Kuzul

For Minnesota, the magic number for clinching the American League Central title (8) is smaller than the Twins’ lead in the division (9).

Since the All-Star break no one has been better than the Twins this year—and over the past 50 years there are only two teams that have been this good. 

At 88-58, they are but one half-game from the best record in all of baseball and home-field advantage through the American League Championship Series.

The Twins are near the top of the team leader boards for defense, offense and pitching. 

Their .278 batting average is tied with the Rangers for tops in the league.

They have the second-best fielding percentage of .988, behind the Yankees’ .989. 

Their team ERA is 3.77, second only to the Oakland A’s at 3.59. 

Include the inaugural season of Target Field, and all of this points to a potential third World Series championship for the Minnesota Nine.

Yet something just doesn’t feel right.

Here’s my look at five things that just “feel” wrong, and an attempt to change that—in my own mind, at least.

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Coming into this week’s series against the Chicago White Sox, it was a do-or-die situation for the Sox. They needed to take at least two from the Twins to stay afloat in the American League Central pennant race.

The Twins went ahead and stepped on the head of the White Sox. Race over.

Even though the Twins haven’t technically won the AL Central, it’s now just a matter of time before the Twins officially clinch the Central with a “magic number” of eight combined Twins wins and White Sox loses.

However, now is not the time to shift into neutral and coast to the finish. There is still a lot at stake.

It’s no secret that the Twins have struggled mightily against the New York Yankees in both the regular season and the playoffs in the past decade. This year hasn’t been any different. The Twins need to do everything possible to avoid playing the Yankees.

Avoiding the Yankees will not be easy if not impossible. With that being said, the Twins need to bring the Yankees, or any other team to them.

The Twins need home field advantage.

As of Friday morning, the Twins are tied for the best record in the American league with the Tampa Bay Rays. Having the best record in the league equates to home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Coming in second means possibly having home field advantage only in the first round.

If the season were to end right now, the Twins would have the Yankees in the opening round at Target Field and the Rays and Rangers would match up with the Rays gaining home field in that series. If the Twins and Rays were to both advance, the Rays would have home field advantage in the American League Championship Series.

What does that all mean?

Even if the Twins do have the central under their control, they still have to play for playoff positioning. 

Although resting the ever-day players is a must, there has to be a happy medium between resting the starters and still being competitive. Luckily, the Twins are done playing competitive and will finish the season playing the Oakland A’s (3 games), Cleveland Indians (3 games), Detroit Tigers (3 games), Kansas City Royals (3 games), and the Toronto Blue Jays (4 games). Ten of the 16 games are at Target Field, as well.

In other words, the Twins are in prime position to still win games with their “B” squad in the game against these much lesser opponents. You couldn’t draw it up any better for the Twins to end the season.

Jason Kubel will have a chance to get his wrist to 100%, Mauer can get a few more days off, and the rotation can get an extra day or two to rest. All of which and more is very much needed to have a good playoff run.

All in all, the Twins need to keep on fighting in effort to lock up great positing for the playoffs. Let the Yankees, Rays, or Rangers come to Minnesota and deal with the hottest team in baseball at their brand-new stadium.

Joe Mauer hitting an opposite field double; Jim Thome crushing hanging sliders out of the yard; Francisco Liriano baffling hitters with his slider.

All of that and hopefully more fireworks has to happen at Target Field as much as possible during the playoffs.

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We have finally reached the payoff portion of the fantasy baseball season: the playoffs! It’s been a grueling 22-week season, but if you’re lucky enough to still be reading fantasy baseball articles, now is the time to really ramp it up.

This is the point in the year where one hot bat could decide your season—or a dead-armed pitcher could ruin it no matter how well his team has done thus far. Below are ten guys who are either destroying your championship dreams or carrying you to the promised land.

And just a heads up, next week will be the final By The Numbers of 2010, so we’ll be going through some of my hits and misses way back from my Mock Draft Reports in the preseason. Be sure to tune in!

Four

That is the Yahoo! rank over the past two weeks for Neil Walker. The Pirates second baseman has been on fire, blasting five home runs and driving in 16 runs. Many had no idea that Walker had been batting third for Pittsburgh for some time, and he’s clearly been taking advantage of the lineup.

The home runs are a huge surprise, considering he only had five for the season prior to this most recent hot stretch. But it’s important to realize that he wasn’t a slouch either, batting in the .300 range for most of the season. He is exactly the kind of random spark plug to add a few home runs and bring your team a title.

