment: jackson_mauer.jpg The debate over plays at the plate has intensified with the spotlight shining so brightly on Posey's return to the Giants. Executives from across baseball have discussed a potential rules change and it seems there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Regardless of all of the talk, it seems that a rule change will not be coming in the near future. Even though the play at the plate can be dangerous, it is part of the history of the game and it is very hard to make a significant change to the rules in baseball. After Posey's ugly injury last year, I wrote a piece about the debate over collisions at home. In that post I took a look at the history of plays at the plate. The most famous home-plate collision came in the 1970 All-Star Game when Pete Rose charged into Ray Fosse. Fosse's left shoulder was injured on the play and he, at age 23, was never the same player again. At the end of July in 2004, the White Sox and Twins found themselves in the heat of a pennent race. That heat would turn into an all-out fire when Torii Hunter leveled White Sox catcher Jamie Burke on a play at the plate. Burke would suffer a mild concussion as a result of the hit he took at the plate. The Twins would be spirited by this play and some look at the collision as the turning point for the team on the way to their third consecutive AL Central Division Championship. Download attachment: ToriiHunterCollision.jpg In the end the question still remains, should catchers block the plate or should they try to avoid collisions? The moral of the story seems to be for catchers to be smart about how they go about blocking the plate. If catchers are taking the proper precautions and setting themselves up in the proper position, the risk of injury can be greatly reduced. Sometimes the speed of the play and the throw to the plate can put a catcher in a precarious position. It is important for the catcher to also know the tendencies of the runner who is coming in hard. Will that runner slide to try and avoid a tag or is that runner not planning on slowing down until he crosses the plate? Teams like the Twins and the Giants have a lot invested in keeping their catchers off of the disabled list. The debate will continue in regards to plays at the plate but for now it looks like they are still part of the baseball world. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Original post from http://nodaktwinsfan.com Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Josh+Willingham+Minnesota+Twins.jpg One of the biggest surprises in the 2012 season was the performance of Josh Willingham. The veteran outfielder signed a free agent deal with the club before the season and he went on to have the best offensive campaign of his career. He led the Twins in a variety of offensive categories including home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage. After a season that stands out like Willingham's, there can be some questions about whether he will be able to replicate his fantastic numbers. The 34-year old will be entering his tenth year at the big league level. His age and track record at the big league level might leave fans wondering what he will be able to do for an encore.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Being able to stay on the field for an entire season has been a little bit of a challenge for Willingham in the past. Last year, he played in a career high 145 games. It was the first time he had played over 140 games since 2007, his second full year in the league. In the four seasons from 2008-2011, Willingham averaged 121 games played. He only made it into 102 games in 2008 and 114 games in 2010. This means he was missing a fourth of the season on average due to injury and other causes. That can be scary to think about after how healthy he was able to stay in 2012. One way the Twins could try to keep Willingham healthy is by having him spend more time at DH. He only played 25 games last year but look for that number to go up this season. Joe Mauer wants to spend more time behind the plate and Justin Morneau seems to be healthy. If those players aren't being used at DH, Willingham might get a few more opportunities to stay out of the outfield. Keeping Willingham out of the outfield could also help the team's defense. Of course, that depends on who takes his place in the outfield. The thought of having Willingham and Chris Parmalee in the corner outfield spots had to be a nightmare for the starting staff. If a more athletic fielder like Joe Benson or Darin Mastroianni took left field, it could stabilize the defense. While Willingham did set personal bests in a variety of offensive categories, his batting average of .260 was very close to his career mark. His on-base percentage was only a couple points higher than his career mark. This means that fans can expect him to be close to those numbers again. After the Twins signed Willingham, it seemed like his swing was built for Target Field. That proved to be true as he hit 21 of his 35 home runs in Minneapolis. To get the ball out of Target Field, it is important to pull the ball. Willingham is the perfect example of a dead pull hitter with none of his home runs last season going to opposite field. Download attachment: Willingham_Josh_2012_scatter.jpg Willingham's contract with the club runs through the 2014 season for a very reasonable rate. The slugger will average $7 million over the next two years. If the Twins can get the same production level out of him over the life of the contract, it will be a steal. His health and some rising outfield prospects might mean a change in the next couple of years. A trade involving Willingham could be possible in the next two years. It is hard to imagine the Twins pushing for a World Series title in 2013 or 2014. The club is in the middle of a rebuilding process and Willingham might not be part of the next winning team in Minnesota. If the club gets the right deal for the slugger, he could be packing his bags. For now, Twins fans will have to wait to see what "The Hammer" can do for an encore. He clobbered a home run in his first spring training game so maybe it is a sign of some more good things to come in 2013. