Cody Christie

Over the next couple of days I will be looking at a few different topics as it relates to the Twins getting back to their winning ways. It has been a tough couple of seasons for Twins fans but it looks like there is hope for the future. This might not come in 2013 but it is only the first step in the process. "The Road to Rebuild" series will look at some of the key figures or events that will be critical for the long-term success of the organization. There are plenty of things that need to go right and these are just a handful of those topics. The first article in the series looks at a young man that was on the fast track for the big leagues before an arm injury forced him to the sidelines. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]---------- Download attachment: Kyle+Gibson+2011+XM+Star+Futures+Game.jpg During the next couple of seasons, there is going to need to be more than one thing that breaks in favor of the Twins for the team to get back to the top of the AL Central. There will be plenty of young talent ready to emerge for the club but this will mean that some things need to go right in the minor leagues. For Minnesota, the road to rebuild has already started and there will be plenty of other important steps along the way. Kyle Gibson could be one of the key pieces for the Twins on their road back to the top. The former first round pick back in 2009 will undoubtedly make his MLB debut this year after missing most of last season due to Tommy John surgery. Reports from the Arizona Fall League have his slider looking sharper and there seems to be a little more life on his pitches. This is great news for the Twins. The Twins hope their rotation of the future will include Gibson and recent acquisitions Alex Meyer and Trevor May. It will be a year or two before Meyer and May make it to the big leagues. This leaves Gibson as the first cog in the rotation of the future. He should have the most big league service time under his belt and this could help him to be a leader to these other young pitchers. When Minnesota looks ahead, the front office probably isn't considering Gibson a front of the rotation starter. His track record in the minor leagues didn't put him on the path for that elite level. But the team might not need him to get to this point; he still could be a very good number two or number three pitcher. If he can reach this level, he could be in the middle of the Twins rotation for the better part of the next decade. Gibson has a fastball that can hit in the mid-90s but it usually rests in the 91-92 range. His plus slider will be a pitch that could be fun to watch for Twins fans. The other above average pitch in his arsenal is a change up. Between the end of last season and the AFL, Gibson got plenty of work in so there shouldn't be any restrictions on the type of pitches that he throws. The plan for Gibson in 2013 is still up in the air. Since it will be his first full season since surgery, there will most likely be an innings limit placed on the right-hander. The other thing yet to be decided is where the 25-year old will start the season. He could be asked to begin in Rochester so he can be a starter and the team can have better control over his innings. The other option is to have him start the year in the bullpen for the Twins. In an interview conducted by Seth Stohs of Twins Daily, Ron Gardenhire had good things to say about Gibson and the coming year. Gardenhire said, "The first thing is to get him out on the field and get him going through the same thing as everybody else. I'm sure he can't wait to do that. And get right into the middle of the program. HE's ready to do that with no restrictions. Get back on the programs and do all the drills. I'm sure he's fired up about getting back in there. I'm excited to see the young man. He's a very talented young man." If Twins fans think Gibson is going to win multiple Cy Young awards and be a perennial 20-game winner, this might be setting the expectations a little too high. It does seem that at minimum he should be a strong middle of the rotation pitcher with the potential to do some very good things along the way. The road to rebuild is going to be an extended process and Gibson is a key figure. The Twins need some of their young starting pitching to succeed and Gibson will be the first of that young core to make his debut. Eyes across Twins Territory will be keeping their focus on Gibson and it will be up to him to perform at the big league level. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Links_Chain.jpg The Twins keep finding ways to surprise as the team still sits around the .500 mark and it is close to a month and a half into the season. For now, enjoy some of the best Twins and MLB coverage from around the web. There are some good interviews, Puckett stories, sports video games, and a whole lot more! The anniversary of Kirby Puckett's big league debut was on Thursday. Do you want to know what Puckett's original scouting report looked like?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So far this year, Vance Worley has been unlucky so don't lose faith yet... Scott Diamond did an interview with FanGraphs that you should check out. Later in the week, FanGraphs published an interview with Glen PerkinsAaron Hicks was in a little hot water this week after a play on the defensive side of the ball. Trevor Plouffe invited Watertown police officers to Thursday's Twins vs Red Sox game. A match-up between the last year's first two draft picks was put on hold. According to the Twins Minor League Director, there could easily be six to eight guys that make the majors from Cedar Rapids. This year's Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook has been discounted and I was a co-author so pick up a copy. The rise of Josmil Pinto is something to keep an eye on. In this video, Miguel Sano talks about his favorite thing to do in baseball. Who is going to be the odd man out when Darin Mastroanni is healthy? Carlos Santana became a fan of Sam Deduno during this year's WBC. There are two big name pitchers to watch at the top of this year's draft board. Baseball America released their first mock draftand the fourth pick could be a tough spot for the Twins. The Twins have apparently narrowed their possible draft picks to a few names. ESPN spent the week ranking the top 25 sports video games of all-time. Which one have you played the most? Carlos Gomez was always good on defense but now he has figured out the offensive side of the ball. It turns out Gomez was the prize of the Johan Santana trade. Sometimes there is value in really beat-up baseball cards. Nationals fans revolted against a new ticket policy and it worked. Here is a cool interactive graphic to compare the salaries of all 30 MLB clubs. You've been waiting for it... "The History of Baseball Stadium Nachos" Matt Kemp did something very cool for a fan this week. It turns out that baseball is big in Manipur, IndiaMy Weekly Rundown Sunday: Talk to Contact: Episode 36Tuesday: Which Team's Aces Did the Twins Miss? Wednesday: Twins behind in the golden age of leadoff hitters Twins Minor League Report (5/8): Gibson Shows He's ReadyVideo of the Week: The Twins are usually creative with their advertisements and the club has even won some awards for their advertising campaigns. A commercial was released this week and the stars of the show are all bobbleheads. It is a very unique ad and it showcases one of the things that fans love about going to Twins games. Here is a list of ten awesome details about the commercial and the video to go along with it. Click here to view the article

It wasn't that long ago that Oswaldo Arcia was a member of the Twins' minor leagues. Today, batting in the seventh spot, he made his biggest mark at the big league level by driving in three runs with his first major league home run. His long ball turned out to be the difference in the team winning, by a score of 4-3 over the Marlins, in the first game of their day-night doubleheader. He was moved up to the third spot in the batting order for the second game of the doubleheader so it was an exciting day for the budding star. There were some other exciting moments across the Twins farm system on Tuesday so let's check out what happened down on the farm.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Miguel Sano.jpg Rochester Red Wings 7, Syracuse Chiefs 8 (13 innings) Box Score Rochester staked themselves to an early lead but the bullpen faltered in the late innings to send this contest to an exciting finish. The Red Wings got three home runs from Clete Thomas, Eric Farris, and Nate Hanson. It was the Triple-A debut for Hanson and he certainly made his mark. He finished 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Farris and Thomas both racked up three hits in the game. Virgil Vasquez started the night on the mound for Rochester but he would be long gone before this one was decided. He tossed 5.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits. It was his second consecutive start throwing five innings and allowing two runs or less. As the game went to extra innings, it looked like the Red Wings were close to winning. The team scored a run on a throwing error in the top of the 11th inning. This run would be answered by the Chiefs in the bottom half of the frame and the game continued on into the night. Rochester tried to mount another rally in the 13th inning. The team loaded the bases with one out. Farris grounded into an ill-timed double play and another scoring opportunity was lost. Michael O'Connor came out for his second inning of relief work in the bottom of the 13th. Syracuse started the inning with three straight bunt attempts. The first one was good for a single, the second caused an fielding error by Ray Olmedo, and the third put two runners in scoring position. The next batter would single to end the game. With the loss, Rochester still has but one victory on the road this year. The Red Wings have three more games in their series with Syracuse before heading home this weekend to face Buffalo. The club will need to figure some way to win on the road. New Britain Rock Cats --, New Hampshire Fisher Cats -- (Postponed) The Rock Cats were trying to end a three game skid on Tuesday evening. Mother Nature had other plans. Their game with the Fisher Cats was pushed to Wednesday night as part of a double-header. Thursday's game is scheduled for 10:35 AM so the teams will play three games in less than 24 hours. Trevor May was scheduled to make his first start in over a week. With cold weather and early season pitch counts, May hasn't made it through more than 5.1 innings in any of his starts. He also hasn't faced Syracuse yet this year so maybe he is in line for a good start. New Britain heads home for a seven-game home stand. The action starts this weekend with a three game set against Richmond. At the beginning of next week, the team has an important four-game series with Harrisburg. Fort Myers Miracle 5, Palm Beach Cardinals 1 Box Score The Palm Beach Cardinals are getting really sick of seeing Miguel Sano trot around the bases. He hit a grand slam against them last week in Fort Myers. Some fireworks flew on Sunday when a Palm Beach pitcher threw at Sano and he responded by cracking the ball over the fence. Tuesday brought another game and another Sano home run. It was a solo shot, Sano's 7th of the year. He was involved in another scoring play in his next at-bat. The Miracle had already scored twice in the inning on singles by Vargas and Morales, a walk to Pettersen, an Eddie Rosario single and a Lance Ray sacrifice fly. Sano would get his second RBI of the game with a single to center field. The club would score four runs in the inning to push their lead to 5-0. Taylor Rogers made his first start of the year after being called up from Cedar Rapids. He performed well by limiting the Cardinals to four hits and no runs. He struck out four batters and walked two. Zach Jones gave up the lone run to the Cards. Nelvin Fuentes and Corey Williams each had a perfect inning of relief. Fort Myers got back on the winning track after losses in their last three games. The club still has the best record in the Florida State League. The Miracle have a scheduled off-day tomorrow before playing three games against Charlotte Cedar Rapids Kernels --, Burlington Bees -- (Postponed) Rain washed out the final game of the series between the Kernels and the Bees. The game will be made up later in the first half as part of a doubleheader in Cedar Rapids. The Kernels are on a bit of a roll with wins in their last three games, including the first two games of the series against the Bees. Byron Buxton still has a batting average over .400 and his OPS of 1.128 is off the charts. He is making his first full professional season look easy. The team has a scheduled off day on Wednesday before returning home for a three-game series vs. Great Lakes. The six-game home stand will conclude with a three-game set against Lansing. Click here to view the article

