| Leslie Monteiro. 19th July, 2006 - 12:32 am
 The Twins have been an up and down team which is the best way to describe their season so far. There have been times when they have played like a very bad team in the first two months of the season and there have been times where this team showed a glimpse of greatness in the last month and a half. Twins fans have to feel good about the way their team has played lately. This team is starting to come together as the hitters have finally figure it out and the fact that they got two starters who can win games when they are on the mound in Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano. This team is starting to become what Twins GM Terry Ryan envisioned in the off-season. If Twins fans have to evaluate the way this team has played all season, they have to be happy at what they have saw overall especially after the way their team started.
The best part of this season has been the team's offense. Michael Cuddyer has finally played to his potential after years of disappointment. Joe Mauer is finally playing like a number one pick of the 2001 draft. He has been the team's best hitter and reliable performer in big spots. He is establishing good leadership skills each day. Justin Morneau is now finally becoming the hitter everyone expected him to be. It is no secret that this team started winning when he started performing. He is not only hitting home runs but he is getting his base hits to come through which is something he had hard time doing last year. The team also has to like the way Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett have performed since being recalled from the minors. This offense is starting to be what the team has envisioned going back to last year. It is unfortunate how it took them so long for them to deliver, but regardless it is beautiful to see.
The pitching has been the problem this year, which is why the Twins are in the situation they are in. Santana and Liriano are great, but they can not pitch everyday. The rest of the starters have been a disaster.
Brad Radke has been solid at least, but does anyone trust him when he is out there. He is capable of having one bad inning and giving up the long ball.
Carlos Silva has been a huge disappointment overall and you have to wonder where his head is at the games as Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson called him out two weeks ago after a bad outing against Texas.
Kyle Lohse was a huge disappointment as always and it is a joke that he is still on the club because he should have been released this off-season.
Scott Baker did okay, but he is not good enough to be a reliable third starter. He recently got recalled from the minors to take Boof Bonser’s spot on the rotation and He should get a chance to prove that he can get the job done.
Bonser started off fine, but his control problems and his high walk ratio was his downfall.
The bottom line is that the Twins’ starting pitching, which was their strong attribute last year, has now become a problem. They are going to need to find a good third starter who can win most of the time like Silva did last year. The question is who can step up because someone has to if this team has serious playoff aspirations.
As great as this team has played, their chances of making the playoffs are still a long shot at best. The Tigers are the class of the division and have better pitching than anyone in the division. There are critics who expect the Tigers starting pitching to fade, but it sure does not look like it will happen. Their best route to make the playoffs is the wild card, but that will not be easy. The White Sox are a good team despite their struggles.
Besides the White Sox, they also have to battle with lot of good teams like the Yankees, Athletics, Rangers, Angels, and the Blue Jays. They are going to have to play .700 to .800 baseball the rest of the way to do so. That feat will be hard to do considering their pitching is still a mess. If that is not hard enough, they got injury problems. Shannon Stewart is likely out for the year because he aggravated his injury with his left foot on Saturday night. He has been playing hurt, but the pain has been too much for him. Torii Hunter suffered a stress fracture in his left foot when he was batting Saturday night. The struggling Lew Ford is on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right oblique muscle. Jason Kubel is not on the disabled list, but his knees has been banged up which is why he is struggling.
Losing these guys to injuries hurts, period. Those guys can hit especially Stewart. Stewart and Hunter’s injury hurts more because those two bring lot of intangibles to the team when they are out there. Hunter brings good defense and leadership in the locker room while Stewart is a guy that fans can count on when he is batting. Twins called up the struggling Rondell White, Jason Tyner, and Josh Rabe to replace the guys that are hurt. The replacements might do a good job for a while, but it is going to be tough to expect them to be consistent with their hitting for a full month. They are getting these injuries at the wrong time considering the Twins play the two heavyweights in the AL Central next week with Chicago at U.S. Cellular Field and Detroit at the Metrodome.
This season has been a good one. This team is more fun to watch compared to last year. Last year was boring to watch with the Twins being so listless on offense. This season has been different story and the kids are finally producing which is great for years to come. At least, they got a foundation of good hitters to talk about and build about for many years. Anytime a team can get into high 40s and be close to 50 wins at this juncture, they had a good first half. It is unfortunate that the Twins are in the best division of baseball as Detroit is having a year to remember and the Sox are still darn good. At least, they can look forward for good things to come in the next few years as this core nucleus will be intact for a very long time. This team is finally showing progress which is something the fans want.
If fans want to give any feedback or comment on this article, email Leslie Monteiro at monteiro_07024@yahoo.com |
