By David Weinshilboum

The Twins had lost the first two games of the series and just wanted to salvage something –anything – against the Oakland Athletics. They were the favorites to win the division and maybe make a run in the playoffs. In the ninth inning, it looked like a win was almost a certainty. Then the wheels fell off. A closer blew a save. It was brutal.

While this is a seemingly accurate description of what happened in Oakland yesterday, I was referencing a different game, one that took place July 29, 1992. Then, the Twins had a loaded team and seemed ready to make another World Series run after their improbably 1991 championship. Their team was complete. They had a gamer for a second baseman in Chuck Knoblauch, a fantastic center fielder and good pitching. (Sound familiar?) The Twins were 60-40 before that game in Minneapolis. When the ninth inning rolled around, the Twins had a lead of 4-2 over the A’s; Bill Krueger had outdueled Oakland ace Dave Stewart and the reliable Rick Aguilera took over to nail down the series finale. Aguilera gave up a 3-run shot to journeyman outfielder Eric Fox, Hall-of-Famer Dennis Eckersley closed it out, and the Twins lost. I remember the shock on the faces of Minnesota players; Aguilera just didn’t blow saves, much less surrender bombs to no-name outfielders. The Twins walked off the field in disbelief because this sort of loss just didn’t happen, not to this team.

I remember walking out of the Metrodome thinking, “It’s just one loss.”

It wasn’t.

The Twins managed a .500 record the rest of the way but never had the same swagger or confidence. The A’s took the division. The loss ended the Twins’ season. It would lead to a 10-year playoff drought and a near-death experience when then-MLB Commissioner Bud Selig tried to contract the Twins out of existence.

That was the worst Minnesota Twins loss I had ever witnessed in person – until yesterday.

On Wednesday, I sat behind home plate with my friend. At least four different times my friend (a California native oblivious to Minnesota sports futility) turned to me and said, “The Twins are going to win this one!” He was particularly happy for me since he had also witnessed the disinterested effort the Twins had produced the day before.

All four times, I responded with something along the lines of, “You don’t know this team or this relief corps; it ain’t over.” When Travis Blankenhorn — manchild who plays double-A defense— muffed a game-ending grounder, my usually phlegmatic friend cursed aloud in disbelief. When Arraez —a second baseman stuck at third — airmailed the game-losing throw, my friend was without words.

When the Twins walked off the field, they weren’t surprised or shocked. They expected the loss, just as I had. That’s the sort of mentality that has led to a disaster of a season we’ve all witnessed.

I love this team, feel horrible for Blankenhorn and Arraez, a hard-nosed hitter who has worked hard to become decent defensively at three different positions. I’ll keep watching the Twins because many of their players can do great things. I semi-heckled Josh Donaldson prior to his first AB on Wednesday; he heard me then launched a homerun on the first pitch he saw. Buxton’s game in the outfield and batter’s box is always a thing to behold; a 40-year-old who could barely walk blasted two monster homeruns.

But this team is done. Anyone suggesting this team is a playoff team is blind and lobotomized. They are terrible, and they expect to play terribly. Those are just the facts.

David Weinshilboum, who survived 4-20 despite lots of second-hand smoke, is on Twitter. Follow weinshie to watch him clap back the baseball Twitter establishment.