Batgirl, as regular readers know, is the Official Twins Blogger of the 2004 Summer Olympics. Batgirl will have to carefully balance her Olympic obsession with her manifest destiny as, well, Batgirl--but as loyal and talented Batgirl regular arrScott points out, these twin passions do conjoin this summer:

Here in Blylevenland, where America's national pastime is called "honkbal," local fans are excited over the Dutch team's chances at Athens. The Nederland team just beat Cuba and Japan in a preliminary tournament, and the absence of the US from Athens (and Justin Morneau from Canada's team) gives het Oranjes a real shot at a medal.

But the point of interest for Twins fans is that the Dutch team features rising Twins lefty Alexander Smit. Young Alex has a 2.54 ERA in six games at low-A Elizabethton, where he has 43 strikeouts and 10 walks in 28.1 innings. I saw him pitch for the Dutch team at the European Olympic qualifying tournament last year, and Smit can throw. The Twins have asked the Dutch national team to limit Smit's innings, so he'll probably either have short starting assignments or pitch an inning or two of middle relief, as he did at last year's qualifying tournament.

...The Olympics might be the only chance for Twins fans to get a look at one of the team's best pitching prospects before he has a shot at the big leagues in 2006.

[Here's a photo] of Smit from his . My wife says he's hot in a kind of Ephram-from-"Everwood" way.

Here is the baseball tournament schedule, and here is the tv listings grid.