Hoping for good more than expecting it (and hoping to be wrong)

Well, they're back at it and we're into Year 3 of having the Twins report to spring training with the biggest question for many people being whether this is a team built to win 70 games or so. You'll remember that the great collapse of 2011 was attributed to such a perfect storm of woes the season before that it couldn't possibly happen again. But it did … and it did ... and now we wonder whether it will again.

I want to be optimistic about this year's team and I will do my best not to swing the sickle of cynicism during these weeks in Florida. That wouldn't be fair to the children or the optimistic. I am also willing, because I'm patient and still have some faith in the decision-makers, to let some things play out before carrying on about not going far enough to make the 2014 Twins as competitive as I'd like them to look right now.

A brief review for those who have excised my thoughts from the baseball part of their brain: I have chided the Twins frequently for not building a bridge to the talented players that we assume will be part of the team for years to come. That's the Byron Buxton/Miguel Sano/Alex Meyer/Eddie Rosario group who will be on display at spring training. (Oops, Rosario has taken a leave for now -- for reasons within his control, apparently. Not a good sign.)

But the start of spring training is supposed to bring optimism. I'm going to try.

Right now, as pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, it feels like the Twins have done some building but are a couple of supports short of where they could and should be. Let's call this No. 1 on the list of things I want to be wrong about.

While the 2014 Twins are a team that should have better starting pitching than the past two years, that area has been so bad the last couple of years that the real question is: How much better? How good will the new free agents (Nolasco and Hughes) be? How much better, if at all, will Pelfrey and Correia be? Which pitcher from the gang of a half-dozen will be the fifth starter? Someone who will benefit from getting knocked around last season (Kyle Gibson, Vance Worley or Scott Diamond)? Someone who has both teased and disappointed (Diamond or Sam Deduno)? Someone unexpected (the Kris Johnsons of the roster)?

Does anyone else have questions about the wisdom of bring back Mike Pelfrey? I know the second-year-after-Tommy John surgery philosophy, but there was so much else about last season that makes me wonder about bringing him back as opposed to going fishing for a replacement. Let's call this No. 2 on the aforementioned "things" list. I want Pelfrey's performance and demeanor this year to match the determination that was so much discussed last year.

I want Joe Mauer to hit .390 (OK, maybe .350 with some power) and make the money he's being paid to now play first base irrelevant. I don't care how much players are paid – as long as the deep-pockets ownership doesn't spend too much (read: any) time talking about payroll as a percentage as revenue. May that phrase, in regard to the Pohlads, go the same way as the "perfect storm of injuries" claptrap we heard going into spring training a couple of years back.

I want Buxton, Sano and May to be Twins when they are ready and not a week before. One-and-done. In other words, one call up and they're done with the minors. I want to assume they'll start in the minors, and have the guys whom they will replace in time be motivated to improve because they'll have a damn tough time finding jobs elsewhere if they don't. It doesn't take much to figure out that guys could underperform the last few years without much risk. Who was going to replace them?

I want Jason Kubel to prove that 2013 was a fluke, and that he will be the weak glove/good bat third outfielder (with Oswaldo Arcia in left and Aaron Hicks in center and Josh Willingham as the DH). If Darin Mastroianni or Alex Presley is the Opening Day center fielder, I'll be calling that a failure.

I want Brian Dozier and Pedro Florimon to be that much better in 2014 so that the middle infield is settled for the next few years.

I want the anticipated work of Glen Perkins to be for a team where having an excellent closer really matters.