As you know, I was able to spend four days in Cedar Rapids last week. I arrived in time for their Meet the Kernels event at Perfect Game Field. At a press conference, hitting coach Tommy Watkins introduced me to manager Jake Mauer. Over the next few days, I had a chance to talk to Watkins, pitching coach Gary Lucas and Mauer quite a bit. Below, you can read Part 1 of a two-part Q&A with the Kernels manager. ...

You would think with a moniker like “Vanimal” that Vance Worley would be a rock star-party hard individual. Some meathead with torn off sleeves and who breaks “No Pepper” signs on the backstop with a 99-mile per hour fastball.

That’s simply not Vance.

He is not a huck-n-chuck hurler who puts little thought in the process and just pitches on animal instincts. He realizes that his stuff isn’t electric. He knows that his fastball doesn’t wow radar gun enthusiasts or that his breaking ball doesn’t cause hitters to spin themselves in to the dirt. He does know what he has and how to use it. After all, you don’t get as may strikeouts as Worley did in 2011 and having most of them ...

With Tuesday night's rainout in Wisconsin, the Kernels have five games under their belts. It's far too soon to draw any firm conclusions about this year's club, but those games were enough to make some first impressions. First of all, they've put up a 4-1 record, so that's a pretty good first impression, in itself.

With the obvious “small sample size” warning label appropriately affixed, here are just a few more things that have stood out to me over the first five games of the season:

1) Byron Buxton can play baseball. ...

Can you imagine the difficult decision that highly-drafted high school kids have to make? Do they sign a signing bonus for seven (or at least upper six) figures, or do they go to a college whose coaches have recruited them and clearly want him to play for their school? For a couple of Twins prospects, that decision was all too real. ...

Your first place Minnesota Twins.

It's not a term Twins fans have heard since October 2010 but coming into a three game set with the Kansas City Royals, that's exactly the position the surprising Twins are sitting after two series wins to open the season. Behind some solid pitching performances and timely hitting, the Twins enter their third series against division rivals Kansas City sitting atop the American League Central with a 4-2 record, tied for first place with the White Sox.

But not all has been going right for the young Twins ...

Opening week has come and gone, and after playing a four game home and home series against the Buffalo Bisons it’s safe to say that at 1-3, the Rochester Red Wings, the Minnesota Twins AAA affiliate, are not where they had hoped to be.

The First Three Games
In the two games in Buffalo and the home opener in Rochester, offense was the biggest problem. As previously stated in Red Wings Season Preview, scoring runs was going to be tough for Rochester. Being outscored 24-11 in ...