Friday April 2, 2004
Discussion Question #2 - Your responses to these questions will be posted on Monday, so please e-mail me no later than Sunday to have your thoughts posted.
DISCUSSION QUESTION: THE 2004 SEASON...
Spring training is coming to an end. One fun thing to do as the new season approaches is to try to figure out who is smart, who really knows what is going on in the baseball world, and then, what is going to happen this season. It is now the time to make our 2004 season predictions. Earlier in the week, I started the Discussion Question for this week, which was a multi-part question asking you to make some predictions on the upcoming season. I got more responses than I was anticipating, so thank you to everyone who took the time to write. I will answer the questions myself and follow that up with your responses to the questions. Then as the season goes on, we can look back and have written proof of how 'smart' we really are! Remember that on Monday, your responses to the Twins predictions Discussion will be posted. So, if you haven't already, be sure to e-mail me your responses to those questions.
Here are today's Discussion Questions:
1.) Who will win each of the six divisions??
2.) Who will win the AL and NL MVP Awards?
3.) Who will win the AL and NL Cy Young Awards?
4.) Who will win the AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards?
5.) Name one team that you think will surprise people the most (positively)?
6.) Name one team that you think will be the biggest disappointment the year?
7.) Who will win the AL and NL Batting championships?
8.) Who will win the AL and NL Home Run championships?
9.) Who will lead the AL and NL in Wins/Saves?
10.) Who will play in and win the World Series?
11.) Are there any storylines that are really exciting to you as the season begins? What headlines are you looking forward to reading (Example - Yankees Lose 100, The Boss Fires Himself)
SETH'S THOUGHTS
1.) Who will win the divisions? Well, I am going to go just a step further and predict where all of the teams will finish in their division:
AL Central - Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers
AL East - New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
AL West - Oakland A's, Anaheim Angels, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL Central - Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates
NL East - Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, Montreal Expos
NL West - San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks
2.) MVPs (winners in BOLD)
AL - 1.) Manny Ramirez, 2.)Alex Rodriguez, 3.)Jason Giambi
NL - 1.) Jim Thome, 2.) Barry Bonds, 3.) Brian Giles
3.) Cy Young Awards
AL - 1.) Curt Schilling, 2.) Mark Mulder, 3.) Javier Vazquez
NL - 1.) Roy Oswalt, 2.) Kerry Wood, 3.) Kevin Millwood
4.) Rookies of the Year
AL - 1.) Bobby Crosby, 2.) Joe Mauer, 3.) Justin Morneau
NL - 1.) Edwin Jackson, 2.) Kazuo Matsui, 3.) Terrmel Sledge
5.) One team to surprise (positively)
AL - 1.) Cleveland Indians, 2.) Toronto Blue Jays
NL - 2.) Milwaukee Brewers, 2.) San Diego Padres
6.) One team to disappoint
AL - 1.) Chicago White Sox, 2.) Seattle Mariners
NL - 1.) Arizona Diamondbacks, 2.) Florida Marlins
7.) Batting Champions
AL - 1.) Ichiro, 2.) Carlos Beltran, 3.) Manny Ramirez
NL - 1.) Brian Giles, 2.) Todd Helton, 3.) Edgar Renterria
8.) Home Run Champions
AL - 1.) Jason Giambi, 2.) Alex Rodriguez, 3.) Vlad Guerrero
NL - 1.) Sammy Sosa, 2.) Jim Thome, 3.) Barry Bonds
9a.) Win Leaders
AL - 1.) Javier Vazquez, 2.) Curt Schilling, 3.) Mark Mulder
NL - 1.) Greg Maddux, 2.) Roy Oswalt, 3.) Kerry Wood
9b.) Saves Leaders
AL - 1.) David Riske, 2.) Keith Foulke, 3.) Joe Nathan
NL - 1.) Billy Wagner, 2.) Eric Gagne, 3.) Octavio Dotel
10.) World Series?
Boston Red Sox over the Houston Astros
11.) "Royals Pain!" "Yankees 2B? NOMAAAAHHHH!"
So there you have it, my answers to my own questions. But, you read my opinions all the time. Now it's your turn, how would you answer these questions? Let's see:
From The Baseball Savant, David Bergner
The Baseball Savant chimes in with his answers!
