A few thoughts on the Twins

I am not accustomed to posting on Thursday's. That said, I am even less composed than is typical. First, I wanted to say thinks to Steve for providing some perspective. As much as he may have been trying to get under our skin, he was totally right. The Twins are fundamentally sound enough thanks to good couching through the minor league system that they will never really be bad. In the AL Central, "not bad" is usually enough. They don't have the manager with the strategic mind to put the team over the hump. Case in point:
Gardenhire said he tried to find a way to get Alexi Casilla in the lineup. Casilla is 9-for-13 (.692) in his career off CC Sabathia. Gardenhire said he didn’t want to stick Casilla at third base tonight. Another option would have been second base, as Nick Punto is 6-for-36 (.167) off Sabathia.
So why couldn't Punto go to third? He HAS played there, after all. Did he really want Matt Tolbert in the line up that bad?! Putting the same starting lineup that just played a 12 inning, high pressure game the night before just reeks of stupidity. I understand that he can teach a guy to field a grounder, but I still don't trust Gardenhire in big games.
Second, and also on a pissed off with Minnesota sports teams rant.... The game yesterday was as much about the Yankees dominating the Twins as the Twins being completely exhausted because of brutal scheduling. If it had been any other game than the Brett Favre game, do you think the Vikings would have gladly switched the game location, as was agreed upon many years ago? Probably. But no, this one game with an unlikeable quarterback who makes more headlines than he should be entitled to was too lucrative a cash cow to make the sacrifice that would benefit another local sports team. The Packers may have also had something to do with this, but for now, I have to look at Zygi Wilf who time and time again has shown me that he actively hates Minnesota and Minnesotans. Had the Vikings played ball with the Twins and let them have the Dome on Monday, maybe they would have been better rested for the game yesterday.
Thirdly, I need to mention this because, hey! The Twins are in the playoffs, as unlikely as that might seem. Let's reexamine the delightful celebratory image from Tuesday night.
Nick Punto: Looks like he is being chased. Perhaps someone would like to eat him.
Mike Redmond: Looks as though he is trying to attack Carlos Gomez OR "GET TO THA CHOPPAH!"
Bobby Keppel: Looks like Batboy.
Jon Rauch: Looks like he just heard the dinner bell, and he is hungry. Maybe that explains Nick Punto.

Anyways, with a day off, maybe the Twins will come down a bit and be ready for the Yankees tomorrow.