My All-Metrodome Team

Here is why and how I filled out my All-Metrodome team ballot:

First Base: Justin Morneau

This is the hardest position to choose. It is known and widely assumed that Morneau will put up better career numbers than Kent Hrbek, but that is not what this is about. I think Hrbek will win the position because he is a Minnesotan who was on the 2 World Series teams and somehow has his jersey retired despite no possibility of going to the Hall of the Fame. I chose Morneau because while Hrbek was a key component on his teams, Morneau is a better hitter and fielder and has 1 MVP and could have easily won a 2nd. Runners-up: Kent Hrbek and Gene Larkin

Second Base: Chuck Knoblauch

Became a joke at the end of his career but he was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1991 and was a multiple All-Star as a Twin. He also lacks any real competition at the position with utility player Runners-up: Al Newman and Steve Lombardozzi.

Shortstop: Greg Gagne

This is a no-brainer decision. Was on both World Series teams. While he lacks outstanding statistics as a .254 career hitter with little power he win based on longevity and lack of competition. Runners-up: Cristian Guzman and Pat Mears.

Third Base: Gary Gaetti

Won 4 Gold Gloves as a Twin and hit over 30 home runs in '86 and '87. Was a crucial player in the 1987 World Series team. Runners-up: Scott Leius and Corey Koskie

Catcher: Joe Mauer

The Golden Boy should easily win this position. Already at such a young age has two batting titles and one Gold Glove. He will also benefit that neither World Series team had an outstanding catcher and Pierzynski is currently hated by Twins fans. Runners-up: Tim Laudner and A.J Pierzynski.

Outfielders: Kirby Puckett, Torii Hunter, and Tom Brunansky

It is kind of surprising on how easy it is to pick the outfield. Puckett and Hunter are locks for their defense and being the face of the team for many years. The only debate is Gladden or Tom Burnansky. Burnansky had the much better career but Gladden might get some votes just on the memory of him scoring the winning run in the '91 Series and his role as the team's radio announcer. Runners-up: Dan Gladden, Shane Mack and Matt Lawton

Designated Hitter: Chili Davis

This position is kind of a joke and it should really be filled by the loser of the Hrbek - Morneau race. I don't think Davis will win the position with home-town players Molitor and Winfield on the list but this isn't who is the best player but who was the best as a Twin and Molitor and Winfield were in the twilight of their careers on terrible teams. David Ortiz also turned into a good player but that was in Boston not here. Davis was only on the team for 2 years but played a very vital role on the '91 team hitting .277-29-93. Runners-up: Paul Molitor and David Ortiz

Starters: Frank Viola, Johan Santana, and Bert Blyleven

This is a very hard position to only choose 3 players. Viola and Santana are locks with 3 Cy Youngs between them. Then it gets hard to pick one out of Blyleven, Brad Radke, Kevin Tapani and Jack Morris. Morris was only here one year but it was one hell of a year, Radke was the face of many terrible Twins teams and also some of the early success in the 2000's, Kevin Tapani was the best pitcher in '91. I went with Blyleven despite that his best years with the Twins were at the Met the first time around. He helped win the '87 title and he is the best pitcher overall (it is a travesty he is not in the Hall of Fame) and I really enjoy him as the Twins Color Commentator. Runners-up: Brad Radke and Kevin Tapani

Relievers: Rick Aguilera and Joe Nathan

Rick Aguilera is a lock as the stud closer from 1989 to 1999 with 3 All-Star appearances and twice had over 40 saves. Joe Nathan is more debatable. Jeff Reardon was a great closer for the '87 team but was only here for 3 seasons. Guardado was a good closer on the early 2000 teams but was never overwhelming. Joe Nathan gets the nod because he is one of the most dominating closers in the game today. In 6 years he has made 3 All-Star appearances and 203 saves. Runners-up: Jeff Reardon and Eddie Guardado.

Manager: Tom Kelly

If anyone does not vote for Tom Kelly they should have the rest of their ballot voided. He won 2 World Series and led the team for 16 of the 27 seasons at the Metrodome. Runner-up: Ron Gardenhire.

#7 Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins
Last Year: 88-75 2nd in AL Central
This Year: 1st in AL Central



Last year the expectations were low. They had lost Johan Santana and Torii Hunter. The pitching rotation had limited experience and the lineup had a lot of youth with Carlos Gomez leading off. They surprised a lot of people by playing well all summer. They just missed out on the playoffs by losing a coin flip and then losing the tiebreaker 1-0 to Chicago. They had a very quiet winter until they signed Joe Crede in February to shore up the hole at 3rd base. This team has the youth, speed and ability to take the next step and win the division for the 5th time in 8 years.

