Nate Minor
After Sunday’s dramatic win (celebrated, above left), Star Tribune sports columnist Jim Souhan asked whether the win might be a turning point for this year’s inconsistent Twins club.
“We don’t yet know whether this game represents a tipping point or merely escapist entertainment, but as the Twins chased [Delmon] Young around the infield from sunshine to shade, it felt like our quaint, Midwestern, divisional drama was only beginning.”
After last night’s brutal loss to lowly Cleveland (that’s Joe Mauer, above right, after striking out looking with two men on in the sixth inning), it seems that enthusiasm was a bit premature.
Starting pitching has emerged as a main concern, and Scott Baker’s performance last night further demonstrates the need to trade for an ace. Now that the Cliff Lee sweepstakes are over, bloggers and fans (this one, at least) are hoping Twins’ GM Billy Smith is turning his sights elsewhere. Looking at moves the Twins have made in previous years though, I’m not getting my hopes too high.
The New York Yankees also failed to land Lee. Their top pitcher, Andy Pettitte, is out for about a month with a groin injury, but for some reason the team is opting to “plug the hole” with talent already on the team instead of trading for a replacement.
That won’t go over well, writes Brian Costa in today’s Wall Street Journal:
“Plug the hole?”
“The notion is so modest, so un-greedy that Yankees fans might have trouble comprehending it. The Yankees don’t plug holes. They replace the leaky boat with a 300-foot yacht. Duct tape is for Minnesota.”
Ouch.
