How'd the Twins do it?

The crowd at Safeco Field on June 7 had little reason to suspect what riches lay ahead for the Minnesota Twins.

By all accounts, they were a team in tatters. Minnesota dropped a tough 10-9 decision that night on a walk-off home run in the 11th by Carl Everett (the name rings a bell), falling to 25-33 for the season. The Twins were buried in fourth place in the five-team American League Central, 11-½ games behind the upstart Detroit Tigers.

"We didn't pitch the way we thought we would coming out of spring training," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said Friday in a phone interview from Baltimore.

"Our athleticism was lacking. We didn't get to balls. We didn't run bases with any speed. We had trouble going first to third, trouble scoring from second on a single. So we changed it up."

Nick Punto became the third baseman after Tony Batista was designated for assignment. Jason Bartlett, who had bombed as a rookie in 2005, was called up to take over shortstop for Juan Castro, who was traded to Cincinnati.

About the same time, Michael Cuddyer moved from seventh to fourth in the batting order, and a hard-throwing lefty named Francisco Liriano was moved out of the bullpen and into the Twins' rotation.

The rest is as much mystery as history. Yes, Liriano was a sensation, going 12-3 before his arm gave out. And yes, Justin Morneau, the pride of Westminster, B.C., raised his game not just to another level, but another stratosphere. And yes, Johan Santana went into his now-traditional post-All-Star break unbeatable mode (39-4 since becoming a starter midway through 2003).

The big-picture upshot is that the Twins, from that June 7 nadir in Seattle, went 65-30 to surge past the Indians and White Sox and move, by this week, within a half-game of the Tigers before falling to 1 ½ games back.

Barring a '64 Phillies-like collapse, they're safely into the playoffs as the year's feel-good story, an overachieving mid-market team righting itself from the brink of disaster.

But the mystery is how they managed to survive the departure of Liriano (whose ill-fated return on Sept. 13 resulted in a gruesome walk-off reinjury that shut him down for the season), the struggles of Carlos Silva (rejuvenated of late), and the decline of Brad Radke (out indefinitely, and perhaps forever, with a shoulder injury that has caused him to declare this his final season).

Ryan tried to answer that question by pointing out the fine work done by rookie pitchers Boof Bonser and Matt Garza; the ongoing excellence of perhaps the league's best (and most underrated) bullpen, anchored by Joe Nathan; the emergence of Cuddyer and resurgence of team leader Torii Hunter, finally healed from his foot injury; and the once-every-fifth-day confidence of a Santana victory.

A good share of the credit, as well, has to go to roommates Joe Mauer and Morneau, the first of whom could become the first AL catcher ever to win the batting title, and the second of whom is making a stronger MVP case by the day.

Last year was a severe disappointment for Morneau, touted before the season as the Twins' savior, but undone by injury (including an ugly beaning at Safeco Field) and illness. By September, teammates were disgruntled with his attitude, leading to a highly publicized clubhouse fight between he and Hunter.

That's water over the Metrodome, said Ryan.

"That was just frustration coming out," he said. "It got to the boiling point, which is not unusual when you have great expectations and things don't work out. Consequently, there was a little steam let off, but nothing that would affect his ability to go back at it."

Which Morneau has done with a vengeance. Since June 7 in Seattle, when he was mired at .236, Morneau has hit .369 with 22 homers and 87 runs batted in. His MVP proponents point to his .410 mark in July, when the Twins' surge hit warp-speed, and his .370 mark this month.

It would be remiss to not reserve some of the credit for Ryan, who has the success, but not the profile, to match fellow mid-market savant Billy Beane, and manager Ron Gardenhire, about to make the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

"He certainly steers this thing," Ryan said of Gardenhire, who learned at the side of Tom Kelly before replacing him in 2002. "It's getting to the point we're averaging 90 wins over the last five years he's been at the helm, so he's doing a lot of things right.

"He gives people chances. Guys like to play for Gardy. The staff gets along. They're not afraid to let young people play. There's not a hell of a lot of micromanaging."

Ryan long ago tired of trying to explain the "Twins way," except to point out that defense and pitchers who can throw strikes are at the heart of it.

"There is no secret," he said. "We don't do anything much different than the others. We have pretty good pitching, a deep pen, and we don't give too many extra outs. Plus, we have pretty high-character guys."

All of which adds up to a team no one should want to face in the postseason, even without Liriano to form an intimidating team with Santana.

"I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, because that's arrogance," Ryan said. "But we've been awful consistent for four months. If we're lucky enough to qualify, and you've got a guy like Santana a couple of games in a five-game set with the pen we have ... we feel good when he takes the mound.

"A lot of people have to contribute. The stage is big and the stakes are high. Most of our guys have been through that, and that's another good thing."

You never would have guessed it in June, but the Twins are primed and ready for October.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com