Wookiee of the Year

Apologies if this did not land for you. For context, I wrote everything but the subheading (“The Twins have seen success in every month. Except one.”). This is intended to be the story of the Twins’ playoff losing streak, hence the concluding remark, “In October, the Minnesota Twins are hapless since October 5, 2004.” So less selective history than an intentional history since that date. Every event in the story takes place after that date.

The Twins have seen success in every month. Except one. October 6, 2004. Yankees 7, Twins 6. A Torii Hunter solo shot in the top of the 12th puts the Twins up a run, only for All-Star closer Joe Nathan to cough up the lead in the bottom of the inning. October 8, 2004. Yankees 8, Twins 4. The Yankees go up in the top of the 2nd and never let go. Jeter, Sheffield, Matsui, and Posada each have a multi-hit game. In January 2020, the Twins ink the largest free agent contract in franchise history, a 4-year, $92 million pact with third baseman Josh Donaldson. Bringer of Rain. He of the 139 wRC+. Former MVP, 3-time All-Star. A .369 OBP with 219 home runs and a strong defensive reputation. It is the marriage of the NL Comeback Player of the Year with the 101-win team that set the all-time single season home run record the previous year. Donaldson has made the postseason in 7 of the last 8 seasons. But you can’t win a playoff game in January. October 9, 2004. Yankees 6, Twins 5. The Twins carry a 5-1 lead into the 8th inning, when Ruben Sierra caps off a Yankees rally with a game-tying 3-run homer. A-Rod seals the deal in the top of the 11th, scoring on a wild pitch. October 3, 2006. Athletics 3, Twins 2. Cy Young winner Johan Santana appears mortal amidst a 2-dinger night from Frank Thomas. In February 2018, the Twins make a splash on the eve of Spring Training, flipping deep cut shortstop prospect Jermaine Palacios for rotation stabilizer Jake Odorizzi, then further fortify their offense days later by signing first baseman Logan Morrison. It will turn out they aren’t done, reeling in Lance Lynn and his sinker 18 games into Grapefruit League play. While not quite winning the offseason, the Twins show a willingness to buttress their roster wherever and whenever they can in a demonstration of their commitment to improving upon the previous season’s Wild Card Game loss. But you can’t win a playoff game in February. October 4, 2006. Athletics 5, Twins 2. Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau knot the game on back-to-back blasts in the bottom of the 6th, but half an inning later, Torii Hunter dives for a ball that rolls to the wall. Mark Kotsay’s inside-the-park home run is decisive for the A’s. October 6, 2006. Athletics 8, Twins 3. The A’s score four on four hits through three innings, and the Twins never muster a crooked number response. In March 2017, Byron Buxton explodes into camp, putting up 908 points of OPS in 17 Grapefruit League games. Drafted 2nd overall, Buxton’s five tools immediately won the hearts of scouts, earning him multi-year rankings as the #1 prospect in baseball during his climb up the minor league ladder. Despite an underwhelming debut at age 21, Buxton possesses all five tools: His breathtaking defense and powerful centerfield arm have won him praise for as long as he’s played ball. His .301/.376/.507 slash line across the minors leaves no doubt to his power or contact skills. Yet his speed is considered his greatest tool, with 113 career steals on 144 attempts to date. Scouts say Buxton has the floor of Torii Hunter, the ceiling of Willie Mays. Given his pedigree and spring showing, the MLB career .220/.274/.398 hitter will bat third on Opening Day. Byron Buxton has arrived. But you can’t win a playoff game in March. October 7, 2009. Yankees 7, Twins 2. Plating Orlando Cabrera and Joe Mauer in the top of the 3rd gives the Twins hope, but the Yankees tie it in the bottom of the inning and then march to victory. October 9, 2009. Yankees 4, Twins 3. Denard Span’s base hit scores 2 to put the Twins up 3-1 in the top of the 8th. A-Rod mashes a 2-run tater off All-Star closer Joe Nathan to send it to extras. Mark Texeira’s long ball in the bottom of the 11th is the bow on top. In April 2014, the first major league April of his career, 30-year-old Chris Colabello dethrones Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett for the Twins’ April RBI crown, with 27. Numbers 23 and 24 come via a two-run four-bagger on his mother’s birthday while she is interviewed in the stands on live television. A ruptured spleen nearly ended Colabello’s story at age 19. The undrafted Division II star spent seven years in the wilderness of Indy ball before jumping at a minor league deal with the Twins. At age 29, he made his rookie debut… and promptly hit .194. But at age 30, he shines in April. There aren’t many diamonds in the rough left for uncovering at age 30. On the other hand, perhaps karma rewards a team willing to give a guy a chance. Perhaps one Cinderella story begets another. But you can’t win a playoff game in April. October 11, 2009. Yankees 4, Twins 1. A Joe Mauer single in the 6th scratches across the game’s first run, but A-Rod and Posada go yard in the 7th to claim this one for the Yankees. October 6, 2010. Yankees 6, Twins 4. Things unravel in the 6th when the Twins’ 3-0 lead becomes a 3-4 deficit, but tying it in the bottom of the inning only guarantees a decisive Yankee home run in the top of the 7th, this time courtesy of Mark Texeira. In May 2015, the Twins announce they are ready to put four years of 90-loss seasons behind them by rattling off a 20-7 month in which they outscore their opponents by 35 runs, good for a 120-win pace. Eddie Rosario debuts May 6th and homers on the first pitch he sees. Brian Dozier catches fire, generating a 171 OPS+ with 20 extra base hits. Kyle Gibson blossoms, logging a 1.36 ERA across six starts. Rookie manager Paul Molitor is praised for his Baseball IQ, which harmonizes with veteran Torii Hunter’s dance parties to create a clubhouse Zen of focus and fun seemingly destined to lead the Twins to success. But you can’t win a playoff game in May. October 7, 2010. Yankees 5, Twins 2. A sac fly in the 2nd plates Delmon Young, but early Twins leads don’t hold against the Yankees, who score one in the 4th, one in the 5th, two in the 