nclahammer

Since I've already stirred enough pots in regard to heated on the field debates, it's time to take it off the field to the stands! There have been a number of posts regarding the cost of food and drink at Target Field scaring away the fans, but I'm going to give a run down on many of the items and locations and whether you should eat or avoid!

First off, beer. If you fancy a pint at the game, there is an enormous selection of craft beers to pair with foods along with old-timey American style lagers perfect for a hot day at the park. I'm not going to list them all because... yeah, that's a lot. Location wise, the best concentration of craft options is right at Gate 34. Selections from Bent Paddle Cold Press Black Ale to Surly Furious and Goose Island Beer Hug IPAs and smooth sessionable Vienna (basically a red) style's like Schell's Firebrick are on tap here. If you're a Surly fan, right behind the left field bleachers and Gray Goose bar is a Surly stand with options you won't find elsewhere like Surly Hell. There are also "Minnesota Brews" stands around the stadium behind the Diamond Box areas where you can find a Grain Belt for nostalgia's sake. Other options are scattered around as well. The selection on the upper deck is much more limited to the usual suspects. My favorites: Bent Paddle Cold Press Black Ale (Gate 34), Beer Hug Hazy IPA (Gate 34), Surly Hell (behind Section 128) and Grain Belt (behind section 126).

Best Full Belly Deal at the Game:
Burger and fries basket. It's $15 at Hennepin Grill locations around the stadium, but the burger is big, tastes flame grilled and a solid enough choice. The fries are medium cut, crispy-ish outside, fluffy inside and taste rich like they've been fried in peanut oil. It's a good sized meal.
Senior Smokes: (105, 305) Barbacoa burrito. $10.50. It's not quite the gut stretcher the burger and fries is, but it's also only $10.50 in comparison to $15. It's a solid burrito near burrito specialty chain quality.

Best Budget Option: The hot dog or soft pretzel at various locations. They're $4.00 out the door and are enough to tide you over for a bit. Bring an empty water bottle in with you and get free water from various stations as well.

Best Burger(s):
Red Cow 60/40 Bacon (2) Sliders w/chips. $15.50 located behind section 126 Why the chips that nobody wants? I don't know. Anyway, the sliders themselves are Red Cow name worthy. They're absolutely excellent and pretty filling. Could use a little something vinegary like mustard or ketchup to break up the fatty flavor.
Blue Door Pub a 2nd place finish here goes to the $13.50 "Jucy Blusy" Cease and Desist Burger located at Gate 34 at the Jack Daniels Bar. It's very good and full sized, but the combo of thousand island and mayo is a bit sticky and bland.
Don't expect fast service for either of these burgers. There's always a line for the sliders (and they frequently run out for a bit of time at 126) and it seems like Jucy Blusy is cooked to order.

Best Sausages:
Kramarczuk's Bratwurst. $10 (behind field box 101, home plate box 112 and upstairs 312). It's a much better quality brat than the $8.50 standard option around the stadium. The polish is so greasy and salty (like polish sausage is) it makes for a real gut-bomb in my opinion.

Other Sandwich Options:
Turkey to Go sandwich $11 next to Hrbek's (114). Make sure you get one fresh made and they press the jerked turkey hard to get the juice out. Otherwise, you'll get a rather disgusting pile of slop bun. If made right, Turkey to Go is fantastic. Use the BBQ sauce if you want or skip it if you don't want it. Good either way. Side note, this is like the only station at the stadium which doesn't have an option to tip in the checkout app. What a bummer for the staff.
Philly Cheesesteak. $11. I think I stumbled across this one over behind section 110ish. Gross. Virtually inedible. While the grilled onions and peppers are very good and the cheese sauce is okay, the meat? (is it meat??) is like unseasoned sloppy joe mix or something. It's not right, best described as slop, and I didn't finish it. I like just about all food for the record.
Murray's Smoked Beef Sandwich (103). $15. Very high quality roast beef, but with no au juis and weak horseradish sauce, the sandwich is disappointingly bland. Skip it, this coming from a big fan of Murray's Restaurant.
Senior Smokes: $10.50 (105, 305) barbacoa beef burrito. Filling, maybe not quite as good as Chipotle, Pancheros and Qdoba, but certainly not far off. There are veggie options too, if you want. A far, far better deal than the nachos as this burrito will fill you up.
Tony O's Cubano: $13 (114). Gotta be honest here, a lot of people rant about this one, but it really didn't impress me compared to other options around the stadium. It's not that it's bad, it's just not that it was great. 
Unexpected Options:
Hot Indian (120): Chicken tikka (pronounced tick-a, not teek-a) masala. It's legitimately good and very mild + gluten free. They have some spicy sauce condiment which kicks 'er up a notch or two if you like. The cabbage veggie blend on the top is okay. Rice was a little undercooked, but all in all, I liked it. Note: I expect the chana masala will also be very good and it's vegan + gluten free. Haven't had Indian food before? Think a rich, thick, very savory and complex creamy tomato soup with tender chunks of chicken poured over rice and garnished with thin chopped cabbage here.

Side/Appetizer:
Cheese curds: $8 (109, 305). The portion is pretty good, but $8 still feels a little pricey. The curds are small sized, coated and deep fried mozzarella. They have good flavor, if not a bit salty. They're not truly as good as the ones you'll get at the State Fair as the batter used at Target Field is kinda meh, but they're still great if cheese is what you're craving.

Vegetarian?
Herbivorous Butcher Vegan Bratwurst (129). It's okay. You're not going to mistake it for the real deal and the aftertaste is decidedly veggie wheat thin flavor, but for the vegan/vegetarian folks, it's not bad.
Hot Indian (120): Chana masala... okay, I haven't had this dish yet, but when Indian is good, it's universally good and the tikka masala was solid here. 
What about dessert?:
Tiny Tim's Mini Donuts: (135) $6 for a bag. Excellent mini-donuts take my vote for the best sweet/dessert at the game. Cooked fresh, sprinkled hot with sugar, they're everything you hope for in mini donuts. Be aware, get them before the 7th inning, I've seen them run out more than once. I'd choose them over the expensive, and mediocre, soft serve ice cream in the helmet or the waffle cone any day.

A lot of high quality options are tucked away at Hrbek's or inside the Town Ball Tavern, but a couple have been moved exclusively into the Truly On Deck (formerly Metropolitan Club). I didn't list these even though some are certified good. Good options if you want to sit, you don't want to do the walk of shame and you have SRO tickets, though!




 

There was a time in baseball history where throwing in the towel and using a position player to pitch was a rare sight to see. Heck, I’m sure people tuned in to witness the comedy and see a position player actually try on the mound. 
For example, Jeff Francour pitching 2 innings in 2015, topping out at 88 MPH and mixing in 4 different pitches to boot. 
Or Ichiro Suzuki taking the craft seriously, throwing 87 MPH and mixing in 3 different pitches during his outing in 2015. 
And of course, Willians Astudillo who threw mid 70s and the infamous 40 something MPH eephus. 
Back in 2011, we only saw 8 appearances by position players on the mound. The number has exploded in recent years. 
 2017: 65
2018: 78
2019: 90
2020: 50
2021: 95
2022: 23 as of June 1. Can’t find exact number up to June 23
It’s also not just the sheer number of position players pitching that’s making this once novelty incredibly boring. The way they’re now pitching is 10 year old little league status.
If position players are now being informed not to try at all on the mound and throw 40 MPH floaters, what are we doing here? It’s no longer entertainment. 
The problem is only going to continue getting worse with the rule in place to have a max of 13 pitchers on staff. Teams will continue to throw the white flag down or up by 6 runs to save their bullpen arms for another game. Paying fans will watch professional baseball players lob pitches 40 MPH for an inning or 3. And the product will suffer. 

