MacPhail sees Twins contending

Andy MacPhail, who was general manager of the Twins when they won the World Series in 1987 and 1991, is now president of baseball operations for the Orioles, who won two out of three games at the Metrodome in the series that concluded Thursday. MacPhail still follows the Twins and has concluded that they can compete with any of the teams in the AL Central.

"I think they're a good club; I think they're going to contend in the division all season," MacPhail said. "They've got an awfully good offensive lineup for the kind of ballpark they play in, with some speed, and they played good defense in the series.

"They've got some good young starting pitching. I think in that division, it's going to be right down to the wire, and I expect them to be in it."

MacPhail was impressed with two of the younger players on the Twins, Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla.

"That Gomez, he's some kind of exciting player," MacPhail said. "He really has rare tools -- great running speed, great throwing arm, plays with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and he looks like he's got an All-Star-caliber future ahead of him if he can stay healthy."

MacPhail also has been impressed with the pitching of veteran Livan Hernandez, who is 6-2 with a 4.81 ERA.

"He's been a good anchor of that staff. They've got a nice club, and like I said, I think they're going to have a fun summer," MacPhail said.

Being a baseball traditionalist, MacPhail was asked how he feels about instant replay in baseball. "I'm OK with it on a limited basis. I think there's some cases where it makes a lot of sense," he said. "Whether a ball went over a fence or not, whether it's fair or foul, home run. I think what MLB is looking into is appropriate."

Lack of home runs There has been some criticism by the media and others because Twins catcher Joe Mauer has not been hitting many home runs. In fact, he hit his first and second home runs of the season during the seven-game homestand that just ended. But more important, he is leading the team in hitting with a .328 batting average.

In his four previous seasons with the Twins, Mauer hit six, nine, 13 and seven home runs, respectively. He hit 13 homers in 2006 when he won the AL batting title with a .347 average. And if you check his minor league days, 2001 to '04, he hit a total of only nine homers.

"No, that seems to bother some other people, though, but not me," Mauer said about not being a power hitter. "Yeah, I hit some homers in high school. I don't know why everybody's always so high on home runs, but who knows? As long as we're winning, that's all I'm trying to do."

Mauer said that he continues to work hard to try to improve in all parts of his game.

Speaking of home runs, the Twins as a unit are not a home run-hitting team. Only the Royals have hit fewer home runs in the major leagues.

In the 37 home games played so far at the Metrodome, the visiting team has hit 37 home runs to only 20 by the Twins.

One of those 37, by Adam Jones of the Orioles on Thursday, beat the Twins 3-2.

Jottings The big question about the Gophers football team's highly ranked recruiting class is how many of the players haven't passed their entrance tests or don't have the credits to gain admission to the university. The scholarships given to recruits include money for enrolling in summer school. Some people, who should be in the know, report that coach Tim Brewster is not happy with some of the decisions that the school's admissions office could make. More than a couple of the top recruits might not be admitted.

According to Rob Antony, Twins assistant general manager, the team's payroll was $71 million last year. It's $57 million this year, plus more than $10 million paid in bonuses, bringing it to within $4 million of last year -- even without Torii Hunter and Johan Santana. As for the signing bonuses, Hernandez received $1.5 million, first baseman Justin Morneau $6 million and outfielder Michael Cuddyer $2.75 million. Hernandez, along with his $5 million contract and his bonus, can make another $500,000 or so if he reaches certain incentives.

The scouts for the Twins believed that Gophers all-around athlete Eric Decker had a good future in baseball, but no doubt football is his favorite sport. For that reason, the Twins don't have interest in drafting the wide receiver. ... According to the McKeen's Draft Guide, the only hockey player in the state who will be drafted in the first round is Jake Gardiner of Minnetonka, whom publisher Grant McCagg ranks as the 20th-best player available in the draft. Gardiner has committed to Wisconsin.

Sam Schissel, a 5-11, 190 pound lefthanded pitcher out of Kenosha (Wis.) Bradford High School, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Gophers. This season, Schissel was 6-0 with a 2.90 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings. He helped his school to their first state tournament birth in 44 years.

A good addition to the Wild would be Ryan Malone, the former St. Cloud State and Shattuck-St. Mary's player who lives in Plymouth and scored 16 points in this NHL playoffs this year for Pittsburgh. Malone, son of former Penguins player Greg Malone, finished with 51 points on 27 goals and 24 assists for the season.

Ex-Twins righthander Carlos Silva started out strong for Seattle, but his current record is 3-6 and he has an unimpressive 5.96 ERA. In his last seven starts, he is 0-6.