Sid Hartman: Knees no longer a problem for Kubel

It's a good thing that the Twins never gave up on Jason Kubel, who until this year never seemed to be quite the player they thought he was a few years ago, before he underwent multiple knee surgeries.

In 2004, Kubel hit a combined .352 at Class AA New Britain and Class AAA Rochester, and he hit .300 in 23 games with the Twins and found himself starting in the playoffs. But after that season, he severely injured his knee in the Arizona Fall League and missed the entire 2005 season. Then in 2006, he played sparingly in the second half of the season because of sore knees. Last year he played regularly but was hitting about .250 most of the season before picking it up at the end of the year.

Now, Kubel, who primarily serves as designated hitter with spot duty in the outfield, is healthy, and he was one of the Twins' hottest hitters in June, hitting .312 with six home runs and 15 RBI.

"I don't even feel [pain in] my knees at all anymore, so that's good," Kubel said. "No need for anything. It doesn't swell up, nothing's going on, I don't feel anything in there so it's good. ... Now, I've got them both [knees] healthy and it's not an issue anymore."

For the season, Kubel is hitting .267 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI; he was tied with Justin Morneau for the team lead in homers. For the entire 2007 season, Kubel hit .273 with 13 homers and 65 RBI.

Since June 8, Kubel is batting. 329 (24-for-73), with six homer, 14 RBI and 21 runs scored.

"It's been a long time, but it's finally paid off," Kubel said of overcoming his knee injuries. "... That's all I can ask for right now, is to keep swinging good and getting in there. Things are going pretty well right now."

Joseph, who comes to the Gophers with great credentials from Ajax, Ontario, is expected to be on campus shortly. The other recruits -- incoming freshmen Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson and junior college transfer Devron Bostick -- are in school and playing in the Howard Pulley League. Paul Carter, another juco transfer, has some classes to take and is not in school but is expected by the second summer session.

Describing Joseph, a 6-2 guard, Rautins said: "He's a pretty good player. I think he's got a chance to be really good, I think right now, you know he needs to get a little stronger. That's the one thing where he can kind of get bumped off a little bit right now.

"But, as he gets stronger he's really going to become a huge asset because he's a smart kid, understands the game, he's got a great attitude. He can score, I wouldn't necessarily call him a shooter, but he can score and he can make shots from all over. As he gets stronger and more experienced, he's going to be pretty good."

Rautins was an All-Big Ten freshman with the Gophers before transferring to Syracuse, and he went on to an NBA career and now is a commentator for the Toronto Raptors.

The Canadian team must qualify later this month in Greece if it is to compete in the Olympics. Only two NBA players are on the roster: Samuel Dalembert of Philadelphia and Joel Anthony of Miami. Rautins' son Andy, a guard at Syracuse, also is on the roster. Phoenix star Steve Nash said last winter he didn't plan on competing in the Olympics.

The Mets have lost six consecutive games started by former Twins ace Johan Santana. Santana is 0-4 during that stretch, but his ERA is an excellent 2.48, with 38 strikeouts in 40 innings. The Twins' longest losing streak during Santana's starts came in 2000, his first year, when they went 0-5 in his five starts, though three of the starts came in April and two in September. The Twins were 2-28 in games Santana pitched that year.

Left fielder Delmon Young, who got off to a slow start with the Twins, entered Saturday batting .390 in his previous 15 games, with five doubles, two homers and 13 RBI. He has raised his batting average from .265 to .289 over that stretch. "Well the balls are just finding holes, you can hit the ball hard right at somebody, but that's an out," Young said. "Now the balls are just finding holes." A year ago, Young was a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when they finished the season with the worst record in baseball. Now the Rays have the best record in baseball. "Now they have the starting pitching matching the offense and they fixed their bullpen, and that's why they're really dominant this year," Young said.

Since coming off the disabled list June 5, Twins righthander Scott Baker is 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA. "I think I've had enough starts after the injury to kind of feel like I'm back in midseason form," said Baker, who was sidelined because of a groin injury. "It obviously takes a little less amount of time to get back to that midseason form after you have prepared for it. I feel pretty good right now."

Bill Lester, who runs the Metrodome, was asked if the facility could somehow survive once the Gophers and Twins move out and should the Vikings get another site for a stadium. "Yeah, we have about 300 event days a year, and without the Vikings -- we're fine financially without the Twins and without the Gophers -- but we don't have cash flow without the Vikings," Lester said. "We would have a shortfall of about $4-6 million a year. So, there's no problem using it because of all of these high school and amateur events that use it, but ... you just can't replace $6.5 million a year you get from the Vikings."

Infielder Luis Rodriguez, who played for the Twins the past three seasons, was called up to the majors by San Diego on Friday. Rodriguez had hit .302 in 31 games with Class AAA Portland. He recently returned from missing 45 games after suffering a broken right hamate bone when he was hit by a pitch.