Having completed my trek to visit all 30 current major league stadiums a few years ago, the Rangers threw me a curve by opening a new park, even though the old one wasn’t that old.
My hope had been to visit the new Globe Life Field when it opened in 2020, but then this thing called COVID happened. Next up was to catch the Twins in Texas last year, but they had the nerve to schedule their series the weekend of my son’s wedding. I love baseball, but they ain’t topping my son. And I would have liked to catch the Twins this year, but it’s the weekend of my mom’s 90th birthday. I like baseball, but they ain’t topping Mama either.
So instead, it was off to Texas on the Take a Tums Tour, where I managed eight straight days of barbecue or chili, topped off with a visit to Arlington today. Here’s one person’s report.
In a word, I’d call Globe Life Field “underwhelming.” But I don’t do just one word, so here’s more.
(Also, I’m a technological nincompoop, sitting in an airport, so I’ll put pictures in the comments rather than trying to embed them in the blog.)
GLF does bring a number of positives. It’s located next to Jerry World, so perhaps it’s taking advantage of Cowboy Fever to have a good amount of parking nearby. The biggest plus inside is the seating. Like most of the recent stadium builds, it’s not massive in size, seating just 40,300. My sense is that there are likely few bad seats in the mix. Seats circle the entire field, and most of the way from pole to pole, there are five levels or sublevels. It’s also built more “up” than “out,” so it seems that there are few places where there are more than perhaps 20 rows in a section. The biggest exception was the right field upper deck, which had quite a few rows. We were in the front row in the outfield, above the left field fence, so we would had to stand and lean over the rail to see a ball on the warning track. I’m guessing that those behind us probably missed some of deep left field.
It's Texas and it was 92 degrees outside, so it was a welcome break to have the dome covering the field for the entire game. It’s covered whenever the temp gets to 85. Most of the game was pretty Three True Outcomes, so for non-fan Mrs. IT, the roof definitely made things bearable on what could have been a fairly unpleasant afternoon. When considering the difference between cold and hot, I think my preference is for a dome in hot weather. One can always add a layer of clothing, but when it’s hot at a game, it can be just plain miserable. Not so at GLF.
My son has a physical limitation, so accessibility issues are important to me. He wasn’t with us on this trip, so I wasn’t looking for handicap parking, but I didn’t see handicap parking on the side we entered. There was more space on the other side, however, so perhaps it’s there, but that would have meant more walking once we got inside the park. As for accessibility inside, the concourses were wide, perhaps as wide as I've experienced anywhere, and a good number of the sections had wheelchair seating at the back. That is another bonus to the “up” rather than “out” format – at many stadiums, lower-bowl wheelchair seating is at the back of sections, which puts them very distant from the field. In eyeballing, I’m guessing that a wheelchair user would be closer to the field at GLF than at most other parks.
But as for ambience, not so much. Remember the classic stadium look when Jim Morris joins the Rays in “The Rookie”? Not here. That was across the street at The Ballpark in Arlington. Whereas Target Field has the Kasota Gold limestone, the design motif at GLF could best be described as “Early 21st Century Garage Floor Epoxy.” No stately looking beams that remind a person of the grand old sites.
In a walk around the concourse, the most unique characteristic is being able to look directly into the back of the booth for Ranger PA legend Chuck Morgan, now in his 44th year at the mic. I assume one can watch him at work during the game. Though Morgan is a legend, the sound system didn’t do him justice. Likely it was because of the airplane-hangar effect one often gets with a dome, but the acoustics were lousy.
With such bad sound, maybe it didn’t matter much that there wasn’t much between-inning entertainment. There was the Dot Race (won by Red). A girl raced in to steal third base in less than 30 seconds, winning Chick-Fil-A for her row. And there was…, well, not much else. Plenty of crowd shots on the Jumbotron, but no Kiss Cam, no Flex Off, no dance contests, no trivia, no nothing. I guess the plus was also that there was no “Everybody Clap Your Hands.” Clap-clap-clap-clap, ad nauseum.
Oh, another win was that there were two Jumbotron screens, so everyone can see one. Their content was pretty routine and didn’t evolve much during the game.
Also over the p.a., it was Sunday, so they sang the extra song during the Seventh-Inning Stretch. Folks generally stood attentively. Then most of them sat down for “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” A little energy returned when the country instrumental started after that. I guess, if you’re going to play (canned music) in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the can.
The team store had the basic stuff. Perhaps the highlight was knowing that for $400, I could have bought a framed, autographed picture of Nolan Ryan beating the snot out of Robin Ventura.
Speaking of Ryan, though the Rangers don’t come to mind as the most tradition-rich team, there wasn’t much to celebrate their history, particularly noteworthy in that they are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the move from Washington to Texas in 1972. On the side we entered, there was a Nolan Ryan statue. Inside there were a few other things noting him, though not much of it in the big scheme of things. At a display behind Morgan's booth, there was some Pudge, Beltre and Palmeiro memoribilia, but I didn’t see much of anything else. The retired numbers weren’t particularly noticeable -- certainly not as prominent as at Target Field.
As mentioned above, this was the end of a week of barbecue (including brisket and turkey for lunch), so food wasn’t high on the priority list for me today. From what I saw, that’s probably a good thing. I saw very little food being eaten in our section. When we got to our seats, the folks next to us finishing off a small helping of what looked like some sorry pulled pork nachos. Later in the game, they returned with mini-helmets of ice cream, where “mini” also described the serving size. There wasn’t a single food vendor that came to our section – in fact, I don’t remember seeing any food vendors walking through the stands. In walking around, I don't remember many booths with unusual or local food. I don’t drink, but for those who do, it’s hard to imagine there being much in the craft beer world, given the lack of food options.
So, as I said, largely underwhelming. Go, if you want to check Globe Life Field off your list, but I’m not seeing GLF being held in high esteem among the best stadiums to visit. Frankly, I felt like it was a step down from The Ballpark in Arlington/Ameriquest Field/Rangers Ballpark in Arlington/Globe Life Park in Arlington/Choctaw Field.
Oakland and Tampa Bay, how soon can you get me a new destination?
 

Back for a winning team. Let's get into the first month and a half.
- Buxton is all world and the Twins got a hell of a deal on his contract. Games played matters obviously, but the production outweighs the risk ten-fold in this situation. 
- The Taylor Rogers trade sure looks like a big L right now. Paddack TJ surgery. Pagan has been decent. Rogers leads the league in saves and has a .52 era with 15k in 17.1 IP
- Duffey has been bad. 93 and straight isn't fooling anyone. I'm not sure if his fastball used to have more movement but right now it is straight as a string. his curveball has great motion, he just leaves it up too often. I would like to see him out of high leverage situations for awhile.
- Correa is getting a little too much hate for my liking because he had a slow start at the plate like most of the league. His D at short has been gold glove worthy and his bat has came back. Anyone saying trade him and start Royce at SS needs to watch a little closer. 
- Speaking of Royce, I think his comeback to baseball in general has been amazing. I am very happy to see all the work he has put in pay off with success in the bigs on his first trip up. I could definitely see him taking over 3rd for the rest of the season. Miranda needs more AB's in AAA. 
- Celestino passes the eye test. The kid can play in the league and looks a whole lot better than last year. It might just be a confidence thing or the experience from last year paying off, but I think he has earned a starting spot. I also like Gordon as the main utility guy. He looks like he belongs too.
- Joe Ryan has been exceptional. I think he has legit ace potential and he has pitched that way so far this year. I was at his first start at target field last year and sat a section over from his people. It was a great time.
That's all for now. Let me know what you think!
Troy Kelley

I am not a handyman. I am a jack of no trades. When it became time to prepare my snowblower for storage, I took it as a threat to the peace and harmony of my weekend. Sure enough, I managed to stretch a small chore into two days of choking back cuss words because my daughter was in earshot. It's ready now. Probably.
The nice part is I didn't suffer alone. I had Cory Provus and Dan Gladden to keep me company. I listened to the Twins play in the garage. It felt right, somehow. Baseball and small engine maintenance. I'm typing this with grease and oil on my hands. My wife seeded the lawn while I labored. Typical home-owner stuff, with baseball keeping us company. Same as it ever was, as long as fans have had radios and things to do.
Cory Provus was being harassed for not being an athlete, but I don't think he's the only non-athlete in the world of baseball. There are lots of different ways of being one of the gang. Baseball already sports a stark dichotomy between its jocks and its nerds (both terms used with love). But that's not all. There are those of us who love the sport for its history and storytelling, present company most definitely included. 
You don't have to be a five-tool all-star to join the screaming hordes of Twins territory. Baseball, I believe, can be an outlet for healthy masculinity. Masculinity is a style of being that doesn't have to be tied to men. It doesn't have to be exclusive and punitive. Masculinity can be a rough and tumble ride for everyone. Yell. Pump your fist. Become a part of the howling crowd. Let out the beast in you where it's safe to be free. 
In an extra-innings game in the Dome, I remember what happened when Joe Crede hit a walk-off grand slam. I screamed. We all screamed. Some dude standing next to me screamed with me. We hugged hard after slapping hands in a high five. Masculine, but without toxicity.
The Twins made Saturday and Sunday worth my time. Solid pitching and runs galore. I yelled and pumped my fist by myself, except not really. Other people are out there, yelling with me in their own garages and houses. It's a safe place to be a part of the team. Correa and company gave me plenty to yell about, too.
In college, one of my roommates bought another roommate a Green Bay hat and told him he liked the Packers now. It worked. What a simple gesture with to bring someone onto the team. At a time where people complain about masculinity (and baseball) losing traction, what are we doing to bring people to share their voices in the roar of the crowd? 

