BRADENTON, FLA. — Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said before today’s game that Brendan Harris would likely be the team’s regular second baseman, though Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert will both get chances to play there.

“We’ll start there and see where it goes,” Gardenhire said.

Gardenhire also said the staff remains “leery” of whether Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano will be able to open the season on the roster. The first three games will be started by Livan Hernandez, Boof Bonser and Kevin Slowey, in that order, the manager added.

Gardenhire said he’ll stick with Carlos Gomez in the leadoff spot, and he said Mike Lamb will not be a primary backup option for Justin Morneau at first base. Lamb will stick to third base, and on days when Morneau gets a breather, Michael Cuddyer will play first.

Punto gets a start at shortstop today and will bat leadoff, as Gardenhire wants to get him as many at-bats as possible. Punto is batting .139 (5-for-36).

Twins

1. Nick Punto, SS

2. Joe Mauer, C

3. Michael Cuddyer, RF

4. Jon Knott, 1B

5. Craig Monroe, CF

6. Jason Kubel, LF

7. Mike Lamb, 3B

8. Brendan Harris, 2B

9. Kevin Slowey, P

Pirates

1. Nate McLouth, CF

2. Jack Wilson, SS

3. Jason Bay, LF

4. Adam LaRoche, 1B

5. Ryan Doumit, C

6. Xavier Nady, RF

7. Jose Bautista, 3B

8. Luis Rivas, 2B

9. Ian Snell, P

McKechnie Field. First pitch, 12:06 p.m. (Central). First-pitch temperature, 61 degrees.

BRADENTON, FLA. — Scott Baker felt better Tuesday morning, improving his chances of not having to open the season on the disabled list.

Baker felt weak while playing long-toss Monday and there was doubt over whether he could stay on pace to start the Twins’ fifth game of the season. But Baker said he’ll be able to make his start in a minor-league game Wednesday.

If that goes well, he’ll pitch in another minor-league game Sunday. If that goes well, he’ll pitch April 4 against Kansas City at the Metrodome.

Baker hasn’t pitched in a Grapefruit League game since March 8. He had a strained right lat muscle. That feels better now. But he came down with the flu on March 16 and lost 12 pounds. He has since gained five pounds back.

“This morning, I ate a normal breakfast,” he said. “I feel a lot better.”

Today’s Twins lineup: 1. Nick Punto SS, 2. Joe Mauer C, 3. Michael Cuddyer RF, 4. Jon Knott 1B, 5. Craig Monroe CF, 6. Jason Kubel LF, 7. Mike Lamb 3B, 8. Brendan Harris, 9. Kevin Slowey P.

FORT MYERS — I just passed along an update to other national writers about Carlos Gomez winning the Twins’ center field battle, along with the buzz La Velle and Souhan have been hearing that Francisco Liriano will open the season on a minor-league rehab assignment.

I offered this current projection:

ROTATION
1. Livan Hernandez
2. Boof Bonser
3. Kevin Slowey
4. Nick Blackburn
5. Scott Baker
Coming soon: Francisco Liriano

LINEUP
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Michael Cuddyer, RF
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Delmon Young, LF
6. Craig Monroe/Jason Kubel, DH
7. Brendan Harris, 2B
8. Mike Lamb, 3B
9. Adam Everett, SS

Then, I thought about what I’d be thinking if I were a writer from Los Angeles or Baltimore, someone who’d skimmed a few Twins blurbs this spring but hadn’t paid close attention since they traded Johan Santana to the Mets.

The conclusion? I’d probably think the Twins were going to be awful this year. Not just average. Awful.

I’ve been thinking all day about changing my third-place prediction for this team, perhaps picking them fourth behind the White Sox. A good friend chided me about that third-place prediction, saying I’d probably been subjected to the rose-colored-glasses syndrome a lot of writers get after spending six weeks around the same team all spring.

I’m a glass-is-half-full kind of guy, and it’s easy to believe teams are going to be better when the people you cover are brimming with optimism. The Twins haven’t lost a game since Sept. 29 (Wakefield over Blackburn at Fenway Park), so it’s easy for them to stay positive now.

For me, the fact Liriano probably won’t open the season with the team was almost the straw that broke the camel’s back. But then I caught myself. In baseball, it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. For five weeks, all of us tend to obsess about the Opening Day roster. We grab the preview magazines and study each team’s projected lineup and rotation and base our early predictions on those.

Then, a lot of us wait for those end-of-spring decisions, and make some knee-jerk decisions. Torii Hunter is gone, Santana is gone … Livan Hernandez is the Opening Day starter … and, now Liriano isn’t even ready to start the season! That must mean the Twins are terrible!

Trust me, this team isn’t terrible. Not saying the Twins will compete with Cleveland and Detroit, but I think they’ll hold their own and get better as the season progresses. No matter how management wants to spin it, this is a rebuilding year, and I think this has potential to go well.

Baker is not a No. 5 starter. He looked terrific early in camp, and by about mid-April, I expect him to look solid again. Liriano did not have some major setback in spring training. By mid-April, he could become a force again, if not quite as dominant as 2006, something approaching that.

The lineup is better. Gomez will have his ups and downs, but his ups are extraordinary. Mauer looks terrific this spring, healthy and strong. Folks who haven’t seen Delmon Young are in for a treat. Mark it down: This kid will thrive in Minnesota.

Bullpens are often overlooked this time of year, and Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan have looked exceptional. I think Nathan’s contract extension signified how serious this team is about sustaining its success.

Again, no one is saying this is a playoff team. But I don’t think an above .500 finish is out of the question. If the Twins can accomplish that in a rebuilding year, it should be fun for their fans to watch.

As we get ready to crank up our season preview coverage next weekend, I took a break from Twins camp to check out some other teams. La Velle and Souhan were with the team today in Jupiter, staying on top of all the Nathan, Baker and Liriano news, so look for their coverage in our first editions.

(Note: We’ve been having some issues with our server, so blogging has been spotty of late. Apologies for that.)

Meanwhile, it’s prediction time, and here’s the way I’m leaning today for the AL Central:

1. Indians, 2. Tigers, 3. Twins, 4. White Sox, 5. Royals.

I know the Twins are a consensus pick to finish fourth behind the Tigers, Indians and White Sox. But this story caught my eye today, a sign that the White Sox aren’t playing hard of late, and Ozzie and Kenny are griping about it.

Also, tough for me to pick the Royals much higher when John Bale and Brett Tomko appear set to start the season as their No. 4 and No. 5 starters. This team has Luke Hochevar coming, and it’s a long season, but seems like that team has a long way to go.

I’m cranking out copy for our season preview section today, as the Twins take their lone off day of the spring, but wanted to give you a few leftover thoughts from the past week:

(*) Brendan Harris is batting .176 with a .222 on-base percentage. I think second base would be his if he would start hitting. Nick Punto is batting .172 with a .250 OBP. Time for somebody to step up over the next week.

(*) I wrote for last Sunday about the gamble the Twins are taking on Mike Lamb at third base, noting the career fielding percentages at third base for Nick Punto (.968), Michael Cuddyer (.941) and Lamb (.923). But I should note here that Lamb has impressed me defensively this spring. He has decent hands and seems to catch the balls he gets to.

(*) Joe Nathan’s agent, Dave Pepe, is in Fort Myers, and we’re keeping our ears open for any news about a possible contract extension. The guess here is we’ll have a pretty good idea by week’s end whether Nathan will be a Twin beyond 2008 or whether he’ll become one of the top names to watch on the trade market.

(*) Nathan, by the way, is dominating hitters again this spring, with a 1.50 ERA and nine strikeouts in six innings. And then there’s Pat Neshek’s spring line: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. Matt Guerrier (6.43 ERA) and Juan Rincon (4.50 ERA) have struggled a bit, but Neshek and Nathan have the back of the bullpen looking very strong.

(*) Always interesting to read a national expert’s take on the Twins after they pay a visit to Fort Myers. Peter Gammons was in camp recently and was immediately drawn to Delmon Young, later noting that Harris will start at second base with Punto serving as the utility infielder.

(*) Finally, we have launched our Twins video player card series, with Joe Mauer and Mike Lamb. Be sure to check them out. And the reason I especially liked our Haiku video is it gave a fun glimpse at some of these guys’ personalities that goes beyond what people see in standard interviews.

UPDATE: Scott Baker threw a 12-minute bullpen session today with no problem and should be ready to pitch in a game again soon. He had been out since March 8, with a strained right lat muscle and the flu.