Twins talking about something special

After one game in Target Field, someone asked Twins pitcher Carl Pavano about his team.

"I think we're great," he said.

Great?

"I think that's how everybody in here feels," outfielder Jason Kubel said.

Great?

"That's how we all feel," outfielder Denard Span said. "This team is very confident. We all get along, and we expect good things to happen."

Great?

Cuddyer's quote does not fit today's theme, so he will be excused from the rest of this column.

Baseball players don't throw around the word "great" after eight games. Players who toil for the little-engine-that-could, envy-the-Yankees, piranha-infested Twins don't call themselves great after eight games. Even when the Twins play like the Harlem Globetrotters, they prefer to think of themselves as the Washington Generals.

Maybe along with the new weight room and hydrotherapy pools in Target Field, the Twins installed a subliminal Stuart Smalley (not related to Roy) sound system.

The Twins are 6-2 against three projected contenders. They employ two of the last four American League Most Valuable Players. They could win four or five Gold Gloves. They haven't fielded a lineup this deep and powerful since before Gary Gaetti traded in postgame beers for rosary beads. Their ballpark ranks among the best in the game.

The Twins' confidence might be warranted; their willingness to express it remains surprising.

"I think that's what makes us a pretty special team, and I think we're going to be pretty well-off this year."

It wasn't long ago that Kubel communicated mostly by nodding and mumbling. The guy is quieter than white noise. Becoming one of the most dangerous lefthanded hitters in the game has done wonders for his public speaking.

Is he ready to set postseason goals? "I think we can go a lot farther than we have been going," he said. "The Angels always give us trouble, the White Sox are tough over there, and the Red Sox are one of the best teams in the league, and we were able to win some games. I think we have the team to do that all year long."

Is he ready to talk about the World Series? "I'd like to get there, and win, like everybody else," he said. "And I think we have the team to do it with, especially the way we're playing.

"I know lots of things can happen during the year, but I think we have the depth to keep it up and keep going like this. I expect a lot out of us this year."

But isn't it about time the Twins stopped portraying themselves as underpaid underdogs, now that their payroll is nearing $100 million? Isn't a little bravado encouraging, and useful?

"We've played in Game 163 two years in a row," Span said. "I think it's time for us to get a lead and take care of our business earlier in the year. I think we're good enough to do that."

Over the next 154 games, the AL Central will be reshaped by injuries and trades, by unexpected failures and successes. As of today, though, the Twins, in only eight games, have re-established themselves as division favorites.

I thought Joe Nathan's injury would give the White Sox an advantage, but the Sox' holes are already obvious, and the players the Twins most needed to start well -- Jon Rauch, J.J. Hardy and Delmon Young -- have looked promising.

But "great?"