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.