StormJH1

Great points, Seth. Still, I'm really not concerned about what they do with Carroll. We've arguably gotten everything and more we could have expected out of him, but he's a career utility guy and even if he were demonstrably better than Florimon/Escobar/Dozier, there's no reason to play Carroll as a starter and wear him down, when he can't be a part of the future. The three other alternatives likely won't be, either, but at least they have a chance of claiming a role as utility players here or elsewhere, as Carroll did for many years as a late bloomer.

I would think so too. I cringed when I saw Dave St. Peter tweeting people at 5pm who were asking if they should make a 2-hour drive to the game, and he told them it would be on. It was strange that they've had such early postponements for other weather, but delayed extremely last minute for what pretty much everybody though would be a rain storm (turning to snow some time on Thursday). By 9:30pm or 10pm, I guess you could argue the rain was a little bit "sleet-ish", but given what they played through already in several other games, it was not cancellation-worthy. I would argue the game in Kansas City a week ago that looked like a monsoon was much worse. And please, anyone with the "shoulda built a retractable roof!" argument, get some perspective. There have been cancellations all over the Midwest and East Coast this April - the amount of cold and precipitation have both been unusually high. I've been to two games this April, and both were cold, but it was still a good overall experience. I'd rather deal with that one month than have to look at an ugly airplane hangar like in Milwaukee the other 5 months of the season when the weather will be nicer.

I had the same thought - the "convenience store robber" facemask didn't give the impression he was too comfortable, and the way he kind of threw his glove at the ball kind of suggested he was worried about a collision. Unless there's reports about him being a butcher as a corner outfielder in the minors, I'm not going to be concerned about one eff-up in his first game, which, by the way, we won 8-2. It would be equally unreasonable to get too excited about his first hit either, but damn, that looked good, right!? Just think if you could take rookie Hicks' defense with rookie Arcia's bat and put them together....you'd have....an MLB-ready player!

I've been trying to get worked up about this, but the fact is that he dominated AA, even if only for 69 games, and he's murdering the ball early in AAA this year. He'll be 22 in May, and if we're at the point where the younger "Top 100" prospects are close to or already better than the Parmelee-type mid-tier prospects who are just hanging around, then we might as well get them up here and have a look. He'll probably be sent right back down anyway. Kinda strange that Wilkin Ramirez's paternity leave led to Arcia's callup, since Ramirez is a righty that shouldn't be getting platoon time anyway. Parmelee's been alright so far, but now he takes a seat for "the next big thing". Of course, Parmelee may have the 1B job by the end of the year anyway due to Morneau injury or trade, but he does have to hit.

Aaron Gleeman was right about this, but not for the reasons I thought he might be right. I wasn't overly concerned about the arbitration stuff or the 2019 free agency. But if he's going to play THIS bad (and there really aren't any signs as to why that might change), Gardy's absolutely poisoning Hicks by trotting him out there every day. Poisoning him with the fans, who were told this guy was the "next big thing", but more importantly, poisoning Hicks' own confidence in his abilities. After dreaming of being in the bigs your whole life, it'd have to be hard to resist the temptation to think about that Billy Beane montage from the beginning of Moneyball.

Not sure it's the same people making both arguments, but amen brother! Let's have a honest discussion about what Ben Revere was. He played two full seasons with OPS of .619 and .675. The guy was elite at "making contact", but you simply can't be effective at taking walks in the majors if the guys pitching to you have zero fear of you hitting the ball past the outfielders. Defensively, yes, his range was very good at an important position, but his arm was SO bad, that it virtually changed the entire way the Twins had to play defense with him. Nevertheless, Revere had perceived value because of his youth, position, and because he can steal bases (an ability that is vastly overrated). We flipped that for two pretty good pieces. Worley may not be a "good" starter, but he's good enough to "improve" over the back end guys in our rotation. And Trevor May is the type of power pitching prospect this team simply does not seem to produce. The difference between Julio Borbon and Ben Revere, at least in the short term, is probably not as big as people think. At least worth a shot (with Borbon or somebody like him).

According to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, the Twins are "kicking the tires on" outfielder Julio Borbon. Borbon was designated for assignment by the Rangers on Tuesday to clear a roster spot for fifth starter Nick Tepesch. Wolfson suspects that the Twins will attempt to claim the 27-year-old once he clears waivers rather than rushing into a trade. Borbon is a .283/.324/.358 career hitter in the big leagues but possesses decent wheels. --- I'm absolutely for this. Can't say for certain the guy belongs as an everyday MLB CF'er, but the reality is, we traded two CF'ers in the offseason, and we don't have a CF or leadoff man until Hicks (or somebody else) is ready. Mastroianni has some value, but I question his defense at CF (we saw a little of that on WEDS). Borbon may not get on base enough to be a true leadoff hitter, but I'd welcome it over the present options. He can absolutely fly, I don't know anything about his defense, though.

I've seen him both live (Opening Day) and on TV, though that's obviously a very small sample size. The funny thing is that he's NOT Carlos Gomez up there - he actually is taking pitches and working counts a little. But unlike Ben Revere, who couldn't hit, but made contact on almost every swing, Hicks' contract rate and timing have been awful so far. I have to think he's just overwhelmed.

This makes me really irritated. I just watched that play several times on MLB At-Bat. On one view, they had the camera isolated on Hicks the whole time. Hicks busted down the first baseline and continued running at probably 70 to 80 percent speed as he rounded first. He only hesitated after Cain dropped the ball, which surprised everyone in the stadium. And that ball was so shallow, he probably wanted to assess whether Cain or Franceour could throw him out if he got to 2nd. What did Gardy expect him to do on that play - 3rd base? Inside the park home run? Crap, if Morneau or Willingham were running that out, they'd have barely gotten to 1st when Cain dropped it. This why I loved it when Torii Hunter came up with the term "false hustle" (describing guys like Punto diving into 1st base). Demanding effort from players for appearances when it has little to no chance of possibly benefiting the team is stupid (and can get guys hurt). Hicks has been terrible, but to call him out in this way just stinks of desperation by Gardy. They literally have no other leadoff options (Mastroianni's career OPS is in the mid-600's), and Hicks clearly isn't ready yet. I say give him the next homestand in the 8th or 9th spot and see if he can get it back on track. His defense, from what I've seen, has looked MLB-ready.

I guess where I'm still confused though (and maybe I shouldn't be) is how they actually get more money from that. Target Field isn't "small" capacity-wise. Game 2 had the lowest attendance ever and even when they are closer to capacity (usually earlier in the summer and against teams like the Brewers, Yankees, etc.), a lot of those people StubHub'ed their way in, anyway. Are they actually making that much more money selling those as seats, as opposed to standing room tickets?

Great comments. I don't consider this so much a thread about "Opening Day" as it is about the state of Target Field entering Year 4 (wow, already?) and the things that are new for this season. @spideyo - That's a great point about the Budweiser sponsorship. Budweiser has crazy inroads all over MLB, so it should be surprising that addition to wanting a giant sign in LF, they would also make efforts to limit competitor products. I really don't consider myself a beer "snob" - I wouldn't generally complain about being limited to a Miller Lite instead of a microbrew, especially at a ballpark setting. But my thing is this - if your pricing structure makes it such that a single tall beer costs basically what a 12-pack costs at a liquor store, I'm basically "treating" myself to a beer or two at that point. And if I'm already spending $7.50 or more no matter what I buy, it might as been a Fulton, Surly, or something above and beyond something you'd get in a keg at a frat party. If a Miller Lite/Bud Light were closer to the $6.50 range, I probably would rather drink that than $9.00 a beer. @BrentMpls - I love food, and I love food options. But I just find myself walking around, not particularly finding what I want, and then I end up with a dog or chix sandwich, which is basically similar to what the Metrodome had to offer. When the weather is nicer (and the park is more pleasant to be around), we like to show up 90-120 minutes early and eat at Town Ball Tavern. It's basically a sit down version of some of the same food offered in the park (the Murray's sandwich, Juicy Lucy, etc.), but you get a table and silverware, and you're not dropping crap all over your jersey. That place can get pretty crowded closer to gametime, however, so I think a lot of people do that.

