Under the stairs to the skyway, they cut out the wall to Ramp B. Will that a a pedestrian entrance too?

rick, thanks for investigating and sharing the history not only of the twins organization throughout all of this stadium building but also of the city itself. this site's content is far more enjoyable than that which the local news gives. this place is gonna sing, baby, and those of us that've followed this blog since its inception owe you a lot of cred. well done.

Rick: I believe Aaron Gleeman had a bit about the Gameday Scorecards several weeks ago. I can't remember the exact details other than I believe John Bonnes aka The Twins Geek now produces it in partnership with the Twins. I'd email Gleeman and/or TG for the nitty gritty.

Rick,

According to the Twins press release of "What's new for 2009 seasib"....

GameDay Programs - The Twins have completed a new partnership with Letter High Publishing - the publishers of GameDay Programs. Letter High Publishing will now provide content for team scorecards to be included in all Twins Magazines or sold separately for $1.

Click on link to view entire release.

That should say "What's new for 2009 season"

Hey...does anyone know when they will start to install the seats and where they will start installing them?

it is just so cool to see this park emerge on the landscape. bike up the river parkway, look to your left, and there it is, looking good in only a half finished condition. you can even see the canopy and lights from 35w heading south as you enter the city.

Vikeologist, yeah that was me and my brothers.

i think we would have been fine if we didn't go by the windows where the elevators are to get a view of the backside of the trapizodal bleachers; they saw us on the cameras. I wasn't too surprised when the guard told us that we aren't allowed to hang around the ramp, but i was like 'what the hell' when he told us we aren't suppose to have cameras. he stayed there until i put the camera away and until he knew we were leaving. so we moved the car down a few levels and walked down to the street.

sounds like a power trip to me! don't those dufuses know that is why movies like "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" are funny? Ask him why they don't let him carry a gun next time and I'll bet he gets a little sensitive.

i've never once been hassled by security at the ramps, may be that whenever i'm down there on my lunch break, i'm wearing a tie...

i've not seen any articles or complaints this week about not having a roof next year. i guess the cold sun is blocking those thoughts for the nay-sayers.

pawelk, yeah i was there taking pictures as well, and I saw you guys there. You can get a better view from the ramp on some of the lower levels. The wall on the upper level of the ramp is too high to see anything.

I never saw security there, I must have gotten lucky. That is sad that they wont let fans take pictures.

"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" was funny?

AC try reading the comments on some of the articles in recent days at either the Strib or Pioneer Press. Some of those idiots can be found over there. Part of me wants to refer some of them to this site, so they can gain some knowledge about the subject, the better part of me knows not to. We don't need their kind trolling Rick's site.

Heres a artical about outdoor home openers from back at the met...its not a slam on TF so its a fun lil read

I can't wait for it to be 40 degrees in April, this way when I drive from northern Minnesota I can get better seats from the fans who weren't fans between 1994 and 2001 and now go to games so they can start waves and play with beach balls.

Thats funny there was atleast 5 beach balls going during the game in the homerun porch, same color and size i think it must have been the same kids...

The wave has to be the worst fan tradition in sports. Very, very annoying and I always refuse to stand for it.

I have heard rumors that it actually originated at the Metrodome (can anyone confirm or deny this?). It had better NOT move over to Target Field. This is a baseball game not Amateur Hour. Leave the wave to the Vikings if need be...

Vikeologist,

yeah we were all over the ramp getting different views from the various levels. the wall is high, but when we stood on the bumper and leaned on the ledge, we had a great view of the ballpark. we were talking about that it wouldn't be a bad spot to watch a game (ala roof top seats across from wrigley)

John Bonnes explained the GameDay situation on Twinsgeek.com a few weeks ago... Gameday writers have teamed up with the Twins to provide the written content for the Official Twins Scorecard. Article here:

http://twinsgeek.blogspot.com/2009/03/respecting-game.html

Rick, gameday is an official part with the twins. check out the announcement: http://twinsgeek.blogspot.com/2009/03/respecting-game.html

I'm planning on heading down to Target Field sometime in the next few days, anything I need to be aware of? (I don't really understand what the deal is with the security at the ramp)

Maybe they built the administration building in left field so it would serve as a barrior for killing the wave.

BB,

Just keep an eye open, stay away from the elevator's, they have camera's in there. What I love to do is drive to the top of the ramp and back up against the wall overlooking the ballpark. Standing on your bumper get's a great view of the stadium.

Max, ditto on the wave, it has to be the stupidest thing ever(aside from Vin Diesel).

manbearpig, in Houston we have almost all of left center without seats and it fails to kill the wave.

absolutely agree on the beachballs manbearpig

I remember bringing that topic up about this time last year on this site and getting shouted down about it. So annoying to have the game keep getting paused because some drunken tards in the cheap seats would rather play volleyball than watch a game.

Hoping a regular breeze prevents the volleyball phenomenon at Target Field. Sadly, the wave will always exist as long as people who don't really like baseball go to baseball games.

Thanks Camden! Can't wait to get down there

I thought I saw an interview during last nights game where they mentioned that some seat installation might begin this spring sometime which might be pretty quick anyone else see that during the game perhaps as well.

I actually just finished my second game as a Twins usher last night ...(season tickets aren't the only way into Target Field next year)... and had one in my section last night. We are actually trained on beach ball procedures, being told to just go to the bottom step and wait for it to come to you. Always does. It looked like one snuck thru last night...for the record not my fault.

Also, if I had any power to eject the wave-starting fan each game, I would kick their junk to Huberts in 10 seconds. But unfortunately I cannot. Sorry all, WIN TWINS!

The wave has certainly jumped the shark, but I have seen it done in the right setting and it looks pretty sweet. You need a SINGLE BOWL, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, and 110,000 people. It doesn't work in baseball - every park has some discontinuity in the seating deck. And even for football, the upper/lower deck split throws it off.

Michigan Stadium, however, throws a useful wave. The fact that it's one single continuous bowl makes it work. The student section also slows the wave down to a crawl, and speeds it up, which is fun to watch as it travels around the house. They'll even send one in the opposite direction, which will cross paths with the original wave...I can't imagine a Twins' crowd could ever pull off any such coordination.

There's nothing cool about the volleyball, however. It simply says, "I'd rather be elsewhere than paying attention to this game."

What do you guys think those mysterious packages/piles of stuff in the RF upperdeck are? I hoping for something seat-related!!

The only downside to the incredible suspense of waiting to see what those things are is that it makes webcam 2 relevant again...

I wish there was a better timeline for some items getting installed. Things like the seats, scoreboards, walls, gate numbers of the greats, etc...

Seats are going to be installed starting in May...

Hmmmmmm? I'm guessing either the railings or the seats/armrests. You're right Margaret, webcam 2 just got a little more interesting.

#26 CHS should go up anytime in the next day or two. Keep your eyes on the webcam folks!

JohnK

I am gonna look for you during my next game and slip u a beer

Locker,

Are you going to give an award for the first person to notice the seats? Winner also gets to visit Kevin in Arizona to chase some rattlesnakes.

It looks to me like the piles appeared as the scaffolding came down. It may just be that the piles are the scaffold all wrapped up for easier transport to the next part of the canopy.

love that the Twins brought gameday in to the operation... better product, better price, made by the fans ostensibly... every once in awhile, things happen the way you hope they will...

That's a good point other guy.

Rick, I agree with you that some fans will not want to give up the Dome. But there are a lot of us who hate watching baseball in the dome, and who want to watch some outdoor baseball, dammit. I plan to attend more games at TF than I ever did at the Dome. The Twins will do no worse than break even on this.

I agree with Dave T. I've said no to free tickets in the past because of the dome but now I can't wait to see baseball outside.

I think it will kind of be like the Wild, even if we suck we'll still pack the place. But we SHOULD have a pretty good team next year.

Hey Rick are we still going to get your thoughts on how the plaza will connect with First Avenue and why that old Met flag pole actually may have found it's best possible home up there. I still like my idea of that area by the pro shop for the flag pole. Thanks for the updates, its greatly appreciated!!

Webcam 2 showing another ribbon board going in RF next to the plaza?

Guys,
I'm actually kinda sad right now. In about 4-5 months, this place will have real grass installed, seats will be in place, and the scoreboard will be pretty much done. What am I going to do with my time while I wait all winter for the start of opening day 2010. We may need a support group to get started up next fall.

In that 1908 photo, there's a brown building towards the left-hand side of the picture. Is that Butler Square? Looks an awful lot like the current building, but just different enough in some of the window patterns that I can't be sure.

I think some of you might be disappointed by the fact that outdoor games will attract EVERYONE, not just die-hard baseball junkies like most of the folks here. You might find a few more drunks that couldn't tell you the name of either team on the field and several more beachballs, I'm just sayin'... the chance to sit outside in nice weather with beer and peanuts is all it will take for some people.

and dammit, thanks alot for calling me out on Mall Cop, thank god I can truthfully claim I haven't seen it but it did do well in theaters? I guess that doesn't necessarily = funny.

This is something that I've wondered about for a while now. Most ballparks have some sort of grand entrance hall behind home plate, but TF does not. Was it a space issue, is the plaza in right field supposed to be the "grand entrance" to the park, or did the designers just choose to go with something different with the restaurant (or whatever it is) that is there? Personally, this is the only thing that I really don't care for in the overall design of TF.

Locker,

I was thinking the same thing..i sure as hell dont want to go back to working while sitting in my cube 8 hours a day.

Billy,

The plaza is supposed to be the main entrance. How many people would really be coming from the HERC side anyways? There's not much back there - all the bars, parking, etc are to the downtown side. Why draw more attention to the "neighborhood" with a grand entrance?

Also, there are other ballparks without the main entry at home plate. In Washington, most people enter though the outfield plaza, because it's the one close to the metro stop. Atlanta not only has a large plaza in the outfield, but I believe they don't have a public entrance at all behind home plate.

aren't those revolving doors supposed to keep the air inside the dome to keep the thing inflated?
and, i thought we only entered through the revolving doors, we exit through the glass doors - with the 90-horse fans that blow warm air on everybody going out.

We only get to exit through the big glass doors if someone overpowers "the guards". They say that if all the doors were open at once the dome would deflate. The warm air blowing out is actually the pressure being released from inside the dome. God, that place sucks. I was at opening night, sitting in upper club. I couldn't believe my 25 dollar seats could be so cramped and uncomfortable. The worst thing about the dome is that they keep raising ticket prices on such a lousy venue. Well, maybe we could think of a few others. Enough complaining though--To the future!

I love the skin on the canopy. Looks like the ship from The Flight of the Navigator (most people born around the same time as the dome should know what I'm talking about). As for the entrance, I PREFER the outfield as the main enterance. This way you get a view of the entire park as you walk up to it. That to me is just so cool. TF will be much more open to the city than so many other ballparks. Also, I'm sure space was an issue.

You best belive that i over power the guards! its fun.... im sorry!

No need to be sorry. The rest of us appreciate when we can get out in 20 minutes instead of 40.

Oh dear God, Duluth. I love Flight of the Navigator. Easily one of the top five child-running-a-spaceship movies of all time. Oh, and good win tonight. The HomerDome finally lives up to its name for the Hometown Nine.

Looks like Old man Sid forgot to take his pills again, Click

Maz,

I am the one that you will have to overcome if you're going out the push doors! And in that case, you better expect to slip me at least two beers. I was in sec 135 Mon and Tue, and I work again next Tuesday...don't be a liar.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the science behind the doors, DuluthTim is right. The revolving doors help stabilize the air pressure so the roof stays up. If we just opened all doors at once that would allow everyone to get out a heck of a lot faster (and in a more jet engine-simulator style which is about the only redeeming factor of the facility) but then you can expect that the next day's game will be postponed due to teflon deflation. There is a guy who gets paid to sit in the bowels of the dome monitoring air pressure. That's his only job. When you see that a door is open at the next game you all attend, you can know that the instruction came from him, and the ushers are just doing what he says. The thing is, when one door opens on one side, a door immediately across from it also needs to open to keep a balance, so it's a big deal.

On Tuesday we actually opened four of the push doors at Gate H. So there.

Mazaratirick,

Thanks for the article, funny read. However the article wasn't the worst of it, the comments people wrote were unbelievable. So many people complaining about no roof, the garbage stench, rain outs/snow outs, and that they will not go to any games. WELL GOOD THEN DON'T GO!!! Look at all of the other cities that have stadiums with no roofs, and similar weather: New York, Boston, Philidelphia, Colorado, Chicago, and as one report showed the very simialr Pittsburgh. We will all survive, and if the people from out of town are worried about a rain/snow out, do your research before you go to a game.

I went to The Ballpark in Arlingtion (refuse to call it what it is now) in 1994. I was 11 and had endured multiple Dome games to that point with no complaints. My uncle brought us out to a game in Texas, and we got there and about 2 innings into it, the rain started to pour, and called a rain delay. My uncle,aunt,mom,and cousins were all bummed, but here I was just in awe of the rain, the grounds crew, the tarps, and the eventual cancelling of the gamer after waiting an hour. We ended up going to the next game the next night, and it was sunny and beautiful. Since that day I could not wait for outdoor baseball!

Mazaratirick,

Thanks for the article, funny read. However the article wasn't the worst of it, the comments people wrote were unbelievable. So many people complaining about no roof, the garbage stench, rain outs/snow outs, and that they will not go to any games. WELL GOOD THEN DON'T GO!!! Look at all of the other cities that have stadiums with no roofs, and similar weather: New York, Boston, Philidelphia, Colorado, Chicago, and as one report showed the very simialr Pittsburgh. We will all survive, and if the people from out of town are worried about a rain/snow out, do your research before you go to a game.

I went to The Ballpark in Arlingtion (refuse to call it what it is now) in 1994. I was 11 and had endured multiple Dome games to that point with no complaints. My uncle brought us out to a game in Texas, and we got there and about 2 innings into it, the rain started to pour, and called a rain delay. My uncle,aunt,mom,and cousins were all bummed, but here I was just in awe of the rain, the grounds crew, the tarps, and the eventual cancelling of the gamer after waiting an hour. We ended up going to the next game the next night, and it was sunny and beautiful. Since that day I could not wait for outdoor baseball!

Will be there Monday John...lol with my son.. So no bum rushing the doors for us!

Josh,

The comments are a joke, the people that bi%$h and moan about not having a roof and rainouts and garbage smells are all about none thing.. Anti public funds for stadiums...it’s about the politics of it just like that Colman kook, if the twins paid for this all by themselves they would love the outdoor ballpark with no complaints..

Sid is a fun man to read, he makes me laugh. He must have it in his contract that nobody can proof read is work b4 he posts it cuz there is always spelling mistakes, wrong first names with last names (Joe Cutler instead of Jay Cutler)and his facts are incorrect. Oh and everybody who ever he got a free meal off is his "Close personal friend" loves to name drop.. Has a sports version of "CJ"

For the last 4 years before we got the approval from henn county he would be on WCCO radio beggin listiners to call the powers that be so his buddy pohlad can have a new stadium, I assume hes not as tight with the Pohlad boys now that his buddy has passed Jim must not be comp'in his dinners @ Murrys..

Enough about Sid, sorry guys.. His son was a Hack too.

Game isn't on "local" TV today, however, the fleet of foot should note that they can see the action on the MLB Mix channel 720 on Directv as Seattle's crew is broadcasting the game (you have to watch the small screen out of 8, but it is live nonetheless). Pretty pathetic that the Twins can't show every game on TV during the season.

Sidenote: Does anyone have the MLB app for the iPhone? Looks very promising this season and was wondering if we have any critiques. $9.99 for every game's radio feed plus numerous other features so it is far less than the mlb.tv deal you get online....

John K,
You are a better man than I. As much as we joke about overpowering the guards, you guys do take a lot of abuse. I've seen some terrible things shouted at the poor guy trying to hold two doors shut. There are a lot more of us than there are of you. I salute your courage!

Here's is my take on the chronology of whining:
Phase 1) Whining now, while the stadium is built
Phase 2) Season one, every time there's a rainout/cold day, loud whining will happen. "SEE I TOLD YOU SO!!"
Phase 3) Season two, the first cold day or two will invoke some whining

Then we get to Phase 4, where nobody whines anymore. By then, all of the complaining will get lost in the happiness created by the new stadium. Those who still want to whine will be told to shut it and watch the game.

So in essence, we probably have about 18 months of solid whining to go. The blog commenters on startribune aren't going to see the light until they've sat inside the stadium, in the sun, "Dome Dog" and beer in hand. Let them whine; they will see the light.

For those with Directv, their website says MLB Extra Innings is free April 6 thru April 12 on channels 720-749. I'll be checking it out especially for today's game.

Here's is my take on the chronology of whining:
Phase 1) Whining now, while the stadium is built
Phase 2) Season one, every time there's a rainout/cold day, loud whining will happen. "SEE I TOLD YOU SO!!"
Phase 3) Season two, the first cold day or two will invoke some whining

Then we get to Phase 4, where nobody whines anymore. By then, all of the complaining will get lost in the happiness created by the new stadium. Those who still want to whine will be told to shut it and watch the game.

So in essence, we probably have about 18 months of solid whining to go. The blog commenters on startribune.com aren't going to see the light until they've sat inside the stadium, in the sun, "Dome Dog" and beer in hand. Let them whine; they will see the light.

Max - I have that iPhone app and it is a fantastic deal for $9.99. I highly recommend it.

Stupid local blackout rules apply. Oh well I'll be watching the mix channel like Max suggested. Thanks Max.

Yea no problem Brad. It isn't ideal, but it is outsmarting the MLB blackout mgmt.

Also, just an FYI for future reference: You can get all the Spring Training games via the Directv Sports Pack ($12/month and cancel/add it at your leisure) each spring. None of these games are blacked out so it is pretty sweet. The Twins, for instance, don't broadcast that many games from Florida. However, Boston (NESN) and New York (YES) have lots of games.

Bottomline: You need a PHD to understand all of the quirks and archaic rules of the MLB blackout policy. I envision a day in the not too distant future where blackouts cease to exist....

Max,
I too have the app and am listening to the game right now...worth every penny and it's been just four days.

Hey Max, dou you happen to know why my mix channel isn't working right now? (at least for the miniature twins game) Is it because they only give you a limited amount of viewing time?

Nevermind it just came back on.

My work is considering moving our offices to Butler Square. I really hope this goes through, right now we are in south downtown by the Hyatt and I would love to be basically across the street from the new stadium.

The whole thing with moving from the dome to TF reminds me about the Twilight Zone episode with Burgess Meredith. He was an old guy on a bleak planet colony who was the only one who remembered Earth and how beautiful it was. He would tell stories about Earth and how different it was from the planet they were on. When the colony heard they were being rescued and taken back to earth, everyone was excited except for the old man. He wanted to stay and hang on, even hiding when the rescue ship arrived. As he watched the ship take off, leaving him all alone, he realzed how much he wanted to go too, but now was too late. Well the ship is leaving and some won't be able to leave the dome behind, but the rest of us can't wait.

Mazaratirick never saw the cycle. He was at the game, yes; but, left before Kubel hit the Salami!

Haha!

In an unrelated topic...how does everyone feel about the look of the limestone? Am I alone when I say, "I can not stand it!"

Just my opinion.

Yep, grass is going on top of the Target Center. Think they'll have the Bullseye mowed into it by April 2010? The roof will be a huge billboard for them.

I have tickets for Saturday. So of course cloudy and temps in the 40s are on the docket. No fair!

This was my/the last post of the old thread, I'm putting it here to ensure someone actually sees it.

More than the Vikings and their official activist arm, I blame the unofficial arms for some of the negative stuff amongst the fans such as people sending profanity laced emails, making overly angry phone calls, cyber bullying while spamming up legislators' Twitter feeds, and acting like stereotypically mindless football fans at public meetings and hearings. The act of showing up in a jersey is not a negative thing. When people are acting like it's a football Sunday and behave towards people with opposing or on the fence views like they're Packers fans in the Metrodome concourse, it's too much.

By unofficial arms, I'll come out and say SaveTheVikes.org. That outfit has done some good work via focusing fans and keeping the fire burning. However, its lack of political savvy, even understanding how to direct people on basic stuff to avoid alienating potential allies or galvanizing enemies, is pretty jarring. The group, which to a great extent is really one guy at the helm, will deserve some credit when it's all said and done, but will deserve a little blame if this thing dies in the legislature.

"but has he done anything --- "

Does making a fool of himself count?

Funny I distinctly remember reports of death threats during the twins stadium journey. Baseball fans are just so above it all right? no offense Rick but why take petty shots at this other guy? You seem a bit more classy than that.

wow Rick on his high horse again I see. This site has become a total joke! Bashing Cory Merrifield for his years of work to help get the Vikings a new Stadium. To sit and say he really hasn't done anything, is an absolute joke!

For someone who claims to know so much about the Vikings and the NFL, you really are showing you don't know much at all about them.

So, what has he (Cory Merrifield) done?

He created a site where fans can unite and come together to work on a solution to keep the Vikings in Minnesota.

He came up with his own funding plan, that included user fees, some of which will be used in the new bill.

He has worked closely with the Vikings and key lawmakers, such as Lanning, Rosen, and most recenty Kreisel.

Ask any diehard Vikings fan how important Cory Merrifield has been to the Vikings Stadium effort, and they will agree with me.

It's diehard fans like Cory, Larry Spooner, myself, that make the Vikings what they are. Not some casual johnny come lately, who watches a game here and there, and claims they are a huge fan!

So, if they're not a fan like you, they're not really fans?

Rick, you keep telling us you support a stadium, yet your words would signal otherwise.

You only support it if its where you think it should be, if its paid for how you think it should be paid for, it costs exactly how much you think it costs.

I have yet to see you say anything that would prove you support a stadium, and support the Vikings for that matter. You yourself said you have never beeen to a Vikings game, yet you live about 10 miles away

yes they are fans, but if you read, i said "casual" fans. Big difference between casual fans, and diehard fans.

