Who ARE These Guys? (Twins score 10 to rally)

Well, I can honestly say I didn’t see that coming. After starting the season looking absolutely anemic on offense, the Twins’ bats roared to a 10 run, 20 hit outing yesterday against Dan Haren and the Angels (surprisingly poor) bullpen.

Fransisco Liriano started for the Twins yesterday and continued his Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde bit by absolutely imploding in the 2^nd inning, giving up 5 runs and quickly burying the Twins from the outset. Thankfully Liriano did calm down and manage to go 5 innings before being pulled (only giving up one more run) but when your supposed ‘ace’ is the starter that keeps getting dinged for the most runs, you have to be concerned. (Marlins fans can vouch for this too – Josh Johnson seems to be extremely hittable in the early season)

The Good:

From the 6^th inning on, it was like someone stole the Twins’ cookie. They were angry and swinging the lumber like they had something to prove. Mauer, Morneau and Willingham all hit long balls and Valencia, Parmelee, Span and Hughes (two important RBI in the later innings) had big contributions as well.

20 hits, 10 runs and a whole bunch of clutch at bats (despite leaving the bases loaded TWICE) were just what the doctor ordered for this team. It was nice to see the offense perform like we all knew it could on Wednesday. It was even better to see them repeat such a performance on Thursday afternoon.

The Bad:

Any time your team rallies from a 6 run deficit to win, you can’t really complain. That being said, there are still some things that are concerning me about this team. First and foremost, the defensive gaffes that put them into bad positions. Wednesday night saw the Twins give up 4 runs that could have been preventable with solid defense. Thursday afternoon the defense gave up another unnecessary run (Casilla missing Mauer’s throw to 2^nd). While they were able to overcome these errors for wins, that won’t be the case all season. Preventable runs are the bane of bad teams. Conceding runs that you SHOULD turn into outs is a certain way to play yourself right out of contention. While it’s entirely possible that these errors are simply early season rust – I’m nervous that they will be a season long issue.

Also of concern is Matt Capps. Given and 3 run lead going into the 9^th, Capps sure tried his hardest to blow his first save of 2012. Granted, he had a bit of bad luck with a bad bounce of the second base bag that allowed Hunter to reach safely or a horrendous call at first during the Vernon Wells at bat that should have been (I.E. WAS) a double play. Still, when your closer nearly lets a 3 run lead go to waste (especially when that closer is coming off a season where he gave quite a few games away) you begin to get a little nervous.

Worth Noting:

Justin Morneau (home run notwithstanding) has had some very poor at bats over the past few days. In Wednesday night’s game he had two bad strikeouts including one strikeout in the 4^th that was painful to watch. Morneau has shown flashes of returning to his former self (especially with yesterday’s no-doubt-about-it homer to right) but he has also had instances of really poor plate discipline.

Alex Burnett pitched two great innings of relief yesterday. Last season Burnett wasn’t the most reliable reliever, ending the season with 5.51 ERA and 5 loses. In 2 innings of work yesterday, Burnett struck out 3 while only giving up 1 hit. Kudos to Burnett.

Jeff Gray seems to be on a path to throw only the number of pitches he needs to register that particular win. (1 pitch to get win #1, 2 pitches to get win #2 – etc.) It’s a great trend that will see Gray rack up wins early and easily if it continues. (Please note, this is a joke) Seriously though, only in baseball can Jeff Gray have 2 wins while Justin Verlander (who took a shutout into the 9^th in Wednesday’s game only to lose) has 0. Gotta love it!

Denard Span went 4 for 5 and greatly contributed to the win yesterday. Those are the numbers you like to see from your leadoff hitter.

Looking Forward:

The Twins open a 3 game series with Texas (seriously, who made this schedule? It’s brutal) and hopefully can continue swinging the bats as well as they have over the past two days. In a perfect world, the Twins would end Sunday with a 5-4 record and a whole lot of momentum. Frankly, I’d be ecstatic to see the Twins take 2 of 3 and continue their solid pitching and offensive output.

It’s sure to be a fun weekend of baseball. Go Twins!

Twins Win! (With offense!)

Finally, after what felt like an interminable amount of agony (which, in actuality was only 4 games) the Twins put together enough offense to outlast the Angels and pick up their first win of the 2012 campaign. Last night’s game contained everything fans were waiting for from this team. Jamey Carroll came through with two clutch hits (his first two of the year) Chris Parmelee had a fantastic triple (aided by Torii Hunter’s inexplicable face plant in RF while trying to field the ball) and Ryan Doumit even picked up a few clutch hits.

