Folks, a quick note here apologizing for some factual errors in my chart looking at the Twins' five keys to the second half. The corrected version now reads:
If it takes 90 victories to win the AL Central, the Twins must go 49-24 to get there. That's .671 baseball, which is near the pace of their .686 clip during their 24-11 run before the break.
At 49-43, the first-place Tigers are on pace for only 86 wins and haven't had a winning second half since 2000. But with Justin Verlander in peak form, Detroit should be able to avoid the kind of long losing streak that can derail a stretch run.
Cleveland has a superb bullpen and needs just a 43-30 finish to get to 90 wins. Chicago looks like a bigger longshot than the Twins, but if the White Sox start getting the production they expected from Adam Dunn and Alex Rios, they'll be dangerous, too.
E-scribe. I had three mistakes in the original, as several e-mailers have noted, and sincerely regret the errors.
