Twins' Rocco Baldelli returns from All-Star break a married man

DETROIT — If anyone can use a honeymoon right now, it's Rocco Baldelli.

He has suffered through three five-game losing streaks in half a season, or one fewer than the Twins had in the previous four years combined.

He is using a roster in which three of the most frequently used regulars are hitting below .225. His bullpen has allowed the AL's greatest percentage of inherited runners to score in 50 years, and his pitching rotation has contributed the fewest innings per start in franchise history.

And that's not even the best reason you couldn't begrudge the Twins manager a few days on a tropical beach somewhere, a getaway that must wait until at least another 73 games are played.

Most managers would love to win a ring. Baldelli already has this week.

"I've got a wedding ring now. Haven't taken it off yet, and it feels good," Baldelli said Friday, three days after marrying his longtime girlfriend, Allie Genoa, in a wedding venue in Minneapolis. "I've never worn any jewelry at all, but this is going to be my jewelry from now on. And it feels great."

The Twins gathered at Target Field on Thursday, went through a light workout and then flew to Michigan to begin the second half of the season with a doubleheader — an event that was postponed another day by a steady rain. But Baldelli said it was hard to miss the refreshed nature of his team after four, and now five, days without playing baseball.

"Normally during the All-Star break you're doing a lot of vegetating and maybe seeing a few people if you can. It's a very welcome four days for everyone," said Baldelli, manager of a team that has been wracked by injuries over the past three months, and still has 10 players on the injured list. "Physically, it's fantastic. Mentally, it's fantastic. It's something that everyone, I hope, took advantage of."

The Twins would like to continue taking advantage of the Tigers this weekend, having swept four games in some of the most dramatic ways possible at Target Field to head into the break. Three times, the Twins rallied from late-inning deficits, a terrific learning experience for a rookie-laden team, its manager said.

"We've got a bunch of young guys in our lineup right now learning how to come together and win ballgames. And realizing there's more than one way to do it," Baldelli said. "If you start out strong, you need to tack on. If you start out not putting runs on the board, you have to figure out that starting pitcher, or go to work on that bullpen. It's not something that only works in one fashion, and our guys are learning that."

Just like how he's now learning to be a husband and, come September, a father.

The couple kept their wedding extremely private, with only the couple, the officiant and witness in attendance. Well, their dog Bowie, a Beauceron, was between the bride and groom, too.

"She was with us all day. It was a very family deal for us, Allie and Bowie and me and that was it," Baldelli said. "We kind of did everything together the entire afternoon, and we took some pictures afterward to document everything."

Those photos will remind them of a strange summer, a difficult season — and a wonderful respite from it all, honeymoon or not.

"Best break I ever had," Baldelli said.