Hunter's Injury Could Seal The Twins' Fate

I've never been one to give up on a team early, nor do I believe in calling virtually every game a "must win." But I will say this: it may take a miracle to get the Twins into the post-season.

For longer than most fans, I held out hope that Minnesota would catch the White Sox. After all, the Sox were playing the best baseball in the majors and there was no way they could stay so hot for very long. Surely they would come back down to earth eventually, wouldn't they?

Guess not. Granted, they aren't as hot as they were before the All-Star break, but this team has a comfortable 12.5 game lead on the Twins. They have run away with it. And barring a complete collapse coupled with a super-human surge by the Twins in the final two months, Chicago will win the central.

So that leaves the wild card, which looked so good just a couple weeks ago. But not anymore. Eight teams are within a half-dozen games of winning the wild card. Oakland leads the race, holding a 2 game lead over the Twins and a half game lead over the Yankees. Overcoming both those teams will take a minor miracle. Especially without Torii Hunter.

While climbing the wall at Fenway Park, Hunter tore a tendon in his ankle. He will miss 4-6 weeks at least. What does this mean for the Twins? Disaster. Hunter's fielding prowess is well known, ever since he robbed Barry Bonds in the All-Star game a couple years back. But his bat is what the Twins will miss most, because that's what they have the biggest need for.

Hunter's numbers aren't gaudy. He has 14 home runs and 56 RBI. Neither of those numbers are staggering. But both lead the team. If a team lacks power so much that 14 bombs and 56 Ribbies leads the squad, one thing is for sure: they can't afford to lose that bat. Who is going to replace him? Even if someone like Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer starts to put up better power numbers, it will be in place of, rather than in addition to, Hunter's production. In other words, the Twins had everyone and they had basically lost the central division race and had plenty of work to do to win the wild card. They needed someone to step up. Instead, they lost their biggest run-producer and power hitter.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what kind of trouble that spells.