Minnesota Twins WIN on the wackiest Opening Day in Target Field history

It's the score north twin show.

Baseball.

All right, it is the score north twin show.

We are live from target field, Judd the power is still on working, it's working this

time.

I mean, you talk about maybe the wackiest opening day or home opener, I should say, in

target field history.

I think without hyperbole, there have been a lot of memorable games here, positively.

In the 16 years of target field, obviously, there haven't been, this literally might have

been one of the most memorable, memorable games with everything you consider coming into

the game.

It's two and four.

It's been a melancholy at best start for the, for the twins, the app, the app attitude

and the vibe around the team, still kind of frustrating.

Tom Pull had spoke to us, I guess, and maybe even talk about that today or on another

podcast.

And then like about 70 minutes before first pitch, the power goes out and it's been raining.

And we don't actually start till four o'clock, they go down three to nothing today.

They rally back for to tie the game, Tristan Gray, it's kind of come on here and it's

a grand slam.

They end up winning this game and run differential wise.

I just saw this, the twins, I believe now have the third best run differential in the American

league.

What a, what a four hour and seven, eight hour day at target field can do to a man.

Yeah, what it was officially time of game was 307, but the game started at 407 instead

of 310, because as you said, and I've been, I mean, we both went into a ton of baseball

games of a wide variety.

I don't remember the power going out at any of them, and so the power was lost.

I don't think it was out all over downtown, but it was certainly lost to a portion of

downtown.

And so we sat here, it was already miserable outside.

The rain started late.

Like this game was crazy and I'm not saying it was a good game, twins one, so that's fine,

but it wasn't really that interesting of game to watch because I mean, the race can't

field.

The race can't pitch.

The razor about is un-ray like as possible.

And when you add up, you know, all of the things that we saw today, it includes the first

time I recall seeing in person, a challenge on where a fielder, the second baseman in

this case, was positioned to start in at bat.

He was too far on the wrong side of second base, which is an anti-shift rule that you

don't see used much.

It's used, but not used much.

The twins then.

So Jeffers grounds out for three, but then they come back and say, no, it's not a ground

out.

It's an air on the second baseman because he was positioned incorrectly.

Yeah, just a really wild and wacky day.

The thing was too, when the power went out initially a little bit after that, we heard

it might be five o'clock before they restored it and got it back.

Fortunately, it was not anywhere near five.

So things did work out, but Chris baseball game, no, the twins did win.

Yeah, it was bizarre.

You look at the box score, all right, 10 to four.

The twins only had seven hits today.

They scored 10 runs.

I don't know how many times that's happened to be honest.

Like how many times the team scored double digit runs with single digit, like seven hits

are less.

And to your point, this is the most like unraised like team.

I mean, forever, right?

It's been pitching and fundamentals.

And actually, you know, like to start today, obviously, what the starter for the Joe

Boyle for the Tampa Bay got off to a nice start.

I think I actually didn't allow a hit to the first like three frames.

He battled a little bit of control issues.

But then afterwards, you know, allows a couple runs here, I joked with you.

I said, was that the hunt the good in the bottom of the fourth?

There was like a couple singles, a stolen base, a sack fly, a ball in play that that could

have been an Indian in double play from Roy Lewis.

But instead, continues the inning, you know, if Shelty's looking for the hunt the good,

I mean, hunt the ugly good, but that's kind of was the story today was hunt the ugly

good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So the inning that you're talking about, which is the bottom of the fourth key.

Shaw singles.

He steals second.

Walnar strikes out.

That's a whole different story.

Because he struck out five times today.

Then Josh Bell comes up and hits a double to right.

That's of course, key shell, jeffers, a single, larnacle walk.

So to give the twins credit at the plate, after having no hits through three, they got

themselves going.

But to your point, two about it just being a wild and wacky game.

In the bottom of the seventh, they scored seven runs, they had three hits.

Now the Tristan Gray home run, the grand slam is part of that.

There was a 1.2 errors on the third basement.

The raise were up to four errors.

One of those got taken away, but easily could have been left.

And so the twins capitalized, it's not a aesthetically pleasing win.

But here's the thing with the 2026 twins.

I think you're going to take what you can get, right?

Yeah, you have to.

Like you can't like dissect it as that team needs to be put.

So it's just one of those weird games, um, late in the game, too, the rains came.

And we had a clappable lightning and thunder.

They easily could have, I'm glad they didn't, but they easily could have delayed the game.

It was basically a one side of the game by that point.

And I think they were intent on trying to end it, especially because it had been a long

day.

But yeah, you are wacky is a good word for it.

Yeah, very wacky.