1.Division winners are NYY, MIN, OAK, PHI, HOU, & SDP
2.NL MVP-Lance Berkman; AL MVP-Vlad Guerrero
3.NL Cy Young-Kerry Wood; AL Cy Young-Javier Vazquez
4.NL Rookie of Year-Jason Bay; AL Rookie of Year-Bobby Crosby
5.Biggest positive surprise-San Diego Padres
6.Biggest disappointment-Boston Red Sox
7.NL Batting Champ-Todd Helton; AL Batting Champ-Manny Ramirez
8.AL HR Champ-Eric Chavez; NL HR Champ-Jim Thome
9.AL Wins leader-Javier Vazquez NL Wins Leader-Roy Oswalt
AL Saves leader-Mariano Rivera; NL Saves leader-Billy Wagner
10.World Series = Houston v. Oakland
THE STORYLINES!
Man there are so many I could list a ton.
1.The BOS/NYY war in the East.
2.How much of a decline with the Red Sox offense go through?
3.Can both the BOS/NYY starting rotations stay healthy?
4.Knowing that April is an important month, can Boston survive?
5.How will the A-ROD/Jeter relationship play out?
6.Can Toronto shock the world and steal 1st or 2nd in the East?
7.How will Mauer and Santana do for the Twins?
8.Can Santana and Balfour combine for a lethal 1-2 punch in Minnesota?
9.Will Beltran be traded before the season is over?
10.If the Royals can't win the division, will they be stupid and promote Zach Greinke to the major league roster?
11.How many games will Detroit lose?
12.Can Oakland score enough runs to support the staff?
13.Is Barry Zito in for a down year due to a rapidly decreasing strikeout rate?
14.Is all the money spent in Anaheim going to pay off?
15.Can Washburn, Ortiz, and Lackey rebound to have years like they did in 2002 instead of 2003?
16.Just how good are Teixeira and Blalock going to be this season?
17.Can Seattle provide enough offense to support its wonderful staff?
18.Is Freddy Garcia going to turn into the #1 that he is now that his equilibrium is fine due to his repaired eardrums?
Man, those are just some of the AL storylines that seem interesting to me. The NL has just as many I think. Here is what I think the most important storylines are for each division. I think these storylines are going to be the ones that decide each division.
AL East-The health of the BOS/NYY starting rotations
AL Central-What will the KC pitching be like
AL West-Can Oakland score enough runs for their pitching/defense
NL East-When/If Larry Bowa gets fired
NL Central-Can Cubs pitchers stay healthy under Dusty Baker
NL West-What impact is DePodesta going to have in LA
Just the Savant's take on thing!
From Aaron Empsall - Fayetteville, Arkansas
1.) Who will win each of the six divisions??
AL East- Boston
AL Central- Minnesota
AL West- Seattle
Wildcard- New York
NL East- Philadelphia
NL Central- Chicago
NL West- San Francisco
Wildcard- Houston2.) Who will win the AL and NL MVP Awards? AL MVP- Manny NL MVP- Pujols
3.) Who will win the AL and NL Cy Young Awards? AL Cy Young- Curt Schilling, NL Cy Young- Mark Prior
4.) Who will win the AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards? AL- Bobby Crosby, NL- Jason Bay
5.) Name one team that you think will surprise people the most (positively)? San Diego Padres
6.) Name on team that you think will be the biggest disappointment the year? Atlanta
7.) Who will win the AL and NL Batting championships? AL- Manny NL- Pujols
8.) Who will win the AL and NL Home Run championships? AL- Arod NL- Bonds
9.) Who will lead the AL and NL in Wins/Saves? AL Wins- Schilling NL Wins- Randy Johnson AL Saves- Foulke NL Saves- Gagne
10.) Who will play in and win the World Series? Boston Vs. Chicago. Boston Wins
11.) Are there any storylines that are really exciting to you as the season begins? What headlines are you looking forward to reading (Example - Yankees Lose 100, The Boss Fires Himself) May 1 Yankees panic trade for ?? June 15th Yankees Panic trade for ?? July 31 Yankees Panic Trade for?
From Charles Tulk
1.) AL East: Yankees
AL Central: Twins
AL West: Angels
NL East: Philadelphia
NL Central: Chicago
NL West: San Francisco
2.) AL MVP: Carlos Delgado
NL MVP: Barry Bonds
3.) AL Cy Young: Pedro Martinez
NL Cy Young: Mark Prior
4.) AL ROY: Joe Mauer
NL ROY: Kazuo Matsui
5.) Atlanta Braves
6.) KC Royals
7.) AL batting champ: Vernon Wells
NL batting champ: Albert Pujols
8.) AL HR leader:Alfonso Soriano
NL HR leader: Albert Pujols
9.) AL wins leaders: Kevin Brown
NL wins leader: Mark Prior
AL saves leader: Mariano Rivera
NL saves leader: John Smoltz
10.) Phillies beat the Mariners
11.) AL wild card comes from West, not East. Boston in trouble by August leading to ugly scenes at Democratic convention.
