I don’t have pictures to show you… just a very sore throat and permanent grin on my face… but the Twins are the AL Central Division Champs!

I, along with 54,088 others, sat, watched, waited and finally celebrated. Ok, I also cried. The Twins were not supposed to make it this far. Statistically, they were out of the running. Three weeks ago, people had counted them out. Then they went 17 for 20 and won possibly the best game I’ll ever see in person.

Sitting in the upper deck, watching the game was more of a marathon than the one my friends ran in over the weekend. A 4:00 start meant only die-hard fans would be there (obviously I went with Peter). The Dome had a record sell-out crowd. The Tigers held the division lead since May, it was theirs to loose. Through the 12 grueling innings even I started to doubt the fairytale. We were coming up with solid small plays… but Detroit was going big. Magglio Ordonez hit two home runs, Orlando Cabrera hit one too. But it’s not just fancy plays that win ball games. I would have loved a walk-off home run… but I’ll gladly take the walk-off single too.

Last night, Alexi Casilla hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th. Alexi Casilla!! He spent most of the year in the minors and was brought in late in the game. His batting average was .168. That’s comparable to my batting average!! Players who also deserve recognition are the ones who barely can put together a highlight reel this season. Brandon Tollbert, Carlos Gomez.. hell, there were three pitchers I’ve never heard of in the game last night.. all were key in winning the division.

Michael Cuddyer continued to shine - hitting a triple in the 10th. Thank God for the Dome and it’s fake grass, Tigers outfield missed his rocket to center field then couldn’t get to the ball fast enough. Nick Punto came up with a huge play in the top of the 12th: not being able to turn a double play, he snapped the ball home and Mauer got the force out preventing the Tigers from scoring another run.

Mauer’s plate appearances weren’t anything to write home about, a single in the first, then walked later on in the game… but he called an amazing game from behind the plate. And it’s that type of player and that type of leadership that will shine through the off season. And it’s that type of player that deserves the MVP title.

Then there was good old Metrodome magic. Like I said earlier, the Twinkies won 17 out of their last 20 games. They’re hotter than the devil right now. And they’re doing it without MVP Justin Morneau. In fact, it’s not just the big names like Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel making an impact. Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn held some promise this spring, both have stepped up to the mound and been solid.

Now the Twins have to face the evil Yankees. It’ll be tough. They’re a good team. But we’ve got something they don’t and it’s not just Joe Mauer & his sideburns. We have heart. We have excitement. And we’ve got talent. I think we’ll give the Yankees a run for their money… and spice up the post season.

I have tickets to Sunday and Monday’s games at the Dome. And I sure hope the Twins can continue their winning streak. It seems the more people talk about the Dome era ending.. the more the Dome doesn’t want it to end just yet either.