FanHouse MattGuerrier

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

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Absolute best team in baseball that you've never heard of. The Twins don't spend a lot of money nor do they make a lot of headlines. What they are good at, however, is winning. The Twins won the American League Central Division every year from 2002 to 2004 and again in 2006. In 2007 they finished third in the division and in 2008 they lost a one-game playoff to just miss the post season. This team wins with a small-ball, almost National League feel or approach.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Minnesota Twins.

Last year was supposed to be the season in which the Minnesota Twins finally had to deal with reality. They traded Johan Santana to the Mets because they couldn't afford him any longer, and the heart and soul of the team, Torii Hunter, left for the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles. Then the Twins went out and won 88 games and were one run shy of making the playoffs after losing to the White Sox in a one-game playoff for the Central title. This is just what the Twins do. They defy everyone's expectations but their own, and odds are they're going to do it again this season.

I was watching the Twins and White Sox last Thursday when Pat Neshek hurt his elbow. It came the way you never want to see a pitcher get hurt (save for maybe a line drive off their head): Just throwing a pitch. Neshek has always had one of the oddest deliveries I've ever seen from a pitcher, and it has the kind of spastic motions where I felt it was only a matter of time before something went wrong.

Well, when Neshek threw a slider during the 8th inning of the game on Thursday, something went wrong. Neshek immediately clutched at his elbow, and was walking off the field shortly after. The injury is as bad as it looked, as Neshek won't be pitching again this season.

Neshek will not be allowed to throw for a minimum of three months, which means the injury has effectively ended his season. But he said he won't need surgery.

The ulnar collateral ligament is the same ligament that pitchers have repaired when they undergo Tommy John replacement surgery.

"Obviously it's really bad, but it's good I can come back and rehab this and not have to go through surgery and sit out for a good year," Neshek said after Friday's game, his arm fully wrapped.

Neshek's loss is a big on for the Twins bullpen, as they'll now need to find somebody else to get the ball to Joe Nathan. Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier will probably take over Pat's spot in eighth inning.

There was no word on how the injury will affect Pat's blogging.