Cody Christie

Glad to see the Twins aren't holding back with promoting him either. He was dominant in the GCL and hopefully this with continue with the E-Twins as they push for the playoffs.

I am excited to see what Kyle Gibson can do against some of the best minor league hitters. Especially if he has a good couple of weeks as he works his way back through the farm system for the Twins. He could have a big impact on the rotation for next year and this experience could help him a ton.

He's not on the 40-man roster at this point. Here's the link to the list of players on the 40-man. It seems like the Twins should be giving any pitcher with a pulse a chance to prove himself in the next couple weeks so I am all for other players getting the opportunity to start. Let's see what they can do.

It seems like they will have to find a position for Parmelee by next season. At 24-years old, the Twins need to find out what they have in him. If they waited until after Morneau becomes a free agent, Parmelee would be a 26-year old that spent two years playing well at Triple-A. With Doumit's new contract, it seems like the likely scenario would be Morneau getting traded but Parmelee in the outfield could work too. There would need to be some other kind of trade such as Willingham. An outfield with Willingham and Parmelee at the corners would be scary.

If the offer is right, Willingham should be on a new team. It seems like the Twins are a couple of years away from contending again and they will need top level starting pitchers to have any chance of doing this. It has been great to see what Willingham has been able to do this season on the offensive side of the ball and it looks like a great signing by the front office. If the right deal isn't out there, he should stay in Minnesota but there has to be someone that wants him... Right???....

