Sadly, after moving to Upper Michigan I can no longer watch any of my beloved Twins' games. But lately, I'm not sure I really want to. The Indians and Tigers are GIVING them the division, yet Minnesota continues to score no runs and disappoint its fans. I seriously thought they could make another second half run, and I thought if it didn't happen it would be because of their pitching. But Scott Baker and Matt Garza have been fantastic, Santana's been his usual dominant self and Bonser and Silva give them a good start once in a while (but their inconsistency drives me up the wall).
The problem is Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer and Hunter are struggling right now and nobody else in the lineup has a good batting average or any power to speak of. And you can't blame the Luis Castillo trade, either, as the Twins were struggling before the trade and Alexi Casilla has done a decent job taking his place. Who you can blame is Jason Bartlett, Nick Punto, Jason Kubel and the constantly hobbled Rondell White. Bartlett and Punto must have had career years last season, because they have both looked lost for the majority of the year. Kubel has been mind-numbingly inconsistent, especially with his power. He does well when he's swinging at the first pitch, but nobody has instilled that into his brain yet. And White hasn't been on the field enough to even be blamed much.
This does not bode well for the future of the Twins, as the Castillo trade aggravated pretty much the whole clubhouse, and may have sunk any chance of signing the other most popular player in the clubhouse (Torii Hunter) and/or Johan Santana. Now I have nothing against Terry Ryan; he has done a wonderful job with a mid-market team, has made some amazingly good moves and doesn't deserve the blame for letting David Ortiz go (people seem to forget that he was constantly hurt and didn't play that well when he was with the Twins). But the Castillo trade looks bad (they rid themselves of a lot of the clubhouse glue and got very little in return) and he hasn't taken any initiative in trying to sign Hunter, who has said he would take a pay cut if only they had actually taken the time to discuss a contract with him.
I already no longer care about one of the teams I used to like because of GROSS INCOMPETENCY by the GM (for my thoughts on the greatness that is Kevin McHale, feel free to go to my column "Kevin McHale needs to be shown the McDoor"), I don't need another team to add to that list. The pride of the Twins has always been their youth and their farm system, but that well may soon dry up if they have to keep calling up players from Rochester too early.
To tell you the truth, I'm not precisely sure how to fix the problem now, because the trade deadline has passed. Hopefully the Twins bats will come alive now and pass the free-falling Indians and Tigers, but if they end up in third and way out of the race at the end of the year, Ryan's going to have some tough decisions to make. Hunter may be getting older, but the last two seasons have been the best of his career. If he is let go and Ryan makes no offseason moves, Morneau, Santana, Nathan and Cuddyer may be less inclined to stay, which would not be good with a new stadium opening. Pohlad may have to open a little more of his very big pocketbook, but if it brings a deep playoff run or even a World Series right before the new stadium opens, it'll only bring more cash into his monster moneyclip.
So Mr. Ryan, you don't have to go Steinbrennering after this season, but emulating a team (at least a little) that has 26 championships can't be a bad thing. Bring Hunter and another big bat (and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get rid of Rincon, ever since his steroid suspension, he has had major problems. He's got a double-digit ERA in the last month, yet Gardy keeps using him), and you'll be golden.
On a side note, Rick Ankiel has three home runs in his first three games this season. If this story (for more on Ankiel, go here) doesn't make you smile, check your pulse immediately.
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