Article: Is There Reason For Hope? Any Hope?

[Seth Stohs]

Sure, ESPN 2 gave us the Cardinals and Cubs and called it Opening Night. That’s fair, but it’s not Opening Day. There is just one Opening Day in baseball, and it’s today!

 

Happy Opening Day, Twins fans!!It has been 190 days since the 2014 Minnesota Twins came to an end with a 3-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The team spent more than six weeks down in Ft. Myers for spring training, preparing for the real thing. That starts today, ironically right where last season ended, in Detroit, against the Tigers.

 

The Twins hitters will get to face lefty David Price, a tough task, to be certain.

Opening Day means different things to different people. Through much of the past decade, Opening Day for Twins fans meant hope that the team might advance to the playoffs and maybe it would be the year when the Twins would win their third World Series title. In recent years, it has meant hope that the Twins would show improvement. For some, Opening Day simply means hope that some minor leaguers will get an opportunity with the big league. For those minor leaguers, there is hope that they will get to reach for and achieve a dream of a lifetime.

 

There is a word that you read several times in the previous paragraph, hope. As the saying goes, “Hope springs eternal.”

 

It isn’t a coincidence that the start of the baseball season comes with the start of spring. The grass is starting to turn green. There is new life. There is reborn optimism. On a deeper level, it’s quite appropriate that the start of the 2015 season is in line with Easter, the holiday which provides many with a renewed hope.

 

The Twins were dealt a gut punch last Friday when MLB announce that Ervin Santana will miss the season’s first 80 games due to his suspension for testing positive for a PED.

 

For many Twins fans, that hope we talk about vanished. There’s no question, it is a blow to the Twins. Ervin Santana has been a solid big league starter for a decade. Those 15-16 starts that he will not make will now be started by Mike Pelfrey, or possible Trevor May at some point. Either way, it is a big step down in the short term.

 

No question, it hurts.

 

But it’s still Opening Day. Weird things happen in baseball. That’s why they play the games, right? No one expected the Twins to do anything in 1987, and they certainly weren’t expected to go from worst-to-first in 1991. Much of last decade, they were not preseason picks to win the AL Central.

 

This year, most prognosticators tell us that the Twins will again finish in fifth place in the five-team American League Central division. Frankly, it’s what my prediction is, and it’s probably the most likely scenario.

 

My hope continues to be in the phrase, “You just never know.”

 

My hope is that Phil Hughes will remain a solid starter in 2015. Maybe he won’t be a top 10 starter in baseball, but he will solidify himself as a solid starter.

 

My hope is that Kyle Gibson will take the lessons from his 2014 season and instead of being really good in about half of his starts, maybe he’ll be really good in three-quarters of his starts. Maybe his strikeout rate does increase and he continues to get ground balls at a strong rate. There’s reason for optimism with Gibson.

 

My hope is that Torii Hunter can show that us 39 year olds can still be productive members of society. In my case, being almost a month older than Hunter, I hope to maintain my energy for my daily life. I’m not quite the athlete that Mr. Hunter is. For Hunter, he certainly has lost a step or three from when he last patrolled ground in the outfield for the Twins, but he’ll still make the plays he gets to, throw to the right bases and yes, lead his teammates. Offensively, I think we’d all be happy if he duplicates the numbers he put up in Detroit a season ago. And, I believe that is possible.

 

My hope is that Joe Mauer is fully recovered from his 2013 concussion. The numbers he put up after returning from the oblique injury last summer indicate that he’s got a lot more in the tank. His work with Tom Brunansky this spring on pulling the ball might mean more hits and driving the ball to more areas of the field. I have little concern that Mauer will be better in 2015 than he was in 2014. How much better? Well, that’s why they play the games.

 

My hope is that Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas will avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. I was surprised by their productivity in the big leagues in their 2014 rookie seasons. I don’t expect great numbers, but again, it would be wonderful if they both proved to be guys the team can count on for the next five to ten years.

 

My hope is that guys like Tommy Milone and Mike Pelfrey can put up numbers. They won’t put up sub-3.00 ERAs. They're not going to strike out a batter an inning. However, can they give the Twins an opportunity to win the games that they start. Maybe that means the Twins are competing. Possibly it means that they could be trade candidates in June and July.

 

My hope if that Ricky Nolasco is significantly better than he was in 2014. I have little concern that he will be much better. His long-time track record indicates he'll be solid.

 

My hope is that the bullpen isn’t terrible. A huge part of that being possible would be the starting pitching being able to go seven innings pretty consistently. There was a much better chance of that with Santana in the rotation, but it remains a goal nevertheless. The hope is that Glen Perkins remains healthy after last year’s scare. Casey Fien has proven himself two straight years, and Brian Duensing’s track record has been solid. The hope is that Tim Stauffer pitches like he has for the Padres the last two years, not like he did in spring training. The hope is that JR Graham continues to pump 96 mph fastballs and get hitters out.

