The Twins’ Season Ended Thursday Night in the Most Fitting Way Possible

[Matthew Taylor]

It’s over. Thursday night, the Minnesota Twins' season ended in a manner that felt, sadly, inevitable.

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

The team came into the game with a 2 1/2-game deficit and four games remaining. A matchup against the last-place Miami Marlins was the Twins' last real chance to keep any hope of postseason baseball alive. Win, and the slimmest of hopes survives. Lose, and the door effectively closes.

The Twins lost. Again.

Sure, mathematically, they were still alive—but realistically, Thursday night was the end. And how it ended was, in many ways, the perfect embodiment of the season: missed opportunities, poor execution, and a glaring lack of fundamentals.

What stood out most wasn’t the final score, but the way in which they lost. It was as if the last six weeks of poor play had been compressed into a single, painful evening. The familiar script of failing to come through in the clutch, mental lapses, and boneheaded plays played out yet again. This time, it sealed their fate.

The Twins had plenty of chances to put the game away. Extra innings saw the Twins load the bases on multiple occasions, with no outs and just one out. Both times, the expectation should have been runs. A chance to close out the game and keep their season alive. Instead, they delivered pop-ups, weak grounders, and failed to push across runs in situations where any contender would have delivered. A lack of execution and a failure to do the basics have haunted this team, and Thursday night was no exception.

Even the ever-optimistic Cory Provus, the team’s play-by-play announcer, voiced his frustration on the broadcast. Known for his positive outlook even in the roughest stretches of the season, Provus couldn’t hide his disappointment over the Twins’ inability to execute, particularly in fundamental moments. His irritation mirrored the fans' sentiments as they watched yet another game slip away due to preventable mistakes.

But perhaps nothing summed up this game, and the season as a whole, quite like the final play. With the season on the line, Carlos Correa, the leader of this team, hit a soft grounder to first. An errant throw from the pitcher gave Correa a clear shot to beat out the play, but instead of hustling down the line, he jogged. The result? A bang-bang out to end the game and, with it, the Twins' last shred of postseason hope.

That lack of urgency, of fire, from Correa was a symbolic end to a season defined by the same flaws: inconsistent effort, poor execution, and a maddening inability to capitalize in big moments. It wasn’t just a single game; it was the embodiment of everything that’s gone wrong for the Twins since mid-August.

The collapse was slow and painful. The performances faltered, but more frustrating was the failure to do the simple things right. Leaving runners in scoring position, not running out grounders, failing to execute in extra innings—these were not rare occurrences. They became the norm. The Twins went 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position and left 15 men on base Thursday night. But the real gut-punch was how they got there. They didn’t just lose—they beat themselves.

This defeat, coming at the worst possible time, closes the door on a season that once held promise. How could it get this bad? That’s a question the organization will have to wrestle with in the offseason. Poor fundamentals, bad situational play, and an overall lack of execution defined this team down the stretch.

There will be plenty of time to analyze what went wrong, who’s accountable, and what changes need to be made. But for now, the season is effectively over, and it ended the same way so many games have in the second half—with the Twins shooting themselves in the foot.

Thursday night wasn’t just a loss; it was the final act of a season that will be remembered for its frustrating, self-inflicted wounds.

View full article

[ashbury]

In terms of players I blame the hitting more than the pitching.  I don't accuse them of quitting, simply failing.  Not ready for analysis yet, just disgust with the outcome.

[Linus]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

In terms of players I blame the hitting more than the pitching.  I don't accuse them of quitting, simply failing.  Not ready for analysis yet, just disgust with the outcome.

I think this should be emphasized. People associate all kinds of negative attributes to failing. Failing to drive in runs is not some sort of character flaw or moral defect. I’m sure every one of those players were trying hard probably too hard. 

[Mark G]

I concur completely that it was not a matter of quitting, although I do wonder a little about self proclaimed slump proof Royce, who "ran out of gas" and whined about having to play 2nd base.  Otherwise, I think the effort was there, just no grasp of certain basics of the game.  I mentioned this elsewhere, but this manager simply does not believe in certain fundamentals.  As a team.......as a TEAM, we had 10 sacrifices all year.  As a team we only had 65 stolen bases all year.  Two of the most basic fundamentals you learn as a kid, bunting and base running, are not used to advance runners.  So when a player, any player, is called upon to bunt, how can we expect them to execute?  And base running, for this team, is advancing on a hit; we don't do well on anything else.  As for fielding, players are being asked to play multiple positions, not only throughout the year, but game by game.  We can't expect them to do every position well.  We only intentionally walked a batter for strategic purposes 14 times all year as well; none, by the way, by our top 6 starters (Varland had one but it doesn't show if it was as a starter or a reliever).  Not once, not ONCE did a starter run into a situation where setting up a double play or a force at every base would be advantageous?  Really?  Or does Rocco not believe in that aspect of the game as well?  Strike people out and hit for power; get your launch angle right.  That is our game plan game in and game out.  So when we need to execute the basics, and we can't, I have a hard time blaming the players.  

