this post was originally posted at http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/twins-need-to-look-themselves-in-the-mirror/

The Twins haven't done well to start the season. They're 0-4 after losing three straight to The Baltomore Orioles and the home opener against the Angels, scoring only 6 runs compared with 20 runs allowed.

Now that they've had an off day to assess where they're at, I think it will be interesting to find out how they will respond. Granted, the Twins haven't made a whole lot of huge mistakes or their bullpen hasn't had to hold a lead, but an off day can do a lot to a team. A team could keep on playing lousy or a team could look themselves in the mirror and clean up the mistakes that have been made.

What the Twins need to realize is they're not hitting right now except for Josh Willingham and Denard Span. However when the hitting does come around, I think it will be contageous.

Another area is the fact that the Twins have made a few mistakes in the field, but I don't think that the fielding has been the biggest issue at the moment.

The Twins are going to have to look at themselves in the mirror and realize that they're not hitting. Three out of the four games we had a shot at winning, but the Twins have only scored 2 runs in the first seven innings of those games combined. It hurts your team when you have to rally late in games. The Twins need to score more runs early.

They also need to avoid hitting into double plays. On Monday, the Twins hit into three double plays, two of which happened before the seventh inning. Those were double plays that snuffed out potensial rallys.

It's early in the season, but the Twins need to win some games. The Twins have two more games against The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This weekend, the Twins will play the Texas Rangers. Next week, the Twins will face the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. Then they're home to face the Boston Red Sox. In all, the Twins have 15 games coming up against these teams.

Point is, the Twins need to win games and they need to look at themselves in the mirror. This is a tough stretch of games coming up. The Twins need to realize that if they start hitting, it will make this upcoming stretch of games easier. And when the hitting does pick up, it will allow the Twins to win some games against tough pitching.

Its hard to believe but they are set up to have an even worse April than they did last year. I really think this could be a long season.