Poor pitching makes Twins more than a trade from contention

As many Twins fans of long-standing get ready to celebrate a weekend they felt might never come, that being the induction of team greats Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat into the Hall of Fame, the current brain trust is left to contemplate what to do with a fading ballclub.

This sullen view of the Twins is not restricted to the abomination that was the four-game, pre-All Star series vs. the White Sox. The Twins were outscored 32-10 in losing three of four at Target Field. The sub-mediocrity for the Twins actually goes back two months. They are 23-28 dating to May 25, and that's a much more accurate reflection of the roster at hand than was a 23-8 run for five weeks beginning in later April.

The Twins remain in first place in the AL Central, although now that two better teams — Cleveland with its pitching, Chicago with its overall talent — are within three games, that standing is unlikely to be maintained through baseball's next major summer holiday (National Bratwurst Day, Aug. 16).

So what should the Twins do about this?

The answer here is, "Not much.''

What sense does it make to empty out an already sparse list of top prospects in order to bring in, say, German Marquez as a starter from Colorado, when the reward (at best) would be hanging tougher with the White Sox?

The Twins took their shot to create a competent rotation before the season when they traded last year's No. 1 draft choice (Chase Petty) to Cincinnati for Sonny Gray, and they traded reliever Taylor Rogers to San Diego, primarily for Chris Paddack.

Gray has turned out to be a 3 on a scale of 5; Paddack blew out his iffy right elbow after five starts.

Even during that early success — when Devin Smeltzer showed up as a temporary savior, when Dylan Bundy fought back from a downturn to rejoin the battle, before reality started to surface for Joe Ryan, etc., etc., — no one of right mind imagined this rotation would survive for the long haul.

And German Marquez (only an example) wouldn't change that.

Maybe that's the real reason pitching coach Wes Johnson said he had to leave for LSU at midseason: He wanted to get out before Armageddon (White Sox 32, Twins 10).

The Twins have so much confidence in their starters that they decide when to give 'em the hook at 2 p.m. meetings for games starting at 6:40 p.m.

Smeltzer doing OK. So what? We decided before the first pitch not to let him see the leadoff hitter a third time. Bundy, on one of his good nights, has been yanked for the same reason.

And who can question the Twins for their haste to get to this stout bullpen?

Maybe a candidate to question would be Cory Provus on the radio, in the Twins' broadcast booth where candor can live.

I was listening to the late stages of the 11-0 loss on Sunday. Provus was on play-by-play in the top of the seventh, when Joe Smith, the 38-year-old I've-been-everywhere righthander, gave up three home runs.

"Twins relievers now have allowed 55 home runs, Danny,'' Provus said.

When partner Dan Gladden didn't seem properly alarmed, Provus said: "Fifty-five home runs, Danny!''

The motive here today, in the midst of the Twins' historically long five-day All-Star break, is to suggest it would make no significant difference whether baseball CEO Derek Falvey scrounges the poorly stocked cupboard for a couple of prospects and deals for a notable pitcher at the deadline or decides to ride out the season.

Such a body might increase the chances of winning the Central from 35% to 40% , and then what?

The Twins would get Seattle, Tampa Bay or Boston in a three-game wild-card series, and be underdogs, even at Target Field.

And if somehow they were to end the 18-game postseason losing streak with a win, and then another, it would be the Yankees or the Astros.

You know how many home runs the Yankees' bullpen has allowed, even while pitching half the time in that bandbox? Seventeen.

You know how many home runs the Astros' bullpen has allowed, even while pitching half the time with that phony porch in left field? Nineteen.

Beyond competence, a secondary reason for this bullpen success is New York and Houston relievers generally don't begin to stir until the seventh, unless they need a restroom break.

Meantime, Twins' relievers receive a message to get ready in the fourth inning hours before the first pitch.

Make a trade? Ride it out? Shrug.

You can't win to a significant degree with the Twins' pitching, and you can't win a bidding contest for a true difference-maker with a dearth of top 100 prospects.

As for another Twins opinion: I'm sure happy for Tony O and Kitty.