9 Things the Minnesota Twins Need to Do Now

The Minnesota Twins needed a fast start in 2012 in order to quickly erase the memory that was the disaster in 2011, a season that saw them lose 99 games, the second most in Twins history.

They currently find themselves in familiar territory—with the worst record in the American League and tied for the worst record in baseball.

Any other year a slow start may not be a big deal, and since Ron Gardenhire took over as manager in 2002 the Twins have had two losing records in April and still won the division. 

Unfortunately for the fans a slow start this season has many of them uneasy.

While it's only been a little more than a week, and we're constantly told that the baseball season is a marathon and not a sprint, if the Twins were to continue at this pace, we would be remembering the good old days when the team only lost 99 games.

The season didn't start well with starting pitcher Scott Baker out for the season needing elbow surgery. Then their best starting pitcher this spring with a 3-1 record, Liam Hendriks, misses his season debut with food poisoning. It got worse when Nick Blackburn was unable to finish the sixth inning in his Saturday start against the Rangers with a shoulder injury.

There's still plenty of time for the Twins to turn things around, but if they don't do it fast they could be playing less than capacity crowds at Target Field.

But general manager Terry Ryan and Gardenhire need to be extremely proactive and keep tweaking until they find the right combination that will turn this around fast.

Here are nine things the Twins should consider.

Keep Josh Willingham Away from Hitting Coach Joe Vavra

The replacement for Michael Cuddyer has been the one bright spot for the Minnesota Twins so far this April.

Knowing that there will be season-long comparisons to Cuddyer, Josh Willingham has been better than expected so far this season.

He is currently leading the American League with a .444 average and tied for the league lead with four home runs.

The last thing Twins fans want to see is Willingham turned into an opposite-field singles hitter.

Note: Cuddyer is having a great season for the Rockies, leading the National League with five doubles and is second with a .406 average.

Cut Francisco Liriano Loose

Enough already.

Francisco Liriano had a fantastic half a year—unfortunately that was in 2006 before he suffered a season ending elbow injury. At the time he was 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and was being mentioned as a potential Cy Young candidate.

Needing Tommy John surgery, Liriano has not been anywhere near being the same pitcher since then.

Currently with the highest ERA among Twins starters at 10.00, it may be too late to be able to get any value in return for a trade.

Move Joe Mauer Down in the Order

According to everyone, Joe Mauer is 100 percent healthy and ready to play a complete season. So far he has played in every game this season splitting time between catcher and first base.

The problem is he is hitting only about .250 and has grounded into a team-high three double plays.

When you are paid $23 million a season to play this game the expectations are set very high. Mauer's struggles in this early part of the season has some Minnesota fans booing the home-town hero.

Manager Ron Gardenhire has not been opposed to moving players up and down in the order to help them and the team find a groove.

It might be time to drop Mauer down, perhaps into the seventh or eighth spot in the order—just until he finds his stroke again.

Speaking of Moving Down, Move Jamey Carrol to the End of the Bench

Everyone knows that 38-year-old Jamey Carroll is not a long-term answer at shortstop.

Carroll has played every game so far this season, batting second in the order and is currently third on the team with 30 plate appearances.

An 11-year veteran with a .277 career batting average, Carroll is struggling in his Twins debut, hitting about 30 points below his weight with a .148 average.

Manager Ron Gardenhire loves veterans that can use their bat to play fundamental baseball and move runners over by grounding out to the second baseman, but occasionally don't you want them to actually get a hit?

Give Luke Hughes a Good, Long Look

If the right move is to put shortstop Jamey Carroll on the bench, then Luke Hughes should get his spot in the lineup. 

Out of options, realistically this is Hughes last shot to make it as an everyday player with the Twins.

Over his three seasons with the Twins, he's played first, second and third. Having never played shortstop the Twins should move Alexi Casilla to short and give Hughes the opportunity to prove he can play second.

In his brief three-year stint at the major league level he has eight home runs—that's only four behind the 12 Carroll has hit over his 11 years in the majors.

Let Ben Revere Play a Little More

Right now the Twins are struggling to score runs, averaging 3.1 runs per game over their first eight games, but only 1.5 in their six losses.

The team needs to manufacture runs, and having Ben Revere's speed on the base paths will help.

Playing in only 117 games last year for an injured Denard Span, Ben Revere stole 34 bases—the most in 13 seasons for the Twins.

So far this season he has yet to even attempt a stolen base.

Sign Roy Oswalt—If Possible

The Twins' starting pitchers have yet to win a game this season and have a combined 6.06 ERA.

To say Minnesota needs help in the the rotation is an gross understatement.

General manager Terry Ryan needs to do something to stem the tide of losing at Target Field. Another losing season in only the third year in the new ballpark will not sit well with the public that helped build it.

Before the season began Roy Oswalt was looking to sign with a team close to his Mississippi home, and now is not expected to pitch before June.

If Ryan could secure his services now, it might be enough to keep fans interested until he were to make his debut.

But of course by June the Twins could be so far out of contention that it won't help. 

Call Up Scott Diamond from Rochester

If the Twins are going to struggle, they might as well struggle with players whose futures are brighter than their pasts.

There no reason to watch Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano and Carl Pavano continue to give up hits and runs knowing that none of these three will probably be around in three years.

The future lies with Liam Hendriks, Kyle Waldrop and Scott Diamond.

Hendriks', whose 2012 debut has been delayed due to food poisoning while the team was in Baltimore, is set to make a start in the upcoming series against the Yankees.

Diamond currently leads the Rochester Red Wings with a 2-0 record and has not allowed an earned run over 12.1 innings. Sure, it's only the minors, but there will be more excitement to watch him pitch than Jason Marquis.

Lay Down a Bunt Once in a While

The Twins lead the American League having hit into 11 ground-ball double plays.

Ryan Doumit, Danny Valencia and, to no surprise, Joe Mauer are part of a five-way lead with three each.

With the Twins struggling to score runs, and this trio having no problem causing more outs than at-bats in some games, Ron Gardenhire might want to start thinking about bunting more often—even with one out.