I’ve never missed Johan Santana more than I do right now following the Twins weekend thumping by the Angels. Los Angeles pounded out 52 hits & 35 runs in three games – one of those contests went 11 innings. The Twins starting rotation is in a shambles right now. This is the same young group of pitchers that far exceeded any expectations and brought them to within one game of the playoffs last season. Slow starts by both Francisco Liriano & Scott Baker, who emerged – surprisingly – as the ace of the staff last year, have now taken their toll. Kevin Slowey was 10 – 4 before season-ending surgery and Nick Blackburn, who carried the rotation for months with several strong performances, has gotten shelled in his last three starts; Glen Perkins hasn’t been the same since returning from the DL and I don’t expect him to rebound either. Additionally, continual early exits by those starters have overworked the Twins relievers and has exposed a lack of depth in the bullpen.
Why GM Bill Smith didn’t work out a trade for a middle inning reliever (which we desperately need) or a veteran starter to take the burden off the young Twins pitchers is beyond me. Yes, the middle infield was a weak spot both on the field and (most especially) in the batting order, but what we needed – and still don’t have – are the two pitchers they are lacking to stay competitive in the AL Central. Instead they settled for Orlando Cabrera, a solid veteran shortstop, who is swinging a hot bat currently and will undoubtedly help with run production. But that doesn’t take the pressure off the starting rotation or add depth to the bullpen. And Cabrera is here only until the end of the season as I don’t foresee the Twins tendering him a contract.
Both the Tigers and White Sox added a quality starter to their rotation at the trade deadline which makes the Twins lack of doing so even more frustrating to fans. Chicago worked out a trade for San Diego’s Jake Peavy that the Twins could have easily matched; Detroit swapped two minor league pitchers to net Seattle’s Jarrod Washburn who is having a terrific year. Peavy is currently on the DL and it’s still not known how soon he’ll be available to pitch or even how well he can at that time. The White Sox may have pulled the trigger on a deal that might come back to bite them and knock them out of playoff contention. They surrendered young starter Clayton Richard who was their fifth man in the rotation so this leaves them with finding a substitute for the duration of Peavy’s stay on the DL – or possibly the remainder of the season. Detroit on the other hand really strengthened their chances of winning the AL Central by acquiring Washburn.
Smith’s inability to come through with a much-needed trade to bolster the team has left Minnesota in a real bind. For the Twins to stay in contention and avoid wasting the usual exceptional contributions from Justin Morneau & Joe Nathan, the monstrous year that Joe Mauer is putting together and Jason Kubel’s breakout season, the rotation will now have to find some way to tap into mental toughness to go with those fastballs, knuckleballs, sinkers and sliders as the pennant race gets hot. If you’re looking for Twins rookie Anthony Swarzak to take the heat off don’t forget to factor in all those minor league innings he pitched before coming up to the club. Right now it doesn’t look good for the Twins – but there’s always the chance of an injury to a key player on a contender that could be the turning point that catapults them into first.
Filed under: AL Central, Twins Baseball