"I'm not superstitious. But I'm a little stitious." - Michael Scott
As fans of The Office know, Michael Scott can sometimes share deep knowledge. I think a lot of us are a little "stitious" when it comes to baseball. Prior to this Twins/Tigers series, I'd have told you I'm not a very superstitious person at all. Then, my coworker and I made Max Kepler good again.
I'll explain.
Before the series started, we were talking about Miguel Sano. We both remembered Aaron Gleeman's mailbag column where he showed Kepler was in the same boat as Sano, except Kepler got less grief. My friend said he thought Kepler could break out of it. Then, bam! Four home runs in two games (we'll just ignore that pesky third game for now). Kepler's hot. 
Maybe we need to talk about a Sano breakout next. 
Do I believe that we caused a major league ballplayer to hit better because of a hallway conversation? You know what? I kinda do. Just like I kinda think I jinxed the Timberwolves by watching Game 5 instead of going to bed early. I believe you can reverse jinx rainy weather by predicting it. I believe you don't talk about a no-hitter while it's going on. I once got Michael Cuddyer to hit home runs by wearing his shirsey. 
Of course, math and statistics doth make a liar out of me.. I UNDERSTAND that luck is just an illusion, but I KNOW it works for me. Even when it doesn't, my brain will find some way to make it work. 
I was glad to see the Minnesota Twins are a little stitious in their own way. I read about Richie the Rally Goat in Do-Hyoung Park's game recap. Everything about this article is wonderful. Paddack sums it up best when he says, "Baseball gods are looking out for us, and Richie here, he's done a good job of being a rally goat." Good on you, Richie.
Let's face it - there are a lot of cold and unchangeable facts in the world. We need superstition to clear our heads from the frustration of banging them into the brick walls of truth and certainty. As fans, adhering to superstitions it the least we can do. Literally.
I bought my own Richie the Rally Goat this morning. Count me in! Let's be a little bit stitious together!

New to the site, we've added both the active roster and the 40-man roster pages!
These pages will update nightly so they'll always be up-to-date with the current state of the big league club, adding yet another long-term feature I've wanted to see on our baseball sites basically forever. There isn't a lot to say about these pages other than they feature the standard set of player info: name, position, handedness, DoB, etc.
To find these pages, use the hamburger menu at the top right of every page (the three horizontal lines), click "Twins Resources", and then you'll be presented the options for both the roster pages and the team schedule for the season.
As always, if you have suggestions for new features you'd like to see added or improvements to current features, please comment below!

There were lots of bad baseball moments this holiday weekend. Yesterday, I would've written a whole blog entry about despair and bullpen blow-ups. Today the Twins split the Red Sox series with a decisive victory and I'm a happy boy. Couple home runs, some late inning score-padding. Dylan Bundy turning in a solid performance - we'll just worry about those hard-hit balls later, shall we? 
Game-by-game, I'm like Frankenstein, Twins win. Baseball GOOD. Twins lose. Baseball BAD. The big guy's been on my mind because I rewatched The Bride of Frankenstein this weekend. That's the one where the monster learns to speak a few words in addition to his grunting. Friend GOOD. Fire BAD. I think there's a Frankenstein's monster in the heart of every baseball fan. Even with advanced statistics that map the game for us and help cool our emotions, the monster inside of us reacts. 
It'll get easier to stay positive if the Twins can win more than they lose. It's obvious, but I think there's another level to it. There's this thing called Positive Sentiment Override. It means that things are so overwhelmingly positive that negative experiences don't ruin the positivity. Last year stunk. The Twins have a long way to go before the positive sentiment overrides all the awfulness we suffered through. By way of comparison, think of Yankee fans who believe their team should win the World Series every year. I guess it's easier to build up positive sentimentality with an enormous payroll.
Realistically, this could take time. They say you need 5 positives to every negative to get the full affect. For sake of argument, let's bastardize that theory a bit and say the Twins would have to be successful in almost every aspect of the game. I don't know that they're there yet. Until they are, that Frankenstein voice will keep saying, "Twins BAD" every time something doesn't go our way. Bloggers and commentators will growl, hiss, and bristle at every perceived slight and weakness. 
If we cultivate a culture where winning is the norm, then we might see the "Baseball GOOD" mindset take over the site. Bandwagon fans jump aboard. Losses? We'll get 'em next time. 
I think it might take a playoff series win to really set Twins fans free from their primal, monstrous negativity. Bride of Frankenstein ends with the monster destroying the castle because the bride, created for him, hates and fears him from the start. He doesn't get the one thing he most desperately wants. Twins fans tear the castles of hope down every time they lose the thing they most desperately desire - post-season victory. 
But for now, the monster's happy for the night with a W and a few dingers. We've played some tough teams, so there's reason to be hopeful the Twins add more positivity and decrease the negative knee-jerk reactions to every loss, real or perceived. 
By the way, if you're interested in Positive Sentiment Override and how it affects relationships, check out the work of John Gottman. I've (very) loosely interpreted in a way that benefits my argument. His stuff is great.

I'm an ordained minister and this is Good Friday, but this is intended as a sociological post, not a theological one.
Tom Johnson was a favorite relief pitcher for me as a kid, though he had a pretty meteoric rise and a similarly quick fall, perhaps at least in part to Gene Mauch using him for 146.2 innings in relief in 1977. He was also the winning pitcher in the most exciting game I've ever been to, the "Rod Carew game" on June 26, 1977, when he threw 6.2 innings in relief (really!) in a 19-12 Twins win. 
I didn't realize that Johnson had entered the ministry following retirement, but he has a really interesting perspective on the challenges facing both baseball and organized religion in today's culture.
https://julieroys.com/if-you-build-it-they-will-come-no-longer-works-baseball-organized-religion/

So, the bats up until this afternoon were cold, starting pitching left much to be desired and the bullpen outside of Duffy was quite decent in my opinion.
Some thoughts:
1) Please let Buxton get a full season in. I really think he could put up video game numbers.
2) They're taking decent at bats, but c'mon Kirilloff and Sano.  I think they start to get some to fall in soon.
3) The change of scenery for Gary Sanchez may do him a world of good.  (this has quite the potential to age poorly)
4) Rocco needs to find a way to get Arraez in the lineup every day.  Though I realize there were two lefty SP for Seattle in the first three games.
5) Duran is the real deal.
6) May be a unpopular opinion, but not having a named closer, or at least a de facto one will be a good thing. (Duffy's outing notwithstanding)
7) Go Twins

Here we are finally- Opening Day! Who would have thought a couple months ago during that lockout purgatory that we would be playing early April baseball? But here we are, and I am grateful for it. 
Opening Day is special to a lot of people- players, fans, and staff alike. Baseball runs deep within families and holds many cherished memories for fans dating back to childhood. A lot of people have sacred Opening Day traditions or people who they attend it with.
Tomorrow I'm excited to carry on my tradition of attending Opening Day with my brother, Matthew. At all Minnesota sporting events, we are essentially a combo deal- we attend nearly every Vikings, Timberwolves, Twins, and some Wild games together (it hasn't been too easy over the years to find someone who also wants to go to every single Wolves game). He is by far the biggest, most well-rounded Minnesota sports fan I've ever met, and I'm not just saying that because it's my brother. He's my best friend and has been since we were kids both playing travel baseball and softball.
But Opening Day is different from all these games- it is cherished, much-anticipated, and represents a blank slate of hope. There is just no way we're not going to go. We've been talking about this Opening Day game for months, and after the Correa trade was announced, our shared excitement only intensified. I hope that as we continue in life, we continue to make attending Opening Day together a priority. I know we will. We always make sure we get there early enough to get the cool Opening Day giveaway item (this year a jacket), to see the Twins lineup announced with all its inaugural fanfare, and we make sure to get a picture together too.
This year we will be bundling up, unlike last year's Opening Day, also on April 8, where my brother wore shorts! Masks were also mandatory at all times inside the stadium and a large portion of seats were zip-tied. I was so grateful we were able to get tickets; I remember we both set alarms and jumped on separate computers to grab tickets due to the limited supply. Amazing what a difference a year makes, but the tradition lived on. We've been to much colder games together, including the 2016 TCF Bank Stadium "Wide Left" game that was -8° at kickoff, and Vikings vs Packers at Lambeau recently on January 2, 2022 which was I believe 7° air temperature
So Happy Opening Day wherever you're watching from in Twins Territory! Let's hope for a great season full of happy memories made with family and friends. Baseball is best when watched with people you care about.
Go Twins!

