The Twins spit up another game by doing little things wrong.

Scott Baker lost his focus and again needed 100+ pitches to get through five innings on a night when the team needed more from the guy billed as the ace at season’s start.

Denard Span made a bonehead baserunning play in the top of the ninth, getting thrown out at third base on Joe Mauer’s two-out single and taking the bat out of Justin Morneau’s hands with a struggling reliever on the mound.

It was another maddening night of watching Alexi Casilla hold down the 2-spot in the order and flail his way to another 0-for-4. (Two strikeouts, two fly outs.) Carlos Gomez popped out three times; Nick Punto singled to raise his average to .205.

Joe Nathan “couldn’t get it done,” in Gardy’s words. But that’s going to happen with him every few months or so, which means it’s silly to look at him crossways.

In the bottom of the ninth, as Nathan got doinked (and doinked Mike Napoli), did anyone else notice to two throws to nowhere from the outfield? Michael Cuddyer landed the ball somewhere between short and third after catching the second out. Then, Gomez missed everyone when he threw the ball in after the single that brought the Angels within 5-4. (How long is it going to be before someone takes an extra base when Gomez goes through his skipping motion before he throws the ball in?) Those throws didn’t hurt the Twins, but they are indicative of the sloppiness that’s part of NOT doing the little things right.

For the finale, Jesse Crain threw a fastball at 97, a slider at 91 — and left pitches up.

The power from the middle of the lineup (Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, Cuddyer) simply can’t carry a team that gives away outs. And what if Kubel and Cuddyer weren’t having seasons better than most of us expected from them?  Would the Twins be in the Cleveland-Kansas City half of the division instead of staggering along in the Chicago-Detroit corridor?

Yes, the Twins are only 2 1/2 games out. But they’re 2 1/2 games out in a flawed division and have only the ninth best record in the American League.

Today, it’s looking like winning the AL Central will be a little bit like being the No. 16 seed in a NCAA regional. Yes, that’s overstatement in the aftermath of another stupid loss, but that’s the way the Twins are performing right now — on and off the field.

If the Twins need a lesson in doing the little things right, they should watch their opponents closely for the next three days. The Angels execute fundamentals and hammer away through adversity, which may have something to do with why they’re 18 games over .500 despite key injuries and a tragedy that would fold other teams.

I’m going to change things up and go watch the St. Paul Saints tonight. Right now, I need a reminder of why baseball is fun.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 6:29 am and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.