By Tom Morris My, how quickly things change. The Minnesota Twins have officially let the baseball world know they are not here for a visit. They plan to stay. Just ask the White Sox, who yesterday lost the first of a 3-game set to the Twins, and now find themselves with a slim 2-game Wild-Card advantage over the bothersome Minnesota ballclub heading into tonight?s clash on the Southside. Chicago has lost ten of thirteen, and a censored manager, while this week watching the Twins jump ahead of them, to third, on my weekly MLB Top-Team Rankings. Indeed, those on Ozzie Guillen?s team must sit back at night these past days, fondly dreaming of a time gone by, when the biggest ?or, only-- blip on their radar were the sizzling Detroit Tigers. Now they have to reach deep into the closet for the bird binocs just to glimpse the backs of the Motown squad?s team bus. These next two games are actually more crucial than any of the Sox could have imagined. At 7 ? games back of Detroit ? literally, just like that ? the defending champs are in danger of drifting all the way off the map if they cannot curtail this slide. Ozzie may have a muzzle on him in the public world, but one cn onlty imagine the grab-bag of verbal offenses he must be hurling at his players right now. Minnesota, meanwhile, can seemingly do no wrong. For a while now. Fans of the team probably feel like they have their cake, ate it too, and have already started on seconds. They are for real. I do not know what is going on in their front office, but if they can find an extra bat to complement the M & Ms (Mauer and Morneau) the team will become even more daunting down the stretch. Detroit, of course, brushes the pesky Twins off their shoulders as if they were lake house mosquitoes. They are still coasting along, with the aforementioned division lead growing daily, and under no apparent threat. On the East Coast, AL Boston and New York still keep each other as close as good enemies should. Toronto circles the wagons, the Angels think they have found their Red Bull wings, and my Baltimore Orioles cut starting pitchers by the week. Oh well. Nothing quite so dynamic has been happening in the National League of Ordinary Gentlemen. Outside of the steady Mets and the slow-to-rebound Cardinals, the NL continues to show us all where the wins aren?t. It is a simmering pot of stew, over a very low flame which is thankful for being lit at all. It also is the league which forms the backbone of the bottom-half of this week?s Top-15 Rankings. Here is the list. I?ll read the pile of acrimonious e-mails later on. 1. Detroit Tigers ( 1 ) It only gets easier for Detroit. Long ago expected to fall to disgrace in the competitive AL Central Division, the Tigers continue to thumb their noses at the critics with unsurpassed play. 29 ? 9 since early June. Couldn?t hit a slump if you paid ?em to. On top of that, they have an astounding 29 ? 12 record against division foes, whom they play 21 times over the next 32 games. What else can I say? They may not land Alfonso Soriano come trade time, but will they really need him? 2. Boston Red Sox ( 3 ) The Sox move up a notch on the list thanks in no small part to the Sox with the different colored socks getting stuck in the mud. Boston wonders to itself if David Wells will make it back, and if he can make a difference. I wonder whether he is necessary. They posted a 3.25 team ERA over the past seven games (with 2 shutouts), good for third in the AL for the week. Which teams had the best team ERAs? Kansas City and Texas. Go figure. Of course, they are anything but a shoe-in for the postseason, with two games the difference between making the playoffs and watching them on HD TV. Still, they must be happy about their upcoming schedule, which consists of Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Kansas City and Baltimore. 3. Minnesota Twins ( 8 ) Let?s look at the numbers, shall we? The Twins lost five of six earlier this month. Yep. And they still have managed to put together an astonishing 32 ? 8 record dating back to June 7. On that day they were 25 ? 33, a ship one wave away from capsizing. Now they are playing the heavy, leaning on the White Sox as the two go toe-to-toe tonight, and no longer just a team to watch anymore. This is gonna be exciting. 4. Chicago White Sox ( 2 ) A .221 BA as a team since last Sunday. That is one sign a team is tripping over its own toes. Another is a 2 ? 8 record the last ten games. Whatever the case may be, word is Chicago has a strong edge in the Hunt for Soriano. Might be just what the team needs right now. While it certainly is not time to hit the panic attack button, there is not much breathing room left. The Wild-Card may still belong to an AL Central team, but the roles may change any day now. 5. New York Mets ( 4 ) The Mets know they have very little to worry about when it comes to a post-season berth. But don?t tell that to club skipper Willie Randolph. He fought hard to right this less than seaworthy ship, and he is not about to let complacency leak in. Still, they are playing consistent ball, have patched together a pitching staff and know how to score runs in bunches. 