Article:Who Needs To Step Up:

Johan Santana (will sign a contract extension with the Mets) is gone. As Twins fans we have to live with that. Whether we are a fan of the trade or not, it has gone through and as fans we cannot abandon our Twins.

With Johan gone, some other players need to step up. Not just pitchers, but position players also.
 * -Really Needs To Step Up

Boof Bonser***- Boof came up in 2006 and became the Twins #2 pitcher right away. Boof came up as a strikeout pitcher, after striking our 168 batters for the Rochester Red Wings in 2005, and then 83 batters in 2006 in only 86 innings. He then struck out 84 batters in the majors that year and last season, his first full-year in the majors, he struck out 136 batters. Boof is going to be the #1 or #2 pitcher until Liriano is ready to pitch. If he pitches more like he did in 2006 (4.22 ERA) and less like he did in 2007 (5.10 ERA), he will have success.

Scott Baker***- It is very likely that Scott Baker will be the opening day starter for the Twins this year. I think if the Twins are smart…they won’t start him (because he has been awful against the Angels). Baker had a lot of good starts for the Twins last season, including starts at Milwaukee (8.1 IP, 2 ER, 5K’s), vs. Toronto (7 IP, 1 ER, 9 K’s) and the almost no hitter versus the Royals. If he can pitch consistently like he did in those starts we will be ok.

Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond***- both have always done a great job handling the pitching staff, but that can thought of as easy if you have Santana, Silva and Radke. The pitchers are younger now, and controlling the game has become much more important. We could also use a few more RBI’s from Mr. Mauer, as we may give up more runs.

Obviously others need to step up too. Who Do You Think Needs To Step Up?