Even with this surge in offense – one player rose above the rest; Josh Willingham knocked home a powerful 2 run home run in the 4^th that (briefly) put the Twins on top. Willingham looks to be the perfect hitter for Target Field’s dimensions. He’s a power hitter who tends to pull the ball to left. Target Field’s shorter porch in left means that any well struck fly ball from Willingham has a chance to be a home run. Willingham already has 2 HRs at Target Field this year and is only a few combined feet from having 4 Target Field HRs (balls on Monday and Wednesday dipped foul at the last minute).

While Willingham’s offense has been stellar, his defense has been…well…ugly. Immediately following his monster homer, Willingham someone managed to badly misplay a fly ball to left field, failing to make the catch (instead crashing into the wall) and the end result saw the Angels Peter Bourjas motoring around the bases for an inside the park home run.

While Pavano was charged with 5 earned runs and received a ‘no-decision’ he pitched much better than his stat line would lead you to believe. I would argue that if it were not for two defensive gaffes, Pavano would have only allowed one run to the Angels offense all night.

Willingham’s wall-crashing disaster in the 5^th turned what could have been a loud third out into a 3 run home run. (Admittedly, it was a tough catch to make, but if you're going to go full power into the wall, you better be coming up with the ball). In the 7^th, Torii Hunter attempted to stretch out a single into a double after a diving Denard Span failed to come up with his fly ball. I have to credit Span for immediately recovering and launching the ball into second in plenty of time to nab Hunter. One small problem, Jamey Carroll couldn’t hold onto the ball and instead of nailing Hunter out at second, the ball rolls harmlessly through his glove and the Angels have a leadoff double that was shortly cashed into another run in that inning.

Josh, we love your bat - but don't ever do THAT again

I’ve been saying it all year and I’ll continue to say it. This Twins team is better than people are giving it credit for. Early indicators are that the starting pitching is going to be at the very least reliable – if not slightly above average. Pavano showed great stuff last night, Swarzak looked very good in his spot start and Blackburn managed to stymie the Angels offense for much of his start on Monday. If Liriano can get back on track and Marquis / Hendricks are able to pitch effectively, one of last year’s biggest woes will be a thing of the past.

The offense finally showed what we all thought it could do; deliver clutch hits and score some runs. Hopefully this was a sign that Carroll, Doumit and Parmelee’s bats are all heating up. If that’s the case, this offense can (and will) be a handful for any pitching staff.

It's worth noting that Glen Perkins' 8th inning efforts were fantasic as he sat down the side in order, including serving up an absolutely filthly slider to Albert Pujols that had him looking foolish as he struck out. Matt Capps came in the 9th (while every Twins fan held their breath) and effectively shut down the game. Great effort from the 8th and 9th inning pitcthers.

One win is in the books, and it feels great. While the Twins are still far from being “back” at least we as fans can take a deep breath. They’re not going 0-162, they’re not going to score only 2 runs every game. They’re a good team and it’s nice they finally played like it last night.

Liriano takes the mound this morning / afternoon with a chance to deliver the Twins their first series win of the young season. Go Twins!

Finding The Upside To An 0-3 Start

Step back from the edge. Take in a few deep breaths. I know things certainly look bad right now, but I’m here to tell you that they might not be as bad as they seem.

Yes, starting the season off at 0-3 is not the best way to silence the demons from a 99 loss campaign in 2011. Yes, getting shut down by the Orioles' 3 league average pitchers (at best) is a little disconcerting. Yes, Carroll, Doumit, Valencia, Parmelee and Casilla have had…rough (to put it nicely) starts to the season offensively. And yes, the bullpen has seemed shaky at best so far.

Those things may all be true but I’m still holding on to the firm belief that this team will be better than last year. Despite this horrendous start, I feel the bright points outweigh the dark spots, helping me to stay so optimistic. What are those bright spots? (You may have to squint; some are a little hard to see).

