In Gardy we trust?

Well, no, not really, but we don't have much of a choice.
Are the Twins in the race?
I don't think there's any doubt at this point.
A 7-game winning streak and a sudden development of common sense in regards to the roster personnel have put the Twins in a position where they remain longshots, but are somewhat close to striking distance.
The biggest reason no one saw this coming is that there was no indication that the Twins were going to suddenly realize that Castro and Batista were making the team worse.
Only a couple weeks ago a story ran in the PiPress with Gardy talking about how Castro had done 'just what we asked of him' and that 'any offense from him is a bonus.'
Nothing pisses me off more than the 'any offense is a bonus' talk you hear about guys who are supposed to be good with the glove.
Taken literally, that apparently means if Castro was the best fielding shortstop ever (which he clearly was not) he would be allowed to keep his job even if he batted .000 with 300 strikeouts.
It's not 1922 - winning teams get offensive contributions from their entire lineup.
But apparently the Twins finally hopped aboard the clue train, and now they can't lose.
The good news is that Rondell White is probably going to be released soon, whether the Twins stay hot or not. And it sounds like Kyle Lohse is also going to be moved regardless of the standings.
I don't think Torii Hunter will be traded, and I don't think he should be traded.
As for Shannon Stewart, it's almost entirely dependant on whether the Twins can stay in the race.
If they can, Stewart would make a good DH at the top of the order.
On the other hand, there's no way the Twins are going to bring him back next year, so if they don't trade him, they'll get nothing for him when he signs elsewhere as a free-agent in the winter.
Hunter shouldn't be traded simply because there is no one ready to replace him. Lew Ford cannot be allowed to assume the role of starting centerfielder under any circumstance.
After showing promise in the minors, Denard Span has been fairly unimpressive this year.
He's not ready, and it's starting to look like he won't be near as good as Hunter even when he is.
Granted there will be free-agent options out there who would come cheaper than Torii (Juan Pierre, Mike Cameron), but the Twins could - (A) scrap the $12 million club option and hope to get Torii to sign a more reasonable deal, say something in the 3-4 year, $15-25 million range, or (B) bite the bullet, pick up the $12 million option for next year, and keep working on a cheaper deal. As maddeningly inconsistent as Hunter is, it's easy to forget that, when you factor in his defense, he's probably one of the top 3 or 4 CF's in baseball. That's worth something.
And with almost all of the Twins key players still in their formative years, there's money to spend.
But back to this year.
When Stewart returns, he'll make the surging lineup better. He won't have the impact he did back in 2003, but the lineup would look something like this:
DH Stewart
2b Castillo
C Mauer
RF Cuddyer
1b Morneau
CF Hunter
LF Kubel
3B Punto
SS Bartlett
Not bad.
As much of a pleasant surprise as Nick Punto has been, I wouldn't mind seeing the Twins acquire a 3B at the deadline - if and only if they're realistically in the hunt.
Wouldn't mind seeing it, but don't expect it.
Meanwhile Radke has quietly found a nice groove, and we're keeping our fingers crossed on Silva.
Even though Detroit is currently the best team in baseball, I think it's more likely that Chicago wins the division.
Detroit has so many players with a history of injury, you wonder how long before they start dropping.
But if they do stay healthy, they're very, very good.
If you ever read this blog, you may remember me calling Cleveland the most overrated team in baseball, and writing that they'd finish 4th this year.
They are and they will.
Bottom line - with Santana and Liriano pitching 2 of every 5 games, the Twins are a pretty good baseball team.