5 Reasons 2012 Will Be Better for the Minnesota Twins

Heading into 2012 the Twin Cities found themselves with two teams looking up from the basement of their respective divisions.

The Minnesota Vikings finished the season 3-13, tying for the most losses in franchise history. This following the second-worst season in Minnesota Twins' history after finishing the 2011 season 63-99.

With the Timberwolves and Wild struggling to get back to the playoffs the only bright spot on the professional sports scene this past year was the WNBA Championship won by the Lynx.

For the Vikings and Twins, both teams find the themselves under the direction of new general managers—sort of.

Terry Ryan was the Twins general manager from 1994 until he stepped down in 2007. After last season the team brought Ryan back to replace Bill Smith, who had succeeded him in 2008. 

For the Vikings, Rick Spielman was promoted to general manager after six years as the team's vice president of player personnel.

The hope for Minnesota fans is that because both Ryan and Spielman are familiar with their teams, and know what is needed to improve, that the rise back to the top of their divisions will be a quick one.

While both teams will be better than last season, mostly on the fact they couldn't get much worse, the Twins are on a better trajectory to improvement than the Vikings.

Here are five reasons the Twins will be the more successful franchise in 2012.

Terry Ryan Has Done It Before

When Terry Ryan took over as general manager for the Twins in 1994, they had 15 winning seasons in 33 years since moving to Minnesota.

Including the World Series championship years of 1987 and 1991, the Twins had only four winning seasons in the decade preceding Ryan. 

Ryan rebuilt the Twins despite having to manage to a low payroll. In his first season as GM, the Twins payroll was $27.6 million, ranking 21st in baseball among 28 teams, and the lowest in the AL Central.

It would be another seven losing seasons before Ryan was able to set the foundation for a franchise that would win six division titles between 2002 and 2010.

While fans might be frustrated with the lack of any big-name free-agent signings since taking over for Bill Smith last November, they should remember that it was building a solid minor league system that brought success to the Twins, and not by signing other teams' players.

In Ryan's first winning season of 2001, when the Twins finished second in the division with an 85-77 record, seven of the nine regulars in the lineup were drafted or signed by Ryan.

The only criticism during his tenure may be the fact the Twins were not equipped to win in the playoffs, going 6-15 from 2002 to 2006, winning only one of five series. 

The Twins Have Some Exciting Young Players to Watch

The Twins will open the season with some exciting youngsters on the team.

All indications are that Chris Parmelee will open the season at first base. Last season when he made the jump to the majors from Double-A, he played in 21 games, hitting four home runs and driving in 14 RBI.

This spring he has continued to produce. Playing in the same number of games, Parmelee has five home runs and 12 RBI in only 62 at-bats.

Combined, he is averaging a home run every 15.3 at-bats. Compare that to Micheal Cuddyer who led the Twins with 20 home runs last season averaging 26.4 at-bats per home run.

Ben Revere will return this season as the Twins fourth outfielder. Last season filling in for Denard Span, Revere led the team with 34 stolen bases in 43 attempts. It was the most by a Twin since Otis Nixon stole 37 in 1998.

This spring he leads the Twins with five stolen bases without being caught.

With Scott Baker opening the season on the disabled list, it gives Liam Hendriks an opportunity to make his mark in the Twins starting rotation. Like infielder Luke Hughes, the Twins signed Hendriks as an amateur free agent from Australia. In four minor league seasons, Hendriks has a 29-17 record, with an impressive 2.78 ERA. 

Last season he split time between Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Rochester, and finished with a 12-6 record and a 3.36 ERA.

He has continued to pitch extremely well this spring with a 3-0 record in seven games and an 1.80 ERA over 20 innings.

If he can continue to be effective once the season opens it will be hard to send him back to Rochester once Baker is ready to return.

Francisco Liriano Does Better in Even-Numbered Years

While it's unexplainable, Francisco Liriano tends to pitch better in even-numbered years since returning from Tommy John surgery following the 2006 season.

In 2008 and 2010 Liriano is 20-14 with a 3.70 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.98. 

In the odd years of 2009 and 2011, he is 14-23. His ERA bloats to 5.45 and his strikeout-to-walk ratio drops to 1.67. 

In 2008 he only made 14 starts, finishing with a 6-4 record.

In 2010 he finished 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA in 31 starts.

The Twins will need the trend to continue, in a big way, if they are to turn things around in 2012.

Ron Gardenhire Knows How to Manage

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire did not forget how to manage in 2011. Including the 59 seasons the franchise was in Washington D.C., Gardenhire ranks third with 866 wins, and third, entering his 11th season as manager. 

Only Tom Kelly, who he replaced in 2002, and Buck Harris, who managed the Senators three separate times, are ahead of him.

In his 10 seasons as the Twins skipper, he has finished second in the AL Manager of the Year voting five times, finally winning the honor in 2010.

Perhaps it was the hangover after finally winning the award, or a curse of some kind that created the situation where almost every Twins starter, with the exception of Michael Cuddyer and Danny Valencia, ended up on the disabled list in 2011. 

He opens the 2012 season with an influx of new players after the Twins traded away Jim Thome and Delmon Young, and lost Cuddyer, Jason Kubel and Joe Nathan to free agency.

He only has four regulars from his starting lineup of 2010 when the Twins won the AL Central with a 94-68 record—Joe Mauer, Danny Valencia, Denard Span and Justin Morneau.

But it's not the first time Gardenhire has been faced with such a turnover from one year to the next.

In 2010 when the Twins lost Morneau for half the season, Gardenhire had to do some shifting of his lineup. Only Mauer and left fielder Delmon Young would play the entire season in the same position they played in 2009.

The Twins will be a much-improved team from last season, playing fundamentally sound baseball. With the addition of Chris Parmelee, Ryan Doumit, Josh Willingham and a healthy Morneau in the lineup the Twins will have more power in 2012.

The M&M Boys Are Ready to Go

The Minnesota Twins are one of two teams that can boast two league MVPs on their roster.

Justin Morneau won the award in 2006 and Joe Mauer in 2009.

In 2008 they both played the most games in a season over their careers. That season Mauer played in 146 and Morneau in all 163 games.

Since then their totals have declined each year.

Last season they combined to play in only 151 games.

It started in spring training when Mauer was limited to only 20 at-bats, and was not ready to start the season with bilateral leg weakness.

Suffering from lingering effects of a concussion, Morneau only had 33 at-bats last spring.

This year Mauer is healthy. He's played in 18 games with 53 at-bats and is hitting .358 in Grapefruit League play.

After struggling for most of the spring, Morneau has found his stroke. In 57 at-bats he's hitting .246 with three home runs—all hit within the last week.

The best part is Mauer and Morneau both have 13 RBI, tied for second most this spring behind Luke Hughes who has 19.

With two veteran players that can lead by example, the Twins will be a much better team in 2012.