Major League Baseball

No parting excuses for Twins on ALDS sweep by Yankees: 'They outplayed us'

Published Oct. 12, 2010 10:15 p.m. ET

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Two days after being swept from the postseason, the Twins were looking at their American League Division Series loss to the Yankees with clarity.

"They outplayed us. They outplayed us in every phase of the game," center fielder Denard Span said. "They deserved to win."

Span was one of about a dozen Twins who cleaned out their Target Field lockers Monday and were asked to reflect on a three-game series sweep that tainted an otherwise successful season, a 94-win campaign that netted Minnesota its sixth AL Central championship in nine seasons.

Despite having home-field advantage and a 3-0 lead in Game 1, the Twins were handled with ease by the defending World Series champs.

"They play with extreme confidence," shortstop J.J. Hardy said. "If we scored runs, they knew they were going to score more. There was nothing we could do to make them feel the pressure."

As soon as the Twins dropped Game 1, a 6-4 loss with ace Francisco Liriano on the mound, the pressure was on for a team with a history of recent playoff failures -- 0 for 4 in Minnesota's previous division series, two of them against the Yankees.

"Unfortunately for us, we weren't able to get Game 1 or 2, and in a five-game series, those are always the big thing," designated hitter Jim Thome said. "If you can get Game 1 or 2, then it's a different series. We weren't able to do that."

Playing in their 16th postseason in 17 years, with a $225 million roster, the Yankees rolled the Twins the same way they did last season -- in three straight games.

"Whenever you play a team like that in the playoffs, you've got to go in there and establish something -- I don't know what you'd call it -- and we didn't do that, so same result as last year," Span said.

The Twins didn't do anything particularly well. But most conspicuous was the lack of hitting. After leading the major leagues with a .285 average with runners in scoring position, the Twins went 1 for 15 in the playoffs -- 0 for 14 until Span's single off Kerry Wood in the eighth inning of Game 3, when the Twins were already down 6-0.

Jason Kubel, who batted cleanup in Game 3, was 0 for 8 with two strikeouts. Joe Mauer, the 2009 AL MVP and batting champion, was 3 for 12 with three singles and no RBIs. Delmon Young, who led the team with 112 RBIs in the regular season, didn't drive in a run.

When the Twins were ousted from the playoffs last season, general manager Bill Smith added players through trade and free agency to make the team a serious World Series contender. But with a payroll that eclipsed $100 million for the first time in team history, the result was the same.

What's not clicking?

"What's not clicking is, we didn't perform. It's as simple as it can be," said Michael Cuddyer, the only Twins player left from the team that won the 2002 ALDS. "We were provided with every opportunity, and we had the personnel to do (it), and I think we've had the personnel in years past to do it. We just haven't performed, for whatever reason.

"I wish there was an easier answer and wish there was a quick fix, but in this particular series, they hit, we didn't."

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