With Joe Mauer locked up the Twins can be fully focused on opening their new ballpark with many pieces in the puzzle solidly in place. The Joe Nathan injury hurts in the sense that the Twins potentially had smooth sailing in the Central Division this year and we could all live our lives merrily without stress. We all need to accept the fact that injuries happen and players will miss time.
With that said I like to think that the American league this year is fairly certain. I think in the grand scheme of things it’s a big poker match. The Yankees and Red Sox have big chip stacks and the Twins, White Sox, Rays, Angels, Rangers and Mariners are all at the final table as well.
The Twins, with their new ballpark, have gotten to a place where they need to compete for a World Series title. With Mauer, Justin Morneau, Denard Span, Scott Baker and co. the Twins are all-in. To cement the analogy I think they’re not only all-in but they definitely have a good hand (the roster) and a good flop (other teams not going to be in it, i.e. the Royals/Indians.) The regular season (the turn) and possibly the postseason (the river) that have to be played out.
Can the Twins win the World Series with a hand like K-J? Sure. You know the other teams that are in it could have a good hand, maybe an ace up their sleeve (mid-season trade?) but this team needs to gamble.
This is why it was so refreshing this off-season to see the Twins go out and acquire J.J. Hardy early, be proactive with the arbitration eligible guys, play some hardball with Orlando Hudson’s agent and grab him on a great deal, sign Nick Blackburn and Span to friendly extensions.
It’s borderline unprecedented not just in Twins history, but also in Minnesota sports history.
The only time I can remember a local team going out and acquiring talent for a big postseason run was before the 2003-4 NBA season when the Wolves acquired Latrell Spreewell, Sam Cassell and Michael Olowokandi to start. Not to mention Fred Hoiberg, Troy Hudson, Ervin Johnson and Trenton Hassel who were either invaluable off the bench or had career years. That team lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. More because of point guards Sam Cassell and Troy Hudson being injured than being in over there heads.
It's true, the Twins may have a good run in them. I think good things happen to a proactive franchise. They may have to trade a prospect or two this summer to acquire a valued closer, but the time is now. With Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel possibly hitting free agency after 2011 then Morneau possibly the next season, I would be going for broke the next two years.
The window could close quickly.
To quote the jam-band classic, I like to think someday we’ll be saying “Man that was a crazy game of Poker.”
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Mauer. Pt. 1
There is nothing Minnesotan’s love more than Minnesotan’s who become famous. We see their movies, watch their TV shows and buy their products solely because they’re from here. It certainly isn’t a bad thing but is a niche to this area of the country. I shouldn’t even say celebrities. It should also include businesses, products, foods, anything. If it’s Minnesotan, it’s the greatest thing in the world.
Need proof of our infatuation with all things Minnesota? Okay.
We have a statue of Mary Tyler Moore in downtown Minneapolis. Not because she’s from here, but because she played a fictional television character that LIVED in Minneapolis. That’s not a knock on ol’ Mary. She was super hot when she was a young Laura Petrie on the “Dick Van Dyke Show.” But could you imagine the city of Seattle giving a tip of the cap to Kelsey Grammar for all those wonderful years of playing Dr. Frasier Crane?
I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again. If Adolph Hitler were from Minnesota, the average person here would comment, “Ya know, I’m not in favor of his Jew killing policy, but gosh he’s just such an inspirational speaker.”
Ranting and raving aside, we can love local celebrities, from Louie Anderson to Wally “The Beer Man.” Rachel Leigh Cook to Josh Hartnett. Richard Dean Anderson to Jesse Ventura. Crap, never mind I should’ve stopped while I was kind of ahead. But you get the drift. We can love our local favorites, but we are in the middle of no one who is going to make us prouder than “The Baseball Jesus” Joe Mauer
Eight years, 184 million dollars. St. Paul’s hometown kid has made good. I’m a fan of the deal Twins catcher Joe Mauer has signed. At $23 million per year for the next eight, Mauer is going to be one of the highest paid athletes and while rightfully deserved it does bring up more questions about the Twins and economics.
I’ve felt over the past few months that if the Twins sign Mauer to this contract it would just be a coo for the organization. A coo in the sense that they have their new ballpark, they would have their native son under contract so why bother going all out.
My belief was if you thought signing free agents like Craig Monroe, Butch Husky, Tony Batista and Adam Everett was bad; wait until you see the mutts they’d sign when one of the team’s players is making more than one-fifth the payroll.