From the now famous, Will Young
AL East: Yankees
AL Central: Twins
AL West: Angels
NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Astros
NL West: Giants
AL MVP: A-Rod
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
AL Cy Young: Tim Hudson
NL Cy Young: Roy Oswalt
AL ROY: Joe Mauer
NL ROY: Kazuo Matsui
Surprise Team: San Diego Padres
Disappointing Team: Kansas City Royals
AL Batting Champ: Vladimir Guerrero
NL Batting Champ: Albert Pujols
AL Homeruns: Manny Ramirez
NL Homeruns: Albert Pujols
AL Wins/Saves: Javier Vazquez/Keith Foulke
NL Wins/Saves: Randy Wolf/Billy Wagner
World Series: Twins over Phillies in 7
Headlines: Corey Koskie makes first All-Star Team, A-Rod and Jeter Collide Breaking Each Others Ankles, Big Hurt Complains, Ken Griffey, Jr. Injures Himself Answering Telephone
From Retesh, from Fremont, CA
Here are my predictions:
1.) Seattle, Minnesota, NY Yankees, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia
2.) Gary Sheffield and Albert Pujols.
3.) Mark Mulder and Kerry Wood.
4.) Bobby Crosby and Aaron Miles
5.) Cleveland
6.) Houston
7.) Edgar Martinez and Todd Helton
8.) Alex Rodriguez and Lance Berkman
9.) Wins: Javier Vazquez and Kerry Wood
Saves: Keith Foulke and Billy Wagner.
10.) Boston over Philadelphia in 5 games.
11.) "Bonds joins 700 homerun club"
From Matt Dahl
1.) Who will win each of the six divisions??
Red Sox, Twins, A's, Marlins, Astros, Padres
2.) Who will win the AL and NL MVP Awards?
AL - Vlad
NL - Brian Giles
3.) Who will win the AL and NL Cy Young Awards?
AL - Santana!
NL - Oswalt
4.) Who will win the AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards?
AL - Mauer
NL - Weeks
5.) Name one team that you think will surprise people the most (positively)?
Rockies (2nd in NL West)
6.) Name one team that you think will be the biggest disappointment the year?
Cubs
7.) Who will win the AL and NL Batting championships?
AL - Ichiro!
NL - Jason Kendall
8.) Who will win the AL and NL Home Run championships?
AL - Soriano
NL - Pujols
9.) Who will lead the AL and NL in Wins/Saves?
AL - Mulder/Foulke
NL - Oswalt/Dotel
10.) Who will play in and win the World Series?
Twins over Astros
11.) Are there any storylines that are really exciting to you as the season begins? What headlines are you looking forward to reading (Example - Yankees Lose 100, The Boss Fires Himself)
Cubs fall completely flat on their face. They spend the entire summer battling the Brewers and Pirates for the basement of the NL Central. NL Central standings - 1)Astros 2)Cards 3)Reds 4)Cubs 5)Pirates 6)Brewers. I'm tempted to say the Cubs finish last, but that's a little bold. Can't stand 'em!
From Kirk Beller
1. six champs--new york, minnesota, seattle, philly, houston, san francisco
2. mvps--carlos beltran, albert pujols
3. cy young--tim hudson, roy oswalt
4. r.o.y.--joe mauer, kaz matsui
5. positive surprise--brewers
6. disappointment team--royals
7. batting--garret anderson, todd helton
8. home runs--alfonso soriano, richie sexson
9. wins--mike mussina, randy johnson
10. saves--troy percival, billy wagner
11. i'm looking forward to getting victory sports before august. also looking forward to watching twins games trying to remember a.j. who?
From Anthony Fox, The Bad Twin
1) New York Yankees, Minnesota, Seattle, Philadelphia, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles.
2) Albert Pujols and Manny Ramirez
3) Matt Morris and Kevin Brown
4) Joe Mauer and Jason Bay
5) San Diego isn't going to surprise anybody, so I'm going to say Pittsburgh. I love their young pitchers and outfielders. Just give Craig Wilson a shot!!!
