For much of my life as a Minnesota Twins fan, the team's biggest rivalry was with the Oakland Athletics. Oakland had established themselves with a series of World series wins in the seventies, then when Tom Kelly became manager of the twins and Tony LaRussa took over the A's things really heated up. kelly and LaRussa were the best managers of their time, each could out maneuver pretty much anyone in the league except for each other.

Because of that, the teams' games were always played at a high level, no matter whether they were involved in a pennant chase or not.  Then in the nineties the divisions were revamped, oakland in the West and the Twins in the Central, kelly eventually retired from managing and LaRussa moved to the national league.

But it's still fun when they match up. the Twins and A's now share similar circumstances, both are smaller market teams faced with larger market rivals in their respective divisions, and both are held up as examples of how to compete well even given that basic disadvantage.

Last night's game was good enough to revive memories of the old rivalry. The Twins took an early lead, Oakland fought back, and the Twins finally won it in the late innings on a bloop single to center by Jason Kubel.  It was the kind of game the teams used to play back in the days when they were trading division titles, and it was fun to see.

Player of the Game: Craig Monroe had his first big game as a Twins DH, going 3 for 3 with a homerun and three RBI's.  

Well, let's try this again. I tried to post this morning and the whole thing disappeared into the land of server errors, a less than happy way to start the day.

Yesterday the Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland indians 3 -0, snapping an eight game losing stral against the Indians that dated back to last season. Nick Blackburn pitched 7 and 2/3's shutout innings for his first win of the season. It was a stellar performance that should cement his place in the starting rotation.

The other aspect of the game that stood out was the Twins defense. The infield was superb, turning three double plays a nd bringing back memories of the type of team defense that led to the Twins winning four division titles in five years.  The pitching and defense gave a taste of the kind of team this group of players could develop into. Add a little more hitting and it's easy to see theTwins competing for the division title again in the next few years.

Player of the Game; Nick Blackburn.

Hmmm, this morning the Toronto Blue Jays gave Frank Thomas his unconditional release, which means he;s free to sign with any team that wants him. Sure he's off to a slow start, but when he's hitting he's still one of the top sluggers in the game. The Twins, meanwhile, are dead last in the league in slugging percentage. Do you think they might......? Nah, neither do I.

It's the eighth inning and the Minnesota Twins and Tampa bay rays are locked in a five all tie. The Twins have a runner on third with one out. Mike Lamb hits a fly ball that's tailing into the left field foul area when in a flash speedy Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford comes running from his position and makes a great sliding catch. The only problem is he's in no position to make a throw, and delmon Young easilt tags up and scores the eventual winning run from third base.

It's one of the more unusual situations in baseball, but once in a while there's a ball that you're better off not catching. If Crawford lets it bounce, it's a foul ball, the game is still tied, and who knows what may have happened next. But carl did his thinking with his feet instead of his head, and the result was a Twins win.

Anyone can make a mistake, but Tampa Bay fans just might worry a little bit about their star outfielder's thinking process, becauase after the game, he said that he basically thought catching the ball was the right move.

"I still figured it was just one run," Crawford said. "Hopefully we could come back and score two runs ... I wasn't worried about that run too much but I understand what I did."

Keep in mind that Joe Nathan, one of the best closers in baseball, was already warming up as Crawford made the catch.

Thank, Carl. You just keep thinking that way.

Player of the Game: Joe Mauer, 3 hits and two baserunners thrown out attempting to steal. 

The Minnesota Twins completed their first road trip of the season last night, and the results were fairly disappointing. Disappointing because after splitting two games with the White Sox and taking two out of three against the Royals, the Twins twice blew late-inning leads and lost two games at Detroit, finishing the road trip with a 3 - 4 record that coulda should been 5 - 2. We'll get to the Detroit series later, first let's take a look at what went right.

Staritng pitching was undoubtedly the high point of the entire road trip. Back to back shutouts at Kansas City and early inning leads at Detroit showed that the Twins starting rotation is playing more to their talent than their lack of experience. That bodes well for thinking the team will at least stay competitive for the season. Offensively, Justin Morneau and Delmon Young started to heat up, and Denard Span showed flashes of being able to hit at the major league level while filling in for Michael Cuddyer. The surprise of the season continues to be Matt Tolbert, who simply hits every time he's in the lineup.

But the Detroit series highlighted what we knew going into the season. This is an extremely young team that still needs to learn how to win, and there's going to be a lot of growing pains along the way. The big disappointment against Detroit was not that they lost, it was just a matter of time before Detroit's veteran lineup started hitting, but that the Twins bullpen, which should be one of the teams real strengths, blew substantial leads each night. That and untimely errors, something the Twins are generally known for not doing, made the two losses against the Tigers especially tough for Twins fans to take.

