And We're Back

The Saints fumble the opening kickoff, Culpepper hits Travis Taylor in the endzone on the first play from scrimmage, and the nightmarish start to the 2005 season is over. To say that Sunday's game was a breath of fresh air is an understatement, it is more like being released from a bear trap at the bottom of Lake Minnetonka. With no clear cut opposition to the North crown the Vikings appear to have a great shot at the playoffs afterall.

Everything seemed to click on Sunday, especially during the first half when Minnesota took a 24-6 lead going into the locker room. Daunte was Daunte again, going 21-29 passing with 300 yards, 3 touchdowns and no picks. Mewelde Moore had an excellent showing and made a great case to be the #1 guy in the Purple's backfield this season. The long TD pass to rookie Troy Williamson somehow reminded us Randy Moss and helped us forget at the same time. Even without star safety Darren Sharper the defense was superb and one can imagin what it will look like with him back in the secondary.

So I'll admit that after the 37-8 disaster in Cincinatti I wasn't so sure about this team, coming into the year I had high expectations and I said that they were a Super Bowl caliber squad. The Bengals game was quite possibly the worst performance I have ever seen by a proffessional sports team and the week 1 loss to Tampa was not much better. However now I have come to believe that those two games were just snags, flukes even. Sure the Bucs and Bengals played great but the Vikes just didn't show up to put up any kind of opposition. So here following an impressive 33-16 win over New Orleans I will once again predict the Minnesota Vikings to make their biggest postseason run since 1998.

Moon's Law

Remember back when Warren Moon lost his starting job to Brad Johnson? Or when Johnson lost his due to injury to Randall Cunningham, who went on to lose the job himself the next season to Jeff George? This seems to be a recurring theme here in Minnesota, the backup always plays better than the starter. In 2001 Todd Bouman replaced an injured Daunte Culpepper and played as well as any other QB in football with a 98.3 rating. The exception to that example is obviously that Daunte kept his job, however there was not an abscence of people calling for a Bouman-led offense. You can look to as late as two years ago when Gus Frerotte went 4-0 as a starter and once again a contingency of fans were advocating for him to be the permanent starter. Is all this coincidence? a product of the curse that has held the Purple without a Super Bowl win? or something else?

With the horrendous start that the team has had this year don't be surprised if this scenario presents itself once again with the man who started it all, Brad Johnson. If he is given a shot to play I confidently predict that he will jumpstart the offense and lead them to the playoffs. We have already heard rumblings of benching Daunte, if the Vikes continue to struggle and Zygi sticks to his word and doesn't give Mike Tice the boot during the season expect to see Johnson under center very soon.

The excitement among the knowledgable football fans in Minnesota for this season was very justified, the improvements on defense would no doubt make up for the departure of Randy Moss. However inexplicibly the team has looked like they couldn't hang with the St. Thomas Tommies in a packed Metrodome. One would assume that the season will eventually be turned around, but if we have learned anything in the past the old custom of making the #2 the #1 may be necessary to take the Vikes back to the postseason.

Twins: Looking Ahead

For the first time in four years the Minnesota Twins will not be in the playoffs, whis is disappointing to a diehard fan such as myself, but the 2005 season has not left us with nothing to look forward to. We have learned a lot about what the next few years should look like for the franchise, Joe Mauer seems to be capable of becoming the face of the Twins, Luis Rivas has lost his last chance to be an everyday player and he is now a 2nd baseman of the past rather than the future, Michael Cuddyer didn't seem to be an adequate replacement for Koskie at 3rd but a bright 2nd half has kept him in contention for the job in the future, and the pitching staff should be a non-issue. Not to say that there aren't any questions remaining such as Jason Bartlett at short, whether the Soul Patrol outfield will be kept in tact, who that 2nd baseman of the future will be, and whether Justin Morneau will turn into that 50 homer-a-year hitter we've been promised.

So will the Twinkies be back to playing October baseball in '06? I believe it is a very attainable goal, however some dollars will need to be spent and it will not be easy to overcome the Indians who appear to be built for a sustained run. Alfonso Soriano may be the answer at 2nd base, Scott Baker or Francisco Liriano may need to be shipped to Texas for that to happen, but considering the pitching depth the Twins have it would be a fair trade to get a much needed power bat. Cuddyer will most likely get another shot next year to play 3rd, Bartlett should start at short, Morneau at 1st, if Soriano isn't here by spring training expect to see Nick Punto at 2nd on a regular basis. Here is a projected 2006 lineup for Minnesota:

1-Shannon Stewart LF
2-Joe Mauer C
3-Alfonso Soriano 2B
4-Justin Morneau 1B
5-Torii Hunter CF
6-Matt Lecroy DH
7-Michael Cuddyer 3B
8-Lew Ford RF
9-Jason Bartlett SS

So with that there appears to be what could be a winning lineup, the noticeable absence is Jacque Jones who could end up back in a Twins uniform, however you can't expect the ownership to dish out enough dough to keep him assuming that Soriano is brought in. The importance of Alfonso to the lineup above is immense, take him out and you see essentially the same 2005 stagnant offense. The young hitters should mature and hit the ball better, however it would be a longshot for them to be a contending team without the big bat in the middle of it all.

Ah the pitching staff.....there is nothing to suggest that it won't be among the best in baseball next year. Nothing needs to be said about Johan Santana, Radke still has some good years left, and Silva should continue to be one of the most consistent starters in the majors. With the impending rookie seasons of phenoms Baker and Liriano, I would expect managment to eventully give in and let one of them go to get that aforementioned bat thus saving a spot in the rotation for Kyle Lohse. As for the bullpen, Joe Nathan is a lights out closer, Rincon and Romero provide good relief from both sides of the rubber, Jesse Crain should only get better, Grant Balfour will be back and hopefully ready to dominate, and Travis Bowyer should make the team out of spring training. Needless to say this staff should be able to keep the team in most games and hopefully in the playoff race, here is a projected 2006 staff:

Rotation:
Johan Santana
Brad Radke
Carlos Silva
Francisco Liriano/Scott Baker
Kyle Lohse

Bullpen:
Joe Nathan
Juan Rincon
J.C. Romero
Jesse Crain
Grant Balfour
Travis Bowyer
Matt Guerrier

So on paper, this team should be able to compete, if the ownership is willing to do what is necessary to make it happen, which isn't much. Of course it is impossible to predict what will happen between now and Opening Day 2006 that will affect Minnesota's chances, and this article is full of assumptions. With that said, here is a very preliminary prediction for the 2006 Minnesota Twins:

90-72, Wild Card