A Disappointing Season Comes to a Close

Today was the last game of what has been a very disappointing 2005 season for the Minnesota Twins. Picked by many before the season to contend for a World Series title, the Twins instead barely finished above .500 with a mediocre 83-79 record, 16 games out of first place and watching the playoffs from home for the first time in three seasons.

There will be plenty of analysis of the team's failures this year in the days to come as look back at the season that should have been, but for now I will just make a small commentary on Johan Santana, who picked up his 16th win today. Bartolo Colon is getting a lot of hype for the Cy Young Award, but there is no question in my mind that Santana is more deserving as he has undoubtedly been the best starting pitcher in the AL this year. He is significantly ahead of Colon in every meaningful stat except for wins, and it seems totally unfair to punish him for the Twins' horrid offense. I wouldn't be upset at all to see Mariano Rivera win the award, but to see Colon win it over Santana would simply make me sick.

Be sure to check in over the next couple weeks for analysis of the playoffs and our picks for the MVP and Cy Young awards, plus post-season analysis of the 2005 season and a look into the future at next season.