Target Field at Night

This is an image of Target Field, the new Twins ballpark, at night. I first saw this photo on Ballpark Magic and it was also sent to me by tony8489. It's one of the first photos available that offers a glimpse of what a night game will look like from inside the ballpark.

In addition, I came across the photo below that was taken from the upper deck, very close to the seats that I will share with Snyder, Free and Shane. Our seats will be 2 or 3 sections to the right towards the infield, but this is pretty close to the view of downtown and the scoreboard that we will have:

It's hard to believe this place is finally nearing completion after a decade of haggling between the Twins and politicians for a new ballpark, land disputes, etc. It's also hard to believe it's been over 3 years since the bill was passed (May 2006) by the Legislature.

I can't wait for 2010. I think Target Field is going to be all right.

Jeff

Surprised?

So, Brett Favre announced today that he is going to stay retired after a summer spent publicly flirting with the possibility of joining the Minnesota Vikings. Favre underwent surgery to repair a torn bicep. He spent countless hours working out at a high school in Mississippi (I did not know that they had those) to get his arm in shape. He went on national television and referred to the Vikings as "we." Now, three days before training camp opens, he announces that he will remain retired. This, in some circles, is know as being a "cock tease."

Does this surprise anyone? Did anyone really expect to see Brett Favre running out of the tunnel sporting a purple #4 jersey?? In my heart, I knew this would never happen. Why? Because, for the Minnesota Vikings, this is The Way Things Go. This will simply be another chapter in my upcoming book about the Vikings entitled "Snatching Defeat From The Jaws of Victory." The "Brett Favre Almost Joins The Vikings" Chapter. Not a lot of good stuff happens to the Vikings these days, mostly due to their own bad decisions and poor judgement. They also do not have Karma on their side. Poor judgement and bad Karma is not a good combination - just ask the Timberwolves.

Favre has driven me insane for years. Both his exploits on the field (beating the Vikes countless times) and the near-religious devotion of many of his fans. It's caused me to write posts like this. My official position, however, was that I hoped Favre would join the team for business reasons. Instant sellouts, national TV exposure and momentum towards a new stadium. I don't think Favre would have led the Vikings to more victories, however. This is not The Way Things Go for the Vikings. I have no question that Favre would have been intercepted 5 times against the Green Bay Packers on national television and walked off the field in shame. That is totally How Things Go. The interest in the Vikings, however, would have skyrocketed.

But no.

Once again Lucy (Brett, or Karma) pulls the proverbial ball away from Charlie Brown (an excellent metaphor for the Vikings) and he (they) falls flat on his face. It could be worse, though. You could be Brad Childress. How would you like to have to go crawling back to Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfelds now?

"Hey............T-Jack. Sage. How've you been! You know, you were always my guys. That Favre stuff was a ruse - a publicity stunt! You guys are the best. The team is 100% behind you. Half the guys were texting Favre just to say Hi!"

Good luck Chilly. He hitched is wagon to nut case Favre. And now his job probably depends on T-Jack and Sage.

So when is hockey season?

Jeff

Twins Season - I've Got a Bad Feeling About This.

I usually try not to rail on the Minnesota Twins, but I simply have to tag on to my last post. Just as I suspected, this team looks like it has given up since that major collapse in Oakland. By the way, before I go any further, when the Twins look at their schedule and see "At Boston, " At New York," or "At Anaheim (via Los Angeles)," they should forfeit the games and not risk injury. They have no chance in these ballparks.

Anyway, by some minor miracle (called the AL Central) the Twins started the day only 4 games out of first place. This is deteriorating quickly, however. So I'm going to keep my thoughts short and sweet:

1. The second baseman, Alexi Casilla, should not be in the Major Leagues. He is a head case and is hitting .164. That's .164. Once again, a starting second baseman in Major League Baseball is hitting .164. They need to find a second baseman, and quick. And this does not include Mark Grudzielanek.

2. The starting rotation lacks a "stopper." Someone to win a game and prevent losing streaks from getting too long. Frank Viola was a stopper. Brad Radke was a stopper. Johan Santana was a stopper. They do not have that today. They have "continuers."

