Article: Those Damn Yankees

[Nick Nelson]

The cast of characters may have changed, but the story never does. The Twins went into Yankee Stadium this week and endured a beatdown.

 

They are now 33-89 against the Bombers since Ron Gardenhire first took over in 2002, including 2-12 in the playoffs, and Wednesday's loss was their eighth in nine tries at Yankee Stadium under Paul Molitor.All right, I admit it was too harsh to say Minnesota cowered against the Yanks. They competed (Joe Mauer had one of his most epic ABs ever on Wednesday afternoon), and have given us zero reason this year to doubt their resiliency or resolve.

 

But from the very start of the series, which commenced with a dizzying flurry of whiffs against Jaime Garcia, the Twins looked intimidated and overmatched. New York's superiority only seemed to crystalize as the games progressed. And that just serves to reinforce an inescapable narrative – that a mental block is at play, and this Little Team That Could shrinks in the Big Apple.

 

It's a bit hard to buy into this. There is basically zero continuity that holds over from the beginning of this era of ineptitude in the rivalry. But in a game as random as baseball, you'd expect more successes out of sheer luck and variance than the Twins have been able to stumble into.

 

Rarely has the talent between these teams been as lopsided as the outcomes have suggested over the past 15 years, but those outcomes reliably never change. Minnesota hasn't won a season series against New York during that span, and their winning percentage against them is roughly on par with the 2003 Tigers, who lost 119 games.

 

This week's series just brought more of the same, and gave little reason to believe we should expect anything else in the near future.

 

Incidentally, reliving this nightmare is now basically the best thing we can hope for, as the Twins will likely be heading back to Yankee Stadium for a Wild Card showdown if they can hold their ground the rest of the way (though Boston is also a possibility).

 

We've seen this group respond positively to setbacks time and time again this year. Maybe another Bummer in the Bronx will provide the fuel they need to pull it together in these final 11 days.

 

A chance to return and make it right. A chance to squash this narrative that nags at the franchise like an ache that won't go away.

 

Speaking of which, if they do get that chance, the Twins had better hope they have Miguel Sano back to help out. Under those bright lights, the flashy star's absence was more noticeable than ever. To that end, signs are as ominous as a late deficit with Mariano Rivera – er, Aroldis Chapman – warming in the pen.

 

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[mikelink45]

How does one explain such dominance.  It is not based on player comparisons, home field, or the alignment of the stars.  This is a case for Freud or Jung - a psychological case that must be diagnosed before the Wild Card Game.    I am too old and too jaded to think we can beat the Yankees of legend (I assume that is who we are playing) and even those most of these players are too young to remember a time when playing the Yankees was no big deal, they are not too young to be star struck by the NY mistique.  

 

Not even Big Sexy who should be old enough to know better can make the Yankees swing at his off the plate junk or miss his middle of the plate balloons.  

 

 

[mazeville]

These struggles against the Yankees are getting OLD. Really old.

[Otto von Ballpark]

These struggles against the Yankees are getting OLD. Really old.

They're almost old enough to drive. In 5-6 years they will be old enough to legally drink!

[Otto von Ballpark]

They are now 33-89 against the Bombers since Ron Gardenhire first took over in 2002, including 2-9 in the playoffs,

Actually 2-12 vs New York in the playoffs (four ALDS losses). The last 9 losses in a row.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I've called it the curse of Mike Trombley, because this was Gardy's first game in NY as manager:

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200205170.shtml

 

But actually we had been swept in the Dome by the Yankees a week prior to that.

 

Maybe it's the curse of Chuck Knoblauch? The fulcrum isn't on the trade, but rather on him leaving NY. He was still on the Yankees the last time we beat them in a season series (2001).

[Thrylos]

 

 

Those Damn Yankees

 

This sounds like one blaming the damn wall for causing injuries if one willingly hits his/her head against.

 

It is not the Damn Yankees, it is the Damn Twins (1994-now) that are prone to go belly up against better opponents (including those Yankees.)

 

Realizing this, figuring out the root clause, and hoping that the new FO will clean it up, is much more productive than blaming the wall one bangs his/her head against.

[Eris]

Bad/biased umpiring also contributed to the loss column. Cuzzi's foul ball call was probably the worst call in post season history.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Bad/biased umpiring also contributed to the loss column. Cuzzi's foul ball call was probably the worst call in post season history.

The Cuzzi call was terrible, but no, it was not responsible for even one loss. Consider that Nathan had already blown a 2-run 9th inning lead that game, Mauer's phantom double was only leading off the inning, it was replaced by a Mauer single, and we still managed to squander a bases loaded, nobody out opportunity that inning. Oh, and Teixeira homered to lead off the bottom of that inning, so even if Mauer had scored to give us a 1 run lead, it wouldn't have lasted very long.

