2011 Predictions
I'm a bad blogger, but I at least have to get my 2011 predictions in so I can be mocked and ridiculed come October.
AL East
- Boston
- New York (Wild Card)
- Tampa Bay
- Baltimore
- Toronto
AL Central
- Detroit
- Minnesota
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Kansas City
AL West
- Oakland
- Texas
- Los Angeles
- Seattle
Twins top Angels again
Despite the Twins' success in this decade, they haven't posted a winning record against the Angels since 2003 when they went 5-4, so what seemed like a difficult way to open the season, has actually gone pretty well. By winning on Tuesday night, the Twins guarantee at least a split in the 4-game series. The Twins swept the Angels in their first series last season, but then went 1-6 against them the rest of the way; the sweep came at the Metrodome.
Justin Morneau and J.J. Hardy each hit their second home run of the season, but the Twins again failed to take advantage of many scoring opportunities throughout the game. Fortunately, Carl Pavano was dealing quite well and 4 runs proved to be enough for the win.
Jim Thome got his first start at DH, leaving Jason Kubel to ride the bench against righty Ervin Santana. Thome was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts, which didn't do much to support an already easy-to-criticize decision by Ron Gardenhire.
Twins win; Rauch logs first save
The Twins rebounded from Monday night's season opening loss with a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Nick Blackburn looked anything but dominant, but managed to work through 6 2/3 inning while allowing just 3 runs. Brian Duensing and Matt Guerrier closed the gap nicely to enable Jon Rauch to come on for his first save as a Minnesota Twins.
Rauch threw 11 of 16 for strikes, and struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced -- a pretty successful debut as closer, I would say.
The Twins offense shined early in the game. Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and J.J. Hardy all hit their first home runs of the season. Michael Cuddyer had a 3-for-4 night at the plate, including a double. Hopefully it's all a sign of more to come in 2010.
The 3rd game of the 4-game series is tonight at 9:05 PM CT and will feature Carl Pavano against Ervin Santana.
Twins make additional roster decisions
The Twins, on Saturday, optioned Matt Tolbert to AAA and informed Jacque Jones that he will not make the opening day roster. That leaves the final bench spot to Alexi Casilla.
It doesn't come as much of a surprise that, despite Casilla's underwhelming spring, he got the final nod. Casilla was out of options, meaning he would have had to clear waivers in order for the Twins to keep him. Jones had a far better spring, but hasn't shown much in recent seasons at the big league level and the Twins could freely send him to Rochester.
Mauer signs 8 year deal
After a long offseason of negotiations, and a couple early spring false alarms, the Twins and Joe Mauer have finally agreed to an 8 year $184 million deal.
Both in terms of per year and overall value, Mauer's deal cracks the top 5 of baseball's richest contracts. It was a deal that the Twins, from a PR standpoing, needed to get done prior to the opening of Target Field.
Mauer probably could've earned a little more by holding out and entering free agency, but it doesn't seem the Twins got too much of a hometown discount. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause. He will earn exactly $23 million each year from 2011 to 2018. Mauer will be a Twin at least until he his 35 years old.
Dissecting the payroll increase
The Twins opened 2009 with a payroll of slightly over $65 million. They are currently in a position to open 2010 with a payroll around $90 million. Since the J.J. Hardy for Carlos Gomez trade, this offseason has been void of any big moves. With so little activity, clearly the payroll increase came by way of raises to existing players. Here's how it breaks down:
