American League Central: Predicting the Divsion Winner

Current Standings: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/

**NOTE** This was written on August 6th

CENTRAL:
Chicago               62-46
Minnesota            61-48
Detroit                 53-55
Kansas City         46-62
Cleveland             46-63


Going into the season, fans of Chicago (62-47), Minnesota (61-49) and Detroit (53-56) knew that their teams would probably be the only relevant AL Central contenders this year.

I'd say Detroit fans were wrong.

Although the Tigers were thought to contend with the White Sox and Twins right up until the end, they've recently forgot how to win a ballgame. And even when they suddenly remember, they forget how to string a few together. Sitting at 9 games back of the surging Twins and Sox in August is never a good time to first start remembering either.

So just like Kansas City (46-62) and Cleveland (47-63), Detroit can watch the race from the bench. Although the Royals and Indians are 7 and 7 1/2 games back of the Tigers, respectively, we can rightfully assume that all three of them can start their offseason a little early this year.

So now it's down to the white-hot White Sox or the dangerous Twins, who remain at just 1 1/2 back for the divsion lead.

The Twins just enjoyed a lengthy win streak at 8 games which spread from the end of last month to their first game in August. During that span, Twins catcher Joe Mauer hit a remarkable .500 (12-24), appearing in 6 games. But let's face it, that which streak was built by playing the Orioles, Royals, and Mariners. Eight straight wins is nice no matter who you play, but that must be taken into account when talking about contending with another team.

Meanwhile the Sox hold a record of 38-13 since June 8th, which is tops in the majors. They're also 9-2 in their last 11. Home and abroad, the Sox look nearly unbeatable. Especially at home, where they hold a record of 18-2 in their last 20 and 33-20 on the year. What do all these numbers culminate to? How about the fifth best win percentage in the majors (.574).

The Sox may have missed out on Lance Berkman, Manny Ramirez and Adam Dunn, but they seem to not be losing any sleep over it. Recent reports say the Sox may be interested in free-agent Carlos Delgado, a big lefty bat to help fill the Jim Thome void. Hitting 473 career homers, this 38-year-old slugger has been targeted by a few different teams, most notably both colored Sox. Whether the Sox get Delgado or not, there's no reason Mark Kotsay can't turn things around, as he showed last night with a 2-run jack to right center field and the eventual game winning two run triple in the same district.

I don't see the Twins giving up, but I don't see the Sox letting them back in first either. And even if they do, I would expect the resiliant ChiSox to turn up the jets and slide back in the top spot before the Twins even realized they occupied first. It'll be good, but I still expect the Sox to enjoy their second AL Central title in three years.