The Twins experienced a high finance week in which the franchise committed $104 million in future compensation to Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau, and saved part of the Pohlad family fortune by not paying Johan Santana $100 million or more, instead shipping him to the New York Mets (previously predicted here) for four prospects.

It’s nice having Joe Mauer, Cuddyer and Morneau locked into long term contracts, and Delmon Young looks like a heck of a prospect, but reality is the Twins appear less like a pennant contender this year than last.  How else can it be with Santana, arguably baseball’s best pitcher gone to the Mets, and Torii Hunter, one of the American League’s top five outfielders, chasing down extra hits and hitting home runs for the Los Angeles Angels?

The Twins will be a popular choice for third or fourth in the five-team Central Division behind Detroit, Cleveland and likely Chicago.  The division will draw support as baseball’s best and it will certainly test the young Twins who feature a roster now of players between 22 and 26 years old.

If you’re into the “blame game” about losing Santana, go ahead and scream at Barry Zito and his agent for escalating the free agent starting pitcher market to crazy levels.  Zito left Oakland after the 2006 season and signed with the Giants for $18 million per year. That changed the money game for elite pitchers like Santana.

Without Santana the pitching staff is in search of a numero uno.  No guarantees that anyone will fill the No. 1 stud role in 2008 but Francisco Liriano is the most intriguing guy to watch. Manager Ron Gardenhire said on WCCO Radio Sunday that “Liriano can get anybody out.”   Sports Headliners will top that:  Liriano has better “stuff” (pitches) than Santana.

That kind of hype means nothing if the 24-year-old left hander isn’t fully recovered from the elbow surgery that caused him to miss the entire 2007 season.  Gawd he was good in 2006, though, 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 2006. The man can blow both his changeup and fast ball right by the best of hitters.

Another pitching name that keeps coming up is 24-year-old Nick Blackburn.  He debuted in a limited role last season with the Twins and had a 7.71 ERA, but he was impressive in the Arizona Fall League and is considered a prospect in the starting pitching competition.

Pitching coach Rick Anderson told Sports Headliners back in December that he likes competition and figures to see plenty of it among his potential starters in spring training.  He talked about “relying on young kids” and “on the job training.”

This figures to be an exciting team to watch mature toward winning seasons in the new ballpark starting in 2010.  As the Twins look for answers with their starting pitching, the bullpen could remain special with veteran Joe Nathan and others who have been effective in the past.  Plus, the Twins figure to score runs including behind the bat of the 22-year-old Young, regarded by some scouts, according to the Sporting News, as the best young hitter in the game.

Another newcomer of interest is shortstop Adam Everett.  He made only seven errors in 2006 playing for Houston.

Here’s something else to help you survive the snow and wind chill until spring.  The 2008 home schedule has more pop than usual.  The Yankees play two series in the dome, not one as in the past.  The Red Sox play four games, not three.  Hunter and the Angels play here in the opening series in what will be a much anticipated opener.

And now we know the starting pitcher won’t be Johan Santana.

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Tubby Smith and his staff are hosting Golden Gopher Alumni Basketball Day on Saturday, February 9.  Activities consist of a breakfast, watching practice, socializing and attending the Iowa game in the afternoon.  Basketball alums needing more information should call the basketball office, 612-625-3085.

The Wolves’ Ryan Gomes had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the team’s 83-67 win over the Bulls Wednesday night, Minnesota’s third straight win at home.  Gomes came into the evening averaging 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in his previous 20 games, all starts.  That’s a nice streak for the third year forward who entered this season with a career scoring average of 10 points and 5.26 rebounds.

Asked about his improvement, Gomes said on Sunday:  “Just going into the game being aggressive from the start.  Not trying to wait around and see how the game is going.  I think when I first came here (traded from Boston last summer) that’s what I was doing, trying to pick and choose when I had the opportunity instead of being aggressive on the catch every time.  And that’s opened up many opportunities for me to get in the lane, (and for) me to get other guys open shots. …”

Wolves’ personnel needs include adding a big center so that undersized Al Jefferson can vacate that position and play power forward. Coach Randy Wittman said earlier this week a “bruiser” could complement Jefferson, reducing his rebounding load and not force him to guard bigger players.  If foes keep using centers on Jefferson hoping to negate his low post scoring with height, then Wittman foresees mismatches for a big Wolves’ center guarded by a power forward.

