Minnesota Writers Grasping At Straws

From Tom Powers:

Facing the Yankees in the postseason involves more than just what happens on the field. There always is psychological warfare involved. And that's just because they're the Yankees. There's a mystique surrounding the team. And the atmosphere is intimidating. The Yankees have a cockiness that comes with the pinstripes.

It's similar to playing the Montreal Canadiens in the hockey playoffs. The Canadiens might not have won a Stanley Cup in ages, but they are still the Canadiens, so nobody wants to face them. There is an aura.

But in Game 3 at the Metrodome tonight, the Twins have the psychological advantage. On the surface, they look like a beaten team. Yet they have all sorts of motivational factors in their favor. And that's over and above the 50,000 screaming maniacs in the Metrodome.

In addition to the Pavano Revenge factor, there's the We Got Hosed factor. After Friday's game, the Twins were convinced that they would have won if not for the blown call by umpire Phil Cuzzi. They believed they were deprived of a rightful split in the series by an umpire's bad call.

At least he did go on to say that he didn't believe the blown call mattered so much because the Twins still left 17 men on base, and squandered a bases loaded nobody out situation later in the inning. Anyway Powers continues:

But the point is that the Twins think they wuz robbed. And there is something about righteous indignation that can lead to an inspiring performance. No doubt the boys want to go out there and beat not just the Yankees but also those dang umpires. After all, it's clear that everybody has it in for the Twins. There's a rallying cry if I ever heard one.

Psychological advantage No. 3 is the Been There, Done That factor. Down 0-2 in the series? Most teams would be sweating bullets and hoping for a miracle. The Twins genuinely believe that because they rallied from so far behind in the regular season, they are capable of anything. No hole is too deep.

...

So the Twins figure they have the Yankees right where they want them. They're motivated. They're remarkably confident. Heck, you wouldn't know which team is up 2-0.

Is it just me or does this remind you of Dan Shaughnessy's article during Boston's last series in the Bronx? In that piece he basically implied that the Red Sox were playing possum, and were just taking a break "to get some rest and tune up for the playoffs."

Hey Dan, how's that working out for ya? The Sox now find themselves down 2-0 and one the brink of elimination, and seem to have carried their poor play during the last month of the season into October. So much for playing possum.

He, like Powers, made it seem like Boston had the Yankees right where they wanted them. Well, I don't know about Powers, but I've seen the Yankees carry the same mentality into every game they've played this year. They don't get too up or too down, they just go out on the field everyday expecting to win, and that won't change Sunday. They're not about to take anything for granted, and they're not about to relax. So if you ask this Yankees fan, the Yanks are the ones who have the Twins right where they want them; down 2-0 in a five-game series with Andy Pettitte on the mound.