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: cuff+links.jpg Another week of baseball's season has come and gone. For the Twins there was plenty of news this week. The Marlins turned out to be pesky but they have surprised more than one team in the National League this season. Kyle Gibson will be making his big league debut on Saturday and this is a moment to get a little bit excited about. Twins fans have heard his name for multiple seasons. Ryan Doumit had a cool slide, Byron Buxton is good at baseball, and the trade deadline is approaching. All these things and more in the latest edition of "Links-N-Thinks.”[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Stuart Turner, a 2013 Twins draft pick, was honored with the Johnny Bench Award. This award is given to the nation's best Division One catcher. Here's a look at how Kyle Gibson did in each game this season for AAA-Rochester. Now that Gibson will be part of the rotation, one pitcher is going to have to lose his job.Clete Thomas has changed his swing and this has helped him to be more productive. The trade deadline is a little over a month away and it's tough to know if there is a trade market for Morneau. Logan Darnell is one step away from the big leagues after a very good season thus far. If you want to geek out a little, check out this article that looks at OPS minus batting average. Who should be blamed for the struggles the Twins have experienced against the Yankees? The back story of Max Kepler is one of the best in baseball. Kernels fans can't watch Byron Buxton any more but a German-born player could be the next to take that team by storm. Speaking of Buxton... It can be fun to examine the tools he has as a player. Buxton and Miguel Sano will represent the Twins in MLB's Futures Game. The Twins minor league system might be ahead of the curve in this new type of training. Are the Twins a fascinating team? Maybe when Buxton and Sano get here. Joe Mauer is chasing Mickey Vernon. Scientists may have unlocked the mystery in the evolution of pitchers. Is there a way to improve umpiring in MLB without increasing replay? Michael Cuddyer has been having quite the season for the Rockies. In this clip, Nick Punto has to fight some fans for a foul ball. You could also listen to it just to hear Vin Scully's voice. Matt Garza could be the best pitcher available at this year's trade deadline. I love collecting ticket stubs so this is one of the saddest trends in baseball right now. Cleveland has sure been making some noise in the AL Central. Kerry Wood made a scary discovery while paddling around in a boat. There is more than one reason why Bull Durham is a good movie. I know you want to see Hawk Harrelson in an outfit that is strangely similar to the Hamburglar.My Weekly Rundown Talk to Contact: Episode 42Monday: 2013 Minnesota Twins Trade Candidates Wednesday: Twins Minor League Report (6/26): Sano's Big Day Thursday: A Checklist for Kyle GibsonVideo of the Week: Ryan Doumit had to get a little creative on this play at the plate. He missed the plate on his first pass and he had to sneak back behind the catcher to score a run. I'm sure Oswaldo Arcia was happy since it added to his RBI total but it was still a funny play to watch unfold. Watch it again and enjoy your weekend! Click here to view the article

After an offensive explosion on Monday night, the Twins made things a little bit more interesting on Tuesday when they didn't take their first lead in the game until the seventh inning. This comeback was spurred on by four two out hits with Ben Revere and Joe Mauer knocking in the runs to make the difference in the 6-4 final score. It seemed like a showcase game for Joe Mauer as he went 3-for-4 in the game including an RBI and one walk. He also made a tremendous diving catch on a bunt attempt where he had to sprawl out in foul territory to snag the pop up. Mauer is making an attempt to catch Mike Trout for the league lead in batting average but Trout continues to have monster games as he went 4-for-6 on Tuesday. There is plenty of time left for Mauer to catch Trout so it will be interesting to see if the 20-year old rookie ever cools down. Mauer wasn't the only member of the Twins organization to impress on Tuesday night because there were plenty of good games in the farm system. Make sure to check out all the details below in this edition of "Tuesday's Trip through the Minors."[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 6, NORFOLK 2 After a loss on Monday, the Red Wings got back to their recent winning ways by topping the Norfolk Tide on Tuesday night. During the month of July, the Red Wings have the most wins in the International League with 11 wins to their credit. Rochester is one victory away from the .500 mark and it would be the first time the team has seen that point since the end of April. The 2010 and 2011 seasons were a little rough for Rochester but the victory tonight has the Red Wings off to their best 97-game start since 2007. Jeff Manship pitched strong for the Red Wings by spreading out eight hits over six innings with both runs being charged to him. It was his first start since returning from the DL and he got his first victory since May 21 to improve to 5-1 on the season. Luis Perdomo got the untraditional three inning save, his sixth save for the year, by tossing three scoreless frames and striking out two. The one man to get to the Red Wings pitching staff was former Twins player Lew Ford who went 3-for-4 with a home run to raise his average to .340 with 10 long balls. Rene Rivera didn't start the game for the Red Wings but an early exit by JR Towles meant that Rivera would get some at-bats in the game. He went 2-for-3 with sixth home run of the year. Clete Thomas and Evan Bigley matched the two hits from Rivera with each hitter managing an extra-base hit in the game. Sean Burroughs lead the team with two runs batted in and he's up to 18 RBI for the season. The Red Wings have scored four or more runs in a season high six straight games and it's the first time they have done this since July of 2010 when