Cody Christie

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

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

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qecb9tw5Br4/T6ILyONnDZI/AAAAAAAABPk/ywTt8GeLscc/s320/SpanCarroll.jpg There have been plenty of low-lights so far for the Twins with last night's no-hitter by the Angels Jared Weaver being at the top of the list but there have been some positives for fans to see in the first month of the year. Denard Span and Jamey Carroll have provided some strong defense up the middle for the Twins. There were question marks with both of these players when the season started down in Fort Myers. Would Span be able to overcome his concussions and handle the rigors of being in the line-up on an everyday basis? At 38-years old, could Carroll be productive when given a full-time job? Span has been on a hot streak in the batter's box in the last couple weeks and he saw his 12-game hit streak come to an end last night. After some scary concussion related issues for a chunk of last year, it is good to see Span off to a quick start as he is leading the Twins in batting average through this early part of the season. The question marks surrounding Span at the beginning of the season are becoming long forgotten and he has shown he can handle being the table setter for the Twins offense. The offensive side of things has been a little rough for Carroll and Ron Gardenhire dropped him from the number two spot in the line-up earlier this week. In the last ten games, Carroll only has five hits and he is hitting under .135 in those contests. For the season, Carroll has seen his batting average drop to near Drew Butera territory and that is never a good thing. His ability to draw walks is still a positive but teams are going to make him prove that he can hit the ball if he continues to struggle at the plate. Span and Carroll might be on opposite ends of the offensive spectrum at this point in the season but they have both been near the top of their game on the defensive side of the ball. After the atrocious play in the middle infield last year, the Twins brought Carroll in to be a calming influence to the rest of the defense. The corner outfielders have changed around Span since last year but his solid defense remains constant in center field for the Twins. Out of all of the outfielders in baseball, Denard Span and Alex Gordon each saved their team seven runs during the first month of the season. The closest center fielder on the list to Span was Colby Rasmus with six defensive runs saved and then it was Austin Jackson with four. The large outfield at Target Field can provide some challenges for chasing down fly balls but Span can clearly provide some run saving ability with his defense. [Click here to see some video evidence of Span saving some runs with his defense and ending the threat from the Royals.] Luckily for the Twins, the offensive woes for Carroll have not translated to his defense on the field. Carroll doesn't have as many defensive runs saved as Span but he has still saved the Twins two runs on the year. He has only committed one error in 106 chances at shortstop and some of his plays have been very impressive. According to ESPN and Baseball Info Solutions, Carroll made 16 good fielding plays in the first month of the season and this ranked first among shortstops. [Click here to see some video evidence of Carroll saving some runs with his defense and doubling up David Ortiz.] The defensive play of Span and Carroll has helped the Twins to rank in the top five in all of baseball in defensive runs saved so far this year. With the Twins starting pitchers continuing to give up a lot of hits, the defense behind the pitchers is going to need to stay consistent. There are plenty of problems with the Twins at this early junction of the season but the defensive play of these two players is not one of those issues.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qecb9tw5Br4/T6ILyONnDZI/AAAAAAAABPk/ywTt8GeLscc/s320/SpanCarroll.jpg There have been plenty of low-lights so far for the Twins with last night's no-hitter by the Angels Jared Weaver being at the top of the list but there have been some positives for fans to see in the first month of the year. Denard Span and Jamey Carroll have provided some strong defense up the middle for the Twins. There were question marks with both of these players when the season started down in Fort Myers. Would Span be able to overcome his concussions and handle the rigors of being in the line-up on an everyday basis? At 38-years old, could Carroll be productive when given a full-time job? Span has been on a hot streak in the batter's box in the last couple weeks and he saw his 12-game hit streak come to an end last night. After some scary concussion related issues for a chunk of last year, it is good to see Span off to a quick start as he is leading the Twins in batting average through this early part of the season. The question marks surrounding Span at the beginning of the season are becoming long forgotten and he has shown he can handle being the table setter for the Twins offense. The offensive side of things has been a little rough for Carroll and Ron Gardenhire dropped him from the number two spot in the line-up earlier this week. In the last ten games, Carroll only has five hits and he is hitting under .135 in those contests. For the season, Carroll has seen his batting average drop to near Drew Butera territory and that is never a good thing. His ability to draw walks