AaronGleeman.com

I've been very lucky, both as a fan and as a blogger, because the Twins advanced to the playoffs in four of my first five seasons blogging about the team. Last night's loss completed a three-game sweep at the hands of the first-place Indians and all but guarantees that this will be the second season in six without a playoff berth. Whether it comes in August or October (or June, as was too often the case in the 1990s), the moment when all hope of a championship disappears is always a horrible one.

Between now and spring training there'll be plenty of time to debate what went wrong this season and to discuss what might go right next year, but at the moment I find myself wanting to briefly step away from all the disappointment and frustration. There are still 29 games left on the schedule and I'll no doubt watch just about every inning, but I'll do so with a different mindset than I've had for the past five months (and for most of the past five years).

On the most basic level my wish each season is for the Twins to delay this horrible day for as long as possible. I'll probably never shake the feeling that the opportunity to do that was wasted this year.