Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Howard Lake, Lester Prairie, Winsted, Watertown, Mayer, New Germany, Waverly, MN and the surrounding area

Minnesota Sports Are Stuck in Limbo


There is nothing worse than being stuck in limbo. Some common limbo situations that are not fun: Having a crush on your friend who is friend-zoning you = stuck in limbo. Getting really hungry at about 3 pm and you aren’t sure if you should ruin your dinner or stay hungry = stuck in limbo. Charging in on a fly ball as an outfielder and unsure if you should try to dive or slide, you trip and miss the catch = stuck in limbo.

There is something more entertaining about being Historically Good or Biblically Bad (to borrow a phrase from the Common Man).

It is entertaining to cheer for the Vikings when they make a run to the NFC Championship or when the Wolves or Wild make the Conference Finals. It is thrilling knowing your team has a chance to win a title.

On the flip side, it is also worthwhile to be biblically bad. The Wolves from 2005-2017 fit this bill as well as the Twins from 2011-2016. It is actually kind of entertaining to see how bad our teams can truly be while they accumulate assets and think about the rebuild for the future.

The Wild, Timberwolves and Twins are all being friend-zoned and it isn’t fun.

The Wild have made the playoffs for 6 straight years, an impressive feat to accomplish. However, in that stretch Minnesota has only won 2 first round series. Both second round series were blowouts and the Wild are 5-16 in the other 4 first round exits.

Year after year, the Wild have tweaked a roster spot or two, changed coaches and general managers and yet they always run into the same result. The 2018-2019 season has been even worse. Trying to claim the final playoff spot, the Wild are 27-28-6, notching 1 win in their past 10 games since the All-Star break, a team stuck in limbo.

We could also take a look at the Minnesota Timberwolves. This case is different than the Wild but will likely lead to a similar outcome. The Wolves made the playoffs last year with the addition of Jimmy Butler to the young core of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

After trading Butler, the Wolves are finding themselves hovering around the .500 mark at 27-30. Although it seems that the team is truly improving, what will it mean in the long run? What is the peak of a team led by KAT and Wiggins?

Odds would say that with those two at the helm, the Wolves will likely be a 4-8 seed for the next couple of years without ever being a serious contender for the title. A team likely heading towards limbo.

Lastly, we have the Minnesota Twins. After bottoming out for for 6 years, the Twins were a wildcard team two years ago. They took a step back last year, but are trying to build on a young core.

The problem here is the Twins inability to spend money on the team. The 2019 payroll will be the lowest, relative to the rest of baseball, since 2009, their final season at the Metrodome (courtesy of Aaron Gleeman). After shedding Joe Mauer’s $23 million salary, the Twins 2019 salary is exactly $23 million less than it was last year.

As long as the Twins aren’t willing to spend money to add to their youth, they will be another team stuck in limbo.

It isn’t easy to get out of limbo; to truly become a title contender. But I can’t be the only one tired  of being friend-zoned by Minnesota sports.

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