All I Want for Christmas

It’s about that time for Christmas in July, right? Yes, it is. And like anyone else I have a few things I’ve wanted for quite some time from the Minnesota Twins. Here’s what I want:


1) Joe Mauer to put up better numbers in the second half.

If you’re a Twins fan you know that Mauer hasn’t gotten off to a very "Joe Mauer like start." Maybe it’s the new stadium, maybe it’s the new contract, or maybe it’s his embarrassing Kemps commercials keeping him up at night. No matter what the problem is, I want him to fix it. This is something that I’m really not all that worried about, seeing as he is Joe Mauer. He’s far too good of a player to be off for the entire season.

2) Delmon Young to stay this new and improved Delmon.

Whoever this guy they’re calling Delmon Young is, he needs to stay for the second half. With his .305 batting average, .504 slugging percentage, 54 RBIs and 10 home runs, he is by far the biggest surprise so far this season. I would love to see him put up these same numbers in the second half.

3) Justin Morneau goes against the norm and has a second half.

I love a rebel (one that rebels inside the law.) That’s exactly what I want Morneau to do. I want to see him have two good halves of the season this year, unlike he has done in previous years. Maybe backing out of the All-Star game will make a difference. It’ll give him more time to pump some iron with bears.

4) Jim Thome sees more time at DH.

I need to see Thome starting games more often than I am now. I’m not talking every single day, but I need it to be more often than not. Even if he is wearing down, he’s still a dangerous hitter who has a whole lot to bring to this Twins line-up. I honestly think that this is one essential key to being successful down the stretch.

5) No more double plays!

The Twins have hit into a staggering 100 double plays in the first half. They lead not only the American League but the entire Majors. Leading this double play initiative are Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer with 14 and Orlando Hudson and Delmon Young with 10. I just can’t handle seeing any more of this, games can’t be won by giving opposing pitchers a two for one deal on outs.

6) The starting rotation gets a verbal slap in the face.

I’m not a very violent person and I believe that anything can be handled with words and the starting rotation needs a few strong ones strung together and thrown at them. I know my nerves can’t stand wondering which version of Blackburn, Slowey, Baker, or Liriano has decided to show up at the ball park for their scheduled start, knowing that all are capable of quality starts. I think a good stern talking to could help snap at least three of these guys out of this funk.

I will be one happy gal this holiday season if I receive these things from the Twins.

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New Staduim, Same Twins

“JUSTIN BIEBER, I LOVE YOU!” was not what I was yelling Tuesday night in downtown Minneapolis. There are a two reasons for this; one, I’m not a fan of prepubescent singers, no matter how cool their hair is. Two, my family and I had tickets to see the Twins take on the Tigers. Therefore, I was yelling things like, “STRIKE HIM OUT!” and “YOU BETTER HIT A HOME RUN!” or “TURN IT! TURN IT!”

All “jokes” aside I first and foremost need to get something off my chest before I get started talking about Target field, and my thoughts on the place, I just need to say that it was so incredibly amazing to see those guys playing live and in person again. Usually at this time in the season, we’d have at least gone to five or six games already. Detroit being one of our favorite teams to watch the Twins play (which is totally different now that Center fielder Curtis Granderson is no longer playing for them) we’d have likely gone to at least two of these three games.

Moving onward to the thing that everyone wants to hear about, Target Field, and I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t the happiest when I heard about the new stadium and the compromises that they were going to have to make in order to build it. That being said, there are definitely a lot of pluses as well as many minuses when it comes to the new stadium and my first experience there.

Pluses

Leg Room was a major issue in the Metrodome, me being a shorter person would even experience my knees knocking into people’s arms as they cuddled with their sweetie in front of me. And too many times I was getting knocked in the head by an 8 foot man’s knees. But those days are long gone and behind us, you are now free to stretch your legs with little fear of disturbing the love birds in front of you and there is a whole lot less knees to the head.

Bathrooms! I know that a lot of women love to hear about no waiting line for the women’s bathrooms. So, I’ll tell them just that. There was no waiting to use the toilets, which honestly, if you knew what to do, there was never really that huge of a problem at the Dome either. What I was personally more excited about was the fact that the stall that I went into actually had a door that closed and stayed closed. Also another feature was germ reducing coating on the flushers, I didn’t have a chance to read about it because, I was too busy listening to Gordo calling the game. That’s right, you no longer have to miss a beat in the game just to go to the bathroom, they have the radio broadcast playing in the bathroom. One thing, however, I would have to say about the bathrooms were the sinks were put in a weird position and there weren’t nearly enough sinks compared to the amount of stalls, the entire hand washing experience was very awkward.

