Whether or not John McCain earns the votes of the Minnesota Twins in this fall's presidential election might not be determined by his energy policy, Iraq strategy or age.
All politics is local, sure. But for McCain and the Republicans, as things relate to the constituency of a certain Minnesota professional baseball club, it might be as local as what happens in Anaheim, Seattle, Oakland and Toronto.
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| Joe Nathan says being on the road so long with be tough, but the Twins will have to deal with it. (AP) |
Because of the demand for hotel rooms leading up to and during convention week, the Twins are scheduled for an extended road trip. From Aug. 21-Sept. 4, they will travel on a monstrous 14-game road trip that will take them to Anaheim (four games, Aug. 21-24), Seattle (three games, Aug. 25-27), Oakland (four games, Aug. 28-31) and Toronto (three games, Sept. 2-4).
It has been in the back of the Twins' minds since opening day, but they've resisted the temptation to place more urgency on homestands leading up to their extended trip.
But as far as the impending trip goes, Minnesota's home-road split this season perhaps has exacerbated the urgency: The Twins this season are 39-21 in the Metrodome but only 24-30 on the road.
"I don't think you ever look at a schedule and say, 'Oh man, we'd better do well now that we're at home because we may not be able to do well later,'" closer Joe Nathan said. "It's a matter of playing well when we're able to, whether it's at home or on the road.
"We started this year not as good as we'd like to play on the road. Obviously, when you're on the road for that long, it's definitely tough. Being away from home gets long. It's something you've got to deal with."
The quirky schedule also takes the Twins to Seattle two times in a three-week span. In addition to the series in Safeco Field from Aug. 25-27, the Twins were there for a three-game series this week that was a disaster. They blew a five-run lead and lost Monday and a 7-6 lead in the eighth to lose Tuesday. Raul Ibanez stomped them for 11 RBI in the two games before they finally salvaged Wednesday's finale.
"It's going to stink," said outfielder Michael Cuddyer, who also cheerfully points out that the flip side came when the Twins enjoyed 12 of 15 games at home during one stretch in June.
It could be worse, especially if the Twins, who now have Francisco Liriano back, put together a few more stinkers like the two to start this week in Seattle.
But their bag-packing isn't unprecedented. They're not quite the nomads the Montreal Expos were during their final two seasons in Canada before moving to Washington, D.C.
"That would be bad," Nathan said. "When your home park is not even your home park."
