Think back to the last time you rode a roller coaster. There’s a lot of anticipation at the beginning as you rise up to the top of the first hill. After that, it’s non-stop craziness, with ups and downs and loop-de-loops galore.
That’s a bit like being a Minnesota sports fan, especially true with the Minnesota Twins baseball club this season. There was fresh hope as the season started with Carlos Correa back in the fold and a new plan to keep Byron Buxton healthy. The American League Central title was up for grabs, and maybe the Twins could end their historic losing streak in the playoffs.
As I write this, the Twins are preparing for a home series with the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates at home, which means by the time you read this, they will probably have dropped two out of three. Because that’s how the Twins have operated this year. They will take you up some of those roller coaster hills and get you excited, beating teams that are playoff bound and looking good in doing so.
The problem is the downhill plummet comes right on the heels of those high points. Just look at getting swept by Kansas City, a group that has struggled all season long. Look at losing 8 out of 13 to the Detroit Tigers, another rebuilding club.
Consistency is so key in professional sports. It’s easy to get upset over a loss and forget that there are 162 games played before it’s done. But it’s just that you can spot the losses coming. Even worse, you know how they’re going to lose before it happens.
There are two ways the Twins lose. One is that their starting pitcher throws really well, holding the other team to a run or two. However, the Twins can’t figure out how to get on base with regularity. Their penchant for striking out is on pace to shatter the MLB record this year. I can handle swinging and missing; after all, the other pitcher is (sometimes) of major league quality. But looking at strike three go by you is unacceptable. And often, that last pitch is a fastball. How are you not ready for a fastball? We teach young players to look for a fastball and adjust to other pitches in that two-strike scenario.
The other way the Twins lose is that they score some runs early, then go into hibernation. When the starting pitcher departs, a very shaky bullpen emerges. The one guy who was truly on top of things, Brock Stewart, is out with an injury. Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran are supposed to be shutdown pitchers, but both have shown shades of Ron Davis, the Twins closer before the glory years, who often gave the opposing team a good chance for a comeback win.
The Twins have the best group of starting pitchers they’ve had in a generation or more. Their young hitters have started to come through. Matt Wallner, Royce Lewis, and Alex Kiriloff look like a great core, if they can stay healthy. If Correa could ever be consistent at the plate, and if Buxton could ever get on track, they would be dangerous.
Still, this group is in first place in the terrible Central Division. They have a tough stretch coming up with two weeks of playing only the Texas Rangers (the team leading the West) and the Cleveland Guardians (the team right behind the Twins in the Central). Hope springs eternal!
Across the way, the Minnesota Vikings are moving through training camp, and after a 13-win season last year, some people think they could continue some success under their second-year coach, Kevin O’Connell.
But I see a step back this year. They’ll be competitive, mainly because, like the Twins, the Vikings are in a putrid division. The Packers are rebuilding with a new quarterback, the Bears are trying to figure out how to win, and the Lions are still the Lions. I do think that if the Vikings don’t win the division, it’ll be Detroit. I like their coach, and they’ve added some real weapons on both sides of the ball.
I see 10 wins and a playoff berth for the Vikings, but they’ll bow out in the first round of the playoffs yet again. Still, if they do that as part of their “competitive rebuild” and figure out if Kirk Cousins is their ride-or-die quarterback or if they need to start over, they could maybe, possibly, be a force in a couple years. Maybe. Possibly.
It’d be great if one of these teams didn’t finish the roller coaster ride like usual: coming to a slow stop, leaving the riders disappointed.
On the local scene, as you read this, the NRHEG Panthers are preparing for their fall seasons. I’m excited to see the volleyball and football teams play. Both groups lost some key players from last season, but that is continual in high school sports. We’ll see who steps into those spots this year. Volleyball will play at home August 29, and football will have their first home game on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 1:00. Go Panthers!
And that wraps up eleven years in this spot of the newspaper! Thanks again to Jim for giving me a chance and to Eli for his continued support of my ramblings. And I’ve already got a list of topics to write about as I head into Year 12! Thanks for reading!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is culminant, which means being at or reaching the highest point, as in, “The players hoped to be the culminant team by the end of the season.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!