This October will be golf season for the Twins

The two strongest components of the Twins (pitching and defense) has failed them miserably on this 14-game road trip (mercifully coming to an end tonight).

Over the past thirteen games, the defense has made critical errors in critical situations, leading to closer extraordinaire Joe Nathan to blow three save opportunities (He had a grand total of three blown saves before that). Add to that the rest of the bullpen struggling just to keep a lead into the ninth inning, and I just have that nagging feeling. It's that feeling that tells me the Twins are not ready for prime time.

The coup de grace was last night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Twins kicked away two one-run leads due to poor defense. An error by shortstop Nick Punto (allegedly their best infielder) in the seventh inning allowed the Jays to tie the game at three. Then with two outs in the ninth, a fielding miscue by outfielder Jason Pridie (brought into the game for "defensive purposes") allowed pinch runner Curtis Thigpen to score, knotting the game at four. The Jays would go on to win 5-4 in 11 innings.

Oh well, as Cubs fans have been saying for 100 years, there's always next season.

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