Upon further review this isn’t entirely correct. My thoughts were the payroll was going to be at the $75 million range it’s been around but actually it’s going to be around $100 mil. That’s Lil’ Wayne type money!
So they’ll still have as much money lying around for payroll as they have in the past. Add in the added money they’ll be making off women buying new Joe Mauer pink t-shirt jerseys, revenue from price increases on concessions and merchandise and increased revenue from TV/Radio contracts and this deal is a no-brainer.
Add in that several million dollars will come off the books after the season when Nick Punto’s contract expires and Jim Thome (presumably) retires and they’ll still have some money to throw around.
The overlying criticism about the deal is that it’s a lot of money and a lot of years to commit to a catcher.
Hey, This isn’t just any catcher. This is Joe freakin’ Mauer.
ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer said this is a good deal for the first two years of the contract, then after that it’s a crapshoot. The Wall Street Journal’s Jonah Keri pontificated that there’s a 40% chance the Twins will end up regretting this deal.
Well what exactly is the worst-case scenario? It’d probably be Mauer having career ending injuries and be out of baseball by 2013. I think that’s highly unlikely.
Second-worst? A few years into the contract Mauer has to change positions. I’m sorry but I guess I wouldn’t cry myself to sleep is Joe Mauer was our starting third baseman in 2014 or playing first base/designated hitter the last couple of years of his run, because we all know Paul Molitor failed so miserably doing that for the Twins.
Third-worst? The Twins continue to make the playoffs, but don’t continue to develop minor league players like they have. Then they’ll have to rely on marketing Joe and the new ballpark to get fans in attendance.
So I feel Neyer’s analysis is flawed because Mauer CAN BE versatile
Keri’s analysis is fatally flawed because Joe Mauer is a hometown hero and will sell tickets to the new ballpark until the day he retires
My previous fear that they will not fully try to be competitive behind Joe and the new park isn’t realistic either.
This is a win for the organization, Joe Mauer, the fans and baseball. The only loser’s would have to be the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.
Feel free to comment below. Part two tomorrow.
Need proof of our infatuation with all things Minnesota? Okay.
We have a statue of Mary Tyler Moore in downtown Minneapolis. Not because she’s from here, but because she played a fictional television character that LIVED in Minneapolis. That’s not a knock on ol’ Mary. She was super hot when she was a young Laura Petrie on the “Dick Van Dyke Show.” But could you imagine the city of Seattle giving a tip of the cap to Kelsey Grammar for all those wonderful years of playing Dr. Frasier Crane?
I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again. If Adolph Hitler were from Minnesota, the average person here would comment, “Ya know, I’m not in favor of his Jew killing policy, but gosh he’s just such an inspirational speaker.”
Ranting and raving aside, we can love local celebrities, from Louie Anderson to Wally “The Beer Man.” Rachel Leigh Cook to Josh Hartnett. Richard Dean Anderson to Jesse Ventura. Crap, never mind I should’ve stopped while I was kind of ahead. But you get the drift. We can love our local favorites, but we are in the middle of no one who is going to make us prouder than “The Baseball Jesus” Joe Mauer
Eight years, 184 million dollars. St. Paul’s hometown kid has made good. I’m a fan of the deal Twins catcher Joe Mauer has signed. At $23 million per year for the next eight, Mauer is going to be one of the highest paid athletes and while rightfully deserved it does bring up more questions about the Twins and economics.
I’ve felt over the past few months that if the Twins sign Mauer to this contract it would just be a coo for the organization. A coo in the sense that they have their new ballpark, they would have their native son under contract so why bother going all out.
My belief was if you thought signing free agents like Craig Monroe, Butch Husky, Tony Batista and Adam Everett was bad; wait until you see the mutts they’d sign when one of the team’s players is making more than one-fifth the payroll.
Upon further review this isn’t entirely correct. My thoughts were the payroll was going to be at the $75 million range it’s been around but actually it’s going to be around $100 mil. That’s Lil’ Wayne type money!
So they’ll still have as much money lying around for payroll as they have in the past. Add in the added money they’ll be making off women buying new Joe Mauer pink t-shirt jerseys, revenue from price increases on concessions and merchandise and increased revenue from TV/Radio contracts and this deal is a no-brainer.
Add in that several million dollars will come off the books after the season when Nick Punto’s contract expires and Jim Thome (presumably) retires and they’ll still have some money to throw around.
The overlying criticism about the deal is that it’s a lot of money and a lot of years to commit to a catcher.
Hey, This isn’t just any catcher. This is Joe freakin’ Mauer.
ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer said this is a good deal for the first two years of the contract, then after that it’s a crapshoot. The Wall Street Journal’s Jonah Keri pontificated that there’s a 40% chance the Twins will end up regretting this deal.
Well what exactly is the worst-case scenario? It’d probably be Mauer having career ending injuries and be out of baseball by 2013. I think that’s highly unlikely.
Second-worst? A few years into the contract Mauer has to change positions. I’m sorry but I guess I wouldn’t cry myself to sleep is Joe Mauer was our starting third baseman in 2014 or playing first base/designated hitter the last couple of years of his run, because we all know Paul Molitor failed so miserably doing that for the Twins.
Third-worst? The Twins continue to make the playoffs, but don’t continue to develop minor league players like they have. Then they’ll have to rely on marketing Joe and the new ballpark to get fans in attendance.
So I feel Neyer’s analysis is flawed because Mauer CAN BE versatile
Keri’s analysis is fatally flawed because Joe Mauer is a hometown hero and will sell tickets to the new ballpark until the day he retires
My previous fear that they will not fully try to be competitive behind Joe and the new park isn’t realistic either.
This is a win for the organization, Joe Mauer, the fans and baseball. The only loser’s would have to be the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.
Feel free to comment below. Part two tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Gopher Hockey Faces Harsh Reality
The Suffering has ended! Fans can come out now, see the light; enjoy the ending of another long Minnesota winter. The Gopher Men’s hockey season has finally ended.
Yet another winter where our poor Gophers get bullied by those mean programs like St. Cloud and Duluth. And you know we can only hope for a tie when Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Denver roll in. And I don’t know about you but I want no part of Bemidji joining the conference next year. Poor Gophers. Poor Don Lucia.
Pat Reusse on his KSTP show last Wednesday.
The Gophers lost in their first round WCHA playoff series over the weekend to North Dakota. Minnesota (18-19-2) had advanced to the Final Five the past 11 consecutive years and had won its opening WCHA playoff series in 31 of the past 32 years.
The Xcel Energy Center and the city of St. Paul would like to thank the local club for not advancing in the playoffs. Less traffic means less hectic arm waving for the local traffic police. Also the Cosetta’s staff can have a little easier of a weekend for once.
In this past decade the hockey program has morphed from WCHA powerhouse, to back-to-back National Champions, to very good team upset in the national tournament, to underachieving squad whose talent finds a way to make the tournament, to underachieving squad who finds a way to make it in the WCHA final five, to underachieving squad.
For those of you scoring at home, at this pace the Gophers will be an underachieving team in the MIAC by 2017.
I hear the rubes out there. It certainly isn’t easy when players like Thomas Vanek, Erik Johnson and Phil Kessel leave early in their promising collegiate careers. It’s hard to keep momentum going.
But lets not act like Denver, Wisco, Michigan, Michigan State, Boston College and Boston University don’t face the same adversity. North Dakota should still have players Zach Parise and Jonathan Toews, two players who excelled at the Vancouver Olympics. This of course is the same North Dakota team that beat the Gophers over the weekend, for the record.
As a quick background I do not like Don Lucia, I was raised under Doug Woog teams damnit and I still love that confused, little man. My father had season tickets while I was growing up so the Gopher hockey team really was my team up until they won their national championships. It had more to do with my growing social life as I got older more than anything. So it really does bother me to see the program go down the tubes.
My problem with the program isn’t that the upper-echelon players are leaving early, it’s players like the Islanders’ Kyle Okposo leaving the team in the middle of the season because New York’s general manager, Garth Snow, thinks he’s regressing as a player. Or when Wild g.m. Chuck Fletcher trades last year’s first-round pick Nick Leddy so eagerly. You know a local g.m. is concerned when he trades a local player. Here are a few names of forwards and point totals that should remind you of Gopher improvement.
Barry Tallackson: 23pts in 44 games as freshman in 01-02, 19pts in 36 games as a senior.
Gino Guyer: 29pts in 41 games as a freshman in 02-03, 14pts in 41 games as a senior.
