Minnesota Twins: 7 Things to Watch for in the Second Half of the Year

Unfortunately for the Minnesota Twins and their fans, the 2012 season has been an extension of 2011, proving that last season was not an aberration. After 81 games this season, the Twins have the same exact record as last year at 35-46. They finished 2011 with a 63-99 record, marking the most losses since the 1982 Twins lost 102.

The hopes of a turnaround have been put off for at least another season.

After opening the season with a 6-16 record in April, the Twins have been getting steadily better, with a 12-16 record in May, a 14-13 record in June and 4-4 so far in July.

At least for now, the Twins are not the worst team in baseball, or even the worst team in the American League, thanks to the Seattle Mariners, who own two more losses.

There have been glimpses that the Twins are not as bad as their record. They are 2-2 against the Yankees, who have the most wins in baseball. In their just-completed series in Arlington, the Twins should have swept the Rangers, losing two of three games with leads heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Don't misinterpret these signs, the Twins will not be competing for anything this season except to prove they are not as bad as last season.

Still, there are plenty of stories to follow heading into the second half of the major league season; here are seven of them. 

Can the Twins Catch the Royals?

Since 1994, the Kansas City Royals have only had two winning seasons.

The last came in 2003 when they finished with an 83-79 record, and manager Tony Pena was named the American League Manager of the Year. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to turn things around in Kansas City and he was fired after only 33 games in 2005 when the Royals opened the season 8-25.

In the eight seasons since 2003, the Royals have never finished better than fourth in the division, with five last-place finishes.

The Twins have been chasing the Royals all season.

After winning three of four games from the Royals at Target Field in their last series, the Twins are only one-and-a-half games behind the Royals at the All-Star break.

The good news is that the Twins have a 6-3 record against the Royals this season with nine games remaining between the two teams.

The first objective for the Twins in the second half of the season should be to pass the Royals in the AL Central standings, as soon as possible.

Both teams open the second half at home. The Twins will have seven games against the A's and Orioles before traveling to Kansas City. The Royals host the AL-leading White Sox and then the Mariners before the Twins.

The Home Run Derby Between Josh Willingham and Trevor Plouffe

In three of the four previous seasons, more of the Twins home runs came from the left side of the plate than the right. Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Jason Kubel and Jim Thome had been leading the charge.

This season, it has been a home run derby of sorts with left fielder Josh Willingham and third baseman Trevor Plouffe battling for the team lead in home runs.

Seven times this season the dynamic duo has hit a home run on the same day.

They are currently tied with 19 home runs each at the break. They are certain to surpass the team-high set last year by Michael Cuddyer when he hit 20.

With Willingham usually hitting cleanup, the bases have usually been cleared by the time Plouffe, who has been batting sixth, steps to the plate. Willingham is leading the Twins with 60 RBI and Plouffe is fourth, behind Mauer (41) and Morneau (38) with 36.

To put in perspective how good Plouffe is at hitting home runs, he is averaging one home run every 12.0 at-bats, while Willingham is averaging one every 15.3 at-bats.

The Twins career leader in home runs, Harmon Killebrew, hit them at a pace of one every 14.0 at-bats, and Jim Thome, while in Minnesota, hit one every 13.1 at-bats.

It's going to be fun to see if both players can reach 40 home runs, a feat only achieved nine times in the franchise history of the Senators/Twins—eight times by Killebrew and once by Roy Sievers.

Two Twins have never achieved the milestone in the same year.

The Number of Stolen Bases for Ben Revere

Last season Ben Revere, filling in for center fielder Denard Span, stole 34 bases, the most since Otis Nixon stole 37 in 1998.

So far this season he has 18 stolen bases in 23 attempts.

Successful 78 percent of the time over the past two seasons, Revere is on the same pace to match last season's total.

The last Twin to steal more than 30 bases in consecutive seasons was Chuck Knoblauch, a feat he accomplished five times in his seven seasons. In 1997, his last season in Minnesota, he stole 62 bases.

