Anxiety

 The word "deadline" always inspires a little bit of dread. This is when your project is due, your taxes need to be filed, when the thing your are stressed about needs to be completed. Part of the stress is that you need it completed by this particular date. 

Trade deadlines are stress inducing for a different reason. If your team is contention, then the wait is on to see what help you might get. If you are a fan of a team that is out of contention, then you await with some level of apprehension, seeing which of your favorite teams players will be leaving town.

How do you make it worse? Draw things out longer. So far, Isaac Paredes, Zach Elfin, Randy Arozarena and many others have already been traded, and we, as Twins fans, are aligned with a team that, for better or worse, is exceedingly patient. They tend to make their moves within the last hour or so before the deadline, making us all sweat. Will they even DO anything? 

Last year, as it turned out, they didn't, and we still didn't quite believe that until well after the deadline had past. We're at a point where everyone has access to reading a hundred opinions, and we just find ourselves just wanting action. Every ticking moment until the deadline, which will either bring only relief or disappointment.

I think the Twins are going to make a big move this year, running against the momentum of headlines. But I'm just going to be waiting with baited breath, hoping they don't botch another trade for a reliever.

Team USA is reaping what American sports have sowed

Team USA's warm ups to the Olympics have recently gotten a little bumpy. For a nation who has come to expect utter dominance from our men's national basketball team, the tight games against South Sudan and Germany have raised alarm bells. They are not sounding in Adam Silver's office, I'll tell you that much.

Every men's professional league has played a game or series outside of the United States, with some frequency, in the attempt to "grow the game". American sports were so successful at this that the Europeans and South Americans have started bringing their game to the US. As a result, soccer is one of the faster growing sports in the country, and US men's and women's soccer are now players on an international stage, and Major League Soccer is pulling major international superstars.

Like soccer, the barrier to entry in basketball is very low. which allows talented players to emerge from anywhere. South Sudan, for example. Or Serbia or Slovenia, where two of the best players are form, or Nigeria, via Greece. Even Germany had 4 players currently in the NBA on their roster. Surely, the NBA's aggressive global outreach was an important factor in introducing the game, if not to Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or Giannis Antentokuompo, then surely their friends, or mentors, or whomever taught them the game. 

Now the Olympics are hard. While it isn't great for American interests, this is probably a boon for the IOC as well. Having a globally popular game with world famous athletes playing competitive games will bring eye, which can sometimes be hard to come by for the Olympiad. 

Team USA's struggles are not reflective of an issue with Team USA, even though the criticism will come back on that organization. It's the targeted development of the international game, which is part of a trend in American sports leagues. It's been a resounding success for the NBA, even if it has the potential for disaster in Paris. 

Waking a sleeping giant

 It's no secret that the Twins have not gotten the Christian Vazquez they were hoping for when he signed a three year deal with the club before last season. Fortunately, the wound isn't grievous, as he is still a good defensive backstop, and Ryan Jeffers has ably stepped in and is now among the better hitting catchers in the league.

But still, he is an easy scapegoat for a fanbase that needs someone to blame when things aren't going well. Obviously, the blame will always go to the suits not playing the game, but Vazquez is often the example naysayers bring to the table. With ample reason.

The start of July and really the end of June as well, have been explosive for the Twins. They've had their 25 game home run streak, there was Jose Miranda's record, Brooks Lee's debut, Buxton is coming around, Correa has been on fire... and meanwhile, almost unnoticed by everyone, there is Christian Vazquez. 

So far in the month of July, he's played three games, hit .500, with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in, which has brought his season's average to over .200. In the 7 run attempted  come back against the Astros, Vazquez had a clutch ground rule double, and then today he hit the walk off home run against Josh Hader. 

 It's not much, but it's something. And in July so far, Vazquez has really been something. 

What in the heck was that?

I got to go to the Twins-Astros game at Target Field on Friday. For a game in which the Twins walked away losers, it may have been the most interesting, entertaining roller coaster I can remember being on. 

Two things that my friend and I knew we would see at the game were the City Connect uniforms (I like the associated merch, the uniforms are fine) and Brooks Lee in his second game. Both came through, as the Twins wore the outfit they said they were going to. For his part, Lee did just fine too, and finished the game, his third of his career, still batting over. 500. 

