Cody Christie

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USOtSqIeF9Q/T4V3GAwFj0I/AAAAAAAABLY/4Hj5SpCkt30/s320/2002TwinsReunion.jpg Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of highlights of Opening Day at Target Field was the 10-year reunion for the 2002 Minnesota Twins team, the last team from the franchise to play in the ALCS. There were 11 of the 25 members of the team in attendance at the game along with most of the coaching staff. There were plenty of cheers for fan favorites like Torii Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Eddie Guardado. It is hard to imagine how far the team has come since the beginning of the 2002 season and if that team was unable to succeed, would the franchise even exists at this point? After winning the team's first World Series in the late 80's and their second World Series in the early 1990's, the Twins would go through a stretch of eight years where the team would finish in fourth or fifth place in their division. The middle years of the 1990's became a tough time for the sport of baseball. There was the strike shortened year in 1995 without a World Series and from the next few years it would be hard to bring fans back to the sport. Rich owners and players had turned their backs on the fan base and it became a tough time for the baseball world. Poor baseball in Minnesota would make it tough to draw fans but some fans would start to trickle back because of a few factors in the late 90's. In 1998, there was the chase for the home run record that had been held by Roger Maris. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr. were hitting balls out of the park at lightning speed. Most of this chase for the home run didn't impact the Twins because a lot of that action was occurring in the National League. By seasons end, the team would finish 22 games under .500 and with the smallest attendance in the American League. The next couple seasons would be more of the same for the Twins but something was slowly changing. After finishing the 2000 season with the worst record in baseball, the Twins put together a surprise run in 2001 to finish second in the division. For the first time in multiple seasons, the Twins didn't finish last in attendance in the AL. The fan base was slowly starting to grow because nothing draws in fans like winning on the field. The young and upcoming Twins had plenty of talent that was blossoming but the upcoming offseason would be full of turmoil. Following this magical season, the Twins went through an offseason of unknowns. Tom Kelly, the winningest manager in club history, was stepping aside and an unproven manager by the name of Ron Gardenhire was taking the reigns. There were also rumblings across the baseball world of the possibility of contracting two teams from each of the leagues and the Twins were considered to be the front runner for deletion from the AL. After a bounce back year in 2001, the 2002 season looked like it could be the last hurrah for the Minnesota Twins. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-41yWxKdl8sM/T4V2oq4BysI/AAAAAAAABLQ/Ya6ryhIJ-k4/s1600/theteamthatsavedbaseball.jpg The Twins would get off to a decent start in 2002 but their second half winning percentage of .611 would truly separate them from the pack. They stayed above .500 for the entire season and destroyed the bottom feeders in the AL Central. They spent 161 days in first place in the AL Central and the furthest the team ever got behind in the division was four games out of first and that was in the early weeks of the season. The franchise would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1991 and they surprised the baseball world by beating the mighty Oakland A's in the first round of the playoffs. The Twins were back and they would stay atop the AL Central for a majority of the next decade. One of the forgotten groups in all of this was the fans of the younger generation. They were too young to remember much of the success of World Series teams for the Twins. This meant they grew up watching painful baseball being played in an ugly white dome in downtown Minneapolis. The stands were mostly empty, the team failed to produce on the field, and the baseball world watched as the Twins were slowly dying. This lost generation of fans couldn't remember a time when the Twins had been successful but that would all change in the 2002 season. These fans of the younger generation would be able to attend their first playoff series in over a decade at the Metrodome. They would get to wave their first Homer Hanky and watch their team celebrate on the field after winning their first playoff series since 1991. The Metrodome would be packed and the fans could feel what it was like when thousands of voices made the roof shake off of the dome that didn't seem as ugly anymore. A new generation of Twins fan had been born and they would watch their team succeed at a high level over the course of the next decade. These fans that had been lost were now found and the course of the franchise's history would never be the same...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USOtSqIeF9Q/T4V3GAwFj0I/AAAAAAAABLY/4Hj5SpCkt30/s320/2002TwinsReunion.jpg Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of highlights of Opening Day at Target Field was the 10-year reunion for the 2002 Minnesota Twins team, the last team from the franchise to play in the ALCS. There were 11 of the 25 members of the team in attendance at the game along with most of the coaching staff. There were plenty of cheers for fan favorites like Torii Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Eddie Guardado. It is hard to imagine how far the team has come since the beginning of the 2002 season and if that team was unable to succeed, would the franchise even exists at this point? After winning the team's first World Series in the late 80's and their second World Series in the early 1990's, the Twins would go through a stretch of eight years where the team would finish in fourth or fifth place in their division. The middle years of the 1990's became a tough time for the sport of baseball. There was the strike shortened year in 1995 without a World Series and from the next few years it would be hard to bring fans back to the sport. Rich owners and players had turned their backs on the fan base and it became a tough time for the baseball world. Poor baseball in Minnesota would make it tough to draw fans but some fans would start to trickle back because of a few factors in the late 90's. In 1998, there was the chase for the home run record that had been held by Roger Maris. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr. were hitting balls out of the park at lightning speed. Most of this chase for the home run didn't impact the Twins because a lot of that action was occurring in the National League. By seasons end, the team would finish 22 games under .500 and with the smallest attendance in the American League. The next couple seasons would be more of the same for the Twins but something was slowly changing. After finishing the 2000 season with the worst record in baseball, the Twins put together a surprise run in 2001 to finish second in the division. For the first time in multiple seasons, the Twins didn't finish last in attendance in the AL. The fan base was slowly starting to grow because nothing draws in fans like winning on the field. The young and upcoming Twins had plenty of talent that was blossoming but the upcoming offseason would be full of turmoil. Following this magical season, the Twins went through an offseason of unknowns. Tom Kelly, the winningest manager in club history, was stepping aside and an unproven manager by the name of Ron Gardenhire was taking the reigns. There were also rumblings across the baseball world of the possibility of contracting two teams from each of the leagues and the Twins were considered to be the front runner for deletion from the AL. After a bounce back year in 2001, the 2002 season looked like it could be the last hurrah for the Minnesota Twins. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-41yWxKdl8sM/T4V2oq4BysI/AAAAAAAABLQ/Ya6ryhIJ-k4/s1600/theteamthatsavedbaseball.jpg The Twins would get off to a decent start in 2002 but their second half winning percentage of .611 would truly separate them from the pack. They stayed above .500 for the entire season and destroyed the bottom feeders in the AL Central. They spent 161 days in first place in the AL Central and the furthest the team ever got behind in the division was four games out of first and that was in the early weeks of the season. The franchise would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1991 and they surprised the baseball world by beating the mighty Oakland A's in the first round of the playoffs. The Twins were back and they would stay atop the AL Central for a majority of the next decade. One of the forgotten groups in all of this was the fans of the younger generation. They were too young to remember much of the success of World Series teams for the Twins. This meant they grew up watching painful baseball being played in an ugly white dome in downtown Minneapolis. The stands were mostly empty, the team failed to produce on the field, and the baseball world watched as the Twins were slowly dying. This lost generation of fans couldn't remember a time when the Twins had been successful but that would all change in the 2002 season. These fans of the younger generation would be able to attend their first playoff series in over a decade at the Metrodome. They would get to wave their first Homer Hanky and watch their team celebrate on the field after winning their first playoff series since 1991. The Metrodome would be packed and the fans could feel what it was like when thousands of voices made the roof shake off of the dome that didn't seem as ugly anymore. A new generation of Twins fan had been born and they would watch their team succeed at a high level over the course of the next decade. These fans that had been lost were now found and the course of the franchise's history would never be the same...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c_K-DX5eBVo/T4QgMZD4xAI/AAAAAAAABLI/FUQ7vY1Wz6Q/s1600/BrianDozier.jpg At the end of spring training when Brian Doizer was sent down to the minor leagues, he seemed to leave the Twins facility with a chip on his shoulder. His time in the big league camp had been sufficient with him hitting .277/.333/.511 with three home runs and nine RBI in 47 at-bats. With him only having spent part of a season at the Double-A level, it seemed like a very long shot for him to make the club out of spring training. Dozier felt like he had played well enough to be on the team and now he has been determined to show the Twins they won't be able to hold him down for too long. The 24-year old middle infielder for the Red Wings has gotten off to a hot start in the first five games of the season in Rochester. He has been a spark plug for the offense by batting .474/.545/.789 with three doubles, a home run, and three runs scored in five games. In all but one of those games, he has multiple hits with his best game coming yesterday when he was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and three RBI. He is hitting like a man on a mission and he mission is clearly to get to the big leagues as soon as possible. Last year was a breakout season for Mr. Dozier in the minor leagues as he won the Twins Minor League Player of the Year. Since he left the rookie leagues, Dozier had tried to find his swing at the Low-A and High-A level but he never hit over .278 and his power numbers weren't outstanding. Something clicked for Dozier last year when he started the year back in the Florida State League. With the Miracle at the start of last season, he hit .322/.423/.472 and he had 18 extra-base hits. The Twins promoted him to New Britain and his hot hitting continued to the tune of .318/.384/.502 with seven home runs, seven triples, and 22 doubles. The Twins didn't have many positives in 2011 but the season of Dozier might have been near the top of their list. During this past offseason, the Twins sent Dozier to the Arizona Fall League to better prepare him for the 2012 season. His time in this highly touted prospect league seems to have eased his transition to the Triple-A level after playing only 78 games for New Britain last year. The Twins organization has struggled in recent years to produce much in the middle infield so Dozier could be a beacon of hope for the future of the franchise. If he can lock down one of the middle infield positions for the foreseeable future, he can bridge the gap to some of the other talent in the lower levels of the minor leagues. While Dozier has been hitting the cover off of the ball in Rochester, the offense of the Twins has struggled to do anything in their first four games of the year. The players who have started in the middle infield for the Twins are a combined 1-for-24 with three strikeouts at the plate. There are plenty of other question marks with the Twins offense at this early point in the year. But if Dozier continues his hot start and the middle infield continues to struggle, it will be hard for the team to hold him in the minor leagues. It is good to see Dozier finding success at the Triple-A level during this very early junction in the season. The short amount of time he spent at the Double-A level could have meant he would go through some problems with the transition to Rochester. This has not been the case so far this year and that is a great sign for one of the top prospects in the Twins organization. If he continues to hit well and the Twins offense remains stagnant, it will only be a matter of time before Dozier is making his debut with the Twins.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c_K-DX5eBVo/T4QgMZD4xAI/AAAAAAAABLI/FUQ7vY1Wz6Q/s1600/BrianDozier.jpg At the end of spring training when Brian Doizer was sent down to the minor leagues, he seemed to leave the Twins facility with a chip on his shoulder. His time in the big league camp had been sufficient with him hitting .277/.333/.511 with three home runs and nine RBI in 47 at-bats. With him only having spent part of a season at the Double-A level, it seemed like a very long shot for him to make the club out of spring training. Dozier felt like he had played well enough to be on the team and now he has been determined to show the Twins they won't be able to hold him down for too long. The 24-year old middle infielder for the Red Wings has gotten off to a hot start in the first five games of the season in Rochester. He has been a spark plug for the offense by batting .474/.545/.789 with three doubles, a home run, and three runs scored in five games. In all but one of those games, he has multiple hits with his best game coming yesterday when he was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and three RBI. He is hitting like a man on a mission and he mission is clearly to get to the big leagues as soon as possible. Last year was a breakout season for Mr. Dozier in the minor leagues as he won the Twins Minor League Player of the Year. Since he left the rookie leagues, Dozier had tried to find his swing at the Low-A and High-A level but he never hit over .278 and his power numbers weren't outstanding. Something clicked for Dozier last year when he started the year back in the Florida State League. With the Miracle at the start of last season, he hit .322/.423/.472 and he had 18 extra-base hits. The Twins promoted him to New Britain and his hot hitting continued to the tune of .318/.384/.502 with seven home runs, seven triples, and 22 doubles. The Twins didn't have many positives in 2011 but the season of Dozier might have been near the top of their list. During this past offseason, the Twins sent Dozier to the Arizona Fall League to better prepare him for the 2012 season. His time in this highly touted prospect league seems to have eased his transition to the Triple-A level after playing only 78 games for New Britain last year. The Twins organization has struggled in recent years to produce much in the middle infield so Dozier could be a beacon of hope for the future of the franchise. If he can lock down one of the middle infield positions for the foreseeable future, he can bridge the gap to some of the other talent in the lower levels of the minor leagues. While Dozier has been hitting the cover off of the ball in Rochester, the offense of the Twins has struggled to do anything in their first four games of the year. The players who have started in the middle infield for the Twins are a combined 1-for-24 with three strikeouts at the plate. There are plenty of other question marks with the Twins offense at this early point in the year. But if Dozier continues his hot start and the middle infield continues to struggle, it will be hard for the team to hold him in the minor leagues. It is good to see Dozier finding success at the Triple-A level during this very early junction in the season. The short amount of time he spent at the Double-A level could have meant he would go through some problems with the transition to Rochester. This has not been the case so far this year and that is a great sign for one of the top prospects in the Twins organization. If he continues to hit well and the Twins offense remains stagnant, it will only be a matter of time before Dozier is making his debut with the Twins.