Cracks in the facade

"If the Twins are still behind Kansas City in the standings a month from now, then I'll panic"

- P. Voltin, 4/4/11


It was just over a month ago when I penned this tounge-in-cheek statement about the Twins rough first series of the year.  Tonight the team plays it's 33rd game, officially putting the first 1/5th of the campaign in the books.  Everyone is doing the obligatory "lotta season left" disclaimer in their discussions, but without exception, every one of those discussions is pondering how things got this bad.

The Twins now sit 9 1/2 games behind Cleveland, trailing KC by 5 and Detroit by 3 1/2, with the White Sox similar meltdown being the only thing keeping them out of the cellar.  As ugly as those standings are, they don't begin to convey how bad things have truly looked here.  Minnesota isn't just losing games, they're getting worked over, with a -63 run differential that's the worst in baseball by a wide margin.  The team's health has been a constant problem, and the players that have been able to stay on the field aren't offering much relief.

Pick a stat, any stat, and you're not going to like what you see.  30th in runs scored.  A .230 batting average that's good for 27th in the majors.  Unable to get on base to scratch out runs (30th in on-base %) and unable to get the big hits to compensate for lack of base runners (29th in slugging %).  If the offense were the only problem, that would offer a bit of hope, but with the pitching staff only able to muster a 4.73 ERA (28th) and 15 quality starts (27th), there's no way to get by with that kind of production at the plate.

The whole thing has been so terrible, it has me imagining a conversation between Ron Gardenhire and his pitching coach that's straight out of Bull Durham:

Gardy: "Andy, what's our record?"
Andy: "12-20"
Gardy: "How the hell did we ever win 12?"
Andy: "It's a miracle."
Gardy: "It's a miracle."

Because odd as it sounds, looking at those numbers, things should probably be even worse.  The list of well-copensated players on this team offering nothing was explored by Michael Rand in the Strib today, and it's a daunting list.  Other than 2011 Twins My Guy Jason Kubel and Denard Span, nobody is doing anything close to what was anticipated.  I'll give Danny Valencia partial credit, leading the team in RBIs is nice, but starts looking closer to opportunism than excellence when his .230 average is factored in. 

Sure a lot of that can be blamed on injuries, but what about the guys that are playing?  With Span and Kubel as the only two regulars hitting over .250, it's really not overstating things to say that every other player on the team is part of the problem.  Okay, a couple of the pitchers have been decent as well, with Scott Baker (amazingly) leading the way, but that's it, the entire list.

With 130 more games to be played, there is more than enough time for a turnaround, but the team had better start showing some signs of life pretty quick.  Everyone is scoffing at the idea of Cleveland winning the division, and they're probably correct.  This start has shades of 2001 when the roles were reversed and a not-quite-ready-for-primetime Twins squad got wore down by the Tribe down the stretch.  But if things go on much longer, and the deficit grows much wider, then we're going to be moving into historic comeback territory here.  Even a team with a few historic comebacks under it's belt would be unwise to tempt fate in that department.

Panic?  Not quite yet, but that could just be the NHL and NBA playoffs providing a distraction.  At the moment, another 'p' word better sums up my feelings, because I'm mighty perplexed.  I think most fans saw the holes that had developed coming into the season, and knew a return to the playoffs would hinge on the organization's ability to patch them as things wore on.  But starting May as one of the worst teams in baseball?  I mean this is the Twins, the team that's fit the Chinese food analogy over the years, even when they're bad, they're still pretty good.

I don't even want to think about how I'm going to pass the time in July if this ship doesn't get righted...