Joe Mauer

Twins getting closer to full strength Good news for languishing-in-last-place-in-the-AL-Central Minnesota: All-star catcher Joe Mauer , rehabbing in Fort Myers, could return to the Twins by the end of the week. Mauer, a career .326 hitter, was batting .235 when he went on the DL in the middle of April with bilateral leg weakness. Now if the Twins could only get designated hitter Jim Thome (quadriceps) back. All right already, Carmona's sorry Cleveland pitcher Fausto Carmona has said he didn't mean to hit Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira with a pitch Friday night, an incident that cleared the benches and stoked the bad blood between the two teams.

American League batting champion Joe Mauer and the Minnesota Twins agreed yesterday to a $33 million, 4-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration and giving one of the team's young stars the security of a long-term deal. The 23-year-old catcher hit .347 with 84 RBI last year to help the Twins rally from a 12 1/2-game deficit to win the AL Central on the final day of the regular season. He played in his first All-Star Game last summer. Selected with the first pick in the 2001 draft out of Cretin-Derham Hall High in St. Paul, Minn.

Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer is staying home. Unfortunately, so is closer Joe Nathan. Mauer, a St. Paul native and the No. 1 overall pick by the Twins in 2001, yesterday agreed to an 8-year, $184 million contract extension that includes a full no-trade clause, a massive deal that shows the Twins are no longer spending like a small-market club. Also yesterday, the Twins found out that Nathan, their closer, will miss the 2010 season because of a right elbow injury that will require surgery.

American League batting champion Joe Mauer and the Twins agreed yesterday to a $33 million, four-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration and giving one of Minnesota's young stars the security of a long-term deal. The 23-year-old catcher hit .347 with 84 RBIs last year to help the Twins rally from a 12 1/2-game deficit to win the AL Central on the final day of the regular season. He played in his first All-Star Game last summer. Mauer was eligible for arbitration this winter for the first time.

After some recent frustrations, the Minnesota Twins took their anger out on the baseball. Joe Mauer hit a grand slam, two doubles and drove in a career-high six runs as the visiting Twins routed the White Sox yesterday, 20-1, matching Chicago's most-lopsided loss in team history. "I think a lot frustration came out today," said Mauer, whose Twins had lost the first six games of their road trip before winning big on getaway day. "We had a rough trip. It was nice to get some runs.

Joe Mauer sat behind a table on a podium in a conference room at the Metrodome when Justin Morneau shouted out the last question of the day. "Are you finally going to buy dinner now?" Morneau said to his teammate from the audience, one MVP to another. Mauer became only the second catcher in 33 years to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award, finishing first in a near-unanimous vote yesterday. The Minnesota Twins star received 27 of 28 first-place votes and 387 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

After being out for more than two months, first baseman Justin Morneau is back with the Twins, just in time for their long climb back to respectability. Minnesota, which was once thought to be a bona fide contender for the pennant, reinstated the 2009 AL MVP before Friday night's game at Cleveland. Morneau's return means the 52-65 Twins are finally nearing full strength. Morneau and fellow all-star Joe Mauer (another former MVP) have been the same lineup just nine of the last 198 games, including the playoffs.

The Twins, it seems, just can't win for losing. On the heels of losing former MVP Joe Mauer on Friday for the rest of the season because of pneumonia, the team announced Sunday that their other MVP, Justin Morneau , will likely be out for the rest of the season. Morneau has concussion symptoms and a cyst on his left knee that needs to be removed, meaning that the slugger would have played in only 69 games this season. Morneau, who missed two months because of neck surgery, hit .227 with four homers and 30 RBIs.

THE CLEVELAND Indians may have found a boost for their stagnant offense. The team has reached agreement on a $1.25 million, 1-year contract with free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon, a person familiar with the deal said Thursday. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, because the Indians had not yet announced the agreement. Damon, 38, is 277 hits from 3,000 and was looking to catch on with a team to prolong his career. Agent Scott Boras has worked out a deal with Indians general manager Chris Antonetti, who has been looking for a player to help a Cleveland team off to a 1-4 start and batting only .176 - worst in the majors.

