PROPS TO:
* Johan Santana: Emerged as the staff ace in 2004 after a slow start in April and May, blowing away opponents left and right. Set Twins' franchise record of strikeouts in a season with 265, breaking Bert Blyleven's 1973 record of 258. He also was the first Twin to win 20 games in a season since Brad Radke did it in 1997. We can't say enough about this guy. He's also pretty good with the bat, going 3-8 with 2 RBI during interleague appearances. In September he was 5-0 (6 GS), with a 0.45 ERA, 40 IP, 20 H, 2 ER, 0 HRA,, 7 BB, 52 SO. That by far was his best month. It will be interesting to see what kind of deal he gets this offseason.
* Brad Radke: Tough season for Brad, but it was one of his best
overall, posting a 3.48 ERA in 219.2 innings pitched, while only
walking 26, which equates to 1.07 walks per 9 innings. Now THAT’S control, folks. He’s been bitten by the lack of run support bug all season long, and had it not been so, we could have had 2 20-game winners, and two Cy Young candidates on our staff. Radke has pitched extremely well, and is the workhorse of the staff. I sincerely hope that the Twins can find a way to re-sign Brad. Can’t say enough about Brad Radke either. We need him just as much as we need Santana to have that 1-2 punch at the top of our rotation.
* Carlos Silva: First year starter, came over via trade that sent Eric
Milton to Philly. 14-8, 4.21 ERA. Very respectable indeed. He
started off winning his first 5 decisions of the season, pitching 203
innings in 33 starts. He’s a keeper, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in the rotation for the playoffs and in 2005 and beyond. His control, like Radke’s, has been great, walking only 35 batters in 203 innings. Silva used what he had to get outs, didnt try to strike batters out, but instead was able to get them to ground out using his defense. My 2004 highlight of Silva is when he pitched that complete game shutout against a tough Anaheim Angels offense - Twins won 10-0 and Silva had 9 double plays.
* Shannon Stewart: He missed 2 months of the season, but when he was in action, he did not disappoint. He was Mr. Consistent, finishing with a .304 average in 2004, one point higher than his career average. It is Shannon’s 6th season in a row where he has hit .300 or better. Stewart seems to be the backbone to the offense, without him, the offense is lost and not sure what way it up. My favorite highlight of Shannon was on Opening Day, when he hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to win it for the Twins, 7-4.
* Lew Ford: Can you imagine this guy was not even on our Opening Day roster? Well, if it weren’t for Torii Hunter injuring his hamstring early in the season, Ford wouldn’t have gotten called up as soon as he did. And he performed so well during that time that the Twins felt they’d be much better with him up here. And he hasn’t slightly smelled a demotion. In his first full (well, almost) season, he hit .299 (oh, so close!) with 15 HR, 72 RBI, and 20 SB while only being caught twice. He has helped carry this team, offensively and defensively, playing all three outfield positions and playing them all very well. I look for Ford to be in our outfield for a few more years, or in at least our lineup. He could be taking over for Jacque Jones, as it doesn’t appear that he will be re-signed.
* Joe Mauer: The anticipated debut of our 1st round pick in 2001 had arrived, but it wasn’t too long before he went down. In just the second game of the regular season on April 6th, Mauer tore cartilage in his left knee, and had surgery shortly after to remove it. He returned to the lineup in early June, and his very first major league home run was quite memorable. First, it was at the Metrodome. It was June 6th, and the game was tied 3-3. On a 3-1 fastball from Detroit’s Esteban Yan, Mauer lifted it well over the baggie for a 3-run blast which put the Twins ahead, 6-3, and would be the game-winner. Mauer would go back down in mid-July after switching meds for his knee, but never returned to the lineup after that. His very short rookie season ended up with a .308 average, 6 HR, 17 RBI. I am looking forward to Joe’s healthy return in 2005. Too bad he won’t be considered a “rookie”, not
according to MLB anyway. I look for Joe to have a banner year,
hopefully injury-free.
* Henry Blanco: I give props to Blanco for doing a job he wasn’t even asked to do. He was brought here to be Mauer’s backup and mentor, and ended up with the bulk of the catching duties, appearing in 114 games, way more than any of us anticipated. He was never known for his offensive numbers, but he has been clutch with the bat at times and provided us with great defense. He gets my vote as the unsung hero of the Twins in 2004.
* Justin Morneau: 19 homers in 280 at-bats. Wow. The Twins have not seen power like this in a long time. He became our full-time first baseman when Doug Mientkiewicz was traded to the Boston Red Sox on July 31st. He’s shown he can hit to all fields, and even has good opposite-field power too. I remember his first major league home run at Kauffman Stadium last year...what a mammoth shot, and he was pinch hitting! Some people were skeptical that his D isn’t like Doug’s, but he has shown pretty good D over at first. Imagine having this guy around for a full season. I don’t think 30-35, maybe even 40 home runs in 2005 is out of the question, provided he stays healthy.
* Joe Nathan: Terry Ryan had some big shoes to fill with the departure of Eddie Guardado, and saw something in Nathan and thought about making him a closer. Well, he did not disappoint, converting 44 of 47 save opportunities and had a scoreless streak of his own going for a while. He is 2nd in Twins’ season saves leaders, only to Eddie Guardado’s 45 (2002). He is virtually lights out in that 9th inning, and doesn’t make us as nervous as Eddie did. Nathan would close out 2004 with a 1.62 ERA in 72.1 innings, with 89 strikeouts. And, guys only batted .187 against Nathan in 2004.
* Juan Rincon: LaTroy who? Rincon stepped up into the set-up role, and ran with it. He pitched 82 innings, striking out 106, and ended up with a 2.63 ERA. He held opponents to a .181 average. He also sported an 11-6 record, and I wouldn’t be surprised if most of his decisions came in games that Radke started. So if anyone is wondering where Brad’s decisions are, look no further. Rincon’s got ‘em.
* Jesse Crain: The much anticipated arrival of the flame-throwing Crain came, and he did very well in all kinds of situations. In his first year in the bigs, he would proudly display a 3-0 record, and a 2.00 ERA to go along with it in 27 innings pitched. Look for this guy to be the closer of the future.
* Jason Kubel: His hitting shoes followed him up to the bigs, batting .300 (18-60) with 2 HR, 7 RBI. Has a pretty good eye at the plate. He will be on the playoff roster, and auditioning for a job with the team in 2005. He earned the 2004 Minor League Player Of The Year award.
* The Twins: An ad in Sunday’s Star Tribune called “The Tip Of The Cap” brought tears to my eyes. I truly am proud to be a fan of the Minnesota Twins. It is an honor!
FLOPS TO:
* Kyle Lohse: Never seemed to get in any kind of groove during 2004. He’d have a good outing here and there, but lacked consistency. And yet he was the best in Spring Training! I’m not looking for much of a bump in salary in 2005 for Kyle. Hopefully he can learn a lot from this season and have a much better 2005.
* Patrick Reusse: For slamming Twins fans in his column. The casual Twins fan won’t be so quick to come out and support them. It’s guys like him that have contributed to the Twins’ lack of attendance, with what he says in the media. Big, big flops to Patrick!
HONORABLE MENTIONS TO:
* Terry Mulholland: Stepped up as our 5th starter when nobody else was working out. First it was Seth Greisinger, then Matt Guerrier. He gave us decent outings most of the time, and provided us with his veteran leadership.
* Jose Offerman: Hit very well in pinch-hit situations. And he did win Game 2 of the regular season for us, a bases-loaded single to center on a 3-2 pitch, and the Twins win, 7-6. Look for Jose to do more of the same in the playoffs.
* Augie Ojeda: Late season addition, providing awesome defense at 2B, 3B, and SS, while providing great plate discipline and getting hits. Augie finished 2004 with a .339 average (20-59), walking 10 times while only striking out 3 times.
* J.C. Romero: Had a better season than he did in 2003. He was demoted to AAA to get his confidence back, and when he returned, nobody scored on him for 3 months (June 12-September 12). (That’s not including inherited runners.) I think the scoreless streak got up to 35.2 innings or thereabouts. Very impressive indeed.
* Cristian Guzman: Had a decent year, hitting .274. Was much better defensively, and made some spectacular plays.
* Corey Koskie: The average wasn’t there, but the pop was. His 10th inning blast at Jacobs Field in Cleveland was the turning point of the season, and the home runs came a plenty after that. Koskie, in an effort to get back toward his 2001 numbers, came close in the HR department, belting 25, which ended up leading the club. He hit 26 in 2001, while stealing 27 bases. In 2004 he swiped 9. Now wait a minute, was it his 10th inning homer that was the turning point, or was it him beating the you-know-what out of a chair during that same game prior to that at-bat? You decide.
* Torii Hunter: Missed most of April with a hamstring injury, but came back to lead the team in RBIs with 81. He had a 20-20 season, just like he did in 2002, going yard 23 times and stealing 21 bases. He hit better for average in 2004, ending up at .271, up from .250 in 2003. However, I don’t think Torii will be getting a Gold Glove this year, though he did play another great year out in center.
Best wishes this offseason, Twins! Get ready for Spring
Training...2005 will be better!