| 04 April 2011
This post is from Matt McCabe, a sports writer for the St. James Plainsdealer and an occasional contributer to TwinsTarget.com. Below is a conversation he had with another Twins fan, D.L. Bergeman. Though I don't agree with everything printed below, it does provide an interesting take on two Twins' fans opinions. Thanks for this, Matt!
Dear Twins fans:
I, Matt McCabe, do send my sincerest apologies for my role in teasing and neglecting you, the reader. When last we spoke it was Halloween, 2010. Hosni Mubarak was President of Egypt. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler were simply has-been recording artists. Charlie Sheen was a sane, productive member of society. And the Minnesota Twins had as many questions as answers regarding the 2011 roster.
Seemingly all that has changed, Twins fans. Or has it?
Let’s list just a few concerns I have:
· Can Morneau perform on a consistent basis? He's said the only way he'd want to play was as an everyday player.
· How deep is our pitching, especially relief-wise? Are we putting too much onus on Joe Nathan coming back as the dominant closer he was?
· Is Alexi Casilla capable of 150+ games devoid of the mental errors that have so often put him in Gardy's doghouse?
· What about Nishioka? The Twins brass are already anointing him a Gold Glove contender. Plus, as you might expect, he's a great base runner. He’s not really that fast, just has really, really great instincts.
· We've got guys who are chronicly hurt. How many games does Mauer catch? Can Cuddyer slug like he did two years ago as opposed to his meager totals last year?
· Does Delmon Young continue his emergence, and will he incorporate not swinging every once in a while?
· What about “Franchise?” What about “Moonshot Scott?” What about Danny “Superstar” Valencia? Can he continue his catalyzing ways?
Yes, these are all question marks for the Minnesota Twins. But -- and this is a big “but” -- they pale in comparison, I think, to a set of broader questions that cut to the heart of being a Twins fan, and indeed a Minnesota sports fan in This Year of our Lord, 2011. They are questions so big I should not and cannot answer them on my own. And so, gentle, forgiving purveyors of twinstarget.com information, allow me to introduce special TwinsTarget.com correspondent and close personal friend of the Matt McCabe Project (Restricted), D.L. Bergeman.
D.L. is a co-author of several future non-fiction books including 20 Years of Misery: Minnesota Sports 1992-present and In Memoriam: The Life and Times of Sid Hartman. He grew up in a small town in southern Minnesota and now lives in Colorado Springs as a newspaper journalist. D.L. earned his master’s degree in communication from Hawaii Pacific University (not making this up). He’s almost 30 years old.
D.L. and I exchanged e-mails recently in an attempt to tap into the important questions of Twins fandom. What follows is the result of this back-and-forth. So D.L., to get the ball rolling here, I took your suggestion of this question, “Why should I (a Twins fan) care about the upcoming season?” and constructed the following two talking points:
1. Why or how much should we care about this team especially during the regular season considering their playoff shortcomings?
2. What would make this season a success for the Twins?
---
D.L.: Thanks for the warm introduction Matty. It’s quite humbling to have the opportunity to match wits with you on TwinsTarget.com.
As to the Twins, I’m not a baseball wonk by any stretch of the imagination. I couldn’t tell you the difference between sabermetrics and plyometrics. I certainly wouldn’t sit down to take in the odd Marlins-Padres tilt. I do know that I’m not excited about our prospects or making any noise in the playoffs this year. Hence, it’s difficult for me to get too excited about the upcoming season.
Think back to a year ago. After the additions of J.J. Hardy, Orlando Hudson and Jim Thome Twins fans were all atwitter about our chances to make hay in the playoffs. I guess for Twins fans “makin' hay” was to win a playoff game for the first time since 2002. In all seriousness, the Twins did rewrite the record books, 12 consecutive playoff losses and counting. This year we jettisoned Hardy, Hudson and half our bullpen and added unproven Japanese second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka to pair with (gulp) Alexi “Purina” Casilla in the middle infield. I grant you that Hardy, Hudson and Crane will not be missed. Yet, it could be difficult finding equivalent replacements for Jon “Neck Tattoo” Rauch and Matt Guerrier, even with the return of a Tommy Johnned Joe Nathan.
That being said my expectations are low, at least for the postseason. It is still baseball though. Target Field is phenomenal. The Twins will win a lot of games. The lineup looks nice and the starting rotation sturdy. Here are a few things that I think can make this a successful year for our Twins.
