Twins' Slide Could be Long Term
The Twins have won six of the last nine
Central Division titles but that era of dominance could be changing.
And not just this year, but indefinitely.
The company line might be when the team
has its ailing players healthy and back on the field the boys of summer
will be their old selves. But what remains to be proven is whether
Joe Nathan, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Jim Thome
have seen their best days.
Right now you don’t have to be from the
Chicken Little camp to shout: “The Sky is Falling.” The Twins
finished April with 16 losses, tied for the most in franchise history
during that month.
They were frequently awful in every way: poor starting pitching, a bullpen that
frequently collapsed, errors in the field, lousy base running, and
miniscule offense featuring power and run outages.
The manager has been upset. The players
are angry and the fans livid. This is not the “Twins way.”
But this is reality. The Twins, who had
lost six straight games and been swept in consecutive series against
Tampa Bay and Kansas City, won last night in Chicago against the White
Sox. That improved Minnesota’s record to 10-18, but the club
still has the fewest wins in the majors.
Nathan, 36, is trying to recover from
Tommy John surgery and has been demoted from a prominent role in the
bullpen. His ERA is 10.00, a long way from his career ERA of 2.84.
Morneau, who turns 30 on May 15, is
reportedly taking medication as he works on a comeback from last
season’s concussion that disabled him for most of the summer. He hasn’t
been the old Morneau yet, struggling at bat and even at times in the
field. Morneauologists, aware of Justin’s multiple concussions during
his athletic career, worry he’s one bad collision away from ending his
days in the bigs.
Mauer, 27, should be in the prime of a
Hall of Fame career but has been on the disabled list after starting the
early weeks of the season with a viral infection and sore legs.
Many of his supporters want him removed from the physical toll of catching and
placed in the outfield.
The 40-year-old Thome, who is also on the
disabled list, is the power guy on a roster and in an entire
organization that can’t hit home runs. That’s a problem. Thome, who is
headed for the Hall of Fame, has to be healthy and produce numbers like
last year’s 25 home runs to help the Twins. He can’t play in the field
and is a liability on the bases.
What the Twins have learned this spring is
that when their star players falter, there’s minimal support from
everyone else to keep the club winning. The suspicion in the winter was
the Twins had no ace among the staff and Francisco Liriano has
often answered that question with a powerful yes. The guy who manager Ron
Gardenhire describes as sometimes “unhittable,” has struggled with
his control and was very hittable as his 9.13 ERA going into last
night's no-hitter attests. Liriano was wonderful last evening, but
what's next?
Brian Duensing and Scott Baker have been the best of the starters but
collectively the group has lived up to the pre-assigned mediocre label.
The bullpen lost Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and
Jon Rauch during the off-season. Their replacements haven’t offered
much to cheer about although Glen Perkins has been effective in
his transition from starter to relief pitcher. Even closer Matt
Capps often causes jitters, giving up a hit or two, and sometimes a
run, in the ninth before finishing his business.
Outfielders Jason Kubel and
Denard Span have produced a lot of the Twins' minimal offense (last
in the majors in runs scored with 86 and home runs, 13). Kubel is hitting .350
and Span .283.
Those numbers look flashy compared to the
production of Twins’ catchers Steve Holm and Drew Butera,
and shortstop Alexi Casilla. Holm is hitting .118 and Butera is
batting .100. Casilla, who has been unreliable in the field and at bat,
is hitting .194.
The club’s awful start has been made more
difficult by the fractured left fibula of rookie second baseman
Tsuyoshi Nishioka and outfielder Delmon Young’s
strained left oblique. Both are on the disabled list.
All the injuries have left fans wondering
why there are so many physical problems coming out of spring training
and early in the season? Just one of those years? Or are there other
factors in play?
