They should have persuaded the "God Bless America" singer to do the SSB as well. Probably made too much sense.

Anyone try the "Murray's" shaved beef sandwich? Two questions:

1. Who hickory smokes top round?
2. Anyone connected with Murray's ever heard of such a sandwich?

The orchestra brass were already scheduled to perform with address. (I think she may have done a show with the MN Orchestra last year.)

*Dessa

So, how long is it going to be before talk of the WS pops up on Facebook, Twitter and the general D2D Minnesota vernacular; summarily sending the whole thing to Hell in a handcart?

On a non-baseball note, the Timberwolves finally unveil a new logo next Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it.

What do we think of the new seats at Sun Trust Park in Atlanta?

found here?

Reading more about it, it sounds as though the concept is justifiable. Basic plastic seats, a la TF get hot and uncomfortable to sit in in the summer months.
Further, I'm not entirely sure the entire ballpark is fitted with those seats. As I was trying to find other articles, seems these mesh seats were placed only in the club level areas, and in the Braves version of the Champions Club. So, whether all 40,000 patrons at Sun Trust get treated to these seats or just the Club STH's, I don't know.

I'm living in an alternate universe where the Rockies and Twins have the best records in their respective leagues.

So, the congestion behind the LF bleachers was brutal most (if not all) of the game. The stand Rick mentions is the new Herbivorous Butcher stand. My buddy wanted to try it out and pay some respects to the HB crew that he has come to enjoy since going vegan. The line was seemingly long as the mini-donuts stand Rick mentioned and was exacerbated by process issues that come with a new stand at the ballpark...how long do you actually cook a vegan hot dog, boil it then grill it, vegan dogs breaking in half before going on the grill, etc, etc. At one point before they game they had 5 or 6 people behind that one stand trying to work through all the kinks (probably why it was pushed so far out into the crowd), plus they have the kosher dogs there too so they had a rabbi there watching over the preparation as well. There was a girl in front of us that sent back her order like 3 times...

Its fantastic they are adding lots of new food options but I think in general though the twins have far too many carts out on those high demand games. It makes sense they want to try to ease the load but with so many people regularly circulating the field (and so many need to use those areas to get to upper levels), having that many carts especially in those congestion points is awful. Naturally the carts go away as attendance goes down too. Sigh, what do you do?

Was in Chicago for the weekend series. Defense on Friday and Sunday was phenomenal. Buxton needs to find his swing and quickly. The defense is great, but is an offensive liability. Surprised they haven't walked the 7th place batter to face him.

Interesting of note, on two Twins HRs a fan through ball back onto field. In both instances the person was escorted out by security. Not sure I have seen this in Chicago on South side and unsure if it is a new Sox move or part of baseball. Didn't see it happen in Royals series at TF.

They should have their butts tossed. Not only is it stupid (and pointless) to throw back a nice ball, there is that pesky throw nothing on the playing field rule. I wonder if they tossed the guy who grabbed that ball hit down the third base line - should have.

Here are the local, free to air TV broadcasts for MLB clubs that still do this. National telecasts on Fox are excluded from the list.

Brewers – 11 games in Spanish on WYTU-63
Cubs – 45 games on WGN-9 and 25 games on WLS-7
Dodgers – 10 games on KTLA-5
Giants – 15 games on KNTV-11
Indians – 4 games on WKYC-3
Mets – 25 games on WPIX-11
Nationals – 20 games on WUSA-9
Orioles – 20 games on WJZ-13
Phillies – 12 games on WCAU-10, 5 with Spanish simulcasts on WWSI-62
Reds – 1 game (opening day) on WKRC-12
Tigers – 1 game (opening day) on WJBK-2
White Sox – 55 games on WGN-9
Yankees – 21 games on WPIX-11

The following have none.

Angels
Astros
Athletics
Blue Jays
Braves
Cardinals
Diamondbacks
Mariners
Marlins
Padres
Pirates
Rangers
Rays
Red Sox
Rockies
Royals
Twins

The Cubs and White Sox games on WGN are aired in Chicago only. The national WGN America feed no longer airs local Chicago sports.

The Braves used to have about 45 games on channel 17 in Atlanta, the local station that gave birth to TBS and is no longer part of the same media empire. However, that agreement, a legacy deal as part of the sale, has expired.

The Dodgers used to have a significant number of games on free to air TV in Southern California before their mega cable deal with Time Warner Cable.

The Phillies had 50 plus games on free to air TV as recently as a few seasons ago due to Comcast Sports Net Philadelphia not having an agreement with DirecTV.

When did WGN Superstation stop broadcasting Cubs/White Sox games?
TBS Super doesn't do Braves games anymore either?

And even if you subscribe to MLBtv, the blackouts there can be astounding. My brother in Iowa is blacked-out from watching any games by: Twins, Royals, Cardinals, Brewers, White Sox, and Cubs. I'm surprised the Rockies aren't also included!

Either 2014 or 2015 was the end of the Cubs and White Sox on WGN America with both clubs staying on WGN-9 in Chicago only.

The Braves left TBS just as that station began broadcasting a national game on Sunday afternoons.

The MLB broadcast map is insane with multiple teams making territorial claims on a single area, often for very tenuous reasons. Iowa is one of the worst trouble spots, as is Las Vegas. There are some insane blackouts such as a piece of North Carolina not getting Reds games on Extra Innings and MLBtv because the club had a radio affiliate there in the Big Red Machine days of the 1970s and still claims the territory on that basis. The Reds don't broadcast there now, have no intention to, and likely would have a hard time finding an affiliate there if they tried, yet this nonsense endures. MLB needs to rip up the map and, even if local TV blackouts must continue, get the situation adjusted to something that resembles logic and realism.

Time to send Buxton to minors and waive Mauer. Both are useless at this point. It's cute that Buxton can play the field, but if your a starter in major league baseball, you better be able to do both. Its embarrassing that either of these guy are playing right now. No Buton is not going to hit his way out of this. It would be different if he was hitting the ball for an out. He's an easy strikeout. Yes, we all know the Twins are rebuilding so why allow Mauer to take meaningful bats away from a potential young guy? Why wast valuable time? Dummies I tell you!

Seats in TF Dugout Box Section 1,2,16,17 have the WC row showing up as regular seats and when selecting accessible seating options they do not show those seats. Just curious about the shift.

I learned today they have removed the "waiters" from the Legends Club, which apparently is not the Legends Club anymore, but only the Delta 360 Club.

This is ridiculously stupid and short sighted, and will result in a decrease in revenue rather than a decrease in costs. The only way to order a drink from your seat is the app.

And before you think this is a prick issue from the "haves", keep in mind that you can order a beer, hot dog, or other snacks from a vendor in the green seats. There are no vendors in the Club section.

No vendors in the Sky360 Club?
That sounds, odd to me.
Is that a new development?

Some interesting marketing changes upon looking at my newly acquired pocket schedule:
Starting with section S, it's now just called The Deck.
Powerball Pavillion is now Treasure Island Cove.
SuperAmerica now has its face on the Grandstand.
And the Our Family Family Family Family Family Family Family Family section has mercifully shortened its name to the Cub Family Section.
And the real disappointment (like it matters to most of us) Kids Day (or if you're my age, what we used to call Knothole Days) are all but gone now. Now, Sundays, kids just get a mere discount on a kids meal. No free tickets. Adult admission for all.
The Twins Way has now become almost 100% corporate shill.

There have never been vendors, but there were "waiters" in colored shirts that could take an order and take your cash or credit card and then it was delivered to you. They received tips, which I hope they split with the people that delivered the drinks. Now there is no way to tip through the app, and I'm much less likely to buy this way, but especially if I don't have the app on my device.

Luke, do they still do the meet a couple ball players bit for Kids Sundays, and still let kids run the bases?

When I had my LC seats I never used the waiters. The lines at the concession stands/bars were never that long (and it's not a long walk to get there), so I didn't feel the need to fork over gratuity for a service that didn't save me any time. But that's just me...

I only did once in 7 years, but the concept reeks of cost savings, and quite honestly it was part of the small amount of cache of being in that section, which theoretically would be part of the value of the ticket.

schda- sounds like both of those options are still available according to the Twins site.
Kids meals only available in two locations? That's kinda weird. Why not all Hennepin Grilles?

"Kids Day
Kids Meals are half price--just $4! Before the game, kids 14 and younger can receive free autographs from a Twins player. Postgame, kids can run the bases courtesy of Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare. Kids Meals are available at the Hennepin Grille by Section 311 and Taste of Twins Territory by Section 124."

I had a job interview yesterday at one of the Pohlad companies. The meeting room I was in was named "Harmon Killebrew".

F_T_K,
Did they give you a low ball offer like they do with the players on their sports company, the Twins?

No offer yet, but I'm still hoping.

And I asked for a 20% increase over what I'm making now.

Went to my second game of the year yesterday (Opening Day was my first game).

After the two games I have attend this year, I must say I have been very disappointed in the concessions. I am not sure if its because it's April or what, but there are several stands and carts closed and others that seem understaffed.

On Opening Day, there was one "hot beverages" cart that did not even have hot chocolate available. How do you not have hot chocolate readily available in early April at a designated hot beverage cart? Then they don't even have a sign that says no hot chocolate available so you end up waiting in line for nothing.

Yesterday we were seated in the left field home run porch and my son wanted dippin dots so we waited in line for 20+ minutes to only find out they were out of his favorite flavor. Again, can't they put up a sign indicating they are out of a certain flavor? And we said we would just go to one of the other dippin dots stands and they said the whole stadium was out of this particular flavor.

Then we waited for 35+ minutes at a Hennepin Grill concession stand on the club level near the syline deck sections in the LF corner. Missed the anthem and entire first inning. The workers seemed to have no ambition or urgency whatsoever. And they only had 4 of the 6 registers open. Is this a staffing issue? Lack of workers available? Ridiculously slow service.

I have noticed this at both games so far this year and it's very frustrating. People want variety at the ballpark but yet it's always the same concessions that have such long lines (Hennepin Grill, Mill City Gril, State Fair and Kramarzcuk's) Maybe it's time to do some marketing research and find out what products are selling and then reduce some of the other point of sales for products that are not selling as much.

I know we are only 12 games into the home schedule, but has anyone else experienced slow concessions this year and long lines?

I think that's an experience that should somehow make it to DSP's desk? Delaware North?
That's just not a cool way to operate a ballpark.

I always go to the Upper Deck during times of the game that are higher volume (or busier) at the concession stands. Especially if I want some food before the game starts 10 to 30 minutes before first pitch.

Traveling to KC this weekend to catch the series...have given serious reconsideration with the recent play and weather forecast. However, it is one of my last opportunities before my summer busy season where I get to no baseball games.

Has anyone been to KC recently? It's amazing what some great playoff teams and a WS will do....tickets are certainly holding their value. When I went in 2011, I purchased tickets a few rows behind the Twins dugout in April for a June weekend series and paid $35/ticket on StubHub with a parking pass. Tickets in comparable spot are between $100-150/ticket for the weekend...and the weather is not looking good. I remember seeing tons of Twins fans who would make trip down...wondering how it has been recently?

I am also seeing many KC fans are traveling away from KC to see the team to avoid high home prices, similar to how more Twins fans traveled in 2010 and 2011, moreso than in the past. Likely a reason we saw many KC fans at Twins Home Opener, which I get a lot of KC fans would have made trip for opening day anyway, but probably a tick more than would normally.

Anyone else making the trip down this weekend?

Tk, I'm going to the weekend series down there 6/30 to 7/2. It will be my second trip down in three years. I understand it is a division game, but what upsets me the most is the price jump from Friday night to the Saturday afternoon game, which the Royals are calling a premium game. But, its still the Twins, who lost over 100 games last year. Money talks, and they have a great fan base, who mind you are extremely friendly, even to us folks who are cheering for the twins. Great atmosphere!

When a team that has lost 90+ games in six of the last seven seasons, and a team worst 103 last year shows up, yes it's the farthest thing from a "premium" game.

Looking at Elite games on the Twins schedule, only June home weekend series has Friday and night as Elites vs. Cleveland. In August (with two home weekends), Texas gets Friday & Saturday Elite, while Arizona (that huge rival, after all!) gets three different levels for Fri, Sat and Sun! Wonder what that algorithm is!

I totally get that Rick, but the tickets are less on Friday night then on Saturday afternoon. I wont be at Sundays game, but I suppose the difference on Friday to Saturday could very well be your logic of us coming down! Always a lot of Twins fans go down, I used to go down, just for outdoor baseball. Now I drive 8 hours South, as opposed to 5 hours East, just so the Pohlad's dont get my money!

I have been to Royals stadium many times and got sticker shock last summer when I went. The cheapest seats at the Royals box office (that was still availible) was $37.00 for upper deck. We were assuming we could just walk up and get $16-$22 tickets in left field like usual.

I believe they are just capitalizing on their World Series and jacked up proces for everything. We hung out in center field at patio behind waterfalls. Never spent any time in actual seats. Oh-20 oz can of beer is $17. I did like how you can walk all the way around Royals Stadium now-they have some fun things to do beyond outfield wall-kids zone, merchandise store, HOF Exhibit (that was a travelling exhibit though) -Royals stadium is still one of my all time favorites next to Wrigley and St Louis.

That better be one damn good craft 20 oz beer for $17.
That sounds like highway robbery to me.
I like a good beer, but not $17 worth. If I have to pay $17 for alcohol, screw the beer give me a Manhattan or a shot of Louis XIII Cognac (that would NOT be $17).

Mike -- Agree on concessions 100 percent. I went to the first Friday night home game. Sat in section 215 (our season tickets. By the fifth inning, half the stands were already closed! Some were never open to start with. Could not find a pretzel to save my life. Half registers closed at nearly every station. Unacceptable. And the Twins wonder why season tickets are heading to less than 5,000 fast!

Well, ticket prices dropping with chance of heavy rain this weekend and Royals on a huge losing streak. We shall see how the weekend goes.

Well, ticket prices dropping with chance of heavy rain this weekend and Royals on a huge losing streak. We shall see how the weekend goes.

Uffda, I'm not sure what kind of beer you were drinking in KC, Last year, I was able to drink a domestic 20 ounce tap for around 8.00 or I could have a 24 ounce tall boy can for 10.00, that equals 5 bucks a beer which to me in all the concerts and games I have been to is a damn steal.

I was drinking tall boy Miller Lites at the 2 level bar in right center field (just to the right of the massive scoreboard) and were buying them from the main level. Maybe I had a few too many (I offered to buy for Al Newman who noticed my Stelly jersey) and was over tipping and the $17 included tip.

And ------- you weren't even drinking beer!

Beer snobs....

If you're going to have a beer you might as well make it worthwhile. Beer flavored water does not cut it. Did you know they don't even use hops? Or barley?

Well, rain sucks. Thankfully the makeup game is Sat., July 1 so I should get a decent return on tickets, as opposed to try selling them on a getaway day.

I drink Miller lite regularily. You're judging people on their beverage choice. Wow. Must have a good view up on that pedestal you snob. Go ride your bicycle.

Tk, how many do you have? Will it now be at day/night doubleheader at Kaufmann?

I vented about the devaluation of the Legends Club with similar issues of basic ballpark experience and did get a response from Twins management to discuss. I haven't had an opportunity yet, but will report back here if it's appropriate.

(wiping away tears) ....thank you J2K.....thank you. In the words of 25th Anniversary of Rodney King press conference regarding LA Riots: "Can we all just...get along?" I think us Miller Lite drinkers and those who drink fancier fruity drinks w/ a lemon twist can all agree that for 5 of past 6 years (this past month excluded) we need at least 4-5 of our bev of choice to make watching Twins bearable. That said-Salud Sano!

I like Miller Lite.
However when its on tap, Blue Moon is my first choice of beer.

jctwins - can you summarize your comments regarding the LC?

In staff waiters severely reduced (not an issue for me, but part of the "experience" and prestige of the LC. Replaced with an app, which is no issue for me, but devalues my ticket to someone I sell or give my ticket to.

Dropping the craft beer bar at the end of the Carew atrium. Why? It costs $10/hour to pay someone to make them probably $100 per hour on a bad day. Dumb and less selection (like the comments above).

No tipping in the app for the people that bring you their drink, thus there will be a degradation in that job over time, it's inevitable.

I have to re-enter my credit card information every time I do a purchase in the app, which I tried just to experiment. Unlike "running a tab" which you could do with a waitress.

Generally poorly trained concession workers, an issue since day 1, but clearly it's no better this year.

Keeping concession discounts at only 10% after the financial investment we loyal STH have made over five terrible seasons.

Then other ballpark issues such as no defensive lineups on the big screen, which annoys me greatly for some reason. A lack of game information in the concourses (you really have to walk up to a sreen to know what's going on).

The egregious reality that MLB makes money on StubHub a second time on the same ticket they've already sold me. I suggested waiving StubHub fees for STH.

The poor efforts by ownership to identify with the fans.

for the love of god, someone actually did this

The beer comments remind me of the movie "Canadian Bacon". John Candy and his boorish friends from the Niagara Falls area are attending a minor league hockey game across the border in Canada. They insult Canada's national anthem and just about everything else about Canada. The Canadian fans all around them take it all in stride - until the Americans insult Canadian beer. Then all hell breaks loose.

Oh my, this Sano kid is crazy strong. The home run he hit to right field in KC looked like the pitch fooled him, and he just swung with his arms and not his legs, and put the ball in the bullpen.

Last night's bomb to center field was down right Thome-esque, or dare I say, Killebrew-esque?

According to Hit Tracker Online (link!), so far this season no one has hit a ball higher and longer. There have been several hit higher, but none as long. There have been some hit longer, but not as high.

119 feet apex, 452 feet. That's a bomb.

I thought Manfred was trying to shorten the length of games...looking at today's box score, today's game topped 3:48.
That's half of a Yankee-Red Sox game I know, but this wasn't the Yankees-Red Sox.
One of the guys on the train had one of the programs with the scorecard. It looks OK, but nothing like the GameDay version.

http://www.twincities.com/2017/05/06/charley-walters-pohlad-wants-twins-to-fly-first-place-flag/

Charlie Walters has a tid bit in this artice, near the end. He mentions a significant upgrade to target field for next season. Any ideas? I've always thought they should remove the trapezoid in right center and move the big video board there. Would look cleaner imo.

Im not sure what towers ur talking about Rick-do u have pics/artist renderings of what they were to look like and where they were supposed to go? I was hoping for either the TC logo or something Twins related painted on that gray wall that connect the stadium to the parking garage that 3rd Ave N runs underneath (entrance to 394) ---currently it is just a large blank gray wall. Seems to me that would be a great canvas to at least put SOMETHING on there. Just the simple TC logo would like cool I think.

God forbid those little shits do what they did at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Cover up most of the upper level with boxes and slap ads on them.
Maybe something like they did at Coors Field? Dare I say they knock out the View Level above the terrace to make it more "open"? Would probably reduce capacity by what? 8,000?

Uffda, in a very early rendering they had planned what might be described as lighthouse type towers, one on the first base side and one on the third base side. They were exterior towers, and I guess were meant to illuminate the place on non game days.

It will be interesting to see what the Twins have in mind. I'm not a fan of the trapezoid and "Pohlad's Peak" below it. What could they change? Put a normal field level section by removing the upper trapezoid and route the corridor behind the section? Extend the Overlook over to CF and put the bullpens underneath? Then you could extend the LF Bleachers over to CF. Just some initial thoughts on a late Sunday night. I actually like the fact that the Cubs moved the bullpens underneath the bleachers. I think stadiums give up too much prime real estate to them. Anyway, I'm interested to hear what others would like to see changed at Target Field.

"...I'm interested to see what others would like to see changed at Target Field"...the team that plays there?
Walters DID say it was a "significant" cost...

JoJo,

It is the Saturday, July 2 night game of split double. I have two tickets right behind Twins dugout, Row 1 (A) on aisle just on leading edge of screen. Prime tossup seats. This is bobblehead game. Really sad we can't go back and I know the spouse is hoping to recoup on costs for weekend, as tickets were outrageous for other games.

Saturday, July 1... was looking at 2016 calendar.

TK, we have tickets for the afternoon game, let me see if one more of the 8 of us want to go to one more, they do want to party, but you should shoot me a price, and maybe we can work something out. josephfitz100 @ G mail. com Im not sure if thats the way to give you my email, but try it!

Also TK, whats the section number so I can see if anyone is interested!

Rick, Sam Mele appeared by video as part of the 50th celebration of the '65 pennant winning team. He looked very frail and in poor health then.

And speaking of upgrades, how about that blockbuster trade the Twins made? They get a relief pitcher who was put on waivers by one team this spring and then sent to the minors by the team that claimed him.

I DO like how they are cutting bait w/ some of these guys that have been given multiple, multiple, multiple chances and never really lived up to potential-specifically Danny Santana and hopefully soon Kyle Gibson---I know they are reluctant to bring up Jose Barrios but maybe he finally "gets it" and he cant be any worse than Gibson w/ his 0-4 start w/ 8.20 ERA. We have (until possibly last start-didnt check league ERA's) starting pitcher w/ lowest ERA in baseball tied w/ most wins and 2 pitchers who are at least holding their own (Hughes is getting alot of run support admittedly but is 4-1 w/ a ERA at least under 5) --in post season 3 starters is what u need. Yes it is WAAAAAAAY too early to talk about playoffs but it has been so long since we have had 3 decent starters I can still dream.

I still wish they could bring in Park to form a 1b/DH platoon w/ Mauer and Vargas w/ Mauer primarily being used off the bench. If we TRULY are about evaluating talent and seeing what we got for the future Mauer is of course not part if it after 2018. He is batting .240 and doesnt hit for power (Fri not withstanding) and is near end of career--he doesnt need to be our primary 1b nor does he need to be hitting top of lineup.

Buxton I am still perplexed how her "gets it", then forgets everything, then gets it, then forgets everything--too good an overall talent speedwise and defensively but his BA is usually what u dont want to see compared to Tim Laudner year in and year out.

So long as we dont dump Santana for (more) prospects and scuttle the only relatively young pitcher we have who is dominant (and signed for 2018) I can at least envision a light at end of tunnel.

Looks like a return to Turner Field may be in the cards for the Braves. I couldn't stop laughing reading this.

did I not tell you this would happen within six months?

What in this article points to a return to Turner Field?

You hit the nail on the head Rick. Braves fans already had a new ballpark experience and saw that it led nowhere with on field performance. The Braves stink. There is a little of a bounce at first, but nothing to sustain it.

Had the Twins not been coming off several years of playoff baseball and a playoff team in the first year of Target Field, the shine would have worn off of TF much quicker as well. The biggest draw to TF was that it was a change from dome ball to outdoor ball, and so much different than the stadium they had been playing in.

"A return to Turner Field..." was mainly tongue-in-cheek on my part. I could have worded it differently. Seems to me like a NY Islanders situation- they thought they could find greener pastures elsewhere, and that just didn't work out as well.
My response too, was based on the idea that the Isles had considered moving back to the Nassau Coliseum after their stint in Brooklyn didn't go quite as planned.

The Islanders were stuck in a Nassau Coliseum that was outdated by current arena standards and found absolutely no momentum at all in Nassau and Suffolk Counties to get a new one built. The team then made an agreement to move to Barclays Center in Brooklyn. That arena's design originally intended to accommodate a hockey team, but when the footprint of the building was decreased in size for a variety of reasons, the arena could only host hockey with a rink off center in comparison to the seating deck and scoreboard, much like the Suns' arena in Phoenix when it hosted the Coyotes for their first few years in Arizona. That set up, which forces many seats to either be sold as obstructed or not put on the market, is disorienting and displeasing to fans and players.

Barclays Center gave the Islanders a revenue guarantee of $50,000,000 annually to sign a lease there, but the intake hasn't justified that expense. Barclays Center has now opened the window to renegotiate the agreement and lower that guarantee. It doesn't mean the Islanders will move. I think they'll accept a lower guarantee in exchange for some other concessions such as a better choice of dates and an improved ice surface.

There is talk of an arena built at Belmont Park (adjacent to, not in place of the horse track) although getting approval for the spot, which has few public transport links, will be tough and no public funding would be forthcoming. A new arena adjacent to Citi Field in a neighborhood called Willets Point that is made up of a variety of independent auto shops has been discussed although people and entities have discussed redeveloping that area for decades with no movement at all towards a solution. Nassau Coliseum was renovated recently and is run by the entity that owns Barclays Center. The capacity went from 16,000 to 13,000 and the Isles plan to play half a dozen home games there, but it isn't a long term viable NHL arena.

I know they sank quite a load to renovate Nassau. I think the intent was to make it a better concert venue.
The 13,000 seat capacity it has now i'm not sure the NHL would really want an arena to have that low of a capacity to keep a team viable. Unless you get 13,000 very dedicated STH's that guarantee the seats will be full every night (similar to Winnipeg when the thrashers moved from Atlanta). Of course Winnipeg has a very loyal fan base, so the STH requirement set by the NHL was no problem.
I'm also not certain Barclay Center is all that happy with the Isles either. And I thought the original lease agreement gave either party a way to back out if things didn't go well.

I wonder what in the world the Twins organization has in mind for Target Field for nest year. If they really are going to spend a lot of money-what could they possibly do. The one thing I absolutely do not want to see is for the right field plaza area inside the park to get ruined by something that takes away the open-ness of the area. That would change the feeling of the ballpark too much in a negative way I think.

Dare I say a BIGGER video board in LF?
I mean it is one of the largest in MLB as it is (5th I think?).
Or, is it possible, as FD said (#74), they take out the Trapezoid? and in its place, a bigger main board there, against the wall of Ramp B?
Dare they move the tiered bullpen to an on-field bullpen (I don't like on-field bullpens), and make that area a Kids Zone?
Corny, I know, but turning the CF, sans pine tree batters eye into a fountain? I mean, Pentair has that rainwater irrigation system for the field, why not use the same concept to do a fountain?
Might they redo the Budweiser Party Deck?
I think TF is still too young for a total seat replacement...
It'll be interesting. I hope.

Whether it is looking directly in sun or whatever it seems that trapezoid seating area is the least utilized of the ballpark as the season wears on...obviousley product on the field plays a role. One thing TF fields lack that i have seen in other ballparks is a full fledged large public access restaurant/bar for STH and non STH alike. Miller Park for example has a large TGI Fridays out in center field. The Royals added a large 2 deck bar/restaurant in right center. The Twins have alot of culinary options and a few smaller places like Hrbecks and Town Ball but neither of those can u watch the game if ur at them.

We have Budweiser Rooftop which needs to be rented or pay fee to access, Metropolitan Club for STH which is very nice but almost looks likes it should be at the Walker Art Center w/ all the opulance. There is the new outfield bar added but that is pretty small and 1 level is private. Im not saying TGI Fridays but something like the Royals did adding a large multi deck restaurant/bar (Surleys microbrewery?) w/ inside full service restaurant and outside patio and rooftop that EVERYONE can watch the game from if they want to. It could replace the trapezoid seating area and wipe out the oddly shaped advertising boards against the parking garage--plus completely block he parking garage-they could add advertising boards higher to keep people from being able to watch game from top of garage. That would be my hope for major restoration.

