Twinkies done adding offense

[Chisoxfn]

That line-up doesn't scare me at all.  And besides Johan, either does their rotation (now that Cy Mays is gone).

Mays hasn't killed the Sox in some time. Radke is a quality pitcher and the Twins know how to play baseball. They've made some nice little moves and have improved if you ask me. Hell, all they have to do is stay healthy and they are a better team than they were last year.

 

Plus I tend to think Liriano is the real deal and he'll look good in the back of there rotation. They still have a strong strong pen and defensively they still got Torri. Morneau should have a better season.

 

We are the favorites but I could see being more worried about the Twins than the Tribe. Although I think were playing in a pretty strong division.

[EvilMonkey]

With less pressure on Morneau and Ford(and company) lower in the lineup, a better top of the order for Minnesota, and almost an undoubtedly improved pitching staff, I view them as a very scary team next year. 

 

I agree with you there. Ford is a pretty good player who went thru his sophmore slump. I can see him having a pretty big year, along with Morneau, not having to be the big guys this year.

[DBAHO]

While still playing in America, Tony Batista hit atleast 25 homers in a season from 99-04.  That's not bad at all, especially for how cheaply Minnesota got him.  He's not outstanding offensively, but if he hits .270, that's a huge bat down in the lower part of the order.  He hits .240, and he's still hitting 25-30 homers for you. 

You've got to remember with Batista wite, even if he can hit those 25 homers, it will hardly matter because he'll be making so many damn outs for that team.

 

In 2004, he hit 32 homers. Sounds good doesn't it? But his OBP was a ghastly .272. So in 650 plate appearances, he made 494 outs. That's brutal.

 

Added to the fact that Batista only had an OBP of .293 in Japan, if the Twins play him everyday at 3B, it should be a win for us.

 

I don't care how bad they say Michael Cuddyer was. He's got the scope to improve still. And he had splits of .263/.330/.422 in 2005. Replacing him with a guy who had splits of .241/.272/.455 sounds like you're trying to replace a Bill Mueller type with a 2003 version of Joe Crede. Cuddyer's OPS with 24 points higher, I'd expect the gap to widen if they actually give Mike playing time, which probably won't be the case now since he's expected to battle Jason Kubel for playing time in RF.

[Benchwarmerjim]

DENNYS REYES IS THE ANSWER

 

The Twins signed lefthanded reliever Dennys Reyes to a minor league contract this week, hoping to fill a hole created when they traded J.C. Romero to the Los Angeles Angels earlier this month.

 

The Twins have yet to announce the deal, but his agent, Oscar Suarez, and a team official confirmed the signing Friday.

 

Reyes, 28, will be in big league camp competing for a job and will be paid $550,000 if he makes the 25-man roster.

 

He went 3-2 with a 5.15 ERA last season in 36 appearances with the San Diego Padres, who released him in July.

 

Reyes made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1997. He went on to spend 3½ seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and has bounced between six teams since 2002.

 

http://www.startribune.com/stories/509/5800311.html

Edited December 26, 2005 by Benchwarmerjim