Baseball season has begun! That means from now until early November, baseball fans will be able to get their daily fix. And for Minnesota Twins fans, this year offers more than one reason to get excited.
The Twins are embarking on their 50th season this year, and coincidentally marking this milestone is the return of outdoor baseball to Minnesota with the opening of Target Field. On top of that, this year's roster is stacked with potential.
It's pretty hard to find a lot to dislike about Twins baseball at the moment, with Joe Nathan's season-ending injury probably the obvious exception. One of the bright spots comes from the offseason moves made by the front office.
According to the USA Today, the Twins are ranked No. 10 in the payroll department. Apparently, while many teams were seemingly affected by the recession (14 teams cut their payrolls), the Twins went the opposite direction and upped their payroll by 49 percent to a franchise-record $97.6 million.
Opening day
With the expected unpredictable Minnesota weather in early April, the Twins opened their season with a four-gamer in Anaheim, followed by a weekend series against the division-rival Chicago White Sox.
Losing opening day and then winning three straight was a pretty productive showing for the Twins, who have struggled at Angel Stadium. They hadn't won a series there since 2002. So leaving with three-out-of-four isn't a bad showing.
Maybe one of the more positively-pleasing statistics from the series was the Twins hitting nine home runs. First baseman Justin Morneau, newcomer J.J. Hardy and the slim-and-trim Delmon Young each had a pair of bombs.
The Twins are embarking on their 50th season this year, and coincidentally marking this milestone is the return of outdoor baseball to Minnesota with the opening of Target Field. On top of that, this year's roster is stacked with potential.
It's pretty hard to find a lot to dislike about Twins baseball at the moment, with Joe Nathan's season-ending injury probably the obvious exception. One of the bright spots comes from the offseason moves made by the front office.
According to the USA Today, the Twins are ranked No. 10 in the payroll department. Apparently, while many teams were seemingly affected by the recession (14 teams cut their payrolls), the Twins went the opposite direction and upped their payroll by 49 percent to a franchise-record $97.6 million.
Opening day
With the expected unpredictable Minnesota weather in early April, the Twins opened their season with a four-gamer in Anaheim, followed by a weekend series against the division-rival Chicago White Sox.
Losing opening day and then winning three straight was a pretty productive showing for the Twins, who have struggled at Angel Stadium. They hadn't won a series there since 2002. So leaving with three-out-of-four isn't a bad showing.
Maybe one of the more positively-pleasing statistics from the series was the Twins hitting nine home runs. First baseman Justin Morneau, newcomer J.J. Hardy and the slim-and-trim Delmon Young each had a pair of bombs.
In the finale, Brendan Harris got the start and certainly made the most of it by putting the Twins in front for good with a blast. Yes, that was Brendan Harris.
Of course, the batting champ didn't want to risk being left out, and former Twins killer Jim Thome also got in on the action. I have to say, it's so much better now that he's in a Twins uniform.
Mound masters
Pitching-wise, Scott Baker looked shaky in his opening-day start, and Jose Mijares really let the game slip away by giving up back-to-back homers (although he did redeem himself with a strong outing on Thursday). Jon Rauch earned his first save as a Twin, and it was a good one. A one-two-three inning. Quick and simple; that was nice to see.
Nick Blackburn and Carl Pavano won their games, and Kevin Slowey looked decent, considering he hadn't pitched in a game since July 3 of last season before being bitten by the injury bug. The only real downside of this first trip was four games starting at 9 p.m. Central time. As a result, the team didn't get in to Chicago until very early Friday morning.
Home sweet outdoor home
Although the Twins and their fans got a taste of Target Field with two exhibition games last weekend, the official opening day at the new ballpark will be this coming Monday. I've already seen and heard a lot about the park, thanks to friends' photos, media coverage and a great special section in Sunday's Star Tribune detailing just about everything you need to know about the new digs.
As you might imagine, tickets are going as fast as free food at a college campus. I won't be one of the lucky ones there on opening day or for the opening series. Would I like to be? Of course, along with thousands and thousands of other people, I'm sure. But I'm not fretting over it.
To me, it's still so surreal that I won't be going to the Metrodome to see the Twins play when I eventually go. I'm taking it in stride; I'll get there when I get there. When I do I'm sure it will be an amazing experience. And until then, it's a good thing I have no problem watching sporting events on TV.
Above: Me and my friends Pam and Laura waiting to head in to the Dome for a Twins game last summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment