Baseball Prospectus's Post-Season Odds Report--a computer program that daily chews up all the data from 2006 and runs one million simulations of the remainder of the season--gives the Twins a measly 20 percent shot at winning the division. If that seems smaller than the Twins' one-game deficit would suggest, that's because they've actually got to finish this week one game ahead of the Tigers, since the tie-breaking head-to-head record falls in Detroit's favor. If the Twins do manage to make up that ground, they'll face the A's with homefield advantage in the first round. If they don't, it's the big bad Yankees, with three games out of a possible five played in the Bronx. While that doesn't mean it's time to stop rooting against the Tigers just yet, it does mean that a good hard look at a ferocious Yankees lineup is in order.More >>

It's official. 2006 is a magical season for the Twins, and here's proof: Tonight, sitting at a bar in Northeast celebrating a softball victory, I looked up at the TV screen just in time to see Torii Hunter stride to the plate with one on in the seventh inning. I turned and said to whoever was close enough to hear, "Callin' it! Number 30, right here." It's the first time I've ever called anything in public, and my timing proved impeccable. Torri did not disappoint.More >>

Since I had absolutely nothing to do with the production of it, I can say without bias that this week's CP cover package devoted to the mighty Minnesota Twins is fabulous. Steve Perry talks with GM Terry Ryan. G.R. Anderson, Jr. tracks down fanatical fan Thomas Hodne. Britt Robson quizes the brains behind the best scouting system in baseball. And Chuck Terhark recounts the 10 greatest moments of the Twins absurd season. Read it all--and then go buy your playoff tickets.

Some Twins notes before the F-Bomb climbs the mound for the first time since Aug. 7 in an effort to complete a three-game sweep of the first-place Oakland A's:More >>

Carlos Silva pitched his best game of the season tonight. Nearly every pitch was down in the strike zone. He pounded hitters inside early in the count and then proceeded to paint the black on the outside of the plate. When the rare runner reached first base they were immediately erased with a double play ball. The Devil Rays never even sniffed a run. Or a homerun, for that matter--the sinkerball pitcher's notorious Achilles heal this season.

Silva threw a ridiculously efficient 59 pitches through six innings, summoning memories of his phenomenal 74-pitch complete game against the Brewers last year. He seemed to get stronger and more confident as the game wore on, strutting around the mound like a matador. In short, this was the pitcher the Twins had been waiting to see all season--and sorely need for the final month of the playoff chase.

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The bad news: After surging into first place in the Wild Card standings, the Twins inexplicably dropped two in a row to the Royals. I know, I know, the Royals aren't that bad, but the Twins were playing at being playoff contenders, and had baseball's best home record to boot. Meanwhile, the White Sox kept winning, effectively reclaiming a Wild Card lead that they aren't likely to lose anytime soon, especially considering they're taking on the lowly Royals now. Mean-meanwhile, the Twins are headed to Yankee Stadium for three games with a pitching rotation--"Homer" Silva and the Shaky Rookies-- that's surely got the Bombers itchin' to swing. Oh yeah, and Luis Castillo sprained his ankle, Radke's bum shoulder will force him to miss a start this weekend, and Joe Mauer is slumping.

The good news: There is none. Unless you count the fact the Liriano's season probably isn't completely over. Or the fact that the Twins acquired the aging right-handed slugger Phil Nevin to hit in the DH spot. Does that count as a silver lining?

More gloom and doom (and optimism, too) welcome in the comments.