Opening Day Lineup w/Projections
RF Denard Span .286 7 HR 54 RBI 27 SB
2B Alexi Casilla .274 7 HR 61 RBI 17 SB
DH Jason Kubel .276 24 HR 86 RBI
1B Justin Morneau .308 32 HR 134 RBI
3B Joe Crede .254 24 HR 79 RBI
LF Delmon Young .296 17 HR 77 RBI
C Mike Redmond .280 0 HR 27 RBI
SS Nick Punto .272 2 HR 34 RBI
CF Carlos Gomez .267 11 HR 66 RBI 41 SB

Other Players
RF Michael Cuddyer .271 15 HR 73 RBI
C Joe Mauer .317 9 HR 72 RBI

Rotation
RHP Scott Baker 13-6 3.67 ERA 148 K
LHP Francisco Liriano 15-7 2.93 ERA 171 K
RHP Kevin Slowey 11-8 3.92 ERA 132 K
LHP Glen Perkins 12-9 4.24 ERA 98 K
RHP Nick Blackburn 12-10 4.15 ERA 104 K

CP RHP Joe Nathan 1.40 ERA 41 SV 77 K

Best Case Scenario: Joe Crede stays healthy and is an All-Star Third Baseman. Joe Mauer get healthy and stays healthy contending for a third batting title. Span and Casilla don't regress off of surprise success last year. Young and Gomez continue to mature and develop. Liriano builds off his second half success last year and returns to the dominant starter he was in 2006. The bullpen becomes the typical Twins bullpen again instead of the mess it was down the stretch last year. The team cruises to an AL Central title and gets to the ALCS.

Worst Case Scenario: Span and Casilla regress becoming .240 hitters, Joe Mauer never gets fully healthy and Redmond gets 300 at-bats. Crede's back flares up leaving the Twins to need Buscher to play every day. Gomez still can't settle down and swings at anything thrown to him. Liriano's arm troubles spark up again. The bullpen is a mess and can't get the lead to Joe Nathan. This team finishes around .500 and 3rd in the AL Central.

Player Most Important to Success: Francisco Liriano. Liriano was absolutely dominant in 2006 outpitching Johan Santana who won the Cy Young that year. He then went down with Tommy John surgery and missed 2007. He was rushed back before he was ready in 2008 and was crushed. It is often forgotten that when he came back from AAA in July he went 5-1 with an ERA of 3.02 in his last 10 starts. It is typically said that you don't get fully back from Tommy John until the second year. He has pitched very well this spring and looks to be ready to claim back his crown as The Franchise. The Twins rotation is full of good pitchers who give you a chance to win but Liriano is the one pitcher who can win a game for you. That is something you need especially if you hope to do something in October. Other players: Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, and Denard Span.

Outlook: Before the signing of Joe Crede there was little hype surrounding this team which I did not get. This was a very young team that was returning everyone from a team that won 88 games. If Mauer comes back and Crede stays healthy this should be the best Twins lineup they have had since 1991. They have 5 pitchers who are all capable of giving the team a quality start. One thing they need to do this year is pitch deeper into the game so the bullpen doesn't get as taxed as it did last year. They have some possible issues. Span and Casilla were pleasant surprises last year that might turn out to be one year wonders ala Lew Ford and Luis Rivas. This team can hold up for a little while without Mauer but they won't be able to go for an extended amount of time. This team also still has bullpen issues that were not addressed especially if Jose Mijares doesn't do anything this year. This team should definitely contend for the division title and win it but the question is whether this team can compete with the AL East and be more than a sweep in the ALDS. This still should a fun year for Twins fans and it is a shame it still has to be spent in the Metrodome.

A Buffet of Twins News

• The Twins have before anyone has even pitched an inning in Spring Training announced the starting pitching rotation for 2009. It follows as Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins and Nick Blackburn. The only suprise is the order with Blackburn pitching 5th but that truly does not matter in the scheme of things.
• Boof Bonser is going to have exploratory surgery to try and find why his shoulder is bothering him after they found no structural damage in the MRI. He will not be headed north with the club to start the year and depending on what they find he could be out longer. This clears room for Phil Humber to make the roster or even room for Juan Cruz. It is possible we never see Boof in a Twins uniform again.
• Baseball America has released its Top 100 prospects for 2009 and 3 Twins made the cut. Aaron Hicks was #39, Ben Revere was #59 and Wilson Ramos was #71. The Twins also had 3 last year with two of them being Carlos Gomez and Nick Blackburn. The top prospect is catcher Matt Wieters of Baltimore with David Price the pitcher for Tampa Bay a close 2nd.
• The final rosters have been announced for the World Baseball Classic. I will do a preview of the Classic next week but the rosters include many Twins. Here are those who will participate: Joe Nathan (USA), Justin Morneau (Canada), Nick Punto (Italy), Jesse Crain (Canada) and Luis Ayala (Mexico). There are also plenty of Twins prospects on rosters. They are: Carlos Gutierrez (Puerto Rico), Luke Hughes (Australia), Robb Hein (South Africa), Tom Stuifbergen (Netherlands), Liam Hendriks (Australia), James Beresford (Australia) and Daniel Berg (Australia).
  
• Some thoughts about the rosters. I enjoy the World Classic but I am glad that players such as Mauer, Liriano and Mijares decided not to participate. All three need to be in camp to help us in the upcoming season. It will be hard not to root for Justin Morneau if Canada plays the USA. Also, looking at the rosters I do not get why the Twins seem to be picking up a lot of Australian players. They have 4 guys on the team and I dont't get it. I can't think of one Australian player who has ever contributed in the MLB. The rosters also show the discrepency between countries. On the Dominican Republic team Carlos Gomez and Casilla don't make the team because Robinson Cano, Moises Alou and Hanley Ramirez are there and then Twins prospects I have never heard of like Tom Stuifbergen (turns out he was a relief pitcher on our Rookie team last year) are starters for another team.
• Before I go I need to mention that the Twins Spring Training season gets underway tommorrow as they face Boston at 6:05. Glen Perkins will take the mound and no Joe Crede will not play tommorrow. The Twins have stated his first game will be Friday. The main interesting note is Wilson Ramos will see some time at catcher tommorrow.