K.A.O.

When Brad Childress was first hired as head coach of the Vikings several years ago, he famously promised fans that he would implement a "kick-ass offense." Of course, in his early years at the helm, few would have described the Vikings' plodding offensive unit with that terminology, but by last year -- with the right pieces in place -- the Vikes had become a point-scoring juggernaut and were able to come within a game of the Super Bowl.

The Twins have similarly added some key pieces during their most recent offseason, and the early results in their 2010 campaign have been similarly -- well -- kick-ass. It might not be appropriate to compare J.J. Hardy and Orlando Hudson to Brett Favre and Percy Harvin, but the Twins had an immensely talented core in place already and by shoring up some holes in the lineup (and on the bench, with the addition of Jim Thome), they have seemingly taken their offensive game to the next level.

Last season, the Twins ranked fourth in the American League in runs scored and ninth in home runs. Those are respectable placements, but given that they boasted the league MVP and two other hitters who gained some measure of consideration or the award (Justin Morneau probably would have garnered votes as well if not for his injury), one might have expected the '09 Twins to have been a truly elite offensive club. What held them back was the number of plate appearances that went to substandard hitters like Alexi Casilla, Carlos Gomez, Nick Punto, Joe Crede and Matt Tolbert. Each one of those players accumulated at least 200 plate appearances last year, and not one managed an OPS much over .700. The addition of players like Hardy, Hudson and Thome prevents the Twins from being forced into heaping playing time on overmatched reserves and helps supplement a lineup core that has clearly established itself as one of the most formidable in baseball.

Punto remains a fixture in the Twins lineup, but if his struggles continue, Brendan Harris and Danny Valencia await as viable options to replace him at third. Meanwhile, the rest of this offense looks very strong. Hudson and Denard Span have both gotten off to slow starts, but given their histories there's little reason to expect that to continue. The middle-of-the-lineup hitters have been predictably excellent and Delmon Young is off to a very promising start. Already, we're seeing that this lineup is deep enough to sustain slumps from a few key players and teamwide struggles with runners in scoring position, as they've managed to average 4.62 runs per game despite the lack of production from the top of the order and a .239 team average with runners in scoring position. That's what power up and down the lineup and a core packed with elite hitters can do for you. Once Span and Hudson get it going and the Twins start better taking advantage of scoring opportunities in general -- look out.

Watching this offense provides a new and exciting sensation for Twins fans. This is a lineup that legitimately strikes fear into opposing pitchers and doesn't really let up or relent. It's probably not realistic to expect this group to score 30 a game, as the Vikings did last season, but it would hardly be surprising to see this kick-ass Twins offense put up a touchdown or two from time to time. And it would be somewhat surprising if they weren't among the league leaders in scoring throughout the summer. This lineup is legit.

So Far, So Good

With today marking the first off day in this young season, it seems an appropriate time to look back and review what's happened so far. Basically, the Twins have been on absolute fire. They've won six of their eight games against three quality teams and been competitive in both their losses. They've outscored all but two AL clubs and rank second in homers. Perhaps more surprisingly, they've allowed fewer runs than any other team in the league.

For those, like myself, who spent a lot of time raving about this lineup throughout the winter and spring, the team's fast offensive start should come as no surprise. The strong work from the pitching staff, though, was not necessarily a given. With a rotation filled with question marks and a bullpen that lost its best member during spring training, preventing runs certainly appeared to be the Twins' biggest hurdle, but thus far the team's arms have been up to the task. Starters have been delivering quality starts and the bullpen has been lights-out with a few exceptions.

The Twins have started their season on a hot streak, to be sure, and as such it would be wise not to jump to grandiose conclusions. Sure, right now they have the look of a 100-win team, but we haven't yet seen the bats hit their first power lull, nor have we seen our first late-inning bullpen implosion. These things are bound to happen, and I'm sure they will serve to dampen enthusiasm somewhat. However, what is clear is that this is a very good team, with a lineup that stacks up favorably against even the mighty Red Sox and a group of pitchers that appears more than capable of supporting that lineup. So far, so good.

Let's Take This Outside

Much discussion in the wake of yesterday's loss to the White Sox revolved around the frustrating manner in which the game ended. With the Twins trailing 5-4 in the ninth inning, pinch hitter Jim Thome delivered a scorching two-out double over the head of left fielder Juan Pierre. J.J. Hardy, who had been on first base representing the tying run, came charging into third just as the ball was reaching cut-off man Mark Teahen. Unfortunately, Scott Ullger failed to throw up the stop sign, and as a result Hardy was easily thrown out at home plate to end the game.

It was a disappointing conclusion to the Twins' season-opening road trip, but the overall results in the first seven games have been undeniably positive. The Twins went on the road to face a pair of relatively strong teams and came away with two series victories. The starting pitching has been solid, the bullpen -- with the exception of Jose Mijares -- has been highly effective, and of course the offense has been stellar.

Indeed, the team's play thus far has given fans plenty to be excited about. And that excitement will culminate this afternoon when the Twins officially christen their brand new ballpark. Jon Lester and Carl Pavano will face off in the inaugural regular season contest at Target Field at 3 pm, and the next chapter of Minnesota baseball will get underway.

A 5-2 opening road trip bodes well for a team that went 38-43 in opponents' ballparks last year, but one of the Twins' greatest strengths over the past decade has been their ability to consistently win games at home. Today we'll get our first meaningful glimpse of the Twins in Target Field, a stadium they are at this point mostly unfamiliar with. Acclimating to the quirks and tendencies of this field will be a process for the Twins, so it's unclear how much of an advantage they will hold in their new outdoor stadium, especially in the earlier games when cool weather might suppress the power that is shaping up to be this team's hallmark.

Boston makes for a tough match-up in a home opening series, but if the Twins can keep playing the way they did during the first week of the season they should be up to the challenge. The Angels and White Sox are viewed by many as playoff-caliber teams, and the Twins came out of both teams' stadiums looking like the superior club. If the Twins can get off to a fast start against a quality opponent in their own home park, I think fans will have enough positive signs to make them forget about the missed sign at third base yesterday.

The long wait is over. Outdoor baseball in Minnesota begins today. Let's play ball.

Master Blasters

Last year, the Twins ranked fourth in the American League in runs scored with 817. That's impressive. They also hit 173 homers to rank ninth out of 14 AL clubs, which -- while hardly astounding -- represented an improvement from their usual standing among the bottom two or three teams in the long ball department.

This year, the Twins brought back every key offensive player from last year's roster while (perhaps dramatically) upgrading both middle infield spots and signing a Hall of Famer to serve as a part-time bench bat. This created a lot of enthusiasm amongst fans eager to see what this loaded lineup could do.

Just four games into the season, these Twins have given us a pretty good idea. Already they've blasted nine home runs (last year it took them until April 17 to reach that mark) and they've demonstrated an ability go get power from the bottom of the order, something rarely seen around these parts. Delmon Young and JJ Hardy, who typically will serve in the No. 7 and 8 spots in the order, each homered twice in Anaheim. Unsurprisingly, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Jim Thome have gotten in on the action as well, and it surely won't be long until Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel join the parade.

The score in last night's game went from 3-1 to 10-1 in an awful hurry. That's the beauty of the multi-run homer, which will be a more potent weapon for the Twins this season than perhaps ever before. Sort of a surreal feeling.

Playing Against the Percentages

I'm generally supportive of Ron Gardenhire. He runs a good clubhouse and you can't argue with the results he's gotten since taking the helm here in Minnesota. With that being said, it is not infrequent that the man makes a completely illogical managerial decision that drives me bonkers. I had been wondering when the first such occasion would arise in this young season; it happened last night, when Gardenhire elected to work Jim Thome into the starting lineup by benching Jason Kubel rather than Delmon Young.

Ervin Santana, who started the game for the Angels, was basically a nightmare match-up for Young. Over the course of his career, Young has hit just .232/.266/.308 against "power pitchers" -- a term referring to hurlers who rank among the top third of the league in strikeouts plus walks. That's a category that Santana will typically fall into with his nasty stuff and somewhat shaky control. Additionally, Young has posted a weak .715 OPS against right-handed pitchers, while the righty Santana has been substantially more effective against same-handed batters over the course of his career. It was a fairly obvious instance in which Young should have sat.

Instead, Gardenhire decided to bench Kubel, one of the league's premier hitters against right-handed pitching. Last year, Kubel posted a phenomenal 1.014 OPS against righties, and Santana was clubbed by lefty hitters to the tune of .323/.385/.526. Perfect match-up. Yet, Gardenhire didn't see it that way -- likely because Kubel had previously only managed two hits against Santana in a meaningless 14 at-bat sample.

Giving Thome a start at DH last night was a good choice. Doing so by sitting Kubel against a pitcher he was almost ideally suited to face was astonishingly misguided. Some might argue that it's a moot point, given that the Twins won the game in spite of Young's 0-for-4 performance. But the guiding philosophy behind this decision is a significant flaw in Gardy's managerial approach, and one that is likely to manifest repeatedly throughout the season.

Gardenhire's a good manager overall, but he's far from perfect. Last night, we were reminded of that. Fortunately, the Twins still won, reminding us that -- while impactful -- singular lineup decisions don't determine who wins and loses games. The players do. Hopefully Kubel will be back in the lineup to help the Twins win tonight with another right-hander on the hill.

