Given $100 million payroll, the Twins probably only have a couple million dollars left over. They could do much worse than spending those dollars on Wheeler. Team him up with Glen Perkins and you have a pretty nifty righty/lefty setup combination. (more…)

Punto was a useful utility guy for the Cards when he wasn’t hurt this season, compiling a .388 on-base percentage and playing his usual stellar defense. His performance at the plate wasn’t so solid in the playoffs. In 15 postseason games (six each in the World Series and LCS, and three in the NLDS), Punto went six for 35 (.171) with three RBI. While he played in all but one game of the World Series, he only collected three hits (all singles), but he walked five times, leading to a bizarre .214/.421/.214 slash line.

Like Punto, Lohse played well during the season but wasn’t as good in the postseason. He was 14-8 with a 3.39 ERA in the first 162 games. In the postseason he was 0-2 with a 7.81 ERA. In 12.2 innings pitched, he gave up 18 hits and 11 earned runs. Lohse made one World Series start, in Game 3. Lohse breezed through three innings, but he couldn’t get an out in the fourth. He faced four men, and three came around to score in the biggest slugfest of the World Series, a 16-7 Cards win.

Lohse and Punto are the latest Twins to win a championship, but they’re not the only ones. The 2010 Giants and the 2009 Yankees somehow managed to win it all without the help of any former Twins. But most of the other championship teams this century have had at least one:

2008 Phillies

J.C. Romero was a very important bullpen arm for this squad. In 59 regular season innings, he struck out 52 and earned a respectable 2.75 ERA. Romero made it into four of the five World Series games, and he didn’t allow a single run in 4.2 innings versus the Rays. In the process he notched two wins. (more…)

This is part eight in a series examining every Twins team that has made the playoffs. Whether the current version of the Twins is 20 games over .500 or stuck in last place, fans can always hold onto memories of successful teams past.

Previous articles in the series: 1965, 1969, 1970, 1987, 1991, 2002, 2003

The 2004 Twins faced little competition within their own division. They spent 145 days in first place, clinched the division with 12 games remaining, and ultimately won by 9.0 games over the second place Chicago White Sox. While the 2002 and 2003 Twins won with a roster full of unknowns, 2004 saw the emergence of four true superstars: Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Joe Mauer, and Justin Morneau. Never since have the Twins been a stranger to national media attention. Unfortunately, the Twins have not won a playoff game since 2004 either.

The biggest news story of 2004 was one of the greatest tragedies in recent human history. In the closing days of the year, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake under the Indian Ocean launched a tsunami that ravaged coastlines fom Australia and Indonesia to India and even Eastern Africa. More than 230,o00 people were killed, and countless more were left homeless. In the Ukraine, the presidential election was so hotly contested that opponents poisoned eventual winner Viktor Yuschenko. The United States had a contentious election, too, as incumbent George W. Bush defeated Senator John Kerry by 3 million votes. Fortunately, nobody was poisoned during that race.

Minnesota voters paid close attention to the presidential contest, but many of them cared even more about another election: the American League Cy Young balloting. In 2004, a Twins pitcher finally emerged as a true ace, capable of shutting down any opponent at any time. Santana had his best year, leading the AL in ERA (2.61), WHIP (0.92), strikeouts (265), and numerous other pitching categories. He was especially unhittable after the All Star break, with a perfect 13-0 record, a 1.21 ERA and an unbelievable .78 WHIP. Unlike Presidnets Bush and Yanuschenko, Santana won his election in a landslide, receiving all 28 first place votes. (more…)