After the win in Cleveland today, the Twins have 19 games remaining and a six game lead over the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. They travel to Chicago now for three big games starting Tuesday. I'm not going to make any predictions, but I think the White Sox need the sweep to have a real shot at overtaking the Twins at this point. I don't think ending the series five back will do it for them. After the Twins the Sox face Detroit at home for three(Chicago is 8-7 against the Tigers this season), and then head out west for three at Oakland(3-3 this season) and three at the Angels(4-2 this season). They finish the season with four against the Red Sox, who they swept in three just a week ago, and three with the Indians(7-8 this season).
After Chicago, the Twins come home for three against Oakland(5-1 this season) and three against Cleveland(9-6 this season). Then they hit the road for the last time with three in Detroit(9-6 this season) and three in KC(12-3 this season). They finish the season with four at home against Toronto(2-3 this season).
If Chicago manages a sweep, then I can see how it would be possible to make up three games over that stretch. I think making up five games would be possible, but very difficult. If they have to make up seven or nine games, well I don't see the Twins collapse that would let that happen. Um, knock on wood and all that.
In other news:
- Today marked win number 4000 since the franchise became the Twins back in 1961.
- The Twins have gone 8-2 over the last ten games while the Yankees have gone 4-6 and the Rays have gone 5-5. That means the Twins are suddenly only one game behind Tampa Bay and two games behind New York for the best record. And guess who is going to be down in Tampa Bay for three starting tomorrow...
- And look at that, the Rays have four left in New York. I'm not going to predict that the Twins will end up with the best record, but they have their best shot at home field advantage, at least for the first round, in years.
- The Twins are tied with the Rangers in leading MLB with a team batting average of .276. They have the second best AL team ERA at 3.78. And they are tied with the Reds for a major league leading .989 fielding percentage.
- The Twins were stumbling before the All-Star break and their starting rotation was in disarray with the exception of Carl Pavano. They have been 39-16 after the break, the best record in MLB.
The Twins need to get out of Chicago with at least one win. The White Sox were making a serious run at the Twins with seven straight wins before dropping three in a row in Detroit. Ozzie's gang took two out of three from the Royals and a sweep of the Twins would put them right back in range. They're a banged up club right now, but I still have a lot of respect for them and I'm sure the Twins do too.
There's still no sign that Justin Morneau will be able to get back in the lineup this year. He's been out since suffering a concussion on July 7. I would love to see him on the playoff roster, but the most important thing long-term is that Morneau make a full recovery. If that means he misses the post-season, if there is one for the Twins, then so be it. The first milestone as far as that goes will probably come by the end of next weekend. If Morneau is not batting with an instructional league team or taking batting practice with the Twins, consider him out of the first playoff round if the Twins make it. He's just not going to be up to speed enough to take a precious 25-man roster spot. However, if I understand things correctly, Morneau could make subsequent rosters if the Twins advance to those rounds and he is back up to speed. Could that happen? I think so. Should it? Hmmm, no idea at this point. Frankly, I just hope we're not seeing the end of that young man's career.
So I don't end this post on a bummer note, go to MLB.com and take a look at Jim Thome's 12th-inning home run on Saturday. It was #587 for Thome, and with it he passed Frank Robinson on the all-time home run list. Glad to see you doing that as a Twin, Jim.
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