Saved by the (Ku)bel

Whew!  That was a close one.

So I might not have held out much hope for a good showing by the Twins this weekend in the Big Apple, but walking away from the series with zero wins would've been a kick in the nuts all the same.  That fate appeared to be all but sealed yesterday, with the Yankees leading by 2 runs and needing only 4 outs to extend their dominance in the matchup between these two teams.  It took the rarest form of one of the rarest occurences in sports to turn the tide, Mariano Rivera blowing a save (which he never does against the Twins) on a grand slam, of all things (which hasn't happened in 8 years and hasn't happened at home in 15, wow).

Add it all up and at the end of the day, it totals out to a victory, although I would temper enthusiasm by saying what just happened is unlikely to happen again this season.  Given the percentages, if the Twins face Rivera down two in the postseason, the odds on a repeat performance are about the same as Beyonce leaving Jay-Z for yours truly...okay maybe not that long, but don't bank on it by any means.

Now it's on to Toronto and Boston, which have also been hostile locations in prior years, and don't look to be getting any more forgiving.  Toronto in particular has seemed a bane to this team going back to the World Series, too lazy to grab stats on that, but I can recall as a kid going to see the Blue Jays a lot, and losing just about every time.  Last year the Twins compiled a 3-4 record against Toronto, but were 2-9 against them in the two seasons prior.  Considering the history against Jays, their league-leading home run total and the fact that tonight's opposing lineup is 22-for-44 all time against starter Kevin Slowey, I'm going to take the not-so-bold step of guaranteeing defeat this evening.  Still think a split of the remaining games is possible though.

Tomorrow is a very special occasion on the Loserville calendar, the NBA Draft Lottery, aka the Annual Death of Hope.  We'll be taking a trip down memory lane, in preparation for that magical moment when the Wolves logo is pulled from the envelope for the 4th pick, how very special that will be.