The hardest-working facility in sports was at it again Sunday.

The Twins worked out at 10:00 a.m. At about 11:30, I begin to see people in Gophers colors pop up on the field. Then a group of Ohio State people begin hovering in the tunnel.

After the Twins were done, the Gophers and Buckeyes took the field for the rubber game of their three-game series. It wasn’t even close, as the Gophs hammered the Buckeyes 16-3. Even Terry Ryan’s son, Tim, got on the field to pitch an inning.

Now the Seattle Mariners are working out. I think the Dome is a crummy place to watch a baseball game, but you can’t dispute what this place has meant to this area by the volume of sports and entertainment that has taken place there.

No big news at the workout. Justin Morneau appears to have no problems with his back. R.A. Dickey held Rochester to one run over six innings in Fort Myers on Sunday and is ready for his start on Friday in Chicago.

The wait is on to see what lineup Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will trot out tomorrow. He hinted during camp that he liked Jason Kubel in the No. 3 spot, but there’s been talk of protecting Morneau lately. So we started hearing talk of Cuddyer batting third and Kubel fifth. We’ll see. I’ll have a projected lineup in the paper Monday but Gardy refused to answer any of my questions about it today.

 I produced a AL Central preview in the print editions today. It might have been because I was in a bad mood at the time, but I opted to pick on everything that was wrong with every team in the division.

That’s when it hit it me: The Twins are the best team in the division.

I’ve been talking up Cleveland all preseason because of the additions of Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa. The Indians has a good lineup and an improved bullpen, but I can’t get over the fact that they have Carl Pavano as their No. 3 starter.

It’s one thing to have a decent pitcher like a Javier Vazquez or a Randy Wolf as the No. 3. But Carl Pavano, who hasn’t seen the sunny side of 100 innings in how many years?  I know Jake Westbrook is due back in July after Tommy John surgery but that’s a long time to wait. And how sharp will Westbook be by then?

I think the Twins rotation is the deepest in the division. I expect Joe Mauer to be back by the end of April. And I now expect the Twins to win the AL Central division. They might need to look for bullpen help during the season but their flaws aren’t as bad as trotting out two starters then having your rotation hit a speed bump. Anthony Reyes (which one will show up, the good one in six starts last season or the 2-14 one in 2007?) and rookie Scott Lewis follow Pavano, if you were wondering.

My prediction:

1. Twins. Good lineup. Good starting pitching.

2. Cleveland. Good lineup. Good bullpen.

3. White Sox. Lots of homers. No table setters.

4. Kansas City. Improving but not ready for the big boys.

5. Tigers. Can score but pitching staff is struggling with injuries and anxiety.

Your Twins can ball. The defense will be better than last year. They are strong up the middle. They can absorb an injury to one of the outfielders and, to an extent, third base. They can score with speed and should hit one over the fence every now and then.

 The M and M boys have to stay on the field - but so does everyone else’s top two players. Teams would kill to have the talented starting pitching the Twins have.

The eighth inning is the key issue. If they start blowing late leads again I think the seamheads at the Star Tribune will be all over them to make a move, even if they have to overpay. We wondered a year ago if the Twins would be good. We know this Twins team is good. So they better be prepared to go hard after a reliever (Matt Capps?) at midseason when teams are out of the race and are more willing to deal.

But, as of today, I’m picking the Twins to win.

For more of my views on the Twins - and Jay Cutler - I will be on Rosen’s Sports Sunday tonight. Tune in!

And don’t forget to keep voting for the 2009 picks to click!

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Random thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.