On Monday, a friend DMed me a GIF of Bill Nye the Science Guy eating a Twinkie with a precise, studious look on his face. Then he wrote “Preview of Division Series.”

He's a Yankees fan.

So I wrote back.

Me: You mean because the Yankees have faced the Twins in the postseason five times this century and have won all five by a combined 16 games to 2? And the last time the Twins beat them was Game 1 of the 2004 ALDS when Johan Santana was on the mound? And he's been retired for seven years? And since that moment, the Yankees have won 10 straight? Because of that?

He: Something like that. 

Me: Funny. 

This is the eighth time the Twins have made the postseason this century—the M's would kill for such a record—but after winning their first series against a great Moneyball-era A's team, they‘ve been shut down, particularly by the Yankees.

• 2002 ALCS: Lost to the Angels (4-1)
• 2003 ALDS: Lost to the Yankees (3-1)
• 2004 ALDS: Lost to the Yankees (3-1)
• 2006 ALDS: Lost to the A’s (3-0)
• 2009 ALDS: Lost to the Yankees (3-0)
• 2010 ALDS: Lost to the Yankees (3-0)
• 2017 ALWC: Lost to the Yankees (1-0)

Who knew those 3 games to 1 losses in 2003 and 2004 would be the heyday?

The last time the Twins beat the Yankees, or anyone, in the postseason was Oct. 5, 2004: a 2-0 shutout by Santana. Oct. 5 should be a state holiday in Minnesota. That's tomorrow. 

It's gotta end sometime, right? This, too, has gotta pass, right? Either way, if another Yankee fan sends me a Twinkie gif, I‘ll respond with a gif of someone yanking his doodle, since that’s the origin of ‘Yankees.’ As if it could be any other way.