Win, or Go Home

Who doesn't like a one-game playoff?

OK, fine, I'll tell you: the Minnesota Twins. That's right, the Twins were the latest team to fall in a one-game playoff a year ago. Instead of heading for the postseason, they went home after a 1-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox in a winner-take-all showdown for the 2008 AL Central Division title.

And now, they're back. And maybe they'll change their own minds about what has become most baseball fans' favorite game of the regular season.

The Twins won 16 of their last 20 to force the playoff with the Detroit Tigers, who will have to visit a loud and perilous Metrodome on Tuesday. Right, so all signs are pointing to a Twins victory: home-field advantage, momentum, an extended farewell to a storied and often-ridiculed stadium.

No matter who wins, that team has been given little chance to go further, as they must get past the New York Yankees to do so. But history shows that it's not out of the question:

• The Rockies won a one-game playoff over the Padres in 2007 to claim the NL Wild Card, and went on to win the NL pennant before falling to Boston in the World Series.
• In 1999, the Mets took out the Reds in a one-gamer for the NL Wild Card and also advanced to the World Series, only to fall to the Yankees.
• And, of course, who can forget the 1978 Yankees facing a double-digit deficit in the AL East in mid-August and then chasing down the Red Sox to force a one-gamer at Fenway Park? The Bombers won it on Bucky Dent's homer, and went on to win their second consecutive World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Twins have had some amazing runs in the past. Why not one more?