By By David Gibb, Sports Editor

 There is only one question remaining for the Yankees this season: who will they face in the first round of the playoffs. As divisional rivals cannot face in the first round, the Bronx Bombers will match up against whoever wins the American League Central Division. At this moment, it appears it will be the Detroit Tigers.

As it stands after Wednesday, the Tigers are up three games over the Minnesota  Twins with four games left to play. The two teams play each other head-to-head Thursday afternoon for the final time. In layman’s terms, that means that for the Twins to win the division in the time remaining, they would have to win the rest of their games while the Tigers would have to lose the rest of their games. This scenario is not likely, but not outside the realm of possibility either.

However, it is not a foregone conclusion that the Tigers will reach the playoffs, as they first have to clinch against a team that is only four years removed from a World Series: the Chicago White Sox. Although they have already been eliminated from playoff contention, the White Sox are a very dangerous squad. The team is full of fiery personalities, and needs to win the rest of its games to prevent a losing season. These elements make the South Siders the quintessential spoiler candidates.

While Detroit contends with Ozzie Guillen’s team, the Twins will greet the lowly Kansas City Royals to the Metrodrome, a much more attractive proposition. The Royals are 20.5 games out of contention and despite the presence of Cy Young Award candidate Zack Greinke could still very easily be swept on the road in Minnesota.

While it would take winning out as the Tigers lose out for the Twins to have the Central Division in the regular season, there is another, not-all-that-unheard-of possibility. If the Twins go 3-1 and the Tigers go 1-3, it would force a regular season playoff. That’s right: a playoff playoff. The last time that happened was in the now-infamous game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres in 2007 that capped the Rockies’ 17-game-long win streak toward the playoffs. 

In 2007, the Rockies used the momentum generated by their regular season playoff to propel themselves to the World Series before they were eliminated by Boston. If the Twins can finish strong with a sweep of the basement-dwelling Royals and get a little help from the White Sox, the American League Central race could end on a very, very exciting note.