This is when the fun starts

It's that time of the year when the teams that are close to clinching a postseason berth tend to look a little flat. It happened to the Yankees in 1996 when Joe Torre had to use some harsh words after a dismal showing against Tampa Bay. The Rays were the Devil Rays then and not very good.

The Red Sox are getting back to the way they looked in the early part of the season when they beat the Yankees eight straight times. Until last night, when Tim Wakefield had a little meltdown, their starting pitching had been very consistent in going six-seven innings and holding the opposition to two or three runs. That gives their bullpen a little rest and with Billy Wagner down there seemingly durable and injury free they appear to be a solid team again, one combining pitching, defense with Alex Gonzalez at shortstop and hitting with Jason Bay coming alive again.

I did a Red Sox-White Sox game a month ago and the White Sox backers were still confident their team could overtake the Tigers. My thinking was the Twins had a better chance. I got some raised eyebrows and skeptical looks. The Twins have always fielded a team that pitches well enough, plays in the field well enough and seem to score just enough runs to hang around and give themselves a chance. They're doing it again. It's a credit to their former manager, Tom Kelly, who made the whole organization learn to play the game the right way, and look like baseball players and not models for pajamas or jogging suits.

Ron Gardenhire has maintained that approach. The Twins are a team every fan can appreciate and root for. They have a small payroll compared to most teams, but employ players who demonstrate sound fundamentals and play hard for nine innings game after game. If they don't, they won't be in the lineup. You will never see a Twins player wear their uniform like Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez or the other (Manny) Ramirez. Does it help you become a better player? No. It shows a respect for the game, and instills a discipline and pride that help you get the most out of what you have and shows fans and opposing teams that you care about the game and don't just flaunt your supposed star ability.

The three aforementioned players could never play on a team that I managed no matter how good they are or how desperate I was for talent. My dad would come down out of the sky and kick my fanny if I allowed that. That is one of the areas I have difficulty understanding about the game today, how managers and general managers can tolerate that kind of disrespect for the game.

Joe Mauer will probably be the MVP in the American League. Too bad for Mark Teixeira. He deserves it just as much but with Derek Jeter having close to an MVP season and the added attention he got becoming the all-time Yankee hit leader will divide the vote and help Mauer, especially now that his teammate, Justin Morneau, is out and the Twins keep winning.

Yankees-Tigers/Twins and Red Sox-Angels. Same old story. Who can win in L.A.? That will be a big key for Boston in the ALDS and whoever in the ALCS if the Red Sox can't continue their dominance. I still like Yankees-Red Sox in the ALCS. The Yankees have CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett, the latter who if the stars are lined up right you never know what kind of game he'll bring with him, either no-hit possibility or no-strikes syndrome. In Boston, Jon Lester has quietly been as good as anyone, Josh Beckett is back on track and Clay Buchholz could be a surprise star in October.

This is always an exciting time to be a baseball fan.