Ninth Inning: Safe So Far

Just three games into the season, two save opportunities have already emerged for newly appointed closer Jon Rauch. Rauch has responded by going 2-for-2 in those opportunities, and the Twins are 2-1. Despite widespread panic that arose over the course of the spring that the Twins would be unable to hold late leads in the absence of a proven, steady closer, both of the Twins' relatively narrow victories have been finished by Rauch without much drama. Already, we are starting to see how overstated the fan and pundit reaction surrounding Nathan's loss has been.

Rauch's performance in last night's 4-2 victory over the Angels was not even a particularly good one. In his one inning of work, he allowed a pair of hits and a run. That's the type of outing you'll see a bit more often from a non-elite reliever like Rauch than you would with Joe Nathan. Yet, as is often the case in save situations, Rauch was given a multi-run pad and the run he allowed was ultimately meaningless.

After coming to the Twins in August last year, Rauch made 17 relief appearances. He allowed zero runs in 16 of those appearances. I certainly don't expect him to continue with that outstanding rate throughout this season, and indeed he already experienced his first blemish last night, but the fact remains that when a solid reliever comes on with the bases empty at the top of an inning, he'll rarely allow a run. And he'll very rarely allow more than one run. Rauch is no superstar closer, but if the Twins keep providing him with a two- or three-run cushion they will have very little to worry about in the ninth inning. And even when the lead is only one, Rauch will get the job done most of the time. As would basically any other candidate to fill the closer role.

Five Things Working Against the Twins in 2010

As the season approached this spring, I was accused by plenty of people of being overly rosy in my assessment of these 2010 Twins. Admittedly, I think Bill Smith and his front office colleagues have done a great job of assembling a well balanced and star-heavy roster for this season, so this is the most excited and optimistic I've been about a Twins team in my lifetime.

Still, no team is perfect and there are plenty of things that could derail the Twins in their first season at Target Field. It seems fitting that I was pegged to write the counterpoint to Parker's article outlining five things working for the Twins this season. Below, I lay out five things working against the team in 2010:

1. No Established Closer

Over the past six years, most other teams around the league have envied the Twins’ closer situation. Joe Nathan has been among the most dominant and consistent closers in all of baseball during that span, leaving the Twins with little to worry about when entering the ninth inning with a slim lead. Now, with Nathan out for the year due to an elbow injury, the Twins will have to learn what it’s like to move forward without a superhuman door-slammer at the back end of the bullpen.

Between Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, Pat Neshek and Jesse Crain, the Twins should still be able to field a competent relief corps and it’s unlikely that Nathan’s loss will crush them. Nevertheless, it seems quite likely that a few more leads will be slipping away in the ninth this year, which can be crushing to a team’s morale.

2. Lack of Team Speed

Twins teams in past years have been built with athleticism as a guiding tenet. Ron Gardenhire and Co. like guys who can hustle out infield hits, make opportunistic plays on the base paths and chase down balls in the field. Players like Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla have embodied this approach. This year, however, the Twins are departing from that philosophy, leaning more toward powerful but slow-footed players like Jason Kubel and Jim Thome. Neither of the team’s starting middle infielders could be described as a speedster; this is the first time I can remember being able to say that. In fact, there’s really only one projected regular who I can realistically envision swiping 20 or more bases, and that’s Denard Span.

This is hardly a crippling detriment – I’d rather see the front office focus on filling the lineup with guys who can actually hit than with guys who can run fast – but it will be a change. And the biggest impact of this lack of speed may be seen in the field, which brings us to our next topic…

3. Outfield Defense

On days where the Twins had Gomez in center and Span in left last season, you’d have been hard-pressed to find a better defensive outfield alignment anywhere in the league. Gomez has been one of the best defensive center fielders in the majors over the past two years and Span’s outstanding range in left has stood out at a position where teams often stick plodding defensive liabilities.

With Gomez absent this year, Span will shift to center field, where he is far less spectacular. Meanwhile, Delmon Young (speaking of “plodding defensive liabilities”…) takes over as the full-time left fielder. The drop-off from Span to Young in left field cannot be understated. Michael Cuddyer remains in right, and while he was never a particularly adept fielder to begin with, he’ll have a whole new set of challenges in learning how to handle Target Field’s quirky overhang.
With a fly ball heavy pitching staff, these three will get plenty of work, and chances are that fans will be subjected to some adventures out there. Since balls that don’t get caught in the outfield often turn into extra-base hits, this could be especially damaging.

4. Substandard Production at Offense-Oriented Positions

Behind first base and right field, left field and third base were the strongest offensive positions on the field across the major leagues last season. These are positions where teams often settle for less defensively in order to plug in strong offensive producers. Unfortunately, the Twins’ regular starters at left field and third base are Young and Nick Punto, neither of whom has proven capable of posting even average numbers for his respective position.

The Twins are hoping to offset this flaw by trotting out unusually strong hitters at the middle spots (catcher, second base, shortstop and center field) but if those positions should be ravaged by injury or ineffectiveness, Young and Punto could become liabilities.

5. No Bona Fide Ace in Rotation

The Twins’ 2010 rotation is shrouded in question marks and hypothetical scenarios. If Opening Day starter Scott Baker can consistently pitch the way he did in the second half last year, he could be a frontline starting pitcher. If Kevin Slowey can rebound from the wrist injury that ended his 2009 season and start to mimic the work he did in the minors, he could be one of the league’s top starters. If Francisco Liriano can translate his fine work in the winter league and in spring training into regular-season results, he could start reminding us of his phenomenal rookie campaign when he was an ace-caliber pitcher.

Unfortunately, for all their ability, these pitchers have also flashed their downside at times in the past. And having an elite starter at the top of the rotation is definitely important; in the four years when Johan Santana led their pitching corps, the Twins never ranked lower than fifth among AL teams in ERA. Last year, with no Santana and no one stepping up to deliver even a sub-4.00 ERA, the Twins ranked fourth-to-last.

Sour Grapes

The Twins' opener last night in Anaheim provided a deflating start to one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history. The Twins fell behind early and, while they battled back to tie the game a couple times, in both instances the Angels retook the lead in the following half-inning. Scott Baker struggled to locate his fastball and lasted only 4 2/3 innings while issuing an uncharacteristic three walks, and the vaunted big bats in the middle of the Twins' lineup were for the most part very silent.

Among the few bright spots in the game were Delmon Young, who homered, beat out an infield single and stole a base in the game, prompting numerous premature declarations that his offseason weight loss has truly transformed his game. Jesse Crain's performance was also highly encouraging, as he picked up where he left off in the '09 campaign by tossing 1 2/3 innings without allowing a baserunner.

Unfortunately, the bad outweighed the good last night. Baker, as mentioned, seemed uncomfortable throughout his start. Jose Mijares, who came on in relief in the eighth inning, let the game get out of hand by serving up a pair of homers and expanding the Angels' lead from one to three. Denard Span went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel combined for just three singles.

Of course, the beauty of baseball is that this was only one game and the Twins will have their shot to erase all the bad memories tonight, when Nick Blackburn faces off against Joe Saunders. I'm not particularly optimistic about this match-up, as the southpaw Saunders could present some problems against the Twins' lefty-heavy lineup and I've got real concerns about Blackburn this season, but as they say, games aren't decided on paper.

Opening Day Site Update

Note: What follows is an update on this blog and its author. If you're more interested in digging into some baseball stuff, you can click here or scroll down to read my Twins season preview.

It has become tradition on this blog that every year on Opening Day, I post an update on the current state of this site and of my life in general. I know most people don't come here to read about me, which is why I only do this once a year, but some folks are interested and really I do this for myself as much as anyone, so that I can look back in the future and recall how things have progressed.

As far as blogging and baseball writing are concerned, the past year has been very, very good to me. Starting in the middle of last season, I teamed up with three talented, passionate and motivated fellow bloggers to form TwinsCentric. Together, we have produced three publications: the Trade Deadline Primer last July, the Offseason GM Handbook last October and most recently the Maple Street Press Twins 2010 Annual this spring. These projects have each presented their own sets of challenges, but overall the work has been fulfilling, particularly since all three publications have been met with such support and enthusiasm from our readers.

Earlier this spring, the Star Tribune approached me and my TwinsCentric colleagues about starting our own blog on the newspaper's website. That blog is now fully operational, with the four of us alternating posts and hopefully infusing the more traditional brand of coverage at the Star Trib with a refreshingly different modern flavor. Having a blog on a heavily trafficked and respected site like StarTribune.com has broadened our scope and allowed us to reach out to a whole new set of Twins fans, which has been terrific.

In addition, you may notice a new emblem on the top of the right sidebar. As I revealed in earnest last fall, my blog is now partnered with ESPN.com as a part of Rob Neyer's SweetSpot Network. Through this arrangement, I will be involved in various ways with the baseball coverage on their site, which is obviously a big thrill and a huge honor. As a sports writer, you can't really ask to be affiliated with a more prominent network.

When I launched this little blog experiment back in 2005, I never would have imagined at any point that my writing would be featured on the websites for organizations like the Star Tribune and ESPN -- definitive sports sources that I grew up reading. It's basically a dream come true and I can't begin to express how flattered and grateful I am to have these opportunities.

