|
•Question: Heading into this week’s road trip the Minnesota Twins had won 16 of their last 18 games. Will they continue to play at this high level and gain a spot in the playoffs?
-Marxhausen: The Twins are one of the most unpredictable teams out there. One minute they have lost five straight, the next they are stringing wins in a row. The Twins had a long home stand and they came out looking really good. Now, they are on a seven game road trip to Boston and Detroit. Both are hard places to win. If the Twins finish the first half of the season strong and start well after the All-Star break, then they will be in playoff contention. On the other hand, the Twins have a second half of a season to play yet. I think the Twins will continue their competitive level. Their young overall age and energy keep them in contention.
-Welch: Yes, the Twins right now are one of the hottest teams in baseball, but have been winning against mediocre teams. It will be interesting to see how they do against the Red Sox this week. Even with this winning streak the Twins still find themselves in second place in the division behind the White Sox. Chicago is going to be tough to catch-it was 8-2 during a recent stretch. The American League Central is beginning to look like a two-horse race between the White Sox and the Twins. Neither team will be able to keep up this strenuous winning pace. The division champion will be decided by who wins their head-to-head games. Despite the beating that the Twins received the last time the teams met I expect the games to be closer from here on in. The Twins will be in the race to the finish.
-Larson: Has Ron Gardenhire or the ghost of Harry Houdini been pulling the strings for Minnesota the past month? The young starting pitchers are pitching like veterans and nearly every line-up change Gardenhire makes seems to work. That said, the Twins will contend for the playoffs through mid-August, then slip out of contention.
********
•Question: Who’s been the Twins’ most surprising player so far?
-Marxhausen: The Twins are full of players who are doing better than they were last year. Normally, when someone talks about Minnesota, they would talk about Joe Mauer or Justin Morneau.
But I think that Nick Blackburn deserves the surprise standout award. In the last 10 games that Blackburn has pitched, the Twins have won eight. That is astounding for the Twins, due to the lack of experienced pitching. Blackburn never started a game last year. He was asked to fulfill a starting pitcher position and he has done well. Although he had a rocky start this season, I see big things in his future.
-Welch: The Twins have two players that really surprised me this year. Alexi Casilla and Delmon Young. Casilla came into spring training projected as a backup infielder. He received the call up to the majors in May and has since been an impact player. The speedster hits second in the line-up and has a .320 batting average. Young on the other hand has been the opposite of a pleasant surprise. Young’s fielding is among the worst I have ever seen, and, until recently, his hitting has also been less that what was anticipated. Young has shown little of the power that the Twins were expecting when they traded for him. The biggest issue with hit hitting is his patience. He consistently swings at balls over his head or in the dirt.
-Larson: Second baseman Alexi Casilla looked lost during his time with the Twins last season. Now, he’s providing the team solid defense as well as a multi-talented No. 2 batter in the order. I wrote him off when the season began but he’s been a key player in the team’s recent surge.
********
•Question: Who wins this year’s baseball All-Star Game, American League or National League?
-Marxhausen: The playing field between the National League and the American league is quite even this year. No team is really dominating the leader boards, except for the Tampa Bay Rays and where did they come from? All in all, the National League still has less talent and team play as showed during inter-league play. The American League will win, thus giving it home-field advantage for the World Series.
-Welch: Inter-league play proved that the American league is superior to the NL. The American League teams combined for a 149-102 record against the NL. The AL will win the All-Star Game for the 11th time in 12 years.
-Larson: An AL victory would be appropriate since the game will be played in the soon-to-be replaced Yankee Stadium. Even without David Ortiz of Boston, the junior circuit has a little too much punch for the NL to handle. How about a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning by the Twins’ Justin Morneau to give the AL a 9-8 victory?
********
Do you have an opinion on any of this week’s questions? Do you agree or disagree with the sportswriters? Let us know by sending an e-mail to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or a note to Mille Lacs County Times, 225 S.W. 2nd St. Milaca, MN 56353.
 |
