The Twins managed to get a winning record for the first time in 2015 on Sunday, and there was much rejoicing in Twins Territory for something that normally is considered a rather minor accomplishment, especially this time of the year. After all, even last year, the Twins had a winning record as late as May 24.

But considering how this team started and everything it has gone through, it really seems like almost a miracle to get above .500.

Consider this: The Twins' top 3 starting pitchers coming into this season have made just seven starts and are 1-5 with a 5.67 ERA. Just the fact the Twins have a winning record despite being 0-5 in Phil Hughes' starts is amazing. That means the Twins are now 13-7 when Hughes and Ervin Santana doesn't start. Add on to that, that Tommy Milone was already demoted to the minors before the end of April.

Now consider that the Twins' already thin bullpen has been hurt by injuries to both Casey Fien and Brian Duensing, who have both seen time on the DL. Tim Stauffer also is on the DL now, but that goes in the addition by subtraction category.

Now add on to that the fact that the offense has been below average. A number of the younger hitters have had a hard time just making contact let alone making offensive contributions. Brian Dozier, Oswaldo Arcia and Kennys Vargas are each on pace for just a dozen home runs this season.

And the outfield defense continues to be terrible and shortstop Danny Santana leads the world in errors.

With all these problems, how is this team not in last place let alone have a winning record?

At the end of April last year, the Twins were at .500, but that felt like a mirage. Many things had gone right for them, especially on offense. Chris Colabello was getting a couple hits and an RBI it seemed like every game, but he quickly came back to earth as scouting reports and a high strikeout rate caught up with him and he was demoted before the end of May.

This year, outside of Shane Robinson in a part-time role and Aaron Thompson in middle relief, it doesn't seem like the Twins have anyone playing over their heads. Even the Twins' run differential has vastly improved after that 22-1 beatdown by the Tigers to start the season. The Twins are now just -1 in run differential. That means they are 13-9 with a +20 run differential since that opening series in Detroit.

More problems will arise, as they always do in a long season, but the Twins also appear to be better prepared to cover their problem areas. Remember, Ervin Santana will be plugged into the rotation in July, so he can pick up the slack if a start like today for Mike Pelfrey turns into more of the norm. Also, Taylor Rogers and Pat Dean both have ERAs near 2.00 in AAA and Alex Meyer has been better of late, including a great start Sunday before walking his final two batters to lead off the 8th inning. If the Twins are willing to go down to AA, Jose Berrios, D.J. Baxendale and Tyler Duffey could all be worthy of consideration for a callup in a few weeks.

As for relievers, the injuries have made room for Michael Tonkin and Ryan Pressly. Both throw in the mid-90s and have shown improved breaking balls. Pressly was really impressive Sunday. His curveball for strike 3 called with the bases loaded was so nasty that Chris Herrmann couldn't even catch it. Otherwise, Lester Oliveros is in AAA with a 0.833 WHIP and 16.5 K/9. In AA, the Twins have three relievers that can reach triple digits at times, including Zach Jones, who has a 0.625 WHIP and a 14-1 K-BB ratio in 8 innings.

So the Twins have certainly had their fair share of problems, but have they been lucky to win in spite of these problems or have these problems kept them from having an even better record? Only time will tell for sure.

These Guys Ain't So F'n Bad

In my favorite baseball movie, Major League, which is based on a fictional miracle run to winning the pennant by the hapless Cleveland Indians, they show a montage of Indians fans right after the roster is set at the end of spring training. All of the fans are complaining about that they don't know who most of the players are or that they just suck (with a lot of worse language thrown in).

After the season starts and the Indians somehow hang around .500, the movie goes through another montage of the same fans, most of whom are talking about how this team might not be so terrible after all, including a construction worker who looked up at a fellow worker and exclaimed, "These guys ain't so [redacted]-ing bad!" (The Japanese groundscrew were still not convinced).

I think I'm starting to get to that point with the Twins.

After a brutal 12-3 home opener following a disastrous initial road trip, the Twins were 1-6 on April 14 and had been outscored 45-16. They had just found out a week earlier that their biggest free agent signing in team history, Ervin Santana, was going to be suspended for the first half of the season and their second-biggest free agent, Ricky Nolasco, was going on the DL with a sore elbow. Paul Molitor's tenure as manager could hardly have gotten off to a worse start.

Since then, however, the Twins are 7-4 and have outscored their opponents 44-36, which means they have allowed an average of 3.27 runs per game in that stretch. In fact, they have the best record in their division in games played after April 13.

The Twins (8-10) are closing in on .500 despite the fact that they have won 0 games started by Phil Hughes, Santana or Nolasco. The Twins are 8-5 in games not started by their presumed top 3 starting pitchers.

On Sunday, the Twins also saw a continued resurgence from Joe Mauer, who's raised his batting average 49 points to .299 over his last five games. He had three hits on Sunday, including a tiebreaking two-run triple in the 11th inning. He could have had five hits after lining out twice. He also was intentionally walked, which gives him as many walks on the season as strikeouts (11 of each).

Also, for a second-consecutive game, the bullpen played a key role in a win. On Saturday when Trevor May got hurt in the fifth inning of a tie game, I figured that was all she wrote right there. But the bullpen only allowed two runs on a two-run home run with a five-run lead late while the Twins' batters took it to the Mariners' bullpen. Then on Sunday, the Twins' best relievers of Aaron Thompson, Casey Fien and Glen Perkins combined for four scoreless innings with 4 Ks and 1 BB. Those three relievers have no greater than a 0.75 WHIP, which is incredibly good.

There's still plenty of problems and concerns with this team, but at least for now there's at least some small signs that maybe this team won't be so [redacted]-ing bad after all.