It's going to be a busy summer for me, though. Keeping up with the blog will be harder than ever. Between working two "normal" jobs as well as my writing gig at Rotoworld, playing in a softball league, advancing my musical hobbies, contributing to John Burnson's wonderful Heater Magazine, churning away on upcoming TwinsCentric projects, actually watching the baseball games and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, my plate is going to be full to say the least. I share this not to elicit pity, but to inform the faithful readers of this blog that posting here may be more sporadic than ever this summer. While it has been customary over this blog's lifetime for me to have a new post up almost every weeknight around midnight for folks to read the next morning, I'm not sure it will be possible for me to stay true to that schedule this year. Instead, I'm going to have to post new entries whenever I have the opportunity to write them, whether that's on my lunch break from work, at 2 am on a Thursday night, or on a lazy Sunday afternoon. If you come here looking for a new post in the morning and don't find it, check back later in the afternoon. On my end, I'll try and do a better job of updating my Twitter account when I post new entries. Of course, you can also subscribe to the blog's RSS feed or follow through Google Reader.

As always, my favorite aspect of operating this blog over the past year has been interacting with fellow fans and bloggers. I've conversed a lot of great people online through this avenue, and was fortunate to meet many of you in person at the TwinsCentric Viewing Party back in early March. I hope to meet even more of you when we hold a similar event at Majors in Blaine this Saturday.

I don't think there's ever been a better time to be a Twins fan. The club is opening a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium that has drawn rave reviews from folks across the nation. The franchise player and reigning MVP has just been signed to a massive long-term deal. An outstanding slate of offseason moves by Bill Smith and Co. have positioned the Twins as legitimate World Series contenders and almost unanimous AL Central favorites. This is going to be an awesome season, and I'm pleased as pie that I'll be able to write about it on so many different forums.

But it all comes back to this blog, and to the loyal readers who have helped make it such a successful and satisfying venture. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you who have supported me, even by stopping by and leaving a comment from time to time.

Now, with all of that out of the way... let's play ball!

Minnesota Twins 2010 Season Preview

It's been a long time coming. Such a long time, in fact, that now that it's actually here, the feeling is surreal. The Twins have an outdoor baseball stadium, a payroll approaching $100 million and the league's best player locked up for the next nine years thanks to one of the largest contracts in the history of the game. Back in the mid-90s, few would have ever guessed these things would be possible, but a string of fortuitous events have ensured the Twins' long-term future in Minnesota while also setting the stage for the club to remain consistently competitive over the next decade and beyond.

Seeing a team in a beautiful new state-of-the-art stadium is always fun, but seeing a contending team play in said stadium is of course far more enjoyable. Fortunately, Bill Smith and the Twins front office took plenty of steps during the offseason to make sure that fans will be exposed to a quality club when attending games at Target Field during the stadium's inaugural season.

The acquisitions of J.J. Hardy and Orlando Hudson address longstanding concerns at the middle infield spots. The signing of Jim Thome provides a quality veteran pinch-hitting option and another daunting left-handed bat to be plugged into the middle of the Twins' lineup against right-handed pitchers. When Thome's name is written into the starting lineup, the heart of the Twins' batting order will be vastly more intimidating than any core this franchise has ever put forth. From Mauer to Jusin Morneau to Michael Cuddyer to Jason Kubel to Thome, opposing pitchers will be faced with the relentless task of trying to get past five stellar power hitters. Should Hardy and Delmon Young take their offensive games to the next level, as many believe they can, the Twins could very well boast the best lineup in all of baseball, one capable of hitting over 200 home runs and scoring over 900 times.

If there are significant concerns surrounding this 2010 Twins team, they fall on the run prevention. A starting rotation consisting of Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Francisco Liriano certainly has the potential to be very strong one-through-five, but none of those pitchers posted an ERA below 4 last season. Liriano's outstanding work in winter ball and spring training has produced a lot of optimism and few people doubt the ability of Baker and Slowey to perform like frontline starters, but the impetus is on these young hurlers to actually step up and get it done over the course of an entire season. The Twins' offense is good enough that they stand a good chance at winning the division even with mediocre results on the mound, but if this team aspires to make a deep run in October, they'll need a few starters to turn the corner.

Of course, the one sour note amongst all the positives for the Twins the past several months has been the loss of Joe Nathan. One of the league's most consistent and dominating closers over the past six years, Nathan's absence will be felt in the late innings, where the Ron Gardenhire will be without his best bullet. Fortunately, the Twins have more bullpen depth this year than they've had in the past. That depth will be strengthened by the return of Pat Neshek, who missed the most of 2008 and all of 2009 due to elbow problems but was one of the league's best setup men prior to getting injured. Jon Rauch will hold closing duties early in the season, but if he can't get the job done Gardenhire will have a number of competent alternatives in the wings, including Neshek, Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain.

With the American League Central looking eminently winnable, the Twins have an excellent shot at capturing a sixth division title in nine years. Much will depend health, and on several key players continuing to perform at an elite level, but on paper these 2010 Twins certainly look like one of the league's best teams and a legitimate World Series contender. At this time of year, that's all you can ask for.

National League Preview

Hi folks and Happy Easter. Typically, before the start of each season I've posted a preview for each league on this blog, with the AL Preview being written up by me and the NL Preview being written up by Nick Mosvick. Sadly, I just haven't had the time to sit and write the AL Preview this year, but Mosvick held up his end of the bargain and provided a breakdown of the National League, with predicted finishes and synopses of all 16 teams. You can check that out below. Then, be sure to check back later tonight and tomorrow for a Twins Season Preview and my annual Opening Day site update.

NL PREVIEW - By Nick Mosvick

NL East

1) Atlanta Braves

The Phillies seem to be the consensus pick to win the NL East, but the Braves make a good pick to beat them to the punch because of their rotation. While they've lost Javier Vazquez, they have Tim Hudson back, they've got a full year of Tommy Hanson to look to, and, as long as his health holds up, they've got Jair Jurrjens too. That doesn't even count Derek Lowe, who for whatever reason has been tabbed as the opening day starter, despite having a 88 ERA+ last year. Hudson probably won't replicate Vazquez's production, since he's coming off of major surgery, but that gives the Braves three above-average starters. And they've got Kenshin Kawakami, who put up a 107 ERA+ in his rookie season. Bullpen-wise, much will rest on how good Billy Wagner is still, but he looked pretty dominant in limited action last year, so I'd hedge my bets that he'll have a very good season closing for the Braves.

The big news for Braves hitters is that top hitting prospect Jason Heywood will be joining the fold. While its hard for a 20-year to jump from Double-A and kill major-league pitching, Heywood's comparables suggest that he'll probably have an impressive rookie season. I'd expect 20-25 homers from him, good plate discipline, and the Rookie of the Year. Otherwise, the Braves smartly cut ties with many of their worst hitters from last year, specifically Jeff Franceour, Garrett Anderson, and Kelly Johnson. Instead, they'll have a offense built around old-timer Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar, Nate McClouth, and young guys like Jordan Schaffer and Heywood. The Braves probably won't have a great hitting club, but they should get on-base well as a team and they should have a good enough pitching staff to win the division.

2) Philadelphia Phillies

As noted, most experts seem to be picking the Phillies to win the division. And its understandable why. The Phillies had, by all measures, the best offense in the NL last year and may well repeat that feat. However, I think there are some reasons to doubt that. For one, two key contributors last year should be in for a regression. Raul Ibanez had a career year last year at age 37, posting a 131 OPS+. While ZIPS projects him to post a 125 OPS+ this next year, I'm not entirely sold and neither are many other projection systems. Ibanez regressed in the second half last year, posting just a .774 OPS in the final three months while dealing with injury issues. At 38, I suspect that he may have trouble staying healthy and may not be able to produce at the same rate. Another candidate for regression is Shane Victorino. Both Bill James and the CHONE projections have his power sliding a good deal. Of course, while the offense may slip, what is more important is the Phillies' lack of pitching depth.

The Phillies do have Roy Halladay for a full year, and he should make a run at the Cy Young. Additionally, Cole Hamels has a good chance to have a bounce-back year, given that his FIP last year was nearly identical to his FIP in 2008, when he posted a 3.09 ERA. However, the Phillies have a candidate for a good deal of regression in J.A. Happ. Happ was perhaps the luckiest pitcher in baseball last year, as he had the greatest gap between ERA (2.93) and FIP (4.33) and managed to strand an incredible 85.2% of baserunners. Not surpisingly, most projection systems have Happ posting an ERA right around were his FIP was last year. Similarly, Joe Blanton experience a big jump in strikeouts last year that may not stick and he's likely to be merely a league-average pitcher. Whomever else fills out the rotation isn't too impressive, given that the candidates include Kyle Kendrick, 47-year old Jamie Moyer, and Satchel Paige looking (but not pitching) Jose Contreras. As for the bullpen, no closer or reliever period was as bad as Brad Lidge last year. Lidge posted a 59 ERA+ last year and allowed a incredible 11 home runs in 58 2/3 innings. Ryan Madsen should close, but something tells me Charlie Manuel, ever the "gut-feeling manager," will probably foolishly stick with Lidge and perhaps cost his team some wins as he did last year.

