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For 15 years the Minnesota Twins have tried to add an ace to their starting rotation to no avail. On Sunday night, after another dominant playoff start, Pablo López announced to Twins Territory that they finally have their ace. Image courtesy of © Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports Ever since the Minnesota Twins traded away Johan Santana they have been in the long pursuit of another ace starting pitcher. They tried the path of developing their own ace through the draft like José Berríos or Kyle Gibson. They tried trading for prospects on other teams like Alex Meyer. They tried trading for veteran starters to get ace-level production like they did with Tyler Mahle. And they tried signing free agent starting pitchers like Phil Hughes or Ervin Santana. Though some of those pitchers turned out to be very good, year after year the Twins ended each season still without that ace level starting pitcher. The kind of pitcher who could pitch them out of losing streaks. The kind of pitcher who could thrive under the brightest of lights. The kind of pitcher who could take the ball in game one of a playoff series and deliver a victory. That is what separates a great pitcher from an ace. And that’s someone that the Twins had been missing ever since Johan. Enter Pablo López. While the Twins acquired Pablo López in a controversial deal this offseason for fan-favorite Luis Arraez, López quickly pitched his way into Twins fans’ hearts this season, posting a 3.66 ERA in 194 innings while finishing second in the American League and strikeouts at the age of 27. While his numbers this season were excellent, what seemed to most sell Twins fans on the Venezuelan right hander was his mental makeup. Since arriving in Minnesota, López has always displayed the confidence and calmness that you see in an ace starting pitcher. His combination of ability and attitude is exactly the mix that you expect to thrive in the postseason. Turning the page to October, and that combination of ability and attitude has been on display. Starting with Game 1 of the Wild Card series and López walking into the stadium wearing a Johan Santana #57 jersey, you could just sense the swagger oozing off of the right hander before he even threw the first pitch. He then followed up that swaggy entrance with a lights-out pitching performance, throwing 5 ⅔ innings and only allowing one earned run. López’s start was the best playoff in the franchise’s history since Johan Santana and delivered the first win since Johan and ended the streak that hung over the heads of Twins fans across the land of 10,000 lakes. Then, when you hear Pablo’s quotes postgame and hear about how he embraced the pressure that came with trying to be the guy who broke the 0-18 streak and how “pressure is a privilege”, you once again see the makeup of an ace level starting pitcher. In order to truly cement his place as an ace starting pitcher, though, we needed to see Pablo back up his performance against the Blue Jays and do it against the defending champions, in their house, down 0-1 in a five game series with our backs against the wall. Under circumstances where many starting pitchers would have crumbled under the pressure, the Venezuelan took the ball in Game 2 and delivered one of the three greatest postseason pitching performances in Minnesota Twins history, tossing seven shutout innings against an Astros team which led the American League in runs scored in the second half of the season. In what was essentially a must-win game for the Twins, López gave the Twins exactly the performance they needed and completely flipped the ALDS on its head. That is what ace pitchers do. While Pablo López was great for the Minnesota Twins all season, ace level pitchers do it in October and López has stepped up his game this postseason with his play, his moxie and his leadership. López has earned the trust of the locker room and the fanbase and is still just 27 years old with a four year contract with the Twins ahead of him. After years and years and years of searching, the Minnesota Twins finally have their ace. Don’t take it for granted. Do you agree that the Minnesota Twins finally have their ace in Pablo López? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

The Twins entered Tuesday's matchup expecting a pitcher's dual. They were half right. Cristian Javier delivered while Sonny Gray and a collection of Twins starters struggled out of the bullpen, and the Twins now must win two straight to keep their season alive. Here's how the loss came to pass. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, USA Today Box Score Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray - 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (83 Pitches, 57 Strikes, 69%) Home Runs: None Bottom WPA: Gray (-.302), Royce Lewis (-.152), Ryan Jeffers (-.038) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): The Twins came into Tuesday's Game 3 riding high after bringing the home field advantage back to Target Field. With a sell-out crowd awaiting them, the former stars were shining. Johan Santana tossed the first pitch to Joe Mauer (who made an excellent scoop!), and Pablo Lopez was shocked to see his fellow Venezualan hero Santana sporting a #49 Lopez jersey. It turns out that was the highlight of the game for Twins fans, because once the actual pitching started, the Astros started teeing off. Sunny Skies = Astros Runs Gray had yet to surrender a run in the 2023 postseason, but by the time he left the mound in the first inning the Astros sported a 4-0 lead. The afternoon shadows had not yet crept in, and the Astros hitters were more than ready for Gray's offspeed pitches. Jose Altuve led off the game with yet another hit, this time a single. Yordan Alvarez was initially awarded with a double to right, but that was later changed to an Alex Kirilloff error on a play that loomed large early. With runners now at second and third, Kyle Tucker finally scraped across an RBI single. Gray looked to get out of the danger, but Jose Abreu is danger. Target Field was not yet silenced, but the game now carried a sense of urgency and angst. In the bottom half of the first, Javier struck out Edouard Julien to start off the frame, but Jorge Polanco worked a walk, and Max Kepler boomed a double to put the Twins back in business with runners at second and third with only one out. Now in the shade at home plate, Royce Lewis echoed shades of Game 1's beginnings, by reaching on three straight pitches and leaving runners in scoring position. October Correa was up next, but he too could not time Javier in the shadows, and was the third strike out of the inning. October Javier is Real The Astros have another playoff ace, and his name is Cristian Javier. The talk entering today's game revolved around the extra two runs per game that Javier gave up this season compared to 2022. His K-rate was down from 33% to 20%. The more important statistic was his 11 innings of one-hit baseball in the 2022 postseason, and the fact that it definately carried into today's contest. Javier scattered five walks alongside the one hit, but his nine strikeouts continually came at the right time. The Twins left runners in scoring position in the first, third, and fifth against Javier, and he completed five scoreless yet again. Alex Bregman Still Has "It" Alex Bregman finally delivered in this series, blasting a lead off home run in the top of the fifth. After allowing another double to Alvarez, and a walk to Tucker, Gray left the game and Emilio Pagan came in with cluttered bases, and he left them cluttered to send the Twins to the bottom of the fifth down 5-0. Kenta Maeda got the call for the sixth inning, and it was Bregman who again built the Astro lead. This time he delivered a single that plated Jeremy Pena with one out to make it 6-0. Twins Finally Break Through, and Then Break Down Yet Again Once Javier left the game in the top of the sixth, the Twins and their packed stadium gathered some hope for a rally. Correa led off with a single, and Matt Wallner worked a walk to put Correa into scoring position. Willi Castro was looking to give the fans something to finally cheer about, and he delivered the first run of the game with a single to right. With the fans on their feet yet again, Ryan Jeffers stepped up to the plate and promptly hit a hard ground ball to the wrong man. Pena dove, flipped and the Astros completed the 6-4-3 to strand yet another runner in scoring position. Bailey Ober came in and pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but the ninth was not as kind to him. Alvarez launched his fourth home run of the series to up the score to 7-1. Ober walked Tucker, and then gave up a moon shot to Abreu for his second of the night. 9-1 Astros. The Twins crowd tried their best, but they started streaming out before the game ended thanks to the endless Astro assault. Griffin Jax came in to finish off the ninth inning, and the Twins bats stayed silent to end the game. The Twins need to turn the page on today, and deliver tomorrow to send us to one more Pablo Day on Friday. What's Next Game 4 pits Twins RHP Joe Ryan (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 11-10, 4.51 ERA in regular season) against Astros RHP Jose Urquidy (0-0, 0.00, 3-3, 5.29 ERA in regular season). First pitch changed due to the Rangers sweeping the Orioles Tuesday night. The Twins will now have their first pitch at 6:07pm CDT at Target Field on Wednesday evening. Postgame: Bullpen Usage Chart: FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Maeda 0 43 0 0 25 68 Ober 0 0 0 0 38 38 Pagán 0 14 0 0 14 28 Stewart 0 0 22 0 0 22 Paddack 0 19 0 0 0 19 Thielbar 0 18 0 0 0 18 Jax 0 0 0 0 9 9 Durán 0 0 7 0 0 7 Varland 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Few who have played for the Twins have possessed a presence like Pablo López, and him being the starting pitcher on the day the 18-game playoff losing streak ended is a form of poetic justice Twins Territory hadn't seen in quite some time. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson - USA TODAY Sports In his short story titled "The Swan," author Roald Dahl wrote, "Some people, when they have taken too much and have been driven beyond the point of endurance, simply crumble and collapse and give up. Others however, though they are not many, who will for some reason always be unconquerable. You meet them in time of war and also in time of peace. They have an indomitable spirit. And nothing, neither pain, nor torture, nor threat of death will cause them to give up." Pablo López is one of those people. Through expressing a sense of wisdom, mental fortitude, and gratitude that few professional athletes, let alone people, possess, López has quickly become a beacon of light for the Minnesota Twins not only on the field but as a franchise itself. With professional sports being a market saturated full of false prophets, knowing which athletes to feel morally sound about trusting and supporting while watching and consuming sports content is becoming more complex nowadays. Luckily, Twins' fans can feel confident in López being an honorable person off the field and a force to be reckoned with on the diamond. López is a thoughtful, intelligent, and inspirational ace-level starting pitcher, which is an archetype the Twins have long yearned for. To show how López is a beacon of light that fell into the Twins' lap, let's look at his early life growing up in Venezuela. López's parents, Danny and Agnedis, were both doctors in Venezuela. After graduating high school at 16, López was accepted into medical school but opted to pursue a career in professional baseball after receiving an international contract offer from the Seattle Mariners. López rationale behind pursuing a professional baseball career over going to medical school was that as human beings get older, we dwindle physically. Yet, our minds get sharper and wiser. After weighing his options, López pursued a professional baseball career while his body was young, strong, and spry. López will likely eventually contemplate attending medical school once his playing career ends. After signing a four-year $73.5 million contract with the Twins at the beginning of the 2023 season, López could undoubtedly afford the cost of tuition out of pocket. The last face of the franchise-level Venezuelan-born Twins starting pitcher happens to be the greatest starting pitcher in Minnesota Twins history, Johan Santana. When López was traded to the Twins this past offseason, one of the first things he mentioned during his introductory press conference was how much he idolized Santana growing up. López, like Santana, was born and raised in Venezuela. López was born in Cabimas, which is roughly 383 miles away from Santana's hometown of Tovar. López idolizing Santana would essentially be the distance equivalent of a child from Warroad, Minnesota idolizing Twins pitcher Louie Varland, who is from Saint Paul. No matter the distance, the connection one can feel to a professional athlete from the same state, or in López's case, country, can be magnetically strong. After López sang his praises for Santana during his introductory press conference as a Twin, he decided to make a bold statement by ceremoniously wearing his jersey to Game 1 of the Wild Card Round nearly ten months later. A week before the beginning of the postseason, López said. "Pressure is a privilege. That means a lot of good things can be expected from you and it's all about embracing the opportunity, embracing the challenge and then at the same time, not trying to do too much." López, like any human, felt immense pressure before his Game 1 start, but one could be convinced otherwise seeing López dawning Santana's jersey. López followed up wearing Santana's jersey pre-game by pitching 5 2/3 innings, giving up only one earned run, and leading the Twins to their first playoff win since Santana started Game 1 of the 2004 ALDS against the New York Yankees. Later that day, Santana congratulated López while telling him that his jersey looked great on him. Being the starting pitcher in the Twins' first playoff game win since 2004 and then being congratulated and complimented by his childhood idol undoubtedly was the perfect ending to what was likely one of the best days of López's life. Now, we as fans are mere witnesses to López, his professional baseball career, and his relationship with Santana. We will likely never directly interact with López unless we get lucky enough to meet him at, say, Twins Fest or before a game while he is signing autographs. Though this is the case, it is an honor to be but a spectator and witness a player and person the likes of López pitch and represent our favorite team. Pablo Lopez being the starting pitcher who took the mound on the Twins' first playoff win in nearly 19 years is the divine summation of what was an incredible debut season with his new ball club, and his relationship with Santana adds another layer that further cements himself in the good graces of Twins faithful. Twins fans have long wished for a front-end starting pitcher who could face the pressure of formidable moments head-on, achieve success, and not crumble under the weight as many have in past postseasons. López, the indomitable spirit he is, answered that wish and will forever be a Twins icon for it. What do you think of López's Game 1 performance? Do you think his connection to Santana makes it more special? Comment below. View full article

George W. Bush was in office, Goodies by Ciara was at the top of the music charts, and Shark Tale was the highest-grossing movie at the box office. It was a simpler time, and the Twins never thought it would be their last playoff victory for nearly two decades. Image courtesy of Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports On a calm October night in the Bronx, the Twins slayed a dragon and put themselves in the driver’s seat against one of baseball’s giants. Unfortunately, the rest of the series wouldn’t go in Minnesota’s favor, and the Twins have yet to win a playoff game since October 5, 2004. Let’s revisit that fateful night and see how the team put together a winning formula. Can the current Twins learn anything from the last time the team won a playoff game? Johan Santana’s Seven Shutout Innings It’s no coincidence that Santana was on the mound for the Twins’ last postseason victory. He is arguably the most dominant pitcher in team history and was in his first Cy Young season. The Yankees scattered nine hits versus Santana over seven frames. New York had runners in scoring positions in five of the seven innings, and batters reached base in every inning. Some opportune plays helped Santana get out of some possible jams. The first inning ended with an unconventional double play, with Santana striking out Bernie Williams and Henry Blanco throwing out Alex Rodriguez when he tried to steal third base. In the second inning, Torii Hunter threw Jorge Posada out at home after trying to tag up on a deep flyball. Santana also coaxed double plays to help him in the fourth and fifth innings. He was removed with a 2-0 lead and posted seven shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk. Just Enough Offense The Twins were facing off against future Hall of Famer Mike Mussina in Game 1, so offense would be challenging for both teams. Shannon Stewart got the Twins on the board with an RBI single in the top of the third inning. Michael Cuddyer led off the inning with a single on a 2-1 pitch. On the next pitch, Henry Blanco executed a sacrifice bunt to move Cuddyer into scoring position. Mussina got ahead of Stewart with a 0-1 count before the Twins outfielder broke up the shutout. Jacque Jones added an important insurance run in the sixth inning. He had arrived at Yankee Stadium just hours before the game after attending his father’s funeral. Jones was notoriously known as a pull hitter, but this home run went to the opposite field and snuck the ball over the fence at the old Yankee Stadium. Jones’ emotions were running high, and he helped give the bullpen a little more breathing room for the final innings. As he crossed home plate, he showed how he felt about his father, pointing to the sky. "You know who that was for," Jones said following the game. "He's watching me like he always has even when he was here with us. I know he's excited, and I was excited." Zeros from the Bullpen Twins manager Ron Gardenhire turned the game over to the bullpen in the eighth inning. Juan Rincon was the first reliever out of the pen and came in to face the 2-3-4 batters in the Yankees line-up. After a flyball from Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield earned a four-pitch walk. Luckily, Rincon was able to get Bernie Williams to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the innings. Joe Nathan entered in the ninth inning with a chance to preserve a 2-0 Twins victory. Both of the first two batters (Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui) flew out on two pitches. Ruben Sierra was the third batter of the inning, and he worked a full count before flying out to right field to end the game. The Yankees went on to win the next three games in the series, including two games that went extra-innings. It was a frustrating way for the series to play out, but the recipe followed by the 2004 team might help the 2023 Twins to end their playoff losing streak. It will likely take a strong performance from the team’s starting pitcher, zeros put up by the bullpen, and enough offense to outpace their opponent. Some strange plays can be involved in October baseball, as the Twins saw with Santana on the mound. It is up to the team to make the most of every opportunity. Can the current Twins follow this formula for October success? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

