The Twins face a mammoth uphill battle the rest of the season. After winning four in a row to kick off the second half, the Twins have now lost five of their last seven and they nine games back of the first place Tigers (ten back in the loss column) and seven games back of the Indians for the Wild Card. With the trade deadline coming up, the Twins face a critical decision. Take their shot or play for next year. And if they lose more then they win the next eight days, the decision may be pretty clear.
Johan Santana has looked particularly mortal and you wonder if he’s running out of gas. He’s dropped his last two starts and the last time Johan lost two starts in a row in the second half was 2002. Hopefully nothing wrong, but if there is something there, the Twins have to tread very carefully because Johan is the glue that holds this pitching staff together.
At least Justin Morneau isn’t cooling off because we’ll need his bat as well. He belted two more homers yesterday to bring his season total up to 28 and he could become the first Twin since Gary Gaetti to rack up back to back 30 homer seasons. Torii Hunter could do the same thing but that’s assuming he’s still with the Twins in the final two months of the season.
The Twins have the rest of their series with the Jays, then they play the Indians and the Royals as they roll into the trade deadline. Stay tuned because how that Indians seres goes could drive what the Twins do.
