2007 Minnesota Twins Discussion

[dust247]

Pitchers and catchers report to Fort Meyers next Sunday so I figured it was time to get the 2007 thread up. I'm not sure what to think of our team heading into the season. We lost Brad Radke and Shannon Stewart in the off-season, but other than that our team likes very similar to last year. I know we brought in 1B Ken Harvey, IF Jeff Cirillo, SP Russ Ortiz, and SP Sidney Ponson but I'm not sure how much of an impact they'll make for us. Ponson and Harvey may not even make the MLB club, so it's like we made 2 additions to an already above average team.

[vinny]

Just signed Mauer for something along the lines of 33mil for 4 years.

[nyisles16]

Quote: Originally Posted by vinny

Just signed Mauer for something along the lines of 33mil for 4 years.

kid deserves it! way to go Minny.. he's a great hitter

[wang_chi7]

I didn't know they signed Ortiz. This team was in dire need of a veteran starter considering how inexperienced the rotation is after Santana. Ortiz isn't anything special, but he had a pretty good year in ATL a few seasons back. Ponson probably will be in the minors, but who knows? Cirillo was a nice addition as an infielder on the bench.

I like the young lineup in Minnesota; plenty of talented, smart hitters. The defense is halfway decent too. LF leaves something to be desired (Rondell White), other than that they are pretty solid.

The bullpen is the best in baseball, or at least one of the best. What is going to make or break this team though is the rotation. Santana will be awesome again, but after that is a bunch of question marks. The other guys got some needed experience last year, but many shouldn't have been called up and only were because of necessity. I think Boof is a quality 3-4 starter, and like what I've seen from Garza. Baker and Silva both kind of scare me, they give up too many runs. Silva is just atrocious away from the dome (his numbers outdoors are 8.24 ERA and .396 BA against.) One of those two guys will probably be the fifth starter. Russ Ortiz was really good for a number of years thru 2004, the last two years he's been terrible; we'll see what the team gets out of him this year. He could turn into a #2 starter or he could spend the year in the minors, who knows.

EDIT: I just looked it up and it was Ramon Ortiz, not Russ that was signed. So ignore what I said about Russ as it is invalid. Ramon spent last year in WAS, he hasn't had good numbers in the past. I don't really know much about him other than his stats really leave something to be desired.

[Badger_Fan]

The guys working for spots in the rotation:

1. Santana - don't need to say a lot about him. Best pitcher in baseball.
2. Bonser - Boof was nails for the last month of the season, stepping up when Liriano and Radke were hurt. He proved a lot and I like his potential.
3. Garza - He was really inconsistent during his call-up, but considering that he started last year in SINGLA-A, I'll cut him some slack. If he settles down and doesn't try to strike everyone out, he'll be fine.
4. Silva - He scares the hell out of me. His sinker didn't sink last year and he got knocked all over the yard. We'll see right away if he was able to fix it or not. Best case scenario is a high 3's ERA and about a dozen wins.
5. Ponson - If he stays away from the booze, he could be a good contributor to the rotation. He can definitely pitch, but he's a bit of a headcase.
6. Ortiz - Ramon, not Russ, is a nightmare. Like the Batista signing last year, I just don't get it. Not looking forward to any success from him this year.
7. Baker - He has good stuff, but he hasn't been able to put it together yet at the Major League level yet. We'll see if he's been able to do that during the offseason.
8. Glen Perkins - This is my darkhorse. I firmly believe that he'll be in the rotation by June and pitching well. Another lefty that pitched very well in September coming out of the bullpen.

My best case scenario is a young rotation featuring Santana, Bonser, Garza, Perkins and Silva/Baker/Ponson. Adding Liriano the next year would make it just filthy.

Offensively I'm worried about 2B, LF, and DH. Castillo was ok last year, but I'm worried that his knees will take too much wear and tear after a year on the turf. Rondell White was a disaster as a DH but actually hit the ball pretty well in the field. He's injury prone, though, and that is a concern. The DH thing is a mystery. It would be nice to see Jason Kubel take off like everyone thinks he can. Hopefully another year away from that knee injury will be the answer.

[bergie56]

It has been nice to get off to a good start this year. I was happy with what I saw from Boof last night. Hopefully Ortiz throws well tonight. It would be great to start of the season with a sweep.

[EVEN11131]

Ortiz threw great last night, 7 innings and 2 ER. Cuddyer had a nice game after 2 mediocre games.

[dust247]

I think Ramon Oritz will put together a respectable season, but Sidney Ponson scares me. I can't wait to see how Carlos Silva and Ponson do against the White Sox because we'll need them to step up if we want to be realistic contenders. Obviously we can get by if one of them struggles since we have Matt Garza and Glen Perkins waiting in the minors, but it would be nice to a few surprises this season.

By the way, what happened to Scott Baker? Did he go to another team this off-season or is he in Triple-A Rochester? I figured he would atleast beat out Ponson for the 5th spot in the rotation.

[bergie56]

I am pretty sure that Baker is still in the minors. He needs to learn to keep the ball down if he wants to pitch in the majors for any extended amount of time.

[bergie56]

Snepp, Dust, MVB, Vinny? Any of you interested in keeping this going? I would love to get your opinions on the first month of the season.

So far it looks like we may be in for up and down performances from our starting pitching. I don't see Garza or Perkins staying out of the rotation for much longer. Despite the fact that he pitched well tonight, I dont think Ponson will last the entire year. I have been very satisfied with the performance of our bats though.

I was worried that Cuddy and Hunter would struggle to begin the year, but they look to be picking up where they have left off. Punto and Bartlett have looked uncomfortable though. Hopefully they regain their confidence soon. We are screwed if we suffer any major injuries. I hope that Cuddyer is fine after leaving tonight's game early. We absolutely need him in the 4th spot.