The concourse was pretty nice as well, I mean as nice as a concourse can get. I liked the fact that it was open so that you could see the field, which isn’t as nice in practice as it is in theory, because there’s only so much room for so many people to stand and watch the game. But the things that I like the most about the concourse are the televisions placed all over the place, so once again, you’ll never miss a beat of the game, this really came in handy for my mom, my sister and me because we spent at least three full innings away from our seats.

Negatives

The view was terrible from where we were sitting. When people say that there’s not a bad seat in the place, they obviously haven’t sat where we sat. We were sitting down the third baseline next to the big limestone wall. The view was similar to that of the Metrodome in seats similar to those. I was having trouble seeing over the guys in front of me, I was constantly craning my neck and moving from side to side to see home plate and third base. I feel that if the seats were raised just a bit more so that they are higher than the seats in front of us then the view would be much better. Walking around after the game it was apparent that there were much better seats in the place. In the section straight back from home-plate, for instance, seemed to be a great view, even at the top of the section the entire field was visible. However, I think it would be very difficult, if not impossible to see fly balls from under the section above.

The second biggest problem was the big screen. From where we were sitting we couldn’t see any bit of the huge screen up in center field. I think that there needs to be some sort of smaller screen placed somewhere in the stadium so that everyone can see the things that they have playing on it in between innings. I was so very disappointed that there was no way for us to see the words to the sing-along. I’m sure other people enjoy to play along with the trivia that they do during the game, and watch this week in baseball before the game starts as well. So, this proved as a major let down.


The field seemed very lackluster. I’ve been to three other outdoor stadiums (Angel Stadium, Dolphin Stadium and Kauffman Stadium) and usually seeing the field for the first time nearly takes my breath away. It’s always so green and lush looking. Target Field however, really lost points with me for this. It didn’t seem as green as it should have been it almost looked artificial. Maybe they were trying to please all of us Dome lovers? If that’s the case they didn’t please this gal.

Once I got in there, I could really see the amount of maneuvering they had to do to fit everything into that small of a space. The tiny amount of foul territory down each line is one example, which is as unappealing to the eye as it is to the pitcher trying to get guys out. Also seeing all the nooks and crannies some of the seats were put into, it was evident that they were trying to fit as many seats into the place as they could. The place didn’t look or feel cramped but it definitely looked funny.

Other notable notes

The weather was amazing. This was really my number one concern, especially with the terribly hot and humid weather that we Minnesotans were experiencing in the days leading up to Tuesday. Obviously, Target Field itself had really no control over the weather, but I know that my review of the place would be totally different if the weather wasn’t the way that it was. We really couldn’t have asked for a better weather. This I know for a fact will always be an issue, one I will still say is one that I’m not a fan of and never will be a fan of.

A Twins win really helped me with enjoying the new stadium. It was a terrific game. In this 11-4 victory, Denard Span once again showed us all why he should love playing at home. He managed to go 4-4 hitting three triples, tying the major league record for triples hit in one game, and drawing one walk in his last at bat. Span also raked in 5 runs and scored twice. Meanwhile, DH, Jim Thome homered off Enrique Gonzalez in the 7th making that 8 on the season. Nick “the un-bearded” Blackburn had a solid start after two quite very dreadful ones. Blackburn gave up 4 runs on 7 hits walking 2 batters and striking out 4. Really, can you ask for a better game?

“But what was the best part?” people have been asking me. I could really answer with many things: The Twins’ win? No. Span hitting three triples? Nope. Jim Thome’s homerun? Nah. Seeing the new stadium? Not even close. The highlight of my night was “running into” FSN’s Robby Incmikoski in the concourse. That honest to god was the highlight of my night, possibly the entire season,(we’ll have to see how the rest of it goes before I set that in stone.) He was honestly a very nice guy and was very eager to take a photo with a couple of crazed fans.

I personally had a great time at the ball park, and for fans who are still on the fence about Target Field, all I have to say to you is give it try if you have a chance. How will you know if you like it or not if you don’t go see it for yourself? If you find that you love it, fine. If you find that you hate it that’s fine, too. But don’t be that fan that blindly hates the stadium for 20 or 30 years. Me? I neither love nor hate it. I realized that the Twins are the Twins no matter where they play, while I’d rather be watching them inside than out they’re still my Minnesota Twins and I’ll cheer them on no matter where they’re playing.

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Questions Have Been Answered

There is just one week until the Twins open their season at Angels’ stadium, and two weeks until they officially open their new home at Target Field. It’s all so close I can smell it… Oh, no that’s the garbage incinerator next door to Target Field, sorry. With things so close, the two questions that had been on far too many people’s minds have been answered in all the obvious ways.


