Swept By The Yankees
Written by Andrew Kneeland   
Monday, 12 October 2009 09:42

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

I really don't want to dwell on this series for very long, for two main reasons: one, outside of Nick Blackburn and Carl Pavano the Twins did virtually nothing right, and two, this was an incredibly winnable series.

If I had to choose one description of this series, it would without a doubt be "missed opportunities." Minnesota left 17 base-runners -- at least one in every of the game's eleven innings -- stranded on base during the second game, which, when coupled with Phil Cuzzi, makes it incredibly difficult to win a game.

Joe Nathan is staring to prove that he isn't the best postseason pitcher. During his postseason career, Nathan has amassed an ERA of 7.88, albeit in just eight innings. Nick Punto, meanwhile, has played spectacularly as of late -- minus that one baserunning blunder that probably cost the Twins a run last night. In the three postseason games this year, Punto has hit .444/.583/.556 with an OPS of 1.139.

Clearly, the Twins weren't playing the Yankees this postseason; they were playing themselves. And lost.

Minnesota has lost the nine straight playoff games since their Game 1 victory over the Yankees in 2004. That's a painful statistic for any team, but even more so for a team that supposedly "does the little things right."

Newsflash: they don't.

Feel free to let loose your pent-up anger in the comment section (remembering, of course, that this is a family-friendly site), or share other things that you think went wrong.

For now, though, I need at least 24 hours away from the Twins. (I doubt that will actually happen, but it's a novel idea, isn't it?) After that I may or may not launch back into analyzing this especially painful series. Haven't decided yet.

But you can count on the fact that I'll be providing all the offseason analysis, rumors, and predictions any Twins fan could ever dream of. Be sure to visit TwinsTarget as often as possible. We're going to have some fun this winter!



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Comments (1)Add Comment
...
written by Jack Steal, October 12, 2009
Andrew,

Here are a few more startling statistics for you about the Twins under manager Ron Gardenhire.

1. The team has lost the last 9 playoff games in a row and 6 were played in the Metrodome.

2. The team has been swept in the last 2 division series (2006 and 2009).

3. The team has lost the last 8 playoff games in the Metrodome going back to 2002. So much for home field advantage.

4. The team was 0-10 against the Yankees in 2009 and Gardy has a career 5-28 record against them since 2002.

5. Gardy has a 6-18 career post season record.

The bottom line is every fan in Minnesota is obsessed with Mediocrity and are just happy getting to the playoffs. However, if Gardy posted these numbers anywhere else he would be fired in a heart beat.

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Andrew Kneeland can be reached by emailing: akneeland [at] bleacherreport [dot] com.
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