As we plunked down the money for 2012 Twins season tickets last night, we kept repeating one thing: next year can't be as bad as this year. Of course, that's something you tell yourself when you believe things have hit bottom. There is a tendency to believe these types of thing act in arcs, not anchors -- that you go from a high to a low and swing back up after you've reached the lowest point instead of sticking around for a while. Thinking about it a little more, though, we concede the 2012 season could go in vastly different directions -- primarily because the Twins have pretty close to no idea which players can be counted on next season. As such, we present best-case and worst-case scenarios for how the Twins might look next year, solely in terms of their starting lineup: BEST-CASE
If Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span come back healthy and productive ... if the Twins make Tsuyoshi Nishioka an expensive utility player and re-invest some of the money they will shed from their bullpen and/or other free agents that walk into a shortstop upgrade ... if Alexi Casilla can be healthy and productive for 140-150 games ... if Ben Revere can get on base more ... if they can re-sign one of either Michael Cuddyer or Jason Kubel (ideally Cuddyer for versatility, clubhouse presence and right-handed bat) ... if Danny Valencia is seen as a viable long-term solution at third base and can iron out whatever the Twins -- and Ron Gardenhire in particular -- want him to work out ... here is your 2012 starting lineup:
1) Ben Revere (.350 OBP), CF
2) Denard Span, LF
3) Joe Mauer, C
4) Michael Cuddyer, RF
5) Justin Morneau, 1B
6) Trevor Plouffe, DH/utility
