I say this wholeheartedly admitting that I have had anxiety issues in the past. When that woman's voice came on saying "Attention!", I literally felt all the blood in my body drain from my head, hands, and feet. It was a very creepy moment as any number of horrific possibilities crossed my brain, contrasted with what appeared to be a perfectly gorgeous day, and the game continuing to progress. I know no one did anything wrong necessarily in what occurred, but I can definitely say that moment left an unfortunate jarring effect on me for the rest of the game, and even afterwards into the evening. Although I understand that they could not turn off the siren, I wish they could have provided a message, even on the jumbotron perhaps, letting the fans know what the situation was, and not to be alarmed.

Great piece, Rick. Thanks again for such good writing. I'm glad that I'm in the number who bring my glove to the games...though Tuesday night high up in 238 I figured I was safe without it.

There was an announcment during the middle of the inning that the alarm was an isolated situation. I didn't give it a second thought after that PA announcment.

Great game overall. Best weather yet and the ball really seemed to carry more than other games I've been to.

Having gone to TF for the first time on Wed I have only one complaint. We sat in section S and before the game started we decided to walk around the field. We took the escalator down to the main level and started walking around the outfield and ended up near gate 34. From there we made our way down the first base side concourse and stopped to get a bite to eat. Here is where I had some issues. With both hands full of food I kept making my way down the concourse towards home plate and around expecting to find stairs back up to the second level. The whole time we were battling against people and it wasn't until we got back to the escalator that we were able to get back to our seats. I wish that there were stairs somewhere between gate 34 and the escalator. Just a nit pick really. Who knows, maybe there was and I somehow missed it with the mob of people. Anyways, we had a great time and the place is amazing!

Rick, I had the closest encounter yet with a foul ball at the game Monday, from section 124. A screamer from Nick Punto. I was able to reach high enough and have it glance off my left index finger. I'm fully convinced if I'd had a glove, I would have caught it. And you're right, that initial elation was awesome, but my next reaction wasn't fear, it was, "I think I can get this sucker" so my elation rose another notch. At least the person who dug the ball out once it landed was a kid and he was pretty psyched. My finger stung for the next half-inning.

Nice pics Rick! How long did that alarm stay on?. I could hear it when watching the game replay from last night and the radio broadcast yesterday. How tall do you have to be to see over the batters eye out there? Looking forward to the game and the fireworks tommorow night. Would like to take at least 3 out for from the Rays!

I was there yesterday and noticed the flashing strobes along 1st base as well, and thought it was camera flashes at first too. Then I realized it was some kind of alarm right before the loud siren/"Attention!" notice. We were sitting in the batter's eye (missed seeing you Rick!) and my wife said in the women's room, the announcement continued on for much longer.

It was a great day, and my son, celebrating his 7th birthday today, got a ball from Slowey - the ball he used to warm up with before the game!

That homerun ball Morneau hit and the mob that rolled on the ground for it looked like someting right out of the AWA days! Bert Blyleven just saying Ohhhhhhh my goodness on the broadcast! LOL! That sec 107 is great place to stand cause you can see the whole field and scoreboard to boot.

The mobs risking injury to get a ball are just as easy to understand as the people who throw them back on the field of play. I've seen people damn near break an arm jumping over seats, etc. It's a baseball folks, nice to make an easy catch or grab - otherwise, go to Dick's and plunk down $12 if it's that big a deal.

Ben, are you this jaded about everything in life?

I've been to dozens and dozens of games since I was 7 years old and Monday night was the first time I ever came close to getting a foul ball. Damn right I scurried after it. It's the unexpected things in life that make living fun. I wasn't disappointed I didn't get the ball, in fact I high-fived the kid who got it, the joy was in the experience. You're right, if I wanted just a baseball, I'd go to Dick's. But a foul ball (or a home run) from a major league baseball game has memories and stories behind it you can't buy at Dick's for $12.

I have Michael Restovich's first major league foul ball sitting in front of me as I write - easy catch in my hat. I stopped a BP ball from rolling so the kid chasing it didn't have to run so far. There have been another half dozen or so that I should have gotten but had my hand in the peanut bag, etc. What I am referring to is the guy who goes ass over teakettle in the seats and winds up with a wrenched knee, torn pants/shirt, skinned up shin, etc. Or the hog-pile that we saw yesterday. I just don't think a ball is quite that important - sorry you disagree.

The closest I've ever gotten to a foul ball was in Kaufman Stadium. My son and I went down for an April series, and for the first night (a fireworks Friday, which I very much recommend) we chose the upper deck on the third base side so we could have a good view of the show afterwards.

