Hope Springs Eternal

I'm at the point of the year when I can check off the constant tick of politics and brush off the failures of Minnesota's horrific winter sports season.  Baseball is back!

There's nothing more optimistic than a baseball fan on the first day of the season.  For goodness sake, I've seen Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Oriole's fans with smiles on their faces!  And why not, as the clean slate of a 0-0 record gives you hope for the year. You never know.  One pitcher becomes the superstar the organization was expecting, the veteran has a return to greatness for one final run for the pennant, or the rookie developed faster than anticipated and breathes fire into a team which will last for years to come.  Remember the 1991 Twins were supposed to be the worst team in baseball.

Unfortunately for the fans of most teams, especially in the modern age of the game, their World Series fever is very treatable, long cured by the end of the second week of the season.  The way teams like the Red Sox and the rest of the best teams are built, with massive superstar contracts and a roster filled with cyber-metric filtered specialists, a team on the rebound hopes for a wild card spot, at best.

The Minnesota Twins are in an interesting position.  They're starting their post-Mauer era.  Frankly, I have NO idea what to expect from this team.  Whereas certain things are familiar, like Sano being injured or their being apprehension over Buxton's potential, the rest of this team is a freaking mystery.  They played well during Spring training, and there was little drama.  They're the blankest slate I've seen in years.

Let me play both sides of the same coin.  This is good because it could mean we surprise teams, a 'who are these guys' sneakiness which catches the loaded squads off guard, leading to surprise contention talk well into the late season.  This is bad because it could just be an organization going through the motions and looking like they're making moves while actually doing very little to make their team a contender.  Only time will tell.

Until I'm painfully proven wrong (again), I'll presume the Twins are headed for a winning record.  Then again, I'm a sucker for the home team and ignorance is bliss.  Play ball!