Q & A column

Today i was able to have a Q & A with Seth over at Seth Speaks and it was very informative and shed some light on some things i was wondering about because i am so new at this. I hope you all like it and i am going to try to get a Q & A column every week so i hope you all enjoy.


Seth-
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions i really appreciate it.
TT: Lets start with how you got involved in your blog and how it has come to be as big as it is.
SS: About five years ago, I was at home trying to find baseball stuff to read, so I did a google (or probably Yahoo back then) search for "Twins Dork." Well, the Twins Geek site popped up, and through there I learned of Aaron Gleeman's blog and the Dickie Thon Twins Fan Forum. I figured I'm not too dumb, have opinions on the Twins, why not start my own blog. It started slowly, but over time, it really picked up. I went from 15-25 hits a day, to a mention by the Twins Geek that got me up to 100 for a day. then Aaron would mention my site. Gradually over time, it went to a couple hundred hits a day. Now, there are generally four to six thousand hits a day which makes it a lot of fun.

TT: What is your view on the Johan Santana trade when it comes to the prospects the Twins brought in?
SS: Like all Twins fans, I followed all of the rumors throughout the offseason. I wondered frequently if we were about the hear about the deal. It took forever and like many, I finally got to the point where I didn't want to discuss it until it was over. So many names were thrown out in the media. that is great for the Twins because it raises the level. I admit mixed feelings with the deal. I believe that the Twins not only needed top prospects in return, but I thought that quantity of prospects were important for the organization as well. Carlos Gomez or Fernando Martinez? I could go either way, but the Twins need was a CF, not a corner guy where the Twins are set for the next 3-5 years. Carlos Gomez or Jacoby Ellsbury. Sure, Ellsbury looks like a sure thing, but he doesn't have nearly the upside as Gomez. He's also a couple years older. Philip Humber fell down on lists as well after Tommy John surgery, but he's now in Year 2 back after a very solid return from the surgery. He's close and could help the Twins right away if needed. Kevin Mulvey could be a #3 and he appears to be the type that will make it and have some success, even if not an ace. He will be solid! And finally, Deolis Guerra's upside is tremendous and I'm glad he was part of the deal. He has an amazing ceiling, but I'm glad that the Twins have decided to go slow with him. I really believe that all four will come up and help the Twins over the next several years. I think the deal had to be made and will prove to be a great deal for the Twins. What other deals were truly on the table? We'll never know, but I don't think we can assume that any were better, and with prospects, that can't really be judged for several years anyway.

TT: Do you view Daniel Valencia as a future starter at the Big League Level?
SS: I certainly do. In a way, I'm glad that they are starting him back at Ft. Myers. I'd like to see him succeed for six to eight weeks and then take over the hot corner for New Britain. With Mike Lamb signed for two years, the Twins should feel no need to rush him. Brian Buscher and Matt Macri would be adequate replacement level types for the next year or until Valencia is ready. So, I would think that Valencia could be the Twins starting 3B by 2010.

TT:How high of a ceiling do you see for Valencia?
SS:He'll need to cut down on the strikeouts and probably find a way to walk a little bit more. But I can see him as a future .280/.350/.480 type of ceiling. Very solid, borderline all star.

TT: Who do you view as the Shortstop of the future?
SS: As of today, I still believe that Trevor Plouffe is the Twins SS of the future. In part, I believe that because I still see Alexi Casilla as the 2B of the future. I can see Casilla being the Twins SS in 2009, with Plouffe likely playing in Rochester, but by 2010, I can see the two teaming for double plays up the middle.

TT:Do you view Anthony Swarzak being as a future Twin if so how effective do you see him being.
SS: Certainly I think that Swarzak is a guy that the Twins will bring up at some point. I had him ranked 2nd in the organization (behind only Tyler Robertson) in my Top 50 Twins prospects at the end of last season. Reports are that he still has just two pitches, so that is limiting, but I think those two pitches are good and he has experienced a lot of success. That said, the Twins have a lot of pitching prospects, Swarzak right there among the top, and he is very close. The Twins will have to add him to the 40 man roster after the season, so they can also be patient with him. Let's not forget that there is always the option of trading some of the pitching prospects.

TT: What is your view on Jeff Manship?
SS: Manship is one of my favorite Twins prospects. He's easily a top 10. He is several years after his Tommy John surgery now and has been healthy. He's got a good fastball, but his big pitch is his curveball. I was also happy that he began the season at Ft. Myers, but like Valencia, I think 6-8 weeks of success there should have him moving up to New Britain. That is the level in which college pitchers tend to first struggle. It will be interesting to see how he performs with the Rockcats before we really know how good he can be. I expect him to succeed because he doesn't walk a lot of hitters and he just seems to understand how to pitch. Plus, he's a nice guy who has done a couple of Q&As on my site and participated in the NFL "Expert" Picks panel this offseason.

TT: Do you see Brock Peterson ever making it to the major leagues?
SS: I do, and yet 2008 is a very important year for him. As a 49th round draft pick, the odds certainly are not in his favor. However, the odds of him making it to AA weren't good either, and he has done well. Last year, something happened at the midway point of the season. He stopped striking out and started walking more, without losing his power. I think that he can be a solid backup to Justin Morneau as well as a DH option and right-hander off the bench. However, he will have to show again in 2008 that his 2007 success was no fluke. He has to have a solid year. Because of the depth at Rochester, the Twins can afford to not push him more than they neeed to which allows him to further develop. But don't forget that Danny Matienzo had a monster year at AA about three years ago. He was sent back to AA the following year and struggled the whole year. The next year, he was out of the organization. That's why 2008 is very important for Brock Peterson.

TT: What kind of ceiling do you see for Deolis Guerra?
SS: The 18 year old is already 6-4 and strong. He's got a fastball that touches 95 and people say his changeup is already advanced. He will need that curveball to become truly a top level prospect. But again, he's young, and unlike the Mets, the Twins are going to be willing to let him advance fairly slowly. I think that is smart. Let him develop that third pitch. But I think that ceiling for Guerra means a couple of Cy Young awards. But it's impossible to know what an 18 year old phenom in Hi-A ball will do in 3-4 years. Health is the biggest key.

TT: What letter grade would you give the Twins Minor League System and why?
SS: B-... Outside of Carlos Gomez and Deolis Guerra, there aren't a lot of blue-chip prospects. But there are a LOT of 2nd tier pitching prospects, guys that could be #3 and #4 types of pitchers. I think that is very important and a strength for the organization. As we know, there are not a lot of high level bats in the organization and the hitting prospects, for the most part, are in the lower levels, so they can improve or drop in status. But there are a lot of minor leaguers who could provide depth to the Twins even now. So, that is why I will still say that the minor leauge system is above average overall.

thanks for your time i really appreciate it

Tuesday, April 8th

I will be continuing my series on the Twins position by position look into the Twins organization. Today i will be moving onto 2nd base position hope everyone enjoys it and let the comments continue.



Twins

• Brenden Harris- Brenden is a interesting player that just came into the Twins organization in the Delmon Young trade. I really like how flexible he is in that he can play 2nd,ss,and 3rd which is a must for infielders in the Twins organization. I know he hasnt shown it yet this year, but i think he will bring an improvement over Jason Bartlett. He is a good hitter with decent power and a good glove. Last year was his first full season in the Majors and put up good numbers he hit .286 with 12 HR's and 59 rbi's in 137 games. He was a journeyman early in his career going to 5 different organizations before his breakthrough season last season. With not alot of depth at 2nd base i think Brenden has a chance to start at 2nd for the next few years. What he needs to do is show last year was not a fluke and if he can do that he will be fine.

Rochester

• Matt Macri- Matt is a very flexible infielder who plays 2nd,ss,and 3rd also. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 4th round of the '04 draft and joined the Twins in a late season trade for Ramon Ortiz. His best position is 3rd base but i wanted break him down because we really dont have a 2nd basemen at Rochester. Howie Clark gets alot of playing time but i dont see much future for him so i thought i would write about Macri because i see a brighter future for him. He is a career .282 hitter who plays good defense and has a little pop in his bat. I dont look for him to have huge upside but its possible for him to make it to the majors as a utility man as early as next season.

New Britain

• Steven Tolleson- He is a solid second baseman that has worked his way up to the Rock cats. He hit .285 last season with 79 BB's and 27 stolen bases to earn the promotion to the Rock Cats. For him to improve he needs to work on cutting down his strikeout total he had 97 strikeouts in 487 at bats. It was a real credit for him to rebound when he got demoted from Ft Myers back down to Beloit. I dont see much of a outlook for him but every organization needs solid players to show how to play the game the right way and should be commended for it.

