Twins Victorious on Opening Day
Minnesota Twins Spoil Torii Hunter's Homecoming
The Minnesota Twins ruin seven-time golden-glove winner's homecoming by defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on MLB Opening Day
There are several inticing story lines entering the 2008 MLB Opening Day: Joe Torre in Hollywood, Tom Glavine's return to the Braves, Johan Santana's first start in New York, but the most attractive storyline just might be Torii Hunter's return to the Metrodome after leaving on moderate terms to take more money with the high-profile Angels. The Minnesota Twins entered opening day with a much different look from a year ago. With the loss of all-stars Johan Santana and Torii Hunter, and addition of several young-unknowns, few knew what to expect following the Twins first losing season since 2000.
While Johan Santana shined with his new team on opening day, Torii Hunter had a rougher go of it. The return of the 7-time golden-glover Torii Hunter brought mixed reactions from the Metrodome crowd, but most appeared to have an undying affection for the most popular player in Minnesota since the great Kirby Puckett. Following his best offensive output in his career last season, Hunter struggled at the plate going 0-4, including a crucial strikeout with the tying run on in the 9th inning.
Due to stand-out pitchers John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar being on the disabled list, Jared Weaver took the mound on opening day for L.A.. Considering the circumstances, Weaver had a respectable performance, and had little help from Angel hitters. With the Twins featuring 7 new starters, two players made the biggest splash in their first game in a Twin uniform. Coincidentally, the two players were presumably brought in to replace the great Torii Hunter. The impressive 22 year-olds Carlos Gomez and Delman Young were the stars of the show, combining for 4 hits, 3 stolen bases, and all three Minnesota runs.
In addition, they played the outfield like 10-year veterans, allowing the Twin fans to quickly forget Torii Hunter. The longer the game lasted, the less it became about Torii Hunter's departure, and the more it became about the emergence of possible Twin stars for years to come. Another impressive newcomber to the Twin lineup was pitcher Livan Hernandez. Hernandez pitched 7 strong innings, only slipping up slightly in the 5th inning, giving up 4 hits, but allowing only one run. While the new young guns for the Twins lit up the Angels pitching, the Angels well-respected lineup, featuring Vlad Guerrero ,were unable to get anything going offensively, with first-baseman Casey Kotchman being the only Angel player with a multi-hit game.
With the new blood on the Twin roster, they could compete for a playoff spot in the loaded AL Central, and should recover from last season's losing season stumble. For the Angels, they should be hunky-dory, assuming the successful return of their two aces, Lackey and Escobar. But despite their weak division, the Angels will certainly need more offensive production from Guerrero and Hunter if they have any aspirations of winning the pennant.
