Welcome back for the 3rd installment of my predictions for the AL Central. Today's topic will be the 3rd place spot. We all know the AL Central should be a very close race this year. I might be get some emails from some fans that don't agree but the team I have finishing 3rd is the Minnesota Twins. Many publications have the Twins projected to finish as high as 1st place for 2010. After I take at a look at the Twins on paper I just feel they won't be able to put it all together like the have in the past, for a few different reasons.
At 1st look the Minnesota Twins offense should be set to have a huge year. Making the most news is the Twins contract extention with Joe Mauer. They paid the man and now he will be in Minnesota for quite sometime. It was almost a must for the Twins to offer Mauer the deal, as they move into a new stadium we can finally close the page on the Metrodome!
The Twins improved the defence up the middle by trading for shortstop J.J. Hardy by sending off Carlos “Go-Go” Gomez. They also signed infielder Orlando Hudson in free agency, “O Dog” will solidify the 2nd base position for the Twins in 2010. (A player I feel the Tigers could have considered for the departure of Pally Polonco, but the Tigers feel confident in Scott Sizemore)
Here's an Idea of what the Twins 2010 lineup will be projected to look liked.
CF Denard Span
2B Orlando Hudson
C Joe Mauer
1B Justin Morneau
RF Michael Cuddyer
DH Jason Kubel
LF Delmon Young
SS J.J. Hardy
3B Brendan Harris
On paper this seems like it could be one of the most potent lineups in the AL Central. Span can score runs, theres not much more you can say about Mauer, and Morneau will be solid if healthly. Cuddyer and Kubel are top notch major league hitters that sometimes don't get the recoginiton they deserve. If Delmon Young can show some talent and produce at the plate the Twins could be very very danergous for opposing pitching staffs.
Now lets take a look at the Twins pitching. Here is how the rotation will look like for the 2010 season.
Scott Baker
Carl Pavano
Nick Blackburn
Kevin Slowey
Francisco Liriano
Overall the Twins arms usually get the job done. They might not be the biggest group of names but they usually produce. Yet nothing in the Majors is certain. Scott Baker will be a soild starter and if Liriano can get back to some sort of his earlier form the Twins will have enough arms to have a solid year. However with that said I'm not totally sold on the entire staff. There are some questions with some of the starters and they don't have long sucessful track records either.
The biggest blow yet to the Twins is the loss of closing pitcher Joe Nathan for the entire season. Nathan was the anchor the the Twins bullpen and is one of the most important pieces of the Twins team giving them stablility in the late innings.
Overall the Twins should find themselves in a fight for the AL Central. The Twins could easily win the division but I feel they will come up short this season.
On a final note, Thank God that the metrodome is no longer being used. For years it has giving the Twins a definite homefield advantage. They even have built there lineup around the turf in the past. (example, Nike Punto) Also many outfielders will also be thankful when tracking fly balls. I really feel this loss of the metrodome advantage will favor the visiting clubs coming into Minnesota.
Thanks for checking out my AL Central predictions and check back later on today for another installment of my American League Central predictions.
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