Dome Field Advantage?

Numerous media outlets tout Johan Santana as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. A well deserving honor for the recipient of two of the last three Cy Young awards, but what is not as widely discussed is his home/road splits. Since his last loss (2-1 vs. Oakland) in the Metrodome on August 1, 2005, Santana has started 23 games in the dome. Those 23 starts resulted in a record of 16 wins, 0 losses and 7 no decisions. In addition to Johan not recording a personal loss, all 7 of those no decisions resulted in Twins victories. During those 23 games, opponents were held to a mere 52 runs or 2.3/game. The Twins offense did not sit back and watch on those nights. They put up 122 runs over that period or 5.3/game. In short, heading into the opener on Monday, the Twins have won the last 23 regular season games Santana has started, holding opponents to just over 2 runs while scoring over 5. Not good news for Baltimore Orioles fans.

Away from the dome Santana is a mere mortal however compiling 9 wins, 7 losses and 6 no decisions. To Johan's credit he kept the Twins in the game during those no decisions allowing the Twins to prevail in four of them. This equates to a .591 winning perentage on the road for the Twins in Santana starts. A .591 road winning percentage is not at all horrible, but is it good enough for the guy who is being called the best pitcher in baseball?

What can be taken from this:

1. Teams coming into the Dome when Santana is on the bump should pretty much mail it in.

2. Twins management need to structure the rotation so Santana gets more starts in the Dome. Current season schedule does not set up this way. If the schedule goes as planned (no postponements) Johan will start 15 games in the Dome and 21 on the road.

3. GM Terry Ryan needs to evaluate if it is a dome field advantage or home field advantage before the Twins lock up Santana counting on him to continue his dominance in the outdoor stadium in 2010.