3-0 with a bullet

The Twins opening 3-game series couldn't have gone much better.
Three quality starts from their supposedly second-rate starting rotation, some pretty good defense and enough big hits to make us happy.
No reason to start printing playoff tickets, but a great start nonetheless.
A few observations:
*Luis Castillo hasn't hit a ball hard yet, but he's 7 for 14 with two steals. I'm starting to get over the fact that Castillo constantly 'looks' like he's a tin-man. He's a catalyst. I really hope he stays healthy, and geez, if he does, maybe they should rethink the plan of ditching him for Alexi Casilla next year.
*Nick Punto is the best defensive 3B the Twins have had since Gary Gaetti. He continues to make some really, really good plays. Eric Chavez of Oakland has a stranglehold on the AL Gold Glove at 3B, and he's very deserving. But I think Punto may be just as good.
*Torii Hunter is not off to a good start in convincing me that he's back to his old self in CF. He's getting late jumps and looks slow moving laterally and coming in. He still seems to go back pretty well, but the ball he dropped in the 8th Wednesday night should've been caught. Should've been an error.
*Nice debut for Ramon Ortiz. Too many pitches up in the strike zone, and the velocity was less than I was expecting. But I'm not going to argue with 2 runs over 7. I'll reiterate my prediction for Ortiz this year: 13-11, 4.59.
*Another strong outing from Boof. There's a chance that the Twins underestimated Boof the last couple years. They've never pegged him as more than a 4th starter, which makes sense because his stuff isn't overwhelmingly great. But he's got that moxie you look for, and he seems to be getting more and more comfortable. I think he's got a shot to be the best No. 2 starter in the AL Central.

A couple other notes going into an off-day.
*Joe Nathan was on-call from the hospital on Wednesday as his wife Lisa was in labor. Since the Twins had a big lead, he didn't come to the park until the 9th, arriving in street clothes just in time to see Matt Guerrier wrap up the win. The Nathan's who already have a son, Cole, welcomed a daughter, Riley, into their family at 8:34.
*Johan Santana requested an extra day of rest, so instead of using Thursday's day off to skip their 5th starter, the Twins will send Carlos Silva and Sidney Ponson to the hill the first two games in Chicago. Gulp.
*Joe Mauer is still growing. He was 6-4 when he was drafted, the Twins list him at 6-5, and he says he's now up to about 6-6. He admits that it's a concern - if he keeps growing it will be difficult for him to catch. He's not the only one. Baltimore's game 2 starter, Daniel Cabrera, has gone from 6-7 to 6-9 over the last two seasons.
*Mike Venafro, the lefty reliever who posted a 0.00 ERA in spring training but was still sent down, decided to accept his demotion to Triple-A Rochester, rather than become a free-agent. Personally I think that was a mistake on his part, as I can't imagine he wouldn't have found a job. But I'm glad he did it. He'll have a chance to help the Twins this year. They're damn lucky he's still their property.
*If you're one of those who was truly worked up about the Twins losing JD Durbin by exposing him to waivers, this should make you feel better.
In his first appearance with the Diamondbacks, he got tagged for 7 runs in 2/3 of an inning, and the Diamondbacks immediately designated him for assignment. To give you an idea of how bad it is for the Real Deal at this point, he said he hopes no one claims him, so he can go to the minors.
"I just don't feel comfortable in the majors right now," he said.
Right.