It's good to be in the AL Central

Don't let anyone fool you: the AL Central is a bad division. The NL Central was struggling for a little while, and early on the NL West looked to be the Dodgers and four sinkholes, but the American League Central is now clearly the worst division in the Majors.

If the Twins were in any other division, we'd have written them off long ago. In one case, in fact, they'd be as far behind as the Royals are in the Central.

AL East: 15.5 GB
AL Central: 4 GB
AL West: 13.5 GB
AL Wild Card: 10 GB

NL East: 9 GB
NL Central: 7.5 GB
NL West: 13 GB
NL Wild Card: 7.5 GB

I have no illusions--I saw what happened to the Twins when they played the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, and Angels this season. If they somehow win the division, they'll need more than answered prayers to win a postseason series. But you know what? That's fine, because a trip to the playoffs is what I hope for every year. Once you're there, you never know.