Attack of the Tsuyoshi Nishioka
Nishioka is the reigning Japanese League batting champ. He has the ability to steal a few bases and is a handy man with the leather. But what really excites me about Nishioka is his ability to expose us to Japanese cultural sensibilities. My hope is that by the end of the season Nishioka has played so well that he has earned a cool Samurai-based nickname (Yoshi is too easy). That would be a great rookie season.
Delmon Young’s Two Left Feet
As much as it kills me to watch Delmon take poor angles, I must say it’s at least entertaining watching him in the field. The man is truly all thumbs. In fact, a 5-gallon bucket has more range in the outfield, fortunately Young had a breakout season with the lumber last year batting .298 with 112 RBIs and 21 ding dongs. If those numbers get a modicum better, we’ll take his fielding with a grain of salt.
Jesse Crain AA Battery Night
Am I the only one that has cringed every time he’s taken the mound for the past seven years? His stats look decent but he has to be one of the least clutch primary relievers we’ve had over the past several decades. I can’t wait for the boo birds and the flying projectiles to come out the first time the battery of Crain to Pierzynski is called out at Target Field. Thank you White Sox for taking this clown off our hands. Enjoy.
Bleaching the White Sox
The past two years the Twins are 25-11 against the South Siders. The Twins always seem to beat their brains in at the most important times, including a four game sweep last August in Chicago that propelled them to a division crown. Continue the trend this year and Chicago will be going to seminars on the definition of insanity.
Win One Measly Playoff Ser..Playoff Game
Just one win. Please. This is embarrassing. And avoid the darn Yankees at all costs.---
---
MM: You addressed my 2nd question in those last few sentences. I know you’re being facetious when you say win “just one” playoff game. Of course, that would literally be an infinite improvement over the last three Twins' playoff appearances. But seriously, what makes this year's Twins season a success? And then another question I must ask myself is, do I need a Championship run, or can I just bask in the glow of this team’s star power, its idiosyncrasies, or maybe baseball’s sheer randomness? They say you’ll see something different every game; 2-3 different things when Delmon Young is moving laterally. Maybe the fun, interesting things you mentioned like beating the White Sox or throwing Double-A’s at former Twins are all a Major League Baseball fan should expect. Then again, this isn’t Kansas City.
We’re the Twins in the 21st century darn it! We’re Brad Radke and Johan Santana. We’re Everyday Eddie and Joe Nathan. We’re Doug Mientkiewicz, Torii Hunter, and Corey Koskie. And yes, we’re Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. It’s not often you have players of this caliber. We have two MVP’s supposed to be in their prime, a one-time Cy Young contender in Liriano, young guys like Valencia and Young who can jump-start the lethargy that meets most Sunday afternoon games, and we have Jim Thome. On Thome: How appropriate is it that the Twins finally have this guy? He’s like a mix between Harmon Killebrew and Paul Bunyan. He looks like he should be moving refrigerators in Hanska, MN.
So as you might expect, this Twins fan needs a little more than the serene sounds and sights of Target Field in 2011. The yearly September sweep of the Whities will not, I predict, pack the same punch as in years past. I am no drinker of the Twins kool-aid, though Dick and Bert know just how to stir the pot.
Bottom line: We need to go to a World Series.
The Yankees didn’t do much in the offseason. They picked up Victor Martinez to replace the piece of plywood they used last year behind the plate. Said piece of plywood will now be their DH. Remember the days when the Yankees would settle for nothing less than a broken down Chili Davis or a broken down Jose Canseco at DH? Those were the glory years. Oh, they also signed a set-up guy for a closer’s salary in Rafael Soriano. How about the Red Sox? Give them credit for filling a big need with a big time player in Carl Crawford. I think Boston takes the division and I think the Yankees and Rays don’t make it because there are two teams in Cleveland and Kansas City who I’ll venture are going to finish worse than any team in the competitive AL East. That makes for two teams coming out of the AL Central.
I think the Twins measure up to any other team in baseball with Morneau and a solidified bullpen. The trouble has been in the past 12 playoff games as you point out, D.L., is that this team has unequivocally choked.
We’ve talked about it. How can you lose 12 straight games? Not one pitcher could throw a shutout or even give up a single run in nine innings? The offense couldn’t have one game where they broke out for 8, 9, 10 runs? But that’s where we’re at.
Is the regular season meaningless for me? No. Of course it isn’t. I love watching and discussing Twins baseball. But I’m afraid the wins and the losses won’t mean as much when ultimately the same scenario goes down in the playoffs. Regular season accolades – Manager of the Year, MVPs, Rolaid’s Relief Man of the Year – pale in comparison to the ultimate prize. And I’d like to experience that feeling in my adult life.
