The Regular Season In Review

What a great season! Before the playoffs even start, in my mind anyway, I can call this season a success. For me, when there are more ups than downs, it's good.

I missed Joe Nathan and Justin Morneau, but I enjoyed rooting for Jim Thome and Danny Valencia. It was great to watch Brian Duensing become a solid starter. Delmon and Frankie had great years, and I had fun watching them improve. And, after a "slump" for a brief time, Joe Mauer was Joe Mauer.

So, off the boys go to to the playoffs to face the Yankees. Am I worried? Yep, but then I'd be worried if the Twins had won out the season after clinching. Am I going to let my worrying ruin my enjoyment of the playoffs? I'll try not to. Of course, winning is more fun, so, I'm asking the Twins to do their part.

~~~

Remember before the season, my son j-bro wrote up his predictions? We should see how he did. He's in college now; he should be used to being graded.

Twins MVP: He said: Denard Span. Actually: according to Seth Stohs' survey, it's Joe Mauer. Denard didn't even make my list of the top 8. I think it's safe to say Span didn't have the year many Twins fans were hoping for.

Twins Top Pitcher: He said: Nick Blackburn. Actually: well, it's a debate between Pavano and Liriano. Blackburn has been better lately, but the fact that he had to go to the bullpen, and then to the minors, means this year wasn't his best.

Twins Top Rookie: He said: well, he didn't really know what to say. Actually: obviously Danny Valencia. But, really, who expected that Danny would even be called up (remember? Brendan Harris was supposed to be the third-baseman), let alone thriving at a high level.

Twins Most Improved Player: He said: Delmon Young. Actually: he was right. Delmon had a career year. Let's hope he has an even better one next year.

Bold Predictions:

• Pat Neshek’s filth will be as filthy as ever.(no, that didn't really happen)
• Jose Mijares will be successful in saving ballgames.(no)
• Liriano’s filth will be as filthy as ever. (you bet'cha!)
• Booing A.J. at Target Field will still sound just as loud as when we booed him in the Dome. (I guess I didn't notice -- could be)
• Someone will hit an inside the park homerun, I just don’t know who. (not yet)

AL Central Predictions:

1. Minnesota
2. Chicago
3. Detroit
4. Kansas City
5. Poor Cleveland

(close. Switch KC and Cleveland)

Keys to Success:  

1. Stop it with the injuries! Nathan and Morales are enough for the entire season. I’ll keep knocking on wood the whole summer to make sure we win.(Unfortunately Justin Morneau lost half the season, and Mauer, Baker, Thome, et.al., had their share of ouchies. But guys stepped in and did great.)
2. Pitching needs to be consistent. Our lineup will score the runs we need to win, so we don’t need a Johan-type performances this year. Just keep us in the game; that’s bullpen included. (Pretty profound -- and correct.)
3. Keep on truckin’. The Twins will do what they always do and get really hot in June and July, and completely die in August. Last year it worked itself out, but let’s try to win the division in only 162 games this year. (I think he was pretty close here too, except for the die in August part.)

All-in-all, I think he did great. I love his optimism. I'll give him an A. But then, I might be biased.

2010 Projections (a Debut)

With the season drawing near, Josh from Josh's Thoughts thought it would be fun for a bunch of bloggers to make predictions for the 2010 season so we would have a records to look back to at the end of the season. Problem is, I'm horrible at this kind of thing. So, I asked my older son if he wanted to take a stab at it. 

So, I proudly present the blogging debut of j-bro and his 2010 projections! (I'm so proud.)

Baseball Predictions for the 2010 season.

Hello… Well this is eldest son of k-bro, or j-bro I guess, filling in for my wonderful, beautiful, intelligent mom on her own blog. Apparently this prediction thing isn’t really her cup of tea so she asked her son, who can’t even get on the B honor roll, to write a segment about the Twins’ upcoming season for God knows how many people to see. Well here it goes.

Twins MVP:
Now this prediction is harder than you think. Yes, Justin Morneau will crank over 30 homeruns. Yes, Michael Cuddyer is actually one of the anchors of the lineup and everyone else plays better because of him. Yes, Joe Mauer is Ted Williams reincarnated as a catcher. All three of those gentlemen will have spectacular seasons, I’m sure, but, don’t yell at me, Denard Span will show everyone just how valuable he is this summer. Oh crap, I forgot we’re not writing bold predictions yet, oh well, hopefully this season Span will smack the ball down the line for a triple more often than lining one towards his mother.

Twins Top Pitcher:
Choosing the top pitcher is next to impossible because, I mean honestly, no one in our rotation is lights out. Now I love the consistency that Blackburn, Slowey, and Scott the Baker bring, but I also think that Francisco will be the most fun to watch, even though that ERA of his will be flirting with 5. When it comes down to it, consistency is what the ballclub and the fans will need. Twins top pitcher= Nick Blackbeard.

Twins Best Rookie:
This prediction isn’t even fair. How should I know? I’d imagine that Drew Butera would get the most at bats until Morales is healthy, and I think Anthony Swarzak has potential, but if you think about it Jim Thome, J.J. Hardy, and Orlando Hudson are all rookies to the Twins. So just to save myself from actually looking up stats I’ll tell you that the O-dog will be the best Twins rookie, so to speak.

Twins Most Improved Player:
If we are going to be realistic when predicting the most improved player on the Twins, then we all must be thinking about the same person. Now Nicky Punto could definitely improve but I doubt he’ll improve substantially, but of course we love him just the way he is. No, Delmon Young has slimmed down, bulked up, and he must have gotten a personality somewhere. As much as I’ve always doubted him, I think he will be most improved.

Bold Predictions:
Wasn’t I bold enough when I picked Denard for MVP and Delmon for Most Improved? All right, well, to humor you, I can think of some real bold ones.

• Pat Neshek’s filth will be as filthy as ever.
• Jose Mijares will be successful in saving ballgames.
• Liriano’s filth will be as filthy as ever.
• Booing A.J. at Target Field will still sound just as loud as when we booed him in the Dome.
• Someone will hit an inside the park homerun, I just don’t know who.

A.L. Central Predictions:
And I’m not just being a homer.

1. Minnesota
2. Chicago
3. Detroit
4. Kansas City
5. Poor Cleveland

Three Keys to Success:
Let’s see how cliché I can get.

1. Stop it with the injuries! Nathan and Morales are enough for the entire season. I’ll keep knocking on wood the whole summer to make sure we win.
2. Pitching needs to be consistent. Our lineup will score the runs we need to win, so we don’t need a Johan-type performances this year. Just keep us in the game; that’s bullpen included.
3. Keep on truckin’. The Twins will do what they always do and get really hot in June and July, and completely die in August. Last year it worked itself out, but let’s try to win the division in only 162 games this year.

Nice work, j-bro. I really like the "Three Keys to Success" section. I hope I can con him into invite him to write again.