MINNEAPOLIS -- Enjoy Torii Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz and the rest of these Minnesota Twins during their remarkable playoff run.

They might not be together for much longer.

The next time some of the Twins' stars play on a national stage in October, they could be wearing New York Yankees pinstripes.

Without a new stadium that includes lucrative luxury boxes, or a new owner who's willing to spend some of his own money, many Twins players might be forced to look to baseball's big markets to get the salaries they deserve.

"This is a great moment for this team, and we ought to enjoy it. With the kind of young club they have, they're going to have a lot of these moments in the years to come,'' said commissioner Bud Selig, whose attempt to eliminate the Twins during the offseason was blocked in court.

"The question is, how long can they keep those players?''

General manager Terry Ryan and his staff have done an impressive job developing the young talent that has the Twins tied after two games in the AL championship series against the Anaheim Angels.

The Twins' players have been developed through the draft, picked up as minor league free agents or acquired in smart trades -- like the one that brought shortstop Cristian Guzman and lefty Eric Milton from the Yankees for Chuck Knoblauch in 1998.

The only major league free agent on the roster is reliever Mike Jackson, who signed a $500,000 contract during the offseason -- far less than the multimillions some teams pay out.

If this year's postseason has proved anything, it's that a big payroll isn't necessarily the key to winning.

In the first round, the team with the smaller payroll won every series. While big spenders like the Yankees and Mets, Arizona, Atlanta, Texas, Los Angeles and Boston are home watching, the Twins are three wins away from their first pennant in 11 years.

"I think it's great for baseball, but I think also it shows that if you use your resources wisely, you can build a team that can contend,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We've certainly done it. The Twins have done it.

"I think the challenge is not so much keeping them together for one year or building them, it's keeping them together for a period of time so you can really reap the fruits of the team. And that's being perennial contenders.''

That's where things get difficult for Minnesota.

While none of their key players will be eligible for free agency until after the 2004 season, the Twins will have some difficult decisions to make in salary arbitration this winter.

Hunter, Mientkiewicz, Jacque Jones and A.J. Pierzynski will be eligible for arbitration this offseason. It will cost much more than $3.25 million -- the amount the four made combined this season -- to keep those players in Minnesota, sparking speculation that Mientkiewicz or Jones could be dealt to cut costs.

"I don't want to go anywhere,'' Mientkiewicz said. "We have a lot of special individuals. The reason we didn't want to get contracted is because we have great guys in this room, from the general manager to the equipment manager.

"Small-market teams can compete, it's just a matter of for how long. We'll see if we can keep this team together.''

The Twins began the season with the 27th-highest payroll in baseball, at about $40.2 million -- less than one-third of what the Yankees paid their players.

While increased revenue sharing and a postseason run should make Minnesota more money and boost the season-ticket base for 2003, the Twins aren't sure how much they will be able to expand their payroll.

Plans for a new stadium have stalled in the state legislature, and no potential buyer for the team has been found.

"We aren't thinking about next year yet,'' team president Jerry Bell said. "A lot of it will depend on how far we go into the playoffs and what effect the new revenue-sharing plan will have. We just want to enjoy this run right now.''

Losing players doesn't always lead to losing games. The Oakland Athletics, who have become the model of small-market success, tied with the Yankees for the most wins in the majors this season (103) despite losing slugger Jason Giambi, leadoff hitter Johnny Damon and closer Jason Isringhausen to free agency.

But despite their success over the past three years, the A's haven't been past the first round of the playoffs during that time. They lost to Minnesota in five games this season.

"It wears on you that you put out a product, but you can't do more to improve it,'' A's general manager Billy Beane said.

The Twins, who play in baseball's weakest division -- the AL Central -- don't need many improvements to play in October again next season. What they need is to keep the core of the team together as they blend in some of their talented prospects.

"We're not like the Marlins, who went out and signed all those free agents and won the World Series. These are all homegrown players,'' Twins infielder Denny Hocking said. "We're stocked in the minor leagues with talent. We're not going to just disappear. ... Our payroll is not going to jump from $40 million to $80 million, but we are going to be able to compete.''

The question is, for how long.