they put together a seven game streak. NEW BRITAIN 5, NEW HAMPSHIRE 6 The Rock Cats took an early 2-1 lead in the first inning and proceeded to fall behind for the next few innings. A big rally in the 8th inning brought the team back into the game with Aaron Hicks scoring the game tying run on a wild pitch with two outs in the frame. The lead wouldn't last long as the Fisher Cats posted back-to-back hits in the top of the ninth to reclaim the lead. In the bottom of the ninth, the Rock Cats would do their best to tie the game with two men reaching base in the inning. Unfortunately, the tying run was left in scoring position when Estarlin De Los Santos popped out to shortstop. Joe Benson was the only member of the Rock Cats to have more than one hit in the game. The lone extra-base hit came off of the bat of Chris Colabello, his team leading 27th double of the season. In the last ten games, Colabello is hitting .389/.421/.500 with five extra-base hits and seven RBI. Aaron Thompson tossed eight innings for the Rock Cats and gave up five runs on 10 hits including two home runs. By giving up the run in the top of the ninth, Edgar Ibarra was tagged with his first loss since being promoted from Fort Myers at the end of June. FORT MYERS 2, DUNEDIN 1 (GAME 1, 7 innings) The Miracle scored two runs in the first inning of this game and that is all they would need to hold on for their 39th victory of the season. Cole Nelson started the game for the Miracle and didn't give up a single earned run during his time on the mound. Over the course of five innings, he surrendered four hits while striking out four and lowering his ERA to 4.03 on the season. It was his fifth victory of the season and his second win in the month of July. AJ Achter earned his third save of the year by throwing two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Levi Michael and Rene Tosoni were the lone Miracle hitters with an extra-base hit as each man had a double to his name for the game. Daniel Santana and Josmil Pinto each had two hits with Pinto knocking in one of the two runs in the game for the Miracle. Pinto has 34 RBI on the season and this ranks third for Fort Myers behind Lance Ray and the aforementioned Daniel Santana. It was the second victory in a row for the Miracle and they would try and complete the sweep of Dunedin in the second game of the double header. FORT MYERS 0, DUNEDIN 6 (GAME 2, 7 innings) After winning the first half of the double header, the Miracle struggled to get runners across the plate in the night cap. Fort Myers piled up nine hits over the course of the game but the team went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Levi Michael and Daniel Santana had two hits apiece to lead the club. For the most part, Casey Lawrence, the starter for Dunedin, shut down the rest of the line-up for the Miracle as he tossed six scoreless innings for his sixth victory of the year. Koby Clemens, the son of Roger Clemens, hit a home run in the second inning to give the Blue Jays an early lead in the second inning. Madison Boer was roughed up for six earned runs off of eight hits in only 2.2 innings on the mound. With the rough outing, Boer saw his ERA rise to 7.47 over the course of his 13 starts with the Miracle. Miguel Munoz and Nelvin Fuentes cleaned up the rest of the game for the Miracle by throwing over four innings of shutout baseball but the hole was already dug for Fort Myers. Even with the rough loss, the Miracle can go for the series victory tomorrow in the finale of the four-game set. BELOIT (OFF DAY) After three straight losses, the Snappers enjoyed a much needed off day on Tuesday. The team will start a six game home stand on Wednesday as they try to sneak closer to the .500 mark in the second half standings. The Snappers have already clinched a playoff spot with their record in the first half but it would still be nice to see the team continue to succeed in the second half. Miguel Sano hit his 19th home run of the year on Monday and it was only his second home run of the month. In the last ten games, he is hitting .300 with eight RBI and four extra-base hits. ELIZABETHTON 7, JOHNSON CITY 4 One big inning at the plate was all that it took for the E-Twins to take command of their game against the Johnson City Cardinals. The first three batters of the inning got singles to load the bases before the first out was recorded on a force out at home. Kelvin Mention strode to the plate with the bases loaded and he connected for his first professional home run and it just happened to be a grand slam. A couple of batters later Max Kepler would hit a two-run home run, his second of the year, to cap off a seven run inning. Five members of the E-Twins had multiple hits as the team compiled 12 hits in the game. Hein Robb started the game for the E-Twins and threw 3.1 innings with Johnson City getting seven hits off of him and three earned runs. Kaleb Merck earned his first professional win by throwing 2.2 innings and giving up one earned run on a single hit with three strikeouts. DJ Baxendale and Christian Powell combined for three scoreless innings to close out the victory for the E-Twins. For Powell, it was his first save on the season and four of the six outs he recorded were on strikeouts. GCL TWINS -, GCL ORIOLES - Today's double header between the GCL Twins and GCL Orioles was postponed because of the wet weather in Florida. The GCL Twins are in first place in their division and sit two games ahead of the GCL Red Sox. The team has won their last five games and nine of their last 11 contests. First round pick Byron Buxton hasn't played in a game since July 9 when he suffered a hamstring injury. Hopefully he will be able to get back into action whenever the weather decides to cooperate in Florida. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 17, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Cole Nelson (5 IP, 0 ER) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rJRI6Sz7M6c/UAYjipgMbeI/AAAAAAAAC3k/DvEjOGUFSMs/s320/Miracle.jpg Hitter of the Day- Kelvin Mention (1st Professional HR, 4 RBI) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G7LUwl8jyZs/UAYZjAJ4TwI/AAAAAAAAC10/P_MYPzyRv1E/s200/ph_592551.