OPENER IS ONE WEEK AWAY

Get Ready Minnesota Twins Fans because the MLB Minnesota Twins Home Opener is just one week away!!! Get your tickets now and see our Champions take the field next Monday April 2nd at 6:05 pm!!! Go Twins!!! www.minnesotatwinstickets.com

I WANT TO BE JOE MAUERS NURSE

Minnesota Twins golden boy, Joe Mauer, has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left leg that will sideline him for a few days. An MRI was taken of Mauer’s leg and revealed the stress reaction, which is considered a precursor to a stress fracture. Twins general manager, Terry Ryan, said that he's confident that Mauer should be able to return to the lineup sometime next week and be available for Opening Day against the Orioles. So buy your Twins Tickets today! The Opener is going to be FABULOUS!

PITCHING LINEUP IS TAKING SHAPE

Ron Gardenhire and the Minnesota Twins have been extra secretive regarding which pitchers will be in the starting rotation this year behind ace Johan Santana. But if the pitching schedule for the upcoming week is any indication, it appears that the rotation race is starting to take shape. Gardenhire has pretty much grouped Silva and Ortiz into that staff, and Bonser's recent strong outings have made him look like a lock, as well.

The upcoming schedule lists Glen Perkins on Tuesday, Sidney Ponson on Wednesday, Boof Bonser on Thursday, Johan Santana on Friday and Carlos Silva on Saturday. So the current pitching schedule appears to hint at a rotation that would look like this: Santana, Silva, Ortiz, Ponson and Bonser.

I don’t know if Ponson is truly a locked in spot, but the Twins have given the veteran every opportunity to show he deserves to be starting, but I would consider Perkins and Garza not far behind in winning the spot. I know Santana can’t carry this team alone so I am excited to build a solid roster of starting pitchers to help our ace out!

There is only 12 days of camp remaining! Go Twins!

TWINS SPRING TRAINING WIN

Sunday, March 11 - TWINS 8, BLUE JAYS 5 - Dunedin, Florida

The Twins looked strong at the plate on Sunday. The Minnesota Twins recorded four consecutive singles to open a three-run fifth inning against Toronto closer B.J. Ryan. Glenn Williams, Luis Rodriguez and Alexi Casilla each drove in runs in the frame. All three players are competing for solid starting rolls in 2007. Williams and Rodriguez also chipped in RBI singles in the seventh.

On the mound, Twins left handed pitcher Glen Perkins threw 47 pitches, 30 for strikes, and allowed one unearned run in his first start of Spring Training. The left-hander gave up two hits and struck out two in three innings. Matt Guerrier gave up one run on two hits and struck out two in two innings of relief.

The Twins have a 4-8-1 record in the Grapefruit League so far. The Twins host the Marlins today at noon at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. Right hander, Boof Bonser gets the start. I hope Boof can have a strong outing and prove he can be counted on in 2007.

Have I mentioned that:



Let’s go Twins!!! April 2nd, 2007 is almost here!!!

TWINS BREWERS

I love a good border battle and of course the Minnesota Twins play the Milwaukee Brewers the middle of June over Fathers Day weekend. Twins vs. Brewers June 15-17, 2007 at the Metrodome. Need a good present for Dad? Order Twins Tickets Now! June will come faster than you think!

My buddy is a huge Milwaukee Brewers fan and he started his own Brewers blog – you should check it out! J Bone is a total super fan! He knows the players inside and out. He gave me props for my Twins blog so here’s a shout back at ya Milwaukee's Own Brew Crew! Go Twins!

J Bone may know the most about the Brewers, but I have a bunch of buddies that love the Twins and baseball in general more than I do. As I peter out on ideas for my blog I rely on these guys to inspire a new post. So I want to do another shout out to baseball fan Bruce Zenner for all of your top notch baseball stories! I am trying to convince Bruce to do a guest appearance on MinnesotaTwinsFan.blogspot.com! Come on Bruce, the readers want to hear all about the time you dropped the F bomb so loud at the youth baseball game that it silenced the crowd!

TWINS GET BEAT-UP

The month of March has not been good for the Minnesota Twins. First, the Twins got beat-up by the Yankees, then Cincinnati (twice) and most recently they got knocked out by the Boston Red Sox. It would be nice if the Twins could pull themselves off the ropes and get a punch in on Tampa Bay today. I love Spring Training, but I am getting tire of hearing Mark Rosen with his Hawaiian shirt and tanned skin report another Twins loss. Come on Twins, win one for us cold and snow buried Minnesotans!

TWINS SPRING TRAINING OPENER

The Minnesota Twins opened spring training with a bang! The Twins tied the Boston Red Sox 4-4 after 10 hard fought innings in Ft Myers, Florida. The highlight of the game was when defending American League batting champion Joe Mauer belted a three-run homer in the fifth inning – go, Joe, go! I suppose Mauer wants to be sure that there are no doubts he is worth every cent the Twins are paying him and if he keeps swinging like that, there will be no worries. Rondell White also had a productive outing, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. White is trying to prove he is worth keeping. It would be nice if White could be more consistent than last year and be a solid hitter every game. Matt Garza was on the mound for the Twins and held the Red Sox hitless over two innings. Garza definitely put his best foot forward as he is trying to win a spot in the rotation. Scott Baker didn't fare as well, getting belted around for seven hits and four runs over 1 1/3 innings – ouch!

Up next: The Twins travel to Tampa for a 12:15 p.m. ET game against the Yankees on Thursday, March 8th. Right hander Carlos Silva is scheduled to start. Go Twins Go! I love Minnesota Twins Spring Training and wish I was in Florida to see my boys swing the bats…especially when I am shoveling 3 feet of snow off of my driveway.