The Twins are back in the Bronx today with the daunting tasks of scoring runs against Mike Mussina and winning a game in a ballpark they rarely win in.

It was easy to tell after last night’s loss that struggling in Yankee Stadium is getting to a few guys. Punto’s reaction to not winning a series here since 2001 was classic. We also tried to talk to Jesse Crain, but he was out of answers.

But the clubhouse seems normal this morning. Some players are watching TV. There’s a card game going on. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is doing a crossword puzzle and Denard Span is looking at video of how good a hitter he is. Normal stuff.

The Twins haven’t posted their lineup yet. That usually means Gardy is waiting to see if someone can play or someone is too sore and needs a little rest. I didn’t name names.

On a side note, I ran into a bunch of Twins fans while leaving the ballpark last night. They remained in the Bronx after the game to grab a cold one. One fan claimed he went to school with Judd Zulgad (Judd, call me on this).

Anyway, they were impressed with how friendly the Yankees fans were - sounds like a few rounds were sent their way. “The Yankees fans treated us much nicer than the Red Sox fans,” the leader told me.  “Red Sox fans are mean.” Just thought I get that out there.

12:08 update: Mauer gets a day off. Morneau gets a DH day.

Heard Michael Cuddyer’s hand is beginning to feel better. 

Gardy was impressed with Francisco Liriano’s outing yesterday. He reported that Liriano topped out at 93 mph and Toledo batters couldn’t hit his slider. No word if that’s enough for a promotion, though.  

Lineups

Twins (55-45): 1. Denard Span, RF. 2. Alexi Casilla, 2B. 3. Mike Redmond, C. 4.  Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Delmon Young, LF. 6. Mike Lamb, 1B. 7. Brendan Harris, 3B. 8. Nick Punto, SS. 9. Carlos Gomez, CF. Pitching: Glen Perkins.

Yankees (55-45): 1. Johnny Damon, DH. 2. Derek Jeter, SS. 3. Bob Abreu, RF. 4. A-Rod, 3B. 5. Richie Sexson, 1B. 6. Robinson Cano, 2B.7. Melky Cabrera, CF. 8. Jose Molina, C. 9. Justin Christian, LF. Pitching: Moose.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire met with Carlos Gomez on Tuesday to inform him that he was being moved to the ninth spot in the batting order. Denard Span, batting .370 since being called up on June 30, will lead off tonight against the Yankees.

“If it’s better for the team, it’s better for me. Do it,” Gomez said. “You have to try different things.  With myself, Denard and (Alexi) Casilla, he can mix and that’s good.

Gomez was 0 for 5 on Monday, extending his slump to a horrific 5 for 58 (.086). Gomez was batting .274 on July 2 but is now at .247.

It appeared that frustration was setting in. Gomez nearly slammed his helmet after grounding out during Monday’s game and was visibly upset as he left the clubhouse following the game. Gomez claimed he was more upset that the team lost 12-4 than his struggles at the plate.

Actually, he said he’s felt better at the plate lately.

“I don’t swing at bad pitches,” he said. “Early on, they throw a lot of balls in the dirt and I swing. The last couple days you see I don’t swing. I got my strike zone smaller.”

Nick Punto returns to the lineup after recovering from a sore left ring finger.

The CT Scan on Michael Cuddyer’s sore left middle finger/palm showed no damage to the bone. Cuddyer will meet with Twins doctor soon to figure out the next step.

And righthander Shooter Hunt, the Twins’  sandwich pick between the first and second rounds in the June draft, has been promoted from rookie league Elizabethton to Class A Beloit.

Twins (55-44): 1. Denard Span, RF. 2. Alexi Casilla, 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Jason Kubel, DH. 6. Delmon Young, LF. 7. Brian Buscher, 3B. 8. Nick Punto, SS. 9. Carlos Gomez, CF. Pitching: Kevin Slowey.

Yankees (54-45): 1. Johnny Damon, DH. 2. The Captain, SS. 3. Bob Abreu, RF. 4. A-Rod, 3B. 5. The Moustache, 1B. 6. Robinson Cano, 2B. 7. Melky Cabrera, CF. 8.Chad Moeller, C. 9. Brett Gardner, LF. Pitching: Darrell Rasner.

Twins reliever Craig Breslow may have etched his name in the history books Monday  when he entered the game in the sixth inning.

He threw two wild pitches and committed a balk. Someone at the park did a quick search and discovered it’s been over 50 years since a pitcher has done that in an inning. We hope to get the stat mavens to look deeper into that today.

First baseman Justin Morneau was replaced by Mike Lamb after one pop up and three grounders to Robinson Cano on Monday. But Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said it had nothing to do with Morneau getting hit in the hand with a pitch the game  before. “I gave him a little break,” Gardenhire said. “He’s been playing a lot of baseball with the All-Star Game, and the whole package.”

Gardenhire was asked before the game if he planned to warn Denard Span that he was going to hear things he’s never heard before from fans in the right field corner. Gardenhire was supremely confident Span would handle himself well.

He was right, as Span when 3 for 4 with a double and triple. Span has friends and family in New York for the series and fired up to play in the historic ballpark.

“It was an exciting day for me,” said Span, who is batting .370 since being called up from Rochester on June 30.

Since I’m talking about speedy, left-handed hitting outfielders, anyone see what Ben Revere did last night? On Sunday, I wrote about his chances of hitting .400 at Class A Beloit, but he had slipped under the mark in recent games.

