Brian Bass Topic Page

The big news of the week was Francisco Liriano's demotion to AAA Rochester, which came as no surprise after his 3rd start of the season lasted just 2/3rds of an inning. However, the biggest problem for this team this year (and all of last year) was it's offense.

The temperature started out in the low 40s and by game's end it was into the 30s. The cold, however, didn't stop the Twins from having their best offensive game of the season. The Twins scored two runs early before expanding their lead with five runs in the third inning. A Carlos Gomez 2 run double capped off the inning that also included 5 singles and a walk.

Just about everything went right on opening day. In game two, just about nothing went right as the Twins fell to the Angels by a score of 9-1. Boof Bonser labored to get through six innings. It could've been worse—Boof left 3 runners stranded in scoring position.

Francisco Liriano won't start in the rotation, but he'll likely be in the big show by the time April comes to an end. Here's the full list of players that will be coming north for Monday's home opener.

The speculation of the weekend culminated in Monday's official announcement by the Twins that they have signed Joe Nathan through 2011 with a team option for 2012. For a team who's recent history has been to let star players go when they enter their most expensive years, this should come as a pleasant surprise. It's really hard to get too upset over this; every fan wants their team to retain its best players.