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wF5wpySfALc/UCxbEzXsVqI/AAAAAAAADIs/LUTpUAtfyDU/s320/Brian+Dozier+Minnesota+Twins+v+Boston+Red+4rKGNr9MUeal.jpg Word came out of the Twins organization on Tuesday night that Brian Dozier was going to be sent back to Triple-A Rochester after what has been a disappointing rookie campaign. There had been rumors of this happening for weeks but the timing seems strange since MLB rosters expand at the end of the month and there is only a few weeks left in the season for the Red Wings. Something hasn't clicked with Dozier during his time playing at the big league level and this could be a wake-up call for the 25-year old shortstop. A change of scenery might be just what the doctor ordered and the Twins hope he can fix himself in the minor leagues. His replacement on the roster will be Pedro Florimon, a player that joined the Twins organization as a waiver claim from Baltimore in the offseason. Florimon is in his seventh season in the minor leagues and he has only had a brief taste of the big leagues at the end of last season. His .251/.308/.344 batting line doesn't really jump off the page at you so it is hard to know what the Twins were thinking. During his time in the minor leagues, he has been known as a good defensive player so that might be one reason the organization is giving him a longer look. His offensive upside is far lower than Dozier's at this point in their careers. When a fan base watched Tsuyoshi Nishioka play 68 games in the middle infield in 2011, any player would seem like an upgrade for the team. Even in his most recent stint with the club, Nishioka looked lost in the field and at the plate. Fans just want consistent play from the middle infield and this only makes sense with a pitch to contact starting rotation. Dozier could provide that hope to a fan base that was trying to forget about the debacle that was Nishioka. Twins Territory was searching for something to cheer about and an up-and-coming shortstop seemed like a logical player for the fans to circle around. In a year where the Twins have seemed to be out of contention since the first month of the season, Dozier was given every opportunity to show that he should have the starting job at shortstop. He made his big league debut on May 7th and the coaching staff continued to pencil him in the line-up on an almost daily basis. There were some flashes of brilliance in the field and at the plate; but for the most part, he had a tough time finding his swing and there were some defensive miscues along the way. He hit .234/.271/.332 with 18 extra-base hits in 340 plate appearances. Following a season when Dozier was named the organization's minor league player of the year, there were high hopes for him at the start of 2012. As a 25-year old that had only spent part of a season at the Double-A level, some of those hopes might have been a little premature. The team also called him up from Triple-A after only playing 28 games with the Red Wings. He had hardly mastered that level as he batted .276/.339/.371 with eight extra-base hits over 105 at-bats. With his games from 2011 and 2012, Dozier has played less than a season between Double-A and Triple-A. This isn't a lot of time for him to develop in the higher levels of the minor leagues and some of that lack of development showed in his first taste of the majors. So the question now remains, what's next for Mr. Brian Dozier? The Twins want him to be their shortstop of the present but he has shown that there are some holes in his game. Players like Trevor Plouffe and Chris Parmelee took a little bit of time to develop in the minors before showing their ability so maybe some extra time in the minors can help Dozier's swing. But the sad thing fact is that the Twins have not been able to develop much talent in the middle infield in recent years. Last year's first round pick Levi Michael and one of the team's top prospects Eddie Rosario are both playing middle infield but they are a couple years away from debuting at Target Field. The organization needs Dozier to fix his flaws and to be ready the next time he is asked to take over at shortstop. With a demotion at this point in the season, it seems that the Twins will let Dozier finish out the Triple-A season with the Red Wings before returning to big league squad. This will give him time to regain some confidence and to work on some of the little parts of his game. He hasn't had a lot of time to find success at the Triple-A level so the next few weeks can give him an opportunity to rediscover his stroke. Earlier this season when Ben Revere was sent back to Rochester, he made some slight adjustments to his swing and the results have been fantastic. Fans have their fingers crossed that the same magic can be worked with Dozier. There aren't a bunch of other players knocking down the door to take the shortstop position away from Dozier for next season. Free agency is always an option but the team looked there this season and Jamey Carroll was their solution. It seems that Dozier will have as good of chance as anyone to earn the starting job for 2013 but he could have a leg up on the competition. Since he is under team control for the foreseeable future, the Twins want him to succeed and paying for a shortstop on the open market is usually an expensive endeavor. The job is still waiting to be filled by you, Mr. Dozier. Just prove that you deserve it and the team will gladly call you back up to fill the hole at shortstop.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wF5wpySfALc/UCxbEzXsVqI/AAAAAAAADIs/LUTpUAtfyDU/s320/Brian+Dozier+Minnesota+Twins+v+Boston+Red+4rKGNr9MUeal.jpg Word came out of the Twins organization on Tuesday night that Brian Dozier was going to be sent back to Triple-A Rochester after what has been a disappointing rookie campaign. There had been rumors of this happening for weeks but the timing seems strange since MLB rosters expand at the end of the month and there is only a few weeks left in the season for the Red Wings. Something hasn't clicked with Dozier during his time playing at the big league level and this could be a wake-up call for the 25-year old shortstop. A change of scenery might be just what the doctor ordered and the Twins hope he can fix himself in the minor leagues. His replacement on the roster will be Pedro Florimon, a player that joined the Twins organization as a waiver claim from Baltimore in the offseason. Florimon is in his seventh season in the minor leagues and he has only had a brief taste of the big leagues at the end of last season. His .251/.308/.344 batting line doesn't really jump off the page at you so it is hard to know what the Twins were thinking. During his time in the minor leagues, he has been known as a good defensive player so that might be one reason the organization is giving him a longer look. His offensive upside is far lower than Dozier's at this point in their careers. When a fan base watched Tsuyoshi Nishioka play 68 games in the middle infield in 2011, any player would seem like an upgrade for the team. Even in his most recent stint with the club, Nishioka looked lost in the field and at the plate. Fans just want consistent play from the middle infield and this only makes sense with a pitch to contact starting rotation. Dozier could provide that hope to a fan base that was trying to forget about the debacle that was Nishioka. Twins Territory was searching for something to cheer about and an up-and-coming shortstop seemed like a logical player for the fans to circle around. In a year where the Twins have seemed to be out of contention since the first month of the season, Dozier was given every opportunity to show that he should have the starting job at shortstop. He made his big league debut on May 7th and the coaching staff continued to pencil him in the line-up on an almost daily basis. There were some flashes of brilliance in the field and at the plate; but for the most part, he had a tough time finding his swing and there were some defensive miscues along the way. He hit .234/.271/.332 with 18 extra-base hits in 340 plate appearances. Following a season when Dozier was named the organization's minor league player of the year, there were high hopes for him at the start of 2012. As a 25-year old that had only spent part of a season at the Double-A level, some of those hopes might have been a little premature. The team also called him up from Triple-A after only playing 28 games with the Red Wings. He had hardly mastered that level as he batted .276/.339/.371 with eight extra-base hits over 105 at-bats. With his games from 2011 and 2012, Dozier has played less than a season between Double-A and Triple-A. This isn't a lot of time for him to develop in the higher levels of the minor leagues and some of that lack of development showed in his first taste of the majors. So the question now remains, what's next for Mr. Brian Dozier? The Twins want him to be their shortstop of the present but he has shown that there are some holes in his game. Players like Trevor Plouffe and Chris Parmelee took a little bit of time to develop in the minors before showing their ability so maybe some extra time in the minors can help Dozier's swing. But the sad thing fact is that the Twins have not been able to develop much talent in the middle infield in recent years. Last year's first round pick Levi Michael and one of the team's top prospects Eddie Rosario are both playing middle infield but they are a couple years away from debuting at Target Field. The organization needs Dozier to fix his flaws and to be ready the next time he is asked to take over at shortstop. With a demotion at this point in the season, it seems that the Twins will let Dozier finish out the Triple-A season with the Red Wings before returning to big league squad. This will give him time to regain some confidence and to work on some of the little parts of his game. He hasn't had a lot of time to find success at the Triple-A level so the next few weeks can give him an opportunity to rediscover his stroke. Earlier this season when Ben Revere was sent back to Rochester, he made some slight adjustments to his swing and the results have been fantastic. Fans have their fingers crossed that the same magic can be worked with Dozier. There aren't a bunch of other players knocking down the door to take the shortstop position away from Dozier for next season. Free agency is always an option but the team looked there this season and Jamey Carroll was their solution. It seems that Dozier will have as good of chance as anyone to earn the starting job for 2013 but he could have a leg up on the competition. Since he is under team control for the foreseeable future, the Twins want him to succeed and paying for a shortstop on the open market is usually an expensive endeavor. The job is still waiting to be filled by you, Mr. Dozier. Just prove that you deserve it and the team will gladly call you back up to fill the hole at shortstop.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?922-Tuesday-s-Trip-through-the-Minors

