Front row behind home plate, $275 (includes valet parking, food and drink)Fresh start in New YorkChange of park could change Twins' luckBy Kelsie Smithksmith@pioneerpress.com

The Twins might miss the majesty and aura of the old Yankee Stadium, and surely they appreciate the ballpark's historical relevance, but count them as advocates of its newer version.

The review is early, yes, as Minnesota is set to start its first series in the Yankees' new park tonight. But for this team -- 3-19 at the old Yankee Stadium from 2002-08 -- anything has to be better than the House that Ruth Built.

"Right now, you're not dreading it," catcher Mike Redmond said, "whereas in the past you'd dread going to New York because it was so tough to win a single ballgame."

So far for the Yankees, it's been tough to keep the ballpark in the public's good graces for a single game. Fourteen games into its Baseball baptism, the new stadium has been under scrutiny for its ticket prices, wind patterns and grass (Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon told reporters the biggest change from the old stadium to the new is a slower infield).

Television cameras have displayed glaring vacancies of the ultra-expensive seats behind home plate. The wash of unfilled cushioned, navy blue chairs forced the Yankees to slash prices -- some from $2,500 a seat to $1,250, others from $1,000 to $650 and still more from $750 to $550 -- and begin a buy-some-get-some-free program.

On the field, or over the fences rather, the results have been similarly alarming. In 14 home games, the new Yankee Stadium has surrendered 43 home runs. The 20 homers hit in the first four games there set a record for a new ballpark.

"It's kind of sad seeing the empty seats. What is it, like the first 10 rows or something, nobody's there," Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer said. "The home runs I'm not too sad about."

A possible wind tunnel has been blamed for the spate of long balls. But Greg Rybarczyk, who studies the distances of home runs for his Web site hittrackeronline.com and has compared satellite images of the new stadium with the old, told the New York Times that the reason could be that the right-ield wall is nine feet closer to the plate than at the old stadium in part of the power alley.

Of the 43 homers hit at the new ballpark, 32 have been to right field. For Minnesota's lefty-heavy lineup, that's excellent news.

"You just never know from year to year what the shape of a new stadium is going to do for a ballclub. We might go in there and play really well," Redmond said. "I know it's nice and conducive for left-handed hitters, which is nice for us because we've got a few really good ones. You never know, maybe New York will be good to us this year."

Cuddyer, a surveyor of all things Baseball, has been paying attention to all the buzz surrounding the Yankees' new stadium and, more than anything, it has him excited for Target Field. Like Yankee Stadium parts one and two, Target Field is slated to have outfield dimensions similar to the Metrodome.

"It gets you excited because this park sucks to hit home runs in," Cuddyer said of the Metrodome. "(In Wednesday night's 13-inning game) we should have had five home runs. That game should have been over with in the ninth inning (when Joe Mauer hit a flyout to deep center). It gets you excited. Hopefully the wind will be blowing out when we play. I know the pitchers won't say the same thing, but we do."