It seems that every time the Twins play the Yankees, they get caught in some sort of time loop. They can't seem to win, no matter how close they seem to come. Whether it's mounting early leads, which are then lost in the later innings of the game, or falling behind early and mounting a rally that can't seem to get them past their opponent, the Twins always seem to come up short.

In the film Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a TV meteorologist who finds himself in a time loop, forced to re-live the same day over and over again. He learns a lot about the residents of a small town and becomes increasingly bitter and frustrated. Eventually he figures out what he needs to do in order to break this cycle.

So why do I bring this up? Because watching the Twins play the Yankees has become a lot like Groundhog Day. We all have become so accustomed to the Yankees beating the Twins, regardless of whether it's in New York or Minneapolis, or even Florida. A lot of us still harbor anger about the checked swing that should have been strike three in last year's playoffs. Or the Joe Mauer foul ball that really fell fair in 2009. Yes, moments like Jason Kubel's grand slam off of Mariano Rivera give us some hope, but it's so few and far between.

What do the Twins need to do to finally stop re-living the same series over and over again? I think a lot of it is psychosomatic. They know they are perfectly capable of winning games against the Yankees. They know this team all too well. But all the losses seem to have gotten to them. Perhaps if they stop focusing on the negatives ("We can't beat them.") and instead feel confident that they can knock a ball out of the park, get A-Rod to swing at a low slider, or make the ball fall into the outfield for a base hit, the Twins will wake up and see that the calendar has turned and that they have a series win against the Yankees on their record.