... this has been quite possibly the finest regular season I can remember for the Twins.  They came back from a pretty huge deficit going 71-33 over their last 104 games.  That's unbelievable.  They have the batting champion, who just happens to be the first catcher in the American League to EVER win, and he's only 23 (or around there).  They have the eventual Cy Young winner, who should be on his third straight except he got ripped last season.  He was undefeated at home this season (until the damn playoffs, figures).  They have a legit candidate for MVP in Morneau, though I'm pretty sure playing in Minnesota will cost him the MVP and Jeter will get it.  They had two guys with over a hundred RBI, and one more in the high 90's.  They had two players hit over 30 home runs.  They had the highest team batting average in all of baseball.  They have one of the best pitching prospects in either league in Liriano, and a couple other young pitchers that have pitched very well over the last part of the season in Bonser and Garza.  They had the best bullpen in the league this season, and they may have the best closer in all of baseball.

Injuries have hurt their postseason chances this season, along with just some poor play.  But even if they lose to the A's, which seems likely, they will have gotten some postseason experience.  And man, let me tell you, next season is looking VERY bright. 

BTW, my Dad and I went to the last game of the season, where the Twins won and wound up clinching the division when the Tigers lost.  The Twins on that day became the first team to take sole possession of first place in a division for the first time on the last day of the season. 

We stayed in the Dome after the Twins game along with the team and about 35-40000 other people watching the Tiger game on the Jumbotron.  When the last out was recorded the place went crazy.  It was one of those games, and really one of those experiences, that I'll never forget, nor will Dad.  Honestly, it was the father-son experience that made it so very special.  You never know how many of those you get, that's one that I'll treasure, and that we'll be talking about for the rest of our lives.

:)

wow, cool story about last season.

I confess I know virtually nothing about the Twins, but hopefully I'll see them more this post-season.

My Braves had their streak snapped at 14 years, which is still tremendous. This year they had almost their entire starting staff go down with injury early on,
Hudson struggled, and their bullpen blew more games than I can bear to think about.

I love this time of year though because I can watch all the playoff games and learn about the teams and players I normally don't see.

The postseason has been a little bit of a letdown not only because the Twins have played poorly and could be eliminated today, but because I got playoff tickets that I couldn't use because they won the division and had to play during the day while at home.  Because of course no one expects the Yankees to play a day game, it's much better to make the two small market teams do it.  Blerg.

I'm still glad they won the division though.

:)

Stinks that the Twins got eliminated, but I'm sooo happy the Tigers eliminated the Yankees. 230 mil just doesn't buy what it used to!

What a dream season this has been for Detroit so far, I can't help but root for them, they've come a LONG way!

Ugh, I wish the Twins had played even halfway decently.  The A's really didn't play well, the Twins just played worse, and a Twins - Tigers ALCS would have been great!

I completely agree. I am rooting for the Tigers bigtime. That walkoff homerun in the ALCS was the stuff of dreams.

And now... we have the batting champ (Mauer), the Cy Young winner (Santana) and the American League MVP (Morneau)!  Wow!  Terry Ryan was voted the Executive of the Year, and Gardenhire finished second for the Manager of the Year award.  We have a gold glove center fielder, and two silver sluggers (Mauer and Morneau). 

What a season! 

Man I wish they hadn't played like crap in the postseason.  This was a postseason that was pretty much up for grabs, with a lot of teams that just plain didn't play well.  

Some questions for next year, especially now with Liriano out for the season.  I sure hope they can find another good pitcher somewhere to fill a slot.