What's in a streak? Let's consult everything, from game tape, to Baseball Reference, to Greek philosophy to find out. Get ready to Remember Some Guys™. Image courtesy of Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports It's been a long time since the Twins won a playoff game. I don't have to belabor that point. However, allow me to belabor that point. In the last 19 seasons, the Twins have made the playoffs seven separate times. Seven separate teams have taken the field since the last time. When the 2023 playoffs start, five separate, distinct cores will have attempted to win just one playoff game. The first team in this string of futility featured not one but two players born during the John F. Kennedy presidency. One player for the Twins in 2023 was born a month before George W. Bush was elected. It's been a long time. I invite you to come along on this journey with me as we examine the anatomy of the team that has reached a level of playoff futility never seen before, a level that may even reach higher this year. We'll even consult philosophers dead for nearly 2000 years and ask: Have the Twins lost 18 consecutive playoff games? If you haven't already had the thought that Greggory Masterson is the most insufferable Twins Daily contributor you've ever read, you will today. I'm going to discuss one of Baby's First philosophical questions. If you've ever had the misfortune of sitting in an introduction to philosophy course (or worse, watching Marvel's WandaVision), you may have heard of the thought experiment called Theseus's Ship. It goes something like this. Imagine a great wooden ship. Years go by, and it makes many voyages. Occasionally, it needs repairs. Rotten or damaged wood is removed and replaced with new boards. Eventually, all of the original pieces of the ship have been removed and replaced. None of the original pieces of the ship are currently part of the ship. Is this still the same ship, or did it become a new ship? If it became a new ship, at what point did it cease being the old one? When every single original piece was finally removed? When it 50% old and new materials? Is it a new ship every time that a single piece is removed? If it is still the original ship, what if all of the old, original pieces were kept and reassembled back into a ship? Is this newly constructed ship a new one, distinct from the first, even though all of the original pieces are back in place, or do we have two of the same ships? I'm not here to answer those questions. I am here to document the absurdity of the number of boards that have been added and removed from the Twins ship. You can call it whatever you want—the Champion Ship or the Friend Ship are the names I like. Let's start at the beginning. 2004: The Maiden Voyage A bully good crew manned this ship captained by Ron Gardenhire. The Twins were coming off back-to-back-to-back AL Central championships, and they were led by a group who had been there from the first one in 2002, like Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie, and Christian Guzman. Even Matthew LeCroy was still around, and Brad Radke was getting the last out of his shredded arm. This core was the first of five to lead the team unsuccessfully into the belly of the whale. In truth, many were already on the way out, as fellow members of the early 2000s core like Doug Mientiewicz, A.J. Pierzynski, and David Ortiz had already begun the phasing out process. Ironically, the three would each win a championship in 2004 or 2005. Supplementing the core affectionately known as the team that saved baseball in Minnesota or the Get to Know 'em Twins were veterans like 2003 trade deadline hero Shannon Stewart, journeyman catcher Henry Blanco—who was thrust into the starting role after an early injury to then-rookie 21-year-old Joe Mauer—and pinch-hitting extraordinaire Jose Offerman. A second core was beginning to emerge with players like Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer—who played second base down the stretch that year—and a pre-wrecked-knee Jason Kubel—who batted six times as a DH in Game 2. Also along for the ride were batters thought to be part of the following core like Luis Rivas and Lew Ford, neither of whom had terribly productive careers with Minnesota after 2004, though Ford received MVP votes that year and had a solid 2005. On the pitching side, supplementing Radke was a crew of Cy Young Johan Santana, Kyle Lohse, and Carlos Silva, who each took wildly different career paths following 2004. In the bullpen, Joe Nathan was beginning his reign as one of the top closers in the game behind Mariano Rivera. Other notable names in that pen were J.C. Romero, Juan Rincon, and Jesse Crain. Oh, there was also Terry Mulholland, a great name to know if you're into Immaculate Grid. The wily veteran served as the team's long reliever and spot starter. He predates the Kennedy assassination, and when paired with backup-backup-backup catcher Pat Borders—who was also born before the incident at the grassy knoll—he was the pitching side to a battery whose ages added up to the third-highest number of any pitcher-catcher combo in MLB history. Also, Borders was the MVP of the 1992 World Series. That's a lot of names, and with the Twins coming off three consecutive division crowns, the sky was the limit. Twins who played in the 2004 ALDS: Grant Balfour, Henry Blanco, Pat Borders, Jesse Crain, Michael Cuddyer, Lew Ford, Christian Guzman, Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie, Jason Kubel, Matt LeCroy, Kyle Lohse, Justin Morneau, Terry Mulholland, Joe Nathan, Jose Offerman, Brad Radke Juan Rincon, Luis Rivas, J.C. Romero, Johan Santana, Shannon Stewart Italics indicate the player never appeared in the playoffs for Minnesota after this year 2006: Sunk in the Bay After something of a disaster in 2005, the Twins bounced back in 2006 to secure their fourth division championship in five years. However, the years were already showing on the construction of the ship. Of the 24 players who appeared in the 2004 ALDS, only nine returned to the field for the 2006 playoffs—Hunter, Morneau, Cuddyer, Ford, Santana, Radke, Nathan, Crain, and Rincon. Technically Ruben Sierra could have made the cut, as he was a member of the 2004 Yankees (as you may well remember), but he didn't make it to the end of the year with the Twins. In truth, Mauer and cult hero Nick Punto were members of the 2004 team but were injured before the 2004 playoffs. Likewise, Kubel did not play in the 2006 playoffs, but he would return in the following years. You can make your own judgments on whether those count as continuous pieces. Luis Castillo and Rondell White—the closest Terry Ryan got to acquiring hitmen—made their only appearances for the Twins in the playoffs this year. A bit more obscure were Phil Nevin's three plate appearances. This is your reminder that Phil Nevin was a Twin and that he played in a playoff game for them. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the man who played DH and hit 8th instead of Nevin in the final two games—Jason Tyner. On the pitching side, much looked similar regarding the most notable names from 2004. Still, Matt Guerrier and standard-issue bullpen goofballs (big LOOGY) Dennys Reyes and (submarine pitcher) Pat Neshek made appearances. While I have you here, look up Dennys Reyes's statistics as a Twin. He was way better than you remember. Folk hero and September Rookie of the Month Boo(ooooooooooo)f Bonser replaced Silva in the rotation, pitching Game 2 Radke's final MLB appearance came in the third game, pitching with half an arm and enough cortisone in his body to kill a horse. 2006 also featured a third of an inning pitched by a rookie, 23-year-old Glen Perkins, who would never throw another pitch in the playoffs. Sadly, these were the last playoffs in Minnesota for Santana, Hunter, and Morneau. Morneau's case is unfortunate, as although he was a Twin in 2009 and 2010, injuries kept him out of the playoffs both years. 2006 was the last time Twins fans could watch him swing it in the postseason for their hometown team. By now, the only remaining leading cast members of the early 2000s teams were Radke and Hunter. Sure, some players like Santana and Cuddyer were around in those days, but they weren't the faces of the franchise. At this point, the focus had turned to the core built around the M&M Boys: Mauer and Morneau. But, for the first time in this streak, the Twins were swept. They couldn't muster even one win like they had in 2004. The count is at six. Returning pieces from 2004: Jesse Crain, Michael Cuddyer, Lew Ford, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan, Brad Radke, Juan Rincon, Johan Santana New pieces in 2006: Jason Bartlett, Boof Bonser, Luis Castillo, Matt Guerrier, Joe Mauer, Pat Neshek, Phil Nevin, Glen Perkins, Nick Punto, Dennys Reyes, Jason Tyner, Rondell White Italics indicate the player never appeared in the playoffs for Minnesota after this year Look out for part two, which will cover 2009-2017. View full article

Anytime a professional sports club achieves a record that spans across all type of sport, the fanbase realizes that this is a "special" event. When that "special" event represents the longest postseason losing streak in all of professional sport, the trophy loses its shine. How did the Twins actually get to this record of records, and what must they learn from that story of 0-18 before 0-20 becomes a reality? Image courtesy of Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports October 5, 2004. Yankee Stadium (the elder), New York Yankees, American League Divisional Series Game 1 That was the last time the Minnesota Twins won a playoff game. When the Twins take the field to kick off the playoffs in October of 2023, it will 19 years since the last taste of playoff victory lingered on the lips of Twins Territory. Johan Santana scattered nine hits over seven scoreless innings, and Juan Rincon and Joe Nathan finished off the shutout with an inning each. Shannon Stewart drove in Michael Cuddyer for the game's first run, and Jacque Jones took Mike Mussina deep for the last run. 2-0 Twins, and the 2004 squad was on the verge of toppling Goliath and grasping the decade for their own. In fact, even the most pessimistic of Twins fans couldn't have predicted just how terrible the narrative would turn for over a generation of teams and fans. In 2004, the margin between ecstasy and misery was a fine one, as the Yankees needed extra innings to win two of the next three games to take the series. No part of the series screamed out that "This is the beginning of a two-decade curse!" If anything, the Twins squad was left thinking optimistically at just how close they were to climbing back into the World Series conversation despite the disappointing loss of the series. How were we to know that losing three games in a row would become a trend and not a mirage? That's how 18 losses in a row in the MLB Playoffs becomes a reality. In three and four day spans of playing baseball after long and successful seasons. One at-bat at a time. Fueled by late season injuries and unexpected bullpen misfires. Therein lies the lesson of 0-18, for those brave enough to go there. Like when the Harry Potter squad realized that in saying Voldemort's name you took away some of his power, perhaps if Twins fans can name what happened perhaps we can neuter the streak. It's time to take the narrative out of the realm of myth and to break it down into real, live, human action and inaction on the baseball diamond. Here are the true stories that stuck out upon closer inspection., and are worthy of being named lest they be repeated. Prologue - Twins Postseason Losing Streaks Existed Before 2004 The Twins playoff losing streak actually begins before the collective memory of the event formed. The Twins' very first World Series trip ended in valiant defeat to the Dodgers in 1965. The years between that appearance and the Twins next playoff victory would span 22 years. Yes, even longer than their current winless streak. In that era of "only the two division winners make the playoffs," to make the dance at all was a rare gift, and the victories once you got on the dance floor were icing on the cake. The Twins got swept 0-3 by the Baltimore Orioles in both 1969 and 1970. That was the extent of their playoff opportunity until the magical run of 1987 came to pass. Again, after the ecstasy of 1987, the homer hankies stayed in the closet until 1991. The Twins were able to win the Central Division that year, and survived two playoff rounds to clinch their second miraculous World Series trophy in only four seasons. Here is where the narrative of 0-18 makes its first turn from reality. When a fanbase ignores the fact that two decades went by without a playoff victory, and leans into the belief that World Series victories happen all the time, disappointment lurks right around the corner. Indeed, the Twins would take another decade off from the playoffs completely, not seeing the lights of October again until 2002. It was here that they experienced the only time in history that the Minnesota Twins won a playoff series, but didn't reach the World Series. They managed to win the AL Central, and then overcame the 103-win Oakland A's to advance to the ALCS against the eventual World Series Champion Anaheim Angels. The Rally Monkeys won the series by dropping the opener, but winning the final four games of the series. More importantly for Twins fans, in 2002 the Twins started a decade of regular season success that would lead to ample opportunities for playoff games...and therefore playoff losses. 2003 saw the Twins reach the postseason again, and Johan Santana took down the Yankees in Game 1. The offense never scored more than one run in any of the remaining three games in the series, however, and the Twins exited the series after getting swept after winning the first game yet again. In summary, from 1965's World Series team to 2003's playoff effort, the Twins made the playoffs six times in 38 years. In the four years that they didn't win the World Series, they were bounced from the playoffs by losing three or four games in a row. The Formative Years - Without "Winning Streak Builders," Sweeps Happen Now that we've addressed the themes of the first 38 years of Twins postseason life, we can more fully understand what has transpired in the last 20 years: Nothing new, nothing unheard of, just more of the same. The Twins of the 2000-2010's maintained balanced clubs that made the playoffs more often than most, but they never could put together two aces and offensive consistency when October rolled around. 2004 - Lose to New York Yankees 3-1 in ALDS Again the Twins enjoy having the greatest Twins pitcher of recent decades, Johan Santana, and his ability to defeat the Yankees. Unfortunately, the trend of getting swept out of the series after winning game one continues. But how? Why? Does it all boil down to the fact that the Twins only had one starting pitcher worthy of winning a playoff game? Would you be surprised if I told you the answer for the past two decades was "Yes"? Looking more deeply into the 2004 series, Santana came back for Game 4 on only three days rest, and it almost worked. He held the Yankees to one run over five innings while running his pitch count up to 87. Juan Rincon's eighth inning was one to forget, unless you are Ruben Sierra, because Sierra's three-run homer capped the four-run rally and sent the game into extra innings. But games two and three were decided because the Twins didn't have a number two that had dominant "stuff" to throw at their playoff opponent. Without having winning streak builders up and down the rotation, losing streaks are inevitable. 2006 - Swept by Oakland A's 3-0 in ALDS Starting pitching did the Twins in yet again, with Santana taking the hard-luck loss in Game 1. An expired Frank Thomas still tasted good enough to clobber two solo shots, including the game winner in the ninth off of Jesse Crain. Boof Bonser got the call for Game 2, and Brad Radke couldn't make it to the fifth inning of Game 3. Once Santana didn't get his victory, the Twins felt the pain of Francisco Liriano's absence all the more acutely. When Liriano went down in August of his rookie campaign with elbow inflammation, he was unhittable. Cruising at 12-3 with a continuously shrinking 2.13 ERA, Liriano was going to be the second ace that got the Twins back into playoff success. He was going to be the losing streak-breaker or winning-streak builder that the Twins had missed having since 1991. The trend of Twins bats tightening up in playoff action also continued, with outputs of two, two, and three runs in each game. The first two games were in the dome, and the last game was in Oakland, so temperature can't be the excuse. The Twins averaged 4.9 runs per game in 2006, but couldn't find their groove against a talented A's staff. Combine a lack of a dominant number two starter, and a failure to string together quality at-bats against quality pitching, and you have a recipe for misery that the Twins have been trying to make taste gourmet for the past decade. 2008 - Defeated in Game 163 by the Chicago White Sox, 1-0 You might be checking your Twins playoff history coloring book and wondering why you don't have a 2008 page. I'm counting the time Jim Thome broke our hearts in Game 163 here because if we will allow it, it actually proves that 0-18 doesn't really exist! Back when one-game extensions of the regular season determined who would advance to the playoffs, the Twins found themselves knotted up with the Chicago White Sox. Nick Blackburn did his best to get the Twins into the dance, but Thome took him deep and the Twins offense could only muster two hits off of John Danks and crew. This time the offense again proved to be the Achilles heel, when Ken Griffey Jr. threw a missile to A.J. Pierzynski to catch Michael Cuddyer at the plate on a sacrifice fly attempt. You read that correctly. Griffey Jr. to Pierzynski. This 1-0 loss was a crushing way to end the season, but realistically the Twins didn't have the starting staff to manage playoff success anyways. Glen Perkins, Scott Baker, and Livan Hernandez were good to average, and weren't going to strike fear into opposing lineups. 2009 - Defeat the Detroit Tigers in Game 163, Swept by New York Yankees 3-0 in ALDS This is where, I would argue, that the 0-18 streak actually stopped at seven! That's because 2009 also featured a Game 163 tiebreaker, and the Twins won it in epic fashion against the Detroit Tigers at the Metrodome. As staff was actively trying to clean out the dome for the move to their new Target Field home in 2010, the Twins just kept playing baseball. By the time Twins Territory was told they would be "Ca-see-ya'd tomorrow night," the team and its fans had a glimpse of "post-season" victory. Legally, this game is considered an extension of the regular season. Emotionally, it felt like the Rally Monkey had finally been tossed off of our backs. We all know what happened next. A Joe Mauer double gets called foul, 54,735 fans say goodbye to the Metrodome with a loss. But what else was at play here? Again the starting staff was a middling mix with 4.50 or higher ERA's. The offense held there own in the regular season, but could again only muster an average of two runs per game in the playoffs. This series wasn't an outlier, and the Twins weren't robbed. It was the norm. 2010 - Swept by New York Yankees 3-0 in ALDS If we toss out Game 163 in 2009, the streak of losses just runs right through 2010 again. The Yankees again play the willing villains, and the injury gremlin gets a participation award. 