It's Finally Opening Day!!!
For our Minnesota Twins, that is. And it couldn't happen too soon. For those who don't know me, I prefer baseball over all other sports combined. And I love my Minnesota Twins above all other teams because of their history & the way they play the game.
If you're a veteran Twins fan, you've had the privilege of watching Torii Hunter, Kirby Puckett, Tony Oliva & Bob Allison patrol the outfield.
We've watched Kirby Puckett's 10 for 11 weekend in Milwaukee in 1987. We watched Rod Carew go 17 for 19 in his magical 1977 season, where he hit .388. We've watched Tony Oliva go on similar hot streaks. We've seen Paul Molitor, Rod Carew & Paul Winfield get their 3,000th hits. (Molitor's 3,000th hit was a triple against Kansas City, the only man to get his 3,000th on a triple.)
We've had the privilege of watching Johan Santana dominate, and intimidate, hitters the past 2 seasons. We'll soon be talking about Fransisco Liriano in the same way.
We're now seeing another emerging superstar in Joe Mauer. Mr. Carew & Mr. Molitor were recently part of the Twins telecast. Mr. Carew talked about how picture-perfect of a swing Mauer has. That's high praise coming from a 7 time AL hitting titlist. Mr. Molitor said he liked how well Mauer waited until the last second before starting his compact swing, thereby allowing him to hit breaking pitches hard.
We've had the joy of watching Joe Nathan close games out the past 2 seasons, blowing hitters away with 95+ mph fastballs or locking them up with his nasty 85 mph slider.
So what lies ahead? Good question.
The biggest concern I have is with their bullpen. Liriano starts the season as the only southpaw in the pen, something I don't feel comfortable with. The next biggest concern I have is with the infield's defense. Their corner infielders, Tony Batista & Justin Morneau, don't have a lot of range but they're sure-handed. That makes the middle infielders that much more important. Fortunately, Twins fans are in for a treat with 3-time Gold Glover Luis Castillo taking over at 2nd & Juan Castro manning shortstop. I watched Saturday's game & they turned the sweetest DP I've seen in ages. And they made it look easy.
I can't say that I'm worried about the offense, though. The Twins' offense is what let them down last season. The Twins beefed up offensively, trading for Castillo, a consistent .300 hitter, & signing Bautista & DH Rondell White. Both are professional hitters with power & RBI capability. White will hit cleanup; Batista will hit 7th.
The Twins will also benefit from the healthy returns of leadoff hitter Shannon Stewart, who's entering his 'contract season', & Torii returning after breaking his ankle in Boston last July.
The bottom line for me is this: I like the Twins' chances because (a) they still play hard every night; (b) they're still solid defensively, especially in the outfield; (c) they've still got a solid pitching staff, especially their starters.
Will they have enough hitting? I think they will. They've got fewer easy outs, they've got more veteran hitters, with Stewart, Castillo & White all being productive hitters with high batting averages. Combine that with Batista's power, Mauer's cool & Jason Kubel's line-drive hitting skills.
Will that be enough to win the AL Central? That'll be an uphill battle but it's doable. Winning a wild-card berth is a strong possibility, too. I don't see the White Sox running away with things like they did last year. I'm still not sold on Cleveland having a strong team. (Sorry Hugh.) They lost Kevin Millwood to Texas through free agency. C.C. Sabathia pulled a muscle just 37 pitches into his Sunday night start against Chicago & is now on the 15 day DL. Their pitching drops off pretty dramatically after Sabathia & Jake Westbrook. Their bullpen isn't that solid, either. (Not sorry, Hugh.)
So what does all that mean? I'm predicting that the Twins will win the wildcard playoff spot after giving Chicago a strong challenge for the division title.
Posted Tuesday, April 4, 2006 11:24 AM
No comments.
If you're a veteran Twins fan, you've had the privilege of watching Torii Hunter, Kirby Puckett, Tony Oliva & Bob Allison patrol the outfield.
We've watched Kirby Puckett's 10 for 11 weekend in Milwaukee in 1987. We watched Rod Carew go 17 for 19 in his magical 1977 season, where he hit .388. We've watched Tony Oliva go on similar hot streaks. We've seen Paul Molitor, Rod Carew & Paul Winfield get their 3,000th hits. (Molitor's 3,000th hit was a triple against Kansas City, the only man to get his 3,000th on a triple.)
We've had the privilege of watching Johan Santana dominate, and intimidate, hitters the past 2 seasons. We'll soon be talking about Fransisco Liriano in the same way.
We're now seeing another emerging superstar in Joe Mauer. Mr. Carew & Mr. Molitor were recently part of the Twins telecast. Mr. Carew talked about how picture-perfect of a swing Mauer has. That's high praise coming from a 7 time AL hitting titlist. Mr. Molitor said he liked how well Mauer waited until the last second before starting his compact swing, thereby allowing him to hit breaking pitches hard.
We've had the joy of watching Joe Nathan close games out the past 2 seasons, blowing hitters away with 95+ mph fastballs or locking them up with his nasty 85 mph slider.
So what lies ahead? Good question.
The biggest concern I have is with their bullpen. Liriano starts the season as the only southpaw in the pen, something I don't feel comfortable with. The next biggest concern I have is with the infield's defense. Their corner infielders, Tony Batista & Justin Morneau, don't have a lot of range but they're sure-handed. That makes the middle infielders that much more important. Fortunately, Twins fans are in for a treat with 3-time Gold Glover Luis Castillo taking over at 2nd & Juan Castro manning shortstop. I watched Saturday's game & they turned the sweetest DP I've seen in ages. And they made it look easy.
I can't say that I'm worried about the offense, though. The Twins' offense is what let them down last season. The Twins beefed up offensively, trading for Castillo, a consistent .300 hitter, & signing Bautista & DH Rondell White. Both are professional hitters with power & RBI capability. White will hit cleanup; Batista will hit 7th.
The Twins will also benefit from the healthy returns of leadoff hitter Shannon Stewart, who's entering his 'contract season', & Torii returning after breaking his ankle in Boston last July.
The bottom line for me is this: I like the Twins' chances because (a) they still play hard every night; (b) they're still solid defensively, especially in the outfield; (c) they've still got a solid pitching staff, especially their starters.
Will they have enough hitting? I think they will. They've got fewer easy outs, they've got more veteran hitters, with Stewart, Castillo & White all being productive hitters with high batting averages. Combine that with Batista's power, Mauer's cool & Jason Kubel's line-drive hitting skills.
Will that be enough to win the AL Central? That'll be an uphill battle but it's doable. Winning a wild-card berth is a strong possibility, too. I don't see the White Sox running away with things like they did last year. I'm still not sold on Cleveland having a strong team. (Sorry Hugh.) They lost Kevin Millwood to Texas through free agency. C.C. Sabathia pulled a muscle just 37 pitches into his Sunday night start against Chicago & is now on the 15 day DL. Their pitching drops off pretty dramatically after Sabathia & Jake Westbrook. Their bullpen isn't that solid, either. (Not sorry, Hugh.)
So what does all that mean? I'm predicting that the Twins will win the wildcard playoff spot after giving Chicago a strong challenge for the division title.
Posted Tuesday, April 4, 2006 11:24 AM
No comments.
