Joe Mauer Selected to All Star Game

Joe Mauer was selected to the American League All-Star game after finishing second in fan balloting to the Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli. Mauer finished with 2,922,422, while Napoli tallied 4,317,718.

Josh Willingham and Scott Diamond were potential candidates to represent the Twins. Willingham (LF) has 17 home runs and leads the Twins with 55 RBIs. Diamond has the lowest ERA among Twins starters, at 2.61. Both players were passed over as reserves. 

Mauer is batting .324 with four homers and 36 RBIs.

Minnesota Twins Lose to White Sox. Again.

It has been/will continue to be a busy week for me as a Twins fan.

I went to the Twins-White Sox game on Monday as well as Wednesday. I am going to the Twins-Royals game on Friday with some coworkers and the Twins-Royals double header on Saturday with my friend, Scott.

Busy, busy Twins week.

Not to sound like every other fan in the land of 10,000 lakes, but it sure would be nice if the Twins were winning these games instead of losing. That's a no brainer, right?

Seriously though. I will, based on a rough estimate of a 2.5 hour game, spending almost 13 hours at Target Field this week. I love baseball. I watch it at home, at the gym and (obviously) in person.

But I'm going to level with you. Time flies when you are having fun. Generally, you are having more fun when you are winning...

Yesterday was brutal. The atmosphere at Target Field as the Twins lost to the Chicago White Sox 12-5 was TERRIBLE. Time was not flying. Fans were not having fun.

It was so bad, Adam Dunn snapped an 0-for-24 slump with a three-run shot. Brutal.

Let's try to pull together a sweep against the Royals, Twins. I would like to keep some money in my pocket by avoiding the mind-numbing beers Target Field has to offer in lieu of a win.

Twins' Pick Byron Buxton

Byron Buxton made a splash as he signed as the Minnesota Twins' second overall pick. Buxton received a $6 million signing bonus - the biggest contract in this year's draft class.

The Twins announced the signing Wednesday, one day after Buxton joined the team for batting practice and a physical at Target Field. Buxton is an 18-year-old outfielder from Appling County High School.

The $6 million bonus is bigger than Joe Mauer received when he was signed by the Twins.

The number one overall pick, Carlos Correa, received a $4.2 million bonus from the Astros.

Target Field Photos

I recently went around Minneapolis, St. Paul and a few of the surrounding suburbs to take photos of all the great venues! I took pictures of 24 total venues.

Enjoy these Target Field photos!

Top Minnesota Twins Prospects

The Twins are clearly in need of some new and developed talent. Here are my top Twins prospects we need to keep within the organization.

Travis Harrison, 3B
Joe Benson, OF
Brian Dozier, SS
Hudson Boyd, RHP
Liam Hendriks, RHP
Aaron Hicks, OF
Oswaldo Arcia, RHP
Kyle Gibson, RHP
Miguel Sano, 3B
Eddie Rosario, 2B

Notice how heavy I am on the pitching prospects. This highlights the Twins' deep need for quality and consistent pitchers. Who do you consider to be a future major contributor?

Grand Old Day 2012

Grand Old Day is almost here! Twins fans, I know you like a good live band and a great beer, so I am giving you the inside scoop on one of the best events to kick off your summer.

Sunday, June 3 is Grand Old Day - a celebration that takes place on Grand Avenue from the cross streets of Cretin to Dale in St. Paul, Minnesota.

There are four 'zones' that make up the celebration: Family Fun District (Cretin to Snelling), Art District (Saratoga to Albert), Sporting District (Hamline to Dunlap), and the Entertainment District (Lexington to Dale).

The Family Fun District features games, pony rides, a petting zoo, music & entertainment fit for the entire family! In the Whole Foods Market lot, there are several entertainers provided. The day starts at noon with Paul Spring and progresses to Koo Koo Kangaroo, Snapdragon Seeds, and Radio Disney. At Grand & Cambridge, the little ones can enjoy free pony rides, petting zoo, inflatables, mini-golf and other games!

The Art District is likely to draw major crowds as it features art and crafts by local and regional artists. From Saratoga to Albert, you can get your fill of art and crafts. Noon-5pm will feature the Artstart Art Project at Pascal & Grand. There you can make  your own Grand Hand Headpiece out of recycled materials!

The Sporting District features interactive games and fun from the Minnesota Wild, St. Paul Saints, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Rollergirls and more!

