Minnesota Twins

Springtime is a phenomenal time to be a sports fan.

It starts with March Madness, which was better than ever this year. Baseball season kicks off. The NBA and NHL playoffs get started. Even football is in the fold, with the NFL Draft taking place at the end of April. What's not to love about spring sports?

However, it's not all sunshine and lollipops this spring in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

This kind of scenario happens all the time.

Go back to 1997 for a minute. The Minnesota Twins dealt All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch to the New York Yankees for Christian Guzman, Eric Milton, Danny Mota, and Brian Buchanan.

Eric Milton, who was an All-Star and pitched a no-hitter for the Twins, was traded to Philadelphia for Carlos Gomez and Nick Punto.

Brian Buchanan was traded to the San Diego Padres for Jason Bartlett, who was then sent to Tampa Bay for Delmon Young and Brendan Harris.

Recently, Orlando Hudson of the Minnesota Twins has leveled the claim that Jermaine Dye and Gary Sheffield are not playing for a major league team in 2010 because the owners are racists. I can't get into the heads of each owner to know if Hudson is right or wrong. However, I have found 5 reasons why he might be wrong.

These rankings are based on a 300 point system— 150 for offensive production and 150 for pitching production. 30 points (1 point for each team) is the most points any team can get in a given category.

Summary of April 5 through April 12:

Overall Record: 6-2, First Place in the AL Central

Weekly Record: 6-2

Team Batting Stats: .259 BA, 11 HR, 12 2B, 1 3B, 71 hits, 37 runs, 36 RBI

Team Pitching Stats: 3.54 ERA, 4.35 starter ERA, 1.66 bullpen ERA, 5/5 saves, 40 K, 23 ER

Headlines

After years of hoping and waiting and anticipation, the Minnesota Twins finally have their new ballpark-Target Field. The Twins, who played under the roof of The Metrodome for 27 years, now have a beautiful open-air ballpark for their fans and for the team itself.

The Twins kicked off the franchise's new era in a nationally televised 5-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Baseball fans across the country got to see all that makes Target Field a unique, attractive place to watch a ballgame and a place Twins fans can call their own.

The debut of Target Field could not have gone much better for the Minnesota Twins.

Joe Mauer christened the field with a three hit game that was matched and surpassed by Jason Kubel who, also with three hits, claimed Target Field's first regular season home run.

After defeating the Boston Red Sox 5-2 in the Regular Season debut of Target Field, there are a few surprises with the 2010 version of the Minnesota Twins.

Tops among them: Tied for the American League lead in home runs.

First of all, if you didn't see, I posted my No. 3 Twins prospect for the 2010 season.

Now, on to the post...

The Twins (officially) open Target Field at 3:05 pm today against the Boston Red Sox. Carl Pavano will take the mound against southpaw Jon Lester.

Both pitchers have struggled against the opposition in the past, but it will be interesting to see what kind of momentum Pavano has in his first (real) start at Target Field.

2010 Top 50 Twins Prospects | No. 3 | Miguel Sano

One of the most hyped prospects in recent memory, Delmon Young has yet to fulfill his lofty expectations.

From a bat-tossing incident which lead to a 50-game minor league suspension in 2006, to criticizing the Rays’ upper management and refusing to take coach’s instructions, Young’s character has always been in question.