Mid-day talker: 2014 Twins schedule is out, and we break it down

The Twins released their 2014 schedule at noon Tuesday. We already knew they would play 81 home and 81 road games. We knew they would play 76 division games (19 against each opponent), 20 interleague games and the rest against other AL teams.

But we didn't know the order, size, shape and other such things. While the scramble to buy tickets and circle calendars is dulled after three losing seasons, it remains fun to think about the summer of 2014 as a possibly better time. So here we go:

*The Twins open the season March 31, one of those rare March openers. But, thankfully, they open on the road this year after opening at home in 2013 (you might remember the weather was not so grand). The bad news? The opener is at the White Sox, where it is also known to be chilly in late March.

*Home opener is April 7 against Oakland. In all, the Twins have 14 home dates in April -- one fewer than in 2013.

*The interleague home series: April 29-May 1 vs. Dodgers (circle that one, presumably, for Yasiel Puig); June 4-5 vs. Milwaukee; Aug. 5-6 vs. San Diego; Sept. 22-24 vs. Arizona.

*Interleague road series, in case you want to plan road trips to different ballparks: May 20-21 at San Diego; May 23-25 at San Francisco; June 2-3 at Milwaukee; July 11-13 at Colorado. That's a pretty nice set of options, including making a week of it in California.

*Home games by month: April (14), May (14), June (10), July (16, plus the All-Star game/festivities), August (12), September (15). It's not quite as bad as 2013, when 31 of 81 home games were in April and September, but 29 still isn't ideal. And that's a pretty nice July.

For a full 2014 schedule, click here. Your thoughts, please, in the comments.