It has been a tough start to the week for a pair of teams that have remarkably stayed in playoff contention thus far in the MLB season. It is not the end of the road for the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals, but both teams received tough doses of reality as they were passed in the standings by teams that are more likely to hold up over the long haul. Both teams should remain competitive teams and there could actually be some wagering value gained by having these squads fall out of serious playoff contention.

Advertisement

Minnesota was projected to be a losing team this season after giving up two star players in trading Johan Santana and losing Torii Hunter to free agency. The Twins have actually been a much better team than last season however and the starting rotation that has been completely turned over from the start of last season has performed well. Minnesota has been a very sound hitting team despite limited power numbers as the Twins have one of the top team averages in the AL and have been fantastic with runners in scoring position. Minnesota’s defense and bullpen have not been up to normal standards for the organization however and the young pitching could wear down late in the season.

Minnesota has not been a strong road team and in the recent series in New York the Twins were at their absolute worse. Uncharacteristic mistakes and a complete lack of offense led to a miserable series sweep, outscored 25-7. Minnesota’s young starters were not the main problem in the series but the team was clearly intimidated by the veteran Yankees team and the poor history for Minnesota in this ballpark in recent years. It is too soon to count out the Twins but the Tigers are gaining momentum and the White Sox appear to be a more solid team in the AL Central. The Twins were once in solid Wild Card position but that spot appears destined to go to an East team again as the Rays, Red Sox, and now Yankees will be tough to keep pace with.

There is some hope for the Twins with Francisco Liriano posting brilliant minor league numbers but the rotation has not been a weakness for Minnesota this season. Scott Baker, Glen Perkins, Nick Blackburn, and Kevin Slowey have all pitched well enough to keep their spots in the rotation and although Livan Hernandez has had some struggles he owns ten wins and is the lone veteran presence of the group. Liriano would make for a valuable weapon in the bullpen but that is not an option for the Twins after steadily building his workload to come back effectively from his surgery. Liriano will get his chance but the Twins may have played themselves out of contention by that point.

The Twins will also endure an awful scheduling stretch in the coming weeks as the Republican National Convention will be taking place in Minneapolis and the Metrodome will be unavailable. Minnesota plays 24 of 30 games on the road from August 21st to September 21st as the Twins will travel to both coasts for lengthy excursions. If there is any hope in the Twins schedule it is that 19 of the remaining 28 division games are at home and the road games are against the less threatening teams in Cleveland and Kansas City as Minnesota has already completed the road games in Detroit and Chicago.

In St. Louis the Cardinals were also a great surprise to stay right with the Cubs early in the season and remain in Wild Card position for most of the season until recently being passed by the Brewers. St. Louis does not look like a playoff threat on paper with a mostly unproven lineup and big holes in the pitching staff due to injuries. The St. Louis bullpen has also had big setbacks with initial closer Jason Isringhausen completely breaking down. The Cardinals had a great sweep of San Diego to start the second half wiped out by home losses to Milwaukee and St. Louis may never get back in the race. St. Louis is still just a few games back of the Wild Card and the division lead but things are not looking promising at this point.

St. Louis has held ground in the standings based on performing well on the road as the Cardinals are one of the few teams in baseball with a winning away record. The Cardinals face quality teams in the next several series so this will be a critical time for St. Louis. The Cardinals have had some of the worst bullpen numbers in baseball with 23 blown save opportunities leading all of baseball but St. Louis has had better than expected starting pitching. There is some potential with top starters Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter poised for returns from injury soon. Given that the Cardinals received little from its top two starters in the first half or anything from potential starters Mark Mulder, Anthony Reyes, or Matt Clement it is amazing that St. Louis has hung around. Kyle Lohse has been the savior for St. Louis and Braden Looper and Todd Wellemeyer have at least been able to make consistent starts and pick up a few wins.

Like the Twins, the Cardinals have been successful with solid hitting as St. Louis owns a .275 team average. St. Louis also owns one of the top on-base-percentages in baseball as only a few teams have walked more than the Cardinals. St. Louis has above average power numbers with Albert Pujols, Rick Ankiel, and Ryan Ludwick leading the way and with Tony LaRussa managing the Cardinals have found ways to stay competitive. St. Louis plays the Cubs nine times yet this season so the Cardinals will have the opportunity to control their own destiny but there are some tough road trips ahead and the starting rotation will need to get some of the injured arms back to have a chance.

Although Minnesota and St. Louis do not appear to have the staying power to make the playoffs and we will not likely see a repeat of the great 1987 World Series, both teams could remain profitable for the rest of the season. Minnesota is currently the second most profitable team in baseball and the Cardinals are currently 6th with steady profits as well. The reason is simple as neither team has dominant big name starting pitching so even at home these teams are never steep favorites. Against good teams or big name starters the Twins and Cardinals can regularly be found as underdogs despite posting two of the better records in baseball. The Cardinals have been a great road team to back and the Twins have been a great team to back at home. Those trends could continue to hold up so even if the Twins and Cardinals fall out of the pennant race keep them on your radar for possible play-on situations as both teams feature a great deal of young players and good coaching so it is unlikely there will be any sort of mentality of giving up on the season.