1000 Shades of Gray

Baseball is a beautiful sport.  Sports, as politics and religion, are as a general rule a human institution.  Sports can feed the desire to be the best, can feed the desire for competition, can feed the desire to see greatness and something that will never be seen again as it is seen in one blinding moment.  Like politics and religion, sports is a springboard for debate.  Unlike sports, in politics you have the performers, in religion you have the followers...but in sports you have both.  Performer and follower are inseperably linked; neither would exist as it does today without the other.

Some of us have played the game before.  Some of us haven't.  Those of us here come as followers.  We come because we love the Twins, for whatever they may bring to our individual lives, and we're here to celebrate a common interest.  Even as followers we're part of the game.  TwinkieTown is here as part of the game.

Everyone here is encouraged to have their own opinion on any number of matters, as long as it's an opinion.  The best part about an opinion is that there's black and white, but also 1000 shades of gray.  You may want Torii to stay in 2007 or you may not, but no matter which side you're on you're probably going to have differing reasons to justify your thoughts.  That's the way it should be.

It doesn't bother me reading all the posts about the same thing.  Five posts on Rondell White being a disappointment, seventeen posts on Tony Batista's great on-base percentage, three thousand posts calling for Ron Gardenhire's head...that's why we're here.  To rant, to gush, to observe, to critique, to banter.  It's the cyclical nature of the beast we've chosen to love.  Leading up to the All Star break, bloggers, sports writers, radio broadcasters and television journalists throughout Minnesota will build themselves into a bee swarm type of frenzy as the hype on Joe Mauer and his lack of an All Star berth reaches fever pitch...that's what happens.  If you don't like it, if you're tired of reading about it, then DO something about it.  Write something new.

And I hope you do.  TwinkieTown is still in a growth stage, and there are plenty of takes to expound on and uncountable writing styles to be explored.  Just because you can come here and vent about the same old frustrations doesn't mean that's what you HAVE to do.  Be different!  Disagree!  Take David Wintheiser's empty throne and the crown he left next to it and be a contrarian, just have the cajones to back it up.

Bottom line here is that I want different voices and I want different takes.  Nobody here should feel like they can't take a stand; nobody reading should feel like they don't belong.  If you have something to say, say it.  If you care, get involved.  If you don't, get out of the way.  Know when to let go of an argument that doesn't matter.  When you get to the point where you're writing something with the thought of this'll make them feel stupid and wrong and I'll be seen as the winner!, that's when it's time for you to take a breath.

One of the reasons I like TwinkieTown better than Twins Territory is because here, there seems to be a higher percentage of posters and regular commenters who are informed.  One-line comments and out-of-the-blue snarky comments are kept to a minimum here.  What this means is that all the opinionated people are going to clash from time to time.  I don't mind clashing.  Clash clash clash clash clash.  Just have some class, and know when what you're trying to say has stopped revolving around baseball.

I'll shut up by saying that while this post has been inspired by a recent comment thread, it's not directed at anyone specifically.  Just take note and do your part-this place is as much yours as it is mine.  If there's anyone out there who's been looking to contribute to the site and hasn't, please do.  We're always looking for new voices.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your Wednesday.

Jesse