2010 saw the launch of Target Field, a whole lot of success, and a horrible injury to Justin Morneau mid-season. He never recovered from his concussion, and the offense he was carrying never recovered either. The starting staff continued to be average at best, even with a mildly resurgent Liriano and a surprisingly able Carl Pavano leading the way. Jon Rauch and Matt Capps were the closers, so those who could see clearly knew that playoff success was going to be hard to find. Game 1 against the Yankees started out hopeful enough, with Michael Cuddyer launching a two-run shot in the second and Liriano catching lightning in a bottle through five scoreless innings. The bottle burst in the sixth, and four runs later the Twins had lost again. The offense went dormant in the final two games of the series, and the official playoff loss streak reached 12 games and counting. 2017 - Defeated in one-game Wild Card round by New York Yankees 8-4 New York Yankees, rinse and repeat. This time it was only a one game Wild Card playoff (a then-legal form of Game 163), but the result was the same. The offense started strong and went quiet. The pitching struggled mightily after Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios took turns giving up runs. It turns out that Miguel Sano wasn't the only injured Twin that was missing, as we later learned Santana was pitching injured as well. Again the Twins were left wondering what might have been after their season long heroes were unable to perform in playoff time. The Modern Era - When the Pieces Aren't in Place, the Results Repeat 2019 - Swept by New York Yankees 3-0 in ALDS This series was the last time a sellout crowd at Target Field got to try to will their favorite squad to victory. The first two games were at Yankee Stadium (the younger), and Game 1 started with a couple of bangs. Jorge Polanco homered in the first, and Nelson Cruz also hit a solo shot in the third. The Berrios start couldn't make it past four innings, and the Yankees put up crooked numbers on the Twins bullpen in the fifth, sixth, and seventh. The Twins offense, the vaunted Bomba Squad, had beaten the Yankees in the regular season for the home run record, but come playoff time it was the Yankees' ability to manufacture runs against the Twins' pitchers that led to three lopsided victories. Randy Dobnak was a great story, but he wasn't a number two starter. The Twins once again averaged just above two runs a game of offense. Rinse and repeat indeed. 2020 - Swept by Houston Astros 2-0 in AL Wild Card Round 2020 brought a global pandemic and an eerie shortened season of empty stadiums. The Twins survived the divisional race of attrition without fully regaining their Bomba identity. This was the season that the Twins thought the curse would be reversed, because they had two aces in Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios and a more balanced offense that didn't rely solely on the home run to find victory. Maeda and Berrios were aces, but were both pulled after only five innings of work. Taylor Rogers, Sergio Romo, and Tyler Duffey didn't perform up to their regular season standards, and therefore the Astros scored late while the Twins stayed stuck in neutral. The Twins offense only generated a run in each game, and only seven hits total in the two-day sweep. Opportunity lost, and the streak rolls on. 2023 -? On paper, the Twins have two aces again in Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray. The Twins offense, unfortunately, is more likely to get two runs or less per game than they are to break out crooked numbers against quality pitching. Can Lopez and Gray pitch shutout baseball into the seventh inning or later? That answer will determine whether or not the Twins can break the curse. History shows that five innings of quality pitching won't get the team to playoff victory lane, so now is not a time for quick hooks when things are going well. The Twins also will have the home field again for this best of three opening round. The problem being, of course, that if the Twins can't take Game 1 the curse narrative amplifies and Game 2 suddenly becomes a one-or-done scenario. You can hear the nerves tightening from here. In nine of the 12 best-of-three playoff series in 2020 and 2022 (2021 briefly went back to the one-game model), the series ended with a 2-0 sweep. The emotional realities of such a short series stand out in this statistic, and Game 1's importance becomes magnified. This is why the Twins traded the AL batting champion Luis Arraez for Lopez before the season. This is why the Twins have been filling their bullpen tank with gas late in the season. This is why the Twins have been nurturing along their lineup for optimal postseason health. Will the Twins break the streak and journey forward towards World Series glory like the legends of old? Or will Game 1 disappointment fuel the fires of the myth of 0-20? Do the Twins finally have the right kinds of pieces in place for playoff success, or is 2023 another prime example of a punchless offense not supporting a moderately decent rotation? Ready or not, it's time to find out how this story goes. View full article

The Twins traded for Pablo Lopez while hoping he would provide a top-of-the-rotation arm to help the team keep open their winning window. His Twins tenure is off to a terrific start, and he has a chance to finish the year among the best seasons from a starting pitcher in team history. Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Twins fans will look back on the Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez trade for quite some time. Arraez was a fan favorite, and Lopez was viewed as a good but maybe not great starting pitcher. The Twins' front office felt that Lopez had more to offer as a starting pitcher and believed he could become a top-of-the-rotation starter. However, looking at his previous track record, that wasn't completely evident. Lopez was coming off a solid season where he posted a 3.75 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP in 180 innings. He compiled an 8.7 K/9, which was his lowest total since 2019. There were also some signs of him tiring as his ERA rose from 2.86 in the first half to 4.97 in the second half. In his first four seasons with Miami, he posted a 4.04 ERA (105 ERA+) with a 1.20 WHIP and 8.6 K/9. He was a solid starter, but the Twins believed they could get more from Lopez in 2023. Like many pitchers across baseball, Lopez added a sweeper over the last year, which has become one of his best secondary pitches. Opponents have hit .183 against his sweeper with a .310 SLG with a 35.6 Whiff%. His only pitch with a higher Whiff% is his curveball (38.4%), but he's thrown this pitch over 200 times less than his other secondary pitches and primarily used it against lefties. His velocity has increased on all his pitches, with his fastball seeing the most significant increase at 1.4 mph. His increase in velocity and the addition of his sweeper have impacted his overall performance. Lopez's peripheral data also points to his improvements this season. He ranks in the 75th percentile or higher in average exit velocity, xBA, xSLG, BB%, K%, and Whiff%. His best categories include ranking in the 91st percentile for chase rate and 97th percentile for extension. For some perspective, he ranked in the 50th percentile or lower in many of the categories mentioned above in 2022. Lopez is four strikeouts away from becoming the Twins' first 200-strikeout pitcher since Jose Berrios in 2018. With seven more strikeouts, he will have the most strikeouts by a Twins pitcher since Johan Santana reached 235 strikeouts in 2007. Only two pitchers in team history, Bert Blyleven and Santana, have collected more than 235 strikeouts, and that is a total Lopez can reach before the season's end. Santana and Lopez are both Venezuelan natives, and the latter grew up idolizing the former left-handed Cy Young winner. Lopez, like Santana, has a strong change-up that can be a strikeout weapon. He might not be watching the strikeout totals for the season, especially with his team in the division race. However, he has a chance to be mentioned in the same company as his boyhood idol, which must be a thrill. "Consistency with a process can lead to consistency with results," Lopez told reporters. "It's gotten to the point when you want to focus on quality over quantity when it comes to getting your work in. Every start will tell you something to work on for the next one. It's just keeping that consistency with the process [that] will hopefully lead to the rest." The Twins will have to be careful with their usage of Lopez down the stretch, especially if the team can stretch their lead in the AL Central. It would be great for him to reach the top-10 on the team's single-season strikeout list, but not at the cost of him being out of gas in October. How many strikeouts can Lopez accumulate this season? How will you remember his first season in a Twins uniform? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