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C8edZPZZAcQ/T4LW3dM5TsI/AAAAAAAABLA/lC14MMH8deA/s320/JameyCarrollDefense.jpg Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Twins struggled mightily in their first series of the year against a team that is not projected to do very well this season, the Baltimore Orioles. The three starting pitchers for the Orioles looked like Cy Young winners even though each of them came into the contest with ERAs of well over 4.00 for last season. The offense struggled to push runs across the plate in all three contests and the pitching for the Twins looked very similar to last year with starters not lasting very long and relief pitchers coming in to allow more runs to score. This sounds like a miserable first three games of the season for any team but for the Twins and their fans it was tough to watch their team flounder in Baltimore with the organization coming off of one of the worst year's in franchise history. Now the team hits a devastating part of their schedule that includes some of the best team's in the American League. The projected pitchers for the Angels and Rangers during the next couple of series will look even more daunting than the crew sent out by the Orioles. Overall, this doesn't seem like a good start but there has to be a silver lining from all of this mess. 1. Baseball's long regular season: One of the best things about the baseball season is the length of the schedule. Even though the Twins lost their first three games, there are still 159 more contests for the team to prove they are worth a darn in 2012. It's way too early to panic for many of the clubs in baseball. Projected playoff teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox are off to slow starts themselves and their expectations of making a long October run have not changed in the past couple of days. There isn't anything that says the Twins can't turn it around in the middle of this slow start and make something out of this year. 2. JJ Hardy curse: This might not be a real thing but the Orioles have owned the Twins during this year and last year. Since JJ Hardy was traded away, the Twins are now a combined 2-9 versus Baltimore. In those contests the Twins have been outscored 59 to 21 so most of the games have not been very close. This might not seem like a very positive thing but it is good to remember that the Twins have struggled with team's from the AL East in previous years. Fans of the Twins expected them to do well on Opening Weekend but maybe those expectations should have been tempered a little bit. 3. Morneau's swing looked good: There weren't many positives from the offensive side of the ball but in the middle of this mess there was one bright spot. Justin Morneau is off to a hot start with four hits in his first ten at-bats of the year. Half of his hits have been doubles and Josh Willingham is the only other player who has managed an extra base hit so far in 2012. Mornea's good start is wonderful news for a player who is coming off of missing huge chunks of the last two years. He is also adjusting to being a full-time designated hitter and there can be some struggles with this switch. With much of the season still to come, the Twins will have to continue to watch Morneau's health and hope that his offensive output stays at a high level. 4. Carroll's upgraded defense: The Twins had a few goals during the offseason after Terry Ryan took back the role of general manager of the club. One of the biggest goals was to solidify the defense up the middle for a team that has a lot of pitch to contact starters in their rotation. Even with Carroll's struggles at the plate, there have been plenty of defensive gems for him at this early point in the year. After each of the plays made by Carroll, there were many comments flying around on Twitter about that play being something that Tsuyoshi Nishioka would never have been able to do. In all seriousness, it was just nice to see someone make the plays he needed to make at the shortstop position. 5. Duensing and Perkins have strong appearances: One of the biggest bright spots for the Twins last year was Glen Perkins but the 2011 season was really his breakout year. The Twins were hoping he would be just as strong in 2012 and his first appearance of the year did little to disappoint. He face four batters, struck out two of them, and allowed one hit in an innings worth of work. The other arm to watch out of the bullpen for the Twins was Brian Deunsing and his transition back to the bullpen. After the Twins saw Duensing struggle as a starter for most of last year, his move back to the bullpen was expected for 2012. His first appearance out of the bullpen was very good as he faced three batters and struck out two of them. The Twins will be happy to get back to Minnesota and play in front of their fans at Target Field. There are plenty of games left in the year for the Twins to show what they are made of in 2012. They haven't pressed the panic button yet and neither should you.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C8edZPZZAcQ/T4LW3dM5TsI/AAAAAAAABLA/lC14MMH8deA/s320/JameyCarrollDefense.jpg Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Twins struggled mightily in their first series of the year against a team that is not projected to do very well this season, the Baltimore Orioles. The three starting pitchers for the Orioles looked like Cy Young winners even though each of them came into the contest with ERAs of well over 4.00 for last season. The offense struggled to push runs across the plate in all three contests and the pitching for the Twins looked very similar to last year with starters not lasting very long and relief pitchers coming in to allow more runs to score. This sounds like a miserable first three games of the season for any team but for the Twins and their fans it was tough to watch their team flounder in Baltimore with the organization coming off of one of the worst year's in franchise history. Now the team hits a devastating part of their schedule that includes some of the best team's in the American League. The projected pitchers for the Angels and Rangers during the next couple of series will look even more daunting than the crew sent out by the Orioles. Overall, this doesn't seem like a good start but there has to be a silver lining from all of this mess. 1. Baseball's long regular season: One of the best things about the baseball season is the length of the schedule. Even though the Twins lost their first three games, there are still 159 more contests for the team to prove they are worth a darn in 2012. It's way too early to panic for many of the clubs in baseball. Projected playoff teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox are off to slow starts themselves and their expectations of making a long October run have not changed in the past couple of days. There isn't anything that says the Twins can't turn it around in the middle of this slow start and make something out of this year. 2. JJ Hardy curse: This might not be a real thing but the Orioles have owned the Twins during this year and last year. Since JJ Hardy was traded away, the Twins are now a combined 2-9 versus Baltimore. In those contests the Twins have been outscored 59 to 21 so most of the games have not been very close. This might not seem like a very positive thing but it is good to remember that the Twins have struggled with team's from the AL East in previous years. Fans of the Twins expected them to do well on Opening Weekend but maybe those expectations should have been tempered a little bit. 3. Morneau's swing looked good: There weren't many positives from the offensive side of the ball but in the middle of this mess there was one bright spot. Justin Morneau is off to a hot start with four hits in his first ten at-bats of the year. Half of his hits have been doubles and Josh Willingham is the only other player who has managed an extra base hit so far in 2012. Mornea's good start is wonderful news for a player who is coming off of missing huge chunks of the last two years. He is also adjusting to being a full-time designated hitter and there can be some struggles with this switch. With much of the season still to come, the Twins will have to continue to watch Morneau's health and hope that his offensive output stays at a high level. 4. Carroll's upgraded defense: The Twins had a few goals during the offseason after Terry Ryan took back the role of general manager of the club. One of the biggest goals was to solidify the defense up the middle for a team that has a lot of pitch to contact starters in their rotation. Even with Carroll's struggles at the plate, there have been plenty of defensive gems for him at this early point in the year. After each of the plays made by Carroll, there were many comments flying around on Twitter about that play being something that Tsuyoshi Nishioka would never have been able to do. In all seriousness, it was just nice to see someone make the plays he needed to make at the shortstop position. 5. Duensing and Perkins have strong appearances: One of the biggest bright spots for the Twins last year was Glen Perkins but the 2011 season was really his breakout year. The Twins were hoping he would be just as strong in 2012 and his first appearance of the year did little to disappoint. He face four batters, struck out two of them, and allowed one hit in an innings worth of work. The other arm to watch out of the bullpen for the Twins was Brian Deunsing and his transition back to the bullpen. After the Twins saw Duensing struggle as a starter for most of last year, his move back to the bullpen was expected for 2012. His first appearance out of the bullpen was very good as he faced three batters and struck out two of them. The Twins will be happy to get back to Minnesota and play in front of their fans at Target Field. There are plenty of games left in the year for the Twins to show what they are made of in 2012. They haven't pressed the panic button yet and neither should you.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan Baseball is back!!! It was great to get home from work early on Thursday to a ton of action already underway across the baseball universe. I flipped through multiple games because my cable company was nice enough to give me a free preview of MLB Extra Innings. It is very tempting to want to purchase the package for the entire year but I might have to settle for the free pass for the first few days of the season. I checked in on the Nationals with Stephen Strasburg on the mound and Wilson Ramos behind the plate. Jose Valverde was a perfect 49 out of 49 in save opportunites last season but his first chance this year was unsuccessful. The Marlins had a short turn around after they opened their new stadium on Wednesday night in Miami and they had to be in Cincinnati for an afternoon game the next day. I ended the night by listening to the best announcer in the game, Vin Scully. Opening Day is the greatest time of the year. The Twins start their 2012 campaign in Baltimore tonight and they have their home opener on Monday afternoon. It's just a wonderful time to be a baseball fan. Here are some of the top stories I enjoyed from the past week. Have a great weekend with baseball back in our lives. Ron Gardenhire announced the Opening Day lineup for the Twins and the outfield defense could be scary. The Twins didn't have a game on Thursday but Scott Baker pitched for the Miracle and the news was not good. MLB released their annual list of the top 20 jerseys sold and there is one member of the Twins who made the list. Seth Stohs asked for a few writers (including myself) to project the top hitters and the top pitchers for the start of the Twins minor league season. Torii Hunter went from sitting on his couch one evening to having the police draw their guns on him. Have you ever wondered where walkup music came from? Andrew at Twins Fan From Afar got to spend an evening with Twins pitching prospect Alex Wimmers. Target Field unveiled their new food selections for the year and John Bonnes got to test out some of the new items. There are many reasons to be excited for the start of the new year but here are 100 different reasons to start your own list. There are a lot of tough jobs in the sports world but catching might be at the top of the list. This photo was floating around different websites on Thursday and I found it amusing. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RgaE0VuxzEY/T35dveupRoI/AAAAAAAABK4/reNfCOnJ9SQ/s320/opening-day-friends.jpg After one of the worst seasons in baseball history, Adam Dunn will start the year as the number three hitter in the White Sox lineup. Jim Crikkett from Knuckelballs blog got his call up to the big leagues by getting to write a post on the Star Tribune website about his time in Florida. What do you get when you mix Bert Blyleven and singing animal puppets? It's a little scary... Rod Carew makes this list of top 10 baseball legends and humanitarians. Former Twins ace Johan Santana returned to the mound for the Mets. If his results continue to look good, could the Mets try to trade him to a contender? Justin Verlander eats a lot of Taco Bell before each of his starts. Ramon Ortiz pitched 28 ineffective games for the Twins in 2007 and the Yankees just signed him this week. My Weekly Rundown (Predictions Week): Sunday: A season of what could be Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Award Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Projections Video of the Week: The Twins have released some very clever commercials over the years and this newest one fits into that mold. In this Big Lebowski-themed spot, Kent Hrbek is asked to take on the title role of the "Big Hrbowski." Span leaves the team in a tough spot with the 7/10 split but Hrbek is called on to make the impossible shot.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan Baseball is back!!! It was great to get home from work early on Thursday to a ton of action already underway across the baseball universe. I flipped through multiple games because my cable company was nice enough to give me a free preview of MLB Extra Innings. It is very tempting to want to purchase the package for the entire year but I might have to settle for the free pass for the first few days of the season. I checked in on the Nationals with Stephen Strasburg on the mound and Wilson Ramos behind the plate. Jose Valverde was a perfect 49 out of 49 in save opportunites last season but his first chance this year was unsuccessful. The Marlins had a short turn around after they opened their new stadium on Wednesday night in Miami and they had to be in Cincinnati for an afternoon game the next day. I ended the night by listening to the best announcer in the game, Vin Scully. Opening Day is the greatest time of the year. The Twins start their 2012 campaign in Baltimore tonight and they have their home opener on Monday afternoon. It's just a wonderful time to be a baseball fan. Here are some of the top stories I enjoyed from the past week. Have a great weekend with baseball back in our lives. Ron Gardenhire announced the Opening Day lineup for the Twins and the outfield defense could be scary. The Twins didn't have a game on Thursday but Scott Baker pitched for the Miracle and the news was not good. MLB released their annual list of the top 20 jerseys sold and there is one member of the Twins who made the list. Seth Stohs asked for a few writers (including myself) to project the top hitters and the top pitchers for the start of the Twins minor league season. Torii Hunter went from sitting on his couch one evening to having the police draw their guns on him. Have you ever wondered where walkup music came from? Andrew at Twins Fan From Afar got to spend an evening with Twins pitching prospect Alex Wimmers. Target Field unveiled their new food selections for the year and John Bonnes got to test out some of the new items. There are many reasons to be excited for the start of the new year but here are 100 different reasons to start your own list. There are a lot of tough jobs in the sports world but catching might be at the top of the list. This photo was floating around different websites on Thursday and I found it amusing. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RgaE0VuxzEY/T35dveupRoI/AAAAAAAABK4/reNfCOnJ9SQ/s320/opening-day-friends.jpg After one of the worst seasons in baseball history, Adam Dunn will start the year as the number three hitter in the White Sox lineup. Jim Crikkett from Knuckelballs blog got his call up to the big leagues by getting to write a post on the Star Tribune website about his time in Florida. What do you get when you mix Bert Blyleven and singing animal puppets? It's a little scary... Rod Carew makes this list of top 10 baseball legends and humanitarians. Former Twins ace Johan Santana returned to the mound for the Mets. If his results continue to look good, could the Mets try to trade him to a contender? Justin Verlander eats a lot of Taco Bell before each of his starts. Ramon Ortiz pitched 28 ineffective games for the Twins in 2007 and the Yankees just signed him this week. My Weekly Rundown (Predictions Week): Sunday: A season of what could be Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Award Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Projections Video of the Week: The Twins have released some very clever commercials over the years and this newest one fits into that mold. In this Big Lebowski-themed spot, Kent Hrbek is asked to take on the title role of the "Big Hrbowski." Span leaves the team in a tough spot with the 7/10 split but Hrbek is called on to make the impossible shot.