is still a positive but teams are going to make him prove that he can hit the ball if he continues to struggle at the plate. Span and Carroll might be on opposite ends of the offensive spectrum at this point in the season but they have both been near the top of their game on the defensive side of the ball. After the atrocious play in the middle infield last year, the Twins brought Carroll in to be a calming influence to the rest of the defense. The corner outfielders have changed around Span since last year but his solid defense remains constant in center field for the Twins. Out of all of the outfielders in baseball, Denard Span and Alex Gordon each saved their team seven runs during the first month of the season. The closest center fielder on the list to Span was Colby Rasmus with six defensive runs saved and then it was Austin Jackson with four. The large outfield at Target Field can provide some challenges for chasing down fly balls but Span can clearly provide some run saving ability with his defense. [Click here to see some video evidence of Span saving some runs with his defense and ending the threat from the Royals.] Luckily for the Twins, the offensive woes for Carroll have not translated to his defense on the field. Carroll doesn't have as many defensive runs saved as Span but he has still saved the Twins two runs on the year. He has only committed one error in 106 chances at shortstop and some of his plays have been very impressive. According to ESPN and Baseball Info Solutions, Carroll made 16 good fielding plays in the first month of the season and this ranked first among shortstops. [Click here to see some video evidence of Carroll saving some runs with his defense and doubling up David Ortiz.] The defensive play of Span and Carroll has helped the Twins to rank in the top five in all of baseball in defensive runs saved so far this year. With the Twins starting pitchers continuing to give up a lot of hits, the defense behind the pitchers is going to need to stay consistent. There are plenty of problems with the Twins at this early junction of the season but the defensive play of these two players is not one of those issues.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?501-VOTE-Best-Twins-offensive-performance-ever

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9DMuI0-XtTs/T6CxgJ6MPhI/AAAAAAAABPY/--E7C0uJ1Bk/s320/Slide1.jpg On Monday night, Ryan Braun put together an amazing offensive performance by hitting three home runs and adding a triple in another one of his at-bats. It was a historical night at the plate but there have been some even more historical nights in the long history of baseball. ESPN's SweetSpot Blog put up a vote of some of the greatest offensive nights in history. The leader in the clubhouse as of last night was Shawn Green and his 6-for-6 night with four home runs, a double, six runs, and seven RBI. It still stands as the MLB record for most total bases in one contest. This got me thinking about some of the best offensive performances in the history of the Minnesota Twins. Much like the SweetSpot post, these will only be regular season performances because the postseason is an entirely different story. Here are some of the top performances from regular season history for the Twins in order of when they occurred for the team. There are a ton of great games in franchise history so narrowing down the list is a tough challenge. At the end of the post, you will have the opportunity to pick what you think is the best performance in franchise history. It should be a fun exercise so I hope you enjoy it! 1. Bob Allison, 1963 Twins: 3-for-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI (box score) The first three home run game in franchise history with one of the highest RBI totals for a single game for the Twins. Players like Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Justin Morneau would hit three home runs in one contest but he will always be the first. In the early seasons of the Twins, it was a record setting game for a team trying to make their mark in Minnesota. 2. Glen Adams, 1977 Twins: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 8 RBI (box score) Only two Twins have tallied eight RBI in a game and Glen Adams was the first member of the Twins to accomplish this feat. There was a lot of offense in this game as the Twins and White Sox combined for 31 runs. It could be argued that Rod Carew had a better game on this day with a 4-for-5 night with a home run, a double, five runs, and six RBI. The eight RBI are still hard to ignore and Adams game ranks as one of the best in team history. 3. Kirby Puckett, 1987 Twins: 6-for-6, 2 HR, 2 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI (box score) The greatest Twins player in history is the only player in the history of the franchise to compile six hits in a game. He has done it twice but one time it occurred in an extra-inning contest so we will pick the game that was decided in regulation play. There were multiple records set by Puckett in this game against the Brewers. Besides the team record for hits, he also managed the most total bases in franchise history with 14. His four RBI were also the difference in the score as the Twins won by a score of 10 to 4. It will be tough for another performance to top one of Puckett's best offensive performances. 