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, July 18th Schedule Rochester @ Norfolk: LHP Liam Hendriks New Britain vs. New Hampshire: RHP Shairon Martis Fort Myers vs. Dunedin: LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Lansing: LHP Jason Wheeler Elizabethton vs. Johnson City: TBD GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays: TBD --- If you have any question or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and I will try to answer them. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: HIcks_Aaron_Stealing_US_720.jpg At the end of last season, the Twins had plenty of options in center field. Denard Span and Ben Revere spent most of the year manning the position. Darin Mastroianni made a good fourth outfielder because he could play center field when necessary. Joe Benson and Aaron Hicks were on the 40-man roster but there wasn't much room for them with the three others in front of them. The position has certainly gone from crowded to sparsely populated in a hurry. As most fans know, Span and Revere were traded in the offseason in an attempt to add pitching depth. This left the club with no center fielder for opening day; that changed in a hurry though. Hicks, Mastroianni, and Benson all battled in spring training to be the full-time starter. Mastroianni and Benson were a little dinged up but that didn't affect the outcome because Hicks put together some tremendous performances to earn the starting role. Yesterday, news came out today that Hicks will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a left hamstring strain. Hicks' injury leaves the team in a bit of a jam. Mastroianni will be out until July after undergoing surgery on his ankle. Wilkin Ramirez had been another option in the outfield but he is still dealing with concussion symptoms. That's three center fielders on the disabled list. The man left standing after all this mess wasn't even on the 40-man roster a handful of days ago. Clete Thomas was having a decent year for the Rochester Red Wings before he got called up to serve as an insurance policy for Hicks. Since his promotion, Thomas has one hit in ten at-bats (.100) with a strikeout. In parts of four different MLB seasons, Thomas has hit .242/.322/.378 with nine home runs and 23 doubles over 482 plate appearances. Of players on the active roster, there are three full-time outfielders, Chris Parmelee, Josh Willingham and Thomas. Chris Herrmann has backed up at the center field spot and Oswaldo Arcia will be promoted to take the place of Hicks. Ron Gardenhire might have to get creative with his outfield alignments. There are no other outfielders on the 40-man roster. So what you see is what you get when it comes to men patrolling the grass of Target Field. An injury to Thomas before one of the other players is healthy would mean another 40-man roster move and another call-up from the minor leagues. Antoan Richardson has taken over the center field duties in Rochester. This could make him the next in line to join the Twins if there is another injury. In 59 games between New Britain and Rochester, he has hit .314/.451/.386 with three triples and nine doubles. The 29-year old outfielder got a taste of the big leagues back in 2011 with the Braves. If Richardson is not to be the guy, the Twins could look down to the Double-A level. Angel Morales will be taking over center field duties for the Rock Cats but he is just arriving with the club. The 23-year-old was part of the group of players promoted from Fort Myers after the team clinched the first half championship. Morales has no experience above this level so it seems unlikely he would be promoted to the big leagues any time soon. When the Twins entered last offseason, it would have been hard imagining a situation where the club would be struggling to find a man to put in center field. Strange things can happen in baseball and this rash of injuries will test the depth of the organization. Thomas might not be the ideal man for center field but the Twins have to play with the hand they were dealt. Even if it seems like the hand is a couple cards short... Click here to view the article

The Twins won both ends of a double header against Kansas City on Saturday but there was plenty of exciting action across the minor leagues. Let's check out how the Twins farm system fared as their seasons are coming to a close. ELIZABETHTON 2, BURLINGTON 3 In what looks like it will be a great Appalachian League Championship Series, the E-Twins lost an important first game to the Burlington Royals by a score of 3-2 in extra-innings. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Angel Matta started the game for the Twins and pitched five strong innings while allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts. His only trouble came in the bottom of the second when he allowed the first three batters to reach on singles. He got out of the jam by allowing a single run so it was a good job of sidestepping danger. There were a lot of zeros put on the board until the top of the sixth when the E-Twins were finally able to get on the board. Adam Walker started the inning by belting a solo-home run to tie the game. The next batter was DJ Hicks and he decided back-to-back home runs were in order. For the first time in the series, Elizabethton had a lead at 2-1. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last for the rest of the game. Tyler Herr was called on to relieve Mata on the mound and he was doing fine for the first couple of innings. Even the start of the eighth inning looked to be going well as Herr struck out the first two batters that he faced. Mark Threlkeld was the third batter of the inning for Burlington and he sent one over the fence to tie the game in the late innings, a devastating shot for the young E-Twins. In extra-innings, the E-Twins had their chance to take the lead in the top of the 10th when Romy Jimenez doubled with one out in the frame. There was a wild pitch with Travis Harrison batting to advance Jimenez to third. Harrison would walk but the next two batters would fail to knock in the runner. In the 11th inning, Byron Buxton would reach third with two outs but he was left there. A couple of golden opportunities missed by Elizabethton. The bottom of the 12th saw Burlington lead off with a single by Terrance Gore. He would make it to third on a sacrifice bunt to Travis Harrison at third base. The next batter was Bubba Starling and last year's first round pick for the Royals knocked a sacrifice fly to end the game. ROCHESTER 8, SYRACUSE 4 A back and forth contest between the Red Wings and the Chiefs saw Rochester get back to the .500 mark for the season at 71-71. The Red Wings took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning and the offense went cold for a few frames. Syracuse scored a couple in the third and added another in the fifth to push their lead to 3-1. A big 3-run seventh inning put the Red Wings on top but it would only last until the eighth. Jeff Manship started for Rochester pitched 5.2 innings by allowing one run on five hits. Caleb Thielbar was moving along at a decent clip before running into some trouble in the bottom of the eighth. With a runner on base, the Red Wings turned to closer Anthony Slama who gave up a triple and saw the lead disappear. Brian Dozier had a big night by going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Wilkin Ramirez was able to knock in a couple of runs with his single in the seventh inning. Clete Thomas went 3-for-5 and he knocked in a couple runs of his own. Thomas even scored on his triple after a bad play by the center fielder. Brian Dinkelman and Rene Rivera added doubles in the ninth to push the lead for Rochester. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 New Britain got down early in this game but had some big at-bats in the later innings to put them on top for good. A four-run sixth inning and a three-run seventh inning were more than enough to cover up the two early runs given up by Luke French. For the second outing in a row, French would be strong on the mound by tossing 7.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits. The top of the order did a lot of damage for the Rock Cats. Aaron Hicks and Chris Herrmann put up big numbers out of the one and two spots in the batting order. Hicks had two triples and a couple runs scored as the lead-off hitter. He also set the team record for runs scored in a season (97) and triples in a season (11). Chris Colabello tied the Rock Cats season record with 97 RBI. Josmil Pinto, Deibinson Romero, and Herrmann all had multiple RBI performances to help push the Rock Cats to the victory. FORT MYERS 1, CHARLOTTE 4 The Miracle had a tough time getting on the board in this contest against the Stone Crabs. Charlotte starting pitcher Eliazer Suero threw seven innings of two hit ball to keep the damage to a minimum for the Miracle. Fort Myers pieced together a game by having three pitchers throw three innings apiece. Miguel Munoz started the game and only gave up a hit before Ryan O'Rourke took over. O'Rourke allowed two runs but only one of them was earned. Ricky Bowen allowed a couple runs on four hits during his three innings of work. When a team gets handled by the opposing pitcher, there isn't much to talk about on the offensive side of the ball. Angel Morales had the only extra-base hit of the night for the Miracle. It was his fifth triple of the year. Daniel Santana went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Levi Michael was 1-for-3 with a walk. Michael also added his 16th error of the season and this one came on a throw at second base. BELOIT 6, QUAD CITIES 5 With Miguel Sano out of the line-up, Eddie Rosario reminded fans why he should be considered among the best prospects in the organization. In the middle of the batting order, Rosario had a big night with his 31st and 32nd doubles of the season. Kennys Vargas knocked in a couple runs batting behind Rosario. Matthew Koch added a couple hits of his own at the bottom of the order. This was more than enough for Tyler Jones as he threw seven innings by allowing a single run on four hits with nine strikeouts. Jones seems to be ending the year on a strong note as he has tossed seven innings or more in each of his last two appearances. During that time, he has only allowed three earned runs. Quad City made things interesting by scoring four in the ninth but it wasn't enough. --- Players of the Day for September 1, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Aaron Hicks Download attachment: AaronHicks.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Tyler Jones Download attachment: TylerJones.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Sunday, September 2nd Schedule Game 2 of the Appalachian League Championship Series Elizabethton vs. Burlington- LHP Hein Robb Rochester @ Syracuse- TBA New Britain vs. New Hampshire- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers @ Charlotte- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Quad City- LHP Matt Tomshaw Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Gardenhire_Ron_Pensive_600.jpg At the end of last season, things must have been a little tense around the Ron Gardenhire household. The Twins were coming off back-to-back 90-loss seasons and Gardenhire had only one season left on his current contract. Some change was inevitable. Almost all of the Minnesota Twins manager's coaching staff were reassigned or not hired back. The sporting world can be cruel when a team isn't performing well on the field. Since the Pohlads took over ownership of the club, fans have not seen this kind of shake-up. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It was an unprecedented move to clear out the coaching staff and Gardenhire and only Rick Anderson were left standing at the end of the firing frenzy. There have only been two managers and three general managers of the club since the late 1980's. No other club can match that consistency at the top of the organization. This separates the Twins from most of the rest of the sporting world. There may have been some reasons to fire Gardenhire over the last two years but he survived and the Twins have surprised so far this year. Gardenhire still has his job but it is hard not to look at him as a lame duck. His contract is up at the end of the 2013 season and it's not as if the Twins were supposed to be making a playoff push. The roster of players assembled looked headed for another dismal season and that likely would have resulted in the termination of Gardenhire's tenure in Minnesota. Things haven't been as bad as expected in Twins Territory this season. So far, the team has hovered around the .500 mark. They find themselves in the middle of the pack in the AL Central. This is a bit of a surprise and fans of the team have to be a bit impressed with some of the performances put together by the club this year. A new era is starting in Minnesota and the Twins might want Gardenhire around for this new rebuild. The minor leagues are stocked with some great talent, reminiscent of when Gardenhire took over as manager back in 2002. Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia have already broken into the big leagues. Star pitching prospects Kyle Gibson, Alex Meyer, and Trevor May might not be too far behind. Last week, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan told Yahoo! Sports, "I expect Ron to be on this job for a long time. I don't consider it a lame duck at all." It wouldn't have looked right for the club to hand Gardenhire an extension after two of the worst seasons in Twins history. There needs to be some accountability, even with the consistency model the franchise has used over the last couple of decades. Ryan would go on to say, "We're trying to be stable and have continuity, and almost all the people we've had for years are still here. But there does come a point where change is necessary. I hope that's not now." The future can be uncertain and Gardenhire won't manage this team forever. Fans can see things starting to get back on track so maybe there won't be calls for Gardy's head on a platter. Tom Kelly made it through some rough years in the Metrodome and it looks like Gardenhire might follow that same path at Target Field. I mean what would the Twins baseball world be like without Ronald Clyde Gardenhire? Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Hendricks_Liam.jpg The Minnesota Twins weren't the only team impacted by the weather on Wednesday evening. Minnesota's affiliate's game in Cedar Rapids was also postponed due to inclement weather. But three other affiliates took the field for Wednesday action. The Miracle were going for lucky win 13 to start their season. Rochester has been struggling and the call-up of Oswaldo Arcia is going to hurt their offense. New Britain played an afternoon game and they found themselves in another tight contest. Let's see how the teams and players fared in "Wednesday's Minor League Wrap-Up." [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 0, Scranton W/B RailRiders 7 Boxscore It was a rough night for the Red Wings as the team was shut out for the second consecutive night. The loss marked the seventh in a row for Rochester as the team hasn't recorded a win since last Tuesday. Going back to last season, the RailRiders have won 10 of the last 13 games between these two clubs. Liam Hendriks made his first start at Triple-A this season after starting the season with the big league club. He gave up a run in each of the first three innings to put Rochester in an early hole. For the game he tossed six innings, gave up nine hits and four earned runs. Anthony Slama got back on the mound after being slammed around in both of his last two outings. In those appearances, combined, he recorded only three outs and gave up seven earned runs. After walking multiple batters in those rough outings, he had a clean ninth inning with no walks and a strikeout. There wasn't much to write home about on the offensive side. Jeff Clement and Brandon Boggs were the only men to record more than one hit. Boggs added his second double of the year. Evan Bigley made his 2013 debut with the Red Wings as a pinch hitter and he flied out in the ninth. Rochester had only four plate appearances with runners in scoring position. The team failed in all of those attempts. Overall, the team left eight runners on base. The team starts a four game series with Pawtucket tomorrow night and the club will look to get back on track. New Britain Rock Cats 2, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 3 (11 Innings) Boxscore The Rock Cats seem have a flair for the dramatic this season. After winning in the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday, New Britain found themselves in the middle of another tight contest this afternoon. The team was held scoreless and was behind by two until the bottom of the ninth. They needed two runs to make things interesting. Back to back one out singles by Josmil Pinto and Daniel Ortiz had the team in good shape. A throwing error on the hit from Ortiz put two runners in scoring position. Curt Smith came through with a grounder up the middle to cut the score to 2-1. James Beresford was the next batter and he cracked a sac fly to center to knot the game at 2. The Fisher Cats then mounted their own rally in the top of the 11th inning to score the go-ahead run. Two singles and a balk by Aaron Thompson allowed the winning run to score. It was the first loss of the year for Thompson in his second appearance with the club. Pat Dean pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run on seven hits. He was being very democratic by not striking out a batter and letting the defense do their work behind him. He also didn't issue any walks and it was the first time he made it into the fifth inning this year. New Britain managed seven hits in the game. Smith and Ortiz were both 2-for-5 and they were the lone members of the Rock Cats to collect more than one hit. The team was 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and the club left seven men on base. Fort Myers Miracle 2, Palm Beach Cardinals 5 Boxscore The hunt for win number 13 turned out to be unlucky for the Miracle. After finding a way to win their first 12 games of the year, Fort Myers suffered their first loss on Wednesday night. The Miracle found