The Minnesota Twins acquired Sonny Gray going into the 2022 Major League Baseball season. With Derek Falvey needing substantial help for the starting rotation, adding a veteran like Gray was a must. It couldn’t have gone better, and now he’s positioned for a Cy Young award. Image courtesy of Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports When the Minnesota Twins traded for the final two years remaining on Sonny Gray’s deal with the Cincinnati Reds, it came at a substantial cost. Chase Petty was the most recent first round pick for the organization, and he was touching 100 mph as a prep arm. Gray though, a nine-year veteran, was someone that could bolster a rotation including weaker arms such as Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer. Gray was fine in year one, posting a 3.08 ERA across 24 starts for the Twins. His peripherals were largely in line with the results, and he returned to Rocco Baldelli’s group this year as the likely ace. Bumped on Opening Day for Joe Ryan, Gray still had the most impressive track record. Fast forward to mid-August, and he’s become just the fourth pitcher across Major League Baseball to record 4.0 fWAR on the season. He trails only Kevin Gausman, Zac Gallen, and Zack Wheeler across all of baseball. For those keeping track at home, two of those players are in the National League, meaning he is only looking up at Gausman’s 4.4 fWAR among American League contention. Understandably, WAR isn’t the decisive factor for who will take home the Cy Young Award when the dust settles, but it is a good barometer of overall performance. Interestingly enough, both Gray and Gausman have identical ERA totals, and their FIP numbers are split by just nine points. Voters are unlikely to look at expected outcomes when deciding on an award, given the clock has run out and all that should matter are results. For most, pitcher wins have fallen by the wayside as a measuring stick of performance. Gray has been hampered by lack of run support and has just six on the year, while Gausman has recorded nine. Gray’s strikeout totals are lower, with a higher walk rate, but he’s led the league in not allowing home runs. Branching out from the WAR leaderboard a bit, names like George Kirby, Gerrit Cole, Nathan Eovaldi, and even teammate Pablo Lopez could be in contention. Minnesota has not had a pitcher win the award since Johan Santana did it way back in 2006. Bartolo Colon was the last former Cy Young winner they even rostered until Dallas Keuchel made a cameo late this season. For Gray, winning the award would be perfect timing given his impending free agency. It seems unlikely the Twins would be bidders to retain his services, and while they will certainly give him a qualifying offer of around $20 million, he should expect a much larger payday. Despite brief talk of retirement, it seems crazy that Gray would walk away from such a big payday after performing at the height of his abilities. The season Gray is putting up largely resembles another former Cy Young winner for Minnesota in Frank Viola. Gray hasn’t posted numbers this strong since he received votes for the award in both 2019 and 2015. In each of those years he recorded a sub-3.00 ERA, and with where he is positioned now, can certainly cross that threshold in 2023. Assuming a relatively straightforward path of starts the rest of the way, Gray will face opponents such as the Pirates, Rangers, Guardians, Rays, White Sox, Angels, and Rockies. There is ample opportunity for him to dominate some poor lineups in that selection, and he can also establish himself as a top-tier arm with some clubs that can really hit the ball. Tracking toward the award is one thing, and whether or not Gray completes the feat remains to be seen. Regardless, he’s positioned himself in a very good place with less than two months to go in the season, and because of his strong year, the Twins find themselves atop the AL Central and trending toward the postseason. Gray would certainly love to pick up some individual hardware, and anchoring a strong rotation is something that could trend towards a larger piece of metal when the season ends. View full article

With an excellent start to the 2023 season, All-Star Sonny Gray is on track to have one of the greatest seasons for a starting pitcher in Twins' history. Surprisingly, Gray's season is showing similarities to a past Twins Cy Young Award winner. Image courtesy of Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports Every game Sonny Gray takes the mound, adjusts his hat, and winds up, there tends to be a sense of ease present that has rarely been felt while watching Twins starting pitchers. Gray's intense and unassailable demeanor gives fans an unwavering sense of trust in him on the mound. On July 2, it was announced that Gray was selected to his third career All-Star game and first as a member of the Twins. Gray and fellow starting pitcher Pablo López were the only Twins in the 2023 All-Star Game. Gray threw a scoreless inning, walked one and struck out two batters, including NL MVP favorite Ronald Acuña Jr. According to Fan Duel, Gray is tied with fellow Twins All-Star López with the 10th highest odds to win the AL Cy Young Award. Although Gray winning the AL Cy Young Award looks like a long shot, if he can replicate his first-half numbers, Gray will have one of the best seasons for a starting pitcher in Twins history. In some order, most Twins fans would agree that the greatest seasons for Twins starting pitchers are: Johan Santana in 2004 and 2006 (2x Cy Young Award) Kenta Maeda in the shortened 2020 season Jim Perry in 1970 (Cy Young Award) Bert Blyleven in 1973 and 1974 Frank Viola in 1988 (Cy Young Award) Viola's first half of the 1988 season and Gray's 2023 season are surprisingly similar. Through 18 starts: Gray (2023) posted a 2.89 ERA through 99 2/3 innings pitched and 419 total batters faced. Viola (1988) posted a 2.33 ERA through 131 1/3 innings pitched and 529 total batters faced. Admittedly, there is a significant difference between a 2.33 ERA and a 2.89 ERA, but if you take out Gray's final start before the All-Star break, where he gave up six earned runs through six innings pitched against the Baltimore Orioles on July 8, his ERA would be sitting at 2.50. Although Viola and Gray's ERAs have a marginally significant difference, their underlying numbers have quantifiable similarities. Through 18 starts: Gray (2023) currently has a FIP of 2.85, a LOB% of 77.5%, and an elite HR/9 of 0.27 while striking out 101 hitters and walking 39. Viola (1988) finished with a FIP of 2.99, a LOB% of 83.3%, and a similarly-elite HR/9 of 0.75 while striking out 99 hitters and walking only 26. Also, "Sweet Music" had an ERA+ of 154 and a WHIP of 1.13, while Gray currently possesses a nearly identical ERA+ of 150 and a WHIP of 1.27. Gray commands the zone as an "east-to-west" pitcher utilizing his sinker and cutter to work the edges while keeping hitters off balance with his semblance of off-speed pitches, including a curveball, sweeper, and changeup. Gray, who has six different pitches in his arsenal, relies heavily on his fastball, and when his fastball, which has 96th-percentile spin, is on, Gray is nearly untouchable. Viola is a different story. Viola struggled to be a consistently-efficient pitcher during his early seasons with the Twins from 1982-1986. But in 1987, Viola tinkered with his original changeup grip taught to him by former Twins pitching coach Johnny Podres, and made it one of the best off-speed pitches in the game. Gray is a fastball-dominant pitcher who works the edges of the zone with finesse. During Viola's playing days, he was a traditional left-handed pitcher who would work the fastball to set up his elite changeup, not too dissimilar from current Twins relief pitcher Jovani Moran. When comparing pitchers of the 1980s to pitchers of today, the most prominent difference will always be their total number of innings pitched. In 1988, Viola pitched 255 1/3 innings. That will not happen with Gray or any Twins starting pitcher. If Gray and the Twins are lucky, he will finish the season between 160-180 innings pitched, and even that feels like an optimistic outlook. Throwing fewer innings doesn't make what Gray is doing any less remarkable, and it is safe to assume that if the Twins forced Gray to throw seven to eight innings every start, his numbers would not be nearly as impressive. Gray will never compare to Viola in that aspect of the game, nor will any modern-day starting pitcher. Despite having many functional differences, Gray most closely resembles Viola by being an above-average and reliable Twins starting pitcher, which is valuable and rare in any era of baseball. Gray and Viola limit home runs, generate a significant amount of quality starts, and efficiently get through innings while limiting walks and producing respectable strikeout numbers. Many of these phenomena are further evidenced by Gray and Viola's advanced metrics. Although Gray likely won't win the AL Cy Young Award this season, he is undoubtedly on track to have one of the best seasons for a starting pitcher in Minnesota Twins history. While not in the same realm as Santana's dominant seasons in the mid-2000s, Gray's season looks to conclude very similarly to Viola's 1988 Cy Young Award-winning campaign numbers wise. Do you think Gray's first half is comparable to Viola's 1988? Do you see any other similarities between the two? Comment below. View full article

