Last year on April 7th, Justin Morneau was accidentally kneed in the head, as he was trying to break up a double play against the Toronto Blue Jays. Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said about Morneau after the game, "He was a little dizzy out there. We got him out of the ball game. He said he had to come out. We'll see how he is tomorrow." The Twins were very concerned with their former AL MVP Morneau said, "If you get a second concussion before the first one has healed, then it can get even worse.'' Morneau didn't return to the field in 2010 and missed the Twins last 78 games with a concussion. Justin's first regular season game back since the horrible injury will ironical be at the same field where he suffered the concussion when the Twins play the Blue Jays on opening day. Morneau said about his return, "It's not like it's my first game of the year. I'm usually more nervous about the first game of spring training than opening day. But it's exciting to play on Opening Day, with the butterflies and all that comes with it." His return to the Twins in their first game is so surprising because Morneau had an abbreviated spring training, as he didn't play in the first half of the Twins games. When Justin was playing, he struggled only batting .192 with just 1 RBI. With the uncertainty of Morneau returning to his huge numbers with his health, there will be a lot of added pressure on Delmon Young. Young had the best season of his career last year when he nearly batted .300, hit 21 home runs, and added 112 RBI's. Young will have the opportunity to drive a lot of guys in again this season when he is batting fifth behind the M&M boys.
Projected starting lineup:
1. Denard Span, CF
2. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Delmon Young, LF
6. Joe Thome, DH
7. Michael Cuddyer, RF
8. Danny Velencia, 3B
9. Alexi Casilla, SS
The top of the rotation will be the key for the Twins. Francisco Liriano, who went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 2006, missed the 2007 season after he received Tommy John Surgery during the off-season. Although Liriano struggled in 2008 and 2009, he looked much better last season posting a 3.62 ERA and having a record of 14-10. Gardenhire said, "He's one of the best starting pitchers. He's one of those top-of-the-line guys that has some pitches that blow people away. That's always valuable. That's why we signed him... He's getting better and better. Now it's just about keeping him healthy." There is no doubt that Liriano has a fastball in the mid 90's and a slider that has a hard bite, but the question will be if Liriano can stay off the DL, as he has already missed time during spring training due to a sore shoulder. Carl Pavano, at the age of 35, will also be relied on heavily to perform well. Yankee fans remember this name well, as he only pitched 9 games with the Bronx Bombers in his last two seasons in New York. However, Pavano had a spectacular season last year when he won his most games since 2004 at 17 and had his best ERA since 2004 at 3.75.
Projected starting rotation:
1. Carl Pavano
2. Francisco Liriano
3. Nick Blackburn
4. Scott Baker
5. Brian Duensing
Projected closer:
Joe Nathan
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar