KANSAS CITY — OK, that was intense.

It was strange walking into the winning clubhouse tonight thinking, someone in here might snap. The Twins won 4-3 in 12 innings, extending the Royals’ losing streak to nine.

Imagine how the losers felt.

Manager Ron Gardenhire opened his press conference by saying, “Uh, I guess … it’s a win. We won the ballgame, and we kept playing. But it was sure disappointing there in the ninth.”

Next, we needed Delmon Young’s thoughts, and some interviews with him can be like pulling teeth. I give him credit. He made it easier this time, answering every question, and not just with five-word answers. This despite the big misplay and the 0-for-6 night at the plate.

“I was running down the line, and I thought I got into foul territory,” Young said. “So I just gave it a shot, but in that situation I should just play it on the hop and just throw it back in, with the closer on the mound.”

Joe Nathan seemed to pick his words very carefully.

“We got the win, and that’s all that matters,” he said.

There were a few more questions, none of them about the dugout exchange with Delmon. That’s on me. But let’s just say there were strong hints that Nathan was in no mood to call out a teammate publicly.

Gardy met with Delmon afterward, just to make sure the lessons sunk in. I left the clubhouse believing this team will get past this, like a speed-bump. Seems so strange having to write that after a win.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 12:41 am and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.