A Mental Edge

As I mentioned in my previous post, there is no team I would rather have the Twins chasing in the AL Central than the Chicago White Sox.  Why?  Perhaps I am alone in this interpretation, but I feel that the Twins have the “mental edge” over the Pale Hose.

Here is how I see it: when the Twins play Chicago, Twins players/fans think “Oh yeah, we can beat these guys”, while White Sox players/fans think “Uh oh, here come those #$%^ Twins again”.  I think this attitude comes from the 2002-2004 seasons (and even in 2006, I guess), when the Twins always seemed to come up with a big series win (often a sweep) against Chicago.  Just out of curiosity, do Chicago White Sox fans feel the same way?

Just for fun, here is how I think the “mental edge” works in the other AL Central matchups:

Twins/Royals: Twins expect a series win, with a sweep never too far away.  KC fans just keeping chanting “lets go Royals” in monotone no matter who they play.  Advantage–Twins.

Twins/Tigers: Tigers expect a tough matchup, but the Twins are always worried that Detroit’s big bats could come alive at any moment and our sometimes-shaky bullpen will not be able to shut them down.  Advantage–Tigers.

Twins/Indians: For some reason (although I don’t have exact statistics on the matter), I feel that Cleveland has owned the Twins the past few years.  Whenever I see Cleveland on the schedule (not matter how good or bad they are playing) I think “oh no, not them again”.  I really have no idea how the Indians perceive the Twins.  Advantage: Indians.