Twins Midseason Report: Treading Water

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Target Field, the Minnesota Twins' new baseball palace in downtown Minneapolis, has been getting kudos from all who have been there since it opened.  Less than rave reviews, however, have greeted the team that plays there so far this season.

The Twins are currently tied for second place with the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central, with the division lead going to the Chicago White Sox.  The Twins have done OK in their new home, but are atrocious on the road.  For one thing, they just don't seem to do well against teams in the American League East whether it's the front-running Yankees, or the bottom-feeding Baltimore Orioles.

Injuries, lackluster offense and ineffective pitching have caused this team to slide from its onetime perch on top of the standings.  The Twins' two biggest stars, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, have spent time on the disabled list.  Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano have been their only reliable starters, while the rest of the pitching staff belongs in a landfill.  But Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel have been having good years at the plate.

Because of all these injuries and inconsistencies, we've been seeing players shuffle between the Twin Cities and Rochester, New York.  But that's not helping the Twins' AAA minor league team, who have the worst record in the International League so far this season.

There's been pressure from the local baseball pundits on the Twins to trade for an established starter such as Cliff Lee of the Seattle Mariners.  But these are the Twins, one of the most frugal teams in Major League Baseball in spite of a new stadium and signing Mauer to the biggest contract in club history, and the very definition of a "small market" franchise.  So naturally, they watch Lee get traded to the (bankrupt) Texas Rangers.  The Twins don't do rent-a-player, which means that what you see on the field now will likely be what you get the rest of the season.

As any baseball fan know, the season is a marathon, not a sprint.  There's still plenty of time for manager Ron Gardenhire's team to climb back in and do battle with the White Sox and Tigers.  But if the Twins don't start playing better, Target Field might become more of a tourist attraction than a baseball destination.