4. Randy Bush, 1989 Twins: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 8 RBI (box score) As mentioned earlier, Glen Adams was one of two players to have eight RBI in a game and the player to tie his team record for RBI was Randy Bush. Just like in the game from Adams, the Twins scored 19 runs as part of this eight RBI performance. He would only get 54 RBI for the year so having eight in one game is quite the accomplishment. For a light hitting outfielder with not a lot of power, this was quite the game. 5. Michael Cuddyer, 2005 Twins: 4-for-4, HR, 3 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI (box score) The team record for extra-base hits in a game is four and there have been multiple players to do this in a game and this includes multiple players on this list. Cuddyer was the last member of the Twins to be able get four extra-base hits and he did it in a 4-for-4 game in which he was intentional walked during the game. Mr. Cuddyer has also hit for the cycle in a contest for the Twins but this was also one of his best games during his time with the Twins. 6. Justin Morneau, 2007 Twins: 3-for-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI (box score) Justin Morneau has run into some tough luck in the injury department in recent years but he is still one of the best power hitters in the history of the Twins. He is most current Twins player to hit three home runs in a contest and he did it in a blow out win against the White Sox. Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, and Bob Allison are the only player to have more 2-homer games than Morneau. His 12 total bases in the game are also close to the most ever in franchise history. 7. Jason Kubel, 2009 Twins: 4-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, 2 R, 5 RBI (box score) This might have been one of the most exciting offensive performance in recent memory for the Twins. The team found themselves in a hole in the late innings of the game but one player was in the middle of a special performance. With the Twins down nine to four in the bottom of the eighth, the team started to mount their come-back. The exclamation point on the comeback would be off of the bat Jason Kubel. He already had a triple, double, and a single to his name and this meant that he just needed the home run to complete the cyle. A grand slam to give his team the lead in the late innings was a special moment in the final year of the Metrodome. Now is your chance to vote on the games listed above but it doesn't stop there because there have been other great games in Twins history as well. If you think there is a better performance, leave a comment below and start the conversation. CLICK HERE TO SEE POLL

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9DMuI0-XtTs/T6CxgJ6MPhI/AAAAAAAABPY/--E7C0uJ1Bk/s320/Slide1.jpg On Monday night, Ryan Braun put together an amazing offensive performance by hitting three home runs and adding a triple in another one of his at-bats. It was a historical night at the plate but there have been some even more historical nights in the long history of baseball. ESPN's SweetSpot Blog put up a vote of some of the greatest offensive nights in history. The leader in the clubhouse as of last night was Shawn Green and his 6-for-6 night with four home runs, a double, six runs, and seven RBI. It still stands as the MLB record for most total bases in one contest. This got me thinking about some of the best offensive performances in the history of the Minnesota Twins. Much like the SweetSpot post, these will only be regular season performances because the postseason is an entirely different story. Here are some of the top performances from regular season history for the Twins in order of when they occurred for the team. There are a ton of great games in franchise history so narrowing down the list is a tough challenge. At the end of the post, you will have the opportunity to pick what you think is the best performance in franchise history. It should be a fun exercise so I hope you enjoy it! 1. Bob Allison, 1963 Twins: 3-for-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI (box score) The first three home run game in franchise history with one of the highest RBI totals for a single game for the Twins. Players like Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Justin Morneau would hit three home runs in one contest but he will always be the first. In the early seasons of the Twins, it was a record setting game for a team trying to make their mark in Minnesota. 2. Glen Adams, 1977 Twins: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 8 RBI (box score) Only two Twins have tallied eight RBI in a game and Glen Adams was the first member of the Twins to accomplish this feat. There was a lot of offense in this game as the Twins and White Sox combined for 31 runs. It could be argued that Rod Carew had a better game on this day with a 4-for-5 night with a home run, a double, five runs, and six RBI. The eight RBI are still hard to ignore and Adams game ranks as one of the best in team history. 3. Kirby Puckett, 1987 Twins: 6-for-6, 2 HR, 2 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI (box score) The greatest Twins player in history is the only player in the history of the franchise to compile six hits in a game. He has done it twice but one time it occurred in an extra-inning contest so we will pick the game that was decided in regulation play. There were multiple records set by Puckett in this game against the Brewers. Besides the team record for hits, he also managed the most total bases in franchise history with 14. His four RBI were also the difference in the score as the Twins won by a score of 10 to 4. It will be tough for another performance to top one of Puckett's best offensive performances. 