The Twins placed Matt Capps on the 15 day DL due to some shoulder inflammation that’s been bothering him.

“Nobody wants to go on the DL. That’s kind of a no-brainer,” Capps said before Monday’s game at Target Field. “This is my job. I don’t want to be sitting around. I don’t want to watch my teammates out there on the field. Sometimes this is what it takes to get right. I’m not going to do anybody any good being out there hurt and trying to pitch through it. This is what we’ve got to do.”

Capps is looking to be back in the bullpen for the Twins’ homestand after the All-Star break.

As the closer this year he has been serviceable with 14 saves and has shown better control of his pitches this year.  There was talk of his getting a cortizone shot in his shoulder but no confirmed reports of that yet.  As of now it’s just resting and icing to get the swelling down.

For now, Ron Gardenhire has been using right-hander Jared Burton to close out games and he has been successful with saves in the last 2 opportunities.

In Capps’ absence, the Twins called up lefty Tyler Robertson from Triple-A to fill the spot in the bullpen.  He is 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA and 2 saves in 33 games in the minors this year.

With this year’s draft, the Minnesota Wild are hoping to add what they need the most — scoring!  With guys like Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Johan Larsson, and Brett Bulmer they are hoping to solve that issue.

Seemingly, though, the biggest problem  surrounding the Wild each and every year is the under-performing they tend to get from proven scorers in the past.  Hopefully that will all change with these new additions.

Click here for a more in-depth look at the newest picks for the Wild.

The Twins have the night off tonight, so I thought use this blog post to take a look at a few of the ex-Twins that are still in the league and see….how are they doing now that we’ve let them go?

Torii Hunter:  he has been in the league for 13 years and is starting to show his age.  He’s batting only .238 with 6 homers and 16 RBI.  Of course there’s been the off-field drama caused by his son, but he does continue to be one of the best fielding outfielders in the game.  And, Twins fans still like to cheer for him.

Johan Santana:  Just threw the first no-hitter in Mets history and is having a good year going 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA.  Missed all of last year due to injury but is pulling down a whopping 25 million this year.  2 mil more than Joe Mauer.  He would’ve had to battle with the likes of Carl Pavano and Jason Marquis to have been the ace of our staff this year.  Good thing he’s with the Mets.

David Ortiz:  This is the one the Twins have to be kicking themselves everyday for letting go.  The aging “Big Papi” is still producing good numbers posting an AVG of .310 with 13 HR and 37RBI.  Slightly better than Mauer, Doumit and Plouffe at DH.

J.J. Hardy:  Would’ve been a mainstay at short and great #5 or #6 hitter, J.J. has gone yard 10 times this year with 25 RBI with a career best .992 fielding percentage and is in the prime of his career.  Thanks Bill Smith.

A.J. Pierzynski:  I think A.J. gets overlooked as one that got away because we have Joe Mauer.  However, I would like to entertain the idea that we’d be better off with A.J.  He’s batting a solid .303 this year with 10 HR and 37 RBI.  I’ll remind you of Mauer’s numbers – .298 / 3 / 25.  A.J.’s WAR (Wins Above Replacement) and Joe’s WAR are both at 1.0.   All that number means is that their impact with them in the lineup is 1 extra win.  Okay, so you don’t like A.J.’s personality?  All he does is make other teams hate him and get his own guys fired up in the process.  It would be nice to see a leader in the clubhouse.  Oh, and another thing, A.J.’s salary this year is 6 mil, compared to Joe’s at 23 mil.  Hmmm.

Finally, we get to (and I know I left a lot out):

R.A. Dickey:  What, you say?  Remember we had him back in ’09?  Of course he didn’t do a lot for us back then as a long reliever.  Why, he only amassed a paltry 4.62 ERA (3 pts lower than Blackburn or Marquis) in 35 games.  After his stop in MN, he went to the Mets to be a starter.  Since then he’s 27-23 with a 3.02 ERA – numbers any Twins starter would die for right now.  Oh, I almost forgot – he’s the winningest pitcher in the Majors right now at 9-1….somehow, we missed that one.

I know this is info you probably all ready know, but I just wanted to point out that, while we’re busy occupying the cellar in the Central Division, there are former Twins out there who are flourishing and doing well and, don’t worry, they will be just fine.

