With the sight of cool rain instead of snow now falling from the sky and uncovering the green grass of baseball diamonds all across the state of Minnesota, it is evident another Spring season is upon us, bringing with it the promise of a better day and an overall enthusiasm for the coming months.

The outlook for the upcoming MLB season throughout the entire Minnesota Twins organization and its fan base this Spring Training couldn’t be described any better.

If you recall, not much was expected of them at the beginning of the ‘08 season after losing All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter to free agency and being forced to trade away the game’s best pitcher, Johan Santana, for what appeared to be little in immediate return. First year GM Bill Smith did step out of the Twins normal operating parameters by trading a standout pitching prospect for some hitting help, sending standout Matt Garza to Tampa Bay for OF and former #1 pick Delmon Young. But still, the optimism among the fan base and in the media about the teams chances had seemed to dwindle.

Despite making the trade for a young slugger, Smith fell into the same old boring routine of the past when it came to his own free agent pursuits to fill out a roster now full of holes in both its lineup and rotation. The ‘08 season’s bargain shopping landed them uninspiring names like Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe to try and fill the shoes left by Santana and Hunter. Then, in a feeble attempt to solidify the left side of the infield, Smith brought in Houston Astro castoffs Adam Everett and Mike Lamb.

All these signings did was resurrect the memories of past failures that included Sidney Ponson, Rondell White, and Tony Batista. They also stunted the promotion and development of some of the younger players who coincidentally provided the spark later in the season. Guys like 2B Alexi Casilla, 3B Brian Buscher, and left-handed starting pitcher Glen Perkins. The teams table-setter down the stretch, OF Denard Span, would also belong in this category, but it took multiple injuries to RF Michael Cuddyer to get him on the big league roster for good.

Taking all of these factors into consideration, the Twins were given little chance in 2008, when all indications pointed to the Tigers and Indians battling it out for AL Central supremacy. Many of the so-called ‘experts’ even picked them to finish dead last, behind the perennial division patsy Kansas City Royals. But in the month of June, after falling well below the .500 mark, the Twins broke out in interleague play, winning 10 games in a row at one point, and going an impressive 13-2 overall against the NL. The injury to Cuddyer brought Span back onto the roster on June 29^th, and the Twins never looked back, ultimately forcing a 163rd game with the Chicago White Sox to claim the Central Division Championship.

They lost a heartbreaker 1-0, but everyone who thought they wouldn’t be relevant in ‘08 had already been swayed.

After coming together much sooner than expected, a young Twins team entered this offseason with much different expectations than the year prior, but there were still other question marks. The lineup was in need of a right-handed hitting power bat to offset their plethora of lefties, the defense at 3B was severely lacking, and the bullpen also took a gargantuan step backward due to injuries and ineffectiveness after being one of the most trustworthy units in baseball.

The Twins appear to have finally found the answers to some of these questions before the season, and there were no superstars or fan favorites that departed for greener pastures that needed to be replaced.

A deal was finally reached with free agent 3B Joe Crede just before the start of Spring Training, and seems to have killed two birds with one stone. It potentially gives them the RH power bat AND Gold Glove caliber defense they were lacking, though he does come with some injury risk as he missed the second half of last years season with a bad back. The front office also added Luis Ayala to try and add some consistency in the later innings en route to Joe Nathan, and some of the young pitchers who we’ve heard about for years may finally get a chance to shine.

A young rotation will be spearheaded by Scott Baker and a fully healthy Francisco Liriano, with developing ace Kevin Slowey and ground ball machines Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins filling out the five spots. Liriano returned to the rotation late in the year (perhaps a week or two too late) and went 6-1 down the stretch to help push the Twins into postseason contention. He wasn’t blowing away hitters with his fastball and making them look foolish with his slider like he did in the past, but he did display a much better grasp of ‘pitching’ rather than ‘throwing,’ and dominated much the same (watch out for the much improved changeup he is throwing more, its better than Santana’s with wicked movement). The other four starters mentioned here also posted double-digit win totals and above .500 records for their club, giving credence to the comparisons that have been made to the dominating Braves teams from the 90’s.

