AL Central stretch run: How far can power take White Sox?

With the implosions of preseason favorites of the Tigers and Indians (who are inexplicably red-hot after trading away several veterans), the Chicago White Sox were right there to fill the void. And with five weeks to play in the season, they lead the surprising Minnesota Twins by a half-game in a two-team AL Central race.

The White Sox lead the AL in homers and are on a tear with the long-ball right now, but can they avoid the inevitable slump that affects power-heavy teams? This is a team that lost one of its starters for the season earlier this month (Jose Contreras) and doesn't have that top-shelf ace. They remind me somewhat of the Indians teams of the late 1990s, who could bludgeon teams to submission but had four guys who would be decent No. 3 starters.

That said, the Sox's starters are a heck of a lot more experienced than the overachieving crew Minnesota will depend on (Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey, Glen Blackburn and Francisco Liriano).

All this week, we'll take a look at each of the six division races and handicap them for the stretch run:

• Why the White Sox will win: Chicago has a lot more guys who have been there, such as Jim Thome (who tied Jimmie Foxx on the all-time home run list Sunday), Ken Griffey Jr., A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, etc., and one of the best closers in the game in Bobby Jenks.
• Why the Twins will win: Their schedule is a whole lot easier, starting this week against Seattle and Oakland. In fact, their next 22 games are all against teams with losing records. (Meanwhile, the White Sox must play series against the Angels, Red Sox and Yankees.) And the Twins' closer, Joe Nathan, is even better. Manager Ron Gardenhire has gotten a lot out of this team of relative no-names so far. Will it be enough to make the postseason?
• Key series: Chicago at Minnesota, Sept. 23-25.
• Pick to win it: Twins.

Tomorrow: NL West.