No openings on this staff

All 11 pitching spots filled as camp opens

BY GORDON WITTENMYER
Pioneer Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Twins pitchers and catchers opened spring training Monday with the first official workout of 2005.

So what?

For a camp that includes the American League's reigning Cy Young Award winner, one of the winter's top free-agent pitchers and a closer to rival the New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera, drama is conspicuously absent from the Lee County Sports Complex this week.

That might change when the shortstops start fighting it out this weekend for Cristian Guzman's old job, but for now there aren't enough pitching questions to drum up so much as a middle-reliever job battle.

"That doesn't happen too often," said longtime Twins ace Brad Radke, a hotly pursued free agent before re-signing for two years in December. "That's never happened... . Not that I can remember."

In fact, the Twins might be the only team in baseball that enters spring training without an opening on the pitching staff.

When they re-signed Radke and free-agent left-hander Terry Mulholland, the Twins brought back all 10 pitchers from last year's playoff staff. And with the apparent healthy return of right-hander Joe Mays, after he missed last season while recovering from elbow surgery, the 11-man Opening Day staff appeared set before the first ball hit the first glove this spring.

Not even the Yankees or Red Sox can say that. And it's a first for the Twins since the advent of 11-man pitching staffs a generation ago.

Which makes the Twins at once the envy of most teams and the prohibitive favorites to win a fourth straight AL Central Division championship.

"All the years in Florida, I can't remember a year when we didn't at least have two or three spots in the bullpen (open)," said new Twins catcher Mike Redmond, who spent the past seven seasons with the Florida Marlins, a team that won the 2003 World Series and remains a contender this year because of one of the best young pitching staffs in the majors.

"When you've got pretty much your whole staff set, it's huge," Redmond said. "And it's an experienced staff. A lot of those guys know what it's like to pitch in the pressure of the playoffs. To know your whole staff has that kind of experience is invaluable."

Not to mention that it's the same staff that led the AL with a 4.03 team earned-run average.

It's also a staff that has only three players who have reached 30, and one of them, closer Joe Nathan, just turned 30 in November. Only Mulholland, who turns 42 next month, will be older than 32 on Opening Day.

"The key, obviously, is keeping everybody healthy," said pitching coach Rick Anderson, who only a year ago faced major questions in every area of a reconstructed pitching staff. "If it breaks like that, it doesn't hurt some of those kids to go back to Triple A and get some experience. And it's a good thing for the organization — we know what we've got down there."

For the 12 pitchers in camp who appear to be on the outside looking in, lack of opportunities in the spring doesn't necessarily mean getting stuck in the minors all season. Even last year, when the Twins didn't have a starting pitcher miss a turn because of injury, they used six pitchers who opened the season in the minors.

That doesn't mean any of them are thrilled with the circumstances.

But top pitching prospect J.D. Durbin, who made his big-league debut last September and might be a serious candidate for a spot on the roster in a normal year, said he's not down about it — even though he realizes he probably would have a better chance of winning a big-league job with the Yankees this season than the Twins.

"I don't know if I'd say it's frustrating," he said. "I would stay it's pretty good. Anybody would like to have a chance (to break in), but to have all your pitching staff coming back, that's awesome."

Besides, Durbin figures a lot can happen between now and the April 4 season opener, and he needs to be ready if something opens up.

LOCKED AND LOADED

For the first time since at least the 1960s, the Twins enter spring training with every pitching job filled, barring injury or unexpected regression of a young pitcher. The breakdown (with Opening Day age):

STARTERS

LHP Johan Santana, 26 — 2004 AL Cy Young winner
RHP Brad Radke, 32 — 4th in AL ERA in 2004
RHP Carlos Silva, 25 — 14 wins as first-year starter
RHP Kyle Lohse, 26 — Looks to rebound this season
RHP Joe Mays, 29 — Elbow finally healthy?

RELIEVERS

RHP Joe Nathan, 30 — All-star closer in 2004
LHP J.C. Romero, 28 — Two weeks in AAA paid off
RHP Juan Rincon, 26 — Twins' top setup man
LHP Terry Mulholland, 42 — Staff's most versatile pitcher
RHP Grant Balfour, 27 — Battled sore shoulder in 2004
RHP Jesse Crain, 23 — Rookie has closer stuff