1. Justin Morneau looks to be back and swinging a healthy bat.

While the rest of the offense left something to be desired, Morneau looked sharp over the weekend in Baltimore. He hit 2 doubles in key situations (including a moral lifting double to lead off the 8^th on Sunday, thereby ending the no hit bid the Twins were currently threatening to be a part of). If he’s swinging the bat well, good things will happen for the Twins, it’s only a matter of time. The experts and fans all agreed before the season began – if the Twins were going to do anything of note this year, Morneau would have to be healthy and back to his MVP like production. So far, so good.

2. The starting pitching has been decent.

Liriano’s start notwithstanding. (As an aside, is there a bigger Jekyll & Hyde player in baseball than Liriano? His first inning had him looking every bit the Twins ace he should be as he struck out the side with some nasty pitches. Then, we all watched in horror as he slowly transformed back into the ‘other’ Liriano, failing to locate his pitches and serving up very easy to hit pitches right over the plate).

Carl Pavano’s start on opening day was encouraging despite the loss. He held the O’s to 2 runs for a long period of time, even managing to work his way out of a few jams in the middle innings without giving up any other runs. If it wasn’t for Ryan Doumit’s horrendous drop in right late in the game, Pavano likely would have ended the day with only 3 earned runs, a figure which the Twins would love to have him average for this season.

Swarzak was everything the Twins needed on Sunday and then some. He made only one mistake throughout the game, leaving a pitch over the plate for the powerful JJ Hardy to crush into the seats. Other than that, he pitched 5 solid innings, keeping the Twins very much in the ballgame. It wasn’t until Matt Maloney gave up 2 runs in the 6^th that the game really felt out of reach.

Blackburn’s start this afternoon will be very important. If he can give the Twins 5 to 7 innings of 1 to 2 run baseball, I’ll feel much more confident in the Twins’ rotation this season.

3. The opportunity to win games has been there for the taking.

On Friday, the Twins had runners on base 4^th, 8^th & 9^th. They even had the potential game winning run at bat in the 9^th. A clutch swing in either the 4^th or 8^th could have completely changed the nature of that game.

On Saturday, the Twins had opportunities to score in the 2^nd and 4^th, but once again were unable to convert. While the pitching quickly put that game out of reach for the offense, there’s no telling how the complexion of the game changes if the Twins get that clutch hit early on and take an early lead.

Finally, Sunday saw the best opportunities to score (despite not having a base runner on 2^nd until the 8^th inning). The Twins could have (and should have) been able to drive in more than one run in the 8^th. Once again, a clutch hit puts that game at least even – if not even putting the Twins ahead.

Sure, you could argue that the lack of clutch hitting is a concern (it is) but at the same time it’s not like the Twins are not generating ANY offense. The runners are getting on base. Granted, it’s not with the frequency we’d all like to see, but the fact that the Twins are at the very least in position to make some runs count is positive. The clutch hitting will come with time. Doumit’s bat will warm up. Willingham has been solid; Carroll will make his way on base. Things WILL get better offensively, the hitters in this lineup are not a bad group, they’re likely just off to a slow start.

All in all, 0-3 and in last place in the central is not where any of us wanted to be to start the year. Making things worse, Detroit looks every bit the powerhouse team that we all feared they would be. This series against the Angels will tell us a lot. If the Twins can get some more offense rolling and at the very least show signs of life, I’ll still feel optimistic about the season. Even if they get swept again, 0-6 is at least tolerable if there are signs of improvement…right? Here’s hoping we don’t have to find out.

Go Twins!  

162-0... That Dream Is Over

Well, the Twins aren’t going 162-0. Losing opening day isn’t the worst feeling in the world, but it sure isn’t the greatest either. While there are a lot of games to go and the Twins still have a lot of ball to play, today’s opening day disaster against Baltimore had a special way to feel...deflating.

Carl Pavano pitched an average game, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks and 1 strike out while allowing 4 runs over the course of the day. That’s about what you can expect from Pavano every start so we can’t complain with that line. Ideally Pavano will tone that average down to 3 – but there’s no reason to expect Pavano to be the Justin Verlander of this team. It’s not happening.

There ARE some things that are slightly concerning to me, however. For example, the Twins continued last season’s “talent” of leaving runners on base. Twice the Twins had two runners on with a chance to bring something home (4^th and 8^th) and twice they ended the inning without advancing anyone to home plate.

The Offense:

Willingham redeemed things slightly with his 2 run blast in the 9th. (Offense! It does exist!!) The offense began to follow suit with singles from Valencia & Parmelee, but the rally was cut short when Plouffe grounded out to end the game.

