Base ball begins

Monday the The Twins play the Angels at the Dome. It's exciting because the opening game of the season is always exciting. But this year's game will have the odd thrill of seeing Torii Hunter in center field for the Angels. I do hope the Minnesota fans behave themselves. Don't throw hot dogs or plastic beer bottles like you did when Knoblauch returned in a Yankee uniform. That was bush.

We'll be there Tuesday, and then later in the week the Northfield HS choir will sing at a game. I believe they were lined up to do the national anthem, but got bumped and will sing "God Bless America" instead.

I have a question about that: Are we supposed to stand and remove our hats during "God Bless America?" I don't, but many people do. I always thought these gestures of respect and humility were reserved for the national anthem. Doing so for any other song diminishes the meaning of the true national anthem. So what's the deal?

At least they don't blast that jingoistic Lee Greenwood any more.

Livan 'El Principe' Hernandez will get the start. I hope he has at least one chance to show off his soccer skills.

Gomez will make a spectacular catch in center, steal a couple of bases, and get picked off first at a crucial point in the game.

Go, Twins!

Welcome, Delmon, to the Upper Midwest

The Twins acquired Delmon Young from the Tampa Bay base ball club in a trade, giving up Matt Garza and some other dudes.

<--- As Photoshop hats go, that's not a bad one.

Delmon was born in Alabama and played some college ball in Arizona. In honor of Mr. Young's joining the Twins, I was all prepared to write something about the food in Alabama or Arizona (to continue uninterrupted the "Food and Place" series). Then I realized that I don't know anything about the food in Alabama or Arizona. Never been to Arizona. Been to Alabama just once but don't remember anything about eating there.

Dothan, Alabama, is the county seat of Houston County, which is in the southeasternmost corner of the state. (Hey, Houston County, Minnesota, is also in the southeasternmost corner of the state! Strange.) I visited the Houston County, Alabama, jail one day on a consulting job. I recall the red clay of the countryside, the extreme quiet of Dothan, and little else. The small group I was with was supposed to help Houston County decide whether to build a new jail (they'd asked for some federal money for a new jail) and, if so, how big it shoud be. I have no idea what, if anything, Houston County did with our report or your federal tax dollars.

Anyway, I hope Delmon enjoys being a Twin and I hope he can contribute lots of extra-base hits to what is a pretty anemic offense. And remember, Delmon, umpires are people, too.

Matty Garza was fun to watch and gave us Twins fans an excuse to drink Sierra Nevada ale (brewed in Matty's home town of Chico, CA). Jason Bartlett was also included in the trade. I never got excited about Mr. Bartlett. In fact, his nickname in our house was Yawn.

Torii Hunter goofed around with a Rally Monkey at his news conference in LA yesterday. Take the money, Torii, and enjoy life with the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Angels, but please do not adopt a Rally Monkey. They're creepy.

Twins status report: Good news/Bad news

Good news: Garza got his first home victory last night after 10 straight home losses.
Bad news: Garza struggled to beat the Texas Rangers, who had already lost 81 times this season.

Bad news: Neshek has a sore shoulder.
Good news: He has all winter to recover.

Bad news: Mauer and Morneau combined have about 60 fewer runs batted in than they did last year.
Good news: There isn’t any. Mauer’s been hurt but even when healthy enough to play has looked tired or distracted at the plate. Morneau has just not been very good. He never managed to balance the inevitable slumps with any hot streaks.

Bad news: Punto is one of the worst hitters in baseball. Among third basemen, he ranks last in batting average, next-to-last in on-base percentage, last in slugging percentage, and last in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).
More bad news: Punto has already been anointed as the starting 2nd baseman for next year.

Bad news: Ticket prices will be increased next year.
Good news: Scalping is now legal in Minnesota.

Bad news: The general manager quit.
Good news (maybe): Ryan’s departure may have sent a message to the penurious Pohlads. Probably not, though.

Bad news: Hennepin County still doesn’t own the land on which the new ballpark is being built.
Good news: Somebody is going to get rich off this deal. I do not begrudge anyone anything in this sordid affair. The deal stinks and nobody – not the landowners, the politicians, the team owners, or the Commissioner – can claim any moral high ground.

Good News: Hunter has had a career year (slightly better than his 2002 season).
Bad News: Hunter will be a free agent in a few weeks. This is only bad news for the fans. I enjoy watching Hunter play and would miss him if he leaves the Twins. But loyalty is a long-dead sentiment in major league baseball. It’s a little like Winfield leaving the Padres years ago. San Diegans were upset, but time has healed those wounds. Some Minnesota fans have forgotten that Killebrew, the face of the franchise, left the Twins and played his final year in Kansas City in part because of the skinflintiness of then-owner Calvin Griffith. Fans were disappointed, but they understood, and Killebrew is still a valued member of the Twins family.

Bad news: 2007 (see especially S. Ponson, R. Ortiz, and J. Cirillo)
Good news: Spring training 2008.

Twins: Fading Fast (but maybe not fast enough)

Last season, the Twins tore up the division in the 2nd half of the season. They fell asleep in the post season, but the remarkable run gave us hope for 2007.

That hope is fading fast. They can't even win behind Johan -- letting Cleveland's portly one (Captain Cheeseburger) off the hook yesterday. The Twins have such a solid core of experienced players in Santana, Mauer, Hunter, Morneau, Cuddyer, and Bartlett, it seems a damned shame to pencil in the likes of Jason Tyner or Rondell White at designated hitter or -- consider the implications of the following statement -- to use Lew Ford as defensive substitute for Jason Kubel. It's so obvious to point out, as many have done since spring training, that the Twins have some big gaps; that their core of talent is surrounded by mediocrity. Just look at either end of the batting order or at the third through fifth starters.

At least Sir Sidney is gone and the over-the-hill Ortiz is now doing mop-up duty.

This team always seemed to have fun, what with Redmond's nose-touching and naked walks through the clubhouse, Torii's mummy impression after getting hit in the jaw by a pitch. But now the clubhouse hi-jinx have given way to carping by Torii and Johan.

Sigh.

At least Terry Ryan has so far avoided the word "rebuilding." If he ever says "rebuilding" in reference to the roster, he is really saying "Get ready for some crappy baseball." And at least Jeff Cirillo, who told Gardenhire he didn't want to play every day, has gotten his wish.

Go, Twins!