Yesterday, the Minnesota Twins’ Class A affiliate in Beloit started the 2012 season with a 5-2 loss to Peoria.

The final score isn’t really the story here. The real story is that the announced attendance at the game was a paltry 759, which raises the question as to why the Twins have a minor league team in Wisconsin in the first place.

One can assume the typical Beloit baseball fan is also a Brewers fan. So why would there be much interest in attending a minor league game that had future players for the Minnesota Twins?

Beloit has the advantage of having some of the Twins top prospects, including highly-anticipated players like Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano. There are reasons for optimism and interest among hard-core Twins fans.

Imagine if the Beloit Snappers were instead the Rochester Snappers. Or the Duluth Snappers. Or, are you ready for this, the St. Paul Saints. Interest would be much higher if the minor league team played in the same state as its parent club, instead of a state that already has a major league team.

I know there are more reasons for having a team in Beloit than attendance, such as geography with other teams in the Class A Midwest League. However, geographically Rochester isn’t really far out of the picture, when you consider other teams on Beloit’s schedule include Cedar Rapids, Clinton and the Quad Cities in Iowa.

When you compare attendance from the opening day in the Midwest League, Beloit is by far the lowest with 759. Second worst was Clinton with 1,003. The other five teams with openers had at least 4,576, with two (Fort Wayne and Dayton) over 8,000.

Last year, Beloit averaged 1,030 spectators per game, ranking second worst in the league (Burlington averaged 835 per game). In the league, 10 out of 16 teams averaged more than 3,485 per game. Consider the Rochester Honkers, a member of a summer collegiate baseball league (the Northwoods League), averaged more than 1,100 in attendance for the 2009 season and 1,271 last season.

Moving a team to Minnesota makes sense for a variety of reasons, most of all it would give Twins fans a look at what they can expect in the future. And given the organization’s most talented prospects are all at the A level, that can only be a good thing.

Over the years, I remember a lot of solid post-seasons by the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team.

One that I remember fondly is one that probably most people don’t recollect as easily.

Following the 1993 season, Minnesota was left out of the NCAA Tournament, and was relegated to the NIT. While making the NCAA bracket is always the goal, the NIT that year was entertaining and memorable.

The Gophers played five games, starting with a 74-66 victory over Florida. Minnesota ended up facing major conference teams in each of the five games, also beating Oklahoma, USC and Providence before facing Georgetown in the finals at Madison Square Garden.

It was a five-game stretch over a three-week period that was entertaining to watch, as a young Gophers squad defeated the Hoyas 62-61 to win the NIT championship. It was a team led by Voshon Lenard and helped the squad get ready for 1993-94, when it made the NCAA Tournament and won a game before losing to Louisville (this season was later vacated due to NCAA violations).

This year’s Minnesota team is following a similar path to that 1993 NIT team, and has advanced to the NIT semifinals. Watching the Gophers win the first three games of this tournament has been enjoyable. Add in two more wins, and this will again be a memorable post-season for the U of M that could lead to bigger things next season.

Sure, the NCAA Tourney is the biggest deal. But winning an NIT championship has plenty of importance, no matter what the local radio talk show hosts proclaim.

After attending my first NHL game this weekend, I had an epiphany of sorts.

As the Minnesota Wild were defeating the St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center, I realized that I had started to develop a stronger feeling toward hockey. I’m not yet ready to say the “L Word” but let’s just say there is at least an infatuation.

However, those feelings had very little to do with the NHL game I was attending. In fact, it all started a night earlier.

On Friday night, while channel-surfing I stumbled upon the North Dakota and Minnesota WCHA game at Mariucci Arena. At the moment I turned the channel, a Gopher player had just been ejected. I don’t know why, or even the player’s name, but North Dakota was starting a five-minute stretch on a power play. Those five minutes may have changed everything.

