Jim Souhan: Just try to imagine some of these sports possibilities

Is it possible that ...

• The Detroit Tigers will take a hint from those softball players who carried their injured opponent around the bases, and start carrying Miguel Cabrera around when he hits a home run?

The way Cabrera moves, it is obvious he is trying to conserve calories.

• Zygi Wilf has become the best owner in town?

You can't blame him for pursuing a new stadium -- that's what owners and sports leagues do. He has resorted to cash calls to fund the signing of the best group of free agents and big-ticket players to hit the Twin Cities ... ever?

In his three years, the Vikings have added Steve Hutchinson, Jared Allen, Madieu Williams, Bernard Berrian, Chester Taylor, Thomas Tapeh, Ryan Longwell, Ben Leber and Bobby Wade, through free agency and the blockbuster Allen trade.

Twins ownership finishes second, but let's differentiate between the Pohlads. Carl has had a rather uneven tenure, winning two World Series, giving up in the '90s, offering the team for contraction in 2001, then getting lucky enough to see Terry Ryan's youth movement make the team relevant on a low budget. Jim Pohlad has actually ordered the front office to spend more money and lock up young stars.

• Barry Bonds is reaping what he sowed? Enough whining from Bonds' agent and the Players Association. It isn't collusion that has kept Bonds unemployed. It's common sense.

It is Bonds' legacy of selfishness and antagonism toward teammates and the public that has made him a bad risk.

Good teams don't want his personality soiling their clubhouses, don't want the distraction of potential court cases threatening their equilibrium. And bad teams, he can't help.

No one should make the case that Bonds would sell tickets. He is beloved in only one city -- San Francisco. If the Giants don't want him, nobody should.

• Twins manager Ron Gardenhire did exceptional work in 2002?

Third baseman Corey Koskie, a fine player, is still rehabilitating a head injury. Shortstop Cristian Guzman was already in decline. Second baseman Luis Rivas became a bust. First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz never relived the success he had here. The designated hitter, David Ortiz, is the one regular player who went on to stardom elsewhere, but as a Twin he was injury-prone and out of shape.

The starters were Joe Mays (out of baseball), Eric Milton (one of the great busts of this decade), Brad Radke (solid but unspectacular), Rick Reed (who had a good year but was soon out of the game) and Kyle Lohse (who had yet to take a bat to Gardenhire's office door).

The key relievers were Eddie Guardado, LaTroy Hawkins, J.C. Romero and somebody named Santana.

So of all the key players on that 94-win team, the two best -- Ortiz and Johan Santana -- were not what they would become. How did that team win again?

• Francisco Liriano will neither be as dominant as fans expect nor as feeble as they fear? A scout watching Liriano at Class AAA Rochester gave me this report (paraphrased): "What this kid needs is time on the mound. He just hasn't pitched much in the last two years. He needs to put some innings in and get command of his fastball, and then he should be OK."

The Twins were forced to trade Santana, and chose the high-risk package including the remarkably talented Carlos Gomez. The Twins chose to trade top pitching prospect Matt Garza and starting shortstop Jason Bartlett and got back Delmon Young, who hits the ball with authority about once a week, and Brendan Harris, who is learning how to turn the double play while playing in the majors.

This spring, scouts called Young a potential MVP. Now he needs to get hot to catch up to Nick Punto's slugging percentage.