Game 1 Viewing Party Notes

On Wednesday, the Twins invited members of the On Deck Circle (season ticket waiting list) to come down to Target Field and watch Game 1 of the World Series in the Legends Club or the Metropolitan Club. Twins President Dave St. Peter was there to answer some fans' questions, and they had a nice buffet of ballpark food. They displayed the game on the Jumbotron as well as the approximately 140,561 televisions (give or take) they have all over the place. They raffled off some prizes and they offered mini-tours of Target Field. My friend and I had a very nice time.

Here's a quick recap of Mr. St. Peter's Q & A session:

• My friend and I arrived in the middle of it, and frankly we were immediately more interested in getting ourselves some food before listening to him, but we did catch some stuff.
• Regarding the batter's eye in centerfield: he acknowledges that that black screen is ugly, but the trees needed to be removed because at certain times of the day, the sun glares off them so that the ball comes out of some dappled shadowy whatever, and that not only were the batters complaining about it, but the umpires were too. He said that he's talking it over with the grounds crew and some other people to come up with some more attractive solutions, but he isn't willing to disclose anything about it yet.
• Regarding Joe Mauer moving to first base: He had talked to Joe like four hours prior, and Joe says he wants to be the catcher. Joe is the catcher. Joe will be the catcher for a long time. Joe can play some at first base on an as-needed basis to give Joe or Justin a day off. But, for now, Joe is the catcher.
• He sounded like he expressed some doubt over whether Justin Morneau will be able to come back at 100% and play first base. He said something about moving him to DH. I think this was within a conversation regarding re-signing Cuddyer and/or Kubel. I didn't really hear this part; this is the part where I was eating kettle chips.
• Someone asked about Tsyoshi Nishioka and his role for 2012: St. Peter admitted that 2011 was a very bad year for Nishioka. However, a position is not guaranteed to him; he will have to earn a spot in spring training. St. Peter also hinted at finding a free-agent middle infielder.
• Someone asked about the availability of wheelchair-accessible seating and how it's getting harder to get them because non-handicapped people are getting them (or something like that -- again, I didn't really hear the question; let's blame the kettle chips): St. Peter acknowledged something needs to be done to ensure that the folks who need the accessible seating get it. However, they are prohibited from asking people who request those seats why they need them. He said that they are working with the ADA to come up with a plan to better assure the accessible seating is available to fans who need it. (Allow me to interject with a personal rant as this topic hits home: I'm all in favor of making sure the fans who really need accessible seating get it, but people have to remember that just because a fan isn't using a wheelchair or cane that he or she doesn't need accessible seating. Some disabilities are not as obvious as others. All fans deserve to sit with the rest of their party, so it may be that one member of the group may require the seating, but they all get to be there. Also, fans who have wheelchair-access tickets have every right to sell them or give them away, so it could be that someone who doesn't really need the accessible seats gets them anyway. I just hope that the Twins organization keeps these factors in mind as they try to resolve the issue of availability of these seats. Thank you; now back to the regularly scheduled blog.)

Here's a quick recap of the mini-tour:

• Our tour guide was kind of a Seinfeld-soup-nazi guy. He was pretty uptight about the number of people following him and he walked so fast we could hardly keep up, let alone take pictures. I took some, but they're quite lame so I won't even put them up. Honestly, they're not worth the effort.
• We toured the Champions Club, and areas around the clubhouse, workout room, batting cages, and dugout (but not actually in any of those areas). I peeked in between the doors of the trainers' room -- it looked big. I was hoping to get in there and spray some Lysol around or something. I know that won't help with the number of oblique pulls and forearm strains, but it might help reduce the number of instances of "flu-like symptoms."
• All the beer kegs are stored in the bowels of the building and there are miles of tubing that go from 14 chilled keg rooms to the taps all around the park.
• We were allowed to see into the clubhouse without actually going into it (no pictures -- MLB rules!). It's big. The lockers are big. There are four double-wide lockers in the corners. They belong to the team leaders: Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, and Nathan. They get them supposedly because they get so much mail. (My guess is they get them because they have more reporters bugging them.)
• The Champions Club looks like any other reception hall. You can rent it for your company party or family event. You can get married at home plate for like $3,000 or something. If you want your wedding video-streamed live on the Jumbotron, that'll cost you an extra $11,000.
• The Champion Club seats are closer to the batter (at 45 feet) than the pitcher (at 60 feet 6 inches). The fans are closer to home plate in Target Field than at any other ballpark in the Majors.
• We did not see the blue ox, but we did look for it.
• Taking this little tour just made my friend and I want to pony up the $17 for the full, hour-and-a-half-long tour. Maybe that would go at a better pace for taking pictures. We'll have to plan on doing that.