Back to baseball for a moment: Blackburn is throwing batting practice tonight... :-(

For the record, I never claimed to be a "huge fan" of the Vikings. It wouldn't bother me if they moved.

I just want to know my tax dollars are being spent wisely, to benefit as many people as possible. I'm not sure spending a billion dollars on a stadium for a sport that plays less than a dozen home games a year fits that description.

I have three words for the Vikings about their desires for a new palace: "Pay for it".

Your tax dollars aren't going to be spent on a Vikings stadium unless you choose to play electronic pulltabs and bingo.

Yeah sorry rick but I'm not buying the bullshit anymore. I really don't understand you taking the snipes at other stadium supporters. For the record him and his group have ALWAYS asked and reminded people to be courteous and respectful. I've seen you take shots at him in the past as well which is just odd to me. One time you made a comment about him possibly having alterior motives and asking questions about what his angle is. I replied to that on this site back then. I believe it was about a year ago or so. What's the deal dude? You are a good guy that I can testify to in how you went out of your way to handle a ticket mixup for me.this doesn't seem like the same guy to me. I've sent many people here to look at your site. Some wonder about the obnoxious know it all anti sports and anti football attitudes here. I guess sometimes the train runs off the tracks. Later all.

By the way .org isn't and has never been reserved for charities or nonprofits.his organization fits perfectly into the historical and typical use of .org.

yes they are fans, but if you read, i said "casual" fans. Big difference between casual fans, and diehard fans.

"Casual", aka, "not real". This is always a fun debate. Can you be sure to post all the ways folks can be considered die hard so we'll know if we fit the criteria?

For someone who claims to know so much about the Vikings and the NFL, you really are showing you don't know much at all about them.

As far as I can tell, he's never claimed to be an expert on either the Vikings or the NFL. He has claimed to understand the political process Re: stadiums in MN. And thus far, everything he's laid out has been pretty much spot on.

Surly line at 124, 77 people deep, time to move the pizza.

I love Surly, but I can't imagine waiting that long for it.

Being a "die hard fan" of the Vikings...does that come with antidepressants? I think I'll remain a casual fan and keep my sanity. If you're a "die hard" of any team, then you probably need to crack the window open a little and get some fresh air.

Since I called out SaveTheVikes.org by name, I'll give my opinion. Has Corey Merrifield and his movement done anything to help the Vikings get a stadium? Yes and no.

On one hand, he deserves credit for being a clearing house for news and information. His website, Twitter feed, Facebook page, and email list have been valuable sources of information about what is happening, where, and when. Even if you argue that the info was available elsewhere, he gleaned it all into a one stop shopping effort. He served as a good booster of morale. Stadium fights can be soul sapping affairs. He's kept supporters in the game by banging the drum. The guy also encouraged people to engage with their elected and appointed officials, although how those people engaged was, at times, one of his failings.

On the other hand, there have been some problems. He set a bad example for his movement and followers, while hurting his and his movement's image by engaging in needless and childish sniping with opponents of the stadium. I know it can be hard to hold back, but it comes off really poorly to the media, neutrals, those on the fence, and fellow stadium supporters who don't want to associate with that kind of stuff. On that thread, some stadium supporters, including some from within the movement, crossed the line in their behavior while interacting with appointed and elected officials, a highly counterproductive course of action. I don't hold him directly responsible for the actions of others, but Corey, in my opinion, made no more than a token effort of calling off the dogs, far less than he should or could have given the reach of his voice. I believe the manner in which he attached himself to the DOA Shakopee proposal didn't paint him in the best light. It also displayed a general political naivety that hasn't served him or SaveTheVikes.org well.

These are just my opinions and observations. Anyone is welcome to disagree. The final chapter in the Vikings' stadium drive hasn't been written, so I won't give SaveTheVikes.org a definitive grade. It's done some good, just maybe not as much as it thinks it has or could have.

Someone was wondering how they were going to promote the Ben Revere bat day on Sunday- On the scoreboard tonight it was promoted as "Bat Giveaway Game" (I see they did call up Revere for Willingham's paternity leave.)

Has anybody found anything besides ice cream to satisfy the sweet tooth at TF? My daughter and I stopped at the Holiday gas station after the game to get 3 cookies for $1.29. (They were very good.)

Merrifield? Come on. He's a know-nothing. He used to his spend his time bs'ing on the ESPN board, saying things like the Vikings are absolutely positively gone after 2011, yada yada yada. Pretending he had inside contacts and so on. He's a smoke-blowing cheerleader trying to make a name for himself on the backs of the people who actually have something to do with pushing a stadium bill.

With the Twins playing so poorly, it is good that we have the Vikings Stadium to rile up all the die hards and provide us with merriment and mirth.

"Surly line at 124, 77 people deep --- "

That many people waiting in a line that long to pay that much for a beer - regardless of how good it is - is exactly the reason the Pohlads get away with the quality of their on-field product.

Total buzzkill at the park last night. Place looked 1/2 empty in the upper decks. Blackie looked terrible so did Baloney Maloney. Picked up some fresh brats at Hoilday before the game. Sat in sec 321 row 4 for 3 innings was in 326 last year. Terrible views from there as persons heads in front of you are in the way. I liked the angle view even though farther away in sec 326 as had no obstructed views. Scoeboard does suck and the grass design sucks! Fire Devito now! Ended up walking behind home plate in sec 116. Stood at the bar rail there and then walked down 10 rows and watched the game there till the top of the 8th. The thrill is gone! Record at TF now at 14-28. Did see the Fulton tap room right across the street from the Holiday station. Yes the cookies are very good there 3 for $1.29.

Could care less about the Vikings. Last game I went to was at memorial stadium vs the Packers at the U due to conflict with twins at the met. Much better to watch football on your big screen HD sets at home. Bseball is getting to that point also.

As far as I can tell, he's [Rick] never claimed to be an expert on either the Vikings or the NFL. He has claimed to understand the political process Re: stadiums in MN. And thus far, everything he's laid out has been pretty much spot on.

From my chair, this has been my perspective on the whole situation. I think the analysis on the situation has been fair. Rick's been critical of important cogs while not straying too far into the "personal attack realm" but also supportive too. Although, I would like to see more of the "what can be done with the current bill(s)" that would get them passed. Rick has stood pat that current bills will go down but it appears that there is still some outside (and potentially inside) urgency that might force this square peg through the round hole. So I am also interested in what might happen with the current bills that might get them to go through even if they aren't the best plans. After all the best option isn't always the chosen option.

I want to see the stadium get built and hope that whatever passes out of the legislature works. I always have. My take has also been that the best course for the Vikings would have been to pursue the most politically feasible site and funding plan, something they don't seem to have done. If it all works out, great.

I can't tell if this plan's failure will be a major road block or if it will further galvanize people to find a solution. It'll depend somewhat on how the Vikes react, and whether they try to rally people or get overly defensive with their disappointment. A little bluntness is okay, but pure abrasiveness won't cut it.

Regardless, I wish the team hadn't spent so much time chasing illusions in Arden Hills and at Linden Avenue once it was clear neither was happening. They burned plenty of useful time, energy, and political capital in each case that could have gone to more productive endeavors.

For "plan's failure will" make that "plan's failure would".

There's a Holiday station near Target Field?

It's down the hill behind the Garbage Burner. If you were standing across from the ballpark facing the Oliva gate and the LRT platform, just take a right and you'll be there in a matter of moments.

It used to be a Shell station, but when gas prices went out of control around 2008, it was one of many stations that bit the dust. It sat vacant for a while before Holiday stepped in not long before Target Field opened.

Gee whiz Rick, of the four possible outcomes, you listed "stadium is built" as last!! C'MON MAN!! Clearly you have no desire to get this thing built, and you hate the Vikings!! It's totally obvious!!

Yep Raging Peasants load up on all your goods there! Great Dogs, Brats, Peanuts,sunflower seeds and yes those fabulous cookies I like the raisin oatmeal the best. New Fulton Brewery right across the street. Can park for $5.00 under the bridges there also. Hell next time I get to a game I might bring in a whole Little Cesars pizza.

Now the players are lobbying...

Adrian Peterson: Dome is "very tough" on pro athletes

You just can't make this stuff up...some of the comments these players make at times

Hmmm says Fulton tap room will have a 70 inch tv and $5.00 brews. Might be better than going to the game.

I see Jack Jablonksi and his little brother Max scheduled to throw out the first pitch tonight. Should be an emotional momment for him and the crowd. The Kid has come along ways.

Senators, presumably opposed to the Vikings stadium bill since no educated proponent could possibly think this will fly, just tacked on Racino as a funding source in committee. The motion passed in the committee by a hefty margin. If that isn't somehow removed, the Vikings Stadium is as good as dead at the Capitol this session.

DAMMIT! When we get so far with the Vikings stadium, the Legislature wants to KILL it again! Why don't the dorks want a Racino? I realize it's not the best MAJOR funding option, but at least it would help.

UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH

Best part (and please correct me if I read the reports on this wrong) is that the person who introduced the Racino amendment (Sean Nienow) voted against the bill anyway.

Now their going to blame everything on the Indians.

"they're" --- sorry.

The site is Ballparkmagic. Where is the magic? Can we stay on topic and discuss TF and the Twins. Couldn't a different site be created to rant about the Vikings stadium? A football stadium is NOT a ballpark it's a stadium.

I don't know why we can't have electronic pull tabs (whatever they are), AND a Racino. I love it that we have a big todo about stopping being a nanny state and let us have big boy fireworks, but boy if you want to have additional gambling options then just hold on there buddy. We'll tell you exactly how, where, and when you can choose to lose your money.

bmjundt, fine. Rick is probably working on StadiuMagic as we speak...lol.

Speaking of TF, I feel like I'm back in the woeful days of the 90s...why is the outdated and decommissioned "M" logo etched into the mound tonight?

That "M" represents the glory days -- which we all might need to hearken back to regularly this season. Pregame tonight Gardy was saying there's no help coming, it's on the pitchers. Well, great. So front office and scouting and minor league development all get a pass on this pathetic pitching situation???

Saw the Royals Advance Scout seats going for $4.99 on StubHub tonight.

Jack was not feeling well today and didnt make it out to the park for the first pitch. Too bad, he would have gotten a long, loud ovation. Hopefully he can get up there soon.

I needs me some public stadium cash... NOW!

Call J.G. Wentworth. 877-CASH-NOW.

Yep Jack Jablonski is back in the hospital. Mr Whipple aka Gardy had to be proud of the way the boys battled their tails off last night though! 5-14 projects to 42 wins this year. Better take the series vs the hapless Royals.

Sports websites reporting Atlanta Falcons want a 900+M Stadium, whats the over/under on whether theirs get approved/built before the vikes fiasco Rick?

Going to the game on Sunday, hope to see 'our guys' put together nine good innings.

Although I realize that's asking a lot... /sigh/

I called J.G. Wentworth. They referred me to Mark Dayton.

Did Mauer swing at a first pitch last night or were my eyes playing tricks?

Unbelievable...A $1 billion retractable roof stadium? The Georgia Dome just opened in September 1992...more than TEN years after the Metrodome opened in April 1982. Yet, we the people of Minnesota cannot seem to figure out the Metrodome is outdated. The Georgia Dome has hosted several major Bowl Games, Super Bowls, Final Fours, and College Football games to name a few things.

Joe Sensor's testimony has more holes than the Twins' lineup.

Stone liar.

1. Nice article, Rick.

2. You are right about the wind on the upper concourse. I purchased a beer from the Minnesota Brews card near Sec 323 and I'm surprised that she and the cash she was pulling out of the register to make change didn't fly away and land in the Mississippi several blocks away. I would worry about how wind screens would look aesthetically. It can be nice to take in views looking outward from the upper concourse.

3. You could write an entire blog entry regarding the elephant at first base.

TTH

Rick- I really liked your blog entry today. I love outdoor baseball and ballparks as well as anybody. I probably have as many ballpark books as you do. I probably got my love of baseball from playing the sport as a kid and going to the old Met to watch the Twins. I really am glad you started this blog back in 2006. My opinion on why the Twins are so bad right now differs a little bit from yours. To put it simply without using to many words, is that the Twins have gotten rid of way too many good players and gotten not nearly enough talent in return. This has to be the fault of the Twins organization. If they do not stop doing this I do not think the Twins can get better going forward.

My seats are in the 200 level on the 1st base side and the concourse up there can get windy. I also have to admit though that the openness also creates a wonderful experience in the area near the escalator when it is bathed in sunlight.

Really nice post.

The hoodies have a Ford logo on one shoulder and a TC on the other. Perhaps Mr. Pohlad miscalculated the cost. The material seems okay but I saw several where the Twins script across the front was well over a couple of inches away from matching up on the two sides of the zipper. Not exactly major league. But mine seems fine and I may even wear it a bit.

The montage for Hunter during OD lineup announcements was embarrassing. I wonder if all of those star-eyed hopeful even took note of his play. or his BA. I lump that sort of contrived hype together with the CLAP! and Make Some NOISE! and ECYH. (I can't even bring myself to type the four words, the ear worm is so bad.) And, I'm sorry, but the organ music was super counterintuitive most of the time, too.

The wind was really something as we walked around the outside, too. Especially along the promenade by the sepia toned baseball cards. Lost my hat once but it caught on the Lucy statue (van Pelt... the one that actually looks like Lucy).

According to the monthly schedule, the hoodie sweatshirt was "presented by Northland Ford Dealers".

You know Rick, I am pretty sure we walked right by each other right as gates were opening. At least, I thought it was you and was gonna say Hi but I wasn't sure, since we have only met once in person at one of the first BPM nights. Looked like you were buzzing around on a photo mission. I was wondering how you got in early...

Yeah, easy to miss the sponsorship, as the logo was somewhat inconspicuous and not cheesy. You should have got one, they were advertised for all fans, but maybe they added a lot of SROs, and the chaos around the boxes was such, that people could easily have gotten two. I picked up an extra for my daughter, but did it honestly by using an extra (cheaper) ticket.

I can't believe Bill Smith actually accepted a demotion and stayed instead of trying to reclaim his career elsewhere. What sort of upward momentum will his career have with the Twins? Politically, there is no way he can ever be general manager again. What then?

To me the biggest error the Twins made was not realizing after the disappointment of 2011 that it was over. From 2001 to 2010 the team had a great run, but it was time to rebuild, even if it meant slipping back a bit in the standings. Instead, they tried to patch it up with scotch tape and reload for 2012. Then the team flopped and they refused to accept the obvious and tried to reload again for 2013 instead of rebuilding. By the time 2013 was over, the team finally got a clue that the glory days were over, but not until it had wasted three seasons, lost the fan's goodwill, and wasted Target Field's honeymoon period. This isn't year four of the rebuilding job, it's really year two and it won't be over soon.

I took a sweatshirt, but still haven't unbagged it yet (I forgot about the give away and wore a logoless navy hoodie under a denim jacket, no need for another layer). They seemed of a decent quality given they were free. The Ford logo is lame, but it's not so big that it's obnoxious. A Twins patch for a few bucks at the team store would cover it completely.

On the food front, we walked out during the 8th inning catastrophe, but not before getting Izzy's Ice Cream from the AZ Canteen stand by Gate 14. Not cheap, but really good. I'm a bit surprised they trumped Sebastian Joe's to get into the park. They have an Ice Cream Parlor by Gold Medal Park, a line drive from where the Twins wanted to put the retractable roof stadium back in that 1997 proposal.

Bill Smith did a good job the last two years overseeing the renovations to Hammond Stadium in Fort Meyers. Maybe it's like Tom Kelly always said: put people in a position where they will succeed.

I'm in 319, and the young lad and I know when the wind is up we are probably looking for shelter after just a few innings. I was amazed in 2010 how open the upper deck was.

That said, I think from a design standpoint they should leave it as is. When they are bad, there are plenty of places to hide from the wind, and when they are good I'll stay up there and suffer/cheer or stand 3 deep in the lower deck. I do feel bad for the "kiosk" vendors tho' in the upper deck....they get hammered and can't hide. I would give them bonus pay in April and September for sure.

3-1 win? One of the great things about baseball is that for one day, any team can look outstanding! 161 chances to do it, so I guess the odds are pretty good that the old saying holds true: The sun shines on a dogs.....

Game 2 Random Observations:

• half as many people still felt kind of full, but not packed.
• those booths at Barrio really are for people who don't want to see the game.
• Looks like the championship pennants have been replaced. Unlike the original ones, they are reversed when blowing to the west. The originals were readable in both directions.
• the scoreboard showed every player with the number 42. Only the pitching board showed real numbers.
• pace of play seems to work! 2:25 tonight. Even the 12-3 game Monday was under 3 hours.

One more: The Cash song must be Perkins' trot-in music. Got to hear it again tonight. I like it. It's a much different vibe from the heavy metal of closers past. I need to go back above to re=read the lyrics again.

According to the box score, a turnstile tally of 21,642.
of course, that's the number of tickets actually handed out.
* is that the smallest recorded attendance at TF and
* did it look like 21,642, or even fewer?? I saw LOTS of empty seats on the TV last night.

Luke -- 19700 last year (9/15) against the Tigers. As discussed on this and other sites in the past, the determination of the box score / announced attendance figure is open to interpretation.

Thanks Raging. I forgot about the 19,700. I vaguely remember that now.
And for sure the box score attendance is up for debate. Tickets sold vs tickets actually scanned at the gate, etc.
That's why I had included whether it seemed like the 21642 announced or much less.

After Monday's fielding and bullpen debacles, it was fun to watch a crisp, well-pitched and well-fielded game last night. There are still too many hitters in the lineup with batting averages south of the Mason-Dixon line, but good pitching and fielding can compensate for that to some extent.

Anybody at the game today?

I went over to the game for lunch. Pretty sparse crowd.

Looks like our boys like those empty seats. Such a tease. And now just three left in the lineup who are still on the freeway. I-33, I-88 and I-82.

Well we take the series from the Royals! Not bad!

Royals come in without a loss, leave with two. Baseball is indeed a funny game. Wish I had been in the seats today. Way too nice to be sitting in an office looking out windows and listening on the radio.

Was at the game today, which is pretty normal for me, I try to go to every 12:10 Weekday game. The Twins played well and it was a beautiful day for baseball. Sat in section S-Skyline deck for nineteen dollars and the whole section was empty-no fans. Enjoyed the game immensely.

Hmm, my experience of fans paying attention to the game TF vs Dome is completely different. At the Dome there wasn't much too look at or do except follow the game, including not much of a reason to be in the concourse. Where as at TF there are unlimited distractions from the game, including the requisite wondering around the concourse.

If you like being distracted from the game why go to the game?

For those of you that keep score, I ran into a guy on opening day scoring the game while doing his business at a urinal. Don't know how common that is, but thought it was funny.

Hope you didn't get splashed on when you ran into him.

Whenever the multi-faceted nature of human beings is considered I am reminded of Oskar Schindler. The guy was a philanderer, a war-profiteer and was cozy with the Nazis. And yet, in the ultimate moral crisis of his life, he courageously did the right thing. No one - not even Calvin - is or was all good or all evil. Calvin was small-minded and bigoted and he never did anything comparable to what Oskar Schindler did, but he was multi-faceted.

I kept score at most Twins games at the Dome during its final decade. It kept me better tuned into the game and the act itself felt like it had meaning. Keeping score at Target Field is a much more difficult matter because there is so much more to do and see apart from the game. A buddy and I will often get up and roam around after the 3rd inning, watching from different vantage points. and not sit down again until after the 7th inning stretch. Keeping score is hard under that circumstance. The trade off for the fun of moving around is not feeling as connected to the game.

Went to my first game of the year tonight (well, last night now). Three in a row! Wouldn't have guessed that would have happened all year. Shockingly sparse crowd for a beautiful Friday night. Perfect weather for baseball. Following up on a previous post, they played the We're Gonna Win Twins ditty earlier than usual, while the kid ran out to put the rosin bag on the mound during the pregame umpire meeting at home plate. When the Twins took the field, they played a different song (sorry, didn't recognize it). But I'm betting that song is now the starting pitcher's "walk out" song. Makes sense since everyone else has one, and the starting pitcher never really did, at least to my knowledge.

Three in a row indeed.
I really didn't expect to take the series from KC. I figured they'd be 9-0 coming out of Target Field.

Officially the attendance last night was 21,000. Even though the advance was probably poor due the expectation of lousy weather for an April night game, there didn't seem to be much walk up either despite the very nice weather. What it means in the long run is the Twins will need to win in order to get fans back in the park. By win, I don't mean starting off 10-6 in April or being "only" 10 games out in late May. They'll need to look like a real contender to capture the public's full attention again.

I tried the tacos carnitas at the Barrio stand. At opening day it was constantly thirty people long. On Friday I walked right up. It was really good, but they could stand to have some Tabasco or other hot sauce available for people who want extra spice. They weren't bland at all, but were a bit tame for my taste when it came to spice. Definitely recommended though.

My experience at Target Field has been on a downward slope for the last 4+ years. It began the day the club clinched the 2010 AL Central and promptly (permanently?) began losing. To my memory, they have never really been a relevant team since that day.

However, something that has quietly saddened/upset/frustrated me is this clubs relentless push to compromise their own ballpark. Specifically, they can't stop hacking away at the already overcrowded concourses by adding more and more junk to them.

First, they clogged up the excellent right field plaza by obscuring the view to the field with "Awesome Haircut Awesome Seats". Want to see the game from the plaza, or just have a nice look around? Nevermind that, here is an elevated platform from behind which you can look at buttcheeks or empty chairs. Guh... 2015 saw the addition of a permanent fox sports booth directly next to these seats. Which, of course only made the plaza worse.