7th, and the final death knell in the 9th. October 9, 2010. Yankees 6, Twins 1. Early Yankee leads are insurmountable against the Twins, as the Yanks score one in the 2nd, one in the 3rd, three in the 4th, and put the final nail in the coffin in the 7th. In June 2010, Justin Morneau is mashing. He debuted at 23; was named an MVP at 25; at 29, he is having his fourth consecutive All-Star season. Through May, Morneau has put up an OPS of 1.172—over 300 points better than his career to date; over 200 points better than his MVP season; over 100 points better than David Ortiz’s best season. His .377/.493/.679 slash line bests Barry Bonds’s career line on every measure, and falls .012 points of slugging percentage shy of the same for The Babe. Morneau cools only slightly in the heat of June, finishing the month with an OPS of 1.068. The All-Star Break is days away, and Justin Morneau is the best hitter in baseball. But you can’t win a playoff game in June. October 3, 2017. Yankees 8, Twins 4. Brian Dozier opens the game with a leadoff bomb and Luis Severino records a single out before he is forced from the game with a 3-0 deficit, but the Yankees immediately tie it in the bottom of the 1st and keep their foot on the gas the rest of the way. October 4, 2019. Yankees 10, Twins 4. The Bomba Squad goes long thrice, but the Yankees’ five extra base hits carve up the Twins’ pitching staff en route to victory. In July 2006, Francisco Liriano wins Pitcher of the Month for the second month running. On May 19, he joins the rotation and goes 5 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits and striking out 5. In June, he makes 5 starts, striking out 35 batters in 35 innings while limiting his opponents to 22 hits. On June 30, his ERA is 2.21. This earns him his first Pitcher of the Month honor. In July, he makes 6 starts, this time striking out 55 batters in 41 2/3 innings, again holding his opponents to 22 hits despite throwing nearly 7 more innings. On July 31, his ERA is 1.96. This earns him his second Pitcher of the Month honor. Liriano’s stuff is electric. A fastball he works at 95 mph, 96 when he needs it. A slider that breaks just under the hands. A second slider that darts down and in. A changeup he mixes in for good measure. He is 12-2, his team 61-43. He is unstoppable. But you can’t win a playoff game in July. October 5, 2019. Yankees 8, Twins 2. Former Uber driver Randy Dobnak starts for the Twins, but the fairytale is not to be. A 7-run 3rd inning for the Yankees, including a grand slam by Twinslayer Didi Gregorius, is the narrative instead. October 7, 2019. Yankees 5, Twins 1. The Twins load the bases in the bottom of the 2nd. Miguel Sano pops out. Marwin Gonzalez strikes out swinging. Jake Cave goes down looking. The Twins squander their last best hope. In August 2019, the Twins hit home runs—more than any single team in any previous month in the history of Major League Baseball. Their 59 long bombs in August are led by Nelson Cruz and Miguel Sano, at 8 apiece. Max Kepler finishes the month with 36, leading the team. The Minnesota Twins have the steepest launch angle in baseball, the third hardest exit velocity. They have already been christened the Bomba Squad. They will go on to have 5 players with 30+ home runs, more than any team in the history of Major League Baseball. They will go on to hit 307 home runs, more than any team in the history of Major League Baseball. They will roar into the playoffs with 101 wins, more than any Twins team since the 1965 squad that took a World Series against Sandy Koufax’s Dodgers to seven games. But you can’t win a playoff game in August. September 29, 2020. Astros 4, Twins 1. The Twins carry a tie game into the top of the 9th, where Sergio Romo walks in the go-ahead run. Jorge Polanco’s 2-out error increases the damage. September 30, 2020. Astros 3, Twins 1. A Nelson Cruz double in the 5th scores Marwin Gonzalez but sees Luis Arraez thrown out at the plate. Carlos Correa homers in the 7th to put the Astros up for good. In September 2006, the Twins cap off a fairytale comeback run with continued September magic. On the 48th game of the season, their 22-26 record places them 12 ½ games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers. The Twins’ June is 19-7, including a 16-for-17 streak. They look up on June 30. They remain 11 games back of the Tigers. The Twins’ July is 18-8, including a 12-for-13 streak. They look up on July 31. They remain 8.5 games back of the Tigers. Their August falls to 16-12, yet the Tigers have their first losing month of the season and the Twins narrow the gap to 5 games entering September. They struggle to find momentum—until they confront the Tigers for a four-game series and take three of them. The Twins win 11 of their next 15. They are still 1 game back of the Tigers. The Twins drop 3 of their next 4. The Tigers drop all 4. They are tied at 95-66. The Tigers lose the last game of the season. The Twins do not. For the first time all season, the Twins lead the division. It is the only day leading the division matters. But you can’t win a playoff game in September. In October, the Minnesota Twins are hapless since October 5, 2004, suffering 18 straight playoff losses in that span. It is the longest postseason losing streak in the history of North American professional sports. All of professional baseball, from batting practice on the backfields during spring training to the first pitch of the season in Low-A to the back-of-the-bullpen arm working long relief in a mop-up situation, is oriented toward one thing: October Baseball. Toward the chance for October heroics. Toward the hope of being crowned World Champions. Thus, when a team proves lifeless for the 18 straight games over 19 straight years that matter most, the season becomes one long waiting game. The tea leaves have proven inscrutable. There is nothing left to prove in March. No prescient insights into team destiny in May. No foreshadowing bravado in July. The highs of regular season achievement have hit their high-water mark—the imagination has begun to falter. No victories in August can taste so sweet as to stave off another playoff sweep. The mind’s eye drifts, looks toward October… If this is our year, no omens exist that can be trusted. There remains but one proving ground: October Baseball. View full article