A MUCH warmer Opening Day, 2021
 

2019, also a much warmer day. Matthew is wearing the cool giveaway jacket they handed out that year

2018- I'll be wearing the same hat for Opening Day 2022!
2017

Happy Opening Week! As a Twins fan who was a kid during the Metrodome era of the aughts, I have fond, cherished memories of being swept away by the wind when the Metrodome doors were opened after games, the giant milk jug down the first baseline, the outfield curtain, Dome Dogs, and uncountable other quirks and joys. Though I have strong nostalgia for our beloved Dome, there is no question that Target Field is one of the most beautiful, scenic stadiums in the MLB. Nothing can compare to sitting out at a a game with your friends on a perfect 70-some degree evening, and Target Field certainly is a great place to do it. In celebration of our beloved team taking the field this week, here are some of my favorite things about Target Field:
1. The view of the city skyline from the 3rd baseline- I’ve gone to uncountable Twins games since Target Field opened, but I think I can count the number of times I’ve sat down the first baseline or in the outfield on two hands. There’s nothing wrong with sitting elsewhere in the park- they just don’t offer the same sweeping views of the downtown skyline. No, Target Field does not have giant tailgate lots like the Brewers or White Sox, but the stadium's location smack-dab in the middle of downtown Minneapolis makes up for it. The giant Target dog Bullseye wagging his tail in right field is also pretty cute. If you’re looking for something to do in between innings, try counting the number of times he wags his tail in a minute, then extrapolate that into month, year, etc.

 
2. Club Rayne during rain delays- There is nothing quite as groan-inducing as when the clouds roll in and the Target Field grounds crew descends upon the field with a tarp. However, rain delays are made much more tolerable- and even entertaining- due to the Twins opening up “Club Rayne” during each rain delay- a bit where the Twins throw a rain delay dance party and show fans dancing on the jumbotron to somewhat chaotic party music ranging from intense electronic music you might hear at a club to Michael Jackson. Last year during a rain delay my brother got extended screentime on the jumbotron by doing the Thriller dance. The Twins also find other ways to pass the time during rain delays; last year’s Home Opener was briefly stopped by a rain delay and Target Field played part of the NCAA hockey tournament that was happening concurrently. It looks like Club Rayne dates back to Target Field’s early days, so Twins fans have been dancing in the rain for almost a decade. I'm hoping for few rain delays this year, but if the clouds do open up, I'm ready to get down. 
3. The real organist- Target Field-goers may or may not be aware that the stadium has its own organ player- Sue Nelson- who has been the Twins’ full-time organist since 1999! Look for her upbeat stylings in the 2 Gingers Pub located near sections 214-216. In a game that's constantly evolving, having an organ played live is a sweet nod to the game's longstanding traditions- similar to the players wearing button-up shirts, fans singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," and coaches wearing baseball uniforms just like the players. Today, about 50% of MLB ballparks have a live organ player, so Nelson is one of the many reasons why Target Field is so special and unique.
4. Friday night fireworks- The Twins light up the downtown skyline with postgame fireworks every Friday night game from June to August. They are impressive shows that are accompanied by music- often tying in with the game’s theme (Star Wars songs for Star Wars night, for example). The downtown skyline and the Minne and Paul sign are simply a gorgeous backdrop to the show. The St. Paul Saints also do Fireworks Fridays too. It feels a little strange following up a Twins or Saints loss with fireworks, but the show must go on! Going to these Friday games is one of my favorite summer things to do with my friends because the show is a perfect, multicolor cherry on top to a beautiful evening. 
 

5. Minnie and Paul shaking hands after a win- Adorable and unique. I really enjoy how Target Field ties in both tradition with modernity (now to get the Twins to start wearing the “M” hats again).  Now that the Saints are over across the river, our favorite centerfield staples seem even more applicable. I also love how they play the same song after every win- 'On Top of the World' by Imagine Dragons.
6. Artwork outside the stadium- It is clear that the stadium was planned with painstaking detail; even the outside is lovely and unique too. The outside of the stadium is lined with murals and is surrounded with sculptures ranging from Kirby Puckett's iconic homerun trot to the giant glove that fans commonly sit inside to take pictures. Next time you're early for a game, take a lap around the outside of the stadium- I realized at one point that because I always park in the same spot and go in the same entrance, I didn't even quite know all that was there!
7. Cool giveaways- Though the Twins run a lot of special theme night packages, they still have some cool fan giveaways. The Twins always treat Opening Day fans right by giving away quality items like a Twins puffer vest or hooded zip-up sweatshirt. My siblings in particular love going to bobblehead days. Last year I showed up way early to get a baby blue giveaway jersey. Albeit thin material, it is a quality giveaway and will look great with a little ironing. It even has buttons and the patches!
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8. The Mascot Race- I love the Mascot Race and taking harmless bets with my buddies on who is going to win (I usually pick Bullseye- the Twins gotta uphold that Target sponsorship so the odds should be good, ya know?) I like Gracie the Gray Duck probably the best though. On Sundays the mascot race is run by cute kinds who rather than wearing the full mascot costume are just wearing mini versions of the mascot heads. The best was when the Twins had fans text in their pick for the race and if they won, they would get a coupon for something free like sunscreen or Oreos at Target. Let's bring that back, eh Twins?
9. Twingo and the Pick 3 Game- I have never won either but have come close. These are fun ways to be even more invested in the game and pay attention to the game's happenings. My Pick 3 strategy is to pick players who others are not likely to pick. Everyone is going to pick Buxton, so I gotta gain an edge somewhere, right? Then again, like I said I have never won, so proceed with my advice with caution. 

10. Dollar Dog Night- Nothing beats getting dinner- or following dinner up- with a dollar dog (or two or several). My friends and I enjoy going to these Dollar Dog games and buying round of hotdogs like people do with drinks at bars. They are delicious but not filling, so the amount of Dollar Dogs I could put away if I wanted is dangerous. Last year on a couple occasions I remember the Twins even toasted the inside of the hotdog bun! Not bad for a buck. 
 

 
That's it for now! I can't wait for another season of games at this beautiful stadium. What are some of your favorite things about Target Field?
 
 
 
 

Too many Larry and Sue Capital One commercials, I guess.
But I've been thinking: now that Opening Day is just eight days away, what's the one word that best describes your perspective going into the season? 
I'm writing as an eternal optimist, but I'm going to go with "intrigued." 
I'm intrigued to see what lineup combinations Rocco will try, especially at the top of the order. And I say "combinations," because there will be many. Last year, there were 149 different lineups in 162 games. Part of that was injuries, but flexibility in roster and lineup construction is a hallmark of this administration.  I'm intrigued to see what it's like to have Byron and Carlos hitting back-to-back, at least on occasion. I've been wondering, but haven't seen anyone note whether this is the first time that the top two players in a single draft ended up as teammates.  I'm intrigued to see exactly how tiny the Bermuda triangle between Buxton, Correa and Polanco is going to be.  And while I'm at it with the Byron and Carlos lovefest, I'm intrigued to know what the laundry bill is going to for cleaning the shorts of opposing pitchers if those two get on a roll at the same time, especially if Sano happens to hit one of his hot streaks at the same time. Not sure I REALLY want to know that answer, but sorta intrigued in a macabre sort of way. I'm intrigued to see if either Bundy or Archer is able to reclaim their prior highlights. I'm intrigued of what this notion of a Gray-Bundy-Archer-Ryan-Ober rotation might actually pull off.  I'm also intrigued at what looks a little like a hodgepodge of relievers, and how there seems to be different skill sets represented, and how they could conceivably turn into a unit where the whole is significantly better than the sum of its parts.  I'm intrigued to see how Rocco works with that 10-man bullpen. Some (many) of his decisions look wacko on the service (and get lambasted in the Game Thread), but my experience has been that very often when I drill down to consider the rest patterns, pitcher availability, the likelihood of actually winning the game at hand, and how things set up for the next day, there is almost always a logical progression. Doesn't always work, but it's logical -- that's the nature of the beast. And that's why I'm sitting at home on the Game Thread instead of being in the dugout. I'm especially intrigued with how Rocco meshes that bullpen with a starting rotation in which day-to-day consistency may be severely lacking. Each of the five starters (make that 10-12 by year-end) have the potential to be really good on a given day. Or really bad. As the self-proclaimed inventor of the bullpenning strategy after riding a three-man rotation and incredible cards from Mike Timlin and a bunch of guys I can't remember to the 1992 Northern Indiana Offseason Strat-O-Matic regular-season championship, I think it will be fun to see the mixing and matching. I'm intrigued to see how long the leash is going to be on pitchers, both starter and reliever, and which order other guys come up, both in terms of 26/28-man roster and 40-man roster decisions. That includes the guys on minor league contracts that will have to wait their turn. I'm intrigued to see if Sanchez can simultaneously regain his power stroke and become something more reliable than a cement block at stopping pitches.  I'm intrigued by Larnach. At my one and only College World Series game, about two weeks after he was drafted, he jacked a long home run, and I thought, "Oh, my -- this could be fun." While I'm at it, I'm intrigued by Kirilloff too. I'm intrigued to see how Lewis bounces back. I'm intrigued to see if Miranda is indeed legit and whether he's able to force the issue. And Winder and Enlow, etc. See three bullets previous. I'm intrigued to find out the taste of Killebrew Root Beer, and I'm looking forward to trying it at a Saints game in a couple weeks. I'm intrigued to see if, and when, they pull off a trade for a pitcher. This front office works under the radar, and I can easily imagine waking up some morning to a May Day present (and I don't mean just Trevor) of somebody's No. 2 starter that they got for Jermaine Palacios. Or a second present, when they re-sign Palacios after he's been DFAed by his new team and then trade him again! Okay, probably not Palacios, but I wouldn't be surprised if they pull something off when we least expect it, at the cost of only a lottery pick. I'm intrigued by how many of us will be in Cooperstown on July 17 to see Tony O and Kitty Kaat.  I'm intrigued by whether they'll go with the powder blue or the Dairy Queen red in Game 1 vs. the Dodgers in October. (See line 3 and the statement about being an optimist.) I'm intrigued by the forgotten man, and whether Kenta Maeda might sneak back for some late-season usage, either with a few starts or in the bullpen, where he's had some past success. (See previous bullet for a hint of what I'm talking about.) I'm intrigued to find out what a Godoy is. And whether we'll be waiting for him. So, "intrigued" is my word. What are you intrigued about?
And what's the word that captures where you're at with this team?

