Of all the predictions I posted for the division races in major league baseball back in July, the AL Central has turned out to be the most accurate. The Chicago White Sox, at that point, had battled back after a horrendous start to take the lead in the division. I commended the Sox for salvaging their season but correctly predicted that the Minnesota Twins would eventually win the division. At this point the Twins have a 7 game lead over Chicago and a 14 game edge on the Detroit Tigers, who gave away the division title last season by blowing a lead down the stretch, then losing a one-game playoff to the Twins. The Tigers have the best hitter in the American League in Miguel Cabrera and a host of other young stars, but they are about finished in this race now. The Sox could still make it close, but I believe the Twins will hold on and win it, then enter the post-season in a much better position than they did last year, when having to win the extra playoff game depleted their pitching staff going into a series with the powerful Yankees, who promptly swept them. The Twins are the model for low budget franchises. They are pretty much still doing business just like they did in the 1990s when they won a pair of World Series championships. Back then they had a great front office, the best scouts in baseball and a terrific and very underrated manager in Tom Kelly. They were built around one star player, the late Kirby Puckett, but were a gritty, never-say-die type of team. The Twins of today are following the same game plan – good front office, great scouts, and possibly baseball’s most underrated manager in Ron Gardenhire. They are built around hometown hero and MVP Joe Mauer and are a gritty team that always plays hard. The Twins have it down pat. They run their organization like a college sports program, anticipating when players will leave through free agency and having new players to plug in when they do. This year, they resigned Mauer to a big contract, which has to help the mood in the clubhouse, and sprinkled the roster with just the right amount, and the right type, of veteran players, like Carl Pavano, Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson. The Twins would like nothing better than to get another shot at the Yankees in the playoffs, and they just might get that wish granted.
MLB – Twins Rise To Top Of AL Central
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