Well, another Twins season came to an abrupt and disappointing end at the hands (or rather, bats and fastballs) of the much-hated New York Yankees. This 2010 postseason exit for the Twins hurts more than the other first-round blanks from the past decade because many thought this was "the year."
Disappointment, frustration, anger, bitterness, sadness. Those are all some emotions I'm sure Twins fans were feeling during the three-game embarrassment that the hometown boys tried to pass off as Twins baseball.
I have given myself a few days to digest the losses and the aftermath, trying to figure out what needed to be said - and there is a lot. Some of it will be blunt. Of course, unless you are a true optimist, you might also agree with some of these not-so-flattering thoughts.
It's a bad trend
Now it's time to reflect. The Twins were swept out of the ALDS yet again. We've all heard the numbers. An 0-11 postseason-losing streak. Three ALDS sweeps in a row. The horrible 18-57 under Ron Gardenhire record against the New York Yankees. Jason Kubel's embarrassingly-abysmal .069 career postseason batting average. The list goes on.
The bottom line for me in this series was the lack of offensive production. Hitting .216 as a team and going 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position won't help you win many ball games.
You can't score a couple of runs a night against the Bronx Bombers and think you'll have a shot at winning. It just won't happen. You can look at the lineup and pick any one of the Twins hitters for not getting it done, although some stick out more than others.
Danny Valencia is the only guy I'm willing to give a free pass to because he's a rookie. I have been impressed with him stepping up this season, in what will hopefully be the everyday third baseman the team has been looking for since the Corey Koskie era.
Two below-average performances
The two guys I was more disappointed with were Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel. Mauer knocked a couple of singles to the outfield, but didn't do much more than that. He was highly scrutinized for needing to step up to carry the team as a postseason leader, either with his bat or by breaking out of his introverted shell.
Then there's Kubel. He went 0-for-8 this series, and is hitting .069 for his career in the postseason (2-for-29). That's pathetic. Not that anyone else was lighting things up, but I mean, come on. At least Michael Cuddyer and Orlando Hudson hit a couple long balls. Denard Span led off with a couple hits, and even Valencia coaxed a walk that resulted in a tying run.
But Kubel? Zero production. It's just ridiculous. I just can't get past .069. That's bad.
What did you say?
Another thing that worried me during the series was the stuff I was reading in the newspaper. Players like Mauer and Kubel were asked about stepping up; somebody needs to be that postseason hero.
Instead of a player owning up and taking responsibility for the comatose offense, they seemed to pass the buck. Players were getting quoted making generalizations, saying there's a lot of talent in their clubhouse, and any one of the guys could be the one to step up and be the hero/leader.
That didn't sit well with me. Guys should have enough fire and will to win to say, "Yeah, I need to step up my game. I want to be that guy who gets the bats going for my team." I get they're a team with talented guys, but where's the passion? Take it upon yourself to get the big hit.
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