Minnesota's Problem? They Just Might Not Be That Good...

After winning the AL Central with an impressive 94-68 record in 2010, the Minnesota Twins are off to one of the worst starts in baseball this season. Actually, through May 5th, the Twins were tied for the worst record in the MLB with division rival Chicago at a dismal 11-18.  Although Francisco Liriano is fresh off his no-hit performance, and the team just won two important division games, it is clear the magic of Target Field is gone.  The question is... why?

Well, it may be that the Twins just aren't that good.  Just take a look at their roster.  An infield featuring Alexi Casilla and a rotation of Matt Tolbert, Trevor Plouffe and Luke Hughes is hardly characteristic of a playoff caliber team.  Moreover, the lone star of the infield, Justin Morneau, clearly isn't 100% recovered from his concussion suffered last season in Toronto.  In fact, he's off to one of the worst starts of his career, batting just .207 with 1 home run, less than one season from being an MVP candidate.  Danny Valencia - thought to be the long sought after answer at third base - has done nothing to prove he is the potential star many thought he could be.  As of Thursday, Valencia is batting just .218 with 2 home runs.

New Nathan, New Pitchers... Better than Ever?

 Twins Closer Joe Nathan

After finishing the 2010 season with the 8th best bullpen ERA in the league, the Twins knew that much of their success was due to their solid relief pitchers eating up those middle innings before John Rauch or Matt Capps came out to seal the deal.  With a lead going into the 7th or 8th inning, the Twins were confident their guys could close out the game.

This season, however, they will be looking to a lot of new names to try to mimic that success.  After losing Jessie Crain to the division rival Chicago White Sox, Matt Guerrier to the Dodgers, Brian Fuentes to the A's, and John Rauch to the Blue Jays, much of what made the Twins a good pitching team is gone.  In fact, the Twins stellar bullpen is much of what gave Minnesota the edge in the always tight AL Central.  Without them, their playoff hopes would have gone drastically down, and that inaugural season in Target Field, would have seemed far less magical.

But hope is not lost for 2011... in fact, I think they will be better.  First, Nathan's return is huge.  As with any pitcher coming off of Tommy John surgery, you don't know how he'll play until the season progresses.  But if his preseason workouts tell us anything, Nathan may be better than ever.  Nathan says he hit 88-89 repeatedly, and topped out at 91.  If this is accurate, not only is he healthy, he's weeks ahead of where he usually is during spring training.  If this pattern continues, and Nathan returns with an even stronger arm (something not unheard of with Tommy John recipients), the 2011 bullpen will already be off to a good start.  More importantly, with Nathan returning to the mound, Matt Capps suddenly becomes one of the better setup men in the league.  Add a healthy Pat Neshek, who is hoping a full offseason of rest and a new vigorous weightlifting program can help him rebound from surgery to anywhere near his 2007 level, where he pitched 70+ innings with a 2.94 ERA, and the Twins might just have one of the best late inning bullpens in the league.

Is This Finally Blyleven's Year?

.8 percent... 5 votes.  That is how close former Twins great Bert Blyleven got to finally making it in to the Hall of Fame in 2010.   After 13 years of falling short, Blyleven is likely to get the required 75% of votes this year.  Whats amazing, though, is how he has been snubbed for all this time.  In fact, history shows us that 21 candidates have fallen between 70-74.9%, and each and every one of them has eventually made it to Cooperstown.  Additionally, every one of those 21 were elected in their very next year.

Blyleven has the 13th best WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in MLB history.  Among full-time starters he is 21st in Win Probability Added, 18th in Runs Saved Above Average, along with 287 wins, 60 shutouts and 3,701 strikeouts.  So how could voters look past these amazing stats?  Well, surprisingly, Blyleven did fall short in a few key categories.  He made only two All-Star teams in his 22 seasons, had top-3 finishes in only two Cy Young elections, and is often 'criticized' for not reaching the all-important 300-win plateau.

Still, these shortcomings in no way outweigh his significant career achievements, and it's simply wrong that he hasn't made it to Cooperstown already.  So, will this be his year? Well, we'll find out Wednesday.

Zach Greinke Traded to Brewers

Former Kansas City Cy Young pitcher Zach Grinke and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers early Sunday in exchange for SS Alcides Escobar, CF Lorenzo Cain, and pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress.

Although the Royals didnt get the "sure thing" star they were looking for, it still appears to be a solid trade for Kansas City.  They knew they would not be able to resign Greinke down the road, and they were able to get a package of potentially solid players in return.  Escobar is a solid hitter, posting a .288 on base percentage last season, and Cain is a well rounded player (although he isn't elite in any one category).  Jeffress is a former first round draft pick, but has been suspended twice for marijuana use.

If any of these players pan out, the deal looks significantly better than what the Minnesota Twins were able to get for Johan Santana, or what the Blue Jays got for Halladay.  The Royals have the potential to be a very talented team in a couple of years, and if they are able to fill one or two holes on that roster with these players, it certainly looks like a quality trade.