Saturday, November 5, 2011

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

It’s that time of year. You know what I’m talking about. That time when you find yourself watching reruns of Seinfeld you’ve seen a million times. When the days get shorter, and you have no idea what to do at 7:00 PM. You find the sports section of the newspaper sitting around somewhere, flip through it in a few seconds, and toss it aside. Then, one day, all of a sudden, you wake up and you’re watching a Vikings game, and that’s when you realize you’ve hit rock bottom.

It’s Seasonal Affective Disorder—and you’re not alone.

I, like so many of you, am attempting to combat this crippling disease. So today, I would like to share some of the things that have helped me through these dark times.


1. Buy “Ken Burns: Baseball”


You need to do this. Even if you aren’t suffering from SAD. “Ken Burns’s ‘Baseball’” is the greatest thing in the world, except for, um, baseball. And cheese curds. It’s 23 and ½ hours—11 full-length DVDs—of pure baseball glory. It chronicles all of the most important events in baseball history (except the 1991 World Series), and it will make anyone who watches it love baseball. It’s the most watched program on PBS—EVER. The Third Inning (all the DVDs are named after innings) is all about how ridiculous Babe Ruth was. And by ridiculous I mean drunk.

GET IT.


2. Buy the 1991 World Series on DVDs.

Last summer, some company selling the Twins 1991 World Series DVDs sponsored contests by Twins Blogs to give away 1991 World Series DVDs for free. Apparently, my blog did not have the clout to take part. HOWEVER, after entering every contest on all of my fellow Twins’ bloggers blogs, I BAGGED MYSELF SOME 1991 WORLD SERIES DVDS! WOOT WOOT! (Shout out to the awesome BAT SHATTERERS!)

The DVDs are awesome. You get to see all the crowd shots and special segments from the ‘80s (oh wait—‘90s! My bad). The 1991 graphics, by themselves, are worth the money. You can switch the audio from the TV broadcast to the radio broadcast (“TOUCH ‘EM ALL KIRBY PUCKETT! TOUCH ‘EM ALL KIRBY PUCKETT!”). You can watch Kent Hrbek pull Ron Gant off the bag, then rewind and watch Ron Gant’s momentum pull Kent Hrbek off the bag, then rewind again and… seriously what the f*** happened there?


3. Learn about Japanese Baseball

Japanese baseball is really cool. You watch it and it’s like you’ve entered some bizarre-o world where people eat breakfast at night and dinner in the morning. Which you then realize is super awesome. And you get to see stuff like this:




HOLY CARP!

Unlike the USA, professional baseball is the most popular professional sport in Japan. Really—Japan loves the American pastime more than Americans! That might be why they’ve won every World Baseball Classic ever held.

But just remember—the Hiroshima Toyo Carp are the best.


4. Read Books About Baseball

I recently got around to reading “Moneyball”. Eh, it was okay. But the best part was that I really actually felt baseball was alive again. ALIVE. This is important when combating SAD.

Some good baseball books I recommend:
- “Can’t Anyone Here Play This Game?” by Jimmy Breslin
- “Past Time” by Julies Tygiel
- “Moneyball” by Michael Lewis
- “Eight Men Out” by Eliot Asinof (how “alive” this book makes you feel about baseball is to be debated)

Have you read any other good baseball books? Please comment!


5. Hockey!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!


6. Go to Law School/Med School

I actually don’t necessarily recommend this route—but it’s pretty good as far as battling seasonal affective disorder. As in “I’m so f****ing busy/stressed out I never even realized baseball stopped.” Plus, you’re doing something other people think is awesome, even though you know there are no jobs out there for law school graduates these days.

F***ing s***, I should have gone to med school.


7. Get a Sun Lamp

This is just what my therapist tells me. I can’t really afford one though—anyone know if this works?


Do you have a solution for SAD? Leave a comment!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

TOOT TOOT! Twins Train of SUCK Coming Through!


The Minnesota Twins sucking it up against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

So far in the month of August, the Twins have won 5 games and lost 17. They were just swept by the Baltimore Orioles—the team with the worst record in the league—at Target Field. The Twins scored all of 4 runs during the series. And yes, it was a four-game series—the first four-game series the Orioles have swept in Minnesota. Ever.

