The Twins have placed Tsuyoshi Nishioka on the 15-day disabled list after the second baseman managed to fracture his fibula while landing over Nick Swisher, who successfully broke up the double play. There is currently no timetable for his return, and I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure he'll be out at least a month.

I was under the impression Nishioka was somewhat of a ninja, but ninjas don't break their legs. Apparently he is human after all.

Also, Swisher went to the stadium's X-ray room and apologized to Nishi for plowing into him, even though it was a legitimate slide. Stand up guy.

Luke Hughes has gotten the call from Triple-A to replace Nishioka on the roster, but Gardy will probably give Matt Tolbert the chance in the lineup for the time being. Hughes did lead the team in homers this Spring, so he has that going for him. Which one would you rather see up the middle and at the plate?

Anyway, happy Home Opener! Carl Pavano will face Oakland Athletics lefty Brett Anderson today for a chance to bounce back from a disaster of a start against the Blue Jays during the season opener in which he was pounded for seven runs over four-plus innings. A sad, sad effort.

Fun fact: the Twins won six of their nine meetings against the A's last season.

Chasing Reggie. [Bugs & Cranks]

101-Year-Old Woman Tosses First Pitch, Survives. [Sportress of Blogitude]

Selig Baseball's New Iron Man. [Big League Stew]

Still time to win a Mashin' Taters t-shirt. [Babes Love Baseball]

Send love letters and hate mail to babeslovebaseball@gmail.com.

The Twins managed a pretty amazing comeback Tuesday evening, recovering from a four-run deficit in the eighth inning before Joe Mauer brought home the winning run with a broken-bat RBI single in the tenth. Man, they needed that win. Not just to beef up their sorry season record so far, but to save some face in what has been an embarrassing decade in the Bronx.

My favorite part of the game was not the rally -- thanks to Nick Swisher's graceful fielding -- it was Matt Capps' strong performance and victory. The husky right-hander tossed two perfect innings on just 16 pitches in relief of Brian Duensing. Let's make a habit of that, Matty. Joe Nathan throwing a 1-2-3 inning to earn his second save, including a strikeout by Derek Jeter to end the game, was my second favorite part.

Carl Pavano returns to his old stomping grounds to take the hill tonight against fellow righty Freddy Garcia in game 3 of the four-game set at 6:05pm. Now that the Twins have officially avoided the sweep, are you feeling cocky enough to call a series split or even a win, or just lucky that they got one at all?

If you couldn't tell, I love running contests. The fellas over at DiamondCentric Apparel, who have brought you such doozies as the Thome is My Homey t-shirt, have a new Jim Jam gem for you. So, Marea and I are holding a contest at Babes Love Baseball in which a random commenter will receive the spankin' new Mashin' Taters t-shirt, courtesy of Thome's first home run of the season. Click here to enter.

Get well soon, Harmon Killebrew. [MLB]

Happy Birthday, Bert. [Twinkie Town]

Keepin' it Real. [Knuckleballs]

Send love letters and hate mail to babeslovebaseball@gmail.com.

After the team failed to go yard (or play well at all) over the first two games of the season, Valencia hit a solo shot in the third inning of the Twins' 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays Sunday, blasting a 2-1 sinker to left field for a 1-0 lead. Also, Joe Nathan got the save -- in his usual nerve-wracking Joe Nathan fashion -- which is another milestone I think many Twins fans were looking forward to.

Was anyone else planning on choosing Danny Valencia before they saw he was already taken? Doubt it. What are you psychic, Stevo? I'm impressed. Email me to claim your prize!

Anyway, that Toronto series sucked. Probably not how we all would've liked to envision the season staring out, but maybe a few lessons were learned. For instance, I believe it is impossible for Alexi Casilla to pay attention for an entire baseball game.

Heading to New York for four games to take on those pesky Yankees who repeatedly throw the Twins head-first out of the playoffs what seems like every season they make it there is also a bit unnerving. Any calls on the Twins overall record when they come back home to take on the Athletics this Friday?

Now, please enjoy quite possibly the most entertaining thing I have ever read on Twins baseball...

The Minnesota Twins 2011 Season in Review. [Twinkie Town]

Send love letters and hate mail to babeslovebaseball@gmail.com.

Opening Day is finally here. It's a clean slate, a new beginning. Kinda like Spring itself. It's Christmas, your birthday, the Fourth of July, and whatever other holiday you love to pieces, all rolled into one. It's beautiful.