The left field corner concourse has been severely compromised by this years addition of a sprawling mexican restaurant. This spot is particularly important as it is right at Gate 6 where most all of the Light Rail traffic comes and goes from. Additionally, this corner is adjacent to HALF of the parks escalator banks and circulator ramps. I stood in place for 5 minutes as I tried to round this corner in effort to get to my seat on opening day. This corner used to feature a redundant cap store, sure. But it also used to have actual SRO viewing room as well as usable concourse walking space. Instead we are again needlessly constricted at an important junction, while people on a raised platforms sit on couches under giant LED boards and blaring music. (Anybody else get an ear full of non baseball noise from that restaurant during the game? I was way over in 124 and it was relentless.)

Finally, those potted christmas trees on the second level under Minnie and Paul... I'm as happy as anyone to see the center field trees kinda make a halfhearted comeback. That said, they actually obscured open viewing and removed standing drink rails at the back of section 235 so that they could shove a bank of plants behind them instead. Fans can no longer see the field from dead center, under the neon icon of the ballpark, unless they want to stick their heads through shrubbery.

One could argue that I should just go to my seat, sit there and not complain. Sure, that is fine. And I do spend the huge majority of my time in my seat, watching the game. I am simply arguing that this team just won't quit at making the place more difficult to navigate or enjoy when one is trying to do something other than sit in ones seat. The place has always felt claustrophobic and "down in a hole" to me and my friends since day one. These changes exacerbate that feeling greatly.

It seems to me that the Twins have changed the ballpark so that it is best designed to accommodate a crowd that is only a fraction of it's stated capacity. By it's already tight footprint and it's gratuitously introduced compromises, anything approaching an actual full house makes the place very uncomfortable.

I have lived within a 10 minute walk of this ballpark since 2010 and have probably averaged 25-30 games a season. By the end of opening day 2015, I was already thinking of other ways to spend my summer and it totally bummed me out!

The ability to casually stroll the concourses and still be able to see/experience/appreciate the ball game was one of the selling points of the park. That one clearly must now be stowed in the same file as the "not a bad seat in the house" BS.

Well said, 1434. Sadly, the "Target Field Experience" seems to be aimed squarely at producing contrived video promos and ensuring a fat concessions revenue.

Photos taken from opposite angles, but easy to get the contrast.

The Twins' Promising Promo (Facebook album 'Barrio at Target Field, April 17, 2015):

The Reality (Pregame, Opening Day, April 13, 2015, 2:18 pm):

I see the stands are 100% empty in the promo photo, so apparently they were assuming it was after the team had sealed another 90+ loss season.

Whoever this 1434 dude is, you are nailing it. Well said.

I would say you are more comprehensively stating the "why" behind my statement that this club seems to be terrible at managing large crowds.

I will also say that I am seeing a whole new ballpark experience for myself this year. My parking lot was literally empty, and is now a $3 lot rather than $5.

With the new pace of game policies, I literally only had time to get through one tall beer today, as opposed to recent years when I would drink two to three easily.

I actually wondered if ownership is wondering how many beer sales they will lose with the quicker games.

The free roaming open concourse design itself is in my opinion a traffic flow flaw. You can have one of those components but not both together. You would need concourses a 1000 feet wide to ensure free flow. And even then you would still have congestion near the field and near concessions. And just like TF you could still get congestion points in the middle from groups of fans just standing and chatting in the middle of the concourse. Much the same you do with a stalled car in a lane of traffic.

Of course, 2010 we were digesting the feel of outdoor baseball for the first time since 1982.
and we had a team worth watching in 2010, so people actually had incentive to stay in their seats.
that may have helped the flow issue in 2010.

It is still April, people are wanting to check out the new concession/ drinking options. Wait until we get around Memorial Day to chalk up these new options up as a circulation disaster.

I was at the game yesterday and took one lap around the main concourse just before the game started. I don't like the new FSN booth. Sad to see more of the plaza dwindling away. The 1B side was about 50-75% full of people getting last min drinks/eats before heading to their seats. I actually ran into Terry Ryan. I think my friend and I were the only ones who recognized him. (Don't see that in major markets) Between Hrbek's and gate 6 it was an empty wasteland. We could have setup our own game of stickball. Seriously empty. Woah! Then the congestion for the escalators and Barrio clogged up the corner. I popped up onto the raised bar area. I was surprised how good the view was. There is definitely more SRO in that corner than there used to be. The outfield was a lot the same as past years. Congested behind the powerball pavilion. It does make the exit onto the plaza again feel like a WIDE open space. My seats were 140, row 1, seats 1-5. Right outside the RF foul pole. We enjoyed the game and found having the drink rail awesome! My ticket was $43 and included $10 for concessions and a Torii Tshirt. I think I got great value. If only they had won the game.

When TF is at max capacity it had/has congestion issues even before the current changes. To me, if a stadium cannot handle max crowds efficiently that is the definition of a design flaw. This was true even in 2010, perhaps even more so because even more people were wondering around to check out the new ballpark.

I know for me personally in a wheelchair it was a real challenge to get around. Not only to navigate but in 2010 the signage was also terrible. All I could see was a sea of butts and hardly any signs. Signage is better know, well that and now I know where to go. But it's still hard to navigate if the crowds are larger, like anything above half capacity causes choke points.

Interesting read from last year on concourse design of TF focused more on finance than congestion: Room to roam: Evolution of the sports venue concourse

I used to hate the fact that people went to the game and didn't know the score or even really pay attention to the game. Then, I took my 4 year old daughter two years ago, and then last year when she was five. I am a die hard fan, and want her to think going to a Twins game is fun. So, we do face painting, walk around the stadium, and spend maybe a total of 4 innings sitting watching the game out of nine. It kills me, but I want her to enjoy going so she wants to keep coming back. The other 6-10 games I go to during the season, I rarely leave my seat.

I now understand the other side to the story!

And, 1234, I would agree - spot on. When Target Field first opened, I used to love getting to the park early and going to the CF upper level area and watch BP while eating and having a beer. Not anymore. There are not many spots to hang out and see the game anymore. But, when the team is not good and the average attendance after opening day is around 20,000, I guess revenue must be made in other ways.

The changes to Target Field since it opened have largely been to generate revenue first. Fan comfort and convenience is not completely ignored, but it is a secondary concern.

They still have to pay that bum at first.

Twins at 5-7 after first two weeks, and first run through division opponents. Didn't quite see that, especially after first few games. How did Sports Illustrated pick the Indians to win it all? I know it's early, but they sure didn't look good this weekend.

Hey Winona Mike what about all of the extra base HIT he has made so far this year? And yes I am being sarcastic and left the capitalized word singular on purpose. On Rosens Sports Sunday Lavelle neill III was saying they should put Kenny Vargas at first and move Mauer to the outfield to take advantage of his arm.

Five batters in the starting lineup tonight with averages in the.100's. The highest avg. was .250. Pretty pathetic.

This is off topic, but I am curious:
Ricks photo in this post from the LF Bleachers, it seems to me there is an under-abundance of leg room in those sections. It looks REALLY tight. Is it just my imagination?
The LF bleachers are one area of TF I have yet to sit, and i'd like to try them out sometime, but if there isn't ample leg room, I may reconsider. Any experience from anyone here??

After seeing two games with our Local Nine in Kansas City (with two different types of disappointing losses at the end), I have this observation for Rick:

Not only do they do "Everybody clap their hands" and "make some noise," but they must have 12 different "make some noise" variations. Usually accompanied by loud heavy metal-type guitar.

That and their organist leading the Let's Go Royals chant pretty often.

That said, I'm a big fan of Kauffman Stadium and its very nice Royals fans. The food is so-so, but good Boulevard beer was easy to find.

The Royals' outfield play and bullpen have really outshone the Twins' so far. Last night base-running was another area in which the Twins were badly outclassed. Back to back doubles and no run? That mistake didn't cost them because of the 2-out hits they got that inning, but still it shouldn't have happened. In the end it was base-running that made the difference in the bottom of the 8th. All of which is a long way of saying there is right now a very large talent gap between the Twins and the Royals.

Like most areas in TF accessible to the Common Man, the legroom in the LF bleachers is so-so. It's the distance from the action up there in that upper deck that makes these seats some of the worst. I wouldn't even take your ticket for up there if you gave it to me. Until that next Game 7, of course.

Oops... if you are talking the lower deck OF, those are great. I was thinking of the one night I brought the family and sat in 330. Never again.

Schweady, yeah I was referring to the LF bleachers in the 100 level.
I remember checking out the RF bleachers during the Open House in 2010. I liked those. Just never got to the LF bleachers.

I also have sat in the 300 level on that side (Home Run Porch). Never again. They weren't the greatest seats. They're OK, if you're just looking for a way into the game, but there are far better seats than the HR Porch.

Windbreaks? Whatever happened to the romance of outdoor baseball?

You said it Winona.
It's just part of the beauty of the game.

How bout the Mild last night? 6-1 OUCH! Season ovaaaaaaa!

Ouch indeed.
I talked to a buddy of mine on Facebook yesterday, He was at a bar watching the game, at which point it was 3-0 Blues.
I told him the Wild would lose 7-1. I turned it off at the 3-0 mark.
read the fish wrap this AM only to find I was one goal off on my dire prediction.

Final Kauffman observation: Royals have the most color-coordinated fan base ever! How is it that they don't lead MLB in apparel sales?

I forgot who mentioned the other day about WC access seating and seating in dugout box. Please email me (click name), as I have been able to find them on the Twins website. I just don't want to make public how I've been able to see unless you are in need. Thanks!

That was me TK, I sent you an email and look forward to your reply.

Looks to me like the supports for the scoreboard on the west side of the Vikings stadium are going up.
I'm trying to figure out, how blocked those pivoting doors will actually be, if the main board is actually that big.

Luke-On the new vikings stadium thread on SkyscraperCity people are discussing exactly what you are talking about and wondering about the same thing. The experts on there are saying that 3 of the 5 95 foot tall doors will be 100 percent completely covered. (Remember the new scoreboard on the West end will now be 100 feet tall.)

I'll have to check that out, thanks.
3 of 5 doors completely covered. Hmmm.
Seems to be a useless feature of the stadium now.
I understand bigger is better when it comes to video boards in stadiums, but we seem to now be losing a key feature of our stadium design.

Was watching Twins last night and my nemesis Bremer confused me again trying to generate excitement in a situation where none is warranted. I believe it was 6th inning- kennys Vargas was up having struck out 2x and was 0-2 and with 2 strikes Bremer says "Vargas hit his home run off Vargas from KC a booming shot off outfield facade (pitcher from Seattle-forgot name) doesnt want to give Vargas a fastball down the middle".......Vargas is hitting .161 w/ 1 HR, 4 RBI, and 1 other extra base hit (a double) in 56 at bats. Pretty sure no pitcher is scared of Vargas so far this year and can pitch whatever they want to him. As if on cue Varga then struck out the next pitch.

Anybody know why they have those random holes (window cutouts?)
on the exoskeletonof the vikings stadium ... You dont see those on any of the renderings ... They look terrible

larose33, what/where are you talking about specifically?

Vikes, clicky for the Wiki page about the stadium.
The stock photo they have shows a couple of them (on the east facing side). I've wondered about these as well.

I've lurked at Skyscrapercity.com for years, reading without posting. When the Vikings first released the design and artist renderings of their new stadium, I immediately stated the video boards were too small and the team would live to regret it. All anyone had to do was look at what the Dallas Cowboys had in their stadium and to learn about other proposed boards to know that a video board arms race was coming and that the new standard would be to have absolutely the largest board physically possible.

Since the Vikings were building new, they theoretically had no size constraints to worry about. Why HKS suggested a design with boards of the original size and why the Vikings didn't immediately say "no, make them bigger" will remain a mystery possibly forever. Instead, after teams like the Texans and Jaguars installed new boards and stepped up video board size standards, the Vikes had HKS belatedly increase the west end zone board by nearly twofold. The east end zone board had no space to grow and remained the originally conceived size. However, the newly enlarged west board couldn't remain in the originally conceived space because the roof truss wouldn't provide the room. It was shifted slightly south and that has resulted in several of the much vaunted pivoting doors being obscured.

As someone who will be watching the Vikings in that stadium, I want the bigger board instead of the doors and downtown being in view, but must say that this situation was 100% avoidable had anyone with the team or architects been even slightly in tune with what was going on.

That's not the final skin on the outside of the Vike's stadium. It will be clad in zinc paneling yet. That will probably cover up the holes to which larose33 refers. But the plan does call for random, rectangular windows (12' x 4', I believe) scattered about the fields if zinc cladding.

It was good to see Mauer hitting line drives again yesterday.

Jorge,
The west board certainly grew in size but is not moving further south, just the added size will be to the south. The reason you don't see the supports yet on the north side is because the temporary green supports are still up holding the main roof truss. Once the temporary supports are removed, they will install the northern part of the scoreboard supports.
That doesn't change the fact that the larger board will now block 3/5 doors.

Rick- speaking of hawk- I know in the past they have spent a few innings focusing on Kirby the Kestrel hawk flying around catching moths-that kept the audience entertained during home games when we were down 7-2 in the 8th. lol I miss Harry Carey describing Cubs games actually: "...and the Cubs just botched another double play HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Dorothy Pawtuchnik of Elgin who is 90 years young today!" ha ha!

Ah Harry Caray. I do miss his broadcast style.
Not a Cubs fan, but I watched many a game on the WGN Superstation just to hear his broadcast, and his awfully entertaining rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

Oooh, where'd you get the Metrodome design layout? Is there a way we could see it by itself?

HKS hasn't designed as many stadiums as Populous, but has still designed AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboys), Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis Colts), Rangers Ballpark at Arlington (Texas Rangers), Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers), American Airlines Center (Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars), and the renovations to US Cellular Field as opposed to the original design (Chicago White Sox). Considering their experience in Dallas it makes the original smaller boards less understandable and tolerable. Even if we accept that the Vikings didn't know what they were doing, unless HKS suggested bigger boards and the advice was originally rejected, why didn't they try to better guide the Vikings toward what would ultimately be the more desirable bigger boards?

Here is a look at the originally suggested west end zone board and the appearance of the larger ones. Barring sloppy renderings, it still looks to me like the board has been positioned slightly southward.

Metrodome vs. New Stadium Video Board Size Comparison

The concourses are indeed very narrow on the North and South ends - I commented on this right after the renderings were released. The reason for this is they had to use much of that space for all the sequestered club & suite lounges/bars along the sidelines, which will now have their own dedicated entrances. I expect just as much slow-moving foot traffic through those North and South main concourse bottlenecks as we saw in the Dome, as the general admission folks travel from the West end of the stadium (where presumably a vast majority of the fans will enter), to their seats in the East endzone.

Great view of the east side!

I'm sure the center truss could support a screen, but it's functionally a little tricky because that truss is a) not horizontal, and b) is much closer to the north seating bowl than the south, and gets closer to the North bowl as it moves further West. Plus, depending on how big you make it, you remove the "clear roof effect" from a good portion of the North fans, and probably create one hell of a glare on the screen for the South fans.

I think the Rangers ballpark in Arlington is tacky. They tried to incorporate too many different architectural flourishes in the place, e.g. the faux Tiger Stadium right field stands. The Astros park is even worse with trains running along the wall and a little hill in centerfield. They are like a woman who is wearing much too much makeup.

It DOES look like the scoreboard will move southward - that stinks! They should just make two pivoting doors that go all the way to the top of the roof and forget about the other three that are behind the scoreboard.

So, I wonder where those windows will be looking out from? From the concourse? Maybe some offices will contain those windows?
Maybe a slight nod to the Guthrie with their observation deck that looks out over the river (albeit not nearly the size or scope of the one at the Guthrie)?

why does it really matter if some of the doors are not visible? regardless of the size of the board, the view out of the doors would change depending on which section of the seating bowl you were in.

Almost the entire west wall is glass, so it's not like you still won't have a view

And I think I understand the thing about the Metrodome overlay, however it strikes me that, since the field orientation changed (north south at the Dome, east west at the new place), basically the endzone section pf seats at the new place will be as long as the sideline section of seats were at the Dome.
Matter of fact, I seem to remember that one failed stadium design would have left one sideline section of seats from the Dome, and the rest of the stadium would be built as a horseshoe around it (Cited as a money saving measure).

Well, there IS a Strib article linked to it, but clicky for a blog thread (not from BPM), about "a reconstructed Dome".
I may be amiss, sounds like it would have just been a wall reused to save up to $100M and not seats.

There was also an article in Strib talking about that Mortenson found that they could cut costs and re use much of the dirt they were hauling out of the dome site as opposed to hauling it up to a landfill and bringing in new dirt which was the original plan. I remember at first dump truck after dump truck after dump truck lining up at night to haul dirt-then they started piling it up in an adjacent lot Wilfs owned instead. Every little bit helps!

"Do you suppose that main truss could support a video board hanging from it"?
I imagine not, for a couple reasons. Seems to me with the renderings, that main truss is a bit off-center. In the football rendering it looks directly lined up with the north sideline.
And, with baseball being an option in the place, a centerhung board ala Jerry Jonestown, seems to me high popups would hit it a lot. And high trajectory punts an kickoffs (like what happened in the early days of Jerry Jonestown).

why does it really matter if some of the doors are not visible? regardless of the size of the board, the view out of the doors would change depending on which section of the seating bowl you were in.

Almost the entire west wall is glass, so it's not like you still won't have a view

It matters to the extent that once the decision was made to go with a fixed roof, much was made of the "retractable element", namely a set of the largest pivoting doors ever built. Now the video board is bigger and the result is 3 of 5 doors will be obscured to the point that the necessity of their existence can justifiably be questioned. The situation also calls the judgment of the Vikings and HKS into question because the obstruction of the doors was completely avoidable, and the obstruction will impact the views of some fans, especially on the lower tier. Yes, a view out the windows is still there, but the doors were the selling point and are the first thing you see at the official stadium website. So while not earthshaking, and I'd rather have the bigger video board if it has to be a choice, the Vikes and HKS had and missed a chance to deploy a design that would have provided the bigger board along with a clear view of the doors. There was no need for a sacrifice.

Milone struggles mightily in the 1st, allowing 4 runs before his team even comes to the plate. The Twins put one on the board in their half, only to give it back in the 2nd. Typical frustration at TF, and Price is sailing.

But wait... A run here, a run there and it's closer... A 6-2 double play and a couple of caught stealing by the pitcher. Not something you see every game. Now, we're into the Tiger bullpen. Hey, this is getting pretty interesting. The Tigers threaten, but now haven't scored for 6 innings. How do the Minnesota faithful respond?

The Wave...

Rick, I only saw it go by on the TV screen once, but the crowd noise that accompanied it rose and fell for nearly the entire top of the 8th. A really incongruous sound when compared to what's occurring on the field.

Was able to score Champions Club tickets for tomorrow's game for $75! Anyone ever sat there before? Is everything pretty much complementary? I know there's a private lounge/bathrooms. Don't want to look like a complete redneck!

Might have to check out my first game on Thursday if weather holds. $6 sit anywhere man.

Orioles-Sox game will be played on Wednesday, but closed to the public! More then likely, greater attendance then what the twins pull in on an average night :)

Thanks for the info Rick. Doing more research on line, sounds like free valet parking, private entrance, and free tap beer and house wines, which will be fine for us. Excited, as it sounds like the weather is going to be great! Maybe I'll try to snap some pictures of the areas and post

That's crazy about the Orioles game.
Of course they can't keep postponing games.
It's a public safety issue and I think the O's/Camden Yards made a good decision.
I don't think anything like that happened during the LA riots. I think a Laker game may have been moved/postponed, but never a game closed to the public.
I wonder then, what happens to all the people who had tickets? Maybe like a rainout? The game will be played but no one can go. I wonder if they get their money back or a ticket to another game later in the season??

Well, my question, was answered, sort of (clicky).
Ballpark Digest reports that this weekends O's series is being moved to Tampa Bay, with the O's still serving as home team.

Apparently several Dodgers games were postponed in 1992 during the LA riots. And a Nationals game in 2013 after the shooting at Navy Yard, according to the article.

75 for Champ Club! I was looking last September and could not find anything affordable. Was not putting a huge effort into it though. I did make the Dugout Box for first time at this year's opener. Seats were very good but will take Legend Club by far for the total experience.

Seeing the Viking pictures/renderings reminded me of earlier discussions. I'm not good at analyzing those pictures so would like other opinions. Does it still look like the 3rd level seating will be terrible, or does it maybe look better now than when it was more hypothetical? Or maybe it depends on whether you or in the lower or higher rows, or in the middle or end sections within that third level? I assume that second level contains the Fire and Ice Clubs.

I certainly don't think the sightlines of the upper deck will be any better than the Metrodome, though "sightlines" were not the Metrodome's problem. I think the highest seats in the new place are further from the field than the Metrodome - fully expected with the addition of all the extra club/suite levels.

My question about the upper deck has always been the effect of the massive diagonal strut on the views for people who sit near it in the upper deck on the East side. Looking at the "interior" views on the webcam, it sure looks as if that huge piece of steel will dominate much of the view for those folks.

The scale of those two images look off to me. The dome should be bigger. The risers are way smaller and the floor height is much lower, too. Anyone else concur or is it just me?

anyone check out Barrio Happy Hour against Indians early this month. Thinking about going Friday. Is the śpace contained or do you think you ca n venture to other parts of park?

Robin, I was actually just snooping around on Stubhub for tonight's game and thought I would check tomorrow's game just for fun. I always mouse over the champ club just to see what the prices are. Wasn't expecting them to be that cheap this early in the season, especially since the weather is supposed to be awesome. Must have been someone desperate to get something back for the tickets. I think I was on at just the right time.

Antifiee, have fun at the game. I love the champions club. Going to be there on Saturday. I haven't been there this year, but wine and beer has also been Complimentary, and as Rick shared, hard alcohol/booze does cost additional. You'll have a blast. If you go to the right, there is a ramp leading towards the Twins dugout, as a nice place to stand before or after the game. That area can get crowded.

The last row of the Metrodome upper deck were terrible seats. I can't imagine entire large sections of seating worse than that.

I'm going to try to find someone streaming the radio broadcast of today's Orioles game. I'm just so curious what the game would sound like without crowd noise.

