I'm back! For real this time! Apparently I'm a total failure as a spring training blogger. I meant to write multiple posts, but I was busy with work, and then I got sick, and then I went on vacation earlier this week. Fortunately for those of you who are actual interested in reading my posts, the season starts tomorrow and so do my recaps. Nothing like the pressure of having nearly daily games to get me motivated.

Here's a few random notes from spring training:

• The Twins signed some scrub named Joe Mauer to a 184 million dollar contract. There were many floods on the east coast immediately following the announcement as Yankee and Red Sox fans wept for days.
• Joe Nathan broke himself. While I find this concerning, I'm not freaking out yet (I'm waiting until our first blown save before I head into full panic mode).
• The Twins decided to go with a closer by committee. Nope, scratch that. Jon Rauch is our closer (hey, a woman baseball team's management has the right to change her its mind). My guess is their sole criterion for picking him was appearance. Perhaps his size and neck tattoo will scare up a few outs here and there.
• Alexi Casilla was given the last open spot for a bench player over Matt Tolbert. I refuse to say he won the position; I don't think anyone who bats .135 in spring training can be considered a winner. I'm a-okay with losing Casilla on waivers (should someone actually be delusional enough to claim the Black Hole). Let's be honest though, who wouldn't prefer to see Jacque Jones on our bench instead? Even if it does mean losing a back-up infielder.
• Nick Punto is our starting 3rd baseman. I would say he won the job, but that would imply that there was ever any sort of contest. I never expected Gardy to pick anyone different, but it pissed me off that everyone perpetuated this myth that 3rd base was up for grabs. I think it's pretty common knowledge that I'm not a huge Punto fan, so I'm not going to say anything else on the subject, except that I hope Gardy finds a way to play Harris against lefties if nothing else.
• Clay Condrey, who generally sucked during spring training, was placed on the DL yesterday. Alex Burnett was called up to take his place in the bullpen. Don't know who Alex Burnett is? Join the club. All I really know is that he's from California, and based on the photo on the Twins website he looks an awful lot like Jose Mijares.

Now, onto Target Field. I went to my first outdoor Twins game yesterday. And I love, love, love, love, love Target Field. I reckon that a good percentage of that love comes solely from the fact that it's not the Metrodome. I love that it's our ballpark. And I love that you feel so close to the action. We looked at the field from many vantage points (including our seats on the 3rd level), and I think that pretty much every seat is going to be good, excepting the obstructed view seats. I love Target Plaza. I love the real grass. I love the scoreboard and the Minnie and Paul sign that lights up (so pretty!). The wind veil on the parking garage is amazing. I was amused by the eco-friendly toilets (flush up for liquid waste and down for solid waste), and my brother appreciated not having to pee in a trough. I also really liked how warm the bathrooms were.

So what didn't I like? Well, the hot dog I had (not sure what kind) was not exactly thrilling (farewell, delicious Dome Dog). And then there was the weather. I'm not the hardiest of Minnesotans. I am always cold (not sure why I live here, actually). I have a heated mattress pad, and I use it year-round, no joke. We had the misfortune of sitting in the shade the entire game. And while it was quite warm in the sun, it was also quite cold and windy in the shade. Hence the title of this post. See, it has a double meaning! Cool as in neat-o (I don't think anyone says that anymore, do they?) and cool as in cold. Now, it wasn't that bad, and I will certainly take cold weather over the Metrodome, but I'm definitely looking forward to summer games! Luckily for me, my sister made me a kick-ass Twins quilt for my birthday this year, and she gave it to me a little early so I could use it at the game.

Here's a picture of the whole quilt:

Here's a close-up of some of the fabric. You can't really see in the picture, but the light fabric actually sparkles, just like my personality (just kidding, at least about the personality part; my personality is as sparkly as rust):

And here's the part that says WhaBam:

It's okay to be jealous. I would be. Anyway, it should help me stay warm if I get stuck in the shade again. As for the actual game, it was awesome! I got to see the first Joe Mauer home run at Target Field and the first Twins win there. I don't care that it was an exhibition game.

That's all for now. I plan to post a little something on the Suck-Ass Performers of last year, and then I shall return tomorrow with the first game recap of 2010. Well, it might actually be really early Tuesday morning (my birthday!) given that it's a game on the west coast.