2nd base battle

Dont ask me why but i think the battle at second base is not as over as everybody would like it to be between Brenden Harris and Nick Punto. Dont get me wrong Nick Punto is a superb defensive player probably our best defensive infielder but lets just look at the seasons the two had last year.

Nick Punto: avg :210 hr 2 rbi 25 obp.291 slug .271 and ops .562 also ab 472

Brenden harris: avg.286 hr12 rbi 59 obp .343 slug .434 and ops .777 also ab 521

Really there is no comparision between the two Punto is better defensively but come look at the difference in the OPS its 200 points. The only reason i think there is a competition is because of gardy. Gardy loves punto last year no matter how bad he hit he stayed in the lineup every day i really hope that doesnt happen this year because brenden harris is 2 times the player nick punto is. Dont take it the wrong way Nick is a valuable part of the team cause he can play so many differnt positions but he should not be starting so i beg you gardy do the right thing and start harris at 2b.

Friday Febuary 29th

• first off i want to give a blog to a new and improved blog and website that i thought was really cool.

• twinsterritory.com everyone check it out i thiought it was really cool
• The Twins have a game tonight against the Boston Red sox to get the fort myers cup going
  
• Seth Speaks has a really good article up today
• Joe Christensen has a good article up today

All and all its a pretty good sports day for the twins fans and anyone looking to see some good twins info check them out.

Thursday, Febuary 28th

Today was a great day cause today was the first grapefruit league game which means its twins time. Even though the Twins lost the important thing is we are out playing to see who the twins are going to bring up north with them. there are so many battles going on but its way to early to be concerned about any player or players. I think perkins will come around im not worried at all about him and im a little worrid about gomez not that he was 0-2 but i hear he looked horrible at the plate. Thats why i say another year at AAA would do him good allow him to grow at his pace. Heck he is only 21 years old and if the reason you want him up here is to justify the santana trade then your doing a diservice to the twins and more importantly to him. Carlos is going to be a phenomenal player just give him some time and you will see the speed, the defense and the hitting that we loved about him and why we wanted him in a santana deal so give him so time and i truly believe the twins and twin fans will be happy in the end.

projected 2010 twins lineup

I know its early to project that far ahead cause you dont know how people are going to respond in the minors and people you may add or lose from your team but i thought it would be fun to think ahead and i welcome anyones thought on this.
lineup
1.carlos gomez cf
2.joe mauer C
3.Delmon Young LF
4.Justin Mourneau 1b
5.Micheal Cuddyer RF
6.Jason Kubel DH
7. Trevor Plouffe SS
8. Matt Macri 3b
9. Alexi Casilla 2b

bench
Jose Morales C
Joe Benson of
daniel valencia inf
brian buscher inf

Pitchers
1. Francisco Liriano
2. Deolis Guerra
3. Tyler Robertson
4. Kevin Mulvey
5. Scott Baker
bullpen
CL Joe Nathan
Jesse crain
Pat neshek
glen perkins
nick blackburn
brian duesing
oswaldo sosa
let me know what you think

Wednesday, Febuary 27th

Great news for twins fans the Francise has arrived. Francisco Liriano has arrived at twins camp and that is great news. I was reading an article on sethspeaks about tempering expectations for him and i say forget about that i truly believe liriano has equal if not better stuff than santana. If Liriano can get everything back that he lost because of tommy john surgery he will be phenomenal.
Don't get the wrong idea you need to be careful with him he is only 18 months out from major major surgery so you shouldn't have him throw 230 innings this year. Like i have said since the day i started this blog the twins are going to be better than people expect but 2010 is the year that everything should come together for the twins and they should plan accordingly with the Francise.
Liriano is the one twins pitcher on the roster that a fan gets excited when you see in the paper that he is going to pitch. He has electric stuff and the kind of stuff people will sell out the new stadium to see. I admit it would be easy to rush him back but the risk way outweighs the reward because if his rehab and first year are done correctly he have an ace for the next 10 years because i truly believe in 5 years he will have multiple cy young awards he will be that good.
I dont think you should tell him not to throw the slider or put a limit on how many sliders he can throw because if you can work on his delivery and get rid of the violent tork he put on that elbow he will be able to throw just as many sliders and be as dominant as we rememeber and be the Francise we all know and love.

