I sit here in front of a library computer with an empty coffee cup and a book open on the desk in front of me. As the Twins were beating the snot (okay, hyperbole) out of the Yankees, I was reading a 96 page research paper. Maybe it was the lack of caffeine, maybe it was my brain worrying about more important things, but not once (well, maybe twice) did I think the Twins would lose to that game. Having that kind of confidence about the Twins (in general), especially against the Yankees (6-27!) seems like a fairly foolish thing to think. However, I believed it, and it came to happen. Now, maybe this is the coffee talking, but I feel like this win is going to be indicative of why this season won't be the house of horrors everyone has expected. And here is why.

The counter-punch. That's it. That's my rationale right now. I have no fancy stats, no advanced metrics, no actual basis on which to base this on other than my silly, silly gut. However, I feel that this is something the Twins lacked more than anything last season. When things were looking bleak last season, that team folded like a cheap beach chair. Tonight, against the damn Yankees, every time they hit us, we hit them right back. Give up 3 runs in the 1st? Three players not here last season (Morneau, Parm, Burroughs) string together a couple hits to give Marquis some much needed breathing room. When Cano answered back in the bottom of the frame, Morneau knocked the Yankee's starter out of the game, and ended up hitting the deciding RBI. Now, I understand that the ebbs and flows of baseball make this game merely 1 out of 162, but after what we've been through, this feels like so much more. Allow one inherently optimistic, slightly unhinged, baseball fan make sweeping generalizations based on one game. As long as the pitching can keep it close, this offense will find some way to get the Twins the win. We might not be piranhas anymore, but I do think we are something else. With Mauer, Morneau, and Willingham around, we're snakes, lying in the grass lurking, waiting for our moment to strike.

And I have a feeling we'll be striking plenty this year.