I'm still in shock. The team started out terribly through almost 2 full months of the season, only then to have the best record in baseball since June. Turning point? A record of 17-24 on May 19th when Francisco Liriano made his first start. Since then, 76-39 through Monday night. One of the great turn-around seasons in history, if you ask me.
Why? For those of you outside of Minnesota, I'll briefly explain. It is simple, really. We have the best pitcher in the majors in Johan Santana, the 2nd best pitcher and easily the best rookie (before going down to injury) in Liriano, probably the best hitter in Joe Mauer, one of the best closers Joe Nathan and then there's the favored MVP candidate, Justin Morneau. That's not even mentioning Torii Hunter, Cuddyer and anonymous heroes like Punto, Tyner and Bartlett. Add to this the best bullpen in the league and top-notch defense.
But the big question is, who else other than Santana will be starting in the playoffs for the Twins? Assuming we can't convince Johan to pitch every game, I say Bonser gets the nod. And assuming Radke is out, I'd have to pick Garza. Two rookies who've earned it. It'll be interesting but man, if Liriano was healthy, we'd coast to the World Series.
Even with our one weakness in starting pitchers, I'm gonna make a prediction:
ALDS: Twins beat Yankees in 4 games.
ALCS: Twins beat Tigers in 7 games.
World Series: Twins beat the New York Mets in 6 games.
World Series MVP : Nick Punto!
That's right. You're hearing it here first. Twins are going all the fuckin' way. Better yet, the core of the team is so damn good and so damn young that you can expect them to repeat next year. Should I call the three-peat? Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves.
2 comments:
i second those predictions.
find us some tickets and i'll make the trek home!!
woh! -- slow down buddy, I mean I know I was calling a sweep of the Yanks but your gonna jinx us with all this optimism
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