Even though the third and uppermost tier of the new stadium made more sense for me economically, I bit the bullet and went with seats and a seat license on the second and middle tier (in the regular seating as opposed to the club seating between the 20s) because the third deck was simply too high, even in the small six row part at the concourse split. The Vikings have been coy to perhaps evasive about the height of the third tier, likely knowing it may be perceived as negative. Before selecting seats, questions about deck height and viewing distance were asked of my rep who basically had no idea and seemed to have never even considered it a factor. More than one fan is going to go to the new stadium in 2016 and be a bit surprised at how much higher that tier is.

Thanks Rick - You always come through with facts! Any chance of a "stadium magic" spinoff?

I also am wondering about the Orioles game- I saw on ESPN where it just said "pertinant personnel" would be allowed in. But I am wondering for the bemusement of the players and to just have background noise does the organist show up? Im sure the scoreboard operator has to show up - Do they play the entrance music for the batters if it helps pump them up and give them a sense of normalcy in an otherwise completely un normal situation?

I'm going to listen to a little of that Orioles game this afternoon. Get a feeling for what a radio broadcast of a Saint Louis Browns home game must have sounded like.

The CHI-BAL game is the free game of the day on mlb.tv.

Are those measurements horizontal, vertical, or as the bird flies? I would think the as the bird flies measurement would be the most important from a viewpoint perspective.

Just watched a little of the 1st inning of the Baltimore game. There are some spectators watching from outside the gates in front of the railroad warehouse. It was strange when the Orioles pitcher struck out the game's first batter and not a sound was heard.

Some interesting things noticed in the CWS-Os game:

Fans lined up at the fences outside the park providing applause and some rally chanting. Very odd, however, to see an out recorded in relative silence.

Foul balls into the stands not being followed by the cameras.

Chatter from the announcers:
Can a player go up into the stands to catch a foul ball?
Well, there can't be any fan interference today.
Will all of these souvenir baseballs still be in the stands 10 days from now, when the Orioles return?

Incredible crack of the bat sound. The fact that Baltimore was absolutely crushing the ball in the first didn't hurt.

The bullpen sure poured kerosene on those fires today.

Darn, Rick if I would have known you were there I would have liked to meet you and say hi, but another time I guess. I do have one question- how in the world did the Twins organization think this bullpen would be good enough when leaving Spring Training to get the job done. The bullpen is an insult to any Twins fan. Also Target Field gave up 6 home runs today, and even before today's game Target Field was ranked 4th in allowing home runs in all of baseball. I guess Target Field is not really a pitcher's park anymore, not really. Last year Target Field came in 14th in all of baseball for allowing homers. Even though the Twins defense and bullpen stunk, it was an awesome day to be at the game.

Interesting reading about the fan-less O's-Sox game today:
The official box score doesn't even have an attendance listed, or a Tickets Sold notation. not even an A: 0.
Time of game was only 2:03.
Apparently they still did the seventh inning stretch, however.
And players were signing autographs and tossing baseballs into the stands according to Yahoo Sports.

luke, I had seen the box earlier and had to do a double take. Looks like the fans are the issue in the length of games. Outside of the first, it appears the innings went buerhle fast.

I have no idea if it's true or not, but when an Oriole hit a homerun and Hawk Harrelson did his bit where he goes dead silent, there was so little background noise in the ballpark that Gary Thorne's call on the Orioles broadcast could be heard in the background on the White Sox broadcast.

I have no idea if it's true or not, but I read somewhere today that when an Oriole hit a homerun and Hawk Harrelson did his bit where he goes dead silent, there was so little background noise in the ballpark that Gary Thorne's call on the Orioles broadcast could be heard in the background on the White Sox broadcast.

- Repost with an important detail the first one omitted.

I had also read about the siren noise. might have been the ESPN article.
I also read, maybe the same article, that players could actually hear typing on laptops and computers from the pressbox.
maybe exaggerated or really, really good hearing in an empty ballpark.

I wonder how much concession sales post into not reducing game. Been to 2 games just over 2 hours and some vendors caught off guard on concourse to stop selling beer an hour-15 into game.

Play = post

I didnt listen to the broadcasts but read online that I beleive in the first inning the Orioles play by play was calling a batter or 2 as if he was covering golf at the Masters. "And the batter steps up to the plate......theres a slight breeze going left to right....and here oomes the pitch...." lol- I can just picture that in my mind.

I've already said I've been drinking less beer in the games I've been to. There is no doubt that ownership has a ratio of beers and/or other units sold per minute/hour of game and they use that to determine what their opinions are.

I was at that Yankees game in 2010 with the nearly two hour rain delay. After that they called the game off anyway. They clearly wanted to sell more beer, etc. Greedy bastards!

Gary Thorne on the Orioles TV broadcast definitely called a batter in the hushed style of a golf announcer. When the guy hit the ball, Thorne even added "he's one step closer to the green jacket", then shared a good natured laugh with his broadcast partner. ESPN ran a clip of it on SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight.

Long running games definitely get under my skin. First pitch to final out ought to be about 2 1/2 hours. More than that and it can get tedious. That said, my wife's first Target Field night game was in 2010 for a Saturday night 6:10 PM start. She wanted to see the place with all the lights. As it happened, Liriano was feeling it that night and there weren't many hits. The game, which was in early June, ended a bit before 8:00 PM and we left while the sun was still shining brightly. So there's proof a game can be too short sometimes.

I watched and thought that Masters bit was priceless.

Did they announce the "attendance" at the Baltimore game? The way things are done it would have been a great deal more than zero.

Ben, based on paid attendance and the people at game doing their work aren't factored in to attendance.

?

The official box for the game on mlb.com lists no attendance figure at all. I heard a report on radio that the MLB official attendance figure for the game is being recorded as N/A and that the all-time record for low attendance remains at 6.

The reason the game has an attendance of N/A is that, apart from a desire to not announce tickets sold and face universal mockery, fans were not permitted to attend. Had fans been allowed in the ballpark, the attendance would have well exceeded any MLB record low crowd. So it's kept out of the record books.

Went to the game last night last minute. Bought a couple of $6 tickets at the Kiosk. Could not believe all the security to get in. Worse than the airport with the wand guys to boot and x ray machines. Only thing different is you can keep your shoes on? Whats up with that? Also got booted out of several areas by the Ushers? Really? There was nobody at the game. They announced 20,000 but no way more than 10K. They must be counting legs like the T-wolves. Walked into Hrbeks and there were 3 people in there and 2 out in the deck area. One guy was lying down on the couch in the new Barrio section passed out! With nobody going to the game it's getting harder to sneak into better sections. Pre game at the cowboy deck great deal on wings! $5 for 2lbs of Cajuns and $2 brews. Wife said lets bolt after 5 innings! Impressive win by the lads anyways!

Just got back from checking out the stadium site.
took some pics (albeit not Jared-esque). Will post later. When I'm on a Wifi connection.

First in line at Gate 6 for Barrio Happy Hour. 6 people here total with gates about to open.

Well, they seemed to turn out OK.
Sure looks alot different at the stadium site.
Getting harder to see thru the "knotholes" they created thru the fence.
HOWEVER, an oasis appeared to me as if out of nowhere, an OPEN gate into the site itself.
I went in and got what I hope are some good pics.
Clicky.
hope you like.

Nice pictures.

Here is a time lapse video of the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval, the 53,000 seat stadium in Adelaide, Australia that serves as home to the city's cricket, soccer, and Australian rules football teams, as well as being one of the homes of Australia's national cricket team. The renovation took from 2008 to 2014 to complete, with the stadium remaining in use for most of that time and cost about $450,000,000 in U.S. dollars. You may want to mute the music, but it's an amazing look at the project.

Adelaide Oval Redevelopment Timelapse from Orange Lane Studios on Vimeo.

My nomination for most questionable value at TF so far would be the "burger" at Red Cow. The thing is about the size of a mini donut. Should be called a slider, if that. Big rip.

How much did it set ya back Ben??
Sounds like the $11 "burger" I had at Andy Zimmern's Canteen food truck...lol.

The lads at .500 on May 2d? After that awful start? Who'd have thought it. They might end up 12-150, but today they are at .500.

I am going to eat crow and admit I never thought Twins would be .500 at this point in the season. I still think we will lose 90 plus but nice to see them at .500 beyond a month called April. Can we replace remaining games vs Detroit w/ the White Sox? On another note did anyone happen to catch Saturday Night Live last night? They did a spoof from broadcast team at Orioles game w/ no fans. I cant seem to get links to work on this site form my work computer-if anyone cares to please go to Youtube or SNL website and type in "Orioles SNL sketch" and maybe post it here? It was HILARIOUS!

i, too, did not think the Twins would be where they are at with the slow start. I'm not going to get too excited yet, as the Twins were 23-22 on May 23 last year. But through 25, twins are 13-12.. They were 12-13 last year. Progress!

in my head pops several scenes from What About Bob with Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss.
"Baby Steps. Baby steps down the hall. Baby steps around the office. Baby steps into the elevator. I'm on the elevator. ARRRRRRRRRGHHHHH"

There were more plot twists in tonight's game than in an Agatha Christie novel. Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

I am also shocked that the Twins are over .500, after that awful 1-6 start (and getting outscored by what, 30 runs over those 7 games?)

I'm going to tonight's game, splurged on good seats (section 119 row 11) to show off the park to some out-of-town friends. Hopefully our guys continue to hit the ball.

this is happening right now at the Vikings stadium
Snapped this photo at 3:20 this afternoon.
Perhaps this is the "topping off"? closing the gap of the roof truss?
Sure seems like it.

Well, on second thought, after checking the webcam, maybe not.
but they were lifting something into place.
but now that I look at it, the steel isn't the grey color of the rest of the truss and seems to be smaller than what would be needed to close the gap.

Luke, it appears to me that it is a piece of the support girder that will be built vertically to hold the last piece of the main truss in place while they weld it all together!

Luke, I usually hit you with a snarky comment, something doesn't feel right! So here we go... Welding is the act of using heat to connect to pieces of metal together!

Jojo, that very thought occurred to me about ten minutes after posting. I bet you're right.
Either way, exciting!

Jojo, I'm pretty good at dirty jokes, so, using what you said the following came to me:
Sex is the act of using heat to connect two pieces of flesh together. Ha!

Though some things are smaller than what is needed to close the gap...

Lol, true, that is cauterizing Rick.
But come on, you're saying the windows don't steam up? you don't sweat bullets? Sounds like "heat" to me.
Ok, I think that's enough Dr Oz style talk for one day.

More than likely, they'll fasten the remaining TWO sections of the ridge truss together with bolts. The whole thing needs to expand and contract with the changes in temperature and load. The green assembly you saw was most likely, as Jo Jo said, a portion of a support tower that will hold either a portion of the ridge truss or one of the queens posts on the south side of the stadium.

Winona, you're right, it will be bolted together, simple error on my part, as I was trying to get a snarky comment in before Luke could agree with me, hence why I typed using heat to connect TO, I missed a W :( oh well, I think we worked together to solve the mystery!

RE: The Adelaide Stadium video

She's a beaut clark! (Stadium and video production)

I have been steaming my way through a number of video productions over the past year (new obsession alongside photography, naturally) and hope someday I can make half the production quality those guys do. They aren't the absolute best i have seen but pretty darn good.

Jojo, you're a hoot.
I think we need to join forces to fight crime.

Not happening Luke, you shattered my dreams a month back when you said you wouldn't sit ringside with me at wrestlemania 33 in the new place ;)

Well, that's saying we even GET WM at the new place.
Apparently they are trying for the College Football Championship Game st the new place in 2020.
Clicky for an ESPN article naming the 10 best center fielders in MLB history. I know, it's to everyone's interpretation, but I am a bit surprised Puckett isn't on the list.

or to really get people riled up and just for a laugh, how about "Because", who played center field in Abbott and Costello's "who's on first" routine??

And further Jojo...I'm walking down the aisle one year from today. I probably won't have money to do anything after that :).

Thanks Rick!
Time has flown by fast already...lol.
The "unofficial" proposal (sans ring) was Valentines weekend.
the "official" proposal (with ring) was almost a month ago already.
Time flies.

Congrats to you and Joanie!

Thanks ace.
Wrong woman.
Her name is Beth :).

Forever in our hearts here at BPM, she will be Joanie! Deal with it!

LOL.
Except that most of ya still can't spell her name, five years later (we lasted all of four dates).
It was spelled Joni :).

Congrats luke, sounds like Joni may have missed out? Have a Holiday Johnsonville brat or 2 tonight and celebrate! Thanks for the Ziggy's Ark pics. I may have to go down and look at some of them girders sometime!

Thanks Twinfan :). actually the big moment was April 11.
All that time spent on how to, where to, what to say, etc, and the proposal is over in 45 seconds.
As far as Zygis Ark, Jojo and the rest were right, my initial assumption was wrong (after thinking about it i knew it wasnt the actual roof truss). The center support pier WAS going up, and appears to now be ready to hold that last piece of the roof truss in place (clicky).

There are actually two more sections of the ridge truss left to raise up. One is on the ground all set to go. The other one hasn't been assembled yet so it will be a while until it's complete. The temporary green supports that they just put up are the ones that previously held the west cantilever that points towards downtown. They took that down a few days ago. Hope that helps bpm friends.

And keep those pics coming Luke!

It still boggles my mind that they can build a huge football stadium, with the most important key piece of structure (that long truss running the full length of the building) in two pieces, and not making it solid until a long ways into the build.

8-3 homestand for the Twins. Dare we hope this team has actually turned the corner??

I hope you're right F_T_K.
I went back to the site today and walked around the north-facing perimeter of the stadium, as far as I could before walking onto the freeway.
I wanted to see if I could get a front facing shot, but I couldn't :(.
Next week I'll go the south facing perimeter.
Once I get them up on Flickr, I'll post the link :).

Enjoy today's photos

Seeing that first picture with the Intersection sign of Kirby Puckett Place and 4th St. made me wonder if they'll keep the naming convention on that part of Chicago Ave when the new place opens?

I'm actually surprised that Puckett Place didn't move to Target Field (instead of Twins Way). But, Puckett DID play on that plot of land, not Target Field.
And, I wonder how much actually goes into renaming of streets, how much red tape at the city council needs to be cut thru to get it done.
Hope you liked the pics. I'm no Jared, but I try to get good shots :).
Maybe they could rename it Bud Grant Place??

Bud Grant Way replaced the street on 9th Avenue between 6th Street and 7th Street and was previously known as Carew Drive.

Kirby Puckett Place and Rod Carew Drive were relocated near Target Field. Second Avenue North, from 7th Street North to 6th Street North, will now bear the commemorative name Rod Carew Drive.

This stretch includes the corner on the ballpark’s plaza where a statue of the 18-time All-Star now stands. Seventh Street North, from just east of 10th Street North to 2nd Avenue North, will have the commemorative name Kirby Puckett Place.

Rod Carew Drive was utterly pointless once they put up the barriers on 6th Street to keep pedestrians from jaywalking to the Metrodome (a problem in the first couple of years given the heavy traffic on that road). Following that safety oriented move, Rod Carew had the distinction of having named in his honor an insignificant and rarely traveled side street from which the Metrodome could be seen, but not accessed. Now the Twins and the Metrodome are gone and Bud Grant has the same "privilege" with regard to the new stadium.

The outer paneling is going up on the east side of the Vikings stadium now.https://mobile.twitter.com/Vikeologist/status/596825474765955072?p=v

How much of the Twins recent success can be attributed to the manager? I like Molitor a lot, just wondering what others think.

+1 to what Rick said.

Amid wedding planning, I miss stuff sometimes...but what is this mess I was hearing on NBC Sports radio this AM about Twins players not being on the field during the national anthem??

That's what I was thinking. I did see something about it on startrib .com.
it sounded like a very petty issue, and yes - some dude with too much time in his hands.

Beyond the first game and playoffs, I am not sure I have ever paid attention to where players stand. I went to a game in Milwaukee last week and three guys were out towards the foul line stretching and stood there because that is where they were taking care of business. I cannot say that I saw all players from the Brewers/Cubs out on the field. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't want to be perceived as unpatriotic and take photos during the Anthem when I should be at attention...

Token Vikings Stadium update: The penultimate section of the center ridge truss is being lifted into place today. This should allow placement of the final queens post truss on the North side, and completion of most of the roof framing on the North side before walking the massive cranes back through the remaining gap in the ridge truss, and placing the final piece from the South. (At least that's how I think it will be done...)

I know this is mostly a baseball blog site but I admit I do enjoy seeing the Vikes stadium pics/updates. I first starting following this blog (not contributing to it just looking at the articles/pics) whe nI read about it in the Strib while Target Field was first beig built. Whoever that ninja guy was was especially awesome lokoing at those pics-keep up the great work!!!

TK -- you bring up a good point and that Twins "Fan" who brought this issue forward is very hypocritical himself by snapping the pictures during the anthem when he should have been at attention with his right hand over his heart.

Does that "fan" stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance before work each day? Does he sing the national anthem before work each day?

Who cares where the players are during the anthem. They all stand along the lines for the anthem during Opening Day, All Star Game, and Postseason. Blame MLB and the broadcasters for pushing the anthem up 10 minutes + before first pitch these days. We rarely make it to our seats in time for the anthem anymore. We are usually on our way in to the ballpark or navigating the pedestrian traffic in the concourse.

Only in Minnesota do we raise issues with things like this and take offence to everything.

I think the real disgrace to our country is MLB and New Era for promoting and wearing such ridiculous camo apparel and stars and stripes apparel on the field during Memorial Day and 4th of July.

A simple American Flag on the hat and/or jersey would be more than adequate and would suffice. Just like we saw post 9/11.

It's embarrassing what they wear for apparel these days on American holidays. Anything but honoring the holiday and those who served but rather about dollars and revenues generated from apparel sales.

Expectorate was right

Let me know if you can see the three photos I uploaded. When I looked at them, it kept saying "Private"...even though my setting was for "Public".

The pics were viewable. I thought Joni looked older in those pics though...

If you ANYBODY in those three pics...you're spending way too much time looking for stuff that's not there.
the pics were of stadium rafters.
Try again.

Nice pics Luke!

Hicks called up. Does this mean Rosario goes back down to work on his outfield play? I like the guy's swing, but some of what he did in the field during his short stay was brutal.

Thanks JoJo. I shot them pretty fast on my way to catch the bus...hoping they weren't fuzzy.

I had to double and triple-check to make sure this wasn't somehow an article from The Onion, apparently not, it comes from the respectable Sports Illustrated. But there seems to be apparent concern about
deflating of baseballs, perhaps?.

someone on Facebook commented that any doctoring to a baseball would likely be done on the mound (remember Joe Neikro and the nail file incident in 1987???) and not behind the scenes.

I thought they'd seen enough of Hicks for awhile. Does Rosario have any trouble keeping track of outs?

10 strikeouts (after the 16 strikeouts Sunday) and 0 for 8 with RISP. That's how you waste a good pitching performance.

I found myself wishing last night that the Twins had a few Nellie Fox type hitters on the roster. Choking up on a thick handled bat, Fox almost always put the ball in play. He would strike out only 10-20 times in a 500-600 at bat season. There were runs to be had last night but strikeouts when simple ground outs would have scored runs, doomed the Twins.

Twins pitching serving up runs on a silver platter today. Yeesh.

Oh my god, i just checked the score on my AtBat app..I haven't seen anything that scary since my last tax return.
Yeeesh is right :(.

Any beam updates Luke?

Not that I have seen. Looks pretty much the same up there.

Vikings to pony up additional $14 million for TV tech and outdoor signage
Just saw this on the Vikings website today.

Hardly - they just lifted the final queens post truss on the north side into place today. Now, the "heavy lift" yellow crane will walk back through the gap to the south side, and the extremely tall red crawler crane will take its place to install the remaining roof framing on the north side.

Once that's (mostly) done, the red crane will walk through to the south, and they'll place the last piece of the ridge truss from the south.

A ha. I missed alot this week.
If we could get some nice rain-free days, I could go back down there and look around...

Nice spread in the Star Trib this morning (I'm assuming even moreso in the St Paul fish wrap) on CHS Field.

Im ready for the playoffs!!!!!!!

Speaking of playoffs, here is an interesting theory on how to spice up the MLB and the playoffs. It clicks link in the name...

fiesta, Rick, and others (who are still thinking about the subject of subversive advertising),

Not more than a month ago I did the same thing at a family party..."and this trip to the mound is brought to you by Kwik Trip's no fee ATMs, because $20 shouldn't cost you $21.50," and my dad went, "ughhh..."

I think the in-game radio advertising that they make Dan and John do, the various elements of the game that are "sponsored" by this or that entity, are much more insidious than actual advertisements. They are played at a time when you don't have the option of turning the radio off because you're trying to listen to the game.

It would be interesting to listen to a game broadcast from 20 years ago to hear the difference. I'll be the rhythm of it would be completely different. I'll be it would slower, more clearly defined, more spaces of silence (albeit very small ones), and just overall a completely different feel. The difference between today and 20 years ago in TV is even a big one in terms of those qualities.

Strib reported that yesterday's game was the 77th sellout. Calendars were being distributed on the way out as well as on the way in. Does this mean that fewer than 30,000 people entered the ballpark?

Ben,

They are not efficient in handing out items at TF. You have to sometimes walk in 10 feet to actually see that someone is handing something out. Also, if you wanted to, you could walk around for 10 minutes, come back and still act as though you just walked in...I have seen people do this.

In order to get the calendar, you had a long line with only 2 people handing out items.

Also, this is the 2nd day of handing out the calendars. I am sure there are people that bypassed this the 2nd day.

i have not been on here for a long time, and when i do i dont stay long, is kev in az still alive?

TK --- interesting. I just get a bit worn out with this constant back slapping about sellouts and think actual attendance is a much better gauge of interest in the event. I really feel that selling a huge % of STs to people who do not give a RA about the team or any particular game greatly diminishes the spin value of the "sellout" spiel, or should.

