This will be the third season for the Minnesota Twins at their new home, Target Field.
Many argue that it has more disadvantages than advantages for the hometown heroes, but that is simply because the Twins weren’t used to the new digs. That and their lineup last season was decimated by injuries.
This year, however, the advantages of Target Field will be abundant, and it is going to give Twins fans something to cheer about.
The Minnesota Twins lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, FL this afternoon.
The pitching staff for the Twins was solid, allowing three runs on nine hits and three walks. Jason Marquis started the game for the Twins and had a much better outing than his last start. He went three innings, giving up three hits, walking two and allowing one earned run.
It was much improved from his 1.2 inning outing against the Red Sox on the 5th.
The story, however, remains the Minnesota Twins bats. After only managing five hits yesterday against the Tampa Bay Rays, they only got six in today’s contest. Jamey Carroll, Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit combined to go 1-for-8 at the plate with two strikeouts.
If the Twins hope to be competitive this season those three will need to do better than that.
Glen Perkins, with the ink still drying on his contract extension, had another beautiful outing for the Twins. He worked one inning, faced three batters and struck out two. It is very possible to believe that if Twins closer Matt Capps struggles like he did last year, Perkins will be the Twins new closer.
Matt Capps worked an inning today and struck out two. Unfortunately, he also allowed two hits, one of which was a home run. The only nice thing is that the home run came with the bases empty.
Capps has been struggling some this spring, allowing far too many hits.
Next up for the Twins is a trip to McKechnie Field in Bradenton, FL to play the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have given up five or more runs in four of their six games this spring, so it’s hopefully an opportunity for the Twins to get their offense going.
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The Minnesota Twins are tied with the New York Yankees for the best record in baseball right now, with the Philadelphia Phillies just a mere .5 game behind.
If the Twins want to make a deep postseason run this year they need to win now and guarantee home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Twins are an impressive 27 games above .500 at home, sitting at 52-25. That is also the best home field record in the major leagues right now.
Being on the road is a different story, where they sit just five games over .500 at 40-35. That is the second worst road record among the current division leaders. And only the Atlanta Braves of the National League, who are chasing after the NL Wild Card right now, have a worse road record.
That says that two teams play on the road worse than the Twins this season for playoff bound teams, and neither of them are going to make it past the first round.
The Minnesota Twins’ playoff hopes hinge on beating a team from the American League East, either the Yankees or the Tampa Bay Rays, neither of which the Twins had great success against this season. The Twins are 2-4 against the Yankees and 3-5 against the Rays this season.
The Twins must get them to come to Minneapolis.
The Twins can win on the road, that is true. But locking up home field advantage in the playoffs would greatly increase the chance of them making the World Series and even winning.
Resting the stars is important, but a World Series is more important and the Twins players would rather be a little tired in the early weeks of November after winning the World Series than be well rested and done playing baseball in October.
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At the All-Star break there were questions surrounding the Minnesota Twins line-up. They didn’t have an every day third basemen who could contribute offensively. Justin Morneau had just suffered a concussion one week prior and it was unknown when he might return, if at all.
Since then though, the questions have subsided. Danny Valencia has cemented himself at third base. Michael Cuddyer has been playing first base for the injured Morneau. Jason Repko has been an excellent defensive outfielder in place of Cuddyer—when Jason Kubel isn’t getting the start in right field, anyway.
Jim Thome has his sweet uppercut swing hitting the ball a long, long ways.
Joe Mauer is putting together another relatively quiet AL MVP campaign.
Delmon Young is finally looking like a player taken first overall in the MLB Draft is supposed to look like.
And now the Twins find themselves in a position to overtake the New York Yankees strangle hold on the best record in the American League. The Yankees currently have a two-game lead over the Twins with 19 to play. The Yankees are currently on a three-game losing streak and have lost six of their past seven. The Twins on the other hand are on a two-game win streak and have won eight of their last nine.
To say the Twins have a shot at having the best record in the American League is accurate, but in order to actually do so there are some players who need to step up. Denard Span, the Twins speedy lead-off man, is only hitting .267 this year and has been unable to draw out long at bats.
Kubel‘s power numbers have been respectable, but his batting average has been slowly dropping over the past two weeks and currently sits at .256 as well as leading the team in strikeouts with 105.
If the Twins want a chance at holding home field advantage until the World Series, those two players are going to need to be more disciplined at the plate.
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The question everyone in Minnesota is asking right now is simple: Can this year’s Twins team finally make it past the ALDS?
The answer is yes—even without former AL MVP Justin Morneau in the lineup.
The big reason why is very simple—Delmon Young and Danny Valencia. Young is finally starting to look like the player the Twins expected him to be when they traded two All-Stars for him—leading the team in RBIs, second in doubles, third in home runs, and third in batting average (Among current active players).
The Twins showed a lot of faith in his ability to get the job done when they traded Carlos Gomez to the Milwaukee Brewers for J.J. Hardy last offseason, and the move has paid off.
Hardy, while not having the offensive season the Twins has hoped for, has proven to be an excellent fielder. That is not to say that his bat has been bad, considering he hits seventh in the lineup or lower on a daily basis. He has also had some battles with injuries to his left wrist, which anyone knows can affect your swing more than you would like. But overall, Hardy might finally be the main stay at short stop this team has hoped for since Cristian Guzman played six seasons for the Twins at short.
Not to mention that Michael Cuddyer has been very respectable at first base since Morneau suffered a concussion sliding into second base. That isn’t to say the Twins would not love to have the hard-hitting, left-handed Morneau back in the lineup, but with the power that Jim Thome has provided, it is much more important to be safe with Morneau.
Valencia, however, is probably the biggest reason this Twins team has continued to win games. He is hitting .343 through 63 games with 216 at bats, and as if that isn’t good enough, he always seems to come up with that big hit to spark something late in the game. There is no question in my mind that Valencia needs a very, very serious look as an AL Rookie of the Year candidate.
You add all that offensive might (first in the majors in batting average, fifth in runs scored, first in hits, third in doubles, third in triples, fifth in RBI, and second in OBP) to the pitching staff they have and it is rather scary what this team might accomplish.
The Twins young starting rotation has been just about exactly what everyone expected them to be—consistent. With all five starters having at least eight wins so far this season, as well as Brian Duensing having stepped in to win four games as a starter, they have done their job well.
Carl Pavano has been the gritty veteran leader of the staff, showing the other Twins starters how to get it done while eating up innings so the bullpen can take days off. Pavano leads the team in wins with 16 and has an outside chance at making it to 20 on the season.
Nick Blackburn has pitched 23.2 innings since being brought back from Triple-A Rochester and has given up six earned runs in that time (With one of those 23.2 innings and runs coming in a relief appearance after third base coach Scott Ullger took over for Manager Rod Gardenhire after he was ejected).
The additions of Matt Capps (Via trade from the Washington Nationals for Wilson Ramos), Randy Flores (Via waivers from the Colorado Rockies), and Brian Fuentes (Via trade from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a player to be named later) has shored up a bullpen that was already extremely good at what they did.
It is no secret that this team is built to win, and there is a very good chance that this is the year the Twins return to the World Series.
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