ALCentral_Minnesota Twins

2014 Cleveland Gameday HQ

MINNESOTA TWINS 5-YEAR SCORECARD 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 WINS 66 66 63 94 87 RUNS PER GAME 3.79 4.33 3.82 4.82 5.01 RUNS ALLOWED PER GAME 4.86 5.14 4.96 4.14 4.72 OPENING-DAY PAYROLL (millions) $82 $100 $113 $97 $65 Brian Dozier 2014 STRENGTHS: • Strong bullpen • Excellent defense 2014 WEAKNESSES: • Inability to score runs • Question marks in starting rotation The glory days of yesteryear (when the Twins won six division titles and had nine winning seasons from 2001- 2010) are a distant memory. Now it’s about taking baby steps to get back to respectability. This year will be another step toward that, but likely not a big one. HITTING The Twins scored the third fewest runs in the AL last year (614) and didn’t do much to address the situation in the offseason. Sure, they signed reliable catcher Kurt Suzuki, but he’s a bottom-of-the-lineup guy. The biggest offensive positive from picking up Suzuki is Joe Mauer gets to move from catcher to first full time. That should save his legs a little and boost his already solid offensive numbers. The Twins are also hoping outfielder Josh Willingham has a bounce back season after hitting 21 fewer homers in 2013 than 2012 (35-14). But that’s no given. Oswaldo Arcia, 22, has shown flashes of offensive promise, but he’s young and still largely untested. Brian Dozier hit 18 homers last year, but there’s a lack of depth to the lineup behind Mauer, Willingham and Arcia. Even if those four perform well, the Twins will likely finish in the bottom third of the AL in runs, again. AL Central HANNAH FOSLIEN/GETTY IMAGES SPORT


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