OK 2 things...   
#1 I take it all back!!!!
#2 I TOLD YOU SO!!!  lol
Litereally as I was typing my most ramblng missive to date slamming the Twins for doing nothing they do THIS!!!
 
Also though, in that same missive (and in others) I was the first to call this move!!!  read back yoully find them!!
WOW!!!
INSTANT contenders!!!
Nowgo get Montas... but back to me being the only one to call this shot (on the heels of calling the trade Donaldson shot).
the defense on teh left side is now the best in bsaeball, Urshela, and Correa.
 
What a great "bridge" to Lewis!!  LOL
Correa and BUxton #1 and #2 overall draft picks in the same draft on teh same team, in their prime. has that ever happend??
 
AS you can I cannot formcomplete thoughts but just bumping from one to the other due toexcitement!!!

The Minneapolis forecast has cleared up, and Josh Donaldson is now a Yankee.
After the Josh Donaldson news broke, I instinctively ran to twitter and tweeted, "Josh Donaldson skyrocketed to being one of my favorite Twins ever and I'm going to miss him." I got a few incredulous replies, so I thought I'd expand on it. 
Is Josh Donaldson a player who is or should be beloved in our hearts among all-time Twins like Harmon Killebrew, Tony O, Kirby Puckett, and Rod Carew? No, of course not- all those players have well-deserved near untouchable status in Twins lore (so please don't nominate me for KFAN's Preposterous Statement Tournament). Donaldson's time with the Twins was short and somewhat plagued by injuries. But it was unbelievably fun having Donaldson on our team. I loved his bravado, his personality, and how he was willing to go to bat against anyone (both literally and figuratively). It was fascinating to have a widely known and respected voice in the league within our own clubhouse- someone who was unafraid to be unapologetically controversial at times. In my lifetime, I do not recall a Twin with a personality as strong as him- he has swagger, chutzpah. Donaldson is one of those players who you love to have on your team but you hate to play against because they have the tendency to get under your skin (Patrick Beverly is our current Timberwolves equivalent).
His live tweeting the World Series was both entertaining and insightful, and he seemed accessible to fans in a way that few other professional athletes are today. I was excited when the Twins made a rare, big free agent splash when they signed him January 2020 in the aftermath of 2019's Bomba Squad homerun outbreak. Despite him not being the quality starting pitching I vocally pined for, I was excited that the Twins were finally willing to spend some money to take a leap when traditionally the Twins have not made legitimate efforts to pursue flashy and promising free agents. Ultimately, I understand why the Twins made the deal to send Donaldson to the Bronx- the Twins gave themselves some big payroll flexibility and got a likely regular DH in return in Sánchez- but it was fun having him on the Twins while the storm lasted.  
So farewell to the Rain Maker and I hope you continue to bring the showers- but why does it have to be for the Yankees!?
 

This is a weird (but good) trade in my opinion. Yes I too like Garver, and think he could have helped bring offensive thump to our lineup. and no I do not think Jeffers is necessarily ready for a FT role, and no I do not think we have particularly strong platoon options with Jeffers.  So why do I sorta like the deal? HE is a very solid player at multiple positions. He will obviously start at SS for us at the beginning of the year, but he could also play 3B, and maybe a little catcher. Very solid defender at 3B & SS.
But what intrigues me the most about this deal is what it says about OTHER positions.
#1 we need pitching. We didn't sign anyone of note prior to lock out. We didn't secure Rodon post lock out, and my sources say we didn't even consider making an offer.  So we don't make any moves toward a pitcher, and we trade one of our most tradeable assets for infield help (although we needed a SS). This speaks to priorities. You would THINK that pitching would be the priority with us having basically 3 starters as we sit. The fact that the Twins are not acting like pitching is a priority, is because they don't think it is. Why would this be? Obviously the answer... or THEIR answer, is because we have what we need in house with young pitchers.  If you don't sign FA pitching, and you use trade chips to acquire non-pitchers, then that screams that you already have at least SOME of the pitching you need in house.
#2 OR... you can still address pitching. Combine this trade, with increased CBT and Universal DH, and you have all of the makings of a Josh Donaldson trade. With Kiner-Falefa to play 3B until Miranda is ready. Can you think of an NL team, newly in need of a DH, that has deep pitching, for whom Donaldson has played (and loved his time there) and who is about to lose a big dollar face of the franchise 1B bat to the Dodgers?  Here is a hint.  it rhymes with Atlanta Braves. There is now a logical move to be made with Donaldson, AND can finally help address pitching.  Trade Donaldson to the Braves for Touki Toussaint  and Kyle Muller. Neither are really proven MLB pitchers, but Touki has had flashes of brilliance at the MLB level, and Muller would be just another near MLB prospect. but it would at least make a move towards pitching.
Overall this was a decent yet curious  use of potential trade assets.  What other moves do you see this potentially leading to? or what doyou think this says about our pitching situation?

