As for the Twins? The team that opened the playoffs with so much hope for something other than the usual Yankees whitewashing? Sorry, but that’s probably going to end like a bad movie.
One you’ve seen 59 times already.
The Twins knocked around a shaky Yankees ace CC Sabathia in Game 1. They took an early three-run lead, making rival manager Joe Girardi look like he swallowed his famous postseason binder.
They had 42,032 fans rocking in their beautiful new ballpark, scoring on a 419-foot home run and a bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch, outhustling the road team for most of this pivotal opener.
The Twins did all that and still lost. And now, all of the tormented sports fans in this state can only dab their eyes with their spare homer hankies and wonder:
How will Brett Favre get along with his new receiver?
“There’s no need for us to stand here and talk about the Twins curse against the Yankees,” Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson said, which was interesting, since nobody asked about it.
“But you’re never over the hump with these guys. I’ve been playing against them for eight and a half years, and I’ve seen it again and again. That’s a great ball club that believes one through nine.”
If this is all starting to sound familiar, it is. The Twins vowed that they had made the necessary changes to their roster in the offseason, that they were tougher and deeper than before, that they had the home-field advantage in this series. That this October would be different than all the others
.
Well, it looks like all the others. This series isn’t over, not after one 6-4 loss, not with Yankees Game 2 starter Andy Pettitte still a question mark after spending most of the summer on the disabled list.
Pettitte, who has allowed 10 runs in 13 1/3 innings of work since returning from the disabled list, faces Carl Pavano. The disgraced former Yankee might have found a new life here in Minneapolis, but that is a pitching matchup the visiting team will gladly take every time.
“I understand the huge responsibility I have here,” Pettitte said. “I understand the challenge I have ahead of me. I want to be good for this team, this organization, this city. I hope I can help us out.”
The Twins needed to steal this opener against Sabathia to feel good about their chances, and it was right there for them. But, as always seems to happen when these teams meet, the Yankees found a way.
This time, it was Curtis Granderson with the crushing two-run triple and Mark Teixeira with the winning two-run home run. This time, it was Target Field and not the Metrodome.
This time, the Twins even got the unthinkably bad umpiring call in the outfield, a ball that clearly landed in the glove of a lunging Greg Golson that was called a game-extending single.
The names might change. The details might change.
The Twins still lose.
“We had a lot of opportunities,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, who is now 55-18 against his tormentors in an otherwise stellar career, “and we couldn’t come up with that big hit.”
Sabathia did his best to help them. He plunked Jim Thome in the second and gave up a long home run to Michael Cuddyer to spot the Twins the lead. The Yankees took it back, but the ace walked rookie Danny Valencia – a light-hitting No. 8 hitter – on four pitches with the bases loaded in the sixth to bring home the tying run.
The Twins have lost games to the Yankees on blown saves and blown fair/foul calls and every other way imaginable over the past decade. But this time, the Twins just blew it, period.
They had their tormentors on the ropes in Game 1, had their rival ace scuffling, and let the victory slip away.
Again.
The series isn’t over yet, but Minnesotans might want to dig those Randy Moss jerseys out of the closet. Just to get ready.
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