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March 15, 2009

On the Beat

Weekend Roundup

by John Perrotto

In many ways the Twins had an outstanding 2008, but ultimately they walked away frustrated, having tied with the White Sox for the American League Central title after 162 games, only to lose 1-0 in a one-game playoff at US Cellular Field in Chicago. "I thought about that game every day all winter," said Twins outfielder Denard Span. "To be that close and come up short really hurt. You think about all the little things that happened over the course of the season, and wonder if one of those things went our way, if we would have been going to the playoffs."

While the Twins were one of baseball's surprise teams with an 88-75 record in a season after they had traded ace left-hander Johan Santana and lost center fielder Torii Hunter and right-hander Carlos Silva to free agency, manager Ron Gardenhire hopes that his team will use 2008 as a learning experience, the lesson being that every game counts. "I think it's a really good lesson, not just to the young players, but everybody, as to just how much every game means, and what happens during the course of every game means something," Gardenhire said. "You look back at the close games we lost last season, especially over the last six weeks when we sort of ran out of gas getting to the finish line, and you wonder what might have been. That ground ball that didn't get turned into an out, that pitch that didn't get made in a key moment of the game, that at-bat with less than two outs and a runner on third base that didn't score the run. It might not have seemed like a big deal at the time. You might just turn the page and say go get them tomorrow. Now, we know the importance of everything that happens on a baseball field. It was a difficult lesson to learn, but something I think we're going to benefit from in the long run."

The Twins certainly will not sneak up on the rest of the AL Central this season. They're considered one of the favorites in what seems to be a wide-open division. "We plan on being in the hunt," said Gardenhire. "That's the plan every year."

The Twins finished fourth in the major leagues with an average of 5.1 runs per game last season, even though catcher Joe Mauer (.316 EqA) and first baseman Justin Morneau (.308) were the only two hitters to have outstanding years. Mauer has yet to play in an exhibition game this spring; he had a surgical procedure to remove a blockage in his kidney in December, and has been feeling lower back pain for the last few weeks.

What the Twins lack in star power beyond the modern-day M&M boys, they feel they can make up for in depth. They have four quality outfielders to squeeze into three positions with Span, Michael Cuddyer, Carlos Gomez, and Delmon Young, and they feel that signing third baseman Joe Crede as a free agent late in the offseason will be a boost. Crede had a .262 EqA with the White Sox in 2008, but the Twins are confident that he's over his back problems following a second surgery in two years. "We know what he's capable of doing," said Gardenhire. "We played against him in the American League Central for a long time. When he's healthy, and we have every reason to believe he is, he's a very good third baseman. He's a good hitter with pop, and an outstanding fielder. He is going to be a very good addition to our lineup."