I saw the quotes live and thought it was pretty consistent with Gardy's role as a "player's manager". When he started talking about this being "Correia's game" and he "deserved" the right to get out of the jam, it made me cringe and reminded me of this scene from The American President: [video=youtube;YnKV34oNXiw] (0:45 mark). I like Gardy, and the bullpen probably gives up those runs even had he managed it differently. But sometimes I wish there was a Michael J. Fox character in that dugout to remind Gardy that his loyalties should be towards the team and doing whatever gives him the best chance of winning, not avoiding hurting Kevin Correia/Annette Bening's feelings.

It's been a very pleasant surprise, and it's nothing but good for the team and keeping some level of interest for the rest of the season. That opening series last year in Baltimore was SO bad, and the team was in such rough shape by the end of May that it was "over" before it even started. I think there's a tendency by a lot of informed baseball minds to poo poo this early success because we feel that it isn't "deserved" or "sustainable". But the rotation has been unexpectedly serviceable and the team has shown a real "fight" to them in the late innings of games. Both are definitely good to see.

I agree with Brock that Gardy generally manages the bullpen using defined "roles" as crutches and playing for stats instead of the absolute maximization of our chances of winning. But I also agree that if you managed bullpens strictly according to sabermetrics, your best left- and right-handed relief pitchers would end up pitching absurd innings on consecutive days. And as soon as the manager decided to use someone else instead of the best option, the SABR guys would assume it was because of stats instead of rest. The real issue here, and the part that is clearly indefensible, is that Tyler Robertson IS the left-handed specialist on this team. You can still have success managing with rigid bullpen roles if you have enough depth in those roles to mitigate the risk of not using your absolute "best" option every time out there. I guess they could argue that Rafael Perez was intended to have that role, but c'mon, even healthy, dude is a 4.7 K/9 guy. When your middle reliever is Johnny Venters or Phil Coke to get a lefty out, it doesn't matter what their role is. When you use Tyler Robertson, without any real track record to suggest he deserves such a high-leverage role, you're asking for trouble.

Yeah, I'm starting to get tired of Parmelee, and it's not because of three games. Outside of a pretty meaningless September when he first came up and nobody had "the book" on him, when has he ever looked like a legtimate "corner outfield" or 1B bat? He ain't Kubel...heck, he ain't even Jacque Jones at this point. I'm giving him more time, but he's being given opportunities and needs to grab them soon because "the next wave" is coming.

It's too early to get overly worked up on the results, though obviously, we could have hoped for better through three games. The Tigers have some real flamethrowers in their rotation AND bullpen, and that's probably why it helped to see a pitch-to-contact guy like Porcello yesterday. He isn't flailing away at balls, and he looks like and analyzes and selects pitches. Anybody who remembers watching Carlos Gomez trying to be Vlad Guerrero in '08 knows that plate discipline isn't something to take for granted. In terms of the switch hitting thing, I've heard people talk about prospects abandoning switch hitting before, but it's usually prospects who are so terrible, they'll never hit in the bigs anyway. Can anyone think of a legitimate example of a hitter who abandoned switch hitting and actually became a legit MLB hitter? It just strikes me that he's always faced lefties as a righty, so to now expect him to hit left against lefties, and he'll just "figure it out"...yikes. Defensively - so far so good. Keeping in mind that the glare/shadows in left center for these 3pm games are apparently quite bad, he's looked rangey and smooth. And unlike Revere, he supposedly has a real cannon to work with out there, so I'm not worried about his arm strength. I'm sure he'll make some rookie mistakes here and there, but as long as his defense is good, we can give him a month or two to sort out the hitting.

