After starting the season strong, the Minnesota Twins have ripped their mask off and revealed who they really are. It feels like the team is free falling into a bottomless pit, losing six of the last ten games and sinking to two games under .500.
The latest blow came in what should have been a 10-0 blowout loss to the Boston Red Sox. Had it not been for the Twins offense deciding to make a brief appearance at the end of the game — which made it a 10-4 loss — the team would have suffered it’s most lopsided loss of the season.
Minnesota has lost two games by a score of 10-4 this season, and both came at the hands of last place teams, and both came at Target Field. Back in May the Nationals came to Minneapolis and embarrassed the Twins in a series that fans thought might serve as a wake up call.
As it turns out, the Twins have continued to hit the snooze button and are now in danger of falling into a hole the team might not be able to climb back out of.
Rocco Baldelli calls out Twins after 10-4 loss to Red Sox
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli still believes there’s enough talent in the clubhouse to turn things around. That didn’t stop him from blasting his team during his postgame comments following the loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday night.
”I’d be lying if I said I had anything interesting to say about that. We know it’s not good baseball,” Baldelli said. “I honestly don’t have a lot to say about it.”
While he certainly didn’t mince words, Baldelli didn’t break his usual calm demeanor. His frustration was evident, but he didn’t completely bury the team without noting that he feels like the unit is capable of pulling itself out of the slump that has been dragging everyone down.
“It’s hard to muster something up when you’re playing probably the lowest level of baseball you can play as a group,” Baldelli said. “It’s hard to sit there and say it’s going to get better but I promise you this team is going to get better.”
"We are capable of a lot more than we are showing right now and I am waiting to see it. It's going to come; I want it to come soon." #MNTwins manager Rocco Baldelli after the loss to the Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/fWh0cmt9Tz
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) June 21, 2023
Hope isn’t much of a strategy. Minnesota has the luck of playing in the league’s worst division where a sub-.500 record is good enough for first place. If the Twins played in any other division other than the AL Central they’d be a third or fourth place team at best.
Ony nine teams have a worse record than the Twins, which makes Minnesota a bottom-10 team in the league. Byron Buxton mercifully broke out out an 0-for-24 hitless slump, the offense has been mostly brutal, and the bullpen has been just as frustrating as it was last season.
Rocco had better have more than hope up his sleeve, because the questions about his job security are growing louder the lower the Twins sink. We don’t appear to be at a breaking point yet, but the Twins are trending hard in the wrong direction and the clock feels like it’s ticking.