Exhibition Game #1

It might have been only an Exhibition game, but it sure felt like Opening Night! You could feel the excitement--from fans, vendors, Twins staff, and I'm sure, the players themselves! The night that Twins fans had long waited for was finally here--outdoor baseball has returned to Minnesota! I thought about that stupid countdown we've sat through the past two seasons at the Metrodome...every game counting down to how games till baseball moved outdoors. Yes, I thought it was stupid! But now, well now, I can see that this stadium is living up to its' hype!

 

By the luck of the draw, we got tickets to the first exhibition game. At first, I had thought it would be best to go to Saturday's afternoon game--since it would be earlier in the day, it would be possibly warmer...Well, that may turn out to be the case (beautiful now on Saturday!)--Friday night it was cold and windy. Fortunately, the rain stayed away. But even if it had rained, I don't think it would have dampened the spirit of the fans there. It was something special being there that first night.

 

The crowd let out quite a cheer when the tarp was removed!

Like a good number of fans, we got there early to walk around and enjoy the concourse. I can't describe how much nicer it is than the Metrodome! As you walk around, you can easily look out to the field. The amount of space is incredible! 

 

Here's a shot of the bullpen (each team will be side by side)--

Here's a shot of Section 325 (where we sit)--the third upper deck section from the right!

Don't let that fool you--the view of the field is still awesome! Baby, this place was built for baseball!

 

And they call them the "Skyline View" seats for a reason--

 

Part of the festivities of the night included honoring former Twins' Hall of Famers--Hrbek, Killebrew, Olivia, Carew, and of course, Puckett. They were all in attendance, excluding Pucket, who left us all too soon.  And they seemed to be just as thrilled as the rest of us to see outdoor baseball return!

That jumbotron screen is incredible! I am going to enjoy sitting so close to it (it is just to our left over centerfield). It helps bring the action from down on the field to us, plus it acts as a great scoreboard!

 

Finally, it was time to play ball! Here's Morneau and Cuddy running onto the field for the first time! Yes, I know it's a blurry photo...but the wind was blowing so bad at the time that I couldn't hold my camera still!

 

It was an awesome game...one that it didn't really matter that we lost...it was about enjoying the game! Span was the hero--hitting the first triple and then the first homer. Jacque Jones was warmly received by the crowd--receiving a standing ovation when he came to bat. He was clearly moved by the fans' ovation.

And in the end, the sun struggled to come out for a bit--

Hubby, aka Curveballs, woke up this morning and said, "I want to go to ALL the baseball games at Target Field!"

 

I couldn't agree more!

My Two Favorite Joes

While it's going to be hard to be without the one this year, I'm awful glad we're guaranteed to have the other around for 9 years! And I'm hoping in 2011 they'll both be playing the game!

This is perhaps my favorite Twins commercial...it still makes me smile.

Enjoy!

Section 325, Row 8

I'll admit it--I was one of those Twins fans that talked last season about actually missing the Metrodome. I mean, there were never any issues with weather and I have a lot of fond memories from the Metrodome (um, remember that marriage proposal?) But all that changed today...

Today, Curveballs and myself attended the Open House for season ticket holders. Yup, we became season ticket holders for the first time. My Christmas present to the hubby was a 20-game pack to the 2010 season. 

I'm not talking the high-class seats. More like nose-bleed. Section 325, Row 8. Left Field....about as far over in left field as you can get. Honestly, I was worried about whether or not we would be happy with our seats. And I was especially afraid that I would be scared being up so high.

Well, the Open House got me all excited about baseball at Target Field. I don't think there is a bad seat in the house!  And I think we'll be quite happy with our seats!

Here's the view of the field from our seats--

I had a few moments of freaking out being so high, but then I soaked it all up. It feels o.k. It feels great. They call them "Skyline View" seats and here's why--

There is an awesome view of the Minneapolis skyline. And lots of sun--which today felt good. I will be investing in a hat and sunglasses! (We do have some protection from rain). Here's the view to the left and the Jumbotron (which is huge)--we watched today's preseason game for a bit (Twins trounced on the Rays 12-3).

We had a great time checking out the whole place...let me tell you, it's so different being in a stadium that was designed for baseball (not football!). 

I came home pumped up for baseball. I went over to my art studio for a few hours, came home & got on the computer to find out that--

Mauer signed!!!

