Historically speaking, what does it mean when a major league team starts 0-3? David Schoenfield from ESPN crunched the numbers, which are of course relevant to your 2015 Twins:
Per his research: I checked all 0-3 and 3-0 teams over the previous 10 seasons. Twenty-seven teams started 0-3 and they had a final win-loss average of 78-84. Twenty-nine teams started 3-0 and they averaged 84-78. So if you knew nothing about the teams above other than the records from the first three games, you would project the teams that started 3-0 to fare better by the end of the season.
There are exceptions; last year's Angels started 0-3 but won 98 games. The 2012 Giants started 0-3 and won the World Series. Seven of the 27 teams who started 0-3 made the postseason.
Of particular note, though, is just how badly the Twins were knocked around in Detroit. It's one thing to start 0-3; it's quite another to get outscored 22-1 in the process, while looking almost completely listless at the plate and in the field.
As such, Schoenfield concludes, "If I'm a Twins fans, maybe I do start worrying already (not that expectations were high)."
Can't say I blame him for coming to that conclusion. The Twins went conservative in pretty much every offseason move, and that — plus the big Ervin Santana blow — is costing them dearly so far.