Ben Gordon: 29pts as a sophomore in 05-06, 29pts in 45 games as a senior.
Blake Wheeler: 23pts in 39 games as freshman in 05-06, 35pts in 44 games as a junior.
Ryan Flynn: 13pts in 43 games as a freshman, 10pts in 38 games this season.
Tony Lucia: 19pts in 43 games as a freshman, 28pts in 39 games this season.
Mike Carman 20pts in 41 games as a freshman, 18pts in 39 games this season.
All these players were called on to be offensive leaders. I only showed Wheeler’s numbers because he led the team two years ago in points, but he’s a superstar compared to team leader Lucia’s numbers this season. I don’t want to compare the two completely because they’re two different types of players but my point is when the coach is counting on his son to shoulder the load on offense you’re in trouble before the season even starts.
That’s not to say Tony Lucia is a bad player but he needs to be your number four or five option on a true contender.
I understand that some players aren’t asked to be team leaders in points (Aaron Ness) and some get hurt (Jay Barriball), but when your top players who do actually stay more than one year don’t continue to improve that’s a sign of poor leadership all the way.
Let’s also not let Jordan Schroeder off the hook either, he scored 17 fewer points this season while playing two more games. Schroeder I doubt will be back after being the best player for team USA at the Junior World Hockey Championships this last winter, besides it’s not like he improved in the college ranks.
Another all-star quality recruiting class is apparently coming in for the Gophers. If they don’t hit the jackpot with this bunch it’s got to be Lucia’s job that goes and not another NHL bound player. Personally I’d make sure Joel Maturi got canned as well because let’s not act like this University’s athletics are setting the world on fire.
I wish I had more answers but I’m still fairly frustrated with the program as well as not exactly sure what the exact problem is. Unfortunately neither does anyone on the team, in the athletic department, at the school, in the media, or sitting at home. Right now Denver, Colorado College, North Dakota, Bemidji, Duluth, St. Cloud and Wisconsin have a better program, a better plan and a brighter future than us. “Minnesota’s Pride on Ice.” What a crock.
Yet another winter where our poor Gophers get bullied by those mean programs like St. Cloud and Duluth. And you know we can only hope for a tie when Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Denver roll in. And I don’t know about you but I want no part of Bemidji joining the conference next year. Poor Gophers. Poor Don Lucia.
“Boy that (Ben) Marshall kid can play for Mahtomedi. This kids a junior and has already committed to play for the Gophers. Why you’d want to commit to the fourth or fifth best program in the state so early, I don’t know.”
Pat Reusse on his KSTP show last Wednesday.
The Gophers lost in their first round WCHA playoff series over the weekend to North Dakota. Minnesota (18-19-2) had advanced to the Final Five the past 11 consecutive years and had won its opening WCHA playoff series in 31 of the past 32 years.
The Xcel Energy Center and the city of St. Paul would like to thank the local club for not advancing in the playoffs. Less traffic means less hectic arm waving for the local traffic police. Also the Cosetta’s staff can have a little easier of a weekend for once.
In this past decade the hockey program has morphed from WCHA powerhouse, to back-to-back National Champions, to very good team upset in the national tournament, to underachieving squad whose talent finds a way to make the tournament, to underachieving squad who finds a way to make it in the WCHA final five, to underachieving squad.
For those of you scoring at home, at this pace the Gophers will be an underachieving team in the MIAC by 2017.
I hear the rubes out there. It certainly isn’t easy when players like Thomas Vanek, Erik Johnson and Phil Kessel leave early in their promising collegiate careers. It’s hard to keep momentum going.
But lets not act like Denver, Wisco, Michigan, Michigan State, Boston College and Boston University don’t face the same adversity. North Dakota should still have players Zach Parise and Jonathan Toews, two players who excelled at the Vancouver Olympics. This of course is the same North Dakota team that beat the Gophers over the weekend, for the record.
As a quick background I do not like Don Lucia, I was raised under Doug Woog teams damnit and I still love that confused, little man. My father had season tickets while I was growing up so the Gopher hockey team really was my team up until they won their national championships. It had more to do with my growing social life as I got older more than anything. So it really does bother me to see the program go down the tubes.
My problem with the program isn’t that the upper-echelon players are leaving early, it’s players like the Islanders’ Kyle Okposo leaving the team in the middle of the season because New York’s general manager, Garth Snow, thinks he’s regressing as a player. Or when Wild g.m. Chuck Fletcher trades last year’s first-round pick Nick Leddy so eagerly. You know a local g.m. is concerned when he trades a local player. Here are a few names of forwards and point totals that should remind you of Gopher improvement.
Barry Tallackson: 23pts in 44 games as freshman in 01-02, 19pts in 36 games as a senior.
Gino Guyer: 29pts in 41 games as a freshman in 02-03, 14pts in 41 games as a senior.
Ben Gordon: 29pts as a sophomore in 05-06, 29pts in 45 games as a senior.
Blake Wheeler: 23pts in 39 games as freshman in 05-06, 35pts in 44 games as a junior.
Ryan Flynn: 13pts in 43 games as a freshman, 10pts in 38 games this season.
Tony Lucia: 19pts in 43 games as a freshman, 28pts in 39 games this season.
Mike Carman 20pts in 41 games as a freshman, 18pts in 39 games this season.
All these players were called on to be offensive leaders. I only showed Wheeler’s numbers because he led the team two years ago in points, but he’s a superstar compared to team leader Lucia’s numbers this season. I don’t want to compare the two completely because they’re two different types of players but my point is when the coach is counting on his son to shoulder the load on offense you’re in trouble before the season even starts.
That’s not to say Tony Lucia is a bad player but he needs to be your number four or five option on a true contender.
I understand that some players aren’t asked to be team leaders in points (Aaron Ness) and some get hurt (Jay Barriball), but when your top players who do actually stay more than one year don’t continue to improve that’s a sign of poor leadership all the way.
Let’s also not let Jordan Schroeder off the hook either, he scored 17 fewer points this season while playing two more games. Schroeder I doubt will be back after being the best player for team USA at the Junior World Hockey Championships this last winter, besides it’s not like he improved in the college ranks.
Another all-star quality recruiting class is apparently coming in for the Gophers. If they don’t hit the jackpot with this bunch it’s got to be Lucia’s job that goes and not another NHL bound player. Personally I’d make sure Joel Maturi got canned as well because let’s not act like this University’s athletics are setting the world on fire.
I wish I had more answers but I’m still fairly frustrated with the program as well as not exactly sure what the exact problem is. Unfortunately neither does anyone on the team, in the athletic department, at the school, in the media, or sitting at home. Right now Denver, Colorado College, North Dakota, Bemidji, Duluth, St. Cloud and Wisconsin have a better program, a better plan and a brighter future than us. “Minnesota’s Pride on Ice.” What a crock.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Torii Hunter and the Racist Quote of the Week
"As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us. It's like they had to get some kind of dark faces, so they go to the Dominican or Venezuela because you can get them cheaper. It's like, 'Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?' ... I'm telling you, it's sad."Could you imagine if a white person made a comment like this? To be fair this quote is getting publicity and Torii is already backtracking etc. etc.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Instant Reaction to Joe Nathan Injury
My gut reaction to news of Joe Nathan's elbow tear is just damn. A lot was in place and while Twins GM Bill Smith has made some bobo decisions in his tenure, his solid work on building the bullpen last summer was impressive.
News of Nathan pitching hurt last year (leading to bone chips being removed in the off-season) didn't surprise me as he was really struggling to get outs. Yes he still was getting the job done but the patented Motorboat Nathan face was making a regular appearance.
Last year Nathan posted a career-high 47 saves with a 2.10 era and a WHIP of .932 (walks+hits/innings pitched. I.E. average of how many base runners per an inning.)
In comparison Nathan has averaged 39 saves, an era of 1.82 and a WHIP of .932 in his previous five years since joining the Twins.
So Nathan was basically as good as ever last year statistically despite some of his struggles of “attacking” hitters. I think a lot of you fans know what I’m saying here. He just wasn’t as much of a bulldog last year.
Also manager Ron Gardenhire has coddled him. Nathan almost never came in before the ninth inning or pitched one batter past. This has probably led to him not getting injured like this before. Kudos to Gardy after the fact.
But to look past the injury the Twins now face a “closer by committee” situation with Pat Neshek, Jon Rauch, and Jose Mijares as instant players who came to my mind.
Neshek is coming back from “Tommy John” surgery (the likely procedure Nathan is facing) but seems eager to get back out there, Rauch has experience as a closer with Arizona and Washington, and Mijares is a lefty.
