John Bonnes

You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone that doesn’t think the Detroit Tigers are the favorites to with the AL Central, including those who generate MLB futures odds. But Vegas has also tagged them with the highest over-under number in the American League: 93 games. Vegas picked a similar number last year and the Tigers disappointed.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] They won the division, but they only won 88 games, and only their dominance of head-to-head matchups with the White Sox saved them from an ignomnius fate. After adding Cecil Fielder in the offseason, their offense was only slightly above average, though playing in Comerica Park might skew that a little. They bolstered their starting pitching staff by acquiring Anibal Sanchez but their bullpen remained full of question marks. To their credit, they further improved this offseason. They retained Sanchez and replaced Delmon Young with Torii Hunter. But maybe best of all, they’ll add Victor Martinez to their lineup as he is fully recovered from the ACL surgery that cost him all of 2012. So start with 88 wins, add a full year of Martinez, a full year of Sanchez, swapping Hunter for Young….and they pretty clearly approach that number. I’ll add in a more ethereal reason too: sometime it seems like it takes a team of superstars a year or so to remember that games won’t be just handed to them. However, 93 is a huge number, so it’s hard to take the over – but that’s the point. If it was lower, everyone would bet it. Which way would you go?

Aaron and John talk about Aaron Hicks' odds of being the Twins' Opening Day center fielder, the pros and cons of service time shenanigans, dreaming of buying a bar together, betting on the over/under win totals for every American League team, why the AL Central is once again underwhelming, the dangers of parallel parking, Ryan Doumit and evaluating catcher defense, unprofessional bathroom breaks, and the stability of one-run games. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes. Or, just click below:

There are great rewards and great risks in doing something new. We know a thing or two about that at Twins Daily. We also know a thing or two about passion and experimentation and rejecting the limitations older corporate entities might embrace. (Or try to enforce.) I think these are core values with which our members empathize. If they didn't, I think they'd get their Twins fix someplace else. It has been harder to find local sponsors that embrace that same attitude. But today we welcome our first, and given their history, I wonder what took us so long to find each other. In 1986, Summit tackled a stodgy industry by trusting consumers to get past old habits by brewing new experimental products of exceptional quality. They took great risks and we've all received the great rewards. In the brewer’s interview for their new Unchained series beer, brewer Gabe Smoley talked about the impressive measures he took to make sure that his beer would really be 100% organic: I think that’s the DNA of Twins Daily too, and I think it’s the DNA or our community. So, please raise a glass and welcome Summit to Twins Daily. I'm glad we found each other.

Can any season for the Kansas City Royals, who have only finished above .500 once since strike-shortened 1994, really be considered a disappointment? Maybe not, but last year was close. Last year was supposed to be the year the the Royals perennial rebuilding efforts finally paid off. Vegas gave them an over/under of 80.5, giving them even odds at that elusive .500 year. It wasn't to be. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Their offense was below average (20th in runs scored) and their pitching was worse (23rd in combined ERA). They won only 72 games. Their starting rotation was especially bad, posting an ERA of 5.01. That's the area they attacked this offseason. Last year's Opening Day starter, Bruce Chen, goes into the season and their fifth starter. A trade with the Rays netted them James Shields and Wade Davis. Another trade with the Angles brought them Ervin Santana. And they re-signed Jeremy Guthrie, who was outstanding for them after a midseason trade with the Rockies. Despite all those improvements, Vegas is cautious, giving them an over/under of 78.5, two games worse than they expected last year. It looks like those that bet the over last year may need a little reassuring to make the same bet this year. I don't blame them. The Royals were 11 games under .500 by April 24th last year. Five months is a long time to wonder why the hell you thought this year would be any different for the Royals. For the record, I think this year might just be different. If I had to choose one way or the other, I'd take the over on that 78.5, but .... there is just no way I'm laying money on that number. Let me rephrase that: there is no way I'm laying money on that franchise. I expect the good people of Missouri understand. After all, they are the "Show Me" state. Make sure you're heard, too. We'll review these at the end of the year.