mechanical failures or anything, so we got it sorted and we got a bit of an understanding

MINNEAPOLIS -- Rules required the Minnesota Twins to send a player to the All-Star game despite their worst-in-the-majors record.Eduardo Nunez was nonetheless a deserving candidate.Nunez was selected Tuesday as a reserve for the American League team at next weeks game in San Diego. The 29-year-old erstwhile New York Yankees prospect and utility-man-turned-leadoff-man has flourished in his first season as a regular, making him the easy pick for AL manager Ned Yost. Nunezs versatility further strengthened his candidacy.Im really excited about that, Nunez said. Especially when youve been the bench guy, now to go to the All-Star game, its why your dream comes true.General manager Terry Ryan and manager Paul Molitor broke the news to Nunez in front of the team before a game against Oakland that started more than 2 1/2 hours late because of rain.Honestly I never thought about that because I didnt want it to be on my mind, and then if I find out Im not going Id be like, `Oh my God, so disappointed, Nunez said. But I just tried to play hard, and after like a few days ago I started thinking about that.The Twins started the year with Eduardo Escobar at shortstop, but Escobar and third baseman Trevor Plouffe missed time with injuries. Nunez hit so well that Molitor had no choice but to leave him in the lineup.Acquired by the Twins from the Yankees early in the 2014 season, Nunez was once considered the eventual replacement for Derek Jeter in New York. His shining moment, as it turned out, came a couple of years later.Nunez entered Tuesday batting .315 with 42 runs, 11 home runs, 34 RBI and 19 stolen bases with an .820 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, all career highs at the seasons midpoint.From start to finish, Ryan said, Nunez has been our most consistent guy.Down the hall at Target Field, As catcher Stephen Vogt learned he will be representing his team at the midsummer event for a second straight year. Not unlike Nunez, Vogt was hardly on an All-Star track a few years ago.Acquired from Tampa Bay in 2013 after going 0 for 25 to start his major league career with the Rays, Vogt was up and down between Oakland and Triple-A Sacramento for two seasons before a big first half in 2015 that landed him on the team. He hit .308 with 13 homers and 53 RBI over his first 70 games.This year, Vogt was batting .267 with six home runs and 24 RBI in 68 games for the injury-ravaged As, so he didnt expect to be picked again. But the All-Star break gathering planned by the extended Vogt family near their hometown of Visalia, California, will have to be called off. Vogt broke the news to his brother as he was driving west with his family.I said, `Hey, whats the cancellation policy on that cabin? They were going to turn south and drive a little bit further, Vogt said. So Im blown away. Im honored, and I cant stop smiling. Jimmy Garoppolo Womens Jersey . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. Deebo Samuel Womens Jersey . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Dwight-Clark-Jersey/ . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Jerry Rice Youth Jersey . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. George Kittle Womens Jersey . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Haas boss Guenther Steiner hopes the teams improved performance in Japan can carry over to its first home race at the U.S. Grand Prix.Despite a shaky start to Friday practice, the introduction of a new front wing saw both Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez make it through to Q3 at Suzuka. The team came away from the race empty-handed as Grosjean finished 11th but Steiner is buoyed by the improvement the team found with the new part.I think the new front wing they are very happy with that one, how it behaves, more total than overall downforce, its more like the behaviour of the car now which he likes better and he can be more aggressive, Steiner said. I think thats the main thing that we found the better balance.On Friday we struggled here, but I think I said it before and I may repeat myself we had this front wing since Malaysia but we were never able to test it properly and find a setup or balance with it, because we always had some struggles in FP1 or FP2. So if you have a little bit of struggle in one car, you need to find out about your tyres, you cannot develop a new front wing.Theres no point to have a good front wing and you dont know what your tyres are doing, so we focussed on it here, we had a little bit of a better weekend without big mechanical failures or anything, so we got it sorted and we got a bit of an understanding for this track, I hope we can carry it into Ausstin.dddddddddddd. But that is the main reason for Romain to be a little bit happier.The improvement came following an eventful Malaysian Grand Prix for the team, which saw Grosjean suffer a brake failure and Gutierrez lose a wheel mid-way through the race. Steiner thinks the quick turnaround underlined the strength of Haas operation.Our plate was full after Malaysia to sort out the problems we had and also try to make the car quicker and get a better set-up. I think everyone worked hard and we achieved a lot in a very short time. So, again, that shows for me how the team is getting better.After Malaysia everything went wrong which could go wrong, we had so many broken parts. The guys here arrived ready to go again. We didnt have any stupid late nights here, we had one night anti-curfew but the rest the guys went home before so we are getting more efficient in how we do things and just better prepared.We cant have this without giving the time, because experience ... you need to make it. To make experience takes time and the only thing you cannot buy is time. So I think we made progress again. Of course you always make a step forward and then two back and then that is how you steadily come up. As long as you make progress I think we are happy, we are good. ' ' '