As near as we can tell with just a quick glance, the Twins have never had a smoldering-hot stretch this season. The closest string that we can find came in roughly the second quarter of the season when Minnesota went from being 18-23 to 43-40 -- a 25-17 clip that constitutes good, but hardly "hot" baseball.

With 18 of their next 25 at home, though, and with Detroit and Chicago facing some reasonable tests, this is pretty much the last gasp for the Twins. They have won five out of six to pull within 4.5 games of first. Do you believe they have it in them to extend that run and really get back in this thing, or are there just too many holes regardless of how the schedule is laid out?

Put it another way: if Detroit plays .500 the rest of the way and finishes with 84-85 wins (and presuming the White Sox are similarly mediocre), can the Twins go 24-14 or 25-13 in their final 38 -- which would be a run of 29-15 or 30-14 counting what they've already won -- to sneak out an AL Central championship?