Well, the Metrodome lives on. At least for one more series.
The Twins have their hands full playing against 420 million dollars worth of free agent players and the rest of the Yankees lineup. The Twins can not be taken lightly. Ask the Detroit Tigers. The Minnesota Twins were in first place in the American League Central Division for a total of 8 days. Now they're in the Playoffs. Get in the Playoffs and you have a chance to be the World Champions. And what a great game the "playoff" game was against the Tigers. It is among the best I've seen for pure drama.
The Twins begin with Joe Mauer, my candidate for the American League Most Valuable Player. To think he can flirt with a .400 batting average during the season while catching is truly amazing. He won his second American League batting title. He is a good receiver behind the plate and he's the focal point of a team that has flown under the radar all season. He had some outstanding blocks in the game against the Tigers that may have saved the season.
The infield is comprised of a bunch of guys that nobody knows. Just believe that they can play the game very well. Justin Morneau was having another outstanding season until injury struck. Now Michael Cuddyer comes in from right field to play first. All Cuddyer has done is hit home runs, drive in runs and play outstanding at first base. The guy has really come on in the last quarter of the season. Cuddyer can give the Yankees fits. The little known Nick Punto will likely spend most of the time at second base. He is a scrappy hitter and a darn good defensive player. His scoop and throw home in the playoff game against Detroit to get Miguel Cabrera as a force out at home plate was outstanding. Brendan Harris and Alexi Casilla can play at second and short. The starting shortstop will likely be Orlando Cabrera, an acquisition from the Oakland A's. Cabrera is steady in the field and above average at the plate. He may have lost a step going to the hole at short, but he is more than capable of providing very steady play for the Twins. With Joe Crede suffering from his chronic bad back, Matt Tolbert will get most of the time playing third. Brian Buscher can play at third and hit from the left side. The infield is sound.
Like most every Playoff club, the outfield is a strength of the Twins. Jason Kubel is the real outfield star now with Cuddyer at first. Kubel is a power hitter with the ability to hit for average. He'll play right field and he has to be considered a major force in the Playoffs. Kubel has hovered around .300 all season hitting from the left side of the plate. He owns the Metrodome. Center is a combination of the speedy Carlos Gomez or Denard Span. Both can play left or center, but both are fast, scrappy hitters. If he isn't playing center, Span can be found in left along with Delmon Young. Young is still developing and has been streaky this season. Any of those outfielders can serve as the Designated Hitter in American League parks.
The pitchers, like the infielders are not household names. Many Twins pitchers work in the bullpen while in the minor leagues with their respective clubs. They learn how to throw strikes while in the developmental years. The Twins minor league system is designed to teach, as it should be. Brian Duensing, a lefty rookie will get the ball in game one against C. C. Sabathia of the Yankees. What an assignment. On the biggest stage in baseball, in the most important of games as a rookie. But Duensing is capable. If he can control his emotions, he has a chance. Nick Blackburn, Carl Pavano and Scott Baker should follow him in the rotation. It might not be the greatest starting rotation, but those are the arms that got the Twins to the Playoffs. Those are the arms that will have to get them to the next level. Against the formidable Yankee hitters, I don't see how they can win the series. But I learned not to count the Twins out of any series. Ever. Baker and Blackburn are strong right-handed pitchers. But they will face some thunder in the Yanks.
The bullpen of the Twins can be credited for getting them this far. Had they no bullpen strength, there would have been no late September and early October drive to the Central title. The pen is anchored by one heck of a great closer in Joe Nathan. Only Mariano Rivera can really equal Nathan's ability to close out a game. He gets in fewer jams than Jonathan Papelbon and is very steady when an "S" is on the line. Lefties Jose Mijares and Ron Mahay get the job done. Matt Guerrier, a set up man for Nathan has been tremendous. He is a workhorse and he wants the ball. Jesse Crain will be in the pen to help. Consider that Jon Rauch came over from the National League Arizona Diamondbacks with just a so-so season under his belt. He has pitched very well for the Twins and they may not be at the head of the class without the contribution of Rauch. The bullpen is ready to do their job. But they are very tired after having eaten innings in the playoff game against the Tigers. That fatigue could become a factor in the short series. However, the series is spread out over enough time to allow the pen to regroup and recoup.
On paper, the series appears to be a mismatch. The Yankees are consistently viewed as the team to beat in the American League. The Twins are viewed as a team that crawled their way to the Playoffs. They deserve all the credit for the scrappy, team oriented manner of playing the game. Manager Ron Gardenhire is a sound baseball man. He is yet another very capable Manager in a long line of outstanding Skippers.
But the Yanks have too much firepower. The Twins have to be exhausted following a twelve -inning game that finished less than 24 hours before their first Playoff game. Their pitching is thin and probably tired. I don't see the Twins hanging with the Yanks. I believe the Tigers would have given the Yankees more trouble because of the tandem of Verlander and Porcello and the right-handed bats of Miguel Cabrera, Maglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen. But anything is possible after a team gets in the Playoffs. The Twins are flying high and they're very motivated. And yes, the Metrodome will live for yet another series.