These Twins Aren't So Bad After All

Roger Clemens made his return to the bigs against the Twins on Thursday, but the story of the game was the other starting pitcher. Twins' 22-year-old phenom hurler Francisco Liriano scattered four hits over eight innings and improved to 7-1 on the year with an ERA that's plummeting towards 2.50. Liriano dazzles you with his change of speeds and put-away slider: he's got a killer instinct that few veterans possess. Now, with his emergence alongside Johan Santana at the top of the rotation, Minnesota has itself a couple of key building blocks firmly cemented in the pitching core for years to come. If Boof Bonser can stabilize on the right side of the hill, Minnesota's young pitching could get scary good in a hurry.

The Twins' young offense is showing some real consistent pop for the first time as well. Catcher Joe Mauer has clearly turned the corner with an average over .380 . . . The timing and patience at the plate really starting to sink in for the former #1 overrall pick: he's been hitting at nearly a .500 clip for a month now . . . That's .500, folks, and this isn't city league softball! Also impressive, Justin Morneau's power is on to the tune of 19 HRs with an improving .270 average to boot. Could he be the first Twin to hit 30 HRs in a season since Kent Hrbek in 1987? I think so. Throw in the emerging Jason Kubel's bat and Torii Hunter's expected second half surge and all of a sudden the Twins' offense doesn't look so bad anymore.

So what does it all mean in Minnesota? Depends on whether you're a glass half empty or glass half full kinda person. Me, I usually try to be the latter. Sure, the Twins are still 11.5 games behind the Tigers for the AL Central lead and 11 games in back of the Chisox for the wild card . . . But on the flip, at least they're two over .500 for the first time all year. And look, it could be way worse: they could be the Indians!

The Twins probably won't make the playoffs this year, but with just one more piece or two, they could be playing October ball again in a year. With a new stadium now in the cards for 2010, Minnesota's major league baseball future looks pretty bright on and off the field for the first time in a long while.


-JAB