Minnesota Twins 2002 Season Preview

by Adam J. Ulrey

Could this be the Twins Year?

The Twins come in to 2002 after surviving a winter of contraction talk with a team that could walk away with an A.L. Central title. No baseball in Minnesota would just be a travesty. Talk of contraction is a joke and again shows why Bud Selig should be ousted as commissioner, but I'll save my arguments on that for another article. Now, back to the Twins, who have one of the youngest teams in baseball and play their first year under new manager Ron Gardenhire. Minnesota has a big chip on their collective shoulders this year and will come out more focused than at any time in their history to prove they belong. With both Cleveland and Chicago not looking particularly strong the division is ripe for the taking.

The hardest name in baseball to pronounce is that of the Twins' first baseman, Doug Mientkiewicz. He came back to Minny after winning a Gold Medal at the Summer Olympics to have a break out season. He batted .306 with 15 homers, 39 doubles and added 74 RBI. He also posses one of the better gloves on the team. At the other corner position you have Corey Koskie, who had a huge year and is just going to get better. Koskie is of that rare breed which has both power and speed from the third base position. Last year he had 26 homers and 27 steals. He also led his team with 103 RBI, most of them coming after he was moved to the cleanup spot. Christian Guzman is hoping to have his name thrown in with the best shortstops in the AL. He has led the AL in triples the last two years with 20 and 14. He has averaged 27 steals a year over the last two and the Twins are hoping that he can learn more plate discipline as he could develop into one of the better lead-off hitters in the game. His career on base percentage is a pathetic .302, which will not get the job done. The other young infield is second baseman Luis Rivas who along with Guzman forms one of the best double-play combinations in the game. In his first full season he batted .266 with 31 steals to lead the Twins. The DH will be handled by David Ortiz who had 18 homers before missing the second half of the season with an injury.

Two of the three outfield spots are taken, left field by Jacque Jones and center by Torii Hunter. The job for right field is the lone remaining spring training battle with Brian Buchanan and Bobby Kielty. Jones hit 14 homers last year, but overall had a disappointing season hitting. Look for him to bounce back and have a year like he did in 1999. Hunter, on the other hand, had a breakout year with the bat last year, hitting 27 homers and droving in 92 RBI. He also became a nightly highlight show on ESPN with his incredible catches game after game. The primary problem with these hitters is their impatience at the plate. Buchanan has more power, with teammate Koskie saying that if given the chance to play he could hit 40 homers. Kielty is the player with more overall tools, as he can hit for both power and use his speed to help the Twins' already strong running game.

The starting pitching is the strength of the Twins with Brad Radke, Eric Milton, Joe Mays and Rick Reed. Radke took less money last year to stay with the Twins, but don't get the crying towels out as he still got 27 million. He has been the ace for the last six years, averaging 33 starts a year. Last year he was 15-11 with a solid 3.93 ERA. He has turned in over 200 innings in each of the last six years. Milton had his best year, going 15-7 and he also has over 200 innings pitched in each of the last three years. Having that kind of stability at the top of the rotation is one reason the Twins have a good chance of winning the division.

Mays had the best first half of all the Twins going into the All Star game. He came out a little slow after the break, but got it going late to put together a very good year, leading the Twins with 17 wins. He also had the best ERA of the starters with a very impressive 3.16. Behind him in the rotation will be Rick Reed, unless he gets his wish and they trade him. Here's one of those players that crossed the picket line to play in 1994 and now he's complaining about the contract that he should be thankful he even has. Instead he would rather whine about his contract. This coming from a pitcher making 7 million a year who was only 12-12 with an ERA of 4.05.

The bullpen will be solid as the Twins went out and brought in veteran Mike Jackson to help close out games, and also to lend his experience to both LaTroy Hawkins and Eddie Guardado. Guardado will probably get the bulk of the saves, but to have Jackson there is a blessing for such a young team. Bob Wells is the kind of guy you love to have on a staff as he can close or he can become your long man and on occasion if needed he can even start. Wells had 8 wins and picked up a couple of saves. They also have youngster Travis Miller who had a 4.81 ERA and will be counted on to pitch more this year.

I think we are talking about the Central Division champs this year, as their pitching is superior to either the Indians or the White Sox. Last year they got a taste of pennant fever and this year they will be better prepared to handle the success and the spotlight that will be shining on them. They also have a very good lineup that will only get better. The Twins not only will stop the contraction talk, they will possibly walk away with a division title.

Ten Years Ago...

Strengths and Weaknesses: Kirby is the foundation of the team. Harper is only average behind the plate but hits .300 every year. Chili was a hot hitter last year, and at selected years in the past. Shane Mack has two solid seasons behind him, may be the next Puck. The Leuis-Pags platoon at third is exciting to watch. Knoblauch looks like a keeper at second, his maturity in the World Series was impressive. Tapani and Erickson are entering their prime years, but need consistency. John Smiley isn't as intimidating as Morris, but, hey, he was a 20 game winner in '91. Aguilera, with the trimmest beard in baseball, should continue shaving AL batting averages.

Hrbek, long-time favorite, Gold Glover and slugger, is injured again and appears to be on the downside of a fine career. Oh well, there's always Terminator Three. After Ag and the surprising Carl Willis, the bullpen lacks depth. They need a fourth and fifth starter and hope Willie Banks is prepared.

General Outlook: "Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated." These are the World Champs after all, and Morris didn't do it by himself. After '87, critics said the same things. They lost to the A's but actually won more games in '88 than in '87. They may be a few pieces short of a repeat in a tough division, but I wouldn't write them off yet.