From the start of April, I'm one of those guys who watches pretty much every Twins game (excepting the ones during the work day...which are on the radio!). I love baseball, I love the Twins, and I love having a "normal", 9-5 work day (that would bore some people out of their minds) that allows me to catch most games.

During a competitive year, this enthusiasm can easily last through September and (hopefully!) even into October. That's a half a year of baseball pretty much every night.

However...

In "down years" (and 2016 most certainly counts as one of those), my enthusiasm starts to wane a bit in mid-August, and I feel the same thing starting to happen this year. I still like watching the Twins and I still will tune in for the beginning of the game, but whether I'm still around for the ninth inning becomes more and more predicated on how the game is playing out. Simply put, if the Twins are stinking the place up, I'm more likely to pick up the clicker (to find something else or turn it off altogether).

You see, fall is my favorite season. The excitement over football is simmering, my fantasy league gets up and running, new and returning TV shows are right around the corner, and the cooler weather finally rolls in (I'm not a big "summer heat" lover). When the Twins are in a playoff chase, there's nothing better. When they are cemented in the cellar? The thought process can shift to "I've followed this team for four and a half months and now the baseball is probably only going to get worse/more tedious".

Bottom line? In losing campaigns, I turn into a bit of a "front-runner". If the game is competitive, I stick around. If not...I get that "itchy clicker finger". Predictably, I haven't watched a ton of Twins/Royals this weekend.