We’re sure that on tonight’s Yankees broadcast, much will be made of the fact that the team is playing the Twins, outdoors, in Minnesota, as opposed to playing inside the climate-controlled, occasionally noisy Metrodome. We’re sure many good points will be made about how cold fans will be at Target Field in October should the Twins still be playing, and how the conditions could potentially affect the quality of play. Of course, we expect to be too busy painting our chest in preparation for the who-gives-a-damn-if-it’s-cold 2014 Super Bowl to pay any attention to those points.
Here’s another likely topic of conversation: The Yankees aren’t playing very good baseball these days. They’re just 11–11 in May, and they’ve lost five of their last six despite rallying in the ninth in all five defeats. Minnesota’s a tough team to get right against, too: They’re tied with the Yankees for second-best in the American League. In case you were wondering, the Yankees are 17–18 in the first game at a new stadium during the expansion era. However, they won their first games at both Metropolitan Stadium and the Metrodome. So, yeah, that’s something you now know.
Worth noting: After this series is over, the Yankees play 13 of 16 (and 19 of 25) against teams currently in last place. Then again, they just lost two of three to a team currently in last place. After seeing how April played out, we’ll take good starting pitching over a favorable schedule any day.