A letter to Mr. Santana

Dear Mr. Santana (Johan if I may),

The news from New York is that negotiations are not going smoothly. Those bastards--don't they realize what you are worth? They obviously don't deserve your greatness.

If that 6th year is a sticking point, maybe you would like to consider staying with the Twins for 5 years? Or, even stay one more year and see how another Cy Young kind of year will increase your worth.

I know that the Twins organization has a few bastards of their own, but they did sign Morneau, Mauer and Cuddy for the next several years. With you as our #1 pitcher (not to mention Liriano following you), we are still contenders. We can make this happen. You have the unwavering support of Twins fans everywhere. I personally pledge to attend every home game that you pitch! I'll be one of the standing, screaming fans every time you take the field. (Remember, New York fans have a tendency to be fickle and the Mets sort of choked last year).

Anxiously waiting for your reply (and hoping to see you throw the opening pitch for the Twins 2 months from today!),

Curlz

Say it isn't so

Say it isn't so.

I'm not ready to say goodbye to the best pitcher this franchise (and maybe the whole league) has ever seen.

I'm not ready to say goodbye to a player who was just incredibly fun to watch, who made your joy and even, pride in the sport grow each time he threw the ball.

I know it may be so...but until that contract is signed, I'm going to sulk a little, no a lot and even then I expect a certain extended period of pouting to be observed.

I bought my tickets for the opening game on Friday with the hope that I would again experience the joy of seeing Santana throwing the opening pitch.

Scott Baker, opening day pitcher?

Say it isn't so.

Sunday at Twins Fest

Banners were hung around the dome welcoming Twins fans, while the jumbotron played 2007 season highlights as well as player profiles.

We chatted with Al Newman at his booth. He was so willing to talk and enjoyed looking at Curveball's cards from the good ol' days. I had the feeling that he would sit down with you for the whole afternoon and tell stories...how fun would that be!

Boof signing autographs--although this photo doesn't really show it, Boof obviously has dropped a few pounds (about 20). It sounds like he took the concerns of the coaches seriously and didn't want to be sitting in the bullpen any longer. Let's hope the weight loss improves his consistency and durability. (Boof was another player who proposed to his sweetie during the off-season).


Former Twin Dave Goltz signing a card for Curveball.

Delmon Young and Baker signing graphs.


Twins Fest is a great place to bring the kids. There's plenty to do--including the inflated T.C. Bear jumping "mini-dome" (geez, I forget, what do you call these things?)


These two might not be Twins today, but maybe someday?

One of the many young fans enjoying the day!

Fast Fun Facts from Twins Fest

• Both Punto and Cuddy are joining the "New Daddy" club during the season; Cuddy will become a dad in June; I believe Punto is expecting his "little girl" earlier (Cuddy actually gave out the actual due date--you could tell both are quite excited about becoming dads).
• Sorry ladies, it was confirmed by the man himself: Morneau proposed to his girlfriend "sometime in October or November" while they were in Hawaii; Mauer still remains eligible, but quickly changed the subject when asked about his dating scene.
• There seemed to be a number of players getting sick with colds or stuff during Twins Fest; Liriano was sent home on Saturday and didn't make it on Sunday, Punto was also ill and Delmon Young was coughing all day Sunday
• Delmon Young actually extended his stay in MN to participate in Twins Fest on Sunday; he did additional autograph signing and also sat down for a radio interview with KSTP today. He is not a fan of Minnesota's cold weather (maybe we should put together a MN care package for him!) Other players are raving about his potential and his openness to learn and become "part of the team"... hmm, let's hope he's the next great thing in baseball.
• Koskie was sighted at Twins Fest on Saturday--but as a spectator. He lives out in Hamel, MN and hasn't signed with a team as of yet. Koskie is a class act and he didn't play last year due to a head injury (caused by being hit by a ball during the '06 season). Let's hope we see him in a uniform again.
• Al Newman was present...with his own booth promoting his new fundraising ventures for nonprofits. He was very personable and willing to take time talking to the fans.
• Former MN Viking Chuck Foreman was also present on Sunday signing some autographs. Um, did someone fail to mention this was a baseball event? (Although I did sight a number of folks walking around with Wild and Viking shirts on...no Timberwolves though)

More pictures from Twins Fest will be coming soon!

Opening Night of Twinsfest in pictures

Lots of people, lots to do!

Looking out over Twinsfest

Justin and Joe getting ready to do a radio interview before the crowd.

Justin seemed in good spirits!

Radio interview conducted by Dan Gladden with Rod Carew answering the questions.


Autograph lines--that's Liriano with his head down signing away.
His line was very long!


Two young fans manning the autograph lines


Curveball with Gladden



Curlz getting a picture with Neshek at the photo booth.
Can you believe they spelled his name "Neshak"?!?



That's Wayne Hattaway walking by.



There's lots of fun stuff for the kids--including this space
for "batting practice".


Opening Night of Twinsfest 2008 was loads of fun! There's so much to do that we're going back on Sunday. I'll write a wrap-up then.

Twinsfest here we come!

The anticipation has been building for weeks. The day has finally come. I woke up this morning and was anxious to pull on my outfit for the day. Twinsfest is here and I'm outfitted in Twins garb (I'm sporting the new Neshek jersey Curveball got me for Christmas and a new Twins zipped sweatshirt hoodie).

Curveball gave me 4 tickets to Twinsfest for Christmas. Two years ago Curveball tried to lure me to Twinsfest to meet him for the first time. For reasons that make no sense now, I put him off. We were, however, attending ballgames together by the time the baseball season opened that year.

Last year was my first Twinsfest. Curveball is a veteran. I enjoyed walking through the stadium, spotting players and watching some of the radio interviews with players. Curveball, as always, enjoyed getting autographs of players new and old.

Our plan is pretty much the same this years. Thanks to cell phones we'll be able to go our separate ways and both have a good time. I'll be buying tickets and cruising around taking in the sights. In fact, I'm so excited about buying tickets that I'm staying here at work till 5:30 so I can buy tickets online before we go!

For me, Twinsfest signifies the beginning of a new baseball season. I promise that my blogging drought is over. I'll be back here soon with news and pictures from Twinsfest 2008.

Hope to see you there!