Kirsten Brown

Now that the spectacle of the NFL championship is over, thoughts of green grass, and leather gloves, and wood bats take over baseball fans' minds. Spring Training is right around the corner, and I bet you can't wait. I know I can't. And, by now, it kind of looks like the Twins are done adding players and the Spring Training crew is set. If you're planning on heading to beautiful Fort Myers to visit our boys or if you're planning on listening to some broadcasts, you'll want to know who it is you should root for. So I decided to compile a helpful list. Guys With Whom We're Acquainted Scott Baker, RHP Nick Blackburn, RHP Alex Burnett, RHP Drew Butera, C Matt Capps, RHP Alexi Casilla, IF Brian Duensing, LHP Luke Hughes, IF Francisco Liriano, LHP Jeff Manship, RHP Joe Mauer, C Justin Morneau, 1B Tsuyoshi Nishioka, IF Carl Pavano, RHP Glen Perkins, LHP Trevor Plouffe, IF/OF Ben Revere, OF Denard Span, OF Rene Tosoni, OF Danny Valencia, 3B Guys Whose Names Sound Familiar, But If They Walked In Our House And Raided Our Refrigerators, We Wouldn't Be Sure If We Knew Them Joe Benson, OF Scott Diamond, LHP Liam Hendriks, RHP Lester Oliveros, RHP Chris Parmelee, IF Anthony Swarzak, RHP Brian Dinkelman, IF (non-roster invitee) Phil Dumatrait, RHP (non-roster invitee) Rene Rivera, C (non-roster invitee) Anthony Slama, RHP (non-roster invitee) Guys Who Will Be Wearing Twins Uniforms For The First Time But We Know Them From Other Teams Jamey Carroll, IF Ryan Doumit, DH/OF/1B Jason Marquis, RHP Josh Willingham, OF Joel Zumaya, RHP Guys On The Twins 40-man Roster Who Make Us Say "Who?" Oswaldo Arcia, OF Terry Doyle, RHP (new) Jeff Gray, RHP (new) Deolis Guerra, RHP Carlos Gutierrez, RHP Matt Maloney, LHP (new) Tyler Robertson, LHP Esmerling Vasquez, RHP Guys Whose Numbers Will Probably Be Greater Than 60 Because They're Non-roster Invitees Aaron Bates, 1B Jason Bulger, RHP (new) Sean Burroughs, IF (new) Jared Burton, RHP (new) Matt Carson, OF (new) Ray Chang, 3B Samuel Deduno, RHP (new) Casey Fien, RHP (new) Pedro Florimon, IF (new) Chris Herrmann, C Mike Hollimann, 2B (new) Danny Lehmann, C Steve Pearce, 1B (new) Luis Perdomo, RHP (new) Wilkin Ramirez, OF (new) Daniel Rohlfing, C Aaron Thompson, LHP (new) Daryl Thompson, RHP (new) JR Towles, C (new) PJ Walters, RHP (new) Brendan Wise, RHP (new) Wow, that's a lot of bodies...64 to be exact. 33 pitchers. 24 new guys. 12 guys with first names that start with J. 2 guys with initials for first names. 2 Diamonds if you count the one they'll play on. I'm sure they're all ready to get this season started. I am.

