Didn't See This Coming

Who would've thought it would end this way?
This is what we saw this season:
*Justin Morneau - .321-34-130.
*Joe Mauer - .347 -1st AL catcher to ever win the batting title.
*Torii Hunter - 31 homers.
*Cuddyer - .284-24-109.
*Johan - 19-6, 2.77, 245 K's, the pitching triple crown.
*Liriano - 12-3, 2.16
*Joe Nathan - 1.58, 36/38.
*Bradke - the comeback.
*Nick Punto - actually became a good player.
*Jason Tyner - ditto.
*Jason Bartlett - the next Michael Young.
*Rondell White - the resurrection.
*Boof.
*One day in first place - the last day.
And after all that, the Twins season lasted a whole five days longer than the Kansas City Royals' did. A sweep. An ass-whupping. An embarrassing performance.
Everything went wrong.
The Twins were outhit, outpitched, outfielded, outbaserunned, outmanaged, outclassed.
It was ugly.
I think we learned that the Piranhas aren't actually that dangerous, and that Joe Mauer has to start hitting some more gappers to be a true No. 3 hitter. We learned that Torii Hunter has lost a step, maybe two, in centerfield, and we learned that the bullpen is human.
The Twins can tip their hat to the A's and say they simply got beat, and that is true. The A's played very well, and there is no shame in losing to them.
But that discounts the fact that the Twins didn't only lose because they couldn't hit in the clutch. They lost because they couldn't make plays in the field, they took poor at-bats, they failed to get down bunts and advance runners, and they made poor decisions on the bases and in the field. They simply weren't themselves when it mattered most.
It was a remarkable season, and 20 years from now, I'll remember that Sunday regular season finale a lot more vividly than I will the ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the A's.
I loved this team, and I am extremely confident that it will be one of the best teams in baseball again next year.
Only six more months to go.