Mike Venafro Topic Page

Yesterday I gave a rundown or the Twins hitters for opening day, today it's a chance to look at the pitchers that will make up the rotation and the bullpen.

I feel kind of like Carlos Silva did last season when he left a game early with a tummy ache. It sounds like the Twins are gonna give him the fifth spot in the rotation to start the season. To make matters worse, the Twins have cut left hander Mike Venafro after he pitched 10 scoreless innings through the spring.

With just a week to go until the start of the season on April 2nd, Sidney Ponson had his best start of the spring against his former team, the Baltimore Orioles. With 2 pretty bad outings and 2 pretty good outings this spring, Ponson has seemingly locked up a spot in the Twins' rotation along with Johan Santana, Boof Bonser and Ramon Ortiz. I expect Ponson to fill out the fifth spot of the rotation. Whether Carlos Silva or Matt Garza will get that fourth spot is yet to be determined, but I'd sleep a lot better at night if I knew it was Garza.