Here's a quick recap of the rest of the evening:

• No, we didn't win any prizes. We're pretty bummed about it too. We really wanted the game-used Michael Cuddyer bat.
• The pretzels they served were amazing. They're very unlike the ones they sell at the concession stands. I want them to sell these instead. Soft and warm and just the right amount of salt and mmmmm. The sausages were pretty good too.
• Part of the whole point of this event was to allow the potential season ticket buyers to speak with their representative. I could never find my representative. I even looked for him. Twice. I know he was there because he was introduced. But he was vapor when I tried to hunt him down. No biggie, though. I just wanted to know what he thought my chances were for getting the season tickets this year. I'll just wait it out and see.
• My friend and I were amazed at how crystal clear watching TV on the Jumbotron was. Yeah, we've seen it a million times before, but this is probably the first time we've really watched it for an extended amount of time.

Some Crappy Pictures from Sunday's Game

I do have a nice camera, but it's a brute and I kind of hate carrying it around. My husband was already carrying a backpack of jackets, rain gear, and food, so there wasn't any way he was going to carry it. So, I used my phone to take some pictures of Target Field on Sunday. The pictures are ok when I didn't zoom in; they're crappy when I did.

At any rate, here they are:

It was a hazy, humid, and breezy day at the park.

But the rain stayed away, so it was decent weather for baseball.

They have Thome Homer countdown. It was at 589 before the game.

They're also counting down games until Bert gets inducted into the Hall of Fame.

They honored the UMD Bulldogs National Hockey Champions. Congrats, guys!

Scott Baker delivering. It was probably a ball.

Cuddy playing second base. He did all right.

T.C. waiting until the end of the half-inning so he can get on the field and shoot some shirts.

Big Jim at the plate.

I hope these folks got circled by Bert.

Jumbo-tron proposal. Except this isn't the right couple. Oopsie. Poor Dustin and Miranda.

They're changing Jim Thome's homerun countdown to 590. His homer landed in the concourse area right below the countdown sign. Boom!

Ok, you tell me... Does this say that Young and Kubel "'stuck' out swinging"? We couldn't really tell from where we were sitting.

That's it. Maybe next time I'll bring my good camera.

Notes: Nov. 14, 2010

Congratulations to Joe Mauer for winning the 2010 Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards. It's not really a surprise that he won them. While there is always controversy around the Gold Glove, and some folks were saying that Joe didn't have his best year defensively, I can't think of a better catcher in the American League.

~~~

Speaking of controversy with the Gold Glove, there was a little issue with the winner at shortstop for the American League, Derek Jeter. You see, the Gold Glove award has a bit of a reputation of once a guy starts winning it, he keeps winning it -- whether he deserves it or not. And giving it to Jeter seems to reinforce that reputation.

Jeter makes great jumping throws, but he has to because he doesn't have much range. If he had good range, his throws would be routine, which probably doesn't really appeal to him anyway. In fact, the folks at Baseball-Reference.com figured out some defensive metrics of all the American League shortstops. Jeter came in at #59*. Seems as if some other guys may have deserved it more than him.

*Baseball-Reference.com has since taken down the link to the list they made, otherwise I would have linked to it.

~~~

Although it's been a pretty quiet week for the Twins, they have added a few new guys to the minor leagues. The most notable of which, and so far the only one to land on the 40-man roster, is relief pitcher Eric Hacker (a name that always makes me think of former Gopher football player Eric Decker).

There's not much to read in to this signing other than that he'll be given every opportunity to prove himself during Spring Training and earn a spot in the Twins' bullpen.

The other guys they've signed are really to fill in spots in the minors. However, one guy, relief pitcher Yorman Bazardo, certainly gets the Cool Name award from me.

~~~

Target Field announced several new features for next season. It's hard to believe they could improve on such a great ballpark, but these improvements sound pretty sweet. There will be a new scoreboard in right field which will be the same as the one in left field, only smaller (great idea -- I sat in the left field seats once, and I had to turn around in my seat just to see the scoreboard). They're also adding a clock tower next to the new scoreboard (nice, IF they keep the graphics on it team- or game-related; lame, if it's just another place to put advertising).

They also hope to improve customer service at the concession stands to reduce wait-time (ok, I've never had a problem) and add more signature Minnesota food (I can't imagine what that would be -- they've already got the Juicy Lucy and Byerly's Wild Rice Soup -- unless it's Spam).

Free WiFi and improved cell coverage will be great too.

