Second Half Keys to Success- AL Central

Hey Leatherheads, how are things? I hope you've been reading Jesse's articles about his recent stadium visits, if not, you've been missing out.

As we watch the summer wind down the races are becoming more clear. Up next is the two team race that is the AL Central:

In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Minnesota Twins
find themselves only one game behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

At the beginning of these season I thought that the White Sox and the Twins would be where the Tigers and Indians are respectively and vice versa. Baseball can be a funny sport, as you see how that prediction has turned out.

Minnesota Twins: Here's a team that lost one of their best hitters and their best pitcher in the offseason but are still eighteen games over .500 and are one of the most exciting teams to watch in baseball. Led by their three stars, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Joe Nathan, the Twins find themselves fighting for the AL wildcard spot with the Boston Red Sox. All three have had great years thus far but this team's story has been some of the lesser known players stepping up, bringing consistency to their respective positions. Mauer has been solid at catcher and Morneau very solid at first. Nick Punto has been a pleasant surprise at second base by hitting .280 with 2 HRs and 23 RBIs in the absence of the injured Alexi Casilla. Casilla comes back this week which will once again make Punto a utility player, but this time he'll be the first bat off the bench. In what was supposed to be a platoon situation between Brandan Harris and Adam Everett at shortstop is slowing becoming a full-time position for Everett. Before Everett's recent hand injury that has left him day-to-day, Harris had been relegated to more of a utility infield position. Also, with the offensive emergence of Brian Buscher at third base, the Twins haven't minded using the light hitting, but gold-glove caliber Everett at shortstop. Buscher recently took the third base job from Mike Lamb who has been slumping all year, hitting .236 with 1 HR and 32 RBIs. Delmon Young has been average, .286 AVG with 7 HRs and 53 RBIs. Carlos Gomez has been very good in centerfield, using his speed much to his advantage tracking down fly balls. But his .251 AVG, 6 HRs, and 37 RBIs show that his still getting used to the major leagues. He was leading off but his abysmal .286 OBP has left Ron Gardenhire to go with right fielder Denard Span atop the lineup. He became a major part of the Twins plans when Michael Cuddyer was reinjured during a rehab stint and looks like will be out for the year. Span has gotten everyone's attention because of how he has stepped up over the past few months. On the year, he's hitting .314 with 2 HRs and 21 RBIs with a .396 OBP.

The Twins' starting rotation is not much different from the season's beginning with the exception of Livan Hernandez being released. Francisco Liriano, who recently got recalled from the minor leagues, has solidified himself as being the staff ace in only four starts. This is because the Twins four other starters have ERAs between 3.50 and 4.20. But each also have win totals between 7 and 10. They don't have even a number two starter, but when a team has four number 3 starters, it almost makes up for it. In the bullpen, you know Joe Nathan. But it's really been Jesse Crain and Dennys Reyes that have solidified the bullpen. When Pat Neshek went down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in May, the bridge to Nathan looked iffy. But Reyes and Crain have done respectable jobs in the 7th and 8th innings respectively.

Chicago White Sox: The White Sox have gotten by much of the same way the Twins have with a good degree of consistency throughout the year. AJ Pierzynski has had a good year behind the plate, putting up around the same numbers he always does each year by hitting .294 with 12 HRs, and 53 RBIs. Paul Konerko has been putting up the same power numbers he usually does but with a significantly lower average, .228. Orlando Cabrera has also been hitting consistently with his career numbers. Alexei Ramirez has been a nice surprise at second base, giving the bottom of the line up some pop with his 14 HRs thus far this season while hitting .309. Joe Crede has been on the DL since June 22 with a back lumbar inflammation, but wasn't having too great of a year before his DL stint, hitting .254 with 17 HRs and 54 RBIs. Uribe has been playing 3rd in his absence but hasn't been doing too much out of the 9 hole in the lineup. Much of the White Sox's offense comes out of the outfield. Carlos Quentin (35 HRs and 97 RBIs), Nick Swisher (20 HRs and 61 RBIs), and Jermaine Dye (29 HRs and 79 RBIs) are having great power years. If you throw in designated hitter Jim Thome's 26 HRs and 73 RBIs, along with newly acquired Ken Griffey Jr.'s 16 HRs and 60 RBIs, the Sox's 3 to 6 six hitters can drive in a great deal of runs. But Cabrera and Pierzynski at the top of the lineup have produced OBPs of only .324 and .321 respectively, otherwise their RBI numbers would be even higher than they already are.

When it comes to pitching, the White Sox remain inconsistent as they have throughout the season. All four starters in the rotation (the fifth has been a merry-go-round the past month or so) have all posted at least 10 wins. But the top two, Mark Buerhle and Javier Vazquez have also posted 10 losses. John Danks and Gavin Floyd have been good especially Danks who has a 3.11 ERA. Bobby Jenks has been almost lights out in the bullpen. Octavio Dotel and Matt Thornton have done a good job with getting the game to Jenks. Dotel has struggled a bit of late, but should come around in a few more appearances.

Analysis: At the beginning of the season, no one would have thought the Twins would be where they're at right now. It is going to be a lot of fun to watch the Twins and the Chicago White Sox fight it out down the stretch. I'd love to see them make the playoffs but it remains to be seen if they can keep the pace while the White Sox have been here plenty of times before. I'd say unfortunately the Twins lose the division by 2 to 3 games or so and the Boston Red Sox take the Wildcard.

Shockingly, the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians remain 11.5 and 14.5 games back respectively. I never thought I'd be counting them out early but injury and ineffectiveness have ravaged both teams. They still have the pieces to contend next season, but lets see if that actually happens. And the Kansas City Royals, well, let's just say some predictions you can always count on.


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