In any case, Mauer steps up and sends a screamer up towards us in the middle of the game. It was just shot at us, and we were up pretty high. My son had gotten a cast off his arm the day before we left, and all I could think of is another broken arm. I pulled him out of the way and it clanged off the edge of his seat and bounce a whole section away. Clearly could be caught, but boy it would have stung.

We still laugh about Mauer trying to break his arm again to this day.

That was one ugly scrum fot that Morneau homer on the plaza yesterday!!!Unless it lands in my lap I'm not jumping in there! LOL!

Speaking of foul balls I got a ton of foul balls from the old met stadium days in the late 60's. Best place to get them was down the left field or 3rd base side in between the 3rd base and left field bleacher areas where there was that large grassy hill area. Now what did I do will all those?

TwinkFan ---

eBay. I bet there are collectors who collect by era and/or commissioner signature. Could be wrong but worth a try. I had a friend who worked at the old Met and have a couple balls right out of the storage room. Calvin's ghost is now approaching.

Thanks Ben, I think we just used all those foul balls as pickup games! They are long gone. P.S. You can go to mlb.com and click on scoreboard then go to wed scores and catch the morneau homer and scrum action. Great web site to catch all the highlights from every game!

Ah, the old verb tense trap!

I had one of Killer's cracked bats back in the 60's. He would bring them home and give them away to neighborhood kids. Every kid for a three - four block radius had at lease one Killer bat. I tried to resurrect it with a wood screw - to no avail.

That Killer bat I bet weighed a few pounds!!! LOL!

James,
I agree. The fact that there isn't a good way to get upstairs/downstairs behind home plate creates some problems. Even if you have season tickets right behind home plate in the upper deck, and park in the North Loop, you still have to travel quite a ways to exit the stadium. Small problem, of course, but it has caused us to watch the 9th inning of most games from the lower level standing room to ensure a quicker exit.

There is an elevator bank behind home plate (slightly towards the 1B side) that will take you to any level of the ballpark. Also, directly adjacent to the elevators are stairwells that you can use to navigate the levels quickly. I do think the Twins could greatly improve their wayfinding signage to make this more obvious for people. You do have to look quite closely to see what you are looking for...

I'll be at the yard tonite. Definitely ordering up some Michelbob's ribs in CF...

Max, I've taken those steps before and you can get down real fast if those escalators are jammed and backed up. Those ribs sound tasty. What do they want for those and how many bones in em?

The elevators are pretty much an untapped resource as well, or were.

The ribs are $8.50 and include fries. I think one of the best values in the park for concessions. I would estimate it at about a 1/3 rack. They used to sell them (along with the BBQ sauces by the bottle) at Byerly's and Lunds. Not sure if they still do or not.

Long lines for those ribs?

Going tonight! Second game as fan. Not recalling what section/seat but its terrace view toward home plate. My inlaws season tickets and going for B-day.

Forgot to add. Will enter from first ave. Best sights in Baseball/Urban down-towns. I will never get tired of TF. I wonder what it will be like when I'm 89. that is how old my Grandpa was in 1989 at his last baseball game(ever) at Wrigley. Died in November that year. He was only 9 years old when Wrigley opened and he said he remembered when it was built and so many things still looked the same to him.

My math is awe full. And to ruin such a sentimental story. He would have been 14 at the opening.

Last game we got there early enough to check out the Town Ball Tavern and got one of the little bar stool tables. I had the Murray's sandwich and DW a juicy lucy. Also an order of garlic fries. Food arrived hot, well prepared, and nicely presented. I was impressed and I'm as big a skeptic when it comes to ballpark food as anyone. Very tasty, even surprisingly so. The tax was a bit heavy (not used to eating DT) but overall highly recommended.

So far:

TBT --- A
Italian beef sandwich --- C
Cheesburger basket --- B+
Anything Kramarczuk's --- A+
Cheese curds --- F-
Dogs (you pick) --- C
Oliva sandwich --- C+
Vincent burger --- B-

I'm sorely tempted by the ribs but am personally unable to eat ribs without making a real mess of myself. Loon chili on the list.

j2eepgmr ---

Hardly ruined - everyone loves a good Granpa story, good math or not.

What is the Oliva sandwich?

He's referring to Tony O's Cuban Sandwich.

It's one of my favorite items at the ballpark. /yum/

Cuban Sandwich.

Someone please tell me why Delmon is batting 8th tonight. And if Mauer doesn't improve soon we will need to consider dropping him in the order, i.e. 7th.

K

My view

holy crap! That's what the alarm was for!

Maybe we could sign him and he could get a clutch hit! This team is so inconsistent.

Delmonte for MVP!

Target Field is number 1!! I guess ESPN isn't all that bad. Click my name.

The Twins and Wild are #1 and #3 respectively. Thats pretty cool to have two of the top three in our backyard! Considering what we had before.

Rauch is a bum!!!

Herman Munster can't get it done again! FCOL!

How bout a walkoff for Thome?

Let the replay banter begin!

That's unreal. I can't believe that 3rd base ump bought that load of bull from Shoppach. That's a play you either gotta be in position to call definitively, or else you gotta give the fielder the benefit of the doubt. Shoppach was out by 15 ft!

There closer is worthless, how many games is he gonna cost us before they figure that out. 4 Blown saves in 21 chances, thats 20% of his chances. This team is going nowhere unless they get two starters and a closer and thats not gonna happen.

Another foul ball drills a fan...

LOOK AT THAT ANGLE! That jackass ump it looking [i[]right at[/i] the tag. HOW does he call him safe?!
Oh well, it didn't end up affecting the game anyhow.

Speaking of the tag...wtf. I'm blaming it on my anger at Rauch.

Does anyone really care?? It affected nothing...

Twins lose with what TLJ says...

Wow, takes a woman to shut up two former MLBers, nicely done Gelner...

Twins lose with what I say? What?

And why does everyone think that my name is "The Lonious Joe"

If it were, I would've put spaces in there. TheloniousJoe. Thelonious. As in Thelonious Monk. Not that anyone cares, and I don't blame you. And you don't have to care about the blown call at 3rd in the 10th either. But if Shoppach had scored and the Twins were only able to muster one run in the 10th - well, that call is all anyone would be talking about right now. Like the blown call that ended the game in the 10th in Seattle about a month ago. I'm still with Rick on replay. 5th ump in booth. Little red light on top of booth. 5th ump has right to overrule a call if need be. Managers argue calls in the same way they do now. Gardy comes out to argue that play in the 10th, replay ump looks at it. Sees Cuddyer's glove OBVIOUSLY touch Shoppach's shirt. Shoppach is out. 1 out, 1 runner on. Call got right.

And crew chief has the right to overrule a replay appeal from a manager, the same way they overrule appeals to the third or first base umps on check swings. Keeps the whole umpire/manager "manage the umpires" element in play for all those purists out there.

Virtual Waiting Room, WHAT???

Currently in one waiting to look at tickets...

I have not seen this since early on...is there really that many people online right now looking for Twins tickets???

And theloniousjoe, it was the easies way to Abbreviate your name...you knew exactly who I was talking about.

Oh God! I just checked the wild card standings and we're not even to the All-Star break! Is that bad? Is that bad? That's bad isn't it!

Anyone notice that Minnie's head wasn't lit up tonight, and why did a section of the lights in the canopy go out at the beginning of the 11th inning?

Oh, for Christ's sake. Is the whining going to start again after one loss? Look, Rauch has been good for them this year. He blew a game. It happens. Get over it.

And to the person who pointed out he's blown four saves in 21 opportunities, it's also worth noting that he stuck around for another inning in two of those games to get the win. So only two of those blown saves were losses for the team. Again, get over it.

Thanks for the level head, Buffalo.

Then again, maybe a little panic here and there helps to "cull the hedr," so to speak. We're well rid of one obnoxious, little pissant already because he's given up on the Twins before they're out of June.

I'd say Punto's error in the fifth hurt us the most. It's a game we should have had either way.

Gardy might think about perhaps going to closer by committie down the road if Herman Munster continues to blow up. I mean he mows down the first 2 guys then implodes. Kinda the opposite of huff and puff n stuff Nathan. Nathan would walk or allow a couple hits and hang on for dear life and somehow wiggle out a safe! Heartbreaker fer sure last night. No way we sweep the next 3 from these guys. I will settele for 2 out of 3 though. Looking forward to tonights game and the fireworks after!

Hebrew,
Those lights behind home are not supposed to be on during the game. They were turned on in the 9th so they could be bright when people exited the ballpark. When the game went into extras the lights got too bright and they had to turn them off.

The kid on the ledge would argue that Cudy's tag on Shoppach was the perfect display of "Minnesota Nice".

Happy 4th y'all!

Interesting story on the old Met Stadium home plate...

TwinkFan, Rauch has blown four saves all year and has a 2.61 era. Of those four blown saves, he stuck around to pitch for another inning and got the win for the team. I'm tired of fans like you jumping the gun and saying he's been "exposed" or that he "implodes" regularly.

Is he the best closer in the majors? Of course not. But the way people like you react you would think he's cost this team losses in the double-digits to this point when in fact it's been two damn losses.

Sorry, I'm still asleep. I forgot to put "two" in that line about the games he's stuck around in, but I think my point came across.

Very poetic post Rick!

The thing that worries me about Rauch is that (at least on TV) it looks like his fastball is dead straight, no movement at all. And since he isn't "overpowering" with it, major league hitters will get hits off him.