Great call--Marilyn Monroe feels like the perfect fit!

I enjoy this series every year! Looking forward to it!

I guffawed out loud when I saw the headline. Nicely done!

I have to agree with Ted that at this point, if a season isn't played in 2020, that's on the owners. It's always easier to say "both sides are to blame" than to analyze the negotiating maneuvers and tactics of each side and make a judgment call as to which side is holding up the deal, but that's not real analysis. I do think things changed when the MLBPA issued its "Tell us when and where" statement over the weekend. The MLBPA's position all along has been that they want to play the maximum number of games the owners will accept while maintaining 100% of pro-rated salaries. The owners have held firm on the rough dollar amount they're willing to pay for player salaries, while indicating at one point they could abide a 50-game schedule with 100% pro-rated salaries. The MLBPA has questioned whether it's true that owners will lose money if more games are played; doubts about the truth of how MLB's representing owners' books are what leads us to where we are today. Essentially, the MLBPA has said: "We aren't willing to budge on 100% pro-rated salaries. Under our previous agreement, you can impose a season in which we receive those salaries, so go ahead and do it. But keep in mind that under the agreement, you are required to try to play as many games as possible. If we believe you're being dishonest about what your books show as a tenable number of games, we reserve the right to file a grievance." The owners are only in a bind if they've been negotiating in bad faith. If it's true that more than 50-odd games means they'll lose money, then they can proceed and they'll win the grievance. If that was a negotiating tactic and they can stomach, say, 70 games before losses kick in, then they can impose that and admit 50 was a negotiating tactic. It's only if they impose 50 games when they could really stomach 70 that they're in trouble. Ball's in your court, owners.

Wisler and Kirilloff.

I think Cody Pirkl's spot on. If the winner is a team that was expected to be a contender in 2020, then the champion will be considered legitimate. But if the Rangers or Blue Jays or Mariners manage to come out of left field and get hot--even if unbeknownst to all of us, they would have done the same in an alternate reality 2020 where 162 games were played--people will blame the shortened season and consider their crowning illegitimate. That's especially true if it's a flash-in-the-pan season where they fall back considerably in 2021.

Am I right to assume MLB The Show 20 has implemented the Three Batter Minimum Rule? I lean heavily toward Stashak, but if there's a role for a LOOGY I'd think harder about whether Hardy would be nice to have around.

