Twins Sisters

I feel a headache coming on.  I'm starting to feel a little sick to my stomach.  Am I coming down with the flu? It is prime cold and flu season, after all.  Nope! 

We were all pretty sure that a trade would happen soon, even us nutty, overly optimistic types.  You know, the ones who were sure that the Johan and his agent would sit down with Bill Smith over beer and pizza and work out a deal suitable to everyone. 



Alas, it's not to be.  Johan's going to the Mets.  The trade has not been finalized.  We don't know how much the Mets will pay him.  We don't know for sure what players the Twins will get.  We don't know what other offers were on the table.  We don't know what the Twins' final offer was to Johan. In short, we know squat at the moment.  Most of the things we do know are not in the Twins favor.  He won't be our Opening Day starter.  We won't get to see Johan and Francisco in the rotation back to back.  

Well, he won't be going to the Yankees.  There's a small amount of solace in that, I guess.

It does seem like the players the Twins get in the trade will be mostly prospects.  That's disappointing. 

I am not ready to concede the 2008 season.

I will not call for Bill Smith's head on a platter.  He knows more about this than we ever will, probably. 

Still.

I feel a little bit like crying.

Or maybe throwing up.

Excuse me, I have to go.

--Tricia--

What a great day! Tricia, the Twins Kid and I went to Twins Fest. I was a bit tired this morning because I went to a bridal shower last night that lasted way late.  When my alarm went off at 8:00, I was not a happy camper.

Tricia and TK (Twins Kid) arrived at my apartment at 10:00. Normally I would meet them downtown but  since I live just a few miles from the Metrodome they came here and then we took the bus and the light rail to the Dome. It worked really well!

I was waiting in line to buy my ticket when Tricia said, "Some guy just gave me two tickets!" Cool! She bought a ticket for TK and inside we went.

There was so much to look at! The whole field was full of games, food and stuff to buy. The AM station that plays the Twins games was interviewing Justin, Cuddy and Joey. As Justin was leaving we noticed that he stopped to sign a few autographs. Huh. So when Cuddy was talking TK moved down into the front row to try and snag an autograph. I went down with him and guess what!!!  TK got Cuddy to sign his baseball!  As he was approaching I told TK to take the top off his Sharpie because he would just be signing for a minute so that we needed to be ready!  Cuddy took the ball and signed his name so you could actually read it!  I said, "Thank you" and as he was walking away he said, "You're welcome." TK was stoked to get the autograph and I was just thrilled to be face to face, though it was just for a few seconds. I can't speak for TK or Tricia, but that was the highlight of my day.  Obviously I don't know him, but he seems like a nice person.  He is just as cute in person up close as he is on TV. 

Other highlights include:

**We saw Delmon Young and Boof! signing autographs. 
**Tricia and TK got their picture taken with Craig Monroe. 
**TK, Tricia and I all had a picture taken with Glen Perkins.
**We saw the model of the new ballpark and it is going to be awesome!!!

That Metrodome turf is weird. I can see why the players don't like it that much.  It is hard and doesn't feel at all like real grass. That really has to hurt to wipe out on that! 

I couldn't have asked for a better time. I'm so jazzed about baseball again! I had a short period of time this winter after Barty left where I felt rather ambivalent about baseball in general and the Twins in particular.

Everything is going to be A-OK!

**Becca**

I must agree with Becca.  It was indeed a blogworthy day.  (Is that really a word?  Hmmm...it is now.)  It was a fantastic feeling, getting to go to the Dome in January for baseball stuff.  We had a good time listening to the radio interviews with Justin, Cuddy and Joe.   I love listening to Cuddy talk, because I'm a sucker for southern accents.  He really seems like a great guy.  I think getting his autograph on the baseball was the highlight of the day, and he took the time to sign it neatly.  His name is legible, not just a big old scrawl.  

Joe is really the very definition of a chick magnet.  He came up on stage to talk to the radio guys and like magic there were dozens of girls standing around.     

Even though 80 million dollars is a totally unfathomable amount of money, I don't begrudge Justin his enormous payday.  Maybe because he's far from the only overpaid athlete out there.  More likely because he's my baseball boyfriend.    

I think I'm a fan of Craig Monroe's now.  He asked Twins Kid his name, he asked how we were doing, and it was a sincere question.  He looked like he was glad to be there getting his picture taken.  He was very charming, I thought.  Plus, k-bro, he helps the HGI go up nicely.  :-) Yes, I'm just a wee bit shallow. 


I'm even more excited for the season to start now than I was before.  I'm so glad we have Twins Fest to go to in the middle of the interminable offseason.     

--Tricia--




 

It is a happy day for me, and countless others throughout Twins Territory! 

Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer have agreed to long term contracts with the team. That makes me so very happy!  I just couldn't bear the thought of the 2006 and 2007 team being picked apart any further. Justin has agreed to a 6 year contract and Cuddy, a 3 year contract, with an option for 2011.  This is the most optimistic I've felt since Torii left to go play for the Angels.

    Hope to see Justin hit like this lots and lots over the next 6 years.

More great news is that single tickets for the 2008 season went on sale today. The first thing I did when I got home from work was log onto twinsbaseball.com and buy tickets for Monday, June 2nd when the Evil Empire dorks invade the Metrodome with their giant egos.  I understand that this game is 4+ months away, but it is something to look forward to and just the opportunity to buy tickets makes the baseball season feel not so far away.

I have a #5 shirt at home...I look forward to wearing it for the next 3 years....at least!!!!

Lastly, I'd like to give a big shout out to k-bro and Jen for alerting me that FSN plays Twins games during the off season. How that passed me by I will never know. 

