Pain and sadness welcomed like old friends in the twins’ territory – just for fun

The Minnesota Twins have lost eight of their last 10 games. They are without 40 percent of their starting rotation for the rest of the regular season, their bullpen is dangerously stretched, and every player your kid likes is injured. Even Royce Lewis fall struggles. The team’s self-imposed salary caps and the failure of nearly all of its fringe signings this offseason make this swoon even more painful.

But for some Twins fans, this bland stretch of play leaves a certain feeling of… well, calm isn’t quite the right word. Or is it?

“There’s something about watching the Twins go up against a good team and lose in the most depressing way,” said Ryan Revier, 41, of Monticello. “They don’t get hammered, they don’t lose a late-inning lead. They don’t have no-hitters, they load the bases and they don’t score. That’s what my friends and I grew up watching.”

“We don’t see each other as much anymore, but being able to send a group chat message about how you want to throw up when (Twins third-base coach) Tommy Watkins sends a runner home? And everyone chiming in about (former Twins third-base coach) Scotty Ullger sending Jason Kubel to his doom? Those are memories you can’t replace, man.”

“My grandparents had season tickets and took us to a lot of games,” said Pam Longstreth, 54, of Woodbury. “It was in the ’80s, before the World Series, when we had Ron Davis. He lost the game, we’d drive home from the Metrodome, and Grandpa Earl would go sit in the garage and stare at nothing. No beer, no cigarettes, no transistor radio, not even a light on. I’d just stare. I did that after Steven Okert’s last game. Grandpa’s been gone 25 years this November, but I felt like he was right there.”

While all the fans we spoke to said they would have preferred to see the team turn things around quickly, there was a clear connection to previous generations.

“You know how the Timberwolves made this great playoff run this spring and nobody here knew what to do,” said James Bates, 49, of Nevis. “We were all a little bit rattled and out of sorts. When Minnesota plays really well and then starts losing in the most painful, frustrating way possible, it just grounds us. It’s our right to suffer. My stomach hurts all the time now, like my dad did. It’s not a stabbing pain, it’s just a pain that never goes away. Here you are, old friend. Here you are.”

The Twins return to action against the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend, with someone new expected to be injured before the first pitch on Friday.

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