3. The Twins lack a clubhouse leader since they traded Torii Hunter away. Remember when Gary Gaetti used to get pissed off when they lost? That was refreshing. He'd smoke cigarettes in the locker room and curse their mistakes. I understand that the Twins are made up of a bunch of really nice guys. I never thought I'd say this, but they need an ass-hole.

4. The bullpen, outside of Joe Nathan, is paper thin. They are relying on minor leaguers to get guys out with the game on the line. Playoff teams do not rely on minor league pitchers in these situations, for Cliff's sake.

5. Delmon Young still is killing me. I don't know what else to say about this.

6. Billy Smith? Hello - Billy! Are you out there, Billy??? Billy!!!!!

7. This year might be slipping away, but with Target Field opening next year, there is no excuse NOT to increase the payroll $20-30 million. The Metrodome will no longer be a convenient excuse not to increase the payroll. If they keep the payroll where they have it today, in the $60-65 million range, I am going to crap my pants.

People, I say this stuff because I care.

Go Twins.

Jeff

Complete Collapse

The Twins played a late game in Oakland last night and led 12-2 midway through the game. I woke up this morning and grabbed the St. Paul Pioneer Press and learned they lost 14-13....to the absolutely horrible Oakland A's. This was the biggest blown lead for the Twins since 1984.

The major league baseball season is 162 games long, so nobody should freak out about one terrible loss. Every year, however, contains a few games that stick in the memory as "season-changers." I actually have vivid memories of that aforementioned game in Cleveland in September 1984. I was at a Memorial High School football game in Eau Claire, and Jim Hill and I kept track of that Twins game because it had playoff implications. The collapse basically eliminated the Twins from playoff contention. It's a little frightening that I can remember this game 25 years later because I can't even remember birthdays and stuff.

I doubt a mid-season game in Oakland will have the same type of implications for the Twins. How they respond to this choke-job, however, may determine the path of their season.

How their General Manager Billy Smith responds may also determine the path of their season. The Twins have been relying on their farm system for bullpen help and help at second base. Alexi Casilla is back up in the majors for a third time with the team hoping he can get his head together.

It would be nice to see Smith make a move and bring in a pitcher or second baseman from another team to help the Twins. Maybe even save their season. But I am not holding my breath.

I think we're looking at a .500 baseball team here.

Jeff

Strange Stuff Going On

I haven't been writing too much lately for two reasons:

1. Between my two sons, we've had baseball nearly every night.

2. I just haven't had anything to say about stuff (which hasn't stopped me in the past, so I'll rely on excuse #1).

Every so often, however, events happen in the news that give me pause and force me to write a post. Here are a couple of those events. The first, from a wcco.com report:

Police Seek Minn. Man Who Slashes Rubber Balls

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) ― Duluth police are looking for a man with a self-professed sexual fetish for slashing rubber balls.

Police have been seeking the 31-year-old since surveillance tape allegedly showed him breaking into a fitness clinic in May and slashing exercise balls.

Authorities are familiar with the man. A criminal complaint released Thursday says he was convicted in 2005 of breaking into a sports facility at the University of Minnesota in Duluth and slashing about 70 balls. Each ball cost between $30 and $60.

The complaint says when he pleaded guilty in that case, he admitted slashing more than 40 other balls at two clinics.

Court documents say the man told police he slashed the rubber balls to satisfy a sexual urge. Experts said he has an unusual attraction to inflatable exercise devices.

OK. I'm not going to claim that I don't have my own hang ups, but come on. Exercise balls? Slashing exercise ball as a sexual fetish? How does a guy go from being born seemingly "normal," to this? What has to take place in one's youth to lead to breaking into exercise facilities and slashing exercise balls (70 of them!) for a thrill? I just don't get it. You know, my wife has one of those exercise balls. I can't help but look at it differently now (not in a sick way or anything....).

