We considered a running diary of our quick trip to the Grapefruit League last week, but you can only have so many entries like:
6:15 a.m.: Waiting at gate for plane
6:45 a.m.: Waiting at gate for plane
7:15 a.m.: Waiting at gate for plane
So, we'll save that one for the MSP Spring Training 2010 deleted scenes.
Instead, we'd like to take a look at a couple things we were able to capture with the Flip during our time at Hammond Stadium. First up is new acquisition J.J. Hardy taking some BP (filmed by Jeff Lewandowski). The Twins lineup looks to be very solid this season, especially if Hardy can get back to something resembling his old form. A shortstop that hits .283/.343/.478, good for a 115 OPS+, with 24 homers (like Hardy did in '08) is quite a weapon to have batting lower in the order. .229/.302/.357, 76 OPS+, with 11 homers (Hardy in '09)? Not so much. Hardy has looked good this spring (disclaimer: spring training stats mean nothing) and is just entering his age-27 season, so it is reasonable for Twins fans to hope for at least league-average production. Not bad for a shortstop who fields the position well.
Next up is something we teased a couple weeks back and shows just how innovative the Twins organization is at all levels: Bucket of Bees.
For some context, Hammond Stadium has a couple of those great fresh lemonade stands on the concourse. The only problem is that lemons + sugar + spills = bees. The bucket was ostensibly a tip jar, but not too many people were dropping in quarters on this day. To quote the vendor, "oh, you mean the bees, bucket of bees, you can take that with you, no charge."
However, when we returned to Hammond last week, the Twins had changed their lemonade process. They now make the lemonade under a staircase in a cool, dark corner and transport the pre-made beverages up to the booths. This seems to have cut down on the bees significantly. Just another example of a team improving by combining data (their bee stings/150 must have been through the roof) and traditional observation techniques.
Ahead of Opening Day, we're hoping to have a bunch of baseball posts this week, including more spring training video and pictures. Should help those of us in Boston get ready for the season despite what looks like another round of basement flooding.
