On August 17, the Minnesota Twins had a 70-53 record and were a scant two games behind the first place Cleveland Indians in the American League Central Division. At the very least, they were still in an advantageous position for a playoff berth as they were the second of three teams in the wildcard race with a seemingly ironclad 5-game lead. Their playoff odds at that point were well north of 90%.
With all those details at our disposal, it's not hyperbolic to say that the Twins being officially eliminated from postseason contention on Friday evening is the most stunning in-season collapse in the club's 64-year history. As someone who's been a Twins rube for nearly a half century, it's certainly tops in my time as a fan. Since that August 17 date, the Twins have compiled an awful record of 12-25 which, when extrapolated over 162 games, is a 53-109 pace.
Fittingly, the final nail in the proverbial coffin for this season happened on the first night of Fan Appreciation Weekend. You see, it's been the fans who have bore the brunt of this pathetic display. Despite a resurrection of enthusiasm last October that hadn't been seen since Target Field's inaugural season of 2010, the Twins brass announced shortly after the club's 2023 postseason run that payroll would be slashed by about $30 million. And then when the team started to get hot at the end of April after a lousy start to the 2024 season, Bally's Sports North pulled the plug on airing Twins games due to a dispute with its regional carrier. With no TV or online streaming options, fans were essentially blacked out of what was the team's best stretch of baseball where, after a 7-13 start, they went on an incredible 63-40 run. Perhaps the final insult was the front office not seriously augmenting a playoff contending club at the July 31 trade deadline. The only acquisition trade the Twins made (mediocre middle reliever Trevor Richards from Toronto) ended up being released less than a month after being acquired.
There was a glimmer of hope in the final homestand as the Twins would be taking on a putrid Miami Marlins club and a Baltimore Orioles team whose playoff position (#1 A.L. wildcard) was locked in. If the Twins went, say, 5-1 in addition to a little help from the Kansas City Royals' opponents, they could still sneak in to the postseason. So how did the Twins respond? Why, by losing 2 of 3 to the 100-loss Marlins and then getting blown out Friday evening by Baltimore to put their playoff odds at a Blutarski-esque 0.0. For all the goodwill the Twins had built up almost a year ago with their first playoff win in 19 years and series victory in 21 seasons, they have thoroughly undone it all and then some.
So how does the franchise approach this offseason? I guess firing manager Rocco Baldelli would get peoples' attention. But what I'm hoping to hear is owner Joe Pohlad or President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey acknowledging that their strategy going into (and throughout) 2024 didn't work, so it's time to "recalibrate." And then they'll need to offer insights as to what that will entail.
With the Twins having a top 5 (and in some rankings they're slated at #2) farm system, the future isn't at all lost. While that may placate baseball lifers like myself, it's not gonna do much for appealing to a new generation of fans.
Since the status quo is not an option, this is easily the most crucial offseason Falvey & Co. will endure.
---------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment