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Twins Surge to Early AL Central Leadby Tom Rathkamp
The risk of writing a story about an early Cinderella is that by the time this piece goes to press, we might be talking instead about a flash in the pan. But as of Thursday, April 26 th, Tom Kelly’s young bunch of overachievers are having the time of their lives as the temporary kings of the hill. Token pre-season accolades by Peter Gammons, Jayson Stark and the like are climbing the mountain of legitimacy.They’re 6-0 against last year’s AL Central champ, the Chicago White Sox. Since beginning the year at 3-2, they’ve won 12 of 14. This includes six- and five-game winning streaks. Suprisingly, three of their four losses have come against another noted Al Central doormat, the Kansas City Royals. Not bad for a team that boasted the worst record in the AL last season. Add to that lingering doubts about whether long-time skipper Kelly has had enough patience with a young squad. Forget about the small-market surprise verbiage, and how the Twins are "this year’s Oakland A’s"(who, by the way, are warming the AL West basement). There are pleasant, quantitative reasons why the Twins are excelling, and it all starts with pitching. The strength of the team heading into 2001, the Twins starting pitching has been nothing short of stellar. In 19 games, Kelly’s staff has collected 13 quality starts. (A quality start is when a pitcher throws 6 or more innings and gives up 3 or less earned runs.) In those 13 starts, the Twins record is a perfect 13-0. Led by anointed ace Brad Radke, the Twins starters have compiled a 10-2 record with an ERA well below 3.00. Anchoring Radke are three good young hurlers in Eric Milton, Mark Redman, and Joe Mays. Because of their success, the increasingly rusty bullpen has logged a mere 47-1/3 innings in 19 games (2.5 per game) . Factoring in a few extra-inning affairs, the starters are averaging close to 7 innings per start. As impressive – and somewhat expected - as their pitching has been, it’s been the Twins lumber crew that has raised some cynical eyebrows. In 2000, the Twins were to hitting what Dr. Laura is to promiscuity. Last season, the Twinkies were 13 th in the league in runs scored. They were notoriously allergic to both power and on-base percentage. So far this year, they have three players in the top 10 in AL batting average (David Ortiz at .379, former Olympian Doug Mientkiewicz at .362, and Corey Koskie at .348). They are averaging around six runs per game, which is more than adequate given their mound prowess.Can the Twins continue? Odds are that they probably won’t. Their four-game division lead is bound to dissipate, but wouldn’t it be refreshing if they could sustain this run at least until school lets out? It would be nice if cheapskate owner Carl Pohlad would reach deep into his deep pockets to give Kelly a helping hand. Until then, Kelly will continue to lead a motivated group of players who seem destined to shake off several years of losing and false hope.
Sporting Briefs …. The American League team that is raising just as many eyebrows as the Twins is the Seattle Mariners, who boast a whopping 17-4 record (and 7-1/2 game AL West lead). The beauty of baseball is that, despite losing thoroughbreds such as Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., and Alex Rodriguez, a solid, well-rounded team can still be crafted if done correctly. Seattle has done just that. The team grasping for the Mariner’s tail? Rodriguez’s Texas Rangers. The AL Central isn’t the only division that’s flipped upside down these days. The Philadelphia Phillies sit stop the NL East, while the Chicago Cubs (you betcha Harry) hold a slim lead in the NL Central. Hope springs eternal, they say. In the MLB thus far, spring is offering hope. The Mariner’s Ricky Henderson passed Babe Ruth on the all-time walks list with a staggering 2,063 free passes. Nobody would compare him to the Babe when it comes to slugging percentage or pure clout, but he definitely gets my vote for the Hall of Fame. The NBA playoffs are in full swing and as "up in the air" as always. Miami is on the brink of elimination. The Bucks are taking charge against the Magic. And oh, Scottie Pippen is trying to talk his way over the Los Angeles Lakers. Speaking of Pip, I think it’s obvious by now that he has a tough time holding his cocky head above water in the post- Michael Jordan era. Some fans were fooled into thinking he would be cast as a leader by osmosis for other clubs. In the past three seasons, he’s more like the overrated crybaby. Rob Neyer of espn.com was absolutely right on when he suggested the St. Louis Cardinals send struggling hurler Rick Ankiel to the minors to work on his control problems. Ankiel has been bitten by the Steve Blass/Mark Wohlers bug and the hope is that "youth" alone will prevent him from permanently joining their exclusive club. Any comments, criticisms, or condemnations on this sports column or previous ones? Feel free to email me at andydan@milwpc.com
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richard e. schiff,
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he
Minnesota Twins are 15-4. Let’s scribble that again. The Minnesota Twins
are 15-4. Did you get that? As Casey Stengel used to say: "You could
look it up."