As for the bullpen, it is still anchored by arguably the games best closer in Nathan, but uber set-up man Pat Neshek ultimately had to undergo Tommy John surgery, ending his ‘09 season before it began, and has left a void in the spot reserved for the 7^th and 8^th innings. Ayala was brought in to fill that role, but there are several other candidates that could be moved there as the year goes on.

Matt Guerrier filled that role last year before wearing down and collapsing. Boof Bonser showed flashes of set-up potential after being demoted from the rotation. Jesse Crain is a year farther along after his own surgery and blowing away hitters again. Waiver wire pickup Craig Breslow emerged as a reliable left-handed arm, and newcomer Jose Mijares almost saved the pen last year. As for the guys we haven’t seen before but have heard about, Phillip Humber (acquired in the Santana trade) is out of Minor-League options and throws hard, Brian Duensing has been lights out this spring, and R.A. Dickey would provide a good change of pace with his knuckleball leading to Nathan. We know for certain what the closer can do, but the rest of pen is still the only preseason unknown.

Worth mentioning are a couple of names in the Twins farm system that I think could help soon, but probably won’t see action until late in the year or next year. They are relievers Robert Delaney and Anthony Slama who will probably start this season at AAA Rochester and AA New Britain respectively.

Delaney recorded 72 K’s in 65 IP between Class A Fort Myers and AA New Britain last year while posting 18 saves and a sub 1.50 ERA.

Slama fanned an astonishing 13.94 batters per 9 IP, had a 1.01 ERA and a .94 WHIP while racking up 25 saves for Fort Myers.

I also would not be surprised if K master and last years supplemental round draft choice Shooter Hunt, out of Tulane, makes his way onto the team somewhow ala Matt Garza’s rapid rise a few years back. If you compare their rookie league stats, Hunt blows Garza away, though he did lose his control in class A Beloit after dominating with Elizebethton for only 4 games last summer before being moved up (34 K’s in 19 IP, .53 WHIP).

As for the lineup, this year is nothing like what Twins fans have seen recently, even during their division winning seasons earlier this decade. It has power potential, will hit for high average, has speed, and is deep.

Brian Buscher, Brendan Harris, and whichever of the four outfielders that isn’t playing that day gives them a very capable bench, which they have not had in Ron Gardenhire’s coaching tenure (remember Jason Tyner and Luis Rodriguez being the only options?). Depth.

Span, Carlos Gomez, Casilla, and Nick Punto can all fly around the basepaths and in the field. Speed.

Seven of the Twins nine regulars hit .280 or higher last season, including the batting champ, and as a team they led the majors with a .305 average with runners in scoring position. Hitting.

Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel blasted 23 and 20 homeruns respectively, and Crede, who hit 17 bombs in 97 games last year was added. There’s also Young and Cuddyer, who have the potential to hit 20+ themselves. Power.

All the elements that add up to a great offense appear to be there.

So far this Spring Gomez has shown a better ability to take pitches and is tied for the team lead in HR’s with Young, who has been hitting line drives all over the field. Alexi Casilla and Jason Kubel have been hot, Morneau and Punto have returned from the World Baseball Classic, and guys like Span, Cuddyer, and Crede have started to come around after getting off to a slow start.

The only thing missing down in Fort Myers is catcher Joe Mauer, who has been slow to recover from offseason kidney surgery to remove an obstruction, but I don’t think anyone would question how he’s going to play when he gets back. This may also give the Twins brass the chance to take a look at revered catching prospect Wilson Ramos early in the season as he has been turning heads down in Florida with his bat this spring. But there’s also a guy named Mike Redmond on the roster who has never been overmatched in the 3-hole when Mauer needed a day off.

Looking forward to the 2009 season, there are questions, but they aren’t the same questions from years past. There will be no watching a Hernandez or Ponson lumbering on the mound, sweat dripping off their face, down 5-0 in the second inning. No Batista or White tripping on their shoe laces as they chase after the ball. No need to have an attentive eye on the field at all times, on the lookout for an errant throw into the stands from an Everett or Lamb.

Optimism, hope, promise. The Twins of ‘09 are full of it.