Souhan; Baldelli Not to Blame For Extra Inning Struggles [PODCAST

The Twins are 0-7 in extra inning games this season. Star Tribune Sports Columnist Jim Souhan says Rocco Baldelli is managing the Twins the same way he had each of the last two seasons to different results. Jim says baseball managers can have an impact on close games but not in the same way coaches of football have on their entire staff. Souhan says he doesn't agree with Baldelli's decision to use rookie Brandon Waddell in the 10th inning Tuesday. Souhan says Baldelli likes to use his entire roster but using Waddell in that situation wasn't a good move. Souhan says the Twins appeared to be headed in the right direction after the weekend series with Kansas City but the series with Texas was a terrible series.

Jim says bad stretches happen in baseball often times but what can happen in baseball in late inning failures is a feeling of what bad think is going to happen. The 0-7 record in extra inning games hasn't been done to start a season since 1924. Jim says this is a combination of bad luck, not executing in critical situations and just some weird stuff happening.

Jim Souhan says Twins outfielder Byron Buxton could be headed for the injured list with a hip strain. He says this is a big blow to the Twins considering how well Buxton has played this season.

The Vikings drafted quarterback Kellen Mond in the 3rd round of last month's NFL draft. Jim says Mond isn't likely to appear in games this season unless the Vikings fall out of contention in large part due to the play of Kirk Cousins. Jim says the Vikings are committed to Cousins for this season and possibly into 2022 as well. Cousins has 2 years remaining on his contract.