First Base, or, the Justin Morneau Lovefest

Its hard to believe that it took twenty years to get a hitter with 30 home runs, and its harder to believe, especially after watching last year, that it would be Justin Morneau. Even more impressive is that he is in the running for the league MVP. Rare, considering he plays in an overlooked market (i.e. not New York or Boston) and shares the spotlight with Baby Jesus Mauer.
There is a reason that Morneau hasn't drawn comparisons to Kent Hrbek, the most recent dynamic and valuable first baseman in the Twins organization. If there was anyone that reminded us of Herbie, it was Matt Lecroy or even David Ortiz, jolly, chubby guys renowned mostly for their bats. Justin Morneau isn't chubby, and while he may be happy, he's certainly not jolly. Morneau is limber and athletic enough to field his position as well, lending, perhaps to his days as a goaltender in Canada. The most striking difference between Morneau and Hrbek, however, is the cornucopia of vowels in his last name.
There's no doubt that Justin Morneau is the franchise player Terry Ryan thought he was when he traded Doug Mientkiewicz for nobody in particular. He has good clubhouse chemistry, especially with the other beacon of Twins excellence, Joe Mauer and wants to stay with the Twins for his career. He's still young and looks to get better with age, unless he gets hurt. That, of course, is something the Twins can try to prevent this offseason. A reliable hitting, if not fielding, first base sub should be a concern for Terry Ryan. Someone like Matt Stairs or even a return of Matthew Lecroy would be money well spent this offseason. I know he's thinking the same thing. It was, after all, why Phil Nevin was brought to town.

I'll be back on Friday - Ryan