Glen Perkins what to do with him

There can be a very interesting discussion to be made on what to do with Glen Perkins i really believe there are 2 choices assuming he doesnt win the 5th starter job.
1. keep him a starter and send him to Rochester
2. keep him on the roster and put him in the bullpen
My view for the best of the Twins is put him in the bullpen because thats where he would help the team the most right now. Dennys Reyes had a bad year last year and when Glen was healthy he is very effective. I know he missed 3 and a half months last year with a shoulder strain but i think it was a freak thing. The bottom line is he is major league ready and putting him in the minors wont really help him hes 25 and his future is as a starter but i think the present to help the team the most is put him in the bullpen. By doing that your helping out the twins organization the most and really when making decisions like that shouldnt you be thinking how can i help the Twins win as many games as possible and right now that is by having him in the bullpen. I appreciate anyones feedback on this.

Tuesday, Febuary 26th

Today was a big day for the twins because it was their first scrimmage with concordia so we were able to get a look at some twins before the big opener of grapefruit. According to Lavelle the Twins won 7-5 and its way to early to panic but its not to early to be concerned. The one im really concerned with is Philip Humber cause he wasnt throwing very hard and if he can not get his velocity up he is just an average pitcher so look for that to be a big thing throughout the spring. There are a few others to be concerned with but like i said its way to early to worry about anyone humber including so we should get a start looking at the team thursday when the twins play the reds in a grapefruit game with scott baker pitching.

Twins projected opening day roster

I thought it would be a good time for me to project who i think will go north with the Twins and i look forward to any comments i receive if you disagree.
1. Denard Span CF
2. Joe Mauer C
3. Michael Cuddyer RF
4. Justin Mourneau 1B
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Jason Kubel DH
7. Mike Lamb 3b
8.Brenden Harris 2b
9. Adam Everett ss

Reserves
Mike Redmond C
Nick Punto INF
Craig Monroe OF
Brian Buscher IF

Having Denard Span make the roster as the starting CF may surprise alot of people but i think going into spring training he wants it the most and i think gomez needs some more time in AAA he is the future in cf but i think Span is the present. By having Span in CF i think that guarantees Monroe a roster spot as long as he shows up this spring. I think Monroe will play some center field so that leaves open the possiblility for a pinch hitter off the bench that luis rodriguez had last year and i think that fits Brian Buscher to a T he is a good hitter with power and he will be the perfect guy to have on the bench for the late inning heroics.

Pitchers
1. Scott Baker
2. Livian Hernandez
3. Francisco Liriano
4. Boof Bonser
5. Kevin Slowey

Bullpen
Joe Nathan CL
Pat Neshek
Jesse Crain
Juan Rincon
Matt Guerrier
Dennys Reyes
Glen Perkins

I think in the pitching deparment there are question marks about every starter but if they can be answered i really believe the Twins have a chance to compete. The Biggest one is Liriano cause if he can come back and be that ace we need everyone else can fall in line and Scott Baker can be that #2 and so on. If he cant there are a number of other choices but for this purpose i am going to say he starts the season in the rotation. In the bullpen there are alot of questions also but i know gardy likes to have 2 leftys so i pick perkins to be here and alot depends on crain being healthy and if neshek can last a whole year. I believe they can and i really believe the people that are concerned about our pitching are wrong just becuase we dont have the name value in that rotation i truly believe there is talent there waiting for the chance to show it.

Monday, Febuary 25th

Not a whole lot to report today but i found a few things that i found that were pretty interesting that i thought I would share.
1. Twins insider Lavelle E. Neal III reports that Francisco Liriano hit 97 on the radar gun a few times and consistantly 92-95. I think that is huge cause a big indicator for pitchers after tommy john is velocity and if has that back already thats good news for him and also the Twins cause if he can be The Franchise that we remember look out for the Twins.
2. Also from Lavelle its looking more and more like Joe Mauer is going to hit 2nd with the Twins cause he wants to hit Mourneau 4th. I think that is good because Mauer hasnt developed the power yet that we have been expecting but man can he hit singles and doubles. Hopefully Michael Cuddyer or Delmon Young will step into that 3 hole and take off so we can do that.
3. Jesse Crain threw off the mound without pain so that is very good news cause when he is right our bullpen goes from great to awesome.
Overall its getting exciting and when we get the Franchise in camp Wednesday things should get more exciting.

