The playoff run didn’t turn out at all how anyone (except the A’s) wanted it to, but it certainly doesn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth about how the 2006 season turned out. At the halfway point in 2006 the turnaround from the dismall start had begun, but the playoffs were unlikely. How well the Twins played in the second half and the fact that they won the AL Central on the final day of the season, makes it the best season I’ve lived through.

The Twins simply weren’t sharp in the playoffs and every mistake they made was magnified greatly. The Twins had a little bad luck, but the holes they went into the playoffs with definitely came back to bite them. I’ll save the specific player-bashing for a later entry, however. Throughout the series the Twins simply could not capitalize with runners in scoring position and it seemed like the A’s came up with a big hit every time they needed one. The Twins also made more errors and mistakes during the series than I care to think about. They’re a relatively young team, and perhaps that’s to be expected.

Game Notes

• Justin Morneau had 3 hits including his 2nd homerun in as many games. Unfortunately it came in the ninth when the Twins were down by 6.
• Torii Hunter had a double and a blast of a homerun, a solo shot, in the game.
• Brad Radke ended his season and his career in unspectacular fashion, although it was impressive that he was even out there pitching. He through 4 innings allowing 4 runs, 3 of which were earned.
• Rondell White was 3-4 as he completed a pretty good series.
• Jason Tyner was 0-6 in his two games in the playoffs. Combine that with Nevin’s 0-3 performance on Tuesday and the Twins got no hits from their DH in the playoffs.

What do we do now?

First, we should watch the rest of the playoffs. There are still some fun teams to watch and the Tigers have a 3-0 lead in the fourth against the Yankees. As much as I enjoyed the Twins finishing in front of them in the Central, I’d like to see the Tigers go far in the playoffs. It’s been a while since they’ve been there.

The Twins also have plenty of holes to fill for 2007 and we’ll get 5 months to ruminate about all those changes. At the moment, 2007 looks promising.