Close But Not Quite Close Enough

Quick Recap (Because no one wants to dwell on losing)

While it certainly isn’t surprising, given the amazing talent that the Texas Rangers* have compiled, to wake up and find the Twins getting swept in another weekend series, it is a little disappointing. Especially given the way they lost every game over the 3 game series.

*Seriously, find the easy out in this lineup: Kinsler, Andrus, Hamilton, Beltre, Young, Murphy, Napoli, Torrealba, Cruz. You can't. That's a VERY good lineup. The Rangers are a very, very good team.

In each game, the Twins managed to get runners on base and into scoring position. Each game, the Twins failed to bring those runners home when it really mattered. Sunday looked like the day that failing to convert some of those runs wouldn’t matter as the Twins (and new right fielder Clete Thomas) still managed to push across 3 against Neftali Feliz and the Rangers.

Unfortunately, Glen Perkins couldn’t hold that lead and promptly gave up 3 runs to the first three batters he faced in the 8^th and that was all she wrote for the Twins. Unlike some Twins fans, I’m not ready to give up on 2012 after the second sweep of the season. In fact, I went in to this series thinking that taking 1 of 3 would be a ‘win’ as far as this still developing team is concerned.

Given the way they played (fairly well) and the opportunities they had to win (numerous) I’m still positive about this Twins team and their talent. They’re not a bad team and they will win some games this year. In fact, I think they’ll end up winning more than last year…so long as some concerns are addressed.

New Concerns:

The first and foremost concern I have with this team lies with Justin Morneau who looks simply overmatched and overwhelmed at the plate this season. He has frequently been missing balls right over the heart of the plate that he would normally crush to the outfield. In addition, he is swinging at absolutely everything that comes within three feet of the plate. Morneau struck out frequently in this Rangers series, a few times in crucial “runners in scoring position” spots and a few of those strikeouts saw him swinging (poorly) at what would have been ball four pitches.

Simply put, he doesn’t look comfortable at the plate. Sunday afternoon, Ron Gardenhire stated that Morneau would likely see some time at 1B over the Yankees / Rays road trip, with the implication being that Morneau was out of his comfort zone being a full time DH. Here’s hoping this is the solution, because Morneau’s current iteration is not helping this ballclub right now.



Morneau's strike out rate is well above league average right now. In fact, it's well above his normal average. (Small sample size? Yes. Still a concern? Yes again.)



If Morneau does get some time at 1B over the next two series, that will open up the lineup a little for the Twins and maybe allow for some better defensive positioning. I think nearly every Twins fan will tell you that Josh Willingham is a welcome bat in the lineup but his defense…well, ‘poor’ is a nice way to put it. Willingham has already committed 2 errors on the season and has misplayed many more balls than that. Ideally, the Twins would use Willingham as a full time DH, keeping his bat in the lineup while keeping his subpar glove on the bench.

This would allow Gardenhire to shift Clete Thomas or Trevor Plouffe to LF while creating a platoon of Doumit / Parmelee in RF.

Welcome To Minnesota Clete Thomas!

Thomas proved Sunday, during his sharp fielding of a Michael Young double to assist in throwing Adrian Beltre out at home, that his defense is solid. When he was first acquired, a majority of the baseball writers compared him to Ben Revere. That comparison seems a little inaccurate, however, as Thomas’ first at bat as a Twin nearly cleared the wall in center for a solo home run. After gauging the distance a little better, Thomas put a little extra “oomph” on the ball in his next at bat and sent a 2 run homer OVER the center field wall. I’m pretty sure that’s something Ben Revere will never do as a Twin.

Looking Forward:

The Twins are 2-7 and off to a worse start than last season. That being said, this is a better team (you can tell by just watching them) than last year and they are going through a brutal part of their schedule. They kick off a 4 game series against the Yankees tonight and then a weekend series with the Rays on Friday. The Twins have well documented struggles with the Yankees (especially in New York) and the Rays have played very good ball so far this year.

I’m hoping to see the Twins split the series with the Yankees and then salvage one from the Rays series. That would put them at 5-11 at the start of next week and still very much in position to gain ground once the brutal opening schedule has passed. If the Twins only manage to take one from the Yankees and get swept by the Rays (we’re calling this “worst case scenario”) a 3-13 stat, while not insurmountable, is much more debilitating way to start the season. Essentially, these next two series are going to dictate the momentum of the early season. No pressure guys.

Better yet, let’s sweep the Yankees, take 2 of 3 from the Rays and end this week at 8-8. (We can dream, right?) I’ll be back throughout the week with reactions / opinions on the Twins. Until then, go Twins!