Bikini Waxing Nostalgic

With a 4 game sweep of the Oakland A's, the Twins have gotten off to a roaring start to the second half; however, the parallels to 2003 do not mean that the maddeningly inconsistent Twins squad of 2007 will repeat the march to the division title. Can they? Sure they can. Will they? Who Knows.
Now, with the grain of salt out of the way, it was nice to see the Twins hit the ground running. Sunday's game was nice, considering the way that they won- nevermind that Matty Guerrier put Boof Bonser's effort in the shitter. Enter the reigning MVP.
I mentioned this to my roommate earlier; its not how Morneau gets things done, its when. Last season was marked by clutch hits, and this season seems to be a continuation of that. After Guerrier pissed away a lead, Morneau steps in after not doing shit all game (he sure kept Nick Swisher busy at first tho), and deposits a bomb in the upper deck. Instant Momentum. It was enough to give Luis Castillo enough gumption to bust out a triple despite his perpetually creaky trick knees. Joe Mauer gets one thru the infield, Twins win. At one point it looked like we were gonna piss it away (Punto drove in runs for fuck sake!) , and we turned it into a nice win to sweep a series that starts off a stretch that makes us or breaks us. Next up Detroit comes to town for 3; we've drawn to 6 games of Detroit for the Wild Card- 2 out of 3 or a sweep brings us closer, and we can get the proverbial snowball rolling. Once again, on the same hand, if we shit the bed, then we are no better off than we were before the all-star break, plus the realization that the Oakland series was essentially all for naught.
Besides what this series will do standings wise, it will also show some things about the Twins themselves:
1. Can Scott Baker follow up another quality start with another one, or will this be another performance that brings so much skepticism? I really think if Baker can get over the little hump which makes him so shaky, we can have a reliable piece of the rotation not just for the rest of the year, but for the next couple of years. Does he have the skill? Well, considering the 8 inning gem (3 hits, 1 run in a tough luck loss) he pitched in Detroit (we'll see a rematch of that game, Jeremy Bonderman is scheduled to face Baker), he has the tools. But, and this is a big but, he also has those performances (Chicago) that make you cringe. So what Baker will we get?
2. Can Matt Garza build off of the strong effort in Chicago, and start to gain the top-of-the-rotation form that many scouts project him to have? Garza, in my opinion, could be the catalyst for the rotation (nevermind Santana), which gives us that sort of swagger, not unlike what Franchise Liriano did for us last year. Garza showed a nice selection of pitches, and I think that the continuing work with Joe Mauer and Rick Anderson can really make Garza a formidable pitcher down the stretch. While the ChiSox boasted a meaty lineup (despite them not showing up to play that day), Detroit is just as meaty; except the Tigers are rollin'. Gary Sheffield is on fire, Placido Polanco is a thorn in our side, Pudge Rodriguez, etc...you get the picture.
3. Which one of the members of "Left Field by Committee" will step up and assert themselves as the everyday guy. I know Gardenhire has a hard-on for Jason Kubel, but unless he steps up and produces in the 6/7 spot, I feel the spot is up for grabs. Lew Ford has shown that when he plays everyday that he can hit; the same could be said for Jason Tyner. And to trump Kubel, Tyner, and to a lesser extent Ford, can move around the bases pretty well.
4. Can Garrett Jones produce from the DH role, giving us some semblence of power? Or is he just keeping that role warm for another aging former-somebody who the Twins will pick up hoping for one last hurrah (Bret Boone, Phil Nevin)?
I am excited for this series; we don't fear the Tigers per se; I think we fear not showing up and getting smoked.