He's got good command, I just wish he would use his breaking stuff more.

Or, learn the secret to Rivera's cut fastball. ;-)

Last night was a great game. It went back and forth and the Twins certainly had plenty of opportunities to win. The blown call by Alphonso Marquez at 3rd base was poor but thankfully it didn't help the Rays add any more runs so it ultimately didn't affect the game's outcome. You knew Gardy had to get "run" out there and I'd have loved to be a fly on the dirt as he walked back to the dugout with HP Umpire/Crew Chief/St. Paul's Cretin alum Tim Tschida whom Gardy is buddies with (whom does most of the Twins spring training games in Fort Myers and had a pretty atrocious strikezone last night).

What an absolutely gorgeous night at the ballpark. Man it was jammed to the gills. The Twins sure are selling a lot of SROs. I'm glad to see they've added quite a few standing rails behind most of the sections. Great addition if you are going to sell 1000-1200 SRO tix. As I was sitting in the Overlook last night looking at the huge packed crowd with nary an empty seat my mind wandered to how electric this place is going to be in the playoffs. The luxury of being a fan and looking ahead.

Twinkfan: There really isn't a line at the State Fair Stand in CF for the Michelbobs ribs. You just pay and then wait for them to be made/cut. They usually quote you 10 minutes and it is done in 4-5 mins.

That 85 mph fastball Herman gave to Longoria on a 2-2 pitch was belt high right down the middle of the plate. A very poor pitch selection there! FCOL!

" --- my mind wandered to how electric this place is going to be in the playoffs."

Let's all hope it is very electric --- and for more than two games!

Looking at prices on StubHub, it sure is tempting to part with my tickets for tonight's game. If I hadn't promised my daughter fireworks and ribs, I probably would have to sell.

It was a great night for a game. I got scalped tickets, right behind Home plate (as you saw) in sec 315, $24 face for $35 is not bad. Also right next to where we are sitting for BPM night! I agree people shouldn't jump the gun of Rauch! Everyone messes up, here and there!

Sort of regarding Rauch...Paul Allen had him on the radio this morning for an extended interview. P.A. is such a terrible commentator they spent about ten minutes with him fawning over his tattoos and about two minutes actually talking baseball. To top it off, P.A. doesn't know anything about baseball besides. I get sick of Queens talk, but I'm not sure bad Twins talk is a good replacement.

Was listening to Reusse on am1500 over lunch talking to Gardy. He said Tschida had a terrible time with the strike zone last night. And that the guy on 3rd fell for the tampa guy faking that he never was tagged. Gardy also bubbling over Anthony Slama who made the AAA all star team and who we shall see up here pretty pretty soon me thinks! Slama has a 1.39 era 15 saves 45.1 innings pitched 51 K's , 19 hits, 21 walks! Sounds like he can bring the heat!!!!

Slama needed to be up here last year. He's not getting any younger. I wonder who they'd take off the 40 man to add him? I have a few ideas, but I'm guessing they won't happen...

How bout Mr Harris for starters! Tough matchup tonight with Price 11-3 vs Moonshot Scott. Hell of a breeze blowing out there makes me very nervous!!! Keep em in the yard tonight moonshot! Please!!!! Looks like it might be blowing in from right field. Left field looks to be the launching pad tonight!

In from right and out to left seems to be the deal due to the wind tunnel effect created by the DT buildings & the 6th street "channel."

Was there just another bad call by that umpire? Any video.

Valencia does it again!

Sorry, Rick...no fireworks photos. They were OK. Certainly not Aquatennial caliber, but you know...for the first show in forever, they were entirely enjoyable.

The highlight of the fireworks was finally getting to see the park without the overhead lights on. Very cool.

I wish they scheduled fireworks after every game. SO nice to have an open escalator out and to be sitting in my car five minutes after the last out. Keep them coming!

They're going to have to do something with Target Center during night games. It's a huge, unlit building that looks abandoned from the 3rd base stands. Light the neon that's already there or throw some spotlights on it so it still looks like a going concern.

You want them, I got them (well 2 for now, anticipation for the rest).

One

Two

[IMG]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m317/Iwazzabadboy/2010_0702TargetFieldFireworks0005.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m317/Iwazzabadboy/2010_0702TargetFieldFireworks0048.jpg[/IMG]

What a great night to be at the ballpark last night. We sat in the RF bleachers and had a blast.

What do you think? Too windy for sky divers today?

THANK YOU Dr. X.
I've been saying that for months!
During night games on the telly, it looks like TF is the only thing in downtown Minneapolis.
I don't even care, throw a big Walmart ad up there (there's an antitrust lawsuit for ya).
They have to do something!