Circle Me, Bert!

It seems to me that if there’s one team in Major League Baseball that has never gotten the credit for its success this decade that it deserves, it’s the Minnesota Twins.  From the front office, to manager Ron Gardenhire, to the underappreciated roster, to the stadium groundskeeper who does a terrific job keeping that grass nice and tight (I mean, it hardly seems to grow at all - it’s unbelievable!), right on down to their outstanding mascot, the Twins are consistently a first class organization, in spite of their relatively limited resources. So how can a team with such a small payroll (24^th in MLB in 2008. Take a look at the teams below them on that list – not exactly a “Who’s Who” of contending teams this decade, with the possible exception of Oakland) seemingly be in the playoff chase every year this decade? Well, I’m glad you asked…

1)      Trades:

-          One trade that comes to mind immediately is the highway robbery that was the fleecing of the Giants to get Francisco Liriano, Boof Bonser, and Joe Nathan for A.J. Pierzynski. To get a front of the rotation starter (pending the health of his elbow, of course), and a rock-solid closer, as well as a decent middle-reliever, for a demonstrative catcher who didn’t last in San Francisco anyway, required huge foresight on the part of Minnesota’s front office.

-          I’m still in favor of dumping Johan Santana for some talented prospects before he inevitably left Minnesota for free agency, which obviously would have gotten them nothing in return. Carlos Gomez, the jewel of that Mets’ prospect crop, will be a very productive five-tool major-leaguer, and sooner rather than later, even though he obviously hasn’t lived up to expectations this season, which is only his first full season in the Majors.

-          While I still think that the Rays got the better of the off-season Garza/Bartlett for Young/Harris deal because you never, ever, give up on a young pitcher as talented as Garza, Delmon Young has done a great job over the last month or so of turning on that power bat that made him the #1 overall pick in the 2003 draft, and has shown why the Twins had the confidence to let him take over the fifth spot in the batting order everyday, a spot previously held by the very productive Michael Cuddyer before his injury. Over the past thirty days, Young is hitting .315, with four HR’s (he has a total of seven on the season), and 16 RBI.

2)      Drafting:

-          The first thing that jumped out at me when reviewing the Twins’ recent draft history was that four of the five members (Liriano’s acquisition was discussed earlier) of the team’s current starting rotation were early round draft picks brought up within the team’s system. When you stop and think about how many teams make terrible mistakes on players, particularly pitchers, that they take in the first two rounds (I’m looking at you, Pittsburgh), this really is a feat to be applauded. Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker and Glen Perkins have done an outstanding job filling in for the departed Santana, Carlos Silva and Matt Garza (which is why it’s almost ok that they let the latter go in that trade), as well as the demoted Boof Bonser, combining for 34 wins among them this season. If you had heard of any of those guys, with the possible exception of Scott Baker, before this season, then you either regularly watch FSN North broadcasts, or your name is Tim Kurkjian.

-          The Twins took Joe Mauer, a native of the great state of Minnesota, with the #1 overall pick in 2001. Taking a catcher with his leadership skills, defensive acumen, and ability to contend for a batting title year in and year out seems like a no-brainer in hindsight, but remember, some saw their decision to pass on Mark Prior, who went #2 overall to the Cubs, as just another example of a small-market team being stingy. He who laughs last…

-          Other notable Twins draft picks that have at one point or another made a significant impact for the club on the field include Justin Morneau (3^rd round, 1999), Torii Hunter (1^st round, 1993), Jason Kubel (12^th round, 2000), Michael Cuddyer (1^st round, 1997), Pat Neshek (6^th round, 2002) and Denard Span (1^st round, 2002 – how much will this guy be to watch in Minnesota for years to come?). This is definitely an organization with an eye for talent.

3) Leadership:

-          Aside from Mike Scioscia, and maybe Terry Francona, is there anyone else that you would rather have as the manager of your ball club than Ron Gardenhire? He knows when to back off, when to be fiery and aggressive (his blow-ups on umpires, and subsequent ejections, are that of legend), he manages his pitching staff well, and he holds his team accountable for the little things that can make a big difference, such as base running. Surely this team would not have had nearly the amount of success that it has in the past six years without his being at the helm of the Twins’ ship.

-          It bears repeating: what this front office has done building from within with such limited resources is nothing short of remarkable. The Twins are on pace for their seventh winning season since 2001, and have a legitimate shot at winning the A.L. Central, again, despite losing their best pitcher (Santana), and arguably their best position player (Hunter), this off-season. Nobody picked them to even sniff the playoffs, let alone win the division, in their preseason picks, but a smart front office that knows when to give players an opportunity (see: Denard Span), and which players to simply get rid of (see: Livan Hernandez), has once again proven the doubters wrong.

-          Joe Mauer needs to be mentioned more often along with Jason Varitek as catchers who lead on the field by calling a great game for their often fluctuating pitching staff, and who step up as a leader in the clubhouse as well.

Yes, the Twins have done it the right way since 2000. They play fundamentally-sound baseball with homegrown talent, and succeed in doing so, and times should be exciting for years to come in Minnesota with a new ballpark on the way. There hasn’t been a team this decade that has done more with less, and here’s hoping that their small-market success continues well into the next decade.

Comments

[Enrico Palatso]

A very well written post on the Twins and their focus on growing players the right way. One thing, however, that most people gloss over when talking Twinkie baseball, is that their owner IS THE RICHEST IN BASEBALL!!!

Carl Pohlad, not George Steinbrenner, lays claim to the largest fortune for MLB owners, yet the Twins always, ALWAYS get labeled as small market, like Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Oakland. The Twins could easily have held onto Santana, signed Torii Hunter (you telling me that Gomez is better than Hunter?!?!?!), and can be a major player in the free agent market.

The Twins have had remarkable success for the minimal amount of money that they have spent, but I would argue that if they spent a bit more, not Yankee money, but a bit more, that they might have had a title or two in the past 7 years. Pohlad either needs to sell the team or start spending money, because with the new ballpark coming around, fans want the best product on the field, not just the best product that little money can buy.