It Begins...

and here is how I think it will go down...

So I have decided to make my prediction for the Twins season then review this mid way through the season and at end of season. I noticed the fine Patrick Reusse predicted our beloved Twins would only get third in the AL central. And of course he referred to the "likelihood of going through a handful of shortstops before September". I get it he doesn't want to come off as a homer but me I am through and through a HOMER! SO I shall present my optimistic and hopeful prediction for my MN Twins.

Much like last year we will start out steady winning most of our series. I think it will take Justin Mor"yes" a little will to get in the groove with his bat. Joe Mauer will be our steady hitter all year and be complimented by heavy hitting from Jason Kubel and Delmon Young. Young should carry on with his success of last year and maybe even exceed it hitting. He will probably move up in the order. Jim Thome will be used much like last year to pinch hit and sometimes DH and get his 600th by mid season.
Our defense will be strong in the infield and decent in the outfield, perhaps a few speedsters like Ben Revere will come up mid season, at the very least just to give a little rest to Denard Span. My areas of concern are Span and Michael Cuddyer, Span needs to improve on last year, hopefully a little rest will be what he needs. I think we need Cuddy to stay healthy and again be one of the consistent guys in the lineup he doesn't need to carry us. His cannon of an arm in right is a huge plus. We can get by with Alexi Casilla hitting in the mid .200. His defense will outweigh that negative, I believe that he has figured out how to be an everyday player and will put the doubters to rest. Matt Tolbert is going to be like Punto a great utility player but with a little more pop in his bat. If he can stay healthy I can see him racking up doubles and triples whenever he gets into a game. Tsuyoshi Nishioka will find a way to get on base and let the M&M boys bring him round.

Our pitching will be decent not spectacular but as I said before they don't need to be they just have to keep it close. If they can get in 6 to 7 innings it will help the bullpen stay strong. I think some of our minor league pitchers will come up and fill in more then adequately. Brian Duensing will end up being our Ace and Kyle Gibson will be up by the end of the year.
If major injuries can be avoided we should win the AL Central walking away. This team is hungry and knows what it takes to get through a long season and will pace themselves to finish strong. It will be nice to head to the end of the season with both the M&M boys healthy!

I realize I am being idealistic but I know if someone isn't performing that there are young guys who will come up to take their place. This seems likely in the outfield as we would benefit from some of those speedsters in Target Field. I love that we will be playing more small ball stealing bases and setting up the horses for RBIs. Our big guys can hit and now they know at home to take advantage of the outfield space and let the little guys run.

Let me know how you think it will go down.

GO TWINS!