Four years of not-missing-much baseball for the Twins

I haven't written much about the Minnesota Twins in some time. For those not keeping up with the team, you aren't missing anything.

The Twins are on pace to lose at least 90 games for the fourth year in a row. I still maintain they should have just gone for No. 100 in 2011, when they finished 63-99. (I mean, if you're going to lose, you might as well lose big.) Quite the reversal from all those American League Central Division titles in the past decade. It really is too bad.

Lately, I've watched more games than I have earlier in the year. The Twins have had some good showings. Some offense, a few towering home runs, good pitching at times. But it's easy to see they're a struggling team, especially when they can't close out games, or they give up a late lead.

Who are these guys?
At 19 games out of first place, it's a certainty the Twins won't be playing any October baseball. I'm sure a lot of us knew the possibility of playoffs was pretty remote when the season started, actually. The roster just doesn't look as appealing as it did a few years ago.

No more Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel or Michael Cuddyer. More recently, Josh Willingham was dealt away this season. Remember when the Cy Young winner Johan Santana pitched for the Twins? Now there's Danny Santana on the roster, a 23-year-old infielder.

The Joe Mauer soap opera continues. He was injured earlier this season and missed the All Star game held in his home park this year. Figures. I called that one last year. He's played in plenty of All Star games so far, but sure enough, he's too hurt to play in the one at Target Field. Actually, his early-season performance at the plate probably wouldn't have earned him a spot on the team anyway. Mauer moved to first base this year, which I think has worked out fine. It's also helped that the catcher, Kurt Suzuki, has provided an offensive spark, earning himself a spot on the All Star team.

Let's hope for the future
Not that there haven't been exciting moments or games for the Twins this season, but overall, it's hard to get excited about a club that is the division basement dweller. I heard earlier in the year that 2015 could be the start of something good for the team. Maybe that's when we'll see the superstar Byron Buxton get bumped up to the majors, although he's been plagued by injuries this season.

If nothing else, I'd like to see some kind of turn around next year. Maybe it's not losing 90 games, or maybe it's finishing second or third in the division. We'll see. There needs to be some kind of improvement to keep Minnesota fans interested in between watching Vikings football.

Of course, after four years of hard-to-watch baseball, and a Target-Field honeymoon that's long over, the off-season will likely include all kinds of talk about Manager Ron Gardenhire and General Manager Terry Ryan getting the hook. So far, all the organization seems to do is move coaches around to different positions. That's the biggest shake up they've created. I'll probably dive into this topic more later.