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

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

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NTcG4nofx3g/UCmmRQdddOI/AAAAAAAADIE/iD7UqsRBjrY/s320/ScottDiamond.jpgStarting pitching has been one of the biggest weaknesses for the Twins in 2012 and it is tough to look to the future and think that there will be help on the way. The Twins seem to be parading every starter that they can from Rochester at different points of the season and the rest of the upper minors is not overflowing with top pitching prospects. The last two pitchers taken by the Twins in the first round, Kyle Gibson and Alex Wimmers, have both undergone Tommy John surgery and there are always questions marks surrounding a major surgery like this. It's bleak to try and piece together the players that will be given an opportunity to fit into the starting rotation for the start of next season. Here is a look at some of the names that will be tossed about by the Twins front office when they are making decisions for next year's rotation in the offseason. The Lock??? Scott Diamond, LHP: If the Twins don't sign a high caliber free agent, Diamond might be considered the ace of the staff for the team next year. The good news for the Twins is that Diamond is under team control for the foreseeable future but the team needs him to continue to pitch at a high level. His 2012 season has been one of the nicest surprises for the club especially considering that he wasn't in the plans for the team at the beginning of the year. His ERA is under 3.00 and he has a very good WHIP of 1.187 in 18 games started in 2012. If the 26-year old lefty can keep this up for the next couple of seasons, the Twins would be extremely happy. MLB Performance Issues Nick Blackburn, RHP: At this point, it is looking like Blackburn will be the most veteran pitcher to make the rotation for the 2013 Twins. There have been plenty of times where it looked like the Twins would give up on Blackburn since his performance has dipped so much in the last three seasons. In 2008 and 2009, he had been an adequate pitcher with an ERA around 4.00 while pitching almost 200 innings per season. This year has been a nightmare as Blackburn has a 7.33 ERA with a 1.682 WHIP in 18 starts. For better or for worse, Ron Gardenhire continues to put his faith in Blackburn and it looks like the team is going to stick with him for next season. Liam Hendriks, RHP: The Twins gave Liam Hendriks a spot in the starting rotation at the beginning of this year but there were some injuries and other situations that prevented some players from being ready. For the second consecutive year, Hendriks struggled during his time on the mound at the big league level. His time at Rochester has been a completely different story as he has been putting up very good numbers at Triple-A. He is averaging over 6.5 innings per start and his 1.99 ERA and 0.946 WHIP are off the charts. There is a good chance that the Twins will give Hendriks another shot when the season is over for Rochester and it will be up to him to show the team that he can translate his minor league performance to the big leagues. Tommy John Recovery Crew Scott Baker, RHP: When Scott Baker ran into elbow trouble during spring training, it was a tough blow to a starting rotation that had some question marks. He was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery and he is in the process of rehabbing from this injury. Since he didn't have the surgery until this spring, it is going to be hard for a team to know what they are getting from Mr. Baker but he has stated that he wouldn't mind staying with the Twins organization. He will be a free agent in the offseason but the Twins could sign him to an incentive-laden deal to remain in the organization. It would be nice to have a healthy Baker in the rotation but health is always the question with him. Kyle Gibson, RHP: Gibson might have already been a staple in the starting staff for the Twins if not for an elbow injury that caused him to miss most of the last calendar year. He is back pitching in the minor leagues for the Twins and the team moved him up to High-A in the last week. In his close to 15 innings pitched so far, he has been on a strict pitch count and he has yet to throw more than three innings. Reports from the minor leagues have him throwing harder than before the surgery and the team would like him to reach Rochester by the end of the season. There is also a good chance that the Twins will send Gibson to the Arizona Fall League to get some more innings under his belt. Minor League Journeymen Sam Deduno, RHP: The 29-year old righty is on his third team in the last three years but the Twins seem to be getting the best version possible of Mr. Deduno. He is undefeated at the big league level in 2012 and he has a very respectable 3.35 ERA in seven starts with the Twins. His walk rate is far to high for him to continue this level of success so it will be interesting to see what he can do in the coming weeks. The Twins have given him a chance and he is making the most of this opportunity. Cole DeVries, RHP: It has been a great story to see the Minnesota native work his way through the Twins system over the last six seasons. At 27-years old and with his tendency to give up home runs, it is hard to imagine him being a long term solution for the organization. There have been some good starts for DeVries but there have also been multiple starts where he has been charged with seven earned runs. He adds depth to the pitching of the organization but fans hope the Twins won't have to turn to him next season. The Reliever Brian Duensing, LHP: In an ideal world, Duensing could have spent the entire 2012 season in the bullpen to see what kind of pitcher he would be in a relief role. The team thought that he was a relief option in 2009 and 2010 before being forced to use him as a starter and that same story line played out in 2012. He has shown the ability to get lefties out at a very good clip but righties continue to hit him and that makes it difficult to succeed in a starting role. 5 Predictions for the 2013 Rotation: 1. Diamond, Blackburn, and Hendriks will all start the 2013 season in the starting rotation 2. Gibson starts at Triple-A but he will be in the majors by the end of April 3. Baker will resign with the Twins but he won't make an appearance until the middle of the season 4. Blackburn won't last the year as a starter 5. Another move will be made through trade or free agency to add at least one more starter

