The lead is down to a half of a game. After leading the AL Central by as many as 11.5 games, the lead is down to simply one half of a game. With 42 games to go, the Minnesota Twins chalk up a 72-48 record while the Cleveland Indians come in at 72-49.
Chances like this don’t come around every year. We should know this as Twins fans since they have only made the playoffs one time since they opened Target Field. Teams rise and fall sometimes at the drop of a hat and may have short opportunities to go all in to try to win the World Series, or at least a playoff series.
The Twins have shown how good they can be. Their hitting is among the best, if not the best, in the entire MLB. They are going to shatter the team home run record and will be in the top five in almost every major hitting statistic.
However, the pitching is a slightly different story.
It is not like the pitching has been among the worst in the league. Minnesota is currently 8th in the MLB in team ERA which at a glance would seem respectable. However, when Houston is 4th and more importantly, Cleveland is 3rd, this becomes more of an issue.
At the deadline, fans pleaded with the organization to go get some pitching help. Go get a starting pitcher that can win a playoff game and an experienced reliever or two that can help the Twins in tight situations.
The response was weak. Minnesota traded for Sergio Romo and Sam Dyson, two above average relievers who certainly would help, but probably wouldn’t be the difference between a first round exit and a series win.
According to Aaron Gleeman on Twitter, the Twins bullpen has the worst Win Probability Added at -3.38 in baseball since the All-Star break. That is twice as bad as the next worst AL bullpen.
What about our new additions, surely they can’t be included in that? Well, after Romo blew a lead on Wednesday and Dyson blew a couple leads earlier this month, relievers Taylor Rogers, Sergio Romo, Sam Dyson, Ryne Harper, Trevor May, Zach Littell, and Cody Stashak all have a negative WPA.
While it is disappointing that the Twins didn’t do more to compete this season, that doesn’t mean they are dead in the water. After surrendering the division lead for the first time since April after losing three of four to Cleveland, the Twins currently are in first place again.
The reality is that the Indians are just really freaking good. After starting the season 29-30, Cleveland has stormed back going 43-19 over the past few months, winning at a 70% clip.
Now the Twins and Indians will be in a battle for the division right down to the wire. The winner gets the division and the right to play the Astros while the loser will have to play the Tampa Bay Rays in a one game wildcard for the right to play the Yankees.
There is a lot at stake in the last two months of the season. Usually by now fans have shifted their entire focus to Vikings football as there haven’t been meaningful baseball games in August. It should be exciting to see how things finish. I just wish the Twins were fully equipped to go to battle.