An odd first-half for the Twins

It's been an interesting first half for the Minnesota Twins. They lost their first game, and series, in Toronto, and it's been an uphill battle ever since. Certainly one of the more head-scratching seasons for the Twins under Ron Gardenhire.

At the All-Star Break, they are 41-48 and 6.5 games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers in the WALC (Weak American League Central) Division. Last year, the Twins were in third place at 46-42.

Anyone remember that before the season got underway, teams throughout baseball were already limping with injuries? Everyone except the Twins, ironically. They've been hit hard by the injury bug ever since.

In a 162-game season, it's no question that injuries play some kind of role in player and team performances. It's easy to point to this excuse as the reason for slumps, or for anything that doesn't go your way. But it's just part of the game and teams need to find a way to dig deep and step up to overcome the struggles.

So many injuries
I can't keep track of all the injury troubles the Twins have had this year. A much shorter list would be the players who haven't been knicked up (there have been some, right?). Tsuyoshi Nishioka got knocked out within the first few games, Justin Morneau had a season's-worth of boo-boos by June, Delmon Young mangled his ankle because he still cannot play his outfield position properly and Joe Mauer's leg weakness threw the entire sports community for a loop.

They've had so many minor leaguers up and down with the ball club that it's not always clear whether you'd be looking at the major league roster or the AAA one. It's been that kind of a season so far.

I must give kudos to the team's lone All-Star this year though: Michael Cuddyer. Though I love him in right field with his arm, he is a true gamer willing to play anywhere they need him.

All that being said about injuries, let me be clear that I am not blaming Minnesota's fourth-place position in the AL Central on injuries. Not at all. It's been unfortunate, but you can't pin the outcomes on key players missing from the lineup.

Pitching
The bullpen has struggled a lot more than in recent years. Of course, a few of the arms from last season aren't with the club anymore. Joe Nathan returned from Tommy John surgery only to have trouble stepping back into the closer's role, not exactly shocking. Matt Capps has already blown a few saves, especially recently, so he's been tough to figure out.

Jose Mijares. Don't get me started. His main selling point to the Twins is that he's a lefthanded pitcher. That's really about it. He blamed Mauer in a loss at Miller Park because he only called fastballs. Ok, Mijares, but I don't think Mauer meant throw the first three fastballs nowhere near the strike zone, and then throw a cookie to Prince Fielder so he can hit an RBI double. Take some responsibility.

Alright, so I guess I did get started there.

Starting pitching hasn't been outstanding; it's been a typical up-and-down pace. Probably the biggest bright spot of the year has been Francisco Liriano's no-hitter in Chicago.

Hitting
The big excitement here has been counting down until Jim Thome finally hammers out home run No. 600. Only five more to go. He's also had some injury issues, but I'm willing to give him a season pass - because he's 40 years old.

Cuddyer struggled a lot early on. His RBI count, which had been high the past few years, was almost non-existent for awhile. But he's really come around and been a clutch hitter lately. He's now carrying 13 home runs and 43 RBI.

I'm enjoying watching Danny Valencia and Ben Revere come around this season and contribute. Jason Kubel is a continued presence with his bat, although he's injured right now.

What's next?
The Twins have been known to be a second-half team throughout the past decade. But they also haven't dealt with the amount of struggles like this season. They're seven games below .500 and yet still only 6.5 games out of first, not an unreachable deficit.

They did make a good run in June, making up about a 10-game margin with a nice winning streak they put together. They've come back from unlikely places to win the division before, so I don't think you can ever completely rule them out, especially in the WALC.

I am still not pegging them to win the division though. We'll see how things go in July, see if the trade deadline brings about anything. Right now, it's just important for the Twins to get back above .500 and stay there, then concentrate on winning more games at home and winning more series.

Twins are making up ground

Who put a quarter in the Twins? No, seriously. What can explain this amazing turnaround from the team that was the worst in baseball not too long ago? Well, things have improved. Clearly.

The Twins are riding an eight-game winning streak, have gone 15-3 in the month of June, swept the San Diego Padres in interleague play and have won 10 of their last 11 games. Oh, and they put up eight runs in the first inning in San Francisco against the defending World Series Champions Tuesday night.

I'd say that's a pretty decent stretch of baseball. Plus, you know something is up when Alexi Casilla homers for the second consecutive game. He hit one out in the ninth inning Tuesday, to seal the 9-2 win.

Making their way back
The Twins have crawled out of the AL Central basement and are now 6.5 games behind the leading Cleveland Indians. The Tigers are right with the Indians, but the Twins only trail the Chicago White Sox by a couple games, meaning a jump into third isn't that far out of reach.

How big of a leap in the standings has the Minnesota club made? Well, it was 16.5 games out of first place on June 1. So the players have rallied together to make up 10 games of the deficit in less than a month. Not too shabby.

Negatives have turned to positives as of late. Pitching and hitting have improved, which should go hand in hand with improving your ball club.

Shaking off the injuries
Also, it's helped that some players have returned from the injury line, most notably Joe "Mr. Minnesota" Mauer and the Japanese player Tsuyoshi Nishioka who hasn't played enough with the team for anyone to make a strong evaluation of him yet. The lineup has been almost unrecognizable at times; I can't keep up with who's in, who's been called up or sent down and who's hurt.

Veteran slugger Jim Thome is down with an injury right now. He's the guy I'm willing to give a pass to though, because he's 40 years old. However, I'm not too excited about Justin Morneau being banged up with multiple ailments, landing on the disabled list, like it's mid-September. He's definitely a missed bat in the lineup.

Jason Kubel and Denard Span are also ailing, hence the need for all the AAA players called up to the bigs. But Delmon Young is still around; you need someone to be out there making fans nervous as he plays left field.

Stepping it up
Michael Cuddyer has certainly turned up his offense. He has 10 home runs and 29 RBI. While I appreciate his willingness to be a "gamer" and play whatever position is needed, I still prefer him and his strong throwing arm in right field. Cuddyer's name is being thrown around for the Twins representative in the All-Star game.

I'm really warming up to outfielder Ben Revere. He reminds me of Jacque Jones, and no, it's not just because they share the No. 11 jersey. I like Revere's effort in the field and at the plate. I also like Danny Valencia, providing some much-needed consistency at third base. But he's also been hit with a small injury bug lately.

As I mentioned, pitching is also better. The Twins went into the top of the ninth inning with a one-run lead on both Friday and Saturday. Manager Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to Matt Capps for the save attempt. I write "attempt" because he's 11-for-16 in save opportunities with a 4.06 ERA. He got the job done on those two occasions.

Division title? Let's slow down a little.
A friend asked me last Friday if the Twins were going to win the division. I said no. They've been playing better lately, but they also dug themselves a large hole to start the season, and keeping pace with 15-3 ball is tough to do over a longer span of time.

It's just turning around and going the Twins' way right now. We shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves. Now, could the Twins come back and win the division? Well, stranger things have happened. They are a second-half team and have made comebacks before in recent memory.

I will say this: If the Twins do manage to come back and win the AL Central, it will prove once and for all how extremely weak the division is.

Videos: 2011 Indianapolis 500

A few of my videos from the turn four stands of the Indianapolis 500.

Parade lap




Green flag racing




Under caution

Restart




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