Oh well, they're back home now and have a chance to make up for it a bit against Tampa Bay. The real key to this season is going to be watching the young players develop, and making mistakes is something that's going to happen along the way. We'll just have to hope the players learn from experience, and don't keep making the same errors over and over again.

There was a point in last night's game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals where you suspected that the game might be about to turn around in favor of the home team. In the top of the seventh, the bottom of the Twins lineup had started the inning off with four straight singles, scoring a run and leaving the bases loaded with nobody out. With the top of the order coming up, it looked like the situation was right for the Twins to break the game open.

Instead, Carlos Gomez, Matt Tolbert and Joe Mauer strung together three of the worst at bats you'll ever see in a major league game. Gomez flailed wildly at three pitches out of the strike zone, Tolbert popped up in the infield, and Mauer watched a fastball go right down the middle of the plate for strike three.

Then, the Royals came to bat to find Boof Bonser taken out of the game after sic shutout innings. If there was ever a time when it seemed like momentum had switched in a baseball game, this was it.

But no, Matt Guerrier put the Royals down easily in the seventh and the Twins cruised from there to a 2 - 0 win.

Momentum in team sports is a concept that gets bandied about by commenters and fans from time to time. And in a basketball game where a big defensive play leads to a scoring run, or in football where a defensive stand sparks an offensive drive, it's easy to think that such a thing actually exists.

But it doesn't work that way in baseball, where the defensive team controls the ball, and defense and offense are so dramatically different from each other. In baseball, the only momentum that counts is the momentum coming off the pitchers arm, and what hitters do with it.

Stat of the season, so far: In their first eleven games, Twins starting pitchers have thrown 67 innings and walked only seven batters, by far the best in the league.

Player of the game: Boof Bonser 

When we left off at the end of last week's episode, the Minnesota Twins had come from behind to beat the Kansas City Royals, and the Cylons had mysteriously broken off their attack on a vulnerable Fleet. But Kara Thrace was holding a gun on laura Roslin, and the Royals were holding on to first place in the Central Division of the American League.

This week's episode started off well, with the Twins jumping off to a quick lead over the Royals, led by some clutch hitting from Denard Span and Carlos Gomez. Starbuck relenquished her attack on the President, and was hauled off to a prison cell.

Justin Morneau added a homerun to increase the Twins lead, While Livan Hernandez confused Royals hitters, and dissension broKe out amongst the Cylon elite. Cavil's plan to re-configure and lobotomize the raiders was opposed by D'Anna. A vote ended in a tie, until, the Cylon nicknamed Boomer switched her vote, against her own type, and sided with Cavil.

On Galactica the pilots were having a party, spurred on by bthe Cylon's withdrawal and the news that Hernedez had completed seven shutout innings against the Royals. Adama and Roslin debated their competing views on the status of Starbuck, but for the Twins there was no dissension as Crain came in to pitch a scoreless eighth inning.

The Cylons however, were not so lucky. D'Anna interrupted a Council meeting to demand that the re-configuring of the raiders be halted. When Cavil once again refused, she revealed that, acting on her own, she had upgraded the centurions, and they weren't happy with Cavil.

As the centurions attacked the Council, Adama'smisgivings lead him to release Starbuck from her cell, and give her a ship. As she left to search for earth, Joe nathan was mowing down the Royals in the ninth, preserving the shutout and a 5 - 0 Twins victory. The night ended with the Twins gaining ground on the Royals, leaving Kansas City and the Cylons in ignominy. There's along season ahead, but for now, at least, Kara is off to find Earth, and the Twins are in pursuit of first place in the American League Central.

You could see the breath from the players' mouths, and you knoew that every hit was accompanied b y a pair of stinging hands. Yet that diddn't prevent the Minnesota Twins from banging out a series of singles and, for the first time this year, the team built up a lead in the early innings and gave their starting pitcher a relatively stress-free path to a winning game.

That didn't prevent the Chicago White Sox from putting a little worry into the equation, however, and after three solo homeruns, ithe memory of Monday's game must have brought a little worry to Twins fans as they watched their teams leadshrink bit by bit.

Not to worry.  The Twins loaded the bases and with a swing of the bat Jason Kubel put the game on ice. It was the big hit the twins have been searching for in vain so far this season, only the team's fourth homerun of the year. But as Kubel rounded the bases with a drand slam and Twins fans watching on TV indulged in a "Sit down, Sox" moment, it couldn't help but make you feel that if the starting pitching holds up and the offense produces more nights like this, this season just might be a lot of fun.

it certainly never hurts to beat the White Sox in chicago, who may not be quite as obnoxious as they were when the Twins were regularly winning division titles, but who still present a lineup studded with power hitters. But I'll take a bunch of singles topped off with one home run against three solo shots any day. I bet the Twins will, too.

