It's hard not to spiral these days. A huge part of that is the algorithmic basis that so many of us get our news. We click on something, and it just feeds us more of the same. The initial click is usually some provocative headline, leading us down a rabbit hole that leads us towards more headlines, more short videos, more clips about whatever scares us the most, telling us that this thing is an even greater threat than we thought and we need to DO something about it. It's the cable news of the 2010s, but now on steroids (and ketamine).
One of my coping methods to this world we live in is to seek sources that aren't prone to releasing click bait headlines, people that can break things down without declaring something being the end of the world, making my day even darker. I'm under no misconception about bad things being out there, but there is no value in viewing them as even worse than they actually are.
Clickbait headlines are certainly a pervasive feature of sports media coverage, and anyone who follows the Twins is surely well aware of the "worst case scenario brand of coverage of the team, particularly when it comes to the coverage of the ownership and their decision making processes. There are Twins news sites that thrive on this type of coverage and forums exist just to break down the coverage.
This is where I refer back to my other coping methods. It's not as grim as most fans would have you believe, despite problems. A reason that there has been little outlay for free agents has something to do with the bumper crop of prospects that the team is confident will emerge in the next few years. The Twins are competitive in the AL Central, even without spending all that money.
There have been a bunch of headlines out there about the Twins ownership situation. There were seemingly conflicting reports, that some reports stated that local investors were turned off by the price and cash flow, while others from the organization have claimed that potential buyers have been doing their diligence at Target Field, and a sale was expected to be completed. Those caught in the negative whirl wind suggest that the Twins are fabricating these stories. A perfectly reasonable explanation is that the potential buyers are not local investors. The Ishbias weren't, why would other candidates be?
An important part of coping with the negative headlines is not sticking your head in the sand and recognizing that "not as bad" doesn't mean "good". The Twins have had generally good seasons for the last few years, however what sticks in most of our memories are the collapses. They collapsed in 2022, after Wes Johnson left mid-season to return to college. They collapsed last year when Joe Ryan went down with an injury.
Ryan had the same injury that Pablo Lopez has now suffered. The Twins are comfortable with dealing with injuries to their position players. As is often noted, Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa are always hurt. Disruptions to the rotation are significantly more impactful. It's important to avoid getting lost in worst case scenarios and doom spiraling, but this exact scenario has played out before.
The Twins do have more experienced depth in the rotation this year, and are more likely to be able to withstand Lopez's absence over the next couple of months, and they also have the ability to make changes to the roster before the trade deadline. They don't have to add another ace to the rotation, because there are easier moves to advance the offense. The team needs to do something now before the hypothetical spiral turns into an on field spiral.
There may be bad news on the way, but there is a way through. That's the other way out of the reinforcing negative news cycle: make sure you are aware of the potential solutions to the various problems. The Twins have one. I hope they find it.
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