Just Enjoy the Ride

When the Twins started the season 1-6 I was hardly surprised. I don’t know how one could have been surprised. The Twins were coming off of four straight bad seasons. Sure the Twins made some offseason changes by bringing in local hero Paul Molitor as manager and bringing back Torii Hunter. However, I didn’t see either of these changes making much of a difference. This is not because I didn’t think Molitor would be a good manager or that Torii couldn’t still play at a high level (Although I have to admit that I was a little concerned that we could have another Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett farewell tour on our hands). In fact, I thought that Molitor would be a good manager and that Torii would have a decent season and get traded to a contender at the deadline. I didn’t see these changes making much of a difference because it doesn’t really matter who is in the dugout if the players on the field aren’t any good and one solid bat in a bad lineup doesn’t really add much either. Furthermore, after the Twins’ one big time acquisition Ervin Santana was suspended, there was little hope that the starting pitching would be any better as the Twins were essentially bringing back the same staff from the year before.

Then something very surprising happened. The Twins followed their 1-6 start by going 27-12 and climbing into a share of the AL Central Division lead. This turnaround can be attributed to many factors. Torii Hunter is indeed putting together a solid season. One that would certainly garner calls from many a contending team if the Twins weren’t in the mix themselves. Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe have really rounded into solid major league players that can hit the long ball, drive in runs, and hit for a respectable enough average. I admit that I would still like to see more from Joe Mauer, especially considering the money he is being paid, but he is healthy and putting up respectable numbers too. It helps that the role players are contributing, the starting pitching has been good, and Aaron Hicks has been making catches in centerfield on a regular basis reminiscent of a young Torii Hunter. It doesn’t hurt that the Twins have Glen Perkins, the best closer in baseball, either.

At the end of the day though, the season is young and one can’t help but wonder if the Twins’ success is sustainable. Personally, I think that the Twins are going to make the playoffs, especially since there are two wildcard teams now. At the same time, why worry about the playoffs? No one thought that the Twins would be tied for the second best record in the American League on May 28. So, let’s just enjoy the ride.