What's not to like?

How can you not like the Minnesota Twins. They play baseball the way it is supposed to be played. They may not have the highest payroll or the big name players but when the season is winding down, they always seem to be in the mix. Case and point: This year. On August 18, the Twins were 5 games under .500 and 6.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers. They could have given in and written the season off. Liriano hadn't been what we expected, Glen Perkins was horrible and Joe Crede's back wouldn't allow him to play the everyday. It would have been the easy thing to do. But that's not how the Twins do things. They scrap. They fight. They will themselves to play every game like it matters. And in the end, they do all matter. With guys like Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert stepping up, The Twins just swept the Chicago White Sox at US Cellular and maintained the 2.5 game deficit in the AL Central. Michael Cuddyer has stepped in seamlessly for the injured Justin Morneau at first base and Jason Kubel has had a career year. They have won 9 out of 10 and everything seems to be coming together for the first time all year. I credit Ron Gardenhire for keeping this team together and keeping them optimistic. The front office also deserves credit for bringing in quality bullpen arms like Ron Mahay and Jon Rauch. People wonder why the Twins have such a loyal fan base and the answer is simple. They are a hard-working reliable team that does things the right way. They can be depended upon. Whether or not they make this playoffs, I really couldn't care less. Obviously I would like them to make it but just witnessing the resiliency they play with makes me proud to be a fan of the Minnesota Twins, now and forever.