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan With Opening Day almost here, it is time for my annual predictions for the 2012 baseball season. It is always fun to sort through all of the teams, players, and divisions to find out who will be the best of the best in the coming year. There are always going to be surprises along the way like the Diamondbacks were in 2011. The edition of the new wild card spots in each league will also add some spice to the race for the playoffs in the 2012 season. Over the course of the week, I will release my picks from a variety of areas. For the National League and the American League, I will predict the division winners, the wild card teams, and the major award contenders. Later in the week I will focus on the Twins and decide who is going to stand out in the major and minor leagues. Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the week. Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Awards Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Award Projections Friday: Links-N-Thinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z46F_eU9msI/T3x5R4bYmeI/AAAAAAAABKw/2bxWqmfmTOM/s320/AlexWimmers.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Wimmers could be lined up for a big season[/TD] [/TABLE] Every year Seth Stohs of the TwinsCentric crew asks a handful of Twins bloggers to put together their list of the minor league players for the Twins who will stand out in the coming year. There are a wide variety of categories across each level of the minor leagues. The first section looks at the hitters and pitchers that will be having a breakout season in the upper levels of the minor leagues and those that will start the year in the lower level of the minors. The second section of categories looks at some players that have already broke out but that could end up being the top hitter or pitcher in their perspective level. You will also see some players who are currently with the Twins at extended spring training (EST) but some of those players could play a big role in the success of the farm system in 2012. Overall it is a very fun exercise to do after the rosters have been released for each level and it is fun to try and predict where these players will end up by the end of the year. If there are some unfamiliar names on this list, then you might need to order yourself a copy of the 2012 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Breakout Hitter (Upper Levels) - Aaron Hicks: Please...Pretty please. The Twins are giving him every shot and it's time to take the opportunity and run with it. There were some struggles for him during last season but the Twins saw some good things from him during his time in the Arizona Fall League. There is so much potential in this young athletic man that it seems like it will only be a matter of time before he becomes a monster at the plate. Even with his struggles last year there were glimpses of hope and now the hope is there will be more consistent play from Mr. Hicks. Breakout Hitter (Lower Levels) - Angel Morales: After missing a chunk of last year, it's time to prove he can be one of the team's best prospects. He only appeared in 37 games last season with the Miracle and this came after a year in which he split time between Fort Myers and Beliot. In 2008, he showed a ton of power in rookie ball but in more recent years some of that power has diminished. Since it will be the third season he has spent time at Fort Myers, a strong start could see him moving up to Double-A by the end of the season. Breakout Hitter (in EST) - Max Kepler: In only his second year in the Twins system, Kepler showed glimpses of power last year with the Elizabethton Twins. He will only be 19-years old this season so there is still time for his body to develop more power in the coming years. Kepler showed enough last year to look like he could explode onto the scene during the 2012 campaign. Overall, more consistency at the plate and less strikeouts will be key for him to succeed as he moves through the system. Breakout Pitcher (Upper Levels) - Alex Wimmers: The Twins need more starting pitching in the upper levels and Wimmers has to be that guy in 2012. Kyle Gibson is out for most of this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Wimmers struggles at the beginning of last year were well documented but his placement on the Rock Cats roster must mean that he is throwing well to start the year. At the beginning of last year, the Twins thought Wimmers would be on the fast track to Minnesota. He fell off of that fast track last year but he could be back in line to be a quick mover this year. Breakout Pitcher (Lower Levels) - Madison Boer: The Minnesota native was drafted out of Oregon by the Twins in last year's draft. He got a taste of two levels after he signed quickly with the club and he has already been to Low-A Beliot. His time last year with the team was spent as a relief pitcher but now the club will stretch him out and see what he can do as a starter. His high strikeout rate from last year won't be able to follow him when he is starting. But as a collegiate pitcher, he could move up the ladder quickly if he finds success. Breakout Pitcher (in EST) - Matthew Summers: Much like Boer, Summers joined the Twins out of last year's draft and got a brief taste of the minors with the the E-Twins. The 6-foot-1 right-handed pitcher only allowed two runs over 20.2 innings on the mound with 36 strikeouts. At this point he could be used as a starter or a relief pitcher but it seems like he might be destined for a relief role. He has only been a full-time pitcher since his last year in college so there are plenty of tweaks that he might have to undergo in the coming year to be as successful as he can be. Best Hitter (Upper Levels) - Joe Benson: Benson and Parmelee have followed each other through every level of the minor leagues so seeing Parmelee in the majors should drive him on the field. His time with the Twins last September was not perfect but he showed the speed and defensive ability that he had been touted for during his seasons in the minor leagues. He could get some more playing time with the big league team this year but it might be best for Benson to spend the whole year at Rochester to perfect his game. He could be ready to make a splash by the end of the year and he is an injury or two away from heading back to Minnesota. Best Hitter (Lower Levels) - Miguel Sano: During last season the combination of Sano and Eddie Rosario were a dynamic duo for Elizabethton. By season's end Rosario would receive many of the accolades in '11 and now it will be Sano's turn to show he deserves to be the organization's top prospect. Sano will be playing in his first full season league with the Snappers and there will be many eyes on him from across the baseball world. His raw power is what separates him from the rest of the pack and it could be an exciting season for Sano. Best Hitter (in EST) - Niko Goodrum: At the end of last year, Goodrum was playing well and the team is hopefully of continued success from him. He was a second round pick in 2010 so the team thinks highly of the young middle infielder. He played almost exclusively at shortstop last season and the Twins have struggled in recent years with developing middle infielders. His defense needs to improve for him to stick at shortstop but his big frame could become an asset in the long run. He showed more ability to take a walk last year and now it will be time to cut down on some of the strikeouts. The tools are there and he should be able to put it all together in 2012. Best Pitcher (Upper Levels) - Alex Wimmers: The best hope for the Twins is that his control problems are behind him. As stated previously, the organization needs some of their pitching prospects to be ready to enter the rotation next season. Liam Hendriks seems ready to take on this challenge and Kyle Gibson continues to recover so there is a lot of pressure on Mr. Wimmers. In his last start of the 2011 season, he showed he had the stuff to dominate by throwing a no-hitter. He should be in Rochester by the end of the year with his eyes set on fighting for a roster spot next year. Best Pitcher (Lower Levels) - Adrian Salcedo: He has one of the best arms in the lower levels of the Twins system and he should continue to be a workhorse as he moves through the minor leagues. Last year was his first year in a full season league and he put up very good numbers in Beliot. Now he will start the year in the Florida State League as part of a very strong pitching staff with the Miracle. He has room to add some weight to his frame and this could help him to add some velocity to his pitches. Salcedo pounds the strikezone and refuses to give up many walks so he already seems to fit the mold of the typical Twins pitcher. Best Pitcher (in EST)- Matthew Summers: Extended spring training is full of last year's draft class and Summers is an intriguing option moving forward. His unique delivery could make it hard for batters to adjust to what they are seeing on the mound. His last season in college he was outstanding at UC-Irvine by tossing 116 innings with a 2.02 ERA. His offspeed pitches will need to be honed in the coming year but he should have enought stuff to be successul in the rookie leagues. The Twins will hope that he continues to find sucess on the mound even though he hasn't been a starting pitcher for an extended period of time.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan With Opening Day almost here, it is time for my annual predictions for the 2012 baseball season. It is always fun to sort through all of the teams, players, and divisions to find out who will be the best of the best in the coming year. There are always going to be surprises along the way like the Diamondbacks were in 2011. The edition of the new wild card spots in each league will also add some spice to the race for the playoffs in the 2012 season. Over the course of the week, I will release my picks from a variety of areas. For the National League and the American League, I will predict the division winners, the wild card teams, and the major award contenders. Later in the week I will focus on the Twins and decide who is going to stand out in the major and minor leagues. Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the week. Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Awards Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Award Projections Friday: Links-N-Thinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z46F_eU9msI/T3x5R4bYmeI/AAAAAAAABKw/2bxWqmfmTOM/s320/AlexWimmers.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Wimmers could be lined up for a big season[/TD] [/TABLE] Every year Seth Stohs of the TwinsCentric crew asks a handful of Twins bloggers to put together their list of the minor league players for the Twins who will stand out in the coming year. There are a wide variety of categories across each level of the minor leagues. The first section looks at the hitters and pitchers that will be having a breakout season in the upper levels of the minor leagues and those that will start the year in the lower level of the minors. The second section of categories looks at some players that have already broke out but that could end up being the top hitter or pitcher in their perspective level. You will also see some players who are currently with the Twins at extended spring training (EST) but some of those players could play a big role in the success of the farm system in 2012. Overall it is a very fun exercise to do after the rosters have been released for each level and it is fun to try and predict where these players will end up by the end of the year. If there are some unfamiliar names on this list, then you might need to order yourself a copy of the 2012 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Breakout Hitter (Upper Levels) - Aaron Hicks: Please...Pretty please. The Twins are giving him every shot and it's time to take the opportunity and run with it. There were some struggles for him during last season but the Twins saw some good things from him during his time in the Arizona Fall League. There is so much potential in this young athletic man that it seems like it will only be a matter of time before he becomes a monster at the plate. Even with his struggles last year there were glimpses of hope and now the hope is there will be more consistent play from Mr. Hicks. Breakout Hitter (Lower Levels) - Angel Morales: After missing a chunk of last year, it's time to prove he can be one of the team's best prospects. He only appeared in 37 games last season with the Miracle and this came after a year in which he split time between Fort Myers and Beliot. In 2008, he showed a ton of power in rookie ball but in more recent years some of that power has diminished. Since it will be the third season he has spent time at Fort Myers, a strong start could see him moving up to Double-A by the end of the season. Breakout Hitter (in EST) - Max Kepler: In only his second year in the Twins system, Kepler showed glimpses of power last year with the Elizabethton Twins. He will only be 19-years old this season so there is still time for his body to develop more power in the coming years. Kepler showed enough last year to look like he could explode onto the scene during the 2012 campaign. Overall, more consistency at the plate and less strikeouts will be key for him to succeed as he moves through the system. Breakout Pitcher (Upper Levels) - Alex Wimmers: The Twins need more starting pitching in the upper levels and Wimmers has to be that guy in 2012. Kyle Gibson is out for most of this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Wimmers struggles at the beginning of last year were well documented but his placement on the Rock Cats roster must mean that he is throwing well to start the year. At the beginning of last year, the Twins thought Wimmers would be on the fast track to Minnesota. He fell off of that fast track last year but he could be back in line to be a quick mover this year. Breakout Pitcher (Lower Levels) - Madison Boer: The Minnesota native was drafted out of Oregon by the Twins in last year's draft. He got a taste of two levels after he signed quickly with the club and he has already been to Low-A Beliot. His time last year with the team was spent as a relief pitcher but now the club will stretch him out and see what he can do as a starter. His high strikeout rate from last year won't be able to follow him when he is starting. But as a collegiate pitcher, he could move up the ladder quickly if he finds success. Breakout Pitcher (in EST) - Matthew Summers: Much like Boer, Summers joined the Twins out of last year's draft and got a brief taste of the minors with the the E-Twins. The 6-foot-1 right-handed pitcher only allowed two runs over 20.2 innings on the mound with 36 strikeouts. At this point he could be used as a starter or a relief pitcher but it seems like he might be destined for a relief role. He has only been a full-time pitcher since his last year in college so there are plenty of tweaks that he might have to undergo in the coming year to be as successful as he can be. Best Hitter (Upper Levels) - Joe Benson: Benson and Parmelee have followed each other through every level of the minor leagues so seeing Parmelee in the majors should drive him on the field. His time with the Twins last September was not perfect but he showed the speed and defensive ability that he had been touted for during his seasons in the minor leagues. He could get some more playing time with the big league team this year but it might be best for Benson to spend the whole year at Rochester to perfect his game. He could be ready to make a splash by the end of the year and he is an injury or two away from heading back to Minnesota. Best Hitter (Lower Levels) - Miguel Sano: During last season the combination of Sano and Eddie Rosario were a dynamic duo for Elizabethton. By season's end Rosario would receive many of the accolades in '11 and now it will be Sano's turn to show he deserves to be the organization's top prospect. Sano will be playing in his first full season league with the Snappers and there will be many eyes on him from across the baseball world. His raw power is what separates him from the rest of the pack and it could be an exciting season for Sano. Best Hitter (in EST) - Niko Goodrum: At the end of last year, Goodrum was playing well and the team is hopefully of continued success from him. He was a second round pick in 2010 so the team thinks highly of the young middle infielder. He played almost exclusively at shortstop last season and the Twins have struggled in recent years with developing middle infielders. His defense needs to improve for him to stick at shortstop but his big frame could become an asset in the long run. He showed more ability to take a walk last year and now it will be time to cut down on some of the strikeouts. The tools are there and he should be able to put it all together in 2012. Best Pitcher (Upper Levels) - Alex Wimmers: The best hope for the Twins is that his control problems are behind him. As stated previously, the organization needs some of their pitching prospects to be ready to enter the rotation next season. Liam Hendriks seems ready to take on this challenge and Kyle Gibson continues to recover so there is a lot of pressure on Mr. Wimmers. In his last start of the 2011 season, he showed he had the stuff to dominate by throwing a no-hitter. He should be in Rochester by the end of the year with his eyes set on fighting for a roster spot next year. Best Pitcher (Lower Levels) - Adrian Salcedo: He has one of the best arms in the lower levels of the Twins system and he should continue to be a workhorse as he moves through the minor leagues. Last year was his first year in a full season league and he put up very good numbers in Beliot. Now he will start the year in the Florida State League as part of a very strong pitching staff with the Miracle. He has room to add some weight to his frame and this could help him to add some velocity to his pitches. Salcedo pounds the strikezone and refuses to give up many walks so he already seems to fit the mold of the typical Twins pitcher. Best Pitcher (in EST)- Matthew Summers: Extended spring training is full of last year's draft class and Summers is an intriguing option moving forward. His unique delivery could make it hard for batters to adjust to what they are seeing on the mound. His last season in college he was outstanding at UC-Irvine by tossing 116 innings with a 2.02 ERA. His offspeed pitches will need to be honed in the coming year but he should have enought stuff to be successul in the rookie leagues. The Twins will hope that he continues to find sucess on the mound even though he hasn't been a starting pitcher for an extended period of time.