A week ago the Minnesota Twins were in la-la land -- their starting rotation was regarded by many as the deepest in the game, the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune anointed Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau as the second coming of Maris and Mantle and several baseball experts, including Peter Gammons, picked Minnesota’s Little-Engine-That-Could to chug all the way to a World Series title.

Then the season started. A 5-1 defeat in Seattle on Opening Day was followed by two victories, but during the course of the series Morneau was struck in the head with a Ron Villione pitch. When the team returned home, things only got worse.

After a 5-1 defeat in their home opener on Friday, the Twins were spanked 8-5 by the White Sox on Saturday. That was the good news -- they also received word that No. 3 starter Carlos Silva is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Meanwhile, their new left side of the infield, Michael Cuddyer and rookie Jason Bartlett, have been erratic. Then there’s the clean-up hitter, Morneau, who still can’t swing a bat without pain rushing to his head.

Despite the mistakes and misfortune, the team’s record stands at 3-3, thanks mostly to Johan Santana. After winning his first start on April 5, the reigning Cy Young winner did what an ace should do on Sunday night -- stop the bleeding -- striking out 11 White Sox en route to a 5-2 victory.

The Twins have won three straight AL Central titles largely due to their ability to plug holes. Their deep organization may produce a prospect like Dave Gassner or Scott Baker to replace Silva, but without both of the "M&M boys" in the line-up, there will be no October parade in Minnesota this year.