Twins in terrible territory

The Twins left Kansas City on Sunday night with the worst record in baseball because of subpar performances by players ranging from rookies to former MVPs.

Conversations over the weekend with people inside and outside the organization indicate the Twins are willing to try some new solutions to the team's many issues. Standing pat is not an option -- the club will have to play .630 ball the rest of the season to match last year's 94-68 record.

"This is as bad as I have ever seen us play," first baseman Justin Morneau said, "which can be a good thing because we have a lot of room for improvement. There's no reason why we won't get back to that level."

But can they do it with the same cast of characters now playing? Not likely, according to those interviewed over the weekend.

• The Twins staff has concluded that shortstop Alexi Casilla is overwhelmed. Casilla has committed four errors, failed to make other plays and is batting .190 -- even after hitting two triples Sunday.

The emerging option at shortstop is Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who flew to Fort Myers, Fla., on Monday to continue his rehabilitation from a broken left fibula suffered April 7 in New York. Nishioka remains at least 10 days away from rejoining the team. A middle infield of Nishioka at short and Michael Cuddyer at second base would be the pairing of choice.

• The club also is concerned third baseman Danny Valencia has regressed defensively and is not the player he was last season, when he batted .311 in 85 games as a rookie and was solid in the field. Valencia is batting only .211, and his defense has been shaky at times. Manager Ron Gardenhire also has not been happy with Valencia's baserunning.

• Lefthander Francisco Liriano's 23 2/3 innings are just shy of qualifying him to be among the league leaders. If he qualified, only the Cubs' Ryan Dempster would have a higher ERA than Liriano's 9.13. The coaching staff met with Liriano on Friday to point out problems with his release point. While Gardenhire wouldn't make the connection, righthander Kevin Slowey (strained shoulder) is increasing his innings each appearance during a minor league rehabilitation stint and could be a replacement if the Twins decide to remove Liriano -- or someone else -- from the rotation.

Is prospect Kyle Gibson an option? Jim Rantz, the Twins' director of minor leagues, said Gibson has done everything they've asked of him while going 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in five starts. Gibson has only four walks and 27 strikeouts in 26 innings. But indications are Twins officials want him to gain a little more experience before seriously considering him.

Gibson could be an option in June -- especially since a later call-up would decrease his chances of reaching arbitration after two seasons.

Stars are struggling, too

The team's problems have as much to do with its established stars as young players who have been disappointments. Joe Mauer, Morneau, Jim Thome and Delmon Young are batting a collective .225 with three homers and 26 RBI. Mauer and Young are on the disabled list and neither has a home run. Thome, sidelined because of an oblique muscle strain, has two of the homers but is batting only .214.

On Saturday, he missed a throw in the eighth that would have ended the inning. Two runs scored on the play, then three more on Alex Gordon's home run -- a five-run swing.

On Sunday, a runner was on third when righthander Carl Pavano had Mike Aviles picked off first base in the fifth inning. Pavano threw to Morneau, but he held onto the ball and didn't run hard at Aviles. Morneau bounced toward Aviles before throwing to second, then Aviles scrambled back to first ahead of the return throw.

"We have a system where we catch the ball, freeze the guy at third and take off running," Gardenhire said. "It's supposed to be a one toss and we tag him. It looked like a quarterback overlooking the defense to me and we just kind of stood there."

The statistical bottom line is telling: The Twins entered Monday 29th of 30 teams in runs scored (85), last in home runs (12), last in team ERA (5.06) and on pace to walk 187 more batters than they did last season, when they issued the fewest walks in the league.

Injuries are certainly part of the problem. The dropoff from former MVP Mauer to Drew Butera behind the plate can't be ignored. Mauer is a three-time batting champion. Butera is a good defensive catcher but is batting .106.

But over the past several days, during which the team was swept in back-to-back series for the first time since July of 2003, the Twins have stopped talking about getting healthy and have talked more about the mess that's on the field.

"Everyone has to look in the mirror," Pavano said. "We are all professionals. I've been around awhile and this is not the first time I've been through a drought like this on a team -- but you gotta respond together.

"One guy is not going to save the team. There's 25 guys on the team."

But it might not be the same 25 for long.