Faceoff

Welcome to the Phersy and Feldy show

PHERSY AND FELDY: OK Folks, so we're kicking off a new feature here at Faceoff. We're doing a podcast (OK, not really for your ipod, but it's an audio show featuring two of the ugliest guys you know). So, take a listen. This the very first episode of the Phersy and Feldy Show. For the most part, it's just going to be Feldy and Phersy kicking it freestyle on sports topics of the day/week.

Let us know what you think, what we can do better, what you want us to talk about for the next show ... whatever. This one is a little long (25 minutes) and we'll shorten it up for the next one. Just check it out. Let's do this:

 

PhersyandFeldyShowEpisode1

 

Wow ... where have we been?

FELDY: I have no idea where Phersy and I have been. I have no idea where Phersy is. I'm not sure if he knows this blog still exists. Shhhhhhhh .... don't tell him. OK, please tell him.

It's been fairly quiet around here in terms of sports news that gets us stirred up. A few things to catch up on, though:

* NAHL Entry Draft going on today. We (I'll) keep an eye out for local kids. Draft begins in 31 minutes (1 p.m. Central). We (I'll) keep a close eye on the Austin Bruins to see how that new franchise drafts.

* The Pat and Kevin Williams issue with the NFL has officially bored me. I wish the judge would just take the two Vikings and the NFL bigwigs in a backroom, make them all say they're sorry to each other, give them balloons and lollipops and send them on their way with two-game suspensions for the Williamses and two-week suspensions for the NFL bigwigs involved in this case.

* Brett Favre apparently received the ankle I cut off, packed in dry ice and sent to Hattiesburg. His surgery last Friday was a success and he'll back on the field in time for training camp at Mank ... OK, in time for training camp at Witner Pa ... OK, in time for preseason game No. 3. Does this surprise anyone? It does make Mrs. Feldy happy because she now feels like she didn't waste money on that Favre jersey she bought me for Christmas. The only real question now: After Favre leads the Vikes to the Super Bowl, does he go into the Hall of Fame as a Packer or a Viking?

* The Twins still can't hit with runners in scoring position. Their pitchers still give up way too many home runs. They're still in first place. Not much has changed with the move to Target Field. Which we all still love.

* Your 5-time Northwoods League champion Rochester Honkers open their home season on June 3. That's all I got on them, because they're all you'll read about in our print edition this summer. Oh, and it's Slider bobblehead night on June 14. Love bobbleheads, especially a bobblehead of a guy whose head is as big as Slider's.

* Blackhawks over the Flyers in five games. T-O-E-W-S!!

* Maybe this will get Phersy's attention and he'll come back to the blog once in a while: ONLY 51 DAYS TIL ICE HAWKS OPEN TRYOUT CAMP AT THE REC CENTER!!! (July 17-18)

Target Field and ... hockey?

FELDY: Me and Toddler Feldy took Mrs. Feldy to Target Field for the Twins-Os game on Sunday for Mother's Day (yes, we actually gave Mrs. Feldy the choice and she agreed!). We sat with the sort-of beautiful people (not behind home plate, but in the lower level along the left field line) and it felt like it was a mid-July game. There was no wind swirling and the sun was beating on us all afternoon. Toddler Feldy even put sunscreen on.

I point all this out because I realized just how warped my mind is. Here we are, an afternoon baseball game in May, feels like about 80 degrees out, great seats with great company, Twins win 6-0, and here's what I spent half of the game thinking about: Man, it would sure be cool if the Wild could host the NHL's Winter Classic at this place.

I was picturing where the rink would be, where the best place to sit would be, how cool the setting would look on national TV, etc.

While it looks like a guarantee that the Wild will not get the 2011 Winter Classic (the 2011 NHL Draft will be at The X, though), it's likely the team will get the Classic sometime in the near future.

My obsession with seeing pro hockey at Target Field led to some questions that I'm still kicking around, so maybe the Faceoff Faithful can help.

1. If/when the game comes to the Twin Cities, what's the better venue to hold it at: Target Field or TCF Bank Stadium? From the little bit I've found on the Interwebs about this topic, it seems like the NHL would probably favor TCF Bank Stadium, the home of Gophers football, because it could seat about 10,000 more than Target Field. Parking might be a big issue, however, and it's an issue that would work in Target Field's favor. To me, the real selling point of Target Field is the atmosphere it would provide. Yes, TCF is cool; it has the open end facing campus, etc., but Target Field is a much more cozy, quaint atmosphere. It just seems to lend itself to having the game. If you watched the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, you know what I'm talking about. It looked awesome on TV and had to be even better in person. I'm not saying Target Field is comparable to Fenway Park, but it's certainly worthy of hosting the Classic. And hopefully soon.

