And yes, this is coming from the same person who declared the Twins "dead in the water" just a few weeks ago. I stand behind my reasoning but so often sports defy our logic and transcend the realm of what seems even remotely possible. Just think about this Minnesota Twins team from a non-biased standpoint for two seconds and anyone who is being reasonable knows that this team should never have made the playoffs. Their starting pitching struggled mightily all year, their bullpen was anything but stellar, and to top it off their 2nd best player (Justin Morneau) was lost for the season. How does this sound like a recipe for success?
The only answer that anyone can really give is that this team has that "it" factor this year. Maybe it's the hand of God or it's just the way the ball is bouncing that year, but whatever it is, there often seems to be one team that finds a way to do the impossible. The 2009 Minnesota Twins are just the latest example and this whole idea was wrapped up into one game on a brutal night for baseball. TGFTD (Thank God For The Dome) except next year were gonna be playing playoff baseball in weather better suited for an Iditarod. However, I digress.
This game showed a team that despite giving up chances, not always capitalizing, and making a handful of mistakes still somehow finding a way to win. And that's the "it" factor. No matter what happened tonight, it never really seemed like the Twins were going to lose. Even after Delmon Young took another first pitch hack and tapped softly to Polanco late in the game, you still felt like they were going to score. No matter what, that positivity, that "it", was still there. It's almost like a combo naivete-optimism-electricity that a team feeds off of and it was fun to watch. Maybe the Dome creates it. Whatever it is, I look forward to seeing it again. And hey, for at least one more week, TGFTD.
