I’m in the middle of listening to the Twins getting demolished right now.
Somehow, I’m still optimistic about this team, although I do admit it’s close to being Hail Mary time.
Tomorrow they start a three game series out in Seattle, travel to Texas for a set following that, then come back home for a quick two against the Reds.
Both Seattle and Texas owe Minnesota more than one.
I believe they can win all those games. I fully expect them to go 8-0 during that stretch and no worse than 7-1.
How can I be so delusional?
Byron Buxton, Luis Arraez, and Kenta Maeda are all boarding the plane for Seattle.
And as Dan Gladden, Twins legend and perfect fit for radio play-by-play man in the organization, said today during a 13-2 throbbing that is still in progress, “I doubt they are putting any of these guys on the plane and not planning on playing them.”
Other reports say Max Kepler is also close to returning.
So here we are…
The baseball season is long for a reason.
Right?
So cheers to being maybe the last Twins fan on the planet who thinks it’s not too late to make a run at it.
Everyone is finally healthy! For the first time since the 2nd game of the season it’s conceivable the Twins will trot out the starting line-up the organization envisioned penciling in for most of the team’s games prior to the beginning of the year.
In addition to getting rid of the injury bug, Minnesota has found out Matt Shoemaker is absolutely dreadful (leads MLB in losses so far this season) and have inserted rookie Bailey Ober into the rotation. He was a little shaky in his first start agains the White Sox but has looked more than adequate in his two starts since.
Jose Berrios all season long has been exactly what an ace for a contending team should look like.
They just haven’t been contending.
When he hasn’t had his best stuff he’s battled, and when he’s been on, he’s dominated. He’s even managed to lower his pitch count… getting into that 7th and 8th inning a lot more…Something that always used to drive me crazy about him: Too many pitches and pitching down to his competition. He’s vastly improved in both those areas.
And he gives a shit. The guy cares about every pitch more than anyone I’ve seen since Max Scherzer.
So, like I said, here we are…An 8 game stretch approaching where, when healthy, Minnesota is clearly the better team before each opening pitch.
Followed by nothing but division games for a month. Where you can argue they line-up better than everyone except the maybe White Sox.
Any complaints Minnesota?
There shouldn’t be. This is exactly what you should want.
There are no more excuses for not being competitive at this point.
I still love this team.
Trot out a lineup of Polanco, Donaldson, Buxton, Cruz, Kiriloff, Sano, Arreaz, Jeffers, and Simmons, with variations of Kepler, Garver, Gordon, and Larnach–depending on opposing pitching. Then give me Berrios, Maeda, Happ, Ober, and Pineda on the hill…and we should dominate 3 out of every 5 of those games and be firmly competitive with chances to win in the other two.
At 13 games under .500 is it too late?
Call me crazy but I don’t think so. It’s mid June. After this successful 8 game stretch they will have left themself time enough for a chance to still make some noise.
I’ll be it with very little wiggle room.
Say what you want about their record and performance on the field thus far this season. Whether it’s sloppy defense, untimely hitting, poor starting pitching, or dumpster fire performances from the bullpen…
…Include a separate category for any of the questionable decisions Rocco Baldelli has made…
But the team has not quit.
I’ve watched the vast majority of the games and they are still committed to this thing. Everyone except for Dobnak maybe, but I don’t expect him to be logging too many more meaningful innings in the near future.
They aren’t the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, or Arizona Diamondbacks. The Twins were expected, and still believe they can, do this.
I’m hoping that, combined with everything else I said above, will make some sort of a difference eventually. Let’s go Twins!
I’m here for it.
But you’re testing my patience.