~~~

Speaking of improvements to Target Field, it seems as if Justin Morneau was hoping they'd have the hitters in mind and bring in the fences a smidge. I don't blame him. It is certainly near the bottom of the list for homerun-friendly parks.

A lot of sports radio talk show hosts, bloggers, and other fans are kind giving him a hard time about his remarks. But, I seem to remember a lot of folks complaining during the season about all the catches at the wall. Why is it ok for fans and media-folk to whine about it, but not players?

I'm not completely sure that moving the fences after just the first season is the right decision. But, it's his opinion, he feels strongly about it, and I'm glad he said something.

~~~

Scarf-zilla for Jim Thome update: it's longer than I am and almost done. With five rows to go, I ran out of blue yarn. Story of my life.

Yes, I have to get more yarn and finish those five rows. It needs to be symmetrical; I'm particular like that. Luckily, I used cheap yarn that claims to have no dye lot.

By later in the week, Bill Smith should be able to offer Big Jim a contract, complete with scarf-zilla if he wants it.

If Jimmers doesn't need it, it would also be suitable for TC Bear.

Red Sox at Twins -- Busting Myths

Recap:
Monday -- Red Sox 2 - Twins 5
Wednesday -- Red Sox 6 - Twins 3
Thursday -- Red Sox 0 - Twins 8

Twins take series 2-1
The Twins are 2-0 in games I attend. I hope the Twins organization remembers that with a gift of free tickets if there is a late-season push for wins.

~~~

So the Twins are all nice and cozy in their new home. For the first time that I can remember, I went to two home games in one week -- usually the only time I do that is if I'm traveling (so they're away games). So, since I'm all expert-y now about the ins and outs of Target Field and the Twins, I thought I'd review some myths and determine their validity.

1. The Northstar Commuter Train is a great way to get from the northwest suburbs to Target Field. Well, in theory, it's a great idea. I mean, it goes from Big Lake; stops at Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids, and Fridley; and drops you right at the Target Field station. How great is that? Well, it's ok. I boarded in Elk River, and when we left the station, all the seats were full and some people were standing. By the time we left Coon Rapids, the train was stuffed. They needed to call in some buses to take the folks from Fridley. Oh, and because there were so many people boarding, we arrived at the ballpark late. Also, the "Family Pass" ticket is a great deal -- if you qualify. It's $13 (from Elk River) for two adults and up to three kids 6-12 (5 and under free) round-trip. Hmm. That's less than parking. However, my kids are older than 12. So for 4 adults, it's $22 one way. Not a deal at all. (Shhh...we bought the Family Pass ticket anyway.) And then leaving was an adventure. We couldn't fit on the first train out, so we had to wait 30 minutes for the next one. What a waste of time. And not all games will have trains coming back, so you have to be careful, or you're paying a lot for cab fare. So, while I'd love to take the commuter line to the park, it's not completely practical. This myth is busted.[Important Update: scroll down]
2. The concourses of Target Field are wider and less crowded than the ones at the Dome. Well, Target Field's concourses may measure wider, and they are less crowded -- during the game. However, before the game starts and after it ends, it's just as bad as before. They do, however, do a good job getting everyone out of the building, so that experience is a little better. But, man, before the game, when all the concession stand lines block the walking lanes, it's tough to get through. Now, in their defense, if I had arrived earlier, I may have been able to avoid a lot of the crowding. This is what public transportation does for me. So, if you allow that the concourses will be stuffed both before and after the game, the rest of the time they're all right. This myth is plausible, but not likely.
3. The cupholders at Target Field aren't tilted like they are at the Dome. Back in January, when the Twins front office employees first moved into Target Field, the person behind the official Twins Twitter account asked fans if they have any questions. So I asked him/her if the cupholders were tilted like they are at the Dome, and he/she replied that no, they were not. Happy news; I really hate to have to drink half my beer/pop before I can set it down. For Monday's game, my tickets were in a wheelchair row (I had a folding chair), and the cupholder was perfectly level. However, today, much to my horror (ok, not really horror, but certainly surprise), my cupholder was, indeed, tilted. Here's photographic proof.

