Left for dead?

First, lest start off with a little clip before I get into the good stuff...




Now, there are two things that are important to keep in mind while watching this clip. First, it is probably the best part of a classic comedy and second, it is how I feel about my Minnesota Twins on Monday, August 24th...

This season has been a strange one to say the least. Joe Mauer is currently leading the world in batting average (no surprise) but is 2nd in slugging (behind Pujols)? The Twins, once a team notorious for not hitting home runs, now have four players with 20+ and it is possible that three Twins will have 30 home runs this year. Think about that for a moment...the last 30 home run hitter for the Twins was Kent Hrbek before Justin Morneau's season of 34 in 2006. And now the Twins will have three players all reach this plateau?

And don't get me started on the starting pitchers. The former backbone of the team is now wilting away to mysterious DL stints after rough outings and bad start after bad start. Fransisco Liriano was suppose to be back to normal after a good end to the 2008 season. Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins were all suppose to take that next step and become bona fied starting pitchers. Scott Baker was suppose to be the Ace of the staff. Instead Liriano looks scared on the mound and wont attack hitters. Blackburn started out well but has gotten inexplicably shelled recently, Slowey got a lucky 10 wins and went down for the season in early July and Glen Perkins? I don't even know what to say about Glen Perkins. Baker started out rough (I believe that he was still hurt) but has been that Ace that the Twins have needed in the 2nd half.

Some more stats to throw your way...

The Twins (as a team) are: 4th (out of 30 teams) in Batting Average, 11th in Home Runs, 7th in RBI's, 9th in Slugging and 8th in On Base Percentage. That sounds like a good team huh? Well, lets dig deeper...

The Twins (as a team) are: 24th in ERA, 24th in Shutouts, 6th in Earned Runs Allowed, and other teams in Major League baseball hit .276 off the Twins, which is good for 4th worst in the league. (Quick note on pitching...The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles actually have worse pitching stats in most categories but yet are still in first place and the Twins are under .500)

The Twins are playing.....WHITE SOX BASEBALL

They aren't playing "Twins Baseball" which everyone in Minnesota loves to death. I'm not going to lie, at first I didn't like it. But honestly, how can you not dig the longball. It's not Joe Mauer's fault that after he hits another home run to left center that Liriano gives up a 3-run bomb in the next half inning.

And it all started with that Oakland game. Could things be different right now if the Twins wouldn't have blown that lead? Perhaps. But as of tonight they are still only four games back in the division and are on a four game winning streak (longest of the season?) I've tried to write this season off as a lost cause, but the Twins keep fighting back. They are my Lloyd Christmas...