RandBall: The Twins’ vibes are already improving, but with one big caveat

The line between joy and frustration is perilously thin for a modern sports fan.

Case in point: The Twins very easily could have lost Sunday’s game if not for a stout relief pitching effort by a veteran journeyman and more clutch hitting from new fan favorite Luke Keaschall.

That would have meant losing two of three to the Royals in their first series at Target Field since Black Thursday at the trade deadline.

But that’s not what happened.

Michael Tonkin navigated the free runner to keep the 10th and 11th innings scoreless, while Keaschall muscled a walk-off opposite field homer for a 5-3 win.

That outcome was part of a small sample size vibe check of Twins fans that suggests their collective mood has improved in the last week-and-a-half, as Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

Then: The Twins are doomed. They won’t be fun or competitive for years. Derek Falvey doesn’t know what he’s doing. The Pohlads are cheap and our only hope is that they sell the team.

You’ll notice a change in attitude, much of which has been sparked by a Keaschall-led young lineup hitting with confidence. The Twins’ August offensive numbers through nine games aren’t much better than they were in previous months, but they are up a tick — notable, in particular, because young players are getting a lot of the at bats previously reserved for traded-away veterans Carlos Correa, Willi Castro, Ty France and Harrison Bader.

You’ll notice intense interest in the young players acquired at the deadline by Falvey and Co., including three pitchers in the Class AAA rotation.

And you’ll notice that the one constant in both the bad and good moods of Twins fans is that the Pohlad family selling the team is a prerequisite for any further discussion about the team.

It’s hard to read Bobby Nightengale’s excellent behind-the-scenes reporting of how the trade deadline shook out and not believe Falvey was instructed to slash payroll.

That it might end up being the right baseball move, too, is a nice coincidence but not a great place to start from when you are trying to build a winning franchise.

But it’s all moot if that first condition is not met.

Here are nine more things to know today: