Notes from the Welcome Home Luncheon and a few more ballgames

It's been a busy week. And all about baseball.

Friday me and Curveball attended the Twins Welcome Home luncheon. This event is hosted by the Mpls and St. Paul Chamber of Commerces, along with several corporate sponsors. All the current Twins players (save Friday's pitcher Baker) were in attendance, along with the coaching staff.

Curveball attended these luncheons as a kid (in the 60s!). Lucky kid! This was a first for me.

Now I have to fess up that I was mistaken about one sort of major thing. I thought that a Twins player was seated at each table. Well, there were some 70 tables and only some 30-odd players and coaches. So...you know where the players sat...at the tables with the corporate sponsors. Us lowly fans just had each other to chat with. They did serve a terrific meal however. No griping...it was a great event and the money raised benefits the Twins Community Fund.

Dick Bremer emceed the event. Anthony LaPanta from FSN conducted player interviews. Two of the new players, Bass and Tolbert, were interviewed and shared a story of recent rookie hazing. Bass and Tolbert were forced to sing the "We're Going to Win Twins" song on the airplane ride to MN. Bass declared himself the Twins #1 Idol since he won the competition. (Wait until these rookies see the outfits they'll be forced to wear later in the season--on a road trip!) In other interviews, Cuddy talked about getting to try his magic tricks on the new guys, Neshek jokingly gave Mauer a hard time for stealing his air time, and Morneau actually commented about his hitless streak and said he was searching for his favorite Bertuzzi shirt (not sure on the spelling of that, but Bertuzzi is a hockey player...and Morneau wore that shirt forever in 2006). Gardy spoke for a few minutes and when asked about Gomez he joked that he doesn't understand a word he says, but he sure likes how he's playing.

So that was pretty much it. The players left for the ballpark before the luncheon was over (just a clever ploy to get them out while we were still eating). It was fun to see all the guys together in their street clothes. I don't know if there are any other markets that pull off such an event with ALL their players.


We also attended Thursday and Friday's games.

Thursday we had seats in the upper deck, just behind home plate. I love afternoon games! Our section was filled with well-behaved school groups and young kids on spring break catching a game. I love that atmosphere of folks at a ballgame because they love the game. Although we lost this one as well, it was a good game. I managed to be away from my seat when Hunter hit his homer, but I did catch Kubel's homer--the first for the Twins this season. I do hope to see Kubel play more.

And, for unfortunate reasons, I guess I will. In Friday's game, Cuddy suffered an injury to his right index finger while sliding into third. He was promptly taken out of the game (and has been placed on the DL). Kubel was brought in and had a great game. The bright points of the game: GoGomez had another awesome game complete with hits and steals, Morneau had his 1st hit, Mauer had several hits, Baker pitched well (after settling in), and WE WON THE GAME!

We may have also found out new favorite seats for the season. Nothing fancy, just the cheap seats in the upper deck right behind 2nd base. There's less people there, so you can stretch out more. I can yell and scream without bothering people...in fact, if we pick the right row I can stand all I want without blocking people behind me. And the best part: at $7 a ticket I can go to a lot more ballgames.

And that's a good thing!

Pics from Opening Day

What a difference a few days make! This will be a memorable opening day for quite a few years, I imagine. I am a baseball fool, but even I'm not sure I'd sit outside to watch a baseball game in this kind of weather.

We'll see what 2010 brings!

Web Gem update

Just a quick web gem update...

Last night I was sleepily watching the 11 pm broadcast of Baseball tonight...forcing myself to stay awake for the Web Gems feature at the end of the show.

The Twins were featured in 2 out of 5 web gems!

#3: Morneau's play at 1st to stop the ball and then toss it backhanded to Blackburn for the out. Great play!

And the #1 Web Gem: Yup! Punto's outstanding catch and throw to Morneau at 1st (and Morneau made a terrific catch)!

Say all you want about Punto's lack of hitting ability; he can't be beat defensively. Out on the field he gives 150%. He may not get on base as often as you would like, but he makes outs that others miss. Plays like the one he made last night makes baseball an exciting game.

GO PUNTO!

Web gems among the slop

I am watching tonight's game from the comfort of my living room. My hips simply cannot take 3 nights in a row of sitting in those seats (even though me and Curveball got new nifty Twins seat cushions at Target for $15...but I digress). Before I review tonight's game, a few brief notes about last night's debacle.

• Boof had a rough start, but did improve. But that didn't really matter, when the hitting and fielding sucked. Oh and the bullpen was pathetic.
• Hunter remained hit less, but got beaned in the 9th by Rincon. He did receive his Gold Glove though.
• I do believe that sitting in the cheap general admission seats is better than sitting in the HomeRun Porch seats when they run a ticket special. It seems more people come to party than watch the game. Sorry, that annoys me. No, I don't want to do the wave or toss a beach ball when they're on 2 on with 2 outs--regardless who is hitting.
• It was an ugly loss. Every positive from Game 1 was erased in Game 2. But it's a long season.

