The Killer Road Trip of 2008 — can we call it TKRT2K8 for short? — is almost over.

The bad news is that the Twins aren’t getting any better results on TKRT2K8 than they did on previous ventures out of the comfort of the Metrodome. Losing four of the seven games against Seattle and Oakland — two of the weakest teams in the league — is particularly discouraging.

The good news is that the Chicago White Sox aren’t faring any better. On the morning of Aug. 21, the day TKRT2K8 began, the White Sox had a one-game lead over Minnesota in the AL Central; this morning, the White Sox lead by a mere half-game.

Soon enough — just three games away — the Twins get to return to the comforts of a Teflon roof and fake grass, and TKRT2K8 will become just a piece of Minnesota legend.

Even the final three games of this excursion will be on carpet, and perhaps even indoors, in the retractable-roof facility formerly known as SkyDome. It may not be home, but it is dome.

Blame the grass

The Twins actually have the same road record as their Chicago rivals — 31-37. That is roughly what the Red Sox are doing on the road as well.

I won’t try to slap a broad label on the road problems of the pair of Sox, but there is an obvious pattern to the Twins’ road woes:

The Twins get, in road games, fairly consistent starts from their rotation — but the offense too often shuts down and the bullpen tends to spit up leads.

Even Joe Nathan is not immune. Nathan has five blown saves this season. Three of them came in August, and all of them on the road — two in TKRT2K8.

I’ve commented on the bullpen problems at length, both here and in the blog, so I’ll let it go for now.

The hitting problems on the road might have something to do with the uniqueness of the Metrodome.

The Metrodome is one of the tougher parks in the American League in which to hit home runs. Baseball Info Solutions reports than in 2007 it depressed homers 25 percent; over 2005-07, 85 percent.

It’s easier to build an offense in the Dome with ground-ball singles than with big flies. And only one team in the American League (Kansas City) has a higher groundball-to-flyball ratio than the Twins.

What works in the Dome — chop the ball into the turf and run — doesn’t translate so well in grass parks, especially if opposing grounds crews tailor their surfaces when the Twins come to town to slow down grounders and roll bunts foul.