Carl Pavano gets the honors against Blue Jays lefty Ricky Romero at 6:07pm this evening as the Twins kick off their 2011 season and prepare to defend their American League Central title at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

There are more than a few things I'm looking forward to this year: Justin Morneau is back, so that's pretty great. I'm not sure what kind of omen it is that our Canadian Crusher is playing his first regular season game since his unfortunate concussion in Toronto... bittersweet perhaps since he's a native of the country and his career just about ended there. Pavano and his illustrious facial hair are also returning; I'm glad the team locked him up for a couple more years. Also, are you as pumped as I am to see Tsuyoshi Nishioka in action?

Are you going to miss Nick Punto? Just kidding.

Of course, there are also some concerns: Maybe Joe Nathan isn't the same pitcher he was last season and in years past. Tommy John can change a guy for better or worse. Will Joe Mauer play more than 140 regular season games and will his knees stay semi-healthy? Also, how many times will Morneau land on the disabled list? I'm thinking at least once.

Whether you have high hopes or not, this season should be another interesting one, considering the AL Central is home to the most $100 million payrolls in all of baseball. Coulda' fooled me.

The real question is, will someone hit a bomb (or an inside-the-park home run I suppose) tonight and become this year's bearer of muffins? Or cupcakes.

 2011 Twins Predictions. [Seth Speaks]

Minnesota Twins Season Preview Haiku. [Babes Love Baseball]

Opening Night Chat. [Aaron Gleeman]

Twins @ Blue Jays Series Preview. [Puckett's Pond]

Gardy Will Split Time With His Closers. [TwinsCentric]

As a reminder, if you're looking for someone to vomit stats onto your computer screen, there are about a hundred other Twins blogs on the net. If you're looking for a fun and laid back read, stick around. Send love letters and hate mail to babeslovebaseball@gmail.com.

Opening Day is so close we can almost smell it. In just two days, the Twins will be at the Rogers Centre, kicking off a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Then it's off to the Big Apple for four games against the New York Yankees before the boys are welcomed home to their spruce-free ballpark to take on the Oakland Athletics on April 8.

This has me day dreaming of the real-live-crack-of-the-bat that actually counts.

So obviously, it's time to predict who will hit the Twins' first home run of the season. The rules are simple: the first person to guess the correct tater-masher wins. The winner will receive a prize to be determined, likely some kind of sweet Twins merchandise like a travel mug or a sippy cup, or whatever you prefer to drink out of. Or muffins. Of course, we'll play this game again for the Home Opener, then maybe one more time when Jim Thome is closer to joining the 600 Club. It'll be fun.

Speaking of things to eat, there are some new foods to scarf down as well this season at Target Field: Turkey to Go, Walk a Taco, Minneapple Pie, Hebrew National hot dogs, and two more Kramarczuk’s sausages, one with wild rice inside of it. Yummy. Also, Lift Bridge Brewery from Stillwater, Minnesota was added to the local brews. Delicious!

Other things to look forward to/reflect upon:

Twins offseason underwhelms, therefore I am. [Very Well Then Twins]

That's a record. [MSP Business Journal]

What a Wonderful World. [Gapers Block]

Fan's guide to the Twins home opener. [Blair Reynolds]

Joe Mauer and Troy Polamalu: super pretty hair. [Babes Love Baseball]

Send love letters or hate mail to babeslovebaseball@gmail.com.

On a lighter note... Kemps, along with Joe and Teresa Mauer are looking for the ultimate Mauer "Fan'ily" in the land of 10,000 lakes.

What in the world is a "Fan'ily" you might ask. The short version: if you and those who you are related to love the Twins (especially their All-Star catcher) and even with slight dysfunction can pull off a tight-knit, loving environment to raise baseball-loving children in, then you'll do just fine.

Entries will be accepted until April 3, before Teresa selects the winning family on April 7. These folks will be offered the opportunity to meet Joe and his mama on April 11 at their Kemps commercial shoot, where they will get a behind-the-scenes look as well as take home Mauer family photos and sweet autographed merchandise. And memories.

Here's what Joe had to say about the promotion:

Our partnership with Kemps continues to provide a fun opportunity to work with a local company whose products I grew up on. I am really looking forward to meeting the biggest Mauer Fan’ily out there.

So if you think your family is super duper Minnesota Nice like the Mauers, visit the Kemps Facebook page to submit a photo and enter the contest.

Stay tuned for pictures and/or a short Q & A from the commercial shoot!