Just when fans think things couldn’t get much worse, the Minnesota Twins sink to new unheard of depths. The team that is perennially slated to contend for the AL Central division crown is in a tailspin that it cannot seem to kick. The offensive output continues to be a concern. Even when they do score runs, they seem to find a way to blow it in the late innings. The club seemed to have an easy stretch of games last week against the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks, but nothing is smooth for the team this season.
It is Kirk Gibson’s first full season as skipper of the Diamondbacks and he has seemed to have lit a fire under his club. They are playing with a passion and vigor that Chase Field hasn’t often seen in the recent past. It is true that fans of the team aren’t as obsessive as in some markets because many of the residents are from other places. But the Suns have proven that they will support a quality product. The market is so big that it doesn’t need to create the buzz that the Brewers or Reds do.
Justin Upton and Stephen Drew are siblings of other players in the major leagues. It can be argued that their brothers haven’t lived up to expectations to this point, but Stephen and Justin are experiencing success this season in Phoenix. The loss of Adrian Gonzalez in San Diego and the tumultuous situation with the Dodgers ownership has given a pep to the step of the Diamondbacks. The slow start for the Colorado Rockies has also given them hope for a promising season.
Conversely, the Twins have been decimated by injuries and lack of production from their key players. The perfect storm that has ensued has Twins fans feeling a sense of buyer’s remorse. The season ticket buyers, cable subscribers, and those who purchased mlb.tv are still waiting for Justin Morneau to return to the player he was. They are also without their beloved hometown hero: Joe Mauer.
There are numerous other ailments and disappoints, but I don’t want to overlap with past blogs.
Seattle and Anaheim come to Target Field this week to take on the Minnesota Twins of Minnesota. Okay, that wasn’t that funny, but the Twins play has been if you are a fan in another American League city. Previously, I stated that it was “go time” for the team. They have failed to heed my call to glory, so now it is simply time to salvage the season in terms of respectability.
Triple digits in losses cannot be in the cards for players that have had this type of success in the past. This is where pride must kick in and players start quoting John McCain. “Failure is not an option.”
They owe an adequate product to their fans, the city, and most importantly to themselves. Will Ferrell plays a hapless loser in his new film. The Twins are playing them on the field, but they don’t get to redo their games like he could with his scenes.
–Patrick Herbert