“Detroit is going to run away with this division now,” I found myself telling people this past week. It was getting impossible to argue with an offense that leads the majors with 460 runs scored, compared to 410 for Cleveland (ranked second in MLB) and 356 for the Twins (ranked 13th). The Tigers also have Kenny Rogers back, adding to their already impressive starting rotation.

But the Tigers placed Fernando Rodney back on the DL yesterday. Closer Todd Jones is 0-3 with a 12.54 ERA since May 28. And who can predict how dominant Joel Zumaya will be when he returns from his ruptured finger tendon? Reading this game story of Detroit’s loss last night gave me the impression the Tigers need to trade for bullpen help, and soon.

“I’ll make this real simple,” Leyland said. “We got outpitched, outmanaged, outplayed and outhit. We lost. Goodnight. See you later.”

Cleveland pulled back into a tie for first with the Tigers last night. It was an impressive win because the Indians scored three runs off Oakland’s Dan Haren, who has not lost since April 7 and because of their five-run, ninth-inning rally. Notice how much Oakland misses closer Huston Street.

Meantime, in Minnesota, the Twins got five hitless innings from their bullpen. Pat Neshek got five outs (including 3 Ks) and made it look easy. Joe Nathan had a 1-2-3 10th and a 1-2-3 11th (also notching 6 Ks). “That’s as good as I’ve seen the ball come out of his hand in a long time,” Manager Ron Gardenhire said.

We’ve spent a lot of time here discussing offense. Last night, Shaun Marcum and a Blue Jays bullpen that ranks third in the majors with a 3.38 ERA pretty much dominated the Twins’ hitters. But here’s a breakdown of how the three top teams in the AL Central compare pitching-wise, this morning:

Team       Team ERA (MLB Rank)   Starter ERA (Rank)       Bullpen ERA (Rank)

Tigers      4.45 (17th)                        4.04 (10th)                        5.25 (28th)

Indians     4.39 (15th)                        4.59 (17th)                       3.92 (14th)

Twins       4.16 (11th)                        4.48 (16th)                        3.52 (6th)

That Detroit bullpen is the reason I won’t be predicting a Tigers runaway now. I don’t know what to make of Cleveland. I haven’t been a believer from the start. But the Twins’ bullpen is the reason I think they can hang in this thing until the end.

Big leaguers get their pictures in newspapers all the time. They have commercials, they do TV interviews, they’re on magazine covers. But if you want to see them excited, put them on the cover of a video game. 

Justin Morneau is on the cover of the recently released PlayStation2 game called “The Bigs.” Morneau answered all the media’s questions about his bruised right lung today (He hopes to be back on the field ASAP), and then someone asked how it feels to be on the cover of a video game. His face lit up with a big smile.

“I like it,” he said. “It’s one of those things where I grew up playing video games, and you never thought you could ever see something like that. And then all of a sudden, it’s kind of surreal.”

Morneau also received a 52-inch plasma TV on Tuesday for being named SHARP AL Player of the Month for May. What a life, right? But, you know, it’s cool seeing the genuine appreciation Morneau and other Twins have at moments like this. The Metrodome crowd was going crazy just watching Morneau accept his award. It can’t be the same for Yankees fans whenever A-Rod gets a new plasma.

Great game tonight. Scott Baker, Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan were outstanding, combining to record 15 Ks. Juan Rincon pitched a scoreless 12th. In the press box, we wondered if the Twins might send Morneau to the plate for a Kirk Gibson-esque moment. Instead of Morneau, it was Jeff Cirillo walking up to pinch hit for Jason Tyner in the 12th. Two outs, bases loaded. It wasn’t a walk-off blast; it was a walk-off bloop. But when Vernon Wells couldn’t catch it, the Twins celebrated as if Cirillo had just crushed one into the football seats.

“It was a fluky hit,” Cirillo said. “But I’ll take it.”

FYI, Matt Garza gave up four runs on 10 hits in five innings tonight against Class AAA Durham. Detroit lost a wild one to Texas. Cleveland rallied for five in the ninth in an 8-5 victory over Oakland.

First, another tribute to those who make us laugh: Our last trade target was Adam Dunn, and cmathewson nailed the nickname for us, writing, “How about Dunnder Whifflin, an homage to ‘The Office.’ ”

Admittedly, it took me a while. When you spend most nights at the ballpark, you’re not exactly hip to TV lingo. But I have seen “The Office” and after a Google search, I realized Dunnder Mifflin is the name of the Scranton-based paper supply company where Steve Carell and his minions work their magic.

For our puproses Dunnder has now whiffed 97 times in 266 at-bats. Of course, he has a Morneau-esque 20 jacks now, too. … Sigh.

