Twins 2011: Year Long Thread

**tommyboy** · 02-02-2011, 04:32 AM

It's time to turn the page on 2010. On to 2011.

Lots of question marks concerning the 2011 edition.

1. Is Morneau really ready to go?
2. Can Nishioka be an asset to the team and nail down either SS or 2nd?
3. The bullpen.....who are these guys?
4. Can Span regroup after a bad season?
5. What's gonna happen with the rotation? Who's the odd man out?

I think Chicago is better than last year, but if the Twins can stay healthy, they should still win the division, imho. This team, as is, still won't win a playoff series.

AL Playoff Teams:

Boston, New York, Texas, and Twins.

**ducky** · 02-02-2011, 02:43 PM

I think the Twins will certainly be competative but I wouldn't put any money on them winning the division this year. Between Detroit and Chicago, one of those teams is going to put together a really good season next year I think.

Last year we had a ton of things go right for them....and we still only got to 94 wins. Last year we finished 5th in the AL in team ERA with a 3.95 team ERA. We would have to better than to win the division this year IMO (as our offense almost has to be a little worse than it was last year in all liklihood) and for that to happen we can't have any starters have too rough of a season AND the bullpen would have to be solid. I just can't see that happening with this staff.

...in all honestly I am still hoping that there is enough time left in the offseason that the Twins can still make a move to add to their pitching staff. We need a trade that extra experienced starter we have for a bullpen guy or we need to put a couple of those starters together (along with a prospect or two) and go get a better quality starter.

**tommyboy** · 02-02-2011, 03:27 PM

we had things go right, but we had a lot go bad, too. No Nathan all year. No Morneau for the last half of the season. Hardy was out for over a third of the year. Cuddyer and Span both had sub standard years. Mauer wasn't particularly great, either. Cuddyer wasn't horrible, but Span sucked. I think the things that went wrong outweighed what went right.

Don't get me wrong, it was nice to see Young, Valencia, Liriano, and Duensing have good years. How nice would it be to have Morneau for a playoff series??

**The Q** · 02-02-2011, 03:55 PM

I like the White Sox this year a fair amount. Getting E-Jaxx and Dunn for a full year will be pretty big for them. They have a really good rotation.

**Fandango** · 02-02-2011, 04:14 PM

I am really worried about our middle infield and our bullpen; I think those are the two areas that could cause the team to fall back this season.

**ducky** · 02-02-2011, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by Fandango

I am really worried about our middle infield and our bullpen; I think those are the two areas that could cause the team to fall back this season.

I have now read a couple of reports that have said that Twins upgraded their middle infield this offseason.

...I just don't agree. Of course Nishioka is a complete wild card but to expect him to be better than either Hudson or Hardy is crazy IMO (obviously I would love it if he was but to think that he is going to be is just wishful thinking). And of course Casilla isn't better than either of those two.

So yes I share that concern.

In regards to the pen....if Nathan is back and close to 100%, Mijares has a rebound year, and we have enough options where one or two other arms should do well (kind of like how Burnett came through for us in the 1st half of last year surprisingly) I actually do think our bullpen has a chance to be better than it was last year. But that is an awful lot to go right. If we have injuries in the pen this year, we are going to be SCREWED. It scares me so much because I know that the Twins are already once again setting themselves up where they are going to end up trading good prospects away for relievers around the deadline again. That's bad GM'ing.

**zirc** · 02-02-2011, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by Fandango

I am really worried about our middle infield and our bullpen; I think those are the two areas that could cause the team to fall back this season.

Don't worry about the bullpen; you guys will just call up a couple of AA pitchers noone's ever heard of again and they'll procede to dominate the whole season.

**tommyboy** · 02-02-2011, 06:16 PM

it would have been nice to have kept guerrier. he wasn't an ideal set up guy, but he was consistently pretty good, and extremely durable. Definitely a guy who could give you 2 innings of solid middle relief. crain is a ticking time bomb....I don't think his arm is gonna hold up. Rauch was only average.

**tommyboy** · 02-02-2011, 06:17 PM

Originally Posted by zirc

Don't worry about the bullpen; you guys will just call up a couple of AA pitchers noone's ever heard of again and they'll procede to dominate the whole season.

well, hopefully. ;)

**Nastradamus** · 02-02-2011, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by The Q

I like the White Sox this year a fair amount. Getting E-Jaxx and Dunn for a full year will be pretty big for them. They have a really good rotation.

They could have a really good rotation. I like Danks and Floyd a lot. Peavy might not pitch, Jackson is always a wild card and you yourself said Buehrle is due for regression. I am scared of the Sox as a Tiger fan, but they have a ton of holes and question marks too. If guys like Beckham,Rios,Jackson and Konerko all somehow perform to expectations, they are straight scary, but what are the odds of that?

**Nastradamus** · 02-02-2011, 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by tommyboy

it would have been nice to have kept guerrier. he wasn't an ideal set up guy, but he was consistently pretty good, and extremely durable. Definitely a guy who could give you 2 innings of solid middle relief. crain is a ticking time bomb....I don't think his arm is gonna hold up. Rauch was only average.

Yah, he might have been the one you should have kept. Rausch was average, but could close and was dependable much of the year. That's not easy to replace like nothing. Having Capps for a full year is a wash though I guess. Crain was maybe a time bomb, but he's still a guy who was ultra productive last year, so you have to replace him. I actually think Fuentes would look nicest in next year's pen, being a lefty specialist who can also close if there's a jam. Call up Slama and call it a day

**seahawksfan837** · 02-02-2011, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by The Q

I like the White Sox this year a fair amount. Getting E-Jaxx and Dunn for a full year will be pretty big for them. They have a really good rotation.

I think their rotation always gets vastly overrated. I just don't see it being that good.

Buehrle's #s are not pretty.
Danks, Floyd and E-Jax are wildly inconsistent.
Peavy is hurt and wasn't even good when he was in there.

Sale is obviously the wild card.

**zirc** · 02-08-2011, 10:52 PM

I think a lot of it depends on Peavy. I've heard all sorts of stuff saying he might be ready to go opening day up to him missing the first 3 months of the season. If he can show up and do what he's supposed to, then Sale can go back into the bullpen where he was pretty spectacular last year and the pitching staff as a whole will be decently solid. If Sale is starting, then the bullpen is pretty weak from losing Jenks and Putz. Dunno whether to get my hopes up this year or not. They won 88 games last year with the entire team besides Rios and Konerko not showing up until the end of May, but then they also had that ridiculous 25-5 patch that won't be repeated either. I guess it'll come down to the rotation, and like you say, they're highly rated, but... Sure, there have been flashes of goodness but unless there is some consistency there they're just overrated.

**PsychoViking** · 02-10-2011, 08:41 PM

Apparently the Twins are considering dealing Liriano, for the right price. He wants 3 years $39M for a contract extension. That is a bit pricey IMO, although not terrible. He has a great slider but I'm not as big of a fan as most. He throws way too many pitches, lacks composure, and will probably blow his arm again because of his delivery and the fact that he throws the slider so often (30%+).

If they could get a stud pitching or IF prospect in return I'd be fine with that.

They'll probably have to trade someone, though. I don't know that they can pay Liriano, Pavano, Blackburn, and Baker what they are due, especially with Slowey also being due more money soon.

http://1500espn.com/sportswire/Sourc...ht_price021011