Twins Have Their Own Way Of Winning
In a recent article on ESPN.com, Jayson Stark (who was my favorite ESPN writer long before this article) predicted that the Twins will win the World Series this year. Yes, our Minnesota Twins. This year. The article goes on to compare the Twins way of doing business to that of the almighty New York Yankees.
As far as the Twins chances for a World Series win, I would agree that there is a decent chance. They have the best pitcher in the game, a deep bullpen and one of the best young closers. They play better defense, position for position (with the obvious exception of Justin Morneau at first base) than any team in the league. If Morneau lives up to the hype and Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones leave the yard 25 times or so, the Twins could also put up some runs this year. Indeed, they will once again be a team that others will fear the prospect of playing against, most likely into October.
But it won't last long.
Remember the mid-90's? The team was nothing short of terrible. The superstars of today were earning their stripes in the minors or taking their lumps in the big leagues and the team was finishing down in the standings. Way down. Meanwhile, the Yankees were signing All-Star after All-Star with an unlimited budget. And they were winning.
The Twins have been nearly flawless with their business decisions lately. Terry Ryan has crafted a competitive team with timely trades and uncanny drafting. But even with perfection, a World Series has eluded them (Yes, I remember '87 and '91, but that was a completely different group). How much longer can we expect to see perfection with draft picks and trades?
Meanwhile, the Yankees continue to write the checks and go to the Series. Ron Gardenhire said it perfectly when he spoke about facing the Yankees.
"After you finish facing a three-time All-Star, now here comes a four-time All-Star off the bench to pinch-hit for a two-time All-Star. It's something to see, I'll tell you."
That's why the Yankees will continue to be better than the Twins. They can buy a better team than we can paste together. Do the Twins have a chance to beat New York and win the World Series this year? Yes. I would even say they have a pretty good chance.
But they better do it soon. Perfection won't last forever.
As far as the Twins chances for a World Series win, I would agree that there is a decent chance. They have the best pitcher in the game, a deep bullpen and one of the best young closers. They play better defense, position for position (with the obvious exception of Justin Morneau at first base) than any team in the league. If Morneau lives up to the hype and Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones leave the yard 25 times or so, the Twins could also put up some runs this year. Indeed, they will once again be a team that others will fear the prospect of playing against, most likely into October.
But it won't last long.
Remember the mid-90's? The team was nothing short of terrible. The superstars of today were earning their stripes in the minors or taking their lumps in the big leagues and the team was finishing down in the standings. Way down. Meanwhile, the Yankees were signing All-Star after All-Star with an unlimited budget. And they were winning.
The Twins have been nearly flawless with their business decisions lately. Terry Ryan has crafted a competitive team with timely trades and uncanny drafting. But even with perfection, a World Series has eluded them (Yes, I remember '87 and '91, but that was a completely different group). How much longer can we expect to see perfection with draft picks and trades?
Meanwhile, the Yankees continue to write the checks and go to the Series. Ron Gardenhire said it perfectly when he spoke about facing the Yankees.
"After you finish facing a three-time All-Star, now here comes a four-time All-Star off the bench to pinch-hit for a two-time All-Star. It's something to see, I'll tell you."
That's why the Yankees will continue to be better than the Twins. They can buy a better team than we can paste together. Do the Twins have a chance to beat New York and win the World Series this year? Yes. I would even say they have a pretty good chance.
But they better do it soon. Perfection won't last forever.
posted by Joe Siple | 7:46 PM
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