Among the NBA’s 32 teams, through games as of Wednesday night, the Wolves ranked 23^rd in attendance averaging 14,474 fans. The Minnesota Wild ranked ninth in the 30 team NHL, averaging 18,568 and playing to 102 percent of capacity.

Minnesota is an NHL best 21-0-0 when leading after two periods. The Wild and Vancouver (20-0-0) are the only teams without a loss when taking a lead into the third period.

After nine games without a goal, left wing Brian Rolston has scored in each of the past four games, his longest streak of the season. The Wild is 13-3-2 when he scores a goal this season.. He is three assists away from becoming the fifth player in team history to reach 100.

Right wing Pavol Demitra had two assists Wednesday, giving him 400 for his NHL career. He ranks ninth all-time amongst Slovakian-born players. Demitra has 676 points in 720 career games. His point total is also ninth-best for players born in Slovakia.

The Gopher hockey team, fifth in the WCHA standings, hosts second place North Dakota tonight and tomorrow night.  North Dakota has won seven straight and is tied with Miami for the nation’s longest winning streak. North Dakota has held five of its last six opponents to one goal and ranks third nationally in scoring defense at 2.00 goals per game. North Dakota is eighth nationally in offense at 3.28 goals per game. Goaltender Jean Philippe-Lamoureaux leads the defense, ranking sixth with a 1.80 goals against average and .932 save percentage. Defending Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan leads the offense with 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points, while linemate T.J. Oshie has a team-high 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points.

Minnesota’s Alex Kangas ranks third among all Division I freshmen goaltenders with a 2.28 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. He has not allowed more than three goals in any game this season and six of his 14 games have gone to overtime. Kangas has a .900 or better save percentage in 10 of his 13 starts.

The Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey team is 10-0 in the MIAC, 15-1 overall and ranked fourth in the nation in the USCHO.com Division III poll.  Michaela Michaelson of St. Catherine is the conference’s player of the week after scoring five goals in games last Friday and Saturday.

Three Gopher recruits who have signed National Letters of Intent have been named candidates for the Let’s Play Hockey Ms. Hockey award. Sarah Erickson (Bemidji High School), Anne Schleper (St. Cloud Icebreakers) and Kelly Seeler (Eden Prairie High School) are in the top 10 for the award, announced yesterday by the hockey publication.

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Adam Weber might catch a pass or two next fall, and he won’t take every snap in Gopher games, but make no mistake the sophomore-to-be quarterback from Mounds View figures to remain Minnesota’s starter.

Coach Tim Brewster said last week that “I truly expect him to be our starting quarterback” and the Gophers won’t have multiple starters.  Almost in the same breath, Brewster made it clear he expects “dynamic” play out of the quarterback position and he doesn’t want to ask a player to do things he isn’t comfortable with.

That will mean some opportunity for transfer David Pittman who had 556 completions for 6,346 yards and 61 touchdowns in junior college. He is so athletically versatile he will probably play at wide receiver, running back and perhaps in the defensive secondary.  Brewster said Pittman may even throw a pass or two to Weber when the Gophers alter their personnel in the team’s varied spread offense.  The coach describes Pittman as a leader, a player with charisma and someone who is “going to help us immediately.”

Weber was the Sporting News all-Big Ten freshmen team quarterback last season.  Playing as a red shirt in the mentally and physically demanding spread offense, the first year quarterback set school single-season records for passing yards (2,895), completions (258), touchdown passes (24) and total offense (3,512) during the 2007 season.

Brewster was pleased with Weber’s development during the 12 game season (he started every game) but wants more progress.  That will include not only mastering the complex offense even more and throwing with better accuracy (19 interceptions), but Brewster expects Weber to be a team leader, to be vocal and show charisma.

The Gophers begin spring practice on Wednesday, March 26. The annual spring game open to the public is Saturday, April 19.

The development of Weber and Pittman will be storylines to watch in the spring, but also of interest will be the defense.  Minnesota ranked last among Big Ten teams during conference play giving up almost 500 yards per game.

Brewster said the Gophers will approach spring drills with an “emphasis to be physical” on defense and there will be a lot of time devoted to tackling.

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