Twins’ Pitchers Try to Forget April

The Minnesota Twins were on the road last week, and pitching coach Rick Anderson wasn’t sleeping well at all.

This was hardly a surprising revelation, since his most accomplished proteges routinely were being pummeled like rookies starting their first spring training. The embarrassment peaked last weekend in Detroit, when Brad Radke, Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse -- Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in the rotation -- lost to the streaking Tigers.

Combined score? 33-1.

“We’re all competitive, man,” Lohse said this week. “We’re out there trying to do the best we can every night. Last year was obviously tough, not getting to the playoffs, and I think we came back to this year with that in mind. Maybe we’re trying to go do too much. It’s been a weird first month of the season. There’s not much you can really say about it, other than that it’s in the past. Start all over.”

The Twins tried to patch a few holes in their lineup, hoping to generate more punch and give their weary starters the support they longed for last season. Johan Santana could have won his second straight American League Cy Young Award if the hitters had scored a few more runs for their ace -- his 16 victories weren’t enough to win.

One month in, there’s been no sure sign of offensive improvement. And the pitching staff has been awful.

Santana, Radke and Silva all turned in consecutive strong outings this week to stop -- for now -- the slide. But Minnesota’s chance of returning to the playoffs this year was severely damaged by that ugly April, leaving the Twins with the worst team ERA in the majors as May began.

A deep division and plenty of legitimate contenders around the league already make it very difficult to qualify for the postseason. An 11-17 start, including an 0-9 mark against AL Central front-runners Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, obviously was not what Minnesota needed.

It hit the well-regarded Anderson especially hard, given the hours and hours he’s poured into tinkering with throwing motions, detecting weak spots in windups, encouraging his pitchers to stay positive or reminding them to mix in a different pitch more often.

“He’s shaking his head, because everything seems to go well when they do their pen work,” Manager Ron Gardenhire said. “They think they get it figured out, and it gets out there and we give up three, four, five or six runs, whatever.”

The team isn’t worried about Santana. He’s been tough his last two starts. The 33-year-old Radke -- who is leaning toward retirement after the season -- posted an 8.89 ERA in April, raising concerns about his velocity, which never was a strength in the first place. Anderson insisted his problem was mostly a matter of not using the inside part of the plate enough and keeping his pitches down -- simple stuff that usually hampers young guys, not 12-year veterans.

Fifth starter Scott Baker was the best of the bunch last month, and he’s shown remarkable poise even if he hasn’t been dominant. So, fixing Silva and Lohse is at the top of the Twins’ to-do list.

Silva, who last season compiled a 3.44 ERA and the best walks-per-nine-innings ratio in the majors, was having trouble with his sinker and his ERA was an unsightly 10.31 in April.

And Lohse, who has beaten the team in salary arbitration two straight times, had an 8.77 ERA during the first month.

“I think if we keep our head, we keep working, we pay attention to detail, we don’t point fingers and we don’t make excuses ... this organization will find itself out of this thing,” said General Manager Terry Ryan, who could be forced to trade high-salaried players in coming months if Minnesota doesn’t climb into contention.

The Twins, who often have succeeded with a limited payroll, believe they have the ingredients to compete for the division crown they won in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The defense, buoyed by new second baseman Luis Castillo, had the best fielding percentage in the majors. And the bullpen, with closer Joe Nathan and setup man Juan Rincon, is solid if the starters can rediscover their form.

Even if the summer shows little, if any, offensive progress from last year, Santana and his colleagues are supposed to be good enough to keep the Twins in it.

“We’re in a deep-enough hole already in the month of May,” Ryan said, hinting he won’t be patient in considering moves. “It’s an everyday process. If you don’t see something you like, you address it. And that is kind of what we have been all about, and we usually don’t let things fester. We usually address them as we see fit.”