Friday Links-N-Thinks

How many of you are desperate for baseball to start again? As I put this post together, I have Game 7 of the 1987 World Series playing on my television. It is early in the game and the crowd just starting chanting Kirby Puckett's first name (He beat out an infield hit in his first at-bat). I know the result of the game but it is still fun to relive one of the best moments in Minnesota sports history. 

February 18 is the reporting date for Twins pitchers and catchers and many Twins players have already been discussing their travels to Florida on Twitter. The team's first game in Fort Myers will be on March 3 against the Rays so many fan's thoughts will be turning to the beginning of the baseball year. The Florida sun is getting closer and closer to chasing away the mild Minnesota winter.

The Twins blogosphere continues to produces some quality work during the offseason months. Here is this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Enjoy!

• Last night's episode the Seth Speaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast featured a ton of awesome guests including Kyle Waldrop, Cory Provus, Mark Hamburger, Jeff Manship, and Alex Margulies.
• The best piece I read all week was this in-depth look back at the Wilson Ramos kidnapping and some of the ramifications in the country of Venezuela.

Ramos featured article in SI (Photo: Sports Illustrated)

• The Twins made a small move to the 40-man roster this week but it was defiantly nothing to get excited about. 
• "The tenth inning stretch" tried to make sense out of the Twins claiming Darin Mastoianni.
• The University of Michigan will host the 2013 NHL Winter Classic between the Red Wings and the Maple Leafs but the Tigers are getting involved. It will be interesting to see if the Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium work out a similar deal in the future.
• With the Ron Gardenhire announcing his potential Opening Day line-up, "Curve for a Strike" wonders if the Twins are bringing back the piranhas.
• Seth Stohs continued his organization depth charts for the Twins with the relief pitchers and the starting pitchers.
• It's only February and the "Baseball Outsider" is already feeling a draft, the MLB Draft that is...
• "That's Twins Baseball" examines a Joe Mauer trading card and wonders if there is an error with the picture. 
• Ever wonder what the Twins starting line-up could look like in a few seasons? Check out this post from "Seedlings to Stars."
• It looks like Alexi Casilla is heading to arbitration to face off against the Twins.
• The Twins are hoping to recover after a terrible year in 2011 so "Minnesota Twins Musings" looks at 2012 and the recovery process.
• The MLB Fan Cave is down to their 50 finalists to spend the year in NYC. One of the nominees is from Minneapolis and you should all go and vote for Ms. Lindsay Guentzel. 
• One of the biggest news stories around the Twins this week was the team's auction of a baseball signed by Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries. As of last night the bid was up to $1,300.
• One of the biggest Twins pieces written this week was by Aaron Gleeman for Baseball Prospectus. It looked back at the Johan Santana trade.
• Puckett's Pond asks a very intriguing question "What Qualifies As Success For 2012?"
• Keith Law of ESPN ranked the Twins farm system as the 14th best in baseball with "interesting high school bats, high impact Latin American prospects."

My Weekly Rundown:

• Monday: Timelines show connections between Morneau and Crosby injuries
• Tuesday: Bench Buddies Series: Trevor Plouffe
• Wednesday: Bench Buddies Series: Tsuyoshi Nishioka
• Thursday: Bench Buddies Series: Drew Butera

Video of the Week: Since I was watching the 1987 World Series while I composed this post, I was feeling a little nostalgic. This montage from the 1987 is worth watching for the song alone. Have a great weekend everybody!