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan With Opening Day later in the week, it is time for my annual predictions for the 2012 baseball season. It is always fun to sort through all of the teams, players, and divisions to find out who will be the best of the best in the coming year. There are always going to be surprises along the way like the Diamondbacks were in 2011. The edition of the new wild card spots in each league will also add some spice to the race for the playoffs in the 2012 season. Over the course of the week, I will release my picks from a variety of areas. For the National League and the American League, I will predict the division winners, the wild card teams, and the major award contenders. Later in the week I will focus on the Twins and decide who is going to stand out in the major and minor leagues. Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the week. Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Awards Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Award Predictions Friday: Links-N-Thinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each of the awards predicted below has been named after someone that optimizes that award for the Twins organization. There are some stars from the past and even one current MLB player, but all have had a significant place in Twins lore. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qwVK-jXvLZs/T3vHh3JVgpI/AAAAAAAABKo/-aIo95kI7HE/s320/MauerSpringTraining.jpg Harmon Killebrew MVP: Joe Mauer, C-1B-DH Runner-Up: Josh Willingham, LF Wild Card: Justin Morneau, DH 2011 Killebrew MVP: Michael Cuddyer, RF-1B-2B-P After a dreadful 2011 season, there is a chip on the shoulder of Mauer as he prepares for the 2012 campaign. He wants to prove to all of his doubters that last season was just an a blip on the radar of the outstanding career he is trying to put together. There is a good chance the Twins will try to get Mauer into the line-up as much as possible this year and that will mean more time at positions other than catcher. He brings the most value to the team when he is behind the plate but he is no use to the club when he is devastated by injuries from being a catcher. The Twins are going to win more contests when the manager can put a healthy Mauer into the middle of the line-up. He should return to being a top ten hitter in the American League and he could challenge for an unprecedented fourth batting title for a catcher. The Twins will also need players like Josh Willingham and Justing Morneau to be strong hitters in the middle of the order but the expectations are much higher for Mr. Mauer. He is being paid like one of the top players in the game and the former MVP should be able to strive for that level again in this year. For the Twins to rebound in 2012, they will need Mauer to be in top form and for him to be the leader of the club. Johan Santana Pitcher of the Year: Francisco Liriano, LHP Runner-Up: Scott Baker, RHP Wild Card: Liam Hendriks, RHP 2011 Santana Pitcher of the Year: Carl Pavano, RHP Last year was a rough year for many of the pitchers in the starting staff so it was hard to pick the best player out of all of the sub-par play. Many of the starting pitchers on the Twins are entering a contract year and the team is hoping this will bring out the best in the arms of their rotation. Liriano is one of the players that is pitching for his next contract and the Twins are still waiting on him to be the player they think he can be. At this point in his career, the dominant ace pitcher the Twins wanted from Liriano could be a figment of their imagination. But if there were any time to shine, it would be the year before he can test free agency for the first time in his life. In the offseason, Liriano pitched in the Dominican Winter League and the last time he was able to this he had a very successful season. The front office brass of the Twins is hoping to see more of the 2010 version of Liriano on the mound and he should glimpses of this in the spring. With injury concerns and age surrounding the other pitchers in the rotation, the Twins could be leaning hard on Liriano. This is a very scary proposition to many fans because of the inconsistencies he has shown in the past. If the team is successful in 2012, Liriano might have to become the ace of the staff. But if the Twins falter in the first half, Liriano could be a trade chip in July. Rick Aguilera Relief Pitcher of the Year: Brian Duensing, LHP Runner-Up: Glen Perkins, LHP Wild Card: Anthony Swarzak, RHP 2011 Aguilera Relief Pitcher of the Year: Glen Perkins, LHP The Twins tried to give Duensing a shot at being a starting pitcher for all of last year and that experiment didn't work out for the player or the team. He struggled to get right handed batters out and as a starter this is a critical task to accomplish on the mound. The Twins saw Glen Perkins, another lefty, burst onto the scene as the most consistent bullpen option for the team last year. Now the organization hopes to find similar success with Duensing shifting back into the role he had success with in the past. Perkins saw an increase in some of his velocity when he was shifted from starter to relief pitcher and the Twins can hope to see some improvements out of Duensing. The late innings seem to be set for the Twins with Matt Capps in line to get the closing opportunities and Perkins pitching as the set-up man. This could leave a handful of other players fighting for the 7th inning role. Duensing could fit into the middle to late innings very nicely and he could also be called upon to make a spot start at different points in the year. His versatility and comfort level as a bullpen arm should allow him to return to his former glory and reemerge one of the best options out of the bullpen. The team will need multiple arms to step-up this year for the team to be successful and Duensing is just one of the piece that could make this happen. Rod Carew Rookie of the Year: Chris Parmelee, 1B-RF-DH Runner-Up: Liam Hendriks, RHP Wild Card: Kyle Waldrop, RHP 2011 Carew Rookie of the Year: Ben Revere, CF-LF A couple of weeks ago, I was leaning toward some other options for my preseason pick as the Carew Rookie of the Year. Times have changed in Twins Territory and it looks like Parmelee could be here to stay with the 2012 Twins. A tremendous spring from Parmelee combined with Justin Morneau's move to DH has allowed the young man to start the season on the Twins 25-man roster. There is a good chance Parmelee will see a lot of time at first base but he has also shown some versatility with his ability to play right field. If Parmelee is going to be with the big league team, they are going to want him in the line-up for most games so his ability to play multiple position will help the manager put together the line-up. When the Twins called up Parmelee to make his debut last September, many fans had stopped paying attention to the Twins as they approached the 100-loss mark. Even though the fans might have given up on the year, Parmelee put up some numbers that caught the attention of those who were watching. He was able to hit for power with four home runs and six doubles in 76 at-bats but he also showed some patience by coaxing 12 walks. Parmelee has never played at the Triple-A level so it will be interesting to see how he handles his first full season with the team. His six years in the minor leagues were not nearly as good as the numbers he showed in September so the team needs more of the new and improved Parmelee to be a consistent hitter in the line-up.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan With Opening Day later in the week, it is time for my annual predictions for the 2012 baseball season. It is always fun to sort through all of the teams, players, and divisions to find out who will be the best of the best in the coming year. There are always going to be surprises along the way like the Diamondbacks were in 2011. The edition of the new wild card spots in each league will also add some spice to the race for the playoffs in the 2012 season. Over the course of the week, I will release my picks from a variety of areas. For the National League and the American League, I will predict the division winners, the wild card teams, and the major award contenders. Later in the week I will focus on the Twins and decide who is going to stand out in the major and minor leagues. Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the week. Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Awards Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Award Predictions Friday: Links-N-Thinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each of the awards predicted below has been named after someone that optimizes that award for the Twins organization. There are some stars from the past and even one current MLB player, but all have had a significant place in Twins lore. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qwVK-jXvLZs/T3vHh3JVgpI/AAAAAAAABKo/-aIo95kI7HE/s320/MauerSpringTraining.jpg Harmon Killebrew MVP: Joe Mauer, C-1B-DH Runner-Up: Josh Willingham, LF Wild Card: Justin Morneau, DH 2011 Killebrew MVP: Michael Cuddyer, RF-1B-2B-P After a dreadful 2011 season, there is a chip on the shoulder of Mauer as he prepares for the 2012 campaign. He wants to prove to all of his doubters that last season was just an a blip on the radar of the outstanding career he is trying to put together. There is a good chance the Twins will try to get Mauer into the line-up as much as possible this year and that will mean more time at positions other than catcher. He brings the most value to the team when he is behind the plate but he is no use to the club when he is devastated by injuries from being a catcher. The Twins are going to win more contests when the manager can put a healthy Mauer into the middle of the line-up. He should return to being a top ten hitter in the American League and he could challenge for an unprecedented fourth batting title for a catcher. The Twins will also need players like Josh Willingham and Justing Morneau to be strong hitters in the middle of the order but the expectations are much higher for Mr. Mauer. He is being paid like one of the top players in the game and the former MVP should be able to strive for that level again in this year. For the Twins to rebound in 2012, they will need Mauer to be in top form and for him to be the leader of the club. Johan Santana Pitcher of the Year: Francisco Liriano, LHP Runner-Up: Scott Baker, RHP Wild Card: Liam Hendriks, RHP 2011 Santana Pitcher of the Year: Carl Pavano, RHP Last year was a rough year for many of the pitchers in the starting staff so it was hard to pick the best player out of all of the sub-par play. Many of the starting pitchers on the Twins are entering a contract year and the team is hoping this will bring out the best in the arms of their rotation. Liriano is one of the players that is pitching for his next contract and the Twins are still waiting on him to be the player they think he can be. At this point in his career, the dominant ace pitcher the Twins wanted from Liriano could be a figment of their imagination. But if there were any time to shine, it would be the year before he can test free agency for the first time in his life. In the offseason, Liriano pitched in the Dominican Winter League and the last time he was able to this he had a very successful season. The front office brass of the Twins is hoping to see more of the 2010 version of Liriano on the mound and he should glimpses of this in the spring. With injury concerns and age surrounding the other pitchers in the rotation, the Twins could be leaning hard on Liriano. This is a very scary proposition to many fans because of the inconsistencies he has shown in the past. If the team is successful in 2012, Liriano might have to become the ace of the staff. But if the Twins falter in the first half, Liriano could be a trade chip in July. Rick Aguilera Relief Pitcher of the Year: Brian Duensing, LHP Runner-Up: Glen Perkins, LHP Wild Card: Anthony Swarzak, RHP 2011 Aguilera Relief Pitcher of the Year: Glen Perkins, LHP The Twins tried to give Duensing a shot at being a starting pitcher for all of last year and that experiment didn't work out for the player or the team. He struggled to get right handed batters out and as a starter this is a critical task to accomplish on the mound. The Twins saw Glen Perkins, another lefty, burst onto the scene as the most consistent bullpen option for the team last year. Now the organization hopes to find similar success with Duensing shifting back into the role he had success with in the past. Perkins saw an increase in some of his velocity when he was shifted from starter to relief pitcher and the Twins can hope to see some improvements out of Duensing. The late innings seem to be set for the Twins with Matt Capps in line to get the closing opportunities and Perkins pitching as the set-up man. This could leave a handful of other players fighting for the 7th inning role. Duensing could fit into the middle to late innings very nicely and he could also be called upon to make a spot start at different points in the year. His versatility and comfort level as a bullpen arm should allow him to return to his former glory and reemerge one of the best options out of the bullpen. The team will need multiple arms to step-up this year for the team to be successful and Duensing is just one of the piece that could make this happen. Rod Carew Rookie of the Year: Chris Parmelee, 1B-RF-DH Runner-Up: Liam Hendriks, RHP Wild Card: Kyle Waldrop, RHP 2011 Carew Rookie of the Year: Ben Revere, CF-LF A couple of weeks ago, I was leaning toward some other options for my preseason pick as the Carew Rookie of the Year. Times have changed in Twins Territory and it looks like Parmelee could be here to stay with the 2012 Twins. A tremendous spring from Parmelee combined with Justin Morneau's move to DH has allowed the young man to start the season on the Twins 25-man roster. There is a good chance Parmelee will see a lot of time at first base but he has also shown some versatility with his ability to play right field. If Parmelee is going to be with the big league team, they are going to want him in the line-up for most games so his ability to play multiple position will help the manager put together the line-up. When the Twins called up Parmelee to make his debut last September, many fans had stopped paying attention to the Twins as they approached the 100-loss mark. Even though the fans might have given up on the year, Parmelee put up some numbers that caught the attention of those who were watching. He was able to hit for power with four home runs and six doubles in 76 at-bats but he also showed some patience by coaxing 12 walks. Parmelee has never played at the Triple-A level so it will be interesting to see how he handles his first full season with the team. His six years in the minor leagues were not nearly as good as the numbers he showed in September so the team needs more of the new and improved Parmelee to be a consistent hitter in the line-up.

With Opening Day later in the week, it is time for my annual predictions for the 2012 baseball season. It is always fun to sort through all of the teams, players, and divisions to find out who will be the best of the best in the coming year. There are always going to be surprises along the way like the Diamondbacks were in 2011. The edition of the new wild card spots in each league will also add some spice to the race for the playoffs in the 2012 season. Over the course of the week, I will release my picks from a variety of areas. For the National League and the American League, I will predict the division winners, the wild card teams, and the major award contenders. Later in the week I will focus on the Twins and decide who is going to stand out in the major and minor leagues. Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the week. Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Awards Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Award Predictions Friday: Links-N-Thinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FOBJg5rfK8s/T3p1nwptkGI/AAAAAAAABKg/WL6-nLxO9wU/s320/votto.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Votto looks to power the Reds to the top of the NL[/TD] [/TABLE] National League East: Miami Marlins The Phillies still have quite the formidable rotation but they are an aging team that is already dealing with some injury concerns during spring training. The Marlins are looking to make a big splash in their new stadium and they got off to a good start this offseason in the free agent market. Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell were brought onto the scene along with former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. The addition of these players to a roster that already included Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton should help to push the Marlins toward the top of the NL East. Josh Johnson got off to a great start last year but a shoulder injury forced him to miss the rest of the year. I like what the Nationals are doing in this division but they are still a year away from making the playoffs. The Phillies age will finally catch up to them and the Marlins will get hot enough in the final months of the season to steal away with the division. National League Central: Cincinnati Reds The NL Central could claim to be one of the most wide open divisions in baseball. The defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals reside in this division and they have to deal with the loss of Albert Pujols. Another team in the division, the Brewers, are also dealing with the loss of their big slugger Prince Fielder. The Pirates also surprised a lot of team's last year by putting together a decent first half before stumbling down after the All-Star break. One team in the division seems to have made all the moves this offseason to signal to the other clubs that they are going for it all in 2012. The Reds traded four players to the Padres to get their hands on right-hander Mat Latos. Less than a week later, they traded for left-hander Sean Marshall. There will be two rookies starting at key positions, catcher Devin Mesoraco and shortstop Zack Cozart, but the rest of the starting line-up should be full of players in their prime. Joey Votto is locked up for the long-term and he is ready to lead the Reds back to the postseason. National League West: San Francisco Giants In a division that saw the Diamondbacks reign last year, the Giants overwhelming pitching should dominate over the course of the season. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner could all be in the Cy Young discussion at the end of the year. The club is coming off a season in which they scored the fewest runs in the NL but they are getting one of the best young hitters back in the middle of their line-up. Buster Posey missed a large chunk of last year after he got plowed over in a play at the plate. The team revamped their outfield by adding Melky Cabrera and Angel Paga to help with their offensive woes. Adding Ryan Theriot to their infield should add some speed to their line-up and Brandon Belt is a young prospect waiting to make a splash for the Giants whenever they find a position for him on the field. If the Giants can get to the playoffs, their talented rotation should take them deep into October. Wild Cards: Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates The Phillies are going to be in a tight battle for the division title with the Marlins but they will have to settle for one of the two wild card spots. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels anchor one of the strongest starting rotations in the league. Star players Chase Utley and Ryan Howard will be out for the beginning of the season. This mean that players like Hunter Pence, a potential MVP candidate, and newly resigned Jimmy Rollins will have to step up and carry the offensive load. Jonathan Papelbon was given a boatload of money to be the team's ninth inning man for the next four years. The Phillies showed they could dominate the regular season last year but this season could mark the beginning of their downfall. Yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates are one of my picks to win a wild card spot. This might sound like crazy talk but if someone had walked up to you at the beginning of last season and said Arizona would win their division, you would have laughed at them too. The Pirates were in the pennant race for the first half of last season as the team was over .500 but the wheels came off in the second half. In order to remedy some of these flaws the Pirates have focused on creating a veteran presence by adding Clint Barmes, Rod Barajas, Nate McLouth, and Casey McGehee. The team has young talent like Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen locked up to long-term deals so they can focus on being stars for the team. AJ Burnett and Erik Bedard could help the starting staff to make a turn in the right direction. It might be a long shot but the Pirates have a chance in 2012. National League MVP: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds Two seasons ago Votto was named the MVP as the Reds made a push to the playoffs out of the NL Central. Last season the Reds fell out of the pennant push but Votto continued to put up statistics that were worthy of him being considered for the MVP. I picked the Reds to finish at the top of the NL Central and the team will need everything they can get from their former MVP in order for this to happen. With Pujols and Fielder moving to the American League, some of the best competition for the MVP is out of the way for Mr. Votto. His giant contract extension that he signed yesterday means that Votto doesn't have to worry about his future because he is going to be the face of the Reds over the next decade. National League Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants It could be fun to see how much the pitchers in the Giants rotation push each other throughout the course of the season. Lincecum, Cain, and Bumgarner form the core of the outstanding Giants staff and they could all finish near the top of the the Cy Young voting. In 2008 and 2009, Lincecum finished with back-to-back Cy Young Awards and he looks to enter an elite group of pitchers that have three trophies to their name. The Giants improved offense should help to get Lincecum some more run support and he is a perennial top finisher on the strikeout list in the NL. Last year's winner Clayton Kershaw and the big three in Philadelphia will have something to say about this award but Lincecum and his long hair will end the year on top. National League Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates Hurdle is entering his third year at the helm of the Pirates and this could be his year to finish as the manager of the year. If the Pirates find a way to sneak into the playoffs, Hurdle would deserve to win because no one is expecting his team to succeed. He managed the Rockies to the 2007 National League pennant and he hopes that the Pirates can surprise the baseball world much like his former squad. The American League looks much stronger than the National League at this point so any team that qualifies for the postseason will have a chance to represent the NL in the World Series. The Cardinal snuck in at the end of last year and ended up with the title and another surprise team could be lined up for the title in 2012. National League Rookie of the Year: Devin Mesoraco, Cincinnati Reds After the top notch crop of rookies I discussed for the American League in yesterday's post, the National League crop is very underwhelming. Star prospect Bryce Harper could debut later in the season for the Nationals but he will start the year in the minor leagues. Yonder Alonso will get plenty of playing time with the Padres but it can be tough for a power hitter to succeed in Petco Park. Young flamethrowers Trevor Bauer of the Diamondbacks and Drew Pomeranz of the Rockies could be asked to step into the middle of the pennant race in the NL West. In the end, Devin Mesoraco is slated to be the starting catcher for a team that could win their division this year. His offensive potential at a tough position and the fact he is starting the year in the big leagues will help to separate him from the pack.

With Opening Day later in the week, it is time for my annual predictions for the 2012 baseball season. It is always fun to sort through all of the teams, players, and divisions to find out who will be the best of the best in the coming year. There are always going to be surprises along the way like the Diamondbacks were in 2011. The edition of the new wild card spots in each league will also add some spice to the race for the playoffs in the 2012 season. Over the course of the week, I will release my picks from a variety of areas. For the National League and the American League, I will predict the division winners, the wild card teams, and the major award contenders. Later in the week I will focus on the Twins and decide who is going to stand out in the major and minor leagues. Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the week. Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Awards Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Award Predictions Friday: Links-N-Thinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FOBJg5rfK8s/T3p1nwptkGI/AAAAAAAABKg/WL6-nLxO9wU/s320/votto.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Votto looks to power the Reds to the top of the NL[/TD] [/TABLE] National League East: Miami Marlins The Phillies still have quite the formidable rotation but they are an aging team that is already dealing with some injury concerns during spring training. The Marlins are looking to make a big splash in their new stadium and they got off to a good start this offseason in the free agent market. Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell were brought onto the scene along with former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. The addition of these players to a roster that already included Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton should help to push the Marlins toward the top of the NL East. Josh Johnson got off to a great start last year but a shoulder injury forced him to miss the rest of the year. I like what the Nationals are doing in this division but they are still a year away from making the playoffs. The Phillies age will finally catch up to them and the Marlins will get hot enough in the final months of the season to steal away with the division. National League Central: Cincinnati Reds The NL Central could claim to be one of the most wide open divisions in baseball. The defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals reside in this division and they have to deal with the loss of Albert Pujols. Another team in the division, the Brewers, are also dealing with the loss of their big slugger Prince Fielder. The Pirates also surprised a lot of team's last year by putting together a decent first half before stumbling down after the All-Star break. One team in the division seems to have made all the moves this offseason to signal to the other clubs that they are going for it all in 2012. The Reds traded four players to the Padres to get their hands on right-hander Mat Latos. Less than a week later, they traded for left-hander Sean Marshall. There will be two rookies starting at key positions, catcher Devin Mesoraco and shortstop Zack Cozart, but the rest of the starting line-up should be full of players in their prime. Joey Votto is locked up for the long-term and he is ready to lead the Reds back to the postseason. National League West: San Francisco Giants In a division that saw the Diamondbacks reign last year, the Giants overwhelming pitching should dominate over the course of the season. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner could all be in the Cy Young discussion at the end of the year. The club is coming off a season in which they scored the fewest runs in the NL but they are getting one of the best young hitters back in the middle of their line-up. Buster Posey missed a large chunk of last year after he got plowed over in a play at the plate. The team revamped their outfield by adding Melky Cabrera and Angel Paga to help with their offensive woes. Adding Ryan Theriot to their infield should add some speed to their line-up and Brandon Belt is a young prospect waiting to make a splash for the Giants whenever they find a position for him on the field. If the Giants can get to the playoffs, their talented rotation should take them deep into October. Wild Cards: Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates The Phillies are going to be in a tight battle for the division title with the Marlins but they will have to settle for one of the two wild card spots. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels anchor one of the strongest starting rotations in the league. Star players Chase Utley and Ryan Howard will be out for the beginning of the season. This mean that players like Hunter Pence, a potential MVP candidate, and newly resigned Jimmy Rollins will have to step up and carry the offensive load. Jonathan Papelbon was given a boatload of money to be the team's ninth inning man for the next four years. The Phillies showed they could dominate the regular season last year but this season could mark the beginning of their downfall. Yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates are one of my picks to win a wild card spot. This might sound like crazy talk but if someone had walked up to you at the beginning of last season and said Arizona would win their division, you would have laughed at them too. The Pirates were in the pennant race for the first half of last season as the team was over .500 but the wheels came off in the second half. In order to remedy some of these flaws the Pirates have focused on creating a veteran presence by adding Clint Barmes, Rod Barajas, Nate McLouth, and Casey McGehee. The team has young talent like Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen locked up to long-term deals so they can focus on being stars for the team. AJ Burnett and Erik Bedard could help the starting staff to make a turn in the right direction. It might be a long shot but the Pirates have a chance in 2012. National League MVP: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds Two seasons ago Votto was named the MVP as the Reds made a push to the playoffs out of the NL Central. Last season the Reds fell out of the pennant push but Votto continued to put up statistics that were worthy of him being considered for the MVP. I picked the Reds to finish at the top of the NL Central and the team will need everything they can get from their former MVP in order for this to happen. With Pujols and Fielder moving to the American League, some of the best competition for the MVP is out of the way for Mr. Votto. His giant contract extension that he signed yesterday means that Votto doesn't have to worry about his future because he is going to be the face of the Reds over the next decade. National League Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants It could be fun to see how much the pitchers in the Giants rotation push each other throughout the course of the season. Lincecum, Cain, and Bumgarner form the core of the outstanding Giants staff and they could all finish near the top of the the Cy Young voting. In 2008 and 2009, Lincecum finished with back-to-back Cy Young Awards and he looks to enter an elite group of pitchers that have three trophies to their name. The Giants improved offense should help to get Lincecum some more run support and he is a perennial top finisher on the strikeout list in the NL. Last year's winner Clayton Kershaw and the big three in Philadelphia will have something to say about this award but Lincecum and his long hair will end the year on top. National League Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates Hurdle is entering his third year at the helm of the Pirates and this could be his year to finish as the manager of the year. If the Pirates find a way to sneak into the playoffs, Hurdle would deserve to win because no one is expecting his team to succeed. He managed the Rockies to the 2007 National League pennant and he hopes that the Pirates can surprise the baseball world much like his former squad. The American League looks much stronger than the National League at this point so any team that qualifies for the postseason will have a chance to represent the NL in the World Series. The Cardinal snuck in at the end of last year and ended up with the title and another surprise team could be lined up for the title in 2012. National League Rookie of the Year: Devin Mesoraco, Cincinnati Reds After the top notch crop of rookies I discussed for the American League in yesterday's post, the National League crop is very underwhelming. Star prospect Bryce Harper could debut later in the season for the Nationals but he will start the year in the minor leagues. Yonder Alonso will get plenty of playing time with the Padres but it can be tough for a power hitter to succeed in Petco Park. Young flamethrowers Trevor Bauer of the Diamondbacks and Drew Pomeranz of the Rockies could be asked to step into the middle of the pennant race in the NL West. In the end, Devin Mesoraco is slated to be the starting catcher for a team that could win their division this year. His offensive potential at a tough position and the fact he is starting the year in the big leagues will help to separate him from the pack.