On much smaller scale and cheaper add black/white or color photo walls on the 3rd deck concourse like the have at (whatever it is called now) Comiskey has in their corridors. It is pretty barren and meh up there. It is basically just cheap signage for vendors and limestone.

I can attest, as can many here...sitting on that RF side, be it the Trapezoid or the Overlook...that sun beats down on you something fierce as the season wears on.
I think a canopy of some sort may be workable, but in order to do that, I think they would need to take out the Trapezoid, Overlook and maybe even the Great Clips sections entirely and re-work that whole area so it's even, to some degree, and then put up some sort of canopy. Maybe similar to the home run porch at the Rangers ballpark (I have no idea who has naming rights on that place anymore). Maybe not as large as the one there...but something similar.

So ... some sort of roof structure....you can't make this stuff up folks.

TTH

A canopy over a select number of seats isn't a "roof structure".
An awning over your deck isn't exactly a tent, either.

I think it's a great idea. Soccer stadiums are known for their roofs over the seating areas. Shade and rain protection being the reasons.

Well I have seen some great ideas for what we think this "major $$$$$ investment" the Twins are putting in for TF after the season from you guys and while we may not agree on WHAT it is going to be the common theme so far that everyone seems to agree on is that it should be in outfield-specifically the area between center field and the trapezoid area -I still think a large multi level restaurant/bar w/ rooftop availible to all would be cool- others have suggested awnings or canopies---but I think we all for most part agree that s/b the area of focus to do SOMETHING. I have been out there a few times- I dont care so much about it being hot but it does get a little blinding and hard to see (which most games until this year was probably better) --and the times I am out there there arent alot of other fans w/ us as the summer wears on. Anyhow the left field double deck is nice how is. Great Clips area I like how it is "open" as someone previusley stated. But that trapezoid section need to do something with. I understand limitations w/ parking structure but wheteher it is a complete tardowen and build large restaurant/bar or add a canopy I think most of us agree THAT is area of focus

After all our talk and hopes and wishes, I hope at the end of it all, it doesn't end up being something cosmetic...like new sod.
Speaking of sod, how often do MLB teams re-sod their fields?

I had a thought while on lunch break:
Is it possible a new scoreboard could be the improvement?
While I still think the Trapezoid should also be redone, I'm thinking about the current board being replaced in its current location.
No, this is not like the Xcel scoreboard that was antiquated and replaced because of its 1st generation LED technology and the fact Daktronics didn't even service that model anymore.
However, there is a part of the TF board that IS antiquated IMO, and that is the four backlit static ad panels. We even balked at those in 2009 when the board was going up. "Why do they even have those"? Good question.
I also feel that they take a large amount of real estate that could be used for a much larger LED video board. Further, there is alot of space between those panels and the video board that could also be utilized. I think TF could get a much larger video board in the same amount of space with the current support structure that was built.
Further, how about the backlit "Twins" above it? It DOES light up, but is only ever noticeable when the lights are off. Therefore, how about replacing the backlighting with programmable LED? Could enhance the already existing HR celebration from Minnie and Paul. Much more illuminated during game time. And programmable on non-game days.
Just a few (more) thoughts.

See the scoreboards in St. Louis and Kansas City. Both have much more useful information on them during the game. A consistent peeve of mine during Twins games. No defensive lineups anywhere.

Very true.
Kauffman

"So ... some sort of roof structure....you can't make this stuff up folks."

Yup ----- all those "we must have outdoor baseball" folks hard at it again.

Just seeing that irritates me at how little there is on the Twins board.

Albeit rather scrunched together, Busch can manage to get both offensive and defensive lineups on theirs.

The retired numbers on the Cardinals scoreboard reminded me of something I forgot to post a week ago-and something I had heard about a few years ago but not when it happened and that is now that Jeter's #2 has been retired there are no single digit numbers for present/future Yankees available to ever wear again (unless 0 is considered a wearable number?) Uniform #s 1 (Billy Martin), #2 (Jeter), #3 (Ruth), #4 (Gehrig), #5 (Mantle), #6 (Torre), #7 (Mantle) #8 (retired 2 times- Berra and Bill Dickey), #9 (Maris)

Of course, you mean #5 - DiMaggio... :)

ESPN had a story about that last week, describing how then-Yankees manager Buck Showalter, during Jeter's first spring training in 1995, just knew that Jeter was going to be "something special" and thus decided to give him one of the two un-retired single-digit numbers that remained at that time.

Whether it actually happened that way seems debatable. The Yankees' #2 was worn by Mike Gallego from '92-'94...

That Busch stadium picture above lends a decent idea for the trapezoid in right center. Perhaps some "bar style" seating is in order? That doesn't really seem that "significant" though. Just another thought...

I don't know why I didn't remember, but looking at a stock photo of TF, they could, in theory, put a much larger board in the current location. At least length-wise. I thought, for whatever reason, the current board stretched the length of the USB Home Run Porch. It certainly does not. Maybe half the length at best.
As far as a Scoreboard Patio idea, like they have iin St Louis...I could see that on the Trapezoid side, maybe even take out the Powerball Pavillion (is it still called that?) and rethink the entire area.

Some of the hard breaking balls Berrios threw last night reminded me of the film of Bob Gibson buckling Willie Horton's knees in the '68 World Series.

That photo of the scoreboard at Busch Stadium is from 2013. It was replaced effective the 2016 season.

Aha. Kinda the same layout just as the one above...just more "today".

Just curious. How did the Twins handle the ticketing problem created by yesterday's "true" doubleheader? There had to have been partial season ticket holders with tickets for Saturday and other partial season ticket holders with tickets for Sunday with both sets of tickets being for the same seats.

The Twins are winning and there are no comments for three days here.

Because we all know what's going to happen.
Come June 1, the downward spiral.
Then the dreaded all star break, where we re-assess life and start the last two turns to the tumultuous season end.
August comes, and all of a sudden we look like we usually do, attendance plummets, and we start saving up for Super Bowl tickets.

Luke - is this you? (see link)

Enjoy the ride. The team is playing well and winning.

Absolutely

I'm sure you guys remember a few years back, the artist that did 30 minimalist interpretations of MLB ballparks.
I was looking on Facebook and the artist has done another series of them, only this time they are pencil sketches.
They're pretty good...
you can see them here

The Target Field one is lame but some are great!

I thought so too.
I thought something else could have been featured.

Today's game...6 hours and 26 minutes.
That, is exactly what's wrong with baseball, er, the American League style of baseball.

It wasn't just that a 15 inning game took 6 1/2 hours; it took nearly four hours to play the first nine innings. The beer league softball rule about intentional walks isn't going to make much o a dent in a game that long. As for the other aspects of today's game, all I can say is where was Gene Larkin when we needed him?

It's not crazy, Rick.
Even the Yankees and Red Sox were scratching their heads. And we all know the Yanks and Sox are notorious for long drawn out games.
The AL needs to get rid of the DH rule.
And the AL needs a 20 second pitch clock.
Four hours for nine innings?
Sorry, but no event, be it a sporting event, concert, what have you...is worth six hours.

Wow, Rick! Nicely said! I was able to see that Sano K thanks to a "live look-in" on MLBtv. Really exciting! I followed the Gophers baseball game online Saturday night...13 innings, exciting chances, and didn't fall the way we wanted. Great game and tournament run nonetheless.

"Sorry, but no event, be it a sporting event, concert, what have you...is worth six hours."

Luke has clearly never been to a Grateful Dead concert.

The totals on the board are correct, as Bob Casey used to say at the end of games. Twins starting pitcher: 7 innings, 2 runs, one unearned. The bullpen: 2 innings, 14 runs. That's what happens when your bullpen has too many Rule 5's and too many guys picked up off the waiver wire. There is usually a reason those guys are available on the scrapheap.

You're right Ben, I have not.

Too late now.

Would you have rather the game ended in a tie Luke? If you don't like it, turn it off, or go home if you are at the game (plenty of people did). I was at the longest Twins game of 22 innings in 1993 and stayed for every pitch and enjoyed every minute of it. I count it as one of my favorite games to have attended since it is one of those games that doesn't come along very often.

The length of the Monday game (3:44 for nine innings) was much more troublesome to me. I think one of the biggest issues in the game is a lack of quality pitching. Teams are fortunate to have 2-3 dependable starters, and maybe half a bullpen. Get past that and you are hoping for lots of offense to support them, good defense, or one of your middle of the road guys to step up for one night and get the job done.

Rick - I was wondering the same thing about expanding the strike zone the other day (even before the Sunday game). It might help some, certainly to get batters to swing a bit more often. In all of the youth leagues my son has played in, the strike zone has been expanded a bit, to encourage kids to learn how to hit rather than stand up there and wait for enough pitches out of the zone to draw a walk. I don't know if that would change much at the top level of baseball, but maybe worth a shot, and it would be a slight adjustment, not a major rule change that adjusts the dynamics of the game.

Something else that's been discussed, albeit mostly via internet conjecture, is the height of the pitcher's mound. It was lowered by 5 inches (from 15" to its current 10") for the 1969 season, in response to the lowest ERA in 50 years in 1968 ("The Year of the Pitcher"), and the perception that the higher mound created too much of an advantage for pitchers vs hitters. Since then, the ERA has increased by about 0.4. Raising the mound could increase the advantage for pitchers, theoretically shortening games.

Conversely, a higher mound is thought to place more strain on pitching arms over time. There have also been calls to lower the mound from it's current height, given the recent run of pitchers requiring UCL reconstruction. This may save arms, but could also increase offense and possibly lengthen games.

I don't know if either viewpoint is valid. The 0.4 higher ERA seen since 1969 could, it seems, also be due to a much larger number of teams and the resultant dilution of talent. And I'll defer to a sports medicine specialist as to whether a higher mound creates more elbow strain.

Thus, I agree. Don't tinker too much with a highly refined game. And if your attention span can't handle an average game length of just over 3 hours, or the completely anomalous 6-hour game, feel free to change the channel.

Also curious as to what people thought of Torii Hunter and LaTroy Hawkins as commentators. I didn't catch any of their broadcasts, but LaTroy's discussion about Tommy Kahnle has gotten him some notoriety...

My wife and I went to the Memorial Day matinee yesterday and had yet another horrible concession experience.

Let's keep in mind it was not a very big crowd yesterday. Maybe 20,000 at most...they announced 24K. At one point prior to the game, there was a 30-minute wait for cheese pizza at the Pizza stand near section 122. There were a couple of people standing at the front of the line who had been waiting 25 minutes for a cheese pizza.
We ended up going back in the 4th inning and the wait was still at 10 minutes for a cheese pizza. Yet they had plenty of pepperoni and sausage available. Can't they manage the inventory better? Obviously there is a demand for it if people are waiting 20+ minutes for it.

And with the cooler temps and windy/wet conditions, why weren't there more vendors selling hot beverages? It can't be that difficult to set up one or two of those ala cartes in the concourse for hot chocolate and coffee.

I also noticed several more concession carts closed in the main concourse, including the beer concession near 102. That was the first time I noticed that cart closed. I usually buy a couple of beers there before heading down to the seats in 103.

Have they reduced the number of Frankie V's and Senor Smokes concession stands? There are only two of each now. Frankie V (section 122 and 319) and Senor Smokes (section 105 and 305)
Just seems like there were more of them 2-3 years ago but I could be wrong.

I do hope they bring back the fresh Angie's Kettle Corn on the plaza for the summer months. That was always a good treat to enjoy even going back to the Metrodome days when they were set up outside.

I raised this issue in a conversation with the supervisor of Season Ticket reps, and someone that actually has some responsibility. The unfortunate truth is that the Twins have little to do with concession issues (or are willing to take little responsibility) other than writing it off to poor management on DNC's part. This covers vendors, in-seat wait staff, bars, and concessions.

I would suggest continuing to lean on people in the know with every opportunity we get about this issue and hopefully they can re-think that contract the next time it comes up. It is costing so many people so much money that want to make money it is really ridiculous.

During the chilly Rockies night makeup game (when they closed the upper deck) I was wondering if they still sell either the Loon chili or the wild rice soup. Both were unique items when TF opened, but I don't know that I've noticed them. (Not that i've gone looking.)

They...*ahem* "closed" the upper deck?
Why?

Not to mention fewer ushers, security personnel, janitorial, etc.

Huh...interesting.
For some reason, I seem to remember years ago, a game when the Marlins were still at Pro Player, the attendance at first pitch was like 150. In a 64,000 seat stadium.
Players commented they could hear people's cell phones ringing it was so quiet.
Apparently one of the Marlin PR guys went around to everyone and told them they could sit in the seats behind the plate.

Open tryouts for Twins bullpen tomorrow? It's not good when the backup catcher can give up only two runs while two "big league" pitchers give up 6 without recording an out.

My recollection is the Marlins game at what is now Hard Rock Stadium with maybe 150 fans in the ballpark was a mid to late September afternoon makeup of a game that had been rained out the night before. It might have been a twi-night doubleheader or the DH may have been split ticket. Given how late it was in the season and with the Marlins miles from contention, few fans bothered to turn up.

It is interesting that the Twins closed off the upper deck due to smallish crowds. In the dark ages from 1998 to 2000 when attendance shrank out of sight and in one season was only above 1,000,000 due to some creative accounting by the club, the upper deck of the Metrodome was never closed off.

I think you're right Jorge about the Marlin game. I just remember reading about it in an ESPN almanac somewhere.
Now that you mention it, seems about right. Late season game and virtually no chance of contention.

Starting to look like the Twins gave up on Aaron Hicks way too soon (I was afraid of that). After a 6 rbi game yesterday he is hitting .317 with 8 hr, 30 rbi and also 9 2b and 7 steals. The catcher they got for him (Murphy) is playing part time in Rochester and hitting .226.

In some ways it seemed like a good move, trading two struggling players for each other and the Twins were looking for Suzuki's replacement, and figured Buxton to lock down CF job long term. The list of lopsided trades in mlb is long, but this may go down as another one that got away from MN for nothing in return.

I agree on Ortiz and Hicks. Not sure what the switch was that flipped to the on position, but it came after they left here. Is it the Twin Cities (ie players don't want to be here), the coaching, the front office, player's hard head, mix of all that and then some?

Did Hicks just decide over the offseason to work harder and is now bearing fruit? Will he start getting pitched differently and start falling back to his old habits and numbers?

Whatever it is, I don't think the blame is only on the organization. The players have to get fully engaged as well, in order to grow. Sano has taken a big leap this year, and will hopefully keep trending upwards.

" --- the ability of the Twins organization to properly develop players is in serious question, and has been for a long time."

And we have an early leader for the Understatement of the Year Award!

That should also be emailed to The Common Man *progrum* on KFAN as an entry for his Preposterous Statements segments.

Look at the history of this club and you will see they lost all credibility right around the time Carl died and the sons took over. That seems to coincide with TK pulling back from the org. Chicken and egg situation I suspect.

As Metallica so eloquently put it: Sad but True.

Ortiz has been public in saying that when he got to Boston he was told to just do what comes naturally to him w/ hitting. He said the Twins told him to try and hit the ball to all fields and that HR's were not as important as advancing the runners and getting on base.

It seems more often than not a player will come here, gets taught Twins Way, struggles and then moves on and has more success.

speaking of the Marlins and low attendance

Re comment 154, I think that happens with more than just the Twins.
Think of KG, a decade of good seasons but first round exits from the playoffs. Gets traded to Boston in 2007. Wins NBA title first season with the Celtics.

I have read several interesting posts from you guys regarding nostagia and rules of the game and things that MLB should either change or leave alone to protect the integrity of the game. A buddy of mine who lives near Wrigley said that after Wrigley's most recent renovation the bullpens were moved beyond the outfield wall leaving AT&T Park in San Francisco as the only MLB stadium left that has bullpens along the foul lines which used to be the norm. I havent had a chance to watch this series to check that out-is there any truth to that or are there other parks that still have the bullpens along the foul lines. If it is true if AT&T ever moves them beyond the outfield wall I think that would be something that was a part of the game that will be forever lost.

I believe the bullpens in Tampa Bay and Oakland are also still in foul territory. There is certainly adequate room in Oakland's vast foul territory.

All other parks' bullpens are behind the outfield fence, but I believe for all others (besides Wrigley) the action in the bullpen is still directly visible to at least some fans in the stands. When a reliever is warming up, there's often a reaction from the crowd which said reliever is certainly aware of, whether the bullpen is in foul territory down the baselines or behind the outfield fence. That's what's changing (it seems) with Wrigley's new design - the direct connection between bullpen and fans. Is that good? Bad? Indifferent? I don't know...

What's so great about bullpens being on the field? To me, there are too many people on the field and the mounds create a hazard to the outfielders. Wrigley got it right. Move the bullpens. In fact, there is too much prime real estate given to bullpens. Hide them under the concourse and out of sight.

Yeah Rick I had that thought as well. Just put the bullpens near the dugouts. Pitchers can then just hangout in the dugout or clubhouse. Managers and Pitching Coaches could also sneak a peak since they would be closer. This might allow for quicker pitching changes as well.

Im not one to watch the bullpen pitchers warm up but I am sure there are fans that do watch warmups and even casual fans interracting w/ the bullpen, heckling them, etc. Some stadiums seem to invite that. White Sox have the visitors bullpen right next to a large bar beyond right field. Only a pane of plexiglass separates the two and by the 7th inning (or 3rd if Santana or Berrios arent pitching) let me tell ya those drunken Sox fans are pretty hyped up.

Plus I would imaging baseball purists like Rick might write someday: "No longer will fans be able to hear whisp of the baseball from the warmup pitcher or the pop of the catcher's glove as the reliever prepares for battle sweat dripping from his brow" once all the bullpens are removed from the sidelines for all to see.

Speaking of too many people on the field as it is (post 159) I know that the media used to be on the field near the batters box takig pix of all the action trying to get that perfect shot of Ruth swinging for the fences. I am not sure when that was outlawed but while I appreciate being able to see some of the pics they provided for us all if I was a fan back then I would be pissed being in the front rows and my view being blocked by cameramen.

on the bullpen issue, AT Park was designed to be a stadium...first?

Hunter Greene? no.. McKay? no.. Wright? no..

Royce Lewis...................

The most Minnesotan thing to do, pick number and pick the cheapest player. Pohlads need to sell this team to someone who gives a crap

This had nothing to do with payroll or the Pohlads. Right or wrong, the new regime thinks they know something in making this pick.

Greene could be the next Nolan Ryan and make the Twins look really bad in a few years - or he could blow out his arm and never make the big leagues. That's always a possibility with pitchers. It was unfortunate PR for the Twins that on a night they passed on pitching with the 1st pick, their backup catcher was impressed into relief duty for the 5th time this still young season.

Let's just let the new guys Falvey and Lavine do their job. You don't really know what you get in the MLB draft until 3 or 4 years down the road. It's not like the NFL or NBA where you can draft impact players. Much more development involved in baseball.

Falvey and Lavine have a vision and a plan and it's going to take three years before we start to see some of the results. The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs are good examples of this.

I think we can give Falvey and Lavine a chance to work their magic if we let Terry Ryan run the show for 20+ years.

Mark Prior.

Putting the bullpens out of sight in Wrigley Field is a bad move. It reminds me of a visit there in July of 1999. The Cubs were getting destroyed by, I think, the Phillies in a game that seemed like it would never end. Fans were filing out well in advance of the end. Then a buzz went up in the stands and then people who'd quit watching the game, but remained in the park, started returning to the seats from the concourses. Gary Gaetti was warming up in the bullpen. The crowd watched him warm up, not the long decided game. When he made the walk from the pen to the mound, you'd have thought the Cubs had won the World Series then instead of last fall.

My memory is wrong because that Phillies game was on the road. I'm calling the friend I made the trip with, and consumed too many beers with for that matter, to verify when this was. We definitely saw him warm up at Wrigley and it created the buzz as mentioned, but it looks like he didn't get in the game.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/brewers-overpower-the-cubs/

Brewers/Cubs?

thoughts?

Good idea? Bad idea? Weird idea? Indifferent?

Yawn. It's the same thing the nfl did for one weekend last year, taken a bit further.

I'd be happy if they made the players button their damn jerseys up all the way. I always hated Plouff with his half assed buttoning. Bad look.

Agreed. I can remember Birdie Tebbetts complaining because there was a hole in the sleeve of Jim Kaat's undershirt, saying it was a distraction to the hitters. The umps made Kaat change. Now you see guys with unbuttoned shirts flapping and chains flying.

Are the Twins doing that poorly that no one has said anything here in 6 days?
We need to build a stadium somewhere so we have something to talk about.

Tk, Do you still have those tickets for the July 1 Night game down in Kansas City? I never heard from you!

MN United is supposed to start on their stadium soon.

I look foward to seeing Ninja skills photos during United stadium construction!

As for Twins they actually are on a trajectory to match the 1987 Twins as far as win/losses. They have 2 pretty good starters (one outstanding starter until recently) and 2-3 big bats in the lineup. Unforantely we have nothing in the bullpen -the 87 Twins I believe had Les Straker as #3 starter so I am not as concerend about starters

For the playoffs u really only need 2 reliable starters and a 3rd starter who is decent. Twins problems past 25 years is we have never had 2 competent starting pitchers w/ the exception of the time when Santana and Liriano pitched together. For a long stretch we had Radke and no one else. If we dont trade Santana for throw darts at wall and hope they hit prospects we may have something in Santana and Berrios next year and 2019 -by then Sano, Buxton, Polanco, Kepler, Escobar and Vargas should be firmly planted as regulars (Grossman and Mauer will be gone) -Dozier hopefully is still here then. Maybe Castro as well. We still would need at least 1 competent starter and almost an entire new bullpen.

2 game series vs. Indians in Puerto Rico with the Twins as the home team set for 4/17-4/18 next year. ¡Divertido!

Hooray!! This will save us all from the embarrassment of having to sit through home games vs (anyone) the Indians next year! I vote we make PR our "home away from home" and just play all our home games there but with the provision that Target Field remain open for people to still enjoy all the foodie options/face paintings/bars/activities to draw attention away fro the product on the field TF has to boast and can watch the game on the jumbotron if they so choose.

Well, I guess it's our opportunity to show the "Twins Way" to Puerto Rico.
As in, this is how things shouldn't be done.

I hate hockey, I really do, but I am curious how others here feel about the new home sweater for the Wild (this is either the fourth or fifth new one in the last 17 years) that was unveiled yesterday. I don't like it. I miss the original one. Apparently all 31 were unveiled yesterday and pretty much broke Facebook.
The New Jersey Devils got so much flack for their new design, team officials shot back by changing their profile on Twitter briefly, stating they were "not a fashion company".

Good for STH, as that is two less games we have to buy in April next year. I'll be interested to see if they make up for it with a price increase.

The Twins aren't drawing at home so they schedule two "home" games in PR for some extra money. The Pohlads have no shame.

I don't see how it nets them extra money as they are losing the ticket gate and the concession revenue. Unless they replace that ticket gate with an increase across the board on the other games, which is "overdue".

I wonder how many of the ticketed 27,864 actually endured the almost 5 hour rain delay today, only to watch a game that finished at 3 hr and 21 min. Only to lose 9-0.
Needless to say, there was no problem finding a seat on Northstar today :).
I feel for all the Twins junkies who now have no light rail in downtown Minneapolis (green and blue lones) for the next 11 days.

Twins are on the road Luke.

As to the Puerto Rico series, would have to assume this is an initiative by MLB to bring the big leagues down there. Given the Twins are the "home" team they will likely get a portion of the ticket sales and concessions. May or may not be equivalent to a couple April home games.

If I was a season ticket holder I don't think I would mind. Would be "missing out" on two early season, likely poor weather dates, and not getting charged for them. I don't see any reason this would increase ticket prices for the rest of the games (not to say there won't be an increase, but it wouldn't be related to the PR series).

It would have made a great Disney movie: a guy who has toiled in the minors forever and was in independent baseball a year ago finally gets his shot at the majors and is a rousing success! But alas real life is not a Disney movie. Let us hope the Great Nick Turley Experiment gets put in the same scrap heap as the Miguel Sano in the Outfield Experiment. If not, we're going to burn out Chris Giminez' arm.

Luke- even though no one else commented yet on your new Wild jersey comment, I will chime in anyway. I grew up playing hockey in Edina my whole life and nobody loves playing and watching hockey more than me. I think those new jerseys are retro-awesome-what a cool looking jersey, I love everything about them. It is one of the coolest jerseys of any pro sport I have ever seen. So there that is my feeling on the subject.

I am glad the Wild went with green rather than red as their new primary home sweater. Initially, I was not a huge fan of the stripe across the chest but I think that will grow on me and this will be a very popular sweater. It's something a little vintage yet modern. I like how they took the "M" from the Minnesota Script on the former green alternate and made that into a shoulder patch on the new sweater. Also like the return of the primary logo to the front of the home jersey and not the roundel or script.

Would just be nice if they could stick with a sweater and go with it for a while. I am sure they will need to unveil a red alternate in the next few years too.

FWIW, The road white sweaters will remain pretty much unchanged which is good. The NHL needs to return to wearing white at home.

He missed dumping the DH.
I can get behind a 20 second pitch clock.

even ESPN laughs at us

Sorry, I haven't reported it, but they started moving dirt on the United's stadium about a week and a half ago.

I drove by United Stadium site en route to Back to 50's event and the entire site is now dirt--it is difficult to say that seeing nothing but dirt looks better than before but after decades of seeing nothing but old no longer in use MTC busses, broken glass, dumped trash, weeds and overgrown grass sticking up through cracks in old broken up asphalt even fresh brown dirt is a much cleaner (oxymoron I know) look than it was. THey also put some banners announcing the stadium on fences surrounding the site.

I went to the Back to the 50s car show but not past the MNU site. I've setup a photo walk/meetup at the car show for the past three years. I am not that big of a soccer fan but I guess knowing that it's so close is another reason to pop by and get some stadium construction photos.

Rick - I have said this before and I will say it again, I absolutely enjoy going through the archives from time to time!!

Has it really been 11 years since the ballpark bill was formally signed at the Metrodome? Has it been almost 10 years since the groundbreaking ceremony -- which was rescheduled due to the I-35W bridge collapse?

Thinking back that I was still in college when the ballpark bill passed and was being constructed. Now I am married with a 5 year old son and own a home.

Looking back at that magical season that was 2010....3 million+ fans with every game packed and electric. Not to mention, the weather was almost perfect for the Twins in 2010.

So many stories and posts and excellent photos. It's nice to enjoy and go back in time so thanks for archives!!

May 26, 2006 was when Governor T-Paw signed the bill on the turf of "That Other Place". Best birthday gift I've ever received.
My god...I was 28.
I remember Rick's thoughtful posts in the days following the 35W bridge collapse. The game went on that night, so 30,000 people weren't trying to find their way thru already confused drivers and congested downtown streets. The next night if I recall was postponed to a later date (Aug 30 I believe, same as the resheduled groundbreaking).
Somewhere on YouTube I believe there is a video of the Metrodome conversion that weekend. Twins game, to gopher football game, to Twins game in about 36 hours
Also when the Dome had its house-cleaning sale, they had a whole stack of programs for that original August 2 groundbreaking date. I snatched a couple.