What has been the cause of the Twins suckitude? The following table may offer some insight:


Minnesota Twins Team Statistics August 1st, 2011-August 25th, 2011
Statistic Twins Performance Rank Among MLB’s 30 Teams
Hitting
AVG .233 27th
OBP .287 30th
SLG .357 29th
OPS .643 29th
Pitching
ERA 5.22 28th
ER 112 3rd (more like 27th)
WHIP 1.58 30th
SO 1.15 30th


So basically, every facet of the Twins is sucking harder than a Dyson no-loss-of-suction vacuum cleaner.

Please, Indians, for the love of God, take Jim Thome away from this giant ball of suck.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

OMG BOBBLEHEADS

If you aren’t living under a rock, you heard that yesterday was bobblehead day at Target Field. And you know that it wasn’t just any ol’ bobblehead day—it was the EPIC 1991 World Series Game 2 Hrbek-Gant Bobblehead Day everyone and their dog has been waiting for since Hrbek lifted Gant off first base in game 2 of the 1991 World Series (or held the tag on Gant while he fell off base. Whatever.)

I’ve done the bobblehead day thing many times, but holy cow were people crazy for Hrbek-Gant dolls. By the time I arrived at Target Field around 3:30pm, there were already lines circling around the stadium. It was the most people I’ve ever seen already there waiting that early on bobblehead day.


Bobble Bobble


Faced with the already long lines, Mom and I decided to diversify to maximize our chances of receiving at least one bobblehead. Mom got in line at Gate 14, while I walked around to check out the lines on the other side of the stadium at Gate 6 and Gate 3. What I found was amazing: the lines actually ran into each other, so there was basically one long line with a middle point where people were suddenly facing the other direction. People were confused and the line at Gate 6 wasn’t actually that long, so I got in line.

And we waited. And waited.




There is a special moment on every bobblehead day. It’s the moment when—after all the waiting and waiting—the line suddenly starts to move. The ticket scanners start to bing. And you move closer and closer to the gate, where you see that—YES! There are still boxes of bobbleheads left I’mtotallygoingtogetoneSUCCESS!!!








But not everyone gets to experience this moment. Alas, there are the poor souls who showed up at 4:00 pm, or weren’t smart enough to know the lines at Gate 34 and 29 are way longer than the lines at Gates 6, 3, and 14. They get to the front of the line only to have their tickets scanned and realize they just came to the game hours early for no reason.




I met one of these women coming in Gate 14 just as the last bobbleheads had been given out. “There was a family of five in front of me and EACH ONE got a bobblehead,” she lamented. Unfortunately, that’s kind of the way it works, but I tried to put on my sympathetic-stranger face as I clutched my own Hrbek-Gant bobblehead. I’m not sure if she thought I’d take pity and give her my bobblehead, because she could have had mine if she preyed it from MY COLD DEAD HANDS.

After locating my Mom, who was also victorious, we went to the Metropolitan Club to celebrate our obtainment of the Hrbek-Gant Bobblehead Dolls with some libations. All of the tables and chairs were already taken so we had to sit on the floor and play with our dolls.






Two hours later there was a baseball game, and it sucked. The Twins lost to the White Sox 5-3.

The end.



P.S.

Twitter friend and fellow blogger Betsy—who apparently almost had her bobblehead snatched at Hubert's after the game—tweeted a picture of one lucky Twins fan who got a GANT-GANT bobblehead doll. Woah.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Heat Index is 115 Degrees—Let’s Play a Double Header!

In the stands at Target Field, basically.


Last April, the Twins rescheduled a rained-out game against the Indians for July 18, 2011, setting up the double header that was played yesterday.

Conveniently, the heat index was 115 degrees.

It was hot. It was sooooo hot. How hot was it? Consider:

  • The photograph accompanying an Associated Press story on the heat wave was of fans at Target Field.
  • Dozens of fans needed medical attention. ESPN 1500 reported the number as fifty for the noon game alone. At least several fans were taken to HCMC.
  • Anthony LaPanta and Roy Smalley fried an egg.
  • Players were offered IV bags in-between games. Michael Cuddyer opted for one.
  • At least one player—Tsuyoshi Nishioka—did not play the second game due to fatigue (although he was later seen inexplicably wearing a sweatshirt during a meet-up with a youth soccer team from Japan, which was in town for the Schwan’s Cup in Blaine).
  • The Star Tribune has a poll up asking fans if they miss the Metrodome and its AC ("No" is winning, but not by all that much).
  • Oh, and the Twins lost both games of the double header to the first-place Indians.

