ITS OFFICIAL= SEASON IS OVER

[Bran32]

After seeing him pull Baker with 106 pitches last night, that was my final straw! Especially knowing that you have the worst bullpen in the big leagues!! Ridiculous

[mrklean]

good win tonight

[Jim Almquist]

It was a present to DonBo for his birthday

Thought we might get a chance to see a No-No

[zamboni]

My question is, is Bill Smith really this horrible, or are the Pohlads handcuffing him? When I lived in KC, one season it was made a big deal that David Glass lifted spending restrictions on Allard Baird when he was GM, but in reality he was a really poor GM.

If a guy owned a racecar and finished second or third week after week, he would try to do something different. We are like that, one and done in the playoffs, yet not trying to sign talent in the offseason. We obviously do not have a World Champion caliber roster, sign someone!! I never even hear of them meeting with FA's during the off season.

[zepman]

Get ready for a whole lot more of the same Zamboni...with Mauer's contract, the Twins are now handcuffed just as the T-Wolves were with Garnett.

BIG difference is...Garnett brought it EVERY night.

[Harmonica Bear]

Interseting stuff today on SI.com's Inside Baseball

"

The Twins are toast and the baseball season in Chicago is virtually over. Harsh as that may sound before summer has even arrived, history tells us nothing short of historic comebacks can save the seasons of the Twins, Cubs and White Sox.

People like to talk about the integrity of 162 games in determining the quality of teams. Folks, you don't need nearly that many games to separate the good teams from the bad ones. The late Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson said it took about two months to identify the contenders and the pretenders. Anderson came to such an observation without benefit of research and before the six-division format and wild cards. Well, guess what: Sparky knew what he was talking about. Sparky's Law still works.

Even with wild cards, and despite the life ring of rare outliers such as the 2005 Astros to cling to, teams that are bad for the first two months of the season almost never make the playoffs. So with June arriving tomorrow, now is the perfect time to cast aside all the blather about waiting for a trade or guys coming back from injuries or the weather warming up and stick to the facts about the near impossibility of bad teams mounting some historically great charge to the postseason.

I looked at where every team stood in the standings through May 31 in the 15 full seasons with the wild card format (1996-2010). I checked the closest they were to any playoff spot, whether it was the division title or the wild card. Here are the facts:

• Of the 143 teams that began June at least five games under .500, 136 didn't make the playoffs -- a 95.1 percent failure rate.

• Of the 184 teams at least five games out of any playoff spot, 174 didn't make the playoffs -- a 94.6 percent failure rate.

• Of the 126 teams both at least five games under and five games out, 121 didn't make the playoffs, a 96.0 failure rate.

• Coming back from two bad months in the AL in particular -- where the Yankees and Red Sox set high wild-card bars - is virtually impossible. Only one AL team in the wild card era began June more than five games under .500 and wound up in the playoffs: the 2007 Yankees (22-29 on May 31).

Now you understand why the Twins are done. At 17-35, they are 18 games under .500 and 12 games out of a playoff spot. They are an abysmal offensive team -- worse than the 1962 Mets at this point and a challenge to the 2010 Mariners as one of the most inept hitting teams ever with use of the DH. They have the worst bullpen ERA in the league. Any personnel move Minnesota makes this summer should be done to improve the 2012 team, not this one. With huge advance ticket sales, Minnesota will have a hard time selling this reality to its fans."

[thatoneguy]

The Twins may as well just continue to suck and draft Andrew Luck with the #1 pick. Oh, wait - wrong moribund MN sports franchise.

[B. Amish]

• Of the 143 teams that began June at least five games under .500, 136 didn't make the playoffs -- a 95.1 percent failure rate.

• Of the 184 teams at least five games out of any playoff spot, 174 didn't make the playoffs -- a 94.6 percent failure rate.

• Of the 126 teams both at least five games under and five games out, 121 didn't make the playoffs, a 96.0 failure rate.

...so you're saying there's a chance!

[greebs]

doesn't look good, especially considering that we are way beyond 5 games under .500.