Time flies while you’re having fun, but it’s not flying quickly enough, says the MLB.
During CBA negotiations, the MLB players union agreed to allow the MLB to ban shifts, to implement a pitch clock and to make bases larger (not XL pizza box size- from 15” to 18”) effective the 2023 season, subject to those agreements fitting into a total deal. Though the MLBPA appears to be on board with these changes, baseball fans as a whole are not known as being a particularly flexible folk that is eager to embrace change. Needless to say, these potential changes have sparked some conversation. 
Regarding a pitch clock in particular, there has been serious talk surrounding adding one for years now (since 2014 specifically), but it was ultimately not adopted in 2018 when the MLB implemented a host of other rule changes with the goal to increase pace of play. The MLB's plan is to implement a 14-second pitch clock with the bases empty and a 19-second clock with runners on base.
Here are the pros and cons of each side of the pitch clock argument as well as my personal take: 
Pros
It will speed up games and increase excitement- The paramount objective of the MLB adding a pitch clock is to improve pace of play, and there seems to be clear evidence that adding one would accomplish this goal. In 2021, a pitch clock experiment in low-A cut game times by 20 minutes using 15-second and 17-second clocks. In case you question if time in between pitches actually is the long game culprit here, a 2014 study found it was.
A number of extra seconds here and there for a pitcher to do his best Joe Nathan horse exhale doesn’t seem like much, but when around 280-300 pitches are thrown per game, it adds up. These days, games are 20 minutes longer than they were a decade ago, when the average game length was 2:50. That’s a lot of time to be buying ballpark beers. The MLB clearly thinks the ever-increasing game length is a problem, wants to keep its fanbase engaged, and desires to reel in some of its younger fans (not that canceling games exactly accomplishes these goals, but that’s a separate matter entirely). The MLB has the oldest fans among the major sports, with an average age of 57, according to a 2017 survey by Sports Business Journal. (The average NBA, NHL, and NFL fans are 42, 49, and 50, respectively). Recapturing this younger demographic is crucial to the sport's vitality and despite what baseball purists would like to admit, these young fans are the future of the game. It’s the MLB’s hope that increased game speed might also make games more action-packed; games will theoretically be cramming more offense and more action into a lot less time. At the minor league level, albeit with a small sample size, they have seen more runs, higher batting averages, more homeruns, fewer strikeouts and fewer pitchers throwing ball four After this lockout, an increase in game action might be just what the MLB needs to return to relevance (or maybe they’ll just juice the balls again).
Existing pace of play measures are already in place- Adding a pitch clock isn’t exactly new territory in the MLB- there are already time parameters set up by the MLB for warmup pitches, inning changes, and limiting mound visits, so adding a pitch clock is the logical next step. In the minor leagues, pitch clocks of some sort have been in place for the last seven seasons- it had only been in Double A and Triple A before the 2021 season- and minor leaguers didn’t seem to think it was that big of a deal. In addition, because pitch clocks have already been around in some form for more than a handful of years, the number of MLB hitters who have never played in one of those leagues with a clock is now down to slightly more than two per team. The number of pitchers who have never pitched with a clock is around three per team. Of course though there are a number of veterans who have never stared down a clock, and they are vocal, but the times are a changin'.  
14/ 19 seconds is enough time for a pitcher to begin his delivery-  Assuming the MLB keeps with what was implemented in the minor leagues, the pitch clock will not begin to run until the pitcher has the ball on the mound. That should be enough time to check the count and outs, communicate with his catcher, and otherwise go through his established routine.
Cons
Decline in pitching statistics?- I’ll be curious to see what the effect of an MLB pitch clock is on pitching statistics. According to the Athletic, the average fastball velocity without a 15 second clock is 92.3 mph which is nearly the same as with one at 92.4 mph. However, this data comes from a relatively small sample size of minor league play. There’s also more to pitches than just speed- movement and quality of a pitch. Even if fastball velocity with the clock is the same, which in the MLB it very well might not be, it makes theoretical sense the break or movement of a pitch could be affected because of less recovery time and less time for pitchers to get set. After all, the minor leagues have already seen increased batting statistics like batting average and homeruns. Despite initial findings that velocity might not be greatly affected, clearly something is going on, unless all those statistics are flukes. Could a pitch clock lead to increased arm fatigue in pitchers or the need for pitchers with greater stamina?  All of these thoughts are cons if you’re ya know, a pitcher, or love a good pitcher’s duel. 
Hitters and pitchers shouldn’t be rushed- In the major leagues, every pitch matters and the pitch type is selected based on the batter and the current game situation. A catcher needs time to work through the current game situation, put down a sign, and potentially put down another sign if the pitcher shakes it off. It’s a chess match, and there is a lot to process. Minor leaguers report hitters too are impacted by pitch clock. Hitters are aware that every at bat is significant. Big leaguers, especially older veterans, have been raised with the idea that when you’re at the plate, it’s your time; they have established and ingrained routines which yes, might involve messing with their batting gloves between every pitch. Being held to a time clock would be a big mindset switch.
Pitch clocks are antithetical to baseball- Baseball is an inherently slower paced sport. There isn’t nonstop action and movement and an incessant flurry of scoring- try basketball or hockey. The fact that it is the only North American sport to be played without a clock is one of the things that makes baseball unique. And is 2 hours and 50 minutes that much different than 3 hours and 10 minutes? Because it’s inherently a slower paced sport, might the people who are bored at 3:10 still be bored at 2:50? Does shaving off 20 minutes justify potentially altering the feel of the game with its ebbs and flows of suspense? Arguably, it’s a case of the MLB adding more unnecessary rules to further regulate the game. Going to the ballpark is an experience, and people who go plan on spending their entire afternoon or evening there anyway. Also it may sound petty, but installing big blinking pitch blocks where batters and pitchers can each see them sounds like an eyesore.  
My take
I am such a devout baseball fan that I don’t mind the current length of games or pace of play. I enjoy the relaxed nature of the sport and how there isn’t an omnipresent clock incessantly ticking down like a football play clock. There are other pace of play measures in place and I’m of the opinion that those are enough. The MLB sure isn’t interested in cutting down commercial breaks to shorten game length, that’s for sure. However, now that the MLBPA is on board, I’m curious to see what effect it has on games once implemented, and maybe we won't even notice the change before too long. And besides, it *was* kind of nice walking out of Target Field at 9:30 p.m. on April 23, 2021 (2:17 game duration) when J.A. Happ had a no hitter going into the 8th inning and thus caused the game to go hyperspeed. Time will tell, but regardless, change is here- whether we like it or not.
 
Feature photo: Taylor Rogers warms up in relief of J.A. Happ on April 23, 2021

Let’s say earlier this winter, as you shivered at home and headed out into the dark night of 4:30 p.m. in Minnesota to rev up the snowblower, your mind drifted to baseball and spring training. Sure, there was some CBA uncertainty at the time, but that was a mere specter miles and months off in the distance. You haven’t been able to go to spring training for the last two years, so Spring Training 2022 sounds extra enticing. And Rob Manfred- that confident, seasoned, labor industry-tested lawyer, is unequivocally confident that he will find a way to get the season underway on time. After all, he’s found a way every time! What could possibly go wrong?
Fast forward to *checks watch* right about now, and you find yourself with Fort Myers airfare, lodging, and lots of time on your hands. What are you going to do with it?
Never fear, Melissa the Fort Myers vet is here!
 
Go to the Spring Training Complex Anyway You traveled all the way down there, you might as well pay a visit to the scene of the crime at this point. The Lee County Sports Complex is home to Hammond Stadium, where both the Twins and the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels of the Single-A Southeast League play, and a number of practice fields. The complex is beautiful and impressive- both Hammond Stadium and the grounds. With the constant hive of activity in the complex, you should be able to to just drive right in and grab parking. The parking lot lanes are all labeled with street signs named after different legendary Twins, so grab your picture by your favorite one. There is some cool artwork on the complex’s buildings and backstops including my favorite, commemorating Kirby Puckett’s walk off homerun in game 6 of the 1991 World Series.

You can also catch some minor league action with some batting practice or bullpens on the adjoining practice fields as well- as we well know, the lockout doesn't apply to *them*. There’s also a Twins Pro Shop located in the front of the stadium. During the off-season when I have visited, I’ve been able to walk into stadium and grab some pictures of the field as well. Everyone I have interacted at the complex have been unbelievably friendly and accommodating. JetBlue Park, the Boston Red Sox’s spring training facility, is located just across town and is also cool to see. It is essentially a mini Fenway Park- green monster and all (but Hammond Stadium is better, for obvious reasons). As a fun fact- Hammond Stadium was modeled after Churchill Downs!

Chug a bunch of juice samples at Sun Harvest Citrus After you stroll around the Twins’ spring training facility, hop over to one of my every trip must-visit places- Sun Harvest Citrus. It is only one mile away from the stadium and thus unsurprisingly a favorite amongst Twins players, according to the employees I’ve talked to there. My favorite part of Sun Harvest is the six kinds of free juice samples. The Strawberry Orange juice is my personal favorite, but of course I have to sample each one. I visited here last in November 2021 and can confirm the juice samples are up and running in their usual non-covid times glory.

I usually always get an ice cream cone here too- I get chocolate, but they have festive Florida flavors like Key Lime and Orange as well. There’s a nice gift shop, areas to sit outside, a small play area, and I always get my picture with the giant orange outside.

My usual chocolate ice cream cone at Sun Harvest Citrus
 

Me and my brother with the giant orange!
Frolic around the town of Fort Myers Beach (and avoid the spring breakers) The town of Fort Myers Beach is a hopping home to a myriad of resorts, shops, restaurants, bars, and of course its namesake beach. Whenever in Fort Myers Beach, I love walking out on the fishing pier, checking out the shops surrounding the times Square area (named after a prominently placed clock in the middle of downtown Fort Myers Beach), and of course spending time on the beach itself. For some beach reading, I'd recommend "One Tough Out" by Rod Carew and "Game Used" by Dick Bremer.
Last time I stayed on Fort Myers Beach, I in particular enjoyed eating at a restaurant called the Salty Crab because we got to eat directly out on the sand on a table illuminated by a single light the waitress clipped onto our umbrella stand. The Island-themed Yucatan Beach Stand was also memorable for me because its bar chairs were all swings! One night we also got some really good Mexican food at Mr. Tequila, located a little off the main strip.
Various companies on the island offer dolphin cruises, during which hopefully some happy, non-captive ocean dolphins will come ride the waves of your boat. There are also deep sea fishing excursions to be had, though this is not my personal cup of tea. My family loves playing Jungle Golf every time we visit the Fort Myers Beach area as well. Beware that spring training time is also spring break time, so Fort Myers Beach will be extra busy. Fort Myers Beach tends to draw a ton of college kids, but also families as well. However, I have always been able to find beach parking on the street or in parking lots no problem. If not, however, you could try parking at Bowditch Point Park, which is a nature preserve at the northern end of Fort Myers Beach.
 
Fort Myers Beach Pier

Times Square, Fort Myers Beach
 

Bar swings at Yucatan Beach Stand 
Go for a stroll at the Six Mile Cyprus Slough Reserve  Located less than three miles from Hammond Stadium, the Six Mile Cyprus Slough Reserve is one of my favorite places to go walking in the area. It features a 1.2 mile boardwalk over a beautiful, wooded wetland. Keep your eyes out for alligators, turtles, otters, and wading birds. Lakes Park is another pretty albeit more developed walking option that I’ve enjoyed visiting too- it features walking and biking trails and a boardwalk over the lake.
Catch some college baseball Fort Myers is home to the Division I Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles. If you have a fever and the only prescription is more baseball, the Eagles play a number of home games during the month of March. The Eagles recently hosted the Gophers on February 23 and unfortunately that resulted in a 13-5 loss for my beloved alma mater. Though not the Twins, sitting outside in the Florida sunshine to watch any sort of baseball sounds pretty dang lovely.
Visit Manatee Park Naples (not right now though) The caveat is that currently, now in early March, the manatees have mostly departed for greener pastures aka the warm water in the gulf. However, if you visit the area during the winter or on the early end of spring training in February, it’s likely manatees will be present in the park. Manatees are warm blooded, docile critters that flock to this park during the winter months of late December, January, and February because the water in the nearby gulf is below 68F- the coldest temperature manatees can be to maintain a safe internal body temperature. A nearby power plant warms the water as a byproduct of its operation, and manatees have figured this out and come to this park as a warm and cozy place of refuge. The park also rents kayaks. Check out the park’s website for recent news regarding sightings before venturing out to see these beautiful, peaceful creatures.
Bop around Sanibel and Captiva Islands Nearby Sanibel and Captiva Islands are well worth a day’s excursion and have some pristine beaches, unique restaurants, and some beautiful houses. My beach takes: The easiest beach parking is at Bowman’s Beach- which has a giant surface lot. The beach itself is lovely white sand and undeveloped. Lighthouse Beach Park has pretty scenery and a lovely, historic lighthouse, but I have found that this beach is crowded and not as nice and sandy as the other ones on the island- lots of sharp shells. Most of the people visiting this beach last time appeared to be here shelling, so it’s worth a stop if you’d like to see the lighthouse or seek out some sea shells (say that five times fast). Captiva Beach is at the very end of Captiva Island. It has a very small parking lot, but I’ve always had luck finding a spot here. Even if you drive to the end of the island and are unable to find a beach parking spot here, it’s still worth the drive to see all the beautiful houses along the way, each of which has its own unique name and sign out front proclaiming it. I've eaten at a bright pink restaurant called the Lazy Flamingo a couple of times- they have two locations on the islands.
 There will likely be long lines of traffic to exit the island if you want to stay for the the sunset, but if you want to get a jump on traffic, you can pull off onto the Sanibel Causeway Beaches and watch the sunset there.

Lighthouse Beach Park, Sanibel
Do some Twins reading or pondering at Lover’s Key State Park If the hustle and bustle of Fort Myer’s Beach isn’t your scene (or even if it is), Lover’s Key State Park is a 15 minute drive to the end of Estero Island from the Times Square area of Fort Myers Beach. It has two miles of untarnished, undeveloped, and beautiful white sand beaches and is surrounded by Florida’s famous mangrove trees. This would be a great place to get away and think about life’s great questions, such as the impact of modern baseball analytics on managerial decisions and the decline of bunting in the MLB.

Reading Dick Bremer's book at Lover's Key!
9. Get a history lesson at Edison Ford Winter Estates
If you're a fan of history like I am, you might like The Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers.  it has a historical museum and 21 acre botanical garden alongside the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford beside the Caloosahatchee River. I haven't visited the museum since I was a kid, but I remember loving seeing Edison's winter workshop in particular. 
10. Visit Naples (No, not Italy)
Naples is a gorgeous city about 55 minutes or so from Fort Myers. There's a super fancy shopping area called Fifth Avenue South that will be lined with Maseratis and Lamborghinis, the Naples Pier, and some incredible mansions. My family grew up going to nearby Vanderbilt Beach as well. When I visited Naples a few months ago, my best friend and I had a lot of fun driving around town and looking at the houses and walking out on Naples Pier. 
Fifth Avenue South in Naples
 
 

Right now Major League Baseball may be as low as it’s ever been. Back during the 1994 and 1995 strike I was just five years old, way too young to be bothered by what was taking place. At this point in my life, it’s anything but. After Rob Manfred’s address yesterday I could produce nothing more than apathy.
The Minnesota Twins have long been my favorite team. Major League Baseball has been among my most invested interests for the majority of my life. Because of just thirty owners and their puppet, Opening Day is cancelled with no end in sight. As Manfred stepped up to the podium, made that announcement while laughing, and then suggesting it was a both sides issue (hint: it’s not) emptiness set in.
Manfred has done very little to distance himself from the notion that he’s an awful commissioner. Obviously, he’s in a position to represent the interests of the owners, but each opportunity for him to provide a galvanizing rallying cry or momentum, he chomps on his own foot. Manfred comes across like a sleazy businessman with little desire to actually enjoy the sport he oversees. There isn’t a jovial attitude and there’s certainly nothing redeeming about him in connecting with the fans.
For months those connected to the league have attempted spewing a stance that players are needed to move things forward. Despite delays, lack of negotiating, and bad faith bargaining, it’s consistently been a blame game from the league with the only intention being the greatest win. Instead, we the fans, now all lose.
Opening Day is supposed to be a highlight of Spring. We get through the final days of winter with baseball action in Arizona or Florida. It’s the eight month calendar that creates drama on a daily basis through the lens of a wonderful sport. Not only do we not have that calendar to look forward to at this point, but we also have no clue when Rob Manfred and the league will work towards getting things back on track.
I’ll rebound from this; it’s necessary for the union to remain steadfast for change. Baseball will return, maybe in June, or maybe next year, but it will return. I’ll continue to write and enjoy the sport from afar. Right now though, it all feels a bit empty and hollow with one man and one group so carelessly and ruthlessly denying us normalcy on the diamond. Most times it’s hard not to be romantic about baseball, but right now is not most times.
For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

photo courtesy Expedia 
 
Day 3 at the fort. Haven’t ventured to Lee County ballpark yet. Do intend to do so, probably Monday. Thus far have been to the beaches, the pool at the Airbnb, 6 mile slough, has a great meal at the Mucky Duck on Sanibel.
enjoying the escape from the cold of NW Wi.
it’s currently 85 degrees and Sunny
 
day 4: lakes park in the AM, off to the Swimming pool for the PM. Currently 82 and sunny
on deck for the weekend: heading up to Orlando. Universal Studios on Monday, Cape Canaveral Tuesday
Back to the Fort Intending to catch a Dolphin cruise and hang out at the ballpark, hoping to catch some drills or bullpen sessions, hitting off the tees with the minor leaguers.
I’ll try to check back in later.
im missing baseball terribly but still having a great vacation

As this lockout stretches on I have been thinking back to the last time this happened.  The year was 1994 and Friends had just premiered on NBC, OJ Simpson captured all of our interest while slowly evading police in his white Bronco, and the MLB and MLBPA buzzkilled my fall by killing baseball and the World Series.  I thought it might be fun to take the issues that were being discussed during that work stoppage and see in hindsight who had it right.
Drug Testing 
In 1994 the owners submitted a drug testing program as part of their proposal for a labor agreement.  Selig commented on this in testimony to Congress later:
While MLB gave up way too quickly on this, it was the MLBPA that pushed back.  David Cone, a rep for the players at the time, had some negative memories of his experience:
In retrospect, with all of the issues impacting the Hall of Fame and the steroid class that followed I would say that the players truly screwed up this part of the negotiations.
Arbitration
As part of their proposal to the players the MLB was willing to reduce the years of team control from 6 years to 4 years:
The players maintained a hardline opposition to a hard cap, which the owners had tied this proposal to, and ultimately rejected it.  In 2022 they have given up on their request to remove 1 year of team control and are now shooting for more Super 2 status.  In addition, the good, young players of this generation are feeling some pressure to sign early extensions that are team friendly because of the team control and I bet they would appreciate being 2 years closer to free agency now.  Another loss in hindsight for the players.
Cap
In 1994 the owners submitted a proposal where they would split revenues with the players 50/50 in exchange for a hard cap across all team.  The players rejected this equal distribution of revenue and instead compromised on a luxury tax that is not based on revenue and has effectively been used as a cap since.  In 2021, the payroll for all teams was roughly $4B while the revenue for all teams was roughly $12B.  My math has that at a 33% distribution which means the revered Donald Fehr and the MLB Players negotiated themselves a deal where they earn 17% less revenue.  In 2021 that means the players could have earned $2B more under the owners 1994 proposal.  I don't think that all would have gone to the best players either because even with all that new obligation I would think that the Angels would not increase the money they pay Trout from $37M a year to $56M a year and it would likely mean a lot bigger floor of minimum salaries to meet the %50 revenue obligation.  I would call this a 3rd strike for players.
Conclusion
In short, we wouldn't have had the steroid era as badly, players could be free agents 2 years quicker, players would be making 50% more, and we would have had a 1994 World Series if the players hadn't declared a strike and accepted the owners offer.  If only Mr. Peabody's Wayback machine was real?