I was just wondering the same thing Mazarati. I click on the picture links in the right hand column from time to time, mostly just to satisfy my curiosity about the particular picture I'm clicking on, but I'll invariably end up reading the article and some of the comments again. Yesterday I saw a kevin in az comment followed by a comment by you, and wondered where you guys have been...

Of course, the Vikings have not been a topic of conversation for quite a while on here, which may explain his absence...

He's logged on right now, gents.

But as soon as I posted, he disappeared.

Great little bit on Nancy Faust (White Sox organist who is retiring today) on the WGN pre-game.

41 years of playing! That's a heck of a career. Enjoy your retirement, Nancy!

She was there for Disco Demolition!

"The Schmelz Countryside Volkswagen Scouting Report."

There are more advertisement words in that sentence then words referring to what the thing is.

I'd like to see a list of all the "broadcast elements" of the game that are available to advertisers for sponsorship. Or maybe I wouldn't...

I cannot wait to see a playoff atmosphere at TF.
Gonna be exciting fellas (and any ladies that hang out here).
Let's keep winning, ay?

Under what scenario are the Twins most likely to play a night game on Thursday? My wife has an issue with escaping from work.

Bring on the Yankees!!!! Redemption time baby!!

"Start spreading the news..."

"The one unfolding now. If both Yankees and Rays either win or lose, we get the Yankees (which means a night game)."

Both nights likely (not complaining - just asking)?

Well, my parents will be glad that they can finally watch Twins baseball for the next few games again. Dish Network did not buy into Fox outragous pricing and no longer carry FS-N.

Congrats on a very successful first year at TF! I've been reading this site for a few years now following the TF construction, so I feel like I have some kind of connection. I'd say the new park has been a home run for the Twins and Minnesota.

As for me, I have 81 games left of my Marlins playing in a football stadium. Can't wait for 2012 and a real ballpark!

Best of luck in the playoffs! I'll be rooting for you guys (especially if you are playing the Yankees!) Go Twins!

Got my Target Field book in the mail this weekend.
Well worth the $40.
Great pictures...and lots of them.
If you're on the fence about buying one, either at The Yard or by mail, get it, you wont be disappointed.

when will we know about times?

If the Giants can pull off this win, I would expect the times to come shortly after the game. If there is a tie-break necessary, we might not know the time until tomorrow?

Not sure this means anything, but Stubhub, now has the first two Twin's Yankee's matchups listed as 1:00pm starts. No start times for the Ray's vs Texas series. I would not take this as the final word, but it has been changed to an actual game time by someone.

the MLB site still has no times listed for any of the games.

My guess is that we will have the night game. It's all about $$ and even though it would be exciting for Texas/Tampa to be in prime time, the $$ doesn't come in with those teams.

It's kinda like the Gophers when the X hosts the Final Five. Gophers get the prime time game.

I mean, if the MLB.com advertisement at the top is any indication...

"Yankees AL Wild Card: Official Cap and Tee (Shop)"

I see the NL start times posted Cinny @ Philadephia 5:07 Wed and Braves @ SF 8:37 on thursday. So thinking we got the late start on wed and the 5:07 Thursday???

OK here we go!!!!! According to Lavelle Neal # Star Tribune

Game 1 on Wednesday is scheduled to start at 7:37. Game 2 on Thursday will start at 5:07. Game 3 from New York will start at 7:37 (all time Central).

Man it was toasty all day in Sec 326. Sun all day. Walked around a bit and it seemed to be about 20 degrees cooler in the shade. Looks like clear skies and above normal temps all week!!!!!

Will be there thursday!!!!!!!

American League Division Series Series Date Network Game Time (ET)
ALDS Game 1: TEX @ TB Wednesday, October 6 TBS 1:37 p.m.
ALDS Game 1: NYY @ MIN Wednesday, October 6 TBS 8:37 p.m.
ALDS Game 2: TEX @ TB Thursday, October 7 TBS 2:37 p.m.
ALDS Game 2: NYY @ MIN Thursday, October 7 TBS 6:07 p.m.
ALDS Game 3: TB @ TEX Saturday, October 9 TBS 5:07 p.m.
ALDS Game 3: MIN @ NYY Saturday, October 9 TBS 8:37 p.m.
ALDS Game 4*: MIN @ NYY Sunday, October 10 TBS TBA
ALDS Game 4*: TB @ TEX Sunday, October 10 TBS TBA
ALDS Game 5*: NYY @ MIN Tuesday, October 12 TBS TBA
ALDS Game 5*: TEX @ TB Tuesday, October 12 TBS TBA

Here is the NL schedule

National League Division Series Series Date Network Game Time (ET)
NLDS Game 1: CIN @ PHI Wednesday, October 6 TBS 5:07 p.m.
NLDS Game 1: ATL @ SF Thursday, October 7 TBS 9:37 p.m.
NLDS Game 2: CIN @ PHI Friday, October 8 TBS 6:07 p.m.
NLDS Game 2: ATL @ SF Friday, October 8 TBS 9:37 p.m.
NLDS Game 3: PHI @ CIN Sunday, October 10 TBS TBA
NLDS Game 3: SF @ ATL Sunday, October 10 TBS TBA
NLDS Game 4*: PHI @ CIN Monday, October 11 TBS TBA
NLDS Game 4*: SF @ ATL Monday, October 11 TBS TBA
NLDS Game 5*: CIN @ PHI Wednesday, October 13 TBS TBA
NLDS Game 5*: ATL @ SF Wednesday, October 13 TBS TBA

Wow 4 games on Sunday!

Rick, looks like the oddsmakers are liking the skankies! Now there is a shock!

The American League Playoffs are set to begin this week and the New York Yankees are still the favorites to win the pennant despite being in the wild card spot.

Bet 2010 MLB Playoff Odds

Oddsmakers from online sports book BroburySports.com have given the Yankees 6/5 odds to win the American League pennant while other odds are Tampa Bay at 7/5, Minnesota at 7/2, and Texas at 5/1.

The Yankees earned the AL Wild Card spot at 95-67. They fell short of winning the AL East by 1 game against Tampa Bay. New York will have to open the playoffs at Minnesota. The Yankees are 43-38 on the road this year and 52-29 at home. The Yankees and Twins begin their series on Wednesday night.

The Rays won the AL East this year and have the top spot in the American League playoffs. Tampa Bay is 96-66 on the season and 49-32 at home while going 47-34 on the road. The Rays will begin the playoffs against Texas. Their series begins Wednesday afternoon.

The Twins are 94-68 on the season, winning the AL Central by 6 games over the Chicago White Sox. Minnesota was 53-28 at home this year, best of any team in the American League.

Texas won the AL West by 9 games over Oakland. The Rangers were 51-30 at home and 90-72 overall.

For a complete list of odds to win the 2010 AL Pennant, see below.

2010 AL Pennant Odds To Win:

New York Yankees 6/5

Tampa Bay Rays 7/5

Minnesota Twins 7/2

Texas Rangers 5/1

TwinkFan: Either 2, 3, or 4 baseball games next Sunday. And I can imagine how much the networks would hate it if all 4 are necessary, what with almighty football and all...

Your right. Some of those game may be if necessary come Sunday! Need to get off to a good start with a W come wednesday.

Great season for the Twins! At the game on Saturday and what a finish!! I got a password via E-mail to purchase ALCS tickets but I'm not planning on purchasing any. Whoever wants my password just shoot me an email

Sorry everyone but I already gave my password to somebody! One question: how do I go about putting a picture within a comment on here?

I have a code for tomorrows ALCS ticket session. What are the fees for this and what amount is not refundable if the games are not necessary?
We will beat the Yankees, but I would guess that there is a chance to purchase game 4 in the series even though a fourth game would depend on the Texas Tampa result in the other first round. How bad would you get dinged if you purchase the tickets and then the game is not played?

I also noticed that there are Legends club tickets for sale on stubhub for DR. I assume this to be "drink rail", as the Twins announced that standing room would be available in the legends club during the playoffs. Will these be available during tomorrows session? I didn't hear anyone mention them during the ALDS opportunity. Were they only sold to Legends club members in a private sale?

My coworker just invited me to the Thursday game! /happydance/

:-)

minn55441,

I bought some tickets for the ALDS, and it was about $7 per ticket for a fee. I assume the ticket fee would be the same for the LCS, so if the game doesnt happen, you would be out $7 per ticket. (disclaimer: this is only my assumption, i do not know this for a fact)

On that note, i had a friend get seats in section 332, left field... for i think $32 face value. Standing room only is $40 face value... what the heck? I know they arent great seats, but at least you get a seat. Are SRO really more desirable?

Go twins

If game isn't played you will be refunded for ticket price plus all convenience charges. You will only not be refunded the print at home fee.

tom,

good to know, i thought you lose out on the fees too. that is most excellent.

Thrillhouse, it's that way for the regular season too. SRO were $20 and you could sit in the Skyline View or Field View sections for cheaper than that as well as pay the same for a seat in other areas of the park.

Thrillhouse the fees on the ALCS were $7.00 per ticket plus $6.00 processing fee for your order. Yep fees suck but what you gonna do? Yep my season tickets Skyline View seats are $12.00 next year will be $13.00 each. Not sure if they will raise prices on standing room next year or not.

Buffalo,

guess i didnt realize that was the cost of those tickets. Only time i sat up in upper left field was the opener and the seats were more for that game and it was before SRO were being sold.

They refund both processing and Convenience fees on unused games? Course I guess my balance if any will go to next years season tickets which need to be in by Oct 11th.

The whole idea of pricing SRO tickets higher than seats is a joke. It makes no sense, and leads to a bunch of empty seats in the less expensive areas.

JC, there won't be any empty seats for the playoffs

Twinkfan,
You will be refunded convenience fees for single game purchases to unplayed games...season tix holders will not be refunded those forty dollar processing fees

Just got two tickets for ALCS 'game 3'.

This week is off to a pretty good start for me! :-)

did anyone get anything other than section 329-334?

Very painless process to get my 4 ALCS tix from the "opportunity" lottery this morning. Yes, a whole gauntlet of "ifs" to pass through before the game would even be played, but I tried to make it easy on myself today and went for later in the series -- fit my calendar better anyway -- rather than Game 1. 'Best Available' for Home Game 3 (which could be either Game 5 Oct 20 vs Tampa or Game 6 Oct 22 vs Texas): HR Porch View Sec 329 Row 9.

Cuddy, if we actually play that game, I'll bring my glove.

eightmenout...I don't mean the seats weren't sold, but people are buying them so they can do SRO for less than what they'd have to pay for SRO tickets. They come and stand behind home plate, and will probably do so even more to see Yankees up close.

It's time eliminate the crowding at typical SRO spots by designating standing spots and corresponding SRO ticket numbers, like I've seen at other ballparks. If you bought a ticket for a seat, you don't belong in my SRO spot (and vice versa). At least one wouldn't feel like they had to get there as soon as the gates open, jostle for elbow room, and 'hold it' until after the game for fear of losing your place.

But, I'm sure the Twins would find that there are far fewer viable viewing spots to stand than the number of SRO tickets being sold.

I'm not a big fan of selling SRO seats, but I really don't like selling drink rail seats in the Legends Club. That essentially takes away an amenity from the Legends Club members that pay for the privilege. I usually get dinner and a drink and go sit at the window to relax before going out to my seat.

I understand it's the playoffs, but the idea of creating seats out of thin air seems to take away from everyone and devalues the experience.

Anyone know what the maximum number of SRO tickets the Twins will sell / have sold?

100% agreed jfh. The Twins/MLB selling the inside drink rail in the Legends Club during the playoffs is a slap in the face to all the Legends Club seat owners. Those could be real nice places to see the game while also warming up (the weather is guaranteed to start getting chilly). This also adds more congestion to the concourse/bathrooms/lines for food & beverage etc. One of the main amenities of the LC was not having everyone breathing down your neck like the main concourse behind home plate.

I've never seen "designated standing spots" at an MLB park other than "stand behind this line". The Twins did at least add lines this year behind the WC sections so fans in those seats didn't have people literally breathing down their neck.

There are some areas where you can have SRO that don't interfere with normal concession/restroom/traffic flow, but you always end up with folks just about blocking aisles at the top of the concourses.

But I wouldn't be surprised if marketing sells Full season SRO "seats" next year.

jfh - I want to say it was 1500, but that was in July when DSP was on the radio. At that time, he said they were continously evaluating the numbers for SRO tickets. I could be wrong, and I am sure the number goes up and down, but I want to say it was 1500 at that time in July.

Rick is right on, the SRO has gotten way out of hand at Target Field.
It will only be worse in October when fans congregate under the radiant heaters throughout the concourse.

The Twins spent the first 2/3 of the season trying to figure out how many SRO tickets they could sell before it became a comfort issue for the "regular" ticket holders. It's like product pricing --- you raise the price incrementally until sales begin to fall off (the choke point) and then back off just a bit.

Anybody know of any bars that will have good specials for the games this week? I am going to leave work at noon on Thursday (work downtown already) and head over to a bar for a few hours.

Pat I know Sneaky Petes has some pretty good happy hour prices. I will probably enjoy a couple brews with some apps there before the game thursday. I hear Wally the Beerman's new gig is there. Althougth I kinda like getting my 20oz buds served by the nice babes at the tub. I'm sure downtown will be rocking in the bars both nights!!LOL!

Man if we only played 500 ball the last 10 games we would have cinched best record. Oh well. Lets get it done in the first round! Have we ever hosted the first round before? We beat the Angels one year then lose to the A's second round?

Bring on the Yankees, I have a feeling the Twins are for real this go round. The Yankees have never made it out of the first round being a Wild Card, let's ensure this course plays out once again!

We had home-field in the ALDS in 2006 with Santana going game 1, but he gave up a monstrous homerun to Frank Thomas in the first inning and the Twins went on to get swept in 3 games.

There is a Sid Hartman statue being erected next to Target Center at the entrance of the Target Plaza Ramp (the corner where Hubert's is). The base of the statue is already there with some inscription about Sid.

I just want to know: WHHHHY???

Maybe the old boy paid for it? LOL!

Morneau officially shut down for the year-per the Pioneer Press & StarTrib.

I brought this up a week ago or so and think it got missed. The LC SRO designation is gone on the post season ticket pricing. Does anyone know if they actually did sell those tickets? I'm pretty sure it was a line item on the post season pricing originally.

I, too, will be very pissed if they pack that full of SROs through post-season, when the warmer temps and shorter lines will be most important.

Morneau never showed up for the playoffs when he was healthy...no big deal.

I have tickets in the Legends club for Thursdays game and was wondering how many seats are in a row. Does anyone have know? I am in section R

How are they erecting a statue of Sid F'in Hartman before Hrbek or Oliva? That is insane.

That's calming a little bit. I know they are doing them both next year, but if they were paying to have Sid's before than that would be madness. Talk about a waste of money though

PatMeares, the Twins did not commission this statue. The Minneapolis Arts Commission approved the statue and a group of downtown business people commissioned the sculpture by local artist Nick Legeros.

Look closely to see if you can read this inscription on the base of Sid's statue:
"Sponsored in part by Sanford Health Retirement Community"...

Jeff,

I am in LC sec B and there are 20 seats per row. I am not sure if they are the same all the way around the stadium.

Why the heck do the Twins not have Jose Morales on the postseason roster?

Why do they need Tolbert, Casilla AND Punto?? Put Morales on the roster and take out Tolbert or Casilla. He can play decent at 1B and he can provide a much better bat off the bench rather than Punto, Casilla or Tolbert. Yes, Morales does not have as much speed, but you don't need 3 speed/utility guys on the roster if you ask me.

Who is going to be the backup 1B?? MATT TOLBERT?? I have a feeling this decision will come back and hurt the Twins if in fact they decide to stay with the 3 speedy/utility guys.

I'm not a huge Sid fan and he has become somewhat of a joke in the later stages of his career, but his contributions to the Minneapolis sports community do deserve some recognition. Remember, this guy was the GM for the Minneapolis Lakers at age 27, while he was still writing for the Minneapolis Daily Times by the way. Quite a feat, even though it's one of the reasons I don't particularly like him since it's also quite a conflict of interest.

Mike ---

Tolbert is the back-up first baseman. I hope I am dead wrong but I fear it's not going to make much difference once the Yanks start jacking balls all over the county.

Morales has only played 1B twice. Tolbert is more versatile in where he can play.

Do you suppose Cuddyer had better prepare himself for some high inside fastballs?
I'm not sayin'; I'm just sayin'...

Well we all know how Gardy loves Nicky. Tolbert does have some speed for pinch running and Lexy can play some short. Gonna need some pitching and hitting to beat the big fat lefty Wed! Interesting take below.

Yankees vs. Twins: Why New York will win -- or lose
09:01 AMYahoo! BuzzShare
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Recommend The Yankees will win ...

The Yankees, making their 49th postseason appearance, will beat Minnesota in their Division Series because the Yankee are the Yankees. They don't worry about end-of-the season losing when they finished 9-17.

And besides, they know how to beat the Twins and their offense will pound the Twins' inexperienced pitching staff.

Since 2002, the Yankees have a 63-20 record against the Twins, including 9-2 in the postseason and a sweep last year, even though the Twins had a lead during the sixth inning in each of the first three games. The Yankees always find a way to beat the Twins.

And, the Yankees will win because lefty CC Sabathia, a 21-game winner, will likely pitch two of the possible five games, and an offense that scored 859 runs, most in the AL, will score runs in pitcher-friendly Target Field.

Derek Jeter didn't have his best season, but he'll continue to frustrate the Twins with big hits at the top of the order. Then, the power-hitting lineup, which includes Mark Teixeira (33 home runs), Alex Rodriguez (30) and Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher (29 each), will take over.

The Yankees will lose ...

The Yankees will lose a Division Series to the Twins for the first time because they will be worn out, their rotation will falter and they won't be able to hang the Yankee Stadium mystique on the Twins. Plus, they don't wear the tag of wild-card team well.

The Yankees are beaten down by a never-ending race with the Rays in the final two months when the teams were never separated by more than 2 ½ games after July 26. Plus, three games in the final 24 hours of the season in Boston, doesn't help.

Lefty CC Sabathia is fine as a starter, but lefty Andy Pettitte will feel the effects of missing nine weeks with a groin injury. He's given up 22 hits in 13 1/3 innings since returning. A.J. Burnett had ERAs of 7.80 and 6.14 during each of the final two months, and Phil Hughes will show fatigue from too many innings. The Yankees wanted to limit him to 175 in his first season. He's thrown 176 1/3 innings.

This will the first time in the postseason that the Yankees haven't had home-field advantage vs. the Twins. The Yankees lost 8-4 to Boston on Sunday to become the wild-card team. In each of three previous seasons as the wild-card team – in 1995, 1997 and 2007 – the Yankees have always lost in the first round.

By Mel Antonen

Tags:New York Yankees Minnesota Twins Derek Jeter Andy Pettitte Mariano Rivera Jorge Posada

Thanks Rick, I took the locals over the Phillies in 7 games! Call me a homer! LOL!

Why would we keep Butera on the roster and not Morales if Mauer is going catch every game? What is Butera going to do, pinch hit or pinch run? Morales would be a much better choice than Butera. Gardy needs to start thinking a bit more when it comes to playoffs. We won't have one solid hitter off the bench.

Is the target web cam down for good? I know it only went back to may 2010. Found this article trying to find it!

Sports
Watching the Target Field Web cam is like watching paint dryBy Emily Kaiser, Tue., Oct. 14 2008 @ 4:30PM Comments (6) Categories: Sports
Share 0diggsdiggThe Minnesota Twins have a new Web cam up so taxpayers can watch their money disappear at the Target Field construction site. The camera is located on the roof of the Ford Centre, which is directly across 5th Street from Target Field.

View the Web cam after the jump.

View the Web cam here. Feel free to zoom to your heart's content.

Look! A construction worker just took a 32 minute break! Can't he be fired for misusing taxpayer money by taking standing around too long? We would hope so. We walk by the new site every day on our way to and from work, so we're your watch dogs on foot.

Comments (6) Write Comment Email to Friend Print Article
Comments (6)
Mike says:
Emily, do you mind if I ask you a question?
Can you tell me the exact date the stadium tax went into effect?

I'll answer that for you, NO! You have no idea, you know why, because the tax is so small you never noticed.

State and city governments give taxpayer money to wealthy entities all the time. So, stop whining and take acivics class.

Posted On: Tuesday, Oct. 14 2008 @ 6:02PM

EastCoastDoug says:
Target. What a wonderful, anal, corporation.

Posted On: Tuesday, Oct. 14 2008 @ 6:04PM

Helm Matthews says:
I swear I just saw someone toking on a spleef. I probably spelled "spleef" wrong.

Posted On: Tuesday, Oct. 14 2008 @ 8:25PM

Al P says:
Just because governments give money to wealthy entities all the time doesn't make it right, even it is a small tax (which is actually STILL a tax, even though it is only 0.15%).

If you could put 3 cents of every twenty dollars into something useful like taxpayer's hands, rather than up Carl Pohlad's ass, Minnesota would be a way better state.

Posted On: Tuesday, Oct. 14 2008 @ 11:26PM

Tim says:
what a disingenious post. the stadiums being built much to your dismay, so keep enjoying that webcam view there. i'll enjoy the thought of how much the ballpark rising annoys you.

Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 15 2008 @ 8:51AM

Ryan says:
This is the type of mentality that leaves Minneapolis such an ugly city once you leave the parks. I think it will be nice to have a neighborhood worth going to where there was only surface parking lots, a garbage burner, a highway, a bus garage, strip clubs, and panhandlers. Is that really such a bad thing to spend taxpayer dollars on? Cleveland is a nicer place to live than Minneapolis now, and you seem to be ok with that. We're becoming the Gary, IN of the Northwest.

You also seem to have some sort of problem with people taking lunch breaks.