6) The Royals are going to take a huge step backwards.
7) Todd Helton and Manny Ramirez
8) Jim Thome and Jason Giambi
9) Curt Schilling, Keith Foulke, Matt Morris, Billy Wagner
10) Red Sox over Cubs.
11) I think "Alex Rodriguez = Bust" and "Detroit Tigers = Even Worse"
From Leslie Montiero
Great discussion question, Seth. Here are my picks:
1.) Who will win each of the six divisions??
AL East -- Yankees (Red Sox will find a way to choke again. I bet they finish in third place)
AL Central -- Indians (that team is a sleeper and they got experience in their belt from last year)
AL West -- Angels (Their offense is good and their pitching is solid)
AL Wild Card -- A's
NL East -- Marlins (they got the pitching to get it done and I think Philly is overrated)
NL Central -- Astros
NL West -- Giants by default (That division stinks. It stinks so bad that the Rockies have a shot to win it)
NL Wild-Card -- Cubs
2.) Who will win the AL and NL MVP Awards?
AL MVP -- Shannon Stewart
NL MVP -- Mike Lowell
3.) Who will win the AL and NL Cy Young Awards?
AL Cy -- Curt Schilling
NL Cy -- Josh Beckett
4.) Who will win the AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards?
AL ROY -- Joe Mauer
NL ROY -- Edwin Jackson of the Dodgers
5.) Name one team that you think will surprise people the most(positively)?
Cleveland Indians. I am telling you. They are more than good. They got the offense and I like their pitching trio of Sabathia, Davis, and Traber. Indians got a experience on their belt from last year. They are lot better than KC. That's for sure. I think that team will make noise.
6.) Name one team that you think will be the biggest disappointment the year?
Red Sox. They will disappoint as usual this year. Already, they are crippled with Trot Nixon and Nomar Garciaparra missing a month. I think the Sox are hard-pressed to have guys like Mueller, Millar, David Ortiz, and others duplicate the stats they put last year.
7.) Who will win the AL and NL Batting championships?
AL: Shannon Stewart
NL: Jim Thome
8.) Who will win the AL and NL Home Run championships?
AL: Troy Glaus
NL: Barry Bonds
9.) Who will lead the AL and NL in Wins/Saves?
AL: Yankees
NL: Dodgers
10.) Who will play in and win the World Series?
Cubs vs. Yankees
11.) Are there any storylines that are really exciting to you as the season begins? What headlines are you looking forward to reading(Example - Yankees Lose 100, The Boss Fires Himself)
Storylines would be seeing if the Twins can overcome the loss of Latroy, Eddie, A.J., and Denny. Can the Marlins repeat as World Champs and can they make the playoffs again? Can the Red Sox finally beat the Yankees? Can the Braves again win the NL East?
What headlines am I looking forward to. I am looking forward to see the Yankees flop for the fourth straight year. I would love to see it happen like most baseball fans.
-- Leslie
P.S GO LADY GOPHERS!
From Cory Hepola
Here are my responses.
1. AL EAST - NY Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2. AL CENTRAL - Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers
3. AL WEST - Anaheim Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
4. NL EAST - Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves, NY Mets
5. NL CENTRAL - Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers
6. NL WEST - LA Dodgers, SF Giants, SD Padres, Arizona
Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies
AL Wild Card - Boston Red Sox
NL Wild Card - Chicago Cubs
2. AL MVP - Alex Rodriguez, NL MVP - Albert Pujols
3. AL Cy Young - Curt Schilling, NL Cy Young - Andy Pettitte
4. AL ROTY- Joe Mauer, NL ROTY - Kazuo Matsui
5. TEAM TO SURPRISE - AL - Cleveland Indians, NL - Montreal Expos
6. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT - AL - Chicago White Sox, NL - Atlanta Braves
7. BATTING CHAMP- AL- Ichiro, NL - Albert Pujols
8. HR CHAMPS - AL - Carlos Delgado, NL - Jim Thome
9. AL WINS - Curt Schilling, NL Wins - Andy Pettitte
10. Houston Astros win World Series 4 games to 2 over NY Yankees.
From Jeremy Hegg
I agree exactly with your standings prediction for the AL Central. I've been explaining to several friends of mine how Cleveland will narrowly outperform Chicago this year. Of course, it's tempting to be edgy and pick the ChiSox to finish last, but I honestly don't see enough evidence to support that. I mean, the Tigers could improve by twenty games, and, well, you know...
