Links of the Day for 5/22/06

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• First things first: the Twins new ballpark is finally a reality. Whether today’s pre-dawn vote in the State Senate will become a major issue in this fall’s elections remains to be seen (and Intern Sam would like to be the first to predict that it won’t, particularly given the way the Senate vote count reads,) but the Twins will have a new park in the Warehouse District in time for Opening Day 2010. The organization is predictably ecstatic, and in the early innings of today’s game in Milwaukee, you would hardly have known that the debut of a much-heralded Twins prospect was underway, what with all the ballpark talk.



• While appearing on the Sunday afternoon Twins TV broadcast, Jerry Bell mentioned that all the drawings and sketches displayed of the new ballpark are merely preliminary, and that the actual look and specific design elements of the park are yet to be finished. So what will the park look like? Well, you can see a sampling of other sports facilities designed by HOK architects right here.



• No link here, but just a thought: what with the large amount of public financing being poured into the ballpark, does anyone else think it wouldn’t be out of line for Twins fans to mount a campaign to pressure the team to name the place Puckett Park rather than selling naming rights? Sounds like a job for the Blog Army – who wants to start?



• Two Twins rookie pitchers took their first major league swings this weekend, in Milwaukee, and the results were more than anyone could have hoped for. Francisco Liriano blooped an RBI single in his first AB on Friday, and Boof Bonser (whose birth name, it turns out, was John) singled and scored a run in his first plate appearance Sunday afternoon.



• Nearly lost in all the weekend excitement was the ominous news that Shannon Stewart’s foot injury has flared up again, and he is likely to be placed on the DL. Of course, this shouldn’t be a big deal, since the Twins have the hot-hitting Luis Castillo on the roster, and if he isn’t a prototypical leadoff man, who is? But of course, that would require Ron Gardenhire to begin batting Castillo in the leadoff spot, a concept to which Gardy seems positively allergic.



• Twins fans know we can always count on BatGirl for the really exclusive inside scoops, and this week was no exception, as Anne somehow came up with the closely guarded surveillance photos of Kyle Lohse’s reaction to being demoted to the minors.



• Jason Williams likes what he sees from the youth movement on the mound, and says that the Twins should continue to make moves to see what they have stockpiled for the future, even if it means abandoning any hope of reaching the playoffs this year. Gordon Wittenmeyer couldn’t disagree more, and says the team can’t afford to rush its future core players to the majors, even if the alternative is the unpleasant reality of watching Tony Batista flail away like a possessed lumberjack for an entire season.



• Friday night’s Cards-Royals game in Kansas City was interrupted by a streaker. Nothing terribly unusual there, of course, except for one thing: the interloper was apparently taken down immediately by… well, who would you think? Security? Nah. Bullpen pitchers? Uh-uh. Royals’ batboy? Now you’re talking…



• And while we’re on the subject of the boys in baby blue, Doug Mientkiewicz’s infant son is apparently named Steel. We kid you not. Apparently, Child Protective Services aren’t what they should be down Kansas City way. Asked what he could possibly have been thinking, Dougie Baseball shrugged and mumbled something about the world being rough, and his son needing to “get tough or die.” There is apparently no truth to the rumor that A.J. Pierzynski is planning to name his firstborn Zinc in solidarity with his former teammate.



• Speaking of everyone’s favorite instigator, you must have seen the video by now, right? No? What exactly have you been doing all weekend? Okay, well, here it is. Barrett and Pierzynski both played in Sunday’s game, and reports suggest that Pierzynski will likely not face suspension, Barrett definitely will, and several other players will almost certainly serve at least a game or two.