Friday Links-N-Thinks

While the Twins have been busy playing decent baseball in the last week, fans have gotten to the point where they are just shrugging their shoulders and saying, "That's nice." The team swept the Indians over the weekend but they have put up some clunkers against the Royals in front of the small crowds gathering at Target Field. Last night's walk-off win felt good but we will see what the rest of the season brings With the White Sox coming to town this weekend, there is a chance for the Twins to play spoiler to the first place club in the AL Central. This means there are still reasons to watch and Francisco Liriano might make another start against his old team on Friday so that should be entertaining.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

The play by the Twins in the last couple of weeks has pushed them up near Cleveland with a chance for the club to see third place in the Central. Poor play by the Twins in August made it look like the club could still get the second pick in next year's draft. Their recent play has been slightly better so the club sits behind the Astros, Cubs, and Rockies in the draft order for next June. It also seems like the Twins will avoid 100 losses, which is always a good thing. The team would need to be pretty terrible over the course of the rest of the season to not reach last year's mark of 64 wins and 99 losses.

One of the biggest pieces of news from the last week was the release of the 2013 schedule. For the first time since the team opened Target Field, they will get to open the season at home. Unfortunately, the game comes on April 1st so it might be a little chilly for the home opener. There is interleague play throughout the entire season now and the Twins will face the Mets, Phillies, Marlins, and Brewers at home as part of their schedule with the National League.

There is still plenty of great baseball and Twins related content being produced across the World Wide Web. Here's this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks."

• This career retrospective on Brad Radke is a must read for Twins fans.
  
• When the Twins returned to the field after 9/11, hope was restored because of baseball.
  
• A baseball from the World Trade Center is now in Cooperstown.
  
• Many fans have given up watching the Twins but there are still reasons to watch.
  
• Joe Mauer has missed some time with back issues, so should fans fret about the situation?
  
• While Mauer has been having a good season, some Minnesota fans need to reevaluate the situation.
  
• It might be time for the Twins to part ways with Denard Span.
  
• Here's a quick recap of the Twins delegates for the Arizona Fall League.
  
• The roster of Twins participating in the Florida Instructional League was also released earlier this week.
  
• Justin Morneau has been hot in recent weeks and his fastball improvements have helped him return to form.
  
• Every wondered what would happen if you got hit in the face by a Morneau walk-off home run?
  
• The Twins have outfield depth but can you every have too much of a good thing?
  
• Ben Revere has been a little bit of a slump and the team's performance might reflect that outcome.
  
• Twins Daily announced their minor league awards for relief pitcher of the year, starting pitcher of the year, and hitter of the year.
  
• Can you name these two Twins that played together in high school?
  
• Check out these great shots from throughout the season with the Beloit Snappers.
  
• Former Twins closer Joe Nathan lost a bet to a teammate and was forced to dress up like Tony Romo before a game.
  

• The Orioles might be getting Jim Thome back in their line-up at just the right time.
  
• Teams looking for hope might be able to have the Orioles as their example.
  
• Is the new wild card format working?
  
• It has been quite the week for Francisco Liriano as he was removed from the rotation and put back in the rotation a few days later.
  
• A radio host fell asleep while reading a highlight from a Yankees game. Yes, the Yanks are that boring.
  
• This collection of scouting reports was created by fans for other fans. Check out some of the Twins observations.
  
• No one watched the Astros on Sunday thus proving football is king in Texas.
  
• The St. Paul Saints are getting a new ballpark in downtown St. Paul.
  

My Weekly Rundown:

Monday: Cole De Vries making most of late-season audition

Tuesday: 2012 Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year

Wednesday: 2012 Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year

Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year

Video of the Week: While researching for the minor league awards I handed out during the week, I stumbled across this video of top prospect Aaron Hicks setting the franchise record for triples with New Britain. It was a pretty cool moment and the announcers get excited about the play. On the night, it was his second triple and it capped a very good season for the outfielder at Double-A.