Finding The Upside To An 0-3 Start

Step back from the edge. Take in a few deep breaths. I know things certainly look bad right now, but I’m here to tell you that they might not be as bad as they seem.

Yes, starting the season off at 0-3 is not the best way to silence the demons from a 99 loss campaign in 2011. Yes, getting shut down by the Orioles' 3 league average pitchers (at best) is a little disconcerting. Yes, Carroll, Doumit, Valencia, Parmelee and Casilla have had…rough (to put it nicely) starts to the season offensively. And yes, the bullpen has seemed shaky at best so far.

Those things may all be true but I’m still holding on to the firm belief that this team will be better than last year. Despite this horrendous start, I feel the bright points outweigh the dark spots, helping me to stay so optimistic. What are those bright spots? (You may have to squint; some are a little hard to see).

1. Justin Morneau looks to be back and swinging a healthy bat.

While the rest of the offense left something to be desired, Morneau looked sharp over the weekend in Baltimore. He hit 2 doubles in key situations (including a moral lifting double to lead off the 8^th on Sunday, thereby ending the no hit bid the Twins were currently threatening to be a part of). If he’s swinging the bat well, good things will happen for the Twins, it’s only a matter of time. The experts and fans all agreed before the season began – if the Twins were going to do anything of note this year, Morneau would have to be healthy and back to his MVP like production. So far, so good.

2. The starting pitching has been decent.

Liriano’s start notwithstanding. (As an aside, is there a bigger Jekyll & Hyde player in baseball than Liriano? His first inning had him looking every bit the Twins ace he should be as he struck out the side with some nasty pitches. Then, we all watched in horror as he slowly transformed back into the ‘other’ Liriano, failing to locate his pitches and serving up very easy to hit pitches right over the plate).

Carl Pavano’s start on opening day was encouraging despite the loss. He held the O’s to 2 runs for a long period of time, even managing to work his way out of a few jams in the middle innings without giving up any other runs. If it wasn’t for Ryan Doumit’s horrendous drop in right late in the game, Pavano likely would have ended the day with only 3 earned runs, a figure which the Twins would love to have him average for this season.

Swarzak was everything the Twins needed on Sunday and then some. He made only one mistake throughout the game, leaving a pitch over the plate for the powerful JJ Hardy to crush into the seats. Other than that, he pitched 5 solid innings, keeping the Twins very much in the ballgame. It wasn’t until Matt Maloney gave up 2 runs in the 6^th that the game really felt out of reach.

Blackburn’s start this afternoon will be very important. If he can give the Twins 5 to 7 innings of 1 to 2 run baseball, I’ll feel much more confident in the Twins’ rotation this season.

3. The opportunity to win games has been there for the taking.

On Friday, the Twins had runners on base 4^th, 8^th & 9^th. They even had the potential game winning run at bat in the 9^th. A clutch swing in either the 4^th or 8^th could have completely changed the nature of that game.

On Saturday, the Twins had opportunities to score in the 2^nd and 4^th, but once again were unable to convert. While the pitching quickly put that game out of reach for the offense, there’s no telling how the complexion of the game changes if the Twins get that clutch hit early on and take an early lead.

Finally, Sunday saw the best opportunities to score (despite not having a base runner on 2^nd until the 8^th inning). The Twins could have (and should have) been able to drive in more than one run in the 8^th. Once again, a clutch hit puts that game at least even – if not even putting the Twins ahead.

Sure, you could argue that the lack of clutch hitting is a concern (it is) but at the same time it’s not like the Twins are not generating ANY offense. The runners are getting on base. Granted, it’s not with the frequency we’d all like to see, but the fact that the Twins are at the very least in position to make some runs count is positive. The clutch hitting will come with time. Doumit’s bat will warm up. Willingham has been solid; Carroll will make his way on base. Things WILL get better offensively, the hitters in this lineup are not a bad group, they’re likely just off to a slow start.

All in all, 0-3 and in last place in the central is not where any of us wanted to be to start the year. Making things worse, Detroit looks every bit the powerhouse team that we all feared they would be. This series against the Angels will tell us a lot. If the Twins can get some more offense rolling and at the very least show signs of life, I’ll still feel optimistic about the season. Even if they get swept again, 0-6 is at least tolerable if there are signs of improvement…right? Here’s hoping we don’t have to find out.

Go Twins!