Budum alert - time for a Twins update!

It's remarkable, really, that the Twins are sitting at 65-45 and contending for a playoff spot in the American League. Back at the beginning of the summer, this team looked dead, with only one reliable starting pitcher available and a lineup filled with has-beens and never-wases at many positions. I've been watching baseball for over 35 years now and I've never seen a team retool on the fly as successfully as the Twins have.

Think of what has happened:

• Hitting machine Nick Punto replaces cigar store indian Tony Batista at third. Punto doesn't hit for power, but he's on base a lot and he has a knack for driving in key runs.
• Punchless Juan Castro leaves for Cincinnati, and Jason Bartlett comes in. Bartlett is currently hitting over .370 from the 9 hole.
• Lew "Diminishing Returns" Ford gets injured, and two more Jasons, Kubel and Tyner, come in and both hit about 100 points higher.
• Shannon Stewart gets injured, but others cover his at bats and the team doesn't miss a beat.
• Torii Hunter gets injured, but the same thing happens.

If someone had told you at the beginning of the season that Batista, Castro, Rondell White, Ruben Sierra, Stewart and Hunter would produce almost nothing, you would have assumed that the Twins would be 20 games below .500. But here we are. Enjoy the pennant race - you'll not likely see anything like this season again.