Twins awesome, sweep Royals, end road trip 6-1

 

Now, this is more like it. The Twins are awesome right now, sweeping the Royals and ending their road trip 6-1.

I’ve always loved the Twins. But as a die-hard fan, I came to baseball late in life, so I’m a little bit spoiled. I’m used to having five-or-so guys who can hit 20-30 home runs a season. I’m used to having several guys who can drive in 80-100 RBIs a season. That seems normal to me – even though I’ve learned recently that it’s not. Normal, that is. That it hasn’t always been like that for the Twins.

So, you see, this 6-1 road trip for the Twins felt like coming home to me. It felt familiar, like a comfortable old shoe that I found at the back of my closet (though, with my penchant for stilettos, I seldom wear a comfortable shoe). It was like moving back home after you’ve been away for a few years – familiar. Comfortable. The way that things are supposed to be.

Like I said, I’ve been spoiled.

Granted, the Twins faced maybe the two worst teams in baseball on this road trip; the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals. But still, we seem to have bandaged our pitching problem (though I’m still uncertain about Slowey, despite his improvements). And the Twins are on fire at the plate. Even with our best slugger out (Morneau) and another top guy sidelined (Hudson), we won three games with a score of 10 runs or more.

That, as I’ve come to understand things, is pretty awesome.

Since the All Star break, the Twins are batting .350, according to the Pioneer Press, and we’re averaging 6.93 runs per game. That’s pretty sweet. And then there are strange little things, like Michael Cuddyer lighting up every time he replaces Morneau at first base. We just need him to carry that hitting back to right field once Morneau is back.

Speaking of Cuddyer, what a player. The guy can do just about anything without breaking a sweat. What would the Twins do without him? It’s turned into a sort of blasé, “Oh, Cuddyer’s at first. Oh, now he’s at third. Wait, now he’s in right field.” That’s pretty amazing. Who else could do that? What a terrific player.

And of course, no article would be complete without mentioning the awesomeness of Delmon Young.

Anyway, maybe it’s lofty, but now, I expect the Twins to handle our next several series the same way we handled the Orioles and the Royals. I know that the Seattle Mariners and the Tampa Bay Rays are actually good teams – especially the Rays – but we’ve got some momentum now. And my hopes are up. We’re back in the groove, right?

Speaking of which, tomorrow at Target Field, Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Doug Fister (3-6) will face off against Scott Baker (8-9) in the first game of the Twins-Mariners series. I expect the Twins to win, and to win big. We’re at home. We’re on a roll.

Carry on, gentlemen. Continue to spoil me, please.