With Opening Day later in the week, it is time for my annual predictions for the 2012 baseball season. It is always fun to sort through all of the teams, players, and divisions to find out who will be the best of the best in the coming year. There are always going to be surprises along the way like the Diamondbacks were in 2011. The addition of the new wild card spots in each league will also add some spice to the race for the playoffs in the 2012 season. Over the course of the week, I will release my picks from a variety of areas. For the National League and the American League, I will predict the division winners, the wild card teams, and the major award contenders. Later in the week I will focus on the Twins and decide who is going to stand out in the major and minor leagues. Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the week. Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Awards Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Award Predictions Friday: Links-N-Thinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RcrqQC7zPSM/T3h6fHKAb6I/AAAAAAAABKQ/BBYjzhzoo8o/s320/PujolsAngelsMVP.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Pujols looks to point the Angels towards a title[/TD] [/TABLE] American League East: Tampa Bay Rays The Yankees and the Red Sox have some holes in their starting rotations and while the Rays aren't perfect, they have one of the best starting rotations in the American League. David Price, James Shields, and last year's American League Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson sit at the top of the rotation. Matt Moore will get his first full year in the big leagues and many project him to be the ace of this staff in the coming years. There are young players at multiple positions on this team who are set to break through and make an impact on this club. Evan Longoria will put together one of his best seasons as a professional and be in the mix for the American League MVP at the end of the season. American League Central: Detroit Tigers The Tigers made a big splash in the offseason by signing Prince Fielder to a huge free agent contract but Detroit needed to fill a hole left by Victor Martinez getting hurt. Fielders addition to a team that is coming off of a strong performance in 2011 should vault the Tigers to their second consecutive AL Central crown. Justin Verlander will try to follow up his MVP and Cy Young seasons from 2011 by leading the Tigers through another campaign. A couple of injuries to the Tigers could open up the division for a team like the Royals, Twins, or Indians to push for the top spot. In the end the Tigers look very much like the team to beat in the Central but there could be some surprises out of the other clubs in the division. American League West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Rangers have been the cream of the crop in the American League for the last two years but the new faces in LA could mean the end of the Texas stronghold on the division. Albert Pujols is coming off of a World Series Championship with the Cardinals and he is hoping the Angels will be in the same position at the end of this year. C.J. Wilson has switched sides in this AL West rivalry from the Rangers to the Angels and he hopes to add depth to a pitching staff that already includes Jared Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana. Top prospect Mike Trout will start the year in the minor leagues but he is one injury away from making an impact with the big league squad. Wild Cards: Texas Rangers, New York Yankees The Rangers and the Angels should have quite the battle for the AL West title but in the end, the team from Texas is going to have to settle for one of the Wild Card spots. Yu Darvish has already become a rock star to the throngs of Rangers fans who attended spring training. Now the young phenom is going to have to prove himself during the regular season. Neftail Feliz is moving from the closer role to the starting rotation and Joe Nathan is taking over the ninth inning duties from Feliz. There is a lot of pitching in Texas but it is hard to win three consecutive American League pennants. The Yankees didn't need to make many changes to their powerful line-up in the offseason but they did complete one of the most intriguing trades of the offseason. The Mariners and the Yankees completed a deal that included two of the top prospects in the game. Michael Pineda, a powerful young pitcher, was coming off of a very good rookie year with Seattle before joining the Yankees. In order to get Pineda the Bronx Bombers had to give up slugging prospect Jesus Montero. Pineda showed up to camp overweight and out of shape and he will start the year on the DL. Luckily for the Yanks, they coaxed Andy Pettite out of retirement and they still have CC Sabathia as their ace. The AL East could see the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Blue Jays all fighting for two spots in the postseason. Let the battle begin... American League MVP: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim At the beginning of last season, there were question marks surrounding Pujols and his lack of production on the field. He had been so remarkably consistent in his first decade in the league that any shift from that pattern was hard to believe. He still ended the season with outstanding numbers and he helped to lead his team to the most important goal, a World Series Championship. After shunning the Cardinals and signing a huge contract with the Angels, Pujols will have a lot of pressure on him this season. During his 11 seasons in the National League, he finished in the top five in the MVP voting ten times. His first year in the American League should be more of the same story. American League Cy Young: Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox The American League East is full of tough teams who are going to make it tough for opposing pitchers to succeed but a strong left-handed arm could make it through the mess. Jon Lester has won 15 or more games in each of the last four seasons and he might be the ace of a rotation full of holes. After back-to-back All-Star seasons, the 28-year old lefty could be set to take the next step and make a big splash for the Red Sox. Boston should be in the pennant race for most of the season and Lester's performance could go a long way in deciding if they make the playoffs. American League Manager of the Year: Ned Yost, Kansas City Royals On paper, the Tigers are suppose to win the AL Central but what happens if the Royals are pushing them for the top spot during most of the season. There has been plenty made out of the young talent compiled by the front office of the Royals and this team could be only a year or two away from being contenders for a championship. Eric Hosmer has been on fire this spring and he could be in the MVP discussion at some point in 2012. In the end the Tigers will have too much firepower to allow the Royals to win the division but a strong second place showing should give Yost the Manager of the Year Award. American League Rookie of the Year: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers There are many players already mentioned in this post that could be up for this honor at the end of the season. Matt Moore should be dominant for the Rays, Jesus Montero will try to find his swing in Seattle, and Mike Trout will eventually get his time with the Angels. In the end, it will come down to the performance of Darvish and Moore. Darvish has looked very good this spring and Moore turned heads with his playoff performance last year. It is a toss-up between these two young pitchers and in the end I picked Darvish out of what has the potential to be one of the best rookie classes in years.

With Opening Day later in the week, it is time for my annual predictions for the 2012 baseball season. It is always fun to sort through all of the teams, players, and divisions to find out who will be the best of the best in the coming year. There are always going to be surprises along the way like the Diamondbacks were in 2011. The addition of the new wild card spots in each league will also add some spice to the race for the playoffs in the 2012 season. Over the course of the week, I will release my picks from a variety of areas. For the National League and the American League, I will predict the division winners, the wild card teams, and the major award contenders. Later in the week I will focus on the Twins and decide who is going to stand out in the major and minor leagues. Here is the breakdown of the schedule for the week. Monday: 2012 American League Predictions Tuesday: 2012 National League Predictions Wednesday: 2012 Twins Awards Predictions Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Award Predictions Friday: Links-N-Thinks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RcrqQC7zPSM/T3h6fHKAb6I/AAAAAAAABKQ/BBYjzhzoo8o/s320/PujolsAngelsMVP.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Pujols looks to point the Angels towards a title[/TD] [/TABLE] American League East: Tampa Bay Rays The Yankees and the Red Sox have some holes in their starting rotations and while the Rays aren't perfect, they have one of the best starting rotations in the American League. David Price, James Shields, and last year's American League Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson sit at the top of the rotation. Matt Moore will get his first full year in the big leagues and many project him to be the ace of this staff in the coming years. There are young players at multiple positions on this team who are set to break through and make an impact on this club. Evan Longoria will put together one of his best seasons as a professional and be in the mix for the American League MVP at the end of the season. American League Central: Detroit Tigers The Tigers made a big splash in the offseason by signing Prince Fielder to a huge free agent contract but Detroit needed to fill a hole left by Victor Martinez getting hurt. Fielders addition to a team that is coming off of a strong performance in 2011 should vault the Tigers to their second consecutive AL Central crown. Justin Verlander will try to follow up his MVP and Cy Young seasons from 2011 by leading the Tigers through another campaign. A couple of injuries to the Tigers could open up the division for a team like the Royals, Twins, or Indians to push for the top spot. In the end the Tigers look very much like the team to beat in the Central but there could be some surprises out of the other clubs in the division. American League West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Rangers have been the cream of the crop in the American League for the last two years but the new faces in LA could mean the end of the Texas stronghold on the division. Albert Pujols is coming off of a World Series Championship with the Cardinals and he is hoping the Angels will be in the same position at the end of this year. C.J. Wilson has switched sides in this AL West rivalry from the Rangers to the Angels and he hopes to add depth to a pitching staff that already includes Jared Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana. Top prospect Mike Trout will start the year in the minor leagues but he is one injury away from making an impact with the big league squad. Wild Cards: Texas Rangers, New York Yankees The Rangers and the Angels should have quite the battle for the AL West title but in the end, the team from Texas is going to have to settle for one of the Wild Card spots. Yu Darvish has already become a rock star to the throngs of Rangers fans who attended spring training. Now the young phenom is going to have to prove himself during the regular season. Neftail Feliz is moving from the closer role to the starting rotation and Joe Nathan is taking over the ninth inning duties from Feliz. There is a lot of pitching in Texas but it is hard to win three consecutive American League pennants. The Yankees didn't need to make many changes to their powerful line-up in the offseason but they did complete one of the most intriguing trades of the offseason. The Mariners and the Yankees completed a deal that included two of the top prospects in the game. Michael Pineda, a powerful young pitcher, was coming off of a very good rookie year with Seattle before joining the Yankees. In order to get Pineda the Bronx Bombers had to give up slugging prospect Jesus Montero. Pineda showed up to camp overweight and out of shape and he will start the year on the DL. Luckily for the Yanks, they coaxed Andy Pettite out of retirement and they still have CC Sabathia as their ace. The AL East could see the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Blue Jays all fighting for two spots in the postseason. Let the battle begin... American League MVP: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim At the beginning of last season, there were question marks surrounding Pujols and his lack of production on the field. He had been so remarkably consistent in his first decade in the league that any shift from that pattern was hard to believe. He still ended the season with outstanding numbers and he helped to lead his team to the most important goal, a World Series Championship. After shunning the Cardinals and signing a huge contract with the Angels, Pujols will have a lot of pressure on him this season. During his 11 seasons in the National League, he finished in the top five in the MVP voting ten times. His first year in the American League should be more of the same story. American League Cy Young: Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox The American League East is full of tough teams who are going to make it tough for opposing pitchers to succeed but a strong left-handed arm could make it through the mess. Jon Lester has won 15 or more games in each of the last four seasons and he might be the ace of a rotation full of holes. After back-to-back All-Star seasons, the 28-year old lefty could be set to take the next step and make a big splash for the Red Sox. Boston should be in the pennant race for most of the season and Lester's performance could go a long way in deciding if they make the playoffs. American League Manager of the Year: Ned Yost, Kansas City Royals On paper, the Tigers are suppose to win the AL Central but what happens if the Royals are pushing them for the top spot during most of the season. There has been plenty made out of the young talent compiled by the front office of the Royals and this team could be only a year or two away from being contenders for a championship. Eric Hosmer has been on fire this spring and he could be in the MVP discussion at some point in 2012. In the end the Tigers will have too much firepower to allow the Royals to win the division but a strong second place showing should give Yost the Manager of the Year Award. American League Rookie of the Year: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers There are many players already mentioned in this post that could be up for this honor at the end of the season. Matt Moore should be dominant for the Rays, Jesus Montero will try to find his swing in Seattle, and Mike Trout will eventually get his time with the Angels. In the end, it will come down to the performance of Darvish and Moore. Darvish has looked very good this spring and Moore turned heads with his playoff performance last year. It is a toss-up between these two young pitchers and in the end I picked Darvish out of what has the potential to be one of the best rookie classes in years.