I sat in my recliner, watching the clock tick down that power-play. The Gophers on the ice played hard … no wait, more than hard. I can’t think of the exact word to describe it … let’s just call it “uber-hard” for lack of a better term.

I found myself getting more into the contest every time the Gophers cleared the zone. By the end of those five minutes, I couldn’t turn away. I watched every moment of the rest of that game, and when the Gophers scored the winning goal I pumped my first. Sure, I felt silly as I was in my own home pumping my fist at a game on the TV, but it didn’t matter. I was hooked.

The next night I packed up the wife and two kids and headed out to St. Paul for the Wild game. We parked for $15 in the Kellogg Ramp, and toured the Xcel Energy Center pregame and we all were impressed with what we saw. It’s a beautiful arena. Our seats were in the second to last row of the upper deck, and we paid more than $40 per ticket. The pregame introductions were fun, the game itself was OK. The most memorable part was when a woman in the lower deck got bloodied in the head after being hit by an errant puck.

Quite honestly, the NHL game didn’t do much for me.

But when I got home, I turned on the Gophers and North Dakota and watched every minute of the third period. I was hooked again. The Gophers scored late to tie it, then the game-winner with less than a minute remaining. Don’t tell anybody, but I fist-pumped again.

For me, it’s becoming clear. The NHL might not be for me, but college hockey is everything it is cracked up to be. I have already put a plan in place to get to Mariucci Arena to catch a game in person.

Hockey, this might be the start of something beautiful.

There has been plenty of debate related to the season Joe Mauer is having for the Twins, and the catcher has come under a remarkable amount of criticism in recent weeks.

It’s fair to say Mauer has had a poor season. There is plenty of evidence if you look at the stats, and just by using the naked eye, to show that Mauer’s season hasn’t lived up to his $23 million contract.

The more important question is whether this season is the start of a trend, or simply a statistical anomaly. If you strictly look at the past two months, odds are this season is nothing more than a speed bump for Mauer.

For example, since July 1st, Mauer has batted .325, which is pretty close to his career average. If you consider the first two months of the season a period where Mauer clearly wasn’t healthy and disregard those results, he appears to be returning to his old form.

However, the power and production Mauer needs to exhibit at the plate haven’t returned as of yet. Even if you take those two months where Mauer has started hitting near his career average, the run production is still lacking. If you expanded July 1-August 31st into a full season, Mauer would finish with 2 home runs, a .325 average, 63 RBI and 30 doubles. Those are exceptionally good numbers for a catcher, but certainly not worthy of a $23 million contract.

This could be Mauer’s bad season. Pretty much every player goes through at least one of them, even Hall of Famers such as Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk, widely regarded as two of the best catchers in MLB history. For example, Bench hit .234 in 1976 and Fisk had only 7 HR and a .263 average in 1981. Even famed Twin Kirby Puckett had a down year, in 1990 when he hit .298 and had only 12 home runs.

So I’ll wait until next year’s results before making any grandiose statements about Mauer and whether his status as the state’s Golden Boy should be revoked.

It’s been a tough season, marred by injury and inconsistency. However, if he finishes strong and comes back next year with his typical season, which has resulted in four times Mauer being voted in the Top 8 of MVP voting, the criticism Mauer has received this year might look a little unfair.

With only a few weeks until the non-waiver trade deadline in Major League Baseball, teams are trying to figure out whether they are in the pennant race or should sell assets to teams still with dreams of reaching the post-season.

For the Minnesota Twins, the answer to whether or not the front office should be buyers or sellers is simple. Yes, they should be buyers and sellers.

Typically teams that have a winning percentage over .500 at the all-star break consider themselves buyers. Those under .500 are sellers. The Twins are still 7 games below .500, but they’ve been playing well and most importantly they are only 6.5 games out of first place as the mid-summer classic takes place Tuesday night.

