Offensive Incompetence Returns, Injuries Ravage

After a couple games where they will able to piece together some runs and get much-needed victories, the Twins were unable to complete a sweep today over the lowly Royals, as they fell 3-1. Brad Radke YET AGAIN got hammered in the first inning, allowing 2 runs, and while he would pitch pretty well the rest of the way, the Twins could do almost nothing offensively and - with a dramatic 13th inning victory for the White Sox - lost another game in the standings.

But the bad news doesn't stop there. It was revealed today that Glenn Williams, who hurt his shoulder sliding back into first on a pick-off throw Tuesday night, will miss at least six weeks due to a tear and might eventually need surgery. This is a tough blow for a kid that had really come up and filled a need for this team and was exciting to watch. Juan Castro also missed today's game with "dizziness"... not sure what to make of that. To worsen matters, Michael Cuddyer was hit in the hand by a pitch late in the game forcing him to come out. Outfielder Mike Ryan had to finish the game at third. The Twins' infield is in a very sticky situation, which will be relieved slightly when Brent Abernathy returns from the DL on Friday and when Nick Punto (hopefully) returns to the club early next week.

However, even with those guys back, this is still going to be a makeshift infield and if this team wants to be able to compete they are going to need to make a trade. While the Star Tribune has reported that the Twins are no longer seeking him, I would still endorse Joe Randa of the Reds. Many people have expressed that they wouldn't want the trade because they just don't think Randa is that good... well his numbers this year say differently and even in the worst-case scenario he couldn't be any worse than what we've got now.

One other thing... Matt Guerrier came in and pitched a scoreless 9th inning today. He has a 2.79 ERA on the year. So why is he being brought into games where the Twins are already down, while Terry Mulholland and his near-6 ERA are being brought into close games like yesterday? It's moves like this that make me seriously question Ron Gardenhire's judgment.