[CRF]

Just a very disappointing end, to a very disappointing season. PLENTY of blame to go around. Take your pick. We'll see what ends up happening, but if they don't make changes...then expect the same result. That can't happen.  They can't just sit back and dial this mess up next season. 

[Mark G]

14 minutes ago, CRF said:

Just a very disappointing end, to a very disappointing season. PLENTY of blame to go around. Take your pick. We'll see what ends up happening, but if they don't make changes...then expect the same result. That can't happen.  They can't just sit back and dial this mess up next season. 

Exactly.  You want something better?  Then it is going to have to be something different. 

Cause if you do what you've always done, you're going to get what you've always got.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Well said Matt! Great article

[LanceJS]

Don’t take this as I am making excuses for Correa, but I wonder if his feet are injured again? I was at Tuesday’s game and when he slowly pulled into third on a double by Buxton, if he was running at normal speed he scores easily - just as he would have beat that throw on the last play Thursday. 

[twinfan]

Last year it was the Cubs who collapsed. This year it was the Twins. The failure of management to pick up a starter like maybe Tallion for not much killed us down the stretch. The bullpen was overworked, Ryan's injury hurt, going without Buxton and Correa for a long period hurt, Miranda stopped hitting after not playing consistenly and some of the guys were just worn out. And nothing from the minors was able to help us like it helped some other teams. It was definitely a team effort in the collapse. The big question now is, which was the real Twins team? The one who played well through mid-August or the one who failed in many areas down the stretch. The keys are there to bounce back so we'll see. I know you pointed out Correa's failure to run hard but how many players on all teams do not run hard even on routine grounders all around the infield. And Carlos was probably still playing hurt and had the biggest hits down the stretch.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

12 minutes ago, twinfan said:

Last year it was the Cubs who collapsed. This year it was the Twins. The failure of management to pick up a starter like maybe Tallion for not much killed us down the stretch. The bullpen was overworked, Ryan's injury hurt, going without Buxton and Correa for a long period hurt, Miranda stopped hitting after not playing consistenly and some of the guys were just worn out. And nothing from the minors was able to help us like it helped some other teams. It was definitely a team effort in the collapse. The big question now is, which was the real Twins team? The one who played well through mid-August or the one who failed in many areas down the stretch. The keys are there to bounce back so we'll see. I know you pointed out Correa's failure to run hard but how many players on all teams do not run hard even on routine grounders all around the infield. And Carlos was probably still playing hurt and had the biggest hits down the stretch.

 

I really feel like the season is it’s entirety is a better representation (than the 2/3 or 1/3 view) of what we should expect, should the FO run it back again. Mediocre

[akmanak]

Sell the team

[FargoFanMan]

7 hours ago, Mark G said:

I concur completely that it was not a matter of quitting, although I do wonder a little about self proclaimed slump proof Royce, who "ran out of gas" and whined about having to play 2nd base.  Otherwise, I think the effort was there, just no grasp of certain basics of the game.  I mentioned this elsewhere, but this manager simply does not believe in certain fundamentals.  As a team.......as a TEAM, we had 10 sacrifices all year.  As a team we only had 65 stolen bases all year.  Two of the most basic fundamentals you learn as a kid, bunting and base running, are not used to advance runners.  So when a player, any player, is called upon to bunt, how can we expect them to execute?  And base running, for this team, is advancing on a hit; we don't do well on anything else.  As for fielding, players are being asked to play multiple positions, not only throughout the year, but game by game.  We can't expect them to do every position well.  We only intentionally walked a batter for strategic purposes 14 times all year as well; none, by the way, by our top 6 starters (Varland had one but it doesn't show if it was as a starter or a reliever).  Not once, not ONCE did a starter run into a situation where setting up a double play or a force at every base would be advantageous?  Really?  Or does Rocco not believe in that aspect of the game as well?  Strike people out and hit for power; get your launch angle right.  That is our game plan game in and game out.  So when we need to execute the basics, and we can't, I have a hard time blaming the players.  

