The Pitching half

I'm predicting the Twins will bring 13 hitters north, and 12 pitchers.

The pitchers are:

SP: Kevin Slowey, Phillip Humber, Francisco Liriano, and the b-boys: Scott Baker and Boof Bonser. That's five.

Two more could make the roster on the relief side, but they're really starters: Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins.

Closer: Joe Nathan. The best in the biz.

Relievers: Jesse Crain, Juan Rincon, Dennys Reyes, Pat Neshek, Blackburn and Perkins.

One concern is the lack of lefties: Only Reyes, Perkins and Liriano are lefties. In fact, of the 19 pitchers on the Twins' 40-man roster, only five are lefies (Carmen Cali and Jose Mijares are the remaining two. Mijares will be on the disabled list, as he was in an accident and is not expected to pitch for several months.)

Of course, it could be worse. The Angels only have two lefties on their roster.

Getting back to the starting rotation, the Twins could easily have five starters who are all right-handers. At most, they'll have two lefties, Liriano and Perkins.

That leaves Cali, Perkins and Reyes as the potential left-handers. Cali has just not been that effective in relief. That's why he won't make the ML roster, barring injury, or having Liriano start the season at Rochester.

There are nine more pitchers on the non-roster invitee list, including four lefties. None will be going north.

As for who will lead off the rotation, my vote would be Slowey. People have been complaining that because Johan Santana is now a Met, that the Twins have no top-of-the-roster starter.

Well, before Santana burst on the scene, the Twins had a good one. Brad Radke. Radke led the Twins for several years, not because he had a fireball of a fastball (he didn't), but because of control. Radke was effective in his control and also in changing speeds.

Some pitchers are just about speed. throwing faster and faster and harder and harder. Sooner or later their arms give out. Others are about control, and being able to throw pitches at different speeds, to keep the hitter off-balanced.

Slowey is like that., If he returns to form this year, he should be the starter on opening day. If Liriano needs a month or so to find his pitching groove after having Tommy John surgery, Slowey will be the top pick.

If Liriano starts at AAA, Blackburn or Perkins will be inserted into the rotation, and Cali could be kept for the relief pen.

It should be an interesting spring, with all these young pitchers - including Humber who just came over in the Santana trade - vying for spots in the rotation.

All of this is speculating that the Twins won't trade for or sign a veteran presence. (Oh, and Zach Day isn't it. He's on the non-roster list, but he's only got 60 starts in the Major Leagues. Not much of a jump from Baker and Bonser who lead the club with 48 starts each).

That's the list: SP: Slowey, Humber, Liriano, Bonser and Baker; RP: Nathan, Crain, Rincon, Reyes, Neshek, Blackburn and Perkins.