BASEBALL : Twins Are Armed and Dangerous Thanks to Viola Trade

As Frank Viola continues to make sweet music for the New York Mets with his 7-0 record, it should be noted that he has also helped his former team, the Minnesota Twins, get back on key.

The Twins, in need of pitching depth, obtained five pitchers from the Mets when they traded the former Cy Young Award winner July 31, and four of them have played important roles in a modest Minnesota rebirth of confidence and success.

Rick Aguilera has become one of the American League’s most dependable closers; Kevin Tapani and David West are starting regularly, and Tim Drummond has been used as both spot starter and middle reliever. The fifth acquisition, Jack Savage, had spring elbow trouble, should join the Twins’ triple-A affiliate this week and is regarded as a major league prospect in middle or short relief.

Said Andy MacPhail, the Twins’ general manager: “This is one of those deals that has made both sides happy.”

Minnesota began a weekend series against the Red Sox in Boston with an 18-15 record. The Twins’ chances of catching the Oakland A’s in the American League West are problematic, but they have become competitive again after finishing fifth with an 80-82 record last season, when they put 23 players on the mound, including outfielders Dan Gladden and John Moses.

Even in 1987, when they won 85 games and an improbable pennant and World Series title, the Twins’ patchwork pitching staff consisted primarily of Viola, Bert Blyleven and relief ace Jeff Reardon. It was the same in 1988, when they won 91 games but finished 13 games behind the A’s.

“We had to recognize that the way the division was improving and shaping up, two starting pitchers and some jury-rigging from there wasn’t going to get it done anymore,” MacPhail said. “To be competitive, we had to be a lot more solid in our pitching, and we just didn’t have the numbers in the minors.

“Last year, when the Mets were in a pennant race and (Dwight) Gooden went down (with an injury), the circumstances were such that the two sides had what the other needed.

“We knew Viola had the potential to win 20 games again, but he couldn’t close, he couldn’t pitch in middle relief and he couldn’t pitch 40% of our innings like the guys we got for him have. As good as Frank is, one guy can’t do it all.

“I mean, if we hadn’t made that trade and then lost Reardon (to free agency), we’d have been devastated. We’d have been down to two left-handed starters (Viola and Allan Anderson). We couldn’t have competed.”

Aguilera, 28, never had a regular role with the Mets, but he stepped into Reardon’s key assignment and went to Boston with 10 saves in 11 chances, his only miss coming when Dante Bichette of the Angels hit a three-run homer in Anaheim, the only runs Aguilera had allowed through 15 innings.

“He’s been the prototype stopper,” said MacPhail, referring to Aguilera’s ratio of 18 strikeouts to three walks, while holding batters to a .111 average.

Tapani, 26, was 5-2 through eight starts, with another impressive ratio of 35 strikeouts to eight walks in 48 1/3 innings.

The more erratic West, 25, hurt by eight home runs in 38 1/3 innings over seven starts, had only a 2-3 record despite holding batters to a .228 average.

Tapani, who has a three-game winning streak, is in his first full season, West his second. Both figure to improve. The Twins also have two touted starting prospects, Paul Abbott and Mark Guthrie, in triple-A, along with highly regarded relief candidate Park Pittman.

Veteran third baseman Gary Gaetti said the other day that he has never been more excited about the Twins’ pitching situation, that inexperience is the only deterrent at this point, that if the team can stay close in the first half of the season, it can be a legitimate factor in the second.

Said MacPhail: “We’re probably one starter short right now. Realistically, we think we can be very solid this year and very competitive next year.”

Sweet music in itself.

Amid the drought come trade winds:

--The Philadelphia Phillies, sensing a surprising shot at the National League East title and seeking to beef up their pitching, are reportedly talking to the Texas Rangers about Bobby Witt and to the Houston Astros about Mark Portugal.

--The Red Sox, concerned about Mike Greenwell’s inability to snap a season-long slump, are reportedly weighing the acquisition of pitcher Tom Glavine from the Atlanta Braves for Greenwell.

--The San Francisco Giants, seeking help for their riddled pitching staff, have reportedly offered shortstop Ernest Riles and catcher Kirt Manwaring to the defensively damaged Mets for Bob Ojeda or Ron Darling.

--The New York Yankees are said to be interested in reacquiring third baseman Mike Pagliarulo from the San Diego Padres.

A Yankee clubhouse man, in fact, switched uniform numbers on shortstop Alvaro Espinoza from No. 13 to No. 12 the other day, freeing No. 13, Pagliarulo’s number.

Espinoza? He may be wondering how many times they can take the shirt off his back. He originally wore No. 20 but wisely agreed to Bucky Dent’s request for it when Dent became manager last year.

The noose may be tightening around John Wathan, the Kansas City Royals’ manager. His boss, General Manager John Schuerholz, noted the other day that Wathan may not deserve blame, but as the general he is responsible for how his team plays.

Too early to panic?

“Maybe not,” said pitcher Bret Saberhagen. “Maybe it’s too late.”

Willie Randolph goes from batting second with the Dodgers to hitting ninth with the A’s, but he said: “I’m not ego-tripping. As a kid, you worry about hitting ninth, but in this situation it’s one of the most important positions in the lineup, especially with Rickey Henderson, Carney Lansford and Jose Canseco hitting behind me.”

Let’s see if I have this right:

Kirk Gibson suffered a leg injury in the Dodgers’ 1988 playoff series against the Mets that limited him to that one memorable at-bat in the World Series, restricted his availability to 71 games last year and required surgery on Aug. 29. He has not played in 1990.

Despite all of that, the Dodgers are now counting on Gibson stepping right in as a center fielder and covering all those green acres between Kal Daniels and Hubie Brooks, putting his leg at immediate risk in a position his arm was not strong enough to play before he was hurt.

Right?

Amazing.

Here’s the toughest question in the 1990 trivia quiz: Name any other Chicago White Sox starter besides Carlton Fisk and Ozzie Guillen?

It’s a difficult query, but the White Sox may shed their anonymity if they continue to play at the 20-10 pace they took into a weekend series against the Detroit Tigers. It was the first time since 1983 that they had been 10 games over .500, and their 15-3 home record was the best in baseball, suggesting that they may be reluctant to move to the new Comiskey Park next year.

Premature exultation?

“It’s never too early to get excited,” Manager Jeff Torborg said. “Everyone has to be aware we’ve played only 30 games, but it’s not silly to get excited about a team playing well and earning it.”

The Padres’ imposing lineup has been unable to keep pace with their pitchers’ yield of 40 home runs in 32 games before a weekend series against the Mets. San Diego was 4-14 in games when the opposition scored first, and Manager Jack McKeon said: “We’ve got to start keeping the ball in the park. It’s killing us.”

So has the overall inconsistency, an ongoing trend no matter how many changes the Padres make.

“It’s been this way for three years here, and I don’t know what the answer is,” pitching coach Pat Dobson said. “It’s beyond me. Nobody knows. And every time this happens, someone (in this case the Cincinnati Reds) goes into a coma, and before we can bat an eyelash we’re 11 games back in the loss column. It’s not a good feeling.”

With Mariano Duncan joining Eric Davis on the Reds’ disabled list, the preseason acquisition of outfielder Billy Hatcher seems more and more providential.

Hatcher, through Thursday, was 42 for 120, a .350 average that included 13 infield hits and five bunt singles. He was also nine for 10 in steal attempts.

“I knew if I got in there I’d be tough to get out,” Hatcher said of his spot in the Reds’ lineup.

Last year, he batted a composite .238 with Houston and Pittsburgh and said he attempted to become something that he is not.

“I got away from the things I do best,” he said, alluding to his speed.