24-17: Season Over

(chart via Fangraphs, as per usual)

Oh no, the Twins were swept in Boston! They’ve lost 3 games in a row! They’re no longer in sole possession of first place! THE SEASON IS OVER!!1! I think maybe it’s time I write a separate post about bandwagon fans and how they make me all stabby. Yes, losing sucks, and the Twins will certainly be in trouble if they do it a lot, but baseball is a 162-game season. Even the best teams will lose at least 60 games. The Twins will probably lose at least 70 games, though I’d be surprised if they lost more than 75. This is still a very good team, it’s just that, well, some of the things that were bound to catch up with the Twins happened to do so on this road trip. Their luck in Yankee Stadium was bound to turn one of these days, and on Sunday it did. The fact that Francisco Liriano had not surrendered a home run this year was bound to catch up with him eventually, and unfortunately, tonight it did. Twice. That isn’t going to happen every game, and as long as the Twins continue to play well, good things will happen more often than not.

Best hitter:

Again, it was a rough night at the plate for the entire lineup. Well, except for Brendan Harris (.119 WPA), who I guess doesn’t want to be designated for assignment.

Best pitcher:

Jon Lester, without question (.302 WPA). I don’t know if it’s possible to be underrated and play for the Red Sox, but Lester seems to be sort of forgotten amidst the drama surrounding Josh Beckett and Dice-K. That’s a shame because Lester is among the top left-handed pitchers in the league.