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St. Cloud State University
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The end of a magical ride
By Adam Czech
Published:
Thursday, October 17, 2002
Adam Czech -- Staff Column
All good things must come to an end, but man it sucks when they do.
The Minnesota Twins magical season ended Sunday afternoon at the hands of the Anaheim Angels and their annoying rally monkey. In the off-season, our beloved Twins avoided contraction, managed to scrap their way to 94 wins and an appearance in the American League Championship Series.
A disastrous seventh inning Sunday brought the euphoric season to a halt. Before you could say, "A.J. Pierzynski" or "Doug Mientkiewicz," questions about next year were already being asked.
What are the Twins going to do about first baseman Mientkiewicz, left fielder Jacque Jones, center fielder Torii Hunter and designated hitter/disabled list main-stay David Oritz? These four players are eligible for salary arbitration, and the first three on the list could get a nice bump in pay.
At all costs, the Twins and owner Carl Pohlad should try to avoid arbitration with Mientkiewicz and Hunter and simply lock them up with long-term contracts. Both are the best in the league at their respective defensive positions. Both have shown that they are capable of having stellar offensive seasons.
However, the Twins should not yet fully commit to Jones. The talented, yet streaky lead-off man has tremendous talent, but will he ever be able to hit against lefties? This year he hit only .213 against southpaws with only three homers, and looked out of his league against lefties in the postseason.
Michael Cuddyer, Bobby Kielty, Dustan Mohr and Rochester, Minn. native Michael Restovich are more than capable of handling the left and right field slots if Jones does not return.
Then there's the Cerano (as in Pedro Cerano of "Major League" fame) of Major League baseball, David Ortiz.
Ortiz is a decent enough designated hitter when he's healthy. The problem is, he spends more time on the disabled list than SCSU does complaining about UND's mascot. Ortiz is not worth a multi-year commitment. Whoever loses out in the outfield competition will fit right in as designated hitter.
Then there's the question of what to do about 37-year-old Rick Reed and his $8 million dollar salary. The answer here is obvious: trade him.
The Twins should be able to get something decent in return despite Reed's high price tag and creaky joints. Maybe a right-handed set-up man and a prospect or two? That would sound like a steal to me.
Speaking of right-handed set-up men, what should the Twinkies do with LaTroy Hawkins? The Hawk resurrected his career in a set-up role this season, but is scheduled to make $3 million next season.
Paying LaTroy Hawkins $3 million would be like hiring Rush Limbaugh as the chairman of the Green Party. It wouldn't make any sense. I know the Hawk had a decent season, but if I owned a major league ball club, I'd have a tough time paying the club house attendant to wash the Hawk's uniform, let alone pay him three million bones to throw 10 pitches every two days.
Packing their bags along with Hawkins will be relievers Bob Wells and Mike Jackson. All three are replaceable either through the farm system, trades or free agent signings.
Will Twins owner Carl Pohlad spend any money on free agents this off-season? Better yet, will he spend any money to keep the players he already has?
If he has any sense of decency, any common sense and any trace of a soul, he will.
