Ah, Twins Fest is growing near, and the Twins are gathering, gathering, coming closer and closer to Batgirl. The air at the Batquarters crackles with excitment, and the Batkitties have major static issues. Reports come in of Twins sightings from hither and thither--yes, yes! They are in Minnesota, now, the wagons are circling now, bringing our boys home.

Carlos Silva, for instance, has been recently seen in Albert Lea getting his español on with some immigrant and exchange students in Albert Lea.

Minutes later, the Twins bus pulled up in front of the school. Out stepped Silva, accompanied by Twins catcher Joe Mauer, former Twins outfielder Tony Oliva and TC, the team's mascot. Wearing his No. 52 jersey over his street clothes, Silva greeted the students, then stood back as Oliva, the old pro, delivered a speech in Spanish.

When Oliva finished, he repeated the message in English for the benefit of Kyung-a Lim, 15, a foreign exchange student from South Korea.

"Here in America, if you don't have a high school diploma, it's very hard for you to get a job," Oliva said. "You finish high school, you'll feel a lot better. Nobody can take it away from you. Learn something. This is a good opportunity for you."

When Oliva finished, he introduced Silva, who was greeted with applause.

"Not everybody gets the opportunity to study in the United States," Silva told the students. "Take advantage of those opportunities. If you let them go, it's going to be harder."

Then the players fielded questions. Mauer, who grew up in St. Paul, confessed to being better at math than Spanish, "but I learn a lot from Carlos and Johan," he said.

"Don't worry about it," Oliva chuckled. "Two years from now you're going to be perfect."

New father Matthew LeCory (Can't type his name right, might as well go with it.) has been recently seen charming the audience in Fergus Falls at a Twins Caravan stop with poopy diaper stories:

LeCroy told the crowd at Tuesday's Winter Caravan stop in Fergus Falls that he's learned to change diapers -- "even the nasty ones" -- and he's got a special trick for dealing with them. "They have this invention called wipes," he deadpanned, "and I'll use a whole box of 'em if I have to."

He'll get to repeat the fun -- times two -- next fall, as the LeCroys are scheduled to adopt a second child in October. But by that time, he'll be an old pro at the daddy thing.

"It's funny, because now I'm real comfortable with raising a child, but early on I had no idea what I was doing," LeCroy said. "Now that I do, it's a lot easier. It's just fun now to see them smile, and they're so innocent -- I love it."

I have heard from my Batsources that the caravan stops have been just mob scenes, though Batgirl can only assume most people were there to check on the status of Joe Mauer's knee. Can anyone report in? Was there actual walking? What about bending, did anyone see any bending?