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2008 highlights: Minnesota Twins
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Carlos Gomez and Denard Span (AP)
It was the best of times--except for Justin Morneau's late season slump!
The '08 Twins season was, by all accounts, a successful one. The team drew 2.3 million fans to the worst stadium in baseball, small-balled their way to more runs than all but two American League clubs, and only got knocked out of the playoffs in the 163rd game of the year, a tie-breaker with the Chicago White Sox. There was so much to be excited about, and there is much to look forward to in '09, and the season after in an outdoor ballpark.
While Major League baseball gives a lot of awards out, I give different ones, and here are my awards and anti-awards for last season:
MWB Award (Man I Want in the Box Award)--Justin Morneau. Yes, Joe Mauer won his second batting title (.328), won a silver slugger, a gold glove, finished fourth in MVP voting by the baseball writers, but Morneau, he of the titanium necklaces and biceps, is still the man we want in the box with the game on the line. Morneau didn't have the power numbers of '07, but he still batted .300, with 23 homers, 47 doubles, 129 RBIs, and only 83 strikeouts, while playing in all 163 games. The only thing Mauer is missing from his game, power, is something he might never find, as his beautiful inside-out swing delivered only nine homers. As the title of this article admits, Morneau did go into a slump at the worst possible time, going 1 for 12 with six strikeouts in the last series against the Kansas City Royals, and the one-game playoff with the White Sox, but without the big man, the Twins would have finished slightly ahead of Kansas City in the standings.
Hot Wing Award (Best Pitcher Award)--Scott Baker. With Johan Santana gone and Francisco Liriano baby-stepping back to greatness, Baker took the number one starter's job and went 11-4 with a 3.45 ERA. Glenn Perkins gave the Twins another great lefty at 12-4 and a 4.41 ERA, and Joe Nathan, as usual, was great, but his save total, 39, was kept down by lack of opportunity.
Young Turk Award (Best Young Player Award)--24-year-old Denard Span. What about 23-year-old Carlos Gomez, the fastest man in baseball, the man who was the first Twin in 22 years to hit for the cycle? It's true that Gomez beat out more bad bunts than any man in history, and he caught some balls in center that Torii Hunter wouldn't have gotten close to, but a .258 average and 142 strikeouts in 335 at bats is, well, about average for a young player; the speed just made him seem better than he was, kind of a like a red sports car--a red sports car that can hit for the cycle, that is.
What about Alexi Casilla, once a head-case, who got his act together and was one of the top second baseman in the majors? Casilla led the American League with 13 sacrifices, batted .281 with seven homers and 50 RBIs in 98 games, and had great range at second with only 12 errors. But, Span, who, unlike Casilla and Gomez, actually was a rookie (he finished 6th in Rookie of the Year voting), was the most polished young player, had a .294 average, .387 on base percentage, and is a year or two away from being a 30-30 guy (30 homers, 30 stolen bases). The bottom line on these three players is: the Twins know how to scout and develop players!
YSBD Award (Your Such a Big Disappointment Award)--Michael Cuddyer. Yes, he had some freak injuries, and he might come back with a big year in '09, but after two solid seasons in '06 and '07, Cuddyer could muster only three homers and 36 RBIs in 249 at bats. You could say he only played about a half-season. Okay, double his numbers. Six homers and 72 RBIs still stinks for the only right-handed power threat in the lineup.
Hall and Oats' "Baby Come Back" Award--Nick Punto and Dennys Reyes. Punto has had a lot of ups and downs over the years, but this year was an "up." After an '07 season in which I actually thought I'd see him cry after popping out again, Punto spent the entire season putting the ball in play, cut down on his strikeouts from 90 to 57, batted .285 with 15 stolen bases, and played third base like he invented it.
Reyes's job has always been to get lefties out in the late innings, and in '07 he simply didn't, with an inflated ERA of 3.99. In '08, Reyes lowered his ERA to 2.33, and went 3-0 and lefties had no chance against him.
TQY Award (Twins Quote of the Year)--"The game today started too late. I say, ‘Let me run the bases quick so the game goes fast.’" --Carlos Gomez. (No, I don't understand it either.)
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