4. Randy Bush, 1989 Twins: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 8 RBI (box score) As mentioned earlier, Glen Adams was one of two players to have eight RBI in a game and the player to tie his team record for RBI was Randy Bush. Just like in the game from Adams, the Twins scored 19 runs as part of this eight RBI performance. He would only get 54 RBI for the year so having eight in one game is quite the accomplishment. For a light hitting outfielder with not a lot of power, this was quite the game. 5. Michael Cuddyer, 2005 Twins: 4-for-4, HR, 3 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI (box score) The team record for extra-base hits in a game is four and there have been multiple players to do this in a game and this includes multiple players on this list. Cuddyer was the last member of the Twins to be able get four extra-base hits and he did it in a 4-for-4 game in which he was intentional walked during the game. Mr. Cuddyer has also hit for the cycle in a contest for the Twins but this was also one of his best games during his time with the Twins. 6. Justin Morneau, 2007 Twins: 3-for-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI (box score) Justin Morneau has run into some tough luck in the injury department in recent years but he is still one of the best power hitters in the history of the Twins. He is most current Twins player to hit three home runs in a contest and he did it in a blow out win against the White Sox. Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, and Bob Allison are the only player to have more 2-homer games than Morneau. His 12 total bases in the game are also close to the most ever in franchise history. 7. Jason Kubel, 2009 Twins: 4-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, 2 R, 5 RBI (box score) This might have been one of the most exciting offensive performance in recent memory for the Twins. The team found themselves in a hole in the late innings of the game but one player was in the middle of a special performance. With the Twins down nine to four in the bottom of the eighth, the team started to mount their come-back. The exclamation point on the comeback would be off of the bat Jason Kubel. He already had a triple, double, and a single to his name and this meant that he just needed the home run to complete the cyle. A grand slam to give his team the lead in the late innings was a special moment in the final year of the Metrodome. Now is your chance to vote on the games listed above but it doesn't stop there because there have been other great games in Twins history as well. If you think there is a better performance, leave a comment below and start the conversation. CLICK HERE TO SEE POLL

As Seth mentioned a little bit earlier today, Salcedo suffered a broken nose after taking a batted ball to the face last night. The ball bounced once and came up to hit Salcedo in the nose. It will probably result in him being placed on the DL but I will pass on that information when it becomes available. Here was his line from last night (even though his health is the more important issue at this point): 5th Start of the Year (April 30) IP: 0.1 H: 1 R: 0 ER: 0 BB: 0 SO: 0

He's only made five starts and in one of those starts he got hit in the face and broke his nose. It is hard to consider that a significant sample size. Pump the brakes a little. There is plenty of season left.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-joxCXH56GqU/T59svuioAYI/AAAAAAAABOw/aqD2LlJTQdI/s400/Slide3.jpg The first month of the baseball season is in the books and there have been surprises across the baseball world. The Angels and Albert Pujols had a rough first month after experts picked them to be fighting for a division title. The Rangers have being playing on another level from most teams in baseball. Matt Kemp is on pace for a record breaking year and the Dodgers are the top team in the National League. On paper at the start of the season, the American League Central seemed to be a one team race. The Detroit Tigers were the hands down favorite to represent the AL Central in the playoffs. But baseball is a funny game and the Tigers have stumbled a little getting out of the gate. This could open up the division to any of the other teams to find a way to dethrone the Tigers from their perch on top of AL Central. All of the teams in the AL Central are within six games of first place in the division at the end of April. Even with the tight race in the division, the Cleveland Indians are the only team to sit above .500 at the end of the first month. The Tigers and White Sox are both one game out of first with the Royals and Twins filling up the basement. So who is going to be able to separate themselves from the pack in the coming months? Only one team has a positive run differential as the teams start play at the beginning of May. The Indians have outscored their opponents by three runs since the season began and they have allowed the least amount of runs out of teams in the division. Every other division in baseball has a team that has scored at least 100 runs but the Central is lacking a team that has reached this feat. The Tigers have scored the most runs with 94 runs scored but they have also allowed the second most runs in the division. