The Padres have captured my imagination

Every year, there seems to be a non-Twins team that gains my interest before a season starts. In the Padres' case, they've done so before the off-season has even begun. Generally, the two things that make me take notice is either having a bumper crop of prospects ready to take their place at the big league level, or to break out in doing so, or they have made wholesale changes to the makeup of their team, and one doesn't know what to expect.
The Padres have all that, and they can very well shake up the offseason with some big trades or big free agency moves. They have a stable of young prospects thanks to some shrewd deals, and have proved willing to get involved in some big trades. They have Fernando Tatis Jr. thanks to trading James Shields to Chicago. They snagged Chris Paddack from the Marlins for Fernando Rodney. They also snared one of the top prospects in the game from the Indians in the Brad Hand trade in Francisco Mejia, and had another big addition in top prospect Taylor Trammel in a three team deal with both Ohio teams. On top of good drafting, those moves have given the Padres one of the top 3 farms in baseball, and they have depth enough to maintain that rank for a few more years.
And then, they have been surprisingly aggressive in free agency for a few years. They have extended Wil Myers, signed Eric Hosmer and last year signed Manny Machado, all too big time deals. They still have holes, to be sure, but this winter, they clearly have the assets to trade for players, and the ownership go ahead to add to the payroll. The Padres can be involved in discussions for anyone.
And so far, they have been. They're discussed as potential suitors for top free agent starters like Stephen Strasburg and Zach Wheeler. For a year now, they seemed sure to add one of the other Mets pitchers, particularly Noah Syndegaard. They also have interest in bolstering their outfield, at least in the short term. Eddie Rosario, in my opinion, won't be traded, but if he is, the Padres look like a pretty good fit.
The Padres will be young and different next year, and it's going to be a wild, fascinating ride to get there.

Lets just lean into Minnesota vs. Philadelphia

The last couple of years have seen an increase in animosity between the state of Minnesota's athletics and those of the city of Philadelphia. In general, Minnesota thinks that Philadelphians are mean, and Philadelphians know they are. To recap the last couple of indidents.
1) The Vikings played the Eagles in the NFC Championship game. The Eagles beat the Vikings in what was a complete dud for the Vikings, who had been on cloud 9 after a thrilling win against the Saints, and had inroads on reaching the Super Bowl at home. Vikings fans were already hurt more than usual by another failure, and then some local Philadelphians made fun of Vikings fans or something. Nerves were already frayed, and Vikngs fans found Philadelphians to be insensitive. Philly fans rightfully thought it was hilarious, then they came to Minnesota and won the Super Bowl.
2) The first incident was mostly about the fans, but the second was on the court, and definitely made Philly vs. Minnesota a real thing. Without further ado:


 Who won the fight? It depends exclusively on which fan base you belong to. The 76ers and Philadelphia won the game, as is always the case.
3) Is Philly a Penn State town? I think Penn State is more popular in western Pennsylvania, but surely, there is some allegiance in Philadelphia. If that's the case, then this Saturday's battle of undefeated Minnesota and Penn State will certainly lead to a bit more spiciness to the burgeoning battle between the two cities. While Penn State will almost certainly win on Saturday, it's important to remember that they are villains who got away nearly scot free with covering for a child abuser because college football was more important than the innocence of children.
While I was sitting on the sideline, amused, for the first rounds of this battle, I am definitely siding with Minnesota now.
What's the next step? Since the Wild are flirting with complete irrelevance, spreading this rivalry falls on the Twins. They aren't scheduled to play the Phillies for another couple of years, so if we want things to be fresh, both teams will need to reach the World Series next October. Sure, that's possible. But how do we make sure things are volatile? The Twins need to acquire Hunter Strickland. It makes sense. The Twins need bullpen help, Strickland is a reliever. Also, he has faced Phillies star Bryce Harper before.

Unlike Minnesota's ongoing battle with New Orleans, I don't think anyone will think Minnesota is the bad guy in a war with Philly. Let's just embrace it and enjoy the ride.