MLB outlook, week of 4/11/10

 1. Twins’ new digs » Wondering how outdoor baseball will play in Minneapolis in April? Hasn’t happened since Metropolitan Stadium closed in 1981. The Twins just hope they get a chance to experience the cold in October, too. Opening Day in Minnesota is against the Red Sox on Monday afternoon. Will Target Field — just a few blocks off the mighty Mississippi River — be a hitter’s park or play more neutral? Either way, it’s a new stadium for the Twins, a new contract extension for star catcher Joe Mauer and tweaked road uniforms without the old pinstripes.

2. Nationals’ rotation » Just waiting to see who falls apart in the Nats’ five-man rotation because the team has plenty of options to replace anyone underperforming. Washington will let Opening Day starter John Lannan take his normal turn Sunday afternoon against the Mets and then see veteran Livan Hernandez for the first time on Monday against the Phillies. But Scott Olsen looked good in his last spring training effort. He will continue to pitch his way back from shoulder surgery in Triple-A Syracuse — for now. Chien-Ming Wang is further away. Stephen Strasburg could be up by June.

3. No lead is safe » Welcome to the American League East, where homers fly and relievers fail. In the first three days of the season, the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Blue Jays all managed to blow late leads. The cleanly shaven Chan Ho Park kicked things off last Sunday, allowing a single, a double and a homer against Boston, helping turn a 7-5 Yankees lead into an 8-7 deficit. Then, the division’s junior varsity closers (Baltimore’s Mike Gonzalez and Toronto’s Jason Frasor) blew saves on consecutive nights, combining to give up four earned runs in 2/3 of an inning between them. Boston’s Daniel Bard and Scott Schoeneweis rounded out the mix by combining to give up a 1-0 lead to the Yanks on Wednesday. New York won in extra innings.

SERIES TO WATCH
Angels at Yankees, Tuesday-Thursday
Nothing like an ALCS rematch to get the blood pumping in mid-April. Give props to the schedule makers on one thing: They handed the Yanks a brutal early-season slate (at Boston, at Tampa Bay, vs. Los Angeles). The Bombers raise their latest World Series banner Tuesday before their matinee against the Angels, who come to New York looking very different than they did last October. Gone are John Lackey, Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins; in are Joel Pineiro, Fernando Rodney and former Yankee Hideki Matsui.