Twins Spring Training...Finally!!

I finally made it to Fort Myers to catch some spring baseball. I have wanted to watch the Twins play in spring training since I was five years old. I probably can't say the same thing for Laurie, but I think she was just as excited to make the trip south. Although, she may have been more excited about the beach. As you can see in the photos below, the weather was outstanding.

Laurie and I flew down to the retirement community of Fort Myers, Florida, which is the spring training home of the Twins. Fittingly, upon arrival we met Laurie's parents, Bonnie and Gene, both of whom are recently retired. Given their recent retirement, I spent the entire the trip trying to convince Bonnie and Gene to buy a place in Fort Myers. This way we would have a place to stay every March. I think Bonnie was convinced... 

 

Well, where do I start. I could probably write for hours (which I might have time to do if the Government shuts down), but I don't want to put some of our blog followers to sleep. Here are some quick tidbits about the Lee Country Sports complex, which has been the spring-training home of the Minnesota Twins since 1990.

• In addition to Hammond Stadium, which serves as the home of the Fort Myers Miracle (the Twins Class A minor league affiliate), there are five full and two half baseball fields, two soccer fields, a softball complex and an eight acre lake for public fishing.

• Hammond Stadium has some very interesting features, including an outside facade that's supposed to invoke the feeling of Churchill Downs and a palm tree lined path that leads to the stadium from the parking lot, ending at a waterfall fountain plaza. Overall, it is a very nice park.

• Hammond Stadium also provides fans with direct access to the batting cages, which are located below the bleaches down the third base line. Needless to stay, it was pretty cool talking to Mauer, Morneau, and the rest of the boys as they were taking live batting practice.

• The seven other fields are also open to fans during spring training. In fact, fans can wander those fields with no restrictions. So naturally, I wondered aimlessly through the different fields and talked to a number of players and coaches. Laurie and I ran into Gardy, Tony Oliva, Paul Molitor, Jake Mauer (Laurie was so excited when she thought she saw Joe), and a number of other players and coaches.

• Hammond Stadium also features a "Party Deck" grill that serves up a number of local favorites. A beer drinker's paradise can be found beneath the grandstand at the end of the concourse on the stadium's third base side, where the Beer Garden is located. Hammond Stadium offers a larger variety of beer on tap than any other ballpark in the Grapefruit League. No wonder why Gardy likes to do his press conferences in the Beer Garden!

While we were there, we watched the Twins pound the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both games ended in pretty exciting fashion, including a walk-off base hit to beat the Pirates. During the games, we watched Delmon, Cuddy, and Thome all launch homers, while paying extra close attention to our new second baseman, Nishioka, make some wonderful plays. Overall, the Twins looked pretty sharp...a stark contrast to how they have started the 2011 season.

Here are some other photos from our trip to Hammond Stadium:



  

Overall, Laurie, Bonnie, Gene, and I had a blast while we were done in paradise. We are still trying to recover from the sun burns, but we all agree that it was well worth it! Hopefully, Laurie and I can make this spring training trip a tradition, which is why it is imperative that Bonnie and Gene buy a place in south Florida soon! 

- Bobby

2011 MLB Preview

Minnesota Twins Preview

The Minnesota Twins have won the Central Division six of the past nine seasons. In today's professional sports, this is surely an accomplishment worth noting. It wasn't long ago that these Twins couldn't make it to 75 wins and were the perennial cellar dwellers of the American League.

While the division titles have been great, the Twins need to make a run deep into the playoffs to be considered one of the truly dominant teams in Major League Baseball. As any good, optimistic MN sports fan would say: "2011 will finally be the year the Twins beat the Yankees and take that next step!" 

However, getting to playoffs could be more of a challenge this year given the upgrades made by the hated Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. The Twins also have some serious questions that need to be answered before any Twins fans start putting deposits down for postseason tickets.

1) Will Justin Morneau return to form? Before going down with a concussion last July, Morneau was one of the front runners for the American League MVP. Missing his bat in October was something the Twins simply couldn't overcome. If the Twins want to win their third consecutive division title and make a deep run in October, they will need their all-star first baseman a full season.

2) Who will be the closer for the Twins in September and October? With Joe Nathan recovering from Tommy John surgery, a big question remains as to how he will last during the season. Fortunately, the Twins also have all-star closer Matt Capps in case Nathan can't shoulder the load.

3) How will Casilla play as an everyday shortstop? This isn't the first time the Twins have asked this question. This is certainly Casilla's last chance as an everyday player, at least with the Minnesota Twins. While Casilla has his fair share of question marks, he is surely an upgrade over Nick Punto.

4) How will Japanese baseball translate into American baseball? Tyoshi Nishioka was an all-star in Japan and many believe he could be the next Ichiro. He plays great defense, is quick, and is an ideal number two batter. He should be fun to watch.  