2. Who should be the Wild's opponent? The obvious teams that come to mind are Dallas and Vancouver. Putting Dallas out there in throwback North Stars uniforms would be a cool touch. Vancouver is probably the team Wild fans hate the most, which might lead to a more intense game -- and it would give Canada a bigger reason to watch -- but the Dallas-Minnesota matchup might be more attractive to NBC. ... Another thought, what if a team lands in Winnipeg in the next few years? How about bringing the Jets down to play the Wild? I know there are a lot of Winnipeggers (Winnipegites? Winnipegians?) who travel down to Vikings games. I'm guessing there would be a good number of them who would like to make a trip to Target Field to watch hockey. And they'd probably have a few Molsons before hand.

3. Do the Wild have enough star power to land the game yet? Look at teams that have competed in the Classic recently -- Detroit, Chicago, Philly, Boston. They all either have a superstar, have a great team, or both. The Wild doesn't have a Jonathan Toews or a Nik Lidstrom. Yes, Mikko Koivu is a tremendous two-way player and Brent Burns is verging on stardom. That might not be enough for the NHL, but when you put those guys on top of Minnesota's passionate fan base, that's a pretty good combination. And, who knows, by 2013 or 2014, Chuck Fletcher might have this team built up into a playoff contender.

Today's Topic | Can we calm down on Wilson Ramos now?

FELDY: At the risk of offending Phersy and his man-crush on Twins catcher Wilson Ramos, can we all take a deep breath after tonight's 4-3 win against Detroit and gain some perspective.

I'm making my second trip to Target Field on Wednesday. And judging by the way some Twins fans were talking after Monday's game, I pretty much expected to see Ramos' jersey No. 44 hanging next to Carew, Hrbek, Killebrew, Oliva and Puckett (Plus the Twins would have to add a new entrance to Target Field -- Gate 44).

We know Ramos, 22, is a nice player. He hits the ball hard when he makes contact. He has good power. He has the look of a great power hitter. Yes, he was 7-for-9 in his first two MLB games before an 0-for-3 night Tuesday DROPPED HIS AVERAGE TO .583. But he's not going to go 3-for-4 every night. Let's give him a couple of weeks at the big league level before we start talking about how to keep him in the Twins lineup every day.

And stop the panic. Please. The Twins don't need to rush out and trade Ramos. They 100 percent don't need to trade Joe Mauer to make room for Ramos. That suggestion is ludicrous at this stage.

Take a step back and look at the big picture.

When Mauer is able to return to the lineup on a daily basis, the prudent move is to send Ramos back to Class AAA Rochester. It might not be the popular move, particularly if he's batting, say, .350. By sending him to Rochester, it's a guarantee that he'll play every day, getting about 20 -- likely more -- plate appearances every week. (And let's keep in mind that Ramos was hitting all of .179 with the Red Wings when he was called up). And guess what? If the Twins run into more injury trouble, Ramos is a heck of an option to call up.

If the Twins were to keep Ramos up with the big-league club when Mauer returns, he'd get maybe 8-10 plate appearances a week. Maybe not even that many. He'd fill Drew Butera's role as the backup catcher (and Butera would go to Rochester), meaning he'd play basically in day games and give the Twins a great right-handed pinch-hitting option off the bench. There's no place for him to DH, with Jason Kubel and Jim Thome in line ahead of him.

That leads us to the next point. Ramos is still young, 22 (though, who knows, he may be older than that). The Twins don't have to be in a rush to make this guy a big-leaguer. He will get his shot in a matter of a couple years, or maybe in a matter of a couple months. Thome isn't going to be with this team forever. Maybe not at all after this season. Maybe Michael Cuddyer moves on after this season, moving Kubel into a more regular outfield spot and opening the DH role for Ramos.

Could the Twins make him into a third baseman? Possibly, but that's likely a two-year project and it doesn't appear imminent. Could the Twins move Mauer? Possibly, but why would you want to move arguably the best catcher in Major League Baseball?

At some point Ramos is going to be a full-time major leaguer. But how about we give him more than 20 at bats before declaring him the next Joe Mauer?

Today's discussion topic: Initial impressions of Target Field

(A quick note, first. We're going to try to pick a discussion topic each day and actually offer some opinion on here, instead of just little news tidbits all the time. We'll also try to tell you what our next-day's topic will be, and hopefully we'll get this noted daily in our print edition.)

FELDY: Mrs. Feldy and I took in the Twins home opener yesterday and, not surprisingly, Target Field gets a massive thumbs-up. 

Here's my quick review if you don't want to read my wordiness. I'll do it in Andrew Bernard form: This ballpark is good.

If you want to read more, here you go ...

Before I get too deep into the greatness that is Target Field, I have a question for those of you who have also been to a game there: Is the enthusiasm over the new park due to just how great it is, or due to just how crappy the Metrodome was? Or is it a combination? I tend to think that, not only is Target Field a first-class park on its own, but its greatness is enhanced by the fact that we had to watch ball at the Dome for three decades.

I've been to a handful of new parks in the past five years or so and Target Field ranks among the best.