Twins Prospects 11-20

11.Joe Benson
12.Wilson Ramos
13.Brian Duesing
14.Chris Parmalee
15.Danny Valencia
16.Oswaldo Sosa
17. Nick Blackburn
18.Jason Pridie
19.Jay Rainville
20.Alex Burnett

Sunday, Febuary 24th

Not a whole lot to report today they are in the early stages of workouts but i do have a couple things to report.
1. accordingl to Twins insider Lavelle E. Neal III "Deolis Guerra threw off the mound and was he impressive. he throws hard and has a good changeup while hes developing his curveball." The thing about him is he is only 18 years old and i am really excited about him because i truly believe in 2-3 years if your patient with him you have the stud we needed to get for santana.
2. Another cool thing i found was in Joe christensen's column about the Tshirts made up by Micheal Cuddyer. on the front it said
Goal: 162+
(No Excuses)
on the back it says
PROVE THEM WRONG!

that was really exciting it just shows you that the twins still believe that they can have a great team this year and really thats what it is all about them believing cause us fans will believe if they believe. I cant tell you how excited im getting for tuesdays first game it should be exciting.

Top 10 Twins prospects

Here in my opinion is the Twins top 10 prospects and tommorrow i will bring you the next 10 everyone let me know what you think.
1.Deolis Guerra
2.Carlos Gomez
3.Tyler Robertson
4. Kevin Mulvey
5.Anthony Swarzak
6.Ben Revere
7.Alexei Casilla
8.Jeff Manship
9.Trevor Plouffe
10.Philip Humber

Saturday, Febuary 23rd

Now this is the day every twins fan waits for all winter. today is the first full squad workout for the twins and soon some important questions will be answered.
1.Can Joe Mauer stay healthy a whole year?
2.Will Justin Mourneau's new contract bring him down?
3. Who is Brenden Harris
4. Can Mike Lamb pick up the hitting slack
5. Can Adam Everett replace Jason Bartlett
6. Can a change of scenery be the difference for delmon young and carlos gomez
7. Can Franscisco Liriano be the Ace we need
8. Can the starting 5 hold up and many more
all those questions wont be answered today but this is the day all twins fans have been waiting all winter long for the sound of the wood bat hitting the baseball theres not a better sound in the world.

Joe Nathan-what to do with him

The Twins have an interesting decision to make with Joe Nathan he will be a free agent at the end of the season and alot of young guys in the bullpen that might be able to do the job. My opinion on this is if the price is right sign him because he is one of the top 3 closers in the game and pitchers like that are hard to find. Nathan will be 33 so what i would do is tear up this years contract and offer 4 for 48. i think thats a very fair offer and if he wants more i would get would i could for him but i would wait till the deadline because relievers are more valuable then look at what Texas got for Eric Gagne last year. But i believe that if Joe Nathan truly wants to stay with the twins he will take that and the Twins will have an awesome closer for the next 4 years. i would appreciate everyones opinion on this and i might have more this afternoon.

Santana Trade

I thought i would weigh in on the Santana trade even though it was a few weeks ago. I felt the Twins made a great offer to Santana in the 5 for 93 range and they could walk out of the situation with their head held high. When he turned that down it became obvious that we needed to trade him and get what we could out of him. I may be in the minority here but i dont believe for one second that the twins got legitimate trade offers from either the Yankees or Red Sox. I believe that they each wanted Santana but they have decided to follow the twins lead develop their players and if their is someone on the free agent market that is exciting go for him. I believe from the start they leaked those players out to get the Mets to raise their offer because its pretty obvious thats where he wanted to play and they needed him as much as he needed them. I think its hogwash how alot of Twins fans are ripping into the Twins when they didnt have alot of leverage and did what they had to. Instead of looking at what we could of got lets look at what we did get.
1. Carlos Gomez-his potential is endless i believe he is going to be a superstar. look at his speed Jose Reyes says Gomez is faster than him so that should tell you the speed he has plus his power will come. He need to develop better plate discipline and i think that will come but i think a year in Rochester will do him good but when he gets here to stay people will say Torii Who?
2. Philip Humber-He also has a lot of potential just look at his last start in the minor leagues he showed the control and outstanding offspeed pitches. He had Tommy John surgery a couple years ago and everyone says the second years better. The key is if he gets his velocity back if he does he will be a phenom if he doesnt he will be a bullpen guy simple as that.
3. Kevin Mulvey-He is a very interesting prospect because he had an outstanding college career at Villanova. drafted in the 2nd round in 06 and reminds me of a former mets farmhand that the twins aquired in Kevin Tapani. He will not blow you away but has great command and great contol and give him another year in the minors in either new britain or Rochester and you will see a guy in the twins rotation for years to come.
4. Deolis Guerra- Now this guy has electric stuff i truly believe if your patient with him he will be a right handed santana he has all the tools and is only 19 years old just be patient with him and you got the ace the twins were looking for.
Overall i would give it a b+ and if Humber can get his velocity back its a A all the way

