Friday, February 24, 2012

Popular Demand

Apparently my reader wonders when I'll start posting again. In that case, I'll just start musing.

A few days ago, I was navigating MLB.com to see how pathetic the Twins roster is. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the words "Zambrano" and "Marlins" in the same headline. (Recall that I do not follow the offseason too closely because you can catch up in 5 minutes before the first pitch). I was pretty excited about that. If the goal is to pick the unTwins, I have succeeded. The Marlins may be great. They may be terrible. They'll probably be both.

The Twins already seem remarkably different when they're just another team. They have basically the same team as last year. All that's changed is that Young, Thome, Kubel, and Cuddyer have left. Meanwhile, they added that guy from the A's, that injury prone reliever from the Tigers, and Maddie Bisanz. In particular the starting pitching has not changed. Even if the Monstars return Mauer and Morneau's talent there's not much there.

By contrast, the Marlins also should expect two key players- Hanley and JJ- to return from injuries. They have added experience to the starting rotation. Jose Reyes is a proven performer. Then they have the nucleus of players like Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, and Logan Morrison hitting their primes. I'd certainly think Ozzie should be a good manager for this group. They've taken a few risks but that's way better than patronizing their fans the way others might.