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NTcG4nofx3g/UCmmRQdddOI/AAAAAAAADIE/iD7UqsRBjrY/s320/ScottDiamond.jpgStarting pitching has been one of the biggest weaknesses for the Twins in 2012 and it is tough to look to the future and think that there will be help on the way. The Twins seem to be parading every starter that they can from Rochester at different points of the season and the rest of the upper minors is not overflowing with top pitching prospects. The last two pitchers taken by the Twins in the first round, Kyle Gibson and Alex Wimmers, have both undergone Tommy John surgery and there are always questions marks surrounding a major surgery like this. It's bleak to try and piece together the players that will be given an opportunity to fit into the starting rotation for the start of next season. Here is a look at some of the names that will be tossed about by the Twins front office when they are making decisions for next year's rotation in the offseason. The Lock??? Scott Diamond, LHP: If the Twins don't sign a high caliber free agent, Diamond might be considered the ace of the staff for the team next year. The good news for the Twins is that Diamond is under team control for the foreseeable future but the team needs him to continue to pitch at a high level. His 2012 season has been one of the nicest surprises for the club especially considering that he wasn't in the plans for the team at the beginning of the year. His ERA is under 3.00 and he has a very good WHIP of 1.187 in 18 games started in 2012. If the 26-year old lefty can keep this up for the next couple of seasons, the Twins would be extremely happy. MLB Performance Issues Nick Blackburn, RHP: At this point, it is looking like Blackburn will be the most veteran pitcher to make the rotation for the 2013 Twins. There have been plenty of times where it looked like the Twins would give up on Blackburn since his performance has dipped so much in the last three seasons. In 2008 and 2009, he had been an adequate pitcher with an ERA around 4.00 while pitching almost 200 innings per season. This year has been a nightmare as Blackburn has a 7.33 ERA with a 1.682 WHIP in 18 starts. For better or for worse, Ron Gardenhire continues to put his faith in Blackburn and it looks like the team is going to stick with him for next season. Liam Hendriks, RHP: The Twins gave Liam Hendriks a spot in the starting rotation at the beginning of this year but there were some injuries and other situations that prevented some players from being ready. For the second consecutive year, Hendriks struggled during his time on the mound at the big league level. His time at Rochester has been a completely different story as he has been putting up very good numbers at Triple-A. He is averaging over 6.5 innings per start and his 1.99 ERA and 0.946 WHIP are off the charts. There is a good chance that the Twins will give Hendriks another shot when the season is over for Rochester and it will be up to him to show the team that he can translate his minor league performance to the big leagues. Tommy John Recovery Crew Scott Baker, RHP: When Scott Baker ran into elbow trouble during spring training, it was a tough blow to a starting rotation that had some question marks. He was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery and he is in the process of rehabbing from this injury. Since he didn't have the surgery until this spring, it is going to be hard for a team to know what they are getting from Mr. Baker but he has stated that he wouldn't mind staying with the Twins organization. He will be a free agent in the offseason but the Twins could sign him to an incentive-laden deal to remain in the organization. It would be nice to have a healthy Baker in the rotation but health is always the question with him. Kyle Gibson, RHP: Gibson might have already been a staple in the starting staff for the Twins if not for an elbow injury that caused him to miss most of the last calendar year. He is back pitching in the minor leagues for the Twins and the team moved him up to High-A in the last week. In his close to 15 innings pitched so far, he has been on a strict pitch count and he has yet to throw more than three innings. Reports from the minor leagues have him throwing harder than before the surgery and the team would like him to reach Rochester by the end of the season. There is also a good chance that the Twins will send Gibson to the Arizona Fall League to get some more innings under his belt. Minor League Journeymen Sam Deduno, RHP: The 29-year old righty is on his third team in the last three years but the Twins seem to be getting the best version possible of Mr. Deduno. He is undefeated at the big league level in 2012 and he has a very respectable 3.35 ERA in seven starts with the Twins. His walk rate is far to high for him to continue this level of success so it will be interesting to see what he can do in the coming weeks. The Twins have given him a chance and he is making the most of this opportunity. Cole DeVries, RHP: It has been a great story to see the Minnesota native work his way through the Twins system over the last six seasons. At 27-years old and with his tendency to give up home runs, it is hard to imagine him being a long term solution for the organization. There have been some good starts for DeVries but there have also been multiple starts where he has been charged with seven earned runs. He adds depth to the pitching of the organization but fans hope the Twins won't have to turn to him next season. The Reliever Brian Duensing, LHP: In an ideal world, Duensing could have spent the entire 2012 season in the bullpen to see what kind of pitcher he would be in a relief role. The team thought that he was a relief option in 2009 and 2010 before being forced to use him as a starter and that same story line played out in 2012. He has shown the ability to get lefties out at a very good clip but righties continue to hit him and that makes it difficult to succeed in a starting role. 5 Predictions for the 2013 Rotation: 1. Diamond, Blackburn, and Hendriks will all start the 2013 season in the starting rotation 2. Gibson starts at Triple-A but he will be in the majors by the end of April 3. Baker will resign with the Twins but he won't make an appearance until the middle of the season 4. Blackburn won't last the year as a starter 5. Another move will be made through trade or free agency to add at least one more starter

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?916-Arcia-Hicks-might-have-earned-a-look

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-phUKBdlfscc/UChmJR7CrSI/AAAAAAAADH0/o2k7nbhMiWo/s320/HicksArcia.jpgWhile the 2012 season has been a little bit painful at the big league level, there have been plenty of positive stories out of the minor leagues for the Twins. Miguel Sano, the player widely considered as the best in the Twins organization, is showing his power potential by sitting near the top 10 in nearly every offensive category for the farm system. Byron Buxton and J.O. Berrios were the top two picks for the Twins in June's draft and they have both already been promoted to Elizabethton in the last week. Berrios has been nearly untouchable so far in his outings and Buxton has put together some decent numbers on the offensive side of the ball. But searching for positive performances is not just relegated to the lower levels of the minor leagues for the Twins. Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks are putting together their best seasons as professionals at the Double-A level with the New Britain Rock Cats. Hicks has spent the entire season with the Rock Cats and Arcia started the year at Fort Myers before being called up in the middle of June. Both of these players have been highly thought of in the past and they each seem to be putting together a season worth getting noticed for in 2012. Hicks was the Twins first round pick in 2008 when the Twins took him out of high school with the 14th pick. His minor league career has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride since that point but he has always had the tools to be thought of as one of the top prospects for the Twins. The switch-hitting outfielder has struggled in the past to even out his splits from each side of the plate. This season has seen some improvement as he has hit .293/.371/.526 with 13 extra-base hits in 116 at-bats from the right side of the plate. When he switches to the left side, he is batting .276/.385/.427 with 25 extra-base hits in 279 at-bats. His 12 home runs this season are split evenly between both sides of the plate and his 27 steals are a career high. Arcia is a year and a half younger than Hicks and he missed part of last season with an injury. This explains some of the reasoning that the Twins used to start Arcia in the Florida State League at the beginning of the year. He has made up for lost time since being called up to the Eastern League as he is hitting .330/.406/.553 in 49 games. Between both levels in the minor leagues, he has 31 doubles and 14 home runs with 78 RBI. He has appeared in a career high 104 games in 2012 so it is good to see what Arcia has been able to do over the course of what is really his first season of being healthy in the full season leagues. With Hicks batting at the top of the order and Arcia batting in the middle of the line-up, the New Britain Rock Cats find themselves in the middle of the playoff chase in the Eastern League. While fans of the Twins might not be concerned about the chase by the Rock Cats for the playoffs, it could have an impact on when (or if) the team will call-up these two young players at some point in September. Last season, the Twins looked to two position players to have a chance in the final month after the Rock Cats had been eliminated from contention. Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson got a shot to show what they could do with their first taste of the big leagues. Ben Revere got called up from Double-A at the end of the 2010 season and he only got 28 at-bats in 13 games with the club. This year it could be time for Arcia and Hicks to put on the Twins uniform and let the MLB coaches take a closer look at the future of the franchise. Looking ahead to September, it might be hard for the Twins to find at-bats for both of these up-and-coming players. They are both outfielders and the current roster for the Twins is not short in the outfield department. Denard Span, Ben Revere, and Josh Willingham have been relatively healthy in the outfield for the Twins so it would be tough to take at-bats away from these already established players. There could be an injury that would allow the Twins to give extra at-bats to a September call-up but all three of the current outfielders are going to want to finish the season on a strong note. Span took a tumble on Sunday and he might have to miss a little bit of time and there is always a chance of an injury with the way Revere goes after balls in the outfield. An injury to one of the starters might be the only way to free up a chunk of at-bats for Arcia or Hicks. Another obstacle in the way for Hicks is the fact that he is not currently on the 40-man roster for the Twins. Because Arcia was an international signee, the organization was required to add him to the 40-man roster during last offseason even though he is younger than Hicks. During the coming offseason, Hicks would have to be added to the 40-man roster so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to see him added in September. The consistent play at the plate and in the field would need to continue for each player over the rest of August but they both seem to be hitting better as the season progresses. For both of these players to get a chance with the Twins in September, it is important for the at-bats to be there for them with the big league squad. There are certainly things that each of them could learn from sitting on the bench but it is much more important to be in the line-up on a regular basis against big league pitching. With both players being under 23-years old, it would be nice to see them get their feet wet in a season that is a lost cause for the Twins. They are two of the biggest bright spots in the organization for 2012 and they deserve to be rewarded for their production on the field. That reward should be a chance to step onto the grass at Target Field for the first time.