Two

Rafaeul Furcal has had two stolen bases since returning from the DL on September 3rd. The fact that he is already active on the base paths is a great sign that he is over his back issues and needs to be plugged back into lineups immediately, especially considering he had a 3-4 game on Monday.

When healthy, he can be one of the best shortstops in fantasy. He provides a high batting average (.316), stolen bases (nine seasons of 20+ stolen bases), and even a bit of power, exhibited by his five home runs in July. All owners, and especially those of the day-to-day Elvis Andrus, need to make sure their league is not one of the 25% in which he is available.

600

That’s the number of career saves by Trevor Hoffman, who achieved the feat Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. An absolutely huge feat that could not have come any sooner, as his struggled throughout the season. Not to mention, the emergence of John Axford significantly delayed the accomplishment longer than anyone expected.

As a result, his 600th save may be his last; the Brewers really have no reason to go with the Hoff over Axford from here on out. This should give Axford a boost down the stretch and essentially makes Hoffman waiver fodder, and subsequently less likely to reemerge ever again. Bow your heads baseball fans, a legend like Hoffman doesn’t come around every day.

You can’t resist reading more…

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife had shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at BrunoBoys.net.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@gmail.com or through his Twitter page.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With 18 home runs for the season going into Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers, there was no doubt that Jim Thome would advance up the all-time home run list.

Just as he did to surpass former Minnesota Twin Harmon Killebrew, Thome blasted two home runs at Target Field, to tie and then move past Mark McGwire for ninth place on the all-time home run list.

Thome led off the bottom on the third inning with a solo shot off Rangers‘ pitcher Colby Lewis. He pulled an 0-1 fastball into the upper-deck seats in right field tying him with McGwire with 583 round-trippers.

In his next at bat in the bottom of the fourth, Thome worked the count to 3-2, and drove a curve ball off Lewis into the bullpen for a three-run home run, giving him eighth place on the all-time list to himself.   

With 584 homers, Thome has his sites set on Frank Robinson, who is next on the list with 586 home runs.

Due to a stiff back, Thome had been limited to a single pinch-hit appearance in the current home stand before returning to the lineup as the DH, going hitless in four appearances on Friday. 

Thome has been a great addition to the Minnesota Twins this season. In his twentieth season, he has provided a veteran presence in the clubhouse. With Justin Morneau out since the All-Star break, Thome has been the primary home-run supplier for the first place Twins. 

Thome’s 20 home runs this season leads the Twins. He has been averaging a home run every 11.8 at bats.

Used by manager Ron Gardenhire on a semi-regular basis as the Twins’ DH, the Twins need to extend Thome’s contract for next season. With how effective the 40 year-old Thome has been, there is no doubt he can be a factor for at least another year. 

Gentleman Jim has been a class act, not only this season for the Minnesota Twins, but for his entire career.

Even though there are those who hold the fact he will finish his career as a designated hitter against him, Thome should be a first ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Congratulations Jim Thome!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

A few weeks ago, Bleacher Report’s MLB Featured Columnists celebrated the 2010 Hall of Fame inductions with a mock vote of our own to see who really belonged in Cooperstown. It became one of our most popular polls to date and was far and away the most hotly debated.

Last week, we did something similar, but with a twist: Instead of voting on players who are already retired, I took 10 current players who are nearing the ends of their careers and asked who among them would be worthy of Cooperstown if they all hung up their cleats tomorrow.

These aren’t sure-thing players like Chipper Jones or Derek Jeter, or guys like Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez whose main obstacles to induction would be PEDs. They’re stars, but not legends—Jim Edmonds, Vladimir Guerrero, Todd Helton, Trevor Hoffman, Andruw Jones, Andy Pettitte, Scott Rolen, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, and Billy Wagner.

Included in each slide are the players’ vote totals (75 percent is required for induction, which means 18 votes here), and explanations from two different writers: one who voted for him and one who did not.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated! I hope this poll inspires as much debate as the last one did.

Note: I sent this survey only to the Featured Columnists who have been active in previous polls. If you are a new FC or you have changed your mind about wanting to participate, send me a message and I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop for next time!

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Celebrity gossip reporter, Perez Hilton, posted on his website that Alex Rodriguez broke a home run world record on Wednesday afternoon. (Sorry, I thought Perez Hilton breaking the A-Rod story is funnier and more entertaining then Peter Gammons doing so.)

Now, I am not breaking any news—neither is Hilton—but Alex Rodriguez, 35, smashed his 600th home run at Yankee Stadium.

