Minnesota Twins

Let's get the obvious and painful truths out of the way.

The Twins have been five-and-a-half games back and hovering at .500 for what seems like all season. They haven't gotten into striking distance of division-leading Detroit and probably don't deserve to be playing in October.

But one fact that many Twins analysts, fans and especially the Tigers need to fear is that they're still in it.

One of the worst interviews the state of Minnesota has ever seen is also one of their most valuable assets.

Priceless to his organization, Joe Mauer has a tough decision looming just around the corner.

Should he stay in Minnesota with a contract that will doubtless be smaller than anything offered by the Yankees or Red Sox, or should he move on to greener pastures?

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Sports fans are entitled to various idiosyncrasies, and mine include disproportionate affection for Brad Radke, Twins pitcher from 1995 through 2006.

“Disproportionate” is the term others would apply; I feel entirely justified in proclaiming Radke among my all-time favorite players.

Now that the Twins have inducted him into their Hall of Fame, here’s my three-point case for Radke.

As baseball rolls through the final weekend before the All-Star break, it is easy to see that some changes are necessary if the Twins are serious about winning the division.

Heading into play on Saturday, the Twins’ record is a pedestrian 44-43, one game over .500 and four back of the Tigers in the tough American League Central.

The Toronto Blue Jays released former closer B.J. Ryan prior to Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

As a result, the two-time All Star is now a free agent and can be signed for a prorated portion of the league minimum salary. The Blue Jays are responsible for the roughly $15 million remaining on his contract. The contract—at one time the highest-ever given to a reliever—runs through next season.

Since the All-Star Game is in part a fan popularity contest, there are other deserving players who didn't make the team. Since each team in both leagues has to be represented, there are players who make the team who don't really deserve it.

The Twins have seen both sides of these unfortunate outcomes. In 1987, despite having a playoff contending club that would later win the World Series, they had only one representative on the AL All-Star game team.

If an NFL or MLB team ever needed a player, who do they look for? They go into the Twins or Vikings organizations.

Through the years, Minnesota franchises have done very well in bringing up great players only to let them walk and become superstars in other places.

Most notable is David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox.

For six years, the Twins groomed Ortiz to be their designated hitter. After his best season with the team in 2002 where he hit 20 home runs and 75 RBI's, they let him go to the Red Sox.

June 6, 2006.

Justin Morneau and the Minnesota Twins sat comfortably in forth place in the American League Central, 11.5 games behind the first-place Tigers.

Their record was 25-32. They had lost three in a row and had been outscored by 41 runs on the season.

Fast forward to the end of the year and Minnesota not only won the division by exactly one game over the Tigers,. 

The Twins lead the division for all of one day—the day that mattered.

I can feel the indignant outrage already exploding across barber shops and sports bars across all of Minnesota.

"Why isn't Kevin Slowey on the All Star Team?"

"Don't they know he has ten wins?"