Twins search for setup man

When Twins setup man Pat Neshek injured his right elbow on May 9 last year and missed the rest of the season, the righthanded relief pitcher had a minor-league career ERA of 2.17 and a major-league career ERA of 2.91.

The Twins have had a lot of good setup men, but Neshek seemed like a perfect complement to closer Joe Nathan.

For the six-game homestand with Tampa Bay and Kansas City, the Twins bullpen had a ERA of 5.12, as the Twins took two out of three from the Rays but only one of three against the Royals.

Neshek, who had surgery last November and will miss the entire season while rehabilitating in Florida, seemed to be able to shut down the opposition time after time. Since he's been sidelined, the Twins have not found anybody consistently effective in the setup role.

Neshek is making good progress. He said Sunday that he will be able to start throwing normally in November.

Meanwhile, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said the bullpen had some good days until this present homestand.

Nathan was upset with criticism of the bullpen, even though the statistics show its pitchers have had their problems. He was asked if the bullpen misses Neshek.

Baker threw a no-hitter against the Royals for six innings. He then gave up five consecutive hits in the seventh and was charged with five earned runs. Relievers Luis Ayala (5.40 ERA) and R.A. Dickey (5.93) weren't effective in pitching the final three innings of the 7-5 loss to the Royals.

After Sunday's loss, Baker is 0-4 with a 9.15 ERA.

"Today was a tough situation: First and second and no outs," said Nathan, describing the situation Ayala inherited in the seventh inning. "You are expecting miracles."

Ayala gave up a two-run double to the first hitter he faced, Alberto Callaspo, which allowed the Royals to take a 5-4 lead.

One reason Twins General Manager Bill Smith is headed for Class AA New Britain this week is to look at two outstanding relief pitchers: Rob Delaney, who is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA, and Anthony Slama, who has a 2-0 record, a 2.31 ERA and three saves. They are rated two of the best young pitchers in the Twins farm system.

Baker stars, then slips A year ago Baker was one of the top pitchers on the Twins, with a 11-4 record and a 3.45 ERA, even though he spent some time on the disabled list because of a groin strain.

Pitching coach Rick Anderson watched Baker pitch six hitless innings, then lose his stuff.

"He gave up a couple of hits and made the mistake to [Jose] Guillen [who hit a three-run home run in the seventh]," Anderson said. "After that he lost a little bit of focus. The next three hitters he fell behind in the count. Once you get behind in the count, it's tough to make a good pitch.

"For six innings he was outstanding. All of a sudden, whether he lost focus after the home run or what, I was disappointed in the way he finished. It was encouraging for six innings."

The mental part of pitching is an important part of the overall performance, Anderson said.

Tackle impresses Phil Loadholt, the huge offensive tackle from Oklahoma and the Vikings' second-round pick, was one of the more impressive players during the weekend minicamp.

"He is 6-8, he was 340 pounds when he came in, which is ideal weight for him," said Rick Spielman, vice president of player personnel for the Vikings. "He's not too big from that aspect. He has extremely long arms, 36 1/2-inch reach, which is a huge advantage."

Spielman said Loadholt showed some unique skills in minicamp.

"He has very good feet for a big guy," Spielman said. "He played on the left side at Oklahoma, and he played on the right side during the Senior Bowl, so you're seeing his versatility. In fact, we worked him mostly on the right this training camp. For a couple of snaps yesterday, we put him over on the left side, so he has some versatility. He has the size and everything you look for in an offensive tackle, so we're real excited about the possibilities of him."

Well, the Vikings need offensive lineman. I don't think I have ever seen many bigger men than this young man.

Local businessman Wheelock Whitney, who has been instrumental in bringing most of the major league sports teams to this area, had the honor of picking the first season tickets for Met Stadium, the Metrodome and now for Target Field. On Saturday, Whitney picked his four $69 tickets on the first row above the Twins dugout. Season ticket holders will continue to get their opportunity to pick their seats. The first group will be a number of season ticket holders who have held tickets since 1961 at Met Stadium. ... The same procedure is going on with TCF Bank Stadium, the Gophers' new football field.

The NFL/Grassroots Program has donated $50,000 for upgrades at Minneapolis South High's Les Barnard Field.

Nikola Pekovic, the Timberwolves' 6-11 second-round draft choice in 2008 from Montenegro, had six points and six turnovers for his team in Greece, Panathinaikos Athens, as they beat CSKA Moscow 73-71 in the Euroleague championship game in Berlin on Sunday.