Off the TePoel: Sunday, Sunday

Posted by Dain on April 26, 2009 under Dain | Be the First to Comment

Things haven’t exactly turned out as planned according to my crystal ball. You see, I had predicted that on April 25th, the Twins would pull out an exciting come from behind win on the strength of a Matt Tolbert triple, to pull within 4.5 games of first place Cleveland. Also, Mauer was to be hitting .214 (not 0 for 0) with Baker leading the rotation. And Cleveland was supposed to be off to the kind of start like Toronto or Florida had.

At least I got the two losses in Boston right…er, my crystal ball did, that is.

With roughly 10% of the season behind us what is clear as day at this point is the AL Central isn’t nearly as good as I thought it was going to be. Cleveland’s struggles and Detroit’s competitiveness surprise me, while the Twins, White Sox, and Royals are playing just about as expected. But while the Minnesota Twins and the AL Central aren’t off to a white hot start, it doesn’t mean this division won’t heat up in the coming months. Below are three areas the Twins will need to shore up in order to make a case in 2009: Starting pitching, middle and setup relief, and right handed hitting.

If the Twins hope to get hot it’s going to start as always with pitching. Back to back outstanding performances from Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey have helped ease many a panic attack. Till those outings, only Glen Perkins (who pitches today) has shown signs of brilliance this young season, while more likely candidates in Frankie “Franchise” Liriano and the apparently still injured Scott Baker have produced futile efforts. Perhaps R.A. Dickey deserved a few more turns in the rotation.

The bullpen certainly hasn’t kept many games within reach when the Twins have fallen behind, but this too, has shown signs of improvement. Mijares, since being called up after Crain’s injury, has somehow regained his September form, with 2 IP, 1 H, 2K and 0 ER, after a pitiful spring. With Dennys Reyes’ departure, Mijares needs to continue to perform well and solidify himself as the lefty set up man. When Crain returns he should be the right handed option to set the table for Nathan. Then, the Twins will have to begin weeding out some weak links in middle relief as Guerrier, Ayala, Humber, (now in the minors after being passed on by every other active MLB roster) Breslow, and Morillo have largely been ineffective. Dickey, who is supposed to be saved for long relief, is about the only one I’d trust with a close ball game in the 6th or 7th.

Three names that will scare Hawk Harrelson other White Sox chumps hitting in succession: Mauer, Morneau, and Kubel. Yikes. Right now, Morneau is playing like an MVP, but it’s Kubel who is the Twins Triple Crown leader, with a .350 average (min. 50 AB), 15 RBI, and 4 HR (tied w/ Morneau). But it’s the right handed hitting that will be the demise of the offense and team, if they are unable to score runs when it counts. Delmon Young, (.256, 8 RBI, 11 K) Michael Cuddyer, (.224, 6 RBI, 15 K) Joe Crede, (.200, 5 RBI, 13K) and Carlos Gomez (.205, 1 RBI, 11K/39 AB) range from below average to pitiful. Currently Morneau and Kubel lead the team in runs. Casilla, Gomez, and Span are supposed to be the guys running around the bases and scoring, but the men listed above have not been balancing out the talented lefty swingers. If they don’t start producing, the Twins won’t win more than 80-85 ball games.

The catchers have filled in well in Mauer’s absence, and Punto has played respectively as a starting shortstop. Harris has done extremely well when given the chance (.355, 2 doubles and HR in 31 AB) and his colleague Casilla is batting .186. Look for Harris in today’s lineup. Buscher has seen limited action off the bench and with a stacked lefty lineup, may not see much playing time.

The Twins will continue to shake things up if necessary. Different lineups everyday are just a part of the growing process for this team. The success from last year may have given the perception of a solidified unit, but if you recall, 2009 is just phase two of the metamorphasis into the team that hopes to truly contend in 2010 at Target Field. Until then, more retooling and shaking of the dice is in order.

Let’s just hope they keep pace while Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City clean up their backyards as well.