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw5v2v_dTlc/T59s3FF6kgI/AAAAAAAABO4/7Fxv7Lmr4DA/s320/Slide1.jpg Some of the biggest struggles for teams in the Central have come in their own home games. None of the teams in the Central have a winning record at home and the Royals have the dubious distinction of being the only team in baseball that has not won a contest on their home field. The Tigers sit one game below .500 at home but the Indians, White Sox, Twins, and Royals sit three games or more below the .500 mark. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3271GcHZouE/T59tAdydX7I/AAAAAAAABPA/4BG3yXR9iUE/s320/Slide2.jpg Here's a quick look at the other teams in the Central with a couple of notes about their start to the 2012 season: 1. Cleveland Indians (Record 11-9): In the last ten games, the Indians have gone 6-4 to push themselves to the top of the Central. They just completed a 3-3 home stand and now the are off to Chicago for an important series in the standings. Being on top of the division at the end of the first month is familiar territory to the Indians as they finished last April with an 18-8 record. Derek Lowe seems to be comfortable at the front of the Indians rotation. He finds himself tied for the league lead with four wins and he has a very good 2.27 ERA. 2. Detroit Tigers (Record 11-11): For the second year in a row, the Tigers are struggling to start the season. A slow start didn't impact the Tigers too much last season as they finished with 95 wins over the course of the season. Delmon Young's recent incident has been a little bit of a distraction and it will be interesting to see how the team deals with the fallout. Detroit needs to get some of their pitching in order for them to find success again but the division is still theirs to lose in 2012. 3. Chicago White Sox (Record 11-11): When the White Sox sold off some of their parts in the offseason, it seemed like they might be in the middle of a rebuilding project. They kept some of their parts and they have seen a resurgence among some familiar names. Adam Dunn was one of the worst hitters in baseball last year and he has five home runs to his name in 2012. Jake Peavy might have been the best pitcher in the American League for the first month of the year. 4. Kansas City Royals (Record 6-15): The Royals seemed to be the darlings of the baseball world before the season began. Their combination of young players and a strong bullpen looked to push them up near the top of the division. Some struggles at the plate from players like Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon have made scoring runs a challenge. There have also been some speed bumps with the pitching staff that will need to be ironed out for the team to find success in the coming months.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-joxCXH56GqU/T59svuioAYI/AAAAAAAABOw/aqD2LlJTQdI/s400/Slide3.jpg The first month of the baseball season is in the books and there have been surprises across the baseball world. The Angels and Albert Pujols had a rough first month after experts picked them to be fighting for a division title. The Rangers have being playing on another level from most teams in baseball. Matt Kemp is on pace for a record breaking year and the Dodgers are the top team in the National League. On paper at the start of the season, the American League Central seemed to be a one team race. The Detroit Tigers were the hands down favorite to represent the AL Central in the playoffs. But baseball is a funny game and the Tigers have stumbled a little getting out of the gate. This could open up the division to any of the other teams to find a way to dethrone the Tigers from their perch on top of AL Central. All of the teams in the AL Central are within six games of first place in the division at the end of April. Even with the tight race in the division, the Cleveland Indians are the only team to sit above .500 at the end of the first month. The Tigers and White Sox are both one game out of first with the Royals and Twins filling up the basement. So who is going to be able to separate themselves from the pack in the coming months? Only one team has a positive run differential as the teams start play at the beginning of May. The Indians have outscored their opponents by three runs since the season began and they have allowed the least amount of runs out of teams in the division. Every other division in baseball has a team that has scored at least 100 runs but the Central is lacking a team that has reached this feat. The Tigers have scored the most runs with 94 runs scored but they have also allowed the second most runs in the division. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw5v2v_dTlc/T59s3FF6kgI/AAAAAAAABO4/7Fxv7Lmr4DA/s320/Slide1.jpg Some of the biggest struggles for teams in the Central have come in their own home games. None of the teams in the Central have a winning record at home and the Royals have the dubious distinction of being the only team in baseball that has not won a contest on their home field. The Tigers sit one game below .500 at home but the Indians, White Sox, Twins, and Royals sit three games or more below the .500 mark. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3271GcHZouE/T59tAdydX7I/AAAAAAAABPA/4BG3yXR9iUE/s320/Slide2.jpg Here's a quick look at the other teams in the Central with a couple of notes about their start to the 2012 season: 1. Cleveland Indians (Record 11-9): In the last ten games, the Indians have gone 6-4 to push themselves to the top of the Central. They just completed a 3-3 home stand and now the are off to Chicago for an important series in the standings. Being on top of the division at the end of the first month is familiar territory to the Indians as they finished last April with an 18-8 record. Derek Lowe seems to be comfortable at the front of the Indians rotation. He finds himself tied for the league lead with four wins and he has a very good 2.27 ERA. 2. Detroit Tigers (Record 11-11): For the second year in a row, the Tigers are struggling to start the season. A slow start didn't impact the Tigers too much last season as they finished with 95 wins over the course of the season. Delmon Young's recent incident has been a little bit of a distraction and it will be interesting to see how the team deals with the fallout. Detroit needs to get some of their pitching in order for them to find success again but the division is still theirs to lose in 2012. 3. Chicago White Sox (Record 11-11): When the White Sox sold off some of their parts in the offseason, it seemed like they might be in the middle of a rebuilding project. They kept some of their parts and they have seen a resurgence among some familiar names. Adam Dunn was one of the worst hitters in baseball last year and he has five home runs to his name in 2012. Jake Peavy might have been the best pitcher in the American League for the first month of the year. 4. Kansas City Royals (Record 6-15): The Royals seemed to be the darlings of the baseball world before the season began. Their combination of young players and a strong bullpen looked to push them up near the top of the division. Some struggles at the plate from players like Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon have made scoring runs a challenge. There have also been some speed bumps with the pitching staff that will need to be ironed out for the team to find success in the coming months.

Tough news from Fort Myers tonight. According to the Miracle's Official Twitter feed, the second batter of the game hit a one-hopper that hit Adrian Salcedo in the face. He was forced to leave the game. I will update as news trickles out from Ft. Myers.

Thanks for the great pictures. I love the throwback jersey's for the Miracle's anniversary year.

Adrian Salcedo is the scheduled starter tonight for the Miracle. Here's hoping for a better outing then the last time he took the mound. You can listen to the game by clicking on the link from the Miracle's site (under Multimedia, Listen Live). The game is scheduled to start at 7:05 Eastern/6:05 Central.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwdGU6KVbEY/T554GUTlVrI/AAAAAAAABOk/s4sU_QlBSt8/s320/SanoHaperSwing.jpg One of the most hyped debuts in MLB history took place over the weekend with Bryce Harper being penciled in to the Washington Nationals line-up for the first time as a 19-year old phenom. His first game looked like it was going to play out perfectly but Matt Kemp's walk-off home run in extra innings spoiled the coming out party for Harper. In the game, Harper got his first hit by smacking a solid double off the wall in deep center field. His most impressive play might have been his tremendous throw from left field to the plate that should have gotten the runner if Wilson Ramos would have held on to the ball. The top of the ninth inning saw Harper come up with the chance to be the hero and he was able to get a sacrifice fly to give his team the lead but the bullpen would eventually surrender the victory to the Dodgers. In the middle of next month the Twins will have their own 19-year old top prospect when Miguel Sano celebrates his birthday on May 11. Unlike Harper who was getting experience at Triple-A for the Nationals, Sano is at Low-A trying to put together all of his potential. For the Twins and Sano, this will mean multiple seasons before he can be stepping on the grass at Target Field. Sano has shot up the top prospect charts since he signed with the Twins as a 16-year old. Baseball America had him ranked as the 94th best prospect shortly after the Twins signed him and before he had come to play in the United States. After a tremendous 2011 season, he shot all the way up to the 18th best prospect in baseball and another strong season, combined with some players graduating to the big leagues, could see him closing in on the top of the list. Watching a top prospect develop is great because it gives hope for the future of a franchise. The Twins and their fans have been struggling through the last two seasons and if these problems continue, fans of the Twins will start looking to the future. Sano is a big part of these plans and his development is something to watch for all of Twins Territory. So far this year, Sano has hit .262 with six home runs, two triples, and five doubles. He has shown the ability to get more walks this season with 17 free passes so far in 2012. Even with the higher walk rate, his strikeout rate continues to be high with 31 strikeouts in 84 at-bats this year. Besides cutting down on the strikeouts, his defense at third base needs to continue to improve. He has five errors in his first 82 chances for the Snappers. Harper was not only watched closely by fans of the Nationals but he was also on the radar of many baseball fans across the baseball world. Much like Harper, Sano could be on his way to being a top prospect in all of baseball. So what could the hype be like for Sano when he makes his debut in a couple of seasons? If Sano continues to improve in some of the weaker areas mentioned above, there is nothing stopping him from developing into a force that will make the entire baseball world take notice in the coming years. His raw power ability could be something that makes him