If you’re a fan of the Chicago White Sox, you can stick a fork in your team at this point.
Coming into this week’s series with the Minnesota Twins, the Sox were six games out of the division lead and needed to take at least two out of three from the Twins in Chicago. The Sox had a chance to make a statement that the AL Central still would be a two team race, but instead it was the Twins who made a statement.
Winning two out of three in Chicago would have given the Twins a comfortable seven game lead in the division, but they instead made a bigger statement that they are in the running as a strong contender to finish the season with the best record in baseball.
Despite Paul Konerko having arguably the best season of his career and the late season addition of outfielder Manny Ramirez (who hasn’t added any power to the lineup since joining Chicago) the White Sox should find themselves out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Even without Justin Morneau, the Twins have played terrific baseball in the season’s second half, winning 74% of their games including an impressive 12-2 record so far in September. With terrific and somewhat surprising efforts from Jim Thome and Carl Pavano this year, the Twins have jumped out to the second largest division lead in all of baseball.
Of course you can’t forget about Joe Mauer, the Twins leader has continued to play exceptionally well, hitting .331 with a .880 OPS. Although his numbers aren’t as impressive as during last year’s MVP campaign, Mauer leads the Twins in WAR and should continue to lead the team throughout the playoffs.
For the Twins, sweeping Chicago means more than essentially clinching the division. They now sit just a half game back of the Rays for the best record in the American League and will have a chance to clinch home field advantage over the coming weeks. The Twins currently have the best home record in the American League, so home field advantage could mean a lot in the ALCS.
Sweeping the White Sox wasn’t a just a statement that they own the AL Central this year; it was a statement that the rest of the AL better watch out come October.
Used with permission of the author.
Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.
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