Posted On: Wednesday, Oct. 15 2008 @ 9:31AM

Question for the group. A vendor of mine invited me to game one in one of the skyline suites, (Face value is higher than Champions Club Tier 3...WTF) and I haven't seen any information about the skyline suites. Can anyone provide pictures, or any information about these suites. There is little to no information available that I can find on the internet. I know there has to be a ballpark magic spy or two that could help me out.

Thanks!

From what I know...there are two skyline suites. One has a capacity of 50 ($12,000/game ALDS and $17,500/game ALCS) while the other has a capacity of 46 ($11,040/game ALDS and $16,100/game ALCS)

They are along the third base base line.

PHOTO: ALDS Logo at Target Field
CLICK MY NAME

Rick - I knew you would have the answers! Thanks for your help! Any idea what sections these suites are over? Are they over 125-127 or are they closer to home plate?

I really appreciate the help!

I sat in the Skyline Suites for both exhibition games. They were great. I got through on some deal that I at first assumed was an error on the Twins website right before the first exhibition game started and got the tickets for nearly free.

They probably aren't worth it if you're paying for it, but for free it's a hell of a deal. We got two drink tickets and all the food you could eat, and it was good stuff too. Two different types of pizza, burgers, hot dogs with fixings, roasted veggies and more. Highly recommend doing it at least once if you get a chance to.

Based on their location, I certainly don't think they are worth the face value price of $240 per ticket, but hey, it's not my dime my vendor is treating me. Based on what the twins website says:

Skyline Suite Catering: The prices listed above are inclusive of a food & beverage menu. Several other menu options are available at an additional cost.

I'm assuming that all food and sodas will be included. Beer/Liquor have an additional cost.

TylerSection126 - Your assumption is correct for the regular season. I don't believe that any food or beverage is included in that per ticket price for the Event Suites or the Skyline Suites for the post season.

Yes, it is more than the Champions Club, with nothing close to the CC amenities and freebies. That is more of a fact that the Champions Club prices were marked up very little (% wise) for the post season compared to other seats. My Fieldview seats went up 300% for the ALCS. Champions Club went up 25%

On KARE-11, Randy Shaver just referred to Justin Morneau being left off the postseason roster due to injury as "surprising" to many people. Surprising to whom? He hasn't played since July and there have been too many stories to count discussing his lack of progress towards returning. If the Twins were going to play Morneau this postseason, he'd have been back at some point in the latter part of September. No one ought to be shocked at this news. I stopped worrying about Morneau playing this postseason weeks ago and started worrying whether he'll be back in 2011 and beyond. Post concussion syndrome can be career ending.

Legend Club L has 13 in lowest row. I suspect the middle sections in general have around 13 to 15. I noticed Section R has huge numbers of tickets for sale on stubhub throughout the season. Maybe it has the most seats.
Speaking of SRO, there is a great deal on stubub for Wednesday's game. Four SRO for only $79,999 each!

Buffalo,

We both know that was an error. The Twins accidentally broadcasted the Umpire and Visiting club comps on the public site about 2-3 hours before the game and you could check them out for free.

The only way you could have bought them is if you represented yourself on the purchase page as with the umpires or member of visiting team.

Tom, I don't know anything about that. I just bought the tickets and they let me in. When we went to the first exhibition game I firmly expected to be turned away, first at the gate and then at the actual club level. They never did, so it's all history now. I didn't represent myself as anything other than myself at any time during that transaction for your information.

¡Presente! In 136.

Break out the bats (and balls thrown by KC pitchers). Looking like the Opening Day losing streak will end at 8!

I posted it on the previous page, but since Rick updated I will ask it here. Anyone purchase the April/May package for $99?

It wasn't the Billy Goat Curse or the Curse of the Bambino, but it is good to see the 8 year opening day streak come to an end.

My hopes for a Twins-Rockies World Series is alive after day 1. :)

Did the flyover happen?

That sounds like a cop-out to me. Yes there was dense fog yesterday morning, but I can't believe it was still around at 3:10.
Unless we were in San Francisco or something...that just seems like an excuse.

The F-16 is a all weather tactical aircraft.

MN National Guard posted on twitter that the FAA regulations nixed the flyover, I presume due to low cloud ceiling.

St. Peter tweeted the same thing. If you have ballpark questions, his feed is actually a pretty good resource for answers.

Two of the key plays in the big 7th inning yesterday were the successful bunts. It seems like they didn't have two successful bunts the entire season last year.

That's a good point terry. It also seemed like last year a situation would call for a bunt and the batter was up there swinging away and probably hitting into a double play or striking out.

Anyone else notice the new LED lighting around Target Field?

Much brighter from what I noticed. They also have LED lighting under the canopy now that changes colors so they were flashing blue and red when the Twins were introduced. Nice new little feature! It was also lit up green for St. Patrick's Day a couple weeks ago.

Memo to ballpark operations guy, please change the font on the auxiliary boards on the facade that display balls, strikes, outs, and inning. Very hard to read from a distance. The font seemed kind of blocky and was white.

Mike did they also install the LED's on the light tower over the scoreboard, or just under the canopy?
I would imagine they will utilize the new system for HR celebrations along with Minnie and Paul?

A member of my group yesterday reported that there are no separate scorecards available; just the freebie in the magazine. He was disappointed by the smaller size, and the vendor was also disappointed.

The $1 cards must've been good enough sellers for the vendors, but not so for the Twins.

We also had trouble finding a "Last Play" feature on any scoreboards. Likewise, they have removed the time from the upper fascia scoreboards. Still atop the "Twins tower," though.

So given that they no longer sell separate scorecards, are they now charging a buck for game programs that used to be free?

I would have to think there is a place you could buy scorecards in bulk, isn't there? Then you'd just have to print a lineup ad attach it I guess.

I loved the Gameday version, and how they included salaries in the stats page.

And the matte card stock of the $1 cards. I reckon the glossy, smaller free ones won't be as good.

Last thought of the night: my new favorite scorebook is Eephus League's Halfliner. 81 games in a spiral bound book!

Fiesta, I just went off to look for those. I've never used them, but they always seem to elegant and classy.

Twins are on pace to score 1296 runs this season.

Where was this offense last year???

39,000 and change Monday for the Opener.
15,000 and change today, on a pretty decent early April day.
I actually didn't suffocate on the Northstar back to Elk River.

I missed opening day, only the second time I've haven't gone in the Target Field era, the other being in 2010 when the demand and secondary market prices were just too high. A couple of friends suggested we get together on go on Monday, but the unappealing weather and some work demands put us all on the sideline. Maybe next year. Even when the team has poor prospects, there is a big event feel to that first home game.

It's too bad the Twins have a bunch of weekday games this week and next.

I just became a season ticket holder with part of a group that has had season tickets since 2004 so think their priority will be very good for seating in 2010. Do you have any idea where the sun will shine in this park on an average saturday or sunday afternoon? I was told it might be the third base line area?? Let me know what you think.

Great work, and good luck

Sam

wtf?

When are we going to be able to see the "coming soon" stuff?

Fortunately, a number of very good ballparks have been built in recent years, which will help with the final design.
Personally, I'd like to see a continuous eight foot high (between the foul poles), well padded, symetrical outfield fence, without the gold (or any other color)homerun band. Contrasting colors beyond the fence to help fans pick up the ball. Ten feet of foul space in those outfield corners. Four to five foot barriors everywhere else, with fans getting as close as possible to the action from all seating locations. Shorter rows, with the seats 20 to 22 inches wide, cup holders and leg/knee room for 6 footers (facing the pitchers mound).
Some fulltime quality local bar/restaurants, with seating (views of the field through the concourse), and a variety of foods all the time, not just on game day.
More, smaller restrooms, w/o the troughs, but with radio. Wide concourses.
A fullscale Twins merchandise/sporting goods store.
Escalators/elevators to the upper levels.
As much green (plants) as possible if there's no roof. Natural shade in the tailgating section.
Large, lit fountains (not fireworks) in any available outfield areas.
Color. Make it a visual feast for the eye. Large player profiles, past & present, baseball museum areas (including the Washington Senators), with team/player memoribilia. Lots of interactive activities for all ages.
Ditch the industrial warehouse lighting.
Many fans are older, so make things easy for them to navigate through the entire ballpark or have a senior section, along with the family section(s).

There's a ton of things, but I'm sure a lot of people have already mentioned them.

I think you should email your list of 5 to Mr St Peter.....because I think you nailed it.

I like the list but one thing that caught my attention was,
"Arbitrary, made-up quirks (flag poles, embankments, baggies, manual scoreboards)"

While some I agree with you (baggies) others are tributes to past ballparks like the flag poles and embankments. Ballparks, back in the day, were way more crazy than today.
Take a look here for some examples,
http://boofberg.blogspot.com/2006/05/stadium-bits.html

I'm not saying that I would want a giant hill or a flag pole in play, but it should be pointed out that these quirky things have been around awhile and that the old ballparks were forced to allow such changes.

Anyway, I love the site and I look forward to reading it daily for the next 4 years

Good comments, except for one: I don't think you can include a roof and still have a decent design. A roof is too darn big and you can't hide it and it's mechanics when not in use.

However there are other ways to keep fans warm or out of the elements and you touched on some of them: Overhangs, open concourses, etc. The Twins have talked of seat warmers and I hope that is something that can be accommodated within the given $522 million budget.

Along with the roof - the current series at Safeco Field is a great opportunity to see a roof on a park. Its HUGE and ugly. I think it the latest one on a ballpark. It would be way too tempting to close it.

My wife has told me that the creek flows through the basement of the comedy club location....I've never believed her until now.

If they had more room on the site, they could turn the creek into an excellent feature of the park. As it is, I can't imagine them being able to squeeze it into the plans.

Thanks for putting this page out on the web. The fact that Bassett Creek flows directly under the new Twins stadium site was not on my radar screen until I happened to stumble onto this webpage.
A little research would have to be done as to the depth of the creek in the ball park area. As I understand it, the creek at some point under Minneapolis, drops from a shallow depth to a deeper depth of around 40'(into the easy to dig sandstone layer below the harder limestone cover layer). Even if the creek is still shallow here, my personal preference is to restore and re-daylight the flowing creek back into the original natural corridor to the north of the Twins site- not in the corridor of the new 1992 tunnel where the creek now flows.
The old tunnel, that was constructed in the early 1900's roughly along the original natural path of the creek, runs north of the Twins site. The old shallow tunnel now only drains occasional flood overflow from the creek, as well as local street runoff.
I like very much the innovative and nice new water features in Heritage Park. These features are in the natural creekbed and old tunnel corridor, however, the actual creek is not daylighted here and since 1992 no longer flows through here.

May we view, this latest "hurdle" involving land acquisition for the new stadium as possibly a blessing; an opportunity for the "powers that be" to now get the new stadium built right. Twins fans keep hearing that the organization and government powers do not want to build this stadium "on the cheap". But, if the current proposals continue to move forward, it's in my opinion that the public is doomed to receive a "white elephant" of a stadium. And may I suggest that within 20-25 years, we will be hearing the cries for a yet again another new ballpark. It is a preposterous plan for us to even consider building a stadium in Minnesota without a retractable roof. And if a retractable roof were to ever become a reality, whether during initial construction or post construction, a new, larger site MUST be explored and considered. To Mr. Opat, and others who have the power to make such changes, PLEASE consider a new ballpark site: one with room for large parking lots and plans for a "retractable" roof, either initially, or for retrofit in the future. Having traveled recently in the Seattle area, Safeco Field, and hence Seattle, should be used as a model of a city and ballpark that "got it right" when building a new facility. What an amazing complex that is Safeco field, a true testament to the city of Seattle; a facility that will prove to be viable for many many years to come.

The fact that a small group of land owners are using the Twins Warehouse District site as leverage to increase their profits by a large margin is not a blessing in my opinion.

Did the Twins jump the gun by not taking care of this land issue before legislation? Obviously, but Zuber please check the 'To Roof or Not to Roof' page on this site. There are plenty of reasons why a stadium in Minneapolis shouldn't have a roof.

You also note, "PLEASE consider a new ballpark site: one with room for large parking lots."

While the Warehouse District site won't be in the middle of a huge parking lot like Miller Park, Turner Field, or the Phillies new park, the current site will be best for the fans. One of the reasons Wrigley Field is so popular is that the stadium is surrounded by bars, clubs, and restaurants.

With 81 home games a year not only will downtown Minneapolis prosper financially, but millions of fans will be within walking distance to pre/post game bars and restaurants. If the novelty of the new stadium starts to wear off after five seasons like it has in Milwaukee, at least fans attending Twins games will have another entertainment option within walking distance to supplement the new park.

In Milwaukee they have a huge parking lot on site, an ugly roof, a little league field, and not a single place to meet with other fans before and after games. The current Warehouse district site isn't perfect, but it's close, and far better than any other site in the Twin Cities.

Oh and I hope you could enjoy the mountains and scenic beauty from your seats at Safeco, oh wait, it's pretty tough to see those mountains from inside the park because of the roof.

Zuber, ever read Patrick Reusse. Very topical.

tito is right, no roof is better and milwaukee sucks

Behind one of the walls, we have a mini artificial lake built in. Can you imagine? "Morneau hits one DEEP to center, and this ball is goin swimming!"

I mean, we need to have the 10000 lakes thing in the park. Or mabey a mini river with a bridge that has a TC banner, symbolizing the twin cities and unification of the Saints and Millers.

wtf?

I guess I'll truly believe we have become a baseball town is when crowds at the game stop trying to start the wave.

As expected.....(click my name for the link)

"The Minnesota Twins have sent contract offers to the key players that will design and build their new ballpark.

Twins executive Jerry Bell said the team selected HOK Sport + Venue + Event of Kansas City, Mo., as the lead architect; Hammel, Green and Abrahamson Inc. (HGA) as the local architect; and M.A. Mortenson Co. as the builder. No deals have been signed yet, but team officials say an announcement should come within two weeks.

HOK will oversee all the major stadium design features, while Minneapolis-based HGA will assist on the project and handle some of the smaller details.

The selections should come as no surprise, as all three firms have a great deal of experience working on major building projects and already have been involved with the Twins project on some level.

The stadium legislation gave the Twins the authority to select the architects and construction firms, but Hennepin County has the final say. Once contracts are in place, the county will review the deals to ensure they fall within generally accepted market values and that the firms have enough capacity to handle the project.

HOK, Mortenson and HGA all declined to comment on the Twins stadium project, referring questions to the team.

HOK Sport + Venue + Event
HOK drew up the preliminary ballpark sketches that the Twins used during the legislative approval process and designed Xcel Energy Center, which the team has identified as a model for its new facility. The company designed eight of the nine major league stadiums that have opened since 2000 and is the architect on stadium projects underway for the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and New York Yankees.

Bell, the Twins' point person on the stadium project, cited HOK's vast experience as the dominant reason the Twins selected the firm.

The company is best known for its retro stadiums, like Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and AT&T Park (formerly Pacific Bell Park) in San Francisco. Those ballparks feature brick and exposed steel, similar to the stadiums of past generations.

But HOK also has proven itself adept at designing more-contemporary facilities, such as Petco Park in San Diego, which has a sandstone exterior, and the Nationals' ballpark, which will feature large quantities of glass."

No surprise either but I wonder, HOK is designing new Yankees, new Mets, and new Nationals stadiums, all slated to open before the Twins. I know they are big but do they have the horses for a 4th major league stadium or will we get the interns and guys who usually do football stadiums?

Awesome that they have a countdown to the new park! Great call.

Isn't that only until 2009 though? (Unfortunately), I think they have to add another 162 games for next season...THEN it'll be 2010, right?

He was out shagging flies after the game because it was their first opportunity to practice in night conditions with the roof. Gladden said last week that you should expect to see a majority of the newbies (Monroe, Young, Gomez, Everett, Harris, Lamb, and Tolbert) out there after games this first week.

Great work as always Rick! I happened to be sitting in section 115, Row 22, and I was on an aisle seat too. Those seats in the corner are nice, but when the fans/vendors are standing/kneeling in the aisle blocking your view, it's very irritating and frustrating! I realize a lot of fans may have been running late due to the weather, but I think fans (not all fans, but a few)need some etiquette on attending games! (A great topic for future discussion relating to ballparks and ballgames: BALLPARK ETIQUETTE!!) Is it that hard to wait every three outs or every half-inning to get up or come back to your seat? Don't get up in the middle of an inning or at-bat for gods sake! I know it can be difficult for the ushers to hold back the crowd an entire half-inning as the aisles are very narrow and the sections are very large compared to what the new ballpark will offer. A majority of those problems should be resolved come 2010 in the new ballpark with increased concessions, increased restrooms, OPEN concourses, wider aisles, short rows, and thus smaller sized sections.

I totally agree with the lack of hot dog vendor! I noticed several vendors selling cookies and milk for the first time, which is a nice addition for a family with children.

On another side note, was anyone else at opening day who was annoyed by those people in bright green neon shirts taking pictures of fans? Its definitely a nice idea and something new, but its very annoying when those people are bouncing from row to row and section to section seeking to take pictures of the fans.

I love the countdown to the new ballpark!! That will be fun to watch and follow over the next couple of years!

As for advertising, I noticed how the outfield walls had less advertising on them this year than in previous years (in particular, along the left field wall).

I liked seeing a mostly clean blue leftfield wall last night. The ads in the dome always look kinda tacky and overdone. Best Buy tacked all over the dugout is a bit much. The new venue provides the opportunity for creative placement and use of ads for corporate partners. I like seeing some hometown marker, like a newspaper or media outlet prominently displayed or incorporated into the scoreboard. Baltimore Sun and camden yards comes to mind or the Arizona Republic in phoenix park. (I don't even know if they're still part of those park's scoreboards, but I remember them when they opened.)

since the flagpole from the met will be in the new park, what kind of an icon memorializing the dome will be in the new park? how about the old LD amber light-board?

coming to 'the cities' from my northern minnesota hometown in the 80s was a treat and i remember the novelty of the scoreboard. my dad said 'wow! look at how BIG that scoreboard is! it's a technological MARVEL!' i recall thinking 'yeah, but it's frickin' ugly...' he'd respond, 'yeah, but look how BIG it is?!'

for many, that butt-ugly light board is nostalgic and would be a nice relic to save from the dome.

I saw my first ever Cargill commercial during the Twins game, although I might have seen one before but just never realized it. Think we should read anything into that?

has this ever been talked about? i would have to assume it has. how is minnesota going to have an open air stadium especially in april when you still have snow on the ground? is the plan to have no games there until may?

brad - are you really that dense or just trying to flame? please don't ask such stupid questions. get educated on this whole subject/debate and the twin cities climate in april before spewing the first words that pop into your head.

first, rarely is there significant snow actually on the ground in april in minneapolis (yesterday was a big anomoly when you look at historical data). second, have you noticed how quickly the snow is melting today from all surfaces with the sun's angle being so high? that combined with the heating function there are putting into the new field surface and they could easily play a game today with no problems of snow on the playing surface.

peace out buddy.....keep shooting for the stars......

there's no such thing as a dumb question, brad; just dumb people who answer dumb questions with dumb answers.

don't get discouraged, brad. betaband is back on his meds.

Countdown of home games? Guess the Twins have no playoff plans for the next two years! :D

yeahklye - you got me! how did you know? they raised the price of my prescription again so i am off the meds for a couple weeks.

seriously, though i don't think your buddy brad really needs a baby sitter (unless that is your role here). all i told him to do was a little research (which rick has made easily available for all at the top of the page) before spouting off.

and yes, there are certainly "dumb" questions. and plenty of "dumb" people too. let's not be so passive aggressive and try to sugar coat everything. it just waters the debate down too much.

party on....

Do we have to save something from the dome. I know that its usually done from an old stadium to the new but in this case do we need to bother. Hey maybe we could save the subway hit it here sign I dont think anybody has hit a ball into the hole yet one person came close. Or maybe you could save the seat where the longest homerun in the dome was hit ahh wait I dont think the new ballpark is big enough for that. You know Maybe the ball park only needs the old met flagpole since I dont think much from the dome is interesting enough to put in the new one.

well being as how i hate the twins and hope they lose all the time, i thought i would ask about the ballpark and snow. oh yeah, im not from minny mouse either. thank goodness. thats why i ask. oye, twins fans are anal.

I think it would be neat to somehow incorporate the old glass from behind homeplate where Bob Casey sat for many, many years. Make a makeshift "rat hole" or whatever you want to call that small area behind homeplate where Bob called games for many years. You could also put the glass into one of the restaurants or something and use as part of a booth or two in one of the restaurants/clubs. Just an idea...but we did look at Bob behind homeplate for many years sitting back in that small area behind the glass behind homeplate. The Twins could also make a makeshift PA Announcer booth and let fans/kids talk into one of the old microphones to get the feel for what its like to be a PA announcer.

brad - thanks for being a giant douche bag. stay classy buddy, stay classy.

hope you are having a good time over in wisky d!ck....

this is why yeahklye doesn't need to worry about sticking up for flamers like youself when i give them a hard time. you obviously proved my point that there are dumb questions and even more dumb people.

Best Buy Headquarters are not in Bloomington, it's in Richfield.

click here for the pride of the Twins media department...midwest creativity at its finest.

Gardenhire fired, according to multiple reports. My early vote is for Molitor

Gardy Gone!!!! I have mixed feelings about that but I DO want pitching coach Rick Anderson gone! Hopefully he goes as well. I would like to see Paul Molitor in there and hire some bench coaches who will light a fire under these "Oh well we lost 6-1 who wants to play cards in thclubhouse and listen to some tunes?" guys.

ST reporting Gardy out as Twins manager. No final word on Anderson or Ullger, just that Ryan will be talking to them later today. Clicky

Gardy - thanks for the time put in here. It's been a rough few years and time to move on, but I have appreciated watching you run the Twins dugout.

Entire coaching staff not returning! Wow!

This doesn't mean that Molitor or Steinbach can interview for the managerial job and hire their own staffs if hired as manager.

