Class AAA Rochester needs a spot starter. Danny Graves needs to face as many hitters as possible.

So Graves will start tonight for Rochester against Buffalo and probably throw three innings, if he’s effective.  He’s a reliever, but it’s a good way for him to face a lot of hitters and be evaluated. Graves, 34, signed with the Twins just before the minor league season began and has pitched at Class A Fort Myers and Class AA New Britain.

My intuition tells me that Graves could become an option to be called up if he pitches well. His fastball is coming in around 87-88 miles an hour but the Twins say it’s got good movement. You might want to keep an eye on the Rochester box score tonight.

Couple other notes:

Jim Rantz, the Twins director of minor leagues, just pulled into Beloit to watch the Snappers play for a few days. Ben Revere, who was named Twins minor league player of the week yesterday, has an 11-game hitting streak.

For those of you who like to keep up with such things, the Twins’ 40-man roster currently sits at 38, with the ability to go to 37 if they move Pat Neshek to the 60-day disabled list. They would have room to add Graves, Kevin Mulvey, Tim Lahey, or anyone they want to.

Update: Graves have thrown three perfect innings, striking out two. Here’s the link.

Don’t know what your plans are tomorrow, but I am THE the guest host on KFAN from 10-Noon on Sunday. We can talk all the Twins you want but I’m willing to talk about other subjects like the TPC, hockey and hoops playoffs, football and more!!!!!!

So bring it!!!!!

Folks, it’s not good.

Twins righthander Pat Neshek has been diagnosed with an acute partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He will not do any throwing for at least three months, which makes it doubtful that he’ll return before the end of the season.

I’m just guessing here, but Neshek may go visit a specialist to get another opinion. The press release didn’t say anything about surgery being needed, but you wonder about surgery since it involves the ever-important ulnar ligament.

 Brendan Harris left Friday’s game with a tight right hamstring.

Nick Punto’s left hamstring is still sore, and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire wasn’t sure if he would be available at all tonight.

So the Twins are taking on the Red Sox with 23 players 9:30 p.m. update: 22 players.

Red Sox (23-14): 1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF. 2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B. 3. David Ortiz, DH. 4. Manny Ramirez, LF. 5. Mike Lowell, 3B. 6. Kevin Youkilis, 1B. 7. J.D. Drew, RF. 8. Jason Varitek, C. 9. Juilo Lugo, SS. Pitching: Jon Lester.

Twins (17-16): 1. Carlos Gomez, CF. 2. Brendan Harris. 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Michael Cuddyer, RF. 6. Jason Kubel, DH. 7. Delmon Young, LF. 8. Matt Tolbert, 3B. 9 Adam Everett, SS. Pitching: Boof Bonser.

Heard a little while ago that Pat Neshek has had a MRI exam on his right elbow and that Twins doctors were meeting this afternoon to go over the results. We should know by game time what’s up with the sidearmer from Brooklyn Park.

I have seen three no-hitters in person in my lifetime. Bret Saberhagen’s against the White Sox in 1991, David Wells’ perfect game against the Twins in 1998 and Eric Milton’s no-no against the Angels in 1999.

If Gavin Floyd had pulled off a no-no against the Twins on Tuesday it would have been the sloppiest, most unjust no-hitter that I can remember.

 Floyd was far from overpowering. In fact, I sent Joe C. a text message around the fourth inning remarking how Floyd couldn’t get ANY breaking pitches or his change up, over for strikes. I was convinced that the Twins would sit on the fastball and start pounding him. I thought Nick Blackburn pitched than Floyd in the early innings but didn’t have the results to show for it.

That great adjustment by Twins hitters never came, which was disappointing coming off of their game against Kenny Rogers on Sunday.

One thing I noticed was that the Twins, while trying to have good at-bats,  took a few fastballs down the middle for strike one. I really thought they were going to get to Floyd. Floyd didn’t even get a curveball over for a called strike until the seventh inning, based on my recollections.

The Twins should have hit this guy. I know its easy for me to write that from my position but geez….

 How about Joe Mauer? Two big hits in two games.

Everyone will talk about how well Floyd pitched on Tuesday. I won’t. The Twins created the mess.

While the Twins have inexperienced hitters in their lineup like Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez (and Matt Tolbert, when he plays). But, overall, they are good enough to hit good pitching a few times.

So it was impressive to see how they made adjustments against Tigers lefty Kenny Rogers.

Rogers retired the first 11 Twins batters he faced using all his pitches but effectively using his changeup in particular. One change floated in at 71 miles an hour. 

Twins players realized that they needed to look for the change and take it to the opposite field. Nick Punto’s two-run double in the fifth came off a change that was up in the strike zone.

