If the (recent) past is prologue, we're in dangerous territory

[Ben Reimler]

The seasonal tradition of bemoaning the many false-starts of Minnesota’s spring is typically accompanied by an equally frustrating tradition: questioning whether it’s too early to panic about the Twins. If recent history is our guide, we may be fast-approaching that point. 

Of the five American League teams that punched tickets to the playoffs last season, none started worse than 5-7. Now admittedly, that’s a small sample size, but it reinforces the conventional baseball wisdom that good, playoff teams avoid spiraling losing streaks. 

While only one 2021 AL playoff team (the Boston Red Sox) finished their first 12 games above .500, the remaining four closed out the opening month of their campaigns close to or above the .500 mark. The New York Yankees owned the worst April record of the 2021 AL contenders at 12-15. At the current pace of the 2022 Minnesota Twins, they’ll be lucky to sniff 10 wins throughout the month of April. Simply put, these games matter too and that’s not good enough. 

The Twins’ offseason was certainly exciting, but it’s now time to demonstrate that those signings and trades will translate to victories. Given an underwhelming 2020 and an abysmal 2021, the current iteration of the Minnesota Twins – front office to club house – have not earned our patience. If the (recent) past is prologue, it’s time to start piling up series wins and turn the fortunates of this season around.