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first two games of the season have been complete and I can honestly say I have yet to watch a single pitch. One of the problems was that both of the contests were not on any major channel and the other issues was the games were being played very early in the morning. I still don't know how I feel about the first two games of the season being played in Japan. It is great to spread the game to international markets but I love when all of the games are being played in the first couple days and there is one game after another on ever ESPN station. With the way it is set up now, the A's and the Mariners have already played two of their games and it seems to take a little something away from the Opening Day that will take place in the US next week. The great thing is this is the last edition of Friday Links-N-Thinks before the Twins have their own Opening Day contest in Baltimore. In Fort Myers, the roster is starting to come together and the team looks close to being ready to make a push in the AL Central. Justin Morneau started to swing a good bat this week with multiple home runs. Joe Mauer has been hitting well for most of the spring and he seems ready to get back to his injury-free self. Francisco Liriano has put together some impressive outings and he could be poised to make a splash in the rotation for the Twins. Overall, it is the most wonderful time of the year as the wait for the beginning of the 2012 season is almost over. Here are a variety of stories from the last week that I enjoyed with a little humor splashed in for some fun. Enjoy the links and have a fantastic last weekend without Twins baseball. For those lucky enough to score ticket to the Twins home opener, the schedule of events for the day was released by the club. The 2002 Twins team will be honored and who doesn't want to see Denny Hocking throw out a first pitch. Betsy over at For Love of the Game continued her series of posts relating the Twins roster decisions to the popular Hunger Games novels. Not everyone will survive until the end but may the odds be ever in your favor. It is getting closer to the time for Twins fan Lindsay Guentzel to head to the MLB Fan Cave for the start of the regular season. Over at Knuckleballs Blog they posted a video update of her progress. The new website Twins Daily has been doing very well in their first five week of existence. David Bromberg and Anthony Slama look to bounce back after each had a rough 2011. Seth Stohs thinks both could work their way back on the big league roster in 2012. The ESPN Sweetspot blog has done multiple predictions for the AL this week and the Twins got a couple nods in some categories. The Cy Young votes are here and the Rookie of the Year vote could surprise you. Do you have the desire to see every uniform change that will be taking place across baseball this year? I am excited for the Twins to wear their Minneapolis Millers uniforms. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vboqEjHrzFs/T3Ur7cOcuFI/AAAAAAAABJ4/WnO59krIv78/s320/WillieMaysMinneapolisMillers.jpg Former Twin R.A. Dickey has made quite the name for himself in the Big Apple and this piece does a good job of showing who he is as a man. Carl Pavano is in the middle of a very weird extortion plot. Some people will do anything for a navy Range Rover with tan leather. Twins Fan from Afar is fine with the news that that Justin Morneau will be DHing. I read this headline and thought the old Ruben Sierra was still attempting to play with an MLB club. There was quite the Twitter war earlier this week between the local media and the rest of us so called "bloggers." John Bonnes wrote some of his thoughts on the controversy. Do you ever go to eBay and try and find cheap Twins stuff to purchase? Minor League Ball has been running a series of posts on the top players who are under 25 years old. John Sickels reminds Twins fans why we miss Wilson Ramos. Page 2 at ESPN.com did an interview with Chris Iles, the corporate communications manager for the Twins, to discuss their use of social media during games. Don Mattingly called Ozzie Guillen a bad name. It looked like Cristian Guzman could be back in the AL Central at some point during the upcoming season. The Indians released him but maybe now he can show up and throw out a first pitch with Denny Hocking. My Weekly Rundown Monday: Revere becomes outfield's odd man out Tuesday: Could Capps perform better than Nathan in '12? Wednesday: Gibson could be the 2013 Opening Day starter Thursday: Replacements could fill back end of the rotation Video of the Week: In the time Jim Thome spent in Minnesota, he was never asked to step on the field as a fielder and there was no reason for him to do this with the AL having the DH. Time have changed for Mr. Thome as he signed a free agent contract with the Phillies in the offseason. Now he is going to be forced to play at first base from time to time in order to get himself into the line-up. Here is the video proof that he can still make a tough play at first base. It wasn't the most graceful thing in the world but he got the job done.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first two games of the season have been complete and I can honestly say I have yet to watch a single pitch. One of the problems was that both of the contests were not on any major channel and the other issues was the games were being played very early in the morning. I still don't know how I feel about the first two games of the season being played in Japan. It is great to spread the game to international markets but I love when all of the games are being played in the first couple days and there is one game after another on ever ESPN station. With the way it is set up now, the A's and the Mariners have already played two of their games and it seems to take a little something away from the Opening Day that will take place in the US next week. The great thing is this is the last edition of Friday Links-N-Thinks before the Twins have their own Opening Day contest in Baltimore. In Fort Myers, the roster is starting to come together and the team looks close to being ready to make a push in the AL Central. Justin Morneau started to swing a good bat this week with multiple home runs. Joe Mauer has been hitting well for most of the spring and he seems ready to get back to his injury-free self. Francisco Liriano has put together some impressive outings and he could be poised to make a splash in the rotation for the Twins. Overall, it is the most wonderful time of the year as the wait for the beginning of the 2012 season is almost over. Here are a variety of stories from the last week that I enjoyed with a little humor splashed in for some fun. Enjoy the links and have a fantastic last weekend without Twins baseball. For those lucky enough to score ticket to the Twins home opener, the schedule of events for the day was released by the club. The 2002 Twins team will be honored and who doesn't want to see Denny Hocking throw out a first pitch. Betsy over at For Love of the Game continued her series of posts relating the Twins roster decisions to the popular Hunger Games novels. Not everyone will survive until the end but may the odds be ever in your favor. It is getting closer to the time for Twins fan Lindsay Guentzel to head to the MLB Fan Cave for the start of the regular season. Over at Knuckleballs Blog they posted a video update of her progress. The new website Twins Daily has been doing very well in their first five week of existence. David Bromberg and Anthony Slama look to bounce back after each had a rough 2011. Seth Stohs thinks both could work their way back on the big league roster in 2012. The ESPN Sweetspot blog has done multiple predictions for the AL this week and the Twins got a couple nods in some categories. The Cy Young votes are here and the Rookie of the Year vote could surprise you. Do you have the desire to see every uniform change that will be taking place across baseball this year? I am excited for the Twins to wear their Minneapolis Millers uniforms. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vboqEjHrzFs/T3Ur7cOcuFI/AAAAAAAABJ4/WnO59krIv78/s320/WillieMaysMinneapolisMillers.jpg Former Twin R.A. Dickey has made quite the name for himself in the Big Apple and this piece does a good job of showing who he is as a man. Carl Pavano is in the middle of a very weird extortion plot. Some people will do anything for a navy Range Rover with tan leather. Twins Fan from Afar is fine with the news that that Justin Morneau will be DHing. I read this headline and thought the old Ruben Sierra was still attempting to play with an MLB club. There was quite the Twitter war earlier this week between the local media and the rest of us so called "bloggers." John Bonnes wrote some of his thoughts on the controversy. Do you ever go to eBay and try and find cheap Twins stuff to purchase? Minor League Ball has been running a series of posts on the top players who are under 25 years old. John Sickels reminds Twins fans why we miss Wilson Ramos. Page 2 at ESPN.com did an interview with Chris Iles, the corporate communications manager for the Twins, to discuss their use of social media during games. Don Mattingly called Ozzie Guillen a bad name. It looked like Cristian Guzman could be back in the AL Central at some point during the upcoming season. The Indians released him but maybe now he can show up and throw out a first pitch with Denny Hocking. My Weekly Rundown Monday: Revere becomes outfield's odd man out Tuesday: Could Capps perform better than Nathan in '12? Wednesday: Gibson could be the 2013 Opening Day starter Thursday: Replacements could fill back end of the rotation Video of the Week: In the time Jim Thome spent in Minnesota, he was never asked to step on the field as a fielder and there was no reason for him to do this with the AL having the DH. Time have changed for Mr. Thome as he signed a free agent contract with the Phillies in the offseason. Now he is going to be forced to play at first base from time to time in order to get himself into the line-up. Here is the video proof that he can still make a tough play at first base. It wasn't the most graceful thing in the world but he got the job done.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m96du2wPpag/T3PdczZud3I/AAAAAAAABJw/4_LJaqtc3E8/s320/AnthonySwarzak.jpg The Twins went into the start of this spring with a little different feel in regards to their starting rotation. Last season there was a battle between six or seven players to fill the five roles needed to complete the starting rotation at the beginning of the year. This year the Twins seemed set with five players penciled in to occupy the rotation when the team would break camp for the start of the regular season. Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, and Jason Marquis were all set to be the five men to lead the pitching staff but some issues have arisen in the last week and it looks like the plan will have to change for the Twins. Baker has been dealing with some elbow tendinitis that has limited his ability to get on the field for some of his recent scheduled outings. In his last start on Monday, he suffered through a disaster as he got lit up for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched. If Baker can't get stretched out before the start of the year, the Twins will have to look for some different options to fill his spot in the rotation. He was in line to get the home opener start for the Twins at Target Field on April 9 but it is looking more and more like someone else will be taking the mound that day. The other pitcher dealing with some off field family issues is Jason Marquis. His 7-year-old daughter was hospitalized after a serious bicycle accident and he has been away from the team for over a week. According to the team, he has been completing some throwing session while he is away but they still don't know when to anticipate him returning to the squad. Family matters are always going to take precedent over your job in the big leagues especially when it comes to a serious injury to a person's child. Fans of the Twins have been sending their thoughts and prayers to the Marquis family. But on the baseball side of things, his absence from the team leaves another spot open in the starting rotation. There are three pitchers who could be asked to fill the void left by Baker and Marquis. Liam Hendriks, Anthony Swarzak, and Matt Maloney are all being stretched out so they can be ready to step into the starting rotation if they are called upon. Hendriks and Swarzak were both part of the starting rotation at the end of the miserable 2011 season and Maloney is a new member of the Twins organization. Here is a brief look at each of these players and what each of their chances are to be in the rotation by Opening Day. Liam Hendriks 2011 Season: 6.17 ERA, 23.1 IP, 16 K, 6 BB, 1.500 WHIP, 4 games 2012 Spring: 2.40 ERA, 15.0 IP, 12 K, 5 BB, 1.200 WHIP, 6 games As the reigning Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year, the team was going to take a long look at Hendriks before deciding where he should start the year in 2012. He started last year in Double-A and he put up some impressive numbers on his way to making his debut for the Twins. During the 2011 season, he made only nine starts at Rochester for a total of 49.1 innings. This means there was a good chance the team wanted him to get in some more time at Triple-A before he was needed with the big league squad. He might be the most likely player to step into the starting rotation because he was the only one out of the three that was in line to begin the season as a starter. He is already able to throw 75 or 80 pitches in a game and that number could be higher by the time the Twins break camp. Anthony Swarzak 2011 Season: 4.32 ERA, 102.0 IP, 55 K, 26 BB, 1.343 WHIP, 27 games 2012 Spring: 3.86 ERA, 9.1 IP, 6 K, 4 BB, 1.393 WHIP, 5 games The Twins asked Swarzak to fill quite a variety of roles last season from late inning relief pitcher to long man out of the bullpen and even a starter here or there along the way. He seemed to adjust well to his varying role on the team and he pitched a near-no hitter on May 28 versus the Angels by allowing one hit over the course of eight innings. Swarzak was in position to make the 25-man roster as a relief option but that role might have to be adjusted in the next week and a half. Until the Twins get some of their other starters back on the field, Swarzak could be asked to go back to his role as fill-in starter. On Tuesday afternoon, Swarzak pitched 3 2/3 innings without allowing a hit against the Orioles. In the game he was able to throw 59 pitches so it is most likely that he would need a little more time to be fully stretched out. Matt Maloney 2011 Season: 9.16 ERA, 18.2 IP, 13 K, 4 BB, 2.143 WHIP, 8 games 2012 Spring: 0.00 ERA, 11.1 IP, 14 K, 3 BB, 0.705 WHIP, 7 games Maloney has put on one of the top performances so far in the spring for the Twins. His spring stat line looks unbelievable but it is hard to judge a player off of such a small sample size. Maloney's time in the majors last year with the Reds was not very productive so the Twins hoped a change of scenery would bring out the best in him. He spent most of the last four seasons stuck at the Triple-A level with a total of 80 innings pitched in the big leagues. For most of his career, he has been used as a starter and the Twins were trying to get him to be more comfortable as a relief pitcher. He may need to revert back to his old role of starter before the season begins so the Twins can have a full starting rotation. Maloney will take his perfect ERA to the mound on Thursday as he is scheduled to start the Twins contest against the Pirates. The lucky thing for the Twins is they have an off day worked into the early portion of their schedule so the team won't necessarily need a fifth starter for the first time through the rotation. In the grand scheme of things, the team will be able to survive with the likes of Hendriks, Swarzak, and Maloney as replacement players. The concern could be if these players are forced to take on a more permanent role in the rotation for a big chunk of the 2012 campaign.