Gotta say, I didn't see that one coming, although he and Kahn do go way back.

In light of the injury to Josh Hamilton, Buster Olney wonders why players continue to stupidly risk injury.
(ESPN Insider access required)

"I have never quite understood the perspective of Alomar and others who feel this is something they must always do, because clearly, a player going into a base with his hands and arms extended is at much greater risk for injury from outside forces that he does not control: a leaping infielder; or a catcher who is wearing shin guards dropping a knee; or a sliding surface that is thickened by rain, making it more likely that he will stop abruptly -- like a car hitting a guardrail."

Somewhere Little Nicky Punto is shaking his fist in disagreement. Ironically he can't shake it too hard since he is on the DL at the moment.

Talks through some potential changes to the CBA that could help small market teams.

At the end is this quote which is hard to see working for a Glen Taylor owned NBA team:

"It's not necessarily the market or the amount of revenue that a team has that proves to translate into championships," Hornets president Hugh Weber said. "You have to build a championship style and organization, with the culture and the mission and resources to back it up."

(espn insider access required to read full article)

..."He demonstrated once and for all last year that he's got the stuff to be a successful starter in the big leagues, and it's probably a pretty good assumption that the Twins' willingness to move Francisco Liriano is related, at least to a degree, to Duensing's development as a pitcher."

Two comments:

1. It will be frustrating if he gets bumped to the pen by Slowey and Blackburn again.

2. I still don't see why the reluctance of the Twins to guarantee additional years to a player coming off a major injury means that they are shopping him around.

Here are the ranking of Twins players and a snippet about what was said about them:
(ESPN Insider access needed to read full article)

#10 Aaron Hicks
"On tools alone, Hicks is a top-5 prospect in the game, and I still expect him to become a star, but there's some risk here and I can understand why the Twins are taking it a little slow with him."

#29 Miguel Sano
"...his bat will profile anywhere he plays, with average and potentially big-time power."

#32 Kyle Gibson
"He is a midrotation starter with a No. 2 ceiling but is so close to major league-ready that he should get the call in 2011..."

#71 Ben Revere
"He still has a well below-average arm that will probably require middle infielders to head into short center for cutoff throws, but the added range Revere provides should compensate."

#74 Oswaldo Arcia
"Talk about a guy coming out of nowhere." "The Twins have developed a lot of players in recent years, but not many with this kind of raw power and overall ceiling."

Curry named the team's RF largely because of his positional versatility (see Morneau injury), and feeling by scouts that he is a "winner" who makes those around him better.

I gotta say when I clicked on the article I would have never have guessed Cuddyer was going to be one of the picks.

Good to see deal is close, but still pissed we are sending $$ to Baltimore in addition to Hardy. I hope Hoey actually pitches this year...

Joe C highlights Mauer's strong second half statistics to ease the typical off-season calls for Mauer to switch positions, etc.

Wolves introduce mammoth billboard that dominates view out of Target Field. I like being hopeful about the Wolves this season, but please don't spread your bad luck on the Twins right now!

Chucky pleads guilty to assault for supposedly punching his wife in the face and choking her.

Links to Joe C's blog.

I admit that I'm still hoping for a miracle myself...

Selig's "special committee for on-field matters" is discussing a "floating" realignment plan that would allow teams to willingly change devisions.

The example in the article would be that Cleveland could opt to move to the AL East (re-building mode, not expecting to contend, could use revenue from playing Yanks/BoSox more often) while Tampa could opt to take Cleveland's spot in the AL Central, where it could have a legit chance at a division crown for once.

Based on that example, it doesn't sound like a good thing for the Twins if talented teams start flooding the AL Central hoping for a division crown.

Later on in the article the author lists Mauer among the "very young, talented players who have the potential to be great". Last time I checked, Mauer was about to turn 27 and already great.

Tom Tango (Inside The Book) uses the average WAR for ages 28-35 of Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez, Carter, Fisk, and Bench to calculate Mauer's estimated contract value.

Bottom line: An 8 year contract would be $145 - $176 million.

Link requires ESPN Insider

Article makes the point that since Left Field is shorter in Target Field than the Metrodome, Mauer's proclivity for opposite field homers should make him a good match for the new ballpark.

Link requires ESPN Insider access.

Not sure whether I believe him since he claims he never had an "alcohol problem" despite blowing a 0.26 and likely being drunk at game time.

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo speculates that if the Sox decide to dump Lowell (and pick up most of his salary), he could end up on the Twins. As long as he is cheap, I'm not against this myself.

Mijares was injured yesterday throwing batting practice (minor injury) and Neshak was hit on the foot. Are we trying to trim down our number of leftys?

A very cool article by John Harper of the NY Daily News (link courtesy of Joe C), that documents what it would be like to try to catch for Johan Sanatana.

My favorite part is when Santana stares Harper down for failing to handle a purposely thrown slider in the dirt.

I would have thought he learned from his deal last season what the market was willing to pay.

There is no way that he is going to get $9 MM, especially if the top three suitors are indeed the Nationals, Rays, and Twins.

As noted by Joe C., Bill Smith reports the surgery will be a "clean up" and Punto should be available for the start of spring training.

Do you think the Twins will more aggressively pursue another 2B just in case? I doubt it, but one can always hope. What is Orlando Hudson's phone number?

Reported through a tweet from USA Today's Bob Nightengale (link goes to mlbtraderumors.com).

Fingers crossed!!

Link requires ESPN insider, but Twins on the list include Hicks (#19), Ramos (#42), Gibson (#89), and Sano (#97).

Same top 4 as in the TwinkieTown prospect polling, but different order.

2 yrs / 14 MM, 3rd yr opt at 9 MM.

Under pressure from the MLB players union, the Marlins have agreed to add payroll (and thereby admitting they pocketed most fo the revenue sharing money).

Speculation has it that they will now be less likely to trade some of their more expensive players (Uggla, Johnson) in order to comply with this. I have been holding out hope that the Twins would land Uggla from the Marlins, but now I am a little discouraged.

I wonder by how much they actually plan to increase spending. I find it hard to believe they will dramatically change their business model since they were in contention for 1st place in the NL East last season with only a $37 million payroll.

Nick Punto drives Twins fans crazy because he is an even worse offensive player than Endy Chavez. But man, can he pick it. Similar to Endy, who came to bat 2,456 times this decade, Punto came to bat 2,530 times. His UZR was +54 runs split almost evenly between second base, third and short, and in a pinch he also played nine games in center field, accumulating +2 runs. His WOWY was +137 plays as an infielder. Don't let his .647 career OPS fool you; Punto's versatility and slick glove make him an asset.