2016: Here we go. Guarded Optimism

[DocBauer]

OK Twins fans...the 2016 season is about to begin!

 

First....YEA! Real baseball is back! Spring is...well...springing, and the world is suddenly better with baseball back in swing! But we can't fully appreciate the upcoming season, and looking forward, without looking back as well. Baseball is always a bit of a time machine, always has been, like most sports, and our beloved Twins sit at an apex right now.

 

A few items to reflect on:

 

1} Our Twins had 4 aweful seasons...it could be strongly debated only 2 of them were actually expected. There are a lot of fans of teams that would love to only endure 4 such seasons, regardless of reasons or explanations. This would include the current champions.

 

2} With top prospects on the rise, veterans on the roster, the FO suddenly spending far more on FA, I still think it's safe to say most of us, and the baseball world in general, felt the Twins would right the ship and be a contender in 2016 or 2017, not 2015. And the reasons for this are pretty simple: graduation of milb talent. We all know the Twins had, arguably, 2 of the most talented prospects in all of baseball the past couple of years. We also know a team is not built on 2 players alone. Still, these 2 players were the cream of the crop, possibly difference makers, and each had a really rough 2014 to set them back.

 

But they, Sano and Buxton, were not the only talented youngsters in this strong system, just the top of that crop.

 

3} No GM in his right mind would ever say the following: "Fans, we have less talent than most teams in baseball right now. But we have a lot of talent on the way, which you probably won't see this season, or the next, but maybe the season after you will. So in the meantime, we've assembled a team we hope won't suck, and we invite you out to watch your favorite team hopefully pitch and play a quality game that we might actually win while you enjoy $5 hotdogs and $10 beers. Oh yeah, we have bobble heads and posters of past great players and winning seasons if you pick the right day to come out and shell out dollars." So let's just drop the whole poor 4 seasons of losing ball that I touched on point #1.

 

The team, like all other teams, made attempts to provide something competitive on the field. So what if we never heard; "we are in rebuild mode at the moment." Unless you were hiding under a rock, you knew the rebuild was underway.

 

4} A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum...errr...Target Field. Even as Caesar was failing/flailing, something began to happen. This "happening" in different stages over the past 2 seasons was the likes of Plouffe, Dozier, Santana, Escobar, Hughes, the other Santana, Rosario, Sano, Gibson, Buxton and others teasing and tantalizing and actually bringing excitement and a winning record and competition for a playoff spot in 2015. So despite the Twins NOT being in rebuild mode, (chuckle), the Twins have suddenly started looking like a team that can not only compete, but might actually be building a team that can play on the big stage for some time.

 

So here we are. We have a collection of talent on our roster to tantalize and compete. I mean, really compete. WS compete? I don't know yet. Nobody does. Because nobody has actually stated it officially, we have been in rebuild mode. And like most sports, a roster is always in flux to some degree. And I dont think the opening roster of the 2016 Twins is REALLY set just yet, same with most teams. There will be alterations to be sure.

 

But to begin the 2016 season, the TALENT and POTENTIAL of this roster is the best we have seen in some time. Period. And our favorite team still has several top talents on the verge of making a rebound or first appearance to make an actual difference.

 

I have a lot of excitement for our Twins in 2016. And the initial roster isn't necessarily how we will end up. My questions to you is 2 fold: 1} what really excites you....and....2} who or what needs to make a difference?