Written By Tom Schreier
I’d rather have the lead at the end than early.
— Twins GM Terry Ryan on the Twins 8-5 loss to the Yankees on Saturday
Every hardball fan knows it’s unwise to apply a football mentality to a single baseball game. There’s the old adage that every team wins 60 games, loses 60 games and it’s the 42 in between that separate the playoff teams from the bottom feeders.
For the past four Minnesota Twins seasons at least 30 of those 42 games have resulted in losses, and a once-model franchise became a permanent fixture in the AL Central basement. Paul Molitor replaced long-tenured manager Ron Gardenhire and pledged a win-now mentality that, save for a brutal 1-6 start to the season, has permeated throughout the Twins locker room. The Twins finished the first half of the season with a 49-40 record, the most pre-ASG wins since they had 53 in 2008. And although they played 17 straight games leading into the break, there was some thought that they should keep going because of all the momentum they had.
“I don’t think it phases hitters too much, maybe the first day there’s some timing issues, but there’s not a lot you can do about that,” said Molitor following a 7-1 win over the Detroit Tigers, the four-time AL Central champs right before the break. “Everyone’s in the same boat: You come back, we’ll try to get the blood flowing on Friday afternoon early, and I’m sure these guys will be hungry to get back out there and play.”
Although the Twins had to start on the road, playing six games in California against the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, they appeared to pick up where they left off in Game 1 against Oakland. Brian Dozier, who homered in the All-Star Game, took Sonny Gray deep in the first inning and Trevor Plouffe, who has come into his own as the team’s third baseman, hit a grand slam off of Oakland’s starter in the sixth. But things came unwound in the middle of the road trip, and it’s hard not to develop a football mentality when Minnesota gets outscored 26-3, including scores of 14-1 and 7-0 on July 21 and 22, in three games during the middle of the trip.
Upon returning home the Twins appeared to snuff any talk about a New York Yankees curse, defeating the Bronx Bombers 10-1 in the first game at home since the break. The curse talks were reignited after an 8-5 loss on Saturday, however, when the Twins jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third inning, only to squander it. Glen Perkins, the team’s All-Star closer, gave up a home run to Alex Rodriguez on his first pitch, Rodriguez’s third of the night, tying the game 5-5. John Ryan Murphy hit another homer to put the game out of reach, activating the discussion of the Yankees Curse once again.
“Everybody knows the history here,” said Molitor following the series loss the next day, a 7-2 decision. “We let that one slip away yesterday, and sometimes those things carry over somewhat, and so you take your medicine — you lose the series and then you gotta move on.”
Hunter downplayed the Yankee curse after the series as well, saying that at age 40 you start to develop amnesia. “That has nothing to do with anything, because we have gotten beat by the Angels, we have gotten beaten by the A’s,” he said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. None of these guys even remember that, I don’t remember — I left for seven years. We didn’t lose against the Yankees.”
Perkins, for his part, owned up to the two blown saves after being perfect in the first half of the season. “I said I’m going to blow games, and I’m not going to be able to go out there and hit every spot like I had,” he said. “I blew the one in Oakland, which was two outings ago, and I had said then that it’s more frustrating when I get an infield hit and a wild pitch and a bloop single and blow a game that way. Kind of … slow paper cuts, whatever you want to call them.
“I got beat tonight because I didn’t make good pitches, and that’s an easier pill for me to swallow, doesn’t mean that I’m happy about how I did obviously, but it’s part of the game.”
It’s easy to be jarred by the dramatic turnaround. As Tyler Mason pointed out on Twitter, the Twins outscored the Yankees 15-1 through 12 innings of the series, but were outscored 15-2 the rest of the series. At least they won the aggregate score, right? Too bad this isn’t soccer.
Suddenly the discussion turned from whether or not the Twins should mortgage their future to win now to whether or not they should be sellers. That’s a bit rash, but it’s hard not to think that had Minnesota won on Saturday, the narrative would have changed from, The Twins can win at home, struggle on the road, to Man, was the first half a facade? It’s legitimate to ask, especially given the team’s recent history of losing, its bullpen issues and the fact that eventually Minnesota will need an upgrade at shortstop and catcher at some point in the near future, if not this year.
Perkins shouldn’t be pilloried here: As much as it’s an unfortunate reality, he was bound to blow a save at some point. It’s just that he blew two so close together, and one came against the Yankees in a rather ugly fashion. It’s also not fair to throw out the efforts of Dozier, who continues to play defense as well as well as produce offensively. Or Joe Mauer, who has hit safely in 16 of the last 17 games, hitting .333 with six doubles and two home runs during that span. Or Aaron Hicks, who hit .339 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs in that same span of time.
Time will tell if Saturday’s loss is significant, but it certainly will be remembered because of who the Twins were facing and how it happened. If Minnesota goes in a tailspin and ends up below .500, that will be seen as the turning point. If they turn it around during their most recent homestand and end up vying for a Wild Card spot down the stretch, it will be seen as a wake up call after a sleepy start to the second half. In truth, it’s just really unfortunate that they lost a game they should have won and invited speculation that they can’t beat the best of the best like the AL East-leading Yankees.
To erase Saturday’s loss from memory, the team must look inward. Can Eduardo Nunez, Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar hold down the shortstop position for the time being? Are Kurt Suzuki and Eric Fryer enough at catcher? Is Trevor May the temporary solution in the bullpen, or should the team give him a spot in the rotation and make Mike Pelfrey a reliever? And, ultimately: Does this team need some outside help?
In the end, a single baseball game is pretty meaningless given how many are played and how random events can influence the outcome. But if the Twins are going to make the postseason this year, they’ll probably end up in a one-game, do-or-die scenario in this new Wild Card format. And to get there, they’re gonna have to build off of their strong first half run, not rest on it. After all, it’s better to have a lead at the end then early.
Tom Schreier writes for 105 The Ticket’s Cold Omaha. Tune in to The Wake Up Call every Sunday at 8:00 am to hear the crew break down the week in Minnesota sports.