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m96du2wPpag/T3PdczZud3I/AAAAAAAABJw/4_LJaqtc3E8/s320/AnthonySwarzak.jpg The Twins went into the start of this spring with a little different feel in regards to their starting rotation. Last season there was a battle between six or seven players to fill the five roles needed to complete the starting rotation at the beginning of the year. This year the Twins seemed set with five players penciled in to occupy the rotation when the team would break camp for the start of the regular season. Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, and Jason Marquis were all set to be the five men to lead the pitching staff but some issues have arisen in the last week and it looks like the plan will have to change for the Twins. Baker has been dealing with some elbow tendinitis that has limited his ability to get on the field for some of his recent scheduled outings. In his last start on Monday, he suffered through a disaster as he got lit up for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched. If Baker can't get stretched out before the start of the year, the Twins will have to look for some different options to fill his spot in the rotation. He was in line to get the home opener start for the Twins at Target Field on April 9 but it is looking more and more like someone else will be taking the mound that day. The other pitcher dealing with some off field family issues is Jason Marquis. His 7-year-old daughter was hospitalized after a serious bicycle accident and he has been away from the team for over a week. According to the team, he has been completing some throwing session while he is away but they still don't know when to anticipate him returning to the squad. Family matters are always going to take precedent over your job in the big leagues especially when it comes to a serious injury to a person's child. Fans of the Twins have been sending their thoughts and prayers to the Marquis family. But on the baseball side of things, his absence from the team leaves another spot open in the starting rotation. There are three pitchers who could be asked to fill the void left by Baker and Marquis. Liam Hendriks, Anthony Swarzak, and Matt Maloney are all being stretched out so they can be ready to step into the starting rotation if they are called upon. Hendriks and Swarzak were both part of the starting rotation at the end of the miserable 2011 season and Maloney is a new member of the Twins organization. Here is a brief look at each of these players and what each of their chances are to be in the rotation by Opening Day. Liam Hendriks 2011 Season: 6.17 ERA, 23.1 IP, 16 K, 6 BB, 1.500 WHIP, 4 games 2012 Spring: 2.40 ERA, 15.0 IP, 12 K, 5 BB, 1.200 WHIP, 6 games As the reigning Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year, the team was going to take a long look at Hendriks before deciding where he should start the year in 2012. He started last year in Double-A and he put up some impressive numbers on his way to making his debut for the Twins. During the 2011 season, he made only nine starts at Rochester for a total of 49.1 innings. This means there was a good chance the team wanted him to get in some more time at Triple-A before he was needed with the big league squad. He might be the most likely player to step into the starting rotation because he was the only one out of the three that was in line to begin the season as a starter. He is already able to throw 75 or 80 pitches in a game and that number could be higher by the time the Twins break camp. Anthony Swarzak 2011 Season: 4.32 ERA, 102.0 IP, 55 K, 26 BB, 1.343 WHIP, 27 games 2012 Spring: 3.86 ERA, 9.1 IP, 6 K, 4 BB, 1.393 WHIP, 5 games The Twins asked Swarzak to fill quite a variety of roles last season from late inning relief pitcher to long man out of the bullpen and even a starter here or there along the way. He seemed to adjust well to his varying role on the team and he pitched a near-no hitter on May 28 versus the Angels by allowing one hit over the course of eight innings. Swarzak was in position to make the 25-man roster as a relief option but that role might have to be adjusted in the next week and a half. Until the Twins get some of their other starters back on the field, Swarzak could be asked to go back to his role as fill-in starter. On Tuesday afternoon, Swarzak pitched 3 2/3 innings without allowing a hit against the Orioles. In the game he was able to throw 59 pitches so it is most likely that he would need a little more time to be fully stretched out. Matt Maloney 2011 Season: 9.16 ERA, 18.2 IP, 13 K, 4 BB, 2.143 WHIP, 8 games 2012 Spring: 0.00 ERA, 11.1 IP, 14 K, 3 BB, 0.705 WHIP, 7 games Maloney has put on one of the top performances so far in the spring for the Twins. His spring stat line looks unbelievable but it is hard to judge a player off of such a small sample size. Maloney's time in the majors last year with the Reds was not very productive so the Twins hoped a change of scenery would bring out the best in him. He spent most of the last four seasons stuck at the Triple-A level with a total of 80 innings pitched in the big leagues. For most of his career, he has been used as a starter and the Twins were trying to get him to be more comfortable as a relief pitcher. He may need to revert back to his old role of starter before the season begins so the Twins can have a full starting rotation. Maloney will take his perfect ERA to the mound on Thursday as he is scheduled to start the Twins contest against the Pirates. The lucky thing for the Twins is they have an off day worked into the early portion of their schedule so the team won't necessarily need a fifth starter for the first time through the rotation. In the grand scheme of things, the team will be able to survive with the likes of Hendriks, Swarzak, and Maloney as replacement players. The concern could be if these players are forced to take on a more permanent role in the rotation for a big chunk of the 2012 campaign.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fYU2UP62ZjQ/T3IRQlhgHdI/AAAAAAAABJo/d4cJgdjU23I/s320/KyleGibsonPitching.JPG Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The injury to Kyle Gibson's arm last year put a damper on what was suppose to be a big season in his life. At this point last year, there were many who thought Gibson only missed out on a spot in the rotation because the Twins had too many other arms who were already on the big league roster. The overall consensus was that Gibson would be making his debut in 2011 and he would go on to be a member of the starting rotation for the foreseeable future. This plan didn't go exactly as the Twins had hoped and in September Gibson was forced to go under the knife for Tommy John surgery. The team's number one pitching prospect would be pushed to the sidelines for most of the next season and the organization had to start taking a hard look at some of their other pitching options. Liam Hendriks showed a few positive signs in the last month of the season but there are few other top prospects in the high levels of the minor leagues. When a player is coming off of a major arm injury like Gibson, it is hard to imagine him coming back and being ready to go at full force after taking 12 months to rehabilitate his arm. That being said, there is the possibility that Gibson could be in line to be the Opening Day starter for the Twins at the beginning of the 2013 season. A lot of things would have to go right before the first pitch of next year but there is enough evidence to make this look like it could be a possibility. The members of the starting rotation that are under contract for next year are few and far between. Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, and Carl Pavano can all become free agents at the end of the 2012 season. This leaves Nick Blackburn as the lone member of this year's projected starting rotation that is under contract for the start of the 2013 campaign. It is scary to think of Blackburn as the Twins number one starter for next year but it also means an injury to his arm and the Twins could be looking in a new direction. The Washington Nationals have put together a blueprint for the Twins to follow when it comes to a top pitching prospect who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Stephen Strasburg, the number one pick in the same draft as Gibson, has been working his way back from the same type of injury. Gibson's surgery was in September of 2011 and Strasburg went under the knife in September of 2010. Since the timeline for recovery is around 12-months, the Strasburg plan is a realistic one for the Twins to mimic. This would mean that Gibson could complete a variety of minor league starts to work his way back to the Triple-A level. If the team thought he was ready, he could make his debut at the end of the 2012 season. Last week the Nationals announced that Strasburg would be the team's Opening Day starter in his first full season back from surgery. Even with the honor of starting the first game of the season, Strasburg will be on an innings limit as the team has stated that he will only pitch 160 innings before being shut down for the year. It will be interesting to see if the Twins use a similar scenario with Gibson to try and reduce some of the strain on his arm in his first full season since the surgery. A lot will depend on how his body reacts to being back on the mound in the later portion of the upcoming season. Gibson is hardly the favorite to be on the mound for Opening Day next year but it isn't out of the realm of possibility to imagine a situation where he could be given the starting nod. He would most certainly have to debut at some point in the 2012 season because the team wouldn't allow a starter to be making his debut on Opening Day. The team would also have to be confident that Gibson was completely healthy and ready to handle the rigors of a full season at the MLB level. It might be in Gibson's best interests to get a handful of starts under his belt with Rochester before getting called up to take his spot in the starting rotation. It is also hard to know what the team will do on the free agent market. Will the Twins go after a big name pitcher to fill a role in the rotation? Could Liriano, Baker or Pavano be back with the club? These are questions to be pondered over by Terry Ryan and some of the other front office brass for the Twins. A situation where Gibson would be the number one starter on Opening Day could be a tough sell to fans of the Twins. Recovering from a major injury can be a tough road for a lot of players and the main hope for fans of the organization is to have a healthy and productive Gibson in the starting rotation for 2013.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fYU2UP62ZjQ/T3IRQlhgHdI/AAAAAAAABJo/d4cJgdjU23I/s320/KyleGibsonPitching.JPG Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The injury to Kyle Gibson's arm last year put a damper on what was suppose to be a big season in his life. At this point last year, there were many who thought Gibson only missed out on a spot in the rotation because the Twins had too many other arms who were already on the big league roster. The overall consensus was that Gibson would be making his debut in 2011 and he would go on to be a member of the starting rotation for the foreseeable future. This plan didn't go exactly as the Twins had hoped and in September Gibson was forced to go under the knife for Tommy John surgery. The team's number one pitching prospect would be pushed to the sidelines for most of the next season and the organization had to start taking a hard look at some of their other pitching options. Liam Hendriks showed a few positive signs in the last month of the season but there are few other top prospects in the high levels of the minor leagues. When a player is coming off of a major arm injury like Gibson, it is hard to imagine him coming back and being ready to go at full force after taking 12 months to rehabilitate his arm. That being said, there is the possibility that Gibson could be in line to be the Opening Day starter for the Twins at the beginning of the 2013 season. A lot of things would have to go right before the first pitch of next year but there is enough evidence to make this look like it could be a possibility. The members of the starting rotation that are under contract for next year are few and far between. Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, and Carl Pavano can all become free agents at the end of the 2012 season. This leaves Nick Blackburn as the lone member of this year's projected starting rotation that is under contract for the start of the 2013 campaign. It is scary to think of Blackburn as the Twins number one starter for next year but it also means an injury to his arm and the Twins could be looking in a new direction. The Washington Nationals have put together a blueprint for the Twins to follow when it comes to a top pitching prospect who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Stephen Strasburg, the number one pick in the same draft as Gibson, has been working his way back from the same type of injury. Gibson's surgery was in September of 2011 and Strasburg went under the knife in September of 2010. Since the timeline for recovery is around 12-months, the Strasburg plan is a realistic one for the Twins to mimic. This would mean that Gibson could complete a variety of minor league starts to work his way back to the Triple-A level. If the team thought he was ready, he could make his debut at the end of the 2012 season. Last week the Nationals announced that Strasburg would be the team's Opening Day starter in his first full season back from surgery. Even with the honor of starting the first game of the season, Strasburg will be on an innings limit as the team has stated that he will only pitch 160 innings before being shut down for the year. It will be interesting to see if the Twins use a similar scenario with Gibson to try and reduce some of the strain on his arm in his first full season since the surgery. A lot will depend on how his body reacts to being back on the mound in the later portion of the upcoming season. Gibson is hardly the favorite to be on the mound for Opening Day next year but it isn't out of the realm of possibility to imagine a situation where he could be given the starting nod. He would most certainly have to debut at some point in the 2012 season because the team wouldn't allow a starter to be making his debut on Opening Day. The team would also have to be confident that Gibson was completely healthy and ready to handle the rigors of a full season at the MLB level. It might be in Gibson's best interests to get a handful of starts under his belt with Rochester before getting called up to take his spot in the starting rotation. It is also hard to know what the team will do on the free agent market. Will the Twins go after a big name pitcher to fill a role in the rotation? Could Liriano, Baker or Pavano be back with the club? These are questions to be pondered over by Terry Ryan and some of the other front office brass for the Twins. A situation where Gibson would be the number one starter on Opening Day could be a tough sell to fans of the Twins. Recovering from a major injury can be a tough road for a lot of players and the main hope for fans of the organization is to have a healthy and productive Gibson in the starting rotation for 2013.