This was always supposed to be a development year. I predicted 82 wins, so even though the offense went cold in the end, I think this year was a great success. And relative to the goal--to learn about young players and build for 2009--it was a banner year. Here are 13 guys who we should be excited about gong into the off season.

1. Denard Span: Why did the Twins score so many runs? Getting guys on base at the top of the order is why. For the first time in recent memory, the Twins have a true lead-off hitter. The only question is whether he plays in right center or left next year.

2. Alexi Casilla: The Twins' weakness both short and long term figured to be up the middle. Casilla solidifies one of the two spots. The fact that he could play on either side of the second base bag gives the FO more flexibility in completing the roster puzzle.

3. Nick Blackburn: He'll never be an ace, but he should be a reliable innings eater for years to come.

4. Scott Baker: He could be that ace in the mold of Brad Radke. He certainly erased a lot of doubts after the year he had.

5.  Francisco Liriano: This was a great building year. Next year, look out.

6. Jason Kubel: It seems like a long time ago, but the blogs were a twitter about getting rid of this guy in the first half of the season. To date, his career looks a lot like a young David Ortiz. As he gets more comfortable, I would love to see him mature into some semblance of Ortiz.

7. Kevin Slowey: He vindicated a lot of supporters. Tip your cap to Seth, Slowey appears to be the real thing, someone we can count on as a middle-of-the-rotation starter.

8. Glen Perkins: He should be right there with Slowey if he can maintain his stamina a year after a huge percentage increase in innings pitched.

9. Carlos Gomez: I think we know what we have--a great defensive center fielder who is a good number 9 hitter. That's fine by me.

10. Delmon Young: He disappointed me. But he seemed to get better as the year went on. I think he grew up and I hope they decide to keep him. His best years are ahead of him for sure.

11. Jose Mijares: I think we know who Gardy wants next year. This kid is a revelation. Too bad he couldn't have come up earlier.

12. Craig Breslow: The best move of the year for Bill Smith. That's saying something.

13. Brian Buscher: He might not be an everyday player, but he's a heck of a left handed bat.

Most teams are happy to develop two or three players in one year. The Twins have developed 13 this year. That is huge. It means they can focus on filling just a few holes, knowing that they've got a strong nucleus of players who will not likely show signs of age for several years.

I recently noted over at Howard's blog that Punto reminded me of Juan Castro in the field. Here's what I said:

I hope the stats-only people use this as a lesson about the value of intangibles, and that everyone understands intangibles cut both ways.

Gee, I didn’t realize fundamentals were intangible. I’m sure there’s some way you can measure them. How about tallying every play Punto makes with his showboating, freewheeling style? Then you could count the plays he does not make (errors, getting picked off, etc.) and do a ratio. My point is, playing good fundamental baseball is not like “clubhouse chemistry” or “leadership” or whatever. It is something you can see with your own two eyes, which I think is the definition of tangible.

BTW, I blame Castro for some of this. Yesterday, Gladden made a comment about a ball Castro let roll under his glove that resulted in the home-town scorer giving Cuddyer a hit. He said Castro was “going for style points” rather than making the routine play, which was my biggest complaint about him when he played here. I think Punto’s game changed when he played with Castro: He realized that style counts in the eyes of coaches and fans. If Castro could keep his position on style alone, it could work for Punto. And it has worked for Punto: He is called a “gold-glove caliber” fielder at every position despite mediocre numbers. Why? He goes for style points, which leave a good impression in the minds of coaches and fans despite the numbers.

Thinking about Castro's defense triggered a memory of those two months in 2006 when the infield looked awful. Castro had 10 errors and several nonerrors in that stretch, many of them on throws. He was a surprise choice to start considering that he only played in five games in spring training, having played for Mexico in the WBC. It was especially surprising he was handed the job because he didn't play at all in the WBC because of a shoulder problem, which he apparently hid from the Twins staff. But he couldn't hide it from me. He had nothing on his throws and I swear I saw him pick up his glove on several occasions in the hole rather than embarrass himself with a weak throw. He also altered his style to run around the ball and get behind his throws more, earning him style points but also failing to record outs because the new style took him so much time to get the ball over to first on the fly.

Fast forward to this year and watching Punto, I'm seeing some of the same tendencies. And it's most apparent recently, when he has to muscle it over there just to get it on the fly. Morneau has saved him errors on balls in the dirt more times than I can keep track of. And makeable double plays seem to evaporate as his ball hangs in midair while the runner flashes by the screen safe.

So the theory is he has some kind of arm problem that he hasn't told the coaches about and it's hurting this team. Another telltale sign is his hitting. He's hitting much better from the right side of the plate than the left, an indication that his throwing shoulder is bothering him.

What I don't get is we have two healthy shortstops sitting on the bench and it's apparent to me that he's not 100 percent. So why keep playing him?

I posted this over at Howard's blog. But I wanted to publish it here as well.

In the midst of the tightest pennant race in recent memory, one needs diversions to beat the stress, especially after looking feeble against rookie pitchers. The diversion of choice for me: Thinking about what the Twins can do in the offseason to turn a contending team into a championship team for 2009.

The good news is the Twins are in a position where a few moves would make them the favorite in the division. The starting staff looks set with five solid starters and several arms in waiting. The bullpen should be improved with the return of Pat Neshek. And, aside from the left side of the infield, the team has solid to great options at every position. Punto and Buscher have some offensive skills, but their defense isn’t up to snuff; neither looks like an everyday player, though they would make decent bench options if affordable.

It looks like all the team needs to do is acquire a short stop and a third baseman with championship pedigree to become the favorites. Easier said than done: You would have to have a short memory to forget the Everette/Lamb or Castro/Batista fiascoes. The signature aspect of those two fiascoes is they acquired the players on the cheap. Championship-caliber players require more than a low-budget free agent signing. They likely will require giving up some good talent in trades.

So what do these stress busting daydreams consist in? A left side with Cristian Guzman and Adrian Beltre. Imaging Beltre in the middle of the order and a rock over at third. Imaging Guzman paired with Gomez at the bottom of the order and paired with Casilla up the middle. That is a championship-caliber infield.

So how do you get them? At the risk of scorn, let me suggest that the Twins have a surpluss of what the Nationals don’t have. Why don’t we send them Boof and Humber for Guzzy? They need pitching and these guys need an opportunity to start at the majors. As for Beltre, the Mariners have a great third-base prospect in the high minors. What they do need is an outfielder to replace Ibanez, who will leave for greener pastures. So how about Cuddyer straight up for Beltre? Perhaps you would need to throw in a prospect to even out the deal. But that would make the dollars work and satisfy the Mariners’ need for a high quality veteran.

Imagine this line-up:

1. Span RF
2. Casilla 2b
3. Mauer C
4. Morneau 1b
5. Beltre 3b
6. Kubel DH
7. Young LF
8. Guzman SS
9. Gomez CF

That’s a championship-caliber line-up that will win more of these close games that we have been struggeling with down the stretch.

Patrick Reusse's latest column perfectly demonstrates why the Twins won't contend unless they get someone to replace Neshek. It was a lost opportunity before the break, and it's now very tough in their position to get the kind of guy they need. They have to be behind the White Sox to do it because the Sox can put a waiver claim on anybody they want in order to block a trade if the Twins are ahead of them.

I'm not a fan of Chad Bradford for the eighth inning role, so I'm not that peeved that the Twins passed on him. He is an upgrade over Brian Bass and would help some. But the kind of guy the Twins need for this role is a pseudo-closer like Huston Street. I hope the last eight games of Matt Guerrier (18.00 ERA) are the kind of wake-up call the front office needed to get off their butts and do something.