Craig Monroe said that hitting coach Joe Vavra encouraged them to think up the middle and opposite field at the plate.

“It says a lot about Joe and having a plan and what he believes would work,” Monroe said n unsolicited response.

If the Twins can make in-game adjustments like they did on Sunday, they’ll have success against pitchers better than Rogers.

Five game winning streak. Seven straight against A.L. Central opponents. First place? Enjoy.

For those of you with absolutely nothing to do tonight - and who are brave enough to see my face on television and still not have to sleep with the light on - I will be a guest on Rosen’s Sports Sunday tonight. The show begins at 10:35. I’m not sure when I’ll be on, but I will be on if you want to check it out.

2:09 p.m. update: The Twins have announced that righthander Kevin Slowey will be called up in time to start Thursday in Chicago. He’ll replace righthander Scott Baker who continues to have problems with his right groin muscle.

The Twins have the option of pushing Baker back to Saturday - when they’ll need a fifth starter again - or to put him on the DL if they feel he needs more time to heal. If he lands on the DL, someone like lefthander Glen Perkins could be called up.

Baker on Monday will have an MRI exam on his strained right groin muscle. The Twins will have a better idea of how to proceed with the injury at that point.

Carlos Gomez is back in the lineup today. He missed Saturday’s game with a bump on his head and a headache after being hit in the head by a throw while stealing a base on Friday.

Talked to Curtis Granderson before the game. Granderson and Pat Neshek have battled each other since Neshek pitched at Butler and Granderson was at Illinois-Chicago. Granderson got the best of Neshek on Saturday with a homer.

“The first three pitches I really didn’t see that well,” Granderson said. “Then I started to see him better as the at-bat went along.”

Neshek grimaced when Granderson’s comment was relayed to him: `Argh! I knew that at-bat was taking way too long.”

Granderson: “He’s gotten me a few times and I’ve gotten him a few times. I hope we both stay in the same division because it’s a challenge to face him.”

Granderson is 2 for 4 against Neshek, including the homer on Saturday.

Right-handed hitters are batting .341 against Kenny Rogers. With that in mind, here are today’s lineups.

Detroit (14-17): 1. Curtis Granderson, CF. 2. Placido Polanco, 2B. 3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B. 4. Magglio Ordonez, DH. 5. Carlos Guillen, 3B. 6. Marcus Thames, RF. 7. Edgar Renteria, SS. 8. Ivan Rodriguez, C. 9. Jacque Jones, LF. Pitching: Kenny Rogers.

Twins (15-14): 1. Carlos Gomez, CF. 2. Brendan Harris. 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Michael Cuddyer, RF. 6. Craig Monroe, DH. 7. Delmon Young, LF. 8. Matt Tolbert, 3B. Nick Punto, SS. Pitching: Boof Bonser.

Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez left tonight’s game in the fifth inning after being hit in the head with the ball as he stole second base.

The throw from Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez nailed Gomez on the left side of his helmet as he arrived at the bag. Gomez grabbed his head but stayed on the ground for a few minutes while being attended to.

I’ve never seen Twins physicians Dr. Dan Buss or Dr. Vijay Eyunni on the field during an injury, but they rushed out to make sure nothing serious was wrong. Gomez eventually rose to his feet and was carted off the field.

Update: The Twins report that Gomez has been checked out by Twins doctors and is O.K. He did not lose consciousness and will not, as of now, undergo further testing. 

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 Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has left the club after learning on Thursday that his brother, Mike, passed away unexpectedly while at his home in Oklahoma. Mike Gardenhire was 55.

While Ron Gardenhire’s return date has not been determined yet, he will miss the weekend series against the Tigers. It’s possible he could return during the midweek series in Chicago against the White Sox.

Scott Ullger will manage the club in Gardenhire’s absence.

Sorry for the delay. Busy pre-game. Adam Everett is back.

Tigers (14-15): 1. Granderson, CF. 2. Polanco, 2B. 3. Sheffield, DH. 4. Ordonez, RF. 5. Cabrera, 1B. 6. Guillen, 3B. 7. Renteria, SS. 8. I-Rod, C. 9. Jones, LF. Pitching: Galarraga.

Twins (13-14): 1. Gomez, CF. 2. Harris, 2B. 3. Mauer, C. 4. Morneau, 1B. 5. Cuddyer, RF. 6. Kubel, DH. 7. Young, LF. 8. Lamb, 3B. 9. Everett, SS. Pitching: Hernandez.

Check out this Nick Cafardo piece in today’s Boston Globe.

This should raise an eyebrow among those of you who make the annual trek to spring training. 