 Player Of The game: Json Kubel, 2 for 4, 6 RBI's

Yesterday's loss probably left most Minnesota Twins fans with a sour taste in their mouth, if not an upset stomach after their team gave up five runs in the seventh and blew a 3 - 2 lead, losing to the Chicago White Sox. Perhaps it will help get everyone's mind off the loss if we switch to another stomach-related topic; food.

While there are many things to dislike about the Metrodome as a baseball park, certainly one of the contributing factors has always been the quality, or lack thereof, of food options at the Dome. Sure, you could always get a decent hot dog, and things have improved a bit in the last few years. But any Twins fan who went to a game at say, Baltimore or San Diego couldn't help but be struck that it was possible to go to a ballgame and eat a decent meal at the same time. A truly revolutionary concept for Minnesota sports fans.

So it comes as good news that according to this story in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the new stadium will bring along with it a serious upgrade in the available food choices. Walleye tacos, ahi tuna and cheese curds could all make their way on to the menu. The Twins will also be conducting polls of fans for suggestions as to what should be served in the new ballpark.

While there are few things better than a cold beer at a ballgame, I have to admit that the thought of basking in the sun at a day game while sipping on a frozen margarita has its appeal. 

A few thoughts on the first homestand of the season:

*Carlos Gomez is really fast, and has the potential to be the most dynamic lead-off hitter the Twins have ever had.

*The starting pitching held its own. Livan Hernandez is just as advertised, a veteran who knows how to keep hitters off-balance and should throw into the sixth or seventh inning pretty much every game. Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, and Boof Bonser all pitched well, but too often found themselves behind early in the game.

*Which brings us to the offense. Gomez and Mauer are a nice combination at the top of the liheup, Morneau stepped up his slugging over the weekend. But the rest of the linup has so far shown a dearth of clutch hitting, and that's leading to playing from behind too often early in the season.

*That said, Adam Everett's execution of the suicide squeeze bunt on Friday was a Thing of Beauty.

*The combination of Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan at the end of a game make the Twins almost unbeatable in the late innings. But you've got to be ahead to make it work.

*Kansas City really is better this year, the Angels veteran lineup is going to win about as many games as everyone expects Detroit to.

Still, 3 - 4 is not the start the team was hoping for from an opening seven game homestand. The Twins now face eight games on the road against Kansas City, Detroit, and the hated White Sox. None of these teams have played like world-beaters do far, Kansas City might be the toughest challengs, and who would have guessed that. If the twins starting pitching remains consistent, they have a chance to improve their game, make up for a disappointing homestand, and pick up a few games on their Central Division rivals.

Things looked bleak for the Twins and the Fleet. Going in, the Twins had lost three straight games at home, and The Fleet had been ambushed by the Cylons. Galactica was heavily outnumbered, Scott Baker was making his first start of the year, coming off an illness and an injury.

Kansas City jumped off to a quick lead, 3 - 1 after two innings. Twins fans were beginning to wonder if the season was going to be lost  before it had really started. Teams that lose four out of five games at home don't often do well. Meanwhile, the Fleet was suffering severe losses, including a ship carrying six hundred people. It looked like darkness was coming upon us all.

Then the Twins mounted a rally. Carlos Gomez  ruled the basepaths, stealing two bases and scoring a run. Joe Mauer picked up an RBI, Justine Morneau finally got a hit, a hope-stimulating opposite field single that carried with bit the bthought that his days of pulling off pitches were finally over. Gaius Baltar, rescued by a mysterious group of worshipful women, found himself wracked with self-doubt, a good thing for the normally arrogant, some would say traitorous, doctor.

Finally, miracles occurred and delivery was at hand. Adam Everett laid down a bunt as Mike Lamb broke off third towards home. A suicide squeeze! Thw Twins were ahead 4 - 3! And then the Cylons mysteriously broke off their attack, allowing the Fleet to escape and lick their wounds. Baltar survived an attempt on his life, and a young child recovered from what should have been a terminal illness.

Many questions remain, however. Did Starbuck somehow escape death and find Earth, or is she actually a Cylon? Will the Chief, Colonel Tigh and the others be able to keep their true identities concealed? How long will Michael Cuddyer be out with a dislocated and lacerated finger? Can Carlos Gomez actually steal 150 bases in his first full year as a major league player?

These questions and others remained on Twins fans minds even as they rose to celebrate Joe Nathan's second save of the season. For Kara Thrace is holding a gun to Laura Roslin's head, the Twins remain a young, inexperienced team, and no one knows what's going to happen next.

To Be Continued.