2010 was indeed magical. The new ballpark, the attendance, the play on the field and as Mike notes even the weather was outstanding that year. The only hint of the cloudy days - and years - that were to come was Justin Morneau leaving the game in Toronto right before the All-Star break with what looked at the time to be a very minor injury. Maybe it was the first hint of bad karma.

And then they got promptly swept by the Yankees in 3 games. I was at game 3 and remember it was a beautiful evening. I think we all knew that was coming though. Too bad about Morneau too - he was having another MVP type of year.

HA! Funny this subject comes up because I was just talking about the curse of MN sports originating during that 2010 playoff game at Target Field vs Yankees. I attribute it to Randy Moss

I remember listening to radio on way home from work. Twins were winning I THINK 4-2 when breaking news came on that Vikes just re signed Randy Moss. Immediately thereafter the Yanks came back and not only won game 1 they swept us. Vikes not only hit the skids they had long delay due to lightening (at Jets), dome collapsed from snow causing a "home" game in Detroit and the game at TCF in blizzard whih was Favres last game due to injury PLUS a game at Philly had to be moved due to blizzard there!

The T Wolves hit a new low becoming worst team in NBA, the Wild and Gophers all had below expectation seasons w/ trouble on/off the field. But I remember from the moment I was excited to get Moss back in 2010 the good times from 2009 all left for a few years.

Minnesota sports have been cursed pretty much since 1991. After that, with the exception of the Lynx, MN teams can't make it past round 1 of their respective playoff series (with the exception of the Wild in 2003 and the Wolves in the Western Conference Finals with the Lakers (2004?).

Found this video on Oaklands stadium kind of interesting.

Add this to the list of "ways to remember an old ballpark:"

Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium was the home of the College World Series from 1950 through 2010, as well as the home of the Kansas City Royals' AAA team for a large number of those years. To keep the popular CWS in Omaha for as long as possible, TD Ameritrade Park was constructed in downtown Omaha and the CWS has been held there since 2011.

Rosenblatt was located on a hill right across the street from Omaha's zoo. After the stadium was razed, all of the site was turned into a parking lot for the zoo. All, that is, except for the scaled-down infield shown above, located right in the middle of the parking lot and officially known as "Infield at the Zoo."

The "Rosenblatt" sign is from the stadium's old scoreboard, and the seats in the "outfield" were also salvaged from the stadium. Home plate (where you see one of my sons calling his shot) is approximately where the stadium's actual plate was, and you can see the original foul poles in correct positions way off in the distance.

...so you have to wonder a bit if Omaha got burned on that one.

The zoo itself has been expanded since then, rather extensively - just not into the former Rosenblatt site. They just completed a 23-acre "African Grassland" outdoor exhibit, and an "Asian Highlands" outdoor exhibit is under construction. It was felt that these outdoor "immersive" exhibits would best be placed in areas already grassy and somewhat forested, instead of a treeless lot where a ballpark stood.

And - when visiting the zoo this past Sat, despite a light rain, the expanded parking lot was nearly full. They appear to need all the additional parking they got from the ballpark site.

It's perhaps not as well known as the San Diego or Cincinnati Zoos, but Omaha's zoo is consistently rated one of the best in the nation. If any of you make a trip down for the CWS, especially if you have kids - don't miss it.

That is pretty cool the way they did the "Infield at the Zoo".
Didn't they do something similar in Atlanta when they blew up Fulton County Stadium? I thought the outline of the field and a marker for Hank Aarons 755 HR's still remained in one of the surface lots around Whatever-will-become-of-Turner-Field.
If it is ever ordained for me to die, I wanna go to the CWS, just for the experience of being there before such ordination happens.

There are other places that commerate former stadiums I have seen. The outline of the old Comiskey infield is painted in the parking lot of the (whatever it is called now) New Comiskey. Until last year a group called Navins Field Grounds Crew kept the original infield grass and infield of Tiger Stadium well groomed for local teams to play. THe original flag pole is still in its original position -last year crews came in to build a kids baseball complex complete w/ dugouts/restrooms/concessions but field will be much smaller and w/ artificial turf so aside from flagpole nothing else will be left now of old Tiger Stadium.

Miller Park built a kids baseball field where old County Stadium used to be (unsure if it is EXACTLY where the infield of old ballpark was-again is much much smaller then major league infield)

I have not been to any of these locations but saw on websites one of the old outfield walls of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh was saved in its original location and commerative markers are nearby, a simple marker announces where Ebbits Field once stood and I forgot name of it but Rick might know there is a concrete stairwell that was used to get down to the Polo Grounds outfield that still stands. It is crumbling and officially off limits as a safety hazard but part of the handrails and crumbling remains of the stairwell are still there.

I am sure I am missing a bunch of other sites-it seems the popular thing to do is build kiddie parks which I am fine with. I am unsure if they built kids field at old Yankee Stadium site but I heard they were putting in kids soccer complex there.

Great commentary Rick! I forgot about League Park in Cleveland--I had no idea there was anything marking the old Lexington Park!

In Denver they built a mini Mile High Stadium on the spot where old mile high was and you can actually go into it and even take a seat. I do not remember the exact scale it was built to- but it is pretty big. Cost a lot of money to build it. but what a cool idea. They should do that to the old Met, too. Ha- fat chance of that. If you remember Bears Stadium (Mile High) was first built in 1948 as a baseball park.

mini Mile High
Looks pretty cool.
And apparently was done by MA Mortenson.

YES, Luke, Atlanta did have markings for Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. Many will remember that AFCS was replaced by Turner Field next door not long after the Olympics completed. When AFCS was torn down they made the space a parking lot. They marked the field with bricks (for the infield dirt and warning track) on the parking lot pavement, had a section of outfield fence left to commemorate Hank Aaron's 715th homer (which broke Babe Ruth's HR record)

and most notably left the building's retaining wall...due to the major elevation change from one end of the lot to the other.

Both spaces are under renovation by Georgia State University. What was Turner Field is now Georgia State Stadium and is being converted to a football stadium. The parking lot/AFCS space is getting another lease at baseball stadium life as it is being converted to the new Georgia State baseball field. Renderings appear to have the retaining wall being repainted to GS colors with "Georgia State" written on it.

Before:

After:

Introducing Georgia State Stadium and Georgia State Baseball Stadium.
MORE: https://t.co/Hy1roaimP6 pic.twitter.com/aEbc85BMTv

— GSU Panthers (@GSUPanthers) November 9, 2016

Does anyone else think that, if the Turner was gonna become a football stadium at the end of it all, that Atlanta should have simply skipped the last 20 years and just kept the original 85,000 seat Olympic Stadium configuration? And just built a ballpark in Cobb County in the first place?

MN United now has a stadium cam for their Snelling & University construction. Not much to see so far, but hopefully soon.

Bartolo Colon.
Discuss.

Hes A bit too old but the twins seem to think he has something left in the tank.

IN Seattle somewhere in A lowes the have A display case with stuff from the Seattle pilots and on the floor A marker where home plate was in the stadium they played in.

I agree Leroy...Colon is what, 44?

Returning to the topic of "What improvements might the Twins make to TF next year"...having been in Cleveland last month (seeing the Twins beat the Tribe after the Tribe's TF sweep the prior weekend), if I had to guess, I'd think a larger videoboard.

Much like the videoboard at TF made the Metrodome's boards seem quaint (or tiny is more like it), Twins maybe want to extend that board across the length of the home run porch like Cleveland's spans the entire LF bleachers.

Lots of great info available, as seen in the earlier photos of St. Louis' updated scoreboard.

Not sure about anyone else but I always thought the ads above the Trap seemed very out of place.
I'm curious whether a whole new score/video board system is in order. And part of my vision is evening out the weird shaped Trap, take those ads down, and put in a new statistic board to go along with the auxiliary video board.
I think it was discussed here earlier but I'm kinda thinking a Scoreboard Patio seating area, similar to what they have in St Louis.

In other arena news, Mariucci Arena is no longer. Apparently 3M has purchased naming rights. It's now 3M Arena @ Mariucci. As with other institutions that now have naming rights, i.e. it'll always be Camp Snoopy, Jacobs Field, Kiel Center, etc, it will ALWAYS be Mariucci Arena to me.

Lastly, take a gander at what they're doing in Fatlanta to the Philips Arena .
A city that has rid itself of barely old enough to drink stadiums, at least they're sinking money into keeping this one.

I did not know this until today, but Manfred has lifted that ridiculous ASG thing about the winner taking home-field advantage for the WS.
It's about damn time, it was one of the stupidest things ever.
Hopefully now they'll either go back to a rotating schedule for the WS, or maybe what they should have done all along, the team with the best record gets it.
The Cubbies had a better record than the Indians in 2016, but the Indians had home field advantage because the AL won the ASG.

Well sounds like Colon might pitch for the twins starting sometime after the allstar game. So we might see very soon if A 44 year old pitcher still has it. He says he has A couple more years in him so we will see.

The Twins plan on expanding the concourse & reconfiguring concessions in between gates 29 and 34 at Target Field this winter.

Twins are redoing the Met Club and expanding the concourse between gates 34 and 29 over the winter.

Thanks Joe- we were all wondering about that, any more details?

To assist with the concourse widening between gate 29 & 34, my vote would be to get rid of the "Great Clips Great Seats" section, and just make that open plaza to the bleacher seats below, like it was originally. The new raised rows of seats, and the canopy over them, obstruct the view of the field from the plaza as you enter gate 34, and they contribute to the "pinch point."

Latest ST thing is check in to instantly win a TF seat back. Are they being replaced? What goes wrong with seat backs? Half the houses in Richfield and E. Bloomington have old Met seats behind the garage.

Pic is of the standard plastic one.

I wondered if they might be doing a seat replacement but I thought it was way too early for that.
Stadium seats last much longer cause they're just plastic. The Metrodome never did an overhaul on their seats. The ones there in 1982 were there when the place came down in 2012. Whereas seats in places like the Target Center (whose seats ARE being replaced and look quite nice) are upholstered, and stain easier, Rip and tear easier.
I believe the Xcel just did a seat replacement as well.

New seats at TC

Could be a little of both, I can see that.
Obviously seats break, and I'm sure they did once in a while over 30 years. I had been at games where I saw a crew take out a couple seats.
Being that they were indoors probably kept them in that "darn good" condition. The sun didn't beat down on them all day and rain and snow didn't pile up on them every year...well, until 2010 when the roof collapsed and some were damaged, but I digress.

Thanks for the pic of the seats Luke. I had not seen them prior. I like the dark blue.

Sure thing. I must preface by saying it's not my picture, it's a FB photo posted on the TC Renovation FB page. I think Jeff Mueneke one of the Wolves PR guys posted it.
I do like the color. I really didn't like the blue/tree green motif they had before.

I like the dark blue seats for Target Center! Will this renovation truly transform Target Center into one of the better venues or is it simply putting lipstick on a pig? Only time will tell. Any arena can replace seats or add new videoboards. The new exterior is definitely sleek and modern...a nice change from the prior. Of course winning will help...I remember how loud and energized that arena was during the 2004 playoffs and KG.

I still wish Target Field would have went with the dark navy blue seats.

That's a question I have as well, that I asked here even, comparing the TC remodel to Key Arena in Seattle or Oracle Arena in Oakland.
The answet I got here was that those two examples were one main concourse for two seating levels (like Met Center was) and they tried to do something different and that didn't really work. Alas, the Sonics wanted a new arena, didn't get one, moved to OKC. Warriors have gotten all they can get out of Oracle, new arena to open in 2019.
Target Center has separate concourse for upper and lower levels. My impression from various comments here is that Key Arena was lipstick on a pig, and Target Center should be viable for another 30 years.
Time will tell, like you said.

I like that Target Center only has 3 levels of seating (including suites). That keeps the upper deck lower and closer.

why didn't they clean the concrete while the seats were removed? wtf?

That's a really good question. It sure looks like it could use a power wash. Or three.
Though it does look like the steps between the sections got a nice new coat of paint. I know it was extra advertising, but I hated the red Target decals on the steps. I thought they looked weird. Hopefully they don't return .

I am curious Rick, when you talk about the bones of the stadiums being the same, what were you expecting to be different? By that i mean, I perceive ballparks to be the same family of stadium so the bone structure and muscular structure would be the same with the differences in just the visual. You talk as if it's bird versus tiger, so I am curious as to what degree you would expect them to be different?

On another note, that article is some click bait but i will say, having just visited Nationals Park on a 5 ballpark road trip, TF ranks much higher than Nats Park...IMO...I mean, the exterior of Nats Park is just so stale there is no river walk that can spare that. Yuck.

Until we get into TC to see how the concourses finally have been changed, the project is just lipstick on a pig for me. So far some of the physical changes proposed (more than skin deep) to the entryways and circulation seem promising. I don't think it will make it one of the better ones but it should be a nice upgrade.

I've been looking for a concourse photo and haven't seen one yet.
This however posted on the TC Renovation FB page shows the new arena entrance from the skyway level. IMO seems to be upgraded from what it once was. I always felt the skyway entrance was very, claustrophobic and easily congested IMO.
This looks like it might handle foot traffic a little better.

Yeah Luke, that entrance has been mostly complete for a while now. Really, all it accomplished was adding a few more "doors" to the space behind it. They didn't really help foot traffic at all as the relative space didn't change, just access to the escalators/stairs. If you remember there were "gates" on either side and in the middle they had that glass wall with the half court space and the radio station there. Those were removed. , Around that corner in the skyway was the stairs down to the restaurant with access to the hallway to the ticket windows and a set of exit stairs to the street from the concourses in the corner of the building behind that.
The space behind these doors has remained relatively unchanged with the escalators and stairs that took you up to the concourse. The stairs/escalator situation may be changing as that northeast corner atrium will likely connect.

Where it appears foot traffic will be improved is that concourses are apparently being widened in areas, the ticket area is being opened up to more space on either end of the booths, and a third entrance (via A ramp skyway) is being opened up on the southwest corner. I haven't followed from the beginning but there doesn't seem to be a lot out there as to how these aspects will truly turn out...other than the atrium on the NE corner. I could be missing the plans out there but the "official" pages don't have much.

With respect to TC renovation I think it lipstick on a pig on the inside for one reason and one reason only-the arena's concourses will still not open up to the bowl like at the X and most arenas built this century.

On the OUTSIDE of the arena I believe that is a nice upgrade. TC was a concrete bunker and had as much style as an apartment building in Russia. Rows of seats from the basketball configuration were stacked outside the arena at 7th/1st when concerts were held and it just looked bad. I remember for awhile on the backside (possibly front as well) as u approached form 394 they has strips of red and blue neon lights that came down from those blue circles (btw wth those circles were for I have no idea) but overall was an albatross amongst other buildings in the Warehouse District. The new skin and added strips of windows make for an inviting view of the city and the new glass atrium looks awesome. At least the arena will LOOK more modern from the outside.

While I hope IM wrong I dont think the arena will last another 30 years because of the interior design issues mentioned above but like everyone else posted we will see. I dont see the stadium site ever moving based on location/Mayo training facility is top of line but 15 or so years down the road I could see them wanting a new arena, tear down TC but saving some concrete basement foundation walls to save $$ and build new /w T Wolves/Lynx playing at X for a couple years.

I think you are right about the open 360° concourses. It *could* be done I think...but would require alot more work, alot more money, alot more time...and I believe it would be at the expense of a lower seating capacity.
I also remember those exterior neon lights and I miss those, actually.
I had a thought that since TC only has one major tenant, and not trying to accommodate both NBA and NHL and make both happy, maybe this will be more than lipstick on a pig. But then, I thought back to two examples: again, Key Arena and Oracle Center...as far as I know, the NBA was the only tenant in those buildings as well...and well, as we have discussed, both renovations served their purpose already.
I hope TC's lifespan increases due to this renovation. We shall see.

Jared- Rick has not answered your question yet but one thing that would distinguish one ballpark from another is cantilevering of the seating decks and sight line differences. I do not think it matters if the ballpark has an exo-skeleton of steel like TCF Bank Stadium or a concrete skeleton like Target Field, but what is different is all of the decisions made by everybody involved will directly impact the sight lines.

Love that Metro Brew sign.
If there was anything they should have carried over from the Disgrace on Puckett Place, the Metrodome M would be it :).

I wonder if I can get the saying "Disgrace on Puckett Place" trademarked.

I guess I don't understand the point of the panelling on the exterior of TC. From pictures, it looks like they're just slapping it on over the existing exterior. I *believe* it was to incorporate the TC with the rest of the Warehouse District.
But, my thing is, while it looks nice, it's going to be this gigantic, brown, blob in the middle of downtown. I kinda fear its going to look like the whatever-its-called-now Arena in New Orleans. Its just this...octagonal grey blob attatched to the Superdome. The current TC exterior, while bland and outdated, at least had some color to it.

Example: if you've been to or worked in the Fifth Street Towers recently, they are currently under a renovation. And it hurts to watch, because they have basically put panelling, like the stuff at TC, over very nice looking granite. They covered up a huge skylight with the stuff. I don't understand: granite. Pre-fab panelling. I'll take the granite.
The only really neat thing they did with it was put LED light strips in-between some of the panelling. Which really brightens up the Fifth Street Towers skyway level.
I think it would be cool, if they somehow put some LED strips within the panelling outside TC. From renderings I've seen, I don't believe that's the plan.

TC exterior design. This is the side facing TF.

Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. A nice grand entry there, but not much else.

Luke-

Consider me one that was underwhelmed when they first released the renderings of the 'brown' TC. Seeing it actually go on the building - I think it's better than the renderings. I still think it could be better but it's not horrid

Uffda -

It does appear they are trying their best to fix the concourses and open them up as much as they can to the arena bowl

This is true. It does look better than the renderings.

Just saw this gem on Facebook within the last five minutes...views from inside the new atrium (6th Street side I believe).

There is a Star Trib article online this morning about the renovation and some nice pictures as well.

Brandon, correct me if i am wrong but that appears to be one of the existing entrances to the seating sections and not a "created opening".

Rick. That was a fantastic response. I've got some comments but not the time at the moment.

I don't know what to think of the Target Center renovation. Is it "putting lipstick on a pig" or will it truly feel like a new venue?

I agree with Rick, new scoreboards/ribbon boards and seats are routine maintenance that most arenas upgrade every 10-15 years. Nothing special there but it will look different with the darker navy blue seats. I still remember the original red seats.

They did upgrade the bathrooms and replaced all troughs with urinals. They removed seats so they can open up the concourse to the seating bowl. They added 2 loading docks so now they have 3 instead of 1 which will help with performances that bring multiple truckloads of equipment. The lack of loading dock space was apparently a big drawback for some performances over the years. I would have never guess that but it makes sense if you have 12 (or more) trucks coming in with equipment on a very tight schedule.

They replaced the entire arena floor and put in a new coolant system for the ice.

They replaced the former main lobby along 1st Avenue with the new atrium at the corner of 5th and 1st Ave. I am assuming an entirely new ticket office too as part of the new atrium/lobby.

They also added a few new club areas and some premium seating areas.

The exterior is a nice touch and will take some time to adjust to.

Overall, they have made a lot of changes but will it really feel like a new venue? Only time will tell. Of course winning helps...start winning some games again and playing in May and June and that venue will be rocking like it was in 2004.

Same with the old Metrodome, it was not the the best venue, but that place was sure exciting at times when it was filled up with fans.

The Wolves just need to start winning on a consistent basis and playing meaningful games in April, May and June.

The new ticket lobby at TC.
I think a vast improvement.

Copied wrong link :(.
Sorry.

I love how Bremer makes a routine flyball to right sound like it was just INCHES away from being a bases-clearing drive to the gap!

^ Classic... I can't stand Bremer - he's so full of S#$%. He seems to think he's on the radio most of the time.

HA! I was thinking the same thing last night!!! Bremer -" AND THERES A LONG FLY BALL!!! " and the monitor is showing Yanks outfielder taking a few steps to his left to track it down and then I here Bremer go 'TOWARDS THE GAP!!! And (forgot name-Judge? or the CF) tracks it down and the Twins leave the bases loaded"....I was like-WTH-is he watching the same game???? It was a mid deep fly ball that no one (except Bremer) seemed to think was anything but a bases loaded 2 out fly ball to outfied-it was several feet in front of the warning track-its not like it was an over the wall catch or anything---wasnt even a Buxton type run down. The guy jogged a bit to his left but its not like he broke a sweat tracking it down.

Bremer does that a lot. Gets old quick. And ----- don't get me going on Bert.

Can anyone sit in the WC seats? 5 came up on the Twins site and I don't want to get kicked out!

Years ago I went to a game with a friend who's boss gave him four tickets in the WC area (upper terrace). They basically were all the companion seats.
What game are they for? I wonder if the Twins release them like 24 hrs before game time if no one who needs them buys them??

Well, take it for face value or not, but the Twins site says:
**Be advised the Minnesota Twins reserve the right to take appropriate action against individuals who fraudulently obtain wheelchair and companion seating tickets including, but not limited to, ejection and legal action.**

So, I really don't know to what length "fraudulent" goes. Does a buyer have to prove when buying tickets that they legitimately have a use for them?

I would guess that the ushers also don't arbitrarily let folks sit in them, just for the sake of upgrading seats (I know that's not what's going on here. I saw the tickets available online too).

I don't know j2k. I do know that my buddy and I weren't kicked out.

On the usher issue, since attendance hasn't been terrific, can people move to better seats, within reason, at low attendance games, like at the Dome?

Thanks guys. I went ahead and got the regular seats. I'm going with my GF and our 3 kids and we have no need for WC seats. Damn consience got me again... Those WC section seats are great though. Thick padding and fold up seats for more legroom.

Oh, I should note this was for this Sunday's game vs Detroit, so they do sell them well ahead of time.

Anyone ever have their kids run the bases after the game? How do you go about doing that? Where do you go after the game to get in line?
Thanks BPM guys and gals!

Thanks Rick.
The purple "Mile High" row for sure. I think it's towards the top of the upper deck so they better be cheap!

This stock photo shows it roughly five rows from the top.
I don't think it goes all around the ballpark anymore, since they did some fan interactive stuff to the right field upper level a couple years ago.

Coors Field is a great ballpark with excellent views but I think it could have been so much more. They have done a great job building up and developing around the ballpark district in downtown Denver. It's very similar to Camden Yards and the dimensions are much larger due to the elevation and wanting to make it a "neutral" park. It was designed and built in the early 90's so it is very large and has a lot of upper deck seats and seats that are high up with a total capacity of over 50,000.
This was the trend in the early and mid 90's. The Rock Pile seats in centerfield are your "cheap seats" but you are sitting quite a distance from the action.

Overall, I found their prices to are very similar to the Twins/Target Field.

Anyone else notice the news that they will be beginning some rehabilitation work on US Bank Stadium on Monday?

Crews with Mortenson Construction and M.G. McGrath will be removing about 3,000 exterior panels one at a time, (there are 40,000 panels on the entire stadium exterior) putting in an additional water barrier and a heat track to melt ice that can build up. They will also be adding additional fasteners to the panels.

This is going to take 12 weeks to complete. Kind of an embarrassment for a building just one year old that cost more than $1 billion.

A billion dollars just doesn't buy what it used to...

Apparently not.
And now I'm cautious about how USBS will be viewed in a couple years, amongst Farmers Field in LA that's supposedly going to cost 2.6 billion (it'll probably be 3 billion + at the end of it all, with cost overruns alone I imagine), and the $1.8 billion place in Vegas.
I hope that ten years down the line we don't get passed up for stuff, just because there are bigger more expensive stadiums out there .

I wonder what happens when the warranty at us bank runs out who gets stuck with the constant repair bills the stadium has.

"Split the Pot" Raffle today as per the scoreboard announcement:

Total gross pot = $19,608
Payout to winner = $6,427

???????????????????????????????

Looks like it should be called Split Most of the Pot. I guess the other 10% goes to the Bad Contracts Given Out by Terry Ryan Fund.

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/community/events/split-the-pot/rules/

Do the math on the figures above. 40%?

Yeah Ben it doesn't equal 40% but I figured the payout was after taxes or some bogus Twins admin fee.

There's some fine print on the printout they give you that explains the "split". A split doesn't mean equal. If they advertised it as "50/50" then I think it would have to be equal.

Ben - I tried posting earlier but it didn't come through. On split the pot website it says Sunday payout was $7,627. Divide that by 40% and the total pot would have been $19,068.

Either the wrong numbers were reported wherever you saw them, or you recorded them incorrectly.

MN raffle laws are pretty strict, so it would be very unwise of the Twins to not follow their stated rules of the payouts.

The numbers I reported are as they were reported on the board. Maybe the same scoreboard guy who was reporting batter counts of 2-3? For the record, I have heard a spiel of "Half to the Twins Community Fund, half to the winner".

It is highly possible that the board operator typed in the wrong numbers.

It is also likely that you have heard half/half on the payout, as I imagine the "vendors" running around selling them are not well versed in the specifics of the raffle and rules. Could cause the raffle some issues if anyone were to pursue it.

There are lots of people buying tickets who are obviously unaware of how things really go. What happens when a winner is presented with a check for 40% less taxes, etc.? Especially when the pregame guy asks if you want to "split the pot" and "go home with your pockets stuffed with cash". And, it's not like the Twins are upfront about the 40% (is there anything they are upfront about?).

It's all spelled out in the rules of the raffle. Clearly states 40% to the winner, and also indicates payment will be mailed out as a check, less any applicable taxes, within 30 days of verifying the winning ticket.

The Twins don't even run the raffle, as they cannot since they are not legally allowed. It is run by the "Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame" which is apparently a 501(c)(3) based in Florida of all places, and appears to run similar raffles/fundraisers through other NFL, MLB and NBA teams and other sporting events.

I don't buy raffle tickets as it is mostly a losing proposition, so I don't pay attention to the spiels and couldn't care less. I do find it silly to be pointing fingers at the Twins as if they are secretly keeping 10% of the pot or whatever so as to somehow make some extra revenue.

Here is the fine print of my losing ticket from Saturday's supposedly largest pot ever at TF.

Rick - see post #304 for the math. I'm pretty sure somewhere along the line the total pot amount and the payout amount are reported incorrectly. They would report the gross payout ($7,627 per the Twins website) and that amount is 40% of $19,068 (and not $19,608/$7,843). Any taxes withheld would be "behind the scenes" and not part of a "publicly" reported amount. Reporting the net amount would be more unclear as it would appear that the split was not being done according to the rules.

Let's get back to baseball talk!

I can oblige...do you think TF will ever host a round of the World Baseball Classic?

The ticket doesn't refer to tax withholding at all. I would doubt they go to the trouble of withholding taxes, but I'm sure they get a Social Security number and issue a 1099 at year end, which is reported to the IRS as income, which is why it says "winner is responsible for taxes."

