Friday Links-N-Thinks

With the horrible news coming out in the last couple days of Wilson Ramos being kidnapped, it was hard to find fun and positive links to put together for a Friday post. My thoughts and prayers go out to Ramos and his family. He has such a bright future ahead of him in the game of baseball so the hope is he will be returned to his family unharmed. His safety is the number one thing on many baseball fans' minds on this Friday.

Below you will find some links from the past week:

• I hosted the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast on Tuesday night. I cover the AFL, the GM shuffle, and free agency in the half hour show. 
• A Facebook group has been set up to try and get Tony Oliva into the Hall of Fame.
• Seth Stohs did a great piece around the question, "Could Cuddyer Leave?"
• The Baseball Outsider has been dissecting the Bill Smith era in a series of posts: Introduction, Payroll, Injuries and rehab
• There is a push being made by Joe Christensen to put Camilo Pascual in the Twins Hall of Fame.
• There have been some hideous uniforms in the history of baseball. Here is a look at the five best uniform changes in the last 20 years.
• In an interview for 1500 ESPN, Denard Span said there is "no question" that he will be ready to go next season. 
• Dave St. Peter was a guest on the Inside Pitch podcast put together by Dez Tobin of 612 Sports.
• Free agent Michael Cuddyer was in Philadelphia this week for a meet-and-greet with the Phillies organization. 
• After signing with the Phillies in the last week, Jim Thome has become a recruiter.
• Jim Crikket from the Knuckleballs blog looked at the winners and losers in the Twins regime change.
• Is there a difference between re-tooling and rebuilding? Andrew from Twins Fan From Afar tried to tackle this question.
• Parker Hageman at Over the Baggy did a good job of breaking down all of the trades Bill Smith made and how the hindered the Twins. 
• The 2012 SABR Convention will be held in the Twin Cities and they have some cool things planned.
• Terry Ryan did a Q&A with the Star Tribune after he was named General Manager
• One of my favorite writers for the Star Tribune hunted down an ex-Twin, Bernardo Brito.
• Denard Span was on MLB Network Radio and discussed some of the dangers of playing Winter Ball in Venezuela. 
• Gardenhire wants Nick Punto back... you have been warned.
• The Twins are looking at ex-Cubs manager Mike Quade for their open managerial spot in AAA.
• Joe Mauer won't be the cover athlete for MLB 12 The Show.

My posts from this week:

• Monday: Hot Stove Report: Barmes, Cuddyer, Pavano, Slowey
• Thoughts on the Twins GM shuffle
• Tuesday: Dozier shows skills in Rising Stars Game
• Wednesday: $100 million payroll will limit Twins
• Thursday: 5 predictions for the Twins new direction
• Twins send letter to season ticket holders

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Wilson Ramos had a great rookie campaign and this scary kidnapping situation is tough to process. Here is a look at one of his great moments from this year: