Article: Why Do We Care About the Twins?

[Jim Crikket]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1269-Why-Do-We-Care-About-the-Twins

[edavis0308]

Not sure what the deal still is with the commenting, but I will copy and paste what I typed in the comments of the article:

 

Good article. I think part of the reason that it is easier to care about a baseball team is because our money is directly related (or should be) to the product we get out of it. If we all buy their gear and go to their games, we (should) be able to reap th benefits from spending our money on their business. We have a say - if their product sucks, we don't spend our money on it. It's too bad the opposite is happening.

[Mike Sixel]

I too will not spend any of my money on this inferior product in 2013.

[Chance]

I personally will enjoy the season... I don't mind watching players develop at the major league level. I like to dwell on the future rather than the present. It keeps me positive. This team might be horrible but we will get to see a CF I have been wanting to see for about 4 years. I want to see players earn a callup and get a shot at the pros. It's exciting to me to see a player who is unknown at the time make a name for himself (David Freese).

[TCBurgerGuy]

Great article, JC. One of the things that always brings me joy in relation to baseball is the promise of a new season. We can all sit here and pontificate about how the Twins will do in 2013 based on names on paper, but the reality is that the game is played on the field and it is not out of the realm of possibility that this team could do well next (this?) season. No matter how it shakes out, each team starts the season with 0 wins. I am anxious to see how many numbers the Twins can add to that 0 in 2013.

[Jim Crikket]

edavis, when the TD guys honor a blog post by bumping it up to "article" status, the comments from the blog area unfortunately don't follow, so I appreciate you taking the time to repost your comment here, too.

 

Anyone who has read my stuff lately knows I'm not optimistic about the Twins in 2013, but there are things I'm looking forward to. Of course, with my home town Kernels now the Twins' Class A affiliate in the Midwest League, I'll certainly be spending more evenings at the ballpark watching them, anyway. Baseball is just too great a game not to find ways to enjoy it.

[Top Gun]

Rich Harden's new minor league contract with the Twins includes an opt-out clause with a date of July 31

[Riverbrian]

The Twins are our team and will always be our team... We are powerless to cause the change that we want... but not powerless to get behind it anyway and follow the pied piper... No matter where it leads...

 

Every once in awhile... Even the Underdog will bite... We are for the Underdog no matter how much of a dog it is.

 

It's just the best way to live your life!

 

Good Article Jim!!! I'm with ya... Even when I'm against you slightly.

[johnnydakota]

It is hard to have hope when your general is a snake oil saleman flinging monkey dung onto the field claiming it is a quality rotation ... oh knucks nice writting , wish i had half your talent always enjoy your stuff , happy new years twins fans

[John Bonnes]

There will certainly be things to watch, and I'll welcome the season either way. But I can still be fully frustrated on the offseason and feel that way.

[glunn]

I am still clinging to faint hope that 2013 will be a turnaround.

[wagwan]

I will attend a game this year if I can make it back to Minnesota. I also used to go to the Met and enjoyed watching every Rod Carew at bat, no matter the score. The really nice thing about baseball is that the home team can win at any time, no matter how badly they are playing and how talented the opponent. You can always feel good in the short term. I think the Twins are going to be very good in a few years. Many many good players are on the way. They will need quite a few players to have come back years to be competitive in 2013. But I will be in the stands when they play the Royals in July, and I will be hoping for a win and enjoying the spectacle if they lose. I have never had a bad time at a ballpark.

[Jim Crikket]

I actually feel much the same about the Twins now that I did during Carew's peek years with the Twins in the mid 70s. This is actually the subject of one of many half-finished posts I've got sitting around. The similarities, in my mind and in my memory, are so many that it concerns me a great deal.

[ND-Fan]

I cann't agree more about what you say in this article it almost mirrors my feelings to a tee. I would like to add something of what i also think is important and its based on my teenage boy perspective of the Twins. This younger gereration of kids and fans don't have patience we longer term fans do in building a team and getting back to being competitive. My sons statement their not fun to watch when they play like they have these two past seasons and he's losing interest in watching baseball. I cann't imagine how business can risk losing younger future customers without putting forth effort to show they are going to compete. Like my son says look at football they can be one of the worst teams in the league and in less than couple years they can be competing to go superbowl. Also he says doesn't matter if you are from small market or large market team it seems they have equal chance of getting to the championship. I know this fundamental structure of baseball problem but i cann't believe that baseball is going to be the king it once was until it starts resovling this issue. But back to the Twins they need show some significant improvement or were going back to early 90's again. I also don't blame Terry Ryan for all this it still goes to ownership to what extent there willing to compete and levels of return there willing to accept short term and long term. It also comes down to philosphy of ownership the NY,La, Texas, and Boston ownership won't accept anything less than winner each year. The smaller market teams seem to work on philosphy of trying to build a winner every 5 to 10 years within a certain budget until they cann't afford to keep that team together and start over. the frustration of being a baseball fan especially from small market team. I just wonder how many fans they are creating with this newer generation for longterm time will tell.

[twinsnorth49]

I'll always hope for the Twins, sometimes that hope takes on different meanings. It can mean hoping they do what I'd like them to do when it comes to free agents, it can mean hoping they make or don't make a particular trade or it can mean hoping that they promote a player I'm really looking forward to seeing, sooner than later, or even signing a player I'd like to see more of to an extension.

