Just Beat Jeremy Guthrie

That is exactly what the Twins did on Sunday afternoon. In what has become a seesaw battle for not-last-place in the mediocre AL Central, the Twins crawled to within a half game of 4th with a 7-5 victory.

For those of you who do not know this about me, I previously wrote about the Colorado Rockies on RoxPile here on the Fansided network. Why do I mention that? Because that experience has me quite familiar with the nightmare that is Jeremy Guthrie‘s 2012 season. Despite Guthrie’s likable and classy personality, you want him nowhere near your team (but seriously, he is an outstanding guy. Click here for proof). Sorry to break the news, Royals fans. While we can acknowledge that W-L record is a misleading and often flawed statistic, we should all seriously consider the following: starting with the 2008 season, Guthrie has lost 12, 17, 14, and 17 games, respectively. As of today he has lost 10 this season.

When he was traded to the Rockies, many wondered if Guthrie would benefit from a “better” supporting cast than the one behind him for so many skinny years in Baltimore. No such luck; his mediocrity continued in a more pronounced fashion. Now one would assume people will wonder if he can succeed away from the hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Do you know what would be a decent test of that theory? Whether or not Guthrie could beat the last place Twins and their admittedly good lineup at home. He did not. Frankly, it looks like he stinks everywhere. And a team actually acquired him, intentionally, and even gave up value for him. No matter how abysmal Jonathan Sanchez has been, the Rockies front office must be doing cartwheels. There is no way they thought they would ever, ever get an actual baseball player for Guthrie’s services.

On the Twins’ side of this equation, it is pretty simple. No matter how dire things get, they need to just beat a pitcher like Guthrie, especially with a productive offensive team. Led by Ryan Doumit and his 2 home run, 4 RBI day, they were able to touch up Guthrie for 5 ER in 5 innings. The young Samuel Deduno delivered a solid start and the Twins survived some shaky bullpen work late to take this weekend series from their divisional foes.

Let the race for 4th place continue! Bring it on, KC!