Twin City.

The word "Twin Killing" is a famous word used in Minnesota. Not for their basketball or hockey teams, but for their baseball team. The Twins in the past two seasons have won the American League Central Division title but somehow they can't seem to get over that hump of the first round of the playoffs. In 2009 and 2010 in the ALDS they have lost to the New York Yankees both times and in 2010 they were expected to put up a better fight but instead they got sweated right out of the postseason again. In 2011 they might be looking for something a little extra then a division title.


During the offseason of 2010 they have signed players and re-signed players, they agreed with DH Jim Thome to stay one more year, signed free agent Alexi Casilla to a one - year deal, and he will most likely be playing shortstop after the lost of J.J. Hardy. The Twins re-signed bullpen pitchers, Matt Capps and Glen Perkins to one - year contracts and starting pitchers Kevin Slowey to a one - year deal, Carl Pavano on a two - year deal, and Francisco Liriano on a one - year deal. Now are these moves for the better or worse?


The Twins pitching in last two years haven't been the best but it has been enough to make the postseason just not make it deep into the postseason and as we all know pitching wins you ball games and 2011 they really haven't gone out there to change things up. They will have Carl Pavano as their number one guy and he is a good pitcher to bring back and re-sign. He throws hard and he's a good match for their ball club. In 2010 he posted an ERA of 3.75, 17 wins, 11 losses, and 117 strikeouts. He is the ace of this pitching staff.

After Pavano they brought back Francisco Liriano who can be an ace on any other team but decided to come back to Twin City. He is a power pitcher and is a great lefty to have on your rotation; he is going to be the key for them this season. Liriano in 2010 had an ERA of 3.62, 14 wins, 10 losses, and 201 strikeouts. Another pitcher they re-signed was Kevin Slowey, now he's not a bad number three starter but sometimes you can go either way with him. I think Slowey still hasn't shown the type of pitcher he really can be and I think this year we might see it, last year he posted a 4.45 ERA, 13 wins, 6 losses, and 116 strikeouts. The next two pitchers in Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn I think will have to fight for their jobs come spring training, more likely Blackburn. Baker will most likely be the Twins number four guy in the rotation with having a 4.49 ERA, 12 wins, 9 losses, and 148 strikeouts in 2010. As for Blackburn he had off year with a 5.42 ERA, 10 wins, 12 losses, and 68 strikeouts. Also don’t forget about rookie pitcher David Bromberg, he could earn a spot in the rotation in 2011.


The Twins bullpen might be on the top 5 best bullpens in the AL with having Matt Capps, Randy Flores, Joe Nathan, and Clay Condrey. Now I start off with Matt Capps who last year came over from the Nationals and helped fill that closer spot and did a great job with having Joe Nathan out for the year.

He came over from a losing team to a winning team. Capps last year really turned on the heat having an ERA of 2.47, 42 saves, and 59 strikeouts. The Twins have set-up man Randy Flores who has been a pretty good pitcher out of the pen, he can shut down an inning or two and just goes out there with no fear. Flores posted a 3.19 ERA, 7 HLD, and 20 strikeouts. Now there has been some question about the health of closer Joe Nathan who last year underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2010 season. The Twins still don't know if he will be ready for opening day 2011. Last guy in the Twins bullpen is Clay Condrey, now this guy hasn't pitched since 2009 with the Phillies but when he did so he wasn't a bad guy to have in the pen with a 3.00 ERA, 7 HLD, and 25 strikeouts in 2009.


The Twins line-up in my mind is probably one of the best in the AL besides maybe the Yankees. They have catcher Joe Mauer and this guy is one of the best catchers in all of baseball. He has won 4 AL Sliver Slugger awards, 3 AL Gold Glove awards and has won an AL MVP award.

He is the heart and soul of this team with now question about it and he brings a lot of pop in his bat. In 2010 he batted .327, hit 9 home runs, and drove in 75 RBI's. Over at first base they have Justin Morneau who they really missed in the second half of the 2010 season with a concussion. But in the first half of the 2010 season Morneau was on the list for MVP in the American League batting .345, 18 home runs, and drove in 56 RBI's, could you imagine if he had stayed healthy what he could have done. The Twins say he will be ready to go come spring training. Over in right field and the guy who replaced Morneau at first base was Michael Cuddyer, now this guy has been with the Twins his whole career since 2001 and has stayed with them through the hard times when he had a choice of leaving this team but never did. Cuddyer brings power to this line-up, he is your average type hitter and in 2010 he hit .271, hit 14 home runs, and drove in 81 RBI's. Over to DH, where they re-signed Jim Thome, Thome one of the games nicest players you will ever meet and had a great 2010 season at the age of 40 years old. Thome is 11 home runs away from joining the 600 home run club I think should have a vote to the baseball Hall of Fame someday. In 2010 Thome hit .283, hit 25 home runs, and drove in 59 RBI's.

Now over at third base to a really good rookie in Danny Valencia who in 2010 had an awesome rookie season, I was surprised that he didn't win the Rookie of the Year award after batting .311, 7 home runs, and driving in 40 RBI's. He is the future of this ball club, watch out for him. Last player on this Twins infield and outfield is left fielder Delmon Young. For the first time in his career he showed that he is the outfielder the Twins have been looking for with speed, power, and having a great arm. Going into the 2010 season there was a lot of hype about him and lived up to that hype. He was the only Twins player to hit 100 or more RBI's on the team with 112 RBI's, hitting .298, and hit 21 home runs in 2010. Look for him to have another break out year.


So the Twins in 2011 still have some questions with their pitching staff and how strong it will be this year. I think they will win another division title but it won't come easy now that the White Sox haven gotten a little bit better during the offseason and the Tiger have become better as well. The question is will the Twins pitching be enough to make it thought the postseason if they get there?