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This Week in Twins: May 7-13

By Editorial Staff

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Another week gone, another low point for the Twins. TWIT is not very happy with the state of the team. Before last week it was pitching that was putting a cramp in the Twins’ style. This week they actually managed three quality starts and a few solid bullpen performances. But suddenly the hitting has vanished.

The Twins hit .119 as a team last week (21 for 176). That appears in bold, just so you know it is not a typo. It is, however, a number that has no business existing in regards to a Major League team. Minnesota was no-hit by Jered Weaver, then two games later they were held to a single hit by Felix Hernandez and a pair of relievers. Given that pitiful offensive output, it’s surprising that they actually managed to win a game last week.

Can things improve in the week ahead? On one hand, the Twins return to a friendlier environment with Target Field and the Central Time Zone. On the other hand, the same Angel team that just swept them is in town for three games starting tonight. Weaver will have another chance to shut down the Twins. His mound opponent, Francisco Liriano, has an ERA that is 8.38 runs higher than Weaver’s. After the Angels leave town, the Twins must face the Toronto Blue Jays four times. Toronto is a challenge for the Twins even in the best of times.

But there is something to look forward to! Brian Dozier will be in uniform all week, and he should make his MLB debut tonight. He is the most highly anticipated prospect to arrive this year. Even if the Twins are not winning, we’ll get a glimpse of the team’s (much brighter) future. LHP Scott Diamond will also join the team, and he will probably start on Tuesday.

Weekly Winners:

Carl Pavano. The bar is ridiculously low for this list this week. Pavano earns a spot simply because he threw a quality start and won a game. Pavano lasted six innings on Friday night and surrendered two runs to Seattle to earn a victory.

Matt Capps. Again, low bar. But Capps actually looked quite good on the mound this week. He made two appearances and pitched two perfect innings. On Friday he earned the save by retiring the M’s in order. He struck out two batters, including the great Ichiro Suzuki, who went down swinging.

Weekly Worst:

The Entire Offense. Not a single Twin hit over .278 for the week. Only Ryan Doumit achieved that minimally adequate batting average, and he needed a three hit game on Sunday to get there. Doumit also managed the only Twins homer. Sure, the Twins ran into some great pitchers this week, such as Weaver and Hernandez, but they were also completely stymied by the likes of Hector Noesi and Jerome Williams. A

Some of the lowlights:

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