Pennant Fever
- Wade
The last time I actually published something to this dandy website, our Minnesota Twins were on game #2 of an eight game losing streak. They'd fallen out of first place in the A.L. Central, traded one outfielder for an older, more expensive outfielder with nearly the same stats, and in general looked like they had folded up the tents for the 2003 season.
Now. I'd like to follow that up with the obvious: management got the players needed for the stretch, Gardy started making better on-field decisions and got ejected less, starting pitchers buckled down and played to their potential, hitters (especially Torii) became more patient and started to string hits together, and the team compiles the most wins in the league after the All Star Game.
Only one of those things is true. Fortunately, it's the most important one: the last one.
Where the Royals plugged their various roster holes with veterans, the Twins (basically) swapped out James Baldwin for Jesse Orosco, a guy so old that I was still in diapers when he was drafted. (And I mean the baby ones, not the ones I wear now.) Gardy continues to make questionable decisions: batting Guzman leadoff, believing in pitchers like Mays and Romero way too long, and mismanaging his corner outfielders. The starters have rebounded a bit, especially Lohse and Radke; the only frustration I have about Santana's success is that he wasn't allowed to display it until July 11th. The only hitter that has displayed real improvement is Luis Rivas, although his frequent defensive miscues make me long for the Jay Canizaro days.
Yet we find our local nine tied for first place in the weak-yet-hotly-contested A.L. Central. How can this be? Most importantly is the division itself-- the Twins and Sox would currently be eight games out of the Wild Card race, if that gives some perspective. Also, things aren't quite as bleak as I painted them in the previous paragraph-- the Twins are marginally improving in a lot of areas, which is all you really need when you play an easy schedule. Finally, the Twins are getting reeeeeeally lucky, as Souhan was good enough to document yesterday.
Overall... I'm not sure how they're doing it. But they are, and let's hope they keep that up.
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