At any rate, the winner does not go home with pockets stuffed with cash. Nor has the pot been split, at least not as most would understand the term.

Hey Rick - send me a note about your trip to Coors Field. I can give you the scoop on seats and might be able to help you out with some upgrades.

The Twins sent an email today to STHs indicating that ticketing is going all mobile next year. It was t clear if this is just for season tickets or all tickets.

They are also going to introduce a 12 month payment plan for season tickets.

What do you think?

Well they would be the last of MN's "big four" to do so, the Vikings went all mobile last season. The Wolves, albeit being caught in a CAL have been all mobile for a couple years. The Wild I believe have a "smart card" for their STH's now and have for some time. Of course they all still have a physical box office that sells hard tickets but even with that I think many are going with the mobile or print at home options.
Which is kinda sad, I miss collecting hard ticket stubs from events/games I attended.

Luke - regarding #312, I don't think so. They barely want to schedule April baseball at TF. Has to be a domed or warm weather ballpark.

Gibson sent down in favor of keeping Colon for at least one more start. Don't quite understand that move, other than they can't option Colon to the minors. He has been good for 3-4 innings in both outings, but then gets hit hard. He is done and already talking retirement. Gibson has had a couple decent outings in a row. I didn't mind the Twins bringing him in for a look, but if they have any thoughts of hanging around it shouldn't be with a guy who already has one foot out the door.

I'd be happy if they released Gibson. He has had way too many chances already. His career is as close to ending as Colon's IMO.

For the record, the Vikings did not go to all mobile for tickets. You can still print at home.

True...PAH is an option.
But for STH's I thought the Vikings went all mobile. I know they didn't issue hard tickets for STH's last season.

PAH will still be an option for STH next season, just no physical tickets. Which is interesting because reducing fraud is the reason given for going to mobile, but PAH tickets are involved in a significant percentage of fraudulent tickets.

I would agree with that statement for many reasons.
Since PAH tickets wouldn't be printed on specialty ticket stock, everybody can get hold of printer paper. And PAH tickets seem to be very generic in terms of the info that's on them.
Basic event and seating info. A generic disclaimer. An ad or two. Could easily be duplicated in MS Word.

I mean, really...

So - if the Twins are trying to reduce ticket fraud - why allow PAH? As you state, they are easy to create (and/or just copy multiple times).

What's the real reason for dropping hard season tickets? Sure. They save a little money. But it can't be that much.

I don't get the logic.

I can't imagine its a huge money saver either.
I do know in recent years, maybe as a money saver, some teams issued ticket books that had two (or more) tickets per page. I know the Wild did that a couple times. I had a friend who had four Wild season tickets and one year got two ticket books...two tickets per game per page.
Honestly, since the Wild's inception, I was hoping (with some help from my STH friend) to get one hard ticket from every season.
That dream died many years ago :(.

Oh no, Atlanta

Just saw this today. Reminds me of Olympic Stadium in Montreal. After the Olympics in 76, they put a retractable roof on it. It was a strange looking thing. There was a tower at one one of the stadium with cables attached to a Teflon roof. It was supposed to mechanically be like an umbrella.
Legend has it they put it in the closed position shortly after the install, and apparently it never opened again.
The roof was completely removed in 2002 I believe.

Oh no, Atlanta

Just saw this today. Reminds me of Olympic Stadium in Montreal. After the Olympics in 76, they put a retractable roof on it. It was a strange looking thing. There was a tower at one one of the stadium with cables attached to a Teflon roof. It was supposed to mechanically operate like an umbrella.
Legend has it they put it in the closed position shortly after the install, and apparently it never opened again.
The roof was completely removed in 2002 I believe.

The Vikings no longer print and provide cardboard tickets, but if you don't want an e-ticket on your phone, you can still print at home via Ticketmaster.

One more item for discussion:
This surprised me a little, on both sides of the issue
the Cubbies "can't" have more night games?

Did anyone else go to the Billy Joel concert?

My first at TF.

I was impressed with the sound, but surprised that many people would buy tickets for a stage so far away. That said, it was cool to actually see the seating bowl full again.

If you were sitting in the bowl, it was more like watching people watch a concert.

I could hear the sound check walking to the train on Friday. I was impressed.
USBS seemed to under perform for GNR on Sunday.
Trib says GNR actually started ON TIME around 8:30 (back in the day when "Axl used to roll out of bed").
Long beer and restroom lines still seem to damn the place.
And "unnavigable hallways" led many to miss the first couple songs of GNR's set.
Trib shut me out halfway thru, I didn't see anything about the sound quality.

The article said sound quality was good on the floor and pretty bad in the upper levels.

I was thinking back...can y'all believe 10 years ago, we were prepping for the groundbreaking of what would become Target Field?
Just a fee hours later, everything changed.

I was at the Twin's game that night, waiting for a coworker to arrive. When he got there he asked me "Did you hear the news?" I had no idea what happened, although thinking back I might have heard the bridge fall from inside the dome.

That was a tough game to watch - both teams looked like they really didn't want to be there.

If I recall it was a tough decision for the Twins to go ahead with the game, but officials didn't want to send 30+ thousand more people back onto already confused and congested downtown streets.
I do remember the next nights game was postponed.

I too was at the Twins game that night. Met a buddy at the game who had just crossed over the bridge shortly before. From our seats we could barely make out the tv feeds being shown in some of the suites near us at the time. There was definitely an air of shock the whole game.

Should have asked this during Dodgers series but does anyone who may have been to Dodgers Stadium know what is beyond the dead center wall? It is dark and looks like somethign that came out of old County Stadium in Milwaukee. It almost looks like a giant patio fireplace. I am not savvy enough to provide a pic sorry.

Unless things have changed I know there's a big ass speaker out there and a black tarp that serves as the batters eye.

I found this interesting article regarding the D-Backs and Chase Field, and the future.
I didn't know things were this bad

Does anyone park in the ABC ramps for Twins games?

My wife and I are looking for a new parking option that is closer to Target Field.

With the recent spike in crime around the ABC ramps, are they even safe to park in during night games? I realize a lot of the crimes have occurred after 1AM. However, it can still be scary being in downtown Minneapolis after dark.

You're not going to get much closer than the ABC Ramps, especially Ramp B. I wouldn't worry much about crime during night games. There is usually a larger security and police presence to go along with the crowd.

I thought A & B charged $15 due to their connectivity to TF. C I thought was $10.

We tried out the A ramp yesterday and it was $13 for "event parking" ...easy in and easy out. We will definitely park there again. The extra $3-5 is definitely worth the proximity to Target Field.

I too wondered how much of this has been overplayed by the media.

Sad day listening to KFAN heard Darren Daulton of Phillies passed away and as they are discussing him breaking news broke that Don Baylor had ALSO passed away today.

Funny the things u remember -when we won the World Series in '87 I was only 16 at the time. I got my news from Sports Illustrated and Strib and I had always associated Don Baylor w/ the Boston Red Sox. He had just been in World Series in 1986 and the Twins back then werent known for big name free agents (though I did consider getting Jeff Reardon off Expos pretty big earlier that winter) but getting Don Baylor at FA deadline in Aug I considered huge-a bonafide power hitter from a World Series team.

THen today I looked him up in Wikopedia and found out he was more known for his days w/ California Angels than w/ Boston as he only played for Boston 1986 and Apr-Aug of '87.

Darren Daulton is in Phillies ring of honor and I mainly remember him form the 1993 World Series w/ John Kruk. That team lost to Blue Jays but they had a lot of characters on that team w/ long hair, beards and chewed alot. Tey were pretty scruffy looking I remember that.

Wow...that's crazy. I remember Baylor obviously more than Daulton, but I still remember both.
I noticed a while back, on the Gate 3 stairwell leading into TF, they had red decals on the stairs that made an image of the TC logo. Similar to the Target logo decals on the aisles at Target Center.
I passed by Gate 3 today, and the decals have since been removed.

Ramp A and Ramp C are both $13.00 while Ramp B is $15.00. Hawthorne is $10.00 for night games and $15.00 for day games.

I've parked in C for a couple games, and probably will continue to do so, now that my "backup" surface lot on 4th between Nicollet and Marquette is being turned into the Nic365 apartment building.
I find exiting Ramp C is easy, as it pretty much exits right onto I 94/394.

Dayton's ramp $6 after 4 PM and good way for old farts to get a walk in!

I always park on the street for $5.00

I have never been a big fan of light rail for Twins games. It's OK for Vikings games when the weather is colder and parking is much more expensive.

Rick said it best, you either need to leave the game early or you end up waiting a long time on the platform. You could also go to a bar/restaurant to kill an hour. But by that time, most people are tired and just want to get home.

When I last rode the light rail from Target Field to MOA it took about 45 minutes from the time the train left the Target Field Station to the time it stopped at the MOA. Is this still the norm? In that same time, I can be more than 1/2 way home if I drive.

I think the LRT has sort of lost its selling point of being on time more often than none. "So frequent you wont need a schedule". Sure. Right.
LRT is nothing more than a glorified bus route on rails. Especially is that true for the Green Line, since it shares the road and doesn't have right-of-way like the Blue Line does. Blue Line doesn't have ROW downtown or in Bloomington, but once out of downtown, it moves fairly efficiently. Or at least I think it still does.

Might want to eat out before heading to TF?

Might want to eat out before heading to TF?

The way they keep the "dollar dogs" is suspect.

Doesn't surprise me one bit with the concessions at Target Field.

It seems like they have been getting worse each year as far as quality of food, quantity of food, prices, wait times, and overall service.

That has been one of my biggest complaints with the "Target Field experience" over the last 3-4 years.

And somehow they renewed the same old DNC contract. That makes literally no sense.

You get what you pay for.

That game tonight was bleepin' horrible! Failed to turn a FBI, leave bases loaded, givepitch batting practice. - that's how you lose a big lead late in a game.

Failed to turn. DP - I really hate spellcheck!

Twins match 2016 win total with 46 games to play. I had them at 70-92 to start the year, so looking like I will be way off.

Seems like it really boils down to a lack of quality pitching across the league. Doesn't seem to be as many dominant pitchers, and a lot of pitch to contact guys (the Twins staff is full of them as we know). Leads to more hard hit balls, more hits, longer at bats, etc.

I don't like to recommend it seeing what we went through in the early 2000s, but seems like one solution would be to contract the league a bit. Tampa and Miami are baseball wastelands, so they would be #1 on my list.

I agree with StevieB, I wouldn't object to contraction if I were on the MLB BOG's.
Your right, Tampa and Miami are both baseball wastelands. For good measure I might even throw Oakland and Arizona in that group as well.
Arizona only because of the current unresolved problems with Chase Field. But I can't imagine the DBacks are much of an attendance giant, regardless of whether Chase was in good condition or not.

I thought about adding Oakland but couldn't come up with a fourth team to add to that. AZ is actually #21 in attendance this year, ahead of the Twins, Pittsburgh and Cleveland to name a few. The bottom four (average attendance) are W Sox, Miami, Oakland and Tampa, in that order.

The D-backs might make an attractive target based on their current situation, but working in their favor is the fact they probably draw fans from "all over" in that the retirees, etc who are fans of other teams come to D-backs home games when their team is in town.

Right sizing, contraction, yes. I realize it won't likely happen but I think a case can be made for it. I wasn't in favor of the Florida expansions as it was, because I thought there was a good likelihood of having poor attendance in both markets. That has pretty much been the case over their histories.

Subtracting two teams won't help a lot for pitching, as it only spreads 10 starting pitchers and 14-16 bullpen guys to the rest of the league. I do think it could help though. I feel the same way about the NFL and quarterbacks (Jacksonville anyone?)

You're probably right about the D-Backs and attendance from all over. They probably attract fans from Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, states that really don't have MLB nearby. Kinda the same with the Twins. I imagine (I could be wrong) folks from ND, SD, Iowa might take a day trip to come see a game.

Pitching is most definitely NOT better. In fact, it's the worst since 2007. I agree, that is the reason games are longer. More balls, more hits, more home runs, more runs, more trips to the mound, more pitching changes = longer innings = longer games.
MLB ERA's since 2000
2017 - 4.34
2016 - 4.18
2015 - 3.96
2014 - 3.74
2013 - 3.86
2012 - 4.01
2011 - 3.94
2010 - 4.07
2009 - 4.31
2008 - 4.32
2007 - 4.46
2006 - 4.52
2005 - 4.28
2004 - 4.46
2003 - 4.40
2002 - 4.27
2001 - 4.41
2000 - 4.76

Sorry, Rick, but I call bullshit. The "gold standard" of pitching is ERA and for batting is batting average. Since 2000 in MLB:
Year/ERA/BA
2017 - 4.34/.324
2016 - 4.18/.255
2015 - 3.96/.254
2014 - 3.74/.314
2013 - 3.86/.253
2012 - 4.01/.254
2011 - 3.94/.255
2010 - 4.07/.255
2009 - 4.31/.262
2008 - 4.32/.262
2007 - 4.46/.268
2006 - 4.52/.269
2005 - 4.28/.269
2004 - 4.46/.266
2003 - 4.40/.264
2002 - 4.27/.264
2001 - 4.41/.264
2000 - 4.76/.270

However your look at it, pitching is the much worse this year than in recent years, resulting in better BA's. If the question is why are MLB games longer this year: poor pitching. I watch about 40 games from start to finish each year -- complete MLB games -- and I can tell you, it's the pitching that has gotten worse. Unless you have similar stats of watching that amount of games, I don't think you can argue with me.

2017 - 4.34/.324

Sorry, but I call BS on this antifire. Regardless of how effective BA is at measuring hitters, there is NO WAY the league-wide batting average, three-quarters of the way through the season, is .324. That has to be a mistake.

Batters are getting much stronger, and can make better contact.

I think it's time to raise the mound again. Not a lot, how about 2 inches? Give a bit of an edge back to the pitchers.

Watching 8 to 6 games with 11 pitching changes gets old after a while.

Think about free agency and trade deadlines. It is generally the pitchers that are most highly pursued.

I wonder how seriously and how often mlb has discussed raising the mound a bit. Probably won't happen because it seems home runs and hitting stats are a much bigger focal point.

Today's 12:10 start went on as scheduled :(.
#longridehome.

Did the Twins close off the 2nd and 3rd Decks tonight? Deep cleaning the concession stands? ;)

Talk about the pace of game...3:53?
For 9 innings?
No rain issues?
And the Yankees nor the Red Sox were nowhere near TF?

My bad on the 2017 batting average. It's currently .255.

I was at that four hour snooze fest yesterday afternoon. 19 strikeouts and two runners thrown out on the bases. Only six batters were out on balls put in play!

Yes, they closed the upper decks right before the nightcap last night. I also went to the noon game for a bit before going back to work. The 73 pitch first inning lasted almost an hour alone! Lots of full counts, foul balls and loaded bases!

Even though I was rooting Tribe, Slegers looked good. Too bad he got lifted so early (I didn't notice a pitch count.) I saw him pitch there in 2013 when he was with Indiana in the Big Ten tournament.

Oh, and Terry, you forgot to mention that it was Mauer who was thrown out at the plate both times!

There is no joy in TwinsVille.
Ballparkmagic.com is quiet.
All the Twin Cities stadia have been built.
Kent Hrbek, what the hell do we do now?

Anyone else see that Trevor Plouffe was DFA'd by the Rays?

That's now two teams to cut ties with him within 3 months.

The Athletics DFA'd him on June 15.

If he was still with the Twins, he would be the every day 3B and a fan favorite....Thankfully, Lavine and Falvey decided to cut ties with him after the 2016 season.

Add him to the list of players that the Twins kept around for far too long. I never understood why so many fans loved him when he was average at best.

Lew Ford might know.....

Lew Ford is another great example!

Has anyone been tracking the progress of the Vikings campus in Eagan?

And besides that, we have a ballclub that is in the playoff hunt, warts and all. They may or may not make it, but isn't this what we all want every season? Playing for something in August and September? It certainly beats watching them lose time and again.

I took a gander at the webcam tonight. Looks like a lot of progress has been made.
Also seems that the USBS archive webcam stuff is no longer available on the webpage.

I don't think it has to be an either/or. Pitching has gotten worse, hitting has gotten better. As a result, games are longer. Whatever it is, I'm all for taking steps to decrease length of games. Pitch clock, limiting trips to the mound (by catchers and infielders), enforcing staying in the box rules all seem like good steps to me.

New pricing scheme announced on StarTribune.com.

They found a way to raise prices on the seats people want but lower those no one does so they can say the average stayed the same.

Congrats on the amazing view of the eclipse, Rick! Unfortunately, I did not have that kind of view, where I was we were fighting clouds all morning. But, even through the clouds, it was still really cool.

Inevitable I guess.

I'm waiting for the $6 General Admission seats to come at some point.

Those uniforms tonight are beyond beer league softball; I don't know, maybe Roller Derby?

I was sorta hoping Colon woulda put "Big Sexy" on his. Mauer didnt dissapoint...didnt put ANY nickname on back of his. That I saw he was only player on either team that didnt put a nickname/homage to another player (I noticed some players including Colon put other players names on their backs). He shoulda put Bi Lateral in his back.

Anyone else getting tired of all of these uniform gimmicks?

What once was just Memorial Day, 4th of July, Mother's Day and Father's Day is now turning into 3-4 day weekends of wearing this stuff.

I understand the whole "player's weekend" thing but do you really need to wear them the entire weekend? Why not have each team pick a game or two on their home schedule to wear these.

As far as 4th of July and Memorial Day, a simple flag patch on the uniform would be more than adequate. Sometimes less is more.

Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, all teams wore a US Flag Patch on the back of the jersey. It was a very simple but very powerful tribute. Now we have all of this "patriotic" merchandise which is anything but patriotic.

End of uniform-related rant.

The "Morales" on Colon's jersey was actually a tribute to his mother. I noticed the lack of a nickname for Mauer and thought it was a poor decision. Have a little fun Joe.

I've gotten a little bored with the Memorial Day, July 4, etc (although I thought this year's version of the July 4 unis were FAR better than any of the others for any prior holiday weekend).

I thought this past weekend was a fun way to tie in MLB to the Little League World Series (along with last Sunday night game in PA). It serves MLB and other sports well to have a little fun on the field.

* Do you think MLB would have approved "Baby Jesus"?
* Uffda's suggestion of "Bi Lateral" would have been excellent.
* The Pirates and Cardinals playing in Williamsport at Bowman Field was a wonderful gesture and great PR move. Looking at the images on Twitter of the MLB players on the team buses, taking selfies with the kids and letting them wear World Series rings was great.

Hmmm...I'm not MLB top brass but I don't think Baby jesus would have been allowed.

Question: did any of you watch the opening game from mercedes benz stadium in Atlanta? Just from the pictures, it seems like it is already miles ahead of USBS in terms of technology, design and a whole bunch of other things.
And that roof.

I know it was 400 million more than USBS, but I'm afraid with MBS, and new ones in LA and Vegas coming soon, USBS will be behind before too long :(.

Am I crazy?

Stop worrying about it Luke. USBS is what it is (and will hopefully have ongoing improvements), but the next palace in another city will likely have this, that and the other thing that was not contemplated for USBS. If you buy a new car and six months later your neighbor gets one that costs more and has things you wish you had, it doesn't mean your car isn't still functional and a good car.

Point taken.

While it royally sucks that tomorrow is September 1 and we didn't even remotely have summer, it's gratifying to know that today, is the LAST getaway weekday game of 2017 at TF!
YAY!
Now the Vikings can suck, Fleck can sink the boat and all that other shit we deal with around here this time of year.

Unless, dare I say Luke, the Twins make the playoffs and host a game in the afternoon...

First 20 win month since 1991. The trade of Garcia after one start may have actually HELPED the Twins as he has an ERA over 5 with the Yanks and has not helped them at all. The bullpen still scares me and there is no true closer. The bats and defense are really alive right now though.

Has there been an MLB playoff game in the day in the last 20-some years?
Actually, I thought the Twins/Jays game 2 during the 1991 ALCS was the last day game in the MLB Playoffs?
I know the Twins played in the last day WS game in 1987...Game 6 against the Cards.

There are day games every year in the playoffs (not the WS). In the division series when there are four different series going there are usually a few days with an earlier start time. Last year there was a 4:30 eastern game on a Thurs, and a 1pm and 4:30 pm on Fri (4 pm and later isn't quite a day game, but not quite an evening game either, and likely to be a good commute buster for you). There are also several ALCS/NLCS games with 4 pm (EST) weekday starts.

When the Twins clinched the 2002 divisional series at Oakland, it was a day game. It was incorrectly dramatized as a night game in the movie "Moneyball." The movie also incorrectly gave Corey Koskie credit for catching the pop foul to seal the win, instead of Denny Hocking who actually caught it. Details, details.

Has anyone else noticed that Jack Morris has not been on the air with FS North in several weeks? We have been getting a heavy dose of Laudner and some Smalley. Did Morris get suspended or something and we just didn't hear anything? Unless he worked the last White Sox-Twins series, I have not seen him on the air in probably 4 weeks.

Wish the same could be said for Blyleven.

I wish I could say the same for Bremer. He actually used the term "this magical ride" to describe our season.

I am excited that it appears several players have had breakout seasons this year-primarily Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Berrios. Mauer has had a resurgence and Dozier has shown that last year was no fluke when it comes to power and is on pace for 30-35 HR. We actually have a chance to have 5 players w/ 20 or more HR which we havent had around here for a long long time considering we broke modern era MLB record for most seasons of not even having a single player hit 20.

That being said I hesitate to call this season "a magical ride"-we are on the right path and I am actually seeing signs of progress which I could not say from 2011-2016. We are a few games over .500, we have a tendency this last month to win games w/ a semi retired 46 yr old pitching and a guy w/ a 5.60 ERA and lose games in which both Berrios and Santana are pitching which is perplexing to say the least. We have 1 winning streak over 5 games on the year. The Indians are on a 11 game win streak and are leading the AL Central by 9 games yet KFAN pronounced the Twins as one of the best teams in baseball right now.

The Angels picked up Juston Upton for a playoff push and now have Trout back healthy. I actually do think for this year Twins did right thing by using a hands off approach...by doing so Falvey got to see what we should all already know-Perkins is done. He was done 2 years ago.

If we actually do make the playoffs as a wildcard I dont feel we would get past the first round anyways-I would rather see what we got now..and this is coming from someone who bitches on this site all the time about being patient (with all our teams) for 25 years or more.

So Bremer-I once again say get off the kool aid about "magical rides"...PS-I have a feeling Sano wont be back this year.

Bremer bothers me as well because he is such a homer. He is on the Twins payroll though and is clearly told to be positive so you can hardly blame the guy. He is doing what the Twins want him to do and isn't going anywhere.
This makes me wonder where the heck Jack Morris has been. He is the only one on TV that tells it like it is and can be critical of the Twins. I really enjoyed his honestly knowledge. I guess the Twins don't care for that perspective and only want homers on the broadcast.

I am listening on radio- I wonder what Bremer has to say about our magical ride as we are being no hit in the 7th inning? Got to hand it to Big Sexy though--wish the other pitchers could learn to pitch like they dont care whats going on around them and still get people out...so long as he doesnt teach them pregame eating habits.

And I thought Commish Manfred was trying to...shorten games?

Twins 2018 schedule now available. Opening Day Thursday, March 29 at Baltimore. Home opener on Thursday, April 5 vs Seattle. Twins will have a "home 2-game series" vs. Cleveland in San Juan, Puerto Rico in April.

Didn't they do that this season as well?
Why Puerto Rico?
Is this a test market for expansion?

Luke, it was announced earlier this year but 2018 will be the first games. Puerto Rico is a major talent pool for MLB, and along with that comes a big fan base. I don't think there would be expansion there, but it is a marketing tool for MLB into the area.

Makes sense for the Twins for a number of reasons. Playing two "home" games in tropical climates rather than in the April weather of MN, and likely having bigger crowds. Putting their team out in front of all the young players in the area might plant seeds in future prospects who are not subject to the draft and can sign with any teams.

According to Twins statitician on Fox last night no team in MLB history has ever hit home runs in each of the first 6 innings. The Twins hit HR's in each of the first SEVEN innings last night. I didnt see that record mentioned on Sports Center or on the scroll line probably because Twins broadcasters like to bring up records that most of society doesnt really follow....like when Gimenez broke the all time MLB record for pitching appearances in a season by a non pitching position player (5) and it was still only mid May.

Gotta say I really don't understand some of the negativity towards the Twins broadcasters. Do you really think it is that different than any other teams in that respect? When you have 3+ hours to fill it is nearly inevitable that these little tidbits are brought up. MLB mentions it in their stories, Elias Sports researches, verifies, and sends out a lot of that data. It's all over the place. Is it a major news story like a 56 game hitting streak or a 20 game win streak (is there anything to stop Cleveland this year?!?)? No, but it is part of the natural broadcast of a game.

Harry Caray was the last of the breed of broadcasters who could openly criticize the team for whom he was broadcasting. He got away with it because he was Harry Caray. The reality is a team's broadcaster is going to be a homer because it's part of the job description.

I miss Harry Caray.
I just wish he had been here to see the Cubbies win last year.
I believe 2017 has been 20 years since he died? I remember watching his funeral service on WGN Superstation. It seems like just yesterday.

The 1-2 pitch with 2 out in the bottom of the 5th was borderline, but the 2-2 pitch was strike 3. I know missed calls even out over the course of a season, but they never seem to even out against the Yankees.

Agree Terry. Not ringing him up on that pitch was a terrible miss. Twins have to score more than two though. Hitting into a DP with bases full no outs in first was a big letdown.

fan hit by foul ball at Yankee Stadium yesterday

I would say more likely a **no** post-season run.

I'm amazed they still can't even compete against the Yankees. The names on the back of the Twins jerseys can be completely different from past teams, yet the same results every year.

Kinda like the way the Dallas Mavericks are to the Twolves, the Mavs just tend to have their number, regardless of how good or bad either team is.
There was one year, the Twolves saved the Mavs fve games from having the NBA's worst single season W-L record.

The one-game wild card playoff game does nothing for me.

It will be just another postseason Twins-Yankees game that the Twins lose.

I think the Twins match up well with Cleveland, but they do not match up well with New York or Houston.

MLB needs to find a way to shorten the regular season by a few games so they can add a best of 3 or best of 5 wild card round. And with the additional wild card teams, they need to go to a more balanced schedule so these teams have more head-to-head games against each other.

Is it me or does the new renderings for the Rangers ballpark resemble:

Minute Maid Park?

Oofda. I wouldn't want to sit to the right of the batters eye there. Left field would be completely blocked.

Jesus H Christ :(.

Harold?
Who knows?

It's just a patch of dirt and some grass, Luke. By the next Twins' home game the field will look great again.

I think it's neat that Target Field hosted the Tommies and Johnies. Those kids will have memories of that game for the rest of their lives.

Couldn't the same memories have been made at USBS? An actual football stadium?

