Minnesota Twins: Opening Day is Here!
Mar 24, 2015; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) is congratulated by third baseman Trevor Plouffe (24) after he hit a home run during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Hammond Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Ah, Opening Day. As the temperatures start to warm up and the birds start singing, hope springs eternal for each and every Major League fan base. For us in Minnesota, it means a return of the Twins and the hope that the ugliness of four consecutive 90 loss seasons will be washed away by either improved play or at least the debut of some of the franchise’s highly prized prospects.
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As I am sure everyone knows by now, the Twins season got off on the wrong foot before it began. Ervin Santana got himself suspended for the first 80 games of the season due to a failed steroid test. Nick took a look at what this means for the Twins rotation here. A rotation that finally seemed somewhat settled is once again shaken up.
Today’s starter in Detroit against the Tigers is Phil Hughes. Hughes had an excellent campaign in 2014 in his first season in Minnesota. It will be imperative that Hughes at least comes close to duplicating that success for the Twins to enjoy some success in 2015, particularly with the Santana news. Meanwhile, David Price will take the hill for the Tigers. First pitch at Comerica Park is slated for 12:08 CDT.
Here are some other links to get ready for today’s opener and the new season:
- In case you missed it, you can check out our Twins 2015 season preview here.
- We also examined how the Twins descended from one of the best pitching staffs in baseball in 2006 to one of the worst the past four years.
- Today is Paul Molitor’s regular season debut as a Major League manager. Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at the Santana situation and how Molitor has been forced to deal with a crisis before the season has even started.
- Taylor Mason for Fox Sports North says the Twins are confident that 2015 will be better than the past several seasons.
- Brennen Rupp with our friends over at Puckett’s Pond previews the series with the Tigers.
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I remain fairly optimistic that the Twins will lose fewer than 90 games this season, although the Santana suspension has lessened my optimism somewhat. Before the news broke, I predicted the Twins would finish with a record of 78-84. I will revise that slightly due to the probable pitching downgrade to 74-88. Hopefully I am wrong, Molitor changes the tenor in the clubhouse, Ricky Nolasco and other pitchers step up and the team continues to hit well. No matter what happens though, baseball is back and I certainly consider that to be a good thing.