A few observations about Twins home opening day 2011

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Twins fans gave probably the biggest round of applause during the pre-game introductions to Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Nishioka stood in uniform with his teammates along the 1st baseline with the help of crutches. The second basement took a hard slide from a Yankee base runner last night in New York. The slide broke Nishioka's left fibula. The fans kept cheering and clapping during Nishioka's introduction until he doffed his cap to the crowd and bowed.

The Twins say a team doctor examined Nishioka today and says his fracture doesn't need casting or surgery. He'll only need to walk on crutches until the soreness and swelling subsides.

You might have expected Joe Mauer's first at-bat at Target Field this season to inspire more applause. The ovation was a bit feeble - as if fans were like, 'meh.'

Justin Morneau got his 1,000th hit in the first inning. It was a dribbler that was bobbled by an Oakland infielder. When the scorekeeper announced to the pressbox that it was a hit and not an error, a couple sports writers laughed and wondered out loud if Morneau would want to take that one back.

Team just announced today's attendance at 40,714 - a sellout.

I was too hungry to wade through the crowds for eats, so I settled for a pressbox bratwurst. It's not fancy and doesn't come on a stick. But it's still good.

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