3) Florida Marlins

The Marlins have a lot of incredibly talented players (Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson) but don't quite have a complete team right now as they want for prospects like Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton. However, they should win more games then the Nats and Mets. Josh Johnson was amongst the best starters in the NL last year and should be right up there again. Ricky Nolasco is sort of the anti-Happ, if you will. While he posted a 5.06 ERA, incredibly, his FIP was 3.35, giving him the highest disparity between the two. Why such a high difference? Despite an outstanding K/BB ratio (4.43) and one of the highest strikeout rates in the NL (9.49), he only managed to strand 61% of runners. That's some extreme bad luck unlikely to show up again. Of course, after Johnson and Nolasco, its a bit of a crapshoot. Chris Volstad, Anibal Sanchez, and Andrew Miller are all pitchers with the potential to have a big season, with Sanchez the most likely to do so. They also don't have much of a bullpen. With hitting, while they may have Ramirez, they also appear poised to put out hitters like Emilio Bonifacio, who may have been the worst hitter in the majors last season when he posted a .252/.303/.308 line with a 61 OPS+. They do have the reigning ROY in Chris Coghlan, however, and of course there is the chance that a hitter like Morrison or Stanton arrives at the majors this year and lights up the league.

4) New York Mets

It's been a turbulent couple of years for the Mets, but it seems like once again, they'll be paying an awful lot of money for a very mediocre team. And, of course, a lot of it is related to health. Jose Reyes? On the DL. Carlos Beltran? Out until June, possibly later. Johan Santana? Coming off of major surgery and looking in less-than-stellar form this spring. David Wright? Coming off a year that revolved around a major power outage. While I suspect, as many do, that Wright's year was a blurb and that the power will return this year, the rest of the team just doesn't look good. Yes, they did sign Jason Bay to a big contract, but Bay seems to have become an overrated player in his time in Boston. He'll be a good, but not a great hitter whose glove leaves a lot to desire. Outside of Wright and Bay, the Mets lineup includes bats of the no-power variety (Luis Castillo) and bats of the mediocre-power and no plate discipline variety (Jeff Franceour, Dan Murphy). The rotation is equally unimpressive. Even if Santana is back to form, everyone after him is a question mark. Can Oliver Perez ever find the strikezone? Will John Maine return to form after two injury-plagued seasons? Will Mike Pelfrey ever live up to the hype? My guess is that the Mets have neither enough hitting or pitching to contend this year. Worse yet, they don't seem to have too much hope on the horizon either, like the next team on this list.

5) Washington Nationals

Part of me felt like putting the Nationals fourth, if only to both give Nats fans a little hope and to make a bold statement as to how bad the state of the Mets franchise is right now. Why is there hope for the Nationals? One answer is pretty obvious. Stephen Strasburg should be arriving sometime this year and I don't think its beyond him to put up numbers similar to the ones Tommy Hanson put up last year once he reaches the majors. They also have a up-and-coming shortstop in Ian Desmond and a blossoming star in Ryan Zimmerman. They probably still won't win very much this year, but at least the state of the franchise is starting to look better. What is really going to make the difference is if the Nationals can do what the Rays did a few years ago and use their position in this year's draft to continue stocking their farm system with loads of talent.

NL Central

1) St. Louis Cardinals

There are a good deal of reasons to suspect that the Cardinals may not be quite as good this year, the NL Central also doesn't appear to be the most competitive division in the NL. The Cards, of course, has a good deal of stars to put on the field. They have reigning three-time MVP and Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter, and Cy Young-runner up Adam Wainwright. There isn't a ton of depth in the rotation beyond their two aces, given that Joel Pineoro left in free agency, but Brad Penny is a comeback candidate who could have a good year as a middle-of-the-rotation starter. Additionally, they have several hitting candidates who have the potential for big years, especially with Ryan Ludwick (37 homers in 2008) and Colby Ramus. I don't love the bullpen and I think that Ryan Franklin is probably in for a regression (he had an awful 44/24 K/BB ratio in 61 innings, not the sign of a truly dominant closer). But, with the star power that they have in both hitting and pitching in what looks to be a weaker division, they should win out.

2) Milwaukee Brewers

I admit that there is some bias in this pick. I could never view the Brewers as a rival, but rather as another midwest team that I could easily get behind if not for my high level of fandom for the Twins. They lost before Mike Cameron and J.J. Hardy in the offseason, so that could haunt them. But they still have one of the best 3-4 tandems in the game in Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Casey McGehee had himself a nice rookie year last year (.301/.360/.499) and Corey Hart certainly seems like a good comeback candidate. And the team has a potential Rookie of the Year candidate in Alcides Escobar. They don't have a very imposing pitching staff, but they did sign Randy Wolf in the offseason and they have Yovani Gallardo, who is young (24) and struck out 204 hitters last year. Once again, given the mediocrity of the NL Central's competition, I think that the Brewers can easily be second in the division.

3) Chicago Cubs

Given all the money they spend, the Cubs really should be better. But spending doesn't mean much if you make poor investments. Case-in-point: Alfonso Soriano. A eight-year deal is often a potentially bad bet, but it was even worse given Soriano's age and skill-set. Soriano put up a terrible .241/.303/.423 line last year that amounted to a 84 OPS+. Yes, Derrek Lee had a great season last year (.306/.393/.579, 145 OPS+), but it won't be enough. Aramis Ramirez has struggled with injuries the last few years, so if he's healthy, he could change things. Granted, the Cubs had a pretty good rotation last year. But, let's keep a few things in mind. For one, they lost Rich Harden who despite being limited by injuries again, still managed a 110 ERA+ and 171 Ks in 141 innings. Two, Randy Wells was pretty lucky last year in posting a 3.05 ERA despite a very low strikeout rate (5.7 per nine) and only a decent K/BB ration (2.5), so its no surprise his FIP was 4.24. Now they still have Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Ryan Dempster, but they are also adding the terrible former Twin Carlos Silva to that group. The Cubs also have a weak bullpen who's likely closer (Carlos Marmol) can't find the strike zone. I suspect they'll be a mediocre team again like last year, despite the high payroll.

4) Cincinatti Reds

The Reds do have a bright future in many respects, but its still not here. Jay Bruce should make the jump and be one of the most improved players in the game, given his impressive power that he's already displayed in the big leagues (.247 isolated power last year). They also have Joey Votto, who was amongst the best hitters in the NL last year despite missing some time with personal issues, putting up a .322/.414/.567 line, amounting to a 155 OPS+. They also have the talented Brandon Phillips at second. However, there are a lot of questions after that. How good will Edinson Volquez be after major surgery? Which Bronson Arroyo will show up? Will Johnny Cueto put it together? Will Aaron Harang bounce back or will he be traded? Will Homer Bailey finally live up to the hype? Too many questions now to be a great team, but a lot of young, blossoming stars to keep the fans watching.

5) Houston Astros

I was tempted to put the Astros last, if only because I'd like the Pirates to do better this year and because the Astros just didn't do anything this offseason except for give out one of the worst contracts of recent memory (Brandon Lyon). There are really only a few bright spots on the team. Wandy Rodriguez was amongst the best starters in the NL last year, putting up a 139 ERA+ and striking out 193 in 205 innings. Hunter Pence continued his development last year, increasing his walk rate (58 walks) and power (25 homers). But their establish stars are hurting. Lance Berkman had great year last year (139 OPS+) but he's already hurt. Roy Oswalt had his worst year in his career last year (102 ERA+). And worse yet, the Astros have one of the worst farm systems in baseball. Doesn't look good for 'Stros fans.

6) Pittsburgh Pirates

Its more or less wait and see at this point for the Pirates. They got rid of all their established stars via the trade over the last two years (Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez) and free agency (Adam LaRoche) in trying to resurrect the franchise through a serious rebuilding process. The biggest positive is that Andrew McCutchen was a rightful Rookie of the Year candidate last year, posting a 122 OPS+. Garrett Jones, the ex-Twin, showed great power last year, hitting 21 homers in 314 at-bats and posting a 147 OPS+. But otherwise, the Pirates have to wait now and see if the prospects they got via trade, such as Jeff Clement, pay off and if draft picks like Pedro Alvarez can do the same. Its going to be another year or two at least.

NL West

1) Colorado Rockies

The Rockies seem like a chronically underrated team. They have some great pitching they've develop and they have several good young hitters. Of course they better, since I just did the insane thing and picked them to win the World Series. Lets list off the young players they have who have already broken out or are ready to: Troy Tulowitzski, Seth Smith, Dexter Fowler, Ian Stewart, Chris Iannetta, and Carlos Gonzalez. And what about the pitchers? They've got Jeff Francis coming back and they got breakout years last year from both Ubaldo Jimenez (132 ERA+, 198 Ks in 218 innings) and Jorge de la Rosa (193 Ks in 185 innings, 105 ERA+). They also established a good closer last year in Huston Street. I think with all the young talent they have, the Rockies can take the division.

2) San Francisco Giants

I feel like this is a bit of a questionable pick, but the Giants have a few very talented players and one rookie ready to take on the big leagues. I of course am talking about consecutive Cy Young award-winning Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandaval, and Buster Posey. Even with just one starter hitting above the league average (Pablo Sandaval), the Giants won 88 games last year. They have plenty of pitching depth with Matt Cain (151 ERA+), Jonathan Sanchez (a great breakout candidate, 177 Ks in 163 1/3 innings, 103 ERA+, no hitter) and even (no joke) Barry Zito, who was much better last year with a 108 ERA+ and a much improved strikeout rate (7.2/9). The Giants should be a good team again and give the Rockies a run for their money. That's a lot of top-end talent.

3) Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers had a terrible offseason and it seems mostly because of owner Frank McCourt's very public divorce proceedings. They lost talent (Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf) without doing much to replace it. Their one notable signing (Garrett Anderson) is not only old, but was one of the worst hitters in baseball last year (88 OPS+, just a .303 OBP). Granted, they still have formidable talent in Matt Kemp, Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, and Jonathon Broxton. In fact, Kershaw deserves credit for posting what seems to be like one of the most underrated seasons ever, given how much criticism I've read about him and his need to improve despite posting one of the best pitching seasons ever for a 21-year old, leading the league by allowing only 6.3 hits per nine innings, striking out 185 in 171 innings and posting a 142 ERA+. Yes, he needs a lot of improvement. Not really an ace yet (yes, ERA+ was by far the best on the team). Maybe, given all this talent, I'm just punishing Joe Torre for the head-scratching move of the week in making Vicente Padilla his number one starter.

4) Arizona Diamondbacks

I can't pick them to win anything anymore. Most of the young talent that was supposed to come to fruition just hasn't and the farm system is pretty bare. Yes, Justin Upton was great last year (26 homers, 20 steals, 126 OPS+ at 21) saving my fantasy team. Mark Reynolds was great too, with 44 homers and a 123 OPS+. But what about Chris Young, who was terribly disappointing with a 80 OPS+? Or Stephen Drew, of the 89 OPS+? And while Dan Haren was great last year (146 ERA+, 223 Ks), their other ace Brandon Webb is still hurting after a season-ending injury at the beginning of last year and I think that the Diamondbacks made a major downgrade in trading Max Scherzer for Edwin Jackson. Just not going to be enough without anymore help coming.

5) San Diego Padres

The Padres have not had a friendly past year or two. They traded their ace last year (Jake Peavy). Their other good pitcher, Chris Young, got hurt last year and was ineffective (5.21) and looks to still be hurt this year. They had a great hitter in Adrian Gonzalez (166 OPS+), but they really don't have much else and they also don't have a great system right now. Really, what seems to be the talk of the Padres right now is only about whether they'll be trading Gonzalez or closer Heath Bell this year. Its unfortunate, but things just don't look very good for the Padres.

The Nicks' Picks 2010

As is the case each year, me and my former blogging partner Nick Mosvick have put together our predictions for the outcome of each division, playoff round and major award for the upcoming season. This year, we've also added a number of Twins-specific predictions, both because it seemed fitting for a Twins blog and because Josh Johnson started a campaign to make today "Twins Predictions Day."

Without further ado, our humble predictions for your 2010 MLB season, which kicks off on Sunday night:

Nelson's Picks

General

AL West: Mariners
AL Central: Twins
AL East: Yankees
AL Wild Card: Red Sox

NL West: Dodgers
NL Central: Cardinals
NL East: Braves
NL Wild Card: Phillies

World Series: Red Sox over Cardinals

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL Cy Young: Chris Carpenter

AL MVP: Joe Mauer
NL MVP: Albert Pujols

AL Rookie of the Year: Neftali Feliz
NL Rookie of the Year: Jason Heyward

Twins-Specific

Twins MVP: Joe Mauer
Twins Top Pitcher: Francisco Liriano
Twins Best Rookie: Anthony Slama
Twins Most Improved Player: Liriano
Bold Predictions: Jesse Crain will lead team in saves; Nick Blackburn will post 5+ ERA; J.J. Hardy will win first Gold Glove
A.L. Central Prediction (Standings): Twins, White Sox, Tigers, Indians, Royals
Three Keys to Success for the Twins: Slowey and Liriano stepping up, bullpen staying healthy, success at Target Field.

Mosvick's Picks

General

AL West: Rangers
AL Central: Twins
AL East: Red Sox
AL Wild Card: Yankees

NL West: Rockies
NL Central: Cardinals
NL East: Braves
NL Wild Card: Phillies

World Series: Rockies over Yankees

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL Cy Young: Tommy Hanson

AL MVP: Joe Mauer
NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez

AL Rookie of the Year: Neftali Feliz
NL Rookie of the Year: Buster Posey

Twins-Specific

Twins MVP: Joe Mauer
Twins Top Pitcher: Scott Baker
Twins Best Rookie: Anthony Slama
Twins Most Improved Player: Kevin Slowey

Bold Predictions:

1) Brendan Harris will get more at-bats than Delmon Young. I say this because of two reasons. One, I'm just not sure I buy into the notion that Young is new and improved and ready to break out. I think that it's going to become clear early that the Twins are better off putting another subpar fielder, but a much better hitter in the field (Jason Kubel) in order to get another superior hitter in the lineup (Jim Thome). Maybe I'm hoping for too much out of a 39-year old hitter, but I think that Thome has plenty left in terms of power and plate discipline. Second, I think that Punto may struggle again out of the gate at the plate and may force Gardy to play Brendan Harris a lot more at third and use Punto as a defensive replacement.

2) Jon Rauch will have 30 saves. While I would probably prefer Neshek to be the closer, I suspect that Rauch will end up with the role to begin the year. And I think he'll probably keep it. This is mostly because I believe that Gardy prefers to have defined roles in the bullpen and I doubt that he will really do too much playing around with who gets saves. I think he'll stick with one candidate most of the year, the Twins will get plenty of save opportunities, and that the guy picking them up usually will be Rauch.

3) Scott Baker gets over 200 strikeouts. I feel like this is probably my "boldest" claim, but I really like Baker, even though he just got beat up in a spring training game. Baker had an outstanding K/BB ratio last year (162/48 in 200 innings) and posted a good strikeout rate. My sense is that Baker will make the jump this year and get up to around 220-230 innings. If he does so and just moderately improves his K-rate, he'll be able to hit 200 strikeouts. It would be quite the impressive accomplishment, but I think Baker can do it. I'm sure most Twins fans feel that Liriano is more likely to get 200 strikeouts, but I think Baker will get the innings necessary to do so before Liriano does.

A.L. Central Prediction (Standings): Twins,Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Royals

Keys to Success for the Twins:

1) Proper Lineup Management. To clarify, by this I mean a few things. For one, I mean that Gardy will have to use his players in a way somewhat uncharacteristic for him. He'll have to pay more attention to splits, especially given Jim Thome's presence on the bench. I think that in order to maximize wins, Gardy is going to have to find a way to get Thome's bat in the lineup versus right-handed pitchers. This is especially true given that the AL Central has many more good right-handers (Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke) than great lefties (Danks is the only real standout). Getting Thome as many bats as possible will be key.

2) Bullpen Stability. I doubt this will be an issue, but its still important to the Twins' success. As Nick Nelson has already noted earlier this week, its unlikely that Gardy actually sticks with a closer-by-committee set-up. Whether its Pat Neshek or Jon Rauch who becomes the primary closer, it will be important that the bullpen maintains some defined roles that I'm guessing it will. That is, Jose Mijares should stick as a lefty-specialist, Matt Guerrier should stick as a set-up guy, and so on. As noted, I don't think this is an issue, because they Twins have a good amount of talented arms in their bullpen, but with a still-relatively young rotation, the Twins will need have strong bullpen in to maintain success.

3) Health. Health is always important. And its hard to ignore it for the Twins. Joe Mauer missed a month last year and has battled injuries throughout his career. Justin Morneau is coming off a serious back injury. Pat Neshek is coming back from Tommy John surgery. Kevin Slowey is coming off of major wrist surgery. This isn't to say that any of these guys is going to get hurt again, but just to make a fairly obvious point. Any of the Twins top stars could get injured at any time and keeping Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, Baker, Slowey, and many other key contributors healthy is going to determine how the season goes. Granted, the Twins could get lucky again and have a situation like last September in which a slumping star goes down with an injury (Justin Morneau) and is replaced by a streaking hitter (Cuddyer), but that's something hard to count on.

Committing to a Committee?

Over the weekend, Ron Gardenhire related to reporters that he plans on opening the season with a "closer by committee" approach at the back end of the bullpen. This means that rather than having one reliever dedicated to save situations, Gardenhire will divvy up ninth-inning duties based on who's available and who matches up best against the hitters scheduled to bat.

I have a couple reactions to this. My first is that I'm not entirely convinced Gardenhire actually intends to follow through with the plan. While I generally like him as a manager, one of Gardy's most annoying flaws is his stringent adherence to traditional baseball tactics. He'll repeatedly trot out a No. 2 hitter with a sub-.300 on-base percentage, he'll waste good hitters by calling for needless sacrifice bunts and he'll insert demonstrably bad players into his lineup or rotation based on phantom intangibles like hustle and veteran presence. Sure, Gardenhire is saying that he'll run an organic bullpen this year with no designated closer -- something he has never done in his career as a big-league manager -- but my sense is that this is just a smoke screen.

My second reaction is that I hope the first one is wrong. Because I think a closer-by-committee approach is absolutely the right decision, at least initially. Heck, I think it would be the right decision -- in some form -- even if Joe Nathan were healthy.

It has been discussed ad nauseum in other places, but the role of the closer is vastly overrated in contemporary baseball. The strategy surrounding closer usage seems more concerned with helping a particular player accumulate a relatively meaningless statistic than actually winning ballgames, which is sad. While the ninth inning of a close game carries extremely high leverage and is often the ideal time for a team's best reliever to take the hill (as illustrated by the extremely high WPA figures posted by players in this role), there are plenty of times when a hurler like Nathan could be more optimally used earlier in a game, or saved for the next day. Managers will default to their closer in almost all save situations, even one where their team leads by three runs while the opposing club is sending a weak part of the lineup to the plate. Meanwhile, those same managers will not even give a thought to calling upon the closer in, say, a seventh inning situation where the game is on the line and the opposing club has runners on base for the best part of their lineup.

Of course, Nathan won't be around this year so the above paragraph doesn't necessarily apply to the situation at hand. Yet, the core argument remains. If Gardenhire is truly planning on implementing a committee for this year, he can more optimally utilize the options available to him without the restriction of being forced to save his best reliever for the end of a game in preparation for a save opportunity that may no longer exist because inferior relievers blew the lead in the middle innings. If the Twins enter the ninth inning with a one-run lead and the heart of the opposing lineup due to bat, use whichever reliever has generally been the most reliable. If the opposition is sending up a pair of tough lefty hitters in the ninth, give the ball to Jose Mijares. If the "save situation" that presents itself is one where a pitcher will be coming in to face the bottom of the lineup with a three-run lead and the bases empty, use anyone -- even Clay Condrey -- while saving the top relievers for the next day. It is extremely rare for any reliever to blow a lead under these circumstances.

One could basically always feel comfortable sending Nathan out to protect a slim ninth-inning lead, because he is good enough to be trusted in basically any save situation (and, as mentioned before, perhaps too good to be wasted on some save situations). However, the current candidates to replace Nathan in the closer role all have their own sets of strengths and flaws that will make them well suited for particular save situations and ill suited for others. With that in mind, an adaptive committee approach is the correct solution, at least until someone (perhaps Jesse Crain or Pat Neshek) emerges as a reliever dominant and reliable enough to be regularly trusted with high-leverage ninth-inning duties.

Even then, I'd love it if Gardenhire would avoid committing himself to the restrictions involved with using his designated closer in each and every save situation. But, knowing his tendencies, that's probably just wishful thinking.

Musing on Spring Performances

The Twins will wrap up their spring schedule down in Florida this week before heading back north and playing a pair of exhibition games against the Cardinals at Target Field over the weekend. This will be followed by a day off on Sunday, with the regular season officially getting underway in Los Angeles on Monday.

Between being out of town and breaking down the entire team position-by-position over the past few weeks, I haven't provided much commentary on what's happening in Grapefruit League play. So today, with the obvious caveat that spring training numbers are to be taken with a half of a grain of salt, I'll peruse some spring training performances and see if any useful insights can be gleaned.

* Yesterday I put out a tweet pointing out that Delmon Young currently leads the team with six extra-base hits this spring, which is an encouraging sign given that many are hoping that the left fielder can turn a corner and start hitting for power here in his age 24 season. As Aaron Gleeman quickly pointed out to me after I posted the tweet, though, Young also hit .361 with a .500 slugging percentage last spring before struggling once the regular season got underway.

No one doubts Young's innate ability, so it shouldn't come as any real surprise that he's been able to succeed in spring training against pitchers who are either rusty, not trying their hardest, not major-league caliber, or some combination of those things.

Ultimately, people are going to see what they want to see in the enigmatic outfielder. Is Young's strong spring a continuation of the improvement he showed late last year during the team's stretch run, or is it just another short-term fluke that won't translate into anything meaningful when the season starts? Unfortunately, I'd tend to lean toward the latter, but I'd love to be wrong.

* Jacque Jones won't be making the team out of spring training, but it's still tough not to be impressed with what he was able to accomplish at the Twins' camp. Given how long he'd been out of the majors and how dreadful the reports I'd received on him from various sources were, I half expected him to be unable to swing a bat. But Jones could certainly swing, as evidenced by his .364/.417/.625 hitting line. Unless another team swoops in to claim him, Jones will open the season in Rochester where he'll be just a phone call away from rejoining the Twins at Target Field. I'd love to see that happen.

* There were two key players I had serious concerns about entering spring training this year, based on injuries that had ended their 2009 seasons. One was Kevin Slowey and the other was Justin Morneau. Slowey has helped to ease my concerns by allowing just four runs on 15 hits over 20 innings while maintaining his pinpoint command, and while Morneau has batted just .184, he has homered twice and ripped three doubles. Since back injuries can really sap a player's power, that's the most important sign to me.

* Team leader in walks this spring? It's a tie between Denard Span and Orlando Hudson, who will be filling the first and second spots in the lineup this year. That's nice to see.

* At the outset of spring training, I had little doubt that Pat Neshek would be opening the season in the minors. He hadn't pitched in a major-league game since May of 2008 and spent all of last year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, which would seemingly be an especially big deal for a pitcher with a quirky delivery like his. Yet, Neshek has been terrific this spring. In eight appearances, he has allowed only two runs on five hits over 8 2/3 innings while striking out 11 and walking three. Suddenly, Neshek is a very real candidate to sneak into a bullpen that is now somewhat lacking in right-handed power arms, and he could easily insert himself into the closer conversation.

* The fifth spot in the Twins' rotation is still being framed as an open competition between Francisco Liriano and Brian Duensing, but it seems pretty clear who Ron Gardenhire has in mind for the role. Four of Liriano's five appearances this spring have been starts, whereas Duensing has entered as a reliever in three of his four outings. Of course, Liriano also has the gaudy numbers backing him up; in 14 innings, he has fanned 22 batters while issuing only two walks. I'm withholding excitement on Liri-- OK, I can't even say it. I'm really, really excited about Liriano this year.

Odds and Ends

With the start of the season just a week away, everyone's getting geared up for meaningful baseball. I'll cover a few more topics on the blog this week as the clock ticks down to Opening Day, but for now I'd like to cover a few things so I'll touch on them all briefly.

* I recently became aware that some people using Internet Explorer on older PCs were experiencing issues when trying to read this blog (specifically, they'd receive a "Stack Overflow Error" when trying to scroll down the page). I've corrected the problem and apologize to those of you who were affected by it.

* On to baseball. Over the weekend, the Twins both optioned Matt Tolbert to Triple-A and informed Jacque Jones that he won't be making the big-league club out of spring training. That means that the final bench spot will belong to Alexi Casilla, who followed up his terrible 2009 campaign with a poor showing in winter ball and a brutally bad spring training. Casilla hasn't done much of anything above Double-AA and will turn 26 this year, so he's really not much of a prospect anymore. Being without Tolbert and Jones doesn't exactly hurt the Twins much, but I don't quite understand why the Twins feel so compelled to keep giving Casilla chances.

* In other roster news, Ron Gardenhire announced over the weekend that he plans to use a closer-by-committee format to divvy up save chances early in the season. I'm not convinced he'll stick with that approach for long, but I do think it's the right choice.

* About a month ago, I received an email from a publicist informing me about a new Twins-related publication, Minnesota Twins: The Complete Illustrated History. It's a book any Twins fan would love to have, the message said, and the publisher was looking to spread the word by getting copies into the hands of everyone with a listening audience, even little ol' bloggers like me. And one of the two authors of this book? Why, none other than Patrick Reusse. Yes, the same curmudgeonly Reusse who once compared bloggers to homeless folks on the street and who last Thanksgiving dubbed his own colleague Joe Christensen a "Turkey" for having the gall to include OPS in a baseball article has teamed up with Dennis Brackin to put out a comprehensive chronicling of the Twins franchise, and the publisher is sending free copies to bloggers in an attempt to garner publicity. Reveling in the irony, I told the company to go ahead and send me a copy, already planning out the eviscerating hack job I'd put together after looking through it.

So, now I'm a little disappointed. Disappointed because after reading through the thing while flying to and from North Carolina over the weekend, I can't produce any rant about it. It's excellent. It's a huge, hardcover book that exhaustively covers the Twins' 50-year existence, breaking up the considerable amount of text with plenty of big photographs and intriguing sidebars. At $30, it's a bit pricey, but the quality is great and it's essentially a must-have for the coffee table of any die hard. Even if Reusse refuses to respect the work done by me and others like me, I have no problem recognizing his excellent storytelling ability, which is on full display in this book.

If you're interested, you can check it out here. Just don't tell them I sent you.

Position Analysis: Relief Pitcher

Today, we wrap up the Position Analysis series by taking a look at the bullpen. At one point, this was shaping up to be one of the team's strongest units; Pat Neshek and Boof Bonser were set to return after missing all of 2009, adding a pair of power arms to a group that had already finished strong last year. The Twins ended up trading away Bonser, but later replaced him with Clay Condrey, who figures to match the production Bonser might have provided (albeit in a different form). The real loss comes in the form of Nathan, who will miss the season due to an elbow injury that will require Tommy John surgery.

Nathan's loss will be felt in the ninth inning, but odds are that someone from within the organization (or outside of the organization) will be able to step into that closer role without costing the team too many wins. Yet, beyond just losing a closer, the Twins are losing 70 innings of excellent, high-leverage performance in Nathan. While the current bullpen members will have to step up and fill that void, that still leaves 70 innings that will have to be filled by a player who might not have even been on the roster otherwise. As such, the Twins' bullpen depth will be tested this year in Nathan's absence.

Fortunately, if ever there was an acceptable time for the Twins to lose their elite closer, this is it.

The aforementioned return of Neshek, combined with the return of every key member from last year's relief corps and the presence of a few seemingly ready and capable arms in the high minors, gives the Twins more bullpen flexibility than they've had in past years. Nathan will be missed, but there are enough quality arms here that the Twins should be able to withstand his loss.

Let's take a look at the five pitchers likely to make the bullpen out of spring training, as well as a few others who have a shot at the sixth and (maybe) seventh spots or could get a shot to step in at some point during the year.

THE LOCKS

Jon Rauch

2009 Stats: 70 IP, 3.60 ERA, 49 K / 23 BB, 1.33 WHIP

Rauch seems likely to get the first stab at filling Nathan's shoes in the ninth inning. At nearly seven feet tall, he delivers from a different trajectory than any other pitcher in the league, which should help him keep hitters off-balance in one-inning stints to end games. Indeed, for his career, Rauch has a 3.09 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in save situations compared to 3.79 and 1.23 overall. With that being said, he's been hit hard at times over the past few years and his control isn't great, so it's unclear how long he'll retain closing duties.

Matt Guerrier

2009 Stats: 76.1 IP, 2.36 ERA, 47 K / 16 BB, 0.97 WHIP

Guerrier was spectacular last year, ranking among the league leaders in appearances for a third straight season while allowing less than one baserunner per inning and holding opponents to a .207 batting average. It was the second time in three years that Guerrier has been one of the league's best setup men, and I suspect that his proven ability in that role will deter Ron Gardenhire from trying to nudge him into the closer spot despite the numbers suggesting that such a course of action might make sense. Be wary, though; Guerrier's tremendous overall numbers last year were buoyed by an unsustainable .214 batting average on balls in play, and there's no telling whether the extensive wear on his arm over the past few seasons might start to creep up on him again like it did late in the 2008 campaign.

Jesse Crain

2009 Stats: 51.2 IP, 4.70 ERA, 43 K / 27 BB, 1.45 WHIP

Earlier this week, I posted the following tweet: "For what it's worth, my guess is that Crain finishes the season as the Twins' team leader in saves." That's partially based on a gut feeling, but it's also based on the facts that Crain had extensive closing experience in the minor leagues, historically hasn't struggled much against left-handers (though that certainly wasn't the case last year) and pitched extremely well during the final couple months of the '09 season. That last point is the most salient; Crain underwent major shoulder surgery prior to the 2008 season and it can take a long time to fully return from such an operation. Crain's performance in August and September last year suggests that he's fully back, and if he can keep throwing like that he can be a dominant force in the ninth inning.

Jose Mijares
2009 Stats: 61.2 IP, 2.34 ERA, 55 K / 23 BB, 1.18 WHIP

Over his first 81 major-league appearances, Mijares has posted a 2.12 ERA while allowing only 53 hits in 72 innings. Those are outstanding numbers, and they're largely the result of proper usage; he's held left-handed hitters to a minuscule .458 OPS and Gardenhire has given him the opportunity to face a lot of lefties. If his role is expanded too much, Mijares' mediocre control and susceptibility to righty hitters are likely to become liabilities. Fortunately, Gardy seems to recognize those flaws, which is why Mijares isn't being viewed as a legitimate contender for the closer role and why he'll likely keep the same LOOGY label this season.

Clay Condrey
2009 Stats: 42 IP, 3.00 ERA, 25 K / 14 BB, 1.21 WHIP

The Twins nabbed Condrey after he was non-tendered by the Phillies this offseason, and will pay him $900K to handle middle-inning duty in the bullpen. That's a higher sum than they'd have been likely to pay either Bonser or Bobby Keppel, who were both sent packing, so clearly the Twins have faith that Condrey can be a valuable piece. The veteran righty has posted a 3.16 ERA in 111 innings over the past two seasons. He doesn't strike many people out but has registered exceptional ground ball rates in each of the past two years, so his four homers allowed this spring shouldn't be too alarming.

THE REST

Pat Neshek
Coming into the spring, Neshek seemed like a lock to open the season in the minors. In spite of his successful big-league track record, he hadn't pitched in a big-league game since May of 2008. However, Neshek has looked great this spring, and with Nathan gone the Twins will be needing an extra right-handed power arm for the late innings. Quickly, Neshek's chances to coming north with the team seem to be improving, as do his chances of ultimately taking over ninth-inning duties.

Brian Duensing
I mentioned Duensing as a candidate to start the other day, but if he makes the team out of spring training my guess is that it will be as a long reliever. He'd give Gardenhire an extra left-handed option behind Mijares, and his history as a starter makes him a good candidate to pitch in long relief.

Ron Mahay
Mahay spent the final month or so of the 2009 season with the Twins and performed well as a second lefty specialist. Just this week, the team re-signed him to a minor-league contract. He's 38 years old and no one's idea of a dominator at this point in his career, but it wouldn't come as any surprise to see him round out Gardenhire's bullpen.

Anthony Slama
Drafted out of college as a 22-year-old and moved somewhat methodically through the Twins' system, Slama isn't viewed by many as a great prospect because of his advanced age. However, it's tough to look past his absolutely spectacular minor-league numbers, and he's been outstanding in limited duty this spring. I doubt he'll make the team out of spring training, but I'd be stunned if he's not pitching for the Twins by July.

Rob Delaney
Delaney has risen through the minor-league ranks alongside Slama and posted similarly strong numbers. He needs to prove himself over a prolonged period at Triple-A, but he's another guy who can be called upon at any point this season and figures to be a productive big-league reliever.

Alex Burnett
A converted starter, Burnett had tremendous success last year in his first season as a full-time reliever, posting a 1.85 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 78 innings split between Single-A and Double-A. He'll presumably open this season in Rochester, where a strong showing could get him a big-league look. Unlike Slama and Delaney, though, Burnett is still quite young (only 22) so he won't be rushed.

Traveling with the Twins

There is perhaps no greater summer adventure than the baseball road trip. It provides an opportunity not only to see your team play in a different ballpark, but also to experience a new city and bond with friends or family. Last year, I made a couple of baseball road trips, heading to Chicago with family to see the Twins play at Wrigley Field and traveling to the heartland in a rental van with some friends to see games in St. Louis and Kansas City. Both of the trips were absolutely amazing, with the baseball games serving as only small highlights in thoroughly enjoyable overall experiences.

Each spring, I like to take a look at the schedule for the upcoming season and pick out series that might provide road trip opportunities. There are several considerations to be made in selecting appropriate destinations. Is the distance drivable? Is the stadium nice? Are there cool things to do in the city when not attending the games? Is the series during a weekend, so I don't have to take a bunch of time off work? Are there people I can stay with to save on lodging fees?

With all of these things in mind, I went through the Twins' 2010 schedule and picked out a few series that make for nice road trip possibilities:

Chicago White Sox
(April 9-11, August 10-12, September 14-16)

Those early April dates provide an opportunity to hit the road right at the beginning of the season, as it is the Twins' second series of the regular season. I've been U.S. Cellular Field and didn't come away terribly impressed -- not much personality -- but Chicago is a beautiful city and unfortunately the Twins don't play the Cubs again this year. I figure that the Sox will be the Twins' fiercest competition in the AL Central this year, so that September series could loom large.

Driving Time: About 7 hours

Kansas City Royals
(April 23-25, July 26-28, September 27-29)

Of all the big-league ballparks I've visited, I think Kaufmann Stadium is my favorite. It's gorgeous, with big splashing fountains beyond the outfield wall, and the Party Deck in right field is a great place for a guy like me to hang out and watch the game while chatting with friends and sipping a beer. The huge parking lots surrounding the stadium are great for tailgating. And of course, since it's the Royals, you know there's a very good chance you'll be walking out happy after seeing a Twins victory. Be careful about that July series -- it'll be hot!

Driving Time: About 7 hours

Detroit Tigers
(April 27-29, July 9-11, September 24-26)

Detroit might not have the greatest reputation as a city, but I've heard plenty of good things about Comerica Park. The Twins and Tigers, of course, came right down to the wire last year, so another intense battle could easily shape up here in the 2010 campaign. The drive, nearly 12 hours, can be a bear but it does take you through some nice cities like Madison and Chicago. You could even stop in Beloit along the way to catch the Snappers, the Twins' Low-A minor-league affiliate.

Driving Time: About 11.5 hours

Cleveland Indians
(April 30-May 1, August 6-8, September 10-12)

The drive to Cleveland is similar to the one to Detroit, except that it's about an hour longer. The Indians' home park, Progressive Field, draws rave reviews so if you've got it in you to spend over half a day on the road, this is a good trip.

Driving Time: About 12.5 hours

Philadelphia Phillies
(June 18-20)

Alright, this is a pretty daunting drive by car, but the Twins don't play the Phillies very often and Philadelphia is a pretty awesome city. The main reason I've added it here is because the Twins play the Mets in New York the following weekend, so if you want to go all-out and do an expansive East Coast baseball road trip, here's your opportunity.

Driving Time: About 19.5 hours

Milwaukee Brewers
(June 22-24)

Quick vent session here: This year marks the second straight time the Twins/Brewers series in Milwaukee has taken place right in the middle of the week rather than on a weekend. What gives? Milwaukee is easily the quickest drive of any mentioned here, and with the "Border Battle" aspect and excellent tailgating at Miller Park, it makes for an awesome weekend trip that I've done multiple times in the past. Yet, scheduling the series in middle of the week makes this trip a tough one to pull off for us weekday working folk. Frustrating scheduling here.

