Twins reserves were doing the job

The Twins were rolling, compiling an 11-3 record from June 1 through June 16 by playing Luke Hughes at first base, Alexi Casilla at shortstop, Matt Tolbert at second base, with either Drew Butera or Rene Rivera catching and Brian Dinkelman playing some outfield.

They were playing Twins manager Ron Gardenhire's type of baseball: running all over the place, stealing bases, executing double steals and succeeding when gambling on taking extra bases.

Joe Mauer came back off the disabled list June 17, and the Twins are 4-5 since the catcher's return (1-5 on the road trip that just ended). He hit .161 in those nine games.

And the Twins are 5-5 since shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka returned from the DL on June 16. He hit .194 in those games.

The Twins scored eight runs in the first inning of their first game at San Francisco to start their six-game interleague road trip. Since then, in their remaining two losses against the Giants and their three losses at Milwaukee, they have hit .195 (32-for-164) as a team and scored eight runs -- equalling the output of their first inning in San Francisco.

This will go down as the most unusual season in Twins history. So here is some good advice for Gardenhire: Bring back the second team.

Despite their 18-28 road record, the Twins are only nine games behind the Tigers, the same distance they were when Mauer and Nishioka came back.

First baseman Justin Morneau, who has had the worst injury luck of any player I can recall with a concussion, a sprained wrist and now facing neck surgery, might not play for a long time. That won't help the Twins make a comeback like they did in 2009 to win the division.

The Twins said Morneau will miss four to six weeks, but a surgeon I spoke to with experience in that type of surgery said that timetable is optimistic. He said that the surgery is a fast operation but that it might take some time for Morneau to get his strength back.

And don't forget that even if Morneau returns after four to six weeks, it will be like spring training for him after being out for so long.

Guentzel returns Mike Guentzel, who served as a Gophers assistant hockey coach from 1994 to 2008 before being replaced three years ago by head coach Don Lucia, is leaving his assistant job at Nebraska-Omaha to replace John Hill on the Gophers hockey staff.

If you want my opinion, Guentzel was sadly missed during the three years he was gone.

Coaching reunion They had a coaching reunion at Pittsburgh (Kan.) State this past week, and they brought back every coach, including Jerry Kill of the Gophers.

In addition to catching up with old friends, he saw the devastation in Joplin, Mo., from a massive tornado in May.

"There was probably 14, 15 guys, you know, from Dennis Franchione to Gary Patterson to two or three guys from the National Football League," Kill said. "I squeezed in a four- or five-hour time and they took me over to where we lived [when Kill coached at Pittsburgh State], over in Joplin, Missouri, which I didn't think I was going to get to do.

"I certainly have seen north Minneapolis [which also was hit by a tornado last month], but I must admit I have never seen anything in my entire life like what I witnessed over in Joplin, Missouri."

Jottings • Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher was excited about the chance to draft Mario Lucia from Wayzata High School, but he also believes the team got another good local player in Nick Seeler from Eden Prairie. "[Seeler] has grown 7 inches in two years, and I think he's still growing," Fletcher said. "He's a real mobile defenseman with a competitive streak, and we're pretty high on Nick as well."

• Twins shortstop prospect Trevor Plouffe is enjoying one of the hottest streaks in minor league baseball. In his past 10 games at Class AAA Rochester, Plouffe is hitting .425 with four doubles, a triple, three homers, 10 RBI and eight runs scored. Plouffe hit .345 in June and his batting average stands at .309 this season.

• Mychal Thompson's son, Klay, was selected 11th by Golden State on Thursday, making it 10 years in a row that a former NBA player's son was taken in the NBA draft. Mychal, the former Gophers great, was the No. 1 overall pick in 1978 by Portland. Klay, out of Washington State, can play shooting guard and small forward at 6-7.

• Former Timberwolves General Manager and head coach Kevin McHale had a news conference this week introducing the new acquisitions the Houston Rockets made on draft night, including former Timberwolves guard Jonny Flynn. The Houston Chronicle reported that Flynn had been working out in Houston this summer with former NBA head coach and point guard John Lucas. Flynn was quoted as saying about being traded to Houston, "I was so happy just to get a new start, to get a fresh start and get out of the situation I was in."

• Timberwolves second-round draft pick Malcolm Lee's decision to skip his senior year at UCLA and enter the NBA draft drew some scrutiny from the L.A. Times this weekend because Lee will not receive a guaranteed contract because he fell out of the first round. Still Lee, who worked out for the Timberwolves, said he views Minnesota as the perfect opportunity. "I'm real confident. That's the competitor I am. I'm going to go in there and compete and show them I can help this team better themselves," Lee said.

• Former Gopher Rick Rickert continues to play in Puerto Rico this summer with Bayamon. Through 18 games Rickert is averaging 11.4 points and 9.1 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game. Rickert is first on the team in rebounding and fourth in scoring.