Sinker: Why The Twins Will Stink

[John Bonnes]

The Strib's Howard Sinker does a thought-by-though breakdown of the Twins. He's a little crabby:

 

Section 219: Breaking down the Twins (because someone asked me to do that) | StarTribune.com

 

On a yearly basis, many have written about how the promising youngsters in the Royals organization were finally going to end their more than quarter-century of postseason futility. Ever year, in talking about the upcoming season, I've been among those saying the Royals were going nowhere. Dermal (Dee) Brown? Luke Hochevar? Eric Hosmer? It's all well and good to hold out hope that reinforcements will soon turn around the Twins' fortunes. But I'll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, I'll try to use the phrase "Kansas City North" in describing the Twins as infrequently as possible.

[TheLeviathan]

Can LoganJones ignore him...that's what I'm on the edge of my seat about.

[ThePuck]

Can LoganJones ignore him...that's what I'm on the edge of my seat about.

 

Howard must not be too self aware :-)

[ThePuck]

I love reading Howard Sinker's stuff.

[raindog]

Yep, he's definitely right about this year. The Twins will be just as terrible as the past two seasons. I'm still pretty optimistic about the youngsters though.

[edavis0308]

Yep, he's definitely right about this year. The Twins will be just as terrible as the past two seasons. I'm still pretty optimistic about the youngsters though.

 

No! Sunshine and rainbows! Pots o gold and unicorns! No accepting the fact this currently constructed team has a snowball's chance in Hell of making the playoffs!!

 

it is a good article though, I agree.

[Highabove]

The Twins owe their Fans a much improved product. They gave very little effort in making it so.

 

Just two years ago, the Twins sold more tickets then twenty six other Teams.

 

How quickly they forget.

[Mike Sixel]

Dude has always been Mr negative and clearly is not a real fan. /s

[glunn]

I am still holding on to a faint hope that the Twins will surprise everyone.

[jokin]

I am still holding on to a faint hope that the Twins will surprise everyone.

 

Give it time, you are currently where Howard was just about two months ago...and birdwatcher was just a month ago...and where ol'nurse will be a month from now....

[glunn]

Give it time, you are currently where Howard was just about two months ago...and birdwatcher was just a month ago...and where ol'nurse will be a month from now....

 

I concede that you are probably correct, but I am trying to enjoy the postseason for as long as possible until reality takes over in April. I am still harboring fantasies of Deduno winning game 7 of the 2013 World Series by striking out 10+ Dodgers.

[jokin]

I concede that you are probably correct, but I am trying to enjoy the postseason for as long as possible until reality takes over in April. I am still harboring fantasies of Deduno winning game 7 of the 2013 World Series by striking out 10+ Dodgers.

 

That's what the apologists doniti't seem to register. Baseball does have oodles of possible outcomes along the Bell Curve. I'm sure you've watched as much baseball as me, and every single year, there are multiple instances of witnessing events that you've never seen before. Deduno could easily be a one-year wonder who captures lightning in a bottle. RA Dickey was an afterthought to virtually the entire cast of MLB teams back in 2009 and now he's a Cy Young winner in his late 30s. If Deduno or Hendriks or, even Hermsen, for heaven' sake, somehow caught fire, the rankest cynics on TD would love to be completely wrong and they would be pulling just as hard as the apologists for a Worst-to-First run like 90-91.

[Craig Arko]

Who here remembers 1982, and the surrounding years? Then you've seen this all before, and lived to tell the tale.

[panolo]

I had season tickets in the 90's when they were terrible and I will have season tickets again this year even though they are going to be terrible. Even though we won't be competitive there are still many things I look forward to watching and see develop. And if by some stroke of luck we do compete this year than it's a bonus for me.

[deanlambrecht]

I used to love reading Howard's articles and analysis. Not so much anymore. It's one thing to be unhappy about the state of the team. It's quite another to be bitter about it and draw a salary for putting that bitterness into print. One need not expect unicorns and rainbows in order to write thorough and personalized-yet-objective analysis about the strengths and opportunities of the ballclub, which is what the TwinsDaily chief writers demonstrate day in and day out. (And it's why this site is my go-to for information about the team - I've given up almost completely on the Strib).

[twinsnorth49]

I used to love reading Howard's articles and analysis. Not so much anymore. It's one thing to be unhappy about the state of the team. It's quite another to be bitter about it and draw a salary for putting that bitterness into print. One need not expect unicorns and rainbows in order to write thorough and personalized-yet-objective analysis about the strengths and opportunities of the ballclub, which is what the TwinsDaily chief writers demonstrate day in and day out. (And it's why this site is my go-to for information about the team - I've given up almost completely on the Strib).

 

Where was he not objective? I think you are expecting Unicorns because nothing Howard wrote is unobjective bitterness, it's the truth.

[ThePuck]

I used to love reading Howard's articles and analysis. Not so much anymore. It's one thing to be unhappy about the state of the team. It's quite another to be bitter about it and draw a salary for putting that bitterness into print. One need not expect unicorns and rainbows in order to write thorough and personalized-yet-objective analysis about the strengths and opportunities of the ballclub, which is what the TwinsDaily chief writers demonstrate day in and day out. (And it's why this site is my go-to for information about the team - I've given up almost completely on the Strib).

 

'Startribune.com digital sports editor Howard Sinker used to cover the Twins and now shares season tickets with friends in Section 219 of Target Field. He blogs about baseball from the perspective of a long-time fan who loves the game, doesn’t always believe the hype and likes hearing what others think.'

[Winston Smith]

In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism.

Spiro T. Agnew

 

Good job Howard staying in the long line of nattering nabobs! That is meant to be a compliment.

[LimestoneBaggy]

This team has hope, but it's a fair assessment to be upset (from a fan's perspective) about some decisions and what the fan base was fed. I think this team has a chance to contend, with a bunch of breaks, but it depends upon a lot of good breaks and statistical breaks (or suprise performances). It can be done, much like proclaiming "So you're saying there's a chance?"

 

Go Glunn/Go Twins!

[bird]

Give it time, you are currently where Howard was just about two months ago...and birdwatcher was just a month ago...and where ol'nurse will be a month from now....

 

Apparently, being more optimistic than the insufferable jokin means one is an "apologist". Even when, unlike jokin, one makes his case citing actual facts and logic rather than a bunch of blather that really isn't very clever.

[Top Gun]

As a fan Howard is right on. The Twins stink because the F.O. wants them too. The fans have no say and ownership doesn't care.

[LoganJones]

Lots of 'boo-hoo' in that article. There is seriously no point to following something that makes you miserable. None. Then again, the poor guy does still work for a newspaper, and the Twins are a big part of his job, so I imagine his life is pretty well full of gloom and doom all day. Spending your days on the constant edge of finding out this is the week that the powers that be have decided you're out of work would turn anyone into a bitter person.

 

Howard's major logical failing, along with all the people who seem to enjoy baseball doomsday prophecy, is that uncertainty does not predict failure. Past performance does not predict future results. The evidence currently suggests the 2013 Minnesota Twins will not win many of those 42 'difference maker' games, and thus this season will be yet another disappointment.

 

Thing is, 29 teams every year ultimately have disappointing seasons. Fan bases all over the country have had to live with much more 'disappointment' than we. Yet with two whole down seasons behind us and staring at what might (ok, probably will) be another one, people are crying like babies. It's almost as though it's been 20 years since the team has had a winning record. You'd think that our top player signed with a division rival, and another top player was facing a 50 game PED suspension.

 

Oh the owners are spendthrift misers who just love to make you miserable? They are cheap, no denying it. But with all the head banging you'd think they just traded the whole team to a business buddy in canada for pennies on the dollar. Or that they signed an aging steroid user through age 43 and still owed him more than whole team's annual payrolls.

 

Everyone has misfortune in baseball, but in the end it's a drama, that gets better when things you don't expect happen. By all means be miserable about it if that's how you roll. Feel entitled to howl at the ownership because they didn't sign this free agent or spend x amount of money. You have that right if you buy anything in Hennepin County. I'm not going to tell you you can't. I am going to disagree with you, though.

[bird]

Here's why I believe Howard should be slightly more optimistic:

 

 

1. The team'll probably go something like 78-85, but that means that, game to game, we'll have a better chance to witness a victory. Now, that's not good enough for some, and that's understandable. Most of us are quite tolerant of each other's thinking. But for me and many others, that improvement would be meaningful. Now, it may not happen. OK, jokin? You can be pessimistic. It's OK. Just try not to be snotty and mean about it.

