Twins still have some life left
Minnesota knocks off Detroit, trails Tigers by two with three games left
DETROIT -- The Minnesota Twins have a smorgasbord of events in store for the Metrodome's farewell weekend. When fans aren't enjoying the Target Field calendar giveaway and watching Frank Viola throw out the ceremonial first pitch Saturday, they'll be posing for souvenir photos alongside franchise mainstays both celebrated (Bert Blyleven and Gary Gaetti) and obscure (sorry, Scott Leius and Steve Lombardozzi).
At least we know that Friday's series opener against Kansas City will be relevant. After that, Minnesota's team pulse is day-to-day.
The Twins lack a front-of-the-rotation horse and aren't the same club without Justin Morneau in the lineup, but they've cornered the market on spunk. In an 8-3 victory over Detroit on Thursday, they survived four errors, 10 runners left on base, a bench-clearing incident in the ninth inning and a bizarre sequence in which they had to restrain outfielder Delmon Young from charging his own dugout to get a shot at reliever Jose Mijares.
At least the Twins didn't have to suffer the indignity of hanging over the dugout rail and watching the Tigers have a pig-pile in the infield.
"If they win the division, I'll tip my hat off to them," Minnesota outfielder Denard Span said. "But I definitely didn't want to see them celebrate on us. I had a chance to see Chicago do it last year, and that's just not a good feeling."
Call it a long-shot opportunity for Minnesota or a mere formality for Detroit, but the American League Central race endures.
After Detroit extended its division lead to three games Wednesday behind the pitching of rookie Eddie Bonine, the Twins cut the margin to two on a day when control artist and 15-game winner Scott Baker needed 105 pitches to get through five innings. The third base tandem of Brendan Harris and Matt Tolbert combined for three errors. And Young blew a gasket after a brain cramp by Mijares.
Maybe the baseballs were just slippery. Baker got the animosity started by hitting Marcus Thames with a pitch, and later buzzed him with a fastball high and tight. In the bottom of the eighth, Mijares threw a pitch behind Detroit shortstop Adam Everett.
Young, leading off the top of the ninth, wasn't pleased when the Tigers' Jeremy Bonderman drilled him in the back of the leg with a fastball. During the subsequent scrum, Young pointed angrily toward the Minnesota dugout as the veins bulged in his neck; he was upset with Mijares for precipitating the exchange. It was a family dispute of "Jon & Kate" proportions.
"He wasn't upset with [the Tigers]. He was upset with one of our teammates," Span said. "He was thinking about the whole inning before that and realizing he was on deck. I'm just glad it wasn't me coming up."
When Twins first baseman Michael Cuddyer was asked what might have transpired if Young had actually reached the Minnesota dugout, he replied, "Nothing good." Reporters laughed, but there was nothing humorous about the incident as it unfolded.
In hindsight, the Twins made no effort to conceal that Mijares was in the wrong. Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire even apologized to Detroit's Jim Leyland for the incident.
"Our pitcher lost his cool out there, made a mistake and threw a ball behind a guy," Gardenhire said. "We screwed up. Our guy just lost his composure. I have no clue what he did or why he let the ball fly like that. It's all been taken care of."
Closer Joe Nathan said the incident would give the Twins something to joke about on the charter flight home. By Friday, the dispute will be out of both teams' systems, and they'll focus on what promises to be an entertaining weekend of baseball. The Tigers stay home for three games with the White Sox, and the Twins return to Minneapolis for three against the Royals.
Gardenhire said that he had no plans to call White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to offer his support, but that he might leave an encouraging note in the visiting manager's office at Comerica Park.
"Go Ozzie," Gardenhire said.
Said Twins catcher Mike Redmond: "It's kind of funny when you think about it, that the White Sox could play a huge role in our playoff hopes. You gotta pull for those guys. But on the other hand, we've got to take care of our own business. We have to win three games in a row."
Recent history is hard to ignore. In 2006, the Tigers entered the final weekend of the season tied for first with the Twins. Detroit proceeded to allow 28 runs in three games and got swept by Kansas City at Comerica.
The Twins dropped two in a row before Carlos Silva -- remember him? -- beat the White Sox's Javier Vazquez 5-1 in the regular-season finale to give Minnesota the division title. The Twins bowed out against Oakland in the playoffs, and the wild-card Tigers advanced all the way to the World Series before losing to St. Louis.
Many of the players from that Minnesota team are gone, and the ones still around aren't exactly counting on déjà vu miracle scenarios. But a long-shot team can dream, can't it?
"If you've been around this game long enough, like I have, you've seen the crazy stuff," Redmond said. "Something different happens almost every day in this game. Sure, it's a long shot, but at least it's still a shot."
Minnesota's starting rotation is running on fumes. The Twins will send out rookie Jeff Manship on Friday, then start Nick Blackburn on short rest Saturday and rookie Brian Duensing on Sunday. The Royals will counter with Lenny DiNardo, Zack Greinke and Luke Hochevar.
Yeah, that Zack Greinke. He's looking to put the capper on his Cy Young candidacy, and he just dominated the Twins over seven innings in a 4-1 Kansas City victory last weekend.
As if Greinke weren't enough of an obstacle, the Twins will have to sweep Kansas City amid some Olympic-caliber scoreboard-watching. All the tension and chaos of a pennant race has been crammed into a 48-hour period.
"You can't be consumed by their games, but you can definitely pay attention," Cuddyer said. "I'd be lying to you if I said I won't be looking at the scoreboard every time I run out on the field."
Jerry Crasnick covers baseball for ESPN.com. His book "License To Deal" was published by Rodale. Click here to order a copy. Jerry can be reached via e-mail.
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