Hartman: Antony asks for patience regarding Twins prospects

As acting Twins general manager during Terry Ryan's absence while being treated for cancer, Rob Antony said he believes the big thing the team is looking for this spring is which position players are going to step up.

"Because we're going to need some guys to take a step forward and improve offensively if we're going to score some runs. We didn't do a lot on the offensive side of things [during the offseason]," he said. "We tried to do some things that didn't work out. We were able to address the starting pitching and a few other things.

"We brought back Jason Kubel, he's going to come into camp and compete for a job. We think he has a chance to help us offensively if he can return to form, like he had when he was here."

Antony said the team will miss Ryan Doumit, who was traded to Atlanta.

"He provided some offense and some stability for us the last two years," Antony said. "He was a veteran guy. But we like [catcher] Kurt Suzuki, who we brought in, he's probably a little bit more of a defensive guy than an offensive guy right now, but we think he'll help with the pitchers as well."

Addressing some of the position battles, Antony said: "There's going to be some interesting battles in center field, [Aaron] Hicks and [Alex] Presley. You're going to have a battle with Jason Bartlett in camp with [Eduardo] Escobar for the utility job. Some other guys are going to have to battle to make this club that are out of options, but they have to do some things to make this club."

Does Antony believe Twins star prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano have a chance to make the club this year?

Asked who would decide if either player breaks camp with the Twins, Antony said: "I guess if Sano came in and had a monster spring, it would be a situation where Terry and I and Mike Radcliff and Wayne Krivsky and Jack Goin and Ron Gardenhire and our staff would all weigh in. We'd have conversations and meetings and talk about it and figure out if we could push this guy and give him a shot to try and start out. Trevor Plouffe is going to have a lot to say about that as well. I think that if Trevor comes in and has a good spring, I think that just allows us to send Sano back and get a little more time."

A year ago, Hicks had a fantastic spring but struggled in his rookie season with the Twins and then wasn't recalled after being sent to the minor leagues.

"I still believe he's going to be a very good major league player for us," Antony said. "You have to remember that everyone from Justin Morneau to Michael Cuddyer to Torii Hunter didn't make it their first time, they all struggled and had to go back down to the minors and bounce back and forth before establishing themselves as solid major league players.

"I think that same thing will happen with Aaron Hicks, and you'd love for somebody to break with the club, make it, have a great year and go on and never look back, but that rarely happens. … You have to remain patient."

One big reason the Metrodome was the site of the 1992 Super Bowl was the influence Saints GM Jim Finks and Vikings President Max Winter had on NFL team owners back in the 1980s.

However, the current group of Super Bowl co-chairs — Richard Davis of U.S. Bancorp, Doug Baker of Ecolab and Marilyn Carlson Nelson of Carlson Companies — won't have the help of NFL officials such as Winter and Finks because of changes in league officials over the past 25 years.

Currently the co-chairs and the Vikings are in the process of putting a great package together to take to the NFL. A vote is expected May 19-21 in Atlanta.

Minnesota has the new stadium to help sell a Super Bowl here, but Indianapolis has had one and did a fantastic job, while New Orleans has had many and is a favored site by many owners.