Minneapolis

March 21, 2010: a date that will forever be considered one of the most important in Minnesota Twins history.

A time in the baseball calendar that is generally reserved for spring training updates and fantasy buzz was dominated by the news that Joe Mauer and his hometown Twins had agreed on an 8-year, $184M contract.

Just add one more layer to a season already full of history, even though it isn't even under way yet.

Last year the Minnesota Twins won the American League Central for the fifth time in eight years, but it was how they did it that was so significant.

Trailing the Tigers by seven games on Sept. 6, the Twins closed out the season with a 17-4 run to force a one-game playoff.

The one-game playoff ended up going 12 innings, and Minnesota clinched a playoff berth with a 6-5 win.

Can the Twins repeat? Let's take a look at their chances, along with their season win total projection.

Pitching

Photo: Joe Mauer and I at the 2008 All-Star Game party in New York.

I think it is safe to say that every fan of the Minnesota Twins is now breathing a little easier.

The Twins officially signed catcher Joe Mauer to an eight-year, $184 million contract. The deal, which begins in 2011, will earn Mauer an average of $23 million a season.

Well, I think this is not only great news for the Twins, but great news for baseball as well.

Eight years and $184 million can do a lot of things, but prying inexpensive, top-tier closing talent away from a small-market club is a gargantuan task, regardless of the resources available.

Yet if the Minnesota Twins have any designs on persuading the San Diego Padres to part with their All-Star closer, Heath Bell, they took the first and most important step on Sunday.

That is when they agreed to a mega-deal with catcher Joe Mauer, extending him through the 2018 season and solidifying their catcher situation for the majority of the new decade. 

Joe Nathan has a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

At best, it’s partially torn, and he’ll be able to avoid surgery and pitch through the pain this season, albeit with a seriously diminished skill-set due to the injury.

Mortified:

2009 Record: 87-76
2010 Prediction: 88-74
Predicted Finish: 2nd

Offensive Projections:
http://www.fan-exchange.com/mlb/teamhittingpredictions.asp?userid=53&franchid=MIN&yearid=2010

While my bio claims that I know about 2000 players currently in affiliated baseball (and I stand by that claim), my knowledge begins to fracture as you get lower and lower in the minors.

I have a decent sense of almost everyone in Triple-A and a good amount of Double-A, but particularly when you get to Low-A and short-season leagues, all I know are top prospects, high draft picks, and A's players.

However, one player in the short-season Appalachian League caught my eye recently: Elizabethton Twins catcher Josmil Pinto.

Minnesota Twins general manager Bill Smith just got a reprieve.

After sitting idly by and watching a number of the club’s offseason targets sign elsewhere in the past two weeks, Smith now has a second chance at making some major moves this offseason.

Smith’s reprieve comes as the free agent pool just received an infusion of new talent.

This infusion came as a result of the non-tender deadline, which passed at 11:59 p.m. ET Saturday.

Not much has changed for the Minnesota Twins over the past two decades.

They have played in the same stadium, have been owned by the same family, have had the same uniforms, and have had only two different managers.

But that is all about to change.

History shows that when change happens in Minnesota sports, it requires a new look.