One look at the AL Central division standings has a lot of people scratching their heads.
The order is almost the exact opposite from the end of 2010.
There are only two things still the same—Cleveland is about two games better than Kansas City and the Detroit Tigers find themselves in the middle of the division.
With so much talk about the improvements Chicago and Detroit made this offseason, they both find themselves looking up at the unlikely leaders of the division—the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals.
At the same time many Twins fans are lamenting the demise of their beloved club, wondering what in the world has gone wrong.
The truth. The Twins will be all right.
A quick scan over the opening three weeks and it really isn't surprising to find the Twins exactly where they are.
No, I haven't injured myself from banging my head against the wall in frustration while watching the Twins play this season.
I only needed to look back to last season and make a few comparisons.
So far in 2011 the Twins have played a total of 19 games with only five of them at Target Field. All of their road games have come against the American League East—without question one of the toughest divisions in baseball. It's certainly in the top two.
These circumstances combine where the Twins did the poorest in 2010—on the road and against the AL East.
Last season the Twins had the best home record in baseball at Target Field going 53-28, while going 41-40 on the road. They struggled against the AL East going 15-21.
Combine these, and a 5-9 record against the East on the road doesn't look so bad.
The Twins open a six-game homestand against the—this is really hard to type—the division-leading Cleveland Indians.
Six games where the Twins played very well last season, a team against whom they fared well, winning 12 of 18 games.
The Twins are a bit of a roll winning three of their past five games and getting their first two-game winning streak of the season.
Yes, the time is definitely right for the Minnesota Twins to turn things around. Let's hope the Cleveland Indians feel the same way!
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