Back on the 25th of May, I wrote the Twins off for dead, as did many others. The team was 14 1/2 games out with a 16-32 record, had a run differential (-88) that was almost twice as bad as the next lowest in baseball, and were routinely running out a lineup featuring two guys named Rene. They scuffled along for another week after that, bottoming out at 20 games below .500 and 16 1/2 GB on June 1st. Nothing looked promising in any facet of the game, between injuries and ineffectiveness, there where maybe two guys on the entire team having what you would call "good" seasons. Then a funny thing happened, they started winning.
We're not talking about ridiculous amounts of winning here, nothing to conjure memories of the last 4 months of 2006, but enough to once again make things interesting. The 27-13 stretch has pulled the team back within 5 games of both .500 and the division lead, not to mention restored public confidence in a lot of players. Frankly I blame myself for the slow start. I'm not much of an optimist, but on the rare occasions I do talk myself into a positive outlook, things usually fall apart rather quickly (see 2010 Vikings). By picking the team to finish in 1st place with a 92-70 record, I'd effectively doomed them to no higher than 3rd place and 85 victories. I then waited two full months before backtracking on that prediction in the name of not overreacting, how silly of me. Not a week after I finally did throw in the towel on the season, the tables turned and here we are, with relevant games to watch in mid-July.
You can chalk it up to whatever you want, but the fan in me knows I had something to do with it. This power is humbling, and I pledge to use it only for good. The summer of 2010 was spent lamenting the team's ineptitude and lambasting Scott Baker, with pretty good results. Then I foolishly tried to look at the playoffs with a bit of hope and the roof caved in. Lesson learned, nothing but negativity will be forthcoming from here on out. Even though it would be fun to consider the prospect of continued success, particularly with a crucial stretch of games starting tonight, that's not my role. My role is to take everything down a peg and remind people of exactly what they're dealing with here. Frankly, with this roster, that's not going to be too tough.
Because despite the impressive payroll, this team still depends on some guys who make you long for the days of Nick Punto and Eddie Guardado. Okay, maybe not Punto, but you get the point. Half of the bullpen arms have us covering our colective eyes every time they take the mound. The entire defense is playing out of position. The Japanese import can't hit, the new centerfielder can't throw and the the billion-dollar catcher can't catch. All of which adds up to the most compelling Twins team in recent memory, a throwback to the $55 million payroll days, when a ball lost in the Metrodome roof and a chopper off the plate were often the "big hits" in a home victory. They're winning, but you can't exactly figure out how, it's the second coming of 2009's Duct Tape Twins, back for a return engagement. And once again, they're barely holding this thing together.
Sure a terrible division helps, but some of the contributors so far have been positively bizarre. Alexi Casilla has apparently ditched his evil alter ego, as has Scott Baker. Michael "Contract Year" Cuddyer's production isn't that surprising, but how he did it, going from zero production to tearing it up, just adds to the oddity. Key players up and down the roster have offered anywhere from "zero" to "not much", yet for the last six weeks, the train keeps rolling. Guys named Revere, Tosoni, Plouffe and Dumatrait aren't going to make anyone forget Mauer and Morneau anytime soon, but they are coming through in enough big moments to keep things interesting, and that's a lot more than we expected two months ago.
Keeping perfectly with this trend, the Twins kick off today's big series against the Indians by sending Anthony Swarzak and Scott Diamond to the mound in a doubleheader. Neither one ranks among the team's top 6 starting pitching options, but hey, what the hell? The Duct Tape twins are back, and although the odds don't look promising, it should at least be an interesting ride.
But don't go mistaking that for optimism...
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