One Day Only Sale!

Fear not, faithful readers (all 10 of you)! Twins Chatter is back, albeit for a limited time only. In fact, that time is limited to... Exactly one day! Before I get started on the post, I just want to go over why I am writing today, of all days. Here's the story: For the Journalistic Writing class I am taking, we recently held a class period on blogs. Naturally, being a *former* blogger myself, I professed to know a little bit about the subject. Our assignment for this week was to start a blog and write a short entry. I already have the blog started (and over 200 archived posts!), so I thought that I would simply add to that number and bring you a little bit of off-season chatter.

I realize that it has been a few months since I posted anything new on Twins Chatter, but rest assured, I've been just as obsessively keeping up with all the latest Major League Baseball news. The playoff sweep, the Tigers roll, the Tigers roll over, Big Mac not in the Hall, price inflation, D-Mat signs.... You all know the storylines by now. It hasn't been a particularly eventful Hot Stove League thus far, but things have been happening pretty consistently, with much more to come no doubt.

On the Twins' side of things, nothing too earth-shattering has happened (hey, imagine that!). Francisco is out for 2007, which we all kind of assumed back in September, and Morneau won the MVP award, which only the most die-hard fans saw coming (I know that I sure didn't). However, the signing of Jeff Cirillo the other day has made me stop and think about what the Twins' 2007 roster might look like. While no one expected Terry Ryan to make any major moves, I think that some fans half expected the team to have acquired a legitimate starting pitcher by now. Those same fans obviously did not anticipate the ridiculously high prices for mediocre starting pitchers this winter.

My opinion? I honestly don't think that the Twins will sign viable starting pitcher to compete with the young kids in the rotation right now. And I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing. Yes, the rotation looks thin after Johan, but is it worse to take some chances with (very talented) kids or overpay for a veteran that will limit you financially when it comes to other priorities? Personally, I'll take my chances, and I think Trader Terry is likely to do the same. Here's the rotation that I see the Twins debuting in April:

1. Johan Santana - No worries here... Cy Young frontrunner again in '07
2. Boof Bonser - How is it that a previously-unheralded guy like Boof is now "untouchable"? Such is the market these days.
3. Carlos Silva - Yuck... But he almost looks like a bargin now.
4. Matt Garza - This guy has all the talent in the world, and I have a feeling that he's going to put together a solid 2007 campaign. Not that he won't struggle at times, but the "Garz-dog" has the stuff to survive and thrive.
5. Glen Perkins - Left-handed and throws 92-94 mph? What more could you ask for!? Okay, a little experience might help, but this guy knows how to pitch.

Alright, I admit it would look a lot better if a name like "Jason Jennings" was penciled in there at number two or three, but the Twins' rotation still compares favorably with the rest of the American League. Ryan might be able to swing a deal for another starter (Joel Pineiro?) but I'm not holding my breath. We'll just have to wait and see what the rest of the winter holds.

And that's it for today's chatter! There is a potential development that may allow and/or encourage me to actually start this blog back up in the coming months, but if that happens I will alert the proper channels. Thanks for stopping by Twins Chatter today!