I’m not necessarily in on firing baldelli or the front office. Their problems were largely the lack of options by Twins brass to give them the options in the off-season. Ownership not allowing any spending whatsoever hamstrung this team last November. As far as hitting, base running and defense. The coaching staff needs to be overhauled. The fact that this was a problem last year mid season amazes me. Todays game is definitely based on HR’s but when everyone is struggling and pulling off the ball trying to hit a 5 run dinger every plate appearance is sickening. These hitting coaches need to be gone. In fact it should have been last season. The base running was also atrocious. Isn’t Paul Molitor supposed to be a base running guru? Where is he at? Who is their base running coach? You don’t need to lead the league in steals you just need to be smart and not make outs. I think on the defense front you need to have guy’s comfortable in their positions. I’m all for flexibility but shuffling guys around and sacrificing defense really showed this year. Willi Castro can do it but at some point it becomes a detriment. If you have too many guys at one position then you do what every team has done for decades. You trade from depth. Have Royce focus on 3rd. Have Lee focus at 2nd. Let them become prominent and don’t mess with it. Miranda should not be a 3rd baseman. Royce will get better there. And injuries. Again! Who is the strength and conditioning coach? The job should be more conditioning. The amount of muscle and soft tissue injuries is insane. The owners will never fire themselves which was the real problem but the coaching and approach could have been better. Non of this rant brings into question the handling of the TV situation and that was the real problem glaring since last year

[FargoFanMan]

2 hours ago, LanceJS said:

Don’t take this as I am making excuses for Correa, but I wonder if his feet are injured again? I was at Tuesday’s game and when he slowly pulled into third on a double by Buxton, if he was running at normal speed he scores easily - just as he would have beat that throw on the last play Thursday. 

This was known. Those 2 were not 100% or even 85%. They played like the stars they are but when nobody else can do anything 2 guys are not going to carry an offense.

[SAL]

Correa just called out the *the younger guys" for slacking. 

[David Maro]

Every position player on the team but Buxton and Correa played multiple positions.Why didn't they,how about Buxton at SS and Correa in CF.This team is a mess and probably will be next year as well.They went from 17 games over 500 to 1 game over in a month.Clean house or suffer the consequences next year.But we all know ticket prices will be going up next year.

[Jeff K]

3 hours ago, twinfan said:

Last year it was the Cubs who collapsed. This year it was the Twins. The failure of management to pick up a starter like maybe Tallion for not much killed us down the stretch. The bullpen was overworked, Ryan's injury hurt, going without Buxton and Correa for a long period hurt, Miranda stopped hitting after not playing consistenly and some of the guys were just worn out. And nothing from the minors was able to help us like it helped some other teams. It was definitely a team effort in the collapse. The big question now is, which was the real Twins team? The one who played well through mid-August or the one who failed in many areas down the stretch. The keys are there to bounce back so we'll see. I know you pointed out Correa's failure to run hard but how many players on all teams do not run hard even on routine grounders all around the infield. And Carlos was probably still playing hurt and had the biggest hits down the stretch.

I think the realistic chance of contending ended with Ryan's injury.  Twins only had two go to starters after that.  And then everything unraveled.  Terrible.

[Jeff K]

Chip Scoggins article in the paper today hit the nail on the head.  Pohlads either need to reinvest in the team or sell the team.  We talk about not making change and expecting different results; however, it starts with the ownership.  And they blew it 100%.  And how ridiculous was it to blame the TV Contract situation on salary reduction.  Any smart business person builds in a plan B and plan C especially when there is so much risk.  All that said, fair or not, Baldelli has to go.  The fan base is mostly disgusted with him and it certainly appears that the players aren't hearing him.  What a mess.

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, David Maro said:

Every position player on the team but Buxton and Correa played multiple positions.Why didn't they,how about Buxton at SS and Correa in CF.

I don't understand this comment.  By the eye-test alone Correa is the best defensive SS we have.  If he's in the lineup, he plays SS.  By the eye-test alone Buxton is the best defensive CF we have, even in his currently diminished state (he will not lay out for tough chances and I don't blame him for the moment).  If he's in the lineup, he plays CF.

Kepler is another one-position mainstay you left out.  Max is the best defensive RF we have, and when he's in the lineup he plays RF. Should I mention also Carlos Santana? When he's in the lineup, he plays 1B.

Royce Lewis is a case of wishful thinking, in that when in the lineup he plays 3B, except at the end there were signs that this patience is wearing out.

Every other player moves around, because of inferior defensive ability.

If your narrative is that Rocco plays mix-and-match with his lineups and positions, Correa and Buxton and Kepler and Santana are inconvenient counter-examples, so you throw in some snark to fit your narrative instead.

[Schmoeman5]

On 9/29/2024 at 7:44 AM, LanceJS said:

Don’t take this as I am making excuses for Correa, but I wonder if his feet are injured again? I was at Tuesday’s game and when he slowly pulled into third on a double by Buxton, if he was running at normal speed he scores easily - just as he would have beat that throw on the last play Thursday. 

He was out at 1st for not even jogging. Once it was misplayed, he picked up the pace. Inexcusable.