Final standings:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST
Tampa Bay Rays
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles
CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
WEST
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland A’s
ALDS: MIN over TB
ALDS: SEA over BOS
ALCS: MIN over SEA
CY YOUNG: Francisco Liriano
MVP: Joe Mauer
ROY: Brian Matusz
NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
New York Mets
Washington Nationals
CENTRAL
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers
Cincinnati Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates
Houston Astros
WEST
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres
MVP: Albert Pujols
CY YOUNG: Roy Halladay
ROY: Stephen Strasburg
NLDS: STL over ATL
NLDS: PHI over COL
NLCS: STL over PHI
WORLD SERIES: MIN over STL
WORLD SERIES MVP: Joe Mauer
And some Twins predictions:
HR: Morneau 34
BA: Mauer .347
RBI: Morneau 137
SB: Span 31
Worst BA: Punto .229
Wins: Liriano 21
SO: Liriano 274
ERA: Liriano 2.39
Saves: Neshek 21
Mauer and Hardy win gold gloves
Mauer, Morneau, and Liriano make the All-Star team
Valencia is the starting 3B after the all-star break
Delmon Young finally breaks out, hitting over 20 HR
Slowey and Baker receive some Cy Young votes
Mauer, Morneau, Kubel and Cuddyer hit over 30 HR
Francisco Liriano returns close to 2006 form, wins the Cy Young, and leads the league in strikeouts
Hardy bounces back, hitting over 20 HR
Crain is the closer after April, and Pat Neshek takes over in June
Prospects Wilson Ramos and Ben Revere get some playing time in September
The Twins actually have a doubleheader at home
Twins break the franchise record for attendance
Anthony Slama finally makes his debut in the Twins bullpen
The lineup leads the AL in runs scored
The Twins don't trade for a closer
Glen Perkins is traded for a B-level prospect infielder
Pitcher Kyle Gibson makes it up to AAA, positioning himself to take over Pavano's spot in the rotation in 2011
Jim Thome, pinch-hitting for Nick Punto, hits 2 walk-off home runs
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Mauersota
Joe Mauer signed an eight year, $184 million extension with the Minnesota Twins today. It is the fourth largest deal in MLB history, and obviously the largest in Twins’ history. Some thoughts on the huge deal:
I for one don’t think that we’ve seen the best season Mauer has to offer us. 2009 was an amazing season, but I think he can do better. This season should provide a great opportunity for Mauer to best last year. First of all, his playing time should increase by a month over last year, so his number totals such as homers, doubles, hits, etc. should increase. He also finally has a legitimate #2 hitter in front of him in Orlando Hudson. His home run power is here to stay, and I predict that he will hit over 30 homers this season.
Some are saying that Mauer likely won’t be catching in a few years. Nobody knows how his body will hold up, but if Mauer does switch positions, his offensive numbers should receive a nice boost because his body won’t be so damaged and sore from catching. Mauer’s value would diminish greatly if he played a different position other than catcher, but it would be interesting to see what kind of offensive numbers he could put up while playing a less taxing position. I still believe he has the potential to hit .400 in a season; however, it would be easier to accomplish if he wasn’t catching.
What will the Twins do with super catching prospect Wilson Ramos? When Ramos reaches the majors, could Ramos and Mauer both catch 81 games and DH 81 games? Ramos could play in the majors this year, but he will likely spend it at AAA. Ramos has had a nice spring, including a home run off Johan Santana. He would be great trade bait, but the Twins don’t like to part with their top young talent. The Twins would be crazy to trade him for a closer to replace Nathan. They definitely don’t need any more outfielders. If the Twins decide to go the trade route, hopefully they will try to trade Ramos for a stud young second baseman. The organization is so weak in the middle infield, and Hudson is signed to only a one year deal.
It looks like Twins top prospect Miguel Angel Sano will get his dream of playing with his favorite player, Mauer. Sano is only 16, but he should definitely be in the majors before Mauer’s contract expires in 2018.
Today, the ownership of the Twins made it sound like payroll will continue to increase in the next few years, even approaching $120 million. However, this doesn’t mean the Twins will be able to keep everyone. Joe Nathan and MIchael Cuddyer are among a few guys that should be gone after 2011 because they will be expensive and aging. But the Twins will have adequate replacements from their farm system. Ben Revere will be a good, young, and cheap replacement for Cuddyer, and the Twins have a lot of great young relief pitchers in the minors, including Anthony Slama, Alex Burnett, Rob Delaney, and Billy Bullock.
Did I mention that Mauer is making more money than the entire Twins team did in 1999?
Overall, this is a great day for the Minnesota Twins. They ensured that the best player in baseball, who will likely end up as the best catcher ever, will be playing for them for the next nine years. With a new ballpark, an amazing lineup, new uniforms, Liriano in ’06 form, and now Joe Mauer’s new contract, 2010 should be a great year for the Twins, and the future looks extremely bright, promising, and exciting as well.
I for one don’t think that we’ve seen the best season Mauer has to offer us. 2009 was an amazing season, but I think he can do better. This season should provide a great opportunity for Mauer to best last year. First of all, his playing time should increase by a month over last year, so his number totals such as homers, doubles, hits, etc. should increase. He also finally has a legitimate #2 hitter in front of him in Orlando Hudson. His home run power is here to stay, and I predict that he will hit over 30 homers this season.
Some are saying that Mauer likely won’t be catching in a few years. Nobody knows how his body will hold up, but if Mauer does switch positions, his offensive numbers should receive a nice boost because his body won’t be so damaged and sore from catching. Mauer’s value would diminish greatly if he played a different position other than catcher, but it would be interesting to see what kind of offensive numbers he could put up while playing a less taxing position. I still believe he has the potential to hit .400 in a season; however, it would be easier to accomplish if he wasn’t catching.
What will the Twins do with super catching prospect Wilson Ramos? When Ramos reaches the majors, could Ramos and Mauer both catch 81 games and DH 81 games? Ramos could play in the majors this year, but he will likely spend it at AAA. Ramos has had a nice spring, including a home run off Johan Santana. He would be great trade bait, but the Twins don’t like to part with their top young talent. The Twins would be crazy to trade him for a closer to replace Nathan. They definitely don’t need any more outfielders. If the Twins decide to go the trade route, hopefully they will try to trade Ramos for a stud young second baseman. The organization is so weak in the middle infield, and Hudson is signed to only a one year deal.
It looks like Twins top prospect Miguel Angel Sano will get his dream of playing with his favorite player, Mauer. Sano is only 16, but he should definitely be in the majors before Mauer’s contract expires in 2018.
Today, the ownership of the Twins made it sound like payroll will continue to increase in the next few years, even approaching $120 million. However, this doesn’t mean the Twins will be able to keep everyone. Joe Nathan and MIchael Cuddyer are among a few guys that should be gone after 2011 because they will be expensive and aging. But the Twins will have adequate replacements from their farm system. Ben Revere will be a good, young, and cheap replacement for Cuddyer, and the Twins have a lot of great young relief pitchers in the minors, including Anthony Slama, Alex Burnett, Rob Delaney, and Billy Bullock.
Did I mention that Mauer is making more money than the entire Twins team did in 1999?
Overall, this is a great day for the Minnesota Twins. They ensured that the best player in baseball, who will likely end up as the best catcher ever, will be playing for them for the next nine years. With a new ballpark, an amazing lineup, new uniforms, Liriano in ’06 form, and now Joe Mauer’s new contract, 2010 should be a great year for the Twins, and the future looks extremely bright, promising, and exciting as well.
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