In First, In August

There's been another remarkable development in what is turning out to be a memorable season.  After knocking on the door for a few weeks, the Twins have overtaken the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central. 

During Spring Training, I imagined that the Twins would be in third or forth place by August with a record slightly below the .500 mark.  Instead they're the front-runners, having won 13 more games than they've lost.  I'd like to talk with some one who saw this coming at the beginning of the year.  Perhaps they could give me some stock tips.

Not only am I amazed by what has transpired, I'm amazed by how it's transpired.  One would think that in order for the Twins to reach this lofty position everything would've had to fall exactly into place.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  This club has encountered enough obstacles and bad luck to derail a far more talented team. 

First of all, there have been the injuries.  Michael Cuddyer, one of three cornerstone position players, has missed most of the season with hand injuries.  We've also lost our set up man, Pat Neshek, for the season with an elbow injury.  Now promising, young second baseman Alexi Casilla appears to be done for the year with yet another hand injury.  In addition, key contributors like Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Nick Punto have all spent time on the DL.

There has also been the underwhelming performances by most of the new players we brought in at the beginning of the year.  Of this group that includes Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, Mike Lamb, Adam Everett, Craig Monroe and Livan Hernandez, only Gomez, Young and Harris have played anywhere near expectations.  Monroe and Hernandez were so disappointing that the club released them last week in a move that caught me by surprise.  Meanwhile Everett, who's hitting .175, is only with the ball club because of the injury to Casilla.

So how are the Twins doing it?  The answer is their farm system.  Every time some one gets hurt or under-performs, the organization reaches down to Triple A Rochester and brings up a prospect.  Guys like Casilla, Glen Perkins, Brian Buscher and Denard Span have come up and done more than just plug a hole.  They've been positive additions, solidifying their spots on the roster.  Other youngsters like Matt Marci, Matt Tolbert and Bobby Korecky, who've spent time at the big league level this season, giving the impression that there might be more talent in the pipeline.

 So here we are in first in August.  I thought we'd be trading away veterans for prospects by now.  Instead, I found myself hoping we'd add a power-hitting third baseman as the trade deadline approached.  That didn't happen but perhaps this year it doesn't matter.  Perhaps conventional wisdom doesn't apply to the 2008 Minnesota Twins.  Team management seems to be taking this approach.  As they prepared for the stretch run, they jettisoned Hernandez and Monroe while calling up Francisco Liriano.  They seem to have decided, perhaps correctly, that their best chance of contending lies with their young, mostly homegrown, talent.  I hope they're right.  I hope the kids can get us into the post season.  But whatever happens, two things are certain:  First, this team has exceeded expectations.  Second, they're going to be fun to watch the rest of the year and hopefully for many years to corme.