Friday Links-N-Thinks

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan

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It's finally Friday and the Twins are coming home to welcome a couple of teams that have yet to make a trip to Target Field. Interleague play means the Cubs and the Phillies will make their inaugural trek to Minneapolis to explore the friendly confines of Target Field. Some people love interleague play and others hate it. I see both sides of the argument but I do enjoy getting to see some National League players that I wouldn't normally get to see otherwise.

Lucky enough for the Twins, the Cubs and the Phillies have also been struggling through the early portion of the season. Both teams are under .500 and the Cubs are one of two teams in all of baseball that have fewer wins than the Twins. The Phillies do play very well on the road with a 16-12 record so far but the Twins should be able to put up a good fight in the next couple series.

The MLB Draft was the main story for most of the week but there was still plenty of other news and notes from around the league. Check out this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks."

• The Twins selected high school outfielder Byron Buxton with the second pick in the draft on Monday. You can like his page on Facebook or you can follow him on Twitter for the latest updates.
  
• Here is the official video of Bud Selig announcing Byron Buxton as the Twins pick along with his reaction.
  
• If you want to know more about Buxton, check out this profile on him.
  
• Speaking of the draft, I was on the Seth Speaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast to discuss the draft and the current situation with the Twins.
  
• Former Twins pitcher RA Dickey is having an amazing year for the Mets and he seems to be one that got away.
  
• Twins catching prospect Chris Herrmann sat down for an interview with Twins Fan From Afar.
  
• After the draft, the next major milestone in the season will be the trade deadline and there could be more than one team vying for the services of Denard Span.
  
• Span was taken in the draft that took place 10 years ago. So what happened to all of those players?
  
• Trevor Plouffe was called out and he seems to have answered with a recent hot streak.
  
• Last Friday former Twins ace Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in Mets history and the ticket stubs are selling for more than games that have yet to be played.
  
• Here is the complete list of players that the Twins took in all 40 rounds of the draft.
  
• There was an issue with Jeff Manship's jersey on Wednesday night and something like this has happened to him before.
  

• It didn't take long for Jason Marquis to get back to the majors but the results in his first start were similar to when he was with the Twins as he got the loss.
  
• There was a crazy first pitch at a Rochester Red Wings game this week.
  
• Jim Thome is back from the DL in enough time to make a return trip to Target Field.
  
• Earlier this week, it was the anniversary of D-Day and there are some baseball connections to this historically significant day.
  
• The Territory Train went to Beloit last week and here are some thoughts on some of the best players for the Snappers.
  
• Did the Twins stay with the pitch-to-contact approach in the draft for too long?
  
• Miguel Sano headlines a group of Snappers headed to the Midwest All-Star Game.
  
• The Twins have been winning more games lately but could this be a bad thing?
  

My Weekly Rundown

• Monday: 2012 Twins MLB Draft Primer
  
• Tuesday: Twins go with Buxton over Appel
  
• Tuesday's Trip through the Minors
  
• Thursday: Liriano seems to be changing his release point
  

Video of the Week: Denard Span did an interview with MLB Network's Intentional Talk while the team was in Kansas City. The whole interview is a lot of fun and it is always cool to see the players kick back and have some fun. So take a couple minutes and watch Denard talk about some silly topics