The second half of the baseball season is about to begin and the trade deadline is inching closer and closer. With no baseball on Thursday to talk about, now is a good time look ahead at the keys to the second half for the Twins. In early June it looked as if the primary goal of the second half would be planning for 2007. After a hot month of June that’s being called into question and it will leave GM Terry Ryan with some tough choices to make.

In no particular order, here are my keys for the second half:

1. Consistent Pitching. The worst period of the season came when good pitching was hard to come by. Before Francisco Liriano entered the rotation the Twins had just one reliable starter, Johan Santana. After Liriano entered the picture the Twins had two of baseball’s hottest pitchers and the bottom three—Radke, Silva and Bonser—were turning in adequate starts as well. You remember what happened during that period—the Twins won. Being 9 game out in the wildcard race, the Twins need 2 1/2 months of consistent pitching.

2. Can Morneau and Cuddyer continue? The duo in the middle of the lineup provided some pop that the Twins haven’t seen in years. They came up with big hits when the Twins needed them. Both players had breakout first halfs. Can they keep it going into the second half? Both have the talent to do so.

3. The next two weeks. With the trade deadline looming, the next two weeks may determine the remainder of the season. If the Twins are still 9 or 10 games out in the last week of July trading guys like Torii Hunter and Shannon Stewart might be more appealing. The second half will become about 2007. If, however, the Twins can cut the lead to a handfull of games, Terry Ryan will have a hard time giving up on the season.

Regardless of what happens this season, the second half is sure to be exciting. As the All-Star game indicated, the Twins have a strong young nucleus to build around in Santana, Liriano, Mauer, Morneau, Kubel and Cuddyer. No long-term rebuilding is necessary with this team. They’re only a couple of strong signings away from building a quality team. Although, free agency hasn’t exactly been the Twins’ strong suit.