Fort Myers

• Brian Dinkelman- He was selected by the Twins in the 6th round of the '06 draft and has been pretty solid so far in his Twins career. He is a career .277 hitter who plays good defense and is finding his swing. He is slowly working his way up going from elizabethton to beloit and now to fort myers. He has a very good eye at plate which helps the team and he is off to a good start this season so hopefully he can keep it up. Its a little early to judge how he is going to be but he is off to a good start and worth keeping an eye on.

Beloit

• Steven Singleton- The Snappers don't really have a natural 2nd base so Steve has been playing there this season. Steve was a 11th round selection in the '06 draft. He put up a decent '07 season with the Snappers and is back for another season. He hit .271 in 102 games so he has shown that he can hit, but for him to take the next step he needs to get better discipline at the plate. Look at last year he only had 8 walks compared to 47 strikeouts you would like to see that ratio close to 50-50 in a middle infielder. Its too early to tell but its worth keeping an eye on him.

To be all honest our 2nd base position is weak by any standards and was hurt worse when the decision to move Alexi Casilla to shortstop was made. The Twins have to hope Brenden Harris turns out and they need improvement at 2nd out of every level in the system.

Twins 2 games Royals 1 game

The Twins just finished a series with the first place Royals and there was some good things that happened from it and a few concerns.

• Matt Tolbert has really impressed hitting .444 for the young season and has proven that he can play at the major league level.


• The starting pitching continues to impress with 3 good starts again


• Joe Nathan is worth every penny the Twins paid him getting 2 more saves this weekend.


• The Biggest thing was the revitalization of Justin Mourneau who hit 2 HR's and 7 RBI's in the 3 games and made a defensive play that was a web gem.


• Carlos Gomez once again showed what happens when he gets on base.

The Negatives

• Mike Lamb continues to struggle on the year hitting only .100 on 2-20 hitting. I believe he will come out of it he's too good of a hitter but for this lineup to succeed we need Mike to be a force.
• Craig Monroe continues to struggle and if this keeps up makes you wonder if last year was a trend and not a anomaly like we were hoping it would be.

All in all it was a good series and the important thing is winning series. So far they are 1-1 in series this year and they need to win every series. Now they head on first road trip to Chicago, Kansas City and Detroit and it will be a good test for this ballteam to see where they really are as a team so far.

Monday, April 7th

Today i am going to continue my series on the Depth of Twins minor league system one position at a time. Yesterday i started with the Catcher position and i hope everyone enjoyed it. Today i will move on to 1st base hope everyone enjoys.

Twins

• Justin Mourneau- I really like Justin as a player and a leader for this organization. His power numbers are great he is the first person to hit 30 Hr's in back to back season's since Gary Gaetti did it in 1986-87 so thats quite the accomplishment. The thing people dont give him credit for though is his defense. It will never be confused with Doug Mientkiewicz's defense but there are not many people in history that are in that league,but he has improved it every year until now he is solid and doesnt hurt the Twins. I look for Justin to keep getting better and better. I see a 40 HR season in his future and he is one of the Cornerstone's of the Twins, so it was nice that they locked him up long term because in a few years what they paid him will be a discount. If he is able to stay healthy the sky is the limit for Justin Mourneau and i look for him to put up Killebrew type numbers and will be remembered as one of Minnesota Twins great icons.

Rochester

• Randy Ruiz- Randy has been a career minor leaguer who has jumped around quite a bit. The Twins are his 9th organization that he has been a part of and he is only 30 years old so that should tell you alot about him. The guy can hit a ton at the minor league level, but not enough to make it to the show. He was really impressive this spring with the Twins that if they need a hitter dont be surprised to see him up this year. However, I dont see alot of future for the guy he is a career minor league player and that is all he is going to be in my opinion.

New Britain

• Brock Peterson- Brock has been an interesting player for quite a while. He was drafted in the 49th round in '02 so you can tell the Twins did not expect a whole lot out of him, but he has outshined a lot of guys that the Twins were expecting more out of. He is a career .272 hitter with 64 HR's in 5 seasons so those are some decent stats. He is solid with the glove too so a promotion to AAA this season is not out of the question. The problem is i dont see him ever making it to the majors with Twins with Justin Mourneau standing in his way. Even without Mourneau, he is just a solid player not outstanding, but not terrible. If things go right for him i see him as a backup in the majors i just dont see that happening with the Twins.

Fort Myers

• Johnny Woodward- Johnny was a 3rd round pick of the Twins in the '04 draft and struggled a little early on, but he had an outstanding '07 season. He started out with Beloit where he hit 10hr's and 31 rbi's in only 66 games which earned him a promotion to Fort Myers where he did good there too. Right now he is splitting time with Whitney Robbins but i see Johnny getting most of the playing time as the season moves on. He does alot of things well, but the thing that really impressed me and jumped out at me when i looked at his stats is his eye. He had 58 BB's in only a 117 games which shows me that he has a good eye at a plate which is huge watching a player develop. It's still too early to see how he is going to develop, but you would hope he would develop a little more power as he goes along because thats what the Twins need is power off the bench. The bottom line is the future is bright for this kid so keep an eye on him.

Beloit

• Garrett Olson- The Snappers really dont have a true firstbasemen on their roster especially when Chris Parmalee got sent to the outfield so Garrett has been playing first base this season. To be all honest Garrett has really struggled with the snappers with a .219 average there last year. He is still really young though and could figure it out. I think its way to early to give up on the kid its just he needs to figure things out and the sooner the better.

As was the case with catcher the 1st base position starts and ends with Justin Mourneau thats why it was so important that they signed him long term. Brock Peterson and Johnny Woodward have some talent and are guys worth keeping your eyes on to see how they develop and if they can help the big club in a few years.

Sunday, April 6th

i am starting a new topic today that i think will be interesting i hope everybody thinks so too. Every day i am going to write about a player at every level at one position. and what i think of them and what i think of their future based on their past and future outlook. Today i will start at catcher

Twins

• Joe Mauer- My view on Joe is i think he is the best defensive and offensive catcher in the game and the sky is the limit. The only question is can he stay healthy for a whole season. It started in '04 when he only played in 35 games because of injury and then last year when he played in 109 games. If he can stay healthy the sky is the limit for him based on his career .313 average. I really believe he will be fine and when its all said and done he will be a hall of famer and i just hope we can keep him in a Twin's uniform his whole career.

Rochester

• Jose Morales- My view on Jose is I think he has a lot of talent and has put up some solid numbers in AAA the problem is his path to the majors is blocked by Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond. That said he is pretty good defensively not in the league of Mauer or Redmond, but not bad at all and offensively he is very good. I view him as an ok prospect at catcher but i dont see him anything more than a third catcher for the Twins and there are better catching prospects in the Twins organization. I view him as a career AAA player who would probably be better served in another organization where he would get a better chance to play.

New Britain

• Drew Butera- My view on Drew is I think he is excellent defensively, however he struggles a bit with the bat. I base that on the fact that he is a career .213 hitter in 3 seasons in the minors. When it comes to Defense though you are not going to find many other catchers with the Defensive capabilities that Drew brings. His Arm is very strong and he has good flexibility to block pitches and he calls a good game. He is a very smart catcher who if he can improve his hitting could become a solid 2 catcher. I look for Drew to make it to the majors whether its with the Twins or another team i think Drew will be a major league player in 2 or 3 years.

Fort Myers

• Wilson Ramos- Now this is the top catching prospect in the entire Twin's organization. I have a lot of hope for this kid he is very good defensivly, but what i really like about him is his potential Offensivly. He has dominated in every level the Twins have put him at and he is only 20 years old. I view him as the long term answer if the Twin's ever decide to move Joe Mauer to another position. He has everything a team is looking for in a catching prospect and i am really high on him. I look for him to reach the majors around the '10 season when the Twin's move into their new stadium.

Beloit

• Daniel Lehmann- To be honest i dont know alot about this guy he played in rookie ball last year and struggled. He got promoted to Beloit this year and the hope is that he can find his game offensively and improve catching with the Twin's taking him in the 8th round out of Rice. I really dont see alot of future for the guy but he needs to develop an offensive game and develop a better work ethic or he wont be in this organization very long.