When I saw the headline of the MLB.com article, I assumed the article would name Twins fans' favorite nemesis as either A.J. Pierzynski or Chuck Knoblauch. I'd call Pierzynski a valid choice; he is certainly my brother's most hated player. But Derek Jeter is a great suggestion, too. As I think about it, Jeter might be the most recent player I've booed at Target Field simply for stepping into the batter's box. (Booing is not a regular part of my repertoire, but I made an exception for Jeter.)

Did I miss the "rest of playoffs" conclusion to this? Haven't seen it pop up on Twins Daily. I wait with baited breath to hear how these Twins did!

The factor that keeps me comfortable with a trade of, say, Rosario to make room for one of these guys is Jake Cave. If you toss Kirilloff out there and he falls on his face, Cave is a solid Plan B. That was the big problem with handing Hicks the job in centerfield; there was no competition and no back-up plan. When trading an established major leaguer to make room for a prospect, it's absolutely worth asking, "What's our plan if this guy can't make the jump?" But I'm convinced the Twins have a much better answer to that question now than they did in 2013.

I saw that headline and thought, "That looks like a Sam Miller question." Glad he got a mention! This was fun!

Sano the Yankee Killer breaks open the game! Fun that the Twins earn their shot at the division rival it took 163 games in order to crown a victor. If this happened in real life, I can only imagine how tension-filled the series would feel. I can also only imagine the insane amount of momentum Twins fans would feel after finally slaying the Yankee dragon.

There's something very Twins-y about winning 102 games, but still going on to face the Yankees in the Wild Card game. Here's hoping the Twins earn another crack at Cleveland!

Some friends and I are kicking off a Deadball: Baseball with Dice league. It's at least a way to pass the time.

Surprised how much opposition there is to moving Buxton around in the batting order. If his early season success is so sensitive that batting anywhere but 9th will ruin it, then it won't be around long, either way. Ted's proposal of 6th makes a lot of sense to me. Make him a "second table-setter" for some of the guys lower in the order with less power, so Buxton's speed proves to more of an asset. I understand why we wouldn't want to drop him back into the 3rd spot after just a few weeks of strong performance, but you can also reward a guy for hitting well by moving him up a few notches. I also agree with Riverbrian that I wish Baldelli was doing more day-to-day lineup tinkering overall. If that were the case, it would be easier to try Buxton in the 6th spot without it feeling like it had to be a permanent move, and without a move back into the 9th spot then feeling like a demotion.

Pretty cool that the Blue Wahoos' official account threw in a mailbag question. ...But what's this about the Chattanooga rotation? I have no interest in the Reds' minor league system.

I love this approach to rankings, Nick. Glad you're doing it again this offseason. It's obviously a challenge to make asset ranking decisions between current MLB players with multi-million dollar salaries and unproven prospects who cost nothing, but I think it's a useful exercise. Prospect rankings and Under 25 rankings look at only a slice of an organization's strength; this tries to put it all together in one list. I wish there were more team and organizational lists that took this approach. The Cron vs. Gordon discussion hinges on a few factors: (1) when you think the Twins' competitive window is, (2) how much you think Gordon's stock has fallen in the last year or so, and (3) what you make of other teams passing on Cron on the waiver wire. I'd probably put Gordon ahead of Cron, but it's definitely debatable. Trying to decide if it's an ominous sign that Javier has climbed two spots after missing a year. Does that suggest the Twins' assets are overall less valuable this year than last? Or is it more of a fluke? Not sure. Something I'll be thinking about as the list moves forward.

It's a provocative point, but I just can't agree. If Buxton and Sano don't perform in 2019, the Twins will not be contending in 2019. Period, full stop. There's just no way a contingency plan for these two struggling next year can be strong enough to produce a playoff berth.

Thanks for this write-up, Cody. I've had it in my head for some time that Mauer is a player who was on a Hall of Fame trajectory at age 27 and then saw that path evaporate as injuries and a move to first base wrecked the back half of his career. But in looking back at the totality of his work and where he ultimately landed, calling it a Hall of Fame career isn't far-fetched at all. Mauer was better for longer than I gave him credit for and I hope he gets the recognition he's earned.

I'm one of the few who thinks Mauer will spend 2019 in another team's uniform. The way I imagine this playing out is shortly after the season ends, Mauer will decide he wants to keep playing in 2019. The Twins' front office will be agreeable, but be transparent that they hope to use him in a platoon/bench bat role. Mauer, having made the decision to play, will want an everyday job, and ultimately some other team will offer it to him and he'll accept.

Fun stuff! I thought for sure the Bobblefoot Giveaway would make an appearance.

I'm assuming a "Gimenez for cash considerations" type of trade would get it done. If not, I agree, there's no reason to do it.