Uh, we actually, let's get on a Walner here in a minute, but we should also probably touch

on the other big point from this game, Byron Buckston leaves.

He gets hit on the arm.

It sounds like it's Shelton.

I don't think he missed spoke here.

If he did, uh, we'll figure out, but he gets hit by arm and Byron Buckston has been injured

Judd from head shoulders, knees and toes.

You can sing the whole song throughout his ten year career.

I don't think I've ever remembered.

And even that forget just Buckston.

I don't think I've ever seen a player get hit by a pitch like that and immediately remove

himself from the game, uh, and it turns out Shelton says in post game, it's the same place

he got hit on the WBC, which is cause for concern.

Now I guess the initial positive news is they're saying right arm contusion, which is a fancy

word for Bruce, uh, and that the X-rays were negative.

You've covered enough sports injuries for a long time to know at the time X-rays that

are negative.

Don't really tell anything of a clear picture of what could be the case, uh, I would envision

tomorrow.

It isn't night game tomorrow night.

If we have baseball, uh, it's a night game tomorrow night.

I'm an assume buck not in the lineup regardless of this X-ray being negative, but, uh, they've

already lost Pablo Paz to a season ending injury.

Yep.

Definitely can't afford to start to where you have Byron Bucks and that's Shelton the

I.L.

And look, again, initial news, it's fine, but I don't think we have remotely certainty

that he's totally okay.

No, and the initial X-rays would show like a fracture, like a big fracture.

I'm sure they're going to do my guesses, uh, take them to, uh, the MRI room and do more

work there, which can show like small fractures, small things like that broken bones, uh, but

I'm with you.

I will be shocked if he plays tomorrow.

Now it might not be bad.

Hopefully it's not.

That would be great.

Uh, but just a, you know, unless Derek Shelton is a very different person and has convinced

the doctors of the twins that Rocco Baldelli was entirely wrong, which I don't think that

it was always Baldelli's call.

I bet Bucks didn't just not play, uh, James Altman came in and Shelton gave him credit

post game immediately stole a base, which was nice.

I don't know if he's a long-term solution, but he was kept here in part because he is

seen as the backup for Bach.

And look, when it comes to Bucks and the reality is this, he, you know, last year was great,

like as bad as it was for the twins.

Dex, last year was great for Bucks, but it was one year.

And so like to just expect there's going to be this massive pivot to Byron Bucksdon's

going to be healthy for the next five years.

I hope he is, but it's also like, okay, let's see where 2026 goes.

So I'm guessing he doesn't play, but I also think that my guess is that they're going

to do imaging to confirm that there's not more there than what the X ratioed.

So wait and see, um, and as far as that, that goes, I think if you can avoid a trip to

the aisle, you consider this a success for Byron Bucksdon.

Yeah.

In the event, there is an aisle stand for Bucksdon.

So I think that would mean James Outman would assume at first the full time center field

duties.

You can put Austin Martin there.

I think two in a pinch.

I think they'd prefer James Outman.

That's a big reason why he made and look, he stole a base today.

And that's like, we can split hairs over.

It should have been Alan Rodin because they traded for him and he's younger and we need

to open that box.

And James Outman just might not be that good of a player.

James Outman is a plus defender and does have an MLB history compared to Alan Rodin.

If Byron Bucksdon is shelved, I wonder what is the insurance like the ensuing move from

that?

It's not Walker Jenkins yet.

I wrote right.

Shocked.

I think it'd be Rodin.

Yeah.

I think it would be Rodin and the Saints are in the similar position as the twins are right

now.

Literally.

They had a double header that got rained out.

They got to figure out to get all these games in with and who knows even how many games

okay in between now and Sunday's St Paul.

That is.

But if it's Byron Bucksdon going on the injured list, then you're probably I think looking

at Alan Rodin.

I'd be pretty surprised if you saw someone like Walker or Emmanuel or Gabby come up here.

It's probably going to be an Alan Rodin call up.

So as far as that core group goes to now, first of all, they have to have success at AAA,

but if they have success, what's their timeline?

May, June?

Like what's your best guess about?

Because I mean, that's sort of the next shoe to drop, I think, you know, a call pepper

of Jenkins.

What's your, what's your guess on their timeline?

If they do have the requisite amount of success to deserve to be here.

Yeah.

I think June 1st is like Memorial Day and June 1st is probably like the beginning of that

timeline, pending injuries and pending something where it forces the hand.

If they're playing, if they're healthy and they're playing well, I think at some point

in June, you're going to see, you know, a slew of these guys.

Brooks Leigh didn't play today for consecutive days.

He was out with an illness.

That's why he was out.

