Originally posted at twins-extcs.blogspot.com

Say what you will about Fantasy Baseball, but it sure is accessible. We all know that a measure of one's stats in fantasy does not directly relate to on-field success. But all you need is an email address and a password and you can manually create a roster full of ex-Twins with very little effort. For the purpose of this blog, I did just that. As I type this, I realize there is nothing worse than listening to someone talk about their fantasy team so I’ll spare you the details. We will use this as a weekly comparison to the current Twins, but mostly we will use it as a tool to easily compare stats and identify storylines.

The Sticks:

With that said, it's still fun to look at fictional rosters. In creating the best options at each position for ex-Twins, I encountered the same problem areas that the Twins have had for years: Middle infield and the hot corner. Go figure. Casey Blake seems like the only option at third. JJ Hardy is a solid shortstop, but Orlando Hudson and Punto are a toss up for second base. A.J. Pierzynski is the bigger name behind the plate but Wilson Ramos seems to have a bigger upside going in to 2012. The rest of the lineup just filled itself, with the exception of DH. The ExTC team would split DH duties between fan favorites, Big Papi and Jim Thome.

The ExTCs

C Wilson Ramos

1B Michael Cuddyer

2B Orlando Hudson

3B Casey Blake

SS J.J. Hardy

OF Delmon Young

OF Torii Hunter

OF Jason Kubel

DH David Ortiz

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tnDXGKW3Y-I/T2pByyOazEI/AAAAAAAAAdI/iJy1mQbEhWs/s640/sticks.jpg

That seems like a nice lineup. Especially when you consider that you could have guys like Thome, Punto, Bartlett, and Pierzynski coming off the bench. Compare that to the current roster:

C Joe Mauer

1B Justin Morneau

2B Alixi Casilla

3B Danny Valencia

SS Jamey Carroll

OF Denard Span

OF Ben Revere

OF Josh Willingham

DH Ryan Doumit

This squad has a lot to prove still and it is particularly evident when looking at fantasy outlooks. The average % ownership of these starting 9 players across all ESPN fantasy rosters is 76.3% for the ExTCs and only 30.8% for the current Twins...which means very little at this point. But it's true.

Next Post: Pitching Staff

That would be a pretty potent lineup. You should compare what the cost would be to have kept that group intact.

exactly what Parker said: Add up the salaries of those 2 squads

Great Idea. Will do.