You're missing the point Rick.
There are designated areas for other events, i.e. receptions at TF, we knew this. But was not TF built as a baseball specific park? Not a multi purpose sports living room?
To illustrate the point:

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced today that their game against the Golden State Warriors in 2017, a HUGE game, will be played at Orchestra Hall. We understand that Target Center is a basketball arena and was just renovated, but we ask ourselves, "why not" Orchestra Hall?
Sure the capacity is small, but why not?
Just be careful of Balcony 3 Center....you'll need binoculars. But even the nosebleeds at Orchestra Hall will put you right on top of the action.
Hell, it's a memory these players won't soon forget. Sure they make millions. Sure they play in front of thousands of people a night and millions more on TV. But it's about the memory, right? They have nothing to show for their lives, except for that time they played a basketball game at a Symphony hall.
Act now, only 1,700 tickets are available.
Oh and you know how those damn upper bowl seats at Target Center are bolted to the cement? Not at Orchestra Hall. You can move them.
It's an NBA experience like no other.
Orchestra Hall-not built for NBA basketball, but we ask ourselves..."why not"?
Sincerely, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And that to me is how ridiculous football at TF sounds.

To answer your question about the mound, they dig it up with a small excavator and put sod in its place. They have to rebuild the mound from scratch. Head groundskeeper said it takes several tries to get it just right.

With both end zones so tight to the seats on both sides (again why I think football was a bad choice) could they safely kick PAT's and field goals? Or did they just have to do two point conversions?

A D3 football game indoors on a September afternoon? Yuck. My guess is even if USBS was available the schools would not have been as interested in that.

NDSU is hosting their 2019 season opener at Target Field. The Star Tribune is already predicting there will be a rematch of St Johns/St Thomas at TF sometime in the future. Get on board Luke! These games won't even mess up your commute.

Funny we used to ask ourselves the question (not all the time, not every season), "an MLB game indoors on a September afternoon? Yuck."
But all those years, we endured the hell out of it.

Can pretty much set my watch by it...lol.

Kinda like the pile of armageddon/doomsday predictions in 2017.

"we endured the hell out of it" That's the point Luke. Hopefully attending a sporting event is something to be enjoyed and have a great atmosphere. If there is a better option than simply enduring it, why not take advantage?

Rick- I totally agree with your statement about the media and everybody else almost certainly complaining about the lack of a retractable roof at Target Field. As we all know here that fact is the one most important reason why the ballpark is so great to attend games in. However what I wanted to point out is the fact that the weather in the Twin Cities in the fall has been a lot different the last ten years or so. It has remained warm longer into the fall than it ever did when I grew up. I remember in 2010 the day after the Yankees left town after game 2 of the playoffs it was 87 degrees that day. Sure by November 1st the weather here will probably suck for baseball, but the odds are not like they used to be many years ago.

It's October...weather will be an issue in New York, Boston, Cleveland and Chicago just as much as it will in Minneapolis.

St. Louis of all cities had game 6 of the 2011 World Series postponed.

It can be 75 degrees and sunny one day and a high of 45 with snow flurries the next day in October in Minnesota.

As for playing football in Target Field, it was in fact designed to have a soccer field and football field configuration. It's a fad right now to play these events in venues that are not normally suited to do so.

As long as fans are willing to spend money and fill the seats, we will continue to see these events until the nostalgia wears off.

Keep in mind that St. Thomas gave up a home game on campus to play this game at Target Field. It was going to be a "road" game for St. Johns regardless of the venue.

One of my favorite memories when the whole stadium issue was being made (roof or no roof-who pays, etc) was the repeated references to the Twins being a regional team and how fans from ND, SD, IA, etc come here and even repeatedly quoted fans from ND stating how much they spend here (which they do I will agree to that) and that how they are impacted if it rains or too cold.....I laughed so hard.

By that measure of arguement then they should put a dome over Mt Rushmore when I go there and spend $$$$$. I cant believe the media even introduced that arguement by putting it on the news.

Go to Weather.com--the average HI/LO for Minneapolis is not measurably different than NY, BOS, CHI, DET, CLE in April and Oct. If March and Nov were introduced then yes that is when we are noticebly colder but the average high here Apr and Oct is within 5 degrees of those other cities. But the PERCEPTION is that playing here is like the arctic. And it really isnt a home field advantage--I was at game a few years ago when it snowed (heavily at times) while playing the Tampa Bay Rays, the crowd roared to life.... and we lost by over 10 runs.

Every time a hurricane blows up the east coast I like to ask why Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park don't have roofs.

Ok, we're in. Let's finally beat the Yankees in the post season. ;)

We didn't expect this in the offseason. We didn't expect it after spring training. Certainly didn't expect it after that terrible series vs Houston at Target Field. Management wrote them off at the trading deadline and they looked to be heading the wrong direction with a bad series in Oakland. Since then there have been some impressive performances on the field - pitching, hitting, defense all doing what was needed to start winning on a regular basis and building a gap to the trailing teams.

Yeah, it's the second wild card spot in an year when maybe the league wasn't as strong (or was there just that much parity?!?). The Twins are in the playoffs, and anything can happen in a one game series. Congrats Twins!

Rick,

If I recall correctly, there were two playoff games at Target Field in 2010. We actually had home field advantage. Didn't help though.

First team to lose 100 games previous year and make the playoffs! Hopefully another Worst to First like in 1991! Congrats!

When we were doing predictions at the beginning of the season, did anyone think this team could make the playoffs?

I know I sure didn't - I expected them to lose over 90 games again.

I don't think it's a record by any stretch but I believe this post has lasted from the first game of the 2017 season, to the last.

I had them at 70-92...regarding Gimenez I was thinking to myself last night it is nice to have a guy on the team that just looks like someone u would meet up north at a hunting lodge or bar. He played in World Series last year w/ Indians. He reminds me of the Phillies team that went to World Series w/ John Kruk or more recently the Red Sox.

Its nice to see guys on the team that have PASSION like Gimenez and Dozier ---and like the Twins of old w/ Puck, Hrbek, Bruno, Gaetti before he found God, Jack Morris, Gladden....as opposed to the "aw shucks we lost again hey guys who wants to play some poker and then grab some dinner?" group.

Im serious- I've heard from Gladden that he used to go in the clubhouse after (another) loss and it was all smile, rap music blaring, no one cared. Sorta like in Money Ball that scene where Beane smashes the stereo.

Holy enthusiasm, batman. This team is, what, 7 games over .500? And there are only FIVE teams in the American League above .500, so the competition hasn't been so tough. I think we are WAY over inflating this team's accomplishments this year. Yes, it's a pleasant surprise that they acquired a WILD CARD spot. But some of you are acting like this team is destined for the WS. I'll take the field, thank you very much.

TTH

But that's what Minnesota does TTH. We've been so dull in sports for so long (with the exception of the Lynx), any glimmer of even dire hope just sends us aflutter...

Yeah, I suppose you're right. We should be all doom and gloom and disappointed the Twins have had a season well beyond anything predicted. I think we realize the odds and the talent are heavily against this team in the postseason. The games are played between the white lines and not on paper, so I will enjoy this season for what it has been, and until they are eliminated I will be hoping that we continue to be surprised.

If nothing else, it gives a good outlook for next year. Sign a top line starting pitcher and a few fireballers in the bullpen and they will be contenders. Will the Pohlads spend big bucks on a starting pitcher though? They are close now!!! Break even one or two years Pohlads and go for it for once. Seemed to work out well back in 1991 (Jack Morris, Chili Davis).

I agree, it was a down year for the AL but it's still very impressive to earn a postseason berth after losing 100+ games the previous year.

Outside of Cleveland, the AL Central was horrible this year.

The Twins record against the other AL teams in the postseason:

Yankees 2-4
Red Sox 2-5
Indians 7-12
Astros 1-5

I will say anything is possible in a one-game wild card playoff, but the Twins were not very good against the top teams this year. They basically beat the teams who they needed to beat and at the end of the season, they happened to be the #2 wild card team.

Teams like Texas, Anaheim, Kansas City, Toronto and Baltimore all struggled this year paving the way for the Twins to take control of that 2nd wild card spot and they did just that.

At the game tonight. Some observations:
Everybody Clap Your Hands is still "a thing".
You can see where the damn gridiron was.
The St Thomas logo is still visible.
Thrice thus far people have shouted "touchdown".
Twice now people have yelled "Go Vikings".
There is a general disinterest amongst the fans here. They're all meandering about in the concourses.
Personally, I'm waiting for a revolving door to make my ears pop.
So, really, how is TF at all different from the Dome?

I do like the new LED lights. The pulsating is cool. I thought they would do more when Twins HR's are hit (which they did back to back HR's to get themselves back in the game early on).
Seems the light pollution is less than the old lights. You can actually see the other lights on buildings in DT Mpls.
Twins up 5-3, top of the 5th.

Luke- I hope your comment about the Dome and Target Field were a joke. As we all know the Metrodome was the worst baseball venue of all time to experience a baseball game, and Target Field is one of the better ballpark experiences in all of baseball. Comparing the game day experience of one to the other is not even close. I could go on more about the actual stadium differences, but we all already know what they are.

It actually wasn't Tom.
Everything I said.
Tell me, out of everything I mentioned up there, with the exception of no roof, better lighting and better video boards, how is that experience different from the Dome?

I forgot to mention we were in the Skyline Deck yesterday. It was mostly full of loud, drunk and stoned high school kids acting like five year olds. Upper General Admission, anybody?

I actually missed the Dome last night. At least there, I could move seats.

Maybe time to switch TF to HHHJr?

At the game now. While waiting at the gate to get in, the ticket lady randomly mentioned to us that gate 34 is going to get and overhaul this offseason, with the big updates being a new canopy and the ticket scanning pedestals. She didnt know if anything else in the ballpark was getting an upgrade.

"Ticket scanning pedestals"?
Like the ones at USBS?
Not sure how I feel about those. Costs the jobs of a whole bunch of ticket takers.

Welp, I don't really believe in omens, but, today, 30 years later, the Twins finished with a record of 85-77, the same as they did in 1987.

Here's a question: Do they add a new colored pennant in left field for theWild Card? How might they fly it? No open poles out there. Second row, starting under 1965?

Can Luke finally be blocked Rick?

Why? Just for asking a question about scanning towers?

Just for being you, or maybe because you pissed and moaned about a little white paint from a football field still being visible on a baseball field. I'm kinda messing with you, but I have noticed a pattern were I can read the the first sentence, and without looking down to see who posted, can correctly predict it was Luke. I'm looking for a publisher, Rick writes books, I want mine published! "Lukisms: The thoughts from one concert,football and roof hating Commuter"

More update news:

They are going to all electronic season ticketing next season, (without looking back through the thread, we all knew this already, correct?), the lady in my previous post did make it sound like ALL tickets would be that way.

But also i think we all talked about this already too (we got an email about it today):

As a valued Season Ticket Holder we wanted to share this news with you first. For the start of the 2018 season, the space currently known as the Metropolitan Club will be re-branded and fully remodeled with an updated look. In addition, the space will be accessible from the main concourse and open to the playing field thanks to the installation of operable glass.

In conjunction with this renovation, all fans will have access to this new destination inside Target Field. Please know we remain committed to establishing Season Ticket Holder priority within the new space. Starting in 2018, all Season Ticket Holders will have exclusive reservation access for pre-game meals within four weeks of any game date. In addition the Season Ticket Holder 10% Sweet Spot discount will be applicable for all orders.

So I guess we WON'T be going to wrestle mania whenever it comes here Jojo? :(.

The electronic ticket thing isn't bad. I assume the Twins will be distributting those tickets thru the MLB Ballpark app (can't remember what has been discussed ) or will the Twins launch their own?
Just as long as it isn't FlashSeats.

And of course, makes street scalpers, a staple in the sports world, all the more obsolete.

The only reputable source for buyers these days is Stubhub anyway. It's just too convenient and secure for buyers to mess around with other sources. But to your point, this will be one more mechanism of control the team has over tickets, which I agree I don't like.

Also they are changing the corner seats in that gate 34 corner as well. The goal is to relieve the log jam in that corner. They know the Great Clips section is a loser, but I'm not sure how much, if any of that, goes in this remodel. Seats in the back of 101 probably do go, though.

The print at home option was ushering street scalpers out due to the ease of reprinting and selling the same ticket over and over by scammers. Way too many dishonest people in that market (not all of them by any means, but the bad ones give the good ones a huge black eye).

I'm holding out hope Rick. I wouldn't call it a high level of excitement for sure. If the Twins were to start building a lead the excitement would ramp, but I will still have to hold on until the final out to really believe it.

While it was not the outcome we had hoped for, the 2017 Twins will go down as one of the more exciting teams to watch. A very resilient bunch of guys. Each time we thought they were out, they would find ways to come back and win games. They played great baseball in August and September. A Breakout year for All-Star Sano. Watching the likes of Rosario, Escobar, Buxton, Kepler, and Polanco all have great years. Dozier had another great year too. Even Joe Mauer quietly had a very good year, one of the best of his career.

Pitching has been and was this team's biggest weakness and it showed in the Wild Card game. This team definitely needs to upgrade their pitching if they want to win more games. It was a down year in the AL with just 5 teams finishing above .500 and you can be sure there will be a lot of improved teams next year.

While they struggled against the top teams in the league, they still beat the teams they needed to beat down the stretch.

Yankees 2-4
Red Sox 2-5
Indians 7-12
Astros 1-5

As a fan, all you can ask for is your team to be playing competitive and meaningful games in August and September and this 2017 Twins team did just that.

It will be interesting how they upgrade their pitching but it will more than likely involve trading one or two of our starters as well as some prospects.

A year ago, this team played horribly and had a lot of bad luck to accompany it. This year, the team played better than the mean, and had a lot of good luck to accompany it. I expect next year it will land somewhere in the middle, as we all know this team isn't going to go out and get ace pitching.

TTH

There isn't a team in the league that doesn't want more pitching. It's a premium position, and good pitchers are hard to find - and therefore cost money. Hopefully the Twins can pick up a pitcher or two in the off season.

This was a surprise season, for sure. First team ever to lose 100 games and make the playoffs the next season.

I hope they give Paul Molitor a new contract. He's earned it, getting a lot out of a bunch of young players with minimal experience.

In addition, the space will be accessible from the main concourse and open to the playing field thanks to the installation of operable glass.

It will be interesting to see how they accomplish making the Metropolitan Club directly accessible from the main concourse, while also carrying out the previously stated goal of reducing the logjam between gates 29 and 34...

Go Lynx!

The Lynx got the job done :).

Have a couple friends that are high ups in the Twolves organization so been seeing some great photos of the Target Center renovation.
The place looks like a brand new arena.
Very clean look both inside and out.
Makes me want to go to a Wolves game, not for the Wolves but just to go see Target Center.

What happened here? Did Ticketmaster put you in a seat behind the stage by accident?

OK, last one, I promise
take a looky at this

How convenient that the team will open yet another under-performing revenue generating area up to more people, this allowing them to make money on their goodwill to "the people".

I don't know about anyone else, but I wasn't all too thrilled with the Metro Club experience.
Yes, the one time I went there it was 95 out and it was nice to have AC inside rather than sizzling outside (first world problems, I know).
We had a great view for the game. Didn't have to worry about getting up for people walking thru the aisles.
But, $34.95 per person for the buffet?
And it wasn't terrific IMO.
So given that they are opening it for all, I wonder what the food options will be.
If the buffet will go and basic TF fare will find its way in there.
The drink rails are cool.
But even with that, seems to me that they're kinda bringing the Budweiser Roof Deck down to the 200 level. The BRD is basically a gathering spot and not for they who pay attention to the game.
Sure, maybe the Metro Club is kinda the same thing. Basically one huge mega-suite filled with STH's who don't care. Now it'll just be open to all 38,000 people.

Thanks for that Target Center pic, Luke. First time I've seen the new floor.

It will become a bar and concession stand soon. Count on it.

You're welcome j2k.
It reminds me a little of the first floor they used when the Wolves first began, nice and simple.
No parquet. No two-tone finish. Nothing flashy.

It's a bit of a stretch but if Bears beat the Vikes tomorrow night local girl Judy Garland came close to predicting this past week in MN Sports 78 years ago when, as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, she said: "Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my!." We can excuse her for getting Tigers and Yankees mixed up. The correct announcement should have been "Lions and Yankees and Terrapins and Red Wings and Boilermakers and Hurricanes and Bears.......oh my." That is of course assuming that the Vikings (1-9 last 10 trips to Soldier) lose on national tv to a shitty team w/ a rookie QB but that would never happen of course.

I don't like the idea of opening up the Metropolitan Club to everyone. Just another devaluation of the benefits of being a season ticket holder.

Exactly right on jfh.

I'm sure the team response is that ticket prices (in the LC anyway) have stayed level for the eight seasons, and we should be grateful for that.

Twins re-sign Paul Molitor for three more years. Yea!

And more sub-par baseball and missing the playoffs for three more years. Yea!

And no, one game to decide if you fit in the last possible spot in said playoffs is NOT the playoffs.

Luke - would your choice have been to fire Molitor and start over again? Would your call have been different if the Twins had beaten NY in the wild card game? Who would be your top three options to replace him?

Well, now you put it that way...
Would it have been different if they had won the WC game? I suppose it would depend on how far we went after the fact.

Luke -

any TC pictures that haven't been posted on twitter?

Not that I've seen. Been pretty slow. They're probably almost about to wrap it up at TC. Twolves first game is just a few days away

So the team betters their record from prior year by 26 games, the manager has winning record in two of three seasons despite big holes in the team, gets much mention in manager of the year conversation and you want to let him walk. In Sports Illustrated season preview the opinion of some scouts was that the Twins could be the worst team in the majors this year. It's your opinion, but I would like to hear the rationale. And who you would install as the manager.

Of course, this article was posted before the playoffs and today's news but there is a mention here of Molitor possibly being on the hot seat.
Their logic is that he really doesn't have "ties with the new powers that be".
But, MY thinking is that maybe we would need a new face altogether, one that isn't familiar with "the Twins Way", the same way Gardy was. The same way Molitor was.

The "Twins way" has gotten them to the tip of the playoffs since the 2000s. And nothing more. Just a string of early exits from the ALDS, and a couple Tiebreakers.

On the other hand...it's not so much the player at the table as it is the cards he is dealt and has to play with.

Well its clear luke isn't running the team. Molly gets 3 years and Neil Allen is gone.

That's pretty much exactly what I expected you to say Luke, and it baffles me. We have a good manager and core of the team in place but so many say "fire him, he's too associated with the history of the team" regardless of what the team has done under his leadership. I just don't get that sentiment.

The needs of the team are glaring at this point - starting and relief pitching. I think the team is in position to make some moves to remedy that this offseason. Whether or not any of the top options will want to play in MN remains to be seen. That is part of the cards we are dealt here. If the money offered is equal, we aren't NY, LA or Boston (as examples). I would much rather spend my summer here over any of those places, but convincing the family of a millionaire to do that might take some work.

Did anyone have a favorite Neil Allen moment??

As for Molitor, I get so sick and tired of everyone wanting to fire the manager or coach to only start over. Molitor has exceeded expectations in 2 of his 3 years as manager.

The Twins lost to the Yankees because of pitching, plain and simple. Further proof of this...MIN 4 NY Yankees 8...two days later....CLE 4 NY Yankees 0...The offense did their job to spark the team during the top of the 1st inning but Santana and Berrios didn't pitch well enough for the Twins to win that one-game playoff.

The defense and base-running has improved under Molitor and the offense had a great year. Rosario, Buxton, Sano, Dozier, Mauer, Escobar, and Kepler all had very good seasons.

And the "Twins Way" is a thing of the past....at least offensively. This team hit a lot of home runs this year.

Did anyone have a favorite Neil Allen moment??

As for Molitor, I get so sick and tired of everyone wanting to fire the manager or coach to only start over. Molitor has exceeded expectations in 2 of his 3 years as manager.

The Twins lost to the Yankees because of pitching, plain and simple. Further proof of this...MIN 4 NY Yankees 8...two days later....CLE 4 NY Yankees 0...The offense did their job to spark the team during the top of the 1st inning but Santana and Berrios didn't pitch well enough for the Twins to win that one-game playoff.

The defense and base-running has improved under Molitor and the offense had a great year. Rosario, Buxton, Sano, Dozier, Mauer, Escobar, and Kepler all had very good seasons.

And the "Twins Way" is a thing of the past....at least offensively. This team hit a lot of home runs this year.

I think it's funny how so many people are saying that the Washington Nationals are cursed...try being a Minnesota Twins fan...losing 13 consecutive postseason games. Only one postseason series win since 2002 (2002 ALDS).

At least the Nationals have won some postseason games...In 3 of their 4 NLDS appearances, they have gone to a decisive game 5.
The Twins can't even get past game 3...the last time they have won a single postseason game was game 1 of the 2004 ALDS.

Regarding the Budweiser Roof Deck from a few posts up, I had a chance to see a game up there in 2009 when they sold tickets to general fans for Sunday and Weekday afternoon games. I'm not sure if they still do. It's interesting as a concept, but not a great place to watch a game due to the height and some or all action being out of sight unless at the railing.

I suppose you can only do what you can afford, but considering that the Milwaukee Bucks are getting a new arena in 2018-19 and their home Bradley Center is only two years older than Target Center, it's surprising the Timberwolves didn't push for either a new building or improvements that are much more substantial. The seats might be new, but they also will have the same tight leg room, especially upstairs. Concourse width will likely still be narrow as well although even last season you could see that they were in the process of stealing back some blocked off space in different areas in order to get more room for everyone. Glen Taylor made an attempt at setting up an eventual sale a few years ago. It fell through and he's decided to keep the team. However, eventually a sale will occur and it'll be interesting to see the attitude of the new owners towards the arena situation. Moving to the Xcel Energy Center isn't a simple solution anymore either.

The Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons have both moved into the new Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons gave up on the Palace of Auburn Hills in the distant suburbs despite it being an arena truly ahead of its time when it opened in 1988, having common ownership with the team, and getting something like $200,000,000 of improvements since 2005. LCA is so advanced that the Pistons/Palace saw that so many events would be lost to it that it was better to get a good lease agreement and sell the Palace and its location for industrial redevelopment (it's in a great location for that).

I am weeks behind, but Luke mentioned in jest that the Timberwolves would play some games at Orchestra Hall. A couple of years ago the New York Liberty of the WNBA played a number of games at Radio City Music Hall due to Madison Square Garden being closed for renovations. The court was placed right on the stage.

New York Liberty at Radio City Music Hall

I remember when the Liberty did that.

Rick,

Why do you say pitching is the Twins problem?

Tom

Well, a precedent has been set.

There is growing steam that MLB is looking at adding teams in Montreal and Portland and they would "radically realign" into 4 divisions and go to a 156 game regular season schedule. This would be terrible for Twins fans and make no sense at all for Minnesota. Can you imagine playing all of your divisional road games in the eastern time zone with a majority of 6pm local start times? Facing the Red Sox, Mets and Yankees so frequently? Just makes no sense and I hope there is no substance to this plan. MLB needs to figure out Oakland, Miami and Tampa Bay before expanding.

East: Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Washington.

North: Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Montreal, both New York franchises and Toronto.

Midwest: Both Chicago franchises, Colorado, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Texas.

West: Anaheim, Arizona, Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/expansion-trigger-realignment-longer-postseason/#WoA7zoEUUJZ5WU59.97

For the record, while they can't fill it, Miami built a new ballpark a couple years ago. It hosted this year's ASG.
Miami has been "figured out".

If you thought Atlanta was bad in terms of stadium not having much longevity, get a load of this:
The Columbus Crew, a charter member of the MLS in 1998, want OUT of Macfre Stadium, built in 1999, and are talking about moving to Austin TX.
like, really?

A new ballpark does not mean the situation is figured out Luke. If they can't fill it there is a big issue there. Low attendance means likely selling off top players and running a small operation. That probably leads to even lower attendance and a dismal situation.

There isn't enough pitching depth in MLB as it is. Two more teams will make it even worse (and worse pitching leads to longer games, which is the opposite of what they are trying to do). There doesn't seem to be too much fan support in Miami or Tampa, so move those teams to Portland/Montreal. I'm not convinced Montreal is a great idea either. A lot of players don't want to play in Toronto due to the exchange rates and other factors. Montreal would be more of the same.

Per the Star Tribune, Ray Crump Sr passed away on Wednesday at the age of 81. He was Twins equipment manager from 1961 until 1984 and ran the Dome Souvenirs Plus museum/store across from the Metrodome.

Dome Souvenirs Plus was an interesting walk-thru. I'd been there a couple times.

Haven't seen an official announcement, but looking like Gardy may be the next manager of the Tigers. Hopefully he has his health issues behind him and can do well (just not well enough to beat out the Twins).

Has anyone else gotten beat up by the re-jiggering of seating areas and price levels? My seats (206) are now considered "Diamond Terrace" rather than "Field Terrace" and the result is an increase of $80 per seat for a 20 game package. And, of course, it's the furthest out section of the renamed area which means I'm about seven seats away from my old price. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

it's official for Gardy

I haven't paid alot of attention to the TF pricing chart for a while. But I'm seeing some strange things on here.
The View Level is also split between Diamond View and Field View, just as with the Terrace level as Ben mentioned.
Why are the box seats (Diamond, Field, Dugout, etc) in the 100 level three shades? Is that to mean various pricing between the Value, Elite, Premium dynamic pricing structure or are there three price levels in those sections, regardless of the dynamic pricing?
Maybe this happened this season, but when did the Family Section move? It's on the third base side now. It's not two sections any more like it used to be. And is it not the Our Family Family Family Family Section anymore?

Uh, Rick.......the LCS haven't been on network TV for a while (at least three years). And TV ratings seem to be doing just fine.

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2017/10/alcs-ratings-yankees-astros-game-six-fs1/

Just sayin'.

Last time either LCS was on network TV was 2014.

Free TV is the antiquated format. The "next generation" you refer to isn't watching Free TV (which is really the "antiquated" model you refer to.). The Word Series is still what the "casual" fan wants to watch, and that IS still on Free TV. The "casual" fan is not going to be the long-term revenue generator.

Exhibit A: If your friends need to call you to find out where the game is on television, well...........

I remember when a vast majority of Twins games were on PPV. up to the time when cable finally came to the Twin Cities, which was about 1994. Then we got MSC. Our first local all sports channel.

I am assuming those 3-shades are to indicate pricing structures based on your row.

For example, Rows 1-10 $40, Rows 11-30 $35, Rows 31-40 $30

Just a guess, but that makes sense. Anyway to maximize that revenue.

Rick - unless MLB has abandoned stubhub, I don't think the all-electronic approach will kill that market. Stubhub is able to verify the tickets are valid via their association with mlb teams. Electronic or paper, the tickets could still be posted in a transaction there. What the electronic ticketing process will wipe out is the seller standing on the corner near the ballpark with a fistful of tickets. They won't have any "goods" to transfer ownership of.