I thought that was it for him. Then he breaks off a game like this.

The Twins have had players hit .400 in short-season leagues (Tony Oliva, Joe Mauer) but I’m not sure if they’ve had someone hit .400 in a full season league. I’m still waiting for the Twins to get make with me on that one. It looks like Revere is going to remain at Beloit, where the Twins want him to work on his throws from the outfield. So we’ll see how long they can keep it up.

Here’s one person’s opinion on who are the Twins’ top ten prospects.

My first impressions of the new ballpark going up across the street from Yankee Stadium: Why does it remind me of the Bellaggio?

Finally, it was sad to learn that baseball writing giant Jerome Holtzman passed away yesterday. Growing up in Chicago, he was a must read and one of the reasons I wanted to cover baseball when I grew up.

I’ve failed to grow up. But I do cover baseball.

Holtzman struck me as a no nonsense guy. I met him during the 1996 playoffs and didn’t run into him again until two years later. So I re-introduced myself to him. “Why do you think I don’t remember you?” he said.

MLB hired Holtzman as its historian after he stepped down from his gig at the Tribune. One of his goals was to clear Shoeless Joe Jackson’s name. Don’t know how far he got with that one.

Just peeked at the Twins lineup. No Nick Punto. The clubhouse hasn’t opened yet, so I don’t know if his left ring finger is still sore, or he’s out because of matchups or what.

It’s hot here. The temperature is 91 but it feels worse than that. I’ve been sweating ever since I landed here yesterday. The highlight of yesterday’s walk around the Upper East Side was a dog that tried to lick me as I walked  by. It’s owner yelled and tugged on the leash as I jumped away. Then I realized what the owner said to the dog.

“Did you just call your dog Jeter?” I asked.

“Yes, her name is Jeter,” the woman replied.

Her name is Jeter. Okaaaaay…..

Here’s the Twins lineup. Haven’t seen the Yanks. I know A-Rod’s here because we walked in the stadium at the same time. What is he putting in his hair these days?

4:05 Update: Punto is fine but he hasn’t swung a bat or gone through a normal pre-game yet, so the Twins want to see him do that first. I’m guessing he’s available as a late-inning defensive replacement.

Michael Cuddyer’s CT Scan will be read tomorrow by Twins hand specialist Dr. Tom Varecka. Varecka is in surgery all day today and get read the results.

Adam Everett has played in four minor league games since taking his rehab to Fort Myers, Fla., but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire revealed that Everett has had another cortisone shot in his troublesome shoulder.

Matt Tolbert, also in Fort Myers as he rehabs after thumb surgery, has experienced some swelling in his hand. It looks like he won’t be back until mid-August.

Finally, Class AAA Rochester lefthander Brian Duensing has been named to the U.S. Olympic baseball team. He’ll join the team on Monday for a few exhibition games in Durham, NC before flying to China.

Duesing is no stranger to Team USA, having pitched for the squad last November in the IBAF World Cup in Taiwan.

Twins (55-43): 1. Carlos Gomez, CF. 2. Alexi Casilla, 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Jason Kubel, DH. 6. Delmon Young, LF. 7. Brian Buscher, 3B. 8. Brendan Harris, SS. 9. Denard Span, RF. Pitching: Nick Blackburn.

Yankees (53-45): 1. Johnny Damon, DH. 2. The Captain, SS. 3. Bob Abreu, RF. 4. A-Rod, 3B. 5. The Moustache, 1B. 6. Robinson Cano, 2B. 7. The Melkman, CF. 8. Jose Molina, C. 9. Brett Gardner, LF. Pitching: Sir Sid.

I have landed here in advance of three days of fury between the Twins and Yankees, and it wasn’t the easiet trip.

The turbulence during the flight was expected. The cab ride was, well…it took two drivers to get me from the airport to the hotel. Driver No. 1 noticed that his engine was running too hot, so he flagged down driver No. 2 and pulled over ON THE HIGHWAY SHOULDER to conduct a passenger handoff. That was a first. I guess it could have been worse.

The Yankees just swept the A’s in a three-game series, winning one-run games the last two days. Andy Pettitte held Oakland to a run over eight innings on Sunday, so it may be a good thing the Twins miss him this series. The Twins will get the 5-1 Sidney Ponson, the 5-7 Darryl Rasner and the 12-6 Mike Mussina this week. Mussina tossed six strong innings on Friday.

It will be interesting to see if Yankees manager Joe Girardi tries to sneak Jorge Posada behind the plate during the series. His shoulder problems have led to a loss of arm strength, and the Twins 4 X 90 relay team of Nick Punto, Denard Span, Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla could eat him up. Posada also has a bruised hand.

Podsada has appeared behind the plate in 30 games and has thrown out just 8.1 percent of basestealers while Jose Molina has appeared in 58 games, throwing out a whopping 47.1 percent.  But Posada prefers to catch.

A Yankees writer earlier this year said that the young, fast and scrappy Tampa Bay Rays make the Yanks look old when the teams meet. That’s what the Twins must do in this series.

So it’s Nick Blackburn vs Sir Sid on Monday, Kevin Slowey vs Rasner on Tuesday and Glen Perkins vs Mussina on Wednesday.

How many games will the Twins win in New York? What say you?