It has to get better, right?

I said a couple weeks ago that things can only get better for the Twins. Well, that doesn't seem to be happening just yet.

After beating the red-hot Cleveland Indians for a couple games to go on a mini winning streak last week, the Twins turned in their worst performance of the season in a chilly, home series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The first game didn't happen due to rain (Ma Nature is going to offer serious payback for the good weather during Target Field's inaugural season.), and it wasn't long into the first game the two teams played that I dubbed this "a series to forget."

Forgettable Thursday
The doubleheader on Thursday was absolutely pathetic. I had trouble looking at the Tweets during the day game because the news just kept getting worse. A 15-3 beating. Tampa's Ben Zobrist went nuts with 10 RBI on Thursday alone.

Then in the nightcap, improvement was still no where to be found for the Twins. It took until the seventh inning before the they scratched across their first hit, and then a measly run. The stats from these games were just ridiculous, in a negative way.

Good old KC... not
Next up was a trip to Kansas City, a place where the Twins have always felt welcome. But these April Royals aren't the normal pushovers, and they took the first two games. A 4-3 win Friday, and a score-deceiving 11-2 win Saturday. Errors and bullpen trouble led to an eight-run bottom of the eighth, blowing a tight game out of the water.

The injury concerns are still present as well. Delmon Young went on the disabled list this week. Jim Thome and Jason Repko were out for a game with strained muscles (stretching, anyone?). Joe Mauer's return is anyone's guess, although it's probably later rather than sooner.

It was so bad this week that the Twins only had one healthy bench player for a game, before making a couple roster moves. Plus, the flu bug has now hit Carl Pavano, along with Justin Morneau and Mauer this season.

Casilla is the James Sheppard of the Twins
I'm probably going to start writing as much about Alexi Casilla as I do about James Sheppard for the Wild, in a negative light, of course. Casilla's play in the infield is baffling at times, especially for a guy who isn't a rookie. He's 26 and has been up and down with the Twins for a few years now.

The Twins infielders have had to step up with the injury to Tsuyoshi Nishioka, but Casilla is still not getting it done out there. He makes poor decisions and his bat is nothing to write home about either.

Last Sunday, he made a base running mistake that most little leaguers would avoid. He tried to score from second on a single to right field but was tagged out before reaching home. On his turn at third base, he made no attempt to look at the third base coach but was instead looking at the direction of the ball.

That's why you have a base coach, Casilla.

Enough is enough
The "it's still early" excuse is getting a little old. April baseball is done now and the Twins are 9-17, holders of the worst record in the American League. They are nine games back in the AL Central, the biggest margin of any division in the majors.

You've got to hand it to Michael Cuddyer though, a gamer who wants to play any position the manager asks him to. Cuddy has been stepping up this week and taking responsibility; no excuses, they need to play better baseball.

Maybe it's just the case that the Twins are hitting their injury, pitching, hitting and fielding slumps all at the same time, in the beginning of the season. Maybe they'll turn things around in May (or June). Maybe.

But if not, we're in for more painful-to-watch baseball more often than not.