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Southpaws fuel Twins' revival
Every small-market club in baseball is secretly rooting for the Twins, who are off to the majors' best start after failing to finish higher than fourth since 1992. Though their $25 million payroll is $9 million less than the next-closest club, the Twins are rich in the game's most precious commodity: pitching, specifically left-handed pitching. Of the 11 pitchers on the Twins roster, six are lefties: three starters and three relievers. How significant is that? No other AL club has more than four lefties on staff, and just two other teams (Rangers and White Sox) have three lefties in their rotations. Four clubs have no lefties in their mix, while two others have just one. Of the 70 starting spots in the AL, just 21 (30 percent) are currently occupied by lefties. Quantity is one thing, but the Twins have quality as well. Eric Milton, pried from the Yankees in the Chuck Knoblauch deal, is one of the best young starters in the game. Mark Redman won 12 games as a rookie last year. Former Rule V draft pick Johan Santana is 22 and has electric stuff. And they don't come any more durable than "Everyday" Eddie Guardado. Swingman J.C. Romero and situational reliever Travis Miller round out the southpaw brigade. "Our park is built for left-handed hitters, so it really helps to have the lefties on our staff," Twins general manager Terry Ryan told me. "Still, you want quality, and we've got some left-handed pitchers we really like. We can throw some lefties at some guys. Six? Yeah, this is unusual." The Twins have always been conscious of the short right-field porch at the Metrodome, where the right-center gap is just 367 feet, 18 feet shorter than left-center. Left-handed hitters hit .300 at the Metrodome last year, 26 points higher than righties. What's more, having three lefties in the bullpen gives manager Tom Kelly enormous flexibility in late-inning matchups. He has extra trump cards to use against strong lefty bats like Cleveland's Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton and Russell Branyan, and Detriot's Bobby Higginson. Plus he can force switch-hitters like Roberto Alomar, Omar Vizquel, Ray Durham, Tony Clark and Carlos Beltran to turn around and hit from the right side. Of this group, only the Royals' Beltran had a higher on-base percentage last year while batting right-handed. Vizquel's OBP was 87 points lower, Durham's was 70 points lower.
Ortiz another Minnesota surpriseNot surprisingly for a club with eight comeback victories already, several Twins regulars are off to fast starts.Doug Mientkiewicz is finally establishing himself at first base. In third baseman Corey Koskie and shortstop Cristian Guzman, Minnesota has the left side of its infield locked up for a combined $15.2 million through at least 2003. Rookie second baseman Luis Rivas has remarkable range and a pesky line-drive bat. But the biggest step forward has come from designated hitter David Ortiz. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds with a smooth left-handed stroke, Ortiz has been one of the game's biggest underachievers over the last several years. Now, after hitting just 20 homers in his first 762 big league at-bats, Ortiz has finally stopped feeling for pitches and begun turning on mistakes. "He's done a nice job for us," Ryan told me. "He's the one legitimate guy, when you see him in the middle of our lineup, who is capable of hitting the ball over the fence. And he does hit left-handed pitching [.423 batting average last year]. He's to the point in his career where we expect him to do some things on the offensive side. We need him. We don't have a lot of power on this team. But he's the one guy we have who can put a little fear into the opposition." Playing half his games at the Metrodome doesn't hurt either. "This building is built for him," Ryan said. "He can hit them a long way when he gets them. We have a lot of gap guys who can hit doubles and triples. We have a lot of speed in our lineup. With David, we're hoping he's the presence and the guy who drives them in."
Dodger Boy done for nowBob Knight violated his zero-tolerance policy and landed in Lubbock within months of his dismissal. Don't bet on the same soft landing for Kevin Malone.Though just 43, there is a widespread belief the erstwhile Dodger Boy is finished as a general manager, although his ability to evaluate talent continues to draw respect. Three different baseball officials who have worked with Malone told me they would be shocked if he ever got another chance to run an organization after his forced resignation this week. "Had he not landed the Dodgers job [in 1998], I think he was pretty much in limbo," one club executive told me. "Kevin is cocky, and he's burned some bridges with the wrong people." Another former colleague mocked Malone's powers of self-promotion. "He's always taking credit for the '94 Expos," the official told me. "He was named executive of the year and all this. Well, I went back and counted, and he was responsible for one guy on that team: Lenny Webster." Said an official from a third club: "I like Kevin. He's a good scout and he's a survivor, but I don't know how he got another chance the last time, to be honest. He screwed it up pretty good in Montreal. What he says, how he acts, it's all a little bit bizarre. He likes to be in the limelight. He's the most quoted guy in baseball." Those days, it seems, are gone. Mike Berardino covers the baseball beat for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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