Minnesota Twins in Poor Hands

If you’re a Twins fan this is hard to take and you have to ask why, why, why? A funeral for the Twins’ season is already being planned!
by Charlie Leck

What am I doing, writing about baseball? I’m not an expert – just another frustrated fan. Yet, today, baseball replaces politics and human behavior (or is this an example of human behavior?). I’ll get back to my senses tomorrow.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Get us a new ball park where we can attract fans and then we’ll have the money to compete.

Well, the people did. We got them a new ball park – a great deal of it paid for by public money and most of that right here in our own county. With the revenue from increased attendance, we expected our Twins management team to get us the kind of ball players we need to, at least, be competitive.

Last year was a skunk year! We lost 99 games and finished in the cellar. In a panic, the Twins brought back a former General Manager who has a great eye for baseball talent. What they didn’t do was give him some money to fill weak spots in the line-up with capable players. As a result we are on our way toward having an even more rotten year than the last one. At this rate we’ll lose more than 100 games and be the embarrassment of baseball again.

I certainly have enjoyed the new ball park as much as any fan. What a wonderful place to watch a baseball game! Now, if we could only watch a good team playing in that fine ball park it would be a much more enjoyable place to visit during a glorious Minnesota summer.

Instead, two of our very best ball players, lured by the big bucks, went elsewhere. We’ve got virtually no pitching (only a couple of hopefuls), serious weaknesses at third base and right field and a first baseman who has medical problems and can only contribute on an occasional basis. Our superstar, mega-million dollar catcher plays like a man depressed and can’t give us any power or consistency at bat and only acceptable performances in the field. Our defense is below average and our offense is extraordinarily weak. We don’t run the bases well and, even if we could, we don’t get on base enough to use speed as a weapon. A former Chicago White Sox manager use to call the Twins players “piranhas.” Now we refer to them as “croppies.”

After the first month of the season, the Twins have won only 6 games and lost 18. That’s the poorest record in baseball.

The stink from our new ball park isn’t coming from the county’s garbage incinerator next door. It’s coming from right down there at field level. The Angels’ pitcher, Liam Hendriks, threw a no-hitter against us last night out there in California. The Twins looked baffled against him. Now, we’re a befuddled team, heading for Seattle and more mistreatment. Turn out the lights! The party is over!

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