The Twins finished off their road trip with two wins in Milwaukee over the last couple days. Now the border battle moved to Target Field for a couple of games. Trevor Plouffe was reinstated from the 7-day concussion disabled list but he was a late scratch with some left calf tightness. This meant Chris Colabello was sent back to Rochester. Maybe it was because the rookie wore the wrong jersey on Tuesday night. This leaves the Twins with three catchers on their roster including Chris Herrmann. Here's a look into Wednesday night's minor league action.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Rochester Red Wings 8, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 7 (Completion of 5/28 Game) Box Score Weather got in the way for these two clubs on Tuesday evening. This meant their game got suspended in the top of the fifth inning with one out. The IronPigs were leading 6-5 at the time of the suspension. There was still plenty of time for a Rochester comeback. Andrew Albers started the game on Tuesday and he pitched 4.1 innings before the rains came. It was his worst start of the season as he allowed five earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. The six runs allowed by Albers were a career high. When play resumed, Luis Perdomo took over the pitching duties. He got the final two outs of the fifth inning and went on to pitch another two frames. Perdomo allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts. Tyler Robertson got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth with a pop out and a strikeout. At the plate, Jeff Clement had himself quite the game. He hit a solo home run in Tuesday's portion of the game and he hit another solo shot in Wednesday's portion. Brian Dinkelman had his first triple of the season. The hit moved him into third place on the Red Wings all-time hits list in the Twins era. The biggest hit of the game was a two-run single off the bat of Ray Olmedo to give Rochester the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Rochester Red Wings 8, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 7 (7 innings) Box Score Three home runs were just enough for Rochester in this game. Doug Bernier, Clete Thomas, and Dan Rohlfing all hit home runs and the Red Wings had another comeback victory up their sleeves. The win clinched a series victory for Rochester and the club can go for the sweep tomorrow morning. Pedro Hernandez made his second start since being sent down by the Twins and things didn't go so great. He was roughed up over 3.1 innings to the tune of six runs and nine hits. Only three of the runs were earned but he only struck out one batter and walked two men. Daniel Turpen and Shairon Martis did a fine job in relief of Hernandez. Turpen earned his second victory of the year by throwing 1.2 innings. The only blemish on his night was a solo home run. Martis earned his first save of the year and his first save since the 2005 Arizona Fall League. Danny Lehmann went 3-for-3 with a run scored. Clete Thomas finished the night with a double, a home run, and three RBI. Oswaldo Arcia didn't join the hit parade as he went 0-for-3 with a strike out. He has yet to record a hit since being sent down. New Britain Rock Cats 5, Richmond Flying Squirrels 10 Box Score There was a whole lot of offense going on in New Britain on Wednesday night. The Rock Cats ended up on the wrong end of a shoot out and there were some rough moments on the mound and in the field. New Britain had four errors in the game but the defense also turned three double plays. DJ Baxendale got called up from Fort Myers to make his first Double-A start. He had been terrific in the Florida State League with a 1.10 ERA and a perfect 7-0 record. Things didn't go so great for him on this night. He surrendered seven earned runs on nine hits over 4.2 innings. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a double. Danny Santana and Jordan Parraz both went 2-for-4 and Parraz added his third double of the year. Chris Pettit had his first multi-hit game since joining the Rock Cats seven days ago. He went 2-5 out of the leadoff spot with his second double. New Britain sits five games under .500 and the team will look to salvage the last game of the series tomorrow morning. Pat Dean is scheduled to start and he is looking to repeat a solid outing in his last start. Fort Myers Miracle 10, Bradenton Marauders 3 Box Score Matt Tomshaw, Eddie Rosario, and Kennys Vargas worked together to put on quite the show for the Miracle. The win marked the fourth in the last five games for Fort Myers. It also clinched a series win and the Miracle have not lost a series in the month of May. Tomshaw was terrific on the mound. He gave up two hits and one earned run on a solo home run. Over six innings, he struck out four and only walked one batter. It was his first start since being called up from Cedar Rapids and it couldn't have gone much better for the lefty. Download attachment: Matt Tomshaw.jpg As good as Tomshaw was on the mound, Rosario and Vargas were just as good at the plate. Rosario finished the night 3-for-5 with a home run and a double. Vargas was 2-for-3 with a home run and a double. Both players knocked in two runners with two outs in an inning. It was the 37th win of the year for Fort Myers and the team will go for the series sweep on Thursday evening. After that, the club will head to Palm Beach to play the Cardinals in a three-game weekend series. Cedar Rapids Kernels --, Clinton LumberKings -- (Postponed) The game between the Kernels and the LumberKings was postponed on Wednesday evening. A double-header will be played on Thursday starting at 4:00 pm. Thursdays games will both be scheduled for seven innings. Cedar Rapids has only won one game in the last week. This has shrunk their lead in the Western Division of the Midwest League to one game. The club boasts an 18-7 record at home but the club is only one game over .500 on the road (13- Click here to view the article

The Twins concluded their three-game series with the White Sox by playing a little Wednesday afternoon baseball. With how bad the White Sox looked in recent weeks, it seemed like the Twins should be able to earn a series win. That didn't happen as the Sox took the final two games of the three-game set. Joe Mauer has been on fire lately and his recent hot streak has him in some rarefied air. He took over the active career leader board for batting average. Albert Pujols (.323 BA) had been on the top of the list followed by Ichiro Suzuki (.321 BA). Those two players are on the decline and Mauer looks to be in the prime of his career. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] On the most recent edition of the "Talk to Contact" podcast, we had Baseball Prospectus' Jason Parks on the show to talk about some of the big names in the Twins farm system. It is a great interview and you should make sure to download the episode if you haven't heard it yet. There were plenty of games today down on the farm. Here's a look into the Twins farm system... Rochester Red Wings 7, Durham Bulls 10 Box Score Cole De Vries continued his rehab trail with a start in Rochester on Wednesday night. His previous two starts had been with the Fort Myers Miracle and the New Britain Rock Cats. With a Triple-A start under his belt, his rehab time could be coming to an end. His performance on Wednesday would play a pivotal role in the team's decision. I wrote about De Vries and contemplated his place with the Twins now that he is healthy. For De Vries, his start with Rochester didn't go perfectly. He got knocked around over four innings for a total of 11 hits and six earned runs. The fifth inning was where most of the trouble happened for De Vries. He had allowed three runs in the first four frames before not recording an out in a three-run top of the fifth. Rochester's offense faired pretty well against one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Jake Odorizzi made it through 5.1 innings but he surrendered six earned runs and three long balls. Chris Colabello had a monster game as he went 3-for-4 with two home runs and a double. His five RBI were great but it wasn't nearly enough to keep pace with the Bulls. Eric Farris extended his hit streak to nine games with a single in the bottom of the fourth. Download attachment: Colabello1.jpg The loss puts the Red Wings ten games under .500 for the first time this season and for the first time since May 28, 2012. The club has also lost six of their last seven contests. There are two more games left in the series with the Bulls and the Red Wings have to find a way to get back to playing winning baseball. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Bowie Baysox 10 Box Score Pat Dean is going to want to forget about the bottom of the second inning on Wednesday night. The Baysox gave him a rude awakening and knocked him out of the game early. The first batter of the frame hit one over the fence and it didn't get much better from there. He would give up six more hits including another home run and he would be charged with seven earned runs in a little over an inning of work. Danny Santana was the only Rock Cats hitter with two hits. He is in the midst of an eight game hit streak and he has six multi-hit games during that stretch. Over the last ten games, he is hitting .425/.465/.550 with three doubles and a triple. Daniel Ortiz had his 12th double of the year and his 23rd RBI. New Britain's bullpen was counted on to eat up a lot of innings tonight. Blake Martin threw two hitless innings and struck out two batters. Aaron Thompson continued his impressive work with one hit and two strikeouts in an inning of work. His ERA dropped to 0.61 for the year and he has only given up one earned run in his last ten outings. The Rock Cats sit one game over .500 but the club has lost their last three games. Tomorrow night marks the last game in their series with Bowie before the club returns home for a weeklong home stand. By only trailing Portland by three games in the standings, the next week could be important. Fort Myers Miracle 4, Dunedin Blue Jays 5 Box Score The Miracle jumped out to an early lead in this contest but the offense slowed down for six innings before waking up in the bottom of the ninth. Dunedin held a slim 3-2 lead before tacking on a couple of insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. Fort Myers scored two runs of their own in the ninth without recording an out. With Angel Morales at second and Eddie Rosario at first, Andy Leer attempted a bunt and the pitcher was able to get the lead runner at third. Levi Michael was the next batter and he struck out. Aderling Meijia was walked to load the bases but Stephen Wickens struck out looking to end the game. There were plenty of opportunities for the Miracle but the team left seven runners on base. The club also went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position including a couple of untimely double plays off the bats of Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas. Sano went 0-for-3 and he only has one home run in his last ten games. Vargas went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Even though Leer couldn't get a successful bunt down in the ninth, he hit his third home run of the season earlier in the game. Rosario didn't start the game but he was used as a pinch hitter in the critical ninth inning. He almost hit a game tying home run but it went foul. He settled for a single to keep the inning alive. Kyle Davies started the game for the Miracle. The seven-year MLB veteran was making a rehab start with the club. Minnesota signed him as a free agent in February and this was his first appearance with the organization. He tossed five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. It was only the tenth loss of the year for the Miracle and the club will finish their four-game series with Dunedin on Thursday night. From there, the club will head on a seven-game road trip that includes stops in Charlotte and Lakeland. Cedar Rapids Kernels 6, Burlington Bees 5 (7 innings) Box Score In the first game of a double-header, the Kernels used a couple of late inning runs to slide by the Bees. Cedar Rapids had nine hits in the game and over half of those hits were for extra-bases. The team went 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position and they needed every one of those runs in this game. Jorge Polanco paced the offense with a 2-for-3 night. Both of his hits were for extra bases including his fifth triple and tenth double of the year. Dalton Hicks had a big two-out double in the fifth inning to tie the game. Byron Buxton reached base in two of his three plate appearances. He finished the game going 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Jeremias Pineda would come in as a pinch runner in the bottom of the 6th and wreak havoc on the bases. He stole second base, advanced to third on a ground out, and then scored what turned out to be the winning run on a wild pitch. Hudson Boyd started the game and allowed five runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out four batters and walked three men. Josue Montanez would earn his first win of the year in only his third appearance with the Kernels. He tossed two scoreless innings by allowing one hit and striking out two. Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Burlington Bees 6 (7 innings) Box Score The Kernels and the Bees had to play two on Wednesday to make-up a game from April 23rd. After powering their way to a win in the first game, the Kernels bats fell a little flat in the second game until the last inning. Cedar Rapids scored two in the bottom of the ninth but the team still fell short. Steven Gruver pitched three innings in a spot start for him. He gave up three earned runs on three hits but he struggled with command and walked four batters. Alex Muren made his second appearance with the Kernels and pitched three innings while allowing two earned runs. Josh Burris pitched the final frame and gave up a run. It was the fourth consecutive outing that he gave up at least one run and his ERA sits above 12. Byron Buxton played DH in the second game of the double header. He would strike out twice in the game but he notched his 10th double of the year. Tyler Grimes added a 2-run home run but the team only managed a total of three hits. The club struck out 13 times and left six runners on base. Cedar Rapids will play the final game of their series with Burlington tomorrow night. Over the weekend, the club will play four games with Kane County. The Cougars are a .500 club and they will be looking to make an impression on the current leaders of the Midwest League, the Kernels. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: PInto_Josmil_Stretching_US_600.jpg The Twins continue to play out the rest of the 2013 season without their $23 million man, Joe Mauer. There is plenty of concern surrounding Mauer's concussion-related injury. As Twins fans are well aware from incidents with Denard Span and Justin Morneau, head injuries can be tough to resolve. This leaves Minnesota with an interesting situation behind the plate as the team looks to the future. No one knows when Mauer will be back on the field and if he will ever be able to suit up behind the plate. The Twins have been auditioning a variety of players this September in hopes of shedding some light on the situation. Will one of these new players be the Twins full-time backstop by the start of next year or will Mauer be able to solve the puzzle of his brain injury? Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Here's the breakdown of the men fighting for catching time in 2014. It is a mix of young and old as the Twins begin to shift their roster to a more youthful core of players. Joe Mauer 2013 (113 G, 73 G started at C): .324/.404/.476, 11 HR, 35 2B, 62 R Concerns over Mauer's injury will be one of the biggest story lines entering spring training next year. The 2013 season is only the second time since 2007 where he has failed to play over 135 games. Justin Morneau is gone and this leaves a hole at first base. Mauer's power numbers don't exactly fit with the typical first baseman mold but the Twins need him to fit somewhere. Depending on how the offseason progresses, fans have to hope that Mauer will be able to do some catching, play some time at first and even get into the line-up as a DH. This might be a wild dream at this point but there are multiple months until Opening Day 2014. Ryan Doumit 2013 (124 G, 41 GS at C): .239/.310/.386, 13 HR, 24 2B, 43 R With Mauer out of the line-up, one figured Doumit would get more time at catcher. This hasn't been the case and Doumit had his own concussion-related DL stint earlier this season. Minnesota loved the production Doumit provided in 2012 and the team signed him to an extension. His offensive production dropped this season and there's a chance the team could try to deal him in the offseason. He will be 33 years old next season and in the last year of his contract. His does represent the lone veteran presence behind Mauer so this could give the Twins a reason to keep him around. Chris Herrmann 2013: (49 G, 22 GS at C): .218/.302/.361, 4 HR, 7 2B, 14 R Herrmann can't be a free agent until after the 2019 season and the Twins have been willing to use him in multiple defensive positions. His numbers dropped across the board as he struggled at the plate in Rochester and Minnesota. There were some good signs from him during 2012 at Double-A. One has to hope for that version of Herrmann to appear at the big league level, especially if Mauer is no longer able to catch. If he is able to make the right adjustments, Herrmann could end up taking over the role vacated by Doumit after next season. Otherwise, he is an adequate back-up catcher to keep on the bench. Josmil Pinto 2013: (11 G, 9 GS at C): .405/.463/.703, 2 HR, 5 2B, 6 R In his first taste of the big leagues, Pinto has made a quick impression on Twins Territory. The kid can hit the ball and he has continued to show this ability as he has moved through the upper levels of the Twins farm system. In the past, there have been some questions about his catching ability and this year there were concerns about his shoulder. He was able to throw out 29% of base stealers between New Britain and Rochester this season. At the big league level, he has caught three out of seven potential runners. Fans that continue to watch the Twins in September will keep their eye on Pinto because he might be getting a lot more time behind the plate next year. Fans might be worried about Mauer's future so it's good to have a plan in place. Pinto has been impressive but it has been a small sample size and it's tough to get too excited before seeing a full season of play from him. It would be great for both men to be able to spend some time behind the plate next season but for now the future is a little cloudy. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 2012-topps-baseball-card-display.jpg Most baseball fans can remember a time when they sat down to sort through shoe boxes full of cardboard with the faces of their favorite players on the front. I grew up in a small town in North Dakota without cable so one of the easiest ways for me follow my favorite players was to collect their trading cards. The hobby has changed a lot since the late 80s and early 90s but some fans still flock to get their hands on the latest edition of Topps Baseball Cards. The year on the field hasn't been that great for the Twins but there have been some unique and popular card that feature members of the Twins. Here is a rundown of all of the releases so far with a few of the best cards to feature the Twins in 2012.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 2012 Topps Series 1 Baseball Release Date: January 28, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 62 Ben Revere 81 Liam Hendriks - RC 95 Chris Parmelee - RC 97 Jim Thome - Checklist 111 Kevin Slowey 164 Carl Pavano 179 Denard Span 230 Justin Morneau 235 Joe Benson - RC 249 Trevor Plouffe 276 Scott Baker 292 Ben Revere - Topps All-Star Rookie 303 Danny Valencia 316 Nick Blackburn Unique Cards: Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a short print variation card with him and Butera messing around on the bench. The hardest Twins card to get in the set was a 1/1 card featuring a cut signature of Harmon Killebrew. My favorite photo of the year for a Twins card came in this set (see awards at the bottom). 2012 Topps Tribute Baseball Release Date: March 9, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 43 Harmon Killebrew 51 Joe Mauer Unique Cards: This set is all about the autographed and relic cards. Mauer was the only Twins player featured in the autographed card section. As usual, there is a relic card of Mauer but there were also relic cards of Twins Hall-of-Famers Harmon Killebrew and Bert Blyleven. There were some unique cards that featured players debut digits from their first year. David Ortiz and Rod Carew were part of this set. 2012 Topps Heritage Baseball Release Date: March 14, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 26 Scott Baker 40 Chris Parmelee - RC 80 Jamey Carroll 89 Liam Hendriks - RC 95 2012 Rookie Stars - Joe Benson/Chambers/Brown/Taylor 125 Ron Gardenhire - Manager. 135 2012 Rookie Stars - Chris Parmelee/Lombardozz/ Florimon/Pacheco 159 Ryan Doumit 162 Twins - Team Card 186 Joe Mauer 191 2012 Rookie Stars - Liam Hendricks/Liddi/Moore/Schwinden 198 Joe Benson - RC 269 Justin Morneau 281 Jason Marquis 314 Alexi Casilla333 2012 Rookie Stars - Joe Benson/Hendricks/Parmelee/Waldrop Unique Cards: Everybody loves stickers and you can get a Joe Mauer Stick-Ons card from Heritage. It doesn't stop there with Mauer as he is also featured in their Clubhouse Collection Relic Cards. 2012 Topps Museum Release Date: April 6, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 18 Joe Mauer Unique Cards: Harmon Killebrew had a "Canvas Collection" short print cardfor collectors to hunt out. Joe Mauer's duel autograph card with Johnny Bench was one of the nicest cards in the set. As with most sets, Mauer gets all of the autograph/relic card love. 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Release Date: April 18, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 73 Ben Revere 119 Justin Morneau 121 Scott Baker 140 Joe Mauer Unique Cards: Joe Benson didn't have a base card in the set but he had autographed cards to be found. Ben Revere's amazing catch at Target Field in 2011 was one the set's "Glove Stories." Joe Mauer had an exchange card that got the holder an autographed relic card of the Twins backstop. Cards with Indian Head pennies were inserted into the set and Mauer was the Twins representative on this insert. One of my favorite Twins cards of the year was in this set (see awards at the bottom). 2012 Bowman Baseball Release Date: May 4, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 65 Ben Revere 73 Justin Morneau 87 Joe Mauer 208 Liam Hendriks - RC 215 Joe Benson - RC 219 Chris Parmelee - RC Prospect Cards (Regular & Chrome): Eddie Rosario, Michael Gonzalez, Levi Michael Unique Cards: Autograph cards of Eddie Rosario were doing very well in the secondary market. Miguel Sano was featured in their "Bowman's Best Prospects" insert series. Some of the coolest cards in the set had a silver ice finish to them. 2012 Topps Archives Baseball Release Date: May 23, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 90 Joe Mauer 175 Justin Morneau Reprint Cards: Rod Carew (2 different), Harmon Killebrew Unique Cards: Former fan favorite Chili Davis had an autograph card in the setbut it wasn't in a Twins uniform. Bert Blyleven and Paul Molitor have framed mini autographed cards featuring 1983's design. The deckled edge cards of Mauer and Killebrew are among my favorites from the set. 2012 Topps Series 2 Baseball Release Date: June 6, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 337 Glen Perkins 389 Alexi Casilla 411 Tsuyoshi Nishioka 501 Matt Capps 512 Josh Willingham 517 Francisco Liriano 529 Luke Hughes 535 Joe Mauer 655 Ryan Doumit Unique Cards: Topps must really like Nishioka because he had cards in Series 1 and Series 2 but he also got a silk insert card. It's funny to think that Liam Hendriks can be part of the "Golden Moments" setwhen he doesn't have a big league win to his name. There's a ring implanted into this Harmon Killebrew card. 2012 Topps Tier 1 Baseball Release Date: June 20, 2012 No Base Cards in this set. Only relics and autographs. Unique Cards: This entire set is made up of unique cards. Joe Mauer had a "Prestigious Patch" card that was a 1/1 insert. One of the most unique cards is featured in the award section at the bottom of this post. There were also multiple relic and autograph cards from Mauer in this set. Ben Revere had multiple cards featured in their "On the Rise" Autograph cards. 2012 Allen & Ginter Baseball Release Date: July 11, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 78 Joe Mauer 125 Ben Revere 138 Josh Willingham 144 Joe Benson - RC 147 Tsuyoshi Nishioka 239 Liam Hendriks - RC 265 Chris Parmelee - RC 297 Justin Morneau Unique Cards: There were low numbered silk/cloth cards of Mauer and Morneau inserted into packs. Mauer's sweet signature could be found in a few different varieties in the set. In a set like Allen & Ginter, there are plenty of unique cards but most of them are not related to baseball. 2012 Bowman Platinum Baseball Release Date: July 25, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 2 Liam Hendriks - RC 3 Joe Mauer 84 Justin Morneau Prospect Cards (Regular & Chrome): Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, Brian Dozier Unique Cards: Rosario, Levi Michael, and Oswaldo Arcia all had autographed cards included in this product. There were also low numbered (out of /25) black autograph cards of Michael and Rosario. Sano's low numbered autos are going for a lot on eBay. 2012 Topps Finest Baseball Release Date: August 8, 2012 Twins Base Set Cards: 77 Liam Hendriks - RC 83 Joe Mauer 88 Chris Parmelee - RC 96 Joe Benson - RC Unique Cards: Benson and Brian Dozier have autographed rookie cards in the set. Liam Hendriks has some very cool autograph/jersey cards that can be found in this product. There are a few different versions of Joe Mauer autographs in the set with the few on eBay going for over $200. 2012 Twins Trading Card Awards Photo of the Year: Topps Series 1 Baseball #62 Ben Revere http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5s2OJCEHuYE/UDKwywnsyLI/AAAAAAAADJc/UaoiCeIu-Z0/s320/2012-topps-62-ben-revere.jpg Favorite Card of the Year: Harmon Killebrew/Joe Mauer Gypsy Queen Autograph Relic Insert http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib_X-OiXh38/UDKxTbccxBI/AAAAAAAADJk/wdnZthfihoo/s320/2012-gypsy-dual-auto-relic-killebrew-mauer.jpg Unique Card of the Year: Joe Mauer Bat Knob Tier One 1/1 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AZJln676mr8/UDKxvkDIuVI/AAAAAAAADJs/R-AVk27duoE/s320/mauerbatknob.JPG Click here to view the article

Download attachment: ben_revere_catch.jpg Another week and another center fielder has been traded away by the Minnesota Twins. Without looking too far into the trade, let's take a look back at Ben Revere's short career with the Twins. The former first round pick quickly became a fan favorite for his all-or-nothing defensive ability and his speed on the bases. His smile was infectious and he seemed to be a great all around person. There were plenty of good moments for Revere in a Twins uniform but two specific incidents will stick in the mind's of Twins fans for the foreseeable future. The Catch It was named the best defensive play in 2011 because of the athleticism that it took to complete the play. Revere had to track down the ball over his shoulder and make a tough catch against the wall. The play was shown over and over again in highlight reels. It also made a long run in the top spot of SportsCenter's "Top Plays." It left Vladimir Guerrero, the batter, shaking his head. Reminiscent of Willie Mays and his famous over the shoulder grab, Revere added a little more difficulty to his catch by banging into the outfield fence. He even had to look up at his glove to make sure the ball was still in the webbing. Dick Bremer called it "one of the greatest catches you will see all year long." It might be one of the best catches in the history of the Twins. CLICK HERE for Video Clip The Somersault Download attachment: revere.jpg Even as a fan in the stands on this night, it was hard to believe what just happened. Revere knocks a ball down to the fence down the right field line and then he was off to the races. Jeff Francoeur was the outfielder for the Royals and he tried to get the ball back in as quickly as he could. It looked like it would be an easy triple for the speedy Revere.... but things got interesting after second base.Revere stumbled on his way to third and he started to fall forward. Instead of falling flat on his face, Revere gracefully (or not so gracefully depending on how you look at it) started a somersault before continuing on his path to third base. By the end of the play, Revere was in a pile at third asking for time to catch his breath. CLICK HERE for Video Clip It's sad to see both Span and Revere sent to other clubs but these were the right moves for the direction of the organization. The Twins were desperate for pitching and they had extra outfielders in the organization. The club got one major league ready arm and two very good prospects for the future. The Twins might not contend in 2013 but the future is looking much brighter after these two deals. Click here to view the article

Twins players will have will have plenty of things to reflect on this coming offseason. When a team has multiple 90-loss seasons in a row, changes are likely and some of those situations have started to play themselves out. Minnesota needs pitchers to stand out in the final games of the season as the team tries to figure out the future. Download attachment: Hendricks_Liam.jpg Liam Hendriks is one player on shaky ground for 2014. The team rushed him to the big leagues as a 22-year old and struggles have followed him since. Next season, he will be 25 and there is a chance the Twins remove him from the 40-man rosters, as Nick Nelson wrote here at Twins Daily, Hendriks might have run out of chances. ~~~ Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com ~~~ Minnesota needs some semblance of a starting rotation for next season and there aren't any sure bets on the free agent market. This might leave a window open for Hendriks to get one more shot in 2014. It might not be a good chance but it could be a chance. The Twins have jerked him back and forth between the minor leagues and the big leagues over the past three seasons. With the Twins, he has never started more than eight games consecutively and that was at the end of last season. It is a challenge to figure out big league hitters when a pitcher isn't given the opportunity to start consecutive games. His pitches are already bottom-of-the- rotation material and moving him up and down hasn't helped. In 2011 at Double-A and 2012 at Triple-A, Hendriks was a very effective pitcher. He posted ERAs of under 3.00 and he averaged over six innings per appearance. Strikeouts have never been his specialty; he is most effective when he limits walks and induces ground balls. This hasn't happened at the major league level but he has shown these skills in the minors. Another reason to keep Hendriks around is the fact he won't be arbitration- eligible until the 2016 season and he can't reach free agency until 2019. This means he will be a relatively cheap player on the roster and the Twins can use the money they save on him to spend on other pieces of the roster. Even in their recent down years, the Twins have found effective relief pitchers in various ways. One way has been to shift starters into the bullpen. Minnesota has seen successful transitions from Glen Perkins and Anthony Swarzak and this could be a path to follow with Hendriks. At the end of 2013 Minnesota has already used him as a long-relief man and it could be a sign of things to come. Is Hendriks going to be a key piece to the potential Twins turnaround? Likely not but it still doesn't mean it is time to give up on him. It would have been nice for Hendriks to get more opportunities at the big league level. The team has never given him a consistent shot at sticking in the rotation and most of this has been because of his ineffective pitching. Hendriks might not be the answer to all the Twins pitching problems but he deserves another chance to make it work in some kind of role for 2014. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Buxton_Byron_Batting_Rinaldi_686.jpg We are only a couple days away from getting an influx of talent into the Twins' minor league system. The MLB First Year Player Draft will start on Thursday night and the Twins have the fourth overall selection. It will be the second year in a row that the Twins are picking in the top five. Last year's first round selection, Byron Buxton, has been a great addition to the organization. By the end of this year, he could be the top ranked prospect in all of baseball. Last week, Seth Stohs moved him ahead of Miguel Sano as the Twins number one prospect.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Let's take a look at how the current crop of minor league players fared on Wednesday before some new players join their ranks in the coming weeks. Rochester Red Wings 4, Gwinnett Braves 2 (Rain Shortened- 8 innings) Box Score Through the first eight innings, the Red Wings were out-hit by the Braves but they still held a 4-2 advantage. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, the skies opened up and a rain delay ensued. Before the rains fell, Cole De Vries put together a very good start. He tossed seven strong innings by scattering nine hits and allowing two runs. He struck out two and walked one. This was the best start of the season for De Vries after some rough starts as he is coming back from an injury. Oswaldo Arcia had two hits for the second time in the last three games. His fourth double of the season scored the team's third run of the game. Chris Colabello knocked in his team leading 41st RBI of the year. The Red Wings left 11 men on base but that didn't affect the outcome tonight. The Red Wings have two more games in Gwinnett before heading home for an eight game home stand. With the win, Rochester moves to within four games of the .500 mark. An 8-2 record in their last ten games has put the Red Wings back into contention. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Richmond Flying Squirrels 3 Box Score Pat Dean did his best to keep the Rock Cats in the game but in the end it wasn't enough. An error by third baseman Mark Sobolewski cost the team an unearned run and that wound up being be the difference in the game. Over 6.2 innings, Dean allowed only two earned runs on seven hits. It was his third straight strong game and it was his first loss during that stretch. With this start, his ERA dropped below 5.00 for the first time since some awful starts in the middle of May Josmil Pinto continued his hot hitting by going 2-for-3 with his tenth home run of the year. In his last 10 games, he is hitting .355/.459/.581 with two home runs and a double. Reynaldo Rodriguez wasn't in the original line-up but he replaced Daniel Ortiz in left field in the bottom of the second inning. Rodriguez proceeded to go 2-for-2 with his 16th double of the year. The loss put the Rock Cats three games under .500 for the. Tonight's game was the first of a six-game road trip that will see the team play three games in Richmond and three in Bowie. New Britain had played to a .500 record on the road so they will look to get back to .500 with a win Thursday night. Fort Myers Miracle --, Brevard County Manatees -- (Postponed) The game between Fort Myers and Brevard County was postponed due to rain. The teams will make-up the game as part of a double header on Thursday evening. Game one is scheduled to begin at 5:05 eastern with the second starting 30 minutes after the completion of the first. The Miracle lost the first two games of this series with the Manatees so the club will be looking to bounce back. The team hasn't lost a series since mid-May. To keep that streak intact the Miracle will have to sweep this doubleheader. Cedar Rapids Kernels 14, Quad City River Bandits 5 Box Score One inning explained a lot for the Kernels on Wednesday night. In their half of the fourth frame, the Kernels exploded on the offensive side of the ball. They put 10 runs on the board, powered by 12 hits. 15 hitters came to bat and the club had nine straight hits to open the frame. Byron Buxton returned to action after not playing in a game in June because of a bruised thumb. He looked like he hadn't missed a beat as he got hits in his first five at-bats before being retired for the first time. On the night, he was 5-for-6 with two triples, a double, and three runs scored. Buxton wasn't the only offensive star for the Kernels. Jorge Polanco had four hits including two doubles and Dalton Hicks knocked in four with his two doubles. Catcher Michael Quesada added three hits of his own. Hein Robb made his second start of the season and he pitched into the fourth inning. He gave up five runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Alex Muren did a very good job in relief. He threw 3.2 innings of scoreless ball and gave up only two hits. The Kernels continue their series versus Quad Cities on Thursday night. The club will be looking to win their second series in the month of June before playing a three-game set against Kane County over the weekend. Click here to view the article

The Cedar Rapids Kernels are in the midst of their All-Star break so they were again out of action Wednesday night. This didn't stop the Twins from announcing that one of their top prospects, Max Kepler, would be joining that club. He had been at extended spring training working to recover from an elbow injury. The power hitting outfielder will take over a corner outfield spot since Byron Buxton is manning center field in Cedar Rapids. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Liam Hendriks was also reinstated from the disabled list and this meant another move had to be made. Right-handed pitcher Virgil Vasquez was sent from Rochester to New Britain as the corresponding move. It has been a rough season so far for Hendriks and it would be nice to see him put together some strong starts in the second half of the year. Here's a look at Wednesday night's action in the Twins farm system. Rochester Red Wings 7, Scranton/WB RailRiders 10 Box Score Liam Hendriks returned to the mound Wednesday after missing over a month with right elbow inflammation. In his first start since May 9th there was certainly rust to work through. Over four innings, he surrendered seven runs on nine hits including two home runs. Of his 77 pitches, 47 were for strikes but he limited his walks to two. The bottom four hitters in the Red Wings line-up each had an RBI. Doug Bernier went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a triple. Dan Rohlfing, James Beresford, and Drew Butera all knocked in a run. Jeff Clement and Chris Herrmann each added a double. Download attachment: Doug Bernier.jpg The Red Wings had plenty of opportunities with runners in scoring position. Over the course of the night, Rochester went 5-for-15 with men in scoring position. The club also left 11 runners on base. Antoan Richardson stole his 14th base since joining Rochester and he now has 27 steals between Double-A and Triple-A. Rochester started the year 2-11; hot play in recent weeks has gotten the Red Wings closer to the .500 mark (36-38). The team has won six of their last eight games and they are within striking distance of a wild card spot. A win tomorrow splits the two-game set with Scranton/WB. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Erie SeaWolves 2 Box Score After starting his Double-A career 1-for-17 with a single, Miguel Sano finally notched his first home runs since being called up to New Britain. His long ball broke a scoreless tie to put the Rock Cats ahead in the top of the seventh inning. Sano's home run wasn't enough though, as the SeaWolves scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning and they held on for the win. It was another tough luck loss for Pat Dean as he suffered his third consecutive defeat. In two of the three outings, he's surrendered two runs or fewer and pitched into the seventh inning. The Rock Cats offense hasn't offered much support when he has taken the mound. Matt Hauser did a fantastic job in relief of Dean. He recorded the last four outs of the game on four strikeouts. Since his promotion to New Britain, in five relief appearances and 7.1 innings, his ERA stands at 1.23. Following the previous night's four hit game, Danny Santana had a couple hits and his fifth double of the year. Eddie Rosario went 1-for-3 and has hit safely in five of his six games since joining New Britain. Daniel Ortiz was the only other player to record a hit. Fort Myers Miracle 5, Palm Beach Cardinals 8 Box Score Jason Wheeler failed to pitch through the fifth inning for the first time since May 21 and the Miracle weren't able to dig themselves out of an early hole. It marked only the second time this season Wheeler was saddled with a loss. He threw 4.1 innings, gave up eight runs and got knocked around for seven hits. The Miracle bullpen did a fairly good job in relief. Nelvin Fuentes, Jose Gonzalez, and Corey Williams pitched 4.2 innings and allowed two base runners while striking out seven. Fuentes entered in a tough spot with the bases loaded and he allowed all the inherited runners to score. From there, he was able to settle down and the zeros started to pile up. Kennys Vargas continued his power hitting ways with a double and two RBI. He finished the night 2-for-4 and he has had multiple hits in his last two games. Candido Pimentel and Mike Kvasnicka added a hit apiece. Stephen Wickens went 2-for-3 as he continues to get closer to a .250 batting average. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Blackburn_nick_pitching_us_orig.jpg The second half of the minor league season is well under way. Some of the Twins affiliates are trying to find their way into the playoff race. It will be an interesting couple of months leading up to the playoffs. Let's see how Nick Blackburn did in his first start back at Triple-A. Plus there were some fireworks from Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton on this night. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 1, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 8 Box Score Earlier on Tuesday, a roster move had to be made to fit Blackburn into the rotation for Rochester. His promotion from Double-A meant another pitcher had to go the opposite direction. LHP Blake Martin made the trek from the International League back to the Eastern League. In 12 games and 15.2 innings he had a 4.02 ERA, 15 strikeouts and WHIP of 1.53. Blackburn made his 2013 debut at Triple-A; the start was rocky, to say the least. He gave up six earned runs on 10 hits and barely made it through five innings. It was the most runs he has ever allowed in his 32 starts for the Red Wings. It was the first time the IronPigs won at Frontier Field since August of last year. An eighth inning double by Chris Parmelee drove in the lone run of the game. Parmelee went 2-for-3 with that double, a single and an RBI. Oswaldo Arcia had been ripping the cover off the ball since being demoted before the All-Star break. He had gone 7-for-11 with two home runs but he was pulled in the second inning after going 0-1 with a strike out. New Britain Rock Cats 7, Portland Sea Dogs 8 Box Score The Rock Cats got out to an early 5-0 lead after multiple run innings in the first and second. Portland came back with a big five-run top of the fourth to tie the game. This turned into a battle of the bullpens and, well, the Dogs had more bark than the Cats. Miguel Sano continued his hot streak as he hit a home run for the second consecutive night. He has homered in four of his last six games and is up to ten in the 37 games he has played for New Britain. He smacked a double in the earlier innings to help him finish 2-for-4 with two RBI. Josmil Pinto added his 14th home run of the season, a two-run shot. Former MLB pitcher Kyle Davies made his Rock Cats debut on the mound. He got knocked around for nine hits and five earned runs in 3.1 innings. On a more positive note, he did strike out six batters and he did not walk anyone. Fort Myers Miracle 4, Brevard County Manatees 10 Box Score Byron Buxton hit a home run, legged out a triple and scored three runs but it still wasn't enough. It was the first over-the-wall home run for Buxton at this level. Overall, Buxton went 3-for-4 and he added his fourth stolen base at this level. Dalton Hicks, Matt Koch, and Stephen Wickens all had two-hit games but none were for extra-bases. Miracle starter Taylor Rogers had a tough time getting out of the middle innings. The Manatees plated six runs, total, in the fourth and fifth frames. He went five innings and gave up six runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Steven Gruver tossed two scoreless innings. Chad Rodgers got pounded for four runs in his one inning of relief work. Elizabethton Twins 4, Kingsport Mets 5 Box Score The E-Twins did their best to come back in this game, scoring four runs in the eighth inning to take a one run lead. Unfortunately, the Mets had different plans as they stormed back to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth and come out victorious. Romy Jimenez and Javier Pimentel both went 2-for-4 with a double. It was the seventh double of the year for Pimentel. Zach Granite also had two hits and an RBI. Starter Felix Jorge went five innings and gave up three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Brandon Peterson was saddled with the loss after giving up both runs in the bottom of the ninth. GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 3 Box Score Four defensive errors didn't help the GCL Twins; only one earned run was scored by the Rays. Jonatan Hinojosa had two fielding errors at shortstop, second baseman Will Hurt had a throwing error and first baseman Chad Christensen was charged with an error on a pickoff attempt. Defensive mistakes will often haunt a team. Hurt tried to make up for his throwing error with a good day at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Amaurys Minier had the only extra-base hit, his fourth double of the season. Damian Defrank started the game and scattered three hits over four shutout innings. He struck out four and walked one. Stephen Gonsalves also pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in relief. Click here to view the article

On Friday night, the Twins watched Carl Pavano struggle through another rough outing as he tries to find a way to fight through the shoulder problems that have plagued him in 2012. In less than five innings of work, Pavano gave up two home runs including a grand slam. By the time he left the mound, the Twins were in a 7-0 hole and it can be a challenge to come back from that big of a hole. The three-game winning streak for the Twins came to an end on Friday night so let's look around the minor leagues to find some standout performances. Since there was not a minor league recap written last night for the Twins Daily site, you will find short summaries of the Thursday night games including the pitcher and hitter of the night. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER -, COLUMBUS - The Red Wings were washed out on Tuesday night and their game with Columbus will have to be made up as part of a double header on Saturday. Both games will be scheduled for seven innings. Thursday Night Notes: Rochester lost 5-1 on Thursday evening versus the Charlotte Knights. The only member of the Red Wings with more than one hit was Chris Parmelee who has been on quite the run since being demoted to Rochester. Matt Maloney started for Rochester and he allowed two earned runs in 4.2 inning on the hill. NEW BRITAIN 10, HARRISBURG 3 On Friday night, the Rock Cats exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second inning to separate themselves from the Senators. Matt Rizzotti had one of the big hits in the inning by smacking a double with two outs to drive in two runs. He would add a second double later in the contest to help keep the offense moving in the right direction. In his first big game since being demoted from Rochester, Rene Tosoni had three hits and two RBI in support of the Rock Cats win. Evan Bigley added two RBI of his own with his fifth home run of the year in the seventh inning. By the end of the game, Chris Herrmann would be the only member of New Britain that failed to record a hit but he reached base with a walk. Steve Hirschfeld started for New Britain and pitched himself out of some jams over the course of seven innings. In the end he surrendered nine hits but he was able to escape with minimum damage as only two runs crossed the plate. Bobby Lanigan and Blake Martin covered the last two innings to help the Rock Cats to their 31st victory of the season. Thursday Night Notes: After the Rock Cats jumped out to a 6-1 lead, the team had to hang on to win by a final score of 6-5 versus New Hampshire. Chris Colabello had a tremendous night at the plate with a double, a home run, and six runs batted in. Andrew Albers picked up his second win of the year by throwing six innings and only allowing one earned run. FORT MYERS 7, DAYTON 16 In direct contrast to the big second inning by the Rock Cats, the Miracle surrendered a big frame in the second inning of their game with the Cubs. Dayton pumped across six runs in the top of the frame and five of those runs were charged to Marty Popham, the starter for Fort Myers. The game would only get worse from there as the Cubs piled on the runs in the top of the fifth inning. Levi Michael hit his third triple of the year as he tries to dig himself out an early season slump. Daniel Ortiz racked up three extra-base hits with two doubles and a triple in the game and he finished with three RBI. In the fourth inning, Josmil Pinto hit his fifth home run of the year but it would not be enough on this night. Two errors in the game by Fort Myers lead to five unearned runs for Dayton. Even with the unearned runs, it was an ugly night on the mound for Miracle pitchers. In his first start since May 22, Popham would finish by giving up nine earned runs on 10 hits. Jose Gonzalez had a tough time in relief of Popham as he surrendered five runs in 1.2 innings.Dakota Watts stopped some of the bleeding by pitching the last three innings and only giving up one run on a solo home run. Thursday Night Notes: Every batter in the Miracle line-up had a hit except for Anderson Hidalgo but it still wasn't enough to beat the Marauders. One of the problems was Fort Myers managed one extra-base hit and that came off of the bat of Andy Leer. Matthew Hauser was saddled with his first loss of the year after giving up a run in 2.1 innings. The final tally was Bradenton 2 to 1 in 10 innings. BELOIT 11, QUAD CITIES 5 Seth Stohs and a group of other Twins fans made the trip on the Territory Train this weekend to catch two games with the Beloit Snappers. They were treated to a powerful offensive outing from the Snappers with 12 total hits and 11 runs on the board for Beloit. The biggest offensive night was put together by JaDamion Williams who finished 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and four runs batted in. Drew Leachman matched William's three hits and knocked in two runners of his own. Matthew Koch hit a 2-run shot in the fifth inning to cap a wild offensive night. The Snappers only used two pitchers in the game with Jason Wheeler starting the game and going five frames. Besides giving up five runs, he was still able to secure his seventh win of the year. David Hurlbut earned his first save of the year by pitching four scoreless innings to end the game. The River Bandits failed to get past second base after Hurlbut entered the contest. Thursday Night Notes: Eddie Rosario and Matthew Koch each had a home run to pace the Snappers offense in a night where five players had runs batted in. Miguel Sano hit his eleventh double and knocked in his 41st RBI of the campaign. Steven Gruver allowed a solo shot in the first inning but then he settled down and finished with 8.1 innings and the win. --- Players of the Day for Friday, June 1, 2012 (Thursday night too) Pitcher of the Day- Steve Hirschfeld (Steven Gruver) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5gU7yiFgke8/T8l4rDdkZaI/AAAAAAAABug/evuFE-rlcGA/s400/Slide1.jpg Hitter of the Day- JaDamion Williams (Chris Colabello) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uRMZiraunNs/T8l4xJhWAkI/AAAAAAAABuo/hFsX4oMXVIE/s400/Slide2.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Saturday, June 2nd Schedule Rochester vs Columbus (Game 1)- LHP Luke French Rochester vs Columbus (Game 2)- TBA New Britain vs Harrisburg- LHP Logan Darnell Fort Myers vs Dayton- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs Wisconsin- RHP Matthew Summers --- 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

Download attachment: Gibson_Kyle_600-321.jpg The middle of June has come and gone and there is no sign of Kyle Gibson in the Twin Cities. Teams like the Rays and the Mets are calling up top prospects like Wil Myers and Zack Wheeler because the deadline has passed for players to qualify for Super Two status. This means the Rays and Mets can control these high level players for a big chunk of the next decade. Gibson has a different story than other players. The former first round pick entered the Twins system with three years of college experience. In 2010, his allowed him to move through the organization at a fast pace. An elbow injury and Tommy John surgery were what slowed him on his way to the major leagues. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Now, Gibson has worked his way back to the form he showed before the injury. Over his last 10 games, he has a 6-2 record with a 2.89 ERA. In 65.1 innings, he has 54 strikeouts and 20 walks. He also has two complete game shutouts during that stretch and that's more than he's had in any professional season. It sure seems like Gibson is ready, so what's the hold-up? At the beginning of June, the reasoning used by Twins general manager Terry Ryan was the team was looking for more "consistency." In each of his three starts since that interview, Gibson has pitched at least six innings and has given up three earned runs or fewer, while striking out a total of 14 batters. By looking back even further, Gibson hasn't been pulled from a game before the sixth inning since the middle of May. The consistency is there but Gibson isn't getting the call. One of the problems for Gibson is the improved performance of the Twins starting rotation. In May, the Twins staff had the third worst ERA (5.06) in all baseball. They ranked last in strikeouts and opponents had a higher batting average against the Twins than any other team. This led to some changes, like Deduno’s and Walters' call-ups and Vance Worley's demotion. Since the calendar switched to June, the Twins pitching numbers have been greatly improved. Minnesota ranks seventh in team ERA this month. The club's WHIP and hits allowed are in the middle of the pack. During the team's last 18 games, they have gone 11-7 and the starters have helped keep the team in games. So far in June, here is what the starting rotation has done: 1. Sam Deduno (3 Starts): 2.00 ERA, 18 IP, 1.28 WHIP 2. Kevin Correia (3 Starts): 4.00 ERA, 18 IP, 1.50 WHIP 3. Scott Diamond (3 Starts): 5.51 ERA, 16.1 IP, 1.47 WHIP 4. PJ Walters (3 Starts): 2.41 ERA, 18.2 IP, 1.55 WHIP 5. Mike Pelfrey (2 Starts): 4.05 ERA, 13.1 IP, 1.05 WHIP The Twins have said that Gibson will be on an innings limit, expected to be in the range of 130-140 innings. He currently sits at 85.2 innings; his next start will likely push him over the 90 innings mark. This would leave him with less than 50 available innings this season. All the Twins moves this season should be focused on the future. It might have been good for Gibson to get more experience at the Triple-A level and his performance this spring proved that he needed to work on some things. It is just tough to know how much longer the Twins can wait to call him up. As the starters continue to pitch well, Gibson gets one step closer to reaching his innings limit with each start in Rochester. If the Twins don't call him up before his limit, the club will be losing an opportunity for him to gain some big league experience. Rookies usually have some ups and downs and it would be nice to get some of those out of the way in 2013. Gibson is part of the plan for the future but it's hard to see what the club's plan is for the present. The 25-year old has been through a lot in his professional career and it’s time to take the training wheels off and see if he can ride with the big kids at the major league level. Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Get out the brooms because the Twins just got done sweeping the A's in a series at Target Field. It wasn't the prettiest of sweeps but a walk-off home run from Josh Willingham and an interesting outing from Francisco Liriano put the cap on the three game set. The A's aren't exactly the cream of the crop in the American League but at this point the Twins are just trying to play better baseball. The Twins head to Cleveland for a weekend series with the Tribe but many Twins fans have turned their attention to the MLB Draft that will take place at the beginning of next week. A franchise can be altered by the selection made by their front office and the scouting department. The number two selection in the draft will belong to the Twins and the team needs to hit a home run with this pick.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Throughout the week, I've been been putting up posts related to the MLB Draft and I will continue to put together all of this information in a "2012 MLB Draft Primer" for the beginning of next week. Until then, enjoy these great links from throughout the week. It seems, for better or worse, that the Twins are going to be depending a lot on Brian Dozier at shortstop in the future. This reliance on Dozier could be tough with teams adjusting their approach with the young rookie. With the draft on Monday, it is important to reexamine the top prospects in the minor league system of the Twins. It might be too early to start all of the trade speculation with the trade deadline still a couple months away. That being said, Justin Morneau could be one of the players that exits the team when the July trade deadline rolls around. Liriano's contract is over at the end of the season and there is a good chance he will be on the trading block. A couple of days ago Liriano had a good start but what does that mean for the future?There have been plenty of throwback uniforms in baseball this year and the Twins will join the party with their Minneapolis Millers jerseys. With 30% of the Twins schedule behind them, there have been some interesting offensive numbers so far in 2012. For only the second time in the history of Target Field, there was a walk-off home run. There was a special surprise waiting for Willingham at the end of the day.http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J4z8Mj_BI3I/T8gxUISIicI/AAAAAAAABkI/gTJIpN6cWVk/s320/WillinghamShower.jpg This list looks at the all-time draft roster for the history of the Twins. PJ Walters honors his daughter's memory before every game with a touching gesture. Former Twins player Jason Kubel is going to be a dad again. The Twins broadcast team isn't great but Hawk Harrelson is terrible. Sometimes the number two pick in the draft doesn't always produce a great player. After getting hit hard as a member of the Twins rotation, Jason Marquis is forced to prove himself at Double-A for the Padres. One of the most talked about stories of the week revolved around a former Twins prospect and his growth in the steroids era. Torii Hunter was finally able to return to the Angels after dealing with a terrible family situation.My Weekly Rundown Tuesday: Tuesday Morning TidbitsTuesday's Trip through the Minors Wednesday: 2011 Twins MLB Draft Capsule 2010 Twins MLB Draft Capsule 2009 Twins MLB Draft Capsule Thursday: 2008 Twins MLB Draft Capsule 2007 Twins MLB Draft Capsule Minnesota Twins Top 10 ProspectsVideo of the Week: One of the best moments of the year for the Twins happened earlier this week and this video celebrates Willingham's blast in very retro fashion. A shout out is in order to That's Twins Baseball for putting together this wonderful clip. Click here to view the article

"You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains."- Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, Bull Durham The rain came a tumbling down at Target Field on Saturday afternoon and the contest between the Twins and Royals was postponed because of the weather. By mid-afternoon, the skies had cleared up but the game had already been rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader on June 30.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Even with the rainout at Target Field, there was still plenty of minor league action across the Twins system on Saturday. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Saturday: ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO 4 By the bottom of the third inning, the Red Wings found themselves in a 3-0 hole to the Bisons. PJ Walters started the game for Rochester and last five innings while surrendering the first three runs to Buffalo. In the sixth inning, Deolis Guerra made his first appearance at the Triple-A level since 2010 and he was solid. Guerra pitched three innings, allowing two hits, and striking out two. Esmerling Vasquez took the loss for Rochester in an interesting bottom of the ninth. He hit the lead off batter to start the frame and this was followed by a sacrifice bunt for the first out of the inning. The next batter was intentionally walked to set-up the double play but the problem was Vasquez walked the following batter to fill the bases. The fifth batter of the inning was struck out so the bases were loaded with two down before Vinny Rottino got a single to center field. Joe Benson was a big part of the comeback effort for Rochester with a 2-run home run in the fifth inning to cut the lead to one run. For the day, Benson went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double to raise his batting average to .187. Brian Dozier went 2-for-4 on the day with his ninth RBI of the year but he also had a throwing error in the fourth inning. Darin Mastroianni continued his hot streak with a triple in the contest as he is hitting .395 in his last ten contests. NEW BRITAIN 3, RICHMOND 5 No one in the Rock Cats batting order had more than one hit as the team lost for the third game in a row. Aaron Hicks followed up his big game at the plate on Friday night with a 1-for3 outing on Saturday. The only extra-base hit for New Britain came from Evan Bigley as he slapped a double in the sixth inning to bring the Rock Cats within a run. But this late inning rally would prove to be ill fated when Richmond scored an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth. Steve Hirschfeld tossed six innings and gave up ten hits and five runs to the Flying Squirrels. It was Hirschfeld's second loss in his last two outings after winning his first two decisions of the year. Brett Jacobson looked good in relief by throwing the last two innings for the Rock Cats and not allowing a single hit. FORT MYERS 0, ST. LUCIE 4 There were a lot of hits in this game for both teams but the Miracle and the Mets both struggled to push them across the plate. In the game, the Miracle put together seven hits but failed to score a run and got shutout for the second time this year. The big boppers in for the Miracle were both able to put together a couple of hits. Angel Morales and Oswaldo Arcia each went 2-for-4 with a double. Both doubles went wasted as they were left stranded in scoring position. Jhon Garcia started the year as a relief pitcher but he was shifted to the starting rotation at the beginning of the week. In both starts he has gone five innings and allowed only one earned run. The Miracle have been unable to pull out the win for him in either of these trips to the mound. Matthew Hauser looked good in a little over two innings out of the bullpen. He only gave up one hit with one unearned run and three strikeouts. It was his third consecutive outing without giving up a run. BELOIT 3, DAYTON 7 All of the runs in this game were scored in the second inning and unfortunately for the Snappers, they came up on the short of the scoring spree. Steven Gruver started for Beloit and he never made it out of the second inning. Only three of the seven runs scored off of Gruver were earned but he allowed six hits and two walks. A.J. Achter did a good job of cleaning up the mess and he posted 4.1 innings pitched with no runs allowed and only three hits. Most of the offense came from the bottom portion of the line-up as the seven, eight, and nine batters each had an RBI. Matthew Koch was included in this group and he was the only Snappers batter to have more than one hit in the contest. Koch finished the day at 2-for-4 with a double. The other extra base hit for the Snappers came off of the bat of Eddie Rosario. It was Rosario's eighth double of the year and he leads the team in this category. Miguel Sano had a rough day by going 0-for-3 at the plate with two strikeouts. He also had his fifth error of the season at third base. As a team, the Snappers were 1-13 with runners in scoring position so the opportunities were there but a comeback wasn't in the cards on this day. --- Players of the Day for Saturday Hitter of the Day- Joe Benson http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-65oIeqGONR4/T5ysWLi5sZI/AAAAAAAABOI/QwGPQTR8wZQ/s1600/JoeBenson.jpg Pitcher of the Day- A.J. Achter http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MyLdV8HSrLA/T5ysbLky_0I/AAAAAAAABOQ/_K1T9lbKH10/s200/ph_592091.jpg --- A Look Ahead - Sunday, April 29, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Buffalo - RHP Daryl Thompson New Britain @ Richmond - TBA Ft. Myers vs St. Lucie - RHP BJ Hermsen Beloit vs. Dayton - RHP Tim Shibuya --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and Seth or I will try and answer them! Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Butera_Drew_Throwing_US_720.jpg At the beginning of spring, there was a question about what the Twins would do with the men behind the plate. Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit were locks to make the roster. Minnesota carried three catchers for most of 2012 so one assumed that a third catcher would be on the roster in 2013. Instead, Mauer and Doumit began the season as the only members of the Twins catching core. Middle infielder Eduardo Escobar was the emergency-only back-up. Drew Butera and Chris Herrmann were in the running for the third catcher role but both players started the season in Rochester.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It was a short run for Butera at Rochester. In his first at-bat, a pitch hit him on his hand; his pinky finger was broken and he hasn't been back on the field since. At 29 years old, Butera isn't exactly up-and-coming. He has over 500 plate appearances at the big league level and fans know what to expect from him. The front office has made some interesting choices with Butera so far this year. He could have been dropped from the 40-man roster on multiple occasions. The Twins have five catchers on their 40-man roster and Butera's .183/.232/.265 career MLB batting line is far below replacement level. His time might be running out in Minnesota, especially with other players' performances. Herrmann is getting his second taste of the big leagues after being a September call-up last season. His brief MLB stint last year didn't generate many memories but he is back now with more positive results. On Sunday afternoon, he hit his first career home run as part of his first multi-hit game. The ability of Herrmann to play multiple positions also makes him an intriguing roster option. On Sunday, he was starting in left field and this is a tendency that has continued from the minors. Over the course of his five seasons in the Twins system, he has played 169 games in left field and 220 games as catcher. When other members of the Twins roster begin to get healthy, it could get tough for the Twins to send him back down to Rochester. He is 25 years old and he has only 43 games of Triple-A experience. As the long 162-game schedule continues, the Twins are going to want a third catcher and it's looking more and more as though that will be Herrmann. Josmil Pinto is the other catcher on the Twins 40-man roster. He has played this year's entire schedule for Double-A New Britain. After a very strong season for Fort Myers last year, Pinto is putting together what might be his best year as a professional. Through 55 games, he is batting .332/.426/.535 with nine home runs, 12 doubles, and 42 RBI. New Britain has used him as a catcher and a DH this year but he is still very good behind the plate. He has thrown out 31% of base stealers. Pinto has also done a good job with some of the best young pitchers in the organization. New Britain pitchers Trevor May, Alex Meyer, and Logan Darnell could be on the same path as Pinto to the big leagues. Mauer and Doumit will likely continue to get most of the time behind the plate in the next two seasons. Herrmann can be a solid third catcher and part-time outfielder for the present and he is a viable option to take over the role of primary back-up when Doumit's contract expires. And if Pinto keeps playing like this, it will be hard to keep him out of the big leagues for very much longer. The present members of the Twins catching core continue to make their mark on the club. Players like Herrmann and Pinto make it fun to look at who might be future longer-term fixtures. Looking ahead, the Twins' catching roster looks to be in good shape. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Willingham.jpg Despite the Minnesota Twins' up and down start this year, it is most likely that the team will be sellers at the trade deadline. There will be plenty of talk about Justin Morneau being dealt in the coming months since his contract is up at the end of the year. Another name which will draw much speculation is Josh Willingham. Willingham is coming off his best season and there might be more than one team looking to add a powerful corner bat for the stretch run. In a story published this weekend, the Boston Globe talked about the possibility of a Willingham trade.