By Andy Kent
Naples Daily News

FORT MYERS — No left knee has been more scrutinized by
Minnesota Twins fans and media than outfielder Jason
Kubel's since, well, exactly one year ago when star
catcher Joe Mauer's left knee was a hotter topic than
"American Idol."

Kubel, 23, missed the entire 2005 season after tearing
the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the
lateral collateral ligament in his left knee while
playing in the Arizona Fall League on Oct. 12, 2004.
The devastating injury came right on the heels of his
most successful season on the diamond, during which he
hit .300 in 23 games with Minnesota while on a
September call-up and appeared in two games of the
2004 ALDS against the New York Yankees.

"It was tough because I knew I did well and I was
shooting for maybe grabbing a starting spot in the
outfield or at least making the 25-man roster out of
the spring and then this happened," said Kubel, who
will be the Twins' designated hitter this morning in a
10:30 scrimmage against Division II Concordia (Minn.)
on one of the practice fields at the Lee County Sports
Complex.

"So I had surgery in December and I couldn't really do
anything for like six months. I gained a little weight
and then started rehab, doing it back and forth
between here and back home in California, but now it's
done with and I can play again."

In 2003, Kubel and Mauer were teammates for half a
season on the Fort Myers Miracle, Minnesota's Class A
affiliate in the Florida State League, then Mauer
continued his rapid ascent up the organizational
ladder, making his major league debut behind the plate
in 2004.

The 22-year-old Mauer tore the medial meniscus in his
left knee on the second day of the season and had to
have surgery the next day, after which he was hobbled
the rest of the year. How he was going to recover
heading into last season was the dominant question of
spring training, as it is to a lesser extent with
Kubel this time around.

"The issues you have with him is that he hasn't played
baseball in a year and a half, and he's going to have
to get out there and run around in the outfield and
you're going to see if his knee swells up, so we're
guarded," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Kubel.
"He's got a long ways to go here in spring training
and it's not going to be easy for him because he's had
this knee problem, but we just don't know. The element
of not knowing is there right now and we'll just wait
and see."

Kubel, who is battling with Michael Cuddyer and Lew
Ford for the right field spot vacated by Jacque Jones,
who signed with the Chicago Cubs, was on crutches for
three straight months. He described the pain of the
scar tissue breaking up upon bending as more painful
than the actual injury. But he once he was able to
swing a bat again, even with a brace, he was confident
in his swing.

After some quality at-bats during instructional
league, Kubel carried over his confidence to the
winter and said he doesn't feel like he's lost a step.
Conditioning has been this biggest challenge,
especially since his position involves a lot of
running, but Jones' departure gave Kubel an extra
motivation this spring.

"It's good to know that there's a spot open because
after this, I'm happy to even have an opportunity to
do something," Kubel said. "And if I end up playing in
(Triple-A) Rochester (N.Y.) again that's not the end
of the world, because I'm still playing. I try not to
think about what might have been, I just dealt with it
when I hurt it and started moving on."

Both Kubel and Gardenhire concur that the experience
he got in 2004 and the potential he showed is
invaluable, as well as the example Mauer set by
returning to form a year after his injury, even though
it wasn't as serious.

And Kubel is not putting any added pressure on himself
in this three-way battle, he's more concerned with how
his knee holds up than how he will perform. He's
confident about his knee and about his talent, which
he should be after posting a .343 batting average with
16 homers and 71 RBIs in 90 games for Rochester two
years ago and being named the International League
Rookier of the Year.

"I made it up to the big leagues once," Kubel said. "I
know I can make it there again."

Wednesday, March 1, 2006