What a lovely way to open the season:

The Minnesota Twins have placed catcher Joe Mauer, as well as pitchers Scott Baker and Boof Bonser, on the 15-day disabled list. Additionally, the club announced that Francisco Liriano will start Minnesota's home opener Monday against Seattle. Mauer is still dealing with inflammation in the sacroiliac joint, which was diagnosed in early March through a magnetic resonance arthrogram. At the point of that examination, he had been experiencing back pain for over two months, further limiting the two-time All-Star following surgery to remove a kidney obstruction this offseason. Mauer has not appeared in a game this spring, though his condition has improved since switching medication to reduce the inflammation. However, he is still focusing on strength and conditioning, and is planning to ease back into baseball activities. There is no timetable for Mauer's return, and his absence is a blow for the Twins' lineup, as he led the club in batting (.328) and on-base percentage (.413) last season. Mauer, a two-time AL batting champ who will turn 26 on April 19, also hit nine home runs and drove in 85 runs last season. Baker was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to March 28, because of stiffness in his right shoulder. He is eligible to come off the DL on April 12.

This looks like a down year for the Twins. If they win, it's because they've got four or five starters who keep them in most games and because they've got one of the best players in the majors behind the plate. Sure, Baker is eligible to pitch on April 12. But will he? And when he does, will he be 100 percent? And what if another starter goes down? Baker may be the first but he almost certainly won't be the last. As for Mauer, nobody seems to know how to fix him. And again, when he's back, how good will he be? The Twins are always operating on the margins because, with the notable exceptions of Mauer and Justin Morneau, they don't have any excellent non-pitchers (unless you count Denard Span, and I don't yet). Take away one of them and replace Baker with R.A. Dickey -- and yeah, I love the knuckleballer, but c'mon -- and you're looking at a .500 team. At best.