The Twins Caravan comes to town

Ron Gardenhire and Brian Dozier sign autographs
Monday evening at the Kato Ballroom. (Photo by John Cross)

Despite the cold snap, winter's time IS passing. One of the signs is that the Twins Caravan has begun -- two weeks of team representatives wandering Minnesota and neighboring states drumming up interest in the summer game (and exposing young players, many of them from milder climes, to the frozen North). This activity is capped off by Twins Fest, and then comes the migration to Fort Myers and spring training, now officially less than a month away.

Day One of the Caravan ended in Mankato. As usual, I was trapped in the office and couldn't go; Jim Rueda, the Free Press sports editor, handled the coverage.

The Caravan is rooted, of course, in promoting ticket sales and interest in the team. I would think that's a bit tougher this winter than it has been in a while. After almost a decade as the top team in the AL Central, the Twins have lost 195 games the past two seasons, and expecting a rapid turnaround seems unrealistic.

So the organization is trying to peddle hope while avoiding promises it can't keep.