Jim Souhan: A good Twins start, but issues remain

FORT MYERS, FLA. - If you didn't know better, or if sunshine truly was the best disinfectant, the Twins' spring opener on a glorious Saturday afternoon in Fort Myers could have looked like the celebratory return of a winning team.

Joe Mauer's swing looked same as it ever was, as he coolly smacked a single up the middle. Justin Morneau hit his own RBI single and tested his surgically repaired wrist with high-fives as violent as karate chops. The Twins beat Tampa Bay 7-3 without making an error or issuing a walk, and the boys of summer beamed in the clubhouse as if they had won something more meaningful than an exhibition game.

A half-dozen players mentioned the word "health" and predicted a competitive season, raising the most interesting question of spring training:

Even if the Twins' best players turn into iron men, is this team good enough to contend?

The Twins lost 99 games last season and cut about $15 million from the payroll this winter. Mauer and Morneau offered good omens on Saturday, but neither of them turns double plays or pitches the seventh inning.

"That was awesome," starting pitcher Carl Pavano said. "Forget about the singles, how about the sound off their bats? That's nice to hear. I'm sure they enjoyed it. I know as a teammate I enjoyed seeing them out there with smiles on their faces, having success and feeling good about themselves."

If Mauer, Morneau and leadoff man Denard Span are healthy this season, the Twins should dramatically improve their run production.

Better health could fix what ailed the lineup last year. Better health might not fix the Twins' other problems. Once again they are at the mercy of Francisco Liriano, Matt Capps and Alexi Casilla.

If Liriano pitches like an ace, the rotation could be reliable. If he falters, the only remaining question will concern his trade value.

If Capps fails as closer, the bullpen could collapse for the second season in a row.

If Casilla again fails to take command of a starting role, this time at second base, the Twins might have to rush another youngster to the majors.

"Listen, we lost 99 games last year," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "When you lose 99 games, you have issues. We have issues. We have lots of things to fix."

Fielding is difficult to quantify, but ACTA's Fielding Bible Volume III projects the 2012 Twins as the next-to-worst defensive team in the majors. In 2011, the Twins often treated batted balls like hacky sacks.

The 2011 Twins also lacked fundamental soundness, making silly mistakes on the bases and in the field.

Gardenhire can't control the health of his best hitters or the performances of his most valuable pitchers. He's determined to "clean up" the Twins' unforced errors.

"We're not passing," Gardenhire said. "We're not letting things go. We're not going to worry about whether they say, 'Oh, why are they getting on me all the time?' We've heard a lot of that.

"If we see something that doesn't go right, we've always tried to cover it and not let it go. We've got six guys going after one guy now. Our coaches outnumber them right now when they come to the bench. I think we beat it into all the coaches' heads, too. We have to be accountable here, and we have to make the players accountable, and we have to make them pay attention to all these things."