Jeff Budlong, On the Rebound

I am almost totally comfortable in saying the Twins are going to the postseason.

Almost.

I am still so impressed with the comeback they made and how they continue to win even now with two of their top four pitchers &045; Brad Radke and Francisco Liriano &045; on the shelf.

What this team has done this year is something special, but there is one other team that has done something else I can&8217;t believe.

The defending World Series champion Sox have all but fallen out of contention for the division crown or the wild card. Now, don&8217;t get me wrong I am not sad about this; I am just surprised.

When you look at a rotation that includes Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland and Javier Vazquez you figure this team is going to be hard to beat even on the fourth or fifth day. Add in a young gun like Brandon McCarthy and a 40-save closer like Bobby Jenks and that is why everyone was picking the Sox to repeat as division and World Series champs.

However, the reality is that Buehrle seemingly has lost his touch and is getting hit by everybody that picks up a bat. The &8220;ace&8221; of the staff has the highest ERA of the five regulars at 4.79.

Contreras began the season on a monster win streak, but ever since he picked up that first loss he has been less than outstanding.

Garcia has been Mr. Inconsistent this season looking great in nearly throwing a perfect game and then getting lit up the next time out.

Garland has been the most consistent White Sox pitcher but even he has an ERA in the upper fours and Vazquez has never been the same pitcher since he was moved from Montreal to the New York Yankees.

All that high priced talent that the Sox are able to trot out the mound and it doesn&8217;t look like it is going to make a difference this season. Last year, the Sox had to hang on tight to hold off a late season dive and the Cleveland Indians, but this season only a charge from the back of the three-team Central pack will do.

Meanwhile, the Twins have gotten big efforts from pitchers named Garza, Boof, Baker and Neshek. Thank goodness for a strong farm system and some good scouts.

The Twins may not make a trip to the World Series with a loaded AL playoff field in front of them, but what this team has accomplished with fewer financial resources is to be commended.

An impressive season full of big performances is almost complete. Almost.

(Sports editor Jeff Budlong&8217;s column runs every Wednesday.)