Also in the Sporting District is Bike Parking. Free bike parking is available on the Ayd Mill Bridge. There are over 140 bike parking spaces installed along Grand Avenue for convenient parking. Generally it will be easier to find a bike parking space than a space for your vehicle.You should bring your own bike lock.

Perhaps the most popular area of the Grand Old Day is the Entertainment District! This district, from Lexington to Dale, presents live music in 6 festival gardens.

In the Grand Garden (between Lexington and Oxford), bands will kick off the day in the US Bank Lot. At noon Zachary Scot Johnson will perform, followed by Dan Rodriguez at 1pm and SarahLou at 3pm. This garden is presented by Summit and Barefoot Wine, which means you should gear up for a good time!

At the Billy's Stage you will hear performances by Arc Flash Hazard, Orange Whip and Hookers and Blow. The Wild Onion Stage will bring White Iron Band and Rocket Club. The Grand Country Stage, located in the Pier 1 Lot, will feature Maiden Dixie and Tim Sigler. The 80's Stage in the Walgreens Lot will highlight Mish Mash and Boogie Wonderland. The Dixie's Stage will feature a heavy and fun lineup with Charlie Parr, Blind Shake, The Soviettes and Solid Gold.

The Grand Old Parade starts just after Dale & Grand and finishes in the Family Fun District at Fairview & Grand.

7:45am
ON THE GO SPORTING EVENTS w/ start/finish line at Wheeler & Grand
7:45am In-Line Skate
7:50am 8K Run
9:05am 1/2 Mile Youth Run
9:15am 5K Walk/Jog

10:00am
GRAND OLD DAY PARADE - "A Grand Salute to St. Paul" from Dale to Fairview

10:15am
KID'S PARADE - registration at 10am, from Dale to Fairview

10:30am
FAMILY FUN ZONE until 5pm

12:00pm
ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT from Dale to Lexington
6 festival gardens with live music (21+)

TEEN BATTLE OF THE BANDS until 5pm

WHOLE FOODS MARKET FAMILY FUN STAGE until 5pm

ART FAIR STAGE until 5pm

6:00pm
EVENT CONCLUDES

There is free parking located in the Anderson Parking Ramp at the University of St. Thomas (Cretin & Grand). A free shuttle runs along Summit Avenue (one block north of Grand Avenue) from Cretin to Dale from 10am to 7pm.

Walters and Morneau Lead Twins to Victory

The Minnesota Twins bullpen hasn't had a whole lot to smile about this year. Then came P.J. Walters.

Walters threw his first career complete game as the Twins routed the Chicago White Sox 9-2 on Tuesday.

Five relievers combined to throw 6 1/3 innings in the Twins 16-4 loss to the Brewers. Five were used for an inning apiece in Saturday's 11 inning win.

Walters (2-1) cruised in his third start of the season to snap Chicago's four-game winning streak. He gave up a solo homer to Gordon Beckham with one out in the first inning. Walters allowed little else. He struck out eight and allowed just five hits and two runs.

Minnesota's offense came to life early (coming to life at all this season has been a rarity). The Twins sent nine men to the plate in the second inning against Gavin Floyd. Alexi Casilla's two-run double put the Twins on the board. Jamey Carroll and Denard Span followed with run-scoring singles.

Justin Morneau hit a three-run homer for the Twins.

2012 Minnesota Twins Will Rally

The Minnesota Twins sent out an email to season ticket holders this past weekend.

The email summarized what every Twins fan agonized through this past season; the email summarized everything that we already knew. The Twins were terrible this year and could claim few positive events: Liriano's no-no, Revere's 'web gem' of a catch as highlighted by ESPN, Thome's 600 HR, Blyleven's HOF recognition and Nathan's 255th record save. Yes, all were incredible, but we would be lying to ourselves if we said it wasn't easier to focus on the 99 losses.

To be frank, the email upset me in a pissed-off kind of way. It was too soon. I'm still too mad and too disappointed. Some would say I'm overly competitive and some would say I need to learn to let go. I'm not saying those people are right because I consider my competitiveness and keen memory to be assets, but perhaps I should be focusing on next year.

Unfortunately, the injuries were too much and the losses too heartbreaking. I was disappointed beyond words, making this post tough to formulate. Our sights were high heading in and so blocked by the end, it seemed as though the whole organization was drowning.

Twins fans deserve better. We deserve the commitmentduring the offseason in order to prevent injuries. We deserve honesty from players about their conditions. We deserve more than disappointment. We deserve Division Champs.

The Twins will rally? They damn well better.

Check out my better and newer Twins Blog: Twins Baseball Love