By Scott Hotard
Naples Daily News

FORT MYERS — The ball barely cleared the baggie in right field, a
sacrifice fly that grew angry somewhere along the way.

It kept going. By the time Jason Kubel had rounded first base, his
full-count drive was in the books as the biggest hit of his young career.

A grand slam. A game-winner.

There was no pain in his left knee — or the right, for that matter. With
each step he took, Kubel could sense the arc of something other than the
ball he’d hit.

His career. Finally, it was taking flight.

“That was the most fun I’ve had in my life,” Kubel said, recalling the
June 13 homer against Boston, a 12th-inning smash for a 5-2 win. “That was
awesome.”

Not just that moment, in fact, but the entire month of June. Kubel hit
.333 in 81 at-bats, highlighted by a three-game home-run streak.

But the stretch run would be a struggle. Hobbled again — this time by
trouble with his right knee — Kubel couldn’t finish what he started.

In short, he couldn’t entrench himself as an everyday outfielder. He’ll
have to try again this season, one he plans to spend in good health.

“I feel great,” said Kubel, who had surgery on the right knee in the
off-season. “I’m just ready to start playing.”

The 6-foot, 210-pounder didn’t play in the Grapefruit League opener
Wednesday at City of Palms Park. But when Minnesota travels to Tampa today
to face the New York Yankees, he is expected to be in the starting lineup.

The Twins hope it’s for good.

“He’s one guy with a high ceiling,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said,
“where we said, ‘Man, this guy can hit.’ Now it’s just about if he’s got
his legs underneath him and he can stay healthy enough to stay out there
and get it done.”

Kubel played in only 73 games last season, batting .241 with eight homers
and 26 RBIs. He was expecting so much more of himself. He was hungry for
it.

After tearing up his left knee in an October 2004 fall game, he missed the
entire 2005 season. This came on the heels of a pivotal stretch in his
first big-league action, as Kubel batted .300 after a September call-up.

Despite the time he missed, Kubel looked good last spring. So good, in
fact, that he started on Opening Day in right field, a 6-3 loss in
Toronto.

But he would get only a taste of stardom. The five home runs in June. The
Gatorade shower by Michael Cuddyer after his grand slam. The rest was
downhill. He hobbled, this time on the right knee.

To be sure, the injuries were linked. Kubel believes he was compensating
for the other knee, the one that kept him out the previous season.

There was too much pressure on the right knee. His body was asking too
much of it.

“I didn’t really notice it until May or so,” Kubel said. “It just kept
getting worse from there.”

By the end, he wasn’t a factor for the Twins. After earning just nine
at-bats in the final month of the season, he didn’t even see the field in
the playoffs.

Back at full strength, Kubel is expected to be the Opening Day designated
hitter.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Kubel said. “I’m just ready to do what I do.”

Thursday, March 1, 2007