While all three have flaws- Neshek’s injury, Rauch’s stuff, and Mijares’ weight/youth, I can see a plausible candidate out of those three, if not all.
Matty Guerrier, Jesse Crain, and recently acquired Clay Condery are just set-up men in my mind. Either not possessing the “stuff” or having the mentality to come in and get outs.
Jesse Crain has a lot more in common with the Tin-Man (no heart) and the Lion (cowardly) than he does with the Sandman (Mariano Rivera) and the Duke (the fictional closer from “Major League” who was so mean he "threw at his own kid at the father-son game!")
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal does have a suggestion that tickles my fancy:
But it’s too early to tell.
My only fear now as we enter Target Field is injuries. To look at it we have an Uber-Star Catcher who has only been fully healthy for a whole season once. A former MVP at first base coming off back surgery, a newly acquired free-agent second baseman coming off a season-fighting wrist injury, a top of the rotation pitcher who’s throwing with screws in his wrist, and another starter who’s missed several seasons with injuries.
So between Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Orlando Hudson, Kevin Slowey and Carl Pavano this squad had some injury questions. Pat Neshek and Francisco Liriano as well. We didn’t need to add Joe Nathan to this list. To me the fear is more of a “big picture” problem with the Twins, not just who’s going to close out the ninth.
Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press comes out and says what needed to be said in his article today.
What If? Indeed.
News of Nathan pitching hurt last year (leading to bone chips being removed in the off-season) didn't surprise me as he was really struggling to get outs. Yes he still was getting the job done but the patented Motorboat Nathan face was making a regular appearance.
Last year Nathan posted a career-high 47 saves with a 2.10 era and a WHIP of .932 (walks+hits/innings pitched. I.E. average of how many base runners per an inning.)
In comparison Nathan has averaged 39 saves, an era of 1.82 and a WHIP of .932 in his previous five years since joining the Twins.
So Nathan was basically as good as ever last year statistically despite some of his struggles of “attacking” hitters. I think a lot of you fans know what I’m saying here. He just wasn’t as much of a bulldog last year.
Also manager Ron Gardenhire has coddled him. Nathan almost never came in before the ninth inning or pitched one batter past. This has probably led to him not getting injured like this before. Kudos to Gardy after the fact.
But to look past the injury the Twins now face a “closer by committee” situation with Pat Neshek, Jon Rauch, and Jose Mijares as instant players who came to my mind.
Neshek is coming back from “Tommy John” surgery (the likely procedure Nathan is facing) but seems eager to get back out there, Rauch has experience as a closer with Arizona and Washington, and Mijares is a lefty.
While all three have flaws- Neshek’s injury, Rauch’s stuff, and Mijares’ weight/youth, I can see a plausible candidate out of those three, if not all.
Matty Guerrier, Jesse Crain, and recently acquired Clay Condery are just set-up men in my mind. Either not possessing the “stuff” or having the mentality to come in and get outs.
Jesse Crain has a lot more in common with the Tin-Man (no heart) and the Lion (cowardly) than he does with the Sandman (Mariano Rivera) and the Duke (the fictional closer from “Major League” who was so mean he "threw at his own kid at the father-son game!")
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal does have a suggestion that tickles my fancy:
"...The Padres' Heath Bell, earning $4 million, would make more sense, but the Twins do not figure to jump quickly."
But it’s too early to tell.
My only fear now as we enter Target Field is injuries. To look at it we have an Uber-Star Catcher who has only been fully healthy for a whole season once. A former MVP at first base coming off back surgery, a newly acquired free-agent second baseman coming off a season-fighting wrist injury, a top of the rotation pitcher who’s throwing with screws in his wrist, and another starter who’s missed several seasons with injuries.
So between Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Orlando Hudson, Kevin Slowey and Carl Pavano this squad had some injury questions. Pat Neshek and Francisco Liriano as well. We didn’t need to add Joe Nathan to this list. To me the fear is more of a “big picture” problem with the Twins, not just who’s going to close out the ninth.
Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press comes out and says what needed to be said in his article today.
"Finally, a little "what if?" Can you imagine if Francisco Liriano had the mindset of a closer? With that heater, wicked slider and deadly change, he'd be terrific in that slot. Unfortunately, he loses confidence as a starter and therefore never would survive as a closer. But the lefty has the perfect physical makeup for the job."
What If? Indeed.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
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