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Winning Ugly

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QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 28, 2006 -> 09:25 PM)
Uh....Please explain, I'd love to hear this.

I know this was directed at samclemens, but since he and i appear to be the only ones here that have no Twins love, I'd like to interject...

 

The Twins won 83 games last year. As far as positive changes go, the only one i see is Hunter being healthy. Are there others I missed? Seems like all their other moves are just filling hole with no real improvement (speaking mostly about position players here).

 

Their pitching will be very good again, but do you think it will be better? Their lineup, Hunter's return aside, looks worse to me.

 

So my question is, what changes did they make that make you think they will improve so dramatically? Its entirely possible i have missed some changes they made, but I'd like to hear them.

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QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:15 PM)
So my question is, what changes did they make that make you think they will improve so dramatically?  Its entirely possible i have missed some changes they made, but I'd like to hear them.

i think luis castillo's .370 career OBP at the top of their order'll help a lot. i mean, who'd they have there last year? nick punto?

 

jason kubel could come quick and be a significant upgrade over ford or stewart once he knocks off the rust.

 

it's reasonable to expect growth from mauer--he's already proven he can make solid contact and get on base at the MLB level--and if morneau bounces back to live up to his hype, it'd amount to a face-lift for their lineup.

 

as for their pitching, an outstanding bullpen remains such, and baker's probably an immediate upgrade over mays in their rotation, which was already very good.

 

yeah, there's a coupla question marks above, but it's a realistic scenario, so i don't think they're a team to be dismissed.

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To add to what False Alarm was saying, Silva also missed about 8 starts, and Jeff Baker and Francisco Liriano are going to be on the major league roster all year in some role. Silva pitched well last year, and Baker and Liriano are both pretty talented. Their pitching has some serious potential, but Mauer and Morneau are going to have to be better (Mauer needs more power, and Morneau needs to just step up in general) to keep pace in this division. Their offense is quite a bit behind Cleveland's and ours, and I don't think their pitching is dominant enough to make up for that unless one of the rookies pitches like a #2 starter.

Edited by ZoomSlowik
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