I was seven years old when the Twins won the World Series in 1991, D.L. I didn’t even witness the thing live. Mom sent me to bed as much for my chiding of Kent Hrbek as for it being a school night (long story). Am I being selfish for wanting to see my team win it all, for not accepting anything less?
---
D.L. The Twins amuse me during the regular season, kind of like a clown. There are some genuine laughs when our clown hits the other clown in the junk, a smile or two when our clown shocks the other clown with a shaving cream pie to the face, and the inevitable gags involving tiny cars that just don’t cut the mustard.
I waste a ton of time watching and reading about the Twins during the season. I cringe to think of all the useful knowledge I could have accrued or the great things I may have accomplished had a concentrated efforts elsewhere. For instance, I could have, and by all rights should have been the guy to invent Four Loko. Yet, if the Twins were to raise Minnesota fandom from our prone position face down in the muck of mediocrity and deliver a championship, it will all be worth it. So no Matt, you are not selfish.
But ultimately Mr. McCabe, your aim is too high. Cubs fans have been waiting a millennia for a championship. Vikings fans, merely half a century. The reality of our situation is that we still do not have a bona fide ace in the rotation. Liriano has done nothing to prove he’s a big game pitcher. Pavano is steady, but he’s not going to shut someone down in the playoffs. The rest of our starters are a mashed up bag of number fours who will all hover around 13-11 during the regular season. Oh, and when was the last time our vaunted bullpen held a postseason lead?
Furthermore, .069, 0 and 0. Those numbers represent Jason Kubel’s playoff batting average, the number of playoff appearances Justin Morneau has made the past two seasons and the cumulative total of home runs Joe Mauer has hit in the postseason. On paper the Twins lineup looks as potent as any in the league. In playoff principle we’ve got a clubhouse full of paper lions.
Don’t get me wrong, the Twins are going to field a nice squad. Our lineup is stacked, our pitching steady, our bullpen ever improving. Target Field will be electric all year and we’ll be vying for a playoff spot into September. A successful season for me, though, would be winning a divisional round series for once. That’s all I ask. And that my friend, is a torpedo of truth.
---
M.M.: So losing in the American League Championship series is your idea of a successful season? This, TwinsTarget.com readers, is what Minnesota sports have come to. It's evidently taken a once thriving, dynamic young man in D.L. Bergeman and turned him into someone just happy to be in the conversation. I understand your frustration D.L. I get that you need to learn how to walk before you run. But last year showed me that anybody can win in the playoffs and the offseason developments point to this undeniable truth: There are no great teams in the American League.
Sure, you're going to have the normal contenders: the Yankees, the Red Sox, Detroit, Chicago, and now Texas building for a run. But the majority of star pitchers are in the National League, teams like the Yankees and Red Sox are getting old, and the Tigers and White Sox have their own flaws.
Would I be happy with a divisional series win alone? Certainly I wouldn't be satisfied and I couldn't rightfully call it a success. It's tough to even think that far ahead with 162 games standing in front of the Twins and another shot at winning a game in the playoffs. I think that's part of their problem.
I've already said the Twins have choked away playoff games. That implies a mental breakdown that hindered their ability to play their very best. This particular pattern of losing is doubly back-breaking because the regular season perpetuates the losses.
Think about it. You invest so much time and energy into 162 games of “playing the right way.” You're looking for an edge in every at bat, in every step around the base paths, in every 1-2 count with runners on the corners and one out. Sure, the approach is professionalism personified, but it's also got to wear on a player or a group of players over time. Suddenly the playoffs come, everything gets magnified even more and players' “strings” become too taut. Suddenly Jason Kubel's head is in a bad, bad place. Suddenly the Twins can't even execute the small-ball tactics that got them to be an elite team in the first place. Suddenly seven seasons and 12 straight playoff losses have passed. And until the Twins make hay in the playoffs – you know, win a game or two – then questions will arise about the value of our Manager of the Year. But that's another topic.
Of course, Minnesota sports fans are no stranger to the phenomenon I just described. The Timberwolves had eight straight first round playoff defeats before finally making it to the Western Conference Finals in 2004. Apply my theory to KG and the Wolves: “playing the right way--” looking for an edge in every possession -- professionalism personified. Sound familiar?
Big thanks to D.L. for the contribution. I promise I'll get some more work out here on the site. Go Twins!
Sincerely,
Matt McCabe
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
