This box score is all the more encouraging because Francisco Liriano’s four perfect innings came against most of Baltimore’s regulars. Six strikeouts, five ground ball outs, 12 up and 12 down. Nice.

Also, Joe Nathan struck out Aubrey Huff and Ty Wigginton in his perfect inning.

And batting third for the Twins, with a two-run homer, Carlos Gomez.

Given the less-than-encouraging news about Joe Mauer in Joe C.’s blog, I wonder how much time Gardy is spending thinking about his batting order in the event Mauer isn’t ready to go on Opening Day.  Any of you want to take a shot at it?

Finally, now you can follow my blog on Twitter, if you’re inclined to do such things, by clicking here.

In a post last week, I made reference to the fact that Carlos Gomez is represented by Scott Boras, a name that chills front-office staffs throughout baseball. That note caused the commenter Jim Crikket to write: “I had forgotten that Gomez’s agent is Boras. That, in itself, moves him to the top of the list of Twins OFs that I’d trade if the decision is made to thin the OF herd. He’s a potential Gold Glove CF, but he’s clearly got problems with the bat and when you add the fact that, as a Boras client, there’s no way he remains a Twin beyond his arbitration years, yeah… he’s #1 on the ‘expendable OF’ list in my book… especially since it appears Span can handle the CF job just fine.”

So here are my questions:

*Does a team with the ongoing needs of the Twins, especially when it comes to power, need two players who essentially do the same thing — play a solid center field, run very well, hit a few homers and have the potential (one shown in 2008, one still developing) to bat leadoff for years to come?

*Would you be looking to trade one of them sooner rather than later? If so, which one would you deal? Or would you rather have Gomez in center and Span in right for the next several years?

*Do you buy the notion, advanced by Gomez and sometimes talked about on Twins broadcasts, that he will eventually be a middle-of-the-order hitter who will combine power and speed?

*How much should Gomez’ popularity figure into the discussion?

*What does it say if a team jettisons a player because it is wary of dealing with his agent?

When front office staffs hold their post-season meetings, they are typically not only planning for the following season, but for years down the road. The best thing for 2009 isn’t always what’s best for the 2010s, and one of management’s jobs is to balance present and future needs — and try to figure out ways to meet both at the same time.

You can bet that Delmon wasn’t acquired from Tampa Bay to become possible trade material a year later. But things change and now that issue has been under discussion. Span’s progress, which was surprising to most of us, is probably sparking some conversations the Twins wouldn’t want to make public.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it.

I was pondering something after walking to my polling place — a fabulous thing in itself in November — and figured some of you might want to weigh in.

Here’s the question: If you could choose between your team winning the World Series and your candidate being elected president, which one would you choose?

No, you can’t have both! (And please debate the question, not the candidates.)

Back with baseball soon.

Go vote.

First of all, I want to express apologies to all of you because I wasn’t able to acquire naming rights for The Blogpark at Section 220 Field.  Apparently my offer to establish an endowment fund to teach major-league ballplayers not to dive into first base wasn’t deemed as attractive as the Target offer.

Second of all, I have no apologies for not having much to say about last night’s game. I had the good fortune to be teaching my Monday night writin’  class. I have a funky AV set-up in the room, so I was able to sneak peeks at the linescore while the students were doing a couple of exercises, and I made a command decision not to watch when I got home.

After all, my fantasy team rallied from a 13-point deficit to even its record at 1-1 (even with DeSean Jackson going Punto on his way to the end zone) and, after teaching for three hours, I’m all about rewards rather than punishment.

So here’s your challenge: Instead of commenting on anything I’m writing, throw down your best 100-word mini-post about the game and what’s going on with the Twins right now. No worries if you go a few words over, but please keep in mind that I said “hundred” not “hundreds” of words.

(off-stage voice: “Howard, tell the people what they’re playing for!”)

The winner, as judged by me, will receive … a rare 1991 Twins magnet schedule. Entries will be judged on content, creativity, originality, personal whim and the ability to avoid writing an entire post about Nick Punto.

Start writin’

Folks, there ain’t much Twins news in Oklahoma. About the only serious Okie-Minny connection here is Adrian Peterson, and Saturday’s FOX game here was Angels-Cleveland. Seeing the Okie Ron Gardenhire manage apparently doesn’t count for much with the local programmers.

Word has leaked to these parts that the Twins swept Seattle, if somewhat awkwardly, and remain tied for first with the White Sox. My question is: What’s the most important thing or two you would relay about the Mariners series to someone who didn’t watch much of it after Carlos Silva got KO’d on Friday?

Thanks for sharing.