Twins hitters are hopeful Target Field will become less of a pitcher's haven when the weather warms. Meanwhile, Mets hitters sound as if they're losing all hope in Year 2 at Citi Field. "If you played here when it's 95 degrees every day, it would still be a tough park to hit in," Jeff Francoeur told the New York Post. "I don't care if you bring in Mark Teixeira, bring in anyone, [a big home run season's] not going to happen here. You know how many games you watch in Yankee Stadium and [Robinson] Cano will flip it down the right field line."
A real Cub at shortstop Starlin Castro, who was born in the Dominican Republic on March 24, 1990, is the new starting shortstop for the Cubs. "I couldn't imagine being a shortstop in Chicago at 20 years old," said Ryan Theriot, now the Cubs second baseman. "It was hard enough being a shortstop at Louisiana State University at 20, much less the Chicago Cubs."
Keep an eye on ... If you haven't been following Padres righthander Mat Latos, and most people haven't, his pitching lines are becoming harder to ignore. After allowing two hits over eight innings against Houston, he followed Thursday with a one-hit shutout of San Diego. According to Elias, the only other major leaguers to pitch at least eight innings while allowing no more than two hits and giving up no runs and no walks in two consecutive starts were Cy Young in 1905 and Billy Pierce in 1958.
