The worst part about Twins midweek day games is that many of us have to, you know, work while they are being played. This can be very inconvenient -- either you DVR the game and avoid all human (and Internet) contact for an entire afternoon, or follow along the best you can while also maintaining the façade of working.

If you choose the latter Wednesday -- the weather might be a little dicey, but the Twins and Royals are slated for a first pitch just after noon at Target Field -- we offer you a fun way to combine the game with workplace productivity. Here are nine "innings" of Office Baseball you can play just by following along with those people using the #twins hash tag on Twitter. And really, these rules can apply to just about any afternoon weekday Twins game:

• If Joe Mauer grounds out to second base -- or even if he doesn't and people are just predicting it -- go through your morning e-mails and reply to the most urgent one.

• If you read a tweet referencing Mauer and the whole "day game after a night game" playing time debate, schedule a brainstorming meeting for sometime next week.

• When you see a Twins player's name followed by tons of exclamation points, that generally means something good has happened. Take a little break. You deserve it.

• You will likely encounter someone trying to tell you a player is better/worse than he really appears because of a statistical measure you might only vaguely understand. When this happens, ask a colleague to explain in greater detail a project he or she is working on.

• Someone will inevitably tweet about former Twins infielder Nick Punto. That's a good reminder to maintain a network by e-mailing a former colleague who has moved on to a new job.

• Twins fans on Twitter generally love Jim Thome (OK, who doesn't, really?) A tweet about Thome is a good time to ask a seasoned colleague for advice about a project.

• If a Twins pitcher breezes through an inning with cool efficiency, you should use the ensuing inning break to accomplish as many small tasks as possible in a two-minute span.

• Upon reading a truly funny tweet, set up a lunch or happy hour with a handful of the funniest and smartest people in your office.

• The Twins took the lead with a big scoring outburst? Sounds like a good time to put together a proposal for a raise.

MICHAEL RAND