Twins would have left if it weren't for Dome

It's interesting to see some of these Johnny-Come-Latelys who weren't around in 1982 when the Metrodome opened talk about what a relief it will be to have the Twins no longer playing in the building in 2010.

Yes, it hasn't been the greatest baseball park. But if the Metrodome hadn't been built, there would have been a good chance that the Twins would have moved to Tampa or some other place. Calvin Griffith, the former owner of the Twins, was reluctant to even sign a lease to play in the Metrodome in 1982, because he wanted the right to move the team if he desired.

If not for the great salesmanship of local businessman Wheelock Whitney, who convinced Griffith that the Dome would be great for the ballclub, then the Twins would have left town. Griffith was given an escape clause if the team lost money or didn't draw well.

Give Vikings co-owner Max Winter and his general manager, Mike Lynn, credit too. They pushed for the Dome's construction so the Vikings could have a comfortable home.

Two World Series, two Final Fours and a Super Bowl later, the building put the city of Minneapolis on the map and brought millions of dollars of business to this area that never would have happened if businessmen John Cowles Jr., Chuck Krusell, Pete Ankeny and others hadn't acquired the land with private funds and donated it where the Dome was built. John Cowles Sr. had played a big part in getting major league baseball here, and you can give his son a lot of the credit for the Dome being built.

Since it opened, some 85 million fans have attended events at the Dome. That includes the Timberwolves' inaugural 1989-90 season, when they set an NBA season attendance record of 1,0272,572, a record that figures never to be broken because no NBA team ever will play in a dome again.

And the best part of it all was that cost of the Dome was about $55 million, and with the help of the $25 million the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission got for the Metropolitan Stadium land they owned and some reserves, the building was debt-free.

Crede happy The only newcomer in the Twins' Opening Day lineup was Joe Crede, the former White Sox third baseman.

"It's great to be here, and I look forward to playing with these guys and going out there and helping them try to win ballgames," Crede said before the Twins lost to Seattle 6-1 on Monday night.

One thing about his new club that impressed him in spring training was the young pitching staff.

"They throw a lot of strikes. They get ahead of the hitters," Crede said. "They keep you on your toes out there in the field. It's a lot of fun to play behind.

"I definitely look forward to playing behind them in the Metrodome with the [FieldTurf] and getting those nice true hops out there. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to it."

"I've had a tough time there in the past," he said. "It's tough going from playing on a grass surface and outside stadium to all of sudden having to go play in a dome. It's just a different atmosphere and different hitting background and stuff. Once I start getting used to it and playing every day, I don't think it will be too much trouble."

Crede was a very popular player in Chicago, and he played a big part in the White Sox winning a World Series in 2005.

But he is not bitter about his departure. "It's just part of the game of baseball. I don't have any hard feelings about it," he said. "I'm not really somebody that's looking to the past, I'm always looking towards what's going to happen in the future.

"I see a lot of good things that are going to happen over here with this team. Being able to play with them down there for a month now, I've seen a lot of good things. I think this team is going to be very competitive this year."

Twins General Manager Bill Smith is excited about having Crede on the roster. "Crede is going to be a great addition for us," Smith said. "And the rest of the group that was here last year is a very close-knit group. We think they're going to be a good team all year long."

Last year, Southern California had four players selected in the first round of the NFL draft. After attending the Trojans' pro workout day last week, Vikings coach Brad Childress said he believes there will be at least that many at this year's draft later this month. "Every one of those linebackers, four of them, are probably draftable kids, not to mention the quarterback [Mark Sanchez] they have and some of the other kids they have as well." About Sanchez, Childress said: "He had a very nice workout. There were a lot of teams there to see him. He did some good things. He doesn't have much experience, but I know Pete [Carroll] didn't want to lose him."

The Twins plan to have two or three games exhibition games at Target Field before next year's regular-season opener there. One would be a college game with the Gophers involved, and then there would be one or two major league exhibition games to make sure everything is ready.

Bill Smith was standing on the Metrodome infield Sunday while the Gophers baseball team was preparing to play Ohio State. "If the Metrodome is knocked down, the program that will be hurt the most will be the Gopher baseball program that has been helped a lot because of the chance to play and practice inside," he said. Fundraising has started for the new Gophers baseball stadium, which could be up within 2 1/2 years. But it won't be inside. ... The Gophers will play a two-game series at Missouri beginning today. One of the Tigers' best players is former Rochester Mayo outfielder Aaron Senne, a 13th-round draft choice of the Twins in 2006.

Flip Saunders said of his future: "I'm confident I will coach someplace next year." If the Wolves coach this fall isn't Kevin McHale, look for club owner Glen Taylor to give Saunders every consideration to return to the Wolves.