How the White Sox and Twins got to this point
Give some credit to all of the baseball geniuses out there. They were half right.
At the start of the season, the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians were widely tabbed to be fighting for the flag in the AL Central.
They sure were fighting at Cleveland last Friday night, but the blows between Indians starter Fausto Carmona and Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield were more out of frustration than fruition.
As for prepping for the playoffs, neither Detroit nor Cleveland ever panned out.
The White Sox and Twins, on the other hand, were given little chance to contend. But here it is - the final week of the regular season - and they both are looking down on the Tigers and Indians while jockeying for first place.
Heading into Tuesday night's opener of a big three-game series at the Metrodome, the Sox are riding a 2-game lead with six to play.
How did these two supposed overachievers get to this point? Here are five examples:
Young guns: The White Sox were generally picked to finish in fourth place, largely because novice starting pitchers John Danks and Gavin Floyd were expected to win maybe 18 games, at best, between them.
The duo has combined for 27 wins, and they both have sub-4.00 ERAs to boot.
The Twins were supposed to be devastated by Johan Santana's departure and Francisco Liriano's uncertain future following elbow surgery.
Instead, Glen Perkins (12-4, 4.50 ERA) and Kevin Slowey (12-11, 3.85) have stepped up while nearly matching the success of Danks and Floyd.
Stay with the plan: The White Sox were built on power, and they lead the American League with 223 home runs.
Carlos Quentin (fractured wrist) is likely done for the year, and Joe Crede (back) definitely is finished.
But the Sox still have Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and even Ken Griffey Jr., who only has 1 HR in 113 at-bats.
When the White Sox hit a home run in a game, they are 76-38.
The Twins are built to play at the Metrodome, and they can resemble a pinball machine when speed guys such as Denard Span and Carlos Gomez get on base and are knocked in by Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer.
Surprise, surprise: At the start of the season, the White Sox never dreamed Danks and Floyd would be so good as starting pitchers.
They never thought Quentin (. 288, 36 HR, 100 RBI) was going to be in the MVP race despite missing the final month with a bum wrist.
And they never thought ultra-lean Alexei Ramirez was going to develop into their best all-around player.
As for the Twins, they lost right fielder Michael Cuddyer to finger and foot injuries, but Span has been a revelation.
So has Gomez, who came over from the Mets in the Santana trade. And don't forget Perkins, Slowey and two other budding young starting pitchers - Scott Baker (9-4, 3.69 ERA) and Nick Blackburn (10-10, 4.15).
Home cooking: The Sox have had some rough patches away from U.S. Cellular Field, but they are 51-26 on their own turf. Only Tampa Bay (57-24) and Boston (52-22 heading into Monday) have been better in the AL.
The Twins (49-26) have the fourth-best home record in the league.
Behind the scenes: White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gets a lot of attention because he'll say just about anything at any time, usually with his unique flair.
But Guillen rarely gets credit for his baseball acumen, which is quite high. You don't play shortstop in the major leagues for 16 years without knowing a little something about the game.
Not many people likely know Ron Gardenhire has guided the Twins to four division titles in seven years on the job. Considering he lost Santana and Torii Hunter to free agency, Gardenhire might be doing his best managing job this season.