The hottest team in baseball is...

THE MINNESOTA TWINS!

That's right, the hometown nine have won their last 10 games and have dominated the most recent stretch of interleague games (12-1 since June 13th against the National League). I was almost ready to write them off during their 6 game losing streak in early June that included a four-game sweep at the hands of the White Sox which left the Twins 6-1/2 games behind in the standings.

Even in a game that Nick Blackburn gave up 4 home runs resulting in 6 earned runs (which I saw first hand), the Twins were able to consistently score to keep the game close. And it was Joe Mauer (who's power numbers I have been critical of for a long time) who stepped to the plate with 2 outs in the bottom of the eighth and drove the ball over the center field wall to give the Twins a one run lead which Joe Nathan was able to hold in the ninth.

Even with having lost the likes of Johan Santana and Torii Hunter in the offseason and having a rotation that is anything but stellar, the Twins are keeping themselves competitive and should be in the hunt for the AL Central title well into the latter half of the season. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they can win the World Series, but they are quite entertaining to watch and could be competitive if they make it to the playoffs.

We'll just have to wait and see how the rest of the summer pans out for the squad.

Who doesn't Love Mayo? Kevin McHale...he must be a Miracle Whip man!

It was no surprise that Kevin McHale had once again swapped first round picks on draft night (a la Ray Allen/Stephon Marbury and Brandon Roy/Randy Foye) by sending O.J. Mayo to Memphis for Kevin Love. At least this time we received an additional player who will actually contribute in Mike Miller (and he's almost one of us - he's from Mitchell, South Dakota - Home of the Corn Palace - that should sell a ticket or two).

In the end, we'll have to wait and see if it works in the T-Wolves favor like the Stephon Marbury for Ray Allen trade (I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one) or if it is a mistake like trading Brandon Roy (2007 Rookie of the Year & 2008 All-Star) for Randy Foye in 2006.

The Wolves are now stacked with big, white guys (Love, Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Mark Madsen...plus we drafted Nikola Pekovic, I almost forgot) - could we ask for anything more? Who knows, maybe McHale will trade for Kris Humphries or sign Spencer Tollackson before training camp?

You never know what he is going to do next.

"This is for everybody in 'Sota"

I'm sure that Kevin believes his victory with the Celtics is "for everybody in 'Sota." He wants us to be a part of it since 'Sota helped shape who he is not only as a player, but as a person. But the truth remains - he won a championship as a member of the Boston Celtics, not the Minnesota Timberwolves. His victory, in fact, was for everybody in Beantown and the rest of New England.

Don't get me wrong - I appreciate the sentiment, especially since it came from such a raw, spontaneous moment. However, my happiness ends at having watched one of my favorite players win a championship. Much like when Big Papi helped the Red Sox win two World Series and Randy Moss helped the Patriots go 19-0 and win the Super...wait...scratch that last example. I am happy for KG and Big Papi, but it is bittersweet that they did not accomplish their feats with my beloved Minnesota franchises.

Last night did leave me wondering what might have been had Kevin McHale and Glen Taylor decided to add two all-stars to the T-Wolves to play along side KG like Danny Ainge did in Boston for Paul Pierce. Just maybe KG could have hoisted up the Larry O'Brien Trophy saying "This is for everybody in 'Sota" and it would have been true.