Work in progress: Ryan's low-budget Twins don't rebuild, they reload
Yes, I understand that few of you are Minnesota Twins fans in the way that I am. Even so, I don't think any of y'all will be able to argue that the Twins aren't doing the most with the least. No, the don't have the financial resources of the Yankees or Dodgers, but they still somehow find a way to remain competitive. Even now, the Twins have the best roster you've never heard of. Except for Shannon Stewart and Torii Hunter, the Twins are as hungry and anonymous a bunch as you'll find in any major professional sport.
Does anyone in baseball retool better than Minnesota? They are one of the few small-revenue teams in this weird baseball economy that knows exactly how to win on a shoestring budget and then does it....
But the Twins, with a payroll near the bottom third of baseball, lose talent to free agency and plug in someone from the minors like nobody else. The Twins trade expensive players away and always, it seems, get the right guys back. Cheap guys. Good players. Real prospects....
Now, the Twins are not glamorous. They play in an indoor arena with plastic bags for outfield walls and plastic grass. They reside in the low-rent AL Central, probably the least attractive of baseball's divisions. The team's owner is both iron-fisted and tight-fisted, steadfastly refusing to jack up the payroll until someone gets him a new stadium.
Because the Twins are so young, they don't have a lot of recognizable stars, either. There's Torii Hunter, the best defensive center fielder in the AL, and leadoff man Shannon Stewart. A couple of others. Maybe.
But the Twins, above anything else, are adaptable. Ryan, a former scout who's every bit the equal of Beane in Oakland, does whatever it takes. He drafts, he develops, he trades, he picks off free agents when he can. He knows the formula....
It's a combination of knowing your limitations, living within them, and finding guys who have something to prove. Ryan had proven adept at putting together a roster filled with players on the way up, players trying to work their way back up, or players who just play the game the way it's supposed to be played.
Given the makeup of Minnesotans, the Twins are easy to love. They're not ostentatious, but they show up and they work hard day in and day out. What's not to love about that?
Unable to afford either longtime closer "Everyday" Eddie Guardado or his setup man, LaTroy Hawkins, the Twins let them leave as free agents. Starter Kenny Rogers took off, too, for a $2.4 million deal in Texas. The Twins couldn't come up with starter Eric Milton's $9 million price tag, so they traded him to the Phillies. They shipped off catcher A.J. Pierzynski because he was getting too expensive and they had a No. 1 draft pick, Joe Mauer, ready to take his place.
And everything has worked out better than fine. For Milton, the Twins got Carlos Silva, a 25-year-old right-hander who started 5-0 and is a key part of the rotation. They sent Pierzynski to the Giants and landed Joe Nathan, the hottest closer in the AL. He's converted 25 straight save opportunities, has an 0.87 ERA and hasn't allowed a run since June 6.
And the best part for the Twins? Silva costs only $340,000, and Nathan's a steal at $440,000. They're part of one of the better pitching staffs in the majors. The bullpen has a 3.71 ERA, fourth in the AL, and has converted 36 of its 45 save chances (80 percent), tied with the Yankees for the best save percentage in the AL.
I'm not going to sit here and tell you with a straight face that the Twins will win the World Series this year. Keep in mind, though, that at this time last year, no one expected that the Florida Marlins would knock off the Yankees and become World Champions. It could happen....
A week from Friday, I'll be sitting in the stands at the Metrodome, watching the Twins play the Cleveland Indians. Man, I can hardly wait....