He was apparently available to play today in a pinch, but him being under the weather and

apparently they have all star Tristan Gray, who is now just smacking home runs in the

nine hole.

Yeah, it's cool.

It is a cool story.

Like, you know, is, is this sustainable and is this like a crazy answer long term?

It's probably isn't, but but Kaelin call peppers got off to a really nice start in

St. Paul.

Yeah.

It's probably this summer.

Well, and here's the other thing like.

So Matt Walner had a pretty rough day at the plate.

And as once again, had a pretty rough start, again, St. Paul Sample size seven games

here.

Just struck out and over half of his plate appearance is five strikeouts and five trips

to the plate tonight alone.

Yeah.

And that is Walner.

But man, it's, it's hard to, it's hard to really give patients to the guys that have

been up here when we just kind of know exactly like that's Matt Walner.

So like this week, he's bad.

Yeah.

Starting tomorrow, like, could he go on a tear where he's now, you know, has five home

runs and is slugging like near a thousand for a week, 100%.

It's the extremes.

That is his, it's been his career for since he's been called up here.

But, but I do wonder when, if, if it, if it's not an injury, how patient there'll be

and what is that like roster move to force someone like Jenkins or Gabby or Emanuel

Rodriguez come up here and take someone's spot.

It feels like with the amount of time that Walner is playing and on the trip played against

a south boss consistently as well and didn't look terrible at times.

It feels like Derek Shelton wants to give him a long run way of opportunity here.

I think the first move would be to drop him down because what he batted clean up today.

Yeah.

But if, but it, you know, to again, go hand in hand with the Walker Jenkins is the world

possibly being called up, it feels like if Walner, if they were to make a move with

Walner, it would probably come at that point in time.

Yeah.

It just, it's skewinged in my opinion towards they want to see what he can do, what he can't

do.

And because Shelton, obviously not as familiar with him as Rocco is, he got a bit of

a fresh start here.

Now, it does not look good consistently.

It looked terrible today.

But I don't think, I mean, famous last words, don't think he's in jeopardy right now.

But I do think that he could be the type of guy who after a month or so, they're like,

OK, this is unplayable.

But my guess is that you will see him batting seventh before, like, before they pull that

part of the move, he'll get a chance to get it back from like seven.

And another part of this, by the way, hit the like button, subscribe button too.

We got almost 200 people watching us on a Friday night.

I've been here for like eight, nine hours.

Yeah.

That's a long day at the ballpark.

And I'll be here all weekend and portions of next week too.

So content from the radio is raised, and then high years, I could, yeah, on fact,

I think a scheduling conflict at home, you know, I just know everyone's dying to know,

I think Monday, I'm not going to be here.

And I think school bulls throwing on Monday.

Oh, no.

So I want to home on Monday.

I might come out here on Monday, but you come out here.

But a Tigers game is fine.

Yeah, Tigers be good.

The rays are now back to like, or not back to the rays.

I mean, I'm sorry, but there is like, if I had to pay for tickets, I'm not coming to see the

rays.

And here's one last thing to sign the field for today.

And there's one other thing from Tom Polette talking today that we can maybe wrap the show

with.

But, you know, Bucson's gotten off to a very slow start at the plate.

And we, you know, we just got a pontificated there.

Yeah, X-rays were negative.

Hopefully he's fine.

I wonder if this arm injury is bugging him.

And he's been streaky before too.

So like, this is not what Buc did last year was finally great and came to fruition.

He has certainly though not been prone to extreme streaks like this.

Yeah.

But I wonder if he was already kind of nagging from that injury at the WBC.

And if this is playing, I mean, he's hitless.

And before he got hit by that pitch, I believe hitless and even didn't reach in 16 consecutive

at that small sample size.

It's only been like four or five games.

But he wasn't looking.

Yeah, but he hasn't looked himself quite yet.

I mean, I'm not trying to say you just, you have to and you have to IEL him.

But maybe that is that that might play a factor into this too.

Yeah.

I mean, I don't think they will unless they have to, but I think that we both agree that

there could be circumstances where they say, okay, this makes the most sense.

And unfortunately, and I mean, this goes a lot of my not being a huge fan of guys going

to play in tournaments when they're when your season started in this case spring training.

Unfortunately, the WBC did have no good.

Yeah.

Like you got hit by a pitch.

I think he played in two games.

I don't think I think he and Cal probably from the US team were the only guys not to have

hits.

So it literally did him no good.

Right.

He would have been better off to be in Fort Myers, getting it fast, being pulled out of

the games early.

Like among the players that played in that tournament for the US team, he was probably

among the last if like there were no benefits, and he got hit by pitch.

So it sort of sucks for him.

