Just getting in town and, my, how Fort Myers has changed

FORT MYERS, FLA. - Tsuyoshi Nishioka is not just the first player from the Japanese leagues to sign with the Twins. He is also the first player from any country to show up for Twins batting practice adorned with black capri sweat pants, black leggings and an entourage.

The Twins' idea of accessorizing usually is wearing one of the team-oriented T-shirts handed out by Michael Cuddyer. Nishioka has introduced neon and product placement to the Lee County Sports Complex.

When Nishioka moved toward the batting cage on a back field at Twins camp on Sunday, a dozen reporters aimed cameras and phones at him, and ignored future Hall of Famer Jim Thome as he walked through their midst.

For a team that prides itself on stability, this will be an unusual spring training. The bullpen will require an interior designer. The middle infield will require a translator and a seating chart.

Sunday, Nishioka began his field work at shortstop, with Alexi Casilla, a native of the Dominican Republic, making hand signals to him from second ... and then they switched places, offering no clue as to who will play where.

Such uncertainty can become a cause for consternation among fans. What we should have learned while watching the Twins and the rest of Major League Baseball the last decade is that even as the game becomes more empirical, it remains utterly mysterious.

Last fall, the San Francisco Giants became the ninth different team to win the World Series in the past 10 years, and they did so after muddling through the regular season, winning a mediocre division and resorting to a lineup filled with castoffs and rookies in the postseason.

The 2011 Twins face questions in the bullpen and infield, and about the health of their three best players -- Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan. Between injuries, failures, the possibility of a spring training trade and the usual midseason acquisitions, the Twins roster figures to look quite different on Sept. 1 than it will on April 1.

We can worry about the imminent and future changes, or we can embrace the mystery of baseball, a mystery that will require nine months of explication, and surprise the wisest and most wizened scout.

"In a lot of ways, we don't operate any different now than we did 25 years ago," Twins General Manager Bill Smith said. "If you look at the changes between 1987 and '91, World Series champions just four years [apart], and who left and who came, you realize that change is inevitable."

Smith said 22 of the Twins' 59 players in big-league camp are here for the first time, and that the number is over 20 every year. Recently he happened upon the famous photo of Carlos Gomez exulting after the Twins won Game 163 on Oct. 6, 2009, and realized that of the five faces visible, four have departed.

Carlos Gomez, Mike Redmond, Matt Guerrier and Bobby Keppel are gone. Matt Tolbert has a chance to make this team as an extra infielder.

"But change can mean opportunity."

And those opportunities might arise at any time. That Game 163 was won by Gomez, who had lost his starting job; Casilla, who was trying to claw his way out of manager Ron Gardenhire's dugout; and Keppel, who earned his first and only big-league victory that night.

Supporting actors that night included Brendan Harris, who drew a key walk; Nick Punto, who got a key out at home; and Tolbert, who hit an important single. Harris and Punto are gone; Tolbert has yet to prove himself as a regular.

Look around the Twins' spring training clubhouse on Sunday, and you would see dozens of unfamiliar faces, belonging to players who just might wind up in a photo on a Target Field wall.

"You said we have question marks," Smith said. "I'd say we have areas of change. The bullpen and the middle infield are going to have changes. We've got new faces.

"But we have confidence in the players we brought in, and the coaches we have, that we're going to be able to piece this together."

Cuddyer, the longest-tenured Twin, said: "The biggest thing for me is seeing guys step up in the bullpen. You look at our lineup, it's still deep. Obviously, the middle infield is a little different, but from everything I've heard, Nishioka is going to be a great addition. Lexi seems focused; he got here early.

"Otherwise, the lineup and the rotation are pretty much the same. I'm very optimistic. I think we're going to be right there again."