Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau each won a Silver Slugger Award today, as the top hitters at their positions. Both won Silver Sluggers in 2006, as well.

(*) Spoke to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire about his two-year extension: “My only goal that I have now is to win a World Series with the Twins,” he said. “I was there as a coach [in 1991] and almost there as a player in ‘87, but I really want to win a world championship as a manager.

“I think getting to that new ballpark [in 2010] and maybe getting to where we can keep our players a little bit longer – I think that’s going to be huge. This ballclub is very young over here, and we did a lot this year. Anything can happen once you get going. A couple of the right pieces, and we could be on our way.”

(more…)

The Twins have signed manager Ron Gardenhire to a two-year extension, which will keep him under contract through 2011, the team announced today.

Gardenhire’s previous extension had him under contract through next season, so this one will cover the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Gardenhire’s coaches were also given two-year contracts. Bench coach Steve Liddle, pitching coach Rick Anderson, hitting coach Joe Vavra, third-base coach Scott Ullger, first-base coach Jerry White and bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek are signed through 2010, along with trainers Rick McWane and Dave Pruemer and strength and conditioning coach Perry Castellano.

“Ron and his staff have done an outstanding job over the last seven years, and none was better than the 2008 season,” Twins General Manager Bill Smith said in a statement. “We had a lot of new players and a lot of young players, and our major league staff did a marvelous job with a changing cast of players.

“Continuity has been a great strength of the Twins organization for two decades. The current staff has played an important role in the design and development of the Target Field facilities, and these agreements will carry the staff into the new ballpark in 2010.”

Gardenhire, 51, has posted a 622-512 (.549) record and won four division titles since being named Twins manager on Jan. 4, 2002. He finished second in the American League Manager of the Year voting on Wednesday for the fourth time.

Following up on some points that surfaced in our reporting on the effects of Pat Neshek’s injury:

(*) I don’t think the Twins will acquire Huston Street. I know they like him. I know they kick themselves for not grabbing him in the 2004 draft, when he went to Oakland with the 40th overall pick. That year, with a slew of extra picks, they chose SS Trevor Plouffe (No. 20), LHP Glen Perkins (No. 22), RHP Kyle Waldrop (No. 25), RHP Matthew Fox (No. 35) and RHP Jay Rainville (No. 39).

This year, as Street lost his closing job in Oakland, the Twins had hope of trading for him to use in a setup role in front of closer Joe Nathan.

But Oakland sent Street to Colorado this week in the package for LF Matt Holliday. Now, it’s a whole new ballgame. Dealing with the Rockies is not like dealing with the A’s. While Billy Beane was willing to move Street as a closer-in-decline, the Rockies will try enticing teams that need a closer with the thought of Street regaining his All-Star form.

From today’s Denver Post:

Street could eventually be traded to another team, considering the interest and needs of the Indians, Mets, Cardinals, Brewers and Rays for a closer. The Rockies have told people close to Manuel Corpas he still is the closer, leading to the belief among some that Street would be traded rather than be used as protection if Corpas doesn’t bounce back.

The Twins have a closer. So why pay closer prices in a trade for a setup man? It does sound like Street could be traded again this offseason, but I don’t think it’ll be to Minnesota.

(*) I know it probably surprised people to see a bunch of minor-league prospects listed as potential solutions to replace Neshek in the Twins’ bullpen. Here’s a link to how some of those prospects have been faring in the Arizona Fall League, where Jeff Manship has a 5.04 ERA, Tim Lahey 3.86, Anthony Slama 4.26 and Rob Delaney 7.04.

Let me be clear: The Twins could very well use the trade route to acquire relief help, and perhaps there are some lower-tier free agents with experience who could fill those roles to start the season.

I just don’t see the Twins making a big splurge in the free agent market to solve their bullpen issues, when they are confident they have great pitchers coming through the system who could soon fill the void.

Twins reliever Pat Neshek will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and is expected to miss the entire 2009 season, the team just announced.

Neshek originally injured the elbow May 9 in Chicago and missed the rest of the season. He re-injured the elbow in a throwing session last week in Fort Myers, Fla., and underwent an MRI exam today.

The exam showed a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. The surgery date has not been set.

Tommy John surgery is a ligament-replacement procedure, common to modern pitchers. Typical recovery time is 12-15 months. Twins lefthander Francisco Liriano had the procedure in November 2006 and was back for spring training this February.

The Twins hope Neshek will be ready for spring training in 2010, but the Minnesota native will miss pitching the final season at the Metrodome.

Update (6:03 p.m.): Twins GM Bill Smith said, “We’re disappointed because Pat Neshek had made such good progress throughout the summer and fall with his throwing programs. And unfortunately, he reinjured it last week in a throwing session.”

Asked if finding setup relief this offseason, Smith said, “It was a priority and it continues to be a priority. We’re going to have some young players within the organization that get a chance to win a job in the big leagues, and we’re going to continue to look outside at free agents and trades.”

One important point: When Neshek was first injured in May, he received a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, who agreed with the Twins recommendation to rehab the injury, instead of having surgery.

“I don’t think the plan was wrong,” Smith said. “He reinjured it the other day, and now it’s a complete tear, and that changes the diagnosis completely.”

Seth Stohs, who runs the well-respected Twins blog “Seth Speaks,” is reporting that reliever Pat Neshek will have Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery next week and miss the 2009 season. Stohs cited a source close to the situation.

Neshek was scheduled to have a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his right elbow today, along with an evaluation by Twins physician Dr. Dan Buss.

Stohs had Neshek as a guest for his weekly podcast recently and has been in contact with Neshek since he was coming through the Twins’ minor-league system. We’re in the process of confirming the details now and will provide updates as we get them.