Pitching isn't quite ready for playoffs

Tom Kelly, who managed the Twins to two World Series victories, used to say: "If you can't pitch, you won't win."

And current Twins manager Ron Gardenhire agrees with Kelly's theory.

But if you checked the Twins pitching statistics beginning with the start of their final road trip last weekend in Detroit, there is plenty of reason to be concerned about the pitching as the team gets ready for the playoffs.

A staff that was outstanding all year has really slumped as the Twins posted a 2-7 record, a record that would have been 1-8 had they not scored two ninth-inning runs to win Saturday's game against Toronto 5-4.

True, this has all happened after the Twins clinched the AL Central title. But the pitchers' ERAs give a good indication of how poorly some members of the staff have performed during this bad preplayoff stretch. This is not the time to have your pitching staff perform like this one has, and against nonplayoff teams such as the Tigers, Royals and Blue Jays.

The pitchers expected to start in the Twins' first two playoff games are Francisco Liriano, who has a 7.56 ERA in his past two starts, and Carl Pavano, who has a 4.09 ERA in his past two.

Brian Duensing, who has been excellent since he became a starter, has an unimpressive 7.59 ERA in his past two starts, struggling Saturday against Toronto when he gave up four earned runs in five innings. Over the same stretch, Nick Blackburn's ERA is 16.62, Kevin Slowey's 32.40 and Jesse Crain's 15.00.

Maybe the pitchers will regain their old form going into the playoffs. But based on recent appearances, there is concern.

Another worry is that I believe the Twins have some key players who are really beat up and will not be in the best shape when the playoffs open Wednesday.

Catcher Joe Mauer has a knee problem and so does shortstop J.J. Hardy. Designated hitter Jim Thome has a back injury, second baseman Orlando Hudson injured an ankle Thursday night and some of the pitchers are ailing. Justin Morneau (concussion) won't play unless the Twins advance to the ALCS, at the earliest.

I expect all of them to play except for Morneau, but they won't be in their best shape.

Don't fire the coachWell, the Gophers are 1-4 after a tough 29-28 loss to Northwestern on Saturday, and there were more than a few fans screaming "Fire Brewster" at me as I walked out of TCF Bank Stadium.

I will stick with my theory that firing the coach is not the answer, after six of the past seven coaches were fired and the program kept having to start all over.

I believe Tim Brewster should get at least another year to see what he can do with his four recruiting classes.

Well, if you check the Gophers schedule, you will find they beat Middle Tennessee 24-17, then lost three in a row: 41-38 to South Dakota, 32-21 to Southern California and 34-23 to Northern Illinois before Saturday's loss to the Wildcats.

Brewster is convinced they could just as well be 4-1 rather than 1-4 with a few plays reversed, especially ones where they self-destructed on Saturday, when they got two crucial face mask penalties and a critical holding penalty. And they didn't take advantage of the opportunities Northwestern gave them, with the Wildcats taking 10 penalties for 79 yards and losing two of their three fumbles.

However, if you believe Brewster's theory, if Northwestern had missed that field goal in the final moments, or if the Wildcats had missed a tackle with about one minute to play when it appeared Gophers quarterback Adam Weber had a chance to run for a winning touchdown on a bootleg that caught Northwestern unaware, then the Gophers would have won.

I thought Minnesota showed a lot of improvement Saturday against a Northwestern team that was 4-0 going in and was the best team the Gophers have faced.

Yes, this team might not win a home game with Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa coming up. And the Gophers are likely to lose the remaining road games at Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois.

But I still believe it will be better to give Brewster another year rather than bring in a new coach and have him start all over. After going 1-11 in 2007, he was 7-6 in 2008 and 6-7 last year and went to two Insight Bowl games even though he lost star receiver Eric Decker and some other key players because of injuries.

You might lose a few season ticket holders if you don't fire the coach. But I think Brewster will start consistently winning next year.

JottingsOne man who is very well informed on NFL personnel but who can't be quoted by name because of NFL rules was in the Gophers press box Saturday and was asked if Weber had a chance to be a NFL quarterback. "He will get an opportunity to make it," he said.

If you want my opinion, Bobby Bell -- whose Gophers' No. 78 will be retired after this season -- is the best Gophers football player I have watched during my long writing career. Freshmen were ineligible when he enrolled at Minnesota from the small town of Shelby, N.C., where he played quarterback. Bell, who did a great job kicking off among other things, was switched to the defensive line, and when the freshmen scrimmaged the varsity, Bell was the best player on the field. Bell was the highest-paid former Gophers pro football player when the Kansas City Chiefs of the old American Football League outbid the Vikings, who had made Bell their No. 1 choice.

The Twins are working on a plan to install a new video board where the current Mortenson sign is in right field so some fans who can't see the present video board will have one they can see.

The Twins don't have any plans to expand the 39,500 capacity of Target Field. "Originally we had planned on 42,000 seats," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. "However, HOK [the firm that drew up the stadium plans] came back with the news that we could have 39,500 seats, and we are happy with that capacity because it has helped bring a great atmosphere in the stadium."

There are strong indications that all of the Twins coaches who are on one-year contracts will return next year under Gardenhire. Gardenhire, who has one year left on his contract, will be rewarded with a multiyear deal once the season is over.

Last year at this time, three current Twins were on the Dodgers roster. They are Jason Repko, who had 44 at-bats and hit .250 in September while being used primarily as a defensive outfield replacement and pinch runner; Jim Thome who leads the Twins with 25 homers in only 275 at-bats, and Hudson, who is hitting .267.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com