5) Who will Ron Gardenhire have pitch in the later innings? The Twins lost a number of reliable bullpen arms in the offseason and it may be difficult to recover from those losses. The Twins will surely need Mijares to step up and assume the role of a dominant lefty.

MLB Playoffs

Here are my predicted winners for 2011:

AL East: Boston Red Sox

AL Central: Minnesota Twins

AL West: Texas Rangers

AL Wildcard: Chicago White Sox

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies

NL Central:  Milwaukee Brewers

NL West: Colorado Rockies

NL Wildcard: Atlanta Braves

ALCS: Red Sox vs. Twins

NLCS: Phillies vs. Brewers

World Series: Red Sox over Phillies in seven games

Let me know how you think the 2011 season will play out. Either way you look at it, 2011 looks to be a fun and exciting year of baseball. Who knows, maybe 2011 will be the year Minneapolis hosts a championship parade!

- Bobby

Minnesota Visitors

Our very close friends Kris and Gemma paid us a visit this past weekend. They were pretty excited to step off the plane in DC where the lows for the weekend were in the mid-40s versus the mid-teens they've grown accustomed in MN.

We kicked off the weekend by having dinner at Potenza, an Italian restaurant a couple of blocks from the White House. This restaurant rocks! Kris and I enjoyed the Cherry Bombs (Crown and Cherry Coke) and Laurie and Gemma enjoyed lots of wine. The food was fabulous and was served, and cooked, by true Italians. Hands down, my favorite Italian restaurant. After dinner, we made our way to POV to have a few more drinks. POV is located in the W Hotel and is a trendy bar that overlooks the National Mall and White House. We ended up discussing politics the entire time and  needless to say, Kris and Gemma now agree with my views.

The next morning I treated Gemma and Kris to a famous Riepe tradition, German Pancakes! For those of you not lucky enough to have tried them, let me know, and I will be glad to treat you.

After breakfast, we made our way to the National Mall for some site seeing. We made some stops at the White House, Jefferson Memorial and the Marine Corp Memorial (i.e. Iwo Jima).

After taking in some of DC most beautiful sites, we decided to head to the Blue Ridge mountains and visit some of Virginia's finest wineries. We started the wine tour at Bluemont Vineyard, which is located on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge mountains. While enjoying their exceptional wines, we took in the spectacular panoramic views from the wine tasting room high above the Virginia countryside. At an elevation of 951 feet above sea level, Bluemont Vineyard has clear views of DC and the surrounding suburbs. As you can see below, Kris and Laurie are very serious about their wine!

The wines at Bluemont were spectacular. They actually name all of their wines after farm animals, which makes it easier for people like me to say their names! Here is a little more information about Bluemont: http://www.bluemontvineyard.com/winery.php#wines.

After Bluemont, we made our way to few more wineries throughout the Virginia countryside. We had no idea that Virgina was home to so many fine wineries! I guess Virginians have made wine for more than four centuries starting with the Jamestown settlers  in 1619. Not until the 1820's did wine really take off in that region, thanks to the Virginia Norton grape, which was first grown by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

After the wine tours, we made it back to the National Mall to take in the monuments at night, which happens to be my favorite time to see them.

Alright, now on to something more serious: football. It just happened that Kris and Gemma's visit to DC also coincided with the Vikings visit to the nation's capital. There was no way we would miss out on this! We began tailgating at 9:00am. Nothing is better at that early than a brat, burger, and some beer. We had a blast talking with the Redskins faithful and were quite surprised at the number of Vikings fans. A quarter of the stadium was wearing purple!

We also had our friends Brian and Kimya join us for the festivities. As you can see below, Kimya's Viking jersey was dirty, so she had to wear a Redskins jersey. Needless to say, she had to cook her own brats. As I am sure you know, the Vikings ended up beating the Skins and snapping that nasty 9-game road losing streak. Thank God they finally fired Childress! FedEx Field was pretty old, but still much better than the Metrodome. Outdoor football is much more fun to watch.

Here are some more photos from the game:

Thanks again Kris and Gemma for making the visit. We loved having you and can't wait to see again soon.

- Bobby

3:24

As many of you are aware, I have always enjoyed running. I ran the Twin Cities marathon in 2006 and decided it was time to try another race. With that said, I signed up for the 35th Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) in Washington DC, which was held this past weekend. The weather was fantastic! The marathon was very well organized, there were thousands of fans, and I finished with a new personal record. What else could you ask for? My official finish time was 3:24, which was good enough for 789 out of approximately 32,000 runners. I am still pretty sore from the 26.2 mile hike, but the feeling of crossing the finish line is like no other and was well worth the four months of training.

