My Worst Nightmare

(Picture from twinkietown.com)

Spring training is right around the corner, and up until a week ago I was pre ordering my Chicago White Sox AL Central Championship t-shirt. That was until the Twins decided they would actually spend some money. Those damn Twins have been one of the most active teams this off season, which is a gut punching sentence to actually write. Where has this team come from? In past years the Twins haven't even dipped their toes into the free agent waters, so why are they starting now?

Last year the Twins started the season with a pay roll of $68 million dollars, this year they are over $90 million dollars and that's not including the re amp of Joe Mauer's contract that will soon be done. Who is this Twins team and what have they done with that small market, penny pitching team they used to be? Now that the Twins have signed Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson in the last few weeks, their lineup has become scary good. As a White Sox fan I am going into this season thinking they have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, and wasn't truly scared of the lineups the Tigers and Twins were throwing out there. Until now. The Twins one through five hitters are scary (Span, Orlando Hudson, Joe "I have the best side burns in the world" Mauer, the Canadian Polar Bear, and Thome/Kubel), and six through nine aren't bad either (Delmon Young, J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris/Nick Punto, and Cuddyer).

That is one hell of a tough line up to face 17-times. I really like the Orlando pick up, he should fit well in the type of baseball Minny likes to play. They value defense and do the little things right, so it seems like they will continue to develop O-Dog into a better defender (something he hasn't been since he left Toronto). I was also reading an interesting post by Buster Olney that worries me even more. He said "...he would seemingly have a shot to hit in front of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau-- and you'd think this would mean he would see more fastballs, given that pitchers will not want to mess around and risk walking him. This raises two questions: First, do the No. 2 hitters in the Twins' lineup -- the guys who hit in front of Mauer -- actually see more fastballs than most No. 2 hitters?. The Twins' No. 2 hitters last year saw fastballs 68.7 percent of the time, which was fifth-most in the majors. Does Hudson do well against fastballs? In 2009, Hudson hit .321 against fastballs..." This is MY NIGHTMARE!

The Twins never go away as it is, and now with O-Dog this team is even better than before. They just linger and linger and linger, no matter what kind of line up they march out on the field, they continue to suck you dry until you crack. And on top of it I have to watch Big Jim hit home runs into the Miller Lite Bullpen Sports Bar for another team? God help me.

The Twins play solid small ball with great defense and have the perfect mix of speed, power and finesse. They are well coached and have a solid pitching rotation to back it up. Hopefully the new outdoor stadium can become some sort of curse for the Twins, because the lord knows it would be a nice change to watch them mishandle easy double plays, routine pop ups, and easy ground balls. I can't believe the season hasn't even started yet, and I'm already worried about this Twins team. But like I said, they are always lingering ready to suck any White Sox fan dry..