themselves with an early 2-0 lead but the offense of the Cardinals proved to be too much. Even in the ninth inning the club tried to hold on to their perfect season. Trailing by three runs entering the bottom of the final frame, Fort Myers would load the bases on singles from Michael Gonzalez, Kyle Knudson, and Kennys Vargas. Another single from Adam Pettersen scored a run. Unfortunately, Angel Morales then grounded into a double play. This left Eddie Rosario on deck and Miguel Sano in the hole. Sano played the hero on Tuesday with a grand slam to give the Miracle the lead. He struggled in this game going 0-for-4 with a couple of strikeouts. Even with the bad day he is still hitting .380 on the season. Rosario has also helped the offense and he went 1-for-4 with his seventh RBI of the year. The bottom of the line-up did most of the damage for the Miracle. Hitters five through eight all had multiple hits. Extra base hits were tough to come by though as Michael Koch had the lone two-bagger in the game. Matthew Summers started for the Miracle and pitched 5.2 innings. During this outing he gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out one to record his first loss of the year. Adrian Salcedo did well in relief by striking out three of the four batters he faced. Fort Myers will look to start a new winning streak as the team travels to Port St. Lucie for a three game set. Cedar Rapids Kernels --, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers -- (Postponed) The only thing slowing down Byron Buxton this spring has been the bad weather. Cedar Rapids had their game cancelled on Wednesday due to inclement weather. Since the Kernels and the Timber Rattlers don't play again in the first half of the MWL season, the game will not be made up. Cedar Rapids will now head out on the road for six games in Peoria and Burlington. Their next home action will be Thursday, April 25th when they open a six game home stand against Great Lakes and Lansing. With a 9-3 record the Kernels find themselves on top of the Western Division of the MWL. They are looking to keep the good juices flowing as they take a two game winning streak into their road trip. The addition of J.O. Berrios, the 32nd pick in last year's draft, should be a boost to the pitching staff. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Blackburn_nick_pitching_us_orig.jpg Two of the Twins minor league affiliates celebrated Independence Day early with offensive explosions. The Red Wings and the Miracle had men up and down their line-ups knock in runs to help their clubs emerge victorious. There was some minor league news to report on Wednesday afternoon. Catcher Danny Lehmann was released by the club after spending time on the disabled list this season. He had only played 18 games this season and he was a career .229/.317/.301 hitter. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It was also announced that Chris Colabello and Andrew Albers will represent the Red Wings at the Triple-A All-Star Game. Colabello was the overall leader in the online fan balloting and he will start at first base for the International League squad. Rochester Red Wings 11, Buffalo Bisons 1 Box Scores The Red Wings had some fireworks on the field the day before the Fourth of July. Brian Dinkelman, Chris Colabello, and Deibinson Romero all hit home runs. Every batter in the Rochester line-up recorded a hit and some had six chances at the plate. Doug Bernier had the most hits as he went 3-for-6. Chris Herrmann had a very good game by collecting two hits in four trips to the plate. He had his ninth double and his third triple. Colabello continued his remarkable season by knocking his 21st home run. In one of his best pitching performances of the year, Andrew Albers tossed seven strong frames. He allowed one solo home run but that was the only run scored against him. The Bisons had five hits and Albers struck out six. New Britain Rock Cats 1, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 6 Box Score The struggles continued for Miguel Sano at the Double-A level. He went 0-for-4 on this night, striking out three times. The defensive side of the ball wasn't much better as he committed his sixth error since his promotion. It wasn't only Sano who was unproductive on Wednesday night; the rest of the offense struggled as well. Danny Santana was the lone Rock Cats with two hits. Nate Hanson hit his 14th double of the season and scored a run. Daniel Ortiz continued his powerful season by knocking his 22nd double. The team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and there were nine runners left on base. Virgil Vasquez was making his second start at Double-A since being demoted from Rochester. He tossed six innings and gave up four earned runs. AJ Achter did a good job in relief by tossing a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout. Fort Myers Miracle 11, Bradenton Marauders 5 Box Score The Miracle pounded out 21 hits and the club had no problem coming out victorious. Fort Myers scored three runs in the sixth inning and they topped that in the seventh with six runs. It's hard to know where to start with the offensive explosion. Byron Buxton went 3-for-5 with a double but he did strikeout two times. The three hit game raised his batting average to .400 since being promoted to Fort Myers. Every batter in the Miracle line-up had a double except for Kennys Vargas. Jhon Goncalves, Mike Kvasnicka, and Candido Pimentel all went 3-for-5. On the mound,Taylor Rogers benefited from the offensive explosion. He pitched into the seventh inning and limited the Marauders to three runs on nine hits. He struck out three and gave up one walk. Corey Williams recorded the final four outs of the game and collected three strikeouts. Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, Beloit Snappers 8 Box Score Beloit, the former Twins affiliate, has become a tough team for the current Twins affiliate to beat. Cedar Rapids fell again to the Snappers and there wasn't much offense for the Kernels. Beloit scored runs in five different innings to come out with an easy win. Max Kepler continued his hot start by going 2-for-4 with an RBI. JD Williams had the only extra base hit with his 11th double of the year. Jorge Polanco scored a run and had two hits. The club went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position so offensive opportunities were missed. Christian Powell started and pitched 5.2 innings. He gave up 10 hits and six earned runs. Allowing two home runs didn't help him on the way to his second loss of the year. Hudson Boyd and Caleb Brewer gave up one earned run on four hits in the last 2.1 innings. They combined to strike out three. Elizabethton Twins --, Johnson City Cardinals -- Inclement weather might have been the only thing that could have stopped the E-Twins from winning. Their game with the Johnson City Cardinals got postponed due to some weather issues- rain. The club has a 10-2 record and they will look to continue their winnings ways over the holiday weekend. GCL Twins 8, GCL Rays 2 (6 Innings-Rain) Box Score Nick Blackburn returned to the mound for the first time and got some decent results. He threw four innings and scattered seven hits. The Rays scored both their runs off Blackburn and he had one strikeout. Leonel Zazueta pitched the fifth inning and he struck out two. Joel Polanco lead the offense with a 2-for-3 day. He hit his first double of the season and knocked in two runs. Amaurys Minier was 1-4 and knocked in three runs to help stretch the lead. Adonis Pacheco added his second double of the season. Click here to view the article

"My big fish must be somewhere."--- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Marlin fishing can be an adventure. These beasts of the ocean can weight upwards of 1,000 pounds and it can take quite the fight to get them into a boat. Fishing for these animals can take a lot of time and patience. It also takes the right tools and skills to reel in one of these giant fish. Over the weekend, a story came out in the Boston Globe that discussed the possibility of the Twins making a play for Giancarlo Stanton, the 23-year old slugging outfielder from the Miami Marlins. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The Twins farm system has plenty of depth at multiple levels and they have the resources to trade away a few prospects to land the budding superstar. The article does go on to say, "The Red Sox might be in a better position than the Twins because the Twins have to rely on their top players to come up and man several positions." One baseball executive said, "The Red Sox have veteran players so their need to keep their best guys isn't as severe. So if they can trade them off for a young player like Stanton, they wouldn't have to fear about thinning out as a result." Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Stanton is in the middle of his fourth MLB season and his 162 game average for home runs is 39. For his career, he is a .265/.350/.536 hitter and he has hit over 30 home runs in each of the last two seasons. During the 2013 season, Stanton has career lows in batting average and slugging percentage. This could provide the opportunity for the Twins to buy low on a player that is under team control for multiple seasons. At the trade deadline, there was plenty of talk about Stanton being dealt from a struggling Marlins ballclub. Word around baseball was the Marlins were turning down any suitors that came calling for Mr. Stanton. Miami doesn't have to rush to move him because he is still pre-arbitration eligible. He will be arbitration eligible in 2014 and the earliest he could reach free agency is 2017. There are plenty of resources in the Twins system that could land them a top player like Stanton. Byron Buxton is considered by many to be the top prospect in all of baseball. Third baseman Miguel Sano might be the best power hitter to come through the minor leagues since Stanton. The article also mentions other young players like Kyle Gibson, Alex Meyer, Eddie Rosario, Travis Harrison, and Daniel Santana. The Twins organization has invested over $9 million in signing bonuses to Buxton and Sano. One would think that these players would be untouchable but it could take a player of their caliber to make this deal happen. It's hard to know which player the Twins would be more willing to trade. Most likely both players are untouchable because they are part of the long-term rebuilding process for the organization. Could the Twins put together a package of players that doesn't include Buxton or Sano and still get a deal done? It seems likely that the Marlins would want some young pitching in return for Stanton. The Twins made moves last offseason to add some depth to the starting pitchers in their system. Meyer and Trevor May have done decently since coming to the organization but it might be a step backwards to include them in another offseason trade. Recent draft picks like Kohl Stewart and Jose Berrios are both young and they have plenty of upside. Minnesota's starting pitching has been one of the biggest issues in recent years. Flaws with the pitching staff could be the main reason for back-to-back 90 loss seasons. It seems more likely for the Twins to deal away from their minor league positional player depth than from their up-and-coming starting pitchers. What would it take to get Stanton? It sounds like the Marlins would have to be overwhelmed to even consider dealing him. If the Twins would be willing to part with Sano and a couple other position players, the deal could get done. That still might not be enough for Miami and the Twins are in the middle of a rebuild. Stanton might be worth five extra wins a season but that might not be enough to turn the franchise around. Especially since the Twins have so many holes at different positions. If the Marlins are willing to part with Stanton, the Twins have the goods to get the deal done. The question remains... Would the Twins be willing to thin out their system for a player like Stanton even if he is the biggest fish on the market? Now it's your turn to take on the role of Twins GM Terry Ryan. If you were sitting in his spot, what players would you consider dealing for Stanton? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article