It’s been a slow morning. Todd Zolecki, a friend from our Minnesota Daily days, reports that The Real Deal will tote his 14.63 big league ERA to the mound in a spot start for the Phillies on Friday. Also, as a frequent flier, let’s just say I found this story … interesting.

After spending that last road trip with the Twins, I got a real sense that this trade talk is mostly futile. Many insiders feel the team won’t pull the trigger on a deal for a slugger. Other teams are asking a lot, Twins don’t want to part with prospects … blah, blah, blah.

Quite frankly, I’ve thought about ditching this trade target series. But since the Blue Jays are in town, here’s a name that was floating around on some of those insider’s wish lists not long ago: Matt Stairs. That was back when the Blue Jays looked buried and when Stairs was just starting his recent tear. So, for the sake of discussion, let’s take a closer look:

Name: Matt Stairs, Blue Jays OF/1B

Basics: He’s 39 (turns 40 on Feb. 27). Bats L, Throws R. 5-9, 215 lbs. Born in St. John, New Brunswick (Canada, eh). Originally drafted by the Montreal Expos, he played for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan before eventually becoming a regular for the Oakland A’s.

Stats: Batting .304 with 12 homers and 28 RBI. A .371 on-base percentage and a .582 slugging percentage, which is why the Blue Jays now have him batting third. All 12 of his home runs have come since May 13.

Salary: $850,000. The Blue Jays signed him to a minor-league deal, so Stairs has been a steal. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

Good Twin because: He’s red-hot at the plate right now, and with Jeff Cirillo’s knees barking, he’d give the Twins another first base option with Morneau out with a bruised lung. He plays left field and right field. The Blue Jays haven’t used him as a DH because they have Frank Thomas, but Stairs could also DH for the Twins. Minnesota’s preference would be to add another righthanded bat, and Stairs bats lefty, but the way he’s hitting, it shouldn’t matter which way he swings.

Available?: Maybe a month ago. But the Jays have now won 16 of 26. The Twins fancy themselves a wild-card contender, trailing Cleveland by 5 1/2 games, and Toronto is only a half-game behind Minnesota. But 1B Lyle Overbay and LF Reed Johnson are getting closer to returning from the disabled list, so there could be a Toronto surplus. There have been recent reports that the Jays are listening to offers for 3B Troy Glaus. A Southern California native with a no-trade clause, Glaus isn’t coming here anytime soon, but in Stairs’ case, Terry Ryan should keep Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi on his speed dial.

Probable cost: Toronto might be thrilled to turn a minor-league signee into a B-level prospect. If the Blue Jays cool off again, Stairs is definitely one to watch.

Potential Bat-Girl nickname (*You know, if she still ran the greatest blog ever): Stairway to Heaven. (That seemed too easy. Definitely open to your suggestions.)

Odds this trade happens: 16-to-1. Another reach, we know.

The Twins did a nice job overcoming Justin Morneau’s injury this weekend, taking advantage of Florida starters Josh Johnson and Byung-Hyun Kim. But Johnson had been pounded in his previous start (and first start back from the DL) against the offensively challenged White Sox, and Kim was subbing for the injured Dontrelle Willis.

Tonight, the challenge gets considerably more difficult against Toronto’s Roy Halladay, who is 4-0 with a 3.37 ERA since returning from his appendectomy. There have been good signs of progress from several Twins hitters — notably Jason Bartlett, Jason Kubel and Jeff Cirillo — but let’s see if that continues at home this week against Toronto.

La Velle returns to game coverage tonight. And Patrick Reusse already has some good news on the Morneau front. Oh, and the AL finished with a 137-115 (.544) mark in interleague play, pointing to the league’s dominance though it was much less embarrassing for the NL than last year’s 98-154 (.389) showing.

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau will remain in the hosptial for a third straight night tonight, while being monitored for a bruised right lung.

General Manager Terry Ryan said tonight that Morneau had a second chest X-Ray taken today, and once again, it showed no broken bones. But the doctors are taking no chances after Morneau coughed up blood Friday. Ryan said Morneau probably would be released from the hospital Monday and cleared to fly home.

“They don’t want to have any complications when he gets on an airplane,” Ryan said. “They’re thinking probably tomorrow. They didn’t want him to go today. They wanted to make sure everything is in order so there’s no possibility of complications.”

The Twins had hoped Morneau would be cleared to fly home with the team following today’s game, but he remained at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines, Fla..

“There’s nothing more here than meets the eye,” Ryan said.

As for when Morneau would be able to play again, Ryan said, “It’s way too premature for me to say. It all depends upon how that young man feels. And I don’t know that.”

Before leaving Dolphin Stadium, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, “He’s obviously not going to play [Monday against Toronto], so we can take our time with this thing and give him what he needs. He says he’s feeling fine. He’s been text messaging people, and he’s feeling fine, but we’re being very cautious here.”