When trying to conceive of a highly improbable event like the Twins rallying over the final four months of the season to reach the playoffs after this dreadful start, it helps at least to have some sort of precedent.
That's the way my mind works, anyway: If I've seen it happen at least once, I have an easier time imagining it happening again.
So as the Twins have stumbled all over themselves for two months, piling misfortune onto misplays — all at the mercy of questionable roster construction and decision-making — I've still had 2006 in the back of my mind.
In that season, on this same June 7 date in fact, the Twins dropped to 25-33 with a walk-off loss in Seattle. There was nothing about that team to make you think anything good would happen, let alone this: 71-33 over their final 104 games to win the AL Central at 96-66.
This year's Twins, at 24-35, are in roughly the same spot in terms of record, place in the AL Central (12 games back as opposed to 11.5 back in 2006) and also in terms of general sentiment. It sure feels like this just isn't their year and that the whole organization could be at a crossroads of sorts.
Patrick Reusse and I talked about that on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast, with Reusse imagining a fire sale of sorts coming soon if the Twins don't stun us with another run of improved play.
He mentioned Jose Berrios as a likely trade candidate, given his lack of a long-term contract and his impending free agency after the 2022 season — the general time frame for which a trading team could still get value in a trade. Taylor Rogers' name also came up.
In other words: Their most dependable starter this season in Berrios, the only real homegrown success story in the starting rotation in a long time. And their only consistently dependable relief pitcher. Take those guys off the 2021 team and ... woof, not great. But if you're 24-35 with them, you're going nowhere so far.