AL East: New York Yankees by a game. I'm not sure how. They're not as deep on paper as Boston, but their lineup plays a little better (especially for road games, which both teams have 81 of...), and you know they have the moxie to fill most holes with mid-season acquisitions. I'll be secretly rooting for the Blue Jays to win the division. They won't, but they'll be in the wild-card hunt until Labor Day.
AL West: A's. Unless a bunch of other people have career years, the Angels won't win 99 again. They did once, but, twice is too much to ask. I absolutely revere Vladimir Guerrero's abilities, but he can't bat more than once each time through the lineup. Seattle finishes second, despite Bavasi's bizarre handling of a deep and creative organization.
NL Central: I don't want to agree with all your picks, but I must pick the Astros. My view is heavily influenced by my suspicion that Mark Prior's injuries will keep him out for most of the season. Their staff becomes quite ordinary if Prior isn't penciled in. Cardinals second, Cubs third.
NL East: I guess the Phillies are easily the most talented team, but I love the notion (even harder to dismiss this season than last) that Larry Bowa can manage the team out of a division title. I pick them to finish a surprising second to the Braves, and I really don't know why. I see Russ Ortiz winning more and more games, in spite of his statistics. He's charmed, and by extension so is his current team.
NL West: As with a lot of people, the Padres seem like a pick to emerge as a contender this year. They might, in this hard-to-predict division. I'll pick Arizona. Sexson will finish second in the MVP voting (to you-know-who). I'll actually be at the home opener for the Pads at brand-new Petco Park next Thursday, when you-know-who will probably hit something out of the park (if he's allowed to swing, and by this point San Diego should know better).
CY YOUNGS: Tim Hudson and the unfathomable Russ Ortiz. I don't know how...
MVPS: Carlos Delgado and Barry Bonds. Just like the Braves' division streak, I have to see it to believe it's over. Bonds is in a zone of historical proportions. Of course he's too old, but he was too old three MVPs ago.
ROYS: Boy, it's tempting to pick our hometown kid. I think I will.
He and Crosby should be 1-2, although somebody else usually emerges to make it interesting. Edwin Jackson will be the NL ROY.
Surprise team: the Braves. Disappointing team: the Cubs.
Batting champs: Manny Ramirez and Todd Helton.
HR titles: Carlos Delgado and Richie Sexson.
Wins leaders: AL, tie between Kevin Brown and Tim Hudson. NL, Russ Ortiz.
Saves leaders: Keith Foulke (he's really, really good) and the surprising Matt Mantei.
World Series: the hated Yankees will face the Houston Astros, with the Yankees beating up on Roger Clemens in game 6, leading to Fox's cameras showing shot after shot of normal-looking Texans scowling at the Yankees.
Storyline: The Cover of Sports Illustrated, third week of August: Mauer Power.So there you have it. My thoughts, and the thoughts of some people who are wiser than me, on what will happen in the major league baseball season. I am excited for Sunday night's game, and then the full day of games on Monday. We will check back on these predictions as the season progresses.
Remember to reply to the 2nd Discussion Question, which deals specifically with Minnesota Twins predictions. Any thoughts, please e-mail me.
THURSDAY - Twins 3, Red Sox 4
Yesterday, the Twins faced Curt Schilling in the final game between the two teams who hold their spring trainings in Fort Myers. Johan Santana took the mound for the Twins. Again, he went just four innings. Why? Because he doesn't let anyone hit the ball! Yes, he struck out 6 batters in four innings, but he also walked 4 again. As I have said before, strikeouts are wonderful, but if you're playing defense, who would you rather play behind? A pitcher like Santana who either walks or strikes out the batter, or a pitcher like Brad Radke who lets the ball be put into play? In the first inning, he actually walked in a run. I am actually concerned about Johan Santana. When he was on last year, he got strikeouts without walks. He needs to find his control. Of course, Gardy and many of the Twins hitters may say that Santana was being squeezed by the home plate umpire. Gardenhire was actually ejected from the game for arguing the strike zone.
Anyway, Bill Mauer came in to replace Santana and pitched two innings. This is interesting primarily because he was able to throw to his brother Joe. Bill gave up two hits and two walks, but no runs and struck out one hitter. Later, Aaron Fultz pitched a scoreless inning. JC Romero took the loss, giving up a solo homer to Adam Hyzdu in the 9th inning.
