So many things happen during a 162 game season. The Twins and Detroit Tigers have each played 161 games, and they each have 85 wins. This Twins team has made a remarkable run, no matter what happens on Sunday, or Tuesday, or maybe beyond.
In the last three weeks, the Twins have played as we probably thought they should have the whole year. With one game to go, you can't help but ask a bunch of What Ifs:

  • What if Francisco Liriano would have pitched even as well as he would have in 2008?
  • What if Kevin Slowey's wrist would not have been hurt. He was in line for an All-Star appearance when his wrist started bothering him. It showed in his last two starts and surgery cost him the rest of the season.
  • What if Joe Mauer wouldn't have missed the entire month of April?
  • What if the Twins would have listened to their fans last offseason and let Matt Guerrier become a free agent?
  • What if Bill Smiith would not have acquired Orlando Cabrera, Carl Pavano, Ron Mahay or Jon Rauch?
  • What if they would have found the stress fracture in Justin Morneau's back sooner and he wouldn't have gone 7-70 before his season ended?
  • What if on the Sunday before learning Morneau was out for the season, Justin Huber wouldn't have pulled his oblique muscle in batting practice. He was set to start at 1B.
  • What if Huber would have had a couple of hits in that game? Maybe he takes over for Morneau at 1B. If that's the case, Cuddyer would stay in RF, and Delmon Young would have remained on the bench.
  • What if Michael Cuddyer wouldn't have come through with so many big hits in September, or been able to play very solid defense at 1B?

Baseball is an amazing game for so many reasons. One of those reasons is its 162 game season. So many things happen to a team in those six months. Every team has its own What Ifs. The best teams are often the ones that persevere. And this Minnesota Twins team has certainly persevered.
And because of their complete unwillingness to give up, they sit in a tie for first place with just one game remaining in the regular season, at least the regular 162 game season!
Let's Enjoy It!