With the blast, which was hit against Blue Jays pitcher Shaun Marcum, Rodriguez became the youngest player, seventh overall, in MLB history to hit 600 home runs.

What’s interesting about Rodriguez’s milestone, which is a major accomplishment, is nobody cares…well, at least not a lot—according to The Dan Patrick Show’s non-scientific poll on Thursday, 70 percent of listeners said they didn’t care.

On Thursday, sports talk shows talked about A-Rod’s dinger, his place in history, what No. 600 means nowadays, and steroids.

However, tomorrow, Brett Farve’s non-retirement retirement will be the headline on ESPN.

This wouldn’t be the case 25 years ago.

I have a mixed take on whether this is right or wrong.

On one side, I think it’s fair punishment for steroid users such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Rodriguez.

This is what happens when you get an edge. It’s much like LeBron James winning a title in Miami instead of Cleveland. Yes, LeBron’s chances of winning multiple titles are greater in a Heat uniform. But those six titles in Miami won’t equal the title he’d have earned Cleveland. LeBron’s edge with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh hinder the value of his possible titles.

The truth is, when people have to struggle to reach their goals, the satisfaction is greater.

Fans also appreciate milestones more when there’s nothing attached—just think of Craig Biggio’s race to 3,000th hits, which was hyped up during spring training, covered endlessly during the season, and celebrated for months after it was reached.

Biggio was the 27th player in MLB history to reach the milestone. A-Rod is the seventh player in history to hit 600 homers.

How much coverage did A-Rod’s race to 600 get during spring training? How much during the season? How much will it get after?

I follow MLB very regularly. I watch Yankee games consistently.

At around 599 is when I heard about A-Rod’s 600—unfortunately for Rodriguez, that was 46 at bats ago. The delay between 599 and 600 hindered the anticipation. By the time Rodriguez hit 600, New York fans were moving onto the AL East pennant race.

The truth: General baseball fans stopped caring about home-run milestones after Bonds and Sosa.

Which brings me to the other side of the story.

What happens when Jim Thome (39 years old, 577 HRs), Manny Ramirez (38 years old, 554 HRs), Albert Pujols (30 years old, 393 HRs) and, possibly Adam Dunn (30 years old, 344 HRs) march toward 600 then 700?

Do fans begin to switch opinions on home-run records?

Ramirez, who has been caught using steroids, is a bad example. Currently, Thome needs just 23 dingers, Dunn is on pace to hit more than 40 home runs for the seventh time in eight seasons, and Pujols will surpass 400 homers by season’s end.

It would be hypocritical for fans to support Thome, Pujols, Dunn, and not Rodriguez because we aren’t 100-percent sure if the threesome played clean. (It’s acceptable if a fan supports the three because they like them more than Rodriguez.)

Another interesting question is, if the trend of pitching continues will the value of the home run rise again?

From 1992-2009, hitters owned the game. This isn’t the case this season and some experts, like Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci, thinks the trend will continue.

MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince wrote on Thursday, that Rodriguez could be the last to hit 600 homers:

“Rodriguez’s path, then, was a circumvented one, and it could be a long, long time before anyone comes within striking distance of 600 so quickly.

If Thome’s body holds up, maybe he’ll join the club. Ramirez might do it, too. But after that, the wait between entries could be a bit more in line with the historical flow, rather than the recent flood. Club 600 could become the little hideaway that it once was.”

The future will answer all of my questions.

I’ll admit, I’m would like to move past the PED era and root for hitters to silence critics during a pitching-dominant era, which I think will continue for many seasons.

However, I know in the back of fans’ minds—I’ll admit mine, too—there will be doubt about how many of Player X’s homers were legitimate.

The good thing is, time heals most wounds and, like any free market, the value of the home run will return.

Unfortunately for Rodriguez, his 600th came during a home-run market crash. He’ll need to hope that when 700 is in reach, the market returns and fans, once again, appreciate the milestone’s rightful value.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Here’s a quick look at last week’s Fantasy Baseball top performing, least owned players on the waiver wire.

Jim Thome hit four homers. Clint Barmes’ hit streak continues. Max Scherzer dominates yet again. Dexter Fowler is back and on a mission. Can they really keep it up for another week?

Check out who’s a Must or a Bust.

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It was just a matter of when Jim Thome would tie, and then surpass Harmon Killebrew for 10th place on the all-time home run list—not if.

With two outs in the bottom the second, on hot and humid Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, Thome drove a 1-0 fastball off of Tampa Bay Rays’ pitcher Wade Davis 345 feet to left field for his 573rd home run in his 20-year career.