The Defense:

Doumit’s “How do you miss that catch?” non-catch in right was the only defensive blooper from the Twins.

 After pinch hitting for Casilla (Burroughs) in the 8^th, Gardy pulled the first head scratcher of the season by plugging Plouffe in at 2B…the same Plouffe who was a defensive nightmare in the infield last season. Luckily, the ball never came his way as Duensing took care of business via strikeouts to get the Twins out of the bottom of the eighth.

When Plouffe is our DEFENSIVE replacement in the late innings, I begin to grow concerned.

The Recap:

There’s not much else to recap. Meek offensive showing, average pitching and one bad defensive play equal a 4-2 Twins loss. Here’s hoping the Twins can find their offense and Liriano can hold the O’s bats quiet tomorrow night.

There’s still a chance to go 161-1. Go Twins.

MVP: Josh Willingham 2-4 (1 HR)
LVP: Ryan Doumit 0-4 & 1 poorly played flyball
Tomorrow's Starters: Liriano Vs. Hunter

First Impressions of Marlins' Park

Last night finally saw the return of real, this actually means something baseball (I refuse to acknowledge the A’s / Mariners opener in Japan as “opening day”). Kyle Loshe looked like an ace, the Marlins looked like they might want to move the fences in next season (that is a seriously huge outfield) and all in all, it was an enjoyable evening for baseball.

I don’t care to recap an opening day game between two NL teams though. What I do care to recap is that new ballpark known as ‘Marlins' Park’ (Fans have taken to calling the new stadium ‘The Tank’ which I absolutely love. Henceforth, Marlin’s Park will be known as ‘The Tank’).

To put it simply… ‘The Tank’ is one ugly park. I can look past painting everything neon green, I can look past the giant vacant ‘window’ in left center (it’s supposed to showcase the Miami skyline, and when the camera is in the right spot, it actually does – but for a majority of the camera shots last night, it just looked like a giant hole). I even like the addition of fish tanks behind home plate. While I don’t see the appeal of a nightclub in left field, I can understand the audience they’re shooting for – so even that dubstep pumping atrocity doesn’t bother me.

What DOES bother me is how much the new ballpark doesn’t really feel or look like a new ballpark. Once the game started and ESPN began showing different shots of the park, instead of reveling in the awe of a brand new stadium, all I felt myself asking was “That’s it?” Frankly, I find the design of ‘The Tank’ lacking – it’s essentially a giant, day glow plastic shell with a fancy roof. It doesn’t ‘feel’ like a ballpark. Take for example Target Field, Camden Yards, Citizens Bank Park, PNC Park, Busch Stadium or Safeco Field. All of those parks are relatively new or renovated. All of them ‘feel’ like a baseball Mecca. They look like architectural tributes to America’s pastime. ‘The Tank’ looks more like an architectural tribute to Miami.

Camden Yards

PNC Park

ATT Park

Safeco Field

Target Field

Busch Stadium

Marlins' Park...one of these things is not like the others

(The above photos still cannot fully convey the point I'm trying to make. Each of the other parks seems warmer, more friendly and conducive to baseball. You can especially tell the difference when you watch the games on TV or in person. Something is just 'off' with the new park. You can sort of see it in photos, but it's really apparent live).

In the end, that may be what the Marlins were going for. Build a park for their audience. After all, they’re attendance has been horrendous over the past few years despite putting a fairly decent team on the field. (The Rays have it worse, however, as they have one of the best teams in baseball that no one comes out to watch). Time will tell if the Marlins decision to build a neon temple to Miami was a smart move. If it attracts the Miami audience they’ve been missing all of these years, then it was a savvy business decision. I worry, however, that they may have alienated their core fan base – classic baseball fans.

I have a dream of traveling America with a yet-to-be-born offspring, going to each and every major league park. It’s safe to say that we will likely avoid the state of Florida all together as Tropicana Field is well known as the worst park in baseball and ‘The Tank’ looks like a dance club that I have zero interest in touring.

The Twins start play tomorrow (at the beautiful Camden Yards) and open at the (equally beautiful) Target Field on April 9^th. Let’s go Twins!

Predictions Sure To Go Wrong

With the season officially starting tonight in Miami (A's / Mariners game that no one watched not withstanding) it's only fitting to take a couple of cracks at where I think teams will end up at the end of the year. There are always unexpected teams, a surprise player or two and a "where did they come from?" team every year, so I don't imagine these final guestimations will be anywhere near the actual result, but it's still fun to take a shot.

