Twins face crucial test in four-game set vs. ChiSoxby Mark RothsteinSantana the key As recently as 2004 the Minnesota Twins were the class of the American League Central division, a low-budget team that always found its way into the playoffs alongside baseball's big spenders. However, the Twins were supplanted atop the Central by the White Sox last season, and in fact fell to third in the division behind the Indians as well. After the White Sox won the World Series, fans in Minnesota were left to wonder if they were going to get steamrolled in the division again in 2006. Not only were the ChiSox expected to be strong once more, but the young Cleveland team improved in leaps and bounds late last year and looked to be a solid contender for at least the AL Wild Card. For the quickest and easiest depositing methods available, sign-up today at BetUS.com, "for over 14 years they have been the Pioneers and World-wide Leaders in Online Sports, Poker, Casino and Racebook Gaming!" Always receive great odds, huge bonuses and fast payouts only at BetUS.com! BET ON FOOTBALL! Deposit $300 and get $100 in Bonuses! So what has happened so far in 2006? The worst fears of Twins fans have been realized, and then some. Not only are the White Sox playing red-hot baseball atop the division, but the Tigers have surprised everyone with a strong start to the season. The Indians haven't been great, but they're competitive and sitting around the .500 mark. Where does that leave Minnesota? Well, thanks to the predictably inept play of the Royals, the Twins are at least not in the Central Division basement. However, with a record below .500 (including a brutal mark against division opponents), Minnesota is a lot closer to the cellar than they are to the Central (and the Wild Card) leaders in the AL. And starting pitching has played a big role in the Twins' poor start in 2006. Team ace Johan Santana is 3-3 on the season, with a 3.69 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 46.1 innings pitched - not bad numbers, but not great ones either. They look stellar in comparison to those of Brad Radke though - the Twins' veteran No. 2 has an awful 7.75 ERA through seven starts this season, and opponents are batting a healthy .360 when he's pitching. Click here for the 2008 World Series betting odds and the 2008 baseball World Series predictions by Tom Morgan! As for the rest of the rotation, Scott Baker is 1-3 with a 4.67 ERA (and an opponent's batting average of .300), Carlos Silva is 2-5 with an 8.23 ERA (and an opponent's batting average of .355), and Kyle Lohse was 1-3 with a 9.71 ERA (and an opponent's batting average of .346) until a strong Wednesday start reduced those gaudy numbers. The Twins' bats haven't helped the team's cause much this season either. Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter are the only Minnesota batters with over five home runs to this point, and neither of them have good batting averages. Rondell White is hitting below .200, Tony Batista hasn't been driving in runs, Joe Mauer hasn't shown much power, and Lew Ford has done practically nothing at the plate for the Twins this year. And all that doesn't bode well for the Twins this weekend, as they play a four-game set at The Metrodome against the first-place White Sox. Friday's 8:10 pm ET start kicks off the series, with Game 2 on Saturday night at 7:10 pm ET, Game 3 on Sunday night at 8:05 pm ET, and the series-ending Game 4 going on Monday afternoon at 1:10 pm ET. In their three-game series earlier in the season (back in late April) the White Sox easily swept the Twins at home, winning by scores of 7-3, 9-2, and 7-1. Chicago had been listed as the favorite in all three of those contests, and all three games ended up as OVER plays thanks to the strong hitting of the Sox (and the poor pitching of the Twins). Minnesota will be looking to put forward a better performance than that this weekend, and get a couple of wins (or more) over the rival White Sox under their belts. It's still early in the season, but the Twins can't afford to get much farther behind in the standings, not if they hope to be playing meaningful games beyond the All-Star break. Comments or Questions? Email FaceOff@BetUS.com. --- by BetUSradio at 1800-sports.com on May 25, 2006
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