And yet, Lee was overshadowed by Jose Miranda. He tied the Twins record for consecutive at bats with a hit by going 4-4 in the game against the Astros last night. It didn't help much, because the Twins were down by 8 runs through 8 1/2 innings. But this game won't be remembered for any of that.

It also won't be remembered for Kody Funderburk beaning Cesar Salazar and having the two exchange heated words up the first base line before Carlos Santana came in and played peacemaker. This came after Jose Altuve had to leave the game after being hit by a pitch. For what it's worth, Byron Buxton was hit earlier in the game as well, and Miranda was plunked today, with no flared tempers.

It might be remembered for one of the best catches I've ever seen.

Of course, I didn't see it with my eyes, but I was there! See, here I am on the Bally Sports North feed of the catch, as Loperfido disappeared in the corner. 

Not a great angle.

And while that catch may stand the test of time, last night it wasn't even the most wild part of the night. That was saved for the bottom of the 9th, which started with the Twins behind by 8. The Twins had already replaced Trevor Larnach with Manuel Margot, but Austin Martin and Kyle Farmer had stepped in to give Miranda and Carlos Santana the rest of the night off. Margot struck out, and Martin had a single, followed by a Farmer strikeout. And then the Twins were off.

They hit  three more singles, leading to 2 more runs, and Christian Vazquez coming to the plate. Sureley, this was the end of the road. 

Nope. Vazquez hit a ground rule double. The Twins were down by 5, and Willi Castro walked to load the bases, bringing Carlos Correa, who surely thought the game was over, came up with the bases loaded. And naturally, he hit it just into the flowers to bring it to within 1. For a game that started the bottom of the ninth with an 8 run deficit, the crowd was electric.

Margot struck out immediately thereafter but the point is, it was an incredible game up until that point, full of some of the weirdest, wildest stuff that I've ever seen. 

Oh, and I didn't even mention this play by Correa, which today Glen Perkins described as his best in a Twin uniform.

Or this one, by Altuve, which made me gush, maybe because he was running in our direction before he caught it.

What a game. 

The serenity to accept that which cannot be changed

 It's important to accept those things that we cannot change. The things that are beyond our control. This season, the Twins are 4 games better than they were last year, which is a pretty big shock when you also consider that at the same point last year, they were a game ahead of the AL Central, and this year, they are 8 games behind the Cleveland Guardians. The Twins have at last caught the Royals for second, but sheesh, that is a foreboding hill to climb, catching Cleveland. 

Last year, the Twins were also able to kick it into a higher gear as the season wore on This season, the Twins are successful despite Pablo Lopez's anemic performance. Last year, his worth evidenced itself in the latter half of the season, including pitching to a 2.00 ERA in August. If there is that kind of improvement this year, then that is especially fantastic. 

Part of the worry in 2024 versus 2023, though, even as the team is improved a bit is that one player that hasn't is Lopez himself. Even compared to his sluggish start in 2023, Lopez was dominant last year against right handed hitters, and is merely average against same handed hitters in 2024. There is something to be said for expecting Lopez to be better in the second half, but it's unlikely that he will be nearly as good as he was in the second half last season. 

The season has been a series of ups and downs for the Twins, but one thing in particular has gone very wrong for the Twins. The Cleveland Guardians are playing very well. As much as the Twins can hope for Lopez to return to his 2023 form, it is much more reasonable to start to hope the Guardians slow down, or the suddenly resurgent Twins offense keeps it up. 

As I noted at the beginning, hoping for the Guardians to start to fall apart is all that the Twins can do. There are a few games left on the calendar between the two teams that the Twins will need to win, but beyond that, it's just hope. Hope that the seemingly more challenging schedule proves to indeed be more challenging for Cleveland. Cleveland is thought to have the most difficult schedule the rest of the way. Twins fans can also hope that the the Guardians anemic offense of 2023 was their true self, and not the blistering offensive performers that they have been this year. Come on, regression!

One thing the Twins can do is keep hitting. Their offense was their bugaboo in the beginning of the season, but then it started to gel. The return of Royce Lewis was an obvious kick in the pants, but so too was the arrival o Jose Miranda. Max Kepler and Carlos Correa were next, followed by Carlos Santana and Willi Castro. Now, Byron Buxton is one of the hottest hitters in the game, and games just seem a lot easier to win now. 

