Mauer

[10,000 Casts]

1.Span- decent lead off guy, high .280avg and on base for hit and runs

2.Nishioka - will hit for avg and 10-20HR and has speed (hopefully)

3.Mauer - enough said.. stay healthy

4.Morneau - enough said.. stay healthy

5.Kubel/Thome - whoever is hotter enough said..

6.Cuddy- should hit 15hr and .275+

7.Delmon- best #7 hitter in MLB

8.Valencia- could be the best #8 hitter in MLB, .300 and 11 HR again?

9.Casilla - gotta have a weak spot I guess.. lets hope he hits over .250

That is a SOLID line up, if I was a pitcher, I would have nightmares having to face 2-8...

[harvey lee]

I agree Scoot that for the Twins to win the divison is a hope and a prayer with only 1 new player that has not played in the big leaques.

Then the others position players need to get healthy and play all season.

Then, Nathan and the pitching staff.

Could be a good year and it could also be a loooong season for the Twins.

[schmitty3]

They'll be right there near the top of the division they ALWAYS are.

[Dylan33]

1.Span- decent lead off guy, high .280avg and on base for hit and runs

2.Nishioka - will hit for avg and 10-20HR and has speed (hopefully)

3.Mauer - enough said.. stay healthy

4.Morneau - enough said.. stay healthy

5.Kubel/Thome - whoever is hotter enough said..

6.Cuddy- should hit 15hr and .275+

7.Delmon- best #7 hitter in MLB

8.Valencia- could be the best #8 hitter in MLB, .300 and 11 HR again?

9.Casilla - gotta have a weak spot I guess.. lets hope he hits over .250

That is a SOLID line up, if I was a pitcher, I would have nightmares having to face 2-8...

Nightmares facing this lineup? I don't think so. facing the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, etc would be a nightmare...you make 1 bad pitch to 2-8 in their lineups and they will take you deep...at best the twins get a couple singles, and then Mauer comes up to bounces into a double play.

[greebs]

1.Span- decent lead off guy, high .280avg and on base for hit and runs

2.Nishioka - will hit for avg and 10-20HR and has speed (hopefully)

3.Mauer - enough said.. stay healthy

4.Morneau - enough said.. stay healthy

5.Kubel/Thome - whoever is hotter enough said..

6.Cuddy- should hit 15hr and .275+

7.Delmon- best #7 hitter in MLB

8.Valencia- could be the best #8 hitter in MLB, .300 and 11 HR again?

9.Casilla - gotta have a weak spot I guess.. lets hope he hits over .250

That is a SOLID line up, if I was a pitcher, I would have nightmares having to face 2-8...

this lineup won't strike fear in too many teams other than maybe kc and cleveland but it is solid and just as strong as last year. would like to see mauer bat 2nd and drop span towards the bottom and bat young between mauer and morneau. switch around valencia and cuddy too while we are at it.

pitching is going to be the key to how far this team goes though.

[harvey lee]

The Twins do very well in their divison for the players they field.

Trouble as of late, as soon as we get into the play off's, we are done in the first series.

So many times we have been short a pitcher or two and the Twins would be a tough team no matter who they played including the Yanks.

I really enjoy following the Twins and have all of my life. I sure hope they stay healthy and can compete.

[bucketmouth64]

The stuff Mauer received is hyaluronic acid. It is a natural liquid and be taken in pill form. I take the pill form and it supports joint health kinda like glucosamine/chondroitin. It helps lubricate the joints. So I wouldn't be all too concerned about the shots. No different from athelete taking vitamin supplements. My chiropractor says many professional atheletes get these shots to help their joints stay lubricated. Now if Mauer was getting cortisone shots then I would be worried.

[WyoChris]

I don't think the yankees will be as good this season. Therefore, the Twins have a chance at the world series!

Our biggest question mark, similair to last season, will be our bullpen.... more specifically if Nathan will be any good a year after his surgery.

[zepman]

I'm going to get blasted, but I think they WAY overpaid for Mauer. Great player, YES, superstar that can carry a team, not in my opinion.

I don't know if we overpayed for him...he would have received equal if not greater $$$ in a few other markets.

Without him upping his power #'s though, he's not much different than Ichiro...neither can carry a team.

C'mon Joe for Christ sake...you're 6'5" and 240lbs...enough singles already!!

[JBMasterAngler]

The yankees not being as good this year only means we'll lose to them in 4 games instead of being swept

[harvey lee]

We have to remember that there are many that are questionable on the Twins roster this season.

Mauer

Justin

Larino

Baker

Nathan

Thome can only play so much with his back.

Casilla's bat is very iffy also.

Punto

There may be others that I am not aware of. That's a big list of good players hurting or questonable and I am sure some will not work out.

