MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -The Minnesota Twins ignored their inexperience, until the very end.
Given the preseason forecasts relegating them to third or fourth place in the AL Central and the large group of unproven players moving into key roles, 88 wins and a spot in Tuesday’s tiebreaker against the Chicago White Sox – a wrenching 1-0 defeat – was unarguable progress for this team following a losing 2007 and the departures of stalwarts Torii Hunter and Johan Santana.
Remembering a bunch of blown leads down the stretch and the chance to clinch the division at home last weekend after an inspired sweep of the White Sox, though, the Twins took little solace in the final result.
“It kind of stings a little bit. It kind of hurts a little bit,” outfielder Michael Cuddyer said on Wednesday afternoon as players cleared their stuff out of the clubhouse.
action in 2008.
“I think we accomplished a lot more than people thought we were going to,” said outfielder Denard Span, whose midseason callup to replace an injured Cuddyer was probably the most encouraging development among many this year for Minnesota. “We weren’t satisfied with it, but I think it’s a good season to build on.”
Never falling more than 3 1/2 games behind Chicago in the race after June 20 and holding a half-game lead through the final weekend of the regular season, the Twins were admittedly tense on Tuesday. It sounded like the nerves of the spotlight finally got to some of the guys.
“Hopefully it’s a great learning experience for this baseball team and we can just get better and better with all the young talent that we have,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, who noted some tentative swings from his hitters against White Sox lefty John Danks.
First baseman Justin Morneau, who finished second in the league with 129 RBIs and batted .300 with 23 homers and 47 doubles, might have hurt his chance of winning a second Most Valuable Player award by going 6-for-41 with one RBI and two extra-base hits – both doubles – in the last 11 games.
to the Kansas City Royals with two strikeouts, a double-play groundout and a flyout.
Right-hander Nick Blackburn shined on Tuesday by pitching into the seventh with only one run allowed. With him, Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey, Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker all having contracts under club control, the 2009 rotation is already set.
The outfield is, too, though somebody could be traded for an upgrade elsewhere. Span’s emergence gave the Twins five everyday players for four spots, including designated hitter Jason Kubel, left fielder Delmon Young, center fielder Carlos Gomez and Cuddyer. Kubel and reliever Matt Guerrier are eligible for salary arbitration this winter.
Alexi Casilla stabilized second base, but the left side of the infield is still in flux. Shortstop Nick Punto proved his dependability at the bottom of the order and his excellence in the field, but he fought injuries again and is one of four pending free agents. Shortstop Adam Everett and relievers Dennys Reyes and Eddie Guardado are the others.
nting and running abilities of Span, Casilla, Punto and Gomez, but the White Sox showed them that another home run hitter would sure help.
Then there is the bullpen, which became a clear weakness in August and September. Closer Joe Nathan had another All-Star season, but when setup man Pat Neshek went down with an elbow injury the eighth inning was a problem.
Plenty of room remains for improvement, though plenty of progress was made.
“Hopefully it makes us even hungrier going into the offseason,” Morneau said, adding: “I think this team has shown a lot. We’ll be even better for it next year. Hopefully guys aren’t happy with just getting to where we got.”
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