Remember the good ol' days, when Twins fans could just blame everything on hitting coach Joe Vavra?

Guess what: The 2013 Twins are even worse offensively than the 2012 Twins.

Replacing Vavra with Tom Brunansky hasn't helped. I'm not saying Brunansky isn't good at his job. I'm saying that hitting coaches don't create good hitters.

The Twins struck out 30 times in the three-game series against the Royals.

They've struck out 65 times in their last six games.

They haven't scored more than four runs in a game since July 23, when they had 10 at Anaheim.

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With Cris Carter heading to the Hall of Fame, a couple of my favorite memories of covering him:

-At the begining of his career with the Vikings, we talked for an hour about his struggles in life and with the Eagles. Then he told me, ``If I like what you write, we'll get along fine. If I don't, I"ll punch you in the eye."

I didn't get punched.

-During his last season with the Vikings, I asked how he had maintained his talent. He said he has assembled an entourage: A chiropractor, trainer, masseuse, physical therapist, chef, nutritionist...and about five other people.

He was one of the most dedicated and divisive athletes I've ever covered. A lot of his teammates couldn't stand him because he could be vain, and arrogant, and outspoken. Noone questioned his drive or his toughness.

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Wrote about the Twins' pathetic effort and pathetic roster for the Friday paper.

I'll be on 1500ESPN at noon tomorrow. Scott Korzenowsky and I will run the Ron Gardenhire Show and Sunday Sports Talk from 9:30-noon on Sunday from the 3M Championship.

Please follow me on Twitter at @Souhanstrib