That took my excitement to a whole other level...but that's a post for another day! 

I'm back!

I've been contemplating starting up this baseball blog again. Problem is, it's been so long that I couldn't even remember how to log into this account. Fortunately, I remembered the account log-in and I'm giving it a go again.

It's not that I stopped following baseball. Hubby and I went to quite a number of games last year and watched a great number more games on television. Life just gets a little too busy at times to juggle so many things.

So I'm not making any big promises. I'm just here sharing my thoughts (for what they're worth) and love of baseball. Especially Twins baseball.

Let's play ball!

Drama on the field

Man oh man, I wish I was at tonight's game. We thought about it, but it was a busy day at work and I needed to get some things done at home. We decided that it would probably be better to go Friday night or during the weekend.

Probably. Probably not. Tonight's game has had (thus far) all the drama I love. If I were there, I'd surely come home with a sore throat and no voice. The first 5 innings didn't go all that well, but then things shifted. Morneau got a 3-run homerun in the bottom of the 5th to bring the Twins to within 1 (4-3).

And then things got really hot in the 7th. Span got hit by a pitch, but instead of being given the base the 1st base ref decided Span had attempted to punt the ball and "put himself" in the ball's way. WRONG. Gardy came out to argue the point and was ejected almost immediately. But Gardy stayed to argue his point and in my opinion, rightfully so. Gardy was fired up and the crowd got fired up too. When Gardy finally left the field, he kicked or threw his cap up in the air. A few fans responded by throwing their caps onto the field. Pretty soon, Ozzie was pulling his guys off the field. Hey, don't these guys play in Chicago? I think the White Sox face tougher crowds just taking the field at home.

Eventually order was returned and the teams took to the field once again. With just a few more throws, Span actually was walked. Sweet. Karma. All this was followed by some nice base hitting and then Kubel, with 2 runners on, hit the ball out--giving the Twins their first lead.

Of course, the Sox answered with a 2-run homerun. It just can't be easy. But like I said, it's been a night for drama. And that makes for good baseball.

Right now it's the bottom of the 8th and the Twins have added on more runs, increasing their lead again. With 2 outs, the Twins lead 10-6.

I may have things that "need to be done", but until this game is over I'm glued to my television and whoopin' and hollerin' through every run and every out.

1/2 game back and 26 home games to play

Yup, only 26 home games still to play. I got me some baseball games to get to.

And I got to the one tonight. Yup, Perkins was pitching. He seemed a little shaky the first few innings. It was a rough start--with a balk called that eventually led to a run. And the Sox pitcher looked better than expected--for a while. But then Twins magic took over and we took the lead. The crowd of 36,999 stood on their feet throughout the 9th as we won to pull within a 1/2 game of first place.

The bad news is that Casilla has been placed on the DL with a torn tendon in the finger he injured on Monday night. Another f*#*ing finger injury!?! Damn it. I was worried about this. First, we do seem prone to these type of injuries this year...so when they came out to check Casilla last night, I thought--"this won't be good". And then this afternoon Curveball went to the Dome to catch players before the game (for autographs)...Casilla walked in with a soft cast on his hand.

Casilla has been hot and I would hate to see the kid miss the rest of the season. And sorry, I don't think Everett will be that sort of dynamic player.

So the division lead is on the line tomorrow. It's going to be hard to stay away for that.

Where's Perkins?

I was visiting the Twins website last night and went to check the pitchers listed for the Twins/White Sox series. I found something or rather, someone missing. The Twins' Tuesday night pitcher is listed as "To be announced". Monday's pitcher is listed and even Wednesday, Thursday and Friday's pitchers are listed...so it's pretty obvious who should be pitching Tuesday...Perkins.

What's up with Perkins missing in the listing of probable pitchers? His name was there on Saturday. Is there an injury the Twins aren't talking about? Is Perkins being thrown into some trade deal in the works?

Trading Perkins would open up a spot for Liriano, and he's certainly worth more in a trade than say someone like Boof. Still I would hate to see this Minnesota kid go anywhere. I think he fits well in the organization and he certainly has talent.

While I'm speculating, let me just throw out there that I think Liriano will be brought up soon--but not before Friday. It's time.

The whole thing with Perkins--let's just hope it's an issue of someone dropping the ball and not getting the right info out there...but it certainly caught me eye.

Anyone out there care to speculate?