Good luck to all of them.  I really mean that.

The off-season hasn’t been that long for the Wild and already, some players are moving around.  Here’s a look at what’s going on:

Erik Christensen, who was picked up in February, has signed with a KHL (Czech) team and is leaving the Wild.  He was brought on as a shootout specialist, ranking 3rd overall with 29 shootout goals in his career.  He didn’t impress the Wild, though, accumulating only 12 points in 49 games.

Good bye Josh Harding?  The backup goal tender for Minnesota looks likely to leave after the signing of 20 year old 6th round pick Johan Gustafsson.  Harding was 13-12 last year with a GAA of 2.62 with a save % of .917.  Gustafsson looks promising with an impressive 1.68 GAA with a .932 save percentage last year in the Swedish Elite League.

Goalie Niklas Backstrom has one year left on his contract and with the likely departure of Harding, Matt Hackett will be the backup with Darcy Kuemper and Gustafsson battling for the 3rd spot.

Of course all the buzz this off-season has been the signing of Mikael Granlund, the Finnish star, to an entry-level deal.  Many are saying he is the NHL’s future as he had been dominant in the HIFK, Finland’s top league, scoring 13 goals and notching 40 assists in 43 games.  “Mikael is a world-class player,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said. “I feel he’s ready to play in the NHL, and our expectation is he’ll play for our club next year and contribute.”

The Wild have an abundance of young talent with guys like first rounders Charlie Coyle, Jonas Brodin and  Zack Phillips as well as second-round picks Brett Bulmer, Johan Larsson and Jason Zucker all ready to go pro.

All told, the Wild are looking to improve on their 35-36-11 record next year and make the playoffs and even though they’ve lost a couple guys, their counting on the young talent to provide that much needed spark at the Xcel Energy Center next year.

Bruce Chen had his way with the Twins tonight going 7 inn and giving up 0 ER on 4 hits.  He had command of his pitches, walking none and striking out 5 on the night.  Minnesota was blanked after having scored 10 runs on 12 hits the night before as tonight they managed to  scatter just 5 hits and left 6 runners on base.

Francisco Liriano pitched very well going 6 innings, giving up 1 ER off of 4 hits and striking out 8.  In the bottom of the fifth he recorded 4 strikeouts; only the second pitcher in Twins history to do so.  But it wasn’t enough, as a Brayan Pena single to left scored the game’s only run.

The Twins threatened in the 9th as Josh Willingham doubled to left center and Justin Morneau walked with one out.  Ryan Doumit flew out to left on the first pitch, however, and Trevor Plouffe sent one deep to left center but the fleet of foot Jarrod Dyson tracked it down for the final out.

The Twins finish up the series with the Royals tomorrow at 7:10 CT with Nick Blackburn (1-4, 8.37) slated to take on a very tough Felipe Paulino (3-1, 1.70)

Notes:

Joe Mauer was not in the lineup tonight but is expected to return for tomorrow’s game.

Carl Pavano has been placed on the 15 day DL and Nick Blackburn will take his place.  Statistically, Blackburn isn’t an upgrade as his ERA is almost 2 points higher than Pavano’s already astronomic 6.00.

The X-factor — After selecting Byron Buxton as their #1 pick, the Twins select D.J. Baxendale today in the 10th round.  Baxendale is a Junior RHP for Arkansas who was ranked #25 best college player by CollegeBaseballDaily.com and will be starting in one of the Razorbacks three Super Regional games vs. Baylor this weekend.

For the #2 pick overall in the 2012 Amateur draft, the Minnesota Twins selected OF Byron Buxton.  The Twins said they had their eye on Buxton since last summer and they like that he’s an athletic, 5 tool player.  Being that Minnesota desperately needs pitching, it was rumored that they would select RHP Mark Appel from Stanford, but the Twins said they wanted to go with the best player available.

Buxton is 6″ 2″, 190 lbs, has been clocked at 99 mph from the mound and once recorded 18 K’s in a game, but is also a standout in centerfield and helped his team win the Class AA State Tournament.  He also received a full ride scholarship to play at Georgia but elected to enter the draft instead.