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-phUKBdlfscc/UChmJR7CrSI/AAAAAAAADH0/o2k7nbhMiWo/s320/HicksArcia.jpgWhile the 2012 season has been a little bit painful at the big league level, there have been plenty of positive stories out of the minor leagues for the Twins. Miguel Sano, the player widely considered as the best in the Twins organization, is showing his power potential by sitting near the top 10 in nearly every offensive category for the farm system. Byron Buxton and J.O. Berrios were the top two picks for the Twins in June's draft and they have both already been promoted to Elizabethton in the last week. Berrios has been nearly untouchable so far in his outings and Buxton has put together some decent numbers on the offensive side of the ball. But searching for positive performances is not just relegated to the lower levels of the minor leagues for the Twins. Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks are putting together their best seasons as professionals at the Double-A level with the New Britain Rock Cats. Hicks has spent the entire season with the Rock Cats and Arcia started the year at Fort Myers before being called up in the middle of June. Both of these players have been highly thought of in the past and they each seem to be putting together a season worth getting noticed for in 2012. Hicks was the Twins first round pick in 2008 when the Twins took him out of high school with the 14th pick. His minor league career has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride since that point but he has always had the tools to be thought of as one of the top prospects for the Twins. The switch-hitting outfielder has struggled in the past to even out his splits from each side of the plate. This season has seen some improvement as he has hit .293/.371/.526 with 13 extra-base hits in 116 at-bats from the right side of the plate. When he switches to the left side, he is batting .276/.385/.427 with 25 extra-base hits in 279 at-bats. His 12 home runs this season are split evenly between both sides of the plate and his 27 steals are a career high. Arcia is a year and a half younger than Hicks and he missed part of last season with an injury. This explains some of the reasoning that the Twins used to start Arcia in the Florida State League at the beginning of the year. He has made up for lost time since being called up to the Eastern League as he is hitting .330/.406/.553 in 49 games. Between both levels in the minor leagues, he has 31 doubles and 14 home runs with 78 RBI. He has appeared in a career high 104 games in 2012 so it is good to see what Arcia has been able to do over the course of what is really his first season of being healthy in the full season leagues. With Hicks batting at the top of the order and Arcia batting in the middle of the line-up, the New Britain Rock Cats find themselves in the middle of the playoff chase in the Eastern League. While fans of the Twins might not be concerned about the chase by the Rock Cats for the playoffs, it could have an impact on when (or if) the team will call-up these two young players at some point in September. Last season, the Twins looked to two position players to have a chance in the final month after the Rock Cats had been eliminated from contention. Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson got a shot to show what they could do with their first taste of the big leagues. Ben Revere got called up from Double-A at the end of the 2010 season and he only got 28 at-bats in 13 games with the club. This year it could be time for Arcia and Hicks to put on the Twins uniform and let the MLB coaches take a closer look at the future of the franchise. Looking ahead to September, it might be hard for the Twins to find at-bats for both of these up-and-coming players. They are both outfielders and the current roster for the Twins is not short in the outfield department. Denard Span, Ben Revere, and Josh Willingham have been relatively healthy in the outfield for the Twins so it would be tough to take at-bats away from these already established players. There could be an injury that would allow the Twins to give extra at-bats to a September call-up but all three of the current outfielders are going to want to finish the season on a strong note. Span took a tumble on Sunday and he might have to miss a little bit of time and there is always a chance of an injury with the way Revere goes after balls in the outfield. An injury to one of the starters might be the only way to free up a chunk of at-bats for Arcia or Hicks. Another obstacle in the way for Hicks is the fact that he is not currently on the 40-man roster for the Twins. Because Arcia was an international signee, the organization was required to add him to the 40-man roster during last offseason even though he is younger than Hicks. During the coming offseason, Hicks would have to be added to the 40-man roster so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to see him added in September. The consistent play at the plate and in the field would need to continue for each player over the rest of August but they both seem to be hitting better as the season progresses. For both of these players to get a chance with the Twins in September, it is important for the at-bats to be there for them with the big league squad. There are certainly things that each of them could learn from sitting on the bench but it is much more important to be in the line-up on a regular basis against big league pitching. With both players being under 23-years old, it would be nice to see them get their feet wet in a season that is a lost cause for the Twins. They are two of the biggest bright spots in the organization for 2012 and they deserve to be rewarded for their production on the field. That reward should be a chance to step onto the grass at Target Field for the first time.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?907-Friday-Links-N-Thinks

