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I'm conceding baseball's weakest division to the defending champs, and with the experience of last year's playoffs under their belts, this young, talented team could be even better next October. A couple of ESPN columnists agree. In the first of a series called Hot Stove Heaters, John Sickels takes a detailed look at the 2003 Twins, and raves about lefty Johan Santana. Best known for his excellent minor-league analyses, Sickels also rates the Minnesota farm system highly. Up next on Monday, it's the D-Backs on the Hot Stove, then Your Toronto Blue Jays will be dissected January 7.

Less thorough than his colleague, but usually more entertaining, Jim Caple calls Scrooge Pohlad's decision to increase the payroll to $50 MM, "as unexpected a move as if he drove up to a Minnesota farm and told the family not to worry about their late mortgage payments, he wouldn't even think of foreclosing." Caple also points out a problem they share with the Jays -- the Twins were 23-29 against LH starters and 71-38 against righties last year. If you're reading this, Art Howe, why didn't you start Barry Zito in Game One of the ALDS?
2003 Preview: Minnesota Twins | 1 comments | Create New Account
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_Kent - Saturday, January 04 2003 @ 04:34 PM EST (#100126) #
OK, I'm getting the message. Visitors to this site want to discuss the Blue Jays, not the Twins. Or the Yankees, or George Steinbrenner, or Dave Martinez, or Pete Rose. Speaking only for myself, and not for my co-bloggers, I'm probably going to keep throwing these off-topic posts at the digital wall from time to time anyway, and perhaps one will stick.

I'm pleased to report that the hit counter, in five weeks and about two hours of operation, shows 5,476 visits. (It was set at 1,000 originally, and to my astonishment, we're going to need a 5-digit upgrade before pitchers and catchers report.) In mid-December, we had a couple of huge weeks, then it tailed off slightly for the holidays. More of you join us from Monday through Friday than on the weekends, and it gets particularly busy about lunch time (EST) on weekdays.
2003 Preview: Minnesota Twins | 1 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.