March 19 Links

For those of you not spending their free time pondering the match up between the Big East and South Eastern Conference Players of the Year or thinking about whether the fastest major college team or the slowest major college team in the NCAAs would dictate pace in a possible Elite Eight match up, there’s been quite a lot going on in Fort Meyers. Opening Day is less than two weeks away, and while the Twins have known who they’ll have on the mound for a while, the Orioles have just announced that Erik Bedard will be opposing him.

After Johan, however, the Twins rotation is still shaking out. Thankfully, it’s not due to their veteran starters struggling. Ortiz has taken to Rick Anderson’s coaching like he’s been working with Leo Mazzone in his prime, Sydney “Sir DUI” Ponson has found his motivation, and the Twins still trust Carlos Silva. All of that is why La Velle E. Neal thinks the Twins will follow Johan with Silva, Ortiz, Ponson and Boof.

Not everyone agrees that Boof should be at the back end of the rotation, however. Some think Silva should be sent elsewhere, while others think that the veteran starters that break camp with the Twins will be supplanted soon enough, possibly by a local kid, who, coincidentally, has been pitching well this spring.

While I would rather have had the Twins put the $4.35 million they spent on Silva into a “Make the National Sportswriters come up with a new angle on the Twins” fund (What? You don't think that Carl Pohlad could have turned that into enough money to resign Johan through shrewd investing?) , there’s no way they’ll leave him out of the rotation. Gardenhire likes his veterans too much. And while Twins Geek’s theory sounds nice, I have the feeling that Liriano, Bartlett and Punto would have done just fine without spending time in the bullpen, AAA and on the bench.

Since my goals for this season mainly include getting Garza, Perkins and/or Slowey ready to create the ultimate rotation with Santana, Liriano and Boof! in 2008, having the mediocre three take the ball while Boof! is getting skipped isn’t something I’d like to see. Thankfully, there's still two weeks for the Twins to come to their senses - and you never know when someone is going to lose their roster spot by not calling for a pop up properly.