Author: David Shama

The stats are eye-catching.  With about one-third of the schedule remaining, the Twins are often a different hitting ball club at their new home, Target Field, than on the road.

The Twins have the highest team batting average in major league baseball at .283.  At Target Field the team is hitting .292 while on the road the average is .275, according to https://espn.go.com/mlb/team/stats/batting/_/name/min/minnesota-twins.  But in their new home park the Twins have hit just 28 home runs in 50 games while on the road they have homered 63 times in 52 games.

Enough baseball has been played in different weather conditions at Target Field to know this is a pitcher’s ballpark.  Balls that initially seem destined to fly over the fence more often end up as long outs.  With the Twins so-so starting pitcher this seems more of an overall advantage to the team than having a home run happy ballpark.

But it has left Twins batters with some frustrations.  Joe Mauer has been the poster boy for drives hit to the power alley in left field that don’t quite make it into the seats.  He has six home runs this season, all on the road.

No Twins batter has more home runs at home than on the road.  Jim Thome has hit six at Target Field, six on the road.  Everyone else has hit fewer at home including Justin Morneau who has a team leading 18 home runs, with 14 on the road.

Twins president Dave St. Peter was asked by Sports Headliners if the club will consider changing outfield dimensions for next year.  “We haven’t even gone there yet,” he said.  “That’s not something that’s right now on our radar.  We’re more focused on different elements that will impact fan experience. …

“But we’ll review a number of issues over the course of the last couple months of the season and into the offseason with hopes of making Target Field better.  And certainly some of those issues will be playability issues.  I can’t speak to whether dimensions will even be part of that discussion.”

The Twins, home and away, have mostly been wearing their navy blue uniform tops during recent weeks.  That’s a departure from how the team dressed earlier in the season.

Who makes the uniform choice before each game?  “It is the starting pitcher,” St. Peter said.

Why the blue tops?  “…I think that blue jersey has a bit more venting, and it might be made out of a little different material,” St. Peter said.  “So when you’re playing in extreme heat I think often the team likes to play in that navy top.”

The Vikings open practice tomorrow in Mankato and last year more than 50,000 fans watched workouts there.  All practices are free and open to the public.  Visit www.vikings.com for the most up-to-date schedules.

This is the 45^th consecutive year the Vikings are in Mankato for training camp.  Among NFL teams only the Packers have been in the same training camp location longer (53 years), at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.

ESPN’s Rece Davis will emcee the 39th Annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon on Tuesday at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

Tim Brewster, while vacationing in Naples, Florida, spent time with his friend and former Kansas football coach Mark Mangino who hopes to coach again.

Brewster is disappointed about the Texas-Gophers series being cancelled but said another marquee opponent is being sought to fill the dates left open in 2015 and 2016.  A conflict between Texas and the Big Ten Network regarding game and post-game video led to the cancellation.

In this week’s Fischler Report former Wild general manager Doug Risebrough describes the Rangers’ Derek Boogaard as “arguably the second most popular player the Wild ever had.”  Presumably he means Marian Gaborik is the most popular.

With the support of the Native American Law Enforcement Summit and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Minnesota Swarm is hoping to bring lacrosse back to tribal communities and help preserve the sport’s heritage.  An inaugural lacrosse camp involving the Swarm is being held this week at the Fond du Lac Reservation in northeastern Minnesota.  “With 23 percent of our league (players) being Native American and lacrosse originating from the Natives, it was important to make sure that the Native community was playing lacrosse in Minnesota,” said Andy Arlotta, Swarm co-owner.

This needs to be the last year Brett Favre holds the Purple Nation captive.

(Maybe).

The Vikings open training camp on Thursday and after almost seven months the world still awaits word as to whether No. 4 will play a second season here.  Yes, it’s understandable that the 40-year-old quarterback needs time during the off-season to make a decision about whether to continue his career or retire.  But how long does it take to count all your fingers and toes to see if any are missing?

A decision in late July or even in August like last year?  Year after year?

Let Favre join the team just before kickoff for the regular season opener this September if he can immediately play at the high level of 2009, a season that was among his best ever.  But after 2010 no more of this high drama stuff.

Unless (wiggle, wiggle) the Vikings go to the Super Bowl.  (Where of course, they will lose a fifth Super Bowl.  Why?  Because the Vikings don’t win Super Bowls.  Look it up).

Without a Super Bowl appearance to warm their souls, the Vikings can’t afford to spend another cold winter wondering whether Favre will play a third season for them.  The offseason is a time for figuring out how to improve the team for both the near future and further out.  Whether it’s through trade, free agency or the college draft the Vikings need a QB plan to take them beyond the 2011 season.

Favre might deserve a commitment by the Vikings for 2011 but he needs to speak up and say he’s committed soon after this coming season ends.  The only way he should be allowed to play the drama game is if he punches the Vikings’ ticket to the Super Bowl.

And if he pulls that one off (God, what if they even won the game!), we can all welcome him back in September of 2011.  Just before kickoff.