The following appears in this week's Dugout Splinters insert, as part of GameDay Magazine. Once again, please forgive the formatting. May the Best Better Team Win With the Twins and the White Sox locked in a see-saw battle for first place in the AL Central, the winner may be the team that’s able to disguise its weaknesses. While Minnesota has been able to win by hitting well with runners in scoring position and by holding leads granted them by five young starting pitchers, the White Sox have been able to overcome their own deficiencies with power and some strong starting pitching of their own. But that’s what’s great about baseball—there’s no such thing as the “perfect team”. There are always strengths and weaknesses, and some teams are always better than others, but even for teams like the Yankees who routinely out-spend the Twins by more than 2:1 there isn’t such a thing as perfection. In this year’s AL Central race, the team that gets to 90 wins is likely to be the team that wins the division. It won’t be enough to win the Wild Card, which means that in 2008 there will be no consolation prize for second place. No doubt a little luck is always involved, but the Twins need to take care of their own business before hoping a bounce or two will go their way. 1. Stay Healthy. Nothing could damage the Twins’ play-off hopes more than having to absorb another major injury to a key player. Alexi Casilla will be back by ...
Anytime