Gardenhire didn't, so far as I know, make those horrible personel decisions that led to the debacle of the last four years. Twins fans were left watching Pedro Florimon hit .150 while J.J. Hardy was in Baltimore making All-Star teams. We watched utility infielders play the outfield while Cuddyer, Span and Revere have thrived elsewhere. We watched the $48 million man put up an ERA that only Sidney Ponson could love. It may be an apocryphal story but Joe McCarthy is reputed to have said that in looking at the record, he concluded he was a much better manager on the days when Joe DiMaggio was playing centerfield.

I wouldn't mind seeing Joe Madden get the Twins manager job. I wonder how long his contract in Tampa Bay is for...

While I would love Joe Maddon to be lured north, I don't see that happening. What do people think about the idea of Mientkiewicz as manager? I saw that floated by one of the Strib bloggers last month.

Great minds, F_T_K!

I want to echo Rick's comment in that many of those personnel decisions were made with Ron Gardenhire's input. Ron Gardenhire was very influential in some of those personnel decisions.

Gardenhire threw Rick Stelmazcek and Jerry White under the bus two years ago when he was told to shake up his staff and simply reassigned Ullger to 3B coach.

Love him or hate him, there was a need for a cultural change in the Minnesota Twins clubhouse. It's time to start fresh again.

Need to develop a culture to hold players more accountable. I don't care if you have a sore wrist, you are playing today. I don't care if you are at 100 pitches, you are going out to pitch the 8th or 9th inning. I am not saying they need a full disciplinarian, but they need more than a "players coach"...

You always hear players talk about how much they love playing for Gardenhire, but you rarely hear anyone say anything in regards to respect of Gardenhire.

Definite need for a culture change.

Keep your eyes on Paul Molitor, Terry Steinbach (if Arizona does not hire him as their manager), Doug Mientkiewicz, Mike Redmond and Gene Glynn.

It was a nice run for Mr Whipple. No way to the naked walking Red Dog! It will be Molly or Dave Martinez as your new Mgr. You heard it here first folks!

Bi-lateral leg weakness...

Medical staff can go.

The email to season ticket holders:

With the 2014 season now complete, we'd like to take this opportunity to address news that Ron Gardenhire will not return as Manager of the Minnesota Twins. As a season ticket holder you remain among our most valued fans and we felt it was important to share perspective surrounding this decision and the direction of the franchise.

The Twins organization – and many of our fans - approached 2014 with hope and optimism surrounding the team's ability to take a significant step forward in restoring the ballclub's winning tradition. While several on-field positives emerged, our efforts failed to produce meaningful improvement in terms of the ultimate measuring stick – our win-loss record. The end result was disappointing for everyone associated with the Twins, and most importantly - our fans.

As the organization prepares for 2015, we have spent a great deal of time with Terry Ryan re-evaluating every aspect of our baseball operation. This comprehensive evaluation, which is ongoing, led us to collectively determine a managerial change is in the best interest of the franchise. Rest assured, this was not an easy decision, especially considering what Ron Gardenhire has meant to the Minnesota Twins. Since joining the organization in 1987, few people can match the overall positive impact Gardy has had on Twins Territory. His baseball acumen and leadership were central to six division titles, the development of countless players and a well-earned reputation as one of the game's best managers. Off the field, few people in Minnesota sports history have built a more authentic connection within our community – and countless worthy causes – than Ron and Carol Gardenhire. With that commitment and success in mind, we are hopeful that Ron will remain with the Twins organization and continue to have the ability to help make our team – and our community – better.

As of today, we have commenced a search for a new manager. We are committed to vetting many internal and external candidates with the sole intent of finding the right person to help restore our winning culture and ultimately lead our major league club back to contention. As the managerial search process unfolds, our front office is also focused on our roster. We believe the current mix of veterans and emerging players shows promise. That said, we need to continue to explore all avenues with hopes of accelerating the path to success.

Finally, we'd like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU. We are grateful for your ongoing dedication and support of Twins baseball. Everyone across Twins Territory deserves a competitive, winning major league team. Please know we are working harder than ever to ensure you have a team you can be proud of – both on and off the field of play. We look forward to seeing you back at Target Field again in 2015.

Win Twins!!!

Jim Pohlad
Owner & CEO

The second and last paragraphs I think they just copied/pasted from end of season letter to STHs from 2011, 2012, 2013 and just changed the year. I guess its better than letter sent end of year to KC Royals sth fans from 1986-2013.

Today's ST reported that Redmond received an extension from the Marlins, so he is staying put there.

I think too many players have left this organization and found success elsewhere and too many players who have flourished elsewhere have failed here. On this blog we all know who they are over past few years so will not go into them. But what is starting to happen is players who leave here questioning the way things are done coaching/directional wise w/ this organization and the coaching staff/ organization either gets defensive or puts a positve spin on things. Latest o in Strib reported that Torii Hunter now went public stating the Twins front office "is always about next year" and never in a win now way of thinking. Many who post on this blog dont really find that a a huge surprise since we echo the same thoughts but hearing that from a former player from Twins that should resonate a little more. I agree clean house and let the new manager pick his staff-one that is more interested in lighting a fire under their @sses than playing cards after each loss. 90 plus losses 4 years in a row something more than the 1st base coach (White) and bullpen coach (Stelly) had to be replaced. Now it has- the band aid has been ripped off. Let the healing begin!......of course w/ a new manager Ryan will be able to create (another) 4 year plan and ask the fans to be patient and understanding that there will be some growing pains.

My vote for Gardy's replacement would be Ozzie Guillén. He would be the best qualified to end the "Twins Way". Anyone within the organization will not produce much change, and change is what is really needed.

Oh, and we now know what the marketing hype will be to bring back fans.

Rick, you forgot to add the Oakland A's and Nick Punto to your former list of Twins players in the postseason. You could also add Sam Fuld considering he was with the Twins earlier this year.

Anyone notice how Terry Ryan got a little defensive when pressed on whether the Twins would go internal or external for candidates based on their history of promoting from within...he was very quick to emphasize they would seek the BEST candidate regardless of whether or not they are from the organization.

Ryan was also questioned about the "Twins Way" and was very quick to shoot that down as well saying there is no such thing as the Twins Way and it was more a matter of the right way.

I thought it was odd that Terry Ryan said Gardenhire was offered another position within the organization but yet Gardenhire said he has not had any discussions with Ryan regarding any such position at this time.

Gardy made it pretty clear he is not burnt out by any means and would like to continue to manage so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he moves on from the Twins organization. On the other hand, I can see him sitting around for a year or two as well. I think the only managerial openings right now are in Texas and Arizona.

I will say Gardenhire has always been a class act and what a classy guy to come to a press conference like that knowing it will not be easy. He did a lot of good things over the last 13 years but ultimately it comes down to wins and losses. It is time for a new voice in the dugout. Many of the players were becoming too comfortable under him and not producing they way they should be.

Pedro Florimon is with the Nationals don't see that listed on here.

It seems that a lot of the personnel moves of recent years have been made to address a perceived need at that moment and without due regard to the long term consequences, e.g. when Joe Nathan had TJ surgery, they traded their top prospect, Wilson Ramos, for a guy they saw as a closer, Matt Capps. When they felt they needed an outfielder RIGHT NOW, they traded Garza and Bartlet for Delmon Young,an outfielder who carried more red flags than a May Day parade. When they lost virtually their entire bullpen to free agency, they traded J.J. Hardy for a bullpen guy named Hoey who couldn't find the strike zone with a road map. These were all trades made for the moment and not for the long term health of the ballclub. Those are the kind of trades usually dictated by the field manage, whereas the general manager should be taking a broader, long-term view. So you are right Rick, Gardenhire probably deserves a share of the blame for those personnel decisions.

Well, Ozzie would certainly make thing interesting. But no way do the Twins hire him. I think it would be a good move, but I don't see the FO making that kind of bold move.

I had to pick the I-70 World Series.
I regret not seeing that Series in 1985, although I know a great deal of how that WS went down.
Not sure if Don Denkinger is even still alive (I think he is) and how ironic would it be to put him in as first base ump in Game 6, just like in 1985.
Of course THAT would be the worst thing ever for a Cards fan. I STILL don't think St Louis has forgiven him for that call in 1985.
Incidentally, the last time the Royals showed up in the WS was the last time Minneapolis hosted the ASG. Coincidence? ??

What is the timing, Rick, on your "Inventory" entry in regards to the Gardy et al house cleaning? I like to think that Terry read your piece and thought to himself, 'you know, Rick's right. There is a problem and I [finally] see it.'

I think Jim Pohlad got a call from FSN about loss of viewership/sponsorship and that's what did it. If they team gave a rat's ass about what fans think something would have been done 2 - 3 years ago.

I would like to see a beltway series. Make things really interesting between the O's and Nats.

If too many players on this club want Molitor than I dont think that is a good fit. I think Molitor should be retained as a coach but not necessarily the manager. The one knock I could see on Molitor is he appears too soft spoken and a "players coach". From what I have read from reports in the locker room is that the culture within the clubhouse has become one without leadership or accountability. Some of them know they will be in starting lineup no matter what they do day in day out. Hicks it was reported wasnt even looking at scouting reports on pitchers he was going to face. he dilly dallied over whether or not he was going to be a switch hitter. And he was allowed to do so. No one really b*tched him out for either-and for someone batting around the Mendoza line for 2 years that is unacceptable. It is not always necessary to have a coach who will lay into players but this particular group needs it. Mauer has proven he isnt going to be a leader on this team. I cant think of anyone that is. This team needs a spanking in the worst way-they are too contrite and ho hum about status quo.

Lester vs Shields tonight! I got the A's!

Just clicked on Paul Molitor's bio on the Twins website and got the message: We're sorry, this staff bio is being updated. Please check back later.

I wouldn't read too much into it, by why would you be "updating" bios if none of the coaches are being brought back....just makes me wonder if the decision has already been made?? Like I said, I wouldn't read too much into it, but it makes you wonder in this day of technology.

Non-Twins (sort of I guess). Non-TF. Non-Gardy post...
But apparently FCC has lifted the "blackout" rules, at least in part. Sounds like the NFL keeps theirs.
Good thing? Bad thing? Who cares kind of thing?
Clicky.

Vikings and Packers game being shown on the Target Field Station video board. Wonder how many people show up for that.

I doubt many will show for that game Leroy. Supposed to be rain and cold on Thursday! I will sit in front of my 55 inch HD at home! A's blow a 7-3 lead and kick that game away last night! Almost 5 hours!FCOL!

Interesting to hear the timeline and your methodology for your posts, Rick. I think the word is out that BPM is one of the premo, untainted forums for gauging the pulse of Twins fans that aren't focused entirely on the endless "inside baseball" player and team stats, but more so for the all around enrichment of the fan experience. To that extent, this site is invaluable and carries quite a bit more weight than you may think.

That was a great game last night. It certainly reminded me of being at 163 and how exciting Twins baseball once was.

Going on to be Gardenhired in the first round is another story.

12 inning playoff games on work nights are hard on morning punctuality.

I wish I had seen the end of that game. I was worried my playoff prediction and the one I made in the BPM Playoff Challenge would be dead before the playoffs even got started.
Go Royals! Let's do 1985 all over again.

With the Royals win last night, your Minnesota Twins are now #5 on the list of longest stretch without a postseason win...

1. Toronto 1993
2. Seattle 2001
3. Miami 2003
Cubs 2003
5. Minnesota 2004

THat was a very exciting game last night and Royals fans have waited a looooong time for something like this. Back and forth it went. Funny-the play by play calling in this pins and needles game reminded me of the play calling Dick Bremer does when Twins are 20 games under .500 losing 6-0 and Ploufe hits a HR in 9th to make it 6-1.... Bremer- "AND THERE'S A DEEEEEEP FLY BALL TO RIGHT!!! PLOUFE!!!!!! #14!!!! AND HERE COME THE TWINS!!!!!!! and it's six to ONE (fill in name of opposing team)" ..... at least Ray Christiansen had a knack for making a 48-13 loss by Gophers to Iowa SOUND dramatic and interesting. Bremer it just makes me shake my head.

I do wish they would change the Wild Card matchup to a 3-game series. A Game 163 to determine a division or postseason berth is one thing, but to get to the postsseason and have it over in one day isn't right. (And it's not just because my Cleveland team fell to the Rays in WC last year.)

fiesta - I agree completely. I like the addition of the wild card team, but they need to make it best of 3. I know they want to emphasize winning the division, but it's not football where you only play 16 games. This is MLB and you play 162 games over 6 months.

If you have to shorten the regular season by a few games to accomodate the "wild card round" then I am all for that. I am not sure how the logistics would work, but I think every wild card team deserves at least one home game.

For the division winners, they would essentially get an all-star type of break with 4 days off. Would also allow them to set up their postseason rotations and such.

I am sure a best-of-three wild card round is coming sooner rather than later. Just wait until it's the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets or Phillies that lose the one-game wild card then MLB will be all over it to change it.

Thought you all would be interested to hear some ESPN talking heads rabble rabble over the Twins and Gardy's move. Linky.

I do agree that the front office has made some mind boggling decisions but Gardy did have to go. 6-21 in playoffs including 0-12 las 3 series is just unacceptable. Of course they cant control who they play but I jsut dont see it is coincidence that when the AL Central had 3 teams that sucked including Detroit who lost clsoe to 120 games one year that the Twins were winning 90 games a year. I think those stats were somewhat deceiving when u looked at our record vs other divisions. It was sort of like Glen Mason talking about his overall record at U but if you looked at games vs Big 10 teams (and then at record vs Big 10 teams not named Indiana, Purdue, Illinois)the record didnt look so good. For Mason it was non Big 10 games that inflated his record and for Gardy it was gamesvs AL Central when 3 of the teams sucked and we played them 17-19 times a year EACH that inflated their record. I think 6-21 and 0 for last 12 in playoffs was a truer reflection of our team. The Twins of 1987 were only 85-77 but I think I would take them over our 95 plus win teams in mid 2000's. The divisions were differnet then and we didnt play our own division so many times- even tho they only won 85 games they were playing other teams in the AL more often.

I disagree about expanding the wild card games. I don't like one game determining the path of one team, but I preferred the old East/West divisional winners system over this, so to add more games only dilutes the playoffs even further.

I, too, had wished that the WC series was 3 games rather than one-and-done, but then I re-evaluated it. If you want to play in a playoff series then either win the Wild Card game or WIN YOUR DIVISION. Besides, games like the one last night can feed some momentum going into the playoff series(es). So I would leave it as it is. Bud may have actually gotten this one right.

TTH

I don't like the one-and-done wild card playoffs, but on the other hand, MLB can't keep stretching the post-season out indefinitely. I can remember trick or treating on too many freezing cold Halloweens as a kid to think that night baseball at the end of October and beginning of November is a good idea. If they expand the post-season, they should shorten the regular season. I don't see MLB and TV doing that because it would mean fewer pay dates. Maximizing the number of pay dates is why traditional doubleheaders have gone the way of the dinosaurs.

TTH makes a good point, either win the Wild Card game or win the Division outright. It's sort of the same concept of the "play-in" games in the NCAA BBall tournament. 8 teams play for 2 #16 seeds and 2 #11 seeds. Of course now it's labeled the "First Four". Just more money in the NCAA's pocket. Just more coverage for CBS affiliates to show March Madness. Sort of the same thing, if you want IN the NCAA Bball tourney, win your conference. Conference winners are automatic slots in the field of 64.

If the playoffs are such big money makers, lets just end the season in june and have July through October the playoffs!

I agree, the biggest joke are these "play in" games that are being added. I get the feeling that the MLB saw the Twins have crazy game 163s and decided to try to cash in (of course giving all credit to the Twins for the addition of the play in game:P).

My belief on football and basketball though is that the NCAA didn't want to deal with the whining of teams that "think they should have made it in to such and such game" and finally came up with a way to cash in on it and get the whiners to shut up at the same time. Too bad that "next man up" now becomes the whiner being shut out. I don't think it solves anything.

Not to mention the fact that if you are having 16 seeds in each region but your new play ins are for a mid seed, in theory, they should be better than your 13-16 seeds, so why are they not in the tourney again and the 13-16s are in? (I know many excuses, so its rhetorical for the board)

At this rate we might as well just give every team a spot and let it play out, give everyone a participation medal and send everyone home with an ice cream cone then let them immediately go pro at whatever age they want. Thus diluting it as much as possible now and put us out of this agony of discussing it ad nauseum year after year.

/cynical rant

Sorry I meant to post this too. Molly interviewing. Not that it should surprise anyone. Linky.

I'd be shocked - SHOCKED - if the Twins went with somebody who has never had a tie to the organization.

TTH

While a WC play-in game would tend to disrupt a play-off team's pitching rotation to a degree (Burn the #1 starter; start the divisional round with #2), a three-game series might prevent that from happening, and prevent the divisional winner from having more of an advantage that merely home-field advantage.

That said, I prefer the one game play-in; if you're going to slip in under the wire, there needs to be a handicap.

Rick my wife graduated with the Waseca flash Gene the dream Glynn. He would be a good hire also.

Wasn't he a legendary high school basketball player too?

He was Minnesota's Mr. Basketball his senior season at Waseca.

FWIW - Check out the link to see how the Twins performed this year based on what cap/uniform they wore.

TTH

Thanks for that link TTH...I thought they wore their blue "Minnesota" way too frequently and I was right. They wore it 74 times, that is 46% of their games. Would have been higher if Nolasco wasn't hurt because he always chose to wear the blue tops when he pitched. Wednesday and Saturday home games are the cream "throwbacks" so that helps reduce the # of games the blue alternates are worn as well.

How about those Royals on a 2-game postseason winning streak!! Heck, the Twins can't even win one postseason game. Would like to see the Royals and Orioles in the ALCS!

Well, it is official. My season ticket group has come to the conclusion, is it not worth renewing. We thought about dropping from a full season to a half, but, really, why? I liked being a STH, but there is just no reason to do it anymoreer .

Finally i get to be a the Craigslist buyer of tickets and know that people will have to dump them for cheap when no one else will buy them...

I think the only way we would of stayed was if they actually lowered prices, which we all knew would never happen.

I am sure they wont miss me, but i am curious how many people really will be dropping.

oh, and GO ROYALS, 2 wins, keep it up!

The curious case of Delmon Young...

Demon Young and J.J. Hardy combine on one of the most exciting plays of the year.

Too bad it wasn't for the Twins.

Thrillhouse,

If too many others do what your group did, there won't be a huge glut of tickets to buy on the secondary market.

You are right on the pricing though - that may have made the difference between staying and leaving for a number of STH.

Oh Jim Pohlad...your letter makes me laugh. Tough decision to make blah blah blah...publicly having already said you were ready to go with whatever direction TR was wanting to go.

Hey Rick, i was thinking about your hosting site problems...I am assuming that you pay for the hosting of this blog, which I believe goes back to 2006.
Which says to me, they DEFINITELY should have told you if there was any sort of overbearing problem with BPM, rather than just suspending it like they did.

Rick, are you going to focus more on the Vikings stadium build now that the season is over? They are starting to make some major progress on it.

Thrillhouse - Don't forget StubHub. What you see is what you pay & print out at home.

AS winner of last year's "guess the Twins record" challenge (I proudly display my prize on my work desk) I was wondering did we have an official challenge this year for Twins record or was that just some of us throwing guessses around? Reason I ask is I guessed 70-92! :-)

I've never been happier to be wrong about my playoff entry. Go Royals!

Yup. I'm rooting for the Royals to go all the way. Especially if it's against the Giants or Dodgers

I really want that I-70 Series: Royals/Cards

I am rooting for the Royals as well. As futile as they have been and to tie this into earlier discussions about Gardy the Royals in past week have won 4 playoff games. If they can win just 2 more games they would accomplish as many playoffs wins in under 2 weeks as Gardy and the Twins have under his entire tenure (6-21)which includes an absolutely abmysal 0-12 last 12 games. That is just impossible to comprehend -i think that puts things into perspective w/ Gardy as a playoff manager.

I would like to see an I70 series as well, but I think Fox would hate the idea.

No "coast" teams in the WS tends to depress ratings.

I think the fact it's on FOX is enough to depress ratings.

luke - If you so think that FOX "depresses" the ratings, then what station would you put the World Series on to increase ratings?

FOX is a pretty strong brand and it's a NETWORK so you don't need cable to get the World Series.

My only negative with the World Series (and most sports these days) are the late starts...7:00-8:00 CT...they need to start these events earlier around 6:00-7:00 CT...who cares if it would only be 4pm or 5pm West Coast time. It's ridiculous for those living in the central and eastern time zones how late some of these events go these days. Your average baseball game now must be around 3 hours 30 mins.

The combination of late start times, late October dates and three and a half hour games is really hurting interest in the World Series. It is now routine for games to end after midnight on the east coast and crowd shots look like it's a December game at Green Bay. When I was a kid back in the Pleistocene Age, series results - even if only partial for a game still in progress - were on the front page of the afternoon papers. Now, the results are buried in the sports pages beneath the NFL arrest reports.

Sheer population numbers dictate that start times will always favor east coast viewing.

It's all about ratings and ratings are all about projections of how many are watching. Most advertising slots are pre-sold with a time window.

Perhaps we'd see a small (an hour?) concession if it were an all west coast series. If we see an I70 series, you can bet it will be to maximize east coast prime time viewing.

I think FOX is rather bland. MLB on FOX used to be a good presentation, but I just don't see that anymore. I much prefer the presentation on TBS. Maybe MLB needs to contract with CBS or ABC for a change. CBS and ABC are networks too.

Nice to see my stellar skill at picking playoff winners continues. (ha!)

I'd like to see another Royals v Cardinals series. I was living in KC MO for the last "I-70 Series", that was a fun time.

And why not FOX? Two words: Joe Buck.

Well that was a fast LDS. Thought they would be a little bit closer than they were.

I don't follow the NBA much, but I have noticed acquaintances shifting allegiance back and forth for those reasons, esp. re LeBron James.
Is the item in parens referencing the Timberwolves a part of the New Yorker piece, or your interpolation?

Even if you're not a fan of the team, the sport, or the stadium's location, you have to admit the streaming video of them lifting these giant truss sections into place (happening as I type this) is pretty damn cool.

Speaking to the NBA and regionalism (and some of you could speak much better to this than I could) I read an article awhile back that NBA back in the 40's, 50's and 60's (and possibly early 70's?) that the NBA had some sort of geographical pick in that a team like the mopls Lakers was guaranteed a high profile college player if he came from the area. The thought process was that the community would follow that player to their local NBA team and that it would help w/ the popularity of the then struggling NBA to gain fans. Has anyone else heard of this? Sid mentioned it also once (and only once believe it or not) in his column. I dont know exactly how it worked (there were obviousley alot less teams then and if there were 2 NBA teams near a college that had a star player who would get the player?) and I dont follow the NBA as much but thought I would post since the subject of regionalism was brought up-has anyone else heard of this? An did it happen in other sports like NFL? In theory if the league was struggling u would think it would help-I dont follow the WNBA at all but I know when theLynx brought in 2 Gopher players from their Final 4 team the attendence went up. Obviousley nowadays w/ tv contracts, social media,free agency, players associations, etc it makes the point mute except possibly for MLS and WNBA as there is so much fan support but back when leagues were struggling while it may not have been fair to the player it woudl definately help fan support for the pro team to have a star from local college on it.

Yes, the NBA did have some sort of priority system for teams to draft players from their own regions. I don't know the exact nuts and bolts of how it worked. Sid was the de facto general manager of the Lakers back in the '50's and the system was in place at that time. I think the NFL may have had a similar arrangement, at least informally, during its formative years.

The NBA gave teams a territorial pick ahead of the main draft until the mid 1960s or so. The league was vastly more reliant on gate money for revenue and felt it had to give team's a local star to help with attendance. Territorial picks were to be for college kids only, but the then Philadelphia Warriors got it extended to high school so the team could get Wilt Chamberlain who played college ball at Kansas and wasn't subject to any team's territorial rights. The NBA got rid of the territorial choices as the league expanded to include more teams and also gained better network TV contracts.

And the teams themselves may have taken local players who were only marginal, to boost interest? I heard Bud Grant was on some of the Lakers teams but was on the bench mostly.
Whitey Skoog was a starter, from Brainerd, when high school basketball was big and widely followed.
Vern Mikkelson played for Hamline, when they were a national power.
Maybe others with local connections?

Back to Twins article involving Terry Ryan in Strib not very promising. First he is thinking of tinkering w/ putting Sano in the outfield and followed it up by stating since he has never played beyond AA to expect him at only 21 to make the big league club is unrealistic and that he will continue to mature down in the minors (but be an ace up his sleeve when talking about the future) then in most anti climatic "no sh*t" moment he reminds Twins fans that he is even more optimistic thaneverabout the 2015 team, reminds us that we have some exciting youngsters moving up the pipeline but that 2015 will be a struggle and that we need to be [patient......been there done that Mr Ryan! Still waiting!

USBank Stadium related: Vikings apparently kicking in more cash for items at the new place. Clicky.
Star Tribune seems a wee bit PO'ed at MSFA and Vikings for not providing any further details on the "items" to be discussed. Citing "for a public body, they sure have sparse agendas".
Guess we find out more on Friday.

I have been struck by the number of low scoring games in the playoffs. It reminds us once again of the importance of starting pitching and why the Twins, with their 5+ ERA, have lost 90+ games for four years in a row.

The difference in level of play from what we are used to seeing at TF and that on display in the playoffs is stunning. And --- we say that to each other every fall.

Sorry to say, but I just can't get into the Vikings stadium, or the team, or even the sport anymore. It's a genuinely sad thing for me.

What has driven that wedge between you and the team, not to mention the stadium and sport as a whole? I ask in part because I've always considered myself a Vikings and NFL fan well ahead of the Twins and MLB and found that interest intensifying even before the Twins started their slide in 2011. I am interested in hearing more about this different viewpoint.

Jorge-I have become really turned off by the lack of tackling and emphasis on hitting in the NFL. That, along with the violence off of the field by the players has started to cause me to lose interest. I am casually interested in the new stadium, but am really undecided whether I will make the effort/investment in attending a game when it opens. I suppose I will, but it's definitely not something I'm excited about.

Moving from the Met and the elements to a TV studio did it for me. Not to mention the blowhard used car salesman.

I equally like the Twins and Vikings, probably the Vikes a bit more. They actually spend money on the team. Their contribution towards the new stadium is more than 50%. What did the Twins contribute, 35% or so? Why doesn't anyone mention that?

Also note that the Vikings preferred an outdoor stadium but Dayton demanded a roof if the state/city were to pitch in. I wonder how much the roof costs vs open air? 200M perhaps?

I dont think the Vikings realized at first how much of a public asset the were building. Quit honestly, I think they felt they were building a stadium that would be used exclusively by them, thus the desire for an open air stadium. But as The Disgrace on Puckett Place was used for other events (community events) 200 some days a year (thus earning the moniker Minnesotas Living Room). So quite frankly, they NEEDED to build an indoor stadium. I just think they needed a gentle reminder of just how much use this place would get.

Dayton had to convince them otherwise I think. Part of me thinks he needed to explain to the Vikings that in order to have a good chance at getting the Super Bowl back, it needed to be an indoor stadium. To get a Final Four, it needed to be indoors. The Vikings did not take those ancillary items into consideration.

Having said that, I do wish they hadn't caved to the baseball world and made a configuration for baseball, thus allowing another Metrodome feel, with accordion seats in right field and all. We have Target Field for baseball, remember??

Unless the Twins were willing to open up target field to high school, college & amateur teams, baseball would have been dealt a permanent big blow. Games were being played in the dome starting at 2:00 am. I don't know if the dome made money on these games or if they even made enough money to pay the bills. But I'm willing to bet that even after the Twins left, there was still more baseball games played in the dome than any other type of event.

I think the Vikings always knew it would be a domed stadium in the end and statements to the effect of wanting or suggesting an open air stadium were designed to ensure the state would pony up the money needed for constructing a roof.

I used to live and die with the Vikings, albeit without face paint. But I too have found my enthusiasm waning. The game has evolved in a negative way. "Tackles" have been replaced by "hits", the primary purpose of which seems to be to injure rather than getting the ball carrier down as quickly as possible. The pompous self importance the NFL attaches to itself and the showboating that goes on after every good or semi-good play is also off-putting.

I remain a fan, but the enthusiasm is definitely dampened. I never did like the disproportionate amount of obnoxious drunkenness by fans, or the taunting and preening by players, though I realize it's an emotional sport for players and fans. I also find myself being relieved, or not minding, when a nephew chooses something else rather than football.

I have only commented on here a couple of times over the years, but I enjoy all of your comments. It's fun to pop in and see what everyone is talking about.

My thought on football is it has just gotten too much like the old WWE. It takes on a feel of entertainment and showing off more than anything. Watch some of the 70's Viking games on Youtube. It's astounding the minimal amount of celebrating, etc.

It's all become a bit over the top in sports in general. ESPN is a big culprit, in my view. You have ESPN promoting baseball as if it's action-packed from start to finish, instead of promoting the subtleties and beauty of the game. They promote stardom and celebrity more than the actual game itself. In basketball Tim Duncan is described by fans as boring as much as he is described for his extraordinary skill and knowledge of how to play basketball intelligently.

It feels like everything has to be dumbed down in order for people to enjoy it. Modern day attention span?

I still really enjoy sports, but only in smaller doses. I keep track of standings, scores, highlights to a degree, but spending three hours at once watching some of the antics is often too much for me. I shut the tube off and go do something more productive.

I think WWF is what I meant, not WWE. I think.

How simple was that? The Royals have accomplished same amount of playoff wins (6) in 12 days as the Gardy led Twins accomplished his entire career here as skipper.

Same here Rick. i.e. As in enjoying Golden Gopher and college football over Vikings and NFL football. The pageantry of the on-campus college game is so much more enjoyable to watch in person and on TV and still has most of the feeling of being genuine even with the more recent influx of TV.

Whereas an NFL game (in all cities) often just seems like a ridiculously over-scripted TV show from pre-game through post-game, full of willing actors (the "fans", the players & coaches), that is played in front of often obnoxiously drunk and idiotic super-fans, and a number of alcoholics masquerading as NFL football fans on Sundays.

That said, it has always been that way for me and always will be. Ski-U-Mah!

I love the college game atmosphere as opposed to the NFL, but think that we overemphasize it's advantages. The NFL is honestly professional, and their players get compensated for their contribution to revenues. The college game is a vast mix of true student-athletes, fake students, some thugs and a great many who won't make the pros but contribute greatly to their college revenues. The value of the scholarship is admittedly real to those who take full advantage of it. The NFL does have much greater parity. You don't see the one-sided slaughters nearly as often as you do in the college game. I still like the college game, but just saying it's not a clear contrast of innocence and purity on one side and criminality and greed on the other.

A friend of mine who controls two seats section 115, row 4 has lost some seat partners and is looking for folks who are interested taking games in 2015. It can be a couple of games or it can be a dozen or more. It really depends on what you want to do. Flexibility is the word from his standpoint. It's all about moving inventory. If you're interested, email me at the following and I can make a connection:

tamalieii(at)Yahoo(dot)com

I might be interested Jorge. I shot ya an email.
Submitted for your approval: Clicky for a new "rule" set forth by the NFL for future Super Bowl hosts. The rule dictates that future Super bowl hosts stage a home game in London at Wembley.
Why? Why should this be a requirement?
The NCAA has a rule like this for Final Four hosts in that each city host a regional final the year before hosting the Final Four as a test run.
That makes sense. This new NFL gig does not make sense to me.
Thoughts??

Yecch!

Wow. Changing the rules of baseball. That's a new one. (Not sarcasm!). Yikes!

It's the silly saints that's not real baseball anyways

That's what youth softball teams do. Not professional (or even semi-professional) baseball teams!

ICTAH...so, Clicky for a time lapse video from Ballpark Digest showing turf installation at CHS Field (that's the new home of the Saints. Still don't like the name).

I'm sorry. Did somebody try to equate a Gopher game day experience with on-campus pageantry? Bwahahahahaha.

TTH

The Royal looking like a team of destiny! Course the Giants win every even year 2010, 2012, 2014?

This has been a very satisfying post-season for MLB. It's not often that there are this many good, close games.

Good, close and well-pitched. How many times in recent years have we seen Twins pitchers given a crooked number lead that has not been protected beyond the next half inning.

The 2014 version of the 1987 Minnesota Twins - the Kansas City Royals.

I suppose that's true terry.
But I also think the 2014 Royals are slightly better than the 1987 Twins. 2014 Royals finished 89-73, 1987 Twins finished 85-77.
And the Royals thus far this postseason haven't lost a game. I think todays win set an MLB record for 8 consecutive postseason wins. And going back to 1985, they haven't lost in the postseason since Game 5 of the 1985 World Series - to be technical.

I think the main reason for a decline in MLB playoff ratings is competition. There are many more forms of entertainment these days than compared when I was growing up. Today there are all sorts of electronic devices, all sorts of media sources, and a bazillion tv/network channels.

When I was a kid we had one TV that got 2-3 channels, a radio, and record/tape player and a rotary dial phone(party line even). That was it for electronics and media sources.

I'll agree that the Royals have a slightly better record than the '87 Twins, but the Twins rested some of their guys in that last handful of games after clinching in Texas. I don't think the Royals had that luxury.

Video of KC clinch from parking lot. Love the sound of raw emotion from the crowd.

Take from it what you will...I shot some pics from the stadium site today. Lots of progress.
Thanks for that link DeePee...truly awesome. Take the Crown, Royals.

It's gonna be a loooong 175 days.
And it's very possible to think that our first home series in 2015 could be against the defending World Series champions.

Lousy baseball is not that hard to do without.

This was an interesting post (I guess) from ESPN Facebook (clicky ). Talking about World Series in years that ended with "4". Odd premise for a list. But there is mention of the 1924 Washington Senators.
And, the 1994 World Series, er, the World Series That Wasn't, is mentioned. That seemed odd to me.

So now our Twins, looked upon as a "model franchise" for the league, has the longest dry spell of any ALC team making it to World Series (KC 2014, Det 2006 20012, Chi 2005, Clev 1995, 1997) -in addition to those teams the following teams have made at least 1 trip (and in many cases MULTIPLE trips to World Series): NYY, NYM, TOR, ATL, PHI, FL, SD, ARZ, ANH, STL, BOS, HOU, TB, TX, COL. -thats 19 teams that have made it to World Series since we last went. Yet we are teh model franchise looked up upon by other teams??? i would rather NOT be looked up upon by other teams and celebrating Twins playoff wins and going thru the fun, excitement and pride w/ thousands ofother fans like other team's fans get to (holds true for NFL,NHL, NBA, NCAA as well). Sorry btw- WNBA, NCAA womens and mens hockey championships dont quite cut it for me

Cynical? Perhaps. The truth? No question.

What folks need to get through their heads is that playing competitive baseball has no place in the Twins' business plan. Nice if things work out that way but such would be but merely a by product.

Agreed-the Twins continue to trot out their business plan of sticking to 40% of revenue towards payroll and must just LOVE seeing a team like KC make it to World Series so that they can remind everyone that small market teams can make it to. We shouldnt be a small market team- we are in the 12th largest media market and have the richest owners in baseball. Ofcourse we dont have the YES Network like Yankees do but we still shouldnt be considered small market. Developing your farm system of course is important but if we continousley stick to a business plan just to stick to the plan then what is it all worth talking about our up and coming prospects? Buxton, Sano, etc -they are going to want to get PAID eventually. They arent going to want to play here because we have lots of lakes, bike and walking paths and gladly take less to play here becasue we are considered a model franchise by other teams (as they continousley beat us) . They have no loyalty to us or any other team. Players want to get paid. When all these players come up we arent going to be able to afford them all....wait we WILL be able to afford them all but we are going to stick w/ our business model and sign a couple to long term deals, let most of them go and talk about some exciting young prospect in Elizabethton. And continue to pay Joe Mauer $$$$$ to play 1B and hit 6 HR a year and get hurt somehow in Aug when we are 20games under .500.

Actually, according to Station Index, Minneapolis/St. Paul is now the 15th largest television market in the country. This is up from number 16, leapfrogging Cleveland/Akron.

Also, Uffda forgot to mention San Francisco in his list of franchises who have won one or more World Series since the Twins last appearance. And the Mets haven't been to the WS since 1986, the year before the Twins last trip to series.

While there's a good chance that this year's World Series, which starts tomorrow night on Oxygen, I believe, will be exciting, it's a sham of a World Series to be sure. Two teams that didn't even win their respective divisions shouldn't be playing for the privilege of being the "best" in Major League baseball. We play 162 games for a reason: to determine the best teams. This World Series features nothing but two of the hottest teams over the past two weeks. Unfortunately baseball economics wins, and the fans (outside of SF and KC) lose.

TTH

I don't know about that; The Royals seem to be an overwhelmingly popular underdog story all across the country. I believe this is the sort of thing that energizes fans. Finally, folks have a chance to root for a TEAM instead of a couple of stars. Maybe ESPN doesn't like a team like the Royals upsetting their star-system applecart, but everyone I've talked to are pulling for the no-name Royals, and this isn't KC.

TTH is right. We just need to accept in modern sports that the "champion" is the winner of a tournament at the end of the season.

The old system of two AL winners and two NL winners was much closer to selecting the "best" team.

Weren't the Mets in a Subway Series with the Yankees in 2000 or 2001?

2000 was the Subway Series in NY.

Twins were in the WS in 1991...

Looks like I overlooked the Mets in 2000. Oops. Uffda was right; I was wrong.

But every sport selects their champion with a tournament at the end of the season. Making it through a season and peaking after 162 games should say something about whoever wins the title. If a team wins their division, yet can't fend off the challenge from an "inferior" team when it really matters, can we really call them one of the "best" teams? Can we really say we got screwed out of seeing the true champions if they can't get it together during crunch time?

I cant believe I overlooked Giants when they are winning it or in it every other year it seems!

And every sport does it wrong, in my opinion, Winona Mike, but MLB used to be the closest to getting it right. While it can be exciting, a postseason tournament that involves non-division winners makes a real possibility that the WORST of the tournament entrants have a decent shot of winning. That is the opposite of what the postseason SHOULD BE about. Simply put, we aren't crowning the best team in baseball this season. Not even close.

TTH

BTW, unless KC can make some noise in the last three innings of Game 1, the ratings for this WS the rest of the way are going to be in the tank.

TTH

You can't simply define the best team as the one with the best season record if they can't carry that through in the post-season. If the team with the better record doesn't win the World Series, are we going to deny the winner their claim to being champs? Why play the series at all? Let's just hand the trophy to the league champion with the better record and wrap the season up at the end of September.

Anyone want that?

How about a ranking system like college football used for decades? We could argue over which team was number one based on who they beat, by how much, and overall strength of schedule. Screw the playoffs, screw the World Series, and screw the two-league system. Lump everyone together into one league, and allow sports writers in the major markets to select baseball's number one team.

Yep, sounds like we should just play out the season and let the Associated Press select a champion.

I am not directing this thoguht to this blog but I do think it is interesting/amusing how much attention this year how much talk/concern there is by national media over who will be watching/what the ratings will be just because KC made it. It seems that it dominates the airwaves and is overshadowing the series itself. I guess for me personally it doesnt matter who makes the WS (unless God forbid it is the Twins for the first time in approaching 3 decades) I am not glued to the TV-I do like to see teams make it who havent been there in awhile. But I think in the end just the nature of the game lends itself to be more difficult to sit and watch UNLESS your team is in it. The game can move at a slow pace, is relatively low scoring and there is alot ofd downtime. Now of course many of the followers of this blog appreciate the complexities and strategies of the game-but to casual fans thats not the case. I watch a couple innings or so while surfing tv and the last game (whenever that is) will watch from 7th inning on but thats about it. And it wouldnt matter if it was KC or the Yankees.

Regular season records as we all know are not always accurate predicters of what will happen in the post-season. The '54 Indians won a then-record 111 games, but got swept in the series. The records would have suggested the '87 Twins had no business being on the same field with the '87 Tigers, but we all know how that series ended. The unexpected is part of the game's charm.

The 2001 Seattle Mariners were an amazing 116-46 and lost in the ALCS. Another team-1994 Montreal Expos, while not on that pace, were still 79-40 in August when the MLB strike occurred- too bad they never got a chance to see if they would have made it. That was one o fthe better rosters I have ever seen......until it got imploded via free agency/trades/etc.

I think Winona Mike is missing my point. I'm not saying playoffs are bad. What I'm saying is that when you throw in one, two (will there be more in the future?) Wild Card teams you are watering down the process of determining a champion and making it much more likely that not just one but BOTH teams in the final are not even close to being the best teams. I think the best scenario in terms of getting the best teams to the World Series while making a playoff exciting for baseball fans was when we only had division winners included. It's too bad that baseball went the route of other professional leagues because baseball, unlike all the others, is/was considered a pastime. It had been held with some prestige. But that's probably for another blog entry.

Understood. But I have to ask, simply for the sake of satisfying my curiosity, what criteria people believe constitutes the best team in baseball. Is it overall won/lost record? That can be skewed by the unbalanced schedule and when one team plays another. For example, did team A play and beat team B while team B's key starters were on the DL, while team C had to play team B at full strength. Could any team in the AL Central be considered the best in baseball even with the best overall record while playing the Twins 19 times in a season? What about different criteria, such as best runs scored/runs allowed differential?
I don't know if there is a perfect metric for this determination. Like College football before the playoff (and perhaps even after), there will be as many answers to who is best as there are passionate fans. But a World Series Champion is undisputed.

I've said this in past posts, baseball is about matchups more so than win/losses. And the most important matchups are pitching matchups. No other sport has such a key position being played by so many different starters. Imagine football where there are 4-5 starting quarterbacks that simple rotate starting.

I've also have brought this up in past posts, statistically it's impossible to get a meaningful number of pitching matchups (samples) to accurately determine which teams are better. During the regular season many teams will have a 5 man starting pitching rotation. It would take 2 teams 25 games to get all their pitchers matched up. And that would be just one sample. A sample size of one is statistically meaningless. And if you pushed the sample size up to 5, which is still very low, it would take 125 games.

On top of that, during playoffs and the world series teams typically drop a pitcher or two from their rotation. So the team they are in the regular season really isn't even the same team during the playoffs and WS.

This to me is one of the things that makes baseball interesting, the matchups. It's rare even with a 162 games to have the exact two teams play each other.

Another issue that makes it difficult for me to determine who is best team is baseball is the only sport that has 2 different rules within it's leagues and that is the use of DH. Half the teams in MLB play by one set of rules and half another and w/ all the strategies involved it comes into play. It would make it easier to pick best team in AL and NL respectively based on that but another issue is baseball is only major team sport that allows for different dimensions and ground rules for each stadium. While the infield dimensions are the same the outfields are all different. Granted in other sports their may be subtle differences in, say, field conditions or ice quality in NHL but the basic shape of playing area is same in other sports (possibly subtle differences in rink size in NHLunsure about that). I think NBA is easiest to pick best teams-no weather differences, all arena playing areas are identical-only difference I can see is Denver w/ altitude. Baseball has so many different variables though from groundrules for each stadium to dimensions to use of DH vs not DH it is more difficult-at least for me- to say which team is best overall since they are not playing under universal guidelines each game.

I guess, Rick, in a way it's flattering that your site has gone international....

TTH

Uffda,

I wouldn't be so sure about the NBA's fairness. Don't forget about the heat inside San Antonio's arena. LeBron doesn't. ha!

TTH

True that TTH! Forgot aout that!

Maddon out as Rays manager. LOVE to see him as the Twins skipper!

My bet is he's following Andrew Friedman to the Dodgers.

I've been hoping for Joe Maddon as Twins' manager since Gardy was fired. /fingers crossed/