"Last season, the Twins were about as fundamentally sound as a North Korean suspension bridge. The difference is that the citizens of Pyongyang are used to rickety infrastructure. Followers of the Minnesota Twins are not.

"We're going to clean this up as best we can," Tom Kelly said. "I went to a meeting, and it was discussed. We are going to do our damnedest to fix it."

The Twins are scheduled to arrive in Fort Myers three days earlier than usual so they can participate in drills to improve their fundamentals. And T.K. is the master drill sergeant. Not only will the big-league club experience a renewed emphasis on basics, but the entire organization also is expected to embrace a return to sound baseball.

Ballplayers will practice plays over and over again until doing the right thing becomes second nature. Nothing will be allowed to slide by. If somebody messes up, all activity will stop while an immediate correction is made.

"If it's wrong, we're going to stop and we're going to fix it," Kelly said. "That policy is headed right through the minor leagues, too. There's no reason we can't get it done. No reason." "