It's not hard to find profits in and around Target Field. Anyone who has emptied out a wallet (or more likely invisibly removed money from his or her possession with a credit/debit card) at a concession stand or nearby bar knows this. Even the bicycle taxi drivers have to be doing OK. Prophets, on the other hand, are generally harder to come by. That's why you have to listen for them and pay attention when things seem to have been intended for your ears and eyes. Upon reaching the corner of 6th Street and First Avenue yesterday, about 20 minutes before first pitch of the Twins/White Sox day-night doubleheader, we encountered a man who -- to no one in particular -- declared loudly, "The Twins? The Twins will not win." He did not seem to be going to the game. He actually seemed genuinely surprised to see all the people downtown on a Monday afternoon. Our best guess is he had just asked someone why everyone was there.

While it hardly takes a soothsayer to predict the Twins will lose these days, we have to say that in a double-header situation against a team coming off a late flight after getting destroyed by Detroit, the local 9 had a better than 50-50 chance of winning at least one of the games. But it turned out the man was right. And the prophecy didn't end there.

No more than three seconds after seeing that man, we encountered a grown woman stepping off a bus. She wasn't bloody or bruised, but she didn't look to be in particularly great physical condition for 1 p.m. on a Monday. We passed her as she meandered along the sidewalk. The only words we heard he say: "I need a adult." The more we thought about it, the more it made perfect sense as the perfect metaphor for the 2011 Twins.

This woman was clearly on a downward spiral from where she once was. Her bottoming out point could very well have been that Labor Day 2011, yesterday. What she probably needed was someone to get up in her face, to care a little, and say, "Look, I know times are tough. They won't always be this bad. For now, remember this: The one thing you can never afford to lose is your pride."

The Twins' clubhouse needs an adult. Maybe it has one (or more) but the message isn't getting through. Maybe the adult needs to be louder. Or try a new approach. Someone who reminds them that yes, there have been a few ragged Septembers around here when the playoffs are out of reach. But things have never completely fallen apart like this. 2001? A young team went 30-45 after the All-Star Break, but that included a 12-9 stretch to close the year that likely helped kick-start the 2002 season. 2005? With nothing but pride on the line, the Twins won five of their final six regular-season games to finish above .500. 2007? Even in that lost, in-fighting season the Twins went 10-10 in their final 20, mustering up enough professional pride to at least stay competitive.

But when you don't score a run off Phil Humber ... when a previously non-descript rookie almost hangs a perfect game on you ... when your body language says, "I want this season to be over" ... well, that's when you need an adult. Someone needs to light a fire for these last 21 games, or everything that was built over the long haul of the previous decade is in danger of burning down.