Now For the Real Stuff

By now most of us know that the Minnesota Twins experienced one of their most successful campaigns last season, finishing atop the AL Central with a 94-68 record. It was their best season since a 96 win performance in 2006, and going into the offseason, there has been plenty of reason for optimism.

First of all, 2010 saw the healthy return of Francisco Liriano. Most importantly, the Twins appear to have a bona fide ace that they can place at the top of the rotation. While his slider was somewhat less dominating than the scary pre-Tommy John version, it simply changed from being virtually un-hittable to "only" a really damn good pitch.

Furthermore, the signing of Jim Thome looked like the bargain of the 2009 free agent class. Filling in for an injured Justin Morneau, Thome played particularly well down the stretch, hitting .357/.518/.881 and knocking seven balls out of the park in September.

Unfortunately, this offseason has seen many big time acquisitions by AL Central teams, specifically by the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. With Detroit's addition of Victor Martinez and decision to retain Magglio Ordonez, and Chicago's ability to draw in Adam Dunn while retaining Paul Konerko, there has been a decided power shift atop the division. While Minnesota may still be considered favorites, few lineups in the majors are able to boast the power that both Chicago and Detroit do.

Minnesota's answer? Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Imported from Japan, Nishioka won the Japanese equivalent of the batting crown, hitting .346. He's young at only 25, and has had some success in previous seasons for the Chiba Lotte Marines, twice hitting exactly .300. The question, of course, will be whether or not that success will translate, and whether or not this somewhat low-key addition will permit the Twins to stay atop the division.

My bet, midway through the offseason, is going to be no. And with the additions the Boston Red Sox made (Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford), it may be hard for any AL Central team to secure a wild card berth. My incredibly premature AL Central predictions go as follows:

Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians

I plan on posting one song at the end of each and every post. For today, Twin Sister's "I Want A House".

First Blog Update

Uh. Hello.

I've been thinking about making a blog for awhile, now. I was never really sure whether or not I would have enough to say to make having an entire blog to myself worth it. But I figure for at least right now, I have things on my mind and enough time to give it a shot.

I've already messed up, by the way. I tried with Tumblr first, and quickly realized that it was the wrong website to use for my intentions. I think I like the site, though, and if you're interested in following my page you can find it at http://iwishihadamustache.tumblr.com/.

As for what I'll be writing about on this blog, it can really be anything. I'm originally from Minnesota, and was raised with baseball and the Twins. I also have recently begun to follow the Timberwolves, and will surely have things to say about both teams and both sports. But I will also be writing about camping expeditions, or my theories on life, politics, and whatever else interests me.