I think City of Palms Park is nice facility. But I also think that a team shouldn’t have to train in one place then travel a few miles to play spring game. It makes sense for the Red Sox to have a facility like the Twins’, where the main stadium and all the fields are in one place. But it stinks that they can point to the out clause in their lease and threaten to leave if they don’t get what they want.

The economy there, like everywhere, is not in good shape. That’s just one indication, but I wonder how Lee County and the city of Fort Myers can come up with a proposal to keep the Red Sox in town.

Fort Myers used to be Dullsville USA, but it has grown so much in recent years that I think it’s big enough for a third team for spring training. Going down to one team would help the Twins sell out every home game but travel would be an even bigger pain. I hope there’s a solution to this issue.

In case your worried that this somehow has negative Twins implications, don’t be. The Twins recently had their lease with Lee County extended through 2012  The Twins have a great relationship with the county. The sides have mapped out a schedule of improvements to the facility over the next few years.

The Twins are the county’s team. The Red Sox are the city’s team.

Let’s stay with the stadium angle. SI has released (I’m not exactly sure when) a survery of the best ballparks in the league. Predictably, the Dome finished in the bottom third in the overall rankings - and was ranked 29th in atmosphere, better only than Florida.

I don’t have to go into all the negatives about the Dome but I wonder where the Twins will rank two years from now when Insert-Naming-Rights-Here Field is open.

It also got me thinking about my favorite ballparks in the league. I’m biased because I also factor in pressbox amenities and how fast I can get to the clubhouses after the games.  But here are my five favorite ballparks.

1. Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. If the Twins could copy it - and put a retractable roof on it - I’d love it. Cozy. Comfortable. And it will look even better after the current renovation is completed.

2. Safeco Field in Seattle. Great views of downtown Seattle and the Puget Sound. Spacious pressbox. I blow off the media dining here for the concessions. And I don’t mind the trains blowing whistles as they roll by the park.

3. Angel Stadium of Anaheim. They nailed the renovation of this former ugly ballpark. Best place to watch a game. Best place to watch fans watching the game. Comfortable pressbox. Nice scoreboard. Tired of Rally Monkey, though.

4.  Camden Yards in Baltimore. I’ve been able to cover games here when it has been packed and empty and I think they did a really fine job with this park. The White Sox could have had a similar park,  but ol’ Jerry Reinsdorf was in his, `Yankees West,’ mode and nixed it.

5. Yankee Stadium and Fenway Pawk. You have to fight through the crowd at Fenway after games to get to the clubhouses. You have to work a little bit to travel to Yankee Stadium, although it’s not that bad. And you see a puddle of water in the tunnel to the visitor’s dugout at Fenway and wonder how long it’s been there. But, when you get to these places at 2:30 in the afternoon, when the stadiums are relatively empty and there’s no music playing, you swear you can hear the ghosts talking to you.

I have not been to the new parks in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, San Diego or St. Louis, so I don’t know what I’m missing.

And I meant to write Fenway Pawk. As in pawk your caw by the hawbaugh and buy some chowdah.

One more thing. My latest podcast is now up. The subject is the Twins’ offensive offense.

It was supposed to rain all morning today, with a threat of showers during the afternoon. The alarmists predicted that the game would be rained out But noooooooooooooooo. It barely rained this morning.

The tarp is coming off the field. So ignore the NFL draft and watch the Twins try to win what may be their most important series in years.

O.K., I laid it on a little thick there.

Carlos Gomez said he can play today, but the Twins decided to give him another day since it’s wet outside. Plus the off day on Monday would give him another day to fully heal.

In case anyone missed it, Glen Perkins found his groove last night - and Rochester hitters found their groove against J.D. Durbin.

Eddie Guardado, who made his 800th career appearance on Saturday, has told a couple coaches that he would like to pitch for the Twins again someday. Keep that in mind.

And I want all of you to understand something. This Rangers team is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. They are a horrible defensive team, they don’t do the little things and this pitching staff is awful. I thought the Orioles would be the worst team in the AL this year. I was wrong.

Lineups

Twins (11-13): 1. Matt Tolbert, SS. 2. Brendan Harris, 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Michael Cuddyer, RF. 6. Jason Kubel, DH. 7. Delmon Young, LF. 8. Mike Lamb, 3B. 9. Craig Monroe, CF. Pitching: Livan Hernandez.

Rangers (8-17): 1. Ian Kinsler, 2B. 2. Michael Young, SS. 3. Josh Hamilton, RF. 4. Milton Bradley, DH. 5. David Murphy, CF. 6. Jason Botts, LF. 7. Gerald Laird, C. 8. Ben Broussard, 1B. 9. Ramon Vazquez, 3B. Pitching: Vincente Padilla.