standout among his peers and this separation could make the hype around him even stronger. But the dreams of seeing Sano at Target Field are still multiple years away at this point with plenty of development needed from young Mr. Sano. The last time the Twins had the top prospect in all of baseball was back before the 2004 and 2005 seasons when Joe Mauer topped the prospect charts for Baseball America in back-to-back seasons. His debut with the Twins was cut short when he was injured in the second game of the season. Surgery on the knee of Mauer would cause him to miss over a month but following his return, swelling in his knee would force an early end to the season for Mauer. Mauer's unhealthy rookie season took away from some of the hype he had built-up in the minor leagues. Fans of the Twins can only hope that Sano is following the same track as Mauer. The hype doesn't need to follow him to the big leagues but fans of the Twins will be happy to get a top tier player for many years to come out of Sano. The hype is building but there is still plenty of work to be done.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwdGU6KVbEY/T554GUTlVrI/AAAAAAAABOk/s4sU_QlBSt8/s320/SanoHaperSwing.jpg One of the most hyped debuts in MLB history took place over the weekend with Bryce Harper being penciled in to the Washington Nationals line-up for the first time as a 19-year old phenom. His first game looked like it was going to play out perfectly but Matt Kemp's walk-off home run in extra innings spoiled the coming out party for Harper. In the game, Harper got his first hit by smacking a solid double off the wall in deep center field. His most impressive play might have been his tremendous throw from left field to the plate that should have gotten the runner if Wilson Ramos would have held on to the ball. The top of the ninth inning saw Harper come up with the chance to be the hero and he was able to get a sacrifice fly to give his team the lead but the bullpen would eventually surrender the victory to the Dodgers. In the middle of next month the Twins will have their own 19-year old top prospect when Miguel Sano celebrates his birthday on May 11. Unlike Harper who was getting experience at Triple-A for the Nationals, Sano is at Low-A trying to put together all of his potential. For the Twins and Sano, this will mean multiple seasons before he can be stepping on the grass at Target Field. Sano has shot up the top prospect charts since he signed with the Twins as a 16-year old. Baseball America had him ranked as the 94th best prospect shortly after the Twins signed him and before he had come to play in the United States. After a tremendous 2011 season, he shot all the way up to the 18th best prospect in baseball and another strong season, combined with some players graduating to the big leagues, could see him closing in on the top of the list. Watching a top prospect develop is great because it gives hope for the future of a franchise. The Twins and their fans have been struggling through the last two seasons and if these problems continue, fans of the Twins will start looking to the future. Sano is a big part of these plans and his development is something to watch for all of Twins Territory. So far this year, Sano has hit .262 with six home runs, two triples, and five doubles. He has shown the ability to get more walks this season with 17 free passes so far in 2012. Even with the higher walk rate, his strikeout rate continues to be high with 31 strikeouts in 84 at-bats this year. Besides cutting down on the strikeouts, his defense at third base needs to continue to improve. He has five errors in his first 82 chances for the Snappers. Harper was not only watched closely by fans of the Nationals but he was also on the radar of many baseball fans across the baseball world. Much like Harper, Sano could be on his way to being a top prospect in all of baseball. So what could the hype be like for Sano when he makes his debut in a couple of seasons? If Sano continues to improve in some of the weaker areas mentioned above, there is nothing stopping him from developing into a force that will make the entire baseball world take notice in the coming years. His raw power ability could be something that makes him standout among his peers and this separation could make the hype around him even stronger. But the dreams of seeing Sano at Target Field are still multiple years away at this point with plenty of development needed from young Mr. Sano. The last time the Twins had the top prospect in all of baseball was back before the 2004 and 2005 seasons when Joe Mauer topped the prospect charts for Baseball America in back-to-back seasons. His debut with the Twins was cut short when he was injured in the second game of the season. Surgery on the knee of Mauer would cause him to miss over a month but following his return, swelling in his knee would force an early end to the season for Mauer. Mauer's unhealthy rookie season took away from some of the hype he had built-up in the minor leagues. Fans of the Twins can only hope that Sano is following the same track as Mauer. The hype doesn't need to follow him to the big leagues but fans of the Twins will be happy to get a top tier player for many years to come out of Sano. The hype is building but there is still plenty of work to be done.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?484-Saturday-Night-Minor-League-Lights

"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. 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!

