Sun-Times: Twins have lost "edge" since leaving Dome.

[Parker Hageman]

Since leaving the Metrodome for Target Field, the White Sox have punished the Twins.

 

"Their an indoor team that no longer plays indoors," Sox broadcaster Steve Stone said.

Is he right? Is the organization still building its team with a Metrodome mindset or has other factors (like injuries and poor pitching) been the more likely cause of this downturn?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Considering that the Twins have been awful in two-thirds of their post-dome years, I think it has more to do with awful baseball than team construction.

 

Also, the 2008-2010 Twins were anything but a "dome team". Those teams were full of plodding mashers (Morneau, Kubel, Cuddyer, Thome, etc.).

[gunnarthor]

And the 2010 Twins team was the best Twins team since 91.

 

That said, there is some truth that the Twins will have to build a different type of team to play in Target Field than the one they created to play in the Dome. I think piranhas are going to be less useful since infield hits seem harder to come by. I don't think it's a coincidence that Hudson/Hardy were are main MI in 2010. And RH sluggers will be a better fit than LH ones.

[DPJ]

I know people in Chicago think the Dome was this magical building that took a 70 win team and somehow turned them into a 90+ win playoff squad. But this isn't an outside team or an inside team (I don't even know what an inside team is) This is just a very bad baseball team plain and simple.

[snepp]

And "edge" of course, is synonymous for "good ****ing baseball players."

[diehardtwinsfan]

just the title of this article strikes me as "stupid" and not worth reading.

 

The Twins punnished the Sox in 2010. They then proceeded to put up 90+ loss teams in 2011 and 2012, and so naturally the Sox have done much better. If this writer think sthe dome is the difference between a 90+ win team and a 90+ loss team, then he's an even bigger idiot, but the product on the field the last two years woudln't have won many more games in teh dome.

[J-Dog Dungan]

While the Twins have had to adjust who they sign in FA because of the way TF plays (one reason why we signed Willingham not Cuddy), I don't think the Twins have lost any kind of edge since leaving the Metrodome, they've just lost it overall.

[Willihammer]

If by edge he means Johan Santana, Brad Radke, Eric Milton, and Kyle Lohse, then yes.

 

Players no we have no pitching as much as fans know. Heck, who wouldn't feel defeated already knowing Nicky Blackburn is your starter in the launching pad known as US Cell Field? I don't excuse it but the effort yesterday was explicable anyway.

[Harrison Greeley III]

I lived in Chicago most of my life as a displaced Twins fan. The White Sox spent the 00's getting big name free agent signings every year, typically having a great team on paper that hit tons of home runs but frequently fell short of expectations in the win column. The Twins were the exact opposite in outcome. Their ability to field well, and be lights out in late innings in the bullpen allowed them to win more games than expected despite a statistically more modest team.

 

I would wager the time Hawk Harrelson has spent pondering this decade ranges in months. And he is old-school. Love him or hate him, he is the sales representative for the White Sox to the fanbase. He spends each game selling the team, their chances, and their opportunities. He downplays weaknesses and competitor threats. This is annoying from an objectivity standpoint, but it creates a fiercely loyal fanbase. So you're going to get crackpot, lazy pieces due to this constant exposure of Hawk's cheerleading. I wouldn't put much stock into it, but I would say it's worthwhile to understand the way Chicago thinks about the Twins, especially after a dominating sweep.