Let me tell you why the Minnesota Twins have to be the most feared team in the American League in 2005.

1) They're 13 games back in the AL Central, but only 5 games back for the AL Wild Card.
The Twins are team with virtually nothing to lose. Chicago has a nearly insurmountable lead in the Central Division, meaning the Twins are battling for a Wild Card spot more than they're battling for a division championship.

2) The last three World Series champions were Wild Card teams.
The Angels in 2002, the Marlins in 2003, and the Red Sox in 2004 all won the World Series after qualifying for the postseason as Wild Card teams. It has been thoerized that the momentum gained by a tough fight for the Wild Card spot carried them through to World Series championships.

3) Their schedule.
Minnesota has seven more games with the Kansas City Royals, six more games against the Detroit Tigers, the Texas Rangers, and the Cleveland Indians, four more games against the Seattle Mariners, three more games against the Oakland Athletics, and eleven more games against the Chicago White Sox. Only three of those teams (Chicago, Cleveland, and Oakland) have a winning record. They have no more games against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or any of the teams in the American League East. While this year might be different, Minnesota has owned the White Sox and Indians down the stretch the last few years.

4) Kyle Lohse, Joe Mauer, and Joe Nathan
Kyle Lohse is the pivotal member of the Twins rotation. With the exception of Joe Mays, four of the five Twins starters have been dominant in recent weeks, including Kyle Lohse. Ever since Kyle Lohse took extra pullpen sessions and pitching coach Rick Anderson reduced Lohse from three pitches to five (they took away his curveball and four-seamer), he has pitched much better. If the Twins can count on four dominant starters down the stretch (Lohse, Johan Santana, Brad Radke, and Carlos Silva), nobody in the American League is going to match that. Joe Mauer has been on fire for the Twins lately. He had three more doubles in Minnesota's 9-4 win over Chicago on Tuesday night and is far-and-away Minnesota's best and most consistent hitter. If Mauer is hitting, Minnesota is going to win. Joe Nathan's 2.61 ERA is deceiving. Nathan struggled early in the year in non-save situations. Nathan has not given up a run since July 10 and has only give up one run since June 26. His ERA since June 26 is 0.42! His strikeouts-to-walks ratio in that span is 29:5 or 5.80 strikeouts per walk. Opponents in that span are hitting .099 (7/71) off of him! He also has 12 saves in that span, and that's even despite having no saves between July 27 and August 14.

5) September Call-ups
If you think the Twins are tough now, just wait until September when they add the likes of Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano to their roster. My mouth is watering just at the thought.

The Twins have 43 games left - and that's a lot of baseball - but with everything the Twins have going for them, I can't imagine any team I would want to face less down the stretch than the Minnesota Twins.

03:53 AM | (0)
file under: minnesota twins