Are the Twins for Real?

And the White Sox thought they had only to worry about the Tigers.....

With a little more than a month to go in the baseball season, the race for the American League Central division is getting a little tighter, thanks to an impressive surge by the Minnesota Twins. The "Twinkies" got off to a slow start and were picked by most baseball experts to finish behind the Sox and the Cleveland Indians. While the Tigers have been one of the biggest surprises of the season, it's the Twins that have had the best record in the majors since early June.

After this weekend's games, the Tigers still lead the division, but the Twins have creeped to within five games and the Sox are five-and-a-half games back. Can the Twins keep it up? History tells us teams can stay hot only for so long. Eventually they do cool off. The Indians found that out last year. After getting hot in August and September, the Tribe cooled off during the last week of the season and lost the chance to make the playoffs.

Will the Twins suffer the same fate? They have a pesky group of hitters, solid defense, a good manager, and one of the best pitching staffs in the majors, led by Cy Young winner Johan Santana. But they may be facing a few challenges in the weeks ahead. Pitcher Brad Radke has been trying to pitch through a partially torn rotator cuff in his shoulder and may go on the disabled list. He would join Francisco Liriano, who has had shoulder problems and may not return to pitch this season. Without two key starters, the Twins could be in trouble for the stretch run.

Look for this division race to get even closer by the end of this week. The Sox square off this week with Tampa Bay, a team that could give the Sox problems if they're not careful. The Twins face Kansas City, another last place team like Tampa. Meanwhile, the Tigers will have their hands full with the Yankees.