Twins Pull Off the Impossible

At any point during the season, did any fan of the Twins or baseball truly believe the Twins would be in the playoffs? Maybe part of you had hoped that would happen, but were you confident at all that it would? Well the Twins pulled off the impossible and made it. They made MLB history by coming back from 3 games back with 4 games left and made it. They came back from 7 games back in early September and overcame injuries to just about every position on the field. They did all of this without Justin Morneau, without Joe Crede, and finished the season with just two starters remaining in the rotation from the beginning of the season.

The Twins not only pulled off the impossible, but they did it in dramatic fashion winning in the 12th inning. They walked-off with the victory due to a base hit from the most unlikely of hitters, Alexi Casilla. They came back from behind twice in the game.

The Twins are 17-4 in their last 21 games, including the tiebreaker to win the AL Central. They are one of the hottest teams in baseball, and it’s a perfect time to get hot. They have to play the NY Yankees in the first round of the playoffs, a team that has beaten the Twins all 7 times they have faced them this season. But, baseball is a funny sport in that it’s not who you play, but when you play them.

Now, I know you’ve all heard of a trap game. It’s a game in which a team, such as the Yankees, is already marking a win down on the schedule and looking past the current opponent to the next one. Is it possible that the series against the Twins is a trap series for the Yankees? Is it possible that they are already looking past the Twins to the AL Championship Series?

C.C. Sabathia is one of the league’s best pitchers, and the Twins will have a hard time against him tonight. Brian Duensing will also have his hands full with one fo the best lineups in baseball. But, Sabathia has struggled in the postseason. He is 2-3 with a 7.92 ERA in the postseason over his career.

The Twins have a chance tonight, not much of one, but they are in the playoffs right? They finished the season 87-76, but more importantly with an improved road record. At one point in the season, the Twins were close to 15 games under .500 on the road. They finished just 5 under at 38-43. Some people are saying that the Twins are too tired to do well in this series, but I say the opposite. I say they are full of energy and pumped from the run they went on late in the season. They have a slew of young, talented players that haven’t had the opportunity to play in big games yet. The excitement may cause the Twins to make a few mistakes, but being young and energized, I think they have a shot. They need to have productive at-bats every time at the plate. They need to see a lot pitches and let Sabathia walk a few of them. Play “Piranha” ball as Ozzie Guillen says. No matter what, you can’t help but smile that this young group of guys pulled off the impossible and they have a shot. They have a chance, and as the old poker saying goes “a chip and a chair”.

Tags: alexi casilla, brian duensing, carlos gomez, cc sabathia, justin morneau, mlb, tigers, Twins, yankees