Before a sabermetric all star looks at my projections and points out that the wins allocated are not valid as they don't balance with loses vs. games played (etc. etc.) let me just point out that the wins behind each team are my estimation of their most likely W/L total and are independent of the other teams in the league. I.E. I know that it's very unlikely (read: impossible) that 4 teams from the AL East will win 80+ games, but independently, I could see the Jays winning 82, Boston winning 83 etc. Simply put, the rankings are how I think they'll finish, the W/L is just my way of showing how much better I think one team is Vs. the division (For example, the Yankees are slightly better than the Rays, but the Red Sox and Jays are essentially the same).


AL East:

Yankees 92-70
Rays 85-77
Red Sox 83-79
Blue Jays 82-80
Orioles 65-97

Comments: This is a fairly stacked division. New York added pitching depth around an already solid offense. Tampa Bay is young and scrappy and would run away with a majority of the other divisions if they were suddenly transferred from the AL East. Boston loses out on a playoff spot on the virtue of being not quite as deep as Tampa Bay and playing in that tough division. Toronto is trending up, but still not as good as Tampa, Boston or New York and the Orioles...Well, there's always next year.


Al Central

Tigers 88-74
Twins 86-76
Indians 81-81
Royals 70-92
White Sox 66-96

Comments: I'm of the firm belief that Detroit will not run away and hide with the central crown. This team may be an offensive juggernaut - but it plays 81 games in a park that doesn't favor hitters. In addition, the Tigers may be rolling out one of the worst defensive lineups known to man. The Twins were not as bad as that 63-99 W/L split made them look last year. Up until the All-Star break they were in contention for the division despite not having Mauer, Morneau or Span for much of the year. This team is healthy, deeper and primed to make things interesting in the central. As far as I'm concerned, you could flip-flop the Indians and Twins this year, both will be competitive and have shot at the wild card. (I'm just biased towards the Twins, so they win out). The Royals are a popular pick for the "up-and-coming" title this year. I'm not buying it. They'll be decent, but they're not a contender yet. Chicago is rebuilding, even if they won't admit it up front, this team isn't very good.

Al West

Rangers 90-72
Angels 85-77
A's 70-92
Mariners 64-98

Comments: No, signing Albert Pujols doesn't instantly make the Angels my World Series pick - in fact with the depth of the AL and a very, very good Rangers team in front of them (two AL pennants in two years is not an accident) I think they'll barely scrape into the playoffs (Tiebreaker with Tampa Bay). The A's and Mariners are also rans. This is a top heavy division that will be very entertaining throughout the year.


NL East

Phillies 90-72
Marlins 88-74
Nationals 81-81
Braves 78-84
Mets 70-92

Comments: I think the Phillies played a little over their heads last year. They are still the best team in the NL East, (and probably all of the NL) but I don't think they're head and shoulders above the rest of their improved division. I like what the Marlins did this off season and I think they'll be just good enough to keep things interesting if not steal a wild card come October. The Nationals are a very good young team that is not quite ready for the playoffs - but look out for them in 2013. I feel like the Braves overplayed their record last year and will fall back slightly due to a tougher division. The Mets are still rebuilding and don't even look good on paper. In hindsight, I feel like 70 wins was being overly generous...



NL Central:

Reds: 90-72
Cardinals: 81-81
Brewers: 70-92
Cubs: 68-94
Astros: 50-112


Comments: The Reds are the best team in a bad division. As such, I look for them to run away and hide with the division lead pretty early on. The Cardinals cannot overcome the loss of Pujols and flounder at .500 for the year. Likewise, the Brewers are missing a key piece without Fielder and shrink back without his bat. The Cubs are in year one of a likely 3 year rebuilding plan and will likely be out of the race by June. Houston...well, sorry Astros fans, but things don't get any easier. You're moving to a stacked AL West next year and are seriously devoid of any Major League talent. This is a bad team.


NL West

Dodgers 86-76
Giants 85-77
Diamondbacks 82-80
Rockies 75-87
Padres 70-92

Comments: I'm so torn on this division that I could see the Rockies winning the whole thing and not be surprised at all. It's a very competitive division in so much as there are no dominant teams. The Dodgers have a few stars in Kemp and Kershaw, the Giants have great pitching and Posey, the D-Backs are young and proved they could be elite last year. The Rockies have Cuddyer and Tulo and a reliable pitching rotation. In short, plug any team (outside of San Diego...sorry Padres fans) in the top slot here. I think this will be the most entertaining division this year.