The Twins seem to be set for talent in the centerfield position but fans need to remember that when it comes to the MLB draft, they’re not looking to fill holes now as, typically, it takes players 3 to 5 years before they get a shot at the Show.  In rare instances like Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, players can come up earlier but it’s not likely.

The #1 pick overall went to the Houston Astros and they selected 17 yr old SS Carlos Correa from Puerto Rico.

The Twins took their second series in a row after defeating the Cleveland Indians 6-3 today.  Scott Diamond picked up his team leading 4th win with a 7 inning performance, giving up 0 ER on 7 hits and 93 pitches bringing his ERA down to 1.86 on the year.  Glen Perkins pitched a scoreless 8th and Matt Capps finished the 9th for his 12th save.

Trevor Plouffe went 3-4 with an RBI and Josh Willingham picked up 2 hits including an RBI double to left in the 7th.

The Twins were able to score in the early innings via “small ball” with bunt singles and aggressive base running.  A very encouraging thing to see being that they had a lot of success manufacturing runs back when they were a winning ball club a few years ago.

Brian Dozier struggled today at shortstop committing 2 errors dropping his fielding % to .965.  Dozier could’ve been charged with another error on a play he mis-fielded but was ruled a hit instead.

Joe Mauer went 1-3 with an RBI single in the 1st but suffered a mild strained thumb and had to leave the game in the 7th after he struck out.  He is listed as day-to-day.

Look for Nick Blackburn to be making a comeback to the rotation soon as Gardy may insert him in for Pavano’s next start as he is dealing with a sore shoulder.

With the win, the Twins improve to 20-33, 10.5 games out of first and only 2.5 games behind the A’s for the worst record in the AL.

As of last Thursday night, Kenny Florian officially announced his retirement from the UFC.  He has been struggling with a back injury and stated that if he can’t go out and train and perform at 100% then it’s time to hang it up.  He will stick around the UFC scene, however, as he is the co-host of UFC Tonight on FUEL TV.

The 9 year MMA vet posted a career record of 14-6 and was the only UFC fighter to compete in 4 different weight classes.  It must leave a somewhat bitter taste in his mouth though, that he was never able to win a title.

I would love to see a comedy flick done about his life starring Ben Stiller, as the two absolutely look like they could be brothers.  A cameo by Ken Flo would make it even more hilarious.

The first Season of The Ultimate Fighter Live will come to an end tonight as Mike Chiesa will square off against Al Iaquinta, both members of Team Faber.

The winner will not only be crowned The Ultimate Fighter and get that coveted UFC contract, but will also be taking home a brand new Harley-Davidson motorcycle.  Uriah Faber is also taking home a Harley as well being the winning coach.

Being on the same team offers both fighters more insight into their fighting styles as well as personalities.  Iaquinta, however,  has already predicted a victory, saying he’s not sure how he’ll get it done but that in the end his hand will be the one raised.

More in-depth analysis of the season can be found at UltimateFighter.com.

Tune in tonight at 9pm ET on FX to catch all the action.  I know I will!

The Minnesota Twins need a win….badly!  The problem is, so do the Oakland A’s.  Both teams are undergoing the types of losing skids that makes them almost unwatchable.  The good news for the A’s and the Twins is that regardless of how awful they’ve been playing, one team will emerge victorious and end their losing streaks.

The A’s and the Twins have each lost 5 in row and the skid will stop today for one of them.  Exciting right??  The bad news is, one team will also lose, extending their losing streak to 6.

The good news for the Twins is they have their virtual ace, Scott Diamond on the hill facing Travis Blackley, who was picked up by the A’s on waivers from the LA Angels.

Diamond has made a statement this year having been brought up from the minors recently.  He is 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA and has easily been the best pitcher in the rotation giving the Twins a great chance to win.

Blackley, having been a middle reliever all year for the Angels posting a 0-0 record with a 4.09 ERA, is getting his first start of the season, which usually spells trouble for the Twins.  They typically like to make a new pitcher look like a first ballot Hall of Famer, so Blackley also has a great chance of winning.

On the futile side, the A’s are posting the worst batting average in the AL with a paltry .209 while the Twins bring the worst ERA at 5.47.

Something’s gotta give.  Tune in at 1:10 CT today to find out whose losing streak will be broken.