Twins will have to earn their celebration

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Nick Punto spoke to reporters at the Metrodome on Monday after the Chicago White Sox forced a one-game playoff on Tuesday.

The Twins will face the White Sox today in a one-game playoff at U.S. Cellular Field -- where they are 2-7 this season.

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: September 30, 2008 - 9:22 AM

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TWINS REACTION

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Twins players gathered at the Metrodome on Monday to watch the White Sox play Detroit and, they hoped, celebrate an American League Central Division championship.

But by the end of Chicago's 8-2 victory over the Tigers, a stream of vehicles already was headed to the airport so players could catch a charter for Chicago. The Twins will face the White Sox tonight in a one-game playoff at U.S. Cellular Field -- where they are 2-7 this season -- to determine which team moves on to play Tampa Bay in the division series.

"We've played good against Chicago this year," said Twins shortstop Nick Punto, one of only a few players still around the clubhouse as the final outs were recorded. "It is a little different in this Metrodome than it is there, but we feel real confident in the way we are playing right now. We look forward to beating [Chicago manager] Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox."

The convoy to the airport began shortly after Chicago's Alexei Ramirez belted Gary Glover's first pitch in the sixth inning into the left-field seats for his fourth grand slam of the season and a 6-2 White Sox lead.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't kick myself," Punto said of his reaction to Ramirez's homer. "You get a little upset. It is what it is. We've got business to take care of in Chicago and that's the bottom line."

The plan was for the Twins to meet at the Dome to watch the game. They would celebrate a division title if Chicago lost or prepare to play the White Sox if they beat the Tigers. Either way, equipment was packed and stacked in the hallway outside the clubhouse by midday, ready to be shipped. The Twins just didn't know the destination: the Windy City or the Big Guava.

It didn't help that the game was delayed 3 hours, 4 minutes because of heavy rain in the Chicago area. An e-mail blast sent to Twins players informed them of the delay, so the clubhouse was only partially filled in early afternoon.

Elsewhere in the Dome, workers slowly transformed the field from baseball to football, as the Gophers prepared to play host to Indiana on Saturday.

Twins lefthander Jose Mijares, who probably could walk on to head coach Tim Brewster's squad right now, walked around the field while the goalposts were erected. Nick Blackburn also popped out for a look as he talked on a cell phone.

Twins righthander Kevin Slowey, who was hit on the right wrist by a line drive Thursday, went onto the field to play some catch as he works his way back from the injury.

The rest of the team slowly gathered during afternoon, played cards, relaxed -- and watched in unison as a one-game showdown for the postseason developed in front of their eyes. (Media members were not allowed in the clubhouse during the White Sox game.) Now the Twins must prove they can pitch well at The Cell, where they were outscored 40-15 during a four-game series in June.

The White Sox clearly were uncomfortable playing at the Dome last week, where they were swept in three games. Chicago lefthander Mark Buehrle, during an interview on ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago on Monday, expects the tables to be turned on the Twins in front of a sellout crowd.

"I think if we were going there I wouldn't like our chances as much as having them here," Buehrle said. "I hope we absolutely beat the living crap out of them. It's one of those games that if we are 20 runs ahead, hope we are still stealing bases and hitting and running, because they are such a good team they could come back from that."

It would have been interesting to see how the Twins would have celebrated if Detroit had rallied to beat the White Sox while players were at various points on the road to the airport. The reality: The Twins and White Sox are both 88-74 -- and there's not enough room in the postseason for both of them.

"We know where we are going and we know what we've got to do," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said in a statement. "Win a ballgame."

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