BASEBALL Twins are back to normal again

A year ago they weren't even sure they would exist, but 2002 turned everything around.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A year ago at this time, it wasn't much fun to go to work at the Metrodome.
The Twins weren't sure if they'd make it to Christmas, let alone spring training, after baseball's owners decided they wanted to get rid of two teams -- Minnesota being one of the targets.
Eventually, the legal system intervened, the Twins were cleared to play, and they went all the way to the AL championship series.
This November, it's back to normal.
"Scouting, administration, rosters, contracts, winter meetings, in-house budget meetings, that kind of thing," said general manager Terry Ryan, who recently returned from baseball's GM meetings.
Last year, Ryan felt like an outcast among his colleagues.
This time?
"Back to the usual lying and the usual misleading," Ryan joked. "Right back to where we used to be."
Ron Gardenhire spent last winter wondering if he'd be the Twins' next manager -- and if so, if he'd have a team to manage. Attending a Minnesota Wild game last week to drop the ceremonial first puck, Gardenhire was all smiles upon spotting some familiar faces.
Center fielder Torii Hunter found out he won a Gold Glove last year the same day commissioner Bud Selig announced baseball's contraction plan.
This year, he was living it up with a bunch of major league All-Stars on a tour of Japan when the awards for fielding excellence were given out.
2003 schedule already out
The Twins have released their regular season schedule for 2003, something that didn't happen until late December last year. And even then, there was no guarantee they'd get to play the games.
"It's like night and day," said director of communications Brad Ruiter.
Coming off a 94-win season and an appearance in the ALCS with a talented, popular core of young players returning, the front office has plenty to promote. Advertisements for season tickets are carrying the tag, "Buy now. Cheer later."
With NL West opponents Arizona and Colorado visiting for the first time in 2003 and weekend series against the New York Yankees, Boston, Seattle and Oakland, Twins vice president of business affairs Dave St. Peter is anticipating a draw of at least 2.2 million fans.
"Our sales people can actually sell. Our marketing people can market," St. Peter said. "Last year, all our activities pretty much ceased to exist from Nov. 6, the day contraction was announced, until just before spring training in February when we got the green light to play.
"The flip side of that is the there is obviously a lot going on, trying to keep up with where we've been. We've been inundated. But we'll take this trade any day."
Don't forget that the Twins had eight straight losing seasons before finishing second in the AL Central in 2001. In years past, pre-contraction, there wasn't much of a buzz surrounding the team.
"It's different, because there's pressure to be able to keep up with the pace we set this year," said veteran infielder Denny Hocking. "That's a different role for this organization."
So are all these honors. The Twins were named Organization of the Year by a couple publications, Ryan was named Executive of the Year by The Sporting News, Gardenhire finished third in Manager of the Year voting, and Hunter won another Gold Glove.
Even their Class A farm club, the Fort Myers Miracle, was named this year's recipient of Baseball America's annual Freitas Award for long-term success by minor league franchises.
"It's ironic," Ryan said. "About a year ago, a lot of us in the organization were wondering whether or not we were going to have jobs. All of a sudden, we're getting all these awards. It's been quite a magical 12 months."
There are still issues to be resolved: Owner Carl Pohlad has put the team up for sale, and the Twins will try yet again to get funding for a new ballpark in the next legislative session.
But clearly, this is a much better time to be working for the Twins. That's evident to Ryan, as he looks at the huge, color-coded board displaying each team's roster in his office.
"On paper, we look very good," Ryan said.
They might sign a reliever or two, but the Twins are satisfied with the depth they've got on their 40-man roster to return as a contender in 2003 without any significant changes. They won't be much of a factor in the free agent market.
They'll have to spend some money on raises for arbitration-eligible players such as Hunter, left fielder Jacque Jones and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. A long-term contract could be in the works for Hunter.
But nothing big. The Twins are happy with what they've got and elated to be doing what they normally do this time of year.
"We'll consider anything that makes us a better team," Ryan said. "But if you take a player off this team, you're affecting chemistry. And sometimes you're messing with success. It's not as easy as it looks. We have some openings, but we also have people in the minor leagues we have some high hopes for."