Twins First Homestand

A few thoughts on the first homestand of the season:

*Carlos Gomez is really fast, and has the potential to be the most dynamic lead-off hitter the Twins have ever had.

*The starting pitching held its own. Livan Hernandez is just as advertised, a veteran who knows how to keep hitters off-balance and should throw into the sixth or seventh inning pretty much every game. Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, and Boof Bonser all pitched well, but too often found themselves behind early in the game.

*Which brings us to the offense. Gomez and Mauer are a nice combination at the top of the liheup, Morneau stepped up his slugging over the weekend. But the rest of the linup has so far shown a dearth of clutch hitting, and that's leading to playing from behind too often early in the season.

*That said, Adam Everett's execution of the suicide squeeze bunt on Friday was a Thing of Beauty.

*The combination of Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan at the end of a game make the Twins almost unbeatable in the late innings. But you've got to be ahead to make it work.

*Kansas City really is better this year, the Angels veteran lineup is going to win about as many games as everyone expects Detroit to.

Still, 3 - 4 is not the start the team was hoping for from an opening seven game homestand. The Twins now face eight games on the road against Kansas City, Detroit, and the hated White Sox. None of these teams have played like world-beaters do far, Kansas City might be the toughest challengs, and who would have guessed that. If the twins starting pitching remains consistent, they have a chance to improve their game, make up for a disappointing homestand, and pick up a few games on their Central Division rivals.