1) Will Joe Nathan be able to pitch this season? If he can’t who will be the closer?

Nathan played his first game of catch since hearing that he had a torn ulnar ligament on March 21. He ultimately had no choice but to undergo season ending Tommy John surgery on Friday. This, no matter how unfortunate was really no surprise to me and hopefully not much of a surprise to many other people as well. The procedure was said to go well and Nathan is hoping to be able to make his return to the team next year for the 2011 season.

This however forced the Twins to announce Sunday they would be using the closer- by-committee approach with the players that they already have, which as I’ve said earlier is the best option that the Twins have at the moment. They can always see how everything pans out and then talk about trades. They don’t have to stick to one thing for the entire season.


2) Will Joe Mauer sign a long term deal with the Twins?

On Sunday, the Twins announced that they and Mauer had agreed to an eight-year, $184 million dollar contract (the fourth biggest in MLB history). This too was something that was obviously going to happen. Mauer is the 2009 American League MVP, three-time batting champion, two –time gold glove winner, and three-time All Star. However even if his resume isn’t taken into consideration the Twins still really had no choice but to sign Mauer for the long term. Being a St. Paul native, he’s loved by the entire Twins Territory which reaches over most of the states bordering Minnesota. Letting him go would be deemed unforgivable by these dedicated people. The last thing the Twins should want to do is piss off fans just a year after opening controversial Target Field. Instead they wisely decided to put a little warmth in the fan’s hearts before introducing them in the bitter cold they’ll be living with for years to come.

Although it was an obvious choice for the Twins, I still have to question Mauer on this move. Yes, he’ll be making a whole lot of money and yes he’ll get to stay in his hometown for the remainder of his career (or at least most of it). But will he have wasted his career on a team that will never get him a World Series ring? In my opinion, Joe Mauer is far too talented to not win at least one World Series, after all that is the reason that most, if not all athletes compete in sports, to win. So, until the Twins do win it all (another play-off appearance resulting in the Twins being swept won’t do), I will feel that Mauer has wasted his career.

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To Trade or Not to Trade

It’s hard not to know Joe Nathan’s current situation, he’s recently been diagnosed with a torn ulnar ligament. He is expected to play his first game of catch today since the terrible news. If all goes well, he’s likely to be the Twins closer this season. However, if all doesn’t go well, he’s likely to need a surgery similar to Tommy John, meaning his season will never happen and his career could possibly be over.

So, the question is, “What if things don’t go well? What if he can’t pitch this season?” The Twins have options. Some arguably better than others and some undoubtedly more realistic than others.

The Twins have shown interest in All-Star righty, Heath Bell who in 2009 saved a total of 42 games, the most in the National League. There were also rumors that they were showing interest in Blue Jays’ reliever Jason Frasor.

A trade is what everyone seems to be rooting for. For me the price the Twins would have to pay for a decent closer at this point in the year isn’t worth the risk. In my opinion, even with Joe Nathan as closer the Twins have a lot of holes in their roster.

Newly acquired JJ Hardy is still a question mark for me. Although he was an All-Star in 2007, his numbers weren’t impressive in the 2009 he finished with a .229 batting average, 47 RBI, and 53 runs scored. He in fact was sent to the minors in August. This leaves a question only time will answer, will he put up numbers similar to those in his 2007 and 2008 seasons?

Another concern I have is that the Twins still haven’t found a true third baseman, one that will pose a threat in the line-up. Don’t get me wrong, Nick Punto is a great defensive player, but his numbers will never be that of a third baseman.

Justin Morneau too has his issues. One, he’s coming off back surgery. Two, since his MVP year in 2006 he’s shown inconsistency between his first half numbers to his second half numbers. The latter a problem he’s said he’s working on. I also think though that he’ll learn a lot from playing with and watching newly acquired veteran DH Jim Thome.

The last major concern that I have with the line-up is Delmon Young, he hasn’t been what the Twins had hoped he would be when they acquired him in 2008 from the Tampa Bay Rays. He hasn’t been the power hitter that they wanted. And he’s shown little patience at the plate. This I have to attribute to his age, he’s only 23 and in my opinion has a lot to learn about the game. But nevertheless an issue that should be addressed.

I think if need be, a trade in the middle of the season would be a better option than one before the season starts. I’d really be happy for a trade at this uncertain time in the season if and only if the Twins could somehow trick the team into giving them both an established closer and an established power hitting third baseman. The Twins are crafty but unfortunately not that crafty.

So, I say work with what they have for now, see how the season starts out. If they see they have a real chance at making it to the play-offs then I say go ahead see what they can get. Right now there are still too many ‘ifs’ to take that big of a risk.

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