JOE CHRISTENSEN DIDN'T JUST DRINK THE KOOL-AID, HE WENT BACK FOR SECONDS

As much as I love wild rampant optimism and not crying that it's over but being happy that it happened and all of that grab ass, Joe Christensen plopped himself a top of Mt. Homersota with his lovely article on the outlook on the Twins season.

I’m a glass-is-half-full kind of guy, and it’s easy to believe teams are going to be better when the people you cover are brimming with optimism. The Twins haven’t lost a game since Sept. 29 (Wakefield over Blackburn at Fenway Park.....

And it goes on like this....

For me, the fact Liriano probably won’t open the season with the team was almost the straw that broke the camel’s back. But then I caught myself. In baseball, it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. For five weeks, all of us tend to obsess about the Opening Day roster. We grab the preview magazines and study each team’s projected lineup and rotation and base our early predictions on those.

True, not knowing the status of your supposed ace on opening day is nothing to worry about, thanks Joe!

Baker is not a No. 5 starter. He looked terrific early in camp (until he got hurt), and by about mid-April, I expect him to look solid again. Liriano did not have some major setback in spring training. By mid-April, he could become a force again, if not quite as dominant as 2006, something approaching that.

Now, to his credit, Joe didn't go as far as saying the Twins would win the division running away, but if I get a call from him to join his local church group, robes to be provided, I'm telling him I'm washing my hair that night.