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…)

A couple days ago, the Rockies DFAed Matt Murton to make room on the 40 man roster for Juan Rincon (remember him?). Murton has a career AAA line of .312/.388/.469, and he is average defensively. Granted he can only play in a corner, but I’d absolutely rather run him out there than Delmon Young. From 2006-2008 Murton has a .827 OPS against lefties, proving he could be a viable platoon partner to Jason Kubel. His OPS has been .200 points higher after the all-star game than it was before it in those seasons as well. Murton would be a better defender and hitter than Young, but because of the Young-Garza trade, I doubt Bill Smith would want to take a chance on Murton and admit his mistake in trading away Garza.

Secondly, the Red Sox recently released Brad Penny. Penny isn’t fantastic, especially when you look at his traditional numbers, but his peripherals aren’t terrible. He strikes out roughly twice as many people he walks, doesn’t give up a ton of homers, and his fly ball tendencies would play well on days when Carlos Gomez is patrolling center field. Penny has a 4.48 FIP this year, and is projected to get better for the last month, with Zips projecting a 4.44 mark. There are some very valid concerns about how he would fit in with the Twins, but seeing as the difference between him and Armando Gabino (or Anthony Swarzak) could be a playoff spot, he’s worth a pickup.