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

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

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It's the first Friday in August and that means the trade deadline came and passed in the last week. There was plenty of speculation that the Twins might be in the midst of a fire sale with the team on pace for their second straight 90-loss. Denard Span, Josh Willingham, and Justin Morneau were some of the players that other teams asked the Twins about but all of these players are still with the organization. Francisco Liriano was the only player to find himself wearing a different jersey over the course of the last few days. Many fans were disappointed with the players that the Twins got in return for Liriano and it is hard to think that the Twins turned the franchise around with this lone trade. On the field, the Twins have been in the midst of a very good stretch of baseball with the team winning five of their six games since last Friday. The Indians came to town last weekend and the Twins went on an offensive tear in the series by scoring 28 runs in the three game set. Good starting pitching has put the team in position to win contests as some of the starters try to prove that they belong in the rotation for the 2013 season. It was an overall good week for a team that has struggled to get any closer to the .500 mark over the course of the last few months. It's been busy for NoDak Twins Fan this week as I have moved from the Twin Cities back to NoDak to live and work with in Fargo, ND. If my posts are sporadic in the next week, it might be for the fact that I don't have internet service in my new place and my sister is getting married next weekend. I will do my best to keep the content flowing here. But for now, enjoy this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." One negative piece of news from the week was the fact that former first round pick Alex Wimmers was forced to have Tommy John surgery. As mentioned above, the Twins didn't do anything at the deadline and it might have been a good thing. Others find it very disappointing that the Twins didn't do anything before the deadline. Liriano made his first start with the White Sox at Target Field so that meant he was going to be good. The Twins farm system might be weak but check out this in-depth look at the top 50 prospects for the club. Sam Deduno has looked good in his two starts in the last week but his fastball is all over the place. How many things did you hate about the Liriano trade? The Fort Myers Miracle had a weird moment in their game this week. An umpire threw out the sound guy for playing "Three Blind Mice" when the umps made a bad call. At least the Twins aren't the Astros. Terry Ryan might have to wait until the offseason to move some players like Span and Burton. Have you ever wondered what players increased/decreased their WAR the most from one season to the next? Trevor Plouffe and Danny Valencia are friends that are fighting for the same job with the Twins. So far this season, it seems like the Twins are just (Red) Wing(ing) it with their starting pitching. Rene Rivera had a big hit for the Red Wings earlier this week and it came the day before his birthday. The last two years have been a little crazy at the trade deadline for Span with all of the rumors swirling around him. Jerome Williams gave up five runs for the Angels and still earned a save this week. A former Twins player holds the record for most runs given up while still earning the save. Twins fans got use to some weird behaviors with Carlos Gomez but now he is revolutionizing the home run. One member of the Twins pitching staff can call himself an Olympian. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1G8szXohQdQ/UBsq3A5pslI/AAAAAAAADHE/G4-jJ8LXNtM/s320/Brian+Duensing+Olympics+Day+8+Baseball+HTFitr-tNKLl.jpg In a related note, baseball should be brought back to the Olympics. That large set of vintage baseball cards found in an attic were sold at action this week. Dave St. Peter is going to be answering questions at the MLB Fan Cave tomorrow and you can leave a question on their Facebook page. Here are some reactions from across the baseball world about Lew Ford being back in the big leagues (see more on Ford below). My Weekly Rundown Monday: Fans frustrated even when Liriano is dealt Tuesday: Ford completes long journey back to MLB Wednesday: Twins rebuilding strategy is going to be slow Video of the Week: Since the Twins were quiet at the deadline, the best story line to follow for the week was the return of Lew Ford to the major leagues with the Baltimore Orioles. He hasn't played in at the MLB level since 2007 with the Twins. During the meantime, he has played in independent leagues, in Mexico and in Japan. The 35-year old outfield didn't waste any time making the highlight reels as he gunned down a runner in his first game back. A couple of games later, his first hit since September 2007 was also a special moment.