GCL

• Danny Rams- There is a lot of pressure on this guy considering that the Twin's drafted him in the 2nd round of the '07 draft. Its a very small sampling so i dont know how much he can base what he did last year on the fact that he only played 27 games. He hit .258 with 22 strikeouts in 97 at bats. His plate discipline is something that he is going to have to work on, but he is someone to keep an eye on for the future based on how highly the Twins Brass viewed him coming into the draft.

The Twins catching position starts and ends with Joe Mauer that is why its so important for the Twins to sign Mauer long term again because other than possibly Wilson Ramos they really dont have anyone to take his place. I would really welcome comments on this let me know if you liked it or not and if you want me to continue with this theme at other positions.

Liriano is he ready?

A big thing that i have found a lot of discussion about in other websites is whether Francisco Liriano is ready to be in the majors or if the Twins should take their time with him. I am going to give you my opinion and i want some feedback to see if you agree with me or you think the Twins should do something different. My website from now on is going to be more user friendly and not so much just my opinions. I will still state my opinion but i welcome everybody else's opinion too so we can have a good conversation about topics.
Francisco Liriano as pretty much any Twin fan knows had Tommy John surgery about 18 months ago and is trying to get back into pitching shape. He had a visa problem so he was 9 days late for camp. He got himself in pitching shape and started throwing harder and harder. To be honest, his first few starts were not very good but i think he was just getting used to pitching again. However, his last couple starts were Liriano of old and put himself back into the talking to go North with the team. Gardy decided he wasn't ready and sent him to Fort Myers for a start and Rochester for a start. The real question should be why what did he do in those starts in Spring Training to deserve a demotion to the minor leagues. Seems like everytime i hear Gardy say anything about Liriano it is negative and that gets underneath my skin a little because the guy is working his butt off to get back and your manager calls you fat and says your not ready when he had a better spring than half the pitchers that made it. Thats fine if he is not ready to hand him a spot in the rotation. The thing that irritated me was yesterday when Kevin Slowey strained his bicep that will make him miss atleast 1 start and the thought of bringing Liriano now was brought up and he went off. Saying he is not part of any plans when it comes to Slowey and that he is not ready and that he will have to make 2 starts atleast. It just seems to me like the logical thing to do was bring him up and put Slowey on the DL and if Blackburn keeps it up send Slowey to Rochester and if Blackburn is faltering send Blackburn to Rochester. But instead Gardy dismissed that thought almost like he has it out for Liriano. Granted it Looks like Liriano was not in the best shape he could be when he reported for spring training, but come on he is the future of this organization and he should be treated with the respect he deserves.
Everyone im really curious what you think about that whole deal any feedback would be appreciated.

Revamping the Website

i want to know what you guys want on the website so im asking you in the comments box to give me some ideas that you would like to see on this website and see how that goes. Thanks for the people that look at my website and tell your friends because its going to be a much better website from now on.

Wednesday, April 2nd

The first 2 days of the season have made a few things pretty clear to start the season

• The Starting rotation is going to be up and down and i think we expected that. Monday Livan Hernandez was really good giving up 2 runs in 7 innings. Then last night Boof Bonser wasn't terrible but wasnt good either he got hit pretty hard. The defense saved him some runs and he has to pitch better than that if we are going to have a successful season.
• To be expected the hitters are struggling a bit swinging the back. I bet if you look at all the scores the pitchers have an advantage over the hitters to begin the season. It usually takes time for the hitters to get their timing down and before people start jumping off the bandwagon i think they should give these guys a chance. I have said it before and still think the hitting will come around and be the strength of the team so chill out everyone.
• When Carlos Gomez gets on he is a difference maker. In the first game he got on 3 times and stole 2 bases and scored 2 runs and the Twins won. Last night he only got on once and the Twins lost. I dont think its a coincidence and you will see that alot this year when he is getting on base the Twins will win and when he isn't they will lose.

Tonight the Twins and Angels battle in game 3 of their series tonight with Nick Blackburn making his season debut versus the Angels Joe Saunders opening pitch is 7:10 pm hopefully the Twins can get back on track and get back into the winners circle.

NFL Mock Draft 3.0

1. Miami Dolphins- Jake Long OT Michigan
2. St Louis Rams- Chris Long DE Virginia
3. Atlanta Falcons- Glenn Dorsey DT LSU
4. Oakland Raiders- Darren Mcfadden RB Arkansas
5. Kansas City Chiefs- Ryan Clady OT Boise ST
6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston DE/Lb Ohio State
7. New England Patriots- Leodis Mckelvin CB Troy
8. Baltimore Ravens- Matt Ryan QB Boston College
9. Cincinnati Bengals- Sedrick Ellis DT USC
10. New Orleans Saints- Keith Rivers LB USC
11. Buffalo Bills- Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
12. Denver Broncos- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt
13. Carolina Panthers- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh
14. Chicago Bears- Chad Henne QB Michigan
15. Detroit Lions- Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois
16. Arizona Cardinals- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB Tennessee St
17. Minnesota Vikings- Derrick Harvey DE Florida
18. Houston Texans- Aqib Talib CB Kansas
19. Philadelphia Eagles- Limas Sweed WR Texas
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Desean Jackson WR California
21. Washington Redskins- Kenny Phillips S Miami
22. Dallas Cowboys- Felix Jones Rb Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers- Branden Albert G Virginia
24. Tennessee Titans- James Hardy WR Indiana
25. Seattle Seahawks- Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina
26. Jacksonville Jaguars- Phillip Merling DE Clemson
27. San Diego Chargers- Gosder Cherlious OT Boston College
28. Dallas Cowboys- Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech
29. San Francisco 49ers- Mario Manningham WR Michigan
30. Green Bay Packers- Sam Baker OT USC
31 New England Patriots- Forfeited
32.New York Giants- Dan Conner LB Penn ST

New Britain RockCats Roster

C Drew Butera
1b Brock Peterson
2nd Felix Molina
ss Trevor Plouffe
3b Luke Hughes
LF David Winfree
Cf Brandon Roberts
Rf Matt Moses
DH Erik Lis

Pitchers
1. Ryan Mullins
2. Anthony Swarzak
3. Yohan Pino
4. Oswaldo Sosa
5. Jay Rainville

Bullpen
Kyle Aselton
Armando Gabino
Jay Sawatski
Jason Miller
David Shinskie
Ben Julianel
Zack Ward

Rochester Red Wings Roster

C Jose Morales
1b Randy Ruiz
2b Alejandra Machado
ss Alexi Casilla
3b Matt Macri
Lf Jason Pridie
CF Denard Span
RF Jon Knott
DH Brian Buscher

Reserves
Eli Whiteside backup catcher
Tommy Watkins inf
Darnell Mcdonald of
Howie Clark in/of
Garrett Jones in/of
Pitchers
1. Glen Perkins
2. Nick Blackburn (i know he made the team but will be back down when liriano goes north)
3. Philip Humber
4. Brian Duesing
5. Kevin Mulvey

Must say thats a pretty solid top 5 atleast 3 of them will spend time with the twins this year.

Bullpen
Bobby Korecky closer
Julio Depaula
Ricky Barrett
Carmen Cali
Casey Daigle
Danny Graves
Zack Day

im going by a 25 man roster if im wrong on this let me know

Monday, March 31st

OPENING DAY

Happy opening day everyone today is a day we have been waiting for. Tonight the Twins open the '08 season against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The return of Torii Hunter should be interesting to see how the Twins' fans are going to react to him to see if he is cheered or booed or what. Now im going to do some projections where i think some Twins players are going to end up this year.

