Jon Marthaler bakes up a batch of delicious links just for you. Other times, you can find him here and here. Jon?

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Now that Joe Mauer's back in the Twins lineup, I feel like we all need to sit down and have a little chat about our attitude towards his injury absence. Now, don't get me wrong; it was fun to make jokes about bilateral leg weakness, mostly because it seemed like such an absurd diagnosis. It didn't quite approach the time Matthew LeCroy was held out of the lineup with gout, but still, bilateral leg weakness was only about two clicks less silly-sounding than "housewives' knee." Even so, I was a little bit astonished by the number of people who confidently and happily expressed the opinion that Mauer wasn't hurt and was just being a wuss. Here was the cornerstone of the franchise, the much-beloved local hero, unable to play because a combination of (somewhat murky) factors had combined to rob him of all leg strength. Somehow, though, instead of causing mass panic, this translated in the minds of many fans into, "Jeez, what a pansy."

To those who've seriously questioned Mauer's toughness - and you know who you are - I suspect maybe you need to rethink your attitude. I know that bilateral leg weakness sounds goofy, and that since you can't quite imagine what it feels like, it's easy for you to conclude that it doesn't hurt at all. But if someone else's injury doesn't seem like it hurts, that doesn't make it any less ridiculous that you think it doesn't qualify as a legitimate injury for someone else.

Now that we've beaten the stuffing out of that particular straw man, on with the links!

*Spencer Hall continues his "The Amateur" series by taking part in an Indoor Football League practice (that, for confusing reasons, was held outdoors.) Specifically, he attempts to field an onside kick, which in all forms of football is akin to trying to catch a pork chop being tossed into the middle of a pack of coyotes. Poor Spencer nearly has his head cleaved from his shoulders, but there is video, which makes it worth it for us, the interested viewers.

*A couple of weeks ago, it seemed like the MLB Draft would be the only bright spot in an epic slog of season-long Twins disaster. Since then, the home nine has won a dozen games and brightened things up considerably, but that said, it's always fun to look at the guys that might be the future. John Sickels at Minor League Ball has a quick overview of the team's first 10 picks; Aaron Gleeman has a short review as well. (Both are a little more positive than commenter Clarence Swamptown, who emailed me within minutes of the team's first pick, already comparing infielder Levi Michael to Todd Walker.)

*Parker Hageman points out that Delmon Young is holding his hands higher at the plate, which should assist him in getting a bit more leverage at the plate (code for "not hitting the ball weakly, like he's using a large stick of beef jerky.") I'd be more enthused about this, except that it seems like Delmon goes through this every year and it takes the coaching staff two months to convince him that swinging with his eyes closed, or whatever his problem happens to be at the time, isn't the answer. I just wish it was up to a different team's coaching staff, is all.

*And finally: CNN sure doesn't think much of Vancouver. Given that they continue to employ Alex Burrows, I have to say I agree.

That's enough for this weekend; enjoy your Saturday. Rand will be back in on Monday, no doubt kicking off a week's worth of breathless NHL Draft coverage here at RandBall.