The Twins lost another game today by a score of 9-2 at Target Field to the Baltimore Orioles. That makes 7 losses in a row and 10 out of their last 11. Let’s look at some facts:
- They have won twice in 17 games on the road.
- They are 6-10 at their home park
- In April they were 7-17
- So far in May they are 1-8
- They have been outscored 174-111 after 33 games
- They are 2-13 against other Central Division teams
- Starting pitchers are 3-15
- The closer is 2-4 with 2 saves and a 5.40 ERA
- Six relievers have appeared in 14 or more games
- The pitching staff has the highest ERA in the league
- Opponents are hitting .274 against Twins pitching
- The Twins are hitting .236
- Twins have made more errors than everyone except for Oakland
I could go on and on but what is the point, this team is playing horrendous baseball right now and they can’t catch any breaks either, that’s life. Believe me when I say that this team is not as bad as it is playing right now just like it was not as good as it played in 2015.
Do they miss Torii Hunter in the clubhouse? Sure they do but even Hunter couldn’t help this team play to the level that most people expected. So what is the problem? In 1982 the Twins lost 102 games and after 33 games they were 11-22, the Twins record this year after 33 games is 8-25.
I don’t care what Jim Pohlad has said publicly, GM Terry Ryan and manager Paul Molitor have to be on the hot seat right now. Hitting coach Tom Brunansky and pitching coach Neil Allen should not be buying any green banana’s either. My prediction for what is it worth is this. The Twins have a day off on Thursday and then play three games in Cleveland and three more in Detroit after that. If the Twins don’t play .500 on the road this week, Paul Molitor will not return to Minnesota with the team as the Twins manager.
Twins players may respect Paul Molitor as a Hall of Fame player but they don’t know how to play for him. In my opinion Molitor is a poor handler of the pitching staff and is on pace once again to burn out his bullpen. I don’t see anything that Molitor has done to motivate these players or to help them win games, he writes out a line-up by going with the hot bats and just lets them play. That probably works great for a veteran team but not for a team this young and inexperienced. Sometimes a team and a manager just do not mesh. Maybe it is not Molitor’s fault but life isn’t fair.
This team needs someone to get mad bust up some things, call out some players for their brain farts and put the whip to them. These players are young but this isn’t their first rodeo, they have played the game before and they are better than this. It is about time someone tells them that and also tells them that if they can’t play like major leaguer’s then they won’t be playing in Minnesota. See ball, hit ball. Baseball is baseball no matter what level you are playing it, this isn’t rocket science or brain surgery. The bases are still the same distance apart, the mound is the same distance from home plate. Sure the major leagues are tough but if you can’t compete, then pack your bags and go home. Fans are paying good money to watch the Twins play baseball st a high level, if they wanted to watch a bunch of minor leaguers play they would buy tickets to watch the St. Paul Saints play.
I am surprised more Twins fans aren’t madder than hell and telling Twins management that they aren’t going to take this crap any more. Why no fans burning their tickets or fans in the stands with paper bags on their heads? I love baseball but the Twins are squeezing the fun out of the game. Call the Twins and tell them what you think and what you expect. The Twins have no excuses as far as I am concerned, don’t play the “this is a young team card”, all I care about is seeing the number in the “W” column increasing.