The Minnesota Twins begin their 2009 season on Monday, when they start a 4 game series against the Seattle Mariners. This will be the last Opening Day at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome as the Twins will move into Target Field in 2010. But looking outside right now, I can only imagine going to Opening Day and have there be snow on the ground still. But that’s beside the point. The Twins are now finally able to put that devastating one game playoff loss to the White Sox behind them.
The Twins had an off-season that actually didn’t irritate a lot of fans. For the first time in a few years, they didn’t sign an older player who has very little left in their tank. Instead, they brought in Joe Crede, who will fill a much needed hole at third base. This was hands down the highlight of the off-season. Although it took more than a month to get the contract figured out, it was well worth the wait. The only question about this signing is, how Joe’s back will hold up.
Another story that was very interesting to follow throughout the off-season was the competition for the bullpen spots. With Boof Bonser going down early on in Spring Training with a shoulder injury that would require surgery and make him miss the entire 2009 season, the Twins had many options and have finally made their decision. To be honest, I don’t have total confidence in our bullpen this year. Although the bullpen did look good during Spring Training, we all know the teams don’t play their starters all game.
I believe the relief pitcher to watch this year will be Jesse Crain. He has recently added the “slurve” to his pitching repertoire. That will allow him to mix it up when he needs to and I can see him being the set-up man for Joe Nathan. Look for him to have a very solid season, as he could prove himself to be that 8th inning guy over Matt Guerrier and Luis Ayala.
Then there is the outfield dilemma. What do you do with four good outfielders with only three spots available? Delmon Young, Denard Span, Carlos Gomez and Michael Cuddyer are all very capable of starting for the Twins, but how do you keep all four happy about their playing time? Well, for Michael Cuddyer, he didn’t have to wait long. Ron Gardenhire named Cuddyer his starter in right field early on. So then that left two spots for Young, Span and Gomez. Some people thought that Carlos Gomez should start the season in Triple-A Rochester. I strongly disagree with their opinion on that. Gomez is one of, if not, the most exciting center fielders to watch and has blazing speed. As we all know Gardenhire is a defensive coach and so Gomez would seem ideal for center field.
So it appears Span and Young could split time in left field, as well as Span getting some starts in center. But I would much rather have 4 good out fielders than three ok outfielders. If one of them is in a slump, then you have that fourth guy to step in.
Where there is good, exciting news, there is always bad news. Early on in the off-season, we learned that Boof Bonser would be lost for the 2009 season due to shoulder surgery. This was a big loss to the Twins bullpen as he was expected to be the long relief pitcher and rebound from a not so good 2008 campaign.
Next up was Joe Mauer. Joe had surgery to remove a kidney obstruction that he had since birth. The surgery was successful, but Joe was having back soreness and was unable to participate at all in Spring Training. This is a huge blow for the Twins, as he will likely miss up to the first month of the regular season. With him out, Mike Redmond and Jose Morales will be sharing catching duties. Although, Redmond will likely get most of the starts behind the plate.
Then when the Twins thought they were all healthy for Spring Training, ready to head home to Minneapolis, Scott Baker is placed on the disabled list. This was a complete surprise to me, as I had heard nothing of any type of soreness or problems. Baker reported some tightness in his throwing shoulder during his last Spring Training start. At first the Twins didn’t think he would have to miss anytime, but they later felt it would be a good idea to let him rest his shoulder before the long season began. R.A. Dickey will jump into the rotation as the #5 starter while Baker is on the DL.
So with all the news, injuries, and transactions that took place during the off-season, I am very confident that the Twins will be a better team than last years. I expect them to build off that season-ending loss to the White Sox. My prediction is that the Twins will go out with a bang in the last season at the “Dome” and win the AL Central by 3 games. Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City and Chicago will follow in order to round out the AL Central.
Here is to an exciting last season at the Metrodome and to a hopefully good, exciting MLB season.
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