[USAFChief]

there's an intimidation factor that, IMO, traces back to Ron Gardenhire and his quotes before every Yankee series about how perfect his team was going to need to be.

 

Molitor, same way. When your pitching staff treats Greg Bird like Babe Ruth, you are playing scared.

[h2oface]

It's Doug Mientkiewicz' fault.

[diehardtwinsfan]

nothing a 1 game playoff wildcard victory cannot cure. 

 

One game guys.... one game.

[Otto von Ballpark]

nothing a 1 game playoff wildcard victory cannot cure.

 

One game guys.... one game.

True, that is the shortest path to perhaps getting this monkey of our back.

[Doomtints]

Considering there was a play (1955) and musicial (1958) regarding this franchise's inability to beat the Yankees, we are not talking about a new problem.

 

Through 2007, the the franchise record against the Yankees was 760-1068, which is the worst W-L record against any team. And, of course, since then the record has only gotten worse.  

[spanman2]

 

They're almost old enough to drive. In 5-6 years they will be old enough to legally drink!

IALTO

[Eephus]

The Twins need to take a page out of Glen Sonmor's book when the North Stars finally stood up to the Bruins in Boston Garden...after not winning 35 games over 14 years there. Better wait until Sano's back if we're going to start a brawl though.

 

7 seconds into the game and when the game ended 406 minutes of penalties:

[Longdistancetwins]

 

Considering there was a play (1955) and musicial (1958) regarding this franchise's inability to beat the Yankees, we are not talking about a new problem.

 

Through 2007, the the franchise record against the Yankees was 760-1068, which is the worst W-L record against any team. And, of course, since then the record has only gotten worse.  

It is indeed an old problem.  I speak as one who went out to Yankee Stadium to see my Twins in the early 1970s.  These Yankee teams were mediocre, but they still crushed us.  I went to quite a few doubleheaders where we lost both games.  It got a bit better in the '80s, but, for me, it is an old and tired story.  We just remember recent history more because they included playoff games.

 

Was at the game yesterday.  I've also punished myself by purchasing a ticket for the potential Wild Card game.

[Ryan Atkins]

Bright lights, big city, big stage, big choke.

 

It is so frustrating to see the endless missed opportunities, misplays, and bad fielder positioning that seemed to pollute this series more than most others.

 

You can say that is all hogwash, and maybe it is, but this Yankee team simply isn't that good and I'm very surprised by the sweep.

 

Nevertheless, I will gladly trade this sweep for a single game win if the Twins are fortunate enough to play the Yankees in New York in the wildcard game.

 

The best chance for a win in this series was in game 1 with Santana pitching and that will be the Twins' likely wildcard starter. So, there's that.

[yarnivek1972]

I'm telling ya, the problem is that the Twins can't stop staring at the pin stripes.

[Mike Sixel]

 

The Twins need to take a page out of Glen Sonmor's book when the North Stars finally stood up to the Bruins in Boston Garden...after not winning 35 games over 14 years there. Better wait until Sano's back if we're going to start a brawl though.

 

7 seconds into the game and when the game ended 406 minutes of penalties:

 

I remember that game. 

[biscuit]

You were right the first time.  They went in there begging to get beat down.

[Sarah]

It's times like this that I always think of the Bill Mazeroski quote from when he hit the home run to beat the Yankees in the 1960 World Series - someone asked him what he was thinking about when he was rounding the bases and he said all he could think was "We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees!" Some things never change...

 

I would rather play the Yankees in a one game playoff than in a series. It's baseball, in one game anything crazy can happen. Yes I realize that means something crazy could happen to beat us but that would be par for the course...

 

Well, the Cubs won the World Series last year so hope springs eternal. 

[Doomtints]

 

Well, the Cubs won the World Series last year so hope springs eternal. 

 

The Cubs narrative of having crappy teams forever isn't really true. They have one of the best W-L records in baseball history. They just didn't win "the big one" for a long time. They're a lot like the Vikings.

[Monkeypaws]

 

I remember that game. 

 

The Twins need to take a page out of Glen Sonmor's book when the North Stars finally stood up to the Bruins in Boston Garden...after not winning 35 games over 14 years there. Better wait until Sano's back if we're going to start a brawl though.

 

7 seconds into the game and when the game ended 406 minutes of penalties:

Eephus, that is the exact example I was gonna put out there. Tim Young scored the overtime winner that broke the curse in the playoffs, and the Stars rarely lost there again.