Over the weekend, I heard Ranger Rongey talking about how much he hated the Twinkies and how he hoped that the Tigers would win the AL Central. 

I don't hate the Twinkies as much as I hate it when the Sox lose to the Twinkies.  I certainly feel warmer about the Twinkies than I do the Cleveland Indians, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons.  Why?  Because I admire the Twinkies.

Here's a team that every year loses one or two name players because they can't afford to keep them.  And a team that uses it's capital to re-invest in young players.  How about the Johan Santana trade which brought them Carlos Gomez?  The A.J. Pierzynski trade which netted them Fransisco Liariano and Joe Nathan?  Or the trade with Tampa that got them Delmon Young and Brenden Harris for Jason Barrett and Matt Garza?

Or all of the draft choices they've made that have worked out? 

I hate to tell you this, but the Twinkies are a model baseball organization.  In a world where the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Dodgers try to buy the best talent available, these guys are growing it themselves or begging, borrowing and stealing for it.  And, in addition, all the talent is trained in the minors to hit the ball, throw the ball and catch the ball.  Few teams are as fundamentally sound as the Twinkies.

Yes, the Hump Dome is an advantage, but there were years where the Twinkies still stunk out loud.  The modern Twinkies, no matter how bad they may appear on paper, just keep coming at you and coming at you, never quitting and requiring garlic or a wooden cross through the heart to be put away. 

Their manager, Ron Gardenhire looks more like a guy you might see driving a truck on I-294, not sitting in a dugout.  He does more with nothing than anyone in baseball.  You can think that Tony The Useless, Joe Torre, Joe Girardi, Bobby Cox or Terry Francona may be the best manager in baseball, but for my money, hands down it's Kenny Rogers doppleganger Gardenhire.  Every year he loses quality players who are replaced by an assortment of rookies, spare parts and washed up free agents.  Yet, every year, Gardenhire has his boys in the thick of the race. 

This year, mid-August, it looked like it was the Tigers and the White Sox going down to the wire.  But the Twinkies rose from the dead, coming back and fighting their way to within two games of the lead.  Now, their three game showdown with the Tigers beginning tomorrow will decide the fate of the Central.

If you want to hate a central division opponent, hate the Tigers with their chain smoking manager and pesky players like Curtis Granderson and Brandon Inge.  Or the Indians.  Just because Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko are gone, doesn't mean they won't come up with more players to torment the Sox.  Besides, how could anyone cheer for a team with a player named Asdrubal?

Hate the Twinkies.  Nah.  The Twinkies are to be embraced and admired as a slice of baseball, the way it should be.  And a slice of how you wish the White Sox would be.