Picks to Click, 2010. The fans have spoken

The votes are in.

Both races were close.

In the end, you went with the talented lefthander who is trying to find his pre-surgery form, and the new shortstop who is trying to regain his All-Star form.

Reclamation 2010.

Here are the results:

Pitcher to click

1. Francisco Liriano 65
2. Kevin Slowey 55
3. Nick Blackburn 19
4. Jon Rauch 14
5. Pat Neshek 12
Jesse Crain 12

Thoughts: The voters apparently believed the reports out of the Dominican Republic during the offseason when Liriano lit up winter ball. I waited until spring training to see for myself. The first thing I noticed was that he was confident. The second thing I noticed was that his slider looked sharper.
He certainly looked good on Thursday with seven strong innings against Boston. If he takes off from that outing, it will be a major development for the Twins and the AL Central. What can't be stressed enough is that Liriano used his fastball to get ahead in the count. That put him in position to finish hitters off with his slider.
Liriano's spring training still wasn't enough for me to select him as my pitcher to click. I decided to be controversial.

My Pick: Brian Duensing

I made my selections at the end of spring training. Part of my thinking was that the Twins would somehow talk Liriano into closing - wrong! The other part of my thinking was that Duensing stepped up last season when the Twins needed him, and that something is going to happen to one of the starters during the season that will force him into the rotation.
I think Duensing proved last season that he can pitch in this league, and I still feel that he will be a factor in the rotation before the season ends. I wasn't on board with the Twins offering Jarrod Washburn a contract during the offseason because I think Duensing, at worst, can be just as productive.

Position player to click

1. J.J. Hardy 69
2. Delmon Young 67
3. Denard Span 14
4. Nick Punto 11
5. Michael Cuddyer 9

Thoughts: This was a slugfest between Hardy and Young from the time I started counting votes. Hardy got hits in spring training but really didn't look that good doing so. He also explained that he was working on some mechanical adjustments with Joe Vavra, and I wondered how long it would take before he got on track.
A couple weeks into the season, Hardy looks like a good acquisition. Both Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and first baseman Justin Morneau have said that Hardy is better than they expected. Hardy can do a lot of damage at the bottom of a strong lineup, and his range and arm in the field have been impressive.

My pick: Delmon Young

Young lost 29 pounds during the offseason and looks a little more agile. But we all have been waiting for him to hit, and he's showing that he can pull the ball with a little authority now. That adjustment, to get the bat head out earlier, was the key. It looks like he's making that adjustment and could be set up for a good season.

Thanks for taking part in the poll this year. I think I'll follow the same plan next year and give you guys a week to watch a few games and formulate some opinions. I'll check back here at the end of the season and see how our predictions turned out.