That's the first payroll breakdown I've seen for 2013. It is kind of sad, and yet, Pittsburgh and Miami are below us also with new stadiums, and it's entirely conceivable several of those teams with less money could compete for a pennant this season. I think most fans have realized that 2013 is different than 2011, or even 2012, in the respect that the product is clearly broken right now. When your primary issue is starting pitching and your team is just BAD, that's the hardest situation to spend your way out of. Even if you could convince the Zack Greinke's of the world to come pitch for you (which they probably couldn't of), that's still only 1/5 of your games, at best, that Greinke even has a chance to improve. What's really scary about 2012 is that Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit DID make the Twins significantly better on a game-to-game basis vs. not making any signings, and yet, the team was still as bad as it is. You could make an argument that the 2014 and 2015 payrolls could actually be less than $80 million, and yet the team could still be significantly better because the core of young talent will be on rookie contracts (and Morneau will be off the books). We need to get the number down now so we're in a position to retain as many of those guys as are worth keeping, as we did in 2008-10 with Mauer/Morneau, and as Kansas City will soon be doing with their guys.

That's an interesting perspective. One of the reasons I really like living in the Midwest (Michigan, now Minnesota) is the cyclical nature of the seasons and how you REALLY appreciate the summers. The return of baseball in Minnesota definitely seems "too-early-to-be-true", but it's a definite sign of a great time of year. Baseball is the best "backdrop" sport there is - it's good to you whether you're at the game watching every pitch, or just have it on for a half inning at home while you're doing something else. Except for the All-Star Break, there isn't a period from now until October where the Twins aren't playing for two days in a row. That's pretty insane if you think about it, and also really awesome.

Wow, I really feel bad for Carl. Such an benign thing to be doing and have that kind of accident. I think of all the careless things I do around the house that could result in some freak injury just because I'm too lazy to do it right or using bad technique. This is just a freak accident. His baseball career was winding down anyway, but I really wish him the best of luck in his recovery. Hopefully these infections sort themselves out and stop recurring.

Yes It is actually to Hicks' advantage that we aren't overflowing with tons of other alternatives. My point was if Hicks failed or was sent down, what would we do? The answer has to be Mastroianni, but I don't like him as a leadoff guy either. Joe Benson might be the first OF called up, and he certainly hasn't demonstrated MLB "patience" at the plate. Probably a "lost season" anyway, but I just don't want to go to the ballpark and see Florimon or Escobar leading off because they "look" the part physically. NOT calling for Hicks' head. I think the job is his as long as you can tolerate giving him regular MLB at-bats. My point was simply: "If not him...then....who?" Definitely pulling for Hicks - his turnaround was very Denard Span-like in the sense that some people were starting to leave him for dead, and then he fixed all the things that supposedly kept him from being a productive MLB'er. Hicks is younger, but he doesn't have a long track record of doing those things as a pro. For this year, I would honestly be happy with a .250 BA, .700+ OPS, and 10 HR's if his defense is solid.

As I was at the Opening Day game (and not posting here), I saw Aaron Hicks strike out a few times and wondered if anyone had started a "Hicks is overmatched" thread yet on Twins Daily. Doesn't appear to be the case...applause is in order. Wasn't a great debut by him overall, BUT he was mostly facing the likes of Justin Verlander and Joaquin Benoit - not the easiest way to break into the league. He took a nice walk against Benoit in the 8th that could have been significant, but there were two outs and Mauer flied out. I just have no idea who the leadoff guy would even be if it Hicks doesn't work out. When Mauer is #2 hitter (and would never lead off), who is Plan B? Certainly not Dozier or Florimon. I liked the Span and Revere moves just fine, but if there's an injury to Hicks or he just turns out to be awful...yikes.

