Is this a big-boy team?

To me, baseball currently has four big-boy teams -- teams that generate enough buzz owing to quality and consistency that you can pretty much guarantee they'll be among the game's elite. My list includes the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and Phillies. Atlanta used to be a big-boy team until the middle of the decade and the Cubs and Mets desperately try to be big-boy teams but trip over their shoelaces from trying too hard. (You can't be a big-boy team when you sign Milton Bradley or think that Johan Santana by himself can prop up your pitching staff.)

Sure, other good teams join the mix more often than not -- and that's a group the Twins have been part of. But the Twins and Tigers and the Cardinals and the others who are typically on the fringes of the post-season feel more like the talented young kids who get invited to play along with the big boys. In college basketball terms, they would be the Cornell and Northern Iowas of the world -- making noise and attracting attention but not quite having enough to go all the way.

In baseball, sometimes the tag-along teams do get to the top. The 1987 Twins are an example of that. No way were they the best team in baseball, but they were good enough when they had to be and rode their Metrodome advantage to the World Series.

Here's my question: Are the Twins on the verge of joining the big-boy teams?

Four games provides no proof whatsoever, even if they resulted in a 3-1 record against the Angels.

But an upgraded offense, veteran add-ons and maturity from the roster holdovers feel like the building blocks for taking that leap.

A team that has to hope Alexi Casilla can hold down second base -- which is where the Twins were in 2009 -- isn't a big-boy team. A team that has Casilla backing up veterans at second and short, and maybe getting 100-150 at-bats, can be.

A team that has neglected its minor-league system or clear-cut it to pursue short-term veteran fixes isn't a big-boy team. A team with solid players waiting in the wings to push the established stars (Revere, Hicks, Ramos, Gibson, Valencia) and possible replace them down the road, can be.

All teams have flaws. When you get nervous about Jason Kubel in left field, think of the Angels putting Hideki Matsui out there in Thursday's game -- or the Yankees being willing to settle for the awful arm of Johnny Damon in left until this season. Is the Twins third base situation any worse than the Red Sox' reliance on a laughable array of shortstops in recent years. Is Marco Scutaro really their answer? The Phillies dominated last seaosn even though their closer, Brad Lidge, had a 1.81 WHIP and an ERA over 7.

Like I said, we may be feeling pretty good right now, but four games isn't a true test. It wouldn't be even if the Twins had started the season 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.