This year's team actually won 70 games for the first time since Target Field's inaugural campaign in 2010, but they still have a lot of holes to patch up. Here's my view of the positives and negatives from this season:
Positives:
1. The Twins had a pair of 20 home run hitters in 2B Brian Dozier (.245 AVG, 23 HR, 71 RBI, 21 SB in 156 games) and OF Oswaldo Arcia (.231, 20 HR, 57 RBI in 103 games) for the first time in several seasons.
2. I was impressed by the play of rookies Kennys Vargas (.274, 9 HR, 38 RBI in 53 games at first base & designated hitter) and centerfielder/shortstop Danny Santana (.319, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 20 SB in 101 games). I went to a pair of games this year, and Santana tripled in each of those games! He has good range in the infield and outfield as well.
3. Shaky as it was, the Twins' starting rotation was led by former Yankee Phil Hughes (16-10, 3.52 ERA in 32 starts) and Kyle Gibson in his first full season in the majors (13-12, 4.47 ERA in 31 starts).
Negatives:
1. The rest of the pitching staff was atrocious at times, highlighted by Kevin Correia (5-13, 4.94 ERA in 23 starts before being traded to the Dodgers), free agent newcomer Ricky Nolasco (6-12, 5.38 ERA in 27 starts), former Oakland Athletic Tommy Milone (0-1, 7.06 ERA in 6 games) and highly touted rookie Trevor May (3-6, 7.88 ERA in 10 games). The Twins pitchers had the 2nd worst staff only to the Houston Astros in the American League this year, not something to be proud of!
2. Joe Mauer's first full season in the infield was OK (.277 AVG, 4 HR, 55 RBI and 96 strikeouts in 120 games), but not up to the caliber we're used to seeing, especially for a corner infield position we've traditionally seen players like Justin Morneau and Kent Hrbek among others man with more power in their bats. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe had a decent year (.258,14 HR, 80 RBI and 40 doubles in 136 games with 14 errors in the field), but again not the kind of year we Twins fans are used to seeing, especially with memories of veterans like power hitting third basemen Harmon Killebrew, Gary Gaetti and Corey Koskie floating in our heads.
3. The Twins brought in former teammates Jason Bartlett (infield), Jason Kubel (outfield) and relief pitcher Matt Guerrier to try and generate more fan interest while also mentoring the younger players on the team. Sadly, none of these players lasted with the team into August, nor were any of them on a major league roster at the end of the year. Other veterans like DH/1B Kendry Morales (.234, 1 HR, 18 RBI in 39 games before being traded to Seattle) and fan favorite OF/DH Josh Willingham (.210, 12 HR, 34 RBI in 68 games before being traded to Kansas City) clearly showed diminished skills for the Twins this year.
Gardenhire and his pitching coach Rick Anderson caught a lot of flack the last few years. Gardenhire was a Tom Kelly disciple, but in the last few seasons the "pitch to contact" philosophy and Gardy's loyalty to scrappy utility infielders like Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla were just some of the many reasons why attendance at the beautiful Target Field has lagged recently.
Hosting the All-Star Game this year was a big draw of course, but I'm hoping the coaching shakeup will wake up the players, young and old. Otherwise, if things continue on this pace, the Twins' marketing department will have to come up with some very clever and effective campaigns to keep the fan base interested. I've been a Twins fan since 1986, but even the most loyal, diehard fans get tired of losing constantly.
Well, that's all for now, folks. My next post will be after the Fabulous Armadillos' Pink Floyd tribute show this weekend, my 10th rock concert of 2014! Until then, have a great week, everyone!
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