NewsRoyals eager to close Twins' home
Kansas City (65-94) at Minnesota (82-76), 7:10 p.m. CT
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
09/30/09 11:40 PM ET
NEW YORK -- So, for the Royals, it's a fond -- or not-so-fond -- farewell to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, also known as the Hump, this weekend at Minneapolis.Ah, yes, the land of the lost baseballs, eardrum-shattering noise and a billowing baggie on the right-field wall.
The Royals will play the last scheduled regular-season Major League games at the indoor stadium that opened on April 6, 1982, when the Twins lost to the Mariners, 11-7. Unless the Twins surge past the Tigers to win the American League Central -- Detroit held a three-game lead entering Thursday -- this weekend's series will be the last at the Metrodome.
"This will be my fourth or fifth series there this year," said Royals outfielder Josh Anderson, who started the season with the Tigers. "I don't like it at all. There are a couple of things that are OK about it -- you don't have to deal with wind or the sun."
But Anderson doesn't like diving on the artificial turf or challenging the uncertain and uneven padding on the outfield wall.
"It's just terrible," Anderson said. "Right field is pretty bad. There are only a couple of places in that outfield where you can hit and bounce back like a rubber band. Most of that wall has steel beams behind, and most of it isn't padded very well. I hit the wall in right field there with Detroit and about broke my shoulder."
Third baseman Alex Gordon chimed in: "At least we won't be freezing."
There is that. The Metrodome allowed teams to avoid the Minnesota cold of the early and late season or the heat (and mosquitoes) of midsummer.
Gordon doesn't like playing in cold weather.
"Nobody in baseball does, unless you're in the postseason, and then it's different," Gordon said.
Big crowds are expected for the Twins' final three regular-season games.
"It should be fun, and hopefully, they'll still be in it and it'll be a good atmosphere," Gordon said. "It was fun last year to end the season there when they were still in contention. It makes it a little more interesting."
One of the Metrodome's most notorious occurrences is when the ball occasionally floats under the roof and defies being seen. Royals left fielder Mark Quinn lost two fly balls in one game there a few years ago.
"I know it's tougher there during the day than at night because of the sun coming through," infielder Mark Teahen said. "It's a challenge at times, but thankfully I haven't lost one, knock on wood."
The age and the multi-use aspects of the Metrodome are drawbacks.
"It's not my favorite place to play -- the clubhouse is small, the batting cage is bad," Teahen said. "It is one stadium that gets loud, so in that way, it's fun because there's some atmosphere there. The only thing I'll miss about it is the roof over the park, which I'm sure I'll miss once we're playing outside in early April."
In fact, the Royals are the second team scheduled to grace Minneapolis' outdoor park, Target Field, next season in a series that begins on April 16.
Catcher John Buck -- though he's just 1-for-14 there this year -- believes the Metrodome is a good place in which to hit because it "plays true" -- there's no wind to blow a ball foul or knock down a likely homer. Buck also made an interesting point about Twins catcher Joe Mauer.
"Playing in the Metrodome, you don't get the humidity in the middle of the summer that wears you down quite a bit. I'm sure it probably kept Joe a little fresher being in that dome. If he's catching as many games as he does in the heat, I don't know if he'll be getting another .400 season anymore," Buck said. "Now, he's got a perfect climate for him every day."
Of course, the artificial turf of the Metrodome is also a factor because ground balls are quicker and sometimes bouncier, as noted by the Royals' Lenny DiNardo, who will start on Friday night.
"If I had my choice, I'd play on grass, because being a ground-ball guy, a lot of times there are tall hops over the third baseman's head instead of an easy two-hop grounder," DiNardo said. "Hopefully, that won't be a factor. Hopefully, it'll play true."
However it plays, the Royals will see the last of the Metrodome this weekend.
Pitching matchupKC: LHP Lenny DiNardo (0-2, 7.52 ERA)
This will be DiNardo's last chance to make a favorable impression for next year. Since being called up from Triple-A Omaha, he has made four starts. The first two were pretty good. The last two? Not so good. He gave up eight runs in five innings to the Red Sox on Sept. 21 and seven runs in five innings to the Twins last Saturday night. Give him a break in the latter case; an error made only three of those runs earned. DiNardo, a lefty who doesn't throw very hard, needs to keep the ball down and induce ground balls to be successful. MIN: TBD
Francisco Liriano made the last turn of the rotation in this spot, but he didn't make it out of the second inning against the Royals. So the Twins will have to decide who will start this contest, which could be critical to their division title hopes -- depending on the outcome of their series with the Tigers. Among the options for a start here could be right-handers Jeff Manship and Bobby Keppel. Liriano had taken Manship's spot after the rookie's struggles, but he pitched 3 2/3 innings on Sunday against Kansas City and allowed one run on three hits. Keppel hasn't pitched much in long relief of late, but he tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings against the Royals on Sunday as well. Gardenhire said that the Twins don't expect to bring any starters back on short rest. Crown points
The Royals are 4-2 at the Metrodome this year and 90-110 overall. They were 4-5 there in each of the previous three seasons. ... Miguel Olivo has 23 homers but still needs one more as a catcher to match Mike Macfarlane's record of 20. Four of Olivo's homers have come as a designated hitter. ... In his career, DiNardo has faced the Twins three times, making two starts. He's 0-2 with a 3.29 ERA over 13 2/3 innings. ... Because FOX picked up the Saturday game, the first pitch will be at 3:10 p.m. CT instead of 6:10 p.m. Tickets
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• Saturday: Royals (Zack Greinke, 16-8, 2.06) at Twins (TBD), 3:10 p.m. CT
• Sunday: Royals (Luke Hochevar, 7-12, 6.24) at Twins (TBD), 1:10 p.m. CT
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
