It has been a while since we did our last update of the Major League Baseball standings, and specifically the standings in the American League Central. The reason for that is because. . .well, in the case of our Minnesota Twins, not a whole heck of a lot has changed. They still have the worst record in all of Major League Baseball, and are falling farther off the map with each passing day, it seems.
Here are the American League Central standings as they look right now.
Yes, the Twins are five and a half games out. . .of fourth place.
Things haven't gotten much better statistically for the Twins, either. Their 180 runs through 52 games is still the lowest total in baseball, though their team batting average has gone all the way up to .238, which puts them 26th in the majors in that category. They're second-to-last in on-base percentage (.298), and third from the bottom in baseball in slugging percentage with a .339 mark.
How bad is that slugging percentage number? This season, former Twin Nick Punto has a slugging percentage of .385. Yeah. . .it's that bad.
Things aren't any better on the pitching side, either. . .the Twins' collective ERA of 4.80 is the worst in baseball. They have just 26 quality starts in their 52 games this year, and are allowing opposing teams to bat .268 against them, which is 27th in the Major Leagues.
So, to review, the Twins have scored fewer runs than any team in baseball, allowed more runs than any team in baseball, and they have baseball's worst record. One can't help but think all those things are connected somehow.
Things won't get any easier for the Twins, as they're in the midst of a ten-game road trip that will see them taking on nothing but AL Central opponents. They have two games remaining with the Tigers at Comerica Park, and they will follow that up with four games in Kansas City against the Royals and three against the division-leading Cleveland Indians before returning to Target Field for a ten-game homestand.