Weekend Links with Jon Marthaler: Chris Kluwe + Nishioka's batting splits

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

Good Saturday morning to you, the dedicated weekend readers of StarTribune.com. It's a bit of a rumbly Saturday out there, a warm and stormy July day, so let's dispense with the pleasantries and get straight on with a bit of reading while the storms roll through:

*We must begin this week with Chris Kluwe's response about the life of a punter (warning: punters use bad words sometimes, kids.). Kluwe was taken to task by former Broncos tight end Nate Jackson for, effectively, daring to speak even though he's a punter. But Kluwe's a good writer, he's funny, and he simply doesn't care what Nate Jackson thinks - and the result is great.

*In pirate news, Spencer Hall went down to Key West to interview college football coach Mike Leach - and ended up on a fishing boat with Leach for eight hours. Key quote from Leach: "Fish aren't smart. It's not like they have advanced degrees." You have to admit, his point is inarguable.

*In Twins news, Jesse at Twinkie Town looks at Tsuyoshi Nishioka's splits from each side of the plate, and concludes that maybe someone should tell Nishioka never to hit right-handed again. He also breaks down, by position, the average amount of time it takes players at each position to reach the majors - and applies it to the Twins' top minor-league prospects.

*And finally: if you're looking for a little more whimsy in your Twins links, how about your two new favorite Twins animated GIFs?

That's enough for this week - please, enjoy your Saturday. Rand will be in with the Great Baseball Road Trip ruminations all week. Be sure to get any and all Carolina-related jokes ready for the comments.