Joe Mauer: .325 average 12hr 68 rbi's
Justin Mourneau: .290 average 37hr 131 rbi's
Brenden Harris: .268 average 15hr 71 rbi's
Adam Everett: .234 average 2hr 35rbi's
Mike Lamb: .278 average 22hr 85rbi's
Delmon Young .292 average 24hr 101 rbi's
Carlos Gomez: .262 average 8hr 33 rbi's 52 stolen bases and 101 runs scored.
Michael Cuddyer: .278 average 21hr 105 rbi's
Jason Kubel: .265 average 10hr 52 rbis
Craig Monroe: .270 average 15 hr 52rbi's

PITCHERS
Livan Hernandez: 14-11 3.96 era
Boof Bonser 10-7 4.45 era
Francisco Liriano- 15-4 2.91 era
Kevin Slowey 12-6 4.12 era
Scott Baker 14-5 3.35 era
Joe Nathan 1.91 era 41 saves
Pat Neshek 2.24 era
Jesse Crain 3.31 era
Juan Rincon 2.82 era
Dennys Reyes 3.32 era
Matt Guerrier 2.96 era
Brian Bass 4.34 era

RECORD
91-71

Sunday, March 30th

today is time for my national league predictions

EAST
1. New York Mets
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Washington Nationals
5. Florida Marlins

Central
1. Chicago Cubs
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Cincinnatti Reds
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

WEST
1. Los Angeles Dogers
2. Colorado Rockies
3. San Diego Padres
4 Arizona DiamondBacks
5. San Francisco Giants

Postseason Awards
MVP: Alfonso Soriano
Cy Young: Johan Santana
Rookie of the Year:Kosuke Fukudome
Comeback Player of the Year: Andrew Jones

10 Bold Predictions
1. Joe Torre will lead the Dodgers to the Playoffs
2. The Chicago Cubs will return to the world series for first time in 52 years
3. The San Fransisco Giants will flirt with the record for losses in a season but come up just short
4. Alfonso Soriano will go 40-40 this year
5. Johan Santana will win 25 games this year
6. The Houston Astros will lead the NL in Runs Scored
7. The Houston Astros will lead the NL in Runs Allowed
8. Mark Teixiera will lead the Braves to the wildcard
9. The Philadelphia Phillies will be the disappointment of the NL
10. The Cubs will beat the Mets in the NLCS but lose to the Tigers in World Series

Saturday, March 29th

Predications for the American League for 2008

EAST CENTRAL WEST
1. Boston 1. Detroit 1. Anaheim
2. New York 2. Minnesota 2. Seattle
3. Toronto 3. Cleveland 3. Texas
4. Tampa Bay 4. Chicago 4. Oakland
5. Baltimore 5. Kansas City

Postseason Awards
MVP: Miguel Cabrera
Cy Young: Justin Verlander
Rookie of the Year: Adam Jones
Comeback Player of the Year: Francisco Liriano

10 Bold Predictions
1. Fausto Carmona will have a better year than C.C. Sabathia
2. Francisco Liriano will win 15 games
3. The New York Yankees will not make the playoffs
4. The Minnesota Twins will win the Wild Card
5. Jacoby Ellsbury will spend half the season in AAA
6. Seattle will finish under .500
7. Ozzie Guillen wont make it through the season
8. Dontrelle Willis will lose more than he wins
9. Carlos Gomez will steal 50 bases
10. The Detroit Tigers will win the World Series

Friday, March 28th

Ok i now this is going to go against the grain a little bit but im going to go off on the Twins organization a little bit. I dont normally do something like this because usually i agree with the decisions Ron Gardenhire and the Twins front office makes but i think this one is just plain stupid. Today after the game the Twins optioned Francisco Liriano to Class A Fort Myers which they say is only for a couple of starts. All i know is that his last 2 starts have been better than any Twins starter has posted this whole spring.
9innings pitched
1 run allowed
3 hits allowed
4 walks
12 strikeouts
All i know is he is ready for the season and he should be going north with the Twins. Gardy said he is not ready and needs a couple more starts that is hogwash he is more ready than anyone else. A part of me thinks this is punishment for showing up late, which wasnt his fault, and second for leaving Arizona early last fall. I hope im wrong on that cause thats petty and mean and not looking out for whats best for the ballclub. It wont be a big deal but i really think the Twins can contend and i think by the end of the year Liriano is going to dominate again. So if they miss the playoffs by 2 games they will have nobody to blame but themselves.
Other than that its great that opening day is upon us and everyone is an optomist and to end this i will make one bold prediction this is the last opening day in the next 7 or 8 years that wont be started by Francisco Liriano aka "The Francise"

Monday, March 24th

Here is the 2008 version of your minnesota twins to start with

1. Carlos Gomez CF
2. Joe Mauer C
3. Michael Cuddyer RF
4. Justin Mourneau 1B
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Jason Kubel DH
7. Brenden Harris 2B
8. Mike Lamb 3B
9. Adam Everett

Reserves
Mike Redmond
Nick Punto
Craig Monroe
Matt Tolbert

Pitchers
1. Livan Hernandez
2. Boof Bonser
3. Kevin Slowey
4. Nick Blackburn
5. Scott Baker

Relievers
Brian Bass
Matt Guerrier
Juan Rincon
Dennys Reyes
Jesse Crain
Pat Neshek
Joe Nathan

My thoughts on the roster is i agree with it for the most part i think Gomez is going to bring alot of excitement to the team so i was glad he made it. I think it will only be a couple weeks before Liriano is back up and Blackburn is back in Rochester. The only change i would of made is have Philip Humber make it instead of Blackburn i think he outpitched him. But all in all its a pretty good roster and it should be fun to get started.

Liriano still hurt?

i read an interesting article on MLB.com about how the Twins are worried about Francisco Liriano and if he is lying about how he is. To paraphrase Gardy is wondering if Liriano is still hurting and lying to him about it. He used an example this fall where he said he was going to stay in fall instructional league and the next day he took off. The Twins are wondering if the reason he has struggled so much this spring is because it is still hurting in the elbow. Gardy says he doesnt know that but it worries him because he has lied to him before IE: 2006 when he said he was fine all year and then later saying he was hurting all year.
Im not going to lie im concerned about him because the Twins need Liriano in the future to be all they can be. We have alot of big pitching prospects but none in the league of Liriano. This year i dont care about wins and losses with him i just want to be extra careful to make sure his elbow is sound and not hurting. Even if he sat half the year to get him confidence in his elbow and his pitches is more important than what he will do this year. For the Twins to become the team in '09 and beyond we need Liriano to be that ace we all know he can be. Maybe im just jumping to conclusions but i think its better to be cautious with him then callous and lose him for a long time.

Saturday, March 22nd

I think its pretty much set who will be on the Twins roster to start the season. But that doesnt mean the people that start the season are going to end the season with the Twins. But its always fun to see who makes the team that way you can figure out a Rochester lineup and so on so here is my projections.

CF Carlos Gomez
C Joe Mauer
RF Michael Cuddyer
1b Justin Mourneau
LF Delmon Young
DH Jason Kubel
2b Brenden Harris
3b Mike Lamb
SS Adam Everett

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

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

Bullpen
Brian Bass
Dennys Reyes
Matt Guerrier
Jesse Crain
Juan Rincon
Pat Neshek
Joe Nathan

Thats my roster let me knwo what you think

Friday, March 21st

Ive decided to do another Nfl draft projection today since i wont be at my computer tommorrow when i will regularly do one so here goes.
1. Miami- Chris Long DE Virginia
2. St Louis- Jake Long OT Michigan
3. Atlanta- Glenn Dorsey DT LSU
4. Oakland- Darren Mcfadden RB Arkansas
5. Kansas City- Ryan Clady OT Boise St
6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston DE/LB Ohio State
7. New England- Dominique Rodgers-Cromratie CB Tennessee St
8. Baltimore- Matt Ryan Qb Boston College
9. Cincinnatti- Sedrick Ellis DT USC
10. New Orleans- Leodis McKelvin CB Troy
11. Buffalo- Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
12. Denver- Keith Rivers LB USC
13. Carolina- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt
14. Chicago- Brian Brohm QB Louisville
15. Detroit- Aqib Talib CB Kansas
16. Arizona- Mike Jenkins CB South Florida
17. Minnesota- Derrick Harvey DE Florida
18. Houston- Brandon Flowers CB Penn ST
19. Philadelpia- Limas Sweed WR TEXAS
20. Tampa Bay- Desean Jackson WR California
21. Washington- Mario Manningham WR Michigan
22. Dallas- Felix Jones RB Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh- Branden Albert OG Virginia
24. Tennessee- James Hardy WR Indiana
25. Seattle- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh
26. Jacksonville- Phillip Merling DE Clemson
27. San Diego- Sam Baker OT USC
28. Dallas- Reggie Smith CB Oklahoma
29. San Francisco- Calais Campbell DE Miami
30. Green Bay- Gosder Cherilus OT Boston College
31. New England- Forfeited
32. New York Giants- Kenny Phillips S Miami

Thursday, March 20th

I listened to the Twins game tonight on the radio and i think some things are getting very obvious for the Twins.
1. Kevin Slowey is going to be in the rotation. Tonight he pitched 5 shutout innings and looked good again its 3 great starts in a row for the guy. In his last 3 starts he has given up only 1 run allowed.
2. Carlos Gomez is going to be the center fielder. He is such an exciting player with 9 stolen bases this spring. The only thing i dont like about him is his attitude. To be all honest he is a hotdog and that doesnt fly with the twins. He will learn to get his attitude in check or he will be back in the minor leagues because the Twins dont stand for it no matter how talented he is.
3. How valuable Joe Nathan is to the team. He pitched 2 innings tonight and just blew away the competition. Good news out of Twins camp is that Nathan and the Twins are closing in on a extension that will keep Joe in a Twins uniform for the near future. He is so important to the future of the Twins that they need to make sure it gets done because he will win alot of games for the Twins this year.

