Slam the Door (Twins 1 Royals 6 - Game 130)

I won't pretend any interest in following this game. A certain combination of real life emergencies left my family shell-shocked and living in a bunker mentality. This delayed my game recaps, and as you can imagine that delay was the least of our concerns.

I woke up from a nap that felt like a flatline to the Twins taking the fall on a heavy-hitting eighth inning. A score like that tells me I didn't miss anything by skipping out on the cleats and stirrups set for the evening.

In fact, in a world of real life, the Minnesota Twins feel increasing less real and more like an outdated social nicety. You know, like not answering the phone during dinner. I don't want to be bitter, but I feel like I'm providing more spark in this relationship than the team is.

Why So Undemanding? (Twins 1 Royals 8 - Game 131)

Referencing goth-rock legends Sisters of Mercy in my recap title doesn't bode well for my mood regarding Minnesota baseball.

Albers fever, as a fad, sure didn't have much to it. The day of this game, people were really stretching to keep Miley Cyrus's performance socially relevant. It's a fickle world.

Morneau hit a home run, putting him within range of 20 in a nice bounce-back season. That's one thing to cheer for. I've already had one conversation with a friend about how we can't even remember what it felt like to be excited about a ballgame.

Earlier in the season, some folks on the Internet were demanding bullpen cars for Target Field. If they brought those cars into play now - and be honest - is there anything else fans would remember about the season?

This Feels Like a Dumping (Twins 1 Royals 3 - Game 132)

A Bruce Chen beating. A Royals sweep. At Target Field. Deduno doesn't get much done. I caught part of this one on the radio, and I didn't feel like life was doing me any favors.

It occurred to me that switching over the Pirates would even allow me more access to watching the team. Thanks to blackout restrictions, I can't watch my Twins without navigating the cable waters. However, taking advantage of late season discounts could have me watching a whole lot of Pirates games.

The autograph party and various Pro-Shop signing used to keep me connected to the team. Now it's Twins Unplugged and fancy events. Even the radio station, when the games aren't playing, feels like it's talking to someone else. A someone else who buys a whole lot of Greatest Hits CDs.

I'm complaining, but I'm not demanding. This may be a fit for a lot of fans, and the Twins and those fans have every right to enjoy themselves and be happy. I just feel like I signed on for a tough and humble bunch of athletes who really connected with the fans. Now, the whole vibe of the team feels like it's separated by a plastic sneeze guard and snotty receptionist.

Does a bad mood and rough month cloud my judgment? It's worth considering. But if this sickly gut feeling resonates with other fans out there, maybe it isn't just me.