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?