There will be no shortage of local writing about the Twins and their unexpected spot in the postseason.
Here's a look at some of what's being written and said elsewhere in the hours after the Twins clinched a spot in Tuesday night's American League Wild Card game.
From Andrew Marchand at ESPN: "Although they won't win 90 games, it doesn't matter. The Twins are going to the playoffs, led by Molitor, with an emergence of youth, some veteran leaders and a steely resolve born from their devastating starts the previous two seasons. They are the first team to lose 100 games one season and make the playoffs the next. Their story is one of resolve and a little luck.The American League is filled with mediocrity, and the Twins are in the postseason to a large degree because of that. But if they beat the Yankees in the Bronx on AL Wild Card Tuesday, they will stand on the same ground as the other seven teams remaining as the weather cools in October."
Read the complete column from Marchand here.
Veteran New York-based writer Mike Lupica in Sports on Earth on, among other things, manager Paul Molitor's future with the team: "Whatever happens next week, attention must be paid to what the Twins have done this week, which means grinding their way back into the postseason, even if that postseason only lasts one night, a year after losing 103 games. For now, and going into Thursday's games, they have won 24 more games -- and counting -- than they did in 2016. It is the kind of turnaround they once had when they were going from worst to first with the 1991 Twins. Of course that team won it all. This one probably won't. Still: There is one Hall of Fame player currently managing a big league team. It is Paul Molitor. What has happened this season with the Twins has happened on his watch. And been something to see. This feels like a Hall of Fame thing from him, managing the Twin Cities back into postseason baseball, even if it really does only last a few hours, either against the Yankees or the Red Sox at Fenway Park next Tuesday night. Even the city where Molitor played his very best ball, Milwaukee, is still in play for a Wild Card in the National League. Somehow, though, Molitor's future with the Twins seems to be very much in question, his contract scheduled to run out at the end of this season."
Read Lupica's full column here.
Brendan Kuty of nj.com on what Twins fans know and don;t want to hear. Six reasons why the Yankees are a nightmare matchup for the Twins: "It became official late Wednesday night. If the Yankees end up in the American League Wild Card — it's highly doubtful they'll pass the Red Sox in the East — they'll face the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium. And that should sound like "New York, New York" to their ears. The Yankees will be salivating for a matchup with the Twins, whose best chance at beating them lies in the randomness of any single-elimination game in baseball. Here's why:"
Read Kuty's list of reasons here.
Here's more:
Mark Townsend of Yahoo Sports on the Twins' challenge of winning a postseason game for the first time in 13 years.
The Associated Press reported from the clubhouse celebration after the White Sox eliminated the Angels late Tuesday night.
If you want something to listen to, here's the new Cleveland Talk baseball podcast, which focuses on the Twins and features a visit from Star Tribune baseball writer La Velle E. Neal III.