Wednesday, March 19th

Today i thought i would write about the Twins Starting Pitching situation. There are alot of question marks on who is going to be in the rotation, who is going to be in the bullpen and who is going to get sent down.
Scott Baker- He is the biggest question mark not because of his talent but because he pulled a back muscle. Right when he was getting ready to come back from that he came down with the flu. Right now he could only throw 50 pitches and that wouldnt cut it so he needs to get his work in and he is running out of time to do it so its 50/50 that he will be in there and 50 percent he will be in the DL.
Livan Hernandez- He has been absoultly awful this spring and he keeps saying that he will be fine when the season starts well i hope so.
Boof Bonser- He has been the most consistant starter this spring and looks like losing that weight has made all the difference.
Francisco Liriano- Its obvious that he is not the same pitcher he was in 2006 yet. But the question is would he be better served learning on the job and working with Rick Anderson every day or stay in Florida for a month and working on his velocity and slider. I think the latter would be better.
Kevin Slowey- He started off really slow this spring getting hit all over the park his first few starts but he has been really solid his last 2 starts and if he keeps it up he will go north.
Philip Humber- He just had his first start of the spring and it was pretty impressive and he was impressive in relief roles and i think he will make the team as a reliever or as a starter if baker and/or liriano doesnt start the season up here.
Nick Blackburn- He has been ok and if they need 2 starters i think he would be one of them but i dont think he has done enough and probably headed to Rochester.
Glen Perkins- Like Blackburn he has been ok just not good enough in my opinion to make the team unless the injured pitchers dont go north.
Brian Bass- He has been very impressive and he is out of options so he is the wildcard that could take Philip Humber's spot so he is one you need to keep your eye on for the rest of the spring.

Tuesday, March 18th

im going to go off track a little today and go to football with the nfl draft coming up and the vikings having a big offseason already its time to move forward to that so from now until draft day every tuesday i will be doing a first round mock draft. everyone let me know what you think

1. Miami- Chris Long De Virginia

2. St Louis- Jake Long OT Michigan

3. Atlanta- Matt Ryan QB Boston College

4. Oakland- Darren Mcfadden RB Arkansas

5. Kansas City- Ryan Clady OT Boise St

6. New York Jets- Vernon Gholston DE Ohio ST

7. New England- Leodis McKelvin CB Troy

8. Baltimore- Dominic Rodgers-Cromartie

9. Cincinnatti- Glenn Dorsey DT LSU

10. New Orleans- Keith Rivers OLB USC

11. Buffalo- Malcolm Kelly WR OKlahoma

12. Denver- Sedrick Ellis DT USC

13. Carolina- Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt

14. Chicago- Jeff Otah OT Pittsburgh

15. Detroit- Mike Jenkins CB South Florida

16. Arizona- Felix Jones Rb Arkansas

17. Minnesota- Derrick Harvey DE Florida

18. Houston- Aqib Talib CB Kansas

19. Philadelphia- Limas Sweed WR Texas

20. Tampa Bay- Desean Jackson WR California

21. Washington- Kenny Phillips S Miami

22. Dallas- Brandon Flowers CB Virginia Tech

23. Pittsburgh- Branden Albert OG Virginia

24. Tennessee- James Hardy WR Indiana

25. Seattle- Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina

26. Jacksonville- Phillip Merling DE Clemson

27. San Diego- Gosder Cherilus OT Boston College

28. Dallas- Jonathan Stewart RB Oregon

29. San Francisco- Mario Manningham WR Michigan

30. Green Bay- Sam Baker OT USC

31. New England- Forfeited

32. New York Giants- Dan Conner OLB Penn St.

Monday, March 17th

I hope people are not getting to excited about Francisco Liriano's struggles this spring he will be fine eventually. But from what i have seen and what i have heard he is just not ready to help the major league team yet. I think the best thing for him is go to the minors to start the season and when he can get his velocity up a little bit and throw his slider then bring it up. I think the worst thing the twins could do is bring him up north before he is ready and have him get shelled. His future is limitless so be patient with him and give him some time in the minors.
The question is if you send Liriano to the minors who do you put in his spot in the rotation. The leading contenders are Blackburn and Humber. I would of said Perkins but i think he is going to the bullpen to start the season. Tommorrow should be interesting since Philip Humber is getting a start against the Orioles. He has had good stats against backups so it will be interesting to see how he does against starter players. My personal opinion is he is a better pitcher but until after tommorrow Blackburn is in the lead and it will be a battle to the end of spring.

Sunday, March 16th

Here we are less than 3 weeks away from the season opener and i believe the roster is starting to take shape. I watched the game today and i must say im a little concerned about Livan Hernandez the more i see him the more i think he wont be able to get American League hitters out with his 83 mile per hour fastball. There is a reason he has spent his whole career in the National League its because they are lesser hitters and free outs with the pitchers. I hope im wrong but i think he will be gone by the all star break.
Other than that i have been impressed with some players this spring and there is some battles that will come down to the last week but i think we have a pretty good idea who is going to win those jobs and ill break it down for you.

2b- I think it is pretty clear Brenden Harris is going to be the starting 2nd baseman. I know he hasnt hit alot this spring but Punto is much more valuable as a utility man cause he can play anywhere and i think Harris will hit.
CF- This is a little more clouded since Denard Span has had a pretty good spring,but i think Carlos Gomez brings to much to the plate. His speed changes the game for the twins. Just look at the situation starting with his first at bat he bunted for a hit, stole 2nd and they threw it into center to go to 3rd and scored on a mauer hit. if he can get on base 40 percent of the time he will steal atleast 50 bases this year. The difference between the 2 is Gomez is a better baserunner and better centerfielder with a stronger arm.
5th starter job- The cream always come to the top and Kevin Slowey has really done well his last couple starts and if he keeps it up he will take the 5th starter job. Blackburn and Perkins are waiting in the wings if should falter and one of them will end up being the 12th pitcher, but i would give the edge to Perkins because he would give us the 2 lefty's in the bullpen. Because Reyes is good but when he pitches to much he gets worn down and thats why we should keep perkins.
25th man- I think this battle is between Buscher and Garrett Jones and i would give the slight edge to Jones not only on performance and also because he is out of options and i think thats the best way to go.

3/15 projected lineup

CF Gomez
C Mauer
RF Cuddyer
1b Mourneau
LF Young
3b Lamb
2b Harris
DH Kubel
ss Everett

Bench
Redmond c
Punto inf
Monroe of
Jones of/inf

Pitchers w/o baker and liriano
1.Hernandez 1. Hernandez
2.Baker 2. Bonser
3.Bonser 3. Slowey
4.Liriano 4. Perkins
5.Slowey 5. Blackburn

Bullpen
Perkins Humber
Guerrier Guerrier
Crain Crain
Rincon Rincon
Reyes Reyes
Neshek Neshek
Nathan Nathan

everyone let me know what you think

Saturday, March 15th

I watched the Twins today and Kevin Slowey was very impressive today going 4 innings and giving up 2 hits and 1 run to take the lead for the 5th starter Job. Also Carlos Gomez was very impressive today going 3-4 with a HR and 2 stolen Bases. I know there are some people that might Disagree with me but i think Gomez is getting better and better every day and he should be the starting center fielder to start the season. If he is not ready you can send him down anytime and keep him out of Super 2 status. Denard Span has not done anything this spring to tell me that he should be in instead of Gomez. He has been solid but nothing spectacular and going into Spring Season i thought he had to beat out Gomez and i dont think he has done that. There are 13 games left this spring and whoever does better those 13 games should be the one who should be in center to start the season.
The more i think about what is best for the team if he continues to impress Glen Perkins should be in the bullpen and the 12th Pitcher with Humber and Blackburn starting at Rochester. Alot depends if Baker and Liriano start the season with the Twins.

