“I don’t believe in none of that bull[bleep]” – TORII HUNTER on Twins’ 13-game losing streak to Yankees.
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DETROIT – The Twins know they’ve lost 13 straight games to the Yankees, including all seven this year. They know few people believe they have a chance.
And they couldn’t care less.
The Twins are coming to The Bronx, and they’re ready.
“Anything you did during the season, you can throw that out the window,” Twins star Torii Hunter said. “You can put that in the trash. We’re in the playoffs. It’s a different feeling. I don’t believe in none of that bull[bleep]. We’re going out there to play.
“We know [the Yankees are] a good club. Sometimes it goes to your head, but forget that. It’s playoff time. We’re coming to fight.”
They’ll need to bring their sling because seldom has a playoff series been more of a David-vs.-Goliath showdown. The Yankees operate a payroll that’s $115 million more than the Twins’, have five All-Stars to the Twins’ one and finished 11 games better in the standings.
But while the Twins realize what they’re up against – referring to the omnipresent horde of Yankee scouts, manager Ron Gardenhire cracked, “Their diamond rings were bothering our outfielders” – past glory and present dominance mean little in Minnesota. The Twins are ready, experienced and, most of all, hardly awed by the pinstriped supremacy.
“We’re not scared of the Yankees,” Gardenhire said. “We know it’s not going to be easy. We know they’re a very good team and we have a lot of respect for them. But we don’t fear them.”
Especially since this isn’t unfamiliar territory. Last season the Twins were considered a minor detour for the high-powered A’s on Oakland’s road to an inevitable ALCS meeting with the Yankees. Everybody knows how that turned out. Instead of A’s-Yankees, baseball got Twins-Angels.
Underdog once, underdog again. No problem.
“We’re already hearing that we have no chance,” Gardenhire said. “What’s better than that? Shouldn’t be much pressure on us because we’ve got no chance already. That’s fine. We’ve been there before.”
They haven’t been to Yankee Stadium since April, when the Yankees were in the midst of not just winning all seven games against them, but outscoring them, 49-13, and outhomering them, 16-1. But the Twins are a different team now.
Energized by a new leadoff hitter (Shannon Stewart) and a new staff ace (Johan Santana), the Twins reeled off baseball’s best second-half mark (46-23).
“Regular season is just the regular season,” Santana said. “I don’t think those games count. They beat us seven times, but we made the playoffs. Now everything goes back to zero.”
“What people fail to realize is that it wasn’t just the Yankees, that we played [poorly] against everybody,” ace reliever LaTroy Hawkins added. “We played [poorly] in April, May, June and half of July. We’re a different team now.”
Different, and one that’s geared up to take The Bronx by storm.
“We’re starting over now,” catcher AJ Pierzynski said. “It’s the first one to three.”