Wednesday was about as ugly as it gets. After giving away
the game to Houston on Tuesday, Minnesota watched their Postseason hopes go up
in flames, for an 18th consecutive loss. Now out of the end-of-season-tournament,
how can we put a Twins spin on the great baseball action still left?
If you missed what the San Diego Padres did yesterday
afternoon and into the evening, that’s really too bad. It’s performances like those
that define October baseball. The Twins are out of it, and so are countless
other teams. In fact, the entirety of the AL Central is now eliminated. That
doesn’t mean there aren’t avenues to pull for guys that once made an impact in a
Minnesota uniform.
Ryan Pressly – Houston Astros
This one is tough personally because Ryan and his wife Kat
are people I’ve gotten to know. They are both awesome individuals, and Ryan
evolving into one of the game’s best relievers has been fun to see. Watching
him take his abilities to a whole new level in embracing different techniques
in Houston was also exciting. The downside is that he’s teammates with Carlos
Correa, Alex Bregman, and Jose Altuve. I can get past them having just beaten
the Twins, and I can even move on from the fact that those guys cheated so
substantially. What rubs me the wrong way is that the trio remains brazen,
unapologetic, and completely aloof when it comes to their public perception.
Ryan, go shove, but the rest of the Astros can shove it.
Liam Hendriks and Robbie Grossman – Oakland Athletics
Hendriks is hardly a secret anymore. He’s been one of
baseball’s best relievers for a number of years, and some new hardware should
be coming his way for the performance in 2020. Recently fresh off defeating the
Chicago White Sox, there’s plenty to like about that outcome as well. Grossman
went from a disaster year defensively with the Twins to a complete turnaround
and one of the better glue guys in baseball. He’s not a household name, and
while he’s always going to be an OBP-guru, he’ll never rack up the accolades.
Both are extremely easy to root for, however. Go Athletics!
Aaron Hicks – New York Yankees
It’ll be a cold day in hell before I every cheer for the
Yankees in a baseball game. That said, former top prospect Aaron Hicks remains
among my favorite to follow around the game. He’s been great with New York when
healthy, and although it crushed the Twins, the diving catch he made to steal a
game winning hit from Max Kepler last summer was nothing short of amazing. Go
Aaron, boo Yankees.
Nick Anderson – Tampa Bay Rays
A first-class organization is always easy to pull for, and
the Rays are in the driver’s seat this season as a one seed. Nick Anderson is
someone I touch on constantly through Twitter as it still irks me that Derek
Falvey let this one get away. The former Twins prospect was tearing up Triple-A
and was never given a chance to even flash his stuff at the big-league level.
Instead he’s gone on to become one of the nastiest relievers in all of
baseball. He’s a Minnesota native, and would’ve looked great in the Twins baby
blues. Hopefully, he’s part of a Rays squad that downs the Evil Empire.
Brandon Kintzler – Miami Marlins
What a season it has been for this team. They needed to
basically reconstruct an entire roster just days into an already weird year,
and then made the Postseason despite being expected to perform as somewhat of a
bottom feeder. Kintzler closed out games for the Twins a couple of years ago
and is now doing the same for Miami. He was under-appreciated here and always
seemed like a good due. Certainly not going to blow the ball by anyone, but he
can serve up ground balls with the best of them. This is a Cinderella story I
can get behind.
Brusdar Graterol – Los Angeles Dodgers
Kenta Maeda came over to the Twins and performed like an
absolute ace. There’s nothing wrong with both teams benefitting from a good
trade, and it seems like that’s what at play here. Minnesota’s former top
pitching prospect closed out a series win following Clayton Kershaw last night.
He throws 100 and is always smiling. The Bazooka is a level-headed kid that’s going
to see plenty more success. The Dodgers are the favorites, and with good
reason. If you want to get behind a near sure thing, this is your team.
