Not bad, eh?

Seriously, one of the Twins used the names "Joe Mauer, Baby Jesus and Michael Jordan" in the same sentence Friday night. Come on, I can maybe see one of those comparisons, but Michael Jordan?

"Aw, I don't know," Mauer said sheepishly.

There were an awful lot of adjectives flying around the Twins' clubhouse. But what else could anyone expect? Mauer returned to the team after an extended rehab stay in spring training. He went straight from the Florida sunshine to the dank, dark Metrodome without the benefit of the "adjustment" workout that always precedes the home opener.

Mauer stepped to the plate for his first at-bat of the season with two outs in the first inning. With a 2-0 count against Kansas City Royals pitcher Sidney Ponson, he took his first cut -- and crashed a home run over the left-field barrier.

"There were a few 'Oh my Gods' on the bench," manager Ron Gardenhire said.

"Maybe I let out a little frustration on that one," said Mauer, all smiles afterward. "Maybe somebody needs to get me angry before games."

The frustration and anger were the result of a rough winter that carried into spring training and beyond. First it was discovered he had a kidney blockage. When his back still hurt after that surgery, he was diagnosed with an inflamed sacroiliac joint. After a training camp of inactivity, he stayed in Florida to get in shape while the team headed north.

"This offseason, I don't wish that on anybody," he said.

His rejoining the team on May 1 led to that very dramatic moment. Gardenhire said everyone expected him to do something special. But a home run in his first at-bat was off the charts. After circling the bases, Mauer was greeted by his astonished teammates.

"They were kind of giving me a hard time a little bit," Mauer said. "They were saying, 'It's not that easy.' ''

He followed his home run with a hard double down the left-field line. In the fifth, he walked. In all, he scored three runs and knocked in one. As Gardenhire noted, the one time he didn't reach base he hit a rocket to shortstop Mike Aviles that was turned into a double play.

After the game, Mauer pronounced: "The pain I was feeling is not there anymore."

The sacroiliac pain is gone. No doubt he'll have other pains as he continues to work himself into shape. He reported no problems Friday night after the Twins' 7-5 victory. But the real test will come today when he attempts to roll out of bed. Twins fans hope he makes it all the way to the kitchen.

One thing is certain, the Twins' front office missed a golden opportunity. I mentioned to team President Dave St. Peter that while Mauer was struggling through his injury in Fort Myers, someone should have flown down with a contract extension in hand. Mauer is signed only through 2010.

Missing his teammates and maybe a little down in the dumps, he might have been vulnerable.

"Here, kid, we don't know what the future holds but we're willing to take a chance. Just sign right here on the dotted line. Don't bother to read it. It's all technical stuff. Just sign right here ..."

St. Peter got a good laugh out of that, although it may not be funny much longer. The Twins won't want to let Mauer get too close to free agency. Nothing good would come of that.

Mauer admitted to being a bit nervous before his first game back.

"This was like Opening Day for me," he said.

There's no telling what he'll do when he gets into full Baseball shape. He might leave his feet and fly around the Dome. Or he might heal a leper or something.

Oh wait, I already did the hyperbole thing. Well, it's going to be all over the place today. I don't want to be left out.

Without any embellishment, Mauer had a dramatic and successful first game of the season. Some of us were wishing the other hitters would hurry up with their business so we could see Mauer get up to the plate again. I wonder what Game 2 will bring.Tom Powers can be reached at tpowers@pioneerpress.com