Friday, March 14th

Yesterday, Jesse Crain got hit by a line drive in the knee while pitching in a minor league game. Hopefully it is not serious and he can get back to pitching for twins very soon. The Twins lost a tough 3-1 game to the Orioles yesterday in which Nick Blackburn struggled in his first start this spring for the Twins. That 5th starter position has not been very good this spring with none of the contenders really pitching very good. just look at the stats:

Kevin Slowey: 2 starts 1-0 8.10 era 6.2 innings with 15 hits and 6 runs

Glen Perkins: 2 starts 1-1 6.75 era 8.0 innings with 12 hits and 6 runs

Nick Blackburn: 1 start 0-1 3.86 7.0 innings with 3 hits and 3 runs
Right now i would say the favorite is Blackburn but its way too early to say because none of them have really earned the spot and they each will still have 2-3 starts left to win that job so it will be interesting who will take it.
In center Field it looks very similiar to the 5th starter job that nobody is ready to take the position. Carlos Gomez is only hitting .148 while Denard Span is hitting a robust .227. Neither one of them have done anything to seperate themselves and i think the twins should seriously consider going with Craig Monroe in Center and keep Jason Pridie as the 4th outfielder because its pretty obvious the other 2 are not ready to be in the major leagues right now. They would have Monroe's bat in the lineup and they could replace him with Pridie late in games for defense if thats what they want to do i think its worth considering.
Today, the Twins face Pittsburgh in Fort Myers today with Boof Bonser making his 3rd of the spring. He has probably had the best spring of all our pitchers so hopefully he can keep it going today and someone will step up in center field.

Thursday, March 13th

The Twins lost a tough one yesterday to Boston 12-7 in which Carlos Gomez went o-3 to lower his batting average to .148. Im getting more and more convinced that he should start the season in Rochester. I dont know if Denard Span is the answer in center but i think he is the best option for the time being. If Gomez goes down and shows he can do it you can bring him back up in may and its no big deal. I just think it would be a mistake to push Gomez and thats what they would be doing if he starts the season with the Twins.
I was reading the Star Tribune today and i read an article by Patrick Reusse, and it made me think. I've read the star trib sports section religiously since i could read and i have read many of his articles and to be honest im sick and tired of the regativity in his articles. He never has anything good to say about anybody and he always says every sports teams in Minnesota suck and there is no hope. I understand he is trying to sell papers, but come on, the Twins are not as bad as he makes it out to be. I would be shocked to read anything good about the Twins in his column. Anyone have any comments on that article post them here.
Today the Twins travel to Fort Lauderdale to face the Baltimore Orioles with Nick Blackburn having a very import start for the Twins. The way it is now hes the favorite to be the 5th starter because he has been solid all spring and now he gets a chance to start and see how he does. Denard Span gets the start in center today hopefully its a sign of things to come

Francisco Liriano's 2nd start

Before anybody jumps to any conclusions when they see Liriano's line today keep in mind its his 3rd and 4th innings in 18 months. Granted he wasnt great today in 2+ innings today he gave up 4 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks and 1 strikeout. However, i believe its going to be a work in progress with him all year. I truly believe if your going to get him your going to get him in the first half of the season. I think by the end of the year he will be the same lights out pitcher he was in '06, but if you think he is going to be dominant right away your fooling yourself. Right now he is a #4 or 5 pitcher and just let him improve and improve because by the end of the season the patience will be rewarded and the man they call the Franchise will be back the way we remember him.

Wednesday, March 12th

Today an interesting occurance happened when Gardy announced that Jason Pridie is out of the running for the starting cf job. I was really surprised by that because i thought he was having a decent spring. The battle now goes to Span vs Gomez which should be very interesting considering neither one is really hitting very good this spring with gomez only hitting .167 and Span .273. I think this could last until the last few days of spring training. I think Gomez is going to get the nod but i dont have alot of confidence in it with the way he has been hitting and his lack of effort at times.
Today in Fort Myers The Twins battle the Red Sox in the final battle for the Mayor's cup each team has won 2 games and this is the deciding game. Francisco Liriano gets his second start today vs Clay Buchholz. This is an important start for Liriano as he is trying to get a good feel for his slider and try to get his velocity up a bit. This should be a marquee pitching matchup for years to come because each has a very bright future in baseball. For the first time this spring the Twins have their regular lineup in and thats good news for Carlos Gomez. He gets the start today and if it means what i think it means i think he's in the lead to be the starting centerfielder on opening day.
Another announcement out of Twins camp is Livan Hernandez is more than likely going to be the starter on opening night. I dont have a problem with it because why put more pressure on the young guys when he has made 8 opening day starts and he understands the pressure. The big thing is after the first start every pitcher pitches every 5 days so there really is not an order. Lets get excited Twins fans because situations are being settled and we are getting closer and closer to opening day.

Tuesday, March 11th

First off i want to give a shoutout to Seth Speaks he has a really interested article about the Cf battle from 7 different perspectives. Twins fans you should check it out its very interesting thing to read.
Yesterday the Twins won over the Marlins 4-2 with an ok start by Kevin Slowey. he pitched 3 innings and gave up 6 hits but no runs. A bad start yesterday probably would of eliminated him from any possibility of making the team. It wasnt great and he needs to really improve on that cause there are some guys that have been impressive this spring especially Blackburn and Humber so he needs to watch it.
Another guy that i have been really impressed with this spring is Randy Ruiz. He is a 30 year old career minor leaguer who just got to the Twins organization. His career says he will cool down but he is having quite a spring and if theres an injury dont be surprised to see him with the Twins some time this year.
Today the Twins face the Tampa Bay Rays with Livan Hernandez getting the start today. He needs to improve on his last start when he got shelled for 6 runs in 3 innings. Hopefully we will get some clarity on some of the other position battles going on.

Cf battle

The twins have an interesting decision coming up in the coming weeks with deciding between Carlos Gomez, Denard Span, and Jason Pridie. To be honest none of the three of done anything worth writing home about. Just look at the stats of the three.
Carlos Gomez .167 average with 3 rbi's,4 runs scored and 3 stolen bases

Denard Span: .214 average with 1 rbi's,3 runs scored and 2 stolen bases

Jason Pridie: .238 average with 3 rbi's,4 runs scored and 2 stolen bases
Just looking at the numbers none of them really have deserved to be iin the majors. But i think we would be best served to put Carlos Gomez out there everyday. The reasons i believe that is because of his speed. Speed doesnt go in a slump and he can bunt for hits and steal bases and he plays a good centerfield. I thought going into spring that it was his to lose and the other 2 guys really havent stepped up to take it away from him. There are still 3 weeks left and anything can still happen but those 2 need to start stepping up pronto.

Twins VS Marlins

Monday, March 10th

All i am is a twins fan and i didnt ask anyone to visit my site. I just like to write what i think of the twins and whats going on. I am not an english major and if my grammer is a problem for you you probably should not be on my site im sure there are others that use better grammer. However if you want to hear Twins talk with a die hard Twin fans' perspective than by all means visit my site and enjoy cause im not going to change. I enjoy to write about the Twins and if some people have a problem with how i write thats their problem. Thats all i have to say about that.
In more exciting news the Twins visit the Florida Marlins today with Kevin Slowey taking the mound with nick blackburn, philip humber, and pat neshek in relief. Carlos Gomez is in the lineup today so hopefully he get a little more consistant at the plate and in his effort. Ill have more after the game.

Sunday, March 9th

A guy that not alot of people talk about with the hope that Francise comes back to form and Livian Hernandez can get some people out has been the emergence of Scott Baker to Ace status. I will admit myself i was starting to lose faith in him with his insistance to throw the high pitch. Just because it works in the minor leagues doesnt mean it is going to work up here cause the hitters are much better. But he finally listened to the coaches and last year put up a very solid year and i believe he is the most solid pitcher we have right now and deserves to start on opening day. It wasnt always good for him though he came up as a heralded prospect but bounced up and down from Rochester to the Twins and vice versa because seemed like he would dominate in Rochester and come up here and get drilled. Like i said something clicked for him last year and he had a very solid year and he's only 26 years old and has a bright future with the Twins. but as the can see it wasnt always easy for him look at the stats he put up.
2004 high A 4-2 2.42
AA 5-3 2.43
AAA1-3 4.97
2005 AAA5-8 3.01
twins3-3 3.35
2006 AAA5-4 2.67
twins5-8 6.37
2007 AAA 3-2 3.16
twins9-9 4.26

As you can see he has dominated the hitters in the minor leagues but wasnt able to put it together until last year where he had a solid year. But knowing him he can do so much better i expect a much better year this year i think he has a shot to win 15 games this year with a ERA in the 3's he reminds me so much of a young Brad Radke with better stuff. I think with all the adversity Scott has been through he will be a better pitcher for it and him and Francise will lead the twins back to the central division titles much like Radke and Santana did.

what do you think of my page

trying to get feedback on what i can do to improve my page what you like,what you dont like let me know.