Revere has a chance to be a special kind of player, if the Twins continue to turn him loose. 

How Many Games Will Scott Diamond Win?

After finishing 1-5 with a 5.08 ERA in seven starts last season, Scott Diamond has been the biggest surprise in 2012.

He leads the Twins with a 7-3 record. His 2.62 ERA is the lowest among the starters and third lowest on the pitching staff.

All this for a pitcher who spent the first month of the season at Triple-A, not making his first start until May 8.

Diamond has been a huge lift for the Twins. At the time of his call-up the Twins were 7-21. Since then they have gone 29-28. 

Makes you wish the Twins had opened the season with their left-hander.  Right now a .500 record would have the team within four games of the AL Central-leading White Sox.

Joe Mauer's Quest for a 4th Batting Title

Joe Mauer is currently fourth in the American League with a .336 batting average, only 5 points behind league-leading rookie, Mike Trout of the Angels, who is batting .341.

Mauer has found his swing and is batting .341 over his last 10 games.

So far this season Mauer has played 38 games at catcher, 23 as the DH and 14 at first base, allowing him to play in 77 of the team's 85 games. 

At this rate he is on pace to match his career-high of playing in 146 games.

If he can stay healthy, he will have a chance at another batting title.

Who Will End Up with the Most Saves?

Last year, Matt Capps opened the season as the Twins closer while Joe Nathan made his way back from Tommy John Surgery.

By the end of the season, Capps was removed as the closer and demoted to a middle reliever. He still finished the season with a team-high 15 saves, along with nine blown saves.

He was off to a great start this season with 14 saves in 15 opportunities and a 3.42 ERA. A sore shoulder landed him on the DL, giving Glen Perkins the chance to show his stuff.

Perkins, who broke into the Twins starting rotation in 2008, led the team with a 12-4 record that season. What looked like a bright future for the former University of Minnesota pitcher suddenly turned into a nightmare.

In 2009, he was 6-7 with a 5.89 ERA in 17 starts. The following year, he made only 19 appearances for the Twins, pitching most of the season at Triple-A Rochester.

In 2011, Perkins made a comeback as the strongest member of the Twins bullpen. He finished the season with a team-leading 2.48 ERA in 61.2 innings pitched. He earned the first two saves of his career late in the season.

This year he has been almost as effective, with a 3.11 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched and has four saves. Unfortunately, he also has blown three saves so far this season.

Before Capps was placed on the DL there were rumors that, with another losing season on the horizon for the Twins, he could be available to teams looking for bullpen help. 

The Twins are looking for Capps to make his return to the bullpen after the all-star break. That might be just enough time to prove he has some value to a contending team—provided he can pitch effectively.

If the Twins trade Capps, then Perkins will have a shot at being the closer.

Who Will Be the Next Surprise Minor-League Call Up

The Twins have called up a eight players from the minors that did not open the season with the team in April and are currently on the active roster.

The most recent was relief pitcher Casey Fien, who debuted with an inning of relief against the Rangers on Sunday in Arlington.

Starting pitcher Samuel Deduno made his major league debut two days earlier against the Rangers. He gave up three earned runs in 5.1 innings against the two-time defending AL Champions.

Other players who have made their major league debuts include shortstop Brian Dozier who was called up on May 11, and starting pitcher Cole De Vries who made his debut on May 24 and is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in five starts. Relief pitcher Tyler Robertson made his debut on June 26.

Other players who have been called up include Ben Revere, who has established himself as the everyday right fielder, and reserve outfielder Darin Mastroianni who has nine steals in 11 attempts. 

As previously mentioned, Scott Diamond made his season debut on May 8, and leads the team with seven wins.

Other players on the 40-man roster that could be in line for a call-up include outfielders Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni who played in 21 and 60 games last year respectively.

Also, we've probably not seen the last of Liam Hendriks, who has struggled at the major league level with an 0-5 record and a 7.04 ERA in eight starts.