Q: What do you think about the possibility of my homeboy Johan Santana getting the best contract of all time among pitchers when he becomes a free agent? And will the Twins pay him?
— Dexter, Maracaibo, Venezuela

A: Congratulations, Dexter — that’s the first time the word ‘homeboy’ has appeared in this column. And just from the way you phrased your questions, it struck me that if the answer to the first question is yes, then the answer to the second very well could be no. The biggest contract in history among pitchers — handed out by the Twins? That’s a bit hard to imagine at this point.

Santana already has told the Twins not to wait too long to attempt to re-sign him. That means he is willing to remain in Minnesota, but wants a new deal in place long before he is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season. And it also means he wants a team around him that can compete to win a World Series.

Can the Twins afford that? Moving into a new stadium in 2009 undoubtedly will increase revenues and payroll. Still, there are front-office executives out there who doubt whether the Twins ever will be able to afford a deal similar to what Barry Zito received from the Giants this year. And there is unanimous agreement that Santana is worth more than Zito.

This is an important period in the history of the Twins, with the big question being how many of their young core stars can they afford to keep?

Q. How do you think the Cardinals will do this year? Also, how do you think Albert Pujols will do?
— Morgan, Goodman, Mo.

A: The Cardinals have enough question marks that many are doubting whether they can repeat as division champions, let alone get back to the World Series. But I’m taking the approach that everybody in the National League Central has their share of problems, and until proven otherwise, the Cardinals are the defending champions and the team to beat.

Critics point to their 83-win regular season and the fact that Jeff Weaver and Jason Marquis were lost to free agency and Mark Mulder is coming off surgery and won’t pitch much — if at all — this season.

All true, but remember that all of the Cards’ star position players spent time on the disabled list last season, and that was a big reason why their regular-season record suffered. Jim Edmonds and Juan Encarnacion may start this season there, as well, but both should be back by mid-April. And you saw what happened when everybody was healthy last postseason. Also consider that Marquis had a poor season, Weaver only pitched a half-season in St. Louis and wasn’t very good until his out-of-nowhere post-season.

They appear to be a starting pitcher short, and Josh Kinney’s loss weakens the bullpen some, so I’m not predicting a 90-plus-win season for Tony La Russa’s team. But Adam Wainwright will be a very good starting pitcher, Kip Wells is the perfect Dave Duncan-turnaround candidate, and I like Anthony Reyes, too. I say the Cards win around 88 games or so, and are back in the playoffs in October.

As for Pujols, that’s easy. He’s the best player in the game, and makes everybody around him better. He is consistently fabulous — hitting .331, .330 and .331 the last three seasons, with 46, 41 and 49 homers and 123, 117 and 137 RBI. I don’t see that changing much in 2007, when he will play at age 27.

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