2010 Twins Predictions

Now it appears that Twins Blogitory is engaging in a slew of predictions, thanks to Josh Johnson from Josh’s Thoughts. I know he gave us a template as examples (best pitcher, hitter, etc.), but I’m just going to wing it this year. In other words, I’ll make up whatever predictions I can think of, even if they may be a tad ridiculous. Don’t worry, when I say ridiculous, I mean funny, not “Joe Mauer will hit .500 this year.” As I did for Nick Punto Day, I’ll also include some of my buddies’ predictions from the Facebook group “1,000,000 MINNESOTA TWINS FANS!!!”

I apologize if anyone felt that they had an A+ prediction, but I trimmed a few out just to save space.

Ramon B. III

– The AL East will send only one team to the playoffs.

– Liriano will look bad for a month and then be lights out after the All-Star Break.

– Another Twins pitcher will have Tommy John surgery.

Megan D.

– Joe Mauer will win another batting title.

– The Twins will FINALLY beat the Yankees this year.

– The Twins will battle the White Sox for a while and then pull away in August. No Game 163 this year!

Jessica W.

– After 2 months of the closer by committee, Pat Neshek will become the full time closer.

Brock B.

– Liriano and Span will be All-Stars this year.

– Delmon Young will hit .300 with 20 home runs.

– The Twins will beat the Rockies in the World Series.

Steven K.

– The Twins will win the AL Central by at least 5 games.

– Delmon Young will cease to be an everyday player by the middle of May.

– A total of 5 different players will play 3rd base for the Twins this year.

Jake R.

– Nick Punto will bat .200 but will still start 130 games.

– Neshek will become the full-time closer by June.

Nick J.

– Francisco Liriano will beat Zack Greinke in a knife fight for the AL Cy Young.

– Gardy will try to seduce Wilson Ramos.

– Delmon Young will hit less than 5 or 20+ home runs. No middle ground.

Andy W.

– Glen Perkins will be traded for 50 maple bats and a pack of Big League Chew bubble gum.

– There will be NO single closer during the season.

– Jacque Jones gets a call-up in the middle of the season and stays on the team, doing a decent job as Denard’s backup.

Megan D.

– Jon Rauch will end up being the closer and will do a great job.

– Twins starters will be in the top three in combined ERA this year.

– The Twins offense will score the most runs in the AL.

Shane B.

– Jason Kubel will be an All-Star as an alternate.

– Scott Baker will have over 20 wins.*

– Justin Morneau will lead the team in HR and RBI.

* I think this is a stretch.

Joshua K.

– Joe Mauer will be managed by his older brother Jake by the end of his contract. (I assume this means Jake will be in the majors as a manager).

Jordan N.

– This is the year Ron Gardenhire FINALLY wins AL Manager of the Year.

Ryan F.

– Denard Span will hit over .320 with 30 steals.

– Ben Revere will be in the majors this year, but before September call-ups.

– Justin Morneau will finally have a good end of the year!

Some common predictions that I omitted were “Liriano will win Cy Young, “Mauer will hit over .400,” and “Morneau will win MVP.” Now, here are my Top 20 predictions for the 2010 Minnesota Twins.

1. The following players will make their major league debuts this year: Drew Butera, Anthony Slama, Rob Delaney, Alex Burnett, Luke Hughes, Danny Valencia, Trevor Plouffe.

2. Joe Mauer will hit around .340 this year.

3. Justin Morneau will lead the Twins in HR. Jason Kubel will lead the team in RBI.

4. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau will have a confrontation in the clubhouse about both missing significant time the previous year due to injury. They will attempt to punch each other, but both will miss and will hit Nick Punto instead.

5. Francisco Liriano will be good this year (about a 3.75-4.25 ERA with almost 9 K/9 IP) but won’t be dominant like some people are predicting. In other words, he will not win the Cy Young this year.

6. No one will hit the Target Center with a home run this year.

7. The concrete overhang in right field will come into play about 8 times.

8. Dustin Pedroia will be the first player to get a hit at Target Field. ESPN will rejoice.

9. A Twin will not be the first player to hit a home run at Target Field.

10. The closer by committee will only last until the middle of May, when someone will become the primary closer. The closer will be any one of Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, or Pat Neshek.

11. During every rain delay at Target Field, if I am working that day, I will be asked by at least one person when the game will resume. I will not know the answer.

12. When it rains, I will overhear at least 3 comments in the ballpark about how there should have been a retractable roof.

13. The Twins will have a league average number of rainouts this year (about 6).

14. Joe Mauer will be the first to strike a pine tree in center field with a home run ball.

15. In terms of ERA, the starting rotation from best to worst will be: Baker, Liriano, Blackburn, Slowey, Pavano.

16. Joe Mauer will not crack 25 HR this year, Justin Morneau won’t hit more than 35, and Jim Thome won’t crack 20.

17. The players that will hit more than 20 HR are: Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, and Cuddyer.

18. Delmon Young will be a big disappointment again. Jim Thome will take over DH with Kubel shifting to LF sometime in June.

19. Alexi Casilla will either be traded or designated for assignment this year.

20. The Twins will win the AL Central, but will not make it past the 1st round once again.