|
It couldn't last. There was no way that the Twins were going to go from doormats to powerhouses without some sort of hitch, and that hitch turned out to be the entire second half of the season. After playing better than any team other than Seattle in the first half, the Twins fell back to earth, finishing just above .500. It was a rather momentous drop. After a 55-32 start, the team pretty much self-destructed, playing at a .390 clip after the all-star break. Only Baltimore, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh were worse in the second half.
Best Pitcher: Joe Mays struggled to win in the second half, but he still finishes up the 2001 campaign as the team's best pitcher. The main difference between his 11-5 first half and 6-8 second half was offensive support, or lack thereof; in Mays' first eight post-break starts, the Twins scored a total of 16 runs. In surpassing the fine performances of Brad Radke and Eric Milton (and the less-pleasing performance of Rick Reed), Mays gives the Twins a potent 1-through-4 which can go up against almost any team in the league.
Best Position Player: Any of four different guys could take this, but we're going with first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. The lefty morphed into Mark Grace this year, putting up numbers (.306-15-74, .997 fielding pct.) that closely mirror Grace's average output from 1998-2000 (.300-15-87, .995). Honorable mention goes to Cristian Guzman, the team's ignitor without whom the Twins were 11-26; Corey Koskie, who finally flashed the power expected from him (26 home runs) as well as surprising speed (24 steals); and Torii Hunter, who finally reached his potential, adding power to his arsenal in the form of 27 homers.
Grading The Manager: Tom Kelly did a fantastic job in his final year with this overachieving squad. Often seen as a manager who struggled with still-developing players, Kelly shed that image emphatically this year. The young team fed off his energy and soared into first place, shocking the baseball world. That aside, what we'd really like to focus on is the trade of team leader Matt Lawton to the Mets in the midst of a pennant race for starter Rick Reed. Clearly GM Terry Ryan was worried that the likes of Kyle Lohse wouldn't be able to cut it down the stretch, but to deplete an already-thin offense in such a major way was a huge shock. True, Lawton wasn't ever going to be a 30-30 guy, but notice that the Mets rallied in September with Lawton playing a role, and Reed and the Twins sunk faster than, well, faster than a team with no offensive spark.
Most Improved: Hunter improved at the plate as much as any player in the American League did. Here's a guy who hit just five homers in 336 at-bats in 2000. This year, he flirted with 30. Given his excellent defensive play, the Twins first-round pick in the 1993 draft has the makings of a star in this league. Honorable mention to many other Twins, most notably Luis Rivas (.262, 29 steals), who is on the verge of becoming one of the better second basemen in the game.
|
Tale of two halves
|
|
|
1st half
|
2nd half
|
|
W-L
|
55-32
|
30-45
|
|
BA
|
.280
|
.264
|
|
ERA
|
4.21
|
4.87
|
Biggest Weakness: The closer situation has got to be a concern. After converting 23 consecutive save opportunities to start his career as a reliever (14 last year, nine this year), LaTroy Hawkins struggled the rest of the way, blowing nine of his next 28 opportunities. Kelly remained positive about LaTroy, despite his obvious struggles, but Todd Jones and Eddie Guardado saw more and more action closing out games late in the year. Also, what happened to David Ortiz? He returned from a broken wrist in late July, but his bat never did; he hit just .207 in the second half.
Gaining Momentum: Rivas, for one. No one ever questioned his glove or his speed, but suddenly his bat is beginning to show signs of life. He hit a healthy .277 in the second half this year. Brian Buchanan's stock is also rising in the outfield, as he outplayed the rest of the candidates after the trade (and lack of replacement for) Lawton.
Kicked Off The Island: Boy did we have high hopes for Jacque Jones this year. We saw a speedy outfielder with a bit of pop, a guy who could conceivably be a five-tool player. Instead, he regressed, hitting a lackluster .270 with 12 homers. We still like him, but can the Twins really win with a left fielder who is one of the lesser producers in the league? Perhaps if the team signs a right fielder with some pop this offseason, Jones will remain a good fit for this team.
Bill Konigsberg is an assistant editor at ESPN.com
| |
|
