| 12 October 2009
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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