The biggest issue facing the Twins in 2006 isn't necessarily whether they have improved or retreated from their 2005 team, but rather how much better the White Sox and Indians will be in 2006. The Twins are going to have some tough competition this season and the AL Central may become one of the stronger divisions in baseball. Nevertheless, it's worth discussing how the Twins have changed in each area from 2005 to 2006.

The Starters

The rotation isn't much different than last year. The top four are still Santana, Radke, Silva, and Lohse and there's no reason to think any of them should decline much from last season. However, it's unlikely we'll see much improvement from either of them either. We can hope for more consistency out of Lohse, but my opinion is that we'll see the same Lohse we've always had.

Radke has struggled so far this spring, but by the time the season starts he'll probably be the same old 4 something ERA pitcher that he's been his entire career. Radke is apparently working on throwing his cut fastball more often to lefties.

The rotation should see an improvement in the fifth spot. Scott Baker seems to be the front-runner for that position, but Liriano will certainly be in the rotation in the future (maybe even this season). Either Baker or Liriano will be a major improvement over Joe Mays, who is now with the Royals.

The Bullpen

The bullpen's big loss of the offseason was J.C. Romero, but that's not entirely a bad thing. He was a talented lefty, but his inconsistency was starting to get old.

Joe Nathan and Jesse Crain will be great again this year. Juan Rincon is recovering from offseason surgery to remove bone chips, so he might not see much work early on in the season, but with time he should be the same old Rincon, which is good. Matt Guerrier was pretty good out of the bullpen last season, and he'll be there for all of 2006.

The primary concern of the 2006 bullpen is the lack of a strong lefty. Liriano is great and he will likely start the season in the bullpen, but the starting rotation may call him during the season. Darell May is another option, but he's nothing to get excited about.

The bullpen wasn't an issue for the Twins in 2005 and it should be pretty solid for them in 2006 as well.

The Bats

The only way to describe the Twins' bats last season was terrible. To make things worse, they lost Jacque Jones, who led the team in homeruns. There are still a number of question marks in the Twins' lineup this season. Let's go through them by position.

Catcher

There's no concern here. Barring injury, Mauer can only get better. The Twins will once again have the solid veteran, Mike Redmond, to back him up. I'd like to see a .300 Average and 20 HRs from Mauer. He's also good for a dozen steals; not bad for a catcher.

First Base

A lot of pressure is riding on the shoulders of Justin Morneau this season. He faced high expectations last season only to suffer from injuries and left handed pitching. The Twins desperately need a power hitting RBI machine, and Morneau is the guy that would best fit that mold. He's worked hard this spring and has looked good in the WBC and in the few spring training games he's played in.

Second Base

I'm very excited about seeing Luis Castillo in a Twins uniform. Last year we started the season with Rivas at 2nd, so this is a major improvement. Castillo probably isn't the base stealer he used to be, but Gardenhire and the Metrodome might help him increase his steal numbers. The Twins finally have a #2 hitter they can be proud of.

Third Base

The Twins brought in Tony Batista in hopes of adding some power to the lineup. I don't think this is going to work out well. Batista is not a great defensive player. He may knock the ball out of the park a few times, but that's probably about it. In his past 3 major league seasons he has hit over 30 homeruns 2 of those years but never batted above .244. The Twins desperately need someone who can put some immediate runs on the board, so if he can again hit 30 homeruns it may be worth the abysmal average. Cuddyer will likely see some time at 3B as well.

Shortstop

This position really can't get much worse than it was last year, however there's nothing that makes me think it will be considerably better than last year. Bartlett will again start the season at SS. If he doesn't pan out to what everyone expects he can be, it's going to be another long season of Juan Castro and Nick Punto at SS. Let's all hope that doesn't happen.

Left Field

Shannon Stewart will bat leadoff again and play left field. It's practically a guaruntee that he'll be injured, so look for Rondell White and Jason Kubel to see some time out there as well. Kubel is coming off a bad injury, but he will probably be an everyday player in 2007 if not this season. White is best left in the DH spot.

Center Field

Hunter's ankle should be near 100% by the time the season starts, and we'll all be happy to see him back in CF. I look forward to seeing his sneaky base steals again this season.

Right Field

Right field will probably see a few players. Ford, Cuddyer, and Kubel could all play there, and none of those guys would be terrible there. I'd really like to see Kubel win that position as he has the most talent of the three.

Designated Hitter

Rondell White will be the everyday DH, and the fact that he's not playing in the OF might mean he can stay healthy. If he can stay healthy for most of the season, he could provide a boost to the Twins' anemic lineup of 2005. The last season that White had at least 500 at bats was 1999.

Wrapping it up

Overall, there are just too many question marks to say how good the Twins will be in 2006. In 2005 I think they played far below their talent level, so I'm expecting an improvement. Unfortunately too many things will have to go right for them to win the Central. The White Sox may be better than last year's World Champion team and the Indians are pretty good as well.

Do you think the Twins have improved or declined from 2005 to 2006. What areas of the team are concerns for you?