Minnesota Twins

Ask casual fans of the Minnesota Twins who their best starting pitcher is and they'll probably answer Francisco Liriano.

No surprise here, the dynamic lefty captured imaginations with a dominating 2006 before losing all of 2007 to Tommy John surgery and spending most of 2008 at AAA Rochester.

This, of course, doesn't mean they are wrong. Liriano is a horse, no doubt, but whether he can recapture even part of his 2006 form remains to be seen.

During his 13-year tenure as a Major League executive, former Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan acquired the reputation of being a prudent horse trader and a proponent of developing players from within the organization's ranks.

Of course, this  was a philosophy borne of necessity.

The bullpen was one big reason why the playoffs didn't make their way to the Metrodome last season. Without that tough two-week road trip in which game after game was blown, game 163 would not have been needed.

In the upcoming '09 season the Twins hope the bullpen will solve itself. The front office didn't go out and get some big name, and really, they didn't need to.

Professional sports fans know that they will suffer through their share of last-second heartaches, missed opportunities, and close calls that could have gone either way.

Minnesota Twins fans are no exception.

Some of the franchise's setbacks have occurred on the diamond. Some have taken place in the offseason. On at least one occasion, the worst moment of all unfolded far removed from the roar of the crowd.

10. Sept. 28, 1982

Hindsight is always 20/20, says an old English proverb.

At the very best, signing a free agent is a crapshoot. Sometimes, you strike gold. Sometimes, you strike out.

The Minnesota Twins have excelled in the amateur baseball draft. Witness the selections of Justin Morneau (1999), Jason Kubel (2000), Joe Mauer (2001), Denard Span and Pat Neshek (2002), Scott Baker (2003), and Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey (2005).

Can the same be said about the Twins' involvement in the free-agent market?

Decide for yourself.

The Worst

On Sept. 13, 2008, Rodriguez broke Bobby Thigpen's saves record for a single season with 58. The following day, I jumped onto YouTube to watch a video of the record-breaking moment and couldn't help but look at some of the comments people had written.

Many of the comments were along the lines of, "K-Rod is the best closer in Major League Baseball." As a huge Joe Nathan fan, I was a little ticked off. I rattled in my head a number of players who I thought were better, such as: Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbon, Mariano Rivera, Brad Lidge, and Joakim Soria.

There's arguably no race in the Major League that is more difficult to predict than the American League Central Division.

Last year was a prime example.

Most preseason baseball forecasters picked either the Detroit Tigers or the Cleveland Indians to capture the division. Chicago was picked third, with Minnesota in fourth followed by Kansas City at the bottom.

Well, we all know what happened.

The Yankees had a good day on both sides of the ball and beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 at The Boss.

Here are the lineups:

Yankees

Ruth and Gehrig...Mantle and Maris...Mays and McCovey...Aaron and Matthews.

All superstars in their own right, all capable of carrying a team on their backs. Put them together and you had dynamite.

The Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau don't yet belong in this rarefied company. But they've accomplished a lot in their short careers.