Umm, that looks tilted to me. This myth is busted.
4. The Twins have a hard time beating AL East teams. Well, at least for this one particular AL East team for this one particular series, it ain't so. The Twins sure looked good -- for game 1 and 3 anyway. Game 2 was a little sloppy (11 men left base?!), and Slowey and Crain were kind of shaky, but it wasn't totally depressing. I'd say this series was a success. This myth is busted.
5. Jason Kubel has bad knees, is slow, and has no defense. Did you see his baserunning today? Did you see that great catch in left? I think he's all right. This myth is busted.
6. We should be worried about Jose Mijares. I watched him today, and I wasn't impressed. I don't know if it's his eyes (he's battling some kind of eye problem that causes blurred vision), his control, his confidence, or what, but he didn't look good. He gave up a couple of hits, and he wasn't at all dominating. Of his five appearances, I've only been satisfied with two of them. This myth is confirmed.
7. Joe Mauer is perfect. Nope. He 0-fer'ed today. So, he's merely super-human. This myth is busted, but not badly.

Update:
Apparently, Metro Transit heard my complaints (and probably other people's too) about the commuter line, because they sent me the following email Friday afternoon:

Schedules for the Northstar Commuter Rail Line will change this Saturday (April 17). Based on current ridership patterns and customer requests, Metro Transit will adjust the departure times for all weekend service, all weekday morning service into Minneapolis and most northbound weekday trips.

The weekday schedules will better match actual travel times, saving several minutes in each direction. Visit Metro Transit's web site for the new schedule details. Connecting bus routes 20 and 811 will be adjusted to meet the new train times.

The change alleviates the 10 p.m. train, which had limited ridership, and is replaced by a 7 p.m. departure. The weekend schedules also will allow earlier arrivals in downtown Minneapolis for Minnesota Twins games at Target Field. Northstar will serve 53 of the Twins' 81 home games this season. Visit Metro Transit's web site for a list of games served by the Northstar Line.

During the Twins opener this week, the Northstar line was a big winner. Ridership grew from 501 for the first game train on Monday to 2,055 on Thursday. What this says to me is people are accepting commuter rail as an economical and desirable way to move.

If you have questions or comments about the new Northstar schedules, service to Target Field or other operations between Big Lake and downtown Minneapolis, please use the online customer comment form at http://www.metrotransit.org/ or call Metro Transit customer service at 612-373-3333.

Thank you for riding Northstar - or if you haven't ridden yet, give Northstar a try for a relaxing, convenient and safe ride.

Sincerely,
Dan Erhart
NCDA Board Chair

PS. Also starting on Saturday, Family Passes will extend eligible ages to 6 - 17 years old.

So, it's good to know that they're trying to solve the problems. We'll see. I'm really happy about the Family Pass thing, because now it works for me.

And, many thanks to haasertime, who provided this link to a Star Tribune article about it in the comments.

As If You Haven't Read Enough About Target Field

Ok, I know that if you've spent any time at all on the web reading stories from the media and Twins fans, you've probably reached your limit of Target Field reports. I hope you have the patience for one more.

I'd really like to thank the Baseball Gods and Mother Nature, who apparently had a summit to flawlessly weave an outstanding game with terrific weather. I'm willing to bet the forecasts of showers were done by design just to make us appreciate it even more. It was mild and breezy; in the shade, it was windbreaker weather. Lovely.

My first ever cup of coffee at a Twins game, just to take the chill off. It was good, too.

The park itself is as good as advertised. It reminds me a little of the best of AT&T park, Busch Stadium, and Camden Yard, but it has its own personality. I really like the look of all the stone.

And the atmosphere is as great as anywhere.

Like any good baseball dork, I kept a score card. I wanted to remember everything.

Here are all the "Target Field Firsts" as I remembered and wrote them down:

YOUR Minnesota Twins

• First pitch - Carl Pavano to Marco Scutaro (ball)

• First base hit - Marco Scutaro (1st, off Pavano)
• First caught-stealing - Marco Scutaro (1st, Pavano to Hudson)
• First manager arguing - Terry Francona (1st, thought Pavano balked)
• First extra-base hit - Dustin Pedroia (1st, off Pavano)
• First base-on-balls - Denard Span (1st, off Lester)
• First Twins base hit - Orlando Hudson (1st, off Lester)
• First run batted in - Michael Cuddyer (1st, off Lester)
• First run scored - Denard Span

The first run on the scoreboard

• First strikeout - Carl Pavano (2nd, of Ortiz)
• First stolen base - Nick Punto (2nd, off Lester/Martinez), which also led to the first belt replacement

 Tim Tchida: "Keep your pants on, son."

