Fans get cranky and that's fine, because they want their team to play well all the time. You know, every moment of every game. I don't just want my team to win. I want them to win 12-0. I don't just want to have a chance at the playoffs. I want my team to bring home the biggest trophy. If a player is struggling, get rid of him. Every fan of a traditionally successful team has a little bit of Steinbrenner in them. Some have a lot.
Joe Mauer's health, a shuffling of inept performers and an incredibly awful two months of baseball turned the snark level directed toward the Twins to an all-time high. And not without reason, OK. Some stuff was really that bad.
However, it's now fine if those who fumed and fussed drop their anger right now and begin to wonder what might happen over these next few months.
This weekend, Gardy used line-ups that included a majority of guys you could have seen earlier this season for $6.50 in Rochester. There were five of them in the starting lineup on Saturday and four, plus reliever Alex Burnett, on Sunday. The result: Two one-sided victories that gave the Twins three of four against defending American League champion Texas and moved them within nine games of first place in the AL Central.
The White Sox are coming to town and the leapfrogging could begin this week.
I'm not saying to put away money for postseason tickets as much as I'm suggesting that we put away the snark guns for a while and enjoy what's happening. Anyone who witnessed the third-inning dive of Ben Revere on Saturday saw one of the best defensive plays they'll ever see, just two innings after Revere's running catch-and-fence smack that was also a first-rate play. Score one more for the notion that Revere's range makes him a worthy candidate for almost everyday play even when the Twins are closer to full health.
And some veterans are stepping up. In the 10 games since the Twins stopped stinking -- the current 9-2 run against the Royals, Cleveland and Texas -- Michael Cuddyer has four home runs, a .325 batting average and a 1.129 on base-plus-slugging percentage. He also has 13 RBI in those games (including eight against the Rangers), which means it's no longer cool to carry on the RBI-pace jokes that we were telling for the first month or so of the season.
Alexi Casilla's play has made me feel a bit guilty about rescinding my preseason faith in his ability to play on a daily basis. Delmon Young, promoted to batting clean-up recently, went 8-for-16 against Texas -- and may be feeling Revere's heat. And if you give Francisco Liriano the benefit of deleting his sick-night start against Detroit, he's given up only four earned runs in 35 innings since May 1. (Keep him healthy please, Andy.)