 

My hope is in Oswaldo Arcia being able to make more contact and put up competitive at bats more frequently against left-handers. If he makes more contact, he has an elite power that could be huge for the Twins lineup.

 

My hope is that Brian Dozier takes another step forward in 2015. My hope is that he can raise his batting average by 20 to 30 points without it affecting his on-base skills or his power production.

 

My hope is that Kurt Suzuki gets more time off throughout the season so that he can perform like he did in last season’s first half.

 

My hope is that Paul Molitor doesn’t over-think things and keeps things simple.

 

My biggest hope is that the top prospects in the minor leagues are much healthier than they were in 2014. I personally hope that we will get to see Trevor May and Alex Meyer by June. I hope that we get to see Aaron Hicks, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano by July. In August, I want to see Nick Burdi and Jake Reed. I want to see Jorge Polanco, Adam Brett Walker, Max Kepler, Travis Harrison, Levi Michael, Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers, JT Chargois and Zack Jones in September. We may even see Byron Buxton and JO Berrios in 2015!

 

The Twins have worked hard in recent years to develop one of baseball’s best minor league organizations. It’s fun to read about them (and you’ll be able to get daily minor league reports here at Twins Daily throughout the season again), but it’s also time to start seeing more and more of them with the big league club. I hope we get to see that in 2015 so that we can be really excited on Opening Day 2016.

 

The offseason is complete. Spring training is complete. For the next six months, we will be able to watch Twins regular season games nearly every day. And, hopefully for most of the season, we will be able to have some hope. Most likely, two or three players will get hurt or disappoint. Just as likely, a couple of players will take big steps forward in their carees. Who will those players be? That's why they play the games.

 

And now, it’s time to:

 

 

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[Tuba]

There is some universe where Santana was going to be really awful the first 80 games and dominant the rest of the year. The powers that be mended the fabric of time to get him suspended. Thank you timechangers of the future, thank you. 

 

HOPE

[Thegrin]

I hope the hitters hit when the pitchers falter and that the pitchers pitch when the hitting struggles.  I hope that Perkins is healthy and has no blown saves and that they have a difficult time finding a spot for the players in the minors. 

[Craig Arko]

I hope to see some interesting games played. Winning them is obviously preferred, but if not it's not like Sauron got the One Ring back.

 

[dxpavelka]

I hope that Santana being gone leads to a better chance that Meyer & May get to throw to some big league batters sooner rather than later.

[jorgenswest]

I was more hopeful until I was reminded of the 87 and 91 teams. On the 1987 team, all of the starting position players were in their 20s. Each one of them could be expected to improve along the aging curve. Add to that Viola who was entering his age 27 season and their was a lot of reason for hope among the young players.

 

Only one guy in the 1991 rotation was over 27. The starters were like Kyle Gibson where there was hope of a step forward because of their age. They were willing to bring up opening day their best prospect at age 22 with very little time in the minors. There is hope in that youth.

 

I have hope for Kyle Gibson and that he will take a step forward. I have hope in Dozier, Escobar, Santana and Vargas that they will continue their growth. Is that foundation for enough hope? Not when you compare it to the upside on the 87 and 91 teams.

[gunnarthor]

Well, it's baseball season so even if the Twins are bad, it's baseball season.  It's the only sport I care about anymore.  I think the Twins can be a .500 team but a lot will ride on Nolasco and Mauer rebounding and the continued improvement of guys like Arcia and Gibson. 

 

And I'm extremely anxious for Meyer to debut.

 

I'm also very excited about the prospects - especially the ones we have at AA and above.  Guys like Harrison and Walker could have breakout seasons for us to go along with the high number of impact prospects.

[chopper0080]

I'm ready for another 90 loss season, and then hearing about all of the progress we have made.  I hope for better, but I don't see it.  The Twins lack a player who you have to watch so for another year I will save on MLB pass, and just catch the games that are nationally televised, and even then, watch them on DVR.

[troyhobbs]

The rebuild has been mismanaged and it's going to be another lame season because of it.  I get keeping young kids down due to business decisions but I don't get why they've never cleaned house at the trading deadline or capitalized on players when their value has spiked due to the same business related decisions.  Even if some of their veterans wouldn't reap a lot of value you can still replace them with youth that needs seasoning and pick up a veteran of the same caliber in the next offseason if you really need one around at that position.  Maybe next year.

[Mike Sixel]

I hope the FO brings up young guys sooner rather than later.

[Tibs]

I hope MLB makes in market streaming a thing sometime this year so I don't have to find random websites to stream the games.

[jimmer]

We will win today's game.  Go Twins!

[Willihammer]

 

I hope MLB makes in market streaming a thing sometime this year so I don't have to find random websites to stream the games.

I use this. It works slick.