STHs have had access to a portal that was linked to Stubhub for quite a while. I was part of a ST group from 2010-2013 and we could manage our "inventory" via that site, showing who had each game, etc. If we wanted to sell a game we could do so via a direct link to stubhub and didn't have to go through the steps of entering the ticket codes as our account already verified the tickets. It is a nice feature and would think that would continue to be model as long as the team and Stubhub are working together.

I would guess that new pricing scheme is to provide the urge to move up "just one step" which is a buying tendancy. Making each window a little thinner provides more temptations for people to follow their urge and spend "just another 20 bucks."

Strange seeing Gardy in his #15 Tigers jersey today.

It will be interesting if he brings back any of his former long-time coaches like Rick Anderson, Steve Liddle, Scott Ullger or Jerry White.

I wish him nothing but the best in Detroit, just not when they are playing the Twins.

My problem is that my seats are now in a new section. More money, same old seats. In other words, increased cost without increased value. And, hoping to improve during the "relocation" process is a crapshoot at best. I'm convinced the Twins hold out the more attractive available seats for new customers rather than allow longtime, loyal customers to upgrade.

I know this team had a better season in 2017 than they've had as of late, but is an expanded (or as it seems to be) pricing structure justified?
And if they ARE holding out more attractive seats for new STH's that's dumb IMO.
One wild card game isn't going to create an onslaught of new STHs. There haven't been any major acquisitions to justify an onslaught of new STH'S either.
So if that IS their reasoning, I don't know what to say.
I think I counted 39 different price points on that chart.
I remember Twins seating (we all do) being split in four ways: Lower and Upper Reserved and Lower and Upper GA.

Tonight would have been a great night at Target Field for Game 3 of the World Series! Can you imagine the uproar this weather would have caused?!

I was just saying how glad I am not to be thinking ahead to attending games in this weather. The season needs to be shortened by adding 7 double headers a year.

Indeed. Even though they are having (or will have), for all intents and purposes, the same weather in places like Chicago and Detroit tonight. The narrative there would have been "it's Fall baseball in the upper Midwest! Toughen up! Gotta love it!!"

Here, Joe Buck would have come up with some typically less-than-clever observance of the absence of roof, followed by a "What did you expect?"-type rhetorical question. Followed by name dropping his dad (again), then some more pontificating on the greatness of Vin Scully.

And that's just in the first half-inning.

I was reading (clicky) about possible expansion ad "major realignment".
So basically MLB would look like the NFL.
And in theory, couldn't Seattle block a team in Portland? They probably already fight for fan base with Anaheim.

Luke - this was brought up nearly two weeks ago (Oct 18) and you commented on it then. Are you losing your memory?

Anaheim competing with Seattle? That's nearly 1,200 miles away and you have Oakland/San Francisco in between. I don't know what rules (if any) MLB has in place to block a franchise from moving in, but I don't know that Seattle would be able to do so if someone wanted to move to Portland. They were a rumored landing spot for the Twins back in the day as well...

I thought it may have been. I was kinda looking for an update.
I do remember Portland being named a Twins possibility.

Honestly we talk about so much around here...it's hard to keep track.

But yeah...Mike did mention in comment 535.

Well there you have it...the 2017 Baseball Season is complete... Congrats to the Houston Astros on their first-ever World Series Championship!

Hard to believe this team lost 324 games from 2011 - 2013.

Goes to show if you have a plan and make the right moves, you can turn things around in a hurry. It was just 4 years ago they bottomed out and lost 111 games.

Francisco Liriano wins a ring with the Astros. What could have been for the Twins if his arm hadn't fallen apart in 2006?

Great World Series! Some may say the overall pitching (or use of the pitching) was suspect. In accordance with a previous conversation, I'll chalk it up to incredible hitters, getting incredible at-bats.

The Astros have an amazing core of young players in Altuve, Bregman, Correa and Springer, all products of their own farm system, all under 27 years old. Add some veteran presence and stud pitching = success. This was a fun team to watch - reminded me of the 2002 Angels.

Hopefully the Twins' young core of Sano, Kepler, Buxton, Berrios and Rosario will follow a similar path.

Reusse had a good read yesterday on the Twins pitching for the 87 and 91 championships and how different things are today. http://www.startribune.com/workhorse-pitchers-key-to-both-twins-world-series-titles/454605233/

With an extra series to get through it has really changed the way that pitchers are used, both starters and relievers.

Charley Walters in today's STP fishwrap:

"Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl halftime show in Minneapolis on Feb. 4 is budgeted for 12 minutes".

That's 12 minutes too long.

Wake me when the NFL gets Behemoth, Deicide or Mayhem for their halftime shows.

Do people even still watch the Super Bowl Halftime show? I thought that was a thing of the past

I just watch for the commercials.

There's a show?

How many days until the Twins announce the overpriced new food items?

Regarding commercials I really dont enjoy them as much anymore. It used to be u would be at a party and everyone gets quiet for the commercials. Nowadays companies are so afraid of the PC police things are just unoriginal: talking babies, puppy dogs and kids. And Mt Dews attempt to poke fun of that by having their "Puppy-Monkey-Baby" left my group confused...and 3 years later they are still trying to get it to be a national craze and it just hasnt happened.

I miss the old GoDaddy.com and ads that are funny/sexy but to a point where only adults get it. Ads used to push boundries of good taste. Last 2 years I have seen Burger King commercials during Super bowl. THey were the same commercials they had in months BEFORE the Super Bowl. Just a normal commercial (?!?!?!?!). Geico played a commercial last year....it was the same one as the year before during Super Bowl!

THe only repeat commercial I miss was the 1970's made Masterlock. It showed a bullet being fired into the lock and it still held. That was it. Nothing fancy-but Masterlock always purchased the first slot after kickoff. I dont feel the commercials have the same impact as , say, 10 years ago. THey are all blending into the same theme. Talking baby, talking animal.

Bring back the Budweiser frogs :-)

I am sure by now you have all heard Rick Stelmaszek passed away. I won his 1999 season worn jersey at end of year auction. I began wearing it the following season and at Huberts after a White Sox game a guy came up to me and asked if I wanted to meet him-it was his brother. He was in the back part (Halseys) playing cribbage w/ Jerry White. He couldnt believe someone was wearing his jersey. From then on I would play cribbage w/ him and his inner circle (coaches and a few Pioneer press and Strib writers) and have a few drinks.

It was funny he would be right there and Twins fans would brush by him wearing 1987 and 1991 (faded) Twins World Series Champions gear unaware they just brushed past one of the coaches from it. Occasionally someone would recognize him and he was always cordial.

On road trips to Milwaukee, Chicago and KC I would stop by the bullpen during game and give him a shout out-he and the bullpen would wave back. Had dinner w/ him and Gladdens (Mrs Gladden is my boss at work I have mentioned before) after a KC series. Dan had a bunch of fans coming up to him seeking autographs/pics. No one came up to Stelly but he didnt mind. I dont think he liked the attention actually.

Anyhow we not only lost the ties to the last on field connection to our World Series Champions (he was dismissed after 2013? or 2014? season) but we lost a great man (and hell of a cribbage player) .

I will always remember Stelly for throwing a ball up to me when I was a youngster at the old Metrodome back in the mid 1990's. The Marty Cordova, Chuck Knoblauch, Scott Stahoviak, Terry Steinbach, Paul Molitor era...

I didn't even know he was diagnosed with cancer until he threw out the first pitch on Opening Day 2017. He was just diagnosed in December 2016 and he looked in pretty rough shape on Opening Day and even more so in July when they had the 1987 reunion weekend.

Pancreatic cancer is probably one of the toughest to overcome.

Buxton and Dozier win gold gloves! This makes me happy. :-)

Roy Halladay gone too soon, killed in a plane crash yesterday. One of the more dominant pitchers from the not so distant past. I remember watching BP at Target Field prior to the first playoff game there in 2010 and they showed the final inning or two of his no hitter in the NLDS game.

With the Twins defensive setup, pitchers should want to have those guys behind them. The outfield has speed, arms and good gloves, the infield is solid. That alone is worth 1-2 runs saved most games. And the bats are capable of supporting the team as well. I don't know how much agents and players look at that but it should be a selling point.

It seems the Tampa Rays have a new ballpark rendering.

That looks like it took alot of inspiration from an early Target Center renovation rendering.

Hmmm...

Why are they doing drawings? Are they getting out of their miserable lease?

It was something I found searching for something else. I've seen their other renderings before, the ones that look like a sailboat. But I hadn't seen this before.

story can be found here

Molitor wins AL Manager of the Year.

Twins going back to 'CCO Radio

Oh boy, back to good old am radio. I have heard 96.3 was tough to pick up in many areas, but why not get on kfan or another fm station?

No way StevieB! :) 830 is the best. I remember listening to a Sunday Twins game on my way home from KC about ten years ago. Once we got into Iowa, we could hear the game clearly! 830 has an extremely powerful signal.

I get that j2k and I have had several similar experiences back in the 830 days. I even picked up their signal a few times when I lived in Wyoming - the state not the MN city. I don't like am for the format though as many devices don't have an am tuner, only fm. Lightning storms really mess with the signal as well. I will listen to 830 plenty, but will also have times when I may want to but won't be able to.

I haven't looked in a long time, but is CCO available on I Heart Radio?

Look at a coverage map of WCCO and WNAX out of Yankton, SD. You could probably listen to an entire doubleheader and switch channels once if you're going North or South.

The games won't be on iHeart Radio or any other online feed, just like they haven't been previously. For that you will need either MLB Radio or a Sirius app subscription to get the games, and then stream or plug them into your car radio. Again, the same as it's always been.

I remember picking up 830 many years ago in Kentucky. "Clear channel coast-to-coast" was their night time slogan, which meant they were the only station broadcasting at that frequency in the United States. (I'm not sure that's still the case.)

Now, my next car is going to be a Tesla, they don't even have AM radios. Hopefully I can stream the games while I'm driving.

My take on the Target Center renovations, from a single visit to Target Center that didn't involve me exploring the lower concourse and seating deck, are that they did a nice job of getting the very most out of the available money (with the Timberwolves kicking in some extra money above their required contribution), but that you can see there are things that could and should have been done that weren't because the funds simply weren't available.

If you look at the cumulative results of the renovation, some of which was in place for the 2016-17 season, there are good things.

- The new central video board and the four auxiliary info boards set in the upper corners are outstanding.

- The new seats were an absolute must and enabled a slight and clever improvement on the leg room in the upper deck, and presumably the lower. It's not perfect, but the part of the seat you actually sit in is smaller in area depth compared to before. Width is the same The result is instead of the seat coming all the way to the backs of your knees when you sit down, it stops short by several inches. That gets some extra leg room and causes no comfort issues at all when you sit. Short of completely chopping up the concrete and reprofiling the seating decks to get more leg room, something absolutely not in the budget, this was nice way to improve comfort.

- The concession stands were all renovated with a better look, flexible signage for pricing and selection, new POS terminals, and the food is better for the most part.

- In the upper deck concourse by were 1st ave and 6th street meet, there is a new bar area of sorts with a view to the main floor lobby area below in what was space for storage and other off limits to fans things.

- The restrooms were renovated, something that may not have happened to any great extent since the place opened.

- The upper deck concourse has had a bar area more towards the 7th street side for a few seasons. It has been improved with many more TVs to make it a more attractive place to hang out.

Drawbacks.

- They did what they could to improve legroom, but a venue with legroom this poor would never get built now. It's too bad the money to make more substantive changes wasn't there.

- The proper staffing of concession stands and the poor training of workers has plagued Target Center since the KG era if not further back. The venue loses money regularly because fans bail on lines due to the slow movement ahead of them. This isn't as bad for run of the mill stands with hotdogs and popcorn, but the stands with burger grills and other specialty items have lines moving at a glacial speed.

- Walking through the concourse, there are some areas with new wall coverings that give it a new and modern look, especially towards the escalator end, but as you go deeper in you see the same old concrete blocks as before with some new signage and wonder what has actually changed.

- A friend of mine noted that the exterior was ugly and dated, but that a lot of the money that went to changing the physical appearance of the building should have been spent inside to better improve the spectator experience.

What does the future hold for Target Center? Milwaukee opened Bradley Center in 1988, two years before Target Center but with a very similar design, and will get a new building effective the 2018-19 season. The Palace of Auburn Hills opened in 1988 as well and was a truly groundbreaking arena with design and amenities that enabled it to seem modern 25 years into its lifespan, especially with hundreds of millions of dollars going into relatively recent renovations. The Pistons, effective this season, have gone to downtown Detroit and the new Little Caesars Arena as tenants of the Red Wings who left Joe Louis Arena which was a glorified Met Center and very dated. The Pistons gave up being landlords in exchange for a huge revenue guarantee to be tenants and will sell the land their old arena sits on for big money since it is in an area ripe for industrial development.

It makes me think the Target Center improvements are a Band-Aid. I think Glen Taylor is fine with the place, but expect new owners to look into even greater improvements, even if that means taking the team to Xcel Energy Center or US Bank Stadium in a cutdown set up, for a season or two. New owners might even want a new building. I don't think the renovations settle anything long term.

Did they remove the troughs from the restrooms?

As far as a venue with the degree of room TC has being built today, I disagree.
There have been many complaints about the G1 Center in Sacramento about legroom being so poor (and ill placement of cup holders) and the stadia being so steep people have actually tripped and fallen trying to get by.

The same, maybe minus people tripping, has been said about Little Caesars Arena.

- The proper staffing of concession stands and the poor training of workers has plagued Target Center since the KG era if not further back. The venue loses money regularly because fans bail on lines due to the slow movement ahead of them. This isn't as bad for run of the mill stands with hotdogs and popcorn, but the stands with burger grills and other specialty items have lines moving at a glacial speed.

This sounds exactly like Target Field. Why billionaire owners that are looking to maximize revenue don't get this contnues to baffle me.

As always the case on days like today two thoughts come to mind:
When does baseball season start?
And
I'd rather be golfing.

"There is nothing like summertime in Twins Territory. The ballpark, the fun, the food, the game.

Join the Twins Season Ticket Holder family today!"

Notice how "the game" is last on the list of enticements.

Jack Morris to the Hall of Fame. I think he is worthy. Some complain that he has the highest ERA of any starting pitcher in the hall, but to me it isn't "hall of stats" but hall of fame. Leading pitcher in the 80s, world series winners, one of the greatest game 7s ever and a tenacious competitor.

Congrats Jack.

In regards to netting. I disagree with having netting beyond 1st/3rd base.

This has been a really boring offseason, when nobody's said anything around here in 10 days.

Like, it’s like the Rogers Hornsby quotation at the top of the page: We’re all staring out the window waiting for spring. And now we’re on the right side of the solstice! 48 days to Pitchers and Catchers Reporting!

*Luke, that is! Not trying to go Valley Girl here!

LOL Fiesta.
Yes, it won't be long now.
Less than 50 days.

Piece in the STRIB today about a bar with a "pour your own" system of beer sales. Made me remember the beer machines at TF and wonder what ever happened to them.

I remember hearing about those stations at TF. They lasted what, one season?

And the latest celebrity to be accused of sexual molestation is .......

Sano....
Why do these women post to social media and not call the police? If you were really assaulted, the police should be called.

Turns into a "he said, she said" situation for the police and nothing goes down. The number of players flocking to the woman would seem to support her story. I'm sure the Twins have gotten out their broom and gone looking for a rug.

I don't know how true this is, but I have heard rumors on FB today of a potential Amazon/Target merger.

I wonder what that might do to the naming of TF?

Amoget Field?
Targazon Park?

Luke, ahh nevermind!

It was this Jojo

yes, I know what you were talking about. It was just another Lukism, and Im trying to not be so cruel in 2018!

Honestly we all know it won't happen.
Amazon doesn't need Target.
There's antitrust involved.
And Amazon's pending stock devaluation is something they don't want.
If you have Amazon stock, ya might want to sell now.

Have the Puerto Rico games changed? They don't appear to be on the calendar?

Edit to add...for obvious reasons. I just don't find an announement when doing a Google Search, and season ticket renewal is still based on 79 games.

I'm looking at the team schedule on TwinsBaseball.com.

I see them on the schedule, Apr 17-18. Article posted on the website Jan 5 says preparations are in process (see link)

My mistake...I thought they were coming at the end of Spring Training before the home opener. Thanks.

A "Google search"...lol. so 2006.
And if MLB wants an expansion team in Puerto Rico, for the the cucified Christ's sake, Manfred just DO IT.

LOL, nah.
I prefer Bing 9 times outta 10.

According to this article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer the games in PR are still on.

They want to put artificial turf in the Rangers new ballpark :(.
"Major concerts, high school football, corporate softball soirees, ANYTHING TO MAKE A DOLLAR..." said owner Ray Davis.

So the Rangers don't want a ballpark, they want Tropicana Field.

Do you believe in miracles?
That Vikings game was amazing.

I might be in the minority here, but the Saints totally deserved to win that game. Drew Brees is a stone-cold gunslinger, and he was shredding the Viking's defense the 2nd half.

But we'll take the win on a fluke whiffed tackle!

Anyone heading down to Twinsfest this weekend?

I don't know if it's Vikings Fever or Super Bowl LII being in town or what, but there has not been much talk of the Twins winter caravan or Twinfest this week. Is it because things are one week earlier this year??
There doesn't seem to be as much advertising for Twinsfest either this year. Usually this is the time we start to think about baseball season and the Twins. Coming off the Wild-Card season and Molitor being named Manager of the Year, you would think there would be more talk of the Twins but this is further proof of just how popular the Vikings are in this town.

Twinsfest is regularly showing up in my Facebook feed, and Metro Transit has been pushing free transit to it. The Strib had a story on the front of the Sports section yesterday that included Caravan reports.

Longer days = baseball returning sooner than later!

Longtime poster but first time poster 2018--hey guys its me Uffda. Been off the grid for awhile and jsut catching up on recent posts. I think Twinsfest just sorta got caught up between a rock and a hard place this year w/ Super Bowl and Vikes playoff run.

This weekend is also the Red Bull Crushed Ice event in St Paul which is free and MN LOVES free stuff and it drew I believe 250,000 people to that last year so Twinsfest will be competing against that. And of course pretty much most of the state will be either going to bars or going to/hosting Vikes parties on Sunday so I think if Twinsfest doesnt draw the numbers they were hoping for it isnt that there is no interest in Twins it is that there might not be as much interest for JUST THIS WEEKEND.

Scheduling it AFTER the Super Bowl u start to run into when pitchers/catchers report and Admin staff needs to be in FL prepping for Spring Training so it I am sure was difficult to pinpoint exactly when to have it.

I'll take a chance at the Superbowl over Twinsfest, any year, hands down!

Just an observation here but now we've added former Twins great Jim Kaat, age 79. as a "special assistant".

He now joins Tom Kelly, Kent Hrbek, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Michael Cuddyer, Latroy Hawkins, Torii Hunter and the just signed Justin Mourneau who were also signed as "Special Assistants". How many Special Assistants do you need on a club?

I remember when Puckett was signed w/ a title that had the word Ambassador in it and was given an office and even he publicly stated he wasnt exactly sure what his job duties exactly were.

I am happy these former Twins have a connection to the club but at some point doesnt it get a little overwhelming for the current roster? I mean what is Kaat going to bring to the current pitching staff at 80 years old? At some point the 2018 Twins need to form their OWN identity. I am sure all MLB clubs have a few "special assistants" who gather in the clubhouse in SPring Training, say a few words, talk about the old days and then go drink beer.....and talk about the old days. But do we really need to pay EIGHT of these guys to do this??

I thought the country club was dead, but perhaps it's alive and well on the St. Peter side of the building?

I get the impression that most of the special assistants are there on board to formalize their relationship with the team, get some positive PR, and to turn up for a day at Spring Training and another during the regular season to get the “Twins star of the past works with Twins star of the present and future” photo op for the papers and the TV news sports reports. With the exception of TK, I doubt any of them do much in the way of actual instruction and so on.

Twins have a video showing renderings of changes to metropolitan club (and its name!) and the main level RF concourse. "Meh" doesn't do it justice.

Maybe the'll all have a sandwich stand to go stand by.

"they'll"

As fiesta so appropriately said: its meh, at best.

I was at Twinsfest today...did they reface the image of Carew in the Legends Club? It looked much clearer than I remember it. After 200 or so games over 8 years now you'd think I'd remember. I didn't think to look at the Puckett image on the other side.

I also see they have Blyleven stuff in the display in LC; apparently for a change of pace.

Review on Twinsfest...about the same as last year, but my kids are old enough now to have more fun, so we enjoyed it. Definitely worth the free tickets as a STH and the $5 I spent on a face painting tip. Otherwise no money out of pocket.

As I turn 40 though I have to say I don't see the appeal of standing in line for who knows how long to have a 20 something write his name on a ball.

There's another one turning 40 this year :(.
Well at least I'm not the only one.

My TwinsFest two cents:
• Yes, Puckett image is entirely new. A younger Puck. I took a photo, but don’t know how to upload here.

• Best part is simply being surrounded by baseball fans in January and gazing longingly at the Field. That said, if I didn’t get free group organizer tix, I wouldn’t pay to get in.

• the clubhouse itself is no longer the big draw at first I thought the long line was for its tour, but instead long line was for the Twins Yard Sale.

• Sad that the press box is limited to a $30 “white glove tour.” Funds are for charity, I remind myself.

• The HS aged kid volunteering by the renderings of Metropolitan Club 2.0 couldn’t offer much insight about it. Just looks like one more place for people to go and not pay attention to the game.

I wish they would have saved the HUGE backdrop of the old Met behind the bar in the old Met club. While I appreciated the nod to the old Met by having the colored panels outside of it I dont mind those going away. Unless u were from that era u wouldnt get the nod anyways-especially visiting fans -but I really liked that husge photo of the old met behind the bar.

Anyone here wanna sell me Super Bowl tickets really cheap? Since no one in MN is going?
Maybe like...$10 apiece? #notmySuperBowl.

Apparently a team could make money selling less expensive concessions! (NYTimes story about Atlanta Falcons new stadium .)

Until the Falcs host the super bowl there. Then that shit is gonna get mighty expensive.

That Falcons stadium story described what I always suspected. Sell more product for less money, and they made 16% more money than they did at the high prices at the "old" stadium. People arrived at the games an average of one hour earlier and ate/drank there. I wish the owners around here would take notice. Arthur Blank knows what the hell he's doing - he did the same thing at Home Depot - Sell more product for less and end up making more money in the long run. I have Vikings season tickets and go to a couple Twins games every year. I do not spend a penny on concessions at the games. I always eat and have a few cold ones BEFORE the game to save money. Wilf, Pohlad, Taylor and Leopold should rethink their outrageous prices.

Speaking of the Falcs...
USBS not the only new stadium dealing with oft hasty construction problems

Every year I get a chuckle out of the big Roman Numeral "press conference". A belligerent coach who grunts one syllable answers; far too many reporters, many of whom don't cover football, asking silly and inane questions; at least one player who refuses to talk at all, and NFL "suits" impressing upon us that this is the most important Roman Numeral since World War II. If you are tiring of this spectacle, remember pitchers and catchers report in 13 days! Or you could have some $36 guacamole.

I think minnesota needs to bid for SB 88.
We would then have the longest Roman numeral in the games history thus far: LXXXVIII.

I had heard they were going to have a unique design on the new video board, but this exceeds my expectations.
Can TF have one?

The twins had an artist come out and make some art in the snow on the field.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156059063499841&id=45991614840

I hate the offseason. There's never much to talk about - Mark Twain

Lots of good praise for Minneapolis and the Twin Cities for their excellent job of hosting Super Bowl LII. Sounds like Bold North was a success, even with the single digit temps.

Anyone think the NFL will come back to Minneapolis with another Super Bowl in the next 10-25 years?

Obviously there will be a long line ahead of them with Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, and Los Angeles over the next 4 years. Then you have the regulars in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Arizona and San Francisco. Las Vegas will also join that list. Only time will tell but it will be interesting if they return to Detroit or Indianapolis as well.

I don't mind the "cold-weather" Super Bowl every 6-8 years. Most of the events are indoors anyway such as the Fan Experience, Radio Row, NFL Awards and so on.

Lots of media praising the radio row at the Mall of America and how much energy there was with the fans there. Better than the traditional radio row in a convention center ballroom.

Miami and Tampa are overrated based on their weather/location just like Minneapolis is underrated based on it's weather/location in February. I also heard that Glendale, Arizona is out in the middle of nowhere in the Phoenix suburbs and not many people liked that.

I am not expecting Minneapolis to be in the regular rotation with Tampa, Miami, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, Arizona, Las Vegas or Los Angeles, but it would be nice if they get strong consideration for another Super Bowl at US Bank Stadium.

Only time will tell what the NFL thinks of Minneapolis and Bold North. They are getting rid of the "bidding process" for future Super Bowls which might help Minnesota's chances.

No. I doubt it will be back here again.
The NFL has decided it is no longer using a bid process for Super Bowls (google it).
Nope, starting this year when the NFL gets together in May to decide who hosts Super Bowl LVII, there will only "be one city on the ballot" according to Sports Business Journal.
The NFL will take a "stick a pin on the map" approach. They will select a city and then begin negotiations to bring the Super Bowl.
Ultimately they would like to turn the Super Bowl into the Pro Bowl: have a permanent location. It'll take a few years to get there...but it likely will happen.
Its just too much. Besides, I believe the Super Bowl has outgrown MN.
And who wants to come here, when it's 5 below?

Well I was part of Crew 52 and also got called out of retirement after 5 years being away working at Lyons Pub to help them out the past 10 days.
As far as corporate sponsors go I dont know about the cold Rick is referring to-I DO know that after talking to our owner as well as manager at Murrays and Sneaky Petes that corporations/out of town even planners VASTLY underestimated the Twin Cities unemployment rate. THey were trying to secure hostesses/valet/servers for private events for $10-$11 per hour and were being told "NO" by job placement services here. THey then started trying to pry away staffs directly from area bar/restaurants which didnt work either. Last I knew they were having to pony up $15-$16 per hour.

As for NFL never returning here again I am sure there was some negative feedback about the cold but I was DT either working or volunteering for this the past 12 days and have heard nothign but positive reviews regarding how this was planned and run by local officials. It is unique to have everything in 1 place and nearby as opposed to being 20-30 miles out of town like in NYC or Glendale. The skyways are difficult to navigate but everyone I spoke w/ including NFL Officials wearing their credentials were impressed w/ the show we put on.

We have hosted 2 of 52 Super bowls. I can see us hosting another one down the line.

I dont see NFL owners ever voting to have Super Bowl in same place every year-there is just too much $$$$$ involved.

I heard alot of negativity about the NYC SB. When they come back to a cold (compared to tropical) weather city I can see them going back to Indianapolis. They-like us- have a stadium connected to downtown. The zipline we used here was used there (only other SB site it was used) and it is in a dome. I dont see NFL using an outdoor northern stadium again-if they do I could see Chicago being able to host it. They do a phenominal job w/ NFL Draft Party and hosting large scale events. Their stadium is south end of DT but walkable from hotels and Grant Park could be centerpiece.