I'd better be careful how I state this, because I don't want my Minnesota citizenship revoked by the You-can't-ever-say-anything-bad-about-Minnesota police: Target Field is awesome. I love it. I can't wait to watch the Twins play home games there for most of the rest of my life. But .... Target Field is #2 on my list of new parks that I've been to. I put it behind Camden Yards/Oriole Park in Baltimore (which isn't all that new anymore, built in 1992) because the complete experience at Camden is tough to top, with the warehouse out in right field, the intimacy of the park, and the one-block walk to the Inner Harbor's entertainment district.

Now, back to the Target Field lovefest.

Honestly, I was worried after hearing so much hype about the place that I might get there and go 'this is it, really? It's just OK.'

My feelings changed from the time the new park came into view as we walked up on 5th Street, the north side of the park. Twins history is everywhere you go, both outside and inside, starting with the numbering of the gates. There are five gates to enter, numbered for the five Twins players whose numbers are retired — 3 (Killebrew), 6 (Oliva), 14 (Hrbek), 29 (Carew) and 34 (Puckett).

The next thing we noticed — it's hard to miss, basically screaming 'look at me!' — is the limestone exterior, which gives the park a unique touch that you don't see at other new parks such as Seattle and Philadelphia.

Still on the outside of the park, on the west side, are big division, AL and World Series championship banners. Near those banners are a series of bike racks — the Twins say there are about 400 bike parking spots for people who want to ride to the game. Across the concourse from the banners and bike racks is a chain-link fence covered in a brown material that includes giant blown-up baseball cards from Twins greats of the past and present.

Walking around to the south side, you find Gate 14, where, of course, the entrance to Hrbek's restaurant is. We didn't go in to try the Rex Burger, but the place was packed. Knowing Herbie's eating habits, the food in there can't possibly be bad.

From there, walking along the north side of the ballpark, you pass the back side of the massive Twins pro shop, which contains pretty much every piece of overpriced Twins merchandise you could possibly want. Just around the corner, on the east side, is Gate 34. That's at the center of a great plaza area, which was jam-packed with picture-takers, lunch-eaters and beer drinkers.

Inside the park, the concourses are indeed wider than the Metrodome's (how could they not be?) and the sightlines from every seat are terrific. We sat in Section 302, row 6, a little less than halfway up. Check out the Target Field seating chart, and you'll see we were about as far away from home plate as you can get, yet even with my 20-8000 vision I was able to follow the play. Sitting in the second-to-last section of the upper deck down the right field line at Target Field is vastly different than a similar section at Metrodome. You're seats in those section are also angled toward the field, so that when you sit straight, you're not staring into center field.

There are plenty of restrooms, novelty stands and concessions nearby (my first meal: a beer and a hot dog; what else could it be at a baseball game?). The food options are plentiful. I'm not sure how I failed to try a burrito from Senor Smoke's, but it's on the to-do list for the next trip to Target Field.

Oh yeah, the best part of the new park: The team on the field. Twins fans have waited a long time for a fitting place to play; now they have it and a winning team. Corny as it may sound, that combination was the best part of the day on Monday. A new park makes fans giddy, a good team makes them even happier. Not having to play in the Dome is the best.

To top it off, the post-game atmosphere was so far and away better than leaving a Twins game at the Dome. People hung around the park for a good hour afterward, as well as collecting on the plaza. A few blocks away, on the east side of Target Center, the street near Block E was blocked off, allowing fans to gather at places such as Smalley's 87 Club (formerly Champp's) and the new Hubert's bar.

What do you think, Twins fans? Am I overselling Target Field or do you feel the same way? Let us know.

TOMORROW'S TOPIC: A postmortem on the Wild's season and a look ahead at the NHL playoffs.

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PHERSY: Feldy, how dare you!!! How dare you not rank the Twins' new park as No. 1 on your list. Spoken like a true North Dakota rube. You're probably still just worked up about the Sioux nickname, and the fact that UND will now be known as the FIghting Ground Squirrels.

HA!!!

OK Feldy, I had to chide you at least a little bit on this one. I haven't been to the new field yet, though I'm hoping to go early next week. So it would be tough for me to give any kind of true review of the park.

But, through the love-fest, I think most people realize that they didn't exactly go crazy on this new park. There aren't a whole lot of bells and whistles or expensive features. But what they did do is make it a tribute to the past, present and future, and I love that.

And I think you're exactly right ... part of this state's obsession with the new park is definitely owing to the Dome and its inadequacies. Years of indoor ball in the worst MLB park will make you get a little excited to head outdoors, even if we just built a stadium with no roof in the frozen tundra that is Minnesota.

But, let's enjoy it while it lasts. The critics will come out soon enough. Let's roll with the positivity!

Speaking of positivity, how about that team currently playing at Target Field? The Twins are hot, and that makes this whole thing that much more enjoyable.

Feldy and I are talking about this for tomorrow's print-edition version of Faceoff ... but let's just say, I really love what I'm seeing from this team early in the season, against some of the best teams in the American League.