Section 219: Coming soon, baseball stuff

In the office, we're starting to talk baseball without feeling self-conscious about it.

La Velle is preparing for the Diamond Awards banquet next Thursday at Target Field, which is your best chance to see him (and other sports reporters) all dressed up with someplace to go. And Joe C. is off on a secret mission that has taken him somewhere warm for a few days. Don't ask. Details will surface soon enough.

And the Twins are on the road, playing schools and local gathering places around Minnesota as part of their Winter Caravan, with TwinsFest coming at the end of next week. It's a good thing that TwinsFest is back at the Metrodome after being forced to Blaine last season by the roof collapse. I'm not sure that charging $5 for photos, which used to be free, is a fan-friendly thing coming off a 99-loss season.

But revenue streams are revenue streams, I guess, and if it helps pay for Josh Willingham...

Here's the autograph-session schedule, including price lists and assorted restrictions.

Here's the Twins Caravan schedule. Maybe Trevor Plouffe and Dan Gladden will buy you a burger at the Hardee's in Windom on Wednesday

If you're going to pay for more stuff, here are a couple of Section 219 recommendations:

You can order the book here.

My friend Julian Loscalzo and his posse are holding their 4th annual Last Hot Stove League Banquet and Charity Auction next Friday (Jan. 27) at the Prom Center in Oakdale. (I know Oakdale sounds exotic and far away for some of you, but it's just on the other side of St. Paul and the Prom is less than a mile off I-94. So that's not an excuse.) Former Twins pitcher Scott Erickson and team president Dave St. Peter, who is the most accessible big-league team executive in Minnesota sports (by miles and miles) are on the program

The "last banquet" thing stems from Julian trying to end the banquet a few years back and -- in part because of Bill (Spaceman) Lee, Corey Koskie, Mike Veeck, Tim Tschida and others -- being a colossal failure at doing so.

There's a charity auction that benefits St. Paul's Dunning Little League. (Yes, you can bid on going to a Twins game with me -- or have both tickets and tell me to stay home.) Veeck will be there, as well as former Red Sox pitcher and Minnesota guy Dana Kiecker. And they'll be honoring a very special Citizen of the Year. Says Julian: "This year's Citizen Award will be going to a very loquacious, yet retiring, individual." John Gordon? Jon Huntsman? Jim Kleinsasser? You'll have to come to find out.

Tickets are $30 in advance (available at Anodyne Coffee in Minneapolis and Golden Thyme Coffee in St. Paul) and $35 at the door. Some years, you've gotten free beer by getting there early enough. "Batting practice" starts at 5:45 p.m.; "Game time" is 7:10 p.m.