It's pretty difficult to employ a player that wins the Most Valuable Player award. It might be more difficult to find one of the few aces capable of winning a Cy Young Award. The Minnesota Twins haven’t had a Rookie of the Year award winner in quite some time, but they could find a Comeback Player of the Year in 2023. Image courtesy of Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau both won Most Valuable Player awards while wearing a Twins jersey. Johan Santana picked up a pair of Cy Young awards and should have grabbed a third. It hasn’t been since Marty Cordova that the franchise has had a Rookie of the Year award winner, but maybe Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, or Edouard Julien could change those fortunes. This season though, Joey Gallo could pull a Francisco Liriano and win the Comeback Player of the Year. Back in 2006, Liriano was among the best pitchers in baseball. He posted a 2.16 ERA across 121 innings and generated an All-Star nod and nearly a Rookie of the Year award. He then blew out his arm and missed the entire 2007 season, returning for just 76 innings during the 2008 season. Liriano was clearly not himself in 2009 and his 136 2/3 innings that year equated to a gaudy 5.80 ERA. That’s when the comeback happened. In 2010, the Twins starter worked 31 games spanning nearly 200 innings. He posted a solid 3.62 ERA. He wasn’t untouchable, but the 2.66 FIP shares a story of an arm that was even better than his results indicated, and Minnesota looked at a glimpse of what they saw from their rookie phenom. When the dust settled, a yearly award was presented. For the first time since, Minnesota could be in line for another similar outcome. After a terrible year split between New York and Los Angeles, Joey Gallo signed with the Twins on an $11 million deal. Yes, a one-year deal hardly gives him longevity, but this is a guy who has destroyed vehicles with home run balls at Target Field. As much as he should have seen success through the short porch at Yankees Stadium, things simply didn’t work out. A lack of a shift might help Gallo to some extent, but given his ability to lift the baseball, there is plenty of reason for him to succeed at Target Field regardless of the positioning from defenders. Gallo is going to bring a Gold Glove caliber defensive ability, and that holds true both in the outfield and at first base. Given the uncertainty of Alex Kirilloff, the versatility from the former Rangers All-Star is massively valuable. Unfortunately, the Twins have already seen Gallo miss some time due to injury, but he has been a relative pillar of health over the course of his career. Always a hulking power prospect, Gallo has been well above league average offensively in four of the past five full seasons. His batting average is not anything to write home about, but his on-base prowess combined with the slugging potential is always something to behold. Playing both the outfield and first base for Rocco Baldelli’s Twins thus far, Gallo is off to a hot start. A multi-homer game is already something he has notched under his belt, and seven RBI through the same amount of games put him on pace to blow by his 2022 run producing numbers. Sometimes players aren’t meant to compete in a larger market, and there is no denying that New York was harsh with the Rangers transplant. He never settled in, and going to the Dodgers from there did no one any favors. Settling into a more agreeable market with Minnesota makes sense, and it appears that Twins hitting coach David Popkins has made his mark early. Maybe Joey Gallo won't be otherworldly this season, but his numbers could have him noteworthy enough to be recognized league wide. Trey Mancini captured an American League Comeback Player of the Year award after beating cancer, and Justin Verlander did it following Tommy John surgery. Maybe Gallo doesn’t have the same narrative or story, but settling back into who he was as a player would be a great development. View full article

The Twins are leaving New York City with a 10-6 record and bad taste in their mouths after dropping the last two of what began as a promising series against their arch-rivals. They scored only one run combined on Saturday and Sunday, and never truly felt like they were a threat to win either game. So why on earth would I pen anything as ridiculous as the title of this story? Image courtesy of © Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports First of all, splitting a series at Yankee stadium has to be seen as a W for any American League team that operates in a city with normal zoning laws. Factor in the Twins .250 win percentage against the Yankees in the past quarter decade and you have yourself something resembling a miracle. The Twins’ unique struggles against the Yankees have been well documented, a tragic comedy for the East Coast to enjoy as they prepare to face “real teams” like the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Observe this pitious tweet from Jon Heyman last September: The Minnesota sports media market isn’t the poster child market for “acting like you’ve been there before.” Maybe that’s part of their issue against the Yankees and in the playoffs. I’ve had a few theories myself about those struggles, but the one I’ve settled on is that the Twins have historically forced a certain aesthetic involving hitting singles, going the other way, and pitching to contact. For decades starting in the 80s under Tom Kelly, they adhered to this philosophy, but as time went on it became less a commitment to “fundamentals” and more an excuse to spend less on payroll. We called it “The Twins Way™,” and it sucked. However, it can and has worked in the AL Central, where being above-average can win you a division; the Guardians proved that last year. Teams like the Yankees, however, who will always supplement their roster with in-their-prime free agents and big-ticket trade acquisitions, can exploit this. Accustomed to pitching against lineups that run eight to nine deep in the AL East, they are happy to pitch around the one or two stars the Twins employ and attack the Jason Tyners and Mark Contrerases of the world. Meanwhile, Twins pitchers, used to throwing in the zone and letting Detroit Tigers hitters get themselves out, are vexed when every pitch means something and just throwing strikes isn’t good enough. The other teams in the AL Central had various reasons for not experiencing the same fate against New York, but they mainly involve developing the kind of pitching (Mark Buehrle, Corey Kluber, C.C. Sabathia, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Zack Greinke, Shane Bieber, Chris Sale) that the Twins just haven’t (outside of one exception we all know and love): © Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports Hey. Chicago and Detroit have also spent significant money when their teams are in contention, while Cleveland has had the smartest front office in the division for decades. As for the Royals, they haven’t been great against the Yankees, either, but not remarkably so. That didn’t use to be the case, as they were getting bounced in the ALCS by New York three straight years in the late 70s, before sweeping New York in the 1980 ALCS. Confidence and lack thereof, is a thing, and it stacks when things don’t go well. In other words, there is a fine line between the psychological feeling of playing with house money, and feeling like “here we go again” as soon as anything goes wrong. All the Royals had to do, to go from the Yankees owning them, to just losing an appropriate amount owing to actually existing talent disparities, was win that one playoff series. Or maybe it was just one home run: Could it be that Carlos Correa’s double in the eighth on Friday will have the same effect? Maybe, but the Yankees are a good team, and will continue to be a good team. Rebuilds are unnecessary for them given their resources, so over time they will likely maintain winning records against most teams. The only other team in the American League to operate that way, the Red Sox, also have a strong record against the Twins the past few decades. The difference between winning 45% of the time against these big-spending teams, and 25% of the time, is simply turning the tables a bit, getting lucky, or making a statement. Put the pressure on them, and don’t fall into narratives. The Yankees play in a high pressure media market and when things go south, the heat gets turned up quickly. Heck they booed their beloved Aaron Judge in the playoffs last year as he delivered his worst nine-game stretch of the season. They have also built rosters pretty shoddily since their last World Series appearance and win in 2009, often being forced into portioning huge amounts of their payroll or prospect capital into players they “have to” keep, or that they “have to” trade for. Think of 31 year-old Judge signing for nine years and trading real prospects for the black hole that has become Frankie Montas. Carlos Rodon already feels like an albatross, similar to Jacoby Ellsbury. That leads to less spending elsewhere, resulting in roster spots for folks like Willie Calhoun, Franchy Cordero and Aaron Hicks. The first two could have been signed by any team, and Hicks might be out of baseball if not for that unfortunate extension he signed five years ago. Last year the Twins were still less than serious, particularly after Chris Paddack and Bailey Ober went down with injuries. Relying on Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy to provide stability to a rotation was an act of an unserious team, the sort of team that could get lucky and win the AL Central, only to get exposed in the playoffs, or to act as a willing victim for a Yankees team that loves to beat up on overmatched/over-the-hill pitching. Without the avalanche of injuries, it could have been different, and we saw signs that a seriousness was forming. Now, with the current hitting prospects they have in the upper minors, an elite closer, two lineup superstars, and their deepest, if not best, rotation since 1991, this Twins