• First Twins extra-base hit - Joe Mauer (2nd, off Lester)
• First fair/foul replay - Mike Camron (foul, 5th, off Pavano)
• First homerun - Jason Kubel (7th, off Atchison), which is kind a funny story -- all afternoon, whenever he, or any of the heavy hitters, came to the plate, I cheered "my mom wants to see a homerun!", but, of course, right before Kubes came to the plate, she went somewhere, and missed it.
• First final out - Jon Rauch (9th, of Beltre)

• First win - Carl Pavano
• First save - Jon Rauch

 First celebration

It takes a little longer now for the guys in the bullpen to join the high-fiving

Yay!

All in all, an amazing day!

If you're interested in seeing the rest of my pictures, here's a link to my Facebook album. It's public, so you don't need to be on Facebook to see them.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055033&id=1533682127&l=57eec13d45

Copping Out for Tonight

Hi,

So I just finished eating supper after getting home from an outstanding day at Target Field. I know you would like a recap and pictures, and I'll do that -- tomorrow. I'm pooped (::snicker:: she said "poop"), and overly tired (clearly; if I'm snickering at juvenile humor). Plus, it takes for.ev.er to get pictures off my camera. So, since tomorrow's an off-day anyway, I'll do it then. Be sure to come back.

In short, though, it was absolutely fantastic. I love Target Field. I love the Twins. And, right now, I love the idea of going to bed.

Goodnight,
k-bro

A Quick Nod and a Thanks

So the two preseason exhibition games at the brand-spanking-new Target Field were very exciting. I didn't make it down there, but I could certainly feel the buzz right through my TV. The pictures and accounts I've seen from the media and my friends have convinced me that it's amazing. I've been to enough ballparks to know this one is special -- I see shades of the best parts of them here. I'm especially impressed with the emphasis of the Twins branding while keeping the Target branding present, yet low-key. I'm really looking forward to going myself (I've got tickets for three games, and I'm working on more).

The games themselves were pretty thrilling -- for exhibition games, that is. Denard Span getting the first hit and dinger, Joe Mauer planting a baseball among the centerfield trees, and Jacque Jones receiving a number of surprise standing ovations made for some fantastic moments. Ironically, however, the real hero of the weekend is the old Metrodome itself. Really. Not only was its crappiness a driving force, a very significant one at that, behind the support for the new ballpark, but it also saved baseball in Minnesota.

In 2001, when Bud Selig and 28 team owners voted to contract the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos from Major League Baseball, it was the Metrodome, or rather the Twins' contract to lease it, that saved our beloved club. Hennepin County District Court Judge Harry Crump, who reportedly wasn't even really a baseball fan, granted the Metropolitan Sports Facility Commission an injunction to force the Twins to play the 2002 season, thereby forcing MLB to keep the teams. Whether the whole thing was elaborate conspiracy to ensure public funding for the new ballpark, or an ill-advised get-richer-quick scheme by Mr. Pohlad, it's immaterial when the baseball fans of Minnesota sit under the sky on a beautiful day watching a great game.

So next time you're on your way to beautiful Target Field, be sure to give a quick nod and a thanks to the old Dump Dome as you go by. I just know it's happy for us.

Short Notes - Mar. 25

Target Field and the Curious Marketing Ploy
This past weekend, many folks got to tour Target Field. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them, but I really enjoyed looking at everyone's pictures on Facebook and other places on the web. Everyone is raving about it. One of my co-workers went, and she showed me some fantastic pictures too. And she brought me a copy of the Target Field Fan Guide (she's so thoughtful). The guide is very informative, and I'm grateful she gave it to me. When I turned it to the back side, I wasn't surprised to see an ad for Target. They want you to go to Target to pick up all the things you need for a trip to ballpark: sunblock, sunglasses, cap, sunflower seeds, mitt.... But, wait a sec...what is that?

Do NOT tell me they're advocating you bring a beach ball to the baseball game. I mean don't get me wrong, I love Target. I'd totally go there to pick up sunblock, a cap, or flip flops on my way to the game. But, I'm morally opposed to beach balls at baseball games. I hate, hate, hate beach balls at baseball games. In fact, I even started a Facebook group about it. But, the funny thing is, it's not just me who wants to ban beach balls from baseball games; Target Field itself wants to ban beach balls from baseball games. It says so right on page 10 of the very same Fan Guide.

A classic case of the Marketing Department refusing to communicate with other departments. Trust me, I know what that's all about.