6. New York Yankees ( 5 ) Who has been dominating the New York headlines the past week? Why, A-Rod of course. And now he may actually be deserving some of it. But not all, and he definitely should not be the only one fielding the criticism. The Yankees may still be competitive --and a team with great depth despite huge injuries and disappointing players?but when Sidney Ponson m akes the rotation you know all is not well in Gotham City. And A-Rod will be back. Everyone goes through slumps, he just needs us to back off a little. Yes, that means you. 7. St. Louis Cardinals ( 6 ) The Cardinals are starting to make waves again, with Albert Pujols back in stride and a starting rotation gradually improving. A .223 team BA the last seven games seriously hurts. Still, we all know what the line-up can do. Their future success depends on those starting five, with Jeff Suppan and Jason Marquis overall let-downs. Jeff Weaver replaces Sidney Ponson, which is a bonus. Heck, Nolan Ryan may have been a good swap for Sir Sidney. St. Louis has Colorado, Chicago and the Phillies to look forward to in the coming games. 8. Toronto Blue Jays ( 7 ) The Blue Jays hung tough this past week, losing 5 of 9 but winning 2 of 3 in a key series against the rival Yanks. They may be in the picture, but with the resurgent Twins rapidly adding wins, the Blue Jays continue to stand very close to the fringe. 9. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ( 13 ) The Halos have won 7 of 10, 14 of 18. Granted, much of that has been due to opponents such as TB, KC and now TB again. But Jared has proven to be the worthier of the Weavers. Bartolo Colon couldn?t find a win for much of the year but is still the ace, and as an Oriole fan I would kill for the rest of their rotation any day. They are my pick for the AL West unless the A?s find a way to score more runs. 10. Cincinnati Reds ( 12 ) The Red Stockings decided to put together a little run around the same time the Cardinals did. They remain the best suitor for dethroning St. Louis in the surprisingly middling NL Central, but still have one of the least impressive ptching staffs (5.23 ERA the past week), atrocious bullpens and lack speed on the basepaths. We?ll see. My money?s on St. Louis finding what they have had the past few years. 11. Oakland Athletics ( 11 ) The A?s have found their hitting to be where their weak spots lay. But this past week, while going 3 ? 4 and putting up a 5.02 team ERA they have discovered a new way to confound their fans. We all know what Zito, Haren and Blanton and co. can do. But until they get bck into the habit of stringing together consecutive, sharp starts, the Angels will continue to be in the driver?s seat. 12. Atlanta Braves ( Not-Ranked ) The Braves have really turned things around. You can blame things on Leo mazzone?s departure if you want. But his leaving wasn?t the reason Atlanta started the first half of the year in such abominable fashion. It was poor pitching, poor hitting, and lack of depth. Each of those things have been improving the past few weeks. And a 13 ? 5 streak put them 4 games under .500 and 4 ? games back of the Wild-Card spot going into today?s game. Hey, anything?s possible. 13. San Francisco Giants ( Not-Ranked ) The Giants put together a tidy 5-game winning streak this past week, three of them coming against rival Padres. San Francisco boasted a 3.47 ERA over the last eight games, and a 3.02 BA as well, stats which definitely help the cause, and also atone for a middling month that fit them in with the rest of the ho-hum division. It also helps to shift the focus from THE most tiresome news story of the year: Barry Bonds and the law. Care factor: ZERO 14. San Diego Padres ( 9 ) Changes in the NL Rest can be very minor, very subtle. But at the same time, with such continuous mediocrity going on over there, these changes can be hugely dramatic. Winning 18 of 20 in the AL central may only make a dent in the GB column. But here a seven-game winning streak can just about seal the division. The Padres need to do that right now if they want to show us they can improve upon last year?s 82 ? 80 record. Getting swept by both Atlanta and SF these past two weeks hurts that campaign, but a week of games against bottom of the NL West LA and Colorado may be the salve they need. 15. Arizona Diamondbacks (Not-Ranked ) The Diamondbacks have Brandon Webb. That?s good. They also have won 10 of 13 to put themselves back in the mix of the mixed-up NL REST. They have hit and pitched well this past week, and have a fairly light schedule coming up. Wait, what am I saying it?s the National League. All the schedules are light! OK, then. There?s your Rankings for the rest of the week. I just realized most of tonight?s games have already finished as I was typing this, but I?ll try to ignore the fact my column?s already outdated. I am still in the Big Apple, and despite deep-rooted and seething hatred of the team that plays here in the Bronx, I am a self-respecting baseball fan (or at least a baseball fan). I must go see the Yanks at the House that Ruth built this weekend against the Devil Rays. It will be a blast. I will be the tall white guy in the bleachers shouting ?GO O?S!?. In the meantime I will ride the Subway, walk down 5th Avenue, say a prayer at Ground Zero and step on the grounds of history at Ellis Island. What a great place. As always, keep your mind in the game and the game on your mind.