I enjoy the history of baseball and that is why in the past I have written about Tom Custer and Wild Bill Hickok playing baseball.  Another story that is among the lesser known baseball games was played in Skagway during the height of the Gold Rush.  
The game was played on Independence day in 1901 and unlike the rest of the baseball world it was a team of black Buffalo Soldiers and White Railroad workers. 
The soldiers were assigned to this remote Alaskan wilderness to bring law and order where there was no law and certainly no order.  A man known as Corporal Green was the captain of the Company L Soldier nine and a man by the name of Phelps led the railroad workers. It was about bragging rights and a prize of $50 for first place and $25 for second.
Played near the Moore's sawmill there was beer from the Skagway Brewing Company and vendor of ice cream, lemonade, and milk.
In the stands were miners, railroad workers, prostitutes, gamblers, and soldiers.  It was a lively crowd and the game was a three hour affair (so much for short games) with umps from the townspeople who may or may not have known the rules.
The White Pass RR men wore blue trousers, black shirts and caps while the soldiers had numbered shirts, knickers, and striped socks.
In the end the RR men (umpires decisions or not) won the game 14 - 10 and the crowd was ecstatic.  That was baseball in the Klondike.

Among my friends, I’m known as being a bit of a Minnesota sports optimist. I’m the type of person who, when it’s at the end of the NFL season and the Vikings hold a 11% chance of making it to the playoffs IF the Vikings beat the Packers at Lambeau, the Washington Football team beats the Eagles, AND the terrible, tanking Texans beat the Niners, I’m all in on following those scenarios.
Next week sounds like it will feature a marathon of bargaining sessions as the MLB and its owners and the MLB Players Association work to iron out differences in their CBA proposals. However, unless things really begin to pick up, we might be looking at the reality of a shortened regular season. But could a shortened season be good for the Twins on multiple fronts? Here is a look at a shortened season through an optimistic lens.
1. Smaller sample size
One of the truths of baseball is that most things tend to even out to their natural state by the end of the season in a theory called "Regression Towards the Mean." In all sports, there is certainly some luck involved. However, in baseball and its gauntlet of a 162 game regular season, over the long run most things average out, including batting averages, pitching performance, and wins for a team. But what happens if the season is short enough that things can’t regress to that mean? What if the Twins start hot and then just stay hot?
Twins leadership has maintained they anticipate being competitive in 2022 despite trading José Berríos to the Toronto Blue Jays at the MLB trade deadline last season and not pursuing any flashy free agent starting pitchers before the lockout commenced (we hardly ever do). I am not saying that I do not anticipate the Twins being competitive this season, but our favorite ballclub certainly has their work cut out for them once the lockout ends, including a pressing need to sign two starting pitchers, a starting shortstop, and a late-inning reliever. 
Thus, with such an uncertain rotation, glaring roster holes, and the jury still out on the future of some of their prospects like Royce Lewis, maybe the smaller the sample size for the Twins, the better. It seemed that last season was a perfect storm for the Twins in which the majority of their players were slumping or injured all at the same time. It is feasible the opposite could happen- multiple players could have career seasons. Maybe less games in 2022 would be beneficial to the Twins and if they started hot, would not allow them to regress to a mean which included statistics like finishing the 2021 season with the 17th best batting average at .241 and the 26th best ERA at 4.83. A somewhat anecdotal example illustrating sample size- do you favor the Twins' odds more in a one game playoff with the Yankees or a full series? ("Neither" is not an acceptable answer, thank you very much). There's sample size for ya.
Another note- the last time the Twins won the division it was in a small sample size 60-game season. More on that later.
2. Less injuries for star veterans
A shortened season would also benefit the Twins because less games means less wear and tear on their injury-prone stars. Josh Donaldson has struggled with recurring calf issues throughout his career- in a July 2020 Instragram post, Donaldson acknowledged that he’s torn “both of my calves a total of seven times in two years.” Calf issues held him to 28 games in 2020 and forced him to sit out of the playoffs that year. During the full 2021 season, Donaldson got in 135 games but was bothered by hamstring issues. He will be 36 for the 2022 season, and while he still can bring the rain, there is little doubt less games would be of great benefit to him.
The most evident beneficiary of a shorter season is Byron Buxton. To be clear, I was incredibly excited about the Buxton extension and did not remotely believe his injuries were a reason to not resign him, as many of his injuries have stemmed from somewhat freak occurrences like getting hit by a pitch (2020 and 2021) or fouling a ball off his toe (2018). To me, it is unfair to label him as being "made out of glass" from these instances of bad luck that could happen to anyone. Regardless, in looking at his game log through his entire Twins career- he has played triple digit games only once- 140 games in 2017. It is inarguable that the Twins are a much better team when Buxton is in the lineup; since the beginning of 2019, the Twins have played at a 99-win pace when Byron Buxton is in their starting lineup and an 81-win pace when he isn't. Therefore, less games would mean less wear and tear on their star centerfielder's body, which hopefully would result in him being in the starting lineup more regularly. More Buxton starts, more wins.
3. Games (almost) solely against AL Central teams

In 2020, the MLB faced another shortened season with only 60 games played due to the pandemic and boy, did it work out well for the Twins. During this season, the Twins played 10 games vs each of their four AL Central opponents and 20 games against NL opponents. The Twins won the American League Central division title for the second year in a row and had winning or .500 records against each of their AL Central opponents. The Twins were 13-7 in the 20 NL games they played. Maybe they just do better when avoiding beatdowns from the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Athletics- if you can imagine that (sarcasm). A shortened season would probably follow a similar model; with little time to waste, divisional games would be prioritized.
If you dig into this 2021 wins matrix, you will see that despite the Twins having a decidedly disappointing season with their 73-89 record, the Twins played disproportionally well vs each of their AL Central opponents with the exception of the White Sox, who ran away with the AL Central title and had their most wins as a franchise since the 2005 season. Despite landing in last in the AL Central rankings, the Twins went 11-8 vs the Cleveland Guardians, 11-8 vs the Detroit Tigers, and 9-10 vs the Kansas City Royals. Of all the other AL teams the Twins faced, the only other AL series the Twins won were vs the tied-for-league-worst Baltimore Orioles, the Houston Astros, and the Texas Rangers. Every other AL series the Twins lost, thus making the fact that the Twins won or were almost .500 vs all their divisional opponents (yes, except the White Sox- but the Twins were 5-5 vs them in 2020 and we'll get 'em next year) significant. Nothing says they couldn't perform similarly well vs their division opponents in 2022.
Even though there is nothing more I would like to do more than try to beat my personal record for number of home games I attend during a Twins season, I take heart knowing that a shortened season could very well shake out in the Twins' favor. Just a little optimism for you on this windy, spring training-less day.
 
Feature photo: Fireworks Friday after a 6-4 loss to the Astros on June 11, 2021
Photo: Byron Buxton warming up in the on deck circle during an extremely hot and muggy game I attended on June 10, 2021. Buxton went yard twice and returned to the outfield in what was the first game of his Saints rehab stint.

Happy Valentine's Day! Today as I watched all our other local sports teams post their annual Valentine's Day pun cards featuring their team's players, I connected the dots that the Twins can't do that this year because of the lockout. So, I made some cards instead! I hope you like them, and if not, I hope our love isn't ~Ober.~
 
All player images are courtesy of ESPN.com

Okay, CBA negotiations are going nowhere fast, the start of spring training is only a wish, games are somewhere out there in the distant future, we're getting tired of reading about hypothetical trades, we're contemplating stepping in front of a pitching machine loaded with rocks... what can a fan do to get his baseball fix?
Some time ago, probably 20 or so years back, during another long Minnesota winter, I began writing a baseball novel. I dicked around with it every winter since, adding a little, revising a little, revising earlier revisions a little, etc. etc. Well, defying my wife's skepticism, (though she's usually right) I finally finished it. That's right... It's done. Miracle of miracles!
Anyway, being a Twins fan, I centered the story around a mythical Twins organization, so there's a contraction sub-plot cooked in there and you might recognize a fictional version of a well-known Minnesota character or two, but it mostly revolves a young pitching prospect that loses his way, overcomes some personal failures and eventually works his way back to what he was born to do; pitch in the major leagues.
Appropriately enough, it's entitled "The Prospect" and is slowly becoming available through a number of e-book stores including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobi, ya da ya da ya da. Cost you less than half the price of a stadium beer ($3.39) but it's a long read that should last you through the baseball drought till spring. Then if the lock-out isn't yet over, well, I'll have to start writing another baseball book.
https://books2read.com/u/m2YaJ7