Really, Glen Perkins?
So Glen Perkins will miss a few days because he hurt his back...by lifting weights. Seriously? That just sounds like an out-of-shape-fat-guy thing to do. What's next? Miss five games because he stubbed his toe? Does he even want to pitch?

Bubble Guy
Every spring, I like to select one guy who I hope makes the roster, but who probably won't, so I root for him along the way. Because he's on the bubble between the majors and AAA, I call him my bubble guy. And this year's bubble guy is ... pitcher Anthony Slama. He's pitched well, raising some eyebrows, making waves in the "who's the closer" conversation. But the selling point is ... check out this picture from the Knuckleballs blog (a blog that, if you haven't checked out yet, you should):

Photo from JimCrikket of Knuckleballs

Look at that! Old-school stirrups! How sweet is that?
Now go visit that blog and check out the rest of the Spring Training pictures and other good stuff.

Speaking of Blogs You Should Read 
I've reorganized my blogroll on the sidebar again. I've added all 64 other Twins blogs that were included on the Newsbobber blog list. To keep it manageable, it only lists the 25 most-recently updated blogs. So check it out often.

Fantasy Baseball
This year, I joined a bunch of other Twins bloggers in a fantasy baseball league. I had the third overall pick, and selected Marlins' shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Then I picked CC Sabathia, Ichiro, and Johan Santana. Then I kind of started drafting poorly. I was distracted by making that ridiculous Joe's World photoshop and helping my kids with their homework during the draft (which kind of explains why that photoshop turned out so crappy, but let me tell you, it's not easy fitting Bill Smith's, um..., large-ish head onto Dana Carvey's slim face). In fact, I was darned lucky to even get a regular catcher, because I kind of forgot about filling that position until late. Luckily, Cardinals' Yadier Molina was still available. Coincidentally, my back up catcher is his brother, Giants' Bengie Molina. I've also got the all-important DL slot filled by drafting the Mets' outfielder Carlos Beltran -- everyone's hoping he'll be good to go by late April.

I don't really expect much. I'm not really a great fantasy baseball mind. My aversion to stats and research kind of handicaps me at such things. But, I'll do my best and have fun. Besides, it's no wonder I don't expect to do well; just look at these great baseball minds I'm playing against:

Andrew Kneeland: Twins Target

Brian Pietrzak: BP's Baseball Blog

Emily Jipp: Chatter From the Cheap Seats

Eric Johnson: Undomed

Eric Olson: Call to the 'Pen

Erin M: Picked Off At First

Josh Johnson: Josh's Thoughts

Louie Schuth: Hitting the Eephus

Shawn Berg: On the Road With...

Topper Anton: Curve for a Strike

Thrylos98: The Tenth Inning Stretch

Oh, the name of my team is the "Three Finger Mordecai Browns," named after Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, a Cubs pitcher from the early 1900s. He lost a significant portion of his index finger in a childhood accident, and many of his opponents claimed that his curveball was aided by that. To this day, the Cubs have not won a World Series in which he didn't appear.

More Recommended Reading

In addition to the Twins blogs, I've run across some gems:

An Indian's fan tells us how he really feels about the Joe Mauer signing. Actually, it's very nicely done -- so much so, that it almost makes me want to be an Indians fan. Ok, not really, but it's still good.

Some Yankee fans are worried about Joe Mauer's signing. Great satire.

Sarah explains how adorableness counts as a legit baseball stat. This is the same Sarah from Oh, It's THOSE Girls, and I swear, she knows exactly how I think and feel about baseball, but she's much more articulate and entertaining about it.

A Few Things

Brad Radke was my boyfriend -- my first baseball love. And now he's in the Twins Hall of Fame. I'm so proud. And I miss him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason Kubel avoided arbitration and signed a brand new 2-year contract. Good for him. I guess. I mean, I'm glad he's on the team and all, but I just can't love him. I don't know why. Maybe it's because he reminds me of Dr. Alex Karev from Grey's Anatomy. His character is such an ass on that show. They have the same cocky smirk, so I guess I make the association, unfair as it may be. Sorry Jason.

Photo from FOX Sports


Photo from www.greysanatomyinsider.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seth Everett on XM MLB Radio said something about new stadiums hosting "Flush Offs" during construction. They invite construction workers and their families, members of the media, and other folks they can round up to go in the various restrooms and activate the sinks, toilets, and urinals all at the same time to make sure the plumbing and sewers can handle the demand. He said that they make a big party of it, playing music over the public address, and making a spectacle of counting down to the flushing moment.

I have one question: how do I get in on this? I totally want to be part of Target Field's inaugural flushing.