Yankees vs Twins

Twins vs Pirates

im doing something new every twins spring game where anyone can comment on the game and who they like and how they are doing. looking forward to it.

Beloit Lineup

CDanny Lehman
1b Rene Leveret
2b Chris Cates
ss estarlin de los Santos
3b Deibinson Romero
lf Rene Tosoni
cf Ben Revere
rf Danny Santiesteban
dh Ozzie Lewis

Pitchers
1.Mike Mccardel
2.David Bromberg
3.Micheal Allen
4.Micheal Tasi
5.henry reyes

bullpen
bradley tippett
danny hernandez
curtis leavitt
brian kirwann
Loek Van Mil
Dan Latham
Danny Rondon
another good team with alot of prospects let by Ben Revere who will be awesome and up to ft myers before long.

Fort Myers miracle lineup

C Wilson Ramos
1b Johnny Woodward
2b Brian Dinkelmon
ss Steve Singelton
3b Danny Valencia
Lf Edward Ovalle
cf Joe Benson
Rf Chris Parmalee
DH Whit Robbins

Pitching
1.Jeff Manship
2.Deolis Guerra
3.Tyler Robertson
4.Alex Burnett
5.Cole Devries

Bullpen
Anthony slama
Dan Leatherman
matt wiliams
Aaron Craig
Caleb Moore
Blair Erickson
Spencer steedley

another good lineup but the pitching is going to be phenomenal look at those starters those are a big part of my top 10 and they will be a reason the miracle have a good season.

New Britian Lineup

C Drew Butera
1b Brock Peterson
2b Matt Moses
SS Trevor Plouffe
3b David Winfree
Lf Juan Portes
CF Brandon Roberts
RF Dustin Martin
DH Erik Lis

Bench
Korey Feiner C
Kyle Geiger c
Steve Tolleson inf
Luke Hughes
Dwayne White

Pitching
1.Anthony Swarzak
2.Ryan Mullins
3.Oswaldo Sosa
4.Kyle Waldrop
5. Jay Raineville

bullpen
Robert Delaney
Frank Mata
David Shinkskie
Yohan Pino
Zack Ward
Errol Simonstich
Matt Fox

There are alot of good prospects here and if some of these pitchers can develop the twins are looking good at new britain.

Rochester Lineup

heres a lineup based on my twins lineup
C Jose Morales
1bRandy Ruiz
2bTommy Watkins
ss Alexi Casilla
3b Matt Macri
lf Jon Knott
cf Denard Span
rf Jason Pridie
dh Brian Buscher

bench
Eli Whitside C
Howie Clark INF
Darnell Mcdonald OF
Doug Deeds inf
Matt Tolbert inf

Pitching
1. Glen Perkins
2. Kevin Slowey
3. Kevin Mulvey
4. Brian Duesing
5. Brian Bass

bullpen
Randy Keisler
Julio Depaula
Casey Daigle
Ricky Barrett
Jay SAwarkski
Jason Miller
Bobby Koreky

anyone with any thoughts let me know

Saturday, March 8th

I have already done one but every saturday until the opener im going to put a projected twins roster up and see how much it changes for me from week to week and anyone disagrees let me know.
1. Carlos Gomez cf
2. Joe Mauer C
3. Micheal Cuddyer RF
4. Justin Mourneau 1b
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Mike Lamb 3b
7. Brenden Harris 2b
8. Jason Kubel DH
9. Adam Everett ss

Bench
Mike Redmond C
Nick Punto INF
Craig Monroe OF/DH
Garrett Jones OF

Pitchers
1.Scott Baker
2.Boof Bonser
3.Francisco Liriano
4.Livian Hernandez
5.Philip Humber

bullpen
Nick Blackburn
Dennys Reyes
Matt Guerrier
Juan Rincon
Jesse Crain
Pat Neshek
Joe Nathan

Friday, March 7th

First off i want to say i was impressed with Francise today for being his first start in 18 months his changup was good and his velocity will pick up and i believe his slider will come around. he gave up 2 hits and 0 runs in 1 and 2/3 innings and threw 40 pitches but its a good start.
Next i want to go through some of the position battles and say who i think is winning so far.
2b Punto vs Harris
neither one is really hitting very good to be honest and both will be on the team this spring punto is hitting .111 while harris is hitting a robust .083 this spring. I know harris is not hitting well now but i think he will be at 2b on opening day.
gomez vs Pridie vs Span
This battle i think is going to go on until the end of spring training because none of them are really taking the bull by the horns and earning the spot one day one guy has a good game and the next nothing and vice versa. so far this spring span is hitting .200, pridie is hitting .308 and gomez is hitting .235. I have actually changed my mind on this im gong with gomez because of the excitement he can bring to the team. Of course he will have his o fors but his defense and speed will put him in cf on opening day
Buscher vs Jones
This is an interesting battle i think Buscher has outplayed Jones but Garrett Jones is out of options and the Twins dont want to lose him so im thinking he will make the team out of spring training especailly with that memorable hr off chamberlian. Buscher has had a good spring so far hitting .375 to Jones' .182 but on opening day i think garrett jones will be there.
5th starter job
Kevin Slowey i think is still a favorite to get the job but he is not producing this spring with a 14.71 era and if he doesnt pick it up he wont make it but there is still time. The guys that have been making up ground are Nick Blackburn and Philip Humber along with Glen Perkins.
humber 0 runs in 4 innings after a bad game vs concordia and blackburn 0 runs in 3 innings when its all said an done i think Philip Humber is going to be the 5th starter with Nick Blackburn making the team in the bullpen.
its really early but those are some of the early results this spring see if they change.

Friday, March 7th

Top 50 prospects

im going to do a top 50 prospects with a few small tweaks and if they have 130 ab's or 50 innings they are out.
1.Deolis Guerra
2.Carlos Gomez
3.Tyler Robertson
4.Kevin Mulvey
5.Anthony Swarzak
6.Ben Revere
7.Jeff Manship
8.Trevor Plouffe
9.Philip Humber
10.Joe Benson
11.Glen Perkins
12.Brian Duensing
13.Chris Parmalee
14.Danny Valencia
15.Oswaldo Sosa
16.Nick Blackburn
17.Jason Pridie
18.Jay Rainville
19.Alex Burnett
20.Erik Lis
21.Wilson Ramos
22.Deibinson Romero
23.David Bromberg
24.Brock Peterson
25.Mike Mccardel
26.David Winfree
27.Ryan Mullins
28.Yohan Pino
29.Dustin Martin
30.Kyle Waldrop
31.Denard Span
32.Danny Rams
33.Juan Portes
34.Brian Dinkelman
35.Rene Tosoni
36.Brandon Roberts
37.Ozzie Lewis
38.Angel Morales
39.Matt Tolbert
40.Matt Macri
41.Micheal Tarsi
42.Dan Berlind
43.Jose Mijares
44.Cole Devries
45.Jose Morales
46.Brian Buscher
47.Drew Butera
48.Matt Moses
49.Zack Ward
50.Brad Tippett
heres my list everyone let me know what you think

Orioles vs Twins thoughts

Today the Twins hosted the Baltimore Orioles in Fort Myers and won the game 8-7 to bring their spring record to 4-3 and win their 4th straight win there were alot of positives and only a few negatives today and here they are.
Positives
Delmon Young- Delmon continues to mash the ball going 3-3 with 2 rbi's to bring his spring batting average up to a robust .615. Talk about making an impression the more i see of him the more im liking him he is a monster. I look for him to put up great numbers this year and in the future look out for him i think he is going to put mourneau to shame with his numbers which is saying something all i have to say to look out.
Craig Monroe- Craig came back from a minor calf injury with a 2 run single in the first to help the teams cause. Craig really bounced back and im happy for him cause if he can hit he will really help the team in late game situations when you need that big hit off your bench so today was a big day for him.
Alexei Casilla- Every game i see him play the more impressed im getting with him he has shown alot of improvement over last year in my opinion. he went 1-2 with a walk today and played good defense. He will probably start the season in Rochester but if Everett struggles dont be shocked to see him in a Twins uniform early in the season.
Mike Lamb- Lamber is really solidifying his starting 3rd baseman job this spring hitting the ball all over the park today he hit an rbi double and was 2-3 and is hitting .400 this spring and looks like he is going to be the guy at third this season.
Twins Bullpen- they did a good job today especially Juan Rincon he is really stepping up to make last year a thing of the past.