"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. 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!

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Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since the last time you joined me for an edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks," the Twins have only one one game and that was on last Friday. It has been a rough week for Twins fans as the team looked to get back on track against the struggling Red Sox. This didn't happen but the one consolation prize is the fact that the Royals come to town this weekend and they have their own share of problems to deal with this season. Hopefully this means the Twins can come out of the weekend with a series win before they head on the road again for a West Coast swing through Los Angeles and Seattle. Last weekend a former Twins player, Phil Humber, threw the 21st perfect game in the history of Major League Baseball. Humber was part of the Johan Santana trade but struggled at the Triple-A level and never made it past Rochester with the Twins. Overall, he spent six seasons in the minor leagues before the White Sox gave him a chance to be a starter. In only his 30 career starts, he was perfect with 27 batters faced and 27 outs recorded on the mound. As much as I don't like the White Sox, the transformation that this top draft pick has made is great to see from any player. Josh Willingham's wife having a baby, I "adopted" a prospect from the Twins farm system, and plenty more stories are all included in this weeks edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Have a great weekend and enjoy! One of the highlights of the week over at TwinsDaily was the introduction of the "Adopt-A-Prospect" series for the site. I was lucky enough to get top pitching prospect Adrian Salcedo but there are plenty of other players to check out. The MLB Draft is fast approaching in June and Seth Stohs wants to know if taking a college pitcher is the right approach for the Twins. It's only the end of the first month of the season and the writers at Puckett's Pond want to know if it is too early to bump Miguel Sano up to Ft. Myers. Twins fans seem to have a lot to complain about but Twins Fan From Afar is sick of hearing three complaints from the fan base. Lindsay Guentzel is trying to survive the first MLB Fan Cave elimination and she needs your help to stay in NYC. Joe Mauer has appeared in every game for the Twins this year and Nick Nelson thinks Mr. Mauer is might be making a statement. Bobby Valentine needs to find a different way research his opponents because he apparently doesn't know how to use his phone. There have been some great nicknames in the history of baseball. Danny Valencia is off to a slow start at the plate and Parker Hageman thinks Valencia might have lost some of his swagger. Here's a contract strategy the Twins could use. Sign them young. Josh Willingham's family welcomed a new edition this week and this great photo started to speed around the internet. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7_JZ7BG_ePE/T5oKeUg08TI/AAAAAAAABN8/i5ymdnQKm6c/s320/WillinghamBaby.jpg John Sickels from Minor League Ball put together his April Edition of the 2012 MLB Mock Draft. Who will the Twins take at number 2? Jim Thome has survived so far with having to play first base since he is back in the National League. Luke Hughes found a new team this week but he has run into a few snags in the fielding department. The off-day for the Twins on Thursday felt good and Brandon Warne offered up some ways to fix the Twins. Twins pitchers and catchers held a 20-minute closed door meeting after being swept by the Red Sox. Hopefully this can improve some of the results on the field. Former Twins player Shane Mack is auctioning off some unique items from his baseball career. Finally, a great read about New Britain's Chris Colabello and his amazing path to the Rock Cats. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Where will Liriano fit into the bullpen? Tuesday: Adopt-A-Prospect Introduction: Adrian Salcedo Wednesday: Duensing ramping up his velocity in the 'pen Thursday: Attendance starting to dwindle at Target Field Video of the Week: There have been some crazy batting stances in the history of baseball but this college player might have found one of the most unique positions in the box. His name is Alex Buccilli and he is the DH for Coastal Carolina. Even the Batting Stance Guy has gotten in on the action.