Why they should sell

The Twins should consider themselves sellers because although they are within striking distance of another division title, they are not likely to get healthy enough to sustain their current level of play. They have some assets that should attract value, and decent prospects, including (don’t laugh) Matt Capps, Denard Span, Jim Thome, Delmon Young, Kevin Slowey and Anthony Swarzak. You might even be able to include Jose Mijares in that group. Although Mijares has struggled, he is lefthanded and has good stuff. A change of scenery may be in order for him to get his career back on track.

What is nice about that list is that dealing them would be from positions of depth for the ballclub. Revere has proven he can fill in just fine in center field and in the lead-off spot. Slowey and Swarzak both are capable of filling fourth or fifth starting roles on a contending ballclub, and the Twins have 5 capable starters and a sixth (prospect Kyle Gibson) waiting in the wings. Capps would not be easy to replace, but full-time closer Joe Nathan appears to be close to returning to his normal self and he could fill back in as closer during the second half.

Why they should be buyers

The Twins are still in contention, despite their horrible start to the season (17-37 and 16.5 games out of first at one point). Trading any assets without bringing back Major League-ready talent could send a bad message to the squad.

Detroit has typically not played well in the second half, and Cleveland hasn’t proven yet it can contend all season long. The Twins have owned the White Sox the past three seasons and a run for the title is not out of the question for manager Ron Gardenhire’s team.

Adding some bullpen help could strengthen the team’s chances at contending in September. You could move Nathan back to closer, and Capps would become the set-up man oppposite Glen Perkins.

What should they do?

How about both? The Twins can deal Slowey, Swarzak and Young and add a bullpen arm or two without giving up the core of a team that can contend this year, without giving up prospects and affect future years. The Twins have depth, and dealing from that depth is the way to go. Revere could remain in center field, while Span would play left, improving the team’s defense and on-base percentage.

After a two-year wait, Ricky Rubio is finally a Timberwolf.

He arrived Monday afternoon in Minneapolis, greeted by a crowd of a couple hundred people at the airport. Now that the hype has reached its peak, we can soon find out how well Ricky will adjust to life in the NBA.

Rubio has been criticized by NBA experts in recent months, partly due to the fact that his statistics have been lacking during his recently completed season in Europe. But those who believe Rubio will fare well in the NBA point out the fact he is much more suited to the wide-open, full-court action of the world’s best basketball league.

The upcoming season, which may not happen due to the potential for a labor disagreement and lockout, is perhaps the most important in the history of the Timberwolves franchise. Right now, they have the second pick in Thursday’s draft at a time they are welcoming the most-hyped player since Kevin Garnett. There are plenty of reasons for people to talk NBA in the Twin Cities, and the team is hoping to capitalize on the momentum.

One year from now we’ll know much more about the future of the NBA in Minnesota. If Rubio is truly the phenom we have been promised, Target Center could once again become the place to be on a cold winter night.

Two months ago it would have been hard to imagine the Minnesota Twins season would be over, for all intents and purposes.
Until this weekend’s trip to Kansas City, the Twins were 20 games below .500, and showed little signs of life with a seemingly unending list of injuries that seems to grow by the day.
Even though the competitive portion of the season is essentially over, there are still things to watch and keep the casual fan interested.
Most importantly, over the next month Twins fans need to see some key players start to play better in order to increase their trade value.
Specifically, Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer, Matt Capps, Delmon Young and Jim Thome are key players who can fetch at least some mid-level prospects come trading deadline.
Cuddyer may be the most likely player who would be targeted by a contending team come late July. He has a large contract, but is a free agent at the end of the season if the Twins don’t exercise a player option for next year, which they should not and probably will not do. He is a power-hitting outfielder with post-season experience, and has position flexibility. Those are traits contending teams will covet.
Kubel is a left-handed hitter who could fill a solid role on a contender as well. He has hit well this season, but will have to avoid the injury bug that has hit so many other Twins players. His salary is reasonable as well. He probably has the most trade value of the aforementioned players and should be able to net a decent middle-infield prospect.
Thome also could be traded, although it would be a shame because fans have waited for him to hit #600 in a Twins uniform. However, his health is always a concern, and he wouldn’t be likely to fetch much of a prospect in return.
Young is an enigma. After a great season a year ago, he is perhaps having his worst season this year. He’s young, so the Twins could hope teams see his potential and take a flier. However, if he doesn’t start hitting their won’t be much of a return in trade.
Capps will likely be sought after as a set-up man, or as a potential closer for a contending team that loses a key reliever mid-year. He could net a B prospect at best.
There isn’t a lot to look forward to for the rest of the season, unless you focus on the future. The Twins will have about $50 million to spend in free agency this off-season, if they keep the same payroll next year and let go of players such as Cuddyer, Kubel and Capps. It’s time to look for the future and since hope no longer spring eternal, that is all we have to look forward to this summer.

I know Minnesota’s sports fans have been conditioned during the past 12 months to expect the worst, but there is no reason to panic in relation to the Twins.

A 5-10 start isn’t what the doctor ordered, but to steal an often-used phrase Major League Baseball isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. After tonight’s game in Baltimore, the season will only be 10 percent completed.

You can expect the Twins to improve over the next two months. Their offensive lineup won’t perform this poorly all season long. Delmon Young, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Jim Thome and Danny Valencia are too good of hitters to stay as cold as they have been this season. The pitching staff has been OK at best, and as soon as the offense catches up wins will start to pile up.

The best news about the 5-10 start is that the Tigers and White Sox haven’t run away from the pack and put the Twins in a big hole. Sure, the Indians and Royals are playing well, but their pitching staffs will come back to earth and neither team is likely to finish the season with more wins than losses.

The bottom line is it is still early. The Twins are just getting out of the starting blocks, and there is plenty of time to make up ground. The real benchmark is the All-Star break in July. If the Twins are above .500, and within 6 games of first place, they will be just fine during the second half of the season.

As Major League Baseball readies for opening weekend, fans have more options than ever to keep up with their favorite teams and the national pastime.

Starting this week, my options grew by one.

On Tuesday, I picked up my iPad, and the first App I downloaded was the MLB At-Bat 2011 app. With At-bat, along with my subscription to MLB’s online game package, I get every out-of-market baseball game that is broadcast this season. In total, my cost will be $99.99 for the full season of online games, and an additional $14.95 for the app.

What is really cool is that with my Android phone, I can also watch games with that same online subscription, and an additional $14.95 for the phone app. Without the online subscription, the $14.95 app lets you listen to every game’s radio broadcast, and that in itself is a great deal.

If that’s not enough, I also have the MLB app (free) on my Playstation 3, and that allows me to stream games on my big screen at home. So, essentially, for $130 I am able to watch Major League Baseball just about anywhere I want, on any medium, at any time because each game’s archive is also available to watch.

You have to give Major League Baseball a ton of credit for coming up with creative ways to market their products. Hardcore baseball fans like myself can track their favorite teams, fantasy baseball line-ups and quite simply, be immersed in the game for 6 months.

It’s come a long way since I was a kid, when watching a major league game meant waiting for Joe Garagiola and Vin Scully doing the game of the week on Saturday afternoon. You have to love technology!

Maybe it’s all the snow that fell, causing cabin fever to hit overload. Or maybe I’m just ready for baseball season to begin.

Scanning the Internet this week led to an interesting video on Youtube related to the Twins new middle infielder, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. See the link here: Nishioka\’s chant

It’s quite the scene when Nishioka comes to the plate, and near as I can tell it happened every time he batted in Japan. I can’t quite see something like this happening at Target Field this season, but there is already a bit of a buzz among fans to do some sort of version.

One thing is for sure, baseball in Japan has more of a “college football” atmosphere to it than the sport has in the United States. Maybe this could be the start of a trend on this side of the pond?

For a longer version of the video, including an obviously great outcome to his at-bat at the 2:30 mark, see here:

Nishioka chant II