Watching Pablo Sandoval -- Mr. Octobear, thanks Stensation -- club three home runs and watching "Panda" get embraced by the home crowd and all his teammates last night in Game 1 of the World Series ... well, it made us long for things that never happened. Postseason runs are full of players like Sandoval and Marco Scutaro overachieving and/or flat-out carrying teams offensively. Even Twins fans would agree that if Lonnie Smith keeps running in Game 7, the World Series MVP that year is very likely Mark Lemke.

These are the types of performances that the Twins, unfortunately, simply lacked to a great extent during their playoff bids between 2002-2010.

Whether it's composure, rising to the occasion or just dumb luck, the Twins haven't had it. It's a beautiful thing to watch, but it's a terrible thing not to have -- as evidenced by the Giants' run to the World Series and their big victory Wednesday, contrasted with the Twins' dismal record in recent postseason attempts.