 

2. The team will be more fun to watch.

 

To back up my first point:

 

1. Anything is better than last year, including and especially the starting pitching, which, in my opinion, may be just a tad better than what the consensus believes. I base that on the health of Gibson and Pelfry and the expectation that Diamond, Hendriks, and Worley all come to work healthy. Florimon and Dozier will be decent up the middle. Hicks will be OK at the plate and stellar in center. Parmelee will be better defensively than many people think, in line with his past history in right field. Morneau appears to be healthy, as does everyone else. Plouffe is more likely to improve than not, defensively especially. Gardy can't possibly manage as poorly as he did last year. He had a bad year, like many players. I anticipate better energy from the field staff.

 

2. Hicks, Arcia, Gibson, a healthy Morneau, an improved Hendriks, better defense overall, intrigue at the trade deadline, maybe some nice surprises by guys like Benson Dozier, Robertson, and then, so much to watch for ithe minors.

 

So, while my expectations are rather modest I believe, I'm going to have fun watching this team play baseball in 2013.

 

By the way, jokin, what's the opposite of an apologist?

[twinsnorth49]

 

The evidence currently suggests the 2013 Minnesota Twins will not win many of those 42 'difference maker' games, and thus this season will be yet another disappointment.

 

I am going to disagree with you, though.

 

Isn't that what Howard just pointed out? What exactly are you disagreeing with?

 

The only bitterness I see is from you, towards anyone who dares try to remotely criticize the direction this team is headed.

 

We're all Twins fans, get off your sanctimonious high horse and grab a dose of reality.

[70charger]

As a fan Howard is right on. The Twins stink because the F.O. wants them too. The fans have no say and ownership doesn't care.

 

The front office is actively sabotaging the team? Do you also believe that the moon landing was done in a studio in New Mexico?

 

Your post is bad, and you should feel bad.

[Mike Sixel]

Questioning the fandom of a season ticket holder who had his wedding at the stadium.....priceless.

[LoganJones]

Questioning the fandom of a season ticket holder who had his wedding at the stadium.....priceless.

One's fandom is only as valid as they think it is. If someone telling you you're not a true fan raises your hackles, you've got some issues that you need to investigate.

[ThePuck]

Here's why I believe Howard should be slightly more optimistic:

 

 

1. The team'll probably go something like 78-85, but that means that, game to game, we'll have a better chance to witness a victory. Now, that's not good enough for some, and that's understandable. Most of us are quite tolerant of each other's thinking. But for me and many others, that improvement would be meaningful. Now, it may not happen. OK, jokin? You can be pessimistic. It's OK. Just try not to be snotty and mean about it.

 

2. The team will be more fun to watch.

 

To back up my first point:

 

1. Anything is better than last year, including and especially the starting pitching, which, in my opinion, may be just a tad better than what the consensus believes. I base that on the health of Gibson and Pelfry and the expectation that Diamond, Hendriks, and Worley all come to work healthy. Florimon and Dozier will be decent up the middle. Hicks will be OK at the plate and stellar in center. Parmelee will be better defensively than many people think, in line with his past history in right field. Morneau appears to be healthy, as does everyone else. Plouffe is more likely to improve than not, defensively especially. Gardy can't possibly manage as poorly as he did last year. He had a bad year, like many players. I anticipate better energy from the field staff.

 

2. Hicks, Arcia, Gibson, a healthy Morneau, an improved Hendriks, better defense overall, intrigue at the trade deadline, maybe some nice surprises by guys like Benson Dozier, Robertson, and then, so much to watch for ithe minors.

 

So, while my expectations are rather modest I believe, I'm going to have fun watching this team play baseball in 2013.

 

By the way, jokin, what's the opposite of an apologist?

 

Did we switch to a 163 game season?

[LoganJones]

The front office is actively sabotaging the team? Do you also believe that the moon landing was done in a studio in New Mexico?

 

Your post is bad, and you should feel bad.

Seriously, man. Why even waste your time directly replying to stuff like that? It's obviously from someone who either is actively saying obnoxious stuff or from someone who can't think things through properly.

[twinsnorth49]

Did we switch to a 163 game season?

 

One game playoff to determine who finishes last, the Twins or the Astros.......................KIDDING!!!!!!