Five things to know about the Twins
Miller from Twins camp
1. The spotlight clearly is on the left side of the infield, where the Twins must replace third baseman Corey Koskie (who signed with Toronto as a free agent) and shortstop Cristian Guzman (Washington). Michael Cuddyer entered camp as the man who likely will win the third base job. The shortstop job remains wide open between Jason Bartlett, Juan Castro, Nick Punto and Augie Ojeda. Manager Ron Gardenhire says it is wide open, too -- he's got no preconceived notions of who is the early leader. "I would love to get it solidified," Gardenhire says. "I don't know. The guys we have in camp all look like they can catch the ball. But do we have an everyday guy for both offense and defense? Bartlett is the one guy who has done it in the minor leagues." But the lights are a lot dimmer in the minors. Stay tuned.
2. Last year's rookie of the year predictions fell flat as soon as catcher Joe Mauer injured his knee in the second game of the season, so the phenom who was drafted ahead of the Cubs' Mark Prior in 2001 will try it again this year. He's hoping the left knee surgery is a distant memory, though with all of the crouching he does, it will remain in the back of a lot of people's minds. This spring, so far, so good. "I'm doing everything every other catcher is doing," Mauer says. "I'm watching it pretty close, but I haven't had any problems. So far, so good."
3. The one-two punch of Cy Young winner Johan Santana and Brad Radke is back as the Twins signed Radke as a free agent and agreed to a multiyear deal with Santana. How badly did they want Santana? They even threw in a no-trade clause. The payroll, $54 million last season, will be up slightly this year, probably to around $57 million.
4. Hold that Santana-Radke thought. Not only are those two back, the entire pitching staff from last season is back except for reliever Joe Roa. That is a huge key, because the Twins led the AL with a 4.03 ERA last season. Better yet, Joe Mays, who missed all of last season following Tommy John ligament transfer surgery, has opened some eyes in the early days of camp. And the Twins are expecting better things from starter Kyle Lohse, who was disappointing in '04 (9-13, 5.34 ERA). "He's given us quantity, we're looking for quality," general manager Terry Ryan says.
5. Justin Morneau should develop into the first legitimate power hitting first baseman in Minnesota since Kent Hrbek. The Twins can use it, too: Despite the home run era that has inflated numbers beyond anybody's wildest dreams across the league, the Twins have not had a 30-homer man since 1987 when Hrbek, Gary Gaetti and Tom Brunansky each crossed the 30-homer threshold.