Now that the spectacle of the NFL championship is over, thoughts of green grass, and leather gloves, and wood bats take over baseball fans' minds. Spring Training is right around the corner, and I bet you can't wait. I know I can't. And, by now, it kind of looks like the Twins are done adding players and the Spring Training crew is set. If you're planning on heading to beautiful Fort Myers to visit our boys or if you're planning on listening to some broadcasts, you'll want to know who it is you should root for. So I decided to compile a helpful list. Guys With Whom We're Acquainted Scott Baker, RHP Nick Blackburn, RHP Alex Burnett, RHP Drew Butera, C Matt Capps, RHP Alexi Casilla, IF Brian Duensing, LHP Luke Hughes, IF Francisco Liriano, LHP Jeff Manship, RHP Joe Mauer, C Justin Morneau, 1B Tsuyoshi Nishioka, IF Carl Pavano, RHP Glen Perkins, LHP Trevor Plouffe, IF/OF Ben Revere, OF Denard Span, OF Rene Tosoni, OF Danny Valencia, 3B Guys Whose Names Sound Familiar, But If They Walked In Our House And Raided Our Refrigerators, We Wouldn't Be Sure If We Knew Them Joe Benson, OF Scott Diamond, LHP Liam Hendriks, RHP Lester Oliveros, RHP Chris Parmelee, IF Anthony Swarzak, RHP Brian Dinkelman, IF (non-roster invitee) Phil Dumatrait, RHP (non-roster invitee) Rene Rivera, C (non-roster invitee) Anthony Slama, RHP (non-roster invitee) Guys Who Will Be Wearing Twins Uniforms For The First Time But We Know Them From Other Teams Jamey Carroll, IF Ryan Doumit, DH/OF/1B Jason Marquis, RHP Josh Willingham, OF Joel Zumaya, RHP Guys On The Twins 40-man Roster Who Make Us Say "Who?" Oswaldo Arcia, OF Terry Doyle, RHP (new) Jeff Gray, RHP (new) Deolis Guerra, RHP Carlos Gutierrez, RHP Matt Maloney, LHP (new) Tyler Robertson, LHP Esmerling Vasquez, RHP Guys Whose Numbers Will Probably Be Greater Than 60 Because They're Non-roster Invitees Aaron Bates, 1B Jason Bulger, RHP (new) Sean Burroughs, IF (new) Jared Burton, RHP (new) Matt Carson, OF (new) Ray Chang, 3B Samuel Deduno, RHP (new) Casey Fien, RHP (new) Pedro Florimon, IF (new) Chris Herrmann, C Mike Hollimann, 2B (new) Danny Lehmann, C Steve Pearce, 1B (new) Luis Perdomo, RHP (new) Wilkin Ramirez, OF (new) Daniel Rohlfing, C Aaron Thompson, LHP (new) Daryl Thompson, RHP (new) JR Towles, C (new) PJ Walters, RHP (new) Brendan Wise, RHP (new) Wow, that's a lot of bodies...64 to be exact. 33 pitchers. 24 new guys. 12 guys with first names that start with J. 2 guys with initials for first names. 2 Diamonds if you count the one they'll play on. I'm sure they're all ready to get this season started. I am.

Nothing breaks up a drab, blah, boring, post-holiday winter's weekend quite like talking baseball. And the best place to talk baseball, and see baseballs, and hear baseball stories, and to think about baseball, and otherwise get your baseball fix in January is TWINS FEST! I was especially motivated to go this year, because Brad Radke was appearing for the first time since he retired. I don't normally like to spend my time in autograph lines, but this was for Brad Radke, so I had to. He shared an autograph station with Jacque Jones and Shannon Stewart, so it was kind of like a 2004 reunion tour. The line was longer than I expected, but fortunately I made it in just in the nick of time (they closed the line 5 or so people behind me). http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3zJ4t-F1Z8/TyWyKmP6dkI/AAAAAAAABug/IN9FuaJZt9o/s320/bradke.jpgSuccess! http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N33IY7ps7tA/TyWyegqxCNI/AAAAAAAABuw/1svtk4GAd_s/s320/jonesstewart.jpg I didn't want Jacque and Shannon to feel bad, so I got theirs too. For the record both Jacque Jones and Brad Radke are better looking in person than any picture I've ever seen; they both have fabulous smiles. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a3zuXVZoIbk/TyWxQpcEFNI/AAAAAAAABuQ/qo5Ni3vVUoE/s320/brad.jpgBrad has short hair now. But he's still good looking. But not so much in this picture. After I finally got my autographs, I went inside. It's the first time I'd been in the Dome since they put on the new roof. It was a lot brighter in their than it used to be. I can't imagine trying to catch a fly ball with that sun-bright roof. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V8b5KpS7448/TyWzvbZZPoI/AAAAAAAABu4/iNR-BIqoJRw/s320/twinsfest.jpg It was crowded, but not as much as it was a couple of years ago. I sat at the ESPN1500 radio area, which is one of my favorite things to do -- you can relax, and listen to the radio guys interview the players. It's a great way to see the guys as they're being interviewed. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_e-biq3ReU/TyW0ylrEKvI/AAAAAAAABvA/aGsbbAm-_0c/s320/justin.jpg Justin Morneau also commented on the bright white roof. When we started wondering around, we checked out Bert Blyleven's new Hall of Fame plaque, ... http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SArkWFe-npQ/TyW14dHvXNI/AAAAAAAABvI/CQgpU51F_x4/s320/bert.jpg Hmm. I don't think it really looks like him. visited the Twins Pro Shop, ... http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z7EU8tmShqw/TyW20A4IymI/AAAAAAAABvQ/6mZGgBNS7SY/s320/mikelamb.jpg You can get your very own Mike Lamb banner. and found TC Bear, among other things. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXVj-kKGwpw/TyW42sA3FZI/AAAAAAAABvY/pU1sMoMQ7vE/s320/tckbro.jpg Best mascot in the Majors. By the time I did all that, the Twins Grab bag booth was closed down because they had run out of grab bags for the day. I was really disappointed because for $15, you can get a treasure of stuff -- old stadium giveaways, media guides, and other prizes. Bummer. Next time, I'll get those first. All in all, though, I had a great time. And now I'm really in the mood for baseball to start.

