Since the 1970s we’ve all clearly understood the need to beat the
Yankees. Everyone in Major League Baseball who isn’t the Yankees
understands this, because at one point or another we’ve all faced the
Evil Empire at critical points in the season or post-season. Other
“nemesis” teams come and go. The Indians were too dominant back in the
90s. The Red Sox got a little insufferable for awhile (though this
season they’re worse than we are).
But the Twins? Why should we have to hate the Twins?
The problem here is the weakness of our division. The number three teams
in the East and West would both have finished in first in the Central.
So even a weak team can thrive in the “biologically rich” (read:
cesspool) environment of the fly-over states. And for some time the
Twins did just that, taking the division year after year by virtue of
being slightly less mediocre than everyone else. And of course a team
that wins consistently – no matter how cheap those wins might be – is
going to draw its share of band-wagoning “fans.” Minnesota is close
enough to bring more than the usual complement of obnoxious jerks into
our house.
But the worm turns. This year Minnesota is the worst team in the
American League. This phenomenon should be netting us two benefits.
First, we should be hearing less “Here we go Twinkies” and looking at
fewer “Circle me Bert” signs. That one we got. Not as much as one might
hope, but at least enough to be noticed.
But even a team as bad as the Royals should be able to beat a team as
spectacularly terrible as the Twins. And yet we sat through seven games
with this team without winning a single one until the last. We even lost
both games of a double-header. How the heck don’t we at least split a
double-header against the worst team in the league?
If the franchise is going to concentrate on one on-field goal for 2013, beating the Twins more consistently needs to be it.
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