The hapless Orioles completed a two-game sweep of the Twins on Thursday, winning a game in which the Twins managed fourteen hits. The Twins had at least one hit in every innning on Thursday and still lost a game started by some guy named Brad Bergeson. Of the 14 hits, only one was for extra bases and the Twins also grounded into two double plays. Clutch offense was dreadfully unexistent, a theme that a fan should expect much more of this season. Take for instance the third inning, where the first three hitters reached base, bringing the heart of the Twins order to the plate. All the Twins were able to manage was a measly sacrifice fly by Justin Morneau, as Kubel and Crede flew out meekly to end the inning. Let's not forget that the Orioles are a terrible team. The Twins are that much worse, apparently.The winning run was driven in by Luis Montanez (who?), he of a .180 batting average, who singled to left to score Melvin Mora in the eighth inning off Twins reliever Jose Mijares. Glen Perkins turned in yet another mediocre performance, which considering the rest of the staff is a welcome sign. Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey have been horrendous of late, and Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano are a combined 1-8. As Tom Kelly said, the fate of a team comes down to three things: Pitching, Pitching, and Pitching. The Twins are pitifully unable to outslug teams with the punch-and-judy philosophy instilled by Ron Gardenhire and Joe Vavra. The only way the team will be able to compete is with consistent performances from the starting staff.
Ron Gardenhire has proven consistently that he cannot manage a bullpen to save his life, so the only way that the Twins are going to win is if they get seven innings a night out of their starters. Ron Gardenhire's philosophy in handling his bullpen is that he'd rather lose a game with Luis Ayala and Matt Guerrier than win with Joe Nathan. Instead of using Joe Nathan more than twice a week, Ron Gardenhire continues to go to his worse relievers in order for Nathan to be "fresh." That mentality pretty much cost them a division last season, when Gardenhire consistently chose to lose with Matt Guerrier in the eighth rather than using Nathan in a situation other than a three-out save. Again, when Ron Gardenhire decides to put Matt Guerrier or (more often the case this season) Luis Ayala into a game, he is choosing to lose that ballgame. When Luis Ayala warms up in the bullpen, in essence the loss is warming up in the bullpen.
The Twins host the Mariners this weekend, a re-match of the opening day series in which the Twins were lucky to get two wins from the lowly M's. Scott Baker looks to go off the schneid tonight against some Jabacouscous guy with like thirteen letters in his last name, so bank on Seattle tonight.
On a related note, I would like to comment on the Manny Ramirez situation. Truly the whole story is a black-eye to the game. Ramirez was a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame player until the story arose Thursday that he was suspended for fifty games for taking a banned substance. Though Ramirez maintains that the substance (a women's fertility drug) was not a steroid, it nonetheless is logical to assume that the drug was taken in order to cover up the presence of steroids. The whole "Manny-being-Manny" mantra that is so frequently said in jest now takes on a whole different meaning. The sad thing is is that Ramirez is basically getting a slap on the wrist for this. Fifty games costs Ramirez more than $7 million in salary, but he's still collecting over $17 million for this season alone and has a huge option for next season. 
I concur with ESPN's Buster Olney that in order for MLB to really tackle the steroid issue is to implement a zero tolerance policy. It's a joke how the league and the union have handled the steroid era. Nothing serious has ever been levied against any player for the use of steroids. Gambling and taking steroids are two ways of cheating the game and its fans -- make the penalties equal: a lifetime ban. Unfortunately, for players like Ramirez and A-Rod, their stars are only somewhat tainted because of this. Purists will say that their Hall-of-Fame chances have dwindled considerably in the face of allegations, but what sort of penalty is that? These guys aren't like Pete Rose, who crave the prestige of being in the Hall of Fame. Their major motivation is monetary, and not being in the Hall of Fame for Ramirez is kind of like eating a royal feast but not getting dessert: it would have been nice to eat dessert, but they're plenty full and weren't that hungry in the first place.
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