The Twins Have a Problem

This season ticket group was a bunch of hardcore Twins fans, especially the actual seat-holders. But even they could no longer justify the cost, especially at a time where all games after July consistently carry no level of drama or intrigue. It's a drain.

The new ballpark honeymoon period has passed, and now there's going to be a newer stadium over in St. Paul. The All-Star Game has come and gone. The Twins now have to rely more than ever on the quality of their product on the field and, for yet another season, that product has been flat-out lousy.

It's not just that this team is bad. They're worse than bad. This is going to be their fourth straight finish with a bottom-five W/L record in the majors.

While you can point at several individual positive developments, and numerous unfortunate setbacks that weren't really controllable, the bottom line is that there have been no tangible signs of progress. The Twins will finish with fewer losses than last year, but barely.

We've already seen the attendance decline take effect. They're currently at about 2.2 million through the gate this year, so they're going to fall short of their last year at the Metrodome (2.4 million in 2009). If my parents' season ticket group, along with several others I've been hearing about, are any indication, that decline is only going to steepen.

The Twins need to do something to jolt the fan base and stir some kind of buzz. But a big roster shakeup doesn't seem to be in the plans; there just aren't many areas where it's realistic to expect major additions.

A change in leadership would at least signal a dissatisfaction with the stagnant results and a sense of urgency to get things going, but that also does not seem to be in the plans. Terry Ryan, based on everything I've heard, is entrenched in his position as long as he wants it. Ryan hinted that Ron Gardenhire will also be back next year, and while the team later backed off that statement a bit, it's probably accurate.

All the assistant coaches are on one-year deals, and thus facing renewal or removal, so I would guess we'll see some turnover there. It should probably start with Rick Anderson.

But the last staff shakeup was little more than a rearrangement. And is the shuffling of assistant coaches really going to strike any skeptical season ticket renewer as a sufficient overhaul?

I, personally, can see the light for the Twins. I follow closely enough to know that they were set back by a number of unfortunate events in the minors this year, and that a sizable wave of premium talent is heading this way (or already developing on the field). I do think this young core can succeed with the existing leadership in place, because I mostly trust Ryan and I don't think Gardy matters much one way or the other.

But the majority of fans don't follow as closely as I, or most readers of this blog. Most casual fans I talk to can barely identify with the team anymore, and have only faintly heard the names Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano.

And right or wrong, this organization's constant commitment to loyalty, promoting from within, and sticking with the guys they like in the face of historically awful results comes off to many as arrogant and insular. There's a reason that a recent rose-colored marketing survey has been nationally criticized as tone-deaf and absurd. The Twins say they get it, but do they?

"They're always one year away," my co-worker grumbled over lunch the other day while I was trying to emphasize the quality of the young players who are -- hopefully -- on the verge of arriving and changing this pitiful culture.

It's hard to disagree. And in fact "one year away" might seem generous with the complete lack of progress that we've seen in three straight. Until that magical turnaround season finally comes, how many more fans can the team afford to lose to disinterest while steadfastly staying the course? At what point do major changes become a business necessity rather than a strategic decision?

I don't know the answer, but what I can say is this: The dwindling crowds at the ballpark, the stagnating traffic and activity on sites like ours, and the increasingly ambivalent attitudes of local baseball fans that I encounter all clearly signify that the Twins are fading from the public sports consciousness to an alarming degree.