Play Ball!

As most of my friends know, I'm a big sports fan. Football, basketball and baseball are probably my 3 favorite sports. As the Wild close in on a possible playoff spot, and the T-Wolves grind through another long season with a young roster, my thoughts have turned toward the start of the 2009 MN Twins season.
A lot of the print & online baseball publications I've read recently have picked the Twins to win the AL Central, which is not surprising, considering the run they had last year, and the roster from last year's team is mostly intact.
A few areas of concern that I have for this year's team are:
1. Joe Mauer's health. The two-time AL batting champion will begin the season on the disabled list, leaving career backup catcher Mike Redmond as the team's opening day starter behind the plate. It seems like Joe has been injured just about every other season. Redmond is good behind the plate, but any offense you get from him is a bonus. The longer Mauer is out, the more the team will miss his timely hitting.
2. Relief pitching. With specialist Pat Neshek and long reliever Boof Bonser expected to miss the entire season, the Twins will have to find other options in their middle relief. I was surprised that both lefty Brian Duensing and righty Phil Humber have made the team for now, but with the loss of Denys Reyes to free agency and the ineffectiveness of Jose Mijares, hopefully these pitchers will shine in their roles. I'm intrigued by the option of having RA Dickey throw a few knuckleballs to confuse opposing batters. Veterans Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, and last year's pickup from Cleveland, Craig Breslow, are all very good options for long relief and/or the setup spot. Closer Joe Nathan will probably have another solid season as usual.
3. Five outfielders for three spots. This year, the Twins have Delmon Young, Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel in the outfield mix. Kubel seems to be set as the designated hitter, and I expect Gomez will continue to bat ninth and play center field (although Span could replace him if his hitting goes south). With Span's solid play in right field last year, I was surprised that Cuddyer wasn't traded, but "Cuddy" does have a strong arm in right and can also spell Justin Morneau at first from time to time. In my opinion, Delmon Young seems to be the odd man out in this rotation, after his inconsistent play in left field last year. It'll be interesting to see how this situation develops as the season progresses.
All in all, I think it should be a fun, competitive season for manager Ron Gardenhire's team. Hope the last season in the ol' Metrodome goes well, and the team improves on last year's 88-75 mark before opening new Target Field in downtown Minneapolis in 2010.