THE CLEVELAND Indians may have found a boost for their stagnant offense. The team has reached agreement on a $1.25 million, 1-year contract with free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon, a person familiar with the deal said Thursday. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, because the Indians had not yet announced the agreement. Damon, 38, is 277 hits from 3,000 and was looking to catch on with a team to prolong his career. Agent Scott Boras has worked out a deal with Indians general manager Chris Antonetti, who has been looking for a player to help a Cleveland team off to a 1-4 start and batting only .176 - worst in the majors.

The Twins, it seems, just can't win for losing. On the heels of losing former MVP Joe Mauer on Friday for the rest of the season because of pneumonia, the team announced Sunday that their other MVP, Justin Morneau , will likely be out for the rest of the season. Morneau has concussion symptoms and a cyst on his left knee that needs to be removed, meaning that the slugger would have played in only 69 games this season. Morneau, who missed two months because of neck surgery, hit .227 with four homers and 30 RBIs.

EVEN WITH Alex Rodriguez back in the lineup for the first time in more than 6 weeks, the New York Yankees still found themselves needing an offensive spark in the later innings against Minnesota. And manager Joe Girardi wasn't surprised that Curtis Granderson was provided it. Granderson flew around the bases for an inside-the-park home run to help the Yankees to a 3-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis yesterday in A-Rod's first game back since July 7. "Nothing he does really surprises me anymore," Girardi said of Granderson.

JUSTIN VERLANDER allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings to become baseball's first 18-game winner, and the Detroit Tigers breezed to an easy, 7-1 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins last night. Verlander (18-5) labored through a 29-pitch first inning but settled down after that, allowing seven hits in another impressive outing. He struck out eight to surpass 200 on the year, walked one and lowered his ERA to 2.31. Miguel Cabrera drove in three runs for the Tigers, and Ramon Santiago hit his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth.

After being out for more than two months, first baseman Justin Morneau is back with the Twins, just in time for their long climb back to respectability. Minnesota, which was once thought to be a bona fide contender for the pennant, reinstated the 2009 AL MVP before Friday night's game at Cleveland. Morneau's return means the 52-65 Twins are finally nearing full strength. Morneau and fellow all-star Joe Mauer (another former MVP) have been the same lineup just nine of the last 198 games, including the playoffs.

Twins getting closer to full strength Good news for languishing-in-last-place-in-the-AL-Central Minnesota: All-star catcher Joe Mauer , rehabbing in Fort Myers, could return to the Twins by the end of the week. Mauer, a career .326 hitter, was batting .235 when he went on the DL in the middle of April with bilateral leg weakness. Now if the Twins could only get designated hitter Jim Thome (quadriceps) back. All right already, Carmona's sorry Cleveland pitcher Fausto Carmona has said he didn't mean to hit Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira with a pitch Friday night, an incident that cleared the benches and stoked the bad blood between the two teams.

Minnesota the first in Last season, the Twins needed a one-game decider against the Detroit Tigers to get into the division series, and then were swept by the New York Yankees. This season, Minnesota became the first team in the majors to grab a division title, by rallying for a 6-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians and then getting some help from the Oakland A's, who set down the Chicago White Sox, 7-2, on Tuesday night. Though the Twins clinched with 11 games left to play, it wasn't easy.

MINNEAPOLIS - Thanks to Target Field, their new, post-retro ballpark in this city's warehouse district, the Twins, those paragons of Midwestern thrift, at last have a little pocket change. But, like the contented miser who awakes one day to find he's won the lottery, the newfound wealth also concerns this historically frugal franchise. All around baseball, people are asking the same question: Will money spoil the Twins? "We don't want to change the way we work," said general manager Bill Smith.

Dana Eveland pitched six innings, Travis Snider homered and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the visiting Chicago White Sox, 7-3, last night. Alex Gonzalez matched a career high with four hits and had three RBI as the Blue Jays improved to 7-3. One night after a stadium-low crowd of 10,610 watched an 11-1 loss, attendance jumped slightly to 10,744 for the series finale. Eveland (2-0) allowed two runs and three hits in six-plus innings. He walked three and struck out four. "I'm pleased with the way it's going so far," said Eveland, who joined Toronto in an offseason trade with Oakland.