Im sure it will be quite awhile before we get another one but so much about the climate--average HI is 28 during Super Bowl weekend. Heck it was 48 the weekend before. We wont get one for awhile because NFL is going to want to bring its brand to other cities. But 25 years down the road I can see them coming back.

The NFL makes a lot of money by playing cities off against one another. That is why you have the Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland-Las Vegas Raiders and a 1990's domed stadium sitting empty in Saint Louis. I believe they will continue to make cities bid against one another to host a SB.

I booked opening NCAA's in Vegas back in November when Gophers were #11 in country. So much for that. Then I figured Wild play at Las Vegas only appearance of year that same weekend and can brag about the State of Hockey....Vegas has one of best records in NHL and Wild (once again) struggling to even get into #8 seed. So much for that. Then I figured can wear my Vikings Super Bowl Champion swag!! So much for that. Well at least I can talk baseball and Twins .....and now just read Ervin Santana, our #1 pitcher, out next 3 months (with another month or 2 to get throwing arm back in baseball shape).....the cycle never seems to end around here.

Las Vegas: the golden Super Bowl host even the NFL doesn't know about

I blame Luke. He complains about nothing to talk about in the offseason and three days later the Twins ace has finger surgery and will miss April and part of May. Crap.

Oh from post 667 I forgot to mention Timberwolves. Right on cue last night they get beat with 1 second to go in OT ---sorry Wolves I will remember you next time

2018 promotion schedule hath been released

Happy Pitchers and Catchers Reporting Day. Spring is not too far off!

The four happiest words in the English language! Pitchers and catchers report!

Does "Special Assistant" now include TV Broadcast Analyst?

Justin Morneau to join the Twins Broadcast team as an analyst. He will join Bert, Jack Morris, Roy Smalley, LaTroy Hawkins and Torii Hunter.

Definitely will be refreshing to add some more of these former players into the TV Analyst rotation.

MLB is discussing expansion to Green Bay, Montreal, Hamilton Ontario, and Portland Oregon.
Discuss.

Green Bay? Based on what? Wisconsin can't support two teams. Hamilton is within an hour of Toronto? Why would they go there? Blue Jays building a new stadium? Relocate the Rays to Portland instead of building another crappy park in FL that won't be supported. Pitching talent is thin enough without adding more teams to dilute it even more.

Green Bay is not large enough and that would never fly with the Milwaukee Brewers. That is a large part of the Milwaukee market.

MLB is still trying to test the Montreal market before they would even consider a 3rd Canadian team. Also, Hamilton is considered part of the Toronto market so I just don't see that happening either.

If MLB expands, it will be to Portland or Montreal. They also need to figure out the Tampa Bay and Oakland situations before they expand.

Green Bay and Hamilton is just laughable though, zero chance of happening.

So nice to talk baseball again !
No,neither Green Bay nor Hamilton is in expansion talks .
MLB really needs to get the pace of game thing figured out. Get games under 3 hours. Then talk about contraction not expqnsiob.

*expansion.

No Twins fan should ever - ever! - be in favor of contraction. Still bitter about that apparently.

Well, its like Mark Twain said, "what's good for the goose is good for the gander".
Its OK to be in favor of contraction now...it won't involve the Twins.
Honestly, MLB would do well to eliminate three of its recent four expansion franchises. Of the most recent four: Colorado, Miami, Arizona and Tampa, Colorado is the only one that's doing fairly well.

Miami can't fill their new park to save their lives.
Arizona is trying to get Chase Field tended to, Maricopa county isn't budging and doesn't really care if the Dbacks move.
And Tampa has been a disaster since the umpire said " play ball" during their first game in 1998. The Trop is awful. They can't get a deal for a new ballpark.
And to top them off, Oakland needs to go. Kinda the same thing as the Rays. Been fighting forever to get a new ballpark. Not happening. And Oakland was a target for contraction in 2002.

Might be nice to be a 26-team league again.
Might fix the unbalanced schedule issue.

Twins are signing Logan Morrison (1B) from Tampa Bay--38 HR and 85 RBI while hitting .246. He is only 30 years old so could be incumbant to take over 1B from Mauer. I am guessing this year he will be full time DH and get spot starts for Mauer when Mauer has walking pnemonia, sore back, bi lateral leg weakness, etc. --I wonder where Kennys Vargas fits in now??

On a side note to Luke's comment 682 I happened to be in Tampa Bay the day that they announced That Tampa-St Pete was awarded a MLB team. It was on a Tuesday. A celebration/pep rally was announced for that Saturday and heavily publicized in paper, news and radio so we drove over to St Pete to (think it was called Suncoast Dome back then) and there were cheerleaders (????), hot dogs and cracker jacks being handed out, a huge banner on side of dome that read "ITS A GREAT DAY FOR TAMPA BAY!" (which probably pissed off some St Pete's locals) and vendors were selling T Shirts/hats/sweatshirts /w the teams new logo (the too many colors Devil Ray name and logo). There were purple and balck balloons everywhere, DJ playing music and dignataries making speeches. It was a cloudless nice warm Saturday. The only ting missing from the festivities? PEOPLE. A MN High School Girls Hockey Tournament game at Xcel drew more people. I couldnt believe w/ 4 days notice on a beautiful weekend day w/ all the pagentry of a party set up when your area is awarded a MLB team and there were maybe 100 people there. The attitude from the community was "Meh". Talk about foreboding. Hopefully the players we are fleecing form TB enjoy playing in front of at least a 3/4 full home crowd.

PS- Correction to previous post the CHEERLEADERS werent being handed out-just hot dogs and cracker jacks...and popcorn.

Those struggling clubs could probably be moved to New York and Los Angeles and have a shot at viability. A Brooklyn club would likely do well with the historic Brooklyn identity if it were done correctly.

Not sure how you do LA, but there is room if it's done correctly.

New york or LA?
That's MLB oversaturation of those markets who are already oversaturated with pro sports.
both markets each have two or more NBA teams. two or more NHL teams. Two NFL teams. Two MLB teams.

Maybe Nashville?
Maybe Salt Lake City?
Maybe Oklahoma City?

I digress.
Just saw a thing on Facebook from FSN saying that for the first time in franchise history ALL 162 games will be televised.

Much of the problem with pace of the game is the result of changes in hitting philosophy over the years. It has become all about home runs and as a result batters swing from their heels and strikeout are up exponentially. When hitters are regularly putting the ball in play, the game moves faster.

One month from today is the 2018 Home Opener!! Let's pump it up around here!!

We thinking a wild card berth again this year?

This team has all the pieces to make a run to the end. If they stay healthy and/or behave, they should find themselves right there at a Wild Card. If they stay healthy and get another solid starting pitcher, they will take the Division.

Sounds like Dozier wants out after this season.

I certainly don't read it as "Dozier wants out" but I did find it a good article and interesting. Seems to be more of a signal from the team that they aren't really sure if they are building something for the right now or still in the middle phases of rebuilding. Not extending Dozier gives them the potential of trading him should this season fall apart, and they have some possible replacements in the minors. If the team really takes off they can still negotiate with him (although a bit of a gamble to wait as many players don't want that ongoing during the season).

Dozier is a quality ballplayer, I'd be sad to see him leave.

Anyone else drive past the new MN United stadium site recently? It's starting to look like a stadium!

FTK -

Link for those who like to watch the progress

https://www.mnufc.com/stadium/stream

Have any of you guys seen a baseball game at US bank Stadium yet? I do not know if any of you could care less about that or what because obviously it is not an authentic baseball experience, but I found out today that watching a game there was not too bad. I saw two small colleges play today and the sun was bathing the entire field for the whole 5 hours that they were playing against each other. Also saw a big home run hit to left field. the caliber of play by the 2 teams I saw anyway, was very high, they actually played very good ball. I am going to go to the Gophers vs. St. Johns game on March 31st as well at 1:00. Any one else have an experience at US Bank they want to share?

#notmyballpark.
Minnesota has this uncanny knack to share stadiums with baseball teams.
I thought USBS would escape that problem, but oh no, John Anderson and the goddamn Gophers wanted in on the fun and won over.
Why the hell does Siebert Field even exist? Tear it down and build a Jiffy Lube.

Never understood why you cry so much about this Luke. What are the Gophers (and all the other teams that use the facility) supposed to do for baseball games? Have a one week season? Play all their games on the road? Siebert field is a great option for baseball, but it won't work in late Feb and March when the college season starts. The teams would love to be playing outside but they can't so they use this option. Get over it. And on the bright side, even with afternoon games it won't hurt your commute.

StevieB, I whine about it because MN seems to be the only one that does it!
How many other markets do you know of that still do the baseball/football stadium sharing thing? YES a couple still exist, but new stadiums, no.
This is not the 70s.
Look, in this climate, the Goldies probably shouldn't even have a baseball program.

On another note, the Trib has some photos of the new TCL Performance Center/Facility/Field/Thing or whatever they call it.
It looks great.
The 20,000 seat stadium is not complete nor are the outside fields. But the building and training field are done and occupied and look fantastic.

Luke, I'm really trying to understand your opinion on this. Can you clarify? Are you opposed to baseball being played at USBS?? Or are you wanting it to be football only?

If you're wanting it to be football only, that wasn't going to fly with the amount of public financing involved (that is an entirely different topic that could be discussed but not relevant here). With it being partially publicly financed, the legislature was going to want it to be used for a variety of uses. The retractable seats have allowed for soccer, X-games, and Monster Jam to name a few. Are you arguing that you don't want these events to be held there? Watching these events, the retractable seating was needed to hold all of these events.

If you're opposed to it being used for baseball I'm confused. How many markets have a NFL venue plus a major D1 University in a cold weather climate that could value playing indoors? Guessing that drives your potential markets down remarkably. Also, I don't really view USBS as being built for baseball - yes, it accommodates baseball (barely). There's no permanent dugouts, base cutouts, etc. It was definitely built as a football venue first. You're arguing we shouldn't play baseball in this climate?? Every Big Ten university has baseball except for wisconsin - you want to follow their lead? The Metrodome was and now USBS is a huge asset to the U of M and Northern schools. The U of M baseball program is typically one of the better programs in the Big Ten and has a lot of history. Not sure what you beef is with the 'Goldies'.

What about the design of USBS that allows for baseball would you change?

Also, the Vikings complex is called Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO) Performance Center and the stadium holds 6,000 (expandable to 10,000) FYI.

Did I want it football only? Yes. And so did the Vikings. Until the Gophers won them over.

Retractable seating isn't really the issue. Lucas Oil Stadium, Edward Jones Dome, Mercedes Benz Stadium all have them and I'm sure the new indoor stadiums in Vegas and LA will as well. Yes, for other events such as monster jam, conventions, X Games etc.

BUT, none of those stadiums installed retractable seating PRIMARILY for the purpose of being able to slide them back for a baseball field. USBS was not planning originally on having such a large section of retractable seating. Mainly just enough to fit the soccer, monster trucks, Jesus crusades etc.
The other stadiums I mentioned to my knowledge don't have a wall of retractable seating like USBS does. Maybe the first ten rows of the lower bowl. That's it.

Just for the record, it made me sick to my stomach that they got baseball in the Alamodome a couple years back. Looked awful. And the Alamodome has retractable seating (maybe 10-12 rows) on BOTH sidelines, not just the one side like we have. So they had to do more than what USBS does for baseball.

But the Alamodome is an NCAA basketball, convention, rodeo, monster truck hot bed. But that's a lot of hullaboo to fit baseball in a stadium where it simply does not belong. And the Alamodome still has a center hung scoreboard in there from the NBA Spurs days. So there's that.

If all B1G schools minus the Badgers have a baseball program, obviously they get by? Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, Indiana, Michigan, M State, Maryland et al, all are cold weather locations. Somehow their baseball programs play without the help of an indoor NFL venue accomodating baseball.
Lucas Oil doesn't have a baseball configuration.
Ford Field doesn't either.

I mean geez, if the whole plan was to accommodate baseball in USBS, then why did the Twins even bother building TF? Because, the Twins wanted their own place designed and configured FOR THEM, and other events within reason like concerts. Incidentally I hated the fact they put football in TF last season. That was the stupidest thing I've heard since the Genesis account of Creation. But I digress.

The Gophers built TCFBS because they wanted their own place designed and configured FOR THEM and other events within reason. Concerts, soccer, etc. What's next, are they going to host a Twins game at TCFBS just because they can (they can't but work with me here).

The Vikings built USBS because they wanted to get away from having to cow tow to baseball. A building specifically Vikings. So they could have the revenue streams of other NFL stadiums they couldn't have at the Dome because of the Twins, I.e. field suites. Personally don't you think the Vikings would have wanted field suites on BOTH sidelines? But they can't, because, Gophers baseball.

I just cannot justify baseball and football in the same stadium in 2018. I just can't.

Boo hoo. I hope the Wilfs don't go broke because they didn't get more field level suites. Let the place sit vacant for 350 days a year! Nobody else does it so we shouldn't do it either! I can't justify NOT putting this publicly funded building to use when it is available. There are probably more baseball hours in USBS in a year than there are football and it makes good sense to use it in that manner. It may not be the best layout ever, but it works and it allows lots of local college and high school teams the ability to practice and play games before they can get outdoors. Some even play at 6 am to get their time in.

Any thoughts out there on the Twins recent free agency workings? Anibal here and gone, Morrison, Lynn. The rotation is starting to look pretty decent and the lineup has some more maturity to it. Vargas may be on the way out (will he be the next Big Papi?!?).

Just over two weeks until the season opener!

Then, book more concerts.
Then, get AMA Supercross back.
Then, book more trade shows.
Then fight like hell to get more Super Bowls.
Then fight like hell to get more Final Fours.
Then, f**k Allianz Field and let the United play at USBS from Feb-Oct as was originally suggested.
The United were possibly the second biggest asset to making USBS viable year round aside from the Vikings. I say take the cranes down and get the United to USBS.

Problem solved. USBS stays financially solvent. And without the help of the Gophers baseball team and the oh...1300 people that attend their games?
I remember listening to gopher baseball games in the Dome on the radio back in the day. It sounded like they were playing in an airplane hangar.
In those days, if cell phones had been a thing, probably would have heard everyone's ringer and every phone conversation. The only baseball team that attracts fewer people are the Marlins.

Baseball belongs outdoors. Its just the way Evolution intended it to be. After an ungodly number of years in that inflatable sardine can, you can never convince me otherwise.

And it pains me that some of the same people here that were so excited years ago that baseball finally had its own place (TF) and football had its own places (TCFBS AND USBS) still want the two sports to co-exist under the same proverbial roof.

Great synopsis, Rick! The other thing to consider is that it's not only Gopher baseball. Small colleges from across the midwest will keep that field busy throughout March. Don't blame the local nines for a national college schedule that begins in February and ends in May.

I, for one, am happy to see any ballgame the first weekend of March!

Rick -

Not only is this the golden age of outdoor baseball, it's really a golden age of sports venues in the area. Looking at it from a couple perspectives - individual team or by sport.

We really have a mix of state of the art venues and some historic venues. Teams really can't complain about their facilities at this time!

Twins - Target Field, Hammond Stadium/CenturyLink Sports Complex
Vikings - US Bank Stadium, TCO Performance Center
Wolves/Lynx - Target Center, Mayo Clinic Square
Wild - Xcel Energy Center, Tria Rink/Treasure Island Center
Saints - CHS Field
U of M - TCF Bank Stadium, Williams Arena, Mariucci Arena, Ridder Arena, Siebert Field, Jane Sage Cowles Stadium, Athletes Village
Minnesota United - Allianz Field

Also can look at it from a sport perspective. It would be a fun time to be growing up with opportunities to get hooked on sports at these venues and potentially playing in them for Sections, State, etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few venues.

Baseball - Target Field, CHS Field, Siebert Field, Jane Sage Cowles Stadium (softball)
Football - US Bank Stadium, TCF Bank Stadium, TCO Performance Center stadium (potentially holding Friday Night Lights games)
Basketball - Target Center, Williams Arena
Hockey - Xcel Energy Center, Mariucci Arena, Ridder Arena
Soccer - Allianz Field

Other cool venues outside of the metro such as AMSOIL Arena (UMD), Taylor Center (Mankato)

I attended a Gophers vs Iowa baseball game at USBS last season and it was a fine baseball set up. They even had a black batter's eye in center field!! Never saw one of those at the Metrodome. It was great to watch baseball indoors on a crappy 5 degree February day. The baggie in right field is similar what was at the Metrodome. It is a serviceable solution and works well. I see no issues with it at all, especially for college when 500 to 1000 people attend the games. There were plenty of good seats available and the quality of baseball was good. I would compare it to the St Paul Saints level of play.

Also slight nitpick Luke, it's not The United, it's just United. As in "United are playing tonight" or "The new United stadium" If you want to go with a 'mascot' like The Twins, The Vikings, try The Loons.

And as Rick says, read up on some of the history of United and the Vikings. When Bill McGuire was going to buy the team in 2012 because it wasn't making money and was going out of business he approached the Wilfs to partner with him to buy the team. It sounds like the Wilfs would have preferred to start their own MLS team instead of sharing profits with someone else. There had been a history of teams being viable in lower leagues and being 'promoted' into MLS teams. There is a LOT of bad feelings between United fans towards the Wilfs as part of that.

I for one am happy the team are building their own stadium with their own money (and some tax breaks).

Watching baseball on a 5 degree February day (j2k comment #713) sound just short of heavenly. Especially the way the sun comes into USBS.

I need to check that out someday.

MN United home opener on Saturday. No snow this year! I also get to pick my seats for 2019 @ Alllianz in a couple weeks. I hope to get some similar to where I'm at in TCFBS, but we'll see.

I'm sure many have seen the $49 April pass this year. Thoughts?

Well, $49 is a nice little scam to get people into the ballpark for a month.

Lincster, if I lived back in MN, I may have considered as an option, as it pays for itself after three or so games....especially not knowing what the secondary ticket market may do this season. It could be a sellers market this year. So I think it’d be nice to just get into ballpark.

Interesting they changed it this year to April only and dropped the price. Essentially the same bargain as last year since it was Apr/May for $99. Probably makes sense given higher expectations for this season. Star Tribune said on Sat that they sold about 1,300 for 2017.

Be sure to check your vitamins...

Off topic: Minneapolis excluded itself from further consideration to be a host site for matches should the United 2026 bid for the World Cup be granted by FIFA this June.
Chicago, Vancouver and Phoenix dropped out as well.

Thank God we dont have to hear about the traffic problems the WC would create for you, Luke.

I doubt Northstar would have been much affected by any potential WC matches. It sure wasnt during Super Bowl week. That is of course, if Northstar is even operating in 2026.
It's a total money-suck that if it keeps on its current decline may likely go belly-up in the next five years.

I was in Minneapolis over the weekend and I stopped by Target Field to have a look on progress of the right field enhancements. It looks from the information online TFEnhancements it should be ready by 4/5. They had what appeared to be a lot of work remaining and lots of lumber laying around. Maybe they will be working around the clock as they get closer to Opening Day? Anyone have any insight?

Governor Dayton's job and a stale donut that the "opener" gets snowed out.

Happy Opening Day 2018, everyone.

I just have to figure out how to pick up WCCO 830 inside this building I'm working in...

Should be a national holiday...

Crappy way to start the season. While they managed to tie the game in the 9th, they could have won if not for the wild pitch strikeout to start the 7th.

30-132 here we come.

Rick --

Have you stopped writing stories? Nothing in almost a year.

Yeah- I second the post of antifire. Rick you are a talented writer and it is fun to read your stuff. If you have time do some more writings on topics we might like. I am going to the gophers vs. St. John's game on Saturday, the weather will suck but I guess its ok cause the game is indoors.

Have a good ooffseason everyone.
Jesus Christ the 2018 season went fast.
Twins were showing signs of light there toward the end but 3rd in the Central.
70-92.
Cubs win the WS. On to 2019.

Anyone tried to reserve a table at the new Met club?

Check out the weather for opener. Wearing a parka to a ballgame doesn't appeal to me.

Rick, I'd vote YES to see your travelogues! Especially League Park...which I've never seen before.

I'll be in the RF Overlook on Thursday. While a parka and heavy gloves aren't ideal for an opener, I'll take it! (The gloves will make scorekeeping a challenge, and we'll see how my ballpoint pen keeps up in the cold, too!

Fire away Rick. Always enjoy your reviews of the ballfields, etc.

For those going to OD, you may want to bring your own shovel as well...

Looks like I'm going to be the winner of a stale donut and the next governor of MN.

Yankees home opener snowed out today.

Sure, I can be governor of NY as well, why not

Fiesta, I will also be in the Overlook this year. I will be in my Twins parka and Twins bomber hat. Might as well finally get some use out of...

Is now a good time to complain to the New York City media with the "what were they thinking, building a stadium without a roof?" line they used when Target Field opened?

Happy home opener. I hope it brings as much joy to y'all as it once brought me.
Since 2010, "home opener" to me means snow and cold and nothing even closely resembling baseball.

Hope you didn't already eat the stale donut Luke. Looks like some (cold) baseball will be played today.

luke - where have you been? Just last year it was 53 degrees for the home opener.

2017 - 53
2016 - 44
2015 - 64
2014 - 60
2013 - 36
2012 - 48
2011 - 64

It's amazing how far we've fallen in just a year.
As promised, here's your stale donut

Drafts at 34 certainly needs to speed things up. It's pouring beer and 5 lines deep of 25 people.

Wonderful opener - went with one of my sons, one of his buds, and his buddy's dad. It was sunny for at least half the game, and plenty warm if you were appropriately layered. Perfectly fine, especially in the context of the similar-if-not-worse weather that all northern baseball cities have had this week.

Also treated to some nice comic relief when the eagle landed on the Mariners' starting pitcher during the anthem, instead of flying to his summoning handlers. And then, lo and behold, a great game broke out for us to enjoy.

Only hiccup was the A/B/C ramps were closed to non-contract, public parking, so it took quite awhile to find an open garage. Have those ramps been closed for day games in the past?

I didn’t know bout ramps being closed, but we had planned to park at a meter on 5th shreey towrd 10th Ave N. No spots at all. Ended up in the lot along the 394 overpass. Good deal for only $6!

Game was great. In the sun 38 degrees felt ok. Sure did feel the chill after the sun went behind first the canopy then the clouds.

Lines were out onto the plaza to get into theBat and Barrel space. No need to do that with those crowds. Shouldn’t be a problem on Monday night!I didn’t get a good sense of the opened up egress of 34/29. Seemed just as busy, especially with new Kramarczuk’s stand.

One last ballpark observation: I wondered if the Twins would have added a new pennant above left field for the wild card, as other teams have done. Nothing up there, but I don’t know if nuthjng ws on the right field wall. (I doubt it though.)

Rick, I can email a photo if you like. I forgot you were looking for first pitch. Mine is the pregame line up. Not quite the same I realize.

A home opener win...always nice to bring home!

ABC Ramps weren't closed to non-contract parking, they just filled early. This is typical for busy day games, since Ramp B and Ramp C are typically close to full on a regular workday anyway.

A banner?
For a WC spot?
Well, given Minnesotas horrible luck in postseason sports, it does sound like something we would do.

The weather was tolerable for me for most of the game. I was in the sun until the 3rd or 4th inning when it became more overcast. Once the clouds came in, it got cold rather quickly. At that point, we had been sitting there more than 2 hours anyway. We headed down to the main concourse in the 8th inning and got a spot under the heaters.

The concourse expansion between Gate 34 and 29 was nice! That should help free up some of that congestion. Bat and Barrel looks like a very nice addition for all fans to enjoy.

Disappointed in the amount of time it took to get into the stadium. Lines were moving very slow and they need to figure out ways to speed that up. And this was at 2pm, one hour before first pitch and more than 1 hour after gates opened.

Concession lines were all long and very slow going. I am not sure if this was an Opening Day issue or what but I have noticed the long and slow concession lines for the past several years. That has been one of my biggest complaints of the Target Field experience the last 2-3 years.

They need more "hot beverage" stands on those cold days. We waited in line 25 minutes to find out one stand did not have any coffee, very disappointing. And this was before the game even started!

Not surprising but appears that there were price increases on most items this year. 16oz cans of beer are now $8.50...I think they were $8.00 last year.

Kramarczuk's went up to $9.00....they were $8.00 or $8.50 previously. They also added a large Kramarczuk's concession stand between gate 34 and 29.

Definitely nice to have baseball back even with the cold weather. The field looked great and they had a new circular pattern mowed into the grass which was nice to see.

I heard that many of the ticket scanners experienced issues yesterday which is what caused the major delays on getting through the gates. Hope they get that squared away soon.

Inability to handle concessions has consistently been dismissed by the Twins as an issue for DNC to handle, not the team. This is the biggest reason seeing that contract renewed was disappointing. This hasn't been done well since the ballpark opened in my opinion. Complete inability to handle a big crowd or adjust their systems on big crowd days.

Ticket scanner issues were likely due to air temps.

It's too bad ownership has such a shortage of resources so they are unable to fund solutions to issues like this.

This is the first year the Twins haven't mailed actual tickets but instead everything electronic, which I imagine contributed to a lot of the delay issues. Also agree with the comments about concession stands wait times and inability to adjust. The Twins should be embarrassed about this. I've seen high school stands run better than this.

Rick - would like to read your take on Coors Field.

(next time you visit, let me know. Unless you don't want to sit six rows behind the visitor's duggout ...)

Was by Coors Field a month ago when I visited Denver.

I'm taking my stale donut back and will once again demand the governors job...may not be the Opener, but still: 2018, the year incessant snow cancelled a Twins game

Hey Everybody! A one, a two, a three! Take me out... Oh never mind. Cubs opener snowed out at Wrigley.

Did you call that one too Luke?

Yup.
As far as I'm concerned the 2018 season is a total wash and likely won't even be played in its entirety.
Just hand the Cubs the WS title.
Contract the A's, Marlins and Tampa.
Put an expansion team in Montreal.
Go back to a two-division system.
Drop the DL.
And put as much space as possible between the Red Sox and Yankees.
Start 2019 off right.

*drop the DH, rather. Not sure what DL is.

Reason 7,335 why the Marlins never should have been an MLB team

Why they were never contracted when Selig had the chance, I'll never know.

And the Marlins have been around just 25 years, meanwhile the Twins have been around 57 years.

The Marlins were a very successful franchise when Wayne Huizenga owned them and brought them into MLB in 1993.

Loria was not a very good owner and the stadium is in a horrible location. Now the new Jeter ownership group is cleaning house and starting over yet again.

Marlins fans have every reason to not want to attend games when ownership has made it clear they don't want to field a competitive team.

For those ballpark enthusiasts who enjoy history and design, here is a great article about what could have been for the White Sox when they built the new Comiskey in the late 1980's.

Makes you wonder had this gone through as planned, if that would have had a bigger impact on future ballpark designs?

A lot of interesting things in this article and the White Sox messed up on that opportunity in the late 1980's.

The Marlins may have won two WS...but 1997 was a but of a fluke.
It's what happened in the months AFTER THE 1997 WS that made the Marlins a laughing stock.
The 1997 Marlins offseason is the MLB equivalent of the Vikings trade for Herschel Walker. True story.

Hah! Just saw the countdown clock at top of page. This inclement weather really is going to stick around awhile!

Well, I'm right more often than people are willing to admit.
It may not have been the Opener, but Jerry Bell and the gang have had more snowouts this year than the previous SEVEN TF years...COMBINED.

I want my stale donut back.

Another snow-out for tomorrow kiddos.
What is this now, four?

Eight years, luke. More snowouts than the previous eight years combined. This is TF's ninth season of existence.

I realize there's inherent risk in posing this question, but what exactly is your point?

That I was right (four times over, so far).
That there isn't one MLB team that suffers more than the Twins do.
That I fear games in late May will be snowed out.

A complete fluke of an April snowstorm results in (as you point out) the only snow-outs thus far in TF's 8+ years, and we suffer more than anyone else? Today's games in Det and Cle are also postponed, and as I type this it's also snowing in Kansas City. Snow. In Kansas City. In mid April. This weather is the exception to the rule, not the rule.

And if you're honestly afraid of snow-outs in late May, might be time to visit your doctor and have your medication adjusted.

You were wrong. You were a smartass and predicted a snow out opening day. That did not happen. Later snowdates do not correct it.
Don't forget a few years ago Cleveland lost an entire early series and had to move a subsequent one to Milwaukee. Houston lost games to the hurricane. Weather happens. Get over it.

I don't know Expectorate...
I'm gonna sit out going to TF this season i think. Because I have this feeling any game I do decide to go to is gonna be weathered-out in some fashion.
I already had a concert cancelled tonight that I've been dying to go to for months. I figured, hell, April...no prob.

There have been other snowouts at TF I think there were a couple in 2013. I digress.
But three in a row? Detroit, KC, Cleveland, et.al. I don't think lost three in a row to snow :(.

April 2007. Cleveland/Seattle start play opening day at Jacobs Field and get within two outs of an official game (5th inning) but it gets called due to heavy snow. All three games were postponed due to snow and the subsequent series with Angels was moved to Milwaukee before they came back home for the "opener." It may happen here again and someday the twins could be the team that is forced to relocate a series but they are in no way unique to cold weather issues

Luke must be the only vulnerable adult in his group home with this much internet access....Congrats? Lol

Apparently I'm the only adult that sees things as they truly are , shackelford...
Incidentally, if they keep this up, the Twins will have to cancel games because of flooding. Eventually the sun wins in these situations.
And when it all melts, keep me away from TF.

I concur with Luke, it was a significant mistake for Minnesota to have an open air ballpark. Sure, other northern locations have open air ballparks but that's like using a kid argument that johnny does it too so why can I??? Keep in mind it's not only about the possible snow outs and rain outs, the more significant factor is fan comfort. How many games that were played were done so under poor weather conditions?? I know I've been to a few games where there were light flurries and even a good jacket and blanket couldn't keep me comfortable (the french fry heaters are a joke btw). And there were a few games with annoying drizzling rain. Lastly, we all know the Twins wanted a covered ballpark, they just didn't want to pay for it.

Just checking in to see if Luke has taken credit for the upcoming PPD in PR...

The Twins made the absolute right decision and skipped the roof. A retractable roof is an eyesore that shouldn't be considered until you can completely hide it away. Keep in mind that a roof would just make Target Field be covered, and not indoors.

I don't know why everyone is losing their minds over not having a roof. Most years the weather has been just fine. This is just an odd weather year and the weather isn't bad just in Minnesota, but all over. A few weeks of potential cold temps is a fine price to pay for real outdoor baseball, and everything will turn out just fine in the end.

I'm curious how many times the Twins have had to postpone three games in a row due to weather. I doubt that happens very often.

This snowstorm was ridiculous. Actual Spring can show up anytime, now!

And of course, MLB could just have some %$#%$ brains when making the schedule: Hold off on games in the northern tier of cities before mid April, and avoid games in Dallas and KC in mid August

Even the ballparks with a roof are not immune to postponed games. Rogers Center roof damaged by falling ice, postponing tonight's game

I was looking at scores on MLBtv tonight, and while other games were postponed for rain or inclement weather, Toronto was listed as “Venue.” I had to go look that up.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if the Twins start talking about a new ballpark to replace Target Field in 15 years, however, do we really think they will?

The fact that Target Field is located in downtown Minneapolis and they are developing the surrounding neighborhoods around Target Field, I think Target Field will be there for a long time.

Other urban ballparks are still going strong in Baltimore, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Denver, Boston, Chicago Cubs, San Diego, San Francisco so I think they will be playing at Target Field for many more years to come.

Is there any other market with more impressive venues than the Twins Cities? Target Center was just extensively renovated and is a very good facility now. Xcel Energy Center is 18 years old and remains one of the best NHL arenas to this day. TCF Bank Stadium is an excellent urban college stadium with great sightlines. Target Field is one of the most urban MLB Ballparks and is definitely top-tier. US Bank Stadium is unique and provides the Vikings with one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL. CHS Field is one of the most underrated minor league ballparks around. Another urban ballpark that was designed very nice and is fan friendly. Allianz Field appears to be another great venue on the horizon. That's not even counting the new facilities over at the U of M or the new Vikings facility in Eagan.

By 15 years from now the fan will demand a television in front of every seat. Target Field will be "dated".

Rick has theorized more than once they would tear down the trash dump next door and build there.

Crazy as it sounds, I could see all of that happening, thus "taking advantage" of the development around the park that "exceeded expectations, and we need a new modern facility".

This will coincide with the baby boomers peaking out in the age in which it's time to downsize, and the millenials that live in all of those overpriced condos finally settling into suburban housing, so there is another big housing/population shift, and redevelopment phase to go with it, coming.

Talk of replacing Target Field in 15 years is ridiculous. It will be there for many decades.

"By 15 years from now the fan will demand a television in front of every seat...".
Gee I hope not. Everyone will be looking at the tv on the seat backs instead of actually watching the game in front of them.

In a way though, that technology already exists. Snartphone Apps like the MLB app, Ballpark app, team apps, etc already offer fans the opportunity to see exclusive "in game" content, highlights, etc.

I'm not sure if they still do, but I remember when Tropicana Field opened in 1998, I was reading about how their premium seats actually had mini screens attached to the seats. It was one of the innovations that made the Trop the supposed "ballpark of the 21st century".

Well, the Catch’s seats have shared screens. Granted, to give a view of plays not visible from the seats. But you can select from different feeds: FSN, scoreboard, bullpen, etc.

Well, the Catch’s seats have shared screens. Granted, to give a view of plays not visible from the seats. But you can select from different feeds: FSN, scoreboard, bullpen, etc.

They are not going to be talking about replacing Target Field in 15 years...no way. Not after the long political fight they had for Target Field. Unless they privately fund a new ballpark on their own I just don't see it happening. Target Field was built and designed to be there for a long time. Target Field is one of the best ballparks in baseball and the Twins are the only tenant so they can't argue about the revenues as they control that unlike their past two homes they shared. They won't have the "we are playing in the corner of a football stadium" argument either.

There are many ballparks out there right now that are much older than Target Field and are still up and running just fine. Until we start seeing new ballparks talked about in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Denver, Seattle, San Diego and San Franciso, I would not worry too much about it. Those are all cities with urban ballparks built before Target Field.

But, but, but ---------------- what about the "outdoor baseball" mantra?

an idea, that I'm behind - except the part about Interleague Play

Rick,
I can't disagree more with you about Target Field being replaced, if ever. Renovation would be cheap. The entire terrace level could be converted to suites/group seating with ease due to the split upper deck. The club level on the 1st base side ends at first base - they could easily extend that level down to the Met club to add higher priced seating, again cheaply. This ain't the 2 level Metrodome that was dug into the earth! Hell, underneath the lower deck at the dome was just that - earth! Target Field has 5 decks so there's more opportunity to get creative with renovations in the future. It will still be standing in 2050, mark my words.

Texas is doing that for attendance purposes. They don't draw crap in the summer due to 90-100 degree heat. Who wants to sit and sweat for 3+ hours. They should have built a dome/retractable to begin with. No comparison to TF.

CNBC did a short spot yesterday about those cameras that take a photo of everyone at the game (using several shots from Target Field interestingly enough).

It turns out those photos are using facial recognition software to identify what demographics are sitting in the crowd to target marketing and in-game music.

Tag yourself on Facebook in the photo (as they encourage you to do) and it's yet another data point for all to utilize.

So I heard that Oakland recently had a game with free admission. Interesting idea. Probably broke even or came out ahead, I would think, with concession and parking. Plus, you are exposing your brand to families who might not otherwise be able to afford to come. Teams with struggling attendance might want to consider this, and more regularly.

TTH

The Rangers played years without a roof even before GLF. They're just thinking of this concept now? It's not like Arlington TX just all of a sudden became hot and steamy. It's not a woulda shoulda coulda situation, it's a we wanta situation.
Arlington must be boring if they can only find one company to slap naming rights on the ballpark: Globe Life Park, Globe Life Field.
Well, on the other hand, Minnesota can only find Target for that distinction...never mind.

I think parking was also free for that Oakland free anniversary game.

Funny how the team complaining about the "cold weather" earlier this season just got swept in 3 games in a DOME!!

On another note, it was 64 degrees and sunny yesterday in Minneapolis ...I didn't hear anyone clamoring for a retractable roof this weekend...Temps expected to be mid 60's next Saturday and Sunday as well for the Reds series.

'Tis why we don't have a roof.
I believe there was a study done at some point during the construction and it seemed that the Twins would only have used it for a small fraction of games.
Places like Houston which get horrifically humid or Miami which has almost daily rainstorms, that's one thing.
A few cold snowy days in April and God forbid late September in Minneapolis didn't seem to justify the shitload of money needed to build a roof.

even the worst stadium in all of baseball kept TF off this list

The problem I have with the supposedly advanced retractable roof technology is that the designs of these new ballparks usually take a step backwards. What I mean is look at the new renderings and design of the new Texas rangers ballpark. Two thirds of the roof is a fixed canopy and the other third which opens over the field is pretty tiny. I do not know why but the designers never envision a stadium like SkyDome(Rogers Centre) where the roof extends from one side of the grandstand to the other making it wider than any other and truly worth the effort which is usually quite expensive. I get the feeling that if we ever got a new retractable roofed ballpark, it would totally suck. Sorry if my words are off topic a little.

This post is over a year old now, there is no "off topic" because we've covered topics all over the map.

The Skydome - where the roof is as deep if not deeper than the seating bowl it covers.
The SkyDome is an eyesore.

"Dollar Dogs" dead?

I thought the "dollar dog" ended when the Twins departed the Disgrace on Puckett Place?

They have been a staple at Target Field on Wednesdays as well. I tried one once. Never again. Steamed, terrible quality, awful tasting hot dog. Had two elementary age boys with me and even they didn't want seconds.

I guess I'm out of touch with the weekly promos at TF.
If I do get out there, it's usually weekend games.

Well, as Rick says, you're not missing anything. Lots of onions and mustard if you must.

I'll pass.
The copious amounts of mustard and onions and other condiments can be for everyone else.
I'm a plain got dog guy.

Can anyone explain why the Twins brought in Fernando Rodney? He has three straight blown saves. I'm not even sure he has had a clean inning yet. Send him into retirement and give someone else the job

I can explain it Stevie. When I saw Rodney pitch against the twins two years ago I immediately thought one thing-this guy sucks and is washed up. The twins obviously did not see what I saw, so the twins organization in my mind made a big mistake to pick him up and expect him to do the job. You know what that's on them.

When Facebook basically loses its collective mind over a Twins win, doesn't seem to bode well for the season.

Well things have returned to normal-Twins are losing 7-0 against a 6-21 team at home. More fun facts: Since the Wild made the playoffs our professional sports teams are 4-20 (soon to be 4-21) w/ Wild 1-4, T-Wolves 1-4, Twins 1-8 and United 1-4 which includes a loss where the difference make was an own goal (?!?!?!?!!?) ---before Twins and United wins last night we were 2-20......THIS is what turns being angry into being apathetic....the sameness -hamster wheel- rotating seasons of sorrow followed by hope that the next MN sports team will prevail.

For example right now I am channel surfing the TV sitting next to my "State of Hockey" and "This is how we Baseball" cheer towels going back and forth watching an expansion team from the middle of the Mojave Desert taking on a team in San Jose, CA in something called the SECOND RD of the playoffs (have any of you ever heard of this????) and my Twinkies holding the worst team in baseball to 23 runs so far at home as we continue to clusterf*ck our way down the standings approaching the record of Miami who is trying to tank their season

The first sentence of your comment gives a bad name to the idea of "This is How We Baseball".
People are going to get the wrong idea.
Maybe they should change it to "this is how we baseball - in Minnesota".

Bat & Barrel:

Food - Ok. Should have kept more of Met Club menu. Got to wonder how long the $60 steak will remain on menu. "Tavern Burger" was pretty good and not as terrible a value as usual.

Seating - People who are used to eating in mess halls won't mind.

Service - Shaky. Had to wait way too long for a beer - something about the taps being "inoperative" (maybe hire someone who knows how to operate a bar?).

Everything else IS cheaper. My perception is just fine.

This is probably covered somewhere earlier but I noticed they now have locational based pricing in the Home Plate Box (low, mid, high). Nice to see they have fixed one of my pet peeves of paying the same price to sit in the very top wheelchair row of home plate box and paying the same as someone sitting right above the dugout box section. Did this just start this year?

Maybe someday they'll also solve the issue of having someone with a $12 ticket standing right behind me in a $50 section. One can only hope I guess.

I believe it started this season, yes. I'm pretty sure itwas discussed at some point.

it's continuing in Clevland seemingly

Location based pricing is a double edged sword. It's new for the Twins, but the Rockies have done it for a few years.

The season ticket pricing for seats similar to Home Plate Box in the first 10 rows have skyrocketed 32% in 3 years while those in the next 10 have gone up 18% and the rest 7%.

This does not bode well for long term STH. Combined with tiered game pricing and demand based box office pricing (which never seems to benefit the fan) it's just more squeezing of the fan base.

I agree that WC Row pricing should be less than most/all HPB, especially where views are restricted, but I don't like Row based pricing in general for already defined seating areas.

that idiot "up there" better get his act together, cause its a-comin

So much for changing the pace of game.
Todays loss to the Cards was a marathon 3hr 50min according to the postgame show.
Good grief, no rain delay. No extra innings. A regular nine inning, 54 out game...almost four hours.
And neither of these clubs are the Red Sox or the Yankees.

And, yet, Tuesday night was under 3 hours.

Length of game is more about the pitcher/home plate umpire than anything.

We can talk all we want about limiting mound visits or reducing time between innings but ultimately it comes down to the pitchers and what kind of strike zone the umpire has.

Tuesday night's game was 2:45 with Berrios cruising.

Remember when Mark Buehrle was pitching and all of those games were usually 2:30 or less?

Five hits tonight, two runs given up because of wild pitches and too many double plus hit into to keep count. And that fat tub of strikeout goo is doing nothing to help his team.

The Twins marketing team announced today a revision to their latest cheese flavored slogan:

This is how we make people turn away from baseball

I think we all know what Harry Doyle would be saying about the Twins today and recently: “one run? One &$&! Run? That’s all we got?” In 3 1/3 games they held Seattle to 9 runs - and were swept!

Is there anything else exciting to talk about?
Like is it Gopher season yet?
How's the MLS pitch looking?
Just how the hell do you pronounce Allianz anyway?
Who's on first?
Who put the bom shu bop in the Rama Lama ding dong, even?

The Twins are on a nice 2 game moral victory winning streak!!

Came back from 9-0 on Wednesday night and 8-0 on Thursday night!!

This team doesn't give up!! Only 6.5 games out of first!!

Any other division they would be at least 12-15 games games out right now and buried.

Luke -

Gopher baseball is looking good after winning the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. They earned a 1 seed, 14 overall and are hosting this weekend at Siebert Field.

UCLA beat Gonzaga earlier in the first game. Gophers 1st pitch is at 7pm tonight. Gophers have a very strong lineup, great Friday and Saturday starters, and a strong closer.

Should be a fun weekend. Game 1 is huge at coming out of the elimination bracket is a challenge.

I was talking about Gopher football...
Gopher baseball, pssshhh.
Next.

So, actually lead a discussion topic Luke instead of being a douche about it.

You've been extra whiny the last few months. What's up??

Your topics of discussion are listed in 843.
Nothing douchey about it there, Brandon.
Pick one and go from there.

How the hell do you pronounce Allianz anyway?

Nah. I like Brandon's topic better.

Gophers win their Regional bracket, and will move on the the Super-Regionals. Barring a miracle comeback by LSU, their opponent will be perennial power and national #3 seed Oregon St., at Oregon St's home field. A tough task, but win a best-of-three series against the Beavers, and it's off to Omaha!

Nothing douchey in 843. 846 however... You still bitter that they played a few games in the Purple Palace? Get over it.

I watched part of the Gopher game last night. Exciting team and some good looking ballplayers there. Have always had a lot of respect for coach Anderson. Good luck against OSU boys - would be great to see them make the trip to Omaha.

Well while college baseball has never been my thing - the Goldies are having a much better season than the Twins.

It's certainly a wide-open NCAA baseball tournament this year - eight of the top 16 national seeds have been eliminated in regional play, with one region yet to be decided. Florida (the overall #1 seed) currently trails in its elimination game. Good year for the Gophers to take advantage...

Can't we be happy for the Gophers and John Anderson? Having a great season and playoffs.

I was glad to be st Siebert Sunday night. Gopher team is an easy one to like. Park set record attendance that night and it was a PERFECT night to be there.

Here’s hoping a northern team can crack the College World Series!

Box score clocked todays yawner at 2 hrs 14 mins.
THAT is how a ballgame should be played.
Just think, its HALF a Yankee-Red Sox game.
#paceofhame

#paceofgame, rather

Oh oh, no Ohtani. Angels put him on the DL so he won't be playing at Target Field this weekend. Wonder how many tickets were sold with the anticipation of seeing him play.

Tough loss for the Gopher baseball team last night, as they lose the Super-Regional in 2 straight and their run to Omaha comes to an end. Last night's game was much closer than game 1, but they couldn't seem to come up with the big hit they needed, and as impressive as their freshman reliever was, their bullpen wasn't quite good enough. Oregon St. is a very good team, and should be considered as one of the favorites to win the CWS.

Congratulations to the Gophers on a great season!

"Minnesota sports - always a bridesmaid, never a bride"
Mark Twain

Re: 857

Double oh no. Ohtani is out for Tommy John surgery.
Likely won't be back til 2020.

Mariners are giving out a James Paxton bobblehead with an eagle perched on his shoulder. Nice!

2026 World Cup coming to the US.
Minneapolis will not be one of the 10 host cities

And Sano sent to where he belongs.

For those of us still here:
St Paul fishwrap said that if "concussion -sensitive" Mauer, who only has 11 RBI's this year, doesn't improve post-ASB, this could be his career-ending season.

Guess he'll just have to take his 184 Million fishing.

Just in: multiple sources confirm MLB will focus on instituting the 10-run "mercy rule" for the 2019 season and beyond. They will vote on it at the Winter Meetings.

Meanwhile expansion to Portland, OR is officially off the table.

#823 StevieB #824 Tom D. Are you guys eating crow yet for your comments on crooked hat Rodney?He hasnt been to bad!

Eating crow? I don't think so. He's had a good month to be sure. Would I trust him with a big game on the line? I'm still not sold on that.

You're probably right. But it has been a delight to watch!

He wasn't so delightful today. :(

Now that's funny

Slightly old news here - Oregon St. wins the CWS. The Gophers can perhaps take some consolation in their own elimination coming at the hands of the eventual national champion.

The real story is how Arkansas lost it. After winning game 1 of the best-of-3 championship series, Arkansas was up by one run in the 9th inning of game 2, with two outs, and needed only to field a short pop foul near 1st base to clinch the game, and the championship. Instead, the ball dropped between 3 players, Oregon St came back to win that game, and shut them out in game 3.

Ouch.

So, apparently "this is how we baseball":
3 games against the Cubbies
35 runs given up. Almost average 12 runs per game for the Cubs.
46 hits. Which calculates to an average of 15.3 hits per game for Cubs.
Somehow the Twinkies are 2nd in the Central.
Dont know how the Twins can be THAT bad and be THAT high in the standings.

If there isn't cake offered I dont think I'll be going to another game in a long time.

Not sure what to think of this.
30 teams in MLB in 30 ballparks, according to this list there are 16 of those 30 that are on the "bad" list. And TF is...well, on this list.

surprised?

Those ballpark "rankings" are ridiculous and provide no clear insight or knowledge other than some random yelp reviews.

Has this person even been to every ballpark he has rated?

Too much emphasis on food too...

Then he says the seats are too far from the field...well that is modern design and should be applied to every ballpark that designed by HOK/Populous where they have the club level and suite levels jammed in between the lower level and upper level. It only pushes the upper deck higher up in all of these stadiums.

He also says most seats at SunTrust Park are not shaded, fact is, they built a canopy very similar to that of Target Field and most of the upper deck seats are covered by that feature.

At the end of the day, it's just one of those click bait articles with very little substance.

Of course he has Citi Field and Yankee Stadium in his top 15 as well as the usual Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. Kauffman Stadium, AT&T Park, PNC Park, Oriole Park are all top 10 worthy but not Citi Field and Yankee Stadium or even Globe Life Park.

I havent paid much attention, really, but halfway thru, the Red Sox are 61-29 and on a 5 game win streak.

Not sure where that lies among best starts. I think the 1998 Tankees were close??

Anyone else see the new stadium the Rays are proposing in Tampa?

A fixed translucent roof with artificial turf and a capacity of just 28,216...for nearly $900 million, not a very good stadium design in my mind. Also, when you have a capacity of 28,216, you don't need THREE decks...look at PNC Park in Pittsburgh as a great example of this. They have a small intimate ballpark with just 2 decks and it's one of the best ballparks in baseball at 18 years old.

Not to mention, no one seemed to answer the most important question of all, how will they pay for this proposed stadium in Tampa?

After getting fleeced in Tampa with Raymond James Stadium and in Miami with Marlins Ballpark, I am sure the taxpaying citizens and tourists in Florida will end up getting fleeced on the new Rays stadium as well.

A capacity of 28,216...lol.
Its Tampa, a capacity of 216 would have done just fine.

^^ The Rays will move to Montreal or Portland. This thing will never get approved.

You're probably right.
And for the reasons Mike cited, regarding other stadium issues in FL, wouldnt be surprised if the Ray's looked elsewhere.

"They built the Suncoast Dome in the late 80s..." it *almost* would have hosted the Twins had Carl Pohlad not stepped up in 1984. I believe TB was aggressively pursuing the Twins at the time.

I imagine the 1,000 seat drop at TF came mostly in part to removal of the "Batters Eye" seats in CF and partly from the removal of RF bleachers for the "Great Seats" section.

They also removed some seats from section 101 and 102 as part of the concourse renovation this past offseason between gates 34 and 29.

I agree with the cost of games! With a 5 year old now and a family of 3, cost is a much bigger factor.

Even with the cheapest tickets, a game for a family of 3 easily costs us around $75-100 on average by the time we calculate tickets, food, snacks, parking and gas. We usually bring our own snacks and bottle water to save on food expenses.

We try to buy our tickets at the box office to save on those ridiculous "fees" they charge you online. When two $23 tickets end up costing you more than $60 with all of the fees, that extra cost can add up when you buy numerous tickets and games. Convenience fees, ordering processing fees, print at home/will call fees...it never ends.

Baseball wonders why attendance is falling, well I think they need to start evaluating the cost more closely. And unless the owners can find new ways to generate revenue or player salaries eventually drop, it's going to continue to get more and more expensive. This is why you are seeing more and more people attend town ball and minor league events. Northwoods League is also a very fun summer collegiate league to watch games at affordable prices. Our family of 3 went to a Rochester Honkers game recently for under $30 and that included 2 beers and 2 hot dogs.

I went to a Twins game a couple of weeks ago and it felt more like a pop concert with all of the loud music being played throughout the game. Can we have a throwback game where there is no "walk-up music" or loud pop music between innings and we can just enjoy some good old fashioned organ music?? The Twins game day production has really disappointed me the last couple of years.

I understand I am a traditionalist and in the minority but that is what makes baseball so fun are the sights and sounds of the game... the crack of the bat, the peanuts, hot dogs, beer, organ music, natural grass/outdoors, the vendors.

TD Ameritrade Park is definitely on my bucket list.

Mike gets my vote for post of the month.

Bucs beat the Vikings today 19-6

19-6.

I'd love a Twins game with just organ music. But - Sue, bless her, would need to greatly expand her repertoire...

Collegiate Summer Leagues are a great option for cheap games, with new leagues and teams cropping up everywhere. Even my little hometown (pop. ~25,000) in South-Central NE has one, playing its first ever season this year. Their priciest "premium" ticket is $10 per seat. I believe the Northwoods League has plans to put a team in Hudson, WI in the near future.

I'm guessing Sue would love to play more and would be happy to "expand her repertoire..." ---- but all the "Everybody Clap Their Hands" and other crap kind of holds her down.

I miss Ronnie Neumann.
He was a good organist.

Yeah - Twins tickets are way too high. I went to the series in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago. I got tickets in the terrace level directly behind home plate for $13 apiece. At Target Field, those same tickets go for $30 each. Me and my three boys going to games and that adds up quickly. $52 for 4 tickets at Miller Park or $120 for 4 tickets at Target Field. Miller Park it is!

Sorry, the team isn't holding the organist back. She is just comfortable in her routine. She's a very nice woman, but she isn't the calibur of some MLB organists. Sadly I would presume they are waiting her out because they can't fire her. Or St. Peter & co. are just blind with "tradition."

Organist from Dodger Stadium

Rick - have you considered guest blog posts, to assist with keeping the site fresh? I’m sure the community (myself included) would be happy or willing to contribute.

TTH

FINALLY, something to talk about:

Allianz Field. Outside lights.
Courtesy of United FC Facebook page.

I look at that and all i see is the Seahawks logo.

Now that you mention it, I do too.

Your team is a helluva lot of messed up when they give up a three run, INSIDE THE PARK, home run to Drew F-ing Butera.

So we have all of this flexible pricing and demand base pricing and it seems like ticket prices ALWAYS increase but they never decrease.

Maybe it's time to start lowering some of these ticket prices as the Twins begin to set their sights on 2019. Isn't that part of the demand-based pricing equation? When demand decreases or is non-existent, shouldn't the prices come down?? Simple economics...but apparently that does not apply to the wealthy team owners/MLB.

I can't imagine fans will be flocking to Target Field much in August or September, especially when fall sports kick into gear and College Football and the NFL take over.

E-mail from Twins today:

Did you miss out on your favorite Minnesota Twins theme night item this season? Here is a second chance to add great theme night items to your collection through this special second chance theme night offer.

Good humor - these were all "Limited number of tickets available" deals.