It does.

All right.

We're going to wrap here and we can probably likely talk more about this on a full show

on Monday with Phil, maybe even with the coach, Trev Tuesday, but Tom pull out the new

Twins owner did speak to some of us reporters around one o'clock, 12, 45, one o'clock, a couple

hours for the like an hour before the power hour champion, long time ago, I could have been

yesterday at this point.

So a couple quotes that that I have here and again, we can talk more about these on a full

show.

But when asked about the ballpark promotion, get fans into target field field, he said

to quote, we can sell all the $2 beers we want.

We can have all the concepts we want, but people want to see a winner.

And I think the product we put on the field is ultimately what's going to drive hope,

if you will.

Another one on the athletic hopo meter that that that hopo meter, the optimism and pessimist

thing we talked about again on Tuesday, he was asked about that.

He said surprising, no jarring, I mean, nobody likes to read that kind of stuff, but I'm

not surprised by it.

I mean, he's, he's aware of what people think of him and his family's name, but he says

inside these walls, there's a palpable buzz and energy about what we're building.

So I don't deny that.

Like I'm sure he, you know, and he talked about I as the owner and as the one that's

in also in charge of all these employees, don't forget about the guys in the field, all

the employees on the field off the field right all around it.

My goal as a CEO and owner is to make sure that they feel heard and supported and, you

know, champion and I think that's admirable and I think that's worth talking about, but

I also feel even though like he wants to make that a point and he should, twins fans

aren't going to care about that.

Like they don't, they, they, they're not going to have like a reaction of, oh, wow, that's

a cool thing to hear.

And I'm glad he's doing that.

That's, that's just kind of not something I think fans really are interested in hearing.

Well, and I mean, the fans have, in their defense too, the twins don't almost nothing.

Like that, that's why I do think the next step towards if you want and look, I don't

think people are going to be excited about Tom Polette or the entire family.

But if you want excitement about the ball club, that's why this next wave of prospects,

I think we'll create some natural beat because the problem right now is people are focused

on the pole ads and they're focused on the fact they made no improvements really to the

team.

And, and so like the on field product and the pole ads are being put together.

Well, if, you know, if you know, if the cold ever comes up and and Jenkins comes up and

you start to get, you know, some of these young kids up and they play well, then I think

it's not that people are going to credit the pole ads, but they are going to say, oh,

these guys can play it.

And, you know, if Caleb Cole pepper is dynamic at shortstop, that's going to create excitement.

And I think that's going to help mitigate and people will, they won't forget the pole

ads, but the pole ads get put back in the background, which by the way, they have been

before.

I mean, it's not like they've ever been really, really popular.

Yeah.

You think that that's, and Tom is right, like they need to win games.

Um, I wonder in the building though.

So are they more positive in the building or have they created this sort of weird cocoon

in which they live in which they're trying to keep the noise out, but the noise is pretty

important.

They hear the noise.

Yeah.

They know the noise.

But, and have you ever seen, you've been, you have been either a fan or cover the twin

since what, 2000 something, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, Carl Polette and now Twitter, social media has changed this, but you know, Carl

Polette tried to circuit 2000, contract the freaking team.

Now, whether that was real or not, he tried to contract the team and people hated that

and people didn't like him for that.

But I feel this is the most negative and the most toxic it has been towards the pole ads

in part because if you don't like them, you can now go to Twitter.

You can ratio all of their tweets from the ball club and things like that.

So I just wonder if they truly understand the enormity of what they're working against

here.

Yeah.

And if you win, I think you'll be fine.

Yeah.

But that being said, there is, I've never felt this toxic feeling in part two, Dex, because

one, this team said for how long we need, we need a ballpark and, and it's funny because

in some ways, they sort of wasted the odds because the team was really good, but they

wasted the odds because they were always politicking for a new ballpark and trying to sort

of pseudo-threaten.

And so it's like, this team is really good and it's a fun team and people love the team,

but the ownership was like, we need a new ballpark and then finally they get their new ballpark

and it's a great ballpark.

But now it's, well, you got a new ballpark, what's happened?

Right.

Well, and the, the other part of this too and I guess we'll expand on this on another

show is, okay, they're betting on that this team on the field is better than the expectations,

better than what the betting markets and what the perception is and they're, they're

like, double downing on their prospect waves is going to be their extra juice, right?

So it is basically setting up for the fact that they believe that this team can win and

then with the influx, the young town that's literally not in the door, which I believe

Tommy and went to the St. Paul on Tuesday and met with all those players and organizations

too, just kind of reassure that belief.

If they are good at the trade deadline or they're pushing for a playoff spot, he will

be forced to make a move.