Nothing breaks up a drab, blah, boring, post-holiday winter's weekend quite like talking baseball. And the best place to talk baseball, and see baseballs, and hear baseball stories, and to think about baseball, and otherwise get your baseball fix in January is TWINS FEST! I was especially motivated to go this year, because Brad Radke was appearing for the first time since he retired. I don't normally like to spend my time in autograph lines, but this was for Brad Radke, so I had to. He shared an autograph station with Jacque Jones and Shannon Stewart, so it was kind of like a 2004 reunion tour. The line was longer than I expected, but fortunately I made it in just in the nick of time (they closed the line 5 or so people behind me). http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3zJ4t-F1Z8/TyWyKmP6dkI/AAAAAAAABug/IN9FuaJZt9o/s320/bradke.jpgSuccess! http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N33IY7ps7tA/TyWyegqxCNI/AAAAAAAABuw/1svtk4GAd_s/s320/jonesstewart.jpg I didn't want Jacque and Shannon to feel bad, so I got theirs too. For the record both Jacque Jones and Brad Radke are better looking in person than any picture I've ever seen; they both have fabulous smiles. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a3zuXVZoIbk/TyWxQpcEFNI/AAAAAAAABuQ/qo5Ni3vVUoE/s320/brad.jpgBrad has short hair now. But he's still good looking. But not so much in this picture. After I finally got my autographs, I went inside. It's the first time I'd been in the Dome since they put on the new roof. It was a lot brighter in their than it used to be. I can't imagine trying to catch a fly ball with that sun-bright roof. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V8b5KpS7448/TyWzvbZZPoI/AAAAAAAABu4/iNR-BIqoJRw/s320/twinsfest.jpg It was crowded, but not as much as it was a couple of years ago. I sat at the ESPN1500 radio area, which is one of my favorite things to do -- you can relax, and listen to the radio guys interview the players. It's a great way to see the guys as they're being interviewed. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_e-biq3ReU/TyW0ylrEKvI/AAAAAAAABvA/aGsbbAm-_0c/s320/justin.jpg Justin Morneau also commented on the bright white roof. When we started wondering around, we checked out Bert Blyleven's new Hall of Fame plaque, ... http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SArkWFe-npQ/TyW14dHvXNI/AAAAAAAABvI/CQgpU51F_x4/s320/bert.jpg Hmm. I don't think it really looks like him. visited the Twins Pro Shop, ... http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z7EU8tmShqw/TyW20A4IymI/AAAAAAAABvQ/6mZGgBNS7SY/s320/mikelamb.jpg You can get your very own Mike Lamb banner. and found TC Bear, among other things. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXVj-kKGwpw/TyW42sA3FZI/AAAAAAAABvY/pU1sMoMQ7vE/s320/tckbro.jpg Best mascot in the Majors. By the time I did all that, the Twins Grab bag booth was closed down because they had run out of grab bags for the day. I was really disappointed because for $15, you can get a treasure of stuff -- old stadium giveaways, media guides, and other prizes. Bummer. Next time, I'll get those first. All in all, though, I had a great time. And now I'm really in the mood for baseball to start.