Re: TWINS
Don't forget that the Twins won the Central last year after down seasons from Koskie, Hunter, Rivas, Guzman & Radke. Not to mention the loss of Milton and Mays, who had no positive impact on the pennant race. You have to believe that a few of those players are going to play better, and those are KEY guys.
As for the loss of AJ.....he was our #7 hitter. He hit .300, but that's it. Low HR, Low RBI, good defense.....he's a good catcher, not dead weight at all, but he will not be a major loss, as long as the guys mentioned above play better. We'll have Stewart at leadoff all year, Jaque Jones in a power spot, and hopefull LeCroy as the DH for 400 ABs.
Our rotation and bullpen are really up in the air. Radke, Santana and Lohse are locked in as starters. Silva and Balfour are my choices for 4 & 5. Silva is a good young arm that has already pitched a few years in the majors. It's time to get him into the rotation. Same with Balfour. He's stretched out as a starter now and he's been a tweener for a little while. I'd like to see them give him a legit shot. Helling can go back to North Dakota, or long relief. I'll be fine either way. I have a hunch that Rincon stays as a long man, and Nakamura gets the right-handed set-up spot. Fultz and Pulido are probably battling for the same roster spot, and Romero is locked in as a LH set-up man. Nathan is the closer, but watch out for Jesse Crain THIS YEAR. If he blows people away in spring training, they may give him a look early. Scouting reports list him as the top minor league bullpen prospect. He's got 3 pitches, which is one more than he needs as a closer. One way or the other, i think he wears a Twins jersey at some point this year. I have faith in Nathan, and i honestly believe we won't skip a beat without Eddie. I think it's Latroy's loss that will sting at times. A lot of "ifs" but it should be fun.
Don't forget that the Twins won the Central last year after down seasons from Koskie, Hunter, Rivas, Guzman & Radke. Not to mention the loss of Milton and Mays, who had no positive impact on the pennant race. You have to believe that a few of those players are going to play better, and those are KEY guys.
As for the loss of AJ.....he was our #7 hitter. He hit .300, but that's it. Low HR, Low RBI, good defense.....he's a good catcher, not dead weight at all, but he will not be a major loss, as long as the guys mentioned above play better. We'll have Stewart at leadoff all year, Jaque Jones in a power spot, and hopefull LeCroy as the DH for 400 ABs.
Our rotation and bullpen are really up in the air. Radke, Santana and Lohse are locked in as starters. Silva and Balfour are my choices for 4 & 5. Silva is a good young arm that has already pitched a few years in the majors. It's time to get him into the rotation. Same with Balfour. He's stretched out as a starter now and he's been a tweener for a little while. I'd like to see them give him a legit shot. Helling can go back to North Dakota, or long relief. I'll be fine either way. I have a hunch that Rincon stays as a long man, and Nakamura gets the right-handed set-up spot. Fultz and Pulido are probably battling for the same roster spot, and Romero is locked in as a LH set-up man. Nathan is the closer, but watch out for Jesse Crain THIS YEAR. If he blows people away in spring training, they may give him a look early. Scouting reports list him as the top minor league bullpen prospect. He's got 3 pitches, which is one more than he needs as a closer. One way or the other, i think he wears a Twins jersey at some point this year. I have faith in Nathan, and i honestly believe we won't skip a beat without Eddie. I think it's Latroy's loss that will sting at times. A lot of "ifs" but it should be fun.
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