Joe Mauer Is Back and the Minnesota Twins Are Still in Trouble

The cavalry finally showed up for the Minnesota Twins on Friday, wearing No. 7 and squatting behind the plate.

Joe Mauer is back.

He’s whacking the yarn out of the ball. He’s everything Minnesota fans could hope for in a man local sports radio guru Dan Barreiro calls Baby Jesus.

But unless he can work a few miracles with the pitching staff, the Twins are still in trouble.

On first blush, Mauer's month-long absence looks like the perfect culprit for Minnesota's 12-13 start. After all, what lineup wouldn't miss a two-time batting champion who racked up the second-best on-base percentage in the American League last year? And the Twins enter May with the No. 12 scoring offense in the AL, miles behind their No. 3 finish from 2008.

No Mauer, no runs, no wins. Case closed, right?

Not exactly.

While Minnesota certainly struggled to score at times while Mauer was sidelined with a back injury, the team's fate thus far has been tied almost exclusively to the caliber of its pitching.

The trend isn't complicated: When the Twins allow five or fewer runs, they're 11-2 on the season. When they allow six or more, they're 1-11.

Aside from Glen Perkins (1-2, 3.34 ERA), who started the season with three straight eight-inning gems before coming back down the Earth, there haven't been many bright spots in the starting rotation.

Scott Baker (0-4, 9.15) has yet to pitch beyond the sixth inning or allow fewer than four earned runs this season, earning every bit of his winless start. Francisco Liriano (0-4, 3.91 ERA) has been alternately ineffective and unlucky. Kevin Slowey (4-0, 5.17) hasn't exactly been lights-out in racking up cheap W's.

Just as they did last year, Minnesota's starters own the No. 8 ERA in the AL—but they're coughing up nearly a run more per game this time around. The bullpen, which posted a 3.91 ERA in '08, has been lit up for a 5.85 mark this year, and has yet to find an effective way to get the ball to closer Joe Nathan.

The good news is that to some extent, Mauer can help. His 3.89 catcher ERA is the best mark in the AL since he took over as the Twins' backstop in 2004, and he's generally regarded as a top-notch signal-caller behind the plate.

In any event, he's a defensive upgrade over stand-in Jose Morales, who entered the season with a single big-league start to his name.

But unless Mauer plans to take the mound himself, there's only so much he can do. Calling for a pitch is one thing; putting it on the money is something else altogether.

And as much as a pat on the rear end boosts a pitcher's morale, those conferences at the mound—"Listen, Scott, maybe you should try not to melt down this inning, OK? And Luis, maybe don't let every runner you inherit score this time?"—only go so far.

Mauer will give the lineup a shot in the arm, and he should provide a steadying influence for a staff that's struggled early.

But if Minnesota's pitchers can't hold up their end of the bargain, even he might not be the savior the Twins need.