Friday Links-N-Thinks

The grounds crew is getting the snow off of Target Field and the beginning of the regular season continues to inch closer. Twins players continue to represent the organization in the World Baseball Classic while others are training in Florida for the start of the year.

It seems like Opening Day can't get here soon enough and it helps that Team USA keeps winning in the World Baseball Classic. Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins could help the Stars and Stripes upend the two-time defending champion Team Japan. There are other games before that but it would still be a cool story.

For now, here are some of the best baseball stories from the last week. Enjoy the latest edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks" and have a great weekend!

• A shot story featuring the Twins own Trevor Plouffe has been released by Tommy Smith.
• If you want to win a sweet Diamond Centric shirt, make sure to enter the 2013 Twins Lineup Challenge.
• Is it time to lose patience with Joe Benson and his mullet?
• Here's a look at the Twins organizational depth at relief pitcher and a look at starting pitcher depth.
• John Sickles released his top 150 prospects and the Twins have plenty on the list.
• FanGraphs also released their top 100 prospects and there are two Twins in the top 20.
• Minnesota has the fourth pick in the draft and there are some intriguing names to pick from.
• Anthony Slama seemed like he deserved a shot at the end of last year but now his future might not be so bright...
• Alex Meyer sure left the Twins wanting more.
• In the World Baseball Classic, Sam Deduno showed some progress.
• Is Ron Gardenhire's message getting through to the team?
• Byron Buxton is in his first spring training and his strong work ethic is showing.
• The Pirates mascots were making fun of the Twins and their training staff.

• Former Twins pitcher Jim Kaat wants to throw sabermetrics "in the trash can."
• MLB Prediction Machine gives the Twins a 0% chance of winning the AL.
• Here is a PitchF/X look at Vance Worley.
• These pictures of Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins are great.
• Delmon Young needs to keep his weight down to earn some incentive and he is doing his best to meet those goals.
• Carlos Gomez is turning a hot hitting streak last year into a big money contract extension.
• If you want to play baseball like it's 1886, there's a league for you in San Francisco.
• The Astrodome continues to rot.
• Giancarlo Stanton has all kinds of power and he destroyed a windshield last weekend.

My Weekly Rundown:

• Monday: Morneau, Plouffe set to surprise
• Tuesday: The Evolution of Aaron Hicks
• Wednesday: What's the Alex Meyer timeline?
• Training Days: Episode 3
• Thursday: Chris Colabello continues his fairy tale

Video of the Week: Team Italy made a surprise run to the second round of the WBC. Twins players Drew Butera and Chris Colabello were on the roster and played a part in the team's success. Here is Colabello with one of his two home runs in the classic.