 

All of those hopes though are inextricably linked to the one great hope, the one hope that I just can't rid myself, no matter how hard I try. That is the simple hope that the Twins will win. No matter how much I disagree with them, no matter how much they may frustrate me, no matter how much they try to make me lose hope, I always find myself hoping they will win.

 

I will be down a number of times to watch them play again, the games I attend I will hope that they play well but I'll likely enjoy the games no matter. Maybe it's because I'm not spoiled enough to be able to enjoy the games whenever I choose, that I enjoy them all that much more when I get the chance to go. Target field has certainly increased that enjoyment for me, no matter how the Twins play, the sights, sounds and smells are always the same and at the end of the day, it's baseball.

[Riverbrian]

To Me... It's all baseball and nothing more and it's deep rooted... I watch my team... And I watch my players... Each member of the Twins are my players... I dont care if Stanton is better than Willingham.... Stanton doesnt play for my team... I may have preferred a different pitcher instead of Correia... But... Regardless... When Correia has the jersey on and the rock in his hands... I'll be hoping he peforms decently... Some double plays turned... Some corners hit... His pitches mixed... I hope the game is within reach to be won so I can watch Florimon hitting .230 drive in a game winning run with a single up the middle.

 

66 wins is a bad year but its 66 wins... A terrible team can win a lot of games.

 

I appreciate watching Mike Trout play... The guy plays the game the way it should played... Would love to see him in a Twins uniform... But I can still get excited watching Jamey Carroll drop a flare down the RF line... It's Baseball... No matter who I think Terry Ryan should pursue... It doesn't matter... The roster will consist of players wearing my colors and they will have my full throated support.

 

Unless you are Delmon Young or Danny Velancia... Half ass effort guys.

[stringer bell]

Yes, Jim I agree with you almost all the way down the line. In looking at the 2012 Twins, I saw the club meeting expectations in most areas and failing miserably at one--starting pitching. They have since traded away talent (Revere & Span) for one middle rotation guy and quite a bit of potential. They have allowed several players to leave and replaced them with two pitchers who look like more middle rotation fodder. For the Twins to thrive in 2013, someone has to emerge big-time (probably more than one someone). I think the organization knows baseball, but they may still be locked in the 20th century. We shall see if the players they have drafted and acquired since Ryan came back will be difference-makers in the next five years.

[Jack Torse]

I will always have an active interest in the Twins but the last two summers have been difficult to watch on TV much less making the sizable investment to go to target field. I check into each game several times but after May I bet I didn't watch 10 games start to finish. It's easier and much less of a time commitment to follow blogs and box scores to know what I want to know about them. At least for as long as they are losing 90 games a season.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Jim,

 

I suspect we follow baseball because its fun, we've made a personal investment in the game, and the outcome is never quite certain, like life.

 

There are mirrors to politics, and business, and even religion that are enmeshed in the Great American Pastime. We mourn for the Killebrew family, or we cheer for Lew Ford's comeback, because we've followed these characters and their charming, heartbreaking and humorous stories.

 

By chance, I happened to meet Rich Harden. I saw him take a break from his rehab in order to stand beside a family, when he was asked to be there for them at a solemn occasion. He's one of the good guys. So I will be following his story next season, to see if he can make the team. It intrigues me, and rekindles my admiration for the human spirit.

 

The business side of me is intrigued by the multiple relationships and conversations between owners, general managers, former players who coach and manage in the pajama-like uniforms of the players they lead, prospects, superstars, and the rest. This season, a day-trip to Cedar Rapids will add even more texture to the convsersation.

 

We get to eavesdrop on that conversation, buy a ticket to the game, and watch a budding prospect at shortstop react to a hard grounder, hit to his right. Our muscle memory from childhood kicks in as he goes deep into the hole, pivots, and launches a bullet throw to the first baseman's glove. That's a thing of beauty, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

[Shane Wahl]

Great article, Jim. Personally, I do run into some of the same concerns regarding my interest in sports and interest in things that are actually vitally important. I do a lot between teaching and being politically active and aware of things going on in the world so as to allow me to be angry about Kevin Correia and more frivolous concerns. I generally have a distaste for people who are sports fanatics and devote almost zero time and energy to other things that actually are relevant.

[Jim Crikket]

I just want to take a moment this morning to thank this group of commenters.The topic is certainly one that could have devolved in to another routine bashing of everyone involved with the Twins, but instead we got a lot of very thoughtful, intelligent stuff in these comments.Just another example of why Twins Daily has become such a great place for these discussions.

[Mike Sixel]

For what is worth, without Twins Daily, I doubt I would care at all right now. I cannot understand why I care at this point, other than I have cared for decades and it is hard to stop. That is more about realizing sports are not that important to me than it is about the Twins. I just like doing stuff more than watching sports now. So, for your good or ill, you all keep me interested.

[bdhenders]

I will still attend some games...A bad day at Target Field, is better than the best day at the office!

[johnnydakota]

I will still attend some games...A bad day at Target Field, is better than the best day at the office!

 

apperently your secretary isnt a hottie=)