Denard Span-Twins career at a crossroads

Denard Span is a very interesting prospect for the Twins. Some say he is a young version of Kenny Lofton while others say he is a bust that will never play an inning in the big leagues for the Twins organization. When i studied him you got a mixed bag on one hand you have all the talent in the world and at times he shows it on the field. But at other times you see an undisiplined underacheiver. Look at his career stats for example he was drafted in the first round of '03 draft as a high school senior and worked his way up slowly and surely. In 2005 he started in Ft Myers and hit .339 in 49 games there and showed great discipline at the plate with almost as many walks as strikeouts and showed the speed that the Twins saw when they drafted him which got him a promotion to New Britain where he did solid in the rest of 2005 and 2006 which earned him a promotion to Rochester for 2007. That is where it was a little more of a stuggle for him when he was terrible in the first half. Struggling swinging at bad pitches and struggling on the base paths getting thrown out way more often than a person with his speed should He hit .267 for the season but .304 in the second half so the question is which guy is he is he the guy the twins have been grooming for 5 years or is he a bust that is on the way out of the Twins organization. I agree with the latter look at the amount of talent this guy has it is limitless he has all the skills that a team wants out of its center fielder. He can run,catch,throw,hit,steal bases and be the leader of the outfield. I truly believe in 5 years Denard Span is going to be a star whether its with the twins or not remains to be seen. I believe wholeheartedly that last season was a learning experience for Denard that will lead to a change in his career. With the Santana trade its doubtful that Span is going to be the future center fielder for the Twins with Carlos Gomez around but i do believe he is the best option this season and at the end of the year your going to have a commodity that you can either make room for or trade for prospects but write it down right now in my opinion the sky is the limit for this kid and he will be starting in center field for the Twins on opening day.

Friday, Febuary 22nd

hey everyone i have had computer problems this week but im back and i have the day off of work so i plan to post a few things today and i want to thank Seth Speaks for the plug he didnt need to do it but i appreciate the help. anyway i will be posting a few articles today hope you all like them.

5th starter battle

i think the battle of who to be the twins 5th starter is going to be a doozy. I would have to say that i think going into spring training scott baker,livian hernandez,francisco liriano(if his health allows)and boof bonser are the favorites for the first 4 but the 5th spot should be a battle and each of them have their good and bad spots.
1. Kevin Slowey-i think he goes in the favorite after going 4-1 after his late season recall and he put up good stats in rochester. hes the future for the twins but he will have to show it on the mound.
2. Glen Perkins- He really showed alot last year before shoulder problems derailed his season. alot depends on how he gets back from that and if he is able to get the velocity back that he lost from the shoulder.
3. Philip Humber-He has showed flashes of why he was drafted 4th overall in the 2004 draft but since having tommy john surgury hasnt been able to get the velocity back that will be interesting to see if he can get the velocity back.
4. Nick Blackburn- He has all the talent in the world and he had a phenomenal season last year in Rochester. however when he got called up he struggled with the twins so he needs to show that hes ready to make the stepup.
There are many others that i think could make the jump but i think those are the main 4 canidates. i welcome feedback on this and if you have any questions just email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Sunday Febuary 17th

The twins are just about to have their first workout of the spring and all i can say is its about time. For anyone thats reading this its a new blog and im so excited for the twins to start. i know theres lots of questions but the good thing is theres alot of talent and i think they will be better than people think they will be. ill write more later but i just wanted to introduce myself my name is Travis Aune and im a longtime twins fan and hope people like my blog.