Tonight's game was a far better game, but with no better result. Blackburn had his stuff and deserved a win for his efforts. Different lineup and far better defensive play.

I have to give a shout out: GO PUNTO!!! I was happy to see him play. Oh you naysayers--He did get a hit and displayed classic-Punto defensive plays, including that WEB GEM throw from 3rd to 1st late in the game. Man, he can throw with speed and accuracy.

Not to be ignored was Morneau's amazing play at first with his throw back to Blackburn earlier in the game. Awesome stuff (and another potential web gem)!

I'll be heading to tomorrow's afternoon game...which isn't televised! I'm looking forward to an afternoon of baseball.

And BIG news: Me and Curveball are attending the Twins Welcome Home luncheon on Friday! It is being held in St. Paul this year near our home. We have no idea what member of the Twins organization will be sitting at our table, but I am PSYCHED! And of course, I'll share all the little details here.

But first, I'll be rooting for a Twins win tomorrow to even the series.

GO TWINS!

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Player of the Game

Gomez was definitely Player of the Game. One can only hope he will continue to hit and steal as he did tonight. If such is the case, fans will soon be saying "Torii who?"

It was a strange start to the opener...the snow and cold put quite a damper on the festivities. Me and Curveball arrived early (3:30pm) to pick up our tickets and get underground parking. All thoughts of wandering around the plaza quickly disappeared with the cold. It was nasty. We ended up walking the long way around to enter the dome. I daresay if it hadn't been the home opener the crowd would have been quite smaller. Actually, if this had been 2010 the game would have been postponed. Tonight it was wonderful sitting under the dome roof.

And because we were sitting under a dome roof the fans came out in full force...some 49,000 plus. It was full even in the upper deck general admission seats where we sat. Folks were eager to cheer on our new team members, as well as welcome back former favorites--even those who played for the. Torii was well-received by the fans, receiving more than one standing ovation. It was nice to see him play, but I was just as thrilled that he didn't score a run. He is an Angel after all.

I think our guys played with enthusiasm. Gomez was certainly exciting to watch. He will certainly give pitchers reason to look over their shoulder. The bottom of our lineup produced some hits as well. That was a welcome sight. And Hernandez did well overall. He struggled some in the 5th, but came back in the 6th and pitched well.

So there you have it, our first win.

161 games to go. No excuses.

Just For Today

Look outside. Look at it. It's snowing like it's the middle of football season for chrissake. Does it look like Baseball Opening Day-type weather? I guess if you live in Minnesota it does. I am one Twins fan that is thankful for a roof today!

This baseball fool is not going to let the weather dampen my enthusiasm (I may however pick a parking lot closer to the dome this afternoon). I am ready to start the season with optimism and glee (Knowing myself, I'll probably end the season the same way). Today I am not about to ponder what the Twins' standings will be mid-season or where they will place in the division. I do not care to debate how strong our pitching rotation is or if our lineup will produce the hits necessary for a winning season.

No, Just For Today, I am going to celebrate the start of a brand new season where anything is possible. Truly. Remember 1987?

Just For Today, I am going to cheer & scream for every new Twins player like they are our hope for a future title. They are.

Just For Today, I am going to walk in that monstrosity of a dome (that I admit I love) and let all the tension in my body evaporate as a state of baseball bliss overcomes me.

Just For Today, win or lose, I am going to savor every minute of the game and the joy of watching live baseball.


This day cannot be spoiled by weather or nearly anything else. This day is all about baseball and nothing else. Soon I will be pulling on my new Pat Neshek jersey and heading to the dome. Me and Curveball will be claiming our seats early (just general admission seats tonight) and I'm excited just thinking about sitting there and soaking up the atmosphere.

There's a lot more baseball to come, but Just For Today, I'm going to enjoy the greatest game on earth.

Baseball fool

Two weeks.

Finally. In just two weeks the baseball season will officially begin. I can't wait.

I know I've been a bad baseball blogger. I know it doesn't show, but I have been keeping my eye on spring training...staying updated on how we're doing, learning more about the new players and getting a sense of this "new" team.

But I'm holding back my enthusiasm for the season opener.

And then I will be there. In the flesh.

I bought my tickets for the opening season at Twinsfest. They are sitting in the drawer where I stash my Twins tickets. I am dreaming about that first day. I'm psyched because I have that week off at work, so I can be a baseball fool full-time that week. I've thought about attending the breakfast on the plaza that first day, but I'm not sure I'll roll out of bed that early. I do think I'll make the Noon rally though.

Thinking about it, I can almost feel the excitement on the plaza before the game that night. I can hear myself screaming for my team as the players, new and old, are announced. No doubt, I will leave that game with little voice left. And I'll be back there the next night.

Ah, to be a fool for baseball again!