The drama with which the Twins have lost some games this season — and the methods they use even in their wins — has led to a narrative about the team that is inversely proportional to their results.
Your emails and comments may disagree, but the Twins are pretty good
The complaints have been loud, but the victories have been even more numerous.
July 6, 2022 at 5:34PM
Barely a day goes by when I don't receive an e-mail or Twitter comment complaining about some bit of strategy or relief pitcher. One particularly angry bit of correspondence that arrived a few days ago declared of manager Rocco Baldelli, "If it wasn't for Billy Gardner I would say he is the worst manager the Twins have ever had."
As that arrived, the Twins were in the midst of winning four of five games as they rebuilt a 4.5-game lead in the AL Central.
The dichotomy between appearances and results was the subject of the early part of Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast.
And in some ways, it is understandable.
The Twins' losses have tended to be more painful and dramatic than their wins have been memorable, including a slew of them close together — many of them bullpen failures — against Cleveland.
It's tempting to think of how prime the Twins' position might be had they not melted down in those games, just as it's wishful thinking to consider the technology needed to invent a time machine and put Derek Falvey's phone on "do not disturb" when San Diego called about a Taylor Rogers trade.
There are things about this team that don't make sense. The Twins are the only team in the bottom 10 of MLB in "quality starts" (six or more innings, three or fewer earned runs) with a winning record, owing to a philosophy of limiting the exposure of some members of the rotation. Seeing a cruising pitcher hooked after five innings, only to watch the bullpen melt down, can be frustrating.
But the Twins are also No. 6 in all of baseball in team ERA, No. 7 in team OPS and No. 8 in team batting average. By advanced and traditional metrics, they are at least an average fielding team. So when Baldelli said after Tuesday's 8-2 win over Chicago, "Everywhere I look I am seeing a lot of really positive things," it's not just talk.
More than halfway into the season, the Twins are on pace for 90 wins and are poised to win the AL Central for the third season in four years under Baldelli.
That's not the worst thing by any stretch.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
