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Under Manager Ron Gardenhire, the Minnesota Twins have had a knack for becoming the underdogs at whatever cost. During the core, gritty Mientkiewicz days of a decade ago, the Twins always managed to win even through their raw talent was marginal. Once the talent level spiked, the team became a bit complacent, and typically required a mid-season roster shakeup to cause that famous Gardenhire late-season finish.
Very rare can a mid-market team survive with superstars. The Seattle Mariners of the Ken Griffey Jr./Alex Rodriguez days are the prime example, as the team actually preformed better as a group after these stars out-priced themselves from Seattle.
The Minnesota Twins have two MVP’s in Joe Mauer and Justin Mourneu, but neither are vocal-type leaders. They just go about their business, and do it well. It’s hard for a team to fight to the max when there are stars around expected to make the team win. However, once the stars disappear, the depth of the team is stretched, and the team must fight harder to get ahead. Take the 2010 season, when the team didn’t begin to soar until Justin Mourneu, having a fantastic year, went of the DL with concussion symptoms.
As of Friday, June 10, 2011, the Twins are 24-38, 11 games behind the overachieving Cleveland Indians. Before a recent hot streak, they were 20 games under .500. This is the second-worse start in team history, behind the infamously lowly 1982 Twins. They have, by far, the highest payroll in team history at over $112 million.
That said, the team has recently turned it around by winning 7 of their last 8 games, during a week that saw Joe Mauer ($23 mil), Joe Nathan ($11.25 mil), Tsuyoshi Nishioka ($3 mil), Jason Kubel ($5.25 mil), Jim Thome ($3 mil), Kevin Slowey ($2.7 mi), (Dernard Span ($1 mil) and Jose Mijares (445,000) all on the disabled list, and Justin Mourneu ($15 mil) struggling and missing several games due to ailments. That’s nearly $50 million just on the DL, nearly $65 mil when you consider Mourneu.
The Twins have struggled without Joe Mauer for almost two months, and have needed to improvise everywhere. The depth of the whole system has been stretched, and its limitations and overlooked players have been magnified. Quite frankly, the Twins have leaned what it feels like to be a second-rate team again. Within the next week or two, it is conceivable that all of these injured players could return, infusing the team with rested veteran talent in all directions. Now that the supporting players have been put in the spotlight, they’ve found a new drive that could better propel the Twins into serious contention. “Role” players are always the secret to a well-rounded, successful team.
Today, struggling long-time underachiever, Alexi Castilla, had a walk-off hit against the 2010 American League champions at home. He drove in Luke Hughes, a reserve who started the year in AAA, in the bottom of the ninth. The Twins thrive as underdogs, and the veterans here have done it before. Once they return, this team will take off.
It is my prediction that the Twins will regain form, and will find themselves in 1st Place by the end of the year. This will happen as soon as August barring new injuries or setbacks.
d.anderson
2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
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