So you’re telling me there’s a chance?
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal is now on record saying he thinks the Twins will end their North American professional sports record of 18 consecutive playoff losses. The longtime MLB insider made the bold claim during a recent episode of the Fair Territory podcast.
“Admittedly they’re playing in a weak division in which every other team sold at the deadline, so their competition within that division is not great,” said Rosenthal.
“At the same time, they’ve got a chance here. It’s going to be difficult for them. They’re probably going to match up with one of the AL West teams in the first round, and that’s not easy. But at the same time, this is a better Twins team than we’ve seen in recent postseasons, and I expect a better showing. I expect, first of all, a win. One win, a game win, and then maybe even a series win.”
If the playoffs started today the Twins would play the Houston Astros in a best-of-three wild card series. The idea that Minnesota is likely to face a team from the AL West comes under the assumption that the Twins win the AL Central but don’t have a better record than the winners of the AL East and West.
There’s an outside chance the Twins surpass the AL West champ, but entering play Thursday they’re 5.5 games behind the Rangers and Astros, who are tied for second in the AL West. They’re 6.5 games behind the West-leading Mariners.
If the Twins do finish as the AL champs and the official third seed behind the East and West champs, then they’ll play the final wild card team. Right now, the three wild card teams are Rays, Rangers and Astros, with the Blue Jays just 2.5 games behind the Rangers and Astros and the Red Sox lurking 5.5 games back.
