Twins Eliminated by Defending Champs, but Have Reasons to be Positive

You will notice that the words, "What Went Wrong," are not featured in the title. That's because in this case, it's not warranted. "What Went Wrong" is my factual, biting, and (at times) humorous look at the teams whose postseasons came to an abrupt end. Regarding MLB and the NHL, it's a look at the teams who were eliminated during the playoffs, and when it comes to the NFL, it's about teams who were eliminated from playoff contention, usually in the final weeks and usually when they had good chances to get in but blew it. And again, depending on the team and the situation, I'm usually quite blunt when it comes to certain.

However, in the case of the Minnesota Twins, again, it's not warranted.

The Twins' postseason came to an end in Game Four of the American League Division Series against the defending champions, the Houston Astros. For Minnesota, there is no need to look at negatives, because there really aren't any. When the Twins captured the American League Central, they would enter this year's postseason looking to overcome a black cloud that hovered over their heads for 19 years. Game One of the 2004 ALDS against the New York Yankees was the last time the Twins won a postseason game. Here's how old that skid was: the win was at the old Yankee Stadium. Since then, the Twins would lose 18 straight postseason games--13 of them against the Yankees.

The skid ended with their victory in Game One of the Wild Card Series against the Toronto Blue Jays this year, and they decided to double down and take Game Two to win a postseason series for the first time in 21 years. I figured that Minnesota would not get past Houston. Honestly, I had the Twins getting swept. While the Twins did receive an early exit, they did manage to win Game Two of that series in Houston. That's a big bonus.

Even crazier is the fact that the Twins did all of this with their best hitter, Byron Buxton, out for most of the year. So who was the Twins' unsung hero this postseason? None other than Royce Lewis. It all started with his two home runs in Game One against Toronto, and he would add two more dingers the rest of the way. He became the first Minnesota Twin to hit four HRs in a single postseason since a man named Kirby Puckett did so in 1991, the year that the Twins won the World Series for the second time. The Twins hit seven homers this postseason, with the other three coming from Kyle Farmer, Jorge Polanco, and Edouard Julien. As for Carlos Correa, while he didn't go yard, he went 9-for-22 this postseason, including 6-for-15 in the Division Series against his former ball club.

The American League Championship Series is all set, and for the first time ever, it's a Lone Star Battle! The Houston Astros will face off against the Texas Rangers for the American League pennant; the first time in 55 seasons of the LCS that one will take place entirely in one state. For Houston, this is their seventh straight ALCS appearance, and while both they and the Rangers finished with identical 90-72 records, it was the Astros who emerged as champions of the American League West, so Game One will take place in Houston on Sunday, October 15.

As for the Twins, they really should be proud of this season and this postseason campaign. They exorcised not one, but two postseason demons this year, and managed to make things just a little bit tough for Houston. If Minnesota does some important adding during the offseason, they can really make some noise in future seasons.

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