 

https://www.unblock-us.com/

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I hope the vets all play .500 into June. And then I hope that the Front Office cashes in their chips ahead, and turns it over to the more youthful players at that point.

[gunnarthor]

 

I get keeping young kids down due to business decisions but I don't get why they've never cleaned house at the trading deadline or capitalized on players when their value has spiked due to the same business related decisions.  Even if some of their veterans wouldn't reap a lot of value you can still replace them with youth that needs seasoning and pick up a veteran of the same caliber in the next offseason.

Has Ryan let a potential FA just walk away since he got back?  I guess he's let a few guys go (Casilla, Marquis, Parm). He's traded (at the deadline and beyond it) Hammer, Morales, Butera, Carroll, Correa, Morneau, Liriano.  You could make a case that he should trade guys like Dozier or Perkins (like he did with Span and Revere), instead of having them under contract for the next nucleus but I do think he's done a decent job of trading away the parts that he's decided won't be part of the future clubs. 

[jimmer]

Cuddyer, Kubel?

[troyhobbs]

 

Has Ryan let a potential FA just walk away since he got back?  I guess he's let a few guys go (Casilla, Marquis, Parm). He's traded (at the deadline and beyond it) Hammer, Morales, Butera, Carroll, Correa, Morneau, Liriano.  You could make a case that he should trade guys like Dozier or Perkins (like he did with Span and Revere), instead of having them under contract for the next nucleus but I do think he's done a decent job of trading away the parts that he's decided won't be part of the future clubs. 

He was a couple years late on moving Hammer, they probably could've gotten something decent by trading Doumitt around that same time.  Burton had value a couple years ago and was kept and Perkins will probably never bring in what he could've last year or a couple years ago had he been moved.  Didn't sound like they could've gotten much for Suzuki last year but not sure signing him to an extension was wise.  I guess that's mainly what I was referring to, except, dare I say Mauer.  Along with not being worth $23M, it's like a double gut punch to pay him that salary through the prime of his carreer while the team consistently loses 90+ games.  I also feel like they should move Plouffe this year since they have Escobar should Sano prove he's not ready, but maybe Plouffe is worth keeping around for a corner OF spot, but they have a bunch of high upside OFs that if they can get something decent for him a trade probably makes sense.

[dxpavelka]

 

Cuddyer, Kubel?

I'll give you Cuddyer but Kubel?  Do you REALLY think we'd have been better off

not letting him walk?

 And other than possibly Morneau can you name one guy we've  traded prior to hitting free agency that even 15% of the fan base was clamoring to keep?  And, yes it's easy to your our 20/20 hindsight and say we should have kept Morneau & Liriano but at the time we move them most fans were thinking we should have done so about 3 years sooner.

[jimmer]

'I'll give you Cuddyer but Kubel?Do you REALLY think we'd have been better off

not letting him walk?'

 

The comment was about players being allowed to walk as opposed to being traded, not whether or not it was okay to let it happen. Cuddyer and Kubel both fit the bill

 

'can you name one guy we've traded prior to hitting free agency that even 15% of the fan base was clamoring to keep?'

 

I haven't done polling data from every Twins fan on even one player traded that fits that criteria much less all. Don't have that kind of money. I know a lot of fans I know didn't like Hardy being traded. Or Span.  Or are you talking about right before they hit FA because if that's the case, how many are there in recent history that fits that exact situation? 

 

I was fine with Liriano being gone.  Morny is one of my favorite Twins ever and one of my favorite players in the game.  It hurt when he left but it was understandable at the time.  Glad to see him doing well again. I don;t know anyone at all who thought it would have been a good idea to trade him three years earlier though.

Edited April 6, 2015 by jimmer

[Halsey Hall]

My hope is Ploof will be gone.  He'll never be on a winning team.

[Hrbowski]

I hope that the Twins will win the World Series.

[TheLeviathan]

I hope we get a nice, long look at a variety of our impact talents to come.  We've got some in the lineup already, but hopefully more to come.  (The sooner the better if they're ready)

[Richie the Rally Goat]

My hope is Ploof will be gone.  He'll never be on a winning team.

so you have given up on the Twins and want to give Ploufe a chance to play on a winner? How magnanimous towards Plouffe. I feel that way towards Mauer

[shs_59]

I too, do not understand the Plouffe Comment.

 

Just look at the Al Central. (which by the way should be the 3rd strongest of the 6 divisions in all of baseball)

 

All the starting 3B in the AL central are frightingly similar, in terms of war and production.

 

Castellanos probably has the most upside, and Mike Moustakas should hitt the most homers.

 

But besides a few small things, its like splitting hairs between all 5 of them

 

Chisenhall, Gillespie , Moustakas, Castellanos and Plouffe.

 

you could rank them from 1-5 in almost any order.

[laloesch]

"IS THERE REASON FOR HOPE ANY REASON"

 

Nope.  None at all.