Brian Duensing

The Sports Xchange By Mike Shalin, The Sports Xchange Twins win last three in series at Boston BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox's stranglehold on first place is slipping thanks to the feisty Minnesota Twins. On Monday night, the Twins dropped an 11-inning...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH Twins catcher Joe Mauer is not a streaky hitter. He carries a .332 career batting average and has been a pretty consistent hitter throughout his career -- until the 2013 season anyway....

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH The tarp was covering the Fenway Park field as rain fell when the Minnesota Twins were scheduled to take batting practice Wednesday. After what then happened in the game, the Twins may...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH Josh Willingham has been getting sporadic duty recently. He has been in the lineup as a designated hitter more than playing left field of late. Inquiring minds want to know if he is...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH Right fielder Chris Parmelee hit his second home run of the season on May 1 against Detroit. It was a clout to deep center and was his second hit of the game, helping the Twins to a 6-2...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH Social media has really changed things for professional athletes. Putting aside for the moment the problems it has caused athletes who like to "tweet" their thoughts and emotions to the...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH In baseball, fans pay more attention to players not on the roster than in any professional sport. In football, for instance, no one matters unless they are on the game-day roster and...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH Joe Mauer's hitless streak finally ended. In the third inning of the second game of the road series against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, Mauer pulled a sharp single to right to halt...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH Perhaps the most scrutinized player on the Twins roster is Aaron Hicks. The reduction of his batting average to .047 has been documented at length, and his high number of strikeouts --...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH Twins manager Ron Gardenhire likes to get everyone on his roster into the games to keep them fresh -- so starters often get a rest from time to time. But he doesn't often have...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH There are utility players and then there is Eduardo Escobar. Utility players are often listed as utility infielders or utility outfielders -- Escobar must be listed as a utility...

The Sports Xchange MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH Former Minnesota closer Joe Nathan returned to Minneapolis, where he saved many a Twins game in years past. But now he is a Texas Ranger, and saving games for them against the Twins....