It's the first Friday in August and that means the trade deadline came and passed in the last week. There was plenty of speculation that the Twins might be in the midst of a fire sale with the team on pace for their second straight 90-loss. Denard Span, Josh Willingham, and Justin Morneau were some of the players that other teams asked the Twins about but all of these players are still with the organization. Francisco Liriano was the only player to find himself wearing a different jersey over the course of the last few days. Many fans were disappointed with the players that the Twins got in return for Liriano and it is hard to think that the Twins turned the franchise around with this lone trade. On the field, the Twins have been in the midst of a very good stretch of baseball with the team winning five of their six games since last Friday. The Indians came to town last weekend and the Twins went on an offensive tear in the series by scoring 28 runs in the three game set. Good starting pitching has put the team in position to win contests as some of the starters try to prove that they belong in the rotation for the 2013 season. It was an overall good week for a team that has struggled to get any closer to the .500 mark over the course of the last few months. It's been busy for NoDak Twins Fan this week as I have moved from the Twin Cities back to NoDak to live and work with in Fargo, ND. If my posts are sporadic in the next week, it might be for the fact that I don't have internet service in my new place and my sister is getting married next weekend. I will do my best to keep the content flowing here. But for now, enjoy this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." One negative piece of news from the week was the fact that former first round pick Alex Wimmers was forced to have Tommy John surgery. As mentioned above, the Twins didn't do anything at the deadline and it might have been a good thing. Others find it very disappointing that the Twins didn't do anything before the deadline. Liriano made his first start with the White Sox at Target Field so that meant he was going to be good. The Twins farm system might be weak but check out this in-depth look at the top 50 prospects for the club. Sam Deduno has looked good in his two starts in the last week but his fastball is all over the place. How many things did you hate about the Liriano trade? The Fort Myers Miracle had a weird moment in their game this week. An umpire threw out the sound guy for playing "Three Blind Mice" when the umps made a bad call. At least the Twins aren't the Astros. Terry Ryan might have to wait until the offseason to move some players like Span and Burton. Have you ever wondered what players increased/decreased their WAR the most from one season to the next? Trevor Plouffe and Danny Valencia are friends that are fighting for the same job with the Twins. So far this season, it seems like the Twins are just (Red) Wing(ing) it with their starting pitching. Rene Rivera had a big hit for the Red Wings earlier this week and it came the day before his birthday. The last two years have been a little crazy at the trade deadline for Span with all of the rumors swirling around him. Jerome Williams gave up five runs for the Angels and still earned a save this week. A former Twins player holds the record for most runs given up while still earning the save. Twins fans got use to some weird behaviors with Carlos Gomez but now he is revolutionizing the home run. One member of the Twins pitching staff can call himself an Olympian. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1G8szXohQdQ/UBsq3A5pslI/AAAAAAAADHE/G4-jJ8LXNtM/s320/Brian+Duensing+Olympics+Day+8+Baseball+HTFitr-tNKLl.jpg In a related note, baseball should be brought back to the Olympics. That large set of vintage baseball cards found in an attic were sold at action this week. Dave St. Peter is going to be answering questions at the MLB Fan Cave tomorrow and you can leave a question on their Facebook page. Here are some reactions from across the baseball world about Lew Ford being back in the big leagues (see more on Ford below). My Weekly Rundown Monday: Fans frustrated even when Liriano is dealt Tuesday: Ford completes long journey back to MLB Wednesday: Twins rebuilding strategy is going to be slow Video of the Week: Since the Twins were quiet at the deadline, the best story line to follow for the week was the return of Lew Ford to the major leagues with the Baltimore Orioles. He hasn't played in at the MLB level since 2007 with the Twins. During the meantime, he has played in independent leagues, in Mexico and in Japan. The 35-year old outfield didn't waste any time making the highlight reels as he gunned down a runner in his first game back. A couple of games later, his first hit since September 2007 was also a special moment.