A Call to Arms

Let's face it folks, the Twins off-season wasn't anything flashy. At the same time, once again the Twins FO proved to be one of the most prudent and calm ones in the majors. Being on a budget certainly curbs the want for every shiny toy on the market, but even with the Pohlad's fan based attitude Mr Smith feels that deadline work is much more worthwhile. I think it is necessary to let these things play out.

The moves that have been made so far: minor league free agent frenzy, Thome, Pavano, (all but Young) avoiding Arbitration deals (getting back Capps money with Liriano), and singing Nishioka. While good ol Sid keeps shooting blanks and letting Gardy write his column, I cannot imagine a better place for this team to be.

The years the team produces the best, are the years it is not expected to do anything special. With a 3 peat last decade the Twins seem poised to make another run at such a feat, and while the opposition is daunting, let me mention a few small facts.

These facts are general, you will notice i don't have many numbers or charts or graphs or pictures of anyone hitting a ball. The reason for this is it is just as easy to look at how loaded we are than say we are surely doomed in a disparaged division. The Indians without a true star to their name will surely find themselves on the wrong side of .500 once again, and same goes with the now lifeless Royals. While Joakim Soria remains a force to be reckoned with that end of the bull pen, I can't imagine him getting much use except to ensure his arm doesn't begin to atrophy. 

And then we have the Tigers, it wasn't too long ago that the Tigers were the toilet paper of the division and a road trip to Detroit was a sure sweep and boost to the Twins overall road record. Today they have two players who seem to strike fear throughout the hearts of all of Twindom. Victor Martinez is now on his second stint as an AL Central backstop, and even though he has some merits to his name, he is not Joe Mauer. It has been discussed that he is better suited for Dh-ing soon anyway and especially after singing a contract, he will have a slight slump due to his insurance. Miguel Cabrera, or as I like to call him the Venezuelan Justin Morneau, will continue to tee off on Twins pitchers, but that is where we must be thankful we now play in a park designed to combat Scott Baker the Out Maker's tendencies. all in all, the Tigers have two main pieces, as the Twins do, but both are inferior to their North American counter parts. Even their bullpen treasure, isn't going to touch Joe Nathan's comeback numbers.

Lastly we look at the White Sox, a team I hate more than the Packers and would root against even if I were dating an Obama daughter. They added a big name in Adam Dunn over the winter, but time and time again the White Sox prove to the entire baseball world that the most important part of a team is unity, and with a club house full of characters in the stages of $30 mil contracts they are creating divas. Pierzynski is still trying to enact his revenge on the team that rightfully traded him away, but he will forever be in the spot light of the man who replaced him, no matter what team he bats under .200 for.

So after talking about the negative effects of negative talk, the question could surely be raised: "What are you some sort of hypocrite?" And to that I reply: "No." 

There is a big difference between hating on one's team before the season starts and hating on the team's rivals. I have nothing but animosity for the four other organizations that call the AL Central home, and honestly feel that they should hand over the crown now, before we have to prove once again what you get from intelligent design. The Twins are not going to be the most talked about club. Nor the club with the highest payroll. But what they lack a duty to overachieve they make up for by overachieving. By September I will be speaking another song as we anticipate the coming storm of playoff match-ups, but for now, at least we know the Twins are the best team in the Central.

I am sending out a call to all people who consider themselves fans, be it by clubhouse purchases, or season tickets, or cable subscriptions, or parent's beliefs, or the bandwagon. I am asking everyone to stand up for the team that wins no matter what. No matter who the starting shortstop is. Or whether that player will be as good as the one who failed his test year. The team has made all the right moves this past decade to reinvigorate the fan base, and when we poured millions of dollars into Target Field construction and game day attendance last season it was because we were all excited. Don't let that excitement drop. This season is closer than you think. We have the good fortune of embracing a new culture into our fold, and we as fans get the opportunity to watch new superstars set their own bars higher than heaven and instead of letting the cold drive us to request singings of players who would only ruin the experience, give those that are already on board all the positive energy they need to stay fresh the whole year.

I am a man who relies solely on happy thoughts to achieve my goals, and I use these happy thoughts on all those around me. I am using them now to instill a need in the fan base to spread them around. The Twins will win. Of this I' sure. So just keep that smile on, and if you say it, and truly believe it, the power of positivity will put the Twins right at the top of the win column.

Best,

Harold Wiggins