The Table of Contenders

The table below shows the records of the AL division leaders and wild card contenders since the start of June.

Team	W-L	Pct.	GB	RS	RA	Pythag
Athletics	35-13	.729	--	276	170	35-13
White Sox	30-16	.652	4	250	200	28-18
Angels	29-18	.617	5.5	231	189	28-19
Yankees	25-21	.543	9	259	233	25-21
Red Sox	26-22	.542	9	260	236	26-22
Indians	26-23	.531	9.5	244	205	29-20
Tigers	26-24	.520	10	239	226	26-24
TWINS	24-24	.500	11	214	215	24-24
Blue Jays	21-25	.457	13	237	210	26-20
Orioles	19-28	.404	15.5	197	231	20-27
Rangers	18-29	.383	16.5	254	283	21-26

Besides the 3 current division leaders (Angels, White Sox, Red Sox), there are 8 teams within 5 games of the top of the wild card chase this morning. You can check the standings by scrolling down through the sidebar to the right.

Good News for the Twins:

While the Yankees have made a move on the inside this month, picking up 3 games on the Twins while posting a 13-7 record in July, the Red Sox have squandered their hot June (17-9) by stumbling to a 9-13 record this month, and the Orioles are falling apart at the seams. This morning, the Red Sox lead the Yankees in the East by just one game. So even if Stay-Puft continues to lead the Yankees upwards through the standings (as SBG has noted, Giambi is ripping the cover off the ball lately, batting .373/.519/1.017 in July), the Twins can help themselves in the wild card race by taking care of business with the BoSox in the next few weeks, possibly getting rid of the Yankee problem by opening the door for New York to reclaim the top spot in the East.

The Indians also have cooled off since posting a 17-10 record in June, falling to 9-13 while scoring even fewer runs than the Twins this month, believe it or not.

The Rangers look fried. The Jays are muddling along and underperforming badly on their run differential. The Tigers have only picked up a game on the Twins in the last seven weeks, and are still struggling to get above .500 on the season.

That's about it for the good news. Which brings us to the...

Bad News for the Twins:

First of all, of course, the offense isn't scoring runs. In that group of 11 contenders, only the Orioles have scored fewer runs since the start of June; and on the whole season, the Twins have the worst offense amongst the contenders. Even the Devil Rays have outscored our team. Yeah, baby. But lately the pitching hasn't been all that stellar, either. Note that since June began, the Twins rate a middling 6th in the Table of Contenders in runs allowed.

If you're disposed towards dismissing Cleveland and Toronto, it might cheer you to note that those are two of the clubs which have been stingier about allowing runs than the Twins of late. I suppose we can set aside thoughts about Chicago for awhile, too. But that leaves us with Anaheim and Oakland....

After the customary slow start on the season, the A's once again have kicked into their slash n' burn drive through the summer schedule. Since the start of June, they're playing .729 ball; nobody else is scoring more or allowing less runs; and they've made up 11 games on the Twins. Thirteen, if you want to start counting on June 10, and now stand a half-game ahead of our team in the wild card standings. Last night, the A's stomped C.C. Sabathia and the Indians by a 13-4 score. This is a team the Twins will be meeting seven times in the first two weeks of August. If the Minnesotas can't unpack their A-game out of April storage right quick, well, you see the problem.

The Twins don't seem to be in position to catch much relief if the A's go on to make up the five games needed to catch the Angels of Anaheim for the West lead, either. The LAA of A (AFL-CIO) have been playing some hot ball themselves the last seven weeks, featuring the 2nd stingiest pitching and defense in the league since June began. And the Twins have no more chances to square up with the Halos head-to-head. If the A's can charge unimpeded to the top of the West, the Angels still stand a good chance of taking the wild card fairly comfortably.

The Twins have to get it done against New York, Boston, and Oakland in the next few weeks. They can do a lot to help their own cause by tripping up the A's and sending the Red Sox reeling; and if the Twins wilt under the heat, it could be just as critical. This is it.

If there is the heart of a playoff team in Minnesota this year, it better start beating now.