The Twins are 5-3 since the All-Star break ended on July 13.  Their record going back to June 1 is 20-25. The mediocrity of recent weeks has changed the view that the Twins are among the elite teams in the major leagues.

ESPN.com power rankings had the Twins No. 4 in all of baseball during week five of the season.  This week the Twins are listed at No. 13.  And USA Today Sports Weekly  ranked the Twins No. 16 last week.

It’s evident that unless the Twins upgrade their starting pitching and relievers, the club has almost no chance to regain its spot among the best in the majors.  Another Central Division title, though, is more likely but no certainty.

Twins outfielder-infielder Michael Cuddyer picked up his plate production last September when first baseman Justin Morneau couldn’t play and he’s done the same this summer with Morneau sidelined with a concussion.  He is batting .332 (66-for-199) during the last two seasons as a first baseman and .359 (23-for-64) this season.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer doesn’t have a girlfriend, according to his grandfather Jake Mauer.  “His girlfriend is his mom,” Jake joked.  “Have you seen those commercials?” (Mauer and his mom Theresa have appeared in TV ads for PlayStation and Kemps).

Several Twins including Michael Cuddyer, Jesse Crain, Orlando Hudson, Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan, Nick Punto, Denard Span, Jim Thome and Delmon Young are expected  to participate in the Twins & Pins Charity Bowling Classic July 29  at Brunswick Zone XL in Brooklyn Park.  The event was created to raise money for The Friends of St. Paul Baseball, The Autism Society of Minnesota, and the Curing Autism Through Change and Hope Foundation which was founded by Hudson.  Single and team event packages ranging from $300 to $5,000 are available.  Packages include personalized bowling shirts, gift bags, team photos, guest passes, and food and beverage.  For more information, visit www.TwinsandPins.com or call 651-343-4239.

Don’t be surprised if Vikings sixth round draft choice Joe Webb makes the final roster as a quarterback, not a wide receiver.  If so, that could be an affirmation of not only Webb’s potential, but also concern about how much veteran backups Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels can be effective in coming seasons.

It seems a smart guess that Brett Favre’s first preseason game for the Vikings will be the team’s third of the summer, at Mall of America Field on August 28 against Seattle.  Favre might play most of the first half, then fewer minutes in the final preseason game on September 2 at home against Denver.

Favre’s announced return to the Vikings is anticipated soon but even his agent, Bus Cook, reportedly referred to Favre as a “drama queen.”   https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/07/19/even-brett-favres-agent-thinks-favre-is-a-drama-queen/

Vikings single game and two-game packages go on sale Wednesday.  Single game tickets are available for all games except Dallas and Green Bay. Two-game ticket packages are being sold for Dallas-Detroit and Green Bay-Denver.

An NHL source told Sports Headliners that Mike Modano is still trying to decide whether he wants to play next season or retire.  Detroit, because it’s his hometown, and Los Angeles, because it’s a good fit for his actress wife Willa Ford, are more likely destinations than Minnesota or San Jose.

The same source said there’s talk Marian Gaborik might be going from the New York Rangers to Los Angeles.

Five MIAC players have been named to the D3Football.com Preseason All-America team including three from St. Thomas, Josh Ostrue, Ben Wartman, and Fritz Waldvogel. Saint John’s Kyle Schroeder was also named to the first team and Bethel’s Andrew Johnson to the second.  The 50-player honor team has representatives from just 34 of 241 Division III football programs.

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Joe Mauer doesn’t complain about his problems but Jake Mauer told Sports Headliners his grandson isn’t healthy and it’s impacting his performance for the Twins.

“He’s got black and blue all through the chest and he’s got a welt on the right shoulder,” Jake said on Monday.  “He’s just sore all over.  He’s really beat up.”

Although it’s Mauer’s hitting that draws the most attention, he may not be throwing as effectively as in the past when he seemed to toss out base stealers on auto pilot.  He is batting only .297, with four home runs and 41 RBI.  Last season his totals were .365, 28 and 96.  His lifetime batting average is .324.

Twins pitchers frequently can’t place the ball where they want.  Mauer then tries to catch or block pitches that are in the dirt, or even coming off home plate.  The erratic pitches make catching more challenging and has contributed to Mauer’s health problems, according to his grandfather.  So has tough luck like in the recent White Sox series when a batter’s foul ball hit Mauer’s chin, finding an unprotected area near his mask.

Jake said Joe, 27, should rest but he realizes neither Joe or the Twins, competing for a third Central Division title in five years, can allow last year’s American League MVP to be on the bench.  An occasional day off from the demands of crouching behind the plate will continue and then Mauer will probably be a designated hitter, still in the lineup.

Jake is a former baseball player who started tutoring Joe as a hitter when just a toddler.  Jake said if he were the manager he would move Joe to third base starting with next season.  The move would lessen the physical demands on Mauer’s body and presumably extend his career and boost his hitting production year after year.

“He wants to catch,” Jake said.  “He won’t move to another position at all.  He says, ‘Grandpa, if I can’t catch, I can’t play.’

“I don’t know why (he can’t change positions).  I said, ‘Jesus, that’s kind of ignorant isn’t it?’  I said, ‘You could go another 10 years playing. …Play in the third base or on the outfield anywhere.’  But, no. …He just loves catching.  I don’t understand that (the reluctance to move).”

When Mauer was at Cretin-Derham Hall High School he was more than a catcher so Jake said previous experience can help his grandson change positions with the Twins.  “Because he played shortstop in high school, you know,” Jake said.  “He played shortstop, pitcher and catcher.  He can field and throw.”

It mystifies a lot of observers, Jake included, that Mauer has only four home runs after seemingly experiencing a breakout season last year with 28.  “To me he’s (got a) lazy swing,” Jake said.  “God, he doesn’t have that whip, you know.  And I think he’s tired.  He just needs a rest, and that’s what I think.  But he can’t.  Can’t rest him.”

Jake seems too optimistic thinking that Mauer will win his fourth batting title.  Mauer trails the American League leader, Josh Hamilton, by 60 points but Jake said if his grandson closes the second half of the season with a lot of two hit games it will make for an interesting batting race.

“He’s struggling along,” Jake said.  “I think he’s still going to win the batting crown.”

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A new artificial playing surface, Sportexe, will be in place at Mall of America Field when the Vikings play their first preseason game at home on August 28.  The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission paid $475,000 for the turf which replaces a six-year-old playing surface, according to commission executive director Bill Lester.

Lester also said the commission has spent $700,000 for the new Gridiron Club and $100,000 to relocate the Vikings’ ticket operations.  The club is a hospitality area available for a fee to Vikings’ season ticket holders and is located in the space formerly occupied by the Twins’ offices at the stadium.  The club will include an outdoor deck overlooking the stadium’s plaza and provides views of downtown.  The facility will be open for the August 28 game.

The new ticketing operation, now located on Chicago Avenue in the Twins’ former ticket locale, will provide the Vikings about “four times” the space the NFL team had on the stadium’s east side, Lester said.

The Vikings will also continue to play rent free in the stadium which became Mall of America Field last year, Lester said.  The commission’s budgets for 2010 and 2011 include no revenues from Vikings rent, a policy that dates back to the late 1990’s after the debt on the Metrodome was retired.

The Vikings will continue to pay a 10 percent admissions tax to the commission.   The team’s lease at the stadium expires after the 2011 season.

The Twins’ move to Target Field eliminated 81 playing dates for baseball at the dome.  Lester said, however, that since January 1 the dome has hosted more than 400 amateur baseball games including a full schedule played by the Gophers.

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