Not much to report on the offensive side of things. Curt Schilling also went four innings. He gave up a run on three hits and a walk, striking out four. Jacque Jones went 2-2 with his third spring training home run (off Schilling). Joe Mauer was 1-2 with a walk and an RBI.
FRIDAY - The Twins will play the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday and Saturday. They then have Sunday off and the regular season starts on Monday night against the Cleveland Indians at the Metrodome.
I still don't have Victory Sports. Hopefully by Monday night, my cable provider will pick up Victory Sports so I can watch the Twins games! Well, yesterday, Victory Sports One's President Kevin Cattoor, posted a message on the Dickie Thon Twins Fan Forum explaining the current situation and trying to answer some of the questions I'm sure has been hearing. To be totally honest, it is nice to see him writing the real Twins fans on the message board, but the posting doesn't really say anything new, anything we haven't heard before. My only opinion is that I just want to watch the Twins. I don't care what it takes. I would be more than willing to pay $2 extra a month. I'd pay $10 extra a month to watch the Twins. What do you think? E-mail me.
In other news, utility man Augie Ojeda and pitcher Sean Douglass were put on waivers. Ojeda passed through waivers and will report to Rochester. Douglass was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays. By them being removed from the 40 man roster, the team is now able to put Joe Mauer and Jose Offerman on the 40 man roster. Also, Joe Mays was put on the 60 Day Disabled List, meaning the Twins can add another player to the 40 man roster, probably Aaron Fultz.
Joe Roa officially made the team. He won the last pitching spot. Brad Thomas will be the 5th starter with Grant Balfour holding down a relief role. For the full 25 man roster, Click here.
The Twins Geek continues his thoughts on Luis Rivas, all in the hope that he can become an average big league second baseman. Hope springs eternal, right?
The Baseball Boys discuss their hopes for Michael "Cuddy Bear" Cuddyer.
Be sure to check out this Monday's Discussion Questions. Feel free to answer all or some of the questions for me. Just send me an e-mail and your thoughts will be heard later this week.
Here are how former Twins players did for their new teams on Thursday:
David Ortiz, DH, Boston Red Sox (0-2)
David McCarty, 1B, Boston Red Sox (2-3, RBI)
Javier Valentin, 1B, Cincinnati Reds (0-1)
Todd Jones, RP, Cincinnati Reds (1 IP, 0 R)
Greg Colbrunn, PH, Arizona Diamondbacks (1-1)
Todd Walker, 2B, Chicago Cubs (1-1, solo HR)
Casey Blake, 3B, Cleveland Indians (2-5, 3B)
Damien Miller, C, Oakland A's (1-3, solo HR)
Greg Myers, DH, Toronto Blue Jays (3-3)
Chris Gomez, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays (1-4, 2B)
Denny Hocking, CF, Colorado Rockies (1-1, HR)
Quinton McCracken, CF, Seattle Mariners (1-2, 2B)
Chad Moeller, C, Milwaukee Brewers (0-3)
DISCUSSION QUESTION OF THE WEEK - Part 2
The results of Part 2 will be posted next Monday. The Twins will be opening their season next Monday night against Cleveland, so it seems like an appropriate time to talk about the Twins. Please answers these questions by sending me an e-mail by Sunday.
1.) How will Joe Mauer do in his rookie season?
2.) Who will lead the Twins in (and how many):
a.) Batting Average
b.) Home Runs
c.) RBI
d.) Stolen Bases
3.) Who will lead the Twins in (and how many):
a.) Wins
b.) ERA
c.) Saves
4.) Will Jacque Jones stay with the team all season?
5.) Which minor leaguer(s) do you think will have the most impact on the Twins season?
6.) What, in your opinion, is the X-Factor for the Twins this year?
7.) How many games will the Twins win, and what place will that be in the AL Central?
8.) What storylines will you be following throughout the Twins season (example - Rivas Wins HR Title, or Bartlett Replaces Guzman)
There you have it. Eight Twins related questions for you to answer for next Monday. Again, be as specific or general as you'd like. If you want to project the stats for each Twins player, feel free to do so. I will post these thoughts on Monday, so please think about an answer and get back to me by Sunday. I can't wait to read your responses, so, e-mail me.
That's it for today. Check back over the weekend. I will probably have a new posting on Sunday showing the results of my fourth and final fantasy baseball draft. I hope you enjoy what you have read today. If you have any questions or comments, suggestions or opinions, E-mail me.