2010 Final Standings

Minnesota Twins

LEFT FIELD D. Young
CENTER FIELD D. Span
RIGHT FIELD M. Cuddyer
SHORTSTOP A. Casilla
3RD BASE D. Valencia
2ND BASE T. Nishioka
1ST BASE J. Morneau
DH J. Kubel
CATCHER J. Mauer

ROTATION
1. C. Pavano
2. F. Liriano
3. N. Blackburn
4. S. Baker
5. B. Duensing

BULLPEN
J. Nathan (CL)
M. Capps
J. Mijares
J. Manship
G. Perkins
D. Hughes
K. Slowey

Chicago White Sox

LEFT FIELD J. Pierre
CENTER FIELD A. Rios
RIGHT FIELD C. Quentin
SHORTSTOP A. Ramirez
3RD BASE B. Morel
2ND BASE G. Beckham
1ST BASE P. Konerko
DH A. Dunn
CATCHER A. Pierzynski

ROTATION
1. M. Buehrle
2. E. Jackson
3. J. Danks
4. G. Floyd
5. J. Peavy

BULLPEN
M. Thornton (CL)
C. Sale
J. Crain
W. Ohman
S. Santos
T. Pena
P. Humber

Detroit Tigers

LEFT FIELD R. Raburn
CENTER FIELD A. Jackson
RIGHT FIELD M. Ordonez
SHORTSTOP J. Peralta
3RD BASE B. Inge
2ND BASE W. Rhymes
1ST BASE M. Cabrera
DH V. Martinez
CATCHER A. Avila

ROTATION
1. J. Verlander
2. M. Scherzer
3. R. Porcello
4. B. Penny
5. P. Coke

BULLPEN
J. Valverde (CL)
J. Benoit
R. Perry
B. Thomas
D. Schlereth
B. Villarreal
E. Gonzalez
J. Zumaya

Cleveland Indians

LEFT FIELD A. Kearns
CENTER FIELD G. Sizemore
RIGHT FIELD S. Choo
SHORTSTOP A. Cabrera
3RD BASE J. Hannahan
2ND BASE O. Cabrera
1ST BASE M. LaPorta
DH T. Hafner
CATCHER C. Santana

ROTATION
1. F. Carmona
2. C. Carrasco
3. J. Masterson
4. J. Tomlin
5. M. Talbot

BULLPEN
C. Perez (CL)
R. Perez
C. Durbin
T. Sipp
V. Pestano
F. Herrmann
J. Germano
J. Smith

Kansas City Royals

LEFT FIELD A. Gordon
CENTER FIELD M. Cabrera
RIGHT FIELD J. Francoeur
SHORTSTOP A. Escobar
3RD BASE M. Aviles
2ND BASE C. Getz
1ST BASE K. Ka’aihue
DH B. Butler
CATCHER M. Treanor

ROTATION
1. L. Hochevar
2. J. Francis
3. K. Davies
4. B. Chen
5. V. Mazzaro

BULLPEN
J. Soria (CL)
R. Tejeda
S. O’Sullivan
T. Collins
J. Jeffress
A. Crow
K. Texeira
N. Adcock

2011 Outlook

Twins-

The Twinkies are coming off yet another division title and another October epic fail aka getting owned by the Yankees. Minnesota might be the most overrated franchise in all of sports. How many times can a team get their asses handed to them in the first round of the playoffs and still be considered a good team? Well, in Minnesota’s case it’s 5 of the last years. Since ’03 they have won 2 out of 15 playoff games, having been swept 3 times. The Yanks ousted them in 4 of those 5 years.

So whats in store for them in 2011? Same shit, different year. I don’t see them making the playoffs, but if they do a first round loss will be a given. Morneau and Mauer are 2 of the best hitters/players in baseball…when healthy. Morneau was concussed last year and missed over half the season. He is expected to start opening day, but don’t expect a whole lot from him, at least over an extended period of time i.e. the season. I would go as far as to say the guy’s career is in jeopardy. And as long Mauer is at catcher expect him to miss 30+ games. Don’t expect the same success from Pavano either. In his 12 year career he and his stache have only had back to back 10+ win seasons once. On the bright side though, the Twins get back closer, Joe Nathan, who missed all of last year.

White Sox-

If Ozzie doesn’t piss too many people off during the season, Chicago will compete with Detroit for the division. The White Sox will mash with Konerko, Quentin, and new acquisition Dunner. Without ever hitting it over the creep line, Juan Pierre will be on base every AB and wreaking havoc on the bases. Even though Pierre looks 16 and makes Eckstein seem like a clean-up hitter, he still mobs. As for their pitching, if Peavy can ever get healthy they will have one of the best staffs in baseball.