Playing multiple games in this heat will likely wear the Twins players down significantly. On the bright side, however, Joe Mauer did go 6-for-8 yesterday, raising his batting-average to .290.

The Twins play again today at 7:00pm. The heat index forecast is 113 degrees.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Opinions are like…

This post is about the current debate over replacing Tsuyoshi Nishioka with Trevor Plouffe at shortstop. Yes, I know many of my posts this year have been about Nishi. But no, I’m not in love with him and he isn’t my favorite player. I just find all the hoopla with him especially interesting. And I’m addicted to Google Translate. Seriously. (Side note: I just realized today that when Google-Translated Japanese reports on the Twins mention “Libya,” they are actually referring to Ben Revere.)

Over the past couple days, it seems everyone has expressed some sort of opinion on Tsuyoshi. Aaron Gleeman is worried, but still thinks it is too early to write Nishioka off. Sid Hartman talked with Chiba Lotte Marine president Ryuzo Setoyama—a close personal friend in town to present Tsuyoshi Nishioka with his 2010 championship ring—and he thought Nishioka needs to relax and will in time become a good major leaguer. Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press second-guessed the Twins’ decision to sign Nishi, but also reserved the right to second-guess his second-guess in case Nishi improves. Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 talked about some stat-head gobbledegook that apparently proves Nishioka isn't actually as good as he played last year. Nick Nelson of Twinscentric advocated sending Nishioka to AAA and calling Plouffe back up to play shortstop. Twins Outsider advocated against replacing Nishioka with Plouffe, believing it wouldn’t be an upgrade.

And, of course, the ever delightful Jim Souhan took a little break from calling Joe Mauer an overpaid, lazy son-of-a-[redacted] to verbally poop all over Nishioka.

In fact, Souhan’s remarks were so scathing they were quoted and described by several Japanese media outlets. One report went so far as to describe the STAR TRIBUNE WEBSITE COMMENTS on Souhan’s article. So now the Japanese are really in-the-know.

Curious as to what Japanese fans thought, I googled around until I found a Japanese message board post commenting on Souhan’s remarks. Now, I don’t know exactly what was being said because I don’t know Japanese. But what I did discern was pretty interesting—the comments left by Japanese fans seemed pretty much the same as the comments by American fans: "Nishioka has been painful to watch," "It’s still too early to judge Nishioka," "Nishioka is just another Kaz Matsui," "Nishioka will come around," "Joe Mauer is batting even worse than Nishioka," "Nishioka should be sent to the minors," and "Come home Nishioka!" I even found a comment suggesting Plouffe as a replacement (comment number 889).

So yes, opinions are like... well, you know. We all have them.

Here’s my opinion: Nishioka has only played 19 major league games. Replacing Nishi with Plouffe is not going to propel the Twins to a division championship. I’m not convinced Plouffe’s minor league numbers overshadow his major league struggles. Nishioka did alright in spring training and in his minor league rehab stint; I’m not convinced the Twins need to send him to the minors. Gardenhire and the Twins are 100% justified in treating these two very different players in a different manner. Everyone knew Nishioka would have quite an adjustment period, and I certainly didn’t expect that period to be over in fewer than the equivalent of three weeks of major league games. The Twins suck this year anyway. Just let the kid play.

I believe that whether Nishioka can succeed in the majors will depend in a large part on whether we start to see him making adjustments in the coming weeks, even if those adjustments don’t necessarily fix everything right away. I just want to see, for now, what his effort and ability at adapting will be. From everything I’ve heard and read, he seems to have a good disposition for making changes. The story of how being cut from the World Baseball Classic team in 2009 and struggling later that season caused Nishi to reflect on his playing and lifestyle, and then go on to have a career year in 2010, makes me think he has a promising reaction to failure.

Adjustments can start with Nishioka swinging the bat without looking like the final stages in a game of Jenga. Seriously. It's freaking me out Nishi.

So yes—maybe Nishioka will end up just being another Kaz Matsui. But maybe he won’t. No one knows what will happen, but feel free to leave a comment with your opinion.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Sardines and, uh, the Media Circus

In 2006, the ever-delightful Ozzie Guillen called the Twins “little piranhas.” This week, after the Twins swept the White Sox in a rain-shortened two-game series, Ozzie had this to say about the Twins:

"They are [redacted] sardines. You see a bunch of circus midgets out there. But they can play."

