Here come the Yankees and a reality check for the Twins

Enjoy what you can, Minnesota. The reality check is arriving.

The Twins own the lead in the American League Central. They can (kind of) boast having two of the best players in baseball in Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa. They even have a couple of starting pitchers who are pretty darn good (when they're healthy) in Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan. 

It all sounds lovely until you look at the New York Yankees and reality sets in: The Twins aren't built to play with the big boys. 

These 2022 Yankees are the biggest boys, currently on pace to win 117 games, which would topple the 1998 Bronx Bombers who won 114 games and are considered by many to be the best team in modern baseball history. 

Power pitching and power hitting. New York has it all. They just whipped the Angels and Tigers for six straight wins at Yankee Stadium, and all the while looked like the greatest show on Earth, allowing a ho-hum seven runs. Take it back a bit further and they've allowed 16 runs over their past 11 games. 

And here they come again, those elegant pinstripes entering Target Field with an MLB-best 39-15 record featuring a staff of stars and a lineup of giants. The Twins, a respectable 32-24 record, simply look like David standing next to Goliath, but without the rock and slingshot.

If we're being honest, nobody thinks the Twins – not now and definitely not in the playoffs – have a shot against the Yankees. That's just the way it is around here after too many years of bitter experience. 

Around here, the Yankees own the Twins. Or as the New York Post has repeated over the years: the Twins serve as the Yankees' personal punching bag.

Minnesota doesn't just go out and earn the longest playoff losing streak in North American sports history – 18 and counting – with dumb luck. They had to go up against the Yanks in 13 of those 18 excruciating experiences, so the record is as much New York's as it is Minnesota's. 

So what are the Twins looking at? Well, let's start with the guys that will be slinging baseballs for New York. Jameson Taillon starts on Tuesday. He just took a perfect game into the eighth inning in his last start. MLB ERA leader (1.50 ERA!) Nestor Cortes goes Wednesday, and the oft-untouchable Gerrit Cole starts Thursday. 

Seems ... not fair, considering the Twins will oppose them with TBD Tuesday, Chris Archer Wednesday and Dylan Bundy, who has been awful four of his past six outings, on Thursday. Any rain in the forecast? Minnesota isn't that lucky. 

"Wednesday has the best chance of showers, but probably more in the afternoon and very hit and miss. Otherwise pretty perfect weather," says Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard. 

Cole, oh by the way, took a perfect game into the seventh inning of his last start. And Cortes might be amped up more than usual considering he's making his first start since Twins/Tigers broadcaster Jim Kaat called him "Nestor the Molester."

"No sweat here, Jim!" Cortes tweeted. 

That makes nobody but Jim Kaat feel better. 

Archer, Bundy and whoever TBD winds up being will get their turn at a Yankees lineup that leads the majors with 80 homers and is second in the AL in runs scored. The NYY lineup should go something like this... 

• Leading off with two-time batting champ D.J. LeMahieu
• Aaron Judge, who is on pace for more than 60 homers
• Sweet-swinging three-time All-Star Anthony Rizzo
• The always-dangerous Josh Donaldson
• Giancarlo Stanton, the former MVP power hitter who just came back from injury 
• Gleyber Torres, who can mash the ball
• Joey Gallo, who when he makes contact sends the ball to the moon
• Aaron Hicks, who turned out to be pretty damn good after the leaving the Twins
• And then some combination of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Marwin Gonzalez and whoever they decide to stick at catcher

Alex Rodriguez, whose office is across the street in Minneapolis, can walk over to Target Field and have flashbacks of taking Joe Nathan deep for the game-tying homer in the ninth inning of Game 2 in 2008. Fun times. 

Anyway, it could get ugly this week. Just be ready for it. As smart people say, high aspirations, low expectations. It doesn't take an expert to look at the rosters and see that the Yankees are built to win it all and the Twins are built to contend for a division title before getting waxed in October. 

Enjoy it while you can, Minnesota. The reality check is arriving.