The past can help predict the future, so it will be interesting to see if Torii Hunter's past comes into play as the league decides if the Twins outfielder should be suspended following his outburst on Wednesday.

On Aug. 6, 2010 in Detroit, Hunter, then with the Angels, objected to home plate umpire Ron Kulpa strike three call, began to argue and was ejected. An angry Hunter tossed a bag of baseballs onto the field as part of his protest. He was suspended four games, and served the time without an appeal.

On Wednesday, Hunter was ejected in the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Mark Ripperger.

A furious Hunter had to be separated from Ripperger by crew chief Jeff Kellogg. Replays suggested that the pitch Hunter questioned was a ball.

The league usually takes two to three business days to rule on punishments, so a decision could come as soon as Friday.

It's not the first time Ripperger has had trouble with teams. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke complained about Ripperger's strike zone following a game last Aug. 27.

Vargas adjusts

Kennys Vargas spent extra time in the batting cage before Wednesday's game working to get his bathead out on fastballs. Vargas said there's a big difference in pitching between Class AAA Rochester and the majors. At Rochester, he saw few fastballs.

``Everything offspeed," Vargas said. ``Sometimes I see one fastball every two at-bats."

He felt he was behind on fastballs because he saw so few at Rochester. So off to the cage he went. On Wednesday, Vargas had two singles in four at-bats. The sputtering Twins offense needs a boost, and Vargas becoming a threat again could help.