HEY, OZZIE—DON’T CALL THE TWINS CIRCUS MIDGETS! THEY ARE CIRCUS LITTLE PEOPLE!



But there really was a circus at Target Field this week—a media circus, brought on by the home-debut of recently recovered Japanese import Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Nishi got a good welcome cheer from the crowd when he first came out to do pre-game stretches, tipping his hat to the fans in acknowledgement.



A group of cameramen positioned thirty or so meters away documented his warm up.


Then, Nishioka made a documented returned to the dugout.


And THEN Nishi came out of the dugout and took the field.

(Yes, he jumped over the hoard of crouching media.)



Nishioka went 1-for-4 with a lucky infield hit (which he even acknowledged to the press was just a lucky hit). He showed great range at shortstop, but didn’t exactly have a cannon of an arm. He fielded at least one ball every inning, and turned several double-plays. He didn’t break any bones. He had one error, and true to Japanese form, immediately apologized to Nick Blackburn. He apologized to fans for the error in a post-game interview.


Robbie-Ryo-Nishi, Nishi-Ryo-Robbie, Robbie-Ryo-Nishi, Nishi-Ryo-Robbie

After the game, Nishi (roughly in Google Translate form) said, "(Fracture), but betrayed the expectations, the fans accepted me happy." Nishioka seemed to have had worries about how he would be received by Twins fans, and was put much at ease with the cheers. "In the first game at home, me accept that my fans happy. Happy days indeed was. Hope you do not forget the feelings of today," he said.

I think Nishioka showed great potential, and I really like his positive and hard-working attitude. Being the youngest Japanese player to ever play in the major leagues, I think these traits bode well. Fans should show a little patience with him before writing him off. He's making quite the transition, and I wouldn't expect him to do it all overnight.



But wait! The media circus didn't stop, because after the game Joe Mauer was activated from the DL and held a press conference to field questions. We learned:

  • Joe Mauer doesn’t have lyme’s disease
  • Joe Mauer doesn’t have ALS
  • Joe Mauer’s knees were just really, really sore
  • Joe Mauer sees no reason why the Twins can’t win the division
  • Joe Mauer will happily interrupt a press conference to inform Sid Hartman that his tape recorder stopped

But alas—to make room for Joe on the 40-man roster, Brian Dinkelman was outrighted to the minors. Dinkels, we hardly knew thee. Let us pause to remember Dinkelman’s major league performance:

  • 14 at-bats
  • 1 hit by pitch
  • 4 single-base hits
  • 0 homeruns
  • 2 intentional walks

WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU, BRIAN DINKELMAN!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

DINKELMAN!

His name is Brian Dinkelman. Now he plays for the 2011 Twins.

Last night was his major league debut—and on the very first major league pitch he faced, he was hit and awarded first base.

DINKELMAN!

He's the 39th different player to play for the Twins this year. Last night he played in left field, although he can play second base too. His versatility is sure to make him a hit with Gardy. He will probably call him “Dinky”.

Dinkelman hit a fly-ball in his second major league at-bat, but no one will remember that, because in the top of the sixth, Dinkelman got his first major-league hit—a single on a line drive to the Royals left fielder Alex Gordon.

DINKELMAN!

Dinkels made a great catch in the field—the Twins' web gem of the night. So as he came to the plate for the third time, in the top of the seventh, the chants at Kauffman Stadium majestically began:

DIN-KEL-MAN! DIN-KEL-MAN! DIN-KEL-MAN!!

And then he was intentionally walked.

Dinkelman struck out in his final plate appearance, but that is of no import now. Alexi Casilla, even, had an excellent game with four hits and two RBIs. But no one will remember him in this Twins win, standing there in the giant shadow of BRIAN DINKELMAN!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Losing Games, Blowing Calls, and other Twins Notes

Unfortunately, the Twins seem destined to spend 2011 learning the hard way how many different ways they can lose a baseball game. In Monday’s game, the Tigers broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the 8th inning when a grounder bounced, hit a fan in an orange shirt and the umpires called it fan interference even though it should have been a ground rule double. Johnny Peralta, who had been on first, was awarded home base instead of third, and thus scored the winning run. When asked about the seemingly inexplicable call after the game, crew chief Gary Darling explained: “We ruled spectator interference and we ruled the runner would have scored without it. [You know, because we said so.]”

The bad call provided baseball writers with fresh fodder to once again bemoan the fact there isn’t more instant-replay in baseball. Although I didn’t like Monday’s call, my position on expanded instant-replay remains the same—I don't like it. As I explained almost exactly one year ago:

Personally, I find anything that makes baseball any bit more like football revolting. When Gardy goes out to challenge a close call, do I want to see all the umpires run off to a little room where they will huddle around, watch a video tape, and decide what to do? Heck no. I want Gardy to be ejected, everyone to throw their hats on the field, and then be able to blame all of the Twins’ misgivings on the umpires. After all, it wasn't all those missed chances that lost the game for the Twins last night, it was that one blown call.

Come on guys: was it really that one stupid call that lost it for the Twins yesterday? With Kubel and Thome already pulled from the game, Matt Tolbert and Drew Butera the only available pinch-hitters, and the Twins already three-relievers deep into the 2011 Twins bullpen, were they really going to pull out a win? Maybe... but maybe not.

However, a tearful apology from Gary Darling tonight when Jerry White or whomever trots out to present the Twins lineup card would still be very welcome.



Guess Who's Hot...

Between May 1st and May 30th, when it comes to Twins players who had at least 20 at-bats, guess who had the highest batting average (.302), on-base percentage (.362), slugging percentage (.444), and OPS (.807)? If you guessed Jason Kubel... you’re wrong.

It’s Alexi Casilla.

I know—you might retort that Casilla has a smaller sample-size due to having fewer at-bats than some regular regulars, or that these stats aren't advanced enough, or the fact Casilla led May in all these categories just shows how bad the 2011 Twins are. But Casilla actually has been looking confident and playing well lately—take advantage of a hot streak. Casilla's certainly looking MUCH better right now than Trevor Plouffe, who has been repeatedly failing to catch the ball, repeatedly air-mailing throws, and repeatedly not hitting.

Over the past week I've seen many people suggest benching Casilla and starting Plouffe instead, but there is simply no reason to be doing that right now.



Nishioka Nearing Return

Tsuyoshi Nishioka played in his first extended spring training game last Saturday at shortstop, and he got a hit his first two at-bats, ultimately going 2 for 3 with one RBI. On Monday Nishi went 0 for 3 playing second base, but did turn a double play without breaking a leg. The training staff has been helping build Nishioka's instinct to jump while throwing to first on a double play—something not normally needed in Japan—apparently by chucking big rubber balls at him.

The Japanese media originally reported that Tsuyoshi would return to the majors on June 9th, but it appears it could be a couple days later. After running out a grounder to shortstop at full-speed on Monday, Nishioka told reporters, "I wanted to test my condition during the game. I still feel a sense of discomfort. After I finished running, I still felt some pain."

In any case, it appears Nishioka will be back within the next two weeks, and probably before Mauer—who is still suffering from some mysterious knee problem/leg weakness/flu. It makes me worried, knowing Mauer is never one to not want to play, not work hard, and not want to be back ASAP.

In any case, here is a photo of Nishi and Joe exchanging hellos at practice on Tuesday.



Mom's Finnish Language Lesson

Mom, who is from a large Finnish family, says there is a word in the Finnish language that means "ish," "ew," or "yuck." The word is "hyi"—pronounced quite a lot like "Hoey."

Friday, May 27, 2011

Remembering Harm'

For the Twins and Twins fans, this week has mainly been about celebrating the life of Harmon Killebrew.


Wearing 3s

On Monday night—the first home game since Harmon’s passing—everyone was encouraged to wear number 3’s in Harmon’s honor. I visited Harmon’s statue before the game, where it was surprisingly quiet for the amount of people gathered there.








I was very impressed with the amount of people who wore 3's.









Denard Span got in the spirit before the game, signing many autographs for fans.



The team also paid tribute.






Harmon Killebrew's Memorial

Tonight, the team held a memorial for Harmon. I visited Harmon's statue before the game, and there were even more flowers and notes left. I also noticed, however, several people had taken single flowers out of bouquets and left a few at Kirby's statue. That was very touching to me—what a wonderful organization with the best fans in the world.

I assume those who care watched the memorial themselves. All I can say is this:

My favorite part was when Thome surprised us, sitting in the 523 ft. seat.





The saddest part was when sir Rodney Carew broke down crying at the podium, while recalling his last visit with Harmon.



The most touching part was when Nita—Harmon's wife—gave us his last days, his last words, and his last expression of how thankful he was for his fans.



Nita: You thought you couldn't do public speaking—but you did so, so well. You definietly made Harmon proud.





Other Pictures:

Hank Arron, Jim Kaat, and Michael Cuddyer


Mudcat Grant sings "It's a Wonderful World"


Cuddyer, Morneau, and Tolbert.


Love for Number Three.


Cuddyer steps up to speak


Fans, players, family, and 3.


Baseball listeners.


Thome mourns.




Nita Killebrew.


Thome and Hank.


Hank and Thome celebrate Harmon Killebrew.


www.HarmonKillebrewFoundation.org

www.StandUp2Cancer.org



Some other bloggers have also shared their thoughts, check it out:
SethSpeaks.net: Thoughts on the Killebrew Tribute
North Dakota Twins Fan: My View of Killebrew's Memorial

Monday, May 23, 2011

Flight of Twins Fans

“I went to all three games!”

“All the pitches he threw right over the plate today and Kubel didn’t even swing at any of them.”

“That Delmon...”

“Oh my god, that was the most disgusting bathroom ever!” the leathery-tanned lady sitting next to me tells her apparent husband. She has been complaining the whole flight. She’s literally now hyperventilating. Or crying. She’s clutching her copy of the ‘Arizona Reporter’.

Probably not Minnesotan.

I’m sitting in the window seat with two empty cans of Leinenkugel's. She’s not drinking, and she has been giving me some disgusted looks. Of all people, of course, she’s the one I get to sit next to.

Clearly not a Minnesotan Twins fan.

This Sun Country flight returning from Phoenix to Minnesota late Sunday is full of Twins fans. Hats, shirts, jerseys, and bags. Everyone’s talking, everyone’s smiling—and yes, even though the Twins actually lost all three games in Arizona against the ‘D-Backs’.

But they were close games. They were exciting games. And Twins fans were certainly there to enjoy them.

The Crowd at Chase Field when the TWINS Score

I went to the Twins game against the Diamondbacks Saturday at Chase Field (yes, with some pretty sweet seats as a law school graduation gift!). AT LEAST forty to fifty percent of the fans there were Twins fans—which I suppose isn’t all that surprising. Phoenix is home to many Midwestern transplants and retirees. Everyone must have gone down to visit their grandma/mom/dad/uncle/grant aunt/etc. and conveniently take in the Twins game at the same time (including myself).

At this point, I could do a run down of the Twins' games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—but that has been done elsewhere. Let me point out my favorite fan experiences at Chase Field on Saturday.


1. Racing of the Legends


Ok, this is really awesome.



Sort of like the sausages in Milwaukee—except even better. Arizona has over-sized Diamondback Legends—Luis Gonzales, Randy Johnson, Mark Grace, and Matt Williams—run a race every game. Then afterward, they go all around the stands cheering on with the fans.






2. Awesome Scoreboard Backgrounds

Chase Field used awesome team-location backgrounds on the scoreboard when announcing all the Twins players. For example:

Target Field



Mall of America


Cherry and Spoon (I know this is a terrible picture!)


Bridge!


3. Scotty Baker is a Monster








Okay, okay... I personally got a kick out of that.


4. So Glad Target Field Has No Roof What-So-Ever


Chase Field has a retractable roof, because Arizona gets pretty inhospitable during the summer time and air-conditioning is needed. Someone on Twitter compared it to the Milwaukee Brewers' stadium. I've never been there.


However, having been to Chase Field once before Target Field opened, and now, I can say I am supremely happy Target Field has no retractable roof. A lot of structure is needed for a retractable roof, which makes the stadium lose that real outdoor feeling. It's like pretending your car with a sunroof is a convertible.


The girl behind me on this flight, now, however, has most her sock stuck up between the window and my seat. A little gross to some, maybe—but she is wearing a Morneau shirt.

And a two (or so) year old child in front of me just screamed for the first time this whole flight—and the leather-tanned woman next to me grabbed her husband's leg in annoyance. The boy keeps looking back at me, but I just smile at him, which makes him smile. And he's wearing a Joe Mauer shirt too.

Then, of course, we are about to land, and the PA comes on:

"On behalf of Sun County Airlines, we welcome you back to the Twin Cities.

"And if you're just visiting, we hope you enjoy your stay."