Half and Half

After dropping behind 4-0, the Twins surged back to claim the final game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of USA of North America of Western Hemisphere of Earth of Milky Way Galaxy 8-5.

Incidentally, exciting as come-from-behind wins are, TBL would like to see the occasional get-a-lead-early-and-keep-it win. Tomorrow would be a good time to start.

Kevin Slowey got his first major league win, Nick Punto and Jason Bartlett got their first homers of 2007, Luis Castillo made his first error in 143 games, and the Twins got back to .500.

There have been seasons when a .500 record seemed like an impossible dream (TBL directs your attention to 1993-2000), and seasons when it seemed like a failure. This season, it just seems normal. The Twins keep tap-dancing around .500, forever hinting at an extended burst of fabulousness just over the horizon. The far, far horizon.

.500 is an unsatisfying place to be. Neither good nor bad, without reason for either rapture or despair. It is baseball's equivalent of Limbo. It is boring. It is unrewarding. Finish the season at .500, and you get neither postseason play, nor a high draft slot.

Is it better than sucking? TBL is unsure. Great lessons may be learned from spectacular failure. Mediocrity makes less of an impression on the psyche. Perhaps that's why it's been so hard to break free of .500, particularly in an upward direction. Inertia meets gravity. What the Twins need now is some escape velocity. For that, they need some fuel (a few good games?) and a spark (the return of Baby Jesus?). And somebody get those boys some Dramamine next time, so they don't keep puking all over the place at the first sign of upward movement.

Speaking of halfway points, happy birthday to BatGirl (yesterday) and to TBL (tomorrow). For the curious, BG is the elder. By two days.

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Probables - Washington @ Minnesota

6/8, 7:10:
Jason Simontacchi, RHP (2-4, 5.61) vs. Carlos Silva, RHP (3-6, 3.86)

Notes: Both pitchers pitched well in their last start. After a very rocky spring (not to mention 2006), Silva has been solid for the Twins.

6/9, 6:10:
Levale Speigner, RHP (1-2, 9.10) vs. Johan Santana, LHP (6-5, 3.30)

Notes: The Twins drafted Speigner, brought him all the way up to AAA, and lost him in the Rule 5 draft this offseason. Speigner has struggled (as do most Rule 5 draftees) but the Nats seem committed to him. Meanwhile, Santana has been merely great (as opposed to godlike) of late, and it's getting a bit old.

6/10, 1:10:
Mike Bacsik, LHP (1-2, 4.13) vs. Boof Bonser, RHP (4-2, 4.12)

Notes: These are two pretty good pitchers who struggled in their last starts. Both will be looking to get back on track in the Dome on Sunday.