(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Morneau hit a very pedestrian .242/.327/.748 with just five home runs, three of which came in the last week. Hopefully those three home runs signal a resurgence for Morneau, who has a history of second half disappearing acts.
He's gotten a bit more time off this season than he has in the past (he played all 163 game last year), so ideally he'll be fresher for the last season push.
Kevin Slowey
Anyone who reads this blog consistently knows that the only person who loves Kevin Slowey more than me is his brother, but he simply wasn't at his best this month.
Slowey posted his highest ERA of the season this month and lost two games for the first time all season. His 10-3 record flatters how he's pitched as his 1.40 WHIP and ERA over four would indicate. Opposing hitters got fewer hits off of Slowey in June, but he walked twice the number of batters he walked in April and May combined.
With two more starts before the break, Slowey has a good chance to enter the season's second half as the winningest pitcher in baseball. However, he needs to pitch deeper into games and hope that his inflated BABIP will regress to the mean if he is going to join the ranks of baseball's elite pitchers.
Slowey's rough June can be explained, by and large, by his peripherals catching up to him. When that many runners reach base, some are bound to score, and the offense won't always be there to pick him up.
Denard Span
Span missed 13 games this month with an inner ear infection that caused horrible bouts of vertigo. It turns out, Span had been suffering from these episodes for longer than just the time he was on the DL, which means he should have been on their longer than he was.
As with most injuries, trying to play through it may make you look tough, but it ultimately hurts the team. After strong showings in April and May, Span's stats took a nose dive as he tried to fight off the dizziness.
He posted a .208/.321/.634 in 48 June at bats, substantially worse than no-hit outfielder Carlos Gomez whose .242/.288/.659 was his best so far this season.
Now that a proper diagnosis has been made and Span is on the mend, he should resume hitting again. Span is the lead-off man the Twins always hoped he would be and if he and Morneau both start hitting again, the Twins will start scoring runs at a much better pace.
The Twins have 10 games left before the break, nine of which are back in the Metrodome, where they have played very well for the most part. If they can go 7-3 or even 6-4, they'll be primed for one of the second half runs that have become almost tradition for the Twins.
However, looking ahead to the break and dropping games to the Tigers and White Sox would be a critical error the Twins simply cannot afford to make.
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