mcrow

I predict Diamond will take a step back this year and I see this year as a step up year for Worley so I agree that Worley may be the best pitcher on the roster. However, Diamond looked good last year and I'm not going to just hand it to the new guy unless it's by a good margin unless there is real, on-field reason to say so. Ryan has hinted at that they're really looking at Harden to be a bullpen guy.

We are worse in CF but given there was no Pavano or Baker due to injury for a good chunk of the year the pitching staff is improved over what we saw most of the season last year. If you have a healthy Baker and Pavano at the same time last year's rotation is better than this year's but based on what we actually saw on the field I think the rotation is better this year. I don't think we replaced Baker, but I think Worley could potentially be an improvement on Pavano though he might not be the 220 inning type of guy. I think if Baker is health this year he can be a good #2 pitcher. Hard to replace a #2. I think that Diamond + Worley+ Correia+Pelfrey+ Hendriks is better than Diamond+Liariano+Blackburn+Devries+Hendriks/Deduno

This. I think Worley is probably the best pitcher on the roster behind possibly Diamond. I know manger logic and unwritten rules may dictate that the most experienced guy starts but I thin Worley is the #1 in the rotation if Diamond is out.

That was my first thought and confused me for a minute.

Kyle Gibson pitches well enough that when they shut him down early an uproar on the Twins Daily forums ensues.

I think the roster is better on paper than last year but not by enough to result in a significant number of wins above what they had last year.

Hard to tell but I would guess if someone starts throwing harder than they normally do they'll probably have some control issues until they figure out how to locate the fastball with the new velocity.

From what I understand a good number of pitchers who have TJ eventually endup throwing harder than they did before but it's normally the 2nd season back.

I think Mackey has it all backwards this time around. I would really hate it if they tried Gibson out of the BP, just seems like the quick warm ups and tossing harder in game would be worse for an arm than starting. Also don't see that it's Dozier's job to lose.

Maybe I'm missing the attempt at humor here? Otherwise this is troll in an anti-troll thread.

I have a feeling that both Morneau and Willingham will be on the block. Willingham is one of the better values in the league right now and like Morneau he's getting to an age where you can't be certain of how many more years they have left for peak production. They could both be very attractive players to competing teams this year and could net some nice prospects. I would be very surprised if at least one of them wasn't traded.

I only have one person on my ignore list and I'm fairly certain I'm not missing anything....

I also found the "ignore" function handy. :s-instagib:

If Harden is healthy and pitching anything like he used to he will be on the roster, a couple of big "ifs" though.

I think Saunders is better than either of the two and not coming off of a TJ.

$7m isn't a bad price for a guy like Saunders but can't say I'm heartbroken they didn't get him. Though would have like him better than Pelfrey or Correia.

I think Mauer does just fine calling the game. I don't think he was ever as good as some people think at it but he is still above average. It's also hard to look good when you have a bunch of noodle-armed no talents throwing to you.

Low 70's , IMO, unless we have some freakish over achieving from a bunch of guys.

Allison is before my time but I think I give him the nod for being a career Twin (and a good one too) over Molitor.

I guess we won't know how much the contract is for until the deal is signed and final after the physical. I will reserve judgement until then.

Have to go with Smalley. I would say one of the most under rated Twins of all time.

This is less staright-forward than one might think. While Mauer is clearly the best hitter of the bunch, Gagne was a big part of two WS teams. Jimmy Hall was a very good player while with the Twins early in his career. Those would be the top 3 in this group, IMO but Mauer is my pick.

This might be the easiest choice so far. Oliva.

I'm all for kicking the tires if it doesn't cost you much. Chances are he's not an upgrade but there is always the chance that changing scenery could energize a player.

I think the answer in both cases is they would like to keep them if the price and years are right. Less so with Willingham given the depth in the system in the OF. Justin's performance after the AS break last year is encouraging by posting numbers close to his career averages before the health issues. However, he is going to be 32 early in the season. If he has a big year this year it won't be the yearly salary that's a problem as much as the number of years he might command. at 32 do you want to commit to more than 2-3 years? Same goes for Willingham. He's getting to an age where you debate wether it is best for the team to have the caliber of hitter he is now for maybe a year or two more or if you are better trading for some prospects. The problem with both of these guys could be that they would demand longer term contracts than make sense for a young, up and coming team. I suppose a lot of this will depend on if the Twins are competitive or not this year as well.