2000 was the last year of the dark days of Twins baseball. The team finished the year with a 69-93 record, one-half game worse than the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the worst record in the American League.
In the second half of that season, the Twins were baseball's most inept offensive club. Following the all-star break, Minnesota scored just 315 runs, worst in the majors, and hit just 43 home runs, a number that was 15 fewer than the team's nearest powerless competitor (San Diego). As a ballclub, the Twins had a .730 OPS, and were 31-41 after the break.
It was an ugly year.
In 2007, the Twins will play 74 games following the All-Star break. They are exactly halfway through this slate, and so, we take a look at the numbers the team is on pace to put up in the second half:
236 runs
38 home runs
.692 OPS
34-40 record
And so we have no choice to reminisce about the good old days. About the year the Twins got 115 games from Chad Moeller, Danny Ardoin, and Marcus Jensen at catcher. About the year only four guys reached double digits in home runs and the team barely broke 100.
Come back, Midre Cummings. Come back, Jason Maxwell. Come back, Butch Huskey and Denny Hocking, Chad Allen and Matthew LeCroy. We need you. We miss you. Your putrid offense looks like a major upgrade about now.