Playoffs:

AL Wild Card: Twins Vs. Angels --> Twins (Miracles happen...)
NL Wild Card: Marlins Vs. Giants --> Marlins (They have enough talent to win a 1 game playoff against a team with no offense)

Round 2:
AL Twins Vs. Yankees ---> Twins (Breaking the Yankee curse!)
      Rangers Vs. Tigers ---> Rangers (Texas' pitching > Tiger's hitting)
NL Marlins Vs. Reds ---> Marlins (Reds are the best NL Central team, but not the best NL team)
      Dodgers Vs. Phillies ---> Phillies (All things considered, the Phillies still the best in the NL)

Round 3:
AL Twins Vs. Rangers ---> Twins (Hell, I've gone this far...)
NL Phillies Vs. Marlins ---> Marlins (The Marlins have a history of winning when they shouldn't and the Phillies have a tendency to lose when they shouldn't. This almost writes itself).

World Series: Twins Vs. Marlins ---> Twins (!!)

Okay, so obviously that's my Twins' fan biased opinion. If I were to remove the bias, (I.E. be realistic) I think it'll breakdown more like this:

AL Wild Card: Angels over Twins
NL Wild Card: Marlins over Giants

AL Division: Angels over Yankees
AL Division: Rangers over Tigers
NL Division: Marlines over Reds
NL Division: Phillies over Dodgers

AL Champ: Rangers over Angels
NL Champ: Marlins over Phillies

World Series: Marlins over Rangers.

Yup, the Marlins. I just have a hunch that they're the 'dark horse' team that sneaks in and wins it all this year. I'm sure it's 100% wrong, but at least it's different from the 1,000 other predictions of Angels over Phillies that every 'expert' is making today. Either way, it'll be fun. Here's to an exciting 2012 season!

Roster Set - Surprisingly Surprise Free

On Sunday morning, the Twins front office made their last moves of spring, sending down Brian Dozier, JR Towles, Brain Dinkleman and Casey Fien. Just like we looked at last week, the 25 man roster has one surprise (Burroughs) and a few interesting moves that we didn't see at the start of the off season (Revere on the bench, Morneau at DH full time).

The opening day roster will look like this:

C: Mauer, Doumit
Infield: Parmelee, Casilla, Carroll, Valencia, Hughes, Burroughs
Outfield: Willingham, Span, Plouffe, Revere

Starters: Pavano, Liriano, Hendricks (!) Blackburn, Baker (DL), Marquis

Bullpen: Capps, Perkins, Duensing, Swarzak, Maloney, Burton, Gray, Burnett

All in all, nothing here is too surprising. Hendricks making the starting rotation was unforeseen, but that's more to do with Baker starting the season on the DL rather than him showing #3 starter stuff during the spring.

Some fans are hesitant about the bullpen, but I'm feeling optimistic. This 'pen is constructed with just the right amount of talent (Perkins, Duensing, Swarzak) and a few 'unknowns' (Maloney, Burton) that seem like they're ready to break onto the scene. If Capps can pitch again (please...) and Burnett is simply reliable, this could be a very solid 'pen in 2012.

The only thing that is giving me pause with this roster is the notion that Plouffe is the team's emergency SS. Twins fans don't have to be reminded at the absolute failure that Plouffe was at short last season. He frequently miss played balls and looked lost at the position. Even the recently demoted Nishioka seemed better posed to play SS than Plouffe, who seemed to be gelling well as an outfielder.

I'm assuming that Plouffe is slated as an emergency SS for that situation only - a complete emergency. (Carroll breaks a leg and Casilla is abducted by aliens- that kind of emergency). I'd assume that if Carroll were to go down - Gardenhire's logical shift would be to move Casilla to SS while plugging in Hughes or Plouffe at 2B (where they are much more capable defenders).

Alternatively, if Casilla were to get hurt during a game, Hughes or even Burroughs would make a much morel logical fill in over Plouffe.

All things considered, this Twins roster looks like it will at the very least be more competitive this year than in 2011 (better depth and more offensive power will do that for you). We're counting down to opening day Twins fans! Friday can't come fast enough!