The End is Near?

It is 12:30 on October 4th. In 35 minutes the Tigers start their last regular season game of the year. Last night they lost to the White Sox and the Twins beat the Royals, so there is a tie between the Twins and Tigers for 1st place in the AL Central. The magic number is still 2. It hasn't moved all week. It was 2 after the Tigers and Twins split their four game series.

Going into the month of September the wisdom was that if the Tigers played .500 baseball they would win, unless the Twins played incredible baseball. Well, in the month of September the Twins have played solid baseball (16- 11) .591 and the Tigers played .571 baseball (16-12). Part of the problem is that the Twins have not had a losing streak of more than 3 games. The Tigers were very streaky at the beginning of September (6 W's followed by 5 L's). During that time the Twins went 4-7. Since then the Twins have played 15-5 (.750). The Tigers have played 8-10.

The point at the end of this proverbial stick is that we are not seeing a collapse on the part of the Tigers, this is the baseball they have played all year (actually September was their 2nd best month of the year). The Twins are playing way above their previous ability. I don't know if it's their manager or their system or the closing of the Dome. Regardless of the reason, the whole season comes down to today (and possibly Tuesday, but let's hope it doesn't get to that).

I am now going to get ready to watch The Game. Justin Verlander goes for his 19th win today, and a chance to win the pennant. Remember, nothing has changed all week- if the Tigers win and the Twins lose the Tigers clinch the AL Central crown.