Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Dumbest. Playoff Race. Ever.

By Michael Haas

In late 2006, Citypages ran a front page article featuring Justin Morneau with the proclamation that the current season was the "weirdest ever." That was the year the Twins went on a crazy run beginning in June that ended with a division championship on the last day of the regular season.

The 2008 season started out a lot like the '06 campaign. Ugly baseball, inexperienced players and lots of losing. In both seasons, the team started to heat up and (with the help of Francisco Liriano) gain ground in the standings. But that's where the similarities end.

This team dropped like a rock when September came. Besides the three game sweep of the White Sox, there was absolutly nothing magical or heroic about any of the games in September. Forget that, there wasn't even anything consistent, gritty or good about the baseball team this month. The only reason the Twins are this position is because the White Sox are just as bad. Both teams lost two of three at home on the final weekend of the regular season.

It's fitting that this mess of a team and that south-side mess of a team are in a real mucked up play-off mess. And both have just 88 wins.

But if the Twins somehow win tonight, and as the calendar turns to October, I'll be happy they aren't the '06 Twins. But only if they win the dumbest playoff race ever.

12 comments:

soup said...

I got one more similarity: we made counter-productive free agent acquisitions.

I've always liked the word "dumb." I think it gets passed over for other "highminded" adjectives. This is a dumb playoff race, but I'll take it.

Daymonster said...

Hey, I am sure you guys realized that the header is not the old one. That's because I forgot to change it back and this was the only one I had at work.

I will switch it back after today. But maybe this is the big change the Twins need to get them into the playoffs. maybe?

Jim H. said...

Nathan: Man, did you see the cool AH! header this morning?
Reyes: Si! Bueno!
Gardy: When I saw that, I told Blacky that he needed to change things up, too. I think it's a good sign.
Hattaway: What? What?

Daymonster said...

So, I got screwed yesterday by the rain delay. If all things would have worked out the game would have been over by the time I left work. I would know the result and good get tickets right away.

Stupid rain. The game ended when I was in class. I left class as soon as I could but it was already sold out.

It's a "black out" game. Everyone is supposed to wear black. Would have liked to be there.

TwinsWin83 said...

I agree that this team doesnt even compare to the 06' when it comes to heart, excitement and good play down the stretch but that fact remains: they have the chance to make the playoffs tonight with a single win.

Look at the 06' Cards. They didnt play great baseball down the stretch(and ended with a nasty 88 wins too)and crawled into the playoffs out of a bad division. And then what? They got hot, and ran with it the way to a World Series title.

So that being said, no matter how bad the Twins have played this month, if they sneak into October you never know what might happen. And I would love to see this team make playoffs, if not for anything else besides to spite the easy-to-hate White Sox.

And it would be nice for some of the Twins young kids too get some playoff experience.

Daymonster said...

True. True. I hate to belabor the point. But if at the begining of the year, someone said. "The Twins can play one game, and if they win that one game they win the AL central" we would have all taken it... no matter what the team.

But, it's hard to look at it that way, when there was an equally unlikely team to do it. I would certainly be happier if we were playing a Tigers or Indians team that dominated all year.

haasertime said...

the twins are making johnny danks look like a combo of koufax, spahn, whitey ford.

And there's the inevitable big fly

soup said...

on the 163 day God created next year.

p.s. I blame the coin flip

TwinsWin83 said...

How is this not more of an issue? The Twins WON the season series with the Sox, yet they are playing the playoff game on their field. Not to bitch but there is no way that should be the case.

I now officialy hate AJ as much as the rest of you. After he ran the ball back to Cuddy to show him after he tagged him I instantly went from respecting him to hating him. I dunno if anyone else caught it but when he came running out of the dugout after the last out he had his arm up with a "number 1" up while glaring into the Twins dugout. Lame.

Its days like these where I wonder if there really is a baseball god out there. In a perfect world a team full of nasty players who dont like each other and dont play the game the right way like the White Sox dont beat a team of young players who respect the game and do things right.

Im going to have a hard time watching that Sox-Rays series.

bizmarkie507 said...

excuses dont fly with me. if the Twins didn't want this to come down to a coin flip, then they shouldn't of lost 8 billion games in september.

haasertime said...

of course there's no baseball god.




agreed waters. the coin flip thing is dumb, but the twins are dumber.

soup said...

No one is blaming the coin flip for the loss. Well, okay I did, but only in jest.

Twins can blame themselves. Coinflip is still dumb.