The jury is still out on the Minnesota Twins, who lost five straight games recently. Are they a legitimate postseason threat or are they fortunate to be in a weak division?

Actually, with the exception of the Oakland Athletics, many leading or contending teams have hit lulls lately: St. Louis had a seven-game losing streak, Arizona lost six of seven, Atlanta lost eight of 13, Seattle lost six of eight and the Yankees lost four of five.

	Center fielder Torii Hunter is one of the young Minnesota stars eyeing their first postseason.

The Twins play good fundamental baseball, but they don't have the firepower of the other top AL teams. Even though they've struggled lately, the Twins won't blow a double-digit lead in the AL Central. It appears the second-place Chicago White Sox threw in the towel a long time ago.

Some might say the Twins need to approach their weekend showdown with the A's at the Metrodome with greater urgency because of their recent troubles. Because they're a young team, I agree ... to a degree.

But baseball isn't like football or basketball where players need a pep talk to get to fever pitch before a fast-paced game. For baseball players, it's more important to maintain a mental focus and stay loose. Sometimes harping on the urgency can have an adverse effect.

I don't really believe there's such a thing as a make-or-break series unless you're playing late in September and it truly is a do-or-die situation. In fact, the Oakland-Minnesota series is more important for the AL-West leading A's, who don't have the luxury of a double-digit lead.

Still, the Twins don't want to limp into the postseason like the Yankees did in 2000, when a veteran New York team lost 15 of the final 18 regular-season games before righting the ship and winning a third straight World Series. For a team with Minnesota's youth, going into the postseason on a similar down note would be tough on the psyche.

Strike Averted: Final Thoughts
Sanity Prevails: I'm glad that sanity finally prevailed in these negotiations. If there were ever a time when sanity was needed -- in light of the fans' disgust and the pending anniversary of 9/11 -- this was it. There's a first time for everything, and this was the first time a baseball labor impasse was settled without a work stoppage.

In the past, there were times when a strike was needed. Free agency, for example, was an issue worth fighting for. Baseball's union has been stronger than most other pro sports unions, and that solidarity has paid off with a lucrative environment for MLB players. The NFL and NBA both have salary caps, while MLB does not.

But this time, players knew that the wrath of the fans would have been unbearable. The players also had a strong voice with Donald Fehr and Gene Orza and said they wanted a settlement this time. Nobody knew how bad the long-term scenario would have been had a strike occurred -- it could have been the end of baseball as we know it.

Trust? Owners, Open Your Books: There seems to be a consensus that trust needs to be built between the players and the owners. But I've been hearing that for 15 years and there's still little to no trust. The only way for the owners to earn the trust of the players is for owners to open their books with the figures they report to the U.S. government -- including depreciating players and every other write-off they're allowed so it's clear how much money is made or lost by each MLB team.

It's no good for the owners to say they're losing $7 million, but then write off $24 million in losses to the IRS and end up with a net profit of $17 million. Those are two different sets of numbers.

The only way for real trust to develop between the players and owners is for the owners to reveal their financial records and to allow for checks and balances that confirm those figures are accurate. The owners need to stop crying wolf and prove the wolf is really at the door.

If baseball's economic problems are as serious as the owners say, let the players see it in black and white. If it is true, I'm sure the union would offer concessions for the well-being of the game. But if trust isn't built, who knows what will happen four years from now (when the deal negotiated last week ends).

If I Were The Skipper...
The Situation
Your team is down 18-0 heading into the ninth inning. You've already used four pitchers. Who do you call on to finish the game?

Campbell's Call
Bob Brenly made a great decision to have first baseman Mark Grace pitch Monday night. The D-Backs trailed the Dodgers 18-0 when Brenly called on Grace to pitch the ninth. The D-Backs had lost four of five -- including back-to-back games started by Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling for the first time this season.

Some purists say you disgrace the game by having a position player pitch, but in this case I disagree. First, Brenly conserved one of his pitchers' arms. Second, he created a positive out of a negative. When you get beat 19-1 (Monday's final), what can you possibly feel good about as a team after the game? Nothing, of course. But Grace's stint on the mound became the postgame focus for the D-Backs rather than their disappointing performance.

There's a time and place for such a move, and Brenly pushed the right button.

Ballpark Focus: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Busch Stadium is one of those cookie-cutter parks deigned for football and baseball, which means there are too many seats in the outfield. It's in the same mold as Three Rivers, Riverfront/Cinergy, the Vet and Pro Player Stadium.

The best thing about Busch Stadium? That's easy: the fans. The stands look like a sea of red as fans wear Cardinal colors throughout the stadium -- it looks like a Nebraska football game. St. Louis has the most enthusiastic fans and the best fan support of any team in baseball. That's why it's a popular destination for players. Rarely do you hear a boo at Busch, unless the Cards are really playing poorly.

The Cardinals are the Midwest's team. They draw fans from Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas, especially on weekends. Colorado was Cardinal country, too, before the Rockies were established in Denver.

For me, the most memorable moment at Busch was Ozzie Smith's game-winning home run in the 1985 NLCS -- the first ever batting left-handed for the switch-hitter.

Editor's Note: Dave Campbell, who was an infielder for eight seasons in the major leagues (1967-74), is an analyst for Baseball Tonight and ESPN Radio.