TDA Bullpen - Our Writers' Blog

Saturday, August 14, 2004

Don't Look Now, But...

The Indians have pulled to within two games of the Twins in the AL Central race, and within three games in the loss column, with an 8-2 victory last night. The Indians are going to miss both Brad Radke and Johan Santana while the Twins are in town this weekend, so there's even more ground to gain while the Twins run out Kyle Lohse and Terry Mulholland to the mound. Suddenly the 5-1 disparity between Indians and Twins All-Stars isn't looking quite so crazy.

The thing I've been reading is that the Indians are a little too wet behind the ears to sustain this recent run. That may be true, but even though the Twins are two-time defending AL Central champs, they've got some youngsters manning key positions on their team as well. So while it's certainly true that Jake Westbrook and Cliff Lee have already set career highs in innings pitched in mid-August, so have Johan Santana and Carlos Silva. And while youngsters Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez play important roles in the middle of the Indians' lineup, so do rookies Lew Ford and Justin Morneau, who hit 3-4 in the Twins' lineup. When rookie catcher Joe Mauer comes back, there's a real possibility that 2-3-4 in the Twins' lineup will run Ford-Mauer-Morneau.

In the end, there's probably enough corporate memory of success on the Twins' side to carry the day for them, but they are going to have get some key contributions down the stretch from youngsters just the same as the Indians if they are to make it a third straight division crown.

ADDENDUM

What about the White Sox?! They're still lurking about, also three games back in the loss column, though 4 games back of the Twins in total. I guess mentally, toting up the fact that they're going to miss Frank Thomas for the rest of the year and likely Magglio Ordonez for most if not all the remainder of the season makes their climb a little more uphill. They do still have Carlos Lee, Paul Konerko and Jose Valentin in the middle of their lineup, and Willie Harris, Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand all bring something to the table. Freddy Garcia and Mark Buerhle at the top of the rotation aren't too shabby, either, but they need big efforts from Jose Contreras and Jon Garland down the stretch to really be a factor. But it really should be considered a three-horse race in the AL Central for now.

posted by Tom Renbarger 10:04 AM