Former Gopher football coach Lou Holtz likes to say the Lord gave us two eyes in the front of our head so we can see where we’re going instead of where we’ve been. That’s a good approach for inexperienced Minnesota Twins players as they compete during the final four weeks of the season for a Central Division championship.
Here’s the point: the team relies on 14 players with less than two full seasons of major league experience. That’s a lot of on-the-job training for a ball club trying to win a championship, or at least qualify for the playoffs.
Twins starting pitchers Scott Baker, 26, Nick Blackburn, 26, Kevin Slowey, 24, and Glen Perkins, 23, are all in their first full seasons of being in the rotation month after month. Francisco Liriano, 24, the fifth starter, pitched most of the 2006 season for the Twins but didn’t finish it because of his famous left elbow injury.
Left fielder Delmon Young, 22, had one full season in the majors with Tampa Bay before coming here. Center fielder Carlos Gomez, 22, played in 58 games last year for the New York Mets prior to the trade that made him a Twin. Right fielder Denard Span, 24, is a rookie. So, too, is designated hitter Randy Ruiz, who is 30 and almost a minor league lifer.
Second baseman Alexi Casilla, 24, played parts of the last two seasons with the Twins and also in the minor leagues. Third baseman Brian Buscher, 27, played briefly with the Twins last year, his first in the majors. Utility infielder Matt Tolbert, 26, is a rookie.
Even designated hitter Jason Kubel, 26, and infielder Brendan Harris, 28, can only claim a full season each of prior experience, although both have been in and out of the major leagues over the last few years.
The Twins have been surprising most everyone with their record all season and pursuit of first place in the Central Division. But inexperience could be a problem for this team in the remaining weeks including the much anticipated home series against a more proven White Sox team at the Metrodome September 23-25.
The Twins are a half game behind first place Chicago. They have lost six of their last 10 games and start a three game series in Toronto tomorrow (Tuesday) night before coming home for the first time since August 20 to play a weekend series with Detroit.