August 22, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Glen Perkins (15) pitches during the ninth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

THE LOCKS
Glen Perkins and Jared Burton are set, respectively, as the Twins closer and top setup man and Brian Duensing will be the team’s top left-handed reliever behind Perkins, unless he fails miserably in camp.

Sep 14, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Rich Harden (18) pitches the ball during the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at the O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

IN THE MIX
Alex Burnett and Anthony Swarzak have been mainstays on the pitching staff the past few years, but neither has put up impressive enough numbers to be guaranteed a spot. Swarzak will face the additional hurdle of being injured for the majority of camp. His main competition for the long relief role will be Ryan Pressly, a Rule 5 draftee who converted to a relief role last season in the Boston system. Rich Harden and Rafael Perez were both dominant pitchers at one time who are attempting comebacks after injury, and both may be tried in starting roles this season, as well. Josh Roenicke was average at best last season, making him available to be claimed off waivers from the Rockies. Tim Wood signed as a minor league free agent after dominating the minors in the Pittsburgh organization. Tyler Robertson split time between Minnesota and Rochester in 2012 and will look to improve on last year’s numbers to provide lefty depth in the bullpen. After an impressive 2012, Casey Fien is the closest thing to a lock in this group coming into camp. 

May 31, 2011; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Anthony Slama (39) pitches during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

LONG SHOTS

He was drafted as an afterthought out of the University of San Diego in 2006; the Twins waited until the 39^th round to give Slama a call. From that point on, he has spent his life striking out hitters like a man on a mission. In five plus minor league seasons, Slama has a cumulative 2.03 ERA and a 12.3 K/9 rate – exactly the kind of numbers a team should want in a short reliever. And that success is not confined to the lower levels, either. Since being promoted to AAA in 2009, Slama has a 2.44 ERA for Rochester and still whiffs more than a batter per inning (10.6 per nine).

Anthony Slama could be an effective MLB reliever, or he could be worthless. But unless the Twins give him more of a chance, we'll never know. Photo by Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

This year he seems to be pitching on a completely different level. Through 11.1 innings, Slama has struck out an astounding 18 batters, and only six men have managed to record hits off him. His ERA is 0.79 (last year he added a cutter to his arsenal of pitches, and mastery of that pitch may have something to do with him becoming unhittable).

And yet, for all his minor league mastery, the Twins have only allowed Slama to pitch seven innings in the Big Leagues. True, Slama has not been very effective in that time, allowing seven walks and six hits to MLB hitters. But seven innings is certainly not enough of an audition for a team to confine a pitcher to eternal minor league purgatory. Especially since Slama did not allow a run in 2.1 innings when he was last called up, in 2011. You read that correctly. The 2011 Twins’ bullpen, which was so horrid that they gave the ball to Phil Dumatrait 45 times, still could not find more than 2.1 innings for Slama (he missed the last two months of the season with an injury, but there is no excuse for the Twins not using him when he was healthy). This year the snub was even worse. Not only did the Twins fail to give Slama a serious opportunity to win a job in Spring Training, they don’t even have him on the 40 man roster.

The only legitimate knock against Slama is walks. He does have a tendency to walk more batters than one would like. This season he has eight walks to go along with the 18 Ks. His walk rates are not so high as to be egregious, though. In 2011 he walked 16 in 37 minor league innings, and the previous year he had 32 walks in 65 innings. Maybe the Twins fear that he would walk too many hitters in the Major Leagues, since the hitters are more patient there, but it’s difficult to defend that contention without giving him a chance to prove the team wrong. There is certainly very little for the Twins to lose, given that the team is not going to contend for a playoff spot this year.

Calling up Slama could make the team as a whole better. That move would allow the Twins to move a relief pitcher (perhaps Brian Duensing) to the starting rotation, which is screaming for help right now. There is absolutely no indication that they plan to do so. As losses and bad starts keep piling up, it will become more and more difficult for the Twins to justify not giving Slama a legitimate opportunity.

Joe Mauer is one of the Weekly Winners. Photo by Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Last week was a losing week, but it was a better week than many might have expected. The Twins visited the home parks of two of the toughest teams in the American League, New York and Tampa Bay, and they came away with three wins and four losses. The two losses in Tampa to end the week were a letdown, but all in all it could have been much worse.

The week ahead may provide something of a respite for the Twins. For starters, they return home. They also get a day off on Thursday after playing a game a day for 15 days straight. And the competition is less ferocious, as they play two teams with worse records. The Boston Red Sox, normally among the AL’s elite, have staggered to a 4-10 start thanks in part to an injury to start center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Minnesota faces Boston on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. After the off-day, the Kansas City Royals fly into town for a weekend series. Kansas City has ridden a 10 game losing streak to a 3-12 overall record.

All things considered, this week could be an excellent chance for the Twins to get back on track.

Weekly Winners:

Joe Mauer. He did not draw a ton of attention, but the star catcher had a strong week at the plate. Mauer led all Twins with a .357 average (10 for 28), and he added four walks. He also stole a pair of bases.

Justin Morneau. Morneau teed off at Yankee Stadium with three homers, including a two homer game on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Twins only had his bat in the lineup in five of the seven games. On Tuesday Morneau received a planned day off against C.C. Sabathia. On Friday he was a victim of his own hard hitting, as he sat out the game after fouling a ball off his foot.

The Bullpen. The Twins used their relief pitchers early and often last week, and for the most part they answered the call. They toiled 25.1 innings last week, allowing 19 hits, seven walks, and only six earned runs for a 2.13 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. It is still too early to say for sure, but it looks like the bullpen is becoming one of the strengths of this team.

Weekly Worst:

Francisco Liriano. Other than, say, running over Ron Gardenhire’s dog, it’s hard to imagine what Liriano could have done to damage his job security any more than he did last week. Liriano made two pitiful starts. At Yankee Stadium he lasted just 2.1 innings, but he somehow managed to allow seven hits and four walks in that short span. On Sunday in Tampa, he surrendered five runs in five innings. Liriano has been pitching as if the strike zone were a purely theoretical concept that has no value in real life. If he makes his next scheduled start against the Royals this week, that will be a mild surprise.

Danny Valencia. Valencia came through with a key RBI double in the first inning of Thursday’s game. Other than that, he had a bad week, with just four hits in 25 at bats (.160 average) and nine strikeouts. He seemed to be up and down in the field as well.

Keys to This Week:

• Keep scoring first. The Twins scored first in five consecutive games last week, including back to back games where they put up four runs against the Yankees in the first inning.
• Starting pitching! The short outings need to stop. Also, it’s frustrating when the pitchers give back those early leads.
• Replace Liriano with Scott Diamond. Diamond seems to be proving he is ready for another chance at the Majors. Liriano is blowing his latest one.