If the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, or Cubs had come back from 8 games under .500 in May, to a half game ahead in the Wild Card in late August, you would have every major media baseball analyst in the country slobbering on them. I guess a team with the leagues leading hitter (Mauer), a potential Cy Young winner (Santana), and a legitimate AL MVP candidate (Morneau) can't even get into the first half hour of SportsCenter. Oh, but these people will be the first to say "OH, they aren't for real, they're a small market team, oh look at those cute Twins" if they happen to fall out of it (which they won't). Why can't these turds see that the Red Sox are done, the White Sox are starting to break down, and the Twins are surging into the playoffs.
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
That's just the way it is, what did you expect? -
Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
Yep, that's just the way it is, sadly. The media focuses on the stories that the majority of the people want to hear, and since the majority of the people think that the Yankees and Red Sox are the only two teams in baseball that matter, they're all you're going to hear about. The Minnesota Twins are to the Red Sox what mid-major college basketball teams are to Duke. No matter how good they are, they'll never get more than grudging respect, and they'll never have a massive following.
It isn't fair, it sucks, but it's a result of population numbers and distribution and there's no way to change it. If anything, it'll only get worse because there's a vicious cycle at work. National media like ESPN sees the interest in those teams and overhypes them. The constant exposure gives those teams a larger fanbase, because casual fans will often start to root for teams whose players they've become familiar with. With a larger fanbase, interest in those teams is even higher, so ESPN gives us even MORE of them. And so on, and so forth. It just gets worse.
I do disagree about the Cubs and White Sox getting a ton of attention, though. They get more than the Twins have been getting, I'm sure, but the midwest in general, including Chicago, tends to suffer from a lack of media attention compared to the coasts. If anything, the White Sox have lacked attention for years, and are only getting it now because they're the defending world champs and because they are managed by the colorful Ozzie Guillen. Those are juicy angles for media stories.Comment
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Originally posted by Thrash13Originally posted by slickdtcOriginally posted by Kipnis22Comment
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
I'm not sure why anybody would give a damn about this. Are you a journalist watchdog? A media critic? If not, then who the hell cares how much attention a team is getting? Just watch the games and have some fun.Comment
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
I'd think it'd be easier to play in a smaller market, there's no gigantic pressure to do well other than what they put on themselves. I assure you they'll be one of the biggest stories if they do get into October play. What Radke is doing.. pitching with a torn labrum and more effective than ever, after he couldve just collected paychecks and retired next season.. amazing. Not only have they continued their winning ways, but they'll most likely be getting Liriano back into the mix soon. It's not only Morneau and Mauer hitting the ball well like early in the season, they're actually a fun team to watchI do because I can, I can because I want, I want because you say I can'tComment
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
Some people like to get recognition, if not for themselves, than for their rooting interests. When that recognition is instead given to others who are seemingly less deserving, it's kind of annoying and frustrating.Comment
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
Win and you get recognition. In 2003 the Marlins didnt get any coverage at all with the Red Sox, Yankees, and Cubs as the other 3 teams in the playoffs. I didnt really care, though I laughed at the fans crying at Wrigley field. World Series comes and the media is all about how the Cubs and Sox still suck and the Yankees will run away with the title. Win four more games, THEN you get on the cover of SI, newpapers, and some Sportscenter coverage.Comment
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
The national media will appeal to the casual fan by broadcasting teams of interest, ala the Red Sox, Yankees, etc.
It's unfair, and it goes all the way back to simple population numbers, superstars and marketable players, and city location. I'm not trying to play the East Coast Bias card, but it's a fact the larger markets are located on the East Coast and will therefore recieve more coverage to satisfy the larger fanbase.
If the Twins played in New York and had Derek Jeter on their team, you'd expect more coverage, but they play in Minnesota and most casual fans won't even know a Justin Morneau.I write things on the Internet.
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
It's very frustrating as a fan when your team doesn't recieve proper recognition. You might ask why I should care about what other people think about my team, but it's annoying when people doubt the undeniable talent of the team.I write things on the Internet.
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
Yeah, the imbalance of the media's attention makes it seem like there's only four or so teams in baseball. If their favorite teams (big market teams or easily recognizable teams) aren't doing well, you won't hear much of them but it takes one sweep or 6-game winning streak just for them to get a whole 20-minute segment on Baseball Tonight... as for the others? They'd have to do a lot more to even sniff a little blurb recognizing what they've done.
Not only does this go for teams, but for players as well.
Trevor Hoffman is only 10 saves away from Lee Smith but I'm not sure anyone is really aware of that (especially those at the helm of all those sports networks).
If this was Rivera they'd already be counting down with montages of his career on baseball tonight and sportscenter for each save he gets until he got the record (not that I want that for Trevor, but a little recognition would be nice, it was pretty bad how his 400th save went unnoticed last season).Comment
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
Um...maybe I'm just a homer, but there's a team in Detroit that's been in the toilet for 15 years that currently has the best record in baseball. Not trying to take away from what Minnesota's done, but the Tigers so far are THE story of this year.Comment
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Re: If the Twins were in a big market, they would be the biggest story in baseball.
I agree with the OP about how crappy it is that smaller market teams who accomplish great things don't get the attention they deserve. 3 points tho:
1) The Twins have been viewed as the underdog for most of the season because of the division their in. In that way it's not too surprising not to get that much media attention. BTW I believe Liriano got a lot of pub so it's not like everyting Minnesota gets shoved to the back pages.
2) Sometimes it's better to not get the media spotlight and just plug away. Eventually you'll get the respect due to you.
3) I hate to say it but if Carl Pohlad actually spent some of his money then this club would be talked about a bit more and in a positive light. The man is just content to keep salaries down and make money that way.......BASTARDMember of the Official OS Bills Backers Club
"Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. ParkerComment
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