Blue Jays 2, Twins 1: Last Game of the Season Ends Rather Fittingly for 2012

Tonight, the Minnesota Twins had the chance to end their season on a high note by beating the Toronto Blue Jays in their own stadium, but as the 2012 Twins have been wont to do, they kind of went out meekly, scoring just one run, though they managed to load the bases and had a player (Ben Revere, offensive star of the day) with three hits, but weren't able to capitalize on any of their opportunities.

While Brandon Morrow is a good pitcher by any means, the Twins did have a good opportunity to tie up the game with the bases loaded, but as it appears that Ben Revere (3-for-4, run scored) was the only Twin that came to play (too many end-of-season hangovers perhaps?), that was pretty much the only offense they had on the night. Matt Carson did get a hit , after striking out twice. Oh, and of course that lazy bum Joe Mauer didn't get a hit...he only drew two walks, like a loser.

For his part, Scott Diamond probably didn't end his season how he wanted to either, going just 5 innings, giving up 5 hits and two earned runs (and one walk, that led to one of the earned runs). Looking forward to next year, I expect we'll see more innings out of him, with hopefully equal-to-better results. Alex Burnett came in to relieve Diamond, and he managed to pitch two scoreless frames, giving up just one hit and striking out three. Coming in to close the game was Luis Perdomo, who pitched a scoreless, hitless, and walkless inning, and just like that...the Twins 2012 campaign was over. Even though much of it was painful, I'm going to miss the hell out of it.

We say goodbye to this version of the Twins tonight, and we look forward to a team with (hopefully...) better starting pitching, an offense that's as good--if not better--next year, and a staff that will hopefully diagnose medical problems before surgery is required.

Studs
-Ben Revere. Way to go, buddy!
-Joe Mauer, because screw you guys. Highest OBP in the history of baseball ever. True facts.
-Eh, Alex Burnett.

Duds
-All the players that didn't get a hit, which was most of them. TRY HARDER NEXT SEASON.
-Canada. What even?
-Scott Diamond? Hesitant to put him on the list, but it wasn't a great outing, so.

Notes:

• There was some absolutely heartbreaking news posted on Pat Neshek's twitter page today: "Please pray for my family. Tonight my wife & I lost our first & only son 23 hours after he was born with no explanation." You guys...I cannot even fathom what the horror of that would be like, but please, please send good thoughts to the Nesheks. The Nesheks named their son Gehrig, and he was born just a day before the A's (and Pat) managed to win their division title. Pat was a pitcher here for several years, and is actually from Minnesota, and from the couple of times I ran into him, is an outstanding person and an even bigger baseball fan than some fans now...a true lover of the game. This is nothing but a truly awful, awful story.
• Omar Vizquel ended his illustrious career tonight, with a single to center field in his last at-bat. The 45-year-old player received a standing O from the crowd at the Rogers Centre (rightfully so...), and looked genuinely happy/sad to have had such experiences as he's had in his long career. Best of luck to Omar!
• The Twins are done playing and now we're all sad with nothing to do with our time, but fret not! Twinkie Town will be here for you this offseason, providing some of the best coverage of winter meetings, trades, and Twins news stories, and eventually, the glorious start of Spring Training. Less than 150 days until pitchers and catchers report, you guys. Get ready.