New Season

[iliveinahouseyay]

Here we are, close to opening day.

Our lineup doesn't look too different from last year, just more hardware.

The rotation is extremely different. A lot of those damn analysts are already pegging the Twins as three or four in the division, which makes me happy. Just ignore us until we somehow make the playoffs and win the division.

Of course, people are predicting Mauer to decline in average. While I don't expect him to hit .347 again, I'm not so confident his average will dwindle and play with .300 for the season. Actually, I was listening to a so called fantasy "expert" on ESPN the other day. He was unfamiliar, and I didn't catch a name.

"Expect Joe Mauer to drop off about .060 points and hit in the .280's."

What? I didn't quite follow the logic. Oh well, I thought. Just take it and laugh. Another message for the bulletin board.

Hopefully Cuddy and Morneau hit as well as they did last year, and Hunter wants to cash in on a huge paycheck this off-season (still would love him back).

I'm glad to see Punto still in the lineup, seeing as I love his style of play along with all the "pirahantas" (fully equipped with Ozzie Guillen's "t" sound and Latin accent).

All in all, I'm very, very excited about the Twins this season. No Liriano? No Radke? Yea, it'll hurt. But we're just one of them damn pesky franchises who gets it done no matter what.

What do you guys think?

[BlueBandit24]

First of all, whoever that analyst is, he is an idiot. Mauer is not a .280 hitter, I expect a slight dropoff, but I'm thinking .315-.325 range. He hits well to all fields and is patient, really no holes in his swing.

I think the lineup will be better. Not in terms of average or runs per game, they were #1 in average and pretty solid in runs per game, but I think the consistency gets better. Last year they were shutout a lot despite having good numbers, I think this year they will have more balanced scoring thanks to the further development of some of our young hitters, and the improvement of the bottom part of our order.

I'm excited, hopefully the team can come out of the gate a lot better than last year. I'd rather not rely on a torrid stretch to get into the postseason.

[BlueBandit24]

Good start to the season with a sweep of the O's. Ortiz was very solid and Boof was good as well. Johan wasn't up to par but that's expected in his first few starts. The bats are working which is a good sign and the team has effectively employed some small ball as well.

Little nervous about the upcoming series with Ponson and Silva on the hill, but the Sox have their own issues early in the year.