Tigers-

The Tigers will have success as long as Cabrera stays off the sauce, which might be a lot to ask for. When he’s on the field the guy drops 500 foot bombs at will, but when he’s off the field he likes to pound 5ths like Gatorade and smack his girl up when she acts a fool. Although Austin Jackson led the league in K’s, is coming off a solid rookie season and will need to avoid a sophomore slump if Detroit want to contend for the division. Look for new addition, Victor Martinez, to provide another solid bat in the lineup and become a leader in the clubhouse.

Native Americans-

Unfortunately for Cleveland fans they have yet another shitty sports franchise. There is no reason to think this year will be any different the squad. The only player who is worth mentioning is Shin-Soo Choo who is a 30/30 guy and one of the best all around players in baseball. Grady and his ladies are back, but he is coming off micro-fracture and nowhere near the player he was.

Royals-

Big surprise here, the Royals will suck ass yet again. This is usually the case when you have management that doesn’t spend money. They lost their best player from last year in Greinke, and are likely to trade their current best player, Soria, sometime during the year. They do have the best farm system in baseball though, which means nothing because they won’t pay any of them.

W       L

Chicago             89     73

Detroit                80     82

Minnesota         75     87

Cleveland          67     95

Kansas City     61    101

I’m gonna start by saying I’m a Redsox fan thru and thru so I don’t want to hear I’m jumping on the bandwagon. Also I’m gonna say my mom is from Cleveland and has been rooting for the Indians since the day I was born, so mom please don’t read this post. The Twins are the best team in baseball and also the best team to watch in the MLB.

The Twins in my opinion are the best team  in baseball. Why? Because they have the best lineup in baseball. Yes maybe the Yankees has the most powerful lineup in the game, but if I was a pitcher the last team I would want to face is the Twins.  The Twins offer the rare lineup of power mixed with small ball. 1-9 on the Twins will make the right decision in their at bat to better the team, and they have the right amount of power hitters to contact hitters that would scare me. It also helps to have former MVP of the AL in Mauer and Morneua hitting 3-4 to solidify your lineup, but underrated Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer hitting right after them along with Denard Span and the Odogg setting it up makes them the scariest lineup to face. Add in Delmon Young and JJ Hardy hitting 7 and 8 and you got yourself a bonafide murders row.Are the Twins going to win 120 games? No, but consider that their top 3 pitchers include Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn and Carl Pavano, so if they win over 100 games I’ll be impressed. Let’s look back 3 years ago and their top 2 pitchers were the AL Cy Young Johan Santana and the rising star Francisco Liriano. Present time Johan is with the Mets and Liriano is trying to hold on to the 5th spot in the rotation after a couple years of injury. So considering they’re working with pitchers that should be the 3-4 starter on most teams and you are looking at a team that is overachieving.

What should this success indicate? That manager Ron Gardenhire is the best manger in baseball. Factor in that he has gotten runner up to manager of the year 5 times in his 8 years of managing the Twins and you might be looking at the best manager in the AL in the last decade.

So I’m gonna guarantee that Gardenhire wins the AL manager of the year this year, and the Twins flirt with 100 wins this season.

So jump aboard the bandwagon if you want to, but at least watch a few games of the Twins so you can watch what baseball is supposed to look like when played at the highest level.

Earlier this week Joe Mauer and the Minnesota Twins inked a deal keeping him in his home state through the 2018 season.  His huge 8 year, $184 million deal is a great thing for himself, his team, and the game.  Here are a few thoughts, in no particular order, on the Mauer signing:

• 8 years is a long contract for a catcher.  However, he doesn’t have Pudge or Piazza syndrome where he has to catch as much as possible.  Mauer has accepted the DH role and taken his necessary days off.  He’s a catcher – of course he could break down but Gardenhire and Co. have taken the smart precautions to keep him healthy.
• The Twins were desperate as can be to sign him.  And sign him now.  $23 million per year is a lot for any player (especially a catcher), in any market (especially Minnesota), and without actually being a free agent.  However, with a new ballpark opening up in less than 3 weeks, tickets had to be sold right away.  The Twins were smart to realize a 26 year old MVP who hits the way he does was going to get a big fat contract anyway.  They were going to have to pay for him, and pay large. 
• Signing Mauer before he became a free agent kept out the big players.  The Yanks, Sox, Mets, Dodgers, among others, had the cash to dwindle in front of Mauer had he completed the 2010 season unsigned.  And honestly, it probably saved those teams from a bad investment.  Had Mauer signed elsewhere, his contract would have been another year or two longer, and included another 20-30 million overall.  The Twins’ investment is substantial, already bordering on the high side.
• The contract is another step in what appears to be another historic baseball career.  A career along the lines of George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Kirby Puckett, and Cal Ripken, Jr.  A perennial all-star, statistical records, a ring or two (Gywnn lost both his appearances) and a well-liked guy in one city with one team.