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The tentative Twins schedule for next year has been out for awhile. Here's a look at a few of the highlights - including road trip possibilities:
April 1-3: Opening Day in Toronto
Okay, Toronto's not exactly paradise in April. But good seats should be available, since the whole town will still be in the grip of Leafs fever.
April 4-7: Twins in New York
If you're going to go visit Yankee Stadium while the Twins are in town, this is your one chance. First week of April, Monday through Thursday - it's not exactly prime time for a road trip, is it? Still, it's your only shot for 2011.
April 8-10: Opening Weekend at Target Field
The Twins take on the Oakland Athletics. Probably won't have the luster of the opening series in 2010; I'm guessing the fans won't applaud a passing shower like they did during the second Target Field game last year. Still: baseball will be back, always a good thing.
May 6-9: Twins in Boston
Fenway Park in early May, anyone? The series runs on until Monday, which would be a good excuse to miss some work.
May 20-22: Twins at Arizona
I was going to write that this series could be at a better time, but then I realized that the perfect time would be February, which can't happen. At the very least, Phoenix will merely be sweltering in mid-May, rather than a complete death trap.
June 2-5: Twins in Kansas City
If you're going to visit the Royals in 2011, this might be a good time to go; the team's other series in Kansas City are at the end of April and during the middle of the week in September.
June 14-16: White Sox Visit Target Field
Chicago won't be in Minneapolis until mid-June, when the weather's gorgeous and the rivalry's starting to heat up.
June 17-19 vs. Padres / June 27-29 vs. Dodgers
There's your two non-traditional home interleague series next year. I always like these, if only to break up the monotony of endless Cleveland visits to Target Field.
June 21-23: Twins in San Francisco
The Twins haven't played at AT&T Park since 2003. Sadly, this series is in the middle of the week. But hey, it's summer. Take the time off and sit by the bay and watch the Twins play the Giants...
June 24-26: Twins in Milwaukee
...then follow the team to the home of the Brewers and tailgate your heart out.
July 7-10: Twins in Chicago
This is the Twins' only weekend visit to Comiskey all summer, so this is your chance to take advantage of a road trip if you've never been.
August 18-21: Yankees at Target Field
It's the annual most annoying series of the year! It's before school starts, it's on a weekend, it's against the Yankees - look for the Twins to charge eleven million dollars per ticket for this series.
September 5: Labor Day Game against Chicago
Right now, the Twins are scheduled for a 1pm start against the White Sox on Labor Day. What better way to spend the day off than to spend it yelling at Alexi Ramirez for being too skinny to play big-league baseball?
September 9-11: Destination Detroit
The Twins play just one weekend series at Comerica Park, and it's not until the second weekend of September. This is unfortunate, but also no less of a reason to visit beautiful, sunny Detroit.
September 26-28: Season Finale vs. Kansas City
The Twins will close the season with three against the Royals, which the Twins are probably pretty happy about. (Having said that, the Royals will probably be 108-51 coming into this series and I'll look like a jerk.)
That first weekend of June in Kansas City does look attractive, doesn't it? And a trip to San Francisco in mid-June might be rather pleasant. Though we haven't even seen Game 1 of the World Series yet, it might be time to start planning some vacations for next summer.