Twins Versus White Sox: The Tale of the Tape

Last week, we looked at the NL East race pitting the Mets against the Phillies, a rematch of the 2007 division chase. We’re back with another tale of the tape, this time comparing the two combatants in the tight AL Central race: the White Sox and Twins.RELATED: Phillies Versus Mets: The Tale of the TapeSTARSWhite Sox: Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Bobby Jenks, John DanksTwins: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan, Francisco LirianoWhen Carlos Quentin slammed his hand against his bat after fouling off a Cliff Lee pitch last week, he may have cost the White Sox a playoff spot — and almost surely cost himself the AL MVP award. With their best player out for the season, Chicago’s down to two very good but not great sluggers, with Dye and Thome putting up good numbers that are still below the peak efforts of both 30-something players. Jenks has reinvented himself as a low-strikeout, high-efficiency closer and the anchor of a very good White Sox bullpen. Danks joined Quentin in providing a huge breakout season that’s lifted the Sox into first place and Danks into the role of staff ace at age 23.The Justin Morneau-MVP talk needs to go away; he wasn’t the best or most valuable player in the league in 2006, and he isn’t now. In fact, Mauer’s the best player on either team, and the linchpin of a Twins squad that’s loaded with players who help the offense without the benefit of major power. Nathan is what he’s always been: One of the elite closers in baseball. Liriano has returned to vintage 2006 form, going 5-0 with a 1.44 ERA since returning from a minor league exile that lasted far too long. He’s also the guy most likely to toss a shutout in a late-season tilt between these two teams — or any other time, for that matter.Advantage: TwinsSIDEKICKSWhite Sox: Alexei Ramirez, Paul Konerko, Nick Swisher, Gavin Floyd, Mark Buehrle, Javier VazquezTwins: Jason Kubel, Delmon Young, and the entire starting rotation after Francisco LirianoBoth teams have built deep, effective starting rotations. Floyd has joined Danks in delivering a breakout season, even if his high home runs-allowed total and weirdly low hits-allowed total belie his 15-6, 3.72 mark a bit. Buehrle and Vazquez profile much better as reliable mid-rotation veterans instead of staff aces. Meanwhile, the Twins have gotten great contributions from what ranked as one of the greenest pitching staffs in the game at the start of the year. Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey have pitched so well that they both might be a better fit in the Stars category than in this one. Nick Blackburn is a dark-horse Rookie of the Year candidate, and Glen Perkins is the best number-five starter any team could ever hope to have.The White Sox get the edge on the hitting side. Konerko and Swisher have improved after starting the year in Mendoza country (though Konerko’s still battling injuries). The big story has been Ramirez, the lanky Cuban second baseman who may walk away with Rookie of the Year honors following Evan Longoria’s late-summer injury. After Kubel, the Twins lack power in supporting roles, with Delmon Young a big disappointment given his anemic total of nine homers — especially when measured against the banner year Matt Garza has had for the Rays, after being dealt for Young in a six-player swap last off-season.Advantage: White Sox, by a noseSCRUBSWhite Sox: Scott Linebrink, Matt Thornton, D.J. CarrascoTwins: Denard Span, Brian Buscher, Alexi CasillaThe White Sox have garnered yeoman’s work from the set-up combination of Linebrink, Thornton, and Carrasco, combining with Jenks to turn every game into a six-inning affair — if you don’t take a lead on the White Sox after six, you’re almost certainly going to lose. But as far as their lineup goes, the Sox lack the kind of castoffs and minor league veterans who define this category.Not so for the Twins, who count Span (.306 AVG/.387 OBA/.439 SLG) and Buscher (.306/.340/.415). Both players haven’t slowed down lately either, rapping out three hits each in a Tuesday night win that drew Minnesota to within a game of first place. Buscher’s got another check mark on his resume this year, albeit one that’s a product of good luck more than anything else: His 45 RBI in 193 at-bats this season give him the highest ratio of runs batted in per AB in baseball this season, making Buscher the Pied Piper of a Twins team that’s hit better in clutch situations than any team in the game — a big reason for their overall success.Advantage: TwinsBIGGEST SURPRISEThe vast majority of pundits picked the Tigers or Indians to win the division, with the Sox and Twins supposedly resigned to a battle for third place. Chicago did have a core of solid veterans in place, with Thome, Dye, Konerko, Buehrle, Vazquez, Jenks, and company expected to be fixtures. They are where they are because of four rookies or near-rookies: Danks, Floyd, Ramirez, and Quentin.The Twins arguably had more strikes against them coming into this season and surely did as games got under way. Johan Santana was shipped out of town, with the Twins getting 58 cents on the dollar for him. Liriano struggled badly in April, then spent half the year in the minors. Young hasn’t panned out the way Twins hoped — there’s still lots of time for improvement, just maybe not this year. Michael Cuddyer, expected to be the third banana in the Twins lineup behind Mauer and Morneau, has missed half the season and seen his bat sapped by injuries. To be where they are ranks as a minor miracle and a tribute to the Twins’ stellar scouting and player development staff.Advantage: TwinsVERDICTIf Quentin were still in the White Sox lineup, Chicago would have the edge. But no team can lose an MVP-caliber player and not feel some pain from the loss. In Chicago’s case, that pain has been felt with a three-game losing streak and the Twins climbing to just a game back in the AL Central heading into last night’s action. The schedules look similar, with the Twins’ four-game set at Tampa later this month somewhat offset by Minnesota playing lowly Kansas City through today, while the White Sox battle scorching hot Toronto.The tiebreaker could be the starting rotations. The White Sox can’t go five deep the way the Twins can, not with rookie Clayton Richard trying to hold down the no. 5 spot. Meanwhile, Liriano looks like one of the most unbeatable pitchers in the game right now, along with Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Tim Lincecum. Even though they still trail in the standings, the Twins look like the team to beat.Advantage: TwinsMr. Keri (jonahkeri@gmail.com) is a writer for ESPN.com’s Page 2.

Twins Versus White Sox: The Tale of the Tape

Twins Versus White Sox: The Tale of the Tape

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