Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, 2010 Edition

I would rec it for the Life of Brian reference alone.

Huh, never knew.

We finally saw outdoor baseball in Minnesota, and holy crap, it was glorious!

The feeling’s mutual, and we can always agree, no matter on which side of our divide we’re standing, at least we’re not the White Sox.

In the long run I may not like Mauer’s contract, but this off season I’m glad I won’t be refreshing MLB Traderumors every minute trying to find out where Mauer will play next year.

But with Pavano most likely gone next year… the cuteness might wear off purdy fast.

But I still want Kubel gone.

Looks like the team needs to make a few adjustments to a tougher, outdoor environment. I’d start by adding Brock Peterson to the roster, and subtracting Jason Kubel. Kubel is one of my favorite players, but that’s partly because he came back from a disastrous knee injury. It now appears that he’s not quite the power hitter we all hoped he’d be after the move from the Dome to Target Field. The longer distance in right field has reduced his power numbers, no fault of Kubel’s, but it’s a fact that needs to be considered, along with Kubel’s large salary, plus Peterson’s ability to fill in for oft-injured Justin Morneau.

Reasons for optimism aren’t abundant, but there are some interesting prospects rising through the minors. In AAA, Kyle Gibson looks like a winner. David Bromberg might be… Kyle Waldrop definitely deserves a look. Again, Peterson (who’s better?) should be available to sub for Morneau, so that Cuddy can use his cannon arm in right field.

The AA scene is fairly interesting just because of CF Joe Benson. He’s fast, and has a powerful bat. Could be play CF and move Span to a corner? Would Delmon Young be better in RF, with Span in Left? Where would this leave Revere and Cuddy? These problems might be resolved by salary issues. I get the feeling that Revere, Young and Kubel might just be trade bait this off season. In fact, about half the current roster could be trade bait. Speculation is fun!

Because it should lead to a radical revamping and retooling of the lineup and approach to baseball. Not only can’t the Twins compete with the Yankees, its fans are in denial if they really believe they lost just because of a couple of bad balls and strikes calls by the umpire. I remember at the start of the playoffs someone talking about how the Twins 3rd baseman was, based on potential, on the cusp of being better than Arod. And they would pick Orlando Hudson over Robinson Cano. And the lala land talk droned on and on.
Don’t you see that even the Minnesota media s talking about the Twins being put on playoff probation for their impersonation of a playoff contender?
There are fans, there are homers and then there’s those who are in denial with blinders on when it comes to the Twins. That mindset guarantees continued post-season embarrassment.
Change doesn’t mean declining the option for Nick Punto with the hope he signs a cheap one-year deal.