To those of us who expected another lost season in a lost decade for the Minnesota Twins, there's something you should know: As of July 10, the Twins are leading the American League Central division by 5 1/2 games over the Cleveland Indians. They have one of the best records in Major League Baseball with 56 wins and 33 losses. Suddenly the team is relevant again.
How did this happen, you ask? First-year manager Rocco Baldelli has put together a lineup that so far has put the Twins on a home run pace not seen since the days of Harmon Killebrew, and a more competent pitching staff than anyone dared hope for.
The Twins' efforts haven't been noticed by the rest of baseball--yet--as the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers all lead their divisions at the All Star break. Only pitcher Jose Berrios and shortstop Jorge Polanco were among the starters at the MLB All Star game in Cleveland, which was won by the American League 4-3.
How long the Twins can keep this up the rest of the season is anyone's guess. Several key players, including Jake Odorizzi, Eddie Rosario, C.J. Cran, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton are either (A) on the injured list, or (B) flirting with irrelevance and a one way ticket to Rochester, NY.
When it comes to picking up name-brand talent toward the trading deadline, the Twins are usually out of the conversation unless they're the ones selling. This year could be different, but unless team owner Jim Pohlad could be persuaded to open his bank vault, they're more likely to wind up with small-name castoffs for the stretch run.
And then there's Cleveland, the defending division champion that's been getting its act together after a slow start. Remember when we said the C's were trailing by 5 1/2 games? It used to be around ten.
For the Twins to win its first division title since the year Target Field opened,they'll need a lot of things to go right. If not, then it's what we expected all along.
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