Thursday Notes

Yesterday, I made my first voyage to Target Field, taking in the Twins' 6-3 loss to the Red Sox. The rainy and windy conditions were not ideally suited for baseball, but I was of course dazzled by the ballpark and all of its various nuances. I look forward to further exploring it this summer. I don't have much time to write tonight, so here are a few links and notes:

* You can read my recap of yesterday's game on Twinkie Town here.

* Last night, I participated in a podcast with Fanatic Jack. Jack, who I met at the TwinsCentric gathering last weekend and is a really good guy, has a voice and persona seemingly tailor-made for talk radio, so it's always fun to go on his show and try to calm him down a little bit.

* Speaking of TwinsCentric, the next viewing party was announced yesterday. It will take place on Saturday, May 15 during the Twins' noon game against the Yankees, at the Majors in Bloomington. Yes, Bloomington. Despite the strong turnout and quality reviews for our past viewing parties, one recurring complaint was the distance of the venues (Apple Valley and Blaine). At least half of those complaints came from Aaron Gleeman. Well, Aaron, you can rest easy, as our next event will have a much more metro-friendly location. As in the past, food and drink specials will be made available to our guests and prizes will be given out. Hope to see you all there.

* Today's tilt looms large in this young season. Francisco Liriano, who tantalized us with his dominant work in the Dominican League and in spring training, will make his home debut after producing mixed results in his first start against the White Sox. If Liriano can dismantle a good offense in front of the home crowd, it could do wonders for his confidence. And a healthy, confident Francisco Liriano could do wonders for the Twins.