Thursday, September 4, 2008

Twins stay in race despite themselves

The Twins were shellacked 9-0 at Toronto for a their ninth loss in the last 12 games. It's become a similar story throughout this long roadtrip for the Twins: no hitting, uncharacteristically poor hitting and a weak bullpen.

Somehow, though, Minnesota remains in second place in the AL Central, trailing the equally (recently) woeful Chicago White Sox by just 1.5 games.

It's difficult to keep the faith as a Twins fan. Simply put, it seems the team cannot get over the ridge on the Sox. But the next 12 games will be important. The upcoming games include a three-game series with the now-deflated Tigers, three with the woeful KC Royals, three with the terrible Orioles and three more with the clunky Indians. Winning nine of those games (a .750 clip) wouldn't be unheard of, but taking seven (.583) could be enough to put the Twins in first place heading into the final 10 games (four with Tampa Bay) and in a position to keep the chance of a playoff berth alive.

That was a difficult road trip for the Twins and fans alike. If the team can pull off a handful of games in the next two weeks, the past two weeks can be all but forgotten.

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