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| Will this be the last season for Justin Morneau? |
If there's one thing I would like to reiterate throughout this series, second place in the AL Central is up for grabs.
That being said, the Twins staying out of the cellar relies on the health and effectiveness of Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. The only everyday player they had in 2011 who is still with the team is Danny Valencia. They brought Josh Willingham to help protect Morneau and Mauer. They also picked up Ryan Doumit who can catch, play the outfield and DH occasionally.
As for the rotation, Scott Baker is the only returning starter who posted an ERA under 4 in 2011. Carl Pavano, Brian Duensing and Francisco Liriano really need to get it together if the Twins can dream of competing for a wild card spot. In the bullpen, Glen Perkins was the lone bright spot. The veteran cemented his status as setup man to Matt Capps. Capps himself was not very impressive, blowing nearly 40 percent of his save opportunities.
To sum up the last two paragraphs, the team fell apart around Morneau and Mauer. Jason Kubel, Delmon Young and Joe Nathan all play for different teams and the Twins have to rebuild. Everybody on the roster has to have a comeback season and that starts with Morneau and Mauer. This team is a shell of the teams of years past that would give other teams fits. As a White Sox fan, I would ask myself these questions many times over the last ten seasons
1) Where did this pitcher come from? (Liriano, Guerrier, Baker, Blackburn, Duensing, Perkins, Garza, Silva, Bonser, Crain, Neshek, Reyes, Slowey etc.)
-The Twins of the 2000's had a new middle reliever that would kill the White Sox every year.
2) How did they flip the lineup over so quickly? I thought we weren't going to see Mauer and Morneau for another couple of innings.
-The Twins of the 2000's also played the game of baseball very well. They did a lot of the little things right. I attribute that to their historically fertile farm system and the managing genius that is Rod Gardenhire.
These Twins may be a thing of a past. Two years ago, there was talk that Mauer would go down as the best catcher of all time. Now he is an injury prone catcher who has a reputation for being an outstanding hitter. Justin Morneau might have his career cut tragically short because of this one play.
It would truly be a sad ending to this era of Minnesota Twins if injuries mark the early demise of their greatest franchise players since Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett.
X-FACTORS:
Rotation: Francisco Liriano. Out of all of the underachieving pitchers in this rotation, he has the most talent. He just needs to demonstrate it for an entire season.
Lineup: 1B Justin Morneau. This season may very well be his last. By September, we will know if his career will fall victim to concussions.
Bullpen: Matt Capps. Joe Nathan is gone. Capps needs to man up and anchor the ninth inning.
The Kids: OF Ben Revere. This kid can play the field, steal and hit well enough to get on base. Will set the table for the rest of this lineup.
ROYAL LIST:
#18 3B/SS Miguel Sano. Teenager who will not see any big league action this year. Has some pop and a poor glove.
#99 OF Joe Benson. Expected to be called up this season. Could fill in for any injuries that occur this season.
PREDICTION: 3rd Place AL Central
-This is provided that Morneau and Mauer play a healthy season. If they can get everyone to turn it around, the Twins can be dangerous and possibly compete for the Wild Card. If the Twins have the injury bug this year, they will finish last.
That being said, the Twins staying out of the cellar relies on the health and effectiveness of Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. The only everyday player they had in 2011 who is still with the team is Danny Valencia. They brought Josh Willingham to help protect Morneau and Mauer. They also picked up Ryan Doumit who can catch, play the outfield and DH occasionally.
As for the rotation, Scott Baker is the only returning starter who posted an ERA under 4 in 2011. Carl Pavano, Brian Duensing and Francisco Liriano really need to get it together if the Twins can dream of competing for a wild card spot. In the bullpen, Glen Perkins was the lone bright spot. The veteran cemented his status as setup man to Matt Capps. Capps himself was not very impressive, blowing nearly 40 percent of his save opportunities.
To sum up the last two paragraphs, the team fell apart around Morneau and Mauer. Jason Kubel, Delmon Young and Joe Nathan all play for different teams and the Twins have to rebuild. Everybody on the roster has to have a comeback season and that starts with Morneau and Mauer. This team is a shell of the teams of years past that would give other teams fits. As a White Sox fan, I would ask myself these questions many times over the last ten seasons
1) Where did this pitcher come from? (Liriano, Guerrier, Baker, Blackburn, Duensing, Perkins, Garza, Silva, Bonser, Crain, Neshek, Reyes, Slowey etc.)
-The Twins of the 2000's had a new middle reliever that would kill the White Sox every year.
2) How did they flip the lineup over so quickly? I thought we weren't going to see Mauer and Morneau for another couple of innings.
-The Twins of the 2000's also played the game of baseball very well. They did a lot of the little things right. I attribute that to their historically fertile farm system and the managing genius that is Rod Gardenhire.
These Twins may be a thing of a past. Two years ago, there was talk that Mauer would go down as the best catcher of all time. Now he is an injury prone catcher who has a reputation for being an outstanding hitter. Justin Morneau might have his career cut tragically short because of this one play.
It would truly be a sad ending to this era of Minnesota Twins if injuries mark the early demise of their greatest franchise players since Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett.
X-FACTORS:
Rotation: Francisco Liriano. Out of all of the underachieving pitchers in this rotation, he has the most talent. He just needs to demonstrate it for an entire season.
Lineup: 1B Justin Morneau. This season may very well be his last. By September, we will know if his career will fall victim to concussions.
Bullpen: Matt Capps. Joe Nathan is gone. Capps needs to man up and anchor the ninth inning.
The Kids: OF Ben Revere. This kid can play the field, steal and hit well enough to get on base. Will set the table for the rest of this lineup.
ROYAL LIST:
#18 3B/SS Miguel Sano. Teenager who will not see any big league action this year. Has some pop and a poor glove.
#99 OF Joe Benson. Expected to be called up this season. Could fill in for any injuries that occur this season.
PREDICTION: 3rd Place AL Central
-This is provided that Morneau and Mauer play a healthy season. If they can get everyone to turn it around, the Twins can be dangerous and possibly compete for the Wild Card. If the Twins have the injury bug this year, they will finish last.
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