(This is the new RF "Great Clips" section. You get a high chair and a mini-bar area. Seats are numbered. Suppose this would be nice if you plan a LOT of food or beer, which might be the main appeal if we have a .400 winning percentage again by June).

Some photos from 04/01/2013, as promised: (Rebranded "Twins Pub", formerly "Captain's Deck" (This is the Gate 34/RF vendor that sells Surly/Fulton, though I believe Town Ball Tavern (LF - 200's) has it also.)

Beer/Surly Prices - The Surly was pretty hard to find, but only because we entered from Parking Garage A. We're usually in the right field garage by Gate 34, and that's where the new "Twins Pub" stand is. As of right now, they offer Surly Furious and Fulton Sweet Child of Vine (god that was good yesterday with the cold air keeping it chilled) for $9.00. They also have cans of Surly Hell and Bender, I believe, but the "Bandwagon" that was a TF-exclusive last year is not there (never got to try it). The Captain's Deck has been rebranded "Twins Pub", also, and that kind of bummed me out. I don't do hard liquor at the ballpark anyway, but we're often in that section, and the Captain's Deck was just a part of the ballpark. Also, I think the "Twins Pub" is mostly about hard booze, and is kind of weak on beer. If they had a line of beer taps (including Surly and Fulton), I could get behind the concept more, but it's a bit misnamed. People were jammed into there on Opening Day, however, mostly for warmth. Beer prices are absurd in general, and you wonder if it can last. Actually, I think the price of Surly and Fulton is reasonable when you consider that they sell large Nordeast for $9 also. Really? I went to Yankee Stadium last September, and the prices are only slightly worse there (and that's NEW YORK). I imagine the prototypical stoic Norwegian couple driving in for the game might have a near heartattack after seeing some of the prices. Food Options - The AZ Canteen burger is made out of lamb and goat, and its meant to be a premium item, which is why it's $13.00. It's comparable to the Murray's Steak Sandwich, in that respect. At the end of the day, there's something "off" about the food options and placement at Target Field. It seems like there should be tons of great options, but I find myself walking aimlessly dismissing one option after another ("too expensive", "gross", "more variations of sausage/hot dog"). Ended up with at Chicken Sandwich basket with fries for $8...arguably the best value in the park for what you get. 3.2 Beer - I was paranoid about that when I moved to Minnesota, but my understanding is that it's a myth. The beer they serve at Target Field (and the Dome, at least in the late 2000's) was not 3.2 beer. RF "Great Clips" Section - Part of the selling point of Target Field was that modern ballparks needed open concourses that allowed you to stand and watch the game while chatting with friends or buying food items. You can still do that to a great degree. I'll try and post my photos of the Great Clips section in the next post. Although I liked hanging out by Gate 34 and then walking out of the park after the 9th, I didn't immediately hate it. I agree that Gate 34 was some of the best standing room, but there are other areas like that (200 Level in CF, all the way around the concourse below the overhang), and it's comparable to what I've seen in Safeco and other parks. Heat Lamps - Honestly, these only really matter for a handful of games in April, early May, and whenever the next time we play after the first week of October again. When I was Safeco in 2010, one of the ushers there said she was jealous of the heat lamps at TF because they don't have them here. (That game was 42 degrees and FREEZING, despite the roof being closed). But honestly, the heat lamps don't seem to do a whole heck of a lot. I was directly under one in the 8th, and we were still pretty cold. Conversely, the sun was on our seats for innings 1-6 and I was getting a bit hot at times!

What's really sad is that I don't think people realize just how good this guy actually is. He doesn't blow people away with huge velocity or K/9 ratios, but in the rare times where he wasn't hurt or in the process of getting hurt or recovering from an injury, he was always a very solid pitcher. His elite control and decent-enough strikeout abilities could have given him a Tim Hudson-like career, but in most people's minds, he's just another guy that couldn't stay healthy. Too bad, because other than Santana and Liriano (neither of which we drafted), he's the best pitcher I can think of to be developed out of our system in the last 10 years.