Here is the next story that struck me as odd. It took place in 'Sconny, of course. Here is the picture:

Here is the story from startribune.com:

MILWAUKEE - One southern Wisconsin homeowner is probably not in love with the Oscar Mayer wiener.

The famed hot dog's iconic Wienermobile crashed Friday into the deck and garage of a home in Mount Pleasant, about 35 miles south of Milwaukee, when the driver tried to turn the giant hot dog on wheels around in the driveway, police said.

The 22-year-old driver thought she was moving in reverse, but actually went forward and crashed into the home, Mount Pleasant Police Chief Tim Zarzecki said. No one was home and neither the driver nor a passenger was injured.

Both the home and vehicle suffered moderate damage, Zarzecki said. No citations were immediately issued.

There are a lot of reasons that I wouldn't necessarily want to drive the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile, but this is probably reason #1. I could see something like this (a Wienermobile crash) happening to me and having the picture put on the internets for the whole universe to see and then having some idiot write a blog post about it.

I'd rather be on the internets for a Wienermobile crash than slashing exercise balls, though.

Jeff

Sickening Stat of the Day

After tonight's loss to the (Hated) Yankees, the Minnesota Twins stand at 43 wins and 42 losses. Their record, however, against the American League East is 6-18. Here is the breakdown:

Vs. Toronto: 1-3
Vs. Boston: 2-4
Vs. Tampa: 3-3
Vs. Baltimore: 0-2

and...

Vs. (Hated) New York: 0-6

If you subtract those games from the Twins record, they are 37-24 against the rest of the league, a .649 winning percentage. That's pretty good. What am I trying to say here? Two things:

1. The Twins cannot beat the teams from the A.L. East.

and...

2. I absolutely hate the New York Yankees.

Jeff

Wilco (The Album)

I don't believe there is a band in existence today that puts out music as wide-ranging, yet consistently excellent as Wilco. With each album, the Chicago-based sextet is not afraid to challenge their fans by offering up different musical styles ranging from Americana to electronica to straight ahead rock 'n' roll. You simply never know what you are going to get with a new Wilco album. Well, except for their newest release, entitled Wilco (The Album) which the band has been streaming on their web site for weeks before officially releasing it last Tuesday.

Freealonzo wrote an excellent review of the new album. There are also glowing reviews in Pitchfork, their hometown Chicago Tribune, Spin and others. I'll let you read those reviews for an impression of the songs themselves. I will say that, for me, Wilco (The Album) took five or six listens before I warmed up to it, which means it's a typical Wilco album. It's complicated, which is why you are not going to hear it played on 99.99% of radio stations and it won't appeal to the American Idol crowd. Like most Wilco albums, it takes some work to get used to. In fact, the only Wilco album that I fell in love with on the first listen was Sky Blue Sky. (I also liked their first album A.M. the first time I heard it, but I have always thought that it was a "left over Uncle Tupelo album.").


I've always felt that Wilco fans fall into two camps. The first camp are those fans that prefer the "alt-country Wilco" of A.M., Being There, and Sky Blue Sky. The other camp are those fans that prefer the anxiety-ridden, edgy Wilco of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born. Summerteeth and Wilco (The Album) are probably the two releases that fall somewhere in-between genres. It's no secret that the so-called anxiety-ridden albums were released when Jeff Tweedy experienced his own anxiety and prescription-drug issues, which is well-chronicled in this excellent New York Times article.

While I appreciate all of the Wilco albums for what they are, I most-often fall into alt-Country camp. This is why I generally gravitate towards the "Sky Blue Sky sound" and enjoy the "soothing" songs on the new album such as One Wing, Country Disappears and Everlasting Everything. Sometimes, however, things can come along in life that require repeated listens to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I went through a phase recently in which I listened to A Ghost Is Born almost every day. That's the thing - for most every mood, there is a Wilco album.

I'm looking forward to the next Wilco gig in town since I can't make their upcoming show at the hippie festival in Detroit Lakes, MN with CR and Tito Jackson. I'm very interested to see how they treat their new songs live in concert.

So pick up the new album and give it about six listens. I think you'll like it.

Jeff

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Jeff