And if he doesn't make a move, if he doesn't grow in light, his, his people in control,

I should say, Tom Pull, that's not the one picking up the phone and negotiating to trade

for name, name, name starter, starting picture number one.

But if they don't follow through on that, well, like I, then, then you're just, you really

just circling the wagons here and not making good on anything you're trying to say.

But let me say this is the next factor that none of us are going to think about, but you

pointed out very stutately to me today.

There was a guy in a suit walking around with Tom, a minority investor.

And other than, so there's three groups, right?

Now I think Craig, well, yeah, Craig is like an advisor.

Craig Leopold's group is very small.

Yeah.

And I think that he is like, I'm curious what he's doing, but Craig is not like a cut

throat.

No, he's a business man.

He's not a cut throat guy, right?

And he's much more of an advisor than he is.

Okay.

Well, okay.

So let's say there's two groups involved.

Yeah.

Those groups want their money back.

And those groups are not here to green light your, your happiness to in spans.

Those groups are here to pay off the pull-edge debt and to get their money and to get the

hell out.

And so that's where I think Tom and Tom's really not going to say that like Tom's not going

to be we're up against it.

These minority investors, we got to, so that's something to keep in mind.

And I'm not excusing it.

But I am saying when you have what approximately $500 million debt, and somebody comes along

and says, you know what?

I'll help you out.

I'll help you out.

We're going to get that debt erased.

Oh, and by the way, I own you to a certain degree.

So I'm just, I'm throwing it out there that and Tom will inevitably have to confess the

case and they don't invest and things are going well, Tom will be the one who falls on

that sword.

Yeah.

Because you're not going to blame the people that helped you out.

Yeah.

But just something to keep in mind.

I mean, this is very much a business situation.

Yeah.

And Tom's saying a lot of the right things, but I think what frustrates people is they're

not seeing action.

Yeah.

And I totally get that.

Yeah.

And last thing on this, I asked him about it today about like how much are those minor,

because like I saw him too.

Like it's, it's what George Hicks is the local one here in Minnesota.

And then the Glick family is the New York East Coast one, which is probably like in my

opinion, the the worry some one, like I've even talked to other twins officials like

George Hicks is like it's been a twin season ticket holder forever.

He is a twins fan.

Yeah.

Like he's a billionaire, but he's a twins fan.

Right.

And I asked him how like formal are these meetings?

How much are they around?

And they're around today.

I mean, you see, it's very, it's very clear who they are.

Yes.

It's not, you aren't missing them like it.

And like to a common fan, you probably would miss them for someone in the media.

You can tell pretty quickly who's an executive and who's.

We've been treated so much.

One of us.

Who's been treated so much?

Uh, but at the end of the day, how much of, you know, how much of those conversations

are happening?

And Tom told me and told the reporters that, you know, there's board meetings and there's

formal stuff, but he has them involved in everything.

So when there is, you know, a monumental thing, like maybe a trade or maybe a sell-off,

whatever, how that trade looks, buying or selling, that they're just always in the loop,

which I'm hoping they're always in the loop, but I just wanted to know what that relationship

looks like.

Oh, yeah.

And absolutely.

And yeah, there's, uh, again, $500 million, that's a lot of money and so if you get help

being paid off, you don't get to tell them, well, here's what we're doing now.

Right.

And I'm going to say, well, that's how you get in trouble before.

So a really interesting season, I'm not confident it's going to be great.

I do think it's going to be, I do think from that standpoint that we're talking about

now, though, it's going to be fascinating to watch it play out, how it plays out.

And unfortunately, if we're going into a lockout, too, it's going to be at some point in time

chaotic, I think.

Totally.

Uh, we'll hit the like button, subscribe button here.

This is Judd and Dex from Target Field again, the power on here.

So it's so well.

Yeah.

Power is on.

I mean, he'll let's do this.

Oh, look at the clover field clover field.

Sorry, everyone.

If you're clover field fan, you have the tarps on it's pouring rain down here at a target

field.

But we just want to hop on, talk a little baseball, talk a little external stuff too.

Well, yeah, I'll have extra content from this weekend beyond on the Skorn or Twin

Show.

So I appreciate you guys over like 200 of you guys hanging out and watching us on a Friday

night.

Judd, let's go home.

You had a long drive tomorrow.

I got it.

I have a wife and kid.

Oh, you got to get a sonny.

Got a sonny.

I got a dog that, you know, I got.

Oh, I love it.

The fitster.

I've got a haircut today.

Can't wait to see.

Can't wait to see.

Appreciate it.

All right, guys.

Judd, I'm Dex.

I'm the Skorn or Twin Show.