The Twins will finish their season today as a disappointing mess. I had them winning more than 70 games this year, finishing second or third in the league. Yeah, well…. They did improve their record this year, despite a AAA rotation, but they were still worst in the American League.
But hey, it’s not all bad! There are definitely some flaws with the team, but there are certainly some positives! Let’s rattle off a few reasons why the Twins won’t be the worst in the league next year.
1) The offense was really good this year, at least the heart of the order. They were 16th in runs and 11th with hits. They have a potential batting champ in Joe Mauer, a 30 home run hitter in Josh Willingham, another former MVP in Justin Morneau, Ryan Doumit, Trevor Plouffe and a pretty dynamic leadoff hitter. Runs can be scored.
2) They have trade bait! There is a logjam of potential outfielders, and one or two of them are going to be traded over the winter for pitching. The more I think about it, the more I think that person should be Ben Revere, who likely won’t get better than he is now, has a lot of years of team control left and will bring back a pretty serviceable starter in return.
3) The bullpen! I mean, just… they were good! Jared Burton, Glen Perkins and Casey Fien were all keepers. That’s really all you need for a bad team. The Twins can use a long reliever (which is essentially everyone in the rotation this year) and Tyler Robertson could work as a LOOGY. Something that isn’t worth worrying about!
4) Scott Diamond is a good starter. The Twins have 1 good starter!
5) The Astros are moving to the American League! If items 1-4 don’t help the Twins improve next year, at least they won’t finish with the worst record, thanks to Houston!
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