"Under The Gun" takes a look at one player from each team who will bear all the pressure for the upcoming '08 season.Now I know what you're thinking, who the hell is Carlos Gomez, and why is he feeling any pressure? Good questions, and I don't blame you for asking them. After all, so far in FanHouse's Under the Gun series we've focused on players who are key new additions to their team, or are in contract years, or are expected to get their team over the proverbial hump.
The fact is though, there really isn't that much pressure in Minnesota this season. After trading Johan Santana to the Mets, and losing Torii Hunter to the Angels, nobody is expecting the Twins to win this season. So it was hard to find any one player on the Twins roster who is going to be feeling a lot of heat this season.
Sure, I could have taken the angle of Joe Mauer being the face of the franchise, and needing to avoid more time on the disabled list, or I could have possibly gone with Francisco Liriano and the fact his arm may snap off on any pitch.
In the end though, I just couldn't ignore Gomez.
Think about it, not only did he come over to the Twins from the Mets in a trade for the greatest pitcher in Twins history (unless you ask Bert Blyleven or Jack Morris), but he also will be playing centerfield where he replaces the most popular player on the team since Kirby Puckett.
The poor kid has no chance.
Carlos can have himself a great 2008 season for the Twins and he's still not going to be as good as Santana or Hunter. If that's not pressure, I don't know what is.
