Andres Gimenez trolled Rocco Baldelli after Guardians walk-off Twins and clinch playoff berth

Things went from bad to worse in a hurry for the Minnesota Twins this week.

Aside from a few positive blips, the Twins have been on an otherwise uninterrupted downward trajectory since early August. That's the last time anything about the team looked good, including its playoff chances. Minnesota was just 3.5 games away from owning the best record in the American League, but the last 37 days have been the equivilant to Homer Simpson bouncing down the side of a cliff.

Over that span, the Twins bullpen has been lit up for a 5.22 ERA and a -2.99 WPA that ranks dead last and is twice as bad as the next closest team. This all comes after the front office failed to add upgrades at the deadline other than Trevor Richards, who was DFA'd in less than a month. Offensively things haven't been much better, something highlighted by the Twins finishing their season series against the Guardians hitting just .170 with RISP -- a stat indicative of the overall slump the team is in.

Puncuating the slump isn't just the possibility of the Twins flat out missing the playoffs after once owning an over 80 percent chance, but the fact that the Guardians punched their ticket on Minnesota's watch. Thursday's loss was more than just one that sunk Minnesota to it's worst record against Cleveland since 2007, it was one that led to their rivals popping champagne bottles in the locker room.

Adding insult to injury, Guardians second baseman rubbed salt in the wound by trolling Rocco Baldelli after hitting a walk-off that clinched a playoff berth.

Andres Gimenez thanks Rocco Baldelli after Guardians clinch playoff berth by beating Twins

For the second time in 24 hours, the Twins and Guardians went to extra innings, but both games ended the same way. On Wednesday night Brayan Rocchio walked Minnesota off and a day later Andres Gimenez did the same thing.

The only difference is Gimenez's walk-off clinched a playoff berth, and came after a questionable managerial decision. Minnesota opted to walk Lane Thomas with one out, which brought Gimenez to the plate.

A few moments later, as he ran off the field celebrating a walk-off, he thanked Rocco Baldelli for letting him get an at-bat.

It's one of those things that stinks to hear because your team is on the other end of a brutal troll, but the Twins have nobody but themselves to blame. Minnesota has the third-worst record in baseball since August 18th, and are near the end of a second epic second half collapse in the last three years.

While the Twins still technically control their own destiny, nothing they've done lately suggests they'd be anything more than canon fodder in the Wild Card. If not for a tiebreaker, the Tigers would already have passed the Twins for the final spot in the playoffs, a ticket that Minnesota has done everything to prove they don't deserve.

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