The Twins had lost nine of 10 games on merit, and the skepticism as they started a weekend series against Pittsburgh was wide-ranging. Among the questions taking place on this cold Friday night at Target Field included the following:
• A flier for $8 million had been taken on 38-year-old lefthander J.A. Happ to fill out the rotation. After a pair of labored starts, there was mild concern among the locals that these could be millions as ill-spent as those tossed by the front office at another veteran, Homer Bailey, in the starter search for 2020.
OK, that's an exaggeration, since Bailey totaled eight innings in two starts before calling it a mini-season. Happ exceeded that with 8⅔ innings in his first two starts, although with a requirement to throw a combined 176 pitches to get those 26 outs.