Then in the bottom of the fourth inning, again with two outs, on the very next pitch he saw from Davis, Thome drove another fastball into the Twins’ bullpen in left-center for his 574th home run, giving him 10th place all to himself.

The game was briefly stopped while a recorded congratulatory message from Killebrew was broadcast on the scoreboard.

The home runs are his ninth and 10th of the season, his first with the Minnesota Twins and the 20th of his career.

Now Thome finds himself only nine homers behind Mark McGwire for the nine spot on the list.

Thome has taken advantage of increased playing time during the Twins’ home stand as the Twins’ designated-hitter.  He has four home runs in five games against Detroit and Tampa Bay.  

With Michael Cuddyer seeing considerable playing time at third base, and Jason Kubel playing right field, Thome has provided a huge power surge as the Twins’ DH, coming when the team badly needed a lift as the Twins hit the half-way point of the season.

Congratulations, Jim Thome!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Jim Thome is on the brink of a historic milestone. With his next home run, the 573rd of his career, he will tie Harmon Killebrew for 10th place all-time on the major league home run list.

The Twins have had a knack of signing veteran players just in time to make history.

On September 16, 1993 Dave Winfield became the 19th member of the 3,000 Hit Club with a single against the Oakland A’s. It was Winfield’s 20th season and first of two he played for the Minnesota Twins.

Three years later to the date, Paul Molitor became the 21st player to hit 3,000 hits with a triple against Kansas City. It was Molitor’s first of three seasons with Minnesota.

Now in the 20th season of his career, and first with the Twins, Thome is poised to complete a Hall of Fame career.  

It seems only fitting that Thome should surpass Killebrew’s home-run total wearing a Minnesota Twins’ uniform—a team Killebrew played 21 of his 22 major league seasons for.

The Twins are Thome’s fifth team in his 20th season in the majors. He broke into the majors in 1991 with the Cleveland Indians, a team he would play with for 12 years.

Thome has been a great player and teammate everywhere he’s played.

In a 2003 Cleveland Plain Dealer fan poll, Thome was named the most popular athlete in Cleveland sports history. (2003 was LeBron James’ first year with the Cavaliers—if he re-signs with the Cavs, without a doubt, if he is not already, James will be the most popular Cleveland athlete ever!)

After the 2002 season Thome signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia.

In his first season with the Phillies, Thome led the Senior Circuit in home runs with 47. At the time this was one shy of Mike Schmidt’s team record of 48. (Ryan Howard now holds the Philly season record with 58 home runs in 2006.)

After playing three years for the Phillies from 2003-2005, Thome’s popularity with the Philadelphia fans was still evident on June 19th of this year.

Thome received a standing ovation at Citizens Bank Park after hitting a two-run, pinch-hit, home run in the ninth inning.

After three seasons in Philadelphia, the emergence of Howard made Thome expendable and he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in November 2005. 

In April 2005, as the White Sox designated hitter, he set a team record for the most home runs in a month with 10.   

When he signed with the Twins for the 2010 season he knew his playing time would be limited, and he accepted this role with no complaints. 

As a future Hall-of-Famer, there’s no doubt that his presence has had a positive influence in the Twins’ clubhouse.

He has made the most of his opportunity, appearing in 53 of the Twins’ 78 games, and accumulating 117 at bats thus far.

Coming off of a nine-game, interleague road trip, where Thome had the one home run with only five at bats, he hit a home run in the first two games as the DH against the Detroit Tigers, back home at Target Field. 

Thome is currently third on the Twins with eight home runs, averaging a home run every 14.6 AB. This ratio is better than that of Justin Morneau who is leading the club with 16 home runs, and averages a HR every 17 at-bats.

If this is Thome’s last season it will mirror Killebrew’s in a couple of ways:

They will have hit their 573rd home run at the age of 39.

Their careers will have ended with another team within the division where their career started.

And both will be remembered at great players and good men.

Good Luck Jim Thome—here’s hoping your 573rd home run is hit at Target Field.  

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Most of the greatest players of all time spent the final year or few years on teams for whom they did not spend their entire careers, and it just didn’t seem right.

Whether it was Willie Mays with the Mets, Hank Aaron with the Brewers, Babe Ruth with the Braves, or Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Eddie Collins with the Athletics, seeing iconic players in some strange team’s uniform is always unsettling, like when your grandfather needs help going to the bathroom.

Guess what? Major League Baseball currently sports a gaggle of such players. Let’s have a look.

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