**Becca**

I was just thinking about how fast kids grow up.  Twins Kid is going to be 10 years old, a double digit midget in just a few months. 

I remember once when he was 2 1/2, and my husband took him out of his crib one morning and brought him to me while I was still in bed.  He was wearing his Superman jammies and was still half asleep.  His yellow hair was all mussed up, and he said in his sweet baby boy voice, "Good morning, Mama." 

After he learned how to climb out of his crib, we got him a toddler bed.  It was quite a novelty for him to get out of bed whenever he felt like it.  One night after we put him to bed, we started watching a movie in the living room, and he came in there to see what was going on.  We told him to go back to bed.  He balled up his little fists, scrunched up his face and said, in the growliest voice he could muster,"NO!!"

The summer Twins Kid was four, we all lived in a townhouse with Becca.  We had neighbors upstairs we really liked, and one day he went up there with Becca and said, "Sandy, can I have some fruit snacks?"  No hello, nothing.  Becca was embarrassed, but Sandy didn't care.  She said she bought the fruit snacks for him. 

And now he's a cool big kid instead of my sweet little yellow-haired kidlet.  It feels like he should still be about six, not nearly 10.  He's less than a head shorter than I am.  Before I know it, he'll be taller than me. No matter how big he gets, I'll always remember him in those Superman jammies saying, "Good morning, Mama."

--Tricia-- 

At long last I'm happy to report the resigning of two Twins players. Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel both signed 1 year deals with the Twins today, thus avoiding arbitration.  I've been so bummed watching players I've loved so much for the last two years leave via trade (Barty and Matty), free agency (Torii) or just plain being let go (Jason Tyner).  As much as I'm going to miss J.T.'s cute face I can really understand why they choose to keep Kubel.  He is a turning into a great hitter and good left fielder. 



So now we need to find a way to sign Cuddy to a multi year contact and I may just get over them letting Torii leave via free agency.

Have a good weekend and stay warm!!!

**Becca**

Greetings to all my friends in Twins Territory!

So here we are! It is the middle of January and it is freaking cold outside. I hear that the highs over the next few days are going to be in the single digits.  It may be cold outside, but next weekend it is going to be warm and toasty in the Metrodome because it will be time for Twins Fest! Woo hoo!

Believe it or not, Tricia and I have never been to Twins Fest. Last year I was in Texas visting my grandparents and the year before that I think I was not feeling well. This year I'm going!  Even though some of my players have left the team I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm going to use this event to get to know more about the new guys and to let the lingering annoyance I've had over all the recent departures go.

I'm wondering what to expect. If you have been to Twins Fest, please post a comment and me know what your experience was.

**Becca**

The beginning of January.....no baseball.....but less than 3 months to go till the first pitch and Twins Fest is the end of this month and shortly after that we have spring training.

I had a decent weekend. I spent some time with my parents at the Mall of America on Saturday and then I had dinner with them. It was fun because I haven't spent a lot of time with them lately.

Today I planned to take down my Christmas tree, do laundry and clean my bathroom. Wanna guess what I accomplished? None of it!  Oh well. I spent my afternoon watching Sex and the City on DVD and looking at old pictures, cards and letters--I save just about every card I ever get. I came across some cards that Tricia sent me when she was still living in Iowa and some letters that I had saved from my Grandpa that he sent me back in the mid 1990's. I'm so thankful that I saved all those. I will treasure them for as long as I live. I also came across some pictures of the Twins Kid when he was a newborn, toddler and preschooler. In some of his preschool pictures he was wearing a Twins shirt.  He has gone from being an adorable little boy to being a cute big kid.  He would probably cringe by being called "cute" but he is! 

The pictures that made me laugh were the ones of me and my friends from the 1990's.  I've had a myriad of hairstyles over the years. Some were cute and some that made we wonder what the heck I was thinking. I'm guessing that is true with just about any of us.  

Even though they seem like junk and clutter now, hang on to that stuff. It is a great way to remember good times and the people you love.

**Becca**

Let's hope Justin finds his 2006 form in 2008. 





 

We at Twins Sisters want to wish everyone a Happy Near Year!  We hope that you had a good night with your friends and/or family.

I had a great night. I went over to my younger sister Andrea's house with one of my cousins, his fiance and one his friends.  It was us, one of my sister's roommates and about 6 of her friends. I admit that I did feel a little uneasy at first. Everyone else was in their 20's and I wondered if we would all have fun together. Turns out my worry was for nothing. We talked, me laughed and we listened to music. I was in the kitchen with my cousin making waffles right before midnight when I heard sports talk in the living room. Turns out one of Andrea's guests is as much a Twins fan as me and Tricia!!  I ditched waffle making and talked Twins baseball with her! She loves the Twins overall and Joe Nathan in particular. She told me that she spent the whole week of the winter meetings constantly checking Sports Illustrated website, just dreading the thought of Johan being traded. I told her I did the exact same thing, only I was checking the Twins website. She hates the idea of Johan being traded because we both know that if he leaves that likelihood Joe Nathan leaving increases.  It is so off the hook to be at a party and find someone that is wacky over the Twins as I am! She even asked me if I knew who Bat Girl was.  I said, "Of course! She's awesome and her blog was cool."  She is also bummed about recent Twin departures yet hopeful for what 2008 may bring.

By this time it is after midnight and the place was just hopping. We were all talking loud and just having a great time.  If I had let my doubt about being the oldest person in the room stop me from going I would have missed out on one of the best times I've had in a really long time!

Have a great start to 2008 and don't forget to mark March 31 as a Very Important Day.  The start to a brand new Twins season.


Joe Nathan, in honor of my new fellow Twins fan!

**Becca**