Not much to write today except to hope for the best in Chicago while rooting for Cleveland not to pack it in against the Tigers. Then, if it still matters, Twins fans become White Sox fans over the final two weekends of the season. It’s so much more complicated when you have to rely on other teams to conspire with you — a situation that should have been avoided this season. But this is no time for shoulds.

There would have been a lot to write about if the Twins had won on Sunday and cut the Tigers’ lead to one game. The Vikings, winners of two games against teams that will likely finish the season with a combined 4-28 record, would probably be secondary to the surging Twins. Didn’t happen. Not going to replay it here.

There’s a school of thought that says winning the title with a late surge would be a bad thing because it keep the Twins from righting the things that need to be fixed before moving outdoors next season. I mean, no matter how well Cabrera and Punto hold down the middle infield over the final couple of weeks, neither is an answer for what lies ahead. And third base-by-paperclip won’t cut it, either. (I will refrain jumping into the Danny Valencia debate because I don’t know enough to contribute and, whatever the case, relying on a rookie who has struggled at Class AAA doesn’t seem especially wise. Yes, I know that Denard Span’s the exception.)

There’s also thought, expressed by Jim Souhan this morning, that the best sendoff for the Dome would be a one-game playoff and then out — sparing the Twins a trip to New York to play the Yankees in the opening round of the playoffs. I understand the logic there.

Having played horses once in a while, however, I am a fan of what handicapper Andrew Beyer calls “the logic of illogic,” which is one of those tools that, every now and again, leads to putting money on a horse that doesn’t seem to have any chance from breaking down the numbers. Under this scenario, everything still breaks against the Twins — opponents, pitching, offense, home field, history, you name it — and somehow they find a way to win three games in the first round before the Yankees do.

I am not suggesting a Vegas play here or even spending too much intellectual energy on figuring out ways the Twins can get past the Tigers and flourish in the playoffs. What if the when-pigs-fly scenario comes true and Carl Pavano gets to chat with the New York media after shutting down the Yankees?

Just take things for what they are — and what they could possibly be, however remote the possibility. It’s better than holding your breath.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 10:49 am and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.