When I was at Kauffman Stadium last August, it was a bit of a mess trying to get through all of the construction that was taking place around the stadium. But all of that mess was worth it after walking into the ballpark today and seeing it with all of the new renovations complete.

The biggest change for us writers is they’ve moved us to an entirely new pressbox and it’s beautiful. Yet it’s all the new stuff in the outfield and the changes they’ve made overall in the concourse area that might be the most impressive.. They’ve extended the concourse all the way around the ballpark so fans can take a full lap. There is a party deck and sports bar in right field. Kids attractions are also in left center field. I haven’t had a chance to walk around there myself yet but I definitely want to take a look. I say all of this knowing that Kansas City is a popular place for Twins fans to visit. And even if you’ve been here before, it’d be worth coming back to see the new changes.

A local writer this afternoon said that with the new changes at the ballpark, it now plays a little differently. He said that many of the line drives are no longer affected by the wind since the outfield areas have been closed in, and it’s resulted in more extra-base hits this season. The Royals — who aren’t necessarily the speediest team– lead the Majors this season with 28 triples.

As for Twins news, Nick Punto is back in the lineup. He said that there has been a huge improvement in his ribs over the last three days. Punto took early batting practice and told manager Ron Gardenhire that he was ready to play again. The hope is that all of the rib problems are behind Punto, but Gardenhire said that if the second baseman has to leave the contest at all tonight then he’ll be headed for the DL.

Twins
Denard Span, CF
Brendan Harris, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Joe Crede, 3B Brian Buscher, 3B
Delmon Young, LF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: Nick Blackburn, RHP

Royals
David DeJesus, LF
Willie Bloomquist, RF
Billy Butler, 1B
Mike Jacobs, DH
Mark Teahen, 3B
Alberto Callaspo, 2B
Miguel Olivo, C
Mitch Maier, CF
Tony Pena Jr., SS
Pitching: Luke Hochevar, RHP