team is for real. Plus, it has the heliumized prospect capital (David Festa, Brooks Lee, Emmanuel Rodriguez) to make a huge move if needed at the deadline. If Pablo Lopez has truly taken his game to the next level, their ceiling goes even higher. That has been evident in this series, regardless of the Twins’ lack of hitting in the last two games. The Yankees averaged 3.25 runs per game; that’s beatable for a lineup that expects a functional Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco to return shortly. Now, winning the first game in this series in lopsided fashion was pretty fluky. Currently injured center-fielder Harrison Bader may have caught a few of the Twins doubles and ended the first inning before it spiraled, and the Yankees’ rookie starter was throwing high sinkers right into the Twins’ swing planes. He was also due for a clunker. The second game was more significant. The Yankees thought they had the game won, put in their “best” reliever and saw him give it up in the eighth. Yankees fans were already worried about Clay Holmes and his 5.81 ERA since last summer, and the Twins validated those concerns. This was also the game the Twins were punting; fill-in Louis Varland was starting against All-Star Nestor Cortes Jr. That’s how you end a narrative in baseball. Yankees fans were horrified on Sunday that if Gerrit Cole gave up a baserunner in the ninth, that Holmes would be brought in with the tying run on. Putting the fear on the other side is new. I’m not saying the Twins are a better team, or that the second two games of the series weren’t convincing wins for New York. As currently constructed, the Yankees have serious flaws in their lineup and pitching depth, but they’ll get healthier in their rotation, trade for a bat at the deadline, and almost certainly make the playoffs. They’ll be a real team come August. Real teams don’t always win playoff series, or even make the playoffs in some instances. There is a good chance one of the Rays, Blue Jays, Mariners or Yankees are on the outside looking in come October, despite the wealth of talent on their teams, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t good. It is without question that they each pose a real test to other good teams and stand a chance to win almost any game they play. Not only can the Twins now say the same, but they know when the Yankees come to town next week, nothing is assured. That may not end this curse, streak, or whatever you call it, but it’s certainly an improvement. 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First judge the rankings. Then let us know where the 2023 rotation should slot in. Image courtesy of © Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports With this year’s rotation looking promising and, so far, healthy, let’s rank the past 25 years of Twins rotations. Fangraphs WAR will feature prominently in the rankings, but contextual factors are considered, as well. I also included AL rankings. As a point of comparison, the number one team in fWAR for their rotation in a given year is usually around nineteen to twenty. For instance, the 2001 Diamondbacks with Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson had 19.6 fWAR; the 2022 Astros had 19.4. The 2023 Twins staff … well, let’s talk about them at the end. Let’s get started! 1. 2004- 15.9 fWAR (2nd): The top four starters all threw in 33 or more starts, with Johan Santana winning the Cy Young, Brad Radke posting the lowest ERA of his career, and Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse contributing above-average seasons. In July, Radke, Santana, and Lohse pitched consecutive shutouts. This rotation had top-end talent, depth, and health. 2. 2020- 16.2 fWAR (2nd) (projected to 162 games): Kenta Maeda was a revelation, Rich Hill was decent, Jose Berrios and Michael Pineda were their usual selves and the team used openers and peak Randy Dobnak to post the third-best starting pitcher fWAR in baseball. Imagine if Jake Odorizzi had been available. I would rank them first but in a 60 game season, there isn’t much of a test of depth. 3. 2006- 12.5 fWAR (6th): Prior to Francisco Liriano getting hurt, this team had the best rotation of any listed here. But in addition to Liriano needing Tommy John, Radke famously couldn’t brush his teeth due to a total lack of rotator cuff and Boof Bonser ended up starting game two of the ALDS as a result. Johan Santana had perhaps his best year, it should be noted. 4. 2005- 15 fWAR (4th): Santana was electric again with 7.1 fWAR. Radke, Lohse and Silva were solid. Unfortunately, this team couldn’t hit and the team missed the playoffs despite ranking seventh in MLB in rotation fWAR. 5. 2019- 16.4 fWAR (4th): By fWAR, this is the best rotation on this list, led by excellent seasons from Berrios and Odorizzi. However, Martin Perez and Kyle Gibson fell apart down the stretch and Pineda was suspended, leading to Dobnak starting a playoff game. 6. 2010- 14.5 fWAR (5th): Liriano finally recaptured some of his old magic this year with 5.6 fWAR and Carl Pavano, Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey were pretty good wingmen. Another bat would have helped. 7. 2015- 13.5 fWAR (5th): Seven guys contributed over 1 fWAR in the team’s return to contention led by Gibson, while Mike Pelfrey had his best Twins year. Tyler Duffey almost pitched the team to the playoffs with a 3.10 ERA down the stretch. 8. 2002- 11.2 fWAR (9th): This staff had decent depth with five starters accumulating over 1.4 fWAR, but Radke only started 21 games due to injury. Johan Santana made his first contribution, ranking third among starters in fWAR despite only fourteen starts. 9. 2003- 12.2 fWAR (6th): Joe Mays fell off a cliff this year, but Kenny Rogers, Lohse and Radke were solid (combined 8.1 fWAR) and Johan Santana sealed his rotation status (finally), posting a strikeout percentage 9.8% better than any of his rotation-mates in 110.1 innings. 10. 2014- 11.7 fWAR (7th): This was the inexplicable and record-setting Phil Hughes year, as well as the first full Gibson year where he posted 2.7 fWAR. Ricky Nolasco was supposed to stabilize the rotation but instead started his decline phase in rapid fashion. 11. 2007- 11.7 fWAR (9th): Baker emerged for 2.7 fWAR in only 23 starts. Silva and Bonser were decent while prospects Matt Garza and Slowey showed promise. 12. 2001- 10.1 fWAR (8th): This was a wasted year of peak Radke and Milton (6.7 fWAR) along with Mays’ best year. Coming off a promising 2000 season, Mark Redman was traded while Rick Reed was acquired for twelve bad starts and Matt Lawton. 13. 2009- 10.7 fWAR (10th): Baker and Blackburn were solid, and Pavano was acquired for a playoff push and contributed 1.6 fWAR in twelve starts. Brian Duensing was the savior, throwing big games down the stretch with a 2.73 ERA. He was no match for the Yankees, however. 14. 2008- 11 fWAR (9th): Another good Baker year, Nick Blackburn was the best version of himself (1.9 fWAR) as was Slowey (2.6 fWAR). Livan Hernandez barely held it together. 15. 2011- 8.5 fWAR (13th): Baker and Pavano were decent but the rest of the staff was a mess. The offense was even worse with only 4.3 combined fWAR. 16. 2018- 8.8 fWAR (8th): Gibson reemerged with 2.6 fWAR and Berrios cemented his place at the top of the rotation. Odorizzi contributed 32 solid starts. If only the fully formed Texas/Chicago Lance Lynn were pitching and not the one with a thirteen percent walk rate. 17. 1998- 11.5 fWAR (8th): Radke followed up his twenty win season with 4.2 fWAR and Bob Tewksbury threw good enough slop to post a league-average year. Mike Morgan was excellent until he was flipped at the deadline. Eric Milton got his feet wet. 18. 2022- 8.2 fWAR (10th): The team addressed its issues from 2021 and acquired Sonny Gray, Chris Paddack, Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy and Tyler Mahle. Gray was pretty good. 19. 2000- 9.9 fWAR (10th): Redman gave the team 24 solid starts, Radke and Milton held serve, and Sean Bergman made his (impressively bad) mark. 20. 1999- 10 fWAR (11th): Radke and Milton were solid again (combined 7.3 fWAR), Joe Mays contributed twenty decent starts, and this was, mercifully, the last year of the LaTroy Hawkins starter experience. 21. 2017- 7.1 fWAR (11th): Berrios emerged as a solid number two starter and Ervin Santana was good again. This was the Bartolo Colon year, and that speaks to the lack of talent. The wild-card loss to the Yankees also was an indicator. 22. 2013- 5.5 fWAR (Last): Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Correia were newcomers and as advertised, combining for 3.8 fWAR in 338 innings. This was the era of peak Sam Deduno, as well as the horrifying Vance Worley experiment. 23. 2021- 5 fWAR (14th): This is the year the team realized Griffin Jax was best suited for the bullpen. Except they had no other options and threw him out there for fourteen brutal starts. Berrios was traded, while Maeda and Pineda broke down physically. At least there was Bailey Ober. 24. 2016- 7.6 fWAR (13th): The year everything went wrong. Nolasco, Gibson, Duffey, Hughes, Tommy Millone, newcomer Berrios and Hector Santiago were all nearly unplayable and all had ten or more starts. Ervin Santana was good. 25. 2012- 3.4 fWAR (Last): This was as low as a starting staff can go, and it could have been even worse if Scott Diamond hadn’t come out of nowhere to post 2.4 fWAR in 27 starts. Cole DeVries, P.J. Walters, and Jason Marquis featured prominently. The 2023 rotation is projected for 11.9 fWAR, if you were wondering. None of these staffs had the depth this year’s crew figures to have, but the Radke and Santana-led rotations were stronger at the top. Where would you rank the 2023 rotation? View full article