If they can keep hitting, they can keep winning. And that might not be enough to take the Central.

Decision Season is almost here

With the summer beginning to warm up, so to do the opinions. It's only early June, but still, everyone is trying to formally assess their team, because decisions are being made. It's really just baked into the season, and not a fault of overzealous fans and sports writers, but even though we are getting into the summer heat only now in the northern US, we are also in All Star Voting season, and beginning to look ahead to the trade deadline.

The initial discussion is a pretty easy solution for the Twins. There are really only two players to consider for the all star game this year - Ryan Jeffers, who may not make it because Salvador Perez and Adley Rutschman will get spots, and Joe Ryan, who would be the third Twins starting pitcher to make the all star game in the last two years, which is fairly incredible. After that, the next best option is Griffin Jax, which is probably a good lesson in why the Twins don't feel like they are having a good season, even as they are better than their 2023 selves. Carlos Correa is simply too unpopular, and Royce Lewis has only been involved in just over a dozen games.

This is a tough thing for the Twins, though. It's really hard to figure how good the Twins actually are on an individual level. This isn't a "small sample size" thing either. Minnesota as a baseball playing environment fundamentally changes as the year goes on. Outdoor games through May are a pretty inhibitive offensive environment, and it get's a heck of a lot better when summer rolls around. But it's decision time now!

Especially after last year, and despite the positive results, it's important for the fans and the team to know that there is support. Sure, the Twins might not be able to really ratchet up payroll (though I believe they will at the deadline) but they could still make moves that improve the team for the home stretch. Of late, the offense seems to be a bit better calibrated (so long as the Twins aren't playing the Yankees) and the pitching has been rougher around the edges. Do you look at the longer season sample, or this last burst of action when making a move?

I've long insisted that I don't think the Twins thought they would be challenged this year, and as a result, overplayed the television situation. Now that they find themselves in a stickier spot than they expected. The team is better than they were at this point last year, but they have also had better luck in the health department. While the atmospheric issues are going to become more favorable for the offense, the internal talent is going to remain about the same.

The Twins bet on Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro to be the utility man, with Farmer struggling mightily, and Castro becoming the life of the party once again. There were concerns about first base initially, but Alex Kirilloff was sent down and Jose Miranda is getting quality run. Carlos Santana has also turned into the reliable offensive presence the team hoped for when they signed him. I think offensively, the greatest need is to supplant Farmer (or Manuel Margot, I guess) and get better from the right side of the plate. 

It would always be nice to add more pitching, but deadline trades in that department have been an unmitigated disaster for this front office. What was the best deadline trade the Twins made a for a pitcher? Was it Sergio Romo? I think it might be. The Twins could use another pitcher, especially if Pablo Lopez doesn't go on a heater to end the year like he did last year, but, and this isn't a money thing, I don't see the Twins making a significant pitching move at the deadline this year. We'll see Randy Dobnak back in the big leagues before that happens. 

The problem at the center of all these decisions remains the same. It's hard to say what this Twins team is yet. We've only seen them in a couple of summer like games. Will the offense click on it's own, and will the Twins believe that it can keep it up when it starts cooling off outside in October? It's hard to decide right now, but you better believe people are looking for decisions.

The looming City Connect uniform is being revealed in 5 days

 In a league as staid as Major League Baseball, new uniform reveals are still a big deal. Changes are infrequent, and there are so many games that new jerseys are going to be seen regularly. There is buzz about the Twins City Connect, debuting on the 10th of June. While part of me hopes they are bringing back their  Turn Ahead the Clock  uniforms from the 90s, I also know that this won't be the case. So I have ideas.

First, I would make the whole thing out of Minnesota Plaid. You know, Paul Bunyan, red and black. Still can't picture it?

You might be saying "Ryan, the Twins clearly teased a water theme".  Of course they did, which leads to the second element. What says "going to the lake" more than a life jacket? And not the good ones with the clasps on the front that were purchased sometime after the Nixon administration. I'm talking about the ratty old ones you have on the pontoon at the cabin.

Get the orange around the collar and down the front of your red and black jersey. I don't know how you can get more connected to the city than that.