Negatives
Livian Hernandez- I dont know what to say except wow did he get hammered today. 3 in 10h 6r, but he is a veteran and he can bounce back from something like this. With Hernandez you know what your getting when his junk is not working his 85 mile per hour fastball is very hittable and there will be days like this. However you know what your getting him for is the innings and he will have more good starts than bad ones and i believe next time he will be effective.
Adam Everett- he went 0-3 today with 5 guys left on base. the reason we got him was for defense but hes only hitting .125 and with the way casilla is playing maybe the twins might consider cutting him. I dont know all im saying is he needs to step it up im not expecting 300 but 250 would be nice with that defense.
Overall many good things and anytime you win it was a good day, but there were a few things that were disappointing Pirdie had a chance to solidify his claim on cf and Hernandez could of made the questions go away but they didnt. The great thing about spring training is its long and the questions and battles usually have a way of working themselves out and hopefully this will too.

Thursday, March 6th

One of the biggest battles in spring training is the 5th starter job and by the way Kevin Slowey has looked so far he has opened the job open to a few guys. Dont get me wrong there is a long time before the opener but if he doesnt pick it up soon he will be on the outside looking in and based on that here are the contenders and how they are doing so far.

Philip Humber- 2 games 2in 1 hit 0 runs he didnt look good in the scrimmage against concordia but he has looked solid since and has put him back in the race for the 5th spot.
Nick Blackburn- 2 games 2 and a third innings 1 hit 0 runs he is the one who has really impressed me so far. Last year in a late callup he didnt look so good but i believe he is winning a job with a twins this spring if he keeps it up.
Glen Perkins- 2 games 3 innings pitched 6 hits 4 runs he has not looked good at all this spring if its possible he has looked worse than slowey and is costing himself a spot with the twins so he needs to step it up.
I think it is down to those 3 for the final spot saying that Liriano can start the season in the rotation. Like i said though its only march 6th there is a lot of baseball to be played and many more opprotunitys for these guys to impress the twins and find a way to make the team.
Today the Twins host Baltimore Orioles and should get a look at new oriole Adam Jones Livian Hernandez gets the start and looks like the return of Craig Monroe will happen today so it should be an interesting game at noon today.

Wednesday, March 5th

Today was a good day the first twins game i have been able to watch on TV and it was good too see because the Twins won 7-5 there was many positives a few negatives from the game but all and all im pretty happy with how the game went and here are some of good and the bad.
Positives

Delmon Young- I was really impressed with Delmon he hit his first home run of the spring and was 2-3 on the day and made a tough catch in the outfield with a tough sun. Like i have been saying im really excited about him this year i think its possible he could h ave a massive season im talking torii hunter numbers and that would be huge for the twins.
Alexei Casilla- I was also impressed with Alexei he looks very much improved from last season he went 2-3 and made some nice plays defensivly. I really believe in 2009 Alexei Casilla is going to be the starting SS.
Brian Buscher-I may be a broken record on the Buscher fan club but he looks much more improved. And look at him looks like he put on 15 lbs of muscle on him. i think he has a good shot to make the team going 1-2 and lining out for his out but i think he will be on the team.
Garrett Jones- I have been hard on him this spring but he really hit that home run today off Chamberlin well. Its going to be a great battle between him and buscher for that last roster spot.
Jason Pridie- I was really impressed with Jason today it was the first time i had seen him play and he looked phenomenal. he had 2 hits and stole a base and scored a run. I think him and span are going neck and neck for the cf job and could go either way.
Negatives
Carlos Gomez- Today was not one of carlos' best days went 0-5 at the plate made a horrible throw to home and misjudged a fly ball. They kept saying on ESPN how they think the Twins are going to keep him but i dont see it he is very talented but he has a lot to learn and time down in Rochester will do him good.
Kevin Slowey- Kevin looked like a very average pitcher giving up 3 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings leaving the ball up and getting hit hard. Thats 2 bad starts in a row this is not how you win a job and if he is not careful he is going to start the season in Rochester. That is something that i didnt think was going to happen at the beginning of the spring but is looking more and more likely wiht the way Blackburn has been pitching and Humber in his last outing. All I have to say is Kevin Slowey better pick it up or he wont start the season with the twins.
Jose Morales- He didnt have a very good day today either. He looked lost at the plate and made a horrible baserunning decision to try to go to third that may of been on Scotty Ulger but whoever mad that decision that was horrible.
Overall i was very impressed with the Twins and its getting me more and more excited about the upcoming season.

Tuesday, March 4th

This is the first of many updates on what i think is going to happen in cf for the twins this spring because things change by the day with them lets compare what they have done so far.

• Gomez-2-8 2 runs scored and 2 rbi's along with 2 stolen bases and many nice defensive plays in the outfield.
• Span-2-7 2 runs scored and 1 stolen bases with a few nice plays in the outfield and a more professional approach than he had last year.

• Pridie-3-9 1 run scored and 1 stolen bases with a few nice plays in the outfield and an ability to play anywhere.

So far Pridie has impressed me alot but my thinking is he is going to challenge Monroe for the 4th outfield job since he can play all over and spell young and cuddyer in lf and rf. My general feeling is its going to come down to gomez and span and right now i give a slight advantage to span but without a lot of confidence in that. I still think for many reasons gomez could use some more time in Rochester but it wouldnt suprise me if he is up here to start the season. The bigger issue with Monroe knicked up a little bit can Pridie beat him out for the 4th outfielder job. Keeping Pridie instead of Monroe would save about 3 million its not about saving money but Monroe should not stay just because he has a bigger name i believe he has to win that spot and he may still but it should be interesting. The Twins travel to st petersburg today to take on the Rays wiht Boof Pitching today should be an interesting afternoon with Span getting the start.

Monday, March 3rd

i could get into the fact that the twins had a good day yesterday with getting their first win andd jason pridie having a big day at the plate and Livian Hernandez having a good outing or The Francise having a good bullpen session but there is something more important for me to write about.
I have blogged about this before but its getting serious time the Twins absoultley need to get Joe Nathan signed he is to important to the future of the Twins. We have a few guys that probably could get the job done but that would hurt the bullpen and in turn hurt the starters cause you may see them throw more innings because lack of bullpen. I dont think Joe Nathan is being unreasonable in his contract demands just look at his numbers the last 4 years
2004 73 games 1.62 era and 44 saves
2005 69 games 2.70 era and 43 saves
2006 64 games 1.58 era and 36 saves
2007 68 games 1.88 era and 37 saves
You can put that up against any other closer in the league and in my opinion Joe has no equals at his position Mariano Rivera is on the downside and the closest is frankie rodriguez but he is not quite there. Look at what Francisco Cordero got from the reds 4 years 46 million and he cant hold Joe Nathan's jockstrap. I mean seriously this is getting serious the twins have about 3 weeks to get this done and mark my words if they dont get it done and they have to trade him at the deadline they will regret it for years to come. So my opinion give him 4 for 48 get it signed and not have to worry about the bullpen for 4 years. Im starting to get concerned about this but do whatever you have to short of a no-trade clause to get him signed. The twins are at a crossroads in their bullpen i just ask they make the right decision and sign Joe Nathan.

Saturday, March 1st

Twins lost another one last night to the Red Sox 8-3. I found there was some good signs and some not to good signs from last night.
Lets start with good Brian Buscher continued his roll early in camp with a HR and a nice defensive play. I may be in the minority but i think Buscher is coming north with the twins.
2. Carlos Gomez there is good and bad he threw out a runner at the plate with his rocket of an arm,but also threw to the wrong base and allowed a runner to advance. Carlos is so talented that he thinks he can throw out anyone and he needs to learn to hit the cutoff man and live to fight another day.
3. Boof Bonser pitched 2 good innings only giving up 1 hit. I think Boof is going to be one of the most improved pitchers on the team along with baker.
4. The one negative to come out of last night was Kevin Slowey he gave up 3 runs in 2 innings and was getting the ball up and gave up a homer to youkillious. Slowey needs to get the ball down to be effective because he doesnt have liriano gas so he needs to hit his spots and get the ball down. It opens up an opprotunity to some other people lets see how blackburn pitches today. Dont get the wrong idea slowey is still in the race but he cant have many more games like he did yesterday or he will find himself in Rochester

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.