Boston Red Sox fans are starting to get anxious, thinking this is finally their year. New York Yankees fans think every year is their year. Although there may not be as many of them, die-hard Minnesota Twins fans could surprisingly be the ones celebrating come October.
The Twins might not be the best team in baseball. In fact, if the playoffs were to begin today, they would make it with the worst record of all the contenders. But the Twins are a team built for the playoffs.
To start, they have two excellent starting pitchers anchoring the rotation in lefty Johan Santana and righty Brad Radke. Santana, at only 25 years old, is the front-runner for the Cy Young award this season. He's been downright dominant in the second half, winning back to back American League Pitcher of the Month awards in July and August.
Brad Radke is the anti-Santana ... except he's also good. Radke throws right-handed, doesn't throw nearly as hard as his teammate, and he's also six years older. Radke's having the best season of his career, and he's a veteran who can be counted on in October. With these two guys in a playoff rotation, the Twins pack some punch off the mound.
The Minnesota defense isn't quite as amazing as it has been in years past with the loss of first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, but it is still very solid.
The biggest upgrade for the Twins has been the offense. Minnesota has young first baseman Justin Morneau to thank for that enhancement. All Morneau has done since being called up from the minors is hit 17 home runs in 223 at-bats while posting a .543 slugging percentage. He still has a lot to learn, but at least now the Twins have a thumper in their lineup. Inside the American League is pretty sure Jose Offerman (.258 batting average, .413 slugging percentage) wasn't striking fear into pitchers' hearts.
In addition to Morneau, the Twins have a bunch of solid, though not spectacular, hitters to fill out the lineup. Outfielder/DH Lew Ford is giving the offense a little bit of punch, third baseman Corey Koskie can still play and outfielder Shannon "the stupid people's MVP choice in 2003" Stewart is hitting nicely as well.
Despite these strong points, the Twinkies are still far from perfect. After the top two spots in their rotation, their starting pitching is a joke. Carlos Silva pitched well at the beginning of the season and is still young, but he's been mediocre overall. Kyle Lohse is still young, but he's never been very good. Lohse's 5.45 ERA tells you everything you need to know about him. And who's holding down that fifth spot? Terry Mulholland. The 41-year-old with the 5.01 ERA isn't intimidating anyone.
Remember what we were saying earlier about this team being built for the playoffs? In a five-game series, opponents would have to face Santana and Radke twice each. That's going to be very, very difficult to beat. In a seven-game championship series the Twins' rotation problem would be more exposed, but it can be overcome (just ask the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks).
Santana and Radke may not be Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, but the Twins have the advantage of a very strong bullpen. Closer Joe Nathan (1.54 ERA) has been about as dominant as a closer can be. More importantly, setup man J.C. Romero has been on an incredible hot streak. What was Romero's ERA for the month of July? 0.00. His ERA for August? 0.00. Through Sept. 12, Romero hadn't given up a run since June 11! That made for 36 and two thirds consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
In past years, the Twins just haven't had the offense to get the job done. They've also had bullpen problems at times. But now with a bullpen gelling, a Koufaxian stretch by Johan Santana and a more potent offense, the Minnesota Twins have a good shot at bringing home the hardware in October.
