When I started writing this blog, one thing I promised myself I would stay away from was always writing about Minnesota teams. Having lived my entire life here, I've always been a Minnesota Twins fan, even during those early years when my favorite player was Eric Davis, the center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds. Sure, I walked around with a Reds jacket and cap, and wanted any and everything that had to do with Eric Davis, but I was still a fan of the Twins. Having the fortune of being able to go to all eight World Series games played at the Metrodome in both 1987 and 1991, my sense of fandom only grew. Unfortunately, I can't hold off any longer, and I need to say something.
No matter how much you like your team, you find an equal piece of yourself that thinks that you always have the answers when they struggle. That is one of the rights we possess as "fans." Another thing we find ourselves doing is making excuses for poor play or for losing seasons. When we have high hopes and expectations for our teams, there has to be a logical explanation why they aren't playing well, right?
This can apply to any fan and any team, but for the sake of argument, I'm going to be discussing that very Minnesota Twins baseball club.
Coming out of Spring Training this season, the Twins were one of the healthiest teams in baseball. They acquired a new second baseman via the Japanese professional league, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, had a starting rotation that had grown in experience by one year, had the unusual dilemma of having two solid closers at the back end of their bullpen, and were getting back one of their star players, Justin Morneau, from a serious concussion sustained last July. All was looking very positive for the defending American League Central Champions.
Oh what a different story we have midway through May. Entering this weekend's series against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Twins sport the worst record in all of baseball, 12-23. Their star player and the face of the franchise, Joe Mauer, is out with weakness in his surgically repaired knee, their returning closer, Joe Nathan, has shown nothing but rust coming back from Tommy John surgery last season, and that promising second base acquisition hit the disabled list, along with a handful of other players. Yet, throughout the month of April, the resounding statement being made was, "it's still early."
When you look up and down the Twins' current lineup, there is still a great deal of talent. Denard Span in center field has been a very reliable bat at the top of the lineup. Michael Cuddyer had shown in previous seasons that he was able to carry the team during rough injury stretches. Delmon Young had easily his most productive season last year, and started off this season showing that the potential was still there to have another great season. Danny Valencia began his first full season at the big-league level starting at third base after a stellar rookie campaign. Jason Kubel has become the team's best hitter, showing both power and the ability to be patient at the plate. On top of that, Morneau has come back healthy, with the exception of a brief five-day stint out of the lineup in April because of the flu. Yet, they sit 12-23? What gives?
One of the key weaknesses this team has shown this year has been its pitching. The starting rotation has been consistently putting the team behind the proverbial eight ball by staking the opposing teams to early leads. The bullpen was weakened through free agency and has been giving up leads late in games more than they should. And when the Twins have carried a lead into the eighth or ninth inning, both closers (Nathan in the early part of the year, and Matt Capps towards the end of April into May) have been blowing saves. Again, I ask...What gives?
Where is the accountability? The "it's still early" philosophy has been one seemingly adopted by the manager, Ron Gardenhire, as well as the fans. However, with it now being mid-May, when does that philosophy stop applying and when does accountability begin to take effect? When you have the offense you do (last in home runs, last in RBI's, last in runs scored, 28th in hits, 27th in batting average, last in extra base hits) it's clear there is a problem with the team's approach at the plate. When will it be time to hold hitting coach Joe Vavra accountable to the lack of offense? Your "power hitting" first baseman has only one home run so far this season, primarily because he cannot stop over-striding at the plate. Isn't that a coach's job? To fix issues your players have at the plate? Something to think about, for sure.
As far as the pitching goes, you have pitchers who are fully capable of going deeper into games than they are, yet, the team struggles to get quality starts out of the starting rotation. When will accountability be placed on pitching coach Rick Anderson for the performance of his pitchers? When the starters had above average seasons last year, Anderson was praised for the development of a young staff. Now, in 2011, when the starters can't get out of the fourth inning, fans begin to say "well, they're just not that good." It's the responsibility of the coaches to prepare their players. If the players aren't understanding basic strategy, they need to be worked with. Therein lies the responsibility of the coaching staff.
As we've seen in other sports, there are times where the message just gets stale. There are times where players don't respond to what they're being told or coached to do. Is it the players' faults? Maybe. Is it the coaches' faults? Perhaps. But, regardless of which one of those questions is the right one at this point, the one question that needs to be asked is this: If "it's still early," then what are you going to do once "it's too late?"
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