Here is a little information about the MCM. The MCM was established in 1976, and as of 2009, the MCM became the fourth largest marathon in the U.S. and the eighth largest in the world, with runners from more than 50 participating countries. The total participants for the 2010 MCM was estimated at approximately 32,000. The MCM is known as "The People's Marathon" because it is open to all runners ages 14 and above and is the largest marathon not to offer prize money. As you can see in the photo below, I was not only idiot dumb enough to run 26.2 miles!

The course was amazing, especially if you love history. We started the race in Arlington right next to the Arlington Cemetery. After a few miles in Roslyn, VA we went across the Potomac River into historic Georgetown, which was packed with fans! We then made our way along the Potomac River into downtown DC and the Mall area. The sights of the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Capitol and the Washington Monument were wonderful sights, even after running 14 miles. After the Mall area, we went back over the Potomac River in Crystal City, VA and pass the Pentagon. Finally, we finished at the base of the Iwo Jima memorial, which happens to be my favorite monument in DC.

I have to give a shout out to Laurie. She was amazing during the race as she met me at five different spots to give me water, sports beans, and some extra motivation to finish strong. In fact, she nearly ran a half marathon herself trying to meet me at those various points. She was awesome!



Overall, the weekend was amazing. I had a great time and really look forward to fattening up over the course of the next few weeks. Beer never sounded (and tasted) so good! This will probably be my last marathon, but the idea of half-marathons, 10-milers, and 10-k races already sound appealing! Here are a few more photos from race day...

- Bobby

Some Visitors from the Midwest (Part I)

As we mentioned in our last blog, we had a couple of visitors from the Midwest. Let me introduce my Dad and my nephew Zach (he is the one on the left)...

As you can probably guess, Laurie and I had a blast while these guys paid us a visit. My Dad and Zach arrived in Baltimore on Friday evening and our first stop was at the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore. We had some great sea food, including some of Baltimore's finest crab cakes and enjoyed the sights and sounds of beautiful Baltimore (which generally includes lots of sirens).

The next day, we packed up the car and drove north a couple of hours to the City of Brotherly Love. Our first order of business was to find the best cheese steak Philly has to offer. I can say without a doubt, mission accomplished! Zach was speechless, but he didn't feel so well afterwards...rookie.

After the cheese steaks, we headed to Citizens Bank Park to watch the Twins take on the Phillies. We also met up with some of our really good friends from DC: Mike, Ramala and their daughter Pria.

We watched the Twins jump out to a big lead, but then watched Slowey blow it. Before we knew it, the Twins were getting slaughtered 9-3 and it was only the third inning. Oh well, I guess there is always next time. Oh wait, the Twins stormed back to score six runs in the ninth inning and went on to win the game in extras! Hands down, the best Twins comeback I have ever witnessed!

As for Citizens Bank Park, the field was pretty awesome. Even the average Philly fan couldn't ruin this park. The sight lines were great and the food was spectacular. As you can see, there was nice view of the Philly skyline and the field is in great shape. Citizens Bank Park ranks up there as one of the best fields I have visited. Overall, I give it a 4 out of 5. 

Day two in Philly was spent seeing all of the historical sights. Our first stop was at Independence Hall, where we could sign up for tours and get information about the area. Zach also made a number of friends during this leg of the trip...we will get to Samuel shortly.

Next up, Independence Hall. Known primarily as the location where both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted. This building was completed in 1753 as the Pennsylvania State House for the Province of Pennsylvania. It became the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1783 and was the site of the Constitution Convention in the summer of 1787.

The room below, the Assembly Room, is where both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed. This building was very impressive for being built in 1753. This building served as the national capitol for a number of years, before the capitol was permanently moved to Washington DC. In addition, on June 14, 1775, delegates of the Continental Congress nominated George Washington as commander of the Continental Army in the Assembly Room.

Of course we made a stop by the Liberty Bell, which is a must see in Philly. The Liberty Bell is one of the most prominent symbols of the American Revolutionary War and has been a familiar symbol of independence for the US for a very long time. According to tradition, its most famous ringing occurred on July 8, 1776, to summon citizens of Philadelphia for the reading of the Declaration of Independence. The bell had also been rung to announce the opening of the First Continental Congress in 1774 and after the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775.

We made a few more stops around Independence Hall, which included Zach being selected from the crowd on several occasions. To begin, he was asked several times during the Independence Hall tour about general US history. He did his Mother proud and was able to answer most of the questions. His crowning moment came when he was asked to be Samuel, a tanner born in 1775. Zach was chosen by a storyteller during our tour to help act and tell the story of what it was like to grow up in the 1770's. Zach did great...he even got a few winks from the crowd...

On on our way out of town, we were able to catch a few more of the sights...

Overall, Philly was great!

- Bobby