Driving Time: About 5.5 hours

New York Mets
(June 25-27)

As I mentioned before, the Twins play in Philadelphia the prior weekend. If you manage to make it out there, the drive to New York is only two hours. Like the Phillies, the Mets are a rare opponent for the Twins, and of course there's a decent chance the Twins will face Johan Santana in this series. The Mets' stadium, Citi Field, is brand new and there are all sorts of things to do in New York. Although it is a sacrelige in the realm of baseball road tripping, I might even hop on a plane and fly out for this series.

Driving Time: About 20 hours

Last spring, me and John Bonnes talked at length about trying to organize a big road trip where a bunch of Twins fans could jump on a bus and follow the team to St. Louis and Kansas City, but ultimately the logistics became overwhelming. The idea continued to simmer in my mind, so I was very pleased to meet Scott Povolny at the TwinsCentric Viewing Party at Majors a couple weeks ago. Povolny recently launched a new company called TwinsTrain, which basically seeks to accomplish the same thing me and John futilely toyed with a year ago. Basically, for a reasonable all-inclusive fee, you can sign up with TwinsTrain and get all the arrangements of the road trip taking care of for you -- bus ride, hotel accomodations, tickets to a couple games, and some other nice perks. Destinations include most of the ones listed above. You can check out the web site (linked above) for further details, including prices and dates, if you're interested. I'll be tagging along on the Kansas City trip in late April, and I know the other TwinsCentric fellows are planning on making trips with TwinsTrain as well. As fellow Strib blogger Sooze mentioned yesterday, she'll be aboard for the Detroit trip in July.

I'm hopeful that TwinsTrain succeeds, not only because Scott seems like a really nice guy but also because the core concept relates directly to something I harped on in my inaugural post on the TwinsCentric blog: synergy. It's an opportunity for Twins fans to get together and share their passion. It's the same reason we organized that gathering where I met Scott, and the same reason we've got a similar event scheduled for Majors in Blaine on April 10 (which I hope many of you can attend). The Twins have a terrific, optimistic and well-informed fan base, and the opportunities I've had to meet and interact with these folks have made this entire five-year blogging experience a rewarding endeavor.

Whether you choose to hop on board with TwinsTrain, rent a van with some friends or jump in the family station wagon with your loved ones, I strongly recommend road tripping to catch the Twins in another city this summer. As you can see above, there are plenty of great opportunities to do so.

Position Analysis: Starting Pitcher

The Twins enter the 2010 season with a stacked offense, a deep bullpen and a newly re-signed MVP, so everything seems in place for a deep run this year. The most questionable aspect on the club, though, has to be the starting rotation. After all, the Twins ranked third-to-last in the American League last year with a 4.84 starters' ERA and none of Bill Smith's major offseason moves involved supplementing this unit.

However, the return of Kevin Slowey from wrist injury, the re-signing of Carl Pavano and the emergence of Francisco Liriano this winter provide plenty of reason for optimism. That the five hurlers I project to make the rotation have combined for a 1.64 ERA this spring is certainly helping to feed that optimism.

Let's break down the Twins' projected five-man rotation, with a quick look at the candidates to step in should someone go down.

Scott Baker
2009 Stats: 200 IP, 15-9, 4.36 ERA, 162 K / 48 BB, 1.19 WHIP


Having been the Twins' most consistent starter over the past three years and having been named Opening Day starter this year, Baker enters the season as ace by default. Whether he'll actually play up to that level remains to be seen -- only once has Baker posted an ERA under 4 in a full season -- but it's easy to be comfortable with him as a rock at the front of the Twins' rotation. Last year, he recovered from a rocky first handful of starts to go 15-5 with a 3.81 ERA over his final 29 starts, including 8-2 with a 3.28 after the All-Star break. Without any shoulder problems bogging him down this spring, it seems fair to expect that type of production over the course of the entire season this year.

Carl Pavano
2009 Stats: 199.1 IP, 14-12, 5.10 ERA, 147 K / 39 BB, 1.38 WHIP

After being acquired in August last year, Pavano posted a 4.64 ERA and 59-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 regular-season starts for the Twins, finishing his year on a high note with a dazzling outing against the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS. Pavano tends to serve up a sizable number of hits and is no frontline starter, but he's a control pitcher fully capable of posting solid overall numbers and he provides a welcome veteran edge to the Twins' relatively young pitching staff.

Kevin Slowey
2009 Stats: 90.2 IP, 10-3, 4.86 ERA, 75 K / 15 BB, 1.41 WHIP

When Slowey went down for the season with an injury last July, his numbers weren't terribly impressive. Despite a 10-3 record, Slowey held a 4.86 ERA and 1.41 WHIP that both screamed mediocrity, and he'd allowed a painful 15 home runs in just 90 innings. That performance was undoubtedly hampered by the wrist problems that ultimately required season-ending surgery; now that Slowey has gotten that taken care of, the hope is that he'll return to his 2008 form (3.99 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) or better. There aren't many starting pitchers around the league capable of striking out five times as many batters as they walk, which Slowey has done for two straight seasons now.

Nick Blackburn
2009 Stats: 205.2 IP, 11-11, 4.03 ERA, 98 K / 41 BB, 1.36 WHIP

No American League pitcher gave up more hits than Blackburn last year, and yet the right-hander still managed to finish with better than average numbers in the ERA and WHIP categories. That's because Blackburn is very stingy with walks and -- when he's on -- very good at inducing weak contact and keeping the ball in the park. Things can get a little ugly when he's not on, as displayed by his brutal stretch following the All-Star break last year, but overall Blackburn has posted nearly identical numbers in the past two seasons and has been a very solid middle-of-the-rotation starter in both.

Francisco Liriano
2009 Stats: 136.2 IP, 5-13, 5.80 ERA, 122 K / 65 BB, 1.55 WHIP

Liriano is the Twins' ace in the hole, so to speak. He was dreadful last season, struggling with command issues that mostly seemed to stem from mental hurdles, but he built up his confidence with an outstanding stint in winter ball and he's carried that confidence to spring training, where his numbers have been absolutely outstanding. Liriano has the best stuff of any Twins starter and has shown in the past that he's got serious ace ability. If he can fulfill that potential this year, he'll change the complexion of the entire rotation.

Other Options...

Brian Duensing
Duensing pitched extremely well down the stretch last year, providing an unexpected boost to a beleaguered rotation and playing a substantial role in the Twins' postseason run. That performance has earned him a first crack at the rotation should one of the top five starters fail and perhaps a spot in the bullpen, but his mediocre track record in the high minors, combined with his uninspiring results this spring, will likely keep him out of a starting role with the Twins for now.

Glen Perkins
After a solid 2008 campaign, Perkins entered the '09 season as a bona fide member of the rotation and a seemingly well positioned piece in the organization's long-term rotation plans. After a season full of injuries, poor performance and bickering with management, Perkins' stock has dropped off a cliff. If he's still with the organization come Opening Day, he'll almost certainly be in Rochester, and with much to prove.

Anthony Swarzak
He pitched very well upon being called up last year, but began to struggle immensely once the league caught on to him. Swarzak appears slated to start the year in Triple-A but is a nice piece to have around in case of emergency and is only 24 years old.

Jeff Manship
Manship got his feet wet at the big-league level late last year, joining the bullpen in August and then making a handful of starts in September as the Twins raced back into the postseason race. The high-pressure circumstances weren't exactly ideal for a young pitcher to be breaking into the majors, but Manship held his own and is likely to get another shot at some point this year.

Eight More Years

That sound you heard yesterday in the late afternoon? That was the sound of an entire state breathing out one huge sigh of relief.

Yankees fans can stop drooling with anticipation. Red Sox fans can stop formulating theoretical trade packages. Mets fans can let any glimmers of hope die and go back to wallowing in misery.

Joe Mauer is staying in Minnesota.

The Twins announced yesterday that they'd signed their 26-year-old homegrown MVP to an eight-year contract extension that will keep Mauer at Target Field through 2018. The catcher will make $23 million per season over the life of the $184 million deal, which includes a full no trade clause.

Jittery fans and bored newspaper columnists had been stirring up some anxiety over the past few weeks, but ultimately there was little reason to believe this deal would not get done. While premature announcements from a couple of prominent local sports personalities proved false, there Twins organization's confidence that this extension would eventually get hammered out was clear on almost every report on the subject. With a new stadium opening this year and fan interest at the highest point been it's been in recent memory, the Twins were not going to let Mauer get away.

With the contract officially signed, the Twins have locked up the reigning MVP throughout his prime years. Mauer is the best player in the American League and he's not even 27 yet, so the benefits of this deal figure to be huge over the next several years. Of course, there's room to question whether Mauer will still be worth $23 million at the age of 34 or 35. There's also room to question how drastic the impacts of dedicating such an enormous percentage of the team's total payroll to one player will be; the Twins are setting an all-time high in payroll this year at $96 million, and Mauer's $23 million would account for 24 percent of that.

But those are discussions for another day. While it's not without its downsides, this is a move that needed to be made. Mauer staying in Minnesota is good for baseball and certainly good for Minnesotans.

The final piece of offseason drama has offically been settled. Now, can we get this season started?

Finally, a quick word from today's sponsor...

Minnesota Twins Tickets for all games home and away. Cheap Twins Tickets from local seller. View Minnesota Twins Schedule and Buy Minnesota Twins Tickets today. See Joe Mauer swing for the fences. Target Field Tickets available now.