It’s the All Star Break, and with that, time to evaluate how the team is doing this year. I think we are all in agreement that the team isn’t quite even meeting our diminished expectations. Scott Diamond has been a pleasant surprise, as has the bullpen. Second quarter Francisco Liriano has been nearly unhittable, which is also fantastic. Free agent signings like Ryan Doumit and Josh Willingham have been as expected or better. Joe Mauer is back to where he should be, as is Denard Span. Trevor Plouffe is mashing, and Justin Morneau continues to show signs of health.
Of course, there have been negatives too. A team with 36 wins in 84 games has to have problems. The starters have been abysmal, outside of Diamond. The fact that Jamey Carroll gets a regular spot in the starting lineup is extraordinarily troubling. Brian Dozier is definitely up for his defense, but his defense hasn’t been good. Chris Parmelee is probably being wasted by being in the majors and never playing.
The fact of the matter is, I think there are more positive vibes around this team than the last. Everyone seems positive about the additions to the team. It just feels like this squad is better than the one the Twins fielded last year.
Unfortunately, that is not true. Their record is two games worse than it was last year after 84 games. They are 4 games further out from first place. In the AL Central, you can never say you are too far out going into the next season. This season, however, the Twins are out. The team needs to start looking to the future. I just don’t know how they will do it at this point.
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