[mrklean]

at 15 games back i think we all know there is no chance they are making the playoffs

[greebs]

yep. it's over and last night was flat out embarrassing as a twins fan. the catcher gets fooled by a fan yelling "I got it" and lets the ball drop. got a guy trying to bunt with 2 strikes in the 9th. a left fielder not hustling to make a play. and to top it off the opposing team intentionally puts the potential tying run on base in the 9th just so they can pitch to our cleanup batter who every knew would not come through. who in their right mind intentionally puts the potential tying run on base with two outs in the 9th unless the mgr is so sure the next guy is going to get out. sounds like leyland knows more about twins players abilities than gardy does. uggghhhh

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

I think I hear "Dandy" Don Merridith singing in Minnesota as well as the windy city.....Turn out the lights, the party's over........

Windy

[sticknstring]

Somewhere there's a heavy-set gal singing her humungous heart out for the Twin's. And it's not the national anthem.

[PierBridge]

Don't worry donbo and Jw will be here to tell us that were're all panicking to early and the season is not over!.... J/K

Where's sledNeck been?

[Jackpine Rob]

C'mon guys! They are on a winning streak now - and the Baby Jesus will soon return. Pennant race!

[harvey lee]

They will be lucky to win 80 games. The team is just not playing well enough to win anymore even if Mauer and the rerst get close to healthy.

I watch all the games but it is simply not there.

[harvey lee]

yep. it's over and last night was flat out embarrassing as a twins fan. the catcher gets fooled by a fan yelling "I got it" and lets the ball drop. got a guy trying to bunt with 2 strikes in the 9th. a left fielder not hustling to make a play. and to top it off the opposing team intentionally puts the potential tying run on base in the 9th just so they can pitch to our cleanup batter who every knew would not come through. who in their right mind intentionally puts the potential tying run on base with two outs in the 9th unless the mgr is so sure the next guy is going to get out. sounds like leyland knows more about twins players abilities than gardy does. uggghhhh

Yep, they are playing very poorly.

[PierBridge]

Plain and simple it's time to get Delmon out of fair territory. His glove cost us another game last night!

and to be fair and balanced if cuddyer could ever clutch up he would be better than the average player he is ...

[Stratosman]

Cuddy has rarely been clutch.... 1/2 a season maybe. Usually it's solo shots when it doesn't matter and double plays when it does....

[B. Amish]

hard to be clutch when you get screwed by the ump on a called third strike.

i kid, i kid, it was close enough.

[jwmiller33]

Plain and simple it's time to get Delmon out of fair territory.

I'm not saying I disagree with your intentions but stand back and take a look at the guys we have sitting on the bench right now.... we don't have prime pickin's to choose from as far as replacement level players with all of the injuries we have right now... Our bench players are "AAA" level players at best. At least Delmon can provide the occasional offensive support with his bat from time to time. As far as our roster is concerned, Delmon is the least of our concerns right now IMO

[Mr.Seaguar]

HA HA 80 games. 50 maybe. Its gonna get worse. Once the players realize its over they start getting hurt A LOT.

[greebs]

not sure why delmon isn't dhing while kubel and thome are on dl? gardy does some strange things. also not sure why he doesn't pinch hit for cuddyer late in close games. I know there ain't much on the bench but cuddy has shown that unless he can coax a walk, he's pretty much guaranteed to get out in a late game clutch at bat situation. at least with one of the other guys there's a possibility of a hit.

[jwmiller33]

Carl Pavano: 7 IP, 1 R = "no decision."

Matt Capps: 1 IP, 1 R = "win."

Boy, that Capps for Ramos trade looks worse and worse each day we go on without Mauer and Capps continues to suck it up. Capps blew his 5th save in 13 tries today. Yikes. I hate to say I told you so but......

[pikestabber]

Carl Pavano: 7 IP, 1 R = "no decision."

Matt Capps: 1 IP, 1 R = "win."

That just chaps my hide...to pitch a gem like Pavano did and get nothing and Capps blows the game and gets a W. I know that is how the game is scored, but it just isn't right.

In any case, I will continue to watch every game that I can. We picked up 5 full games in 7 days...not bad! It's been fun to watch this past week. We look to be 11.5 out, but I think we are actually ten games behind the first place Tigers and nobody told Cleveland they are on the outs. 10 games is a lot, but if we start getting some healthy guys back on the roster, we have enough time left to make a serious push. Yep, I said it. Season is NOT over, and you are all welcome to some of my smoke and Kool-aid.