Twins at Risk of Sinking to New Low with October Woes

Dear Ownership

Free Agency begins 5 days after the WS. You need 2 starting pitchers better than Berrios.

Do you know what's in your wallet?!

Love,

Any Future Season Ticket Holders

Dear FO,

You need 2 starting pitchers better than Berrios and chances are ownership won't be able to find their wallet much less know what is in it

Time to start figuring out which top ten prospects (or current outfielders)  you are willing to trade for pitching.

Love,

Any Future Season Ticket Holders

Twins beat up Severino and win game 3, Berrios pitches like he is capable of pitching and wins game 4, and then I guess Smeltzer starts game 5 in NY and then......?

A fan can dream, can't he?

All I can say is that Twins gave up 18 runs, were kind of, maybe in game one but arguably their three best pitchers -- Odorizzi, Rogers and Romo -- have yet to pitch in the series.

That's the problem with Rocco's super-smooth managing.

Kick 'em in the teeth Rocco.

if the twins could get their hands on a shut-down playoff pitcher like anibal sanchez i’m sure they’d never let go.

I didn't expect the Twins to win over 100 games and break the home run record.  I had more fun watching Twins baseball this year than I have in years.

But man, another loss tomorrow, particularly if it's another loss of the non-competitive variety, and it will be hard to look back on it positively.

At least initially, when it's still raw and emotions are running high.  I'm sure I'll feel differently as the off-season progresses and the conversation shifts to talking about 2020.

I agree that a win tomorrow would be huge, even if that's all we win. I just don't see beating the Yankees 3 straight.  But for the love of God, rise up and win one effing game.

Give the home fans something to cheer about.

End the historic postseason losing streak so we don't have that hanging over us next time we play October baseball.

And show the world we at least belong on the same field as the Yankees, cuz we sure didn't look like it this weekend.

Severino is a beatable pitcher.  Odo is capable of throwing a good game.  Get it done.

if the twins could get their hands on a shut-down playoff pitcher like anibal sanchez i’m sure they’d never let go.

LOL - Yeah, we're too deep with starting pitching to ever consider ever bringing in Anibal Sanchez and if we were lucky enough to get him on the cheap, surely we'd never, ever let him go (even if he looks pretty good in spring training!). 

Well, you could argue that our ace is out due to an untimely urine sample.  That pretty much sealed our fate.  MLB wants the Yankees in the playoffs...it's about money.  I doubt they will get that untimely urine sample that takes their ace out of the playoffs.

We have pitched scared...trying to make the perfect pitch.  That plays into their strength which is a patient approach at the plate.  Meanwhile, they have taken away our strength of hitting fastballs in fastball counts over the fence by throwing off speed pitches to get ahead, a fastball or two out of the strike zone to set up another off speed pitch to finish us off.  If we don't adapt, we are done.

The Twins can pull this off but it will require something like we saw last time NY was in town, so I am guessing we will see a 8-7, 10-8 or maybe even a 12-11 game.

Yeah I don't see us beating the Yankees 2-1 or 3-2.  

I think they key will be jumping on Severino to build a healthy lead and let Odo relax a bit while forcing the Yankees to go to their pen early.

A close game in the late innings does not favor us.

I'm just sick of it.

And I'm old. '65 World Series is my first baseball memory. I grew up with those power-hitting and power-pitching Twins of the mid-60's, suffered through the 70's and especially early 80's, before our brief moments in the sun. Then, those 2000's, where we bent over for the Yanks and others every dang first round, save once. 

This season took me, and lots of others, pleasantly by surprise. What a wonderful ride, even through the tight days of late Aug- early September. But just playing meaningful games that late in the year was such a gas!

And now, we're one step away from tarnishing that whole year. Having it rendered meaningless. 

I'm also a massive rugby fan, and still and active player. Right now, the Rugby World Cup is going on, and the USA is once again a 'guest.' Cup after Cup, the US has been involved, but on the receiving end of horrid beatings that would make the Yanks' dominance seem mild. This year, I thought, they've been coming on since the last Cup, have a pro league now in the US, and tons of players overseas in prestigious leagues- this year, maybe we won't be beaten like a drum by everyone.

Nope. Blasted away by England, torched by France, about to be smacked down by Argentina, then Tonga, probably, because we get them on a short turnaround. Just like the Twins, a long road of bright play and good results all thrown away under the hot lights. It's like all that progress over the past years didn't even happen. When the time comes to show what you can do, too many guys show what they can't do.

Yes, this season will be a good memory. But unless we make a massive sucking-up and come out on a mission from God, it's just another remake of the same crappy movie.

If I ran the Twins and if David Ortiz was in the country, I would have paid him to come and give the team a pep talk about how the RedSox came back from being down 3-0 and beat the Yankees 4 straight in 2004.

This time I think we can say “yes, they were one player away.” A starting pitcher. Not that that excuses the other players who haven’t showed up yet this series.

It takes way more than one player to account for an 18-6 differential.

The problem is not just pitching, the problem is they look absolutely scared crapless. The Yanks look like they have been here countless times which they have.

The Twins are not going to take this game. It is the same thing everytime we go to the playoffs. Rinse and repeat.

I don't get all the criticism.  Doesn't it make sense to hold Rogers back until our backs against the wall and it really matters?