Target Field Park Factor

[Mr. Ed]

I wonder if it's the players figuring it out or the organization. Adding two dead pull hitters (one via free agency) is looking brilliant this year. The "use the whole park" philosophy might be emphasized a little less throughout the organization given their home field.

 

Agreed. Lefties for the most part on this team occasionally yank one out, but RH power is the key.

 

Buxton, if he can survive his .043 start, could provide pop. Hopefully someone can move up that has RH power.

 

Sano does,Hicks does, Arcia's is primarily LH. Joe Benson has to stop psyching himself out and get moving. Golden opportunity for some OF types.

[CDog]

That trend is definitely not your friend in terms of 50 years for TF. Refurbished Met Stadium didn't get much past 20. Most 60s, 70s and now, 80s parks have been or will be soon be replaced/significantly upgraded. Standard operating procedure for clubs that get new ballparks is to maximize the media and cultural attention by gearing the park towards the clubs' marketing strengths, not its weaknesses. For good reason, they want front end-payoff and let the out-years of the park's life take care of itself.

 

For all intents and purposes, the public statements of Kubel, Morneau, Mauer, et al, and the public's percepton, is that the park is unfair to lefties and the latter two guys led off every single commercial to the run-up n the marketing of the Target Field Experience- and it continues to this day. And the appearances are that the players aren't enjoying their "TF Experience".

My hope is that the new wave of ballparks will stand the test of time much better than the cookie-cutters and shared-use arenas of the previous wave. Camden is close to 25 years old, and I don't think anyone's even dreaming of replacing it. The Jake is approaching 20. I hope to goodness PNC isn't replaced in my lifetime, and certainly not in the next ten or fifteen years. I may not get my wish, but that's my hope.

 

I wouldn't bet a paycheck or anything, but I would bet something that if you asked Mauer, Kubel, Morneau, Cuddyer, and really anyone else that's called it their home park in the last three years, they'd almost all say that they love Target Field overall, despite anything in this thread (fact or not).

[CDog]

As you rightly said - it seems like a lot of short-sighted complaints and unusually loud squawking to the press for it to sit right with me.

I said that?

[TheLeviathan]

I said that?

You mentioned how it is short-sighted to build a stadium for your current team. I'd argue it was equally short-sighted to acquiesce to your current roster and start mixing up the park to appease them when they start complaining to the public after one year.

[Snortwood]

has the batter's eye ever been hit? Thome's two OVER it are all the more amazing when considering that maybe nobody else has even pelted it.

Didn't Cabrera plink one off the eyedrop when he hit that 0-2 pitch off of Capps that cost the Twins the game a few weeks back? My memory has that one as off the eyedrop, but I don't remember perfectly.

[Riverbrian]

Quotes cannot be slant. A direct quote is not slant. Taking a quote, verbatim, and presenting it is not slant. You can't dismiss it. You can present counter-evidence. You can present further context. You can even present blood-intoxication results. But you can't dismiss the quote itself, only argue about interpretation. Hence why you were wrong to say:

 

Please go on and explain how his 101 PA in AAA and one extra base hit transformed him into the beautiful MLB swan today.

 

What I said numerous times was "he attributes" "he said" etc. You seem to believe that "quotes = interpretations" with no ability to discern one from the other. I'd just advise that you try, because you're being unnecessarily confrontational based on that fundamental misunderstanding.

 

Oh and when can we "Weasel Baby" us some Ben Revere word filter style?

Ok... I do not dismiss the quotes...I am arguing interpretation... lol...

 

On the subject of the trees... Does anyone else see the irony... on this thread we have posters Complaining about... The players Complaining!

[CDog]

You mentioned how it is short-sighted to build a stadium for your current team. I'd argue it was equally short-sighted to acquiesce to your current roster and start mixing up the park to appease them when they start complaining to the public after one year.

Oh. I don't think they really did, did they? Other than making the batter's eye a batter's eye, which I don't feel like was trying to tailor the park to anyone other than to make a true batter's eye for everyone. They didn't move or alter any fences. And from what I remember, as stated in a previous thread, that movement picked up momentum from comments and reactions from home and opposing players alike.

[CDog]

Didn't Cabrera plink one off the eyedrop when he hit that 0-2 pitch off of Capps that cost the Twins the game a few weeks back? My memory has that one as off the eyedrop, but I don't remember perfectly.

Could be, I didn't actually see that one. I watch most games and even if I miss them I'll often record and go back to see "special" plays, but that one I didn't (not sure I wanted to, either...ugh). I'm sure it's been done, but I'm also fairly sure it's pretty rare.

[TheLeviathan]

For the people who ignored the mentality of whining from the Twins, Terry Ryan said on his radio show that:

 

"We have to get it out of our mindset" that Target Field is hard to hit home-runs out of. The Oakland A's were hammering the ball all over the park this weekend to seal that.

[Scheherezade]

^ Yeah, somebody plunked one off the batter's eye this afternoon.

[BrentMpls]

The fact is opposing teams didn't have any trouble hitting home runs at Target Field in 2010 and 2011. Other than Thome the Twins just didn't have any "real" power hitters.

 

This year is pretty fun because Willinghammer and Plouffe there it is are neck and neck and sometimes our other guys can doink one out of there so it seems a bit more alive.

 

While I don't have a strong opinion on if Target Field is a definite pitchers or hitters park, I think it is safe to say it's not quite as forgiving as the Dome, which has turned out to be a problem for our two highest paid players.

[BrentMpls]

Nobody cried. People were able to discuss things at an adult level with some thought. Well...some people.

Well to be fair there is a winner of the 2008 Home Run Derby saying the ballpark's dimensions are ridiculous:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/targetfield/107374393.html

 

What I think fans find frustrating, at least I know its true with me, is when the media slants things or emphasizes only certain aspects of things. Just tonight 7/15/2012 Tom Kelly and Dick Bremer were having a discussion about the concrete settling. In 2012, year 3 of the ballpark. And that is if you think that argument has any weight on day 3 of the ballpark.

 

Silly denial from official sources leads to fan frustration.