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] According to one National League GM, "He's a powerful right-handed bat that any contender could stick right in the middle of their lineup and get outstanding production." He went on to say, "You'd have to give something up, but he'd be worth the expenditure. He can really hit." ESPN's Rumor Central mentioned the Pirates as a possible trade fit. They need an upgrade in their outfield and they have some players in the minor leagues that could be attractive to the Twins. It also helps that Willingham has a very club friendly contract. He is in the second year of a three-year, $21 million deal which any team could afford. Another wrinkle to the Willingham trade rumors is the ascension of stud prospect Oswaldo Arcia. It has been a whirlwind couple of days for Arcia. He made his MLB debut on Monday, he played for Rochester on Tuesday, and he got called back up to the big leagues after that game. Darin Mastroianni's injury will mean a longer look at Arcia this time around. Arcia won't turn 22 until next month, becoming the youngest position player to debut with the Twins since 20-year-old Joe Mauer. He was killing the ball at Triple-A and he certainly deserved this call-up. In ten games for Rochester, he was hitting .394/.474/.727 with three home runs, two doubles and eight runs scored. If Arcia had kept putting up those types of numbers it would have been hard to keep him at Triple-A. The problem for the Twins is finding him a place in the line-up. Arcia is used as a corner outfielder or designated hitter. The Twins have plenty of these types of players with Willingham, Chris Parmelee, and Ryan Doumit. For Arcia to stick with the Twins, they likely will need to make a trade. Morneau could be dealt creating a spot (first base) for Parmelee to move to. Willingham could also be traded to open an opening in the outfield. Both of these men could be traded before July and then there would be plenty of playing time for Mr. Arcia. His career is moving rapidly. He started the 2012 season at the High-A level so he played only 69 games at Double-A before getting the bump to Rochester this spring. He had a total of nine Triple-A games under his belt before he made his MLB debut. There should be tempered expectations for Arcia in the Majors, as we have seen how much Aaron Hicks has struggled. The Twins need Arcia to be a cornerstone of the franchise as the team tries to get back to winning baseball. This will be the first taste of what is to come. With (well-paid) players blocking Arcia's path, he most likely will get more playing time at Triple-A. If the Twins are looking to be sellers at the trade deadline a deal including Willingham could pave the way for Arcia settling in to a long-term spot on the roster. Willingham has done some great things in his Twins tenure but Arcia is the wave of the future. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hand-cursor-clicking-a-link1.jpg It was a rough week for the Twins- the losing streak stands at ten. The club hasn't won a game since May 13th. Two fifths of the starting rotation was replaced, including sending Vance Worley, the opening day starter, to Rochester. Even on a night where Josh Willingham hits two home runs, the club still could not find a way to win. Minnesota does have two of the best teams in all the minor leagues and two of the best players and the fourth pick in the MLB draft. And they've had some great links. Lots and lots of great links. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It was a busy week at NoDak Twins Fan. Make sure to check out all of my posts and some of the other great work from around the web. Oswaldo Arcia hasn't been playing and some recent struggles are to blame for his benching.Maybe it is just a case of an adjustment period for Arcia. I've liked Travis Harrison since the Twins took him in the draft. This Q&A will help you to get to know him a little better. Much like the MLB club, the Twins Double-A affiliate has fallen on some hard times. This link is worth a click just to see the picture. World Baseball Classic hero Sam Deduno is back in the rotation for the Twins. There will be walks, a few strikeouts, and hopefully some good defense behind him. The Twins have been telling the media that Kyle Gibson is staying in the minor leagues to find consistency but is the same standard being held for other pitchers? Is there a possibility that Aaron Hicks is improving? This Twins fan is keeping a close eye on his alcohol intake. Is it one of the best uses of a stadium promo ever? What happened to Vance Worley? According to Baseball America, the Twins have the top prospect tandem. The Twins Memorial Day jersey's look pretty cool. The Twitter feeds for the Twins and the Braves had quite the battle this week. Chris Colabello might be baseball's ultimate underdog. In 1997, the Twins drafted some very familiar names. If you were wondering, the Twins rotation has gotten worse. I was watching Seinfeld earlier this week and the kid behind the counter at the movie store was wearing a familiar baseball cap. MLB.com has quite the sense of humor when it comes to their error pages. The University of Cincinnati's baseball team has taken photobombing to an entirely new level. An employee at a Houston Astros game did something really gross this week. A rookie catcher for the Braves made a big mistake in a game against the Twins. Nick Punto is still making web gem gold in LA. A former member of the Twins organization is trying to revive his career after some drug problems. Nick Blackburn was very close to the devastating tornado in Oklahoma this week. The Royals broadcast sure screwed up a graphic this week. See if you can find all of the errors. The Orioles welcomed Kevin Gausman to the majors with lots of donuts. What if baseball had five bases? I had a dream this week that Francisco Liriano was 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA. Oh wait...My Weekly Rundown Monday: Talk to Contact: Episode 38Who is Caleb Thielbar? Tuesday: Soul Patrol: Back with a Vengeance Wednesday: Who is Chris Colabello? Twins Minor League Report (5/22): O-fer Kind of Night Thursday: Twins MLB Draft Profile: Clint Frazier, OFVideo of the Week: Byron Buxton is already getting local sports media attention and he's still multiple levels away from the big leagues. His tremendous start in Cedar Rapids makes it look like the Twins made the right decision with the second overall pick in last year's draft. His interview skills might need a little improvement but his play on the baseball field is superior to the competition. Click here to view the article

With Justin Morneau's exit from the club in the last week, the Twins are searching for someone to take over his leadership role in the clubhouse. This seems to be a recurring theme for the Twins in recent years as the club shifts away from veteran leadership to a more youthful roster. Download attachment: Perkins_Mauer_600-321.jpg A couple years ago Michael Cuddyer and Joe Nathan were considered among the team's strong voices and both players left in free agency. Morneau filled the void left by Cuddyer and it seemed like a smooth transition from the outside looking in. There probably won't be a breaking news story to say who takes on more leadership behind the closed doors of the Twins clubhouse.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] For fans, it might be more of a talking point in a season that seems to be heading for another 90 losses. Here are just a few of the names that will be asked to take on more leadership this season and next. There are pros and cons with each player so it will be interesting to see who becomes the new voice of the Twins. Joe Mauer, Catcher Pros: He is the highest paid player and the face of the franchise so it makes sense for him to be the leader of the clubhouse. Mauer is a quiet but he has been known to approach younger players when something doesn't go right on the field. In the past, he has been a leader because of his strong play on the field. He leads by example and this can be very beneficial to future Twins players. Cons: Since Mauer is a catcher, he can be very busy with his catching related duties. There are extra meetings for him to confer with the pitching staff and he spends time studying video to learn more about opposing hitters. This is all time where he is not in the clubhouse with the other players. Injuries have also forced him to miss time and he can't be a leader if he isn't traveling with the team. Glen Perkins, Closer Pros: Much like Joe Nathan before him, Perkins can become a leader because of his importance to the bullpen. The Twins have him signed for multiple years and beyond Mauer, he is the longest tenured Twins player. He came up through the Twins organization with a few bumps and bruises but he found a way to be successful at the big league level. His involvement in the community continues to grow and this is an example for other players to follow. Cons: Since Perkins is a relief arm, he spends time during the game out in the bullpen. This keeps him from being able to speak to non-pitchers on the bench for different parts of the game. Also, he isn't an everyday player so his impact on a daily basis might not always be seen on the field. He has only been a full-time closer for the current season so he might not have built up the respect he needs. Brian Dozier, Second Baseman Pros: He is in the midst of a breakout season and this has helped him become a leader on the field. Media members have cited him as always being available after tough losses as well as wins. tough. During his minor league career he showed some leadership skills and this seems to be translating to his big league career. Dozier has been performing with his bat and his glove and this can help him continue to gain respect in the locker room. Cons: While Mauer and Perkins have been with the club for multiple seasons, Dozier is still relatively new to the scene. He has less experience and less of a track record than the two names mentioned above. There are also some questions about how long he will be with the team. Eddie Rosario is slowly working his way to the big leagues and he plays the same position as Dozier. Right now, it looks like Dozier could stay at second for multiple years but it is hard to know what the future will bring. Josh Willingham, Outfielder Pros: Throughout his career, Willingham has played with multiple organizations and he has seen what leadership means to different teams. He is the oldest player on the team and his experience is well-respected by the younger players around him. His monster season last year gave him respect on the field and he has tried to play through some tough injuries this season. Younger players can approach him for advice on a multitude of topics since he has spent time playing in both leagues. Cons: There is only one year remaining on his contract with the Twins and the team could trade him at some point in the coming year. Much like Mauer, he is a quiet leader so sometimes it is tough to notice the work he is doing for the clubhouse. His play has fallen off this year and he has missed time because of injuries. If a player isn't on the field or even with the club, it can be tough to build rapport in the locker-room. Click here to view the article

Chris Colabello's time in the major leagues this year hasn't been spectacular but he has been outstanding in his time in the minors. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Twins backup first baseman was named the Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year for the International League. This comes a year after finishing runner-up for MVP in the Eastern League. Download attachment: Chris+Colabello+Twins.jpg Colabello has been a hitting machine for the Red Wings. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]He currently leads the league with a .352 batting average, a .427 on-base percentage, and a .639 slugging percentage. To go along with those numbers, he entered play on Wednesday with 24 home runs (5th) and 76 RBI (3rd) over 89 games. It was quite the year for Colabello and the team will look for him to find some success at the big league level before the season is done. For now, here's a look at the minor league action from Wednesday across the Twins farm system. Rochester Red Wings 6, Syracuse Chiefs 3 Box Score Pat Dean hadn't made it out of the sixth inning in either of his last two starts but that all changed today. Over 7.2 innings, Dean gave up two earned runs and did his best to wriggle out of some jams. He scattered 11 hits and the Chiefs left multiple runners on base against him. It was the first win for Dean since August 5th. The Red Wings were outhit by the Chiefs 13 to 5 but Rochester came up with some timely hitting to push across six runs. No members of the Red Wings were able to collect more than one hit. Eric Farris had a big two-run double to cap a five run first inning. The team batted .500 with runners in scoring position and this was a big reason for their success. With the win, the Red Wings ended their six-game losing streak. It also means the club has assured themselves a winning season for the first time since 2008. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Trenton Thunder 5 Box Score New Britian got on the board first against Trenton but the Rock Cats were shut out from the second inning on. In fact, the club was limited to four hits in 30 at-bats. Reynaldo Rodriguez and Nate Hanson each added a double to their season totals. Jordan Parraz had the team's lone RBI and Miguel Sano scored the only run even though he was held hitless. Kyle Davies pitched the first two innings but he was removed after only allowing one hit and no earned runs. BJ Hermsen pitched the next four innings and the single run scored against him was unearned. Cole Johnson was saddled with the loss after surrendering two earned runs in the late innings of this one. Fort Myers Miracle 4, Palm Beach Cardinals 5 (Game 1-- 8 Innings) Box Score Fort Myers was able to mount a comeback and send this game to extra innings but the team ended up falling short. Palm Beach took a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth before the Miracle started to claw their way back. Matt Tomshaw started for Fort Myers and he gave up four runs on four hits including two home runs. He struck out three and struggled with his control as he walked five men. Corey Williams relieved and pitched two hitless innings. Zach Jones was charged with the loss as he gave up the go-ahead run in the eighth but he was still able to strike out the side. Newly named Arizona Fall League player Byron Buxton went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. He also threw out a runner at third base. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-for-4 with two RBI to bring his season total to 39. The team went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Fort Myers Miracle 0, Palm Beach Cardinals 1 (Game 2-- 7 innings) Box Score The story of this game for Fort Myers was Manuel Soliman. He pitched all seven innings for the Miracle while limiting the Cardinals to one run on eight hits. The lone run was scored on a second inning home run and Soliman had to work out of some jams in the sixth and seventh frames. Unfortunately, he earned the loss because the Miracle's offense was absent from this contest. Byron Buxton had a hit, a walk, and a stolen base. It was his 21st steal since being promoted to Fort Myers and he has 53 steals on the season. Fort Myers had two hits in the bottom of the seventh but a tough luck double play ended the team's chances of a comeback victory. Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Peoria Chiefs 2 Box Score After a couple of errors from shortstop Ryan Walker, the pitching staff for the Kernels didn't allow an earned run in this game. Miguel Sulbaran earned his second victory in his third start of the year for Cedar Rapids. He pitched six frames while striking out eight. Christian Powell and Dallas Gallant held the Chiefs in check for the last three frames for the team's 84th win of the season. Mike Gonzales cracked his third home run to add an important eighth inning insurance run. Jonathan Murphy and Bo Altobelli added two hits apiece while Murphy stole his sixth bag. Joel Lincon plated a couple of runs that turned out to be the difference in the game. Elizabethton Twins 6, Princeton Rays 4 Box Score Mitch Garver helped pave the way to this victory for the E-Twins. His two doubles and three RBI were part of two big offensive innings. Engelb Vielma and Bryan Haar scored two runs apiece along with driving in a run. Hitters two through six in the order all had a hit for Elizabethton and the team was 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The E-Twins relied on the bullpen for a big chunk of this game. Andre Martinez pitched the first frame as he allowed three runs, one of them earned, on one hit with two walks. Josh Burris picked up his fourth win of the year as he pitched four shutout innings of relief. He struck out six men and limited the Rays to one hit. CK Irby and Aaron Slegers combined to pitch four innings without an earned run crossing the plate. GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 2 Box Score Fernando Romero was outstanding on the mound for the GCL Twins. Over six shutout innings, he gave up two hits and he had five strikeouts to go along with no walks. It was the first time this season that he made it through the sixth frame. He also hasn't allowed a run in four of his last five starts. The Twins managed four total hits in this game. Brian Navarreto led the way with a 2-for-4 effort including his 10th double. Alex Swim didn't start the game but he was an early defensive replacement for Jorge Fernandez. Swim knocked a double in four trips to the plate. Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zw_MlMY_n8g/T7Ds4BCIBCI/AAAAAAAABRI/jscxapm3W00/s320/PavanoThrowing.jpg Word came out over the weekend that Carl Pavano underwent an MRI on his right shoulder to see if there was anything wrong with this important area for his throwing arm. The report came back saying he has a strained interior shoulder capsule and he could need a cortisone shot after his start on Monday night. At this point, he is not expected to miss any time for the Twins but he is sending his MRI to another doctor for a second opinion to make sure it is nothing serious. The reason for all of this concern around Pavano has been the large decrease in his velocity to start the 2012 campaign. Sometimes it can take pitchers a few starts to ramp up their velocity at the beginning of the year but he has already made seven starts this season for the Twins. Most of the offseason rust should be gone by now and his velocity should be closer to normal. This wasn't the case and the Twins needed to find some answers in relation to Pavano.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] During the last five years of his career, Pavano has averaged a fastball at 89.7 mph and last year he sat around 88.7 mph for the season. Velocity is usually going to drop as a player starts to get older and he has more wear and tear on his throwing arm. The problem for Pavano and the Twins has been the fact that the 36-year old pitcher has seen a drop in his fastball velocity to around 86.1 mph. This large drop in velocity can make a pitcher very ineffective against professional hitters and the results have shown on the field. In the last two seasons, Pavano has been the workhorse of the Twins pitching staff by throwing over 220 inning in 2010 and 2011. His ERA and WHIP have gone up in each of the last two years but he has 10 complete games and three shutouts during that time frame. His consistency was something the Twins could count on in the Target Field era and he could have put up much better numbers last season with a competent defensive unit behind him. The Twins seem to have a better defense lined up behind Pavano this year with the additions of Jamey Carroll and Brian Dozier. So if he was able to generate more ground balls, the defensive should be able to make the plays for Pavano to be successful. His first two full seasons with the Twins saw Pavano generate ground balls over 50% of the time. He has seen that number drop significantly to 44.8% in his seven starts so far for the Twins in 2012. The Twins outfield defense has some holes this year so the increase in fly balls from Pavano could also be a concern. With his drop in velocity, Pavano has been forced to change in pitching philosophy on the mound. For his career, Pavano has thrown fastballs as 62.0% of his pitches, sliders for 18.6% of the time, and change ups for 18.3% of his throws. His age and change in velocity have forced him to rely more on his off-speed pitches in the last two seasons and this switch has continued so far this year. His fastball has lost some velocity and Pavano has spent less time throwing his heater (58.2%) and started to throw more of his change up (25.4%). The mounting struggles for Pavano make it hard not to think about his future in baseball. The aging pitcher is not under contract for next season and his time as an impact starter might already be behind him. There is still plenty of time left in the season for Pavano to iron out the kinks with his shoulder issue but age can make recovery harder for a pitcher. Baseball has seen Jamie Moyer defy age and injuries to pitch in the starting rotation for the Rockies at age 49. With all the openings the Twins will have in their rotation for next year, the Twins can only hope that Pavano is able follow in the footsteps of Moyer and continue to pitch effectively as he gets closer to 40-years old. Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan Baseball is back!!! It was great to get home from work early on Thursday to a ton of action already underway across the baseball universe. I flipped through multiple games because my cable company was nice enough to give me a free preview of MLB Extra Innings. It is very tempting to want to purchase the package for the entire year but I might have to settle for the free pass for the first few days of the season. I checked in on the Nationals with Stephen Strasburg on the mound and Wilson Ramos behind the plate. Jose Valverde was a perfect 49 out of 49 in save opportunites last season but his first chance this year was unsuccessful. The Marlins had a short turn around after they opened their new stadium on Wednesday night in Miami and they had to be in Cincinnati for an afternoon game the next day. I ended the night by listening to the best announcer in the game, Vin Scully. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Opening Day is the greatest time of the year. The Twins start their 2012 campaign in Baltimore tonight and they have their home opener on Monday afternoon. It's just a wonderful time to be a baseball fan. Here are some of the top stories I enjoyed from the past week. Have a great weekend with baseball back in our lives. Ron Gardenhire announced the Opening Day lineup for the Twins and the outfield defense could be scary.The Twins didn't have a game on Thursday but Scott Baker pitched for the Miracle and the news was not good.MLB released their annual list of the top 20 jerseys sold and there is one member of the Twins who made the list.Seth Stohs asked for a few writers (including myself) to project the top hitters and the top pitchers for the start of the Twins minor league season.Torii Hunter went from sitting on his couch one evening to having the police draw their guns on him.Have you ever wondered where walkup music came from?Andrew at Twins Fan From Afar got to spend an evening with Twins pitching prospect Alex Wimmers.Target Field unveiled their new food selections for the year and John Bonnes got to test out some of the new items.There are many reasons to be excited for the start of the new year but here are 100 different reasons to start your own list.There are a lot of tough jobs in the sports world but catching might be at the top of the list.This photo was floating around different websites on Thursday and I found it amusing.http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RgaE0VuxzEY/T35dveupRoI/AAAAAAAABK4/reNfCOnJ9SQ/s320/opening-day-friends.jpg After one of the worst seasons in baseball history, Adam Dunn will start the year as the number three hitter in the White Sox lineup.Jim Crikkett from Knuckelballs blog got his call up to the big leagues by getting to write a post on the Star Tribune website about his time in Florida.What do you get when you mix Bert Blyleven and singing animal puppets? It's a little scary...Rod Carew makes this list of top 10 baseball legends and humanitarians.Former Twins ace Johan Santana returned to the mound for the Mets. If his results continue to look good, could the Mets try to trade him to a contender?Justin Verlander eats a lot of Taco Bell before each of his starts.Ramon Ortiz pitched 28 ineffective games for the Twins in 2007 and the Yankees just signed him this week.My Weekly Rundown (Predictions Week): Sunday: A season of what could beMonday: 2012 American League PredictionsTuesday: 2012 National League PredictionsWednesday: 2012 Twins Award PredictionsThursday: 2012 Twins Minor League ProjectionsVideo of the Week: The Twins have released some very clever commercials over the years and this newest one fits into that mold. In this Big Lebowski-themed spot, Kent Hrbek is asked to take on the title role of the "Big Hrbowski." Span leaves the team in a tough spot with the 7/10 split but Hrbek is called on to make the impossible shot. Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well the Twins made their series in the Bronx much more enjoyable than was originally anticipated by many fans in Twins Territory. The offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders and the bullpen has been surprisingly good in some tough situations against a very good line-up. Hopefully this positive momentum will carry over into their weekend series with the Rays and the Twins can start the climb back to the .500 mark. The baseball world had plenty of stories from the entire week and the headlines will continue to roll in as the season progresses. Ozzie Guillen returned to the Marlins, Matt Cain and Cliff Lee got caught up in a pitcher's duel, Jamie Moyer seemed to defy Father Time, and Ivan Rodriguez is set to retire as a member of the Rangers. There were plenty of stories from the Twins organization as well. So let's jump in and see what's in store for this edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks."[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Anthony Swarzak and Liam Hendriks are fighting for a spot in the rotation and Parker Hageman analyzes who has the inside track.Everyone knows the Twins cut payroll this year but how does that compare to the rest of the league.The Twins aren't going to carry 13 pitchers for the entire season so Minnesota Twins Musings looks at the roster shuffle that is coming in the near future.We are two weeks into the season and JC over at Knuckleballs tries to figure out who the Twins are.Luke Hughes was designated for assignment a couple of days ago and over at The tenth inning stretch they discuss how the Aussie got a rotten deal.At the beginning of the spring, Ben Revere was set to be a starting outfielder with the Twins. So how did he end up back in Rochester?Scott Baker went in for his elbow clean-up and woke up to find out the doctor's performed Tommy John surgery.Twins Fan From Afar continues to write some great coverage on the Rock Cats and he wrote about the lackluster coverage from the World Wide Leader in Sports.One of my favorite blogs to follow about the Twins is Baseball Outsider and he finally got a Twitter account so make sure to follow him.Twins top prospect Miguel Sano has been a beast for the Beloit Snappers by hitting his sixth home run of the season last night. MiLB wrote a feature article explaining his hot start.http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O6rhjRlG80M/T5FNyo1hoXI/AAAAAAAABMw/0bf_7oKKbPE/s320/SanoSnappers.jpg Who would be on the All-Time Baseball Dream Team? Baseball: Past and Present come up with their starting nine.There are plenty of former Twins across MLB and Puckett's Pond took a look at how they have started the year.Current AL Central foe Prince Fielder stole a base earlier this week and it was a fun sight to see.Do you remember that famous blooper reel shot where Jose Canseco has the home run ball bounce off of the top of his head? Now you can buy the hat that was on his head for that famous play.Dear Football Writers, please don't write about baseball.Last week I had a link to a play where Delmon Young did a 360 trying to catch the ball. The ruling on the field after the play was a triple so MLB had to step in.The Twins just saw first hand how long a game can take in the Bronx. So which AL Central team has the fastest working rotation?Jim Leyland thinks the experts that make predictions at the beginning of the season are a bunch of idiots. He's probably right.My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Are we living in the "Golden Age" of catchers?Tuesday: Morneau's changing role leaving Parmelee behindWednesday: 2012 MLB Draft starting to come into focusThursday: Mixed messages might have messed up LirianoVideo of the Week: Since the Twins were in NYC, they made time to visit the MLB Fan Cave. It also made sense because Lindsay Guentzel, a Minnesota native, is one of the nine fans hanging out in the MLB Fan Cave. Check out this video done with Joe Mauer during his visit and you can even make out Brian Duensing in the background. Click here to view the article