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MINNEAPOLIS -- During the previous decade, as Minnesota piled up division titles as a spunky overachiever, the organizations ability to produce fundamentally solid players and competitive teams without expensive power hitters or starting pitchers became known around baseball as the Twins Way.Theyve become the wayward Twins these days. Theyre on pace at the All-Star break to pass the club record of 102 losses.Like a lot of people, I dont look at the record too much anymore. Its kind of counterproductive for me, manager Paul Molitor said after historic, horrific first half of the schedule during which the Twins went 27-54.I try not to go down that road. Obviously I hope we have a better half, said Molitor, who in his first year running the team oversaw an 83-79 record that had the Twins in postseason contention until the second-to-last day on the 2015 slate.Having averaged 96 losses over the four years prior to Molitors debut, the 0-9 start this season that didnt get much better throughout April and May looked more like the trend. The optimism-fueling 2015 finish looked more like the outlier.Not where we want to be, said first baseman Joe Mauer, in his usual understated manner.What cant be overstated is the organizations persistent problem procuring and maintaining adequate starting pitching. Twins starters are 19-38 with a 5.26 ERA this season, ahead of only Cincinnati.The backbone of the Twins Way was durable starting pitchers who didnt walk many batters, trusting stout defense behind them to minimize potential damage from pitches to contact. The philosophy was formed around the time manager Tom Kelly took over in 1987, leading the Twins to their first of two World Series titles. There were lean years in the 1990s, but the club was in contention in Kellys last season, 2001, and kept it up under his replacement, Ron Gardenhire. The Twins won the American League Central division six times from 2002 through 2010.Since then, quality starters have simply stopped coming through the farm system.Kyle Gibson, the teams first-round draft pick in 2009, has settled in as a capable middle-of-the-rotation right-hander. Tyler Duffey has shown potential in 24 major league starts. Jose Berrios is waiting in Triple-A. But the dearth of starting pitching has prompted general manager Terry Ryan to dole out close to $200 million in free agent contracts since he returned to his post nearly five years ago.Ervin Santana has been the best of a mediocre-at-best bunch, a group of five veterans whove combined for 78 victories over the last 4 1/2 seasons.Hopefully weve drafted and are starting to develop some people who are going to emerge in the near future and give us an opportunity to start building a staff where youd say, `All right, theyre going to be around here for a while, Ryan said.This is the sixth straight year that Twins starters have ranked in the bottom five in the majors in strikeouts. The overall struggles have triggered a shift toward development, Ryan said, from innings limits to drafting harder throwers.Less-than-desirable defense hasnt helped the starting pitchers, either, but sometimes theyve been at fault, too. Molitor ordered an early round of pitchers fielding practice before a recent game, the type of fundamental drills rarely seen during a season after spring training.Theres a lot of our game, our Twins baseball, this year that needs cleaning up, Molitor said that night. You can talk about base running and our defense at times. But the plays that are on the mound, our guys make good pitches and we get balls hit in the infield and were having mental lapses about covering bases or where to go backing up bases. It was just kind of my desire to get these guys focusing a little bit more and realize that they have more responsibility than just throwing a pitch. You let your guard down, and its easy to come back and bite you.The Twins have gone 7-3 in July while outscoring opponents a whopping 78-37, including seven games against league-leading Texas. Theyre likely to make some trades this month and next, clearly out of contention for 2016, but Molitor has expressed at least a mild satisfaction in recent progress shown by some of the young players who struggled so badly at the beginning of the season.Questions have been raised about Ryans future, given the ugly record. A new general manager could always make a change on the bench, too, so Molitors return isnt exactly guaranteed. For now, a recalibration toward development has given him a fresh perspective on the second half.Its a great opportunity to teach, Molitor said. cheap jerseys from china .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. cheap china jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. https://www.chinajerseysreplica.us/ . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. china jerseys .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. wholesale jerseys china . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday.Sky sources report that Sam Tomkins is set to make his long awaited return to Super League for Wigan against Hull FC on Friday, live on Sky Sports 3. The 27-year-old England international full-back has re-joined his hometown club but has yet to play this season, having sustained a knee ligament injury while playing for New Zealand Warriors last year. However, Tomkins recently returned to training and now looks set to make his first appearance for Wigan since 2013.Having moved to the NRL for a world record fee, Tomkkins spent two years with the Warriors, but it was announced last year that he would leave at the end of the 2015 season.ddddddddddddHe had an operation on the knee injury just before Christmas but Wigan coach Shaun Wane said last week that Tomkins was training every day and would be back in action soon. Also See: Rugby League on Sky Fixtures and results Follow @SkySportsRL Pundits ' ' '