I also do not believe the Yank's or the Red Soxs would have paid as much as the Twins did for Joe with his questionable knee. Yes Joe is a great player when he is healthy. I would bet he will have a fair amount of time off the season due to his health. I guess time will only tell.

[DonBo]

We have to remember that there are many that are questionable on the Twins roster this season.

Mauer

Justin

Larino

Baker

Nathan

Thome can only play so much with his back.

Casilla's bat is very iffy also.

Punto

There may be others that I am not aware of. That's a big list of good players hurting or questonable and I am sure some will not work out.

Hard to dissagree with most of the question marks listed, but Punto is now St. Louis's problem.

[Scott K]

I think not having Punto on the team is going to hurt us. Having one guy that can play multiple positions was invaluable, especially with the quality of defense he would bring to those positions. His sub .250 ba wont be missed though! hopefully are infield can stay healthy, and have it not be an issue this year.

[mainbutter]

The yankees not being as good this year only means we'll lose to them in 4 games instead of being swept

I'm making it official, my first round playoff prediction.

Once again, the Twins and Yankees will advance to face each other in the first round of playoff games. The series will go 5 games, with all of the major turnpoints of each game being determined by pitching errors, particularly among the bullpen. The Twins will come away with a series win due to heroic hits from the bats of Thome, Kubel, and most notably Cuddyer. All Cuddyer nay-sayers will say "well stats don't lie, hitting another .270 season with 80+ RBIs isn't good enough for me, despite winning us a playoff series against the Yankees".

[Dylan33]

Hey mainbutter- How is that cool-aid your drinking?

[rundrave]

I'm making it official, my first round playoff prediction.

Once again, the Twins and Yankees will advance to face each other in the first round of playoff games. The series will go 5 games, with all of the major turnpoints of each game being determined by pitching errors, particularly among the bullpen. The Twins will come away with a series win due to heroic hits from the bats of Thome, Kubel, and most notably Cuddyer Young. All Cuddyer nay-sayers will say "well stats don't lie, hitting another .270 season with 80+ RBIs, and striking out swinging at down and away pitches in clutch moments isn't good enough for me just what we expected, while Young will drive in all the runs Cuddy left on base winning us a playoff series against the Yankees".

fixed it for you lol

[greebs]

I think not having Punto on the team is going to hurt us. Having one guy that can play multiple positions was invaluable, especially with the quality of defense he would bring to those positions. His sub .250 ba wont be missed though! hopefully are infield can stay healthy, and have it not be an issue this year.

There's a new punto in town. Goes by the name tolbert. Much cheaper version and basically the same player minus the 1b slides and overrated defense. Hopefully he will be used appropriately as a utility player and there should be few complaints.

[schmitty3]

I sure as hell won't miss punto. Ya he made some great plays in the field, but our middle infield is still gonna be way above average when it comes to fielding. And he hit .228 and .238 the last 2 years.

[Scott K]

I agree, he should have never been a starter, only a back up. And he was wayyyyy over paid for that!

[10,000 Casts]

I agree that Punto was invalueable on the bench and in the field.. Hopefully Tolbert can improve but we NEED our infield to stay healthy.. but tell me one team that doesn't need to stay healthy..

[harvey lee]

I agree all teams need to stay healthy.

Problem with the Twins is they now have to get their starters healthy and who knows how well the becnh players will play.

The Twins will need all their starters to be healthy by the start of the season. We cannot afford to go down a pile of games as we are not that great healthy.

I see the Twins 2nd if healthy and just maybe a shot at the division and who knows if we have serious issues.

How I hope I am wrong and I will be cheering as hard as I can for them.

If I were to make a bet, I would bet the pitching staff will strugle, Mauer and Mornau will miss alot of games.

[10,000 Casts]

Typical MN fans! always looking at the glass half empty and looking for a way to complain and wondering when will things start to fall apart or in this case ever get going.. Be excited! imo this is the best Twins team in a long time! New Stadium, excitement from last year and still a very solid line up.. Be possitive!!!

[blue_healer_guy]

or a realist.

[mainbutter]

Hey mainbutter- How is that cool-aid your drinking?

At this point in the season, any call for how the playoffs are going down is ridiculously unlikely. If I'm going to make a ridiculous call, I say go big or go home!

[harvey lee]

or a realist.

I agree 100%

I hope and cheer as hard as anyone but I am being realistic. I could tell myself all will be ok with the players but with the list of questional or injured players, realisticly, they will not all make